Typhoon Bavi brought heavy rain and powerful winds to Japan’s southern islands while skirting Taiwan, where rough seas, fallen trees and localized damage were reported.
Despite the storm, residents in Keelung ventured out to markets as Bavi weakened while tracking toward China’s east coast, where landfall is expected on Sunday.
Published On 11 Jul 202611 Jul 2026
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About 130,000 people have been evacuated from the Guangxi region while thousands of rescuers have been deployed.
By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and AP
Published On 9 Jul 20269 Jul 2026
Flooding from Tropical Storm Maysak has killed 39 people in southern China, most of them after a dam breach inundated the city of Nanning.
Ding Wei, the city’s vice mayor, announced the toll at a news briefing on Thursday, up sharply from a previous count of six, after record rainfall breached reservoirs and sent torrents of water through towns and cities in the Guangxi region.
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The dam breach in Nanning killed 26 people, Ding said.
About 130,000 people have been evacuated from the region, and drones and thousands of boats have been used in a huge relief and rescue operation to reach people trapped by the waters.
Heavy rain battered southern Guangxi for days, with cumulative rainfall of 10-40cm (4-16in) in some areas and more than 90cm (35in) in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological centre said.
More than 8,000 people and about 5,700 boats have been deployed in the rescue operation, with rescuers battling strong currents and debris to reach victims.
Ding said the floodwaters are receding, but more rain is expected in certain areas in the next two days.
Crews have been deployed to clear mud and debris and disinfect several towns in hard-hit Hengzhou city, which is east of Nanning and under its jurisdiction.
Road repairs are ongoing, and electricity has been restored to more than 60,000 homes, Ding said.
At least 100 animals, including alpacas, miniature pigs and zebras, escaped Guangxi province’s Guigang Zoo after the flooding damaged their enclosures.
The zoo appealed to the public Wednesday for help in finding its escaped animals.
The missing creatures include “two North American raccoons, four porcupines and thirty peacocks”, according to a statement posted by a local district’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.
The zoo said some of the escapees “may be frightened and potentially aggressive”.
“If you spot any of the animals, please keep a safe distance,” the statement said.
“Do not attempt to catch, approach or tease them, as this could be dangerous,” the zoo warned.
Fifty years ago, in 1976, the median age of the global population was just under 21 years. That means of the 4.1 billion people on Earth at the time, about half were younger than 21 and half were older. Today the median age is 31, and by 2050 the United Nations projects it will reach 36. The typical human being is steadily getting older.
The engine of that change is fertility. Demographers measure it using the total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime at current birth rates. The figure that matters most is the replacement rate, generally put at about 2.1 births per woman. That is the level at which a generation exactly replaces itself, keeping the population stable over the long run without immigration. The slight margin above two accounts for children who do not survive to adulthood.
The global fertility rate today is about 2.2, barely above replacement and down from approximately five in the 1960s. The United Nations expects it to reach the replacement level around the middle of this century and to keep falling after that. More than half of all countries are already below replacement, including China, the United States, India, Japan and most of Europe.
In practical terms, a fertility rate below replacement means that, over time, each generation is smaller than the one before it. Fewer babies today means fewer working-age adults tomorrow, and a growing share of retirees supported by a shrinking workforce. That is the pressure now facing pension systems, health services and labour markets from Italy to South Korea. It is why population ageing, more than raw numbers, is becoming the defining demographic story of the century.
Countries raise concerns after Chinese military test-launches ballistic missile from submarine in the Pacific Ocean.
Published On 6 Jul 20266 Jul 2026
China has test-fired a missile from a nuclear submarine that landed in “designated waters” in the Pacific Ocean, state news agency Xinhua reports, drawing criticism and concerns from Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The Chinese navy test-launched the long-range ballistic missile at 12:01pm (04:01 GMT) on Monday from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific, Xinhua reported.
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Xinhua said the test was a “routine arrangement” of China’s annual military training and was not directed at any specific target.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that China had notified the government of plans to conduct a sea-based missile test into the Pacific but said the action was “destabilising” to the region.
“Australia has been clear that this proposed test is in the context of a rapid military build-up by China, which is lacking in the transparency and reassurance as to intent that the region expects,” Wong told reporters at a news conference in the Fijian capital, Suva.
Japan’s government said it was notified of the missile launch and had urged China to reconsider.
“We expressed our grave concern over the Chinese military’s increased activity,” the government said, adding that Japan’s coastguard had been notified on Sunday by Chinese authorities about falling space debris that could fall within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
The New Zealand government said it was informed of the planned launch within hours of it taking place.
“New Zealand considers this an unwelcome and concerning development. We, like our neighbours in other Pacific countries, have no interest in China using the South Pacific as a testing site for missile capability,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
Indonesian troops have recovered the body of American pilot Nicholas Goselin from the restive Papua region after he was killed by separatist ‘Bakusip’ rebels last week. The operation involved a 10-member team and three helicopters.
Published On 5 Jul 20265 Jul 2026
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The government says the law will help forge a shared national identity.
Beijing’s new ethnic unity law has taken effect. It strengthens Mandarin’s position as the primary language of education, official business and public spaces across China.
The government says the law’s provisions on social cohesion and preventing separatism benefit everyone.
