TOP NEWS

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Authorities in Colorado on Monday announced the arrest of Tyler Boebert, the 21-year-old son of Rep. Lauren Boebert, on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and other offenses.

The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office announced Tyler Boebert’s arrest in a statement, saying he was taken into police custody Sunday following an investigation and a felony review process by the 9th Judicial Distric Attorney’s Office.

Tyler Boebert faces three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, The Denver Gazette reported.

Bond was set at $10,000. Tyler Boebert was bonded out of the Garfield County Jail the day of his arrest, authorities said.

According to the affidavit, the charges stem from a sexually explicit video made in early 2024 allegedly of Tyler Boebert, then 18, and a a 17-year-old girl, The Gazette reported.

He is accused of producing, possessing and distributing sexually exploitative material, Colorado Public Radio reported.

The document states the investigation began following a report about an Instagram account that posted videos of teens ranging from 14 to 18 engaging in sexual activity, CPR reported, adding that one of the videos was allegedly of Tyler and the 17-year-old girl.

“I love my son,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said in a statement to media on Monday.

“We take allegations very seriously and pray for everyone affected during this challenging time.”

This is at least the third time Tyler Boebert has been arrested.

In July 2025, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor child abuse in connection with an incident involving his son. He entered a guilty plea and is scheduled to be sentenced next month, CPR reported.

In February 2024, he was arrested on multiple felony charges on accusations of stealing money with the use of credit and bank cards stolen from vehicles in Colorado. He pleaded guilty and received a deferred sentence plus community service and probation. CPR reported that a complaint for revocation of probation was filed in the case last year, and a sentencing hearing was also scheduled for September.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., released a new cybersecurity bill, the Water Cyber Shield Act, on Monday in an effort to meet increased cybersecurity needs for U.S. water infrastructure.

This follows recent cyberattacks on more than 30 municipal water systems throughout Minnesota and other states last month. Officials suspect that they may originate from Iran-based hackers.

While utilities regained control over their systems and water supplies were not affected, CBS News reported, cybersecurity experts saidthe attacks exposed longstanding weaknesses.

A press release from Schiff, the top Democrat on the Fisheries,Water and Wildlife subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the act would strengthen federal oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency, provide important funding for local utilities and protect drinking water and wastewater systems from cyberattacks.

“Every American depends on safe, reliable drinking water, yet recent events have exposed just how vulnerable our water systems remain toc yberattacks by foreign adversaries and criminal entities,” Schiff said in a statement. “These threats are not hypothetical — they are happening right now.This legislation gives EPA the tools the tools it needs to protect thiscritical infrastructure while providing the resources that local water and wastewater systems need to strengthen their cybersecurity without passing the cost on to ratepayers.”

The bill would increase drinking water and clean water state revolving funds by $300 million annually, The Hill reported. It would requirethe EPA to work with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish basic cybersecurity standards for drinking water systems.

“The recent cybersecurity attacks on Minnesota have highlighted the urgent need to improve the security of our water systems and critical infrastructure,” Klobuchar said. “Our legislation will direct the EPA to assess water infrastructure cybersecurity and identify vulnerabilities, and help municipal water systems defend against cyber threats.”

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump‘s former personal attorney, was sworn in as U.S. attorney general on Monday, making the role he’s held for several months official.

Blanche succeeds Pam Bondi, who was fired by Trump in April. He took over as acting attorney general and was officially confirmed in the role by the U.S. Senate, which voted 50-49 to confirm him early Saturday.

“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th attorney general,” Blanche wrote on social media Saturday after the vote. “I am grateful to the Senate for staying late to finish the process.”

The vote was largely along party lines, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voting with every Democrat against Blanche. While other Republicans, including Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Bill Cassidy, R-La., had expressed concerns about Blanche’s independence and earlier actions, they voted for him anyway.

Blanche was Trump’s personal defense lawyer and represented him in a New York hush-money case and other criminal matters, The Guardian reported. He became a deputy attorney general in early 2025.

As acting attorney general, Blanche approved Trump’s $1,776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and a deal that promises the Internal Revenue Service will not investigate Trump’s tax returns or those of his family members. Blanche rescinded the order establishing the fund last week.

As acting attorney general, he has overseen the departure of more than 200 prosecutors and agents who worked on Trump-related investigations and dealt with controversy from the handling of the Epstein files, The Guardian reported. Lawmakers continue to seek the full release of the records.

Epstein survivors and family members had called on the Senate to block Blanche’s nomination, as had more than 1,200 former Justice Department employees.

