Kicking off this Thursday, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has faced its share of criticism before it has even begun. A viral video has sparked fresh backlash, appearing to show members of Senegal's national team being searched with metal detectors on the tarmac of a US airport. Online, some users have claimed the players were being "treated like criminals" and pointed to the footage as evidence of "unapologetic racism". A widely shared photo also appears to show the team's coach undergoing the same screening. But what do these images actually show?

Wall Street is counting down to what could be the biggest market debut in history, with SpaceX preparing to go public. The IPO is expected to value the company at $1.75 trillion and make founder Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. Also, US inflation has surged to its highest level in three years, driven by rising energy prices since the start of the war with Iran. President Donald Trump has hailed the figures as "great".

In tonight's edition, a new Human Rights Watch report uncovers mass forced recruitment and arbitrary detention by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group in eastern DR Congo. Also, we head to Durban, where thousands of foreign nationals displaced by xenophobic violence remain camped outside the Department of Home Affairs. And finally, he's back on home soil to a hero's welcome. But Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan's World Cup dream has been cut short after he was denied entry to the United States.

Mexico is preparing to make history as the first nation to host football's biggest tournament three times. But Mexico is also making a bold claim: "The ball comes home." Why? As many historians believe the world's first ball games were played in Mesoamerica more than 3,500 years ago. After centuries in the shadows, those ancient games are making a comeback. FRANCE 24's Laurence Cuvillier and Quentin Duval report from Mexico City.

Northern Ireland braced Wednesday for a potential second night of violence directed at immigrants, following unrest that UK authorities say was stoked by far-right activists on social media after a brutal Belfast stabbing. Britain's ​media regulator warned online platforms of possible legal consequences if their services are used to ​incite ‌violence. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Jack Crangle, Queen's University Belfast Lecturer in Contemporary British History.

FIFA's president Gianni Infantino has been most visible ingratiating himself with US President Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup, so much so that he has had to defend himself from accusations of breaching FIFA's duty of political neutrality. FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell reports.

Three Indian crew members were reported missing after a vessel was attacked off Oman, India said Wednesday, before the US military announced it had fired on a tanker attempting to breach its blockade of Iran. In a statement, the Indian foreign ministry condemned the attack on the vessel, the Settebello, saying: "Of the 24 Indian crew onboard, 21 Indians have been rescued thus far and three Indians are reportedly missing". FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Kethevane Gorjestani has more.

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon killed at least 13 people on Wednesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the Lebanese people to join Israel's fight against Hezbollah. Israeli forces seized a local councillor and a municipal worker from the border town of Kfarshuba, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, while Israel said it "apprehended" two people who approached its soldiers. FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports from Beirut.

Here in France, outrage over the apparent failure to stop the murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna. The suspect – a 41-year-old father of one of her schoolmates – had previously been flagged over suspected paedophile offences but was never questioned. We'll ask what went wrong and examine why a string of child abuse cases is forcing France to confront difficult questions about prevention, accountability and institutional failures.

Chinese scientists have discovered a massive whale graveyard of around 500 skeletons, some dating back to more than 5 million years, at the bottom of the Indian Ocean west of Australia, according to research published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. The whale fall provides shelter and sustenance to a vibrant ecosystem of marine species, many believed to be new to science. 

At the start of the war in Ukraine, the Russian capture of Kinburn Spit – a narrow piece of land that holds the key to several Ukrainian ports – was hailed as one of Moscow’s most significant victories on the southern front. From there, Russia could launch attacks on the Ukrainian mainland, and use it as a springboard should it make an attempt to take Odesa. Now, Russian forces appear to have pulled back from the once so-strategic spit. What is going on?

Kim’s balancing act. As #China and #Russia vie for influence in #NorthKorea, Victor Cha tells #F24Debate Pyongyang is wary of becoming too entangled with either power➡️https://go.france24.com/oFbt

Rock climbing has exploded in popularity in recent years, and it has happened in the occupied West Bank, too. But Palestinian climbers face numerous obstacles, largely fueled by the expansion of Israeli settlements.

Eight jets from France's air force acrobatics team staged a flyover of the Statue of Liberty on Tuesday, soaring above the iconic statue gifted by France to the US in 1886. The flight was part of a mission highlighting France's support for the US during the War of Independence and comes ahead of the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.

Pope Leo was set to visit Barcelona's Sagrada Familia on Wednesday to inaugurate the newest of its soaring geometric spires ​that makes ‌the modernist marvel designed by Antoni Gaudi the world's tallest church. Leo, after celebrating Mass ⁠inside the vast church, will walk outside to bless the 172.5-metre Tower of Jesus Christ, crowned with a five-storey ceramic cross ‌visible across the Catalan capital. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports from Barcelona.

French prosecutors said Wednesday they had requested pop icon Patrick Bruel be charged and placed in pre-trial detention over nine allegations of sexual abuse including rape and sexual assault. The 67-year-old, a major figure in French pop culture with multiple top selling albums and dozens of film appearances, has denied any wrongdoing. He is the latest top French celebrity to face investigators in the wake of the #MeToo movement, after film legend Gerard Depardieu was handed a suspended 18-month prison sentence last year for sexually assaulting two women on a film set. FRANCE 24's James André reports from the courthouse near Paris.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Tehran has taken too ​long to negotiate a deal and would now "have to pay the price" after Iran and the United States exchanged strikes in the region amid reported efforts to continue ​talks. "Iran ‌is all talk and no action," Trump wrote in ⁠a social media post. "They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, ‌now they will have to pay the price!!!"

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Simon Chadwick, Professor of AfroEurasian Sport and Specialist of 21st century global sport. On the eve of the FIFA World Cup, Chadwick offers a sobering assessment of the political realities surrounding the world's biggest sporting event amid the convergence of hard-line immigration policies, conflict, diplomatic tensions, security concerns, and civil unrest. From the exclusion of a Somali referee to uncertainty surrounding Iranian football staff and supporters, Chadwick suggests that sport and geopolitics have become inseparable. 

FRANCE 24 journalists Taise Parente, Selina Sykes, James Vasina and Kethevane Gorjestani discussed this during a live on everything you need to know about the World Cup before kick-off this Thursday, June 11. Watch for more ▶️

After weeks of US President Donald Trump insisting that a deal with Iran is just around the corner, violence has flared up again. Part of the challenge for Trump is that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu no longer have the same priorities. Washington wants an out from a war that's roiling oil markets and is increasingly unpopular at home. But Netanyahu faces elections by the end of October and has a criminal investigation hanging over him. His political survival is once again at the heart of his geo-strategic calculations. We take a closer look and get expert analysis in this edition.