europe

Swiss voters reject a proposed population cap that would cap the country’s population at 10 million. The plan, championed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, was supported by 45% of voters.

Activists rally in Geneva to denounce policies of G7 countries ahead of group’s annual meeting this week in France.

Thousands of protesters have gathered in Geneva ahead of this week’s Group of Seven (G7) summit, which is set to bring together United States President Donald Trump and other world leaders in nearby France.

The demonstration on Sunday was led by the so-called “No-G7” coalition, which is comprised of more than 60 associations and groups, including Palestinian rights advocates, feminist activists and environmentalists.

“We are very afraid of the policy and the politics of Mr Trump and also of the other leaders of the G7, because they are fighting, making war all over the place,” said Francoise Nyffeler, a spokesperson for the coalition.

“The planet is in danger, and we are very scared about it and we want to protest and say that the people of the world are against their policies,” she added.

Swiss and French authorities have deployed thousands of police to provide security for the three-day summit, which begins on Monday in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains.

Authorities have blocked off roads, banned unauthorised gatherings, and pledged financial support for businesses that could be hit by unrest.

Scores of businesses and shops have boarded up their storefronts with wooden panels as a precaution, leery of upheaval that left a trail of damage in Geneva during a similar summit in Evian in 2003.

Reporting from the protest in Geneva on Sunday, Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler said demonstrators had denounced the G7 as being “all about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer”.

“They say the club of wealthy nations doesn’t represent the global population; that their policies and decisions have a negative impact on the world in terms of climate, equal rights and poverty,” Butler said.

Questions about the legitimacy of the G7 – which includes the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom – are not new.

The group of countries previously accounted for 70 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) – a figure that has shrunk to just 40 percent – while representing one-tenth of the global population.

In a sign that global power dynamics are shifting dramatically, other global groups also are growing. The BRICS countries – which include India, Russia and China – have doubled their bloc’s number of members from five to 11.

While G7 summits regularly draw protests, this year’s event also comes amid global frustration with Trump’s leadership on issues as diverse as tariffs, the US-Israeli war on Iran, and the climate crisis.

Demonstrators had been gathering for days in advance of Sunday’s march in Geneva.

A flotilla of around 20 boats appeared on Lake Geneva off the coast of Evian on Saturday, displaying anti-G7 and pro-Palestinian banners. Some 20 protesters were detained on Friday evening, according to Swiss media reports.

British armed forces intercepted an oil tanker believed to be part of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet. The oil tanker ‘SMYRTOS’ was taken in an first-ever operation by the British military in the English Channel.

The European Union will begin accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova after Hungary’s new government withdrew its veto, paving the way for negotiations. Both countries believe EU membership would provide them with greater security against Russian aggression.

Pre-tournament favourites Spain open their Group H campaign with a match against World Cup debutants Cape Verde.

The 2026 World Cup will have 13 different kickoff times. You can use the Al Jazeera Sport widget to find out exactly when your team is playing in your local time.

Who: Spain vs Cape Verde
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States
When: Monday, 12pm local time (16:00 GMT)
How to follow: Catch all live updates on Al Jazeera Sport

Spain, the reigning European champions and strong favourites for the 2026 World Cup, begin their title bid on Monday by facing minnows Cape Verde in Atlanta.

Since winning their maiden world title in 2010, Spain have endured a dismal run in the following three campaigns, bowing out in the group stage in 2014 and exiting in the round of 16 in 2018 and 2022.

But their Euro 2024 success and a new golden generation of Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, Ferran Torres and others have prompted bookmakers to keep Spain at the top of the potential winners‘ list.

La Roja – known for playing entertaining, attacking football – have become unshakeable over the last four years, going 30 matches unbeaten since a 1-0 friendly loss to Colombia at Wembley in March 2024.

Spain will arguably be the team to beat in North America, with Opta’s supercomputer handing them a 15.94 percent probability to lift the title, and France a close second at 13.62 percent odds.

Will Yamal play in Spain vs Cape Verde?