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But activists abroad say it will further erode the rights of groups such as Uighurs and Tibetans. They are also warning against a clause that states China can take action against those who violate the law outside of the country.
Taiwan has echoed this criticism. Its government warns the law could be used to target people there who are critical of Beijing.
Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom
Guests:
Published On 3 Jul 20263 Jul 2026
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World Meteorological Organization forecasts more likelihood of heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall due to El Nino.
Published On 3 Jul 20263 Jul 2026
The United Nations’ weather watchdog is warning governments and humanitarian organisations to brace for “extreme weather events” including heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a statement on Friday that El Nino conditions had already set in and are “forecast to strengthen rapidly” between July and September.
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El Nino typically peaks between November and February.
The UN agency has activated climate information services and early warning systems to help governments and humanitarian agencies prepare support plans for farmers and vulnerable communities.
“El Nino conditions are already under way and are forecast to strengthen rapidly into a strong event – as accurately anticipated by WMO forecasts,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
“This will intensify the chances of drought and heavy rainfall and the risk of heatwaves on land and marine heatwaves in many regions of the world.”
Saulo added that “advanced seasonal forecasts and early warnings are vital to save lives and cushion the impact on our economies and our communities.”
El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.
El Nino events typically occur every two to seven years and usually last between nine and 12 months. Not all regions of the world are affected.
Conditions oscillate between El Nino and its opposite La Nina – both phases of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) – with neutral conditions in between.
Even when ENSO is neutral, extreme weather can still occur.
On Thursday, the WMO reported that global ocean temperatures hit a new high in June, partly driven by El Nino.
The last El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high, at about 1.55 degrees Celsius (2.79 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average.
A US pilot has been killed in Indonesia’s Papua region after separatist rebels said they shot him and set his aircraft on fire. The attack highlights the decades-long independence struggle, which has displaced more than 122,000 people since 2022.
Published On 3 Jul 20263 Jul 2026
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The de facto US ambassador Raymond Greene says drones represent a ‘game-changing opportunity’ to enhance Taiwan’s security.
Published On 2 Jul 20262 Jul 2026
Taiwan needs a “hornet’s nest” of drones to help deter conflict and provide security, says the top United States diplomat to the self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory.
Speaking at a forum on drones in the central city of Taichung, Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan and the de facto US ambassador, said on Thursday that drones represented a “game-changing opportunity” to enhance Taiwan’s security and reinforce peace in the broader region.
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The US, Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier despite their lack of formal diplomatic ties, has strongly supported the government’s military modernisation plan and increased defence spending.
Taiwan has said it needs to bolster its defences in the face of a stepped-up threat from China.
China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes Washington’s continued, though informal, backing of Taipei.
The US and Taiwan can anchor “democratic” drone production and strengthen the collective deterrence posture of the free world, Greene said.
“Fortunately for Taiwan, drones have significantly boosted defenders, even when facing overwhelming odds,” he added, referring to the war in Ukraine.
“Nothing will deter conflict more effectively than turning Taiwan into a hornet’s nest of air, surface and subsurface drones.”
While Taiwan’s government has prioritised drones and other asymmetric military systems, in May, the opposition-dominated parliament passed only two-thirds of the $40bn in extra defence spending that President William Lai Ching-te had asked for, earmarking funds only for US arms.
The government has now proposed a new 210 billion Taiwan dollars (US$6.59bn) package to pay for surveillance, coastal attack and small unmanned surface drones through the end of 2031.
However, in May, a senior US military official said Washington was putting a $14bn arms sale to Taiwan on hold to preserve munitions for the US-Israel war against Iran.
The Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s main opposition party, this week proposed its own drone legislation with a spending cap set at 240 billion Taiwan dollars (US$7.5bn) over six years and annual spending capped at 40 billion Taiwan dollars (US$1.25bn).
Its plan would fund drones from the main budget rather than a special budget, which is what the government wants.
On Wednesday, Lai called the need for drones pressing.
“Facing changes in the geopolitical situation and the evolution of modern warfare, building asymmetric combat capabilities is a national defence project that is a race against time,” he said at a meeting of his Democratic Progressive Party.
Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
The app said it will be rolling out usernames gradually, in a move meant to improve privacy.
Published On 30 Jun 202630 Jun 2026
Change is coming for some three billion users of the world’s favourite messaging platform, WhatsApp.
The social media app owned by Meta will allow users to be identified by usernames instead of phone numbers, it said on Monday. WhatsApp is used in more than 180 countries and 60 languages, the platform says.
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Users will soon be able to reserve unique handles, with a wider rollout planned for later this year.
The move is designed to improve privacy on the platform amid longstanding scrutiny over its data protection practices.
So what is changing, and how can you grab a handle no one else has?
Users will soon be able to swap the phone numbers displayed on WhatsApp with usernames, the company said. Under the new system, which will commence later this year, users will be able to choose to be “findable” and contacted by their handles only.
The app said it has already begun allowing some users to reserve unique usernames before a bigger rollout later this year.
The messaging platform said the change is designed to improve privacy features, for which it and its parent company Meta have come under scrutiny in the past.
“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s vice president of product, told reporters.
According to the company, there will be no public directory of usernames and no autocomplete suggestions, meaning users will need to know someone’s exact username to reach them for the first time.
