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2026 World Cup: US refusal of Somali referee sets 'a dangerous precedent' two years before LA Olympics

In an interview with Le Monde, sports historian Patrick Clastres criticizes the lack of response from FIFA and other international bodies, calling it 'a form of subjugation.'

© KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP

Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan officiates during an Africa Cup of Nations match between Algeria and Mauritania in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, on January 23, 2024.
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Trump strikes Iran to maintain credibility

The US military launched a 'proportionate' response Tuesday evening to the attack that brought down an Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Yet the US president, who still hopes to reach an agreement with Tehran, appears determined to avoid further escalation.

© United States Central Command via X

The USS George H. W. Bush during nighttime air operations in the Arabian Sea, in a photo published by US Central Command on June 7, 2026.
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Anti-establishment candidate Graham Platner wins Democratic primary for US Senate in Maine

Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer with a troubled history, has built a following in Maine, where is he seen as a blunt, anti-establishment candidate who can unseat Susan Collins, a five-term Republican senator, in November.

© CJ GUNTHER / AFP

Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner and his wife Amy Gertner wave to supporters as they arrive to Platner's Primary Election event, in Blue Hill, Maine, on June 9, 2026.
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Hezbollah sees war in Lebanon as a chance for political resurgence

Emboldened by renewed support from Iran, the Shiite movement is aiming to influence the conditions under which the crisis is resolved and reclaim its previous central role in Lebanese politics.

© RAFAEL YAGHOBZADEH FOR LE MONDE

Portraits of Shiite political leaders, including former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (killed in 2024), next to a poster paying tribute to a Hezbollah fighter, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, on June 5, 2026.
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Iran, US trade strikes as Middle East peace deal stalls

The US military said late on Tuesday night that it had 'completed' retaliatory strikes against Iran. By early Wednesday morning, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that they had struck a US base in Bahrain.

© Kylie Cooper / REUTERS

US President Donald Trump leaves Marine One to board Air Force One, New Jersey, May 22, 2026.
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Ebola virus: US strategy deemed 'excessive' and 'unethical' by health experts

Travel bans, sending sick Americans to Europe, a quarantine center in Kenya: The drastic measures Washington has implemented to prevent a single Ebola case from entering the US have come under fire from several scientists.

© LUIS TATO/AFP

Protesters chant slogans during a march organized against a quarantine center dedicated to the Ebola virus, built by the US and scheduled to open at the Laikipia Air Base, in Nanyuki, Kenya, on June 9, 2026.
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Ebola outbreak: Anger mounts in Kenya over quarantine center for American patients

About 200 kilometers from the capital, the city of Nanyuki saw a day of protests against a proposed American quarantine center, set to be established on an air base, on Tuesday. Clashes broke out between protestors and law enforcement.

© Andrew Kasuku/AP

During a protest against the US-established Ebola quarantine center project in Nanyuki, Kenya, on June 1, 2026.
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Peru presidential election: Runoff vote count could take 'from two weeks to the end of the month'

As the vote count drags on, the candidates – leftist Roberto Sanchez and conservative Keiko Fujimori – are now separated by a razor-thin margin. It took more than 30 days for the first-round results to be announced.

© Alessandro Cinque / REUTERS

Media outside the headquarters of the Popular Force political party, as vote counting continues in the presidential runoff, in Lima, Peru, June 9, 2026.
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2026 World Cup: The murky ties between FIFA and the US

After the 2022 World Cup was awarded to Qatar, the US launched a legal offensive against several FIFA members before securing the co-hosting of the 2026 tournament. This is the story of the rise of American soft power in global football.

© ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP

FIFA President Gianni Infantino presents the World Cup trophy to US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on August 22, 2025.
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Trump says Iran shot down US military helicopter and vows to retaliate

President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing a US army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday and said the United States must respond to the attack. The crew members were reportedly uninjured.

© SAUL LOEB / AFP

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Air Force One prior to departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York, on June 9, 2026.
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EU orders Meta to open Whatsapp to rival AI chatbots within five days

The European Commission said it has the power to impose a fine of up to 10% of the company's total turnover in the business year preceding the infringement if Meta 'either intentionally or negligently' contravenes the decision on interim measures.

© Virginia Mayo / AP Photo/Virginia Mayo

European Commissioner for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition Teresa Ribera, speaks during a media conference regarding a competition case at EU headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
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Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich banned from entering France

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot banned Smotrich for promoting West Bank annexation and the re-colonization of Gaza. Smotrich is the second Israeli minister barred from France, after Itamar Ben Gvir on May 23.

© Ronen Zvulun / REUTERS

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025.
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Trump's powerlessness in the Iranian trap

The US president's mantra was 'peace through strength.' But strength has proven unable to deliver peace. The resilience he is encountering in Iran offers him nothing but the prospect of an agreement that is the polar opposite of his initial war aims.

© Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

An anti-American billboard depicting Donald Trump gagged by an image of the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, May 17, 2026.
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EU proposes entry ban on Russians who fought in Ukraine

The proposal is part of a new round of sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, which also includes maintaining a price cap on Russian oil and hitting cryptocurrency exchanges used to dodge sanctions.

© NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a press statement on sanctions against Russia at the EU headquarters in Brussels on June 9, 2026.
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