Aug. 10 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s main opposition People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok sharply criticized President Lee Jae Myung’s government Monday, accusing it of pursuing policies opposed by the public.

Jang called the administration a “government that has given up on the people” as he attacked policies ranging from housing and the stock market to proposals addressing housing for young adults.

“The president said that policies that harm people’s lives are worse than doing nothing, yet he continues rolling out policies that people oppose, that only hurt them and that would be better left undone,” Jang said at a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council at the National Assembly in Seoul.

Jang called for the dismissal of presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom and demanded a parliamentary investigation and special counsel investigation into single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds.

He also criticized a recent proposal by Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Hee to convert decommissioned buses into temporary housing for young adults.

“They say we should regard the proposal to create youth housing from discarded buses as an episode, but is that something to casually say to young people who feel they have to give up on their future?” Jang said.

Rather than telling young people to live in discarded buses, Jang said, “I hope they move the Democratic Party headquarters and Democratic lawmakers’ offices into discarded buses first.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260810010003058

Aug. 10 (UPI) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children.

At the signing of the executive order, Trump shared claims that childhood vaccines are linked to an increase in autism diagnoses without evidence. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was present for the signing, has maintained this stance as well.

Scientific research into potential links between vaccines and autism have consistently found no connection.

Trump’s executive order also advises breaking up MMR vaccines for the mumps, measles and rubella, a vaccine Trump called “quite lethal,” into three separate vaccines. In the more than 50 years since the MMR vaccine was developed there has been no evidence that it is deadly.

“Nothing bad can happen from what we’re doing,” Trump said.

Vaccine advocates and researchers have warned that reducing the distribution of childhood vaccines will make children more vulnerable to disease. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who is a medical doctor, posted on social media that the executive order “is wrong.”

“The President does not have the expertise to make these changes,” Cassidy wrote. “Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism. Breaking up vaccines will mean children have to get more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots. It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe.”

Trump acknowledged the increased burden of breaking up vaccines when addressing reporters after the signing.

“It’s inconvenient. It’s five stops but it’s something that I think will have a huge impact on autism,” Trump said.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Police in Jharkhand, India used tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators who were demanding investigations into recruitment for government jobs on Monday.

Thousands of protesters were met with police wielding batons as they marched to the state legislature building. Protesters pushed past some police barricades and there were injuries on both sides.

The protest was sparked by allegations of irregularities in recruitment drives for government jobs. Protesters called for India’s Central Bureau of Investigations to probe the allegations.

Young adults in Jharkhand, the poorest state in India, have taken to the streets in an outcry over allegations that they are not being given a fair chance to compete for highly coveted government roles.

Demonstrators say there have been grading errors and financial irregularities in recruitment exams. They have also called for the cancellation of three recruitment exams, which the Jharkhand government agreed to on Sunday.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a political party in the state, also agreed to speed up the investigations that demonstrators asked for.

Government jobs are highly sought after in India. Recruitment for job listings can result in hundreds of thousands of applications for 500 to around 2,000 openings.

One recruitment push for 2,025 jobs received about 640,000 applications. Another drive for 510 jobs received 322,000 applications.

In May, India scrapped the results of its medical college-entrance exam, a test that requires students to spend years studying. The exam was scrapped after its question papers were leaked, which has happened multiple times throughout the country.

In July, protests erupted in the capital city New Delhi with demonstrators marching on Parliament and calling for the resignation of India’s top education chief. Law enforcement activity heightened as a result, leading to allegations of police brutality.

Reports citing judicial sources say former commercial banker also indicted over alleged financial crimes.

Lebanon has indicted ⁠former central bank Governor Riad Salameh and a former commercial banker over accusations of financial crimes, including embezzlement and illicit enrichment.

A judge accused Salameh and Samir Hanna, the former head of Lebanon’s Bank Audi, of embezzling tens of millions in funds ‌from the Banque du Liban or Lebanese central bank, the Reuters and AFP news agencies reported on Monday, citing judicial sources.

Salameh, who headed the central bank for three decades, has already been indicted and arrested in Lebanon over other alleged financial crimes committed during his tenure. He has denied any wrongdoing, insisting he is being made a “scapegoat” for the country’s economic crisis.

This is the first time a commercial banker has been indicted in a financial crimes case related to Salameh, showing that Lebanese investigations into the former governor are expanding to the private sector, the source told Reuters.

The source added that the file includes accusations that Hanna bribed Salameh while he was central bank governor.