“When someone new walks into your life – a classmate, a neighbour, someone you meet at an event – sharing a phone number can feel like a big step,” a WhatsApp company blog post stated.
“That’s because a phone number is personal and it’s tied to so many parts of your life. Sometimes you just want to chat without handing over your digits.”
The company told one user on X that it has added multiple new features to help users defend themselves from scammers.
Optional username keys – or short numbered codes – can be added, which would mean people can only contact a user if they have both their username and its key, for example.
WhatsApp also said it will limit the number of new people any one account can contact as a guard against spam accounts, and that its systems can now detect and block “abuse patterns”.
Companies, organisations and creators with existing accounts on Meta’s other social media platforms – Instagram and Facebook – will have the opportunity to claim their usernames as handles on WhatsApp as well.
Usernames will have to be three to 35 characters. To prevent impersonation, WhatsApp will hold back usernames for high-profile people or groups, such as celebrities, public figures and government entities.
To reserve a specific username, WhatsApp said a user must download the latest version of WhatsApp, go to the Settings tab, the Account tab, and then the Username tab.
The reservation must be done with a smartphone – it cannot be done on WhatsApp Web or Desktop.
WhatsApp said it will roll out usernames gradually over the coming months and will notify users on WhatsApp when the new feature is available in their country. It has not given specific timelines.
To be prepared, the company told users to “make sure you have the latest version of WhatsApp downloaded and keep an eye on your app”.
WhatsApp’s current privacy settings are limited to blocking individual users and silencing unknown callers.
WhatsApp says the feature is designed to give its three billion users a new layer of control over who can contact them.
Published On 30 Jun 202630 Jun 2026
WhatsApp will let users go by usernames instead of phone numbers, closing a longstanding privacy gap on the app used by more than three billion people.
The Meta-owned platform said on Monday that it has begun letting users reserve unique usernames before a wider rollout later this year when people will be able to choose to be found and contacted only by their handles.
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WhatsApp said the change was designed as a core privacy feature with no public directory of usernames and no autocomplete suggestions, meaning users will need to know someone’s exact username to reach them for the first time.
WhatsApp offers end-to-end encrypted communication across smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. Until now, it has allowed users to be contacted by anyone who has their phone number.
The app said in a blog post that over the “coming months”, users will get the option to be found and contacted only by their username, and not their number. It wasn’t more specific about the timeline.
“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s vice president of product, told reporters.
“People will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time,” she said.
WhatsApp’s current privacy settings are limited to blocking individual users and silencing unknown callers.
The app also allows users to add a profile name, but that’s only displayed in chat groups for other people who don’t have the user’s contact info saved.
While people in the United States still prefer text messaging to WhatsApp, the app is widely used in Europe, Asia and much of the rest of the world.
Catchy online handles are highly coveted, and users will likely scramble to claim a desirable one.
“I think a lot of people will go and get usernames, and that’s why we decided to open reservations early,” Newton-Rex said.
Companies, organisations and creators with existing accounts on Meta’s social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, will get the chance to claim their usernames on WhatsApp.
Usernames need to be three to 35 characters. To prevent impersonation, WhatsApp will hold back usernames for high-profile people or groups, such as celebrities, public figures and government entities.
Published On 29 Jun 202629 Jun 2026
Gabriel Martinelli scored the winner late in injury time to give five-time champions Brazil a 2-1 win over Japan in the World Cup round of 32 in Houston.
Martinelli, who had come on as a second-half substitute, scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time as the match on Monday appeared to be heading to extra time.
Brazil will next face either the Ivory Coast or Norway on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the round of 16.
Casemiro had earlier equalised with a header in the 56th minute off an assist from Gabriel Magalhaes after just missing another chance two minutes earlier. The shot sailed just out of reach of the outstretched hand of Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and into the net.
Kaishu Sano stole a misplaced pass in midfield before his right-footed shot from above the half-circle put Japan ahead after 29 minutes.
Vinicius Junior, who has scored four goals so far in the tournament, had a chance to put Brazil on top in the 58th minute, but his shot from the left was deflected by goalkeeper Suzuki and went past the far post.
Brazil had two chances to even the score early in the second half before breaking through late on. First, Suzuki blocked a header from Bruno Guimaraes in the 52nd minute. Soon after, Casemiro’s header bounced off a defender’s head and Suzuki’s face.
Japan have never won a World Cup knockout match.
The win was Brazil’s 12th in 15 games against Japan. The teams have also played to two draws, while Japan got their first win in the series in a friendly in Tokyo in October.
This was a match-up between two countries with deep ties, Brazil being home to about 2.7 million Japanese descendants, which is the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.
Those ties extend to football, where Brazil superstar Zico moved to Japan in 1991 to play for Kashima Antlers and help build Japan’s professional football network. He coached the Japan national team from 2002–06, leading the team to the World Cup in 2006.
That team lost to Brazil 4-1 in the only previous meeting between the teams at the World Cup.
Brazil won Group C after a draw with Morocco and victories over Haiti and Scotland.
Monday’s victory came on the anniversary of their first World Cup championship in Sweden in 1958, when a 17-year-old Pele scored two goals in the final against the host country.
Japan reached the round of 32 as runner-up in Group F after draws with the Netherlands and Sweden and a win over Tunisia. The loss snaps a 10-game unbeaten streak dating back to a 2-0 defeat to the United States in September.