Yamal single-handedly stole the show in Germany two years ago en route to their Euro title, and will hope to repeat that form at the June 11 – July 19 tournament.

But the teen sensation may have to wait a little longer to make his World Cup debut.

Spain could take a cautious approach for the Cape Verde opener with winger Yamal and young forward Nico Williams in the final stages of recovery from hamstring injuries sustained ‌in April.

Both returned to training with their teammates on Thursday, but De la Fuente could opt to name them on the bench or keep them out of the matchday squad until they reach full fitness.

Cape Verde to break new ground in North America

Known for its crystal-clear waters and sandy white beaches, Cape Verde will make noise for different reasons this North American summer.

The archipelago of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean will make its World Cup debut on Monday, arriving at the global showpiece as one of 10 African representatives.

After their fairytale qualification, which coincided with its 50th anniversary of independence from Portugal, Cape Verde – with fewer than 600,000 inhabitants – became the third smallest country by population to ⁠reach the tournament after Iceland in 2018 and Curacao, also in 2026.

The team has slowly built credibility in recent years. Their international breakthrough came in 2013 when they ⁠qualified for their first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and reached the quarterfinal stage.

Cape Verde has spread the national team net wide with starters based in several countries, including Portugal, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Spain vs Cape Verde prediction

Spain are strong favourites to win this match, having an 87.2 percent probability of walking away with three points. Cape Verde have a slim 4.8 percent chance of victory, while a draw has an 8.15 percent chance.

Overall, Spain have a 76.53 percent probability to win Group H, which also includes Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

How to watch Spain vs Cape Verde?

The following is the list of broadcasters and platforms to watch the game in these countries:

• Spain: LA 1, DAZN Mundial, RTVE Play
• Cape Verde: New World TV, SuperSport
• United Kingdom: ITVX, ITV1, STV Player, STV
• USA: FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock

AN Interrail adventure around Europe was once a rite of passage for many a British teen in the days before low-cost flights.

Now, a growing number of mid-lifers are taking to the rails to repeat the journeys of their youth, or even experience it for the first time.

But with age comes the need for a little comfort — picking a hotel instead of a hostel and a wheelie case over a rucksack.

The principle the same, though. Buy a rail pass, plot your route — and adios.

With the kids grown up, my husband and I joined the rail revolution to have our very own Interrail fun.

The beauty of a rail pass is that you can destination-hop for little or no extra cost, so we created a 12-day itinerary visiting several places we had never been to. First-class, too, as it’s only £90 more.

POSH SUITE

I stayed at the historic manor house that’s now a hotel right by city of Oxford

SPLASH OUT

Gorgeous free lido with sweeping city views is returning to UK this summer

We start with a ten-hour train journey from London to Milan, rattling towards the French Alps and Italy in plush, extra legroom seats.

An overnight stay is followed by a whizz round Milan’s hotspots — including its impressive Duomo and glitzy shopping gallerias — then we’re back on the rails, snaking through the valleys and vineyards of northern Italy’s Trentino region towards the town of Riva on Lake Garda.

Framed by Alpine foothills, this 32 mile- long lake (Italy’s biggest) is idyllic — as is our base, the family-run Garda Suite Hotel, where every room comes with a balcony. Ours overlooks the hotel’s heated swimming pool as well as the lake.

The next 72 hours are spent admiring Lake Garda from in it, on it and above it.

From the Ponale Path, a trail carved high into the mountainside, there’s a sheer drop to the water which shimmers below, a magical turquoise.

Less knee-trembling are the vistas from the colourful town of Riva’s Apponale Tower (mind your head as you climb its 165 steps) and Bastione funicular.

Entry to both, as well as local transport, is included in the Garda Guest Pass, free to hotel residents.

Other highlights include saffron risotto at La Capannina Pizza and Grill, wine-tasting at the local Comai vineyards (their Merlot’s superb) and a sunset sail-boat excursion.

Skipper Alesso explains how Lake Garda is 350m deep and home to freshwater sardines and giant pike.