Salameh, 76, headed the central bank from 1993 to July 2023. He was placed in custody last month after missing a hearing over the case, ⁠but is currently under medical supervision at a government hospital outside Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.

Hanna, 88, paid a $1m bail and is not in custody as financial investigations continue, according to the reports.

In January, Lebanon’s current central ⁠bank governor Karim Souaid told reporters that the central bank had filed a criminal complaint against an unnamed former official of the central bank, ⁠a former banker and a lawyer over alleged illicit enrichment ⁠through misuse of public funds. He said the operations were carried out through four offshore shell companies in the Cayman Islands that he did not name.

Salameh was detained for about 13 months over alleged ‌financial crimes ‌committed during his tenure, but was released in September after paying a record bail of more than $14m.

He also faces investigations abroad, including in France, Switzerland and Germany.

SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 10 (UPI) — Chilean President José Antonio Kast signed a constitutional reform bill Monday that lays the groundwork for his government’s new agenda to combat organized crime.

The initiative seeks to give the state stronger and more explicit tools to confront sophisticated criminal activity. Kast urged Congress to move quickly and approach the legislation with a willingness to reach agreements, with the goal of enacting the measures before the end of the year.

The government’s agenda includes more than 30 bills aimed at strengthening efforts to combat criminal organizations.

Key measures include creating a new state of emergency provision that would allow the deployment of the armed forces, establishing a registry of criminal organizations and creating separate high-security prisons for criminal leaders.

The measures would also streamline the seizure of illicit assets, extend the period in which authorities can make arrests in cases of flagrante delicto — caught in the act — to 24 hours and increase penalties for serious crimes.

Luis Toledo, a former prosecutor and director of the Center for Studies on Security and Organized Crime at San Sebastián University, said expectations about what the agenda can accomplish should be conservative.

“In the short and medium term, it is entirely possible to reduce homicides, regain control of certain territories, improve prison control and dismantle specific organizations, but structurally reversing the penetration of organized crime is another matter,” Toledo told UPI.

He said Chile is confronting not only criminal gangs, but also illicit markets with demand, sources of financing, money laundering mechanisms, recruitment capabilities and international connections.

“And those markets have an extraordinary capacity to adapt: When one structure is dismantled, smaller cells emerge, changing their leadership, communications, routes or financial mechanisms,” he said.

Toledo said Kast’s agenda contains significant proposals, but also has shortcomings, including combining measures targeting organized crime with broader public security and immigration enforcement policies.

“That distinction is important because not everything that increases the state’s coercive capacity necessarily dismantles a criminal organization,” he said.

He said the initiatives with the greatest potential are those aimed at targeting the assets of criminal organizations, seizing their property and preventing them from reinvesting illicit profits.

With organized crime expanding across Latin America, Toledo said tighter controls on illegal entry into the country and other measures proposed by Kast are necessary, but insufficient to address the problem on the scale required.

A transnational criminal organization cannot be fought exclusively through a national response, he said, adding that “international cooperation is one of the essential operational capabilities of a policy against organized crime.”

“We have to see whether Chile will be able to build a state policy that, on a sustained basis, creates a coordinated public security system capable of stripping organized crime of its money, command capabilities, territory, impunity and ability to recruit,” Toledo said. “That is where the possibility of truly reversing the phenomenon lies.”

Alfonso Kaiser, a risk management expert and professor in the Master of Engineering Management program at the University of the Andes, questioned the agenda’s lack of concrete objectives for measuring its results.

“A plan is being presented that does not have clear objectives. We don’t know how we are going to measure them or how much we want to achieve,” Kaiser told UPI.

“We need to take a more measured approach and conduct a somewhat more technical analysis of what goals we want to achieve and when we expect to achieve them.”

Kaiser agreed that border control should be a priority and said the government should strengthen the authority of Carabineros, Chile’s national uniformed police force, and the Maritime Police to deter illegal entry into the country. However, he said the main challenge lies within Chile itself.

“The main failure is internal. It is not that we are facing an extraordinarily intelligent enemy,” Kaiser said. “Our own mistakes are what have led to this situation.”

Gaza City, the Gaza Strip – Palestinians in Gaza have reacted with a mix of scepticism and frustration to Israel’s rejection of a proposed 15-point plan aimed at ending the war and setting out a framework for the future.

The United States-backed initiative includes provisions for a phased Israeli withdrawal, the gradual disarmament of Hamas, a Palestinian-led civilian administration and steps towards humanitarian aid and reconstruction.