EXPLAINER
China and Sudan signed off on a waiver of $50m as Sudan’s military-led government seeks support amid Western sanctions.
China has waived loans worth $50m that it had given to Sudan, the two countries said over the weekend. The agreement comes three years into a war between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has shrunk the country’s economy by roughly 40 percent, according to the United Nations.
The sum is small compared with what Sudan owes overall to external governments or agencies, an amount estimated at more than $56bn before the war. But the waiver lands at a moment when Khartoum has few other international lenders extending any financial support.
China’s relationship with Sudan predates the war by decades, built on oil and infrastructure interests that survived multiple changes of government in Khartoum. But the war has narrowed Sudan’s options elsewhere, as Western governments have largely held back or imposed sanctions.
Here’s why this deal is significant for Sudan and China:
The signed protocol in Port Sudan cancels four interest-free loans worth 344 million yuan, about $50m, with immediate effect, according to Sudan’s official news agency, SUNA.
Sudan’s Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim welcomed the move, reportedly saying that China has continued investing in the country throughout the war while Western governments, including the United States and European Union members, have largely held back. Gibril himself was added to the US Treasury sanctions list in September 2025 for his alleged “involvement in Sudan’s brutal civil war and … connections to Iran”.
China’s charge d’affaires in Sudan, Xu Jian, reportedly said at the signing ceremony that China was ready to help rebuild what was destroyed during the war in Sudan.
Sudan’s external debt of more than $56bn before the war is expected to have ballooned since.
The $50m debt relief amounts to not even 1 percent of the total external pre-war debt. In fact, Sudan was close to a far bigger debt write-off in 2021. It was on track with the IMF and the World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative to have more than $50bn of its debt forgiven within three years. The 2021 military coup in October derailed that debt relief plan, and the process was formally suspended a year later.
Still, China’s waiver arrives at a moment of acute need for the country. The war is now in its third year. More than 1.5 million people have been killed, according to the UN, and the war has displaced about 14 million people – about a quarter of the Sudanese population. The World Health Organization says less than 14 percent of health facilities are still functioning. Jobs have vanished in many parts of the country, and the rising cost of living has made it difficult for households to survive.
The Sudanese pound has collapsed since the start of the war. It went from roughly 600 to the dollar before the war to more than 5000 to the dollar by June 2026.
In many ways, Beijing’s decision to waive the $50m loan is in keeping with a broader approach it has taken in recent years, one that has helped cement China as Africa’s largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years.
China has provided interest-free loan forgiveness as a diplomatic gesture to multiple countries, and these decisions are recurrent announcements at Beijing’s frequent leader-level summits with African nations. This is especially true for smaller loans. Research from the Johns Hopkins China Africa Research Initiative found that China forgave at least $3.4bn of these kinds of debts across the African continent between 2000 and 2019.
By contrast, larger loans are usually commercial loans through state banks that come with interest, and waiving those is harder.
At a time when the West is largely trying to isolate Sudan’s leadership, a small loan waiver gives China outsized influence in a country that sits at the intersection of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
Oil has long served as a catalyst for their relationship. From the mid-1990s on, China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) poured billions of dollars into Sudanese oil fields and the pipelines carrying that crude oil to Port Sudan. This was a time when many Western companies were pushed out due to sanctions.
The relationship changed when the southern part of the country voted in favour of independence in 2011. The world’s newest country, South Sudan, left the north and took most of the country’s oil fields with it.
Chinese investment largely dried up afterwards, but Sudan still has more than $5bn of outstanding debt to China. The war has aggravated Sudan’s economic challenges. The CNPC requested a formal exit from Sudan in December 2025.
South Korean president frames the push as a race against time to secure the country’s domination in AI boom.
Published On 29 Jun 202629 Jun 2026
South Korea has laid out a sweeping industrial strategy focused on semiconductor chips and artificial intelligence projects as President Lee Jae Myung pledges to cement overwhelming industry leadership with investments of hundreds of billions of dollars over several years.
Flanked by the heads of the world’s two biggest memory chipmakers, Lee cast the initiative on Monday as a “great leap forward” centred on the “triple axis” of semiconductors, physical AI and data centres.
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“We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” the president said in a televised address.
The world’s two largest memory chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, will invest 800 trillion won ($518bn) with suppliers to build two new chip fabrication sites each in South Korea’s southwest, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said.
Lee said the country’s southwestern city of Gwangju and South Jeolla province will also invest 5 trillion to 20 trillion won ($3.2bn to $13bn) in the projects. Kim said a further 81 trillion won ($52.5bn) is expected to be invested for a chip-packaging cluster in the Chungcheong area near Seoul.
The government also unveiled plans to build AI data centres in the region, backed by 550 trillion won ($356bn) in investments from the SK Group, GS Group and Naver.
“By 2035, an additional 10-gigawatt AI data centre will be built with a total investment exceeding 18.4 gigawatts and 1,000 trillion won,” or $648bn, Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon announced.
The announcement marks the government’s boldest push yet to align South Korea’s AI and chip ambitions with Lee’s pledge to narrow regional disparities and revive economies beyond the Seoul metropolitan area.