“Any monsters?” I ask. “Yes, Bennie.”

He shows me a picture. Not a patch on our Nessie.

Then, we’re back on the rails and watching four countries roll past the window — Italy, Germany, Austria and then our next destination: Slovenia’s Lake Bled.

Alpine Lake Bled differs from Garda. It’s much smaller and circled by a four-mile walking trail. There’s a fairytale island at its heart with a church.

You can hire a boat to explore (£26 for 90 minutes) although the rowing is tough on arms. Happily, the hot tub at our Bled Rose spa hotel (no hostels for us) eases aching limbs.

While Bled is prominent on the tourist and Interrail trail, Slovenians have been keeping neighbouring Lake Bohinj (11 miles away) to themselves.

Surrounded by the Julian Alps and Triglav National Park, signposts keep leading us — slightly alarmingly — towards a “slap”. But it’s a relief to learn that this word is Slovenian for waterfall.

We follow a two-hour trail toward thunderous Slap Mostnice before lazing on one of the lake’s empty beaches.

The real taste of Slovenia, however, comes when we move on to capital Ljubljana and try strukli — cottage-cheese filled steamed dumplings. They’re served warm, sweet or savoury and the sugary ones are delicious.

Afterward, we climb to the castle on a hill for a panorama over the city’s jumble of steeples and turrets.

Our trip includes three ten-hour journeys, seven travel days, 14 trains and one missed connection. No matter, we take the next one. Some trains require seat reservations costing extra, but most don’t.

Working it out is part of the Interrail experience. Free wifi is the norm and everything’s done on the Interrailing app — no physical tickets. My only complaint is that time passes far too quickly.

Soon, we’re circling back toward France and our penultimate destination of Strasbourg, whose location close to Germany’s border lends it a Germanic feel.

The street signs are bilingual and Riesling’s the local wine. We enjoy a glass over dinner at our boutique Leonor Hotel — an 18th-century former police station which has a grandiose internal courtyard.

Round the corner is Strasbourg’s gothic Cathedral de Notre Dame which, for 400 years, was the tallest building in Europe.

A lung-busting 350 steps lead up to its viewing platform, from where we enjoy grandstand views over the city’s half- timbered Alsatian houses on backstreets criss-crossed by waterways.

Our biggest high, however, comes in Paris, where our trip ends. The new 4H hotel (built for the 2024 Olympics) towers over the city and is close to the Stade de France stadium where footie fans can enjoy tours.

Our room on the 35th floor affords a jaw-dropping view of the River Seine and Eiffel Tower. And on floor 40 is the highest swimming pool in Paris.

On the Eurostar back to London we toast an Interrailing trip which covered 2,509 miles, averaged 20,000 steps a day and crossed six borders.

Every moment felt fresh, exciting and youthful. Best lesson learned? To roll back the years, you must head for the rails.

You need to check if your paperwork is still valid for Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, Italy and other destinations

Martin Lewis’s MoneySavingExpert has issued urgent advice for anyone travelling to Europe this summer, as more than two million people will see a key document expire before they head off. MoneySavingExpert.com has a holiday warning for anyone visiting countries including France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy.

Martin’s team has urged holidaymakers to check if their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) is still valid, as 1,285,250 GHICs and 926,954 EHICs are set to expire this year. The EHIC is being replaced by the new Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). These cards are totally free to get and they give you access to state-run hospitals or GPs in EU countries for the same price as a local.

They last for up to five years, and the final EHICs issued after Brexit are expiring this year. The MSE newsletter reads: “These cards give access to state-run hospitals or GPs in EU countries for the same price as a local – so if it’s free for them, it’s free for you.”

You need to check your card for the expiry date, and apply for a new one if necessary.

The team said: “You’ll need to get a new card – it’s now called a GHIC (as it’s been rebranded a ‘Global’ card, though in essence still covers mostly the same European countries).” However, MSE also warned people not to fall for websites that charge you for these cards.