But on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “rejected” the plan, saying its forces will not withdraw until Hamas is “genuinely disarmed”.

For Nesma Harazin, a displaced writer from Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, Netanyahu’s statement came as little surprise, as Israel continued ⁠⁠to carry out near-daily attacks regardless of a so-called “ceasefire” agreed with Hamas last ⁠⁠October.

“We are dealing with an Israeli occupation army that is capable of stopping these operations, but does not accept stopping them and continues to kill the Palestinian people,” said the 27-year-old.

Rather than a “real opportunity” to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians, Harazin said the proposal has been US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu’s plan “from a long time ago”.

Harazin’s scepticism was shared by Mehdi Ahmed, a Gaza City resident whose family home was among the few in his area to remain standing.

“We are under occupation,” said the 53-year-old. “As far as we are concerned, any ceasefire is temporary.”

Since the October “ceasefire”, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,258 people, bringing the overall number since the start of Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023 to at least 73,386.

Ahmed warned that even if an agreement produced a period of calm, it might not last.

“Maybe we could sit here for a year without war, but I don’t think it will continue like that,” he said, arguing that the killings and the destruction in Gaza would shape future generations.

“The generations that are coming will not accept these kinds of solutions,” he said. “People who have lost their children, their parents and their families … you cannot expect them to simply forget.”

In a statement late on Sunday, Hamas said it remained committed to fully implementing the plan. It also urged mediating and guarantor countries to “assume their responsibilities” and prevent any “violations or breaches” that could obstruct the process.

The Gaza Government Media Office also blamed Netanyahu for what it described as a reversal of the negotiations and called for international pressure to prevent further escalation.

In a statement issued on Monday, the office said Netanyahu’s rejection of the 15-point document, along with demands including opposition to an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, represented “a clear and unequivocal reversal of the negotiation track”.

‘We have no one’

But Ahmed said his experience of living his “whole life under occupation” and “in hardship” had left him unconvinced that years of negotiations could produce a lasting solution.

“They have been talking about these points for three years … are we going to spend another seven years talking about the points?” he asked, saying that Palestinians had been left without sufficient regional and international support.

“We have no one standing behind us to protect us. Why?”

For Harazin, a meaningful ceasefire would have to include the withdrawal of the Israeli army and an end to attacks, as well as a clear path towards reconstruction and the return of displaced Palestinians.

But following Netanyahu’s declaration, she said she feared further displacement and greater Israeli control over Gaza.

“If the ceasefire plan is rejected, the Israeli occupation army will carry out harsher operations than what we have heard about before in Gaza,” she said.

“Perhaps they will ask us to displace again to the southern areas. There are no buildings left standing in Gaza City.”

For Ahmed, the possibility of lasting peace is closely tied to the balance of power.

“When you are weak, there are no opportunities, and there is no hope,” he said. “Hope comes when you are strong.”

‘Hope in God’

Unlike Harazin and Ahmed, Ramez Haniyeh sees the proposed plan as a genuine missed opportunity to “end the war and the genocide”.

Haniyeh, who was displaced to Nuseirat in central Gaza after his home was destroyed, said he believed the proposal could have helped end the fighting and “stop the suffering” of Palestinians in the territory.

For Haniyeh, that would mean more than simply an end to Israeli attacks.

“Withdrawal, then reconstruction, and living with dignity,” he said when asked what he expected from a ceasefire.

But he fears the rejection could instead bring another escalation.

“I expect them to create a new target bank, so that things will escalate and there will be more bloodshed in the coming period,” he said.

Haniyeh described the humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza as deteriorating, with widespread unemployment and many people unable to afford basic necessities.

“The situation is very bad, and it is getting worse every day,” he said. “There are some food and drink items available now, but there is no one who can afford to buy them.”

Despite his pessimism, Haniyeh said his hope rests on faith.

“I have hope in God, but there is no hope that this war will end,” he said. “It will continue until God relieves us.”

Despite her doubts about the proposal, Harazin said she also had “hope in God”.

“As long as we are Muslims, World War I ended and World War II ended too, so we have hope that the war in Gaza will end.”

Indian police have used batons, tear gas and water cannons against protesters in Jharkhand. They were marching to the state assembly to demand an overhaul of ‌the state’s examination system after alleged irregularities in government recruitment tests.