The opposition has criticised the plan, arguing that his government’s decision to locate a second semiconductor cluster in Honam, the traditional electoral stronghold of his liberal Democratic Party, is driven more by regional politics than by industrial logic.
They have accused the government of pressuring memory chipmakers to invest in the region to bolster political support rather than allowing companies to choose the most commercially viable locations.
As part of the overall initiative, the southwest would be the home of new, large chip production clusters, Lee said, in part to use the rich power resources yet untapped there.
The president defended the proposed southwestern chip hub in a series of X posts over the weekend, rejecting criticism that it favours a region where 85 percent of voters backed him in last year’s presidential election.
Five wins to go. How can your team reach the final and win World Cup 2026? Click here.
Who: Brazil vs Japan
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 – round of 32
Where: Houston Stadium, Houston, United States
When: Monday, June 29, at 12pm (17:00 GMT)
How to follow: We will have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 14:00 GMT ahead of our live text commentary stream.
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Carlo Ancelotti faces his first major test as the Brazil coach when the record five-time world champions take on Japan, arguably the best Asian team at the tournament, in the round of 32.
Monday’s meeting in Houston offers Brazil the chance to exact revenge for their friendly defeat to Japan late last year, as the South American giants lock in on their target of a deep run in North America.
The odds are heavily in Brazil’s favour, but after Japan came out of a tricky group with flying colours, it would be foolish to write them off.
There is also a mutual respect and camaraderie between the nations, given the overwhelming Brazilian influence on professional football in Japan.
Al Jazeera tells you everything about the second game of the round of 32:
The five-time world champions began the tournament with a 1-1 draw with Morocco before beating Haiti 3-0 next. A 3-0 win over Scotland in the final group game sent them to the top of Group C and sealed their place in the round of 32.
Of all the seven goals Brazil registered across three games, Real Madrid star forward Vinicius Jr scored four of them, while Matheus Cunha netted three. Bruno Guimaraes bagged the most assists (three).
Since their low-key display in the first game, Brazil appear to be growing into the tournament, showing glimpses of their all-round potential, with some of the Selecao stars finding their rhythm.
Ancelotti knows Japan will be no pushovers, describing the record four-time Asian champions as “one of the best teams” in the world.
During Sunday’s pre-match press conference, the Italian was relaxed and betrayed no signs of feeling the pressure, despite Brazil being cast as the clear favourites for the knockout tie.
“We need a lot of things: A strong mind, a strong heart, a clear mind,” he told the media. “I think we have to be ready for anything that might take place in a knockout match, and a lot can happen in a knockout match.
“I think the team is ready. They’re motivated, they’re confident,” added Ancelotti, who is leading Brazil’s charge for a record-extending sixth world title.
Japan started their campaign by holding the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw before thrashing Tunisia 4-0 in the second game. They wrapped up the first round with a 1-1 draw with Sweden, which saw them finish with five points, confirming a second spot in Group F.
Ayase Ueda and Daichi Kamada are the joint top scorers for Japan so far, with two strikes each, while Keito Nakamura, Junya Ito and Daizen Maeda have also scored one each.
Japan have lived up to their billing as the “dark horses” at the tournament, holding two formidable European sides – the Netherlands and Sweden – to draws.
After beating Germany and Spain en route to a round of 16 run at the 2022 World Cup, Japan have shown the world they are capable of pulling off upsets, especially on the sport’s biggest stage.
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said his side’s collective spirit can fire them into the last 16 again.
“All the players will do what they can for the team and contribute,” Moriyasu said on Sunday. “The team is united, and that feeling is getting even stronger now.”
Japan’s best finish at the World Cup has been reaching the round of 16 on four occasions: 2002, 2010, 2018 and 2022. They have never won a World Cup knockout game.
Launched in 1993, Japan’s top-flight, the J-League, took much of its inspiration from Brazil and also employed plenty of their players.
Zico, the creative lynchpin of Brazil’s fabled 1982 World Cup team, was enticed out of retirement to join Kashima Antlers, while internationals Bismarck and Elivelton started a run of Brazil national team players making the move to Japan.
By the late 1990s, seven of the Brazil team that won the 1994 World Cup, including captain Dunga, had played or were playing for Japanese clubs and, by extension, lent their influence to a rapidly developing scene.
Opta’s supercomputer has calculated a 58.3 percent probability of Brazil winning this fixture in regulation time, while Japan is assessed an 18.1 percent chance of victory.
The probability of going to extra time – or potentially penalties – is 23.6 percent.
The winner of Brazil vs Japan will face either Norway or the Ivory Coast in the round of 16.
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.
In the all-time head-to-head record, Brazil have only lost once to Japan (W11 D2 L1). In their only World Cup contest 20 years ago at Germany 2006, Brazil won 4-1.
Significantly, Japan’s sole victory over Brazil came in their most recent clash, a 3-2 victory in a friendly in October 2025 in which Brazil let a two-goal lead slip in Tokyo, with Ueda scoring the hosts’ winner.
Raphinha remains sidelined for Brazil due to a hamstring injury, while Japan’s Takefusa Kubo is out with a sprained knee.
Neymar, who made his first appearance for Brazil since October 2023 when he came off the bench in the last game, will be available to play more minutes against Japan. The star forward is working his way back to full fitness after dealing with a lingering calf injury.
