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The GuardianWorld Cup
The Guardian view on selling off the World Cup: a red-card offence by Gianni Infantino | Editorial

The Guardian view on selling off the World Cup: a red-card offence by Gianni Infantino | Editorial

Fifa’s president hopes to sell stakes in the planet’s most watched sporting event. In the wider interests of football, he must be resistedLike a sporting Dr Pangloss, Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, would like to persuade football followers that they are living in the best of all possible worlds. Maddeningly for him, many disagree. On Monday, Mr Infantino a 15-page Instagram rant in which he bemoaned the “hate and false rumours” in circulation during the recent men’s World Cup. White House over a crucial refereeing decision, prohibitive ticket , unnecessary but lucrative ; it was all, as his best friend in politics, Donald Trump, would say, “fake news”.But where the president of world football’s governing body sees haters, others see lovers of the game rightly concerned over where he is taking it. On Tuesday, Fifa that it hopes to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors who may include Joshua Kushner, the brother of Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared. The investors would buy into a new , Fifa Forward Enterprise, which would sell all of Fifa’s commercial rights, including ticketing, and take charge of “operational delivery” of World Cups.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our section, please .

3h ago
The GuardianWorld CupSwitzerland
Infantino’s World Cup plan is part of a desire for expansion that was clear from the start | Paul MacInnes

Infantino’s World Cup plan is part of a desire for expansion that was clear from the start | Paul MacInnes

Fifa’s plans to sell a share of the World Cup’s commercial rights are the latest in a long line of presidential power movesIn hindsight, it was all in the open from the very off. When Gianni Infantino was it was something of a shock victory and prompted hope for progress after the dark days of Sepp Blatter. Infantino had promised to restore “the image of Fifa”, but also anticipated that “everyone in the world will applaud us”. He promised accountability and transparency, but the core message to his electorate was to expect a “very significant increase” in funding. Just as a side note, there were also mutterings about him spending too much time on private jets.Back then, Infantino was described as being a typical Swiss bureaucrat, but no one would make that comparison now. Leaders within football instead prefer comments such as “he thinks he’s running a nation state”. This description feels particularly pertinent in the week Fifa announced without consultation plans to sell a share of the World Cup’s commercial rights to outside investors. But Infantino’s desire to grow both professional football and the revenues it creates has always been central to his pitch. The longer his time as president has gone on, the more wedded to this vision he has been.

3h ago
BBCAIChina
China's new challenge as natural disasters strike - fake AI videos

China's new challenge as natural disasters strike - fake AI videos

As China deals with the fallout of Typhoon Noul that made landfall over the weekend, officials will be painfully aware that they will likely have an additional challenge to deal with: dangerously misleading videos created with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Powerful storms and flooding incidents over the last few months have seen fake videos inundating social media platforms – these include images of dead bodies floating in floodwaters, the false depiction of severe flooding in areas actually not affected and others with blatantly fake details of emergency response efforts.

1d ago
The GuardianWar & ConflictIsrael & Palestine
From 400 hives to 35: the Gaza beekeeper refusing to let war end his life’s work

From 400 hives to 35: the Gaza beekeeper refusing to let war end his life’s work

Ibrahim al-Dabba continues to care for his colonies despite losing his home and most of his hives and equipmentEach morning, Ibrahim Naji al-Dabba climbs to the roof of a damaged residential tower in Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, where rows of beehives sit surrounded by shattered concrete and the scars of war. The rooftop is far from an ideal place for beekeeping, but for the 49-year-old father of seven, it is the only place where he can continue the profession that has sustained his family for decades.Before the war, al-Dabba owned more than 400 beehives spread across eastern Gaza. His apiaries, equipment, storage facilities, and four-wheel-drive vehicle allowed him to manage a thriving beekeeping business that supported his family. Today, almost everything he built over years of work has disappeared.Ibrahim Naji al-Dabba, 49, (in green) working with his sons. He was displaced from the Shuja’iyya area, east of Gaza City to Tel al- to the south

16h ago
NatureHumanityUSA
New-deal mortgage programmes benefited white borrowers disproportionately

New-deal mortgage programmes benefited white borrowers disproportionately

We show that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans’ Administration (VA) mortgage programmes had few Black borrowers and proportionate foreign-born borrowers in their early years. Although scholars have long posited that the beneficiaries of these programmes were disproportionately white, evidence of the identities of these early borrowers was scant and lacking information on their nativity1,2,3.