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (UPI) — The United States and South Korea will kick off a major joint military exercise next week, both countries announced Monday, as they prepare for evolving North Korean threats and the transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise will take place Aug. 17-27 and will incorporate “realistic threats, including lessons learned from recent conflicts … to further strengthen the Alliance’s readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations,” the militaries said in a joint statement.

“The exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for a conditions-based wartime operational control transition, consistent with alliance agreement,” the statement added.

South Korea is looking to complete the handover of wartime command from the United States before President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term ends in 2030. Last week, Seoul’s Defense Ministry presented its plan at a presidential briefing and reaffirmed a push to verify the combined forces’ “full operational capability,” or FOC, ahead of a meeting of the allies’ defense chiefs this fall.

FOC certification is the second phase of a three-stage operational control, or OPCON, transition plan.

“If the agreed-upon criteria are met, we anticipate being able to recommend the timing for the Future Combined Forces Command’s FOC certification and the transition at this year’s Security Consultative Meeting,” South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Capt. Jang Do-young said in a press briefing. “We are concentrating all our efforts toward this goal.”

U.S. Forces Korea spokesman Col. Ryan Donald stressed that OPCON discussions are managed through established bilateral channels and stopped short of endorsing that timeframe.

“I will not get ahead of those formal bilateral assessments or speculate on timelines,” he said.

Some 18,000 South Korean troops will take part in this year’s UFS, Jang said. U.S. Forces Korea did not disclose the number of participating troops.

The exercise will include live field maneuvers, computer simulation-based command post exercises and related civil defense drills. It will also draw on the changing nature of warfare seen in recent conflicts, including threats from drones, GPS jamming and cyberattacks, officials said.

Donald added that North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia, including its deployment of troops to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine, will be factored into the exercise.

“DPRK soldiers have deployed and fought in Ukraine and they’ve taken those lessons they learned there and brought them back to North Korea,” Donald said, using the official acronym for North Korea. “That changes the DPRK capability and our training accounts for that threat.”

The allies did not disclose the number of field training exercises that will be held this year. Local media reports have said that 14 such drills at the battalion level or higher are planned, down from 39 held during last year’s exercise.

Jang said combined field training would be conducted throughout the year in a “balanced” manner, rather than concentrated during UFS.

President Lee, who took office in June of last year, has sought to improve frayed relations with Pyongyang, and the shift in field training has been seen as an effort to lower tensions.

North Korea routinely denounces the allies’ joint exercises as rehearsals for an invasion and frequently responds with weapons tests. On Thursday, Pyongyang launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea, Seoul’s military said.

The allies stressed Monday that the exercise is defensive in nature.

“We’re up here today announcing Ulchi Freedom Shield to the entire world before it even starts,” Donald said. “UFS is not a pretext, it’s not a provocation. It’s a transparent, longstanding defensive training event.”

In addition to U.S. and South Korean forces, personnel from 11 other member states of the United Nations Command will join the exercise, Donald said, while the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will observe to monitor compliance with the Armistice Agreement.

The U.S.-led UNC plays a key role in maintaining and enforcing the armistice agreement that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, with duties that include controlling DMZ access and communicating with the North Korean military.

The government plans to enact a special law this year to designate special zones for investment projects related to artificial intelligence (AI), the presidential chief of staff said Monday, as Seoul seeks to accelerate their implementation.

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik unveiled the plan at a press briefing following a meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung to assess progress on the projects.

The Lee administration announced the “three megaprojects” in late June that outlined plans for large-scale investments in a semiconductor production cluster, physical AI and AI data centers in regional areas.

Under the chip cluster project alone, the two leading chipmakers — Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. — have pledged to invest a combined 800 trillion won (US$564.9 billion), marking the single-largest investment plan to date in the southwestern city of Gwangju and the surrounding Honam area. The initiative also includes large-scale investments in Chungcheong Province and the southeastern Yeongnam region.

Through the envisioned special law on megaproject zones, the government will help streamline licensing and approval procedures, as well as environmental impact assessments, the chief of staff said.

The special law will also allow the government to swiftly establish infrastructure for electricity and water supplies, as well as living conditions for workers, including transportation, housing and education, Kang said.

At the start of the meeting, Lee urged the government to make every effort, including through deregulation, to implement the investment initiative as soon as possible.

Lee said all necessary administrative steps should be pursued simultaneously to shorten the time needed to implement the initiative while stressing that regulations should also be improved to ensure the implementation can be carried out as quickly as possible.

“We are in a situation where we must go beyond being speedy and move with the speed of lightning,” the president said.