(4-3-3): Alisson (goalkeeper); Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Santos; Guimaraes, Casemiro, Paqueta; Rayan, Cunha, Vinicius Jr
(3-4-2-1): Suzuki (goalkeeper); Tomiyasu, Taniguchi, Ito; Doan, Sano, Tanaka, Nakamura; Ito, Kamada; Ueda
Published On 29 Jun 202629 Jun 2026
South Korea’s dismal World Cup first-round exit has prompted fury at home, and calls for a complete overhaul at the top have not been silenced by coach Hong Myung-bo’s resignation.
South Korea, World Cup semifinalists as cohosts in 2002, limped out of the tournament after failing to squeeze into the knockout rounds as one of the top eight third-place finishers.
They had the last 32 within their reach only to suffer a shock 1-0 loss to lower-ranked South Africa.
Their early exit prompted coach Hong to quit on Sunday and cast doubt over the international future of captain Son Heung-min.
It also earned the team a rebuke from the country’s president, Lee Jae Myung, who pointed the finger at “incompetent people” and apologised to the nation.
The president’s comments reflect public anger that has reached a boiling point after years of simmering discontent with South Korean football chiefs.
Former captain Park Ji-sung said, “We may have expected this outcome years ago.
“We have to look back and ask ourselves why things have come to this,” the former Manchester United player said after the team’s elimination was confirmed.
“Even after spending a decade learning how to prepare for the World Cup and develop Korean football, we have forgotten those lessons once again.”
South Korea was expected to emerge from Group A that included cohosts Mexico, South Africa and Czechia.
They started with a 2-1 win over the Czechs but lost 1-0 to Mexico before bowing out against South Africa.
The team were expected to arrive home on Tuesday morning, but local media reported that the Korea Football Association (KFA) were not planning to organise an event to welcome them back.
In 2014, angry fans pelted the team with Korean candies – seen as a deeply offensive insult – when they returned from the World Cup in Brazil, where they went out in the group stage during Hong’s first spell as coach.
Hong has been a lightning rod for criticism since he returned to the job in July 2024, five months after his predecessor, German World Cup-winner Jurgen Klinsmann, was axed.
The KFA came under fire for the process that led to Hong’s reappointment, with questions asked over its transparency and fairness.
Hong, who was regularly booed by fans, did himself no favours at the World Cup by dropping star player Son for the South Africa game, in which South Korea needed only a point to progress.
Hong admitted afterwards that he was struggling to understand what had gone wrong, as the nation nervously waited for results in other games to decide their fate.
Lee Chun-soo, a member of the 2002 World Cup team, said he “felt pathetic and frustrated rooting for Uzbekistan” against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the hope that the result would send South Korea through.
“This is a message to change,” Lee said on his YouTube channel. “Everyone should be ready to step down.”
South Korean fans reserved a sizeable chunk of their anger for KFA President Chung Mong-gyu.
Chung said before the World Cup that he would quit after the tournament, blaming his “lack of virtue” following fierce criticism of his 13-year tenure.
The 65-year-old, who is in his fourth term as KFA president, came under fire for trying to pardon former players who were banned for life for match-fixing.
Chung and Hong might not be the only ones to bow out, with captain Son yet to comment on his future.
The skipper, who turns 34 next month, had previously hinted at retiring from international football.
Former captain Park said South Korea needed to learn from the past.
“It’s unfortunate that this kind of cycle keeps repeating,” he said.
“We must dream of and shape a better future, and move forward step by step so that we don’t repeat these mistakes.”
Canberra says tech platforms are still letting too many children bypass its under-16 social media ban.
Published On 27 Jun 202627 Jun 2026
Australia says it will double fines on social media companies that fail to keep children off their platforms, accusing Big Tech of dodging the spirit of its under-16 ban.
The government said on Saturday that new legislation would raise the maximum penalty for systemic breaches from 49.5 million to 99 million Australian dollars ($31m to $68m) and give the eSafety Commissioner stronger powers to force platforms to comply.
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The regulator is investigating possible breaches by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
“It’s clear Big Tech are not doing enough to comply with the law – there are still too many children on social media,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“These changes reflect the seriousness with which we take any failure by social media companies to comply.”
The ban, which came into force on December 10, made Australia a global test case for countries trying to curb children’s access to social media. The United Kingdom, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand are among those watching or considering similar restrictions.
But children have continued to evade the rules by using accounts registered to older people, creating fake profiles or logging in through private browsers.
A peer-reviewed evaluation published this month in the British Medical Journal found “insufficient evidence” that the ban had sharply reduced social media use among young people. Researchers surveyed more than 400 children before the measure took effect and again three months later, finding “substantial circumvention” of the rules.
The government says more than five million accounts held by under-16s have been blocked, but Communications Minister Anika Wells said platforms were still falling short.
“Based on the regular updates I receive from the eSafety Commissioner, it is clear to me that social media platforms are adopting tricks straight out of the Big Tech playbook and doing the bare minimum to get by,” Wells said.
“Social media platforms are some of the richest and most powerful companies in the world, and we’re serious about holding them to account,” she added.
The new powers would allow the eSafety Commissioner to demand documents and evidence from platforms, age-checking companies and app stores.
Platforms must show they have taken “reasonable steps” to keep under-16s out. Some use artificial intelligence to estimate ages, while users can also verify their age with a government ID.