4h ago
The TelegraphScandalYorkshire & the Humber
How the Fifa president became the most controversial man in football

How the Fifa president became the most controversial man in football

Now it has become clear why Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, sent a messianic 881-word Instagram post on Sunday: It was not a rebuttal, it was a pre-emptive strike. “To those spending their time and energy hating us, please take a moment to reflect, meditate, pray,” he wrote, knowing full well that nobody in the world would be feeling Zen about Fifa over the ensuing 48 hours.

6h ago
The TelegraphScandalWorld
Infantino threatens Fifa nations with 53-day deadline

Infantino threatens Fifa nations with 53-day deadline

Gianni Infantino, the under-pressure Fifa president, has given member nations a 53-day deadline to back his plans to sell stakes in the World Cup or face a 75 per cent reduction in potential funding. In a letter sent to all 211 member associations by the Fifa president, Infantino has promised riches of up to $10bn (£7.5bn) to be made accessible as early as January 1, 2027, and he has also offered access to as much as $40m through his new “Fifa Forward Enterprise” proposal.

8h ago
The GuardianSportsSpain
Real Madrid ready to seal deal for Yan Diomande after PSG pull out of move

Real Madrid ready to seal deal for Yan Diomande after PSG pull out of move

PSG formally withdraw from race to sign wingerTeenager expected to complete Bernabéu switchReal Madrid look to have won the race for RB Leipzig’s coveted winger, Yan Diomande, after Paris Saint-Germain withdrew from the bidding war.The Ivory Coast international has been the subject of an intense transfer saga this summer, following a breakout season in the Bundesliga and an impressive World Cup campaign.

2d ago
NatureScienceWorld
Plasmonic metamaterial time crystal

Plasmonic metamaterial time crystal

Spatial photonic crystals (SPCs) are unique structures for light–matter interactions because they achieve a large and spatially periodic dielectric contrast on wavelength scales1,2,3,4. Their temporal analogues, photonic time crystals (PTCs), promise similar advances by periodically modulating optical properties in time5,6,7,8,9,10,11, but require strong, ultrafast modulation, which is challenging to obtain experimentally5,12,13,14,15.

4h ago
The GuardianScandalIndia
India’s Cockroach movement threatens to restart protests after mass student arrests

India’s Cockroach movement threatens to restart protests after mass student arrests

Cockroach Janta party says government has broken promise, with detentions in Delhi, Assam, West Bengal and BiharIndia’s youth-led “cockroach” movement, whose nationwide protests forced the , has accused the government of backtracking on its promise not to act against student protesters and has threatened to restart demonstrations.The (CJP), which organised mass protests over exam paper leaks and other irregularities, said it had received reports of hundreds of students being detained or “harassed” by police.

1d ago
The GuardianLifeEngland
‘You have to sit quietly until you die’: The families failed by England’s social care system

‘You have to sit quietly until you die’: The families failed by England’s social care system

Carers tell of their struggles to get loved ones the support they need, and the emotional and financial toll caring takes on their own livesAndy Burnham has vowed to fast-track the Casey Commission, an independent review of adult social care in England, with final recommendations expected to be released by summer 2027.“I think social care in England is as unfair as American healthcare,” Burnham said in a speech outlining his pledge for reform on Wednesday. “The vulnerable pay with everything and it can completely leave them with nothing.”

3h ago
The GuardianEconomyUSA
White House teleprompter operator accused over Trump bets no longer in job, official says

White House teleprompter operator accused over Trump bets no longer in job, official says

Official declines to say whether Gabriel Perez, who allegedly bet on prediction market Kalshi, resigned or was fired A White House teleprompter operator who reportedly used inside knowledge to make bets about Donald Trump’s speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi is no longer in his post, according to a White House official.The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the personnel matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday that Gabriel Perez, “no longer works in the federal government”.

21h ago
The GuardianWar & ConflictIslamic World
US joins forces with Saudis to strike Tehran-backed militias in Iraq

US joins forces with Saudis to strike Tehran-backed militias in Iraq

Oil price spikes after flare-up of fighting and claimed Iranian attacks on three tankers in strait of HormuzThe US military said it knocked down an Iranian missile barrage and worked with Saudi Arabia forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days. The strikes on Wednesday killed at least 20 members of a former paramilitary alliance that includes pro-Iran groups.In what Washington cast ⁠as “an attempted surprise ⁠attack” by Tehran, Iran had launched multiple ballistic missiles at US forces in the Middle East, shattering a brief pause in fighting. Iran’s target was a US base in Jordan, Axios cited a US official as saying.

10h ago