He also instructed officials to transfer the functions of a military airport in Gwangju to other temporary facilities by 2028 to facilitate the speedy transformation of the regional airport into a semiconductor production hub.

The government earlier designated the military airport as the site for the envisioned chip cluster.

The ultimate goal of the investment initiative should be to distribute the pillars of growth across the country and make regional areas new centers of future industries, the president insisted.

“I hope that benefits from achievements garnered through the capabilities of the entire community will not be limited to certain companies or regions,” Lee said.

He said the following year should be a “golden time” that will open up a totally new world for South Korea depending on “how we prepare,” urging officials to make every effort.

Kang said that the government plans to complete the transfer of the Gwangju military airport’s functions to temporary facilities by 2028.

The government will also kick off the implementation of the investment projects in the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions this year, worth 246 trillion won and 107 trillion won, respectively, he said.

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EXPLAINER

As the winners of the Champions League and Europa League face off, here is everything to know on the venue, history, quotes from the coaches and more.

The UEFA Super Cup is the annual game between the winners of European football’s top two competitions – the Champions League and the Europa League – and is seen as a curtain-raiser to the new season in Europe.

This year the French champions and Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will take on English Premier League side Aston Villa, who are Europa League champions.

Here’s everything you need to know about the game.

When is the game being held?

The match kicks off at 19:00 GMT on Wednesday, August 12.

Where is the UEFA Super Cup being played?

Salzburg’s Red Bull Arena in Austria will host the final.

The 30,000-capacity stadium, which is referred to as Stadion Salzburg during UEFA matches, is usually home to Austrian Bundesliga team RB Salzburg.

How did PSG reach the UEFA Super Cup?

Paris Saint-Germain held their nerve in a cagey Champions League ⁠final in May to retain the title by beating ⁠Arsenal 4-3 on penalties as a tense showdown ended 1-1 after extra time, cementing the French side’s status among Europe’s modern greats.

Arsenal defender Gabriel blasted his spot kick over the bar at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, his miss confirming PSG as the first club to retain the trophy since Real Madrid completed their ⁠three-year reign from 2016 to 2018.

How did Aston Villa reach the UEFA Super Cup?

Aston Villa ended their 30-year trophy drought in style as spectacular goals from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia inspired a 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul in May.

Unai Emery’s side took the lead late in the first half through Tielemans’ thunderous volley, before Buendia increased Villa’s advantage with a sublime curler seconds from the half-time whistle.

Morgan Rogers’ second-half goal finished off the outclassed Germans, sealing Villa’s first silverware since the 1996 League Cup and their first major European prize for 44 years.

Who is predicted to win the match?

According to Polymarket, PSG are the clear favourites with a 55-percent chance of winning in regulation time, with the likelihood of a draw at full time estimated at 25 percent and an Aston Villa win at 22 percent.

What is the history of the UEFA Super Cup?

It was officially introduced in 1973, with the European Cup/Champions League winners playing the Cup Winners Cup champions.

After the Cup Winners Cup was abolished in 1999, the winners of the UEFA Cup (subsequently rebranded as the Europa League) played the Champions League winners.

Who are the previous winners of the UEFA Super Cup?

Real Madrid are the most successful side in the fixture, having won six Super Cups. Barcelona and AC Milan have won five, while Liverpool have won four.

PSG are the reigning Super Cup holders after they beat Tottenham 4-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in last season’s tie.

Last 10 winners:

• 2025 – Paris St-Germain
• 2024 – Real Madrid
• 2023 – Manchester City
• 2022 – Real Madrid
• 2021 – Chelsea
• 2020 – Bayern Munich
• 2019 – Liverpool
• 2018 – Atletico Madrid
• 2017 – Real Madrid
• 2016 – Real Madrid

How to watch the UEFA Super Cup?

In the United Kingdom, the game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports.

In the United States, the game will be shown on CBC Sports.

The full list of global broadcasters can be found here.

What happens if the game ends in a draw?

If the scores are level after regulation time, the match will go straight to a penalty shootout with no extra time to be played.

Who is the referee?

Somali referee Omar Artan, who was controversially denied entry to the US for the FIFA World Cup, will officiate the Super Cup.

PSG vs Aston Villa: Head-to-head

The two clubs have met twice in recent years, both in the 2024-25 Champions League quarterfinals.

PSG won the first leg 3-1 at Parc des Princes on April 9, 2025, while Aston Villa won the second leg 3-2 at home a week later – with PSG progressing 5-4 on aggregate.

What have the coaches said about the Super Cup?