An Israeli attack on a vehicle in the central Gaza Strip has killed three Palestinians and injured several more.
Palestine’s Ministry of the Interior and National Security condemned the attack, which took place in Maghazi refugee camp in Deir el-Balah on Friday, saying that the victims were all police officers.
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“Their vehicle was treacherously bombed by the Israeli occupation forces,” said a ministry statement published on Telegram.
It named the three deceased as Captain Mansour Sami Shahtout, Captain Mohammed Khaled Nofal, and First Sergeant Mahdi Nader Jabr.
Palestine’s Wafa news agency said an Israeli combat drone targeted a vehicle near the entrance of the Maghazi refugee camp, while Anadolu news agency reported that the Israeli drone fired at least two missiles at the vehicle, causing it to catch fire, which resulted in the deaths and injuries.
Witness video accounts showed a civilian vehicle burning after it was struck on Salah al-Din Street at the entrance of Maghazi camp.
The bodies were reportedly taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.
“The Ministry of Interior condemns the heinous crime committed by the occupation in targeting civil police personnel, an act that demonstrates a persistent intent to spread chaos across the Gaza Strip,” the ministry added in its statement.
It reiterated its “call on the international community and the guarantor states of the ceasefire agreement to exert pressure on the occupying forces to cease their repeated targeting of the police force, its personnel and its resources.”
The US-brokered “ceasefire” agreement has been in effect in Gaza since October 10, 2025, though violations have continued to be reported across the enclave, with Israel continuing its attacks.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli violations of the “ceasefire” agreement have killed 1,031 Palestinians and injured 3,309 others as of Thursday. In total, since Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.
As attacks on the ground continue, Hamas said that consultations are ongoing with other Palestinian factions and regional mediators to reach understandings that would ensure the full implementation of the Gaza “ceasefire” agreement.
“These discussions concern the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement, including what remains of the first phase and mechanisms for implementing the second phase,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Anadolu on Friday.
He added that a delegation from Hamas and other Palestinian factions is expected to visit Cairo in the coming days to deliver its response to newly proposed approaches.
Qassem said Palestinian factions had previously reached understandings that were welcomed by mediators, before Board of Peace envoy Nikolay Mladenov presented what he described as “different approaches” that are currently under final review by Hamas and the factions.
“We hope the efforts of the mediators and Mr. Mladenov will lead to compelling the occupation to implement what was agreed upon, particularly the humanitarian provisions of the first phase, and then move to the second phase with all its complexities,” Qassem said.
Regarding the situation on the ground, Qassem accused Israel of committing major and continuous violations of the ceasefire agreement, including restrictions on humanitarian aid and continued killings.
He told Anadolu more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire entered into force, adding that Israel had expanded the “yellow line” into new areas of Gaza, accompanied by displacement and home demolitions.
“These violations require, first, a clear stance from the mediators to pressure the occupation, and second, serious work to bring the national committee into Gaza so a genuine relief and reconstruction process can begin,” he said.
“We do not want the starvation policy imposed on our people to be repeated while the world remains a spectator. Nor should the killing and destruction continue while the world watches,” he added.
Remaining group schedule, teams, as well as the best third-round group fixtures at the tournament in North America.
After 48 matches in North America, it’s time for the final round of games in the group stage at World Cup 2026.
Sixteen teams will be eliminated after these fixtures, with 32 nations heading through to the knockout stages.
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The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – will proceed to the next phase.
Here are the top five “must-watch” matches in the second round of fixtures from June 24 until June 27.
Miami Stadium – Wednesday, 6pm (22:00 GMT)
These two sides will meet at the World Cup for the fifth time and there’s plenty to play for in an intriguing encounter in Miami.
Brazil are looking to secure their place in the knockout stages as group winners and are currently tied with Morocco on four points at the top of Group C.
Scotland are aiming to escape the group for the first time at a major international tournament and know that a point will almost certainly guarantee a spot in the round of 32.
Expect Group C to change a lot during these final fixtures, with Morocco taking on Haiti at the same time.
If that isn’t enough, Brazil’s Neymar is also set to make his first appearance at this World Cup.
Dallas Stadium – Thursday, 6pm (23:00 GMT)
It’s difficult to predict which Sweden will turn up in Dallas on Thursday.
Graham Potter’s side beat Tunisia 5-1 in their opening match of the World Cup, before losing by the same score to the Netherlands.
Japan have been entertaining to watch at this tournament and were in fine form during their 4-0 win over Tunisia at the weekend.
Expect plenty of goals in this match and plenty of drama. The winner will secure a top-two finish in Group F, so there is a lot to play for.
Boston Stadium – Friday, 3pm (19:00 GMT)
Norway and France are already through to the knockout stages, but this game looks set to be a blockbuster affair with both sides looking to top Group I.
Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe have both scored four goals so far and they’ll be desperate to add to their tally as they chase down Lionel Messi.
France are one of the favourites to lift the World Cup next month and are looking to end the group stage with three wins from three.
But Norway have the opportunity to prove that they truly are dark horses in this tournament and can compete with elite international sides.
Buckle in for a big one in Boston.
Seattle Stadium – Friday, 6pm (00:00 GMT on Saturday)
Group H has been a tight affair following some surprise results in the opening round of fixtures.