PSG coach Luis Enrique:

“There are no doubts in my mind that it’s [the Super Cup] a really important trophy and Villa will be really competitive. If we look at the Premier League, there are five or maybe six Spanish coaches at the best teams.

“I think that Spanish football is at the top of world football in every regard, be it players, coaches or directors. Our game stands for a fun way of playing football, in that we seek out the ball, having it is our priority, and we adapt through possession to being solid defensively. I think it’s a great moment for Spanish football in a worldwide context and we should be proud of that.”

Aston Villa coach Unai Emery:

“We’re trying to be successful through, firstly, [building] a winning team, and then aiming for the positive consequences after it: winning trophies.

“To play the UEFA Super Cup is another opportunity to be there, the opportunity to win a trophy, to play against Paris Saint-Germain – the [best] team in the world now and another team we can compare [ourselves] with.”

Three confederations release letter criticising FIFA’s president over his proposal to sell off stakes in the World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has come under renewed fire as a joint letter from three confederations – UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC – declared that football “belongs to no individual”.

Infantino has received scathing criticism ever since launching, and then withdrawing within days, a plan to bring in private investment into FIFA competitions, including the World Cup.

FIFA had hit back on Saturday, claiming “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” football’s governing body and Infantino.

However, Monday’s letter from the governing bodies of European football (UEFA), North and Central America (CONCACAF) and Asia (AFC), showed his critics were unbowed.

“Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding – or demanding – power to be held,” they wrote.

“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” the confederations added.

The three confederations called for a fully ⁠independent review into the stake sale proposal.

“Football’s strength has ⁠always been its unity,” the statement concluded. “We call for that unity to ‌be honoured now, for leadership that serves football, not ‌seeks ‌to command it.”

They also criticised a FIFA emergency meeting in Morocco last week, saying there was only one elected official present, while also calling for an independent review which FIFA would have ⁠no role in, to determine what led to this “profound failure of judgement”.

On Friday, Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) President ⁠Lise Klaveness, seen by some as a potential candidate to replace Infantino, called on the 56-year-old to step down from the presidency immediately. Klaveness has long been an outspoken critic of Infantino.

After quelling in-house dissent at the emergency meeting on Wednesday, FIFA apologised to the 211 federations and Infantino rallied his support among the six confederations that ⁠make up the world governing body.

Africa’s confederation CAF released a statement on behalf of its 54 members backing Infantino on Thursday, with CONCACAF member Mexico following suit along with South American countries Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia.

On Friday, as Infantino attended the inauguration of Colombia’s new President Abelardo De La Espriella ⁠in Cali, FIFA released a blistering attack on the president’s critics, saying attempts to challenge his leadership must follow the governing body’s statutes and democratic procedures.

FIFA also echoed the statements of several of the bodies that supported Infantino, as well as one from South American confederation CONMEBOL.

FIFA’s ‌statement came after reports by The Daily Telegraph about payments made by UEFA to a former employee during Infantino’s time as the European governing body’s general secretary, allegations he has denied and that FIFA has rejected as unfounded.

Almost 70 of FIFA’s 211-member associations have said publicly they will ‌vote ‌for Infantino, with about a dozen either withdrawing previously promised support or saying they will not vote for him.

UEFA apart, the confederations that say they have lost confidence in Infantino are not completely united, with several Asian nations backing him as well as Mexico from CONCACAF.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — A former lawmaker from Nonthaburi province, which is still reeling from last week’s school shooting, was arrested Monday after allegedly storming a local government office and shooting a local administrator dead, according to local reports.

The alleged gunman has been identified by police as former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Riewraeng and the victim as Pol. Col. Thongchai Yenprasert, president of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organization, the Bangkok Post reported.

The shooting reportedly occurred at about 11 a.m. local time at Yenprasert’s office in Mueang, the provincial capital district just north of Bangkok, The Nation reported.

Officers arrived at the scene to find Yenprasert and his driver suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were transported to Pranangklao Hospital where Yenprasert later died.

Police said Riewraeng called a TV anchor mid-broadcast and admitted to firing five shots at Yenprasert, the Bangkok Post reported.

The shooting comes days after a 14-year-old student allegedly killed eight people and wounded more than 30 others at Debsirin Secondary School, just outside downtown Bangkok in Nonthaburi, before turning the weapon on himself.

This is a developing story.

Typhoon Dolphin struck eastern China, including Shanghai, with winds up to 150 km/h, prompting more than one million people to evacuate their homes. The storm disrupted flights and transport while bringing heavy rain, flooding and the risk of landslides across the region.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — The U.S. military said it blocked an additional 20 ships from reaching or leaving Iran’s ports, as prospects for a resumption of negotiations on ending the war look bleak.

U.S. Central Command announced in a statement Sunday that its blockade has redirected 55 commercial vessels, up from 35 on Aug. 2. It has also disabled two vessels and boarded two others.

The U.S. military resumed its blockade of Iran’s ports on July 14 amid a resumption in fighting between Washington and Tehran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States is seeking to regain freedom of navigation of the vital energy trade route that Iran has claimed control of since the war between the two erupted in late February.

The Trump administration has said a restoration in a freedom of navigation is necessary for negotiations on ending the war to enter the next phase focused on Iran’s nuclear program. However, Iran is fighting to maintain control of the strait that it seized.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi told reporters Sunday that while intermediaries were in contact concerning negotiations, no talks would be resumed until the United States ended what he called violations of a June memorandum, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

The June memorandum of understanding sought to lay the foundation toward end-of-war talks but differences over control of the Strait of Hormuz opened a new chapter in the war. The United States has been enforcing its blockade of Iran’s ports to coerce it to open the strait.

Aragchi said that while Iran was not in negotiations with the United States, talks were underway with Oman on establishing new maritime routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The foreign minister’s remarks came as U.S. President Donald Trump told Axios that the United States was willing to allow the economic pressure of its blockade to further weigh on Iran’s economy rather than ordering new attacks.

“We are low-keying it,” he said, while stating, “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the they fact that have no money.”

Footage shows Brazilian player Jacy Maranhão falling into the players’ tunnel after jumping over advertising boards while celebrating a goal in a Brazilian league match. To make matters worse the goal was ruled offside.

The former Trump lawyer, who worked on the presidential immunity case and oversaw approval of the president’s disputed White House ballroom project, will replace David Warrington on September 1.

United States President Donald Trump has named White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf as his next White House counsel, elevating a longtime legal ally to one of the administration’s most important legal positions months before November’s midterm elections.

The former Trump lawyer, who worked on the presidential immunity case and later oversaw approval of the president’s disputed White House ballroom project, will replace David Warrington on September 1, with Warrington leaving the administration for the private sector. Scharf will also hold the title of assistant to the president, moving from a role overseeing the administrative work of the Oval Office to serving as the White House’s top lawyer.

Trump praised Scharf on Truth Social as “Tough, Strong, and Smart” and pointed to his background as a federal prosecutor and his work representing Trump in several legal cases.

From Trump’s legal team to the White House

Scharf joined Trump’s legal team in 2023 and worked on the federal election interference case brought by former Special Counsel Jack Smith. He was part of the team when the case reached the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in 2024 that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.

Scharf’s ties to Trump stretch further back. During the president’s first term, Scharf worked on the confirmation of federal judges, including Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, according to The Associated Press news agency.

After Trump returned to office in January 2025, Scharf became White House staff secretary, managing documents reaching the president and regularly appearing alongside him during executive-order signings. The role has placed Scharf close to the process through which many of Trump’s major policy decisions have been implemented.

Scharf’s role in the ballroom controversy

Scharf has also been closely involved in one of the Trump administration’s most controversial projects.

Trump appointed Scharf chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission in July 2025. The commission later approved Trump’s $400m White House ballroom, planned on the site of the demolished East Wing.

The project has become part of a wider legal argument over the limits of presidential authority. The AFP news agency reported on Saturday that a federal appeals court upheld an order stopping aboveground construction, ruling that such a major alteration to the White House requires explicit congressional approval. Trump said he would take the case to the Supreme Court.

Scharf had previously maintained that the planning commission had authority over construction but not the demolition that preceded it.

A sensitive moment for the White House

The White House counsel advises the presidency on legal and constitutional issues, reviews legislation and executive actions, and helps coordinate the administration’s response to lawsuits and congressional investigations.

Scharf takes over at a particularly sensitive time. Democrats have pledged to investigate Trump and his administration if they gain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, according to AP.

His appointment also continues a pattern of Trump elevating lawyers who previously represented him. Todd Blanche, who defended Trump in his criminal cases, was confirmed as attorney general on Saturday. D John Sauer, who argued Trump’s presidential immunity case before the Supreme Court, was appointed solicitor general, while former Trump lawyer Emil Bove was initially given a senior Justice Department post before being confirmed to a federal appeals court.