Uruguay drew with Saudi Arabia, while Cape Verde shocked the world with a goalless draw against Spain.
La Roja bounced back by thrashing Saudi Arabia and they go into their final game as group leaders, with Uruguay two points behind in second.
Spain will secure top spot with a win in Seattle, ensuring that they avoid Argentina in the round of 32.
Seattle Stadium – Friday, 8pm (04:00 GMT on Saturday)
Neither of these sides have ever made it out of the group at a World Cup, but on Friday, at least one of them will achieve that feat.
Group G is closely bunched after a number of drawn matches and it sets things up nicely for an intriguing final round of fixtures.
Victory for either Egypt or Iran will guarantee them a spot in the knockout phase, so expect both sides to be up for this one.
Iran have faced numerous challenges at this World Cup, with restrictions on travel and visa issues before the tournament even began.
If Iran progress, there’s also still a chance that they will face the US in the knockout stages.
North Korea has revealed its largest-ever warship that leader Kim Jong Un says can carry nuclear-capable missiles. The 5,000-metric-ton destroyer is part of the country’s growing navy, which is set to expand sharply over the next five years.
Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026
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China’s LineShine overtakes US-based El Capitan as most powerful supercomputer, according to the TOP500 list.
Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026
China has displaced the United States on an influential ranking of the world’s fastest supercomputers, underscoring Beijing’s growing capability to compete with the world’s leading superpower in cutting-edge technology.
China’s LineShine is the most powerful system on the planet, overtaking the US-based El Capitan, according to the biannual ranking announced in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday.
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LineShine, located at the National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen, achieved a performance of 2.198 exaflops, carrying out more than 2 quintillion calculations per second – a 20 percent lead over El Capitan, according to the latest TOP500 list.
LineShine’s position marks the first time a Chinese system has topped the list since Sunway TaihuLight did so in 2017.
El Capitan, based at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, had ranked as the top-performing system since November 2024.
Frontier, hosted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, ranked third, followed by Aurora at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and Jupiter at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany.
Other countries represented in the top 20 include the UK, Japan, South Korea, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Unlike other supercomputers, LineShine runs entirely on general-purpose central processing units (CPUs), which have fewer processing cores and are slower at performing complex tasks than the graphics processing units (GPUs) indispensable to running AI models, such as ChatGPT and Claude.
LineShine is the first and only system to achieve more than 2 exaflops in performance using a CPU-only design, according to the TOP500 list.
The TOP500 list has been published twice yearly since 1993, when computer scientists Erich Strohmaier and Hans Meuer first compiled statistics on supercomputers around the world in preparation for a conference on the topic.
The list ranks supercomputers’ performance using the LINPACK Benchmark, which measures the amount of time it takes to solve a dense system of linear equations.
While the TOP500 list has been influential for decades, experts consider the ranking to have become less relevant since the advent of AI.
While corporate tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon are at the forefront of today’s advances in AI, the list is largely made up of government and academic initiatives that volunteered their participation.
In a 2015 paper, researchers at Cornell University estimated that El Capitan achieved only 22 percent of the computational performance of xAI’s Colossus supercomputing facility in Memphis, Tennessee.
China and the US are locked in a fierce battle for global supremacy in leading technologies such as AI, with Washington and Beijing rolling out a slew of tit-for-tat sanctions and export controls to blunt each other’s advances.
The 2026 AI Index Report, released in April by Stanford University, found that China had “effectively closed” the AI model performance gap with the US.
While the US produces more top-of-the-line AI models, China holds the advantage in rolling out patents and industrial robot installations, the report said.
Those trapped in the compounds include Chinese, Philippine, Taiwanese, Malaysian and Brazilian nationals.
Published On 23 Jun 202623 Jun 2026
More than 5,300 people remain trapped in online scam centres in Myanmar near the Thai border, despite a multinational crackdown in the region last year, a human rights group says.
The Thai-based Civil Society Network for Human Trafficking Victim Assistance (CSNHTV) sent a letter to Thai police urging them to take action. It said many of those trapped were foreign nationals held at four locations inside areas controlled by the Myanmar Democratic Karen Buddhist Army militia.
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According to the CSNHTV, an estimated 1,600 people trapped are Chinese nationals, and about 200 are people of Myanmar, along with people from the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brazil, Russia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe.
“Many of these compounds have yet to be dismantled or subjected to rescue operations to free all remaining victims,” it said.
“As a result, these syndicates continue to engage in online fraud and human trafficking, causing harm to victims around the world, particularly in the United States and Europe.”
Scam centres in Southeast Asia, including those in Myanmar and Cambodia, run illegal online schemes that are designed to defraud people worldwide.
The centres grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in the region, and were initially tied to poorly run casinos and online gambling. They have now become a multibillion-dollar industry, according to the United Nations.
A UN report in February said the facilities are mostly staffed by foreign nationals who have been trafficked by criminal gangs and subjected to abuse.
It found instances of “torture and other ill-treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced abortions, food deprivation, solitary confinement, among other grave human rights abuses”.
“The litany of abuse is staggering and at the same time heart-breaking,” UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk said.
“Yet, rather than receiving protection, care and rehabilitation as well as the pathways to justice and redress to which they are entitled, victims too often face disbelief, stigmatisation and even further punishment.”