MSE said: “Never pay to get an EHIC or GHIC. It is always free, beware shyster sites trying to charge you for ‘fast tracks’ or other stuff, that’s nonsense. See how to safely get a free GHIC.” If you have an existing EHIC, it remains valid until the expiry date runs out – after this, you’ll need to apply for a GHIC card.”

The NHS explains: “The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) lets you get necessary state healthcare in the European Economic Area (EEA), and some other countries, on the same basis as a resident of that country. This may be free or it may require a payment equivalent to that which a local resident would pay.

“The UK GHIC has replaced the existing European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If you have an existing EHIC you can continue to use it until the expiry date on the card. Once it expires, you’ll need to apply for a UK GHIC to replace it.

“The ‘Global Health Insurance Card’ (GHIC) and its predecessor, the EHIC, give access to state-run hospitals or GPs, mainly in European countries, for the same price as a local. So if they don’t pay, you don’t either. Over two million expire this year, check yours.”

A UK GHIC is free, and you can apply through the NHS website. The NHS advises avoiding unofficial websites, which may charge an application fee. People can apply for a new card up to nine months before their current card expires.

The NHS says: “Every member of your family needs their own card. You can add your spouse, civil partner and children to your application when you apply. You must enter your own details first and apply for any additional cards when prompted.”

Béla Guttmann may be the most consequential soccer coach you’ve never heard of. But if it weren’t for Guttmann, you may never have heard of Pelé.

And Brazil may never have become the greatest soccer-playing country on Earth.

That’s because Guttmann changed the shape of modern Brazilian soccer — and changed the sport forever — when he imported the revolutionary 4-2-4 system from Hungary to Sao Paulo in 1957. A year later, Brazil won the first of five World Cups and the joga bonito was born.

But what Guttmann brought to Brazil isn’t nearly as interesting as how he got it there. That’s just one of the fascinating stories in “The Beautiful Game … The Untold Story,” the exhibit that will open the Holocaust Museum LA on Sunday at the Goldrich Cultural Center, a $70-million expansion that will double the size of the Pan Pacific Park museum’s campus to 70,000 square feet.

A soccer ball from the holocaust is among the items on display in the exhibit “The Beautiful Game … The Untold Story” at the Holocaust Museum LA.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

The exhibit was unveiled during a private reception on Saturday followed by a free preview day open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The grand public opening will take place in August.

The show’s launch coincides with eight local World Cup matches, which kicked off with the United States’ 4-1 win over Paraguay on Friday at SoFi Stadium, and it shines a light on the important but largely overlooked relationship between Jewish life and the global game, as well as how Jewish innovators like Guttmann shaped the modern rhythm, style and culture of the sport.

“It was in the same intellectual level as jazz, as art and everything modern and progressive,” journalist Allon Sander, who helped curate the exhibit, said of Jewish participation in European soccer in the years before World War II.

“The origin of the game and how it intersects with Jews and the Holocaust and the impact that these Jewish footballers and coaches had to shape the game and help popularize the sport is so fascinating,” added Beth Kean, the museum’s CEO. “And it’s an unknown history.”

Much of that story can be told through Guttmann, who was born in Budapest in the final year of the 19th century and developed into one of the sport’s first Jewish stars, representing Hungary in the 1924 Olympics and playing for nine teams in two countries before retiring to become a coach.

But none of that success mattered when the Hungarian government began introducing anti-Jewish laws in 1938, costing Guttmann his job and nearly his life when he was sent to a Nazi forced-labor camp, where he was tortured. Just days before he believed he would be shipped to Auschwitz, which meant certain death, he escaped alongside Erno Erbstein, another Jewish coach.

Erbstein revolutionized soccer in Italy before dying in 1949, along with the entire Torino team, when their plane crashed into a hilltop outside Turin. Four years ago, he was inducted into the Italian soccer hall of fame. Guttmann, meanwhile, who lost much of his family in the Nazi death camps, would go on to coach for 42 years in 14 countries, winning championships in six of them yet only staying in a single place for more than two years just once.

“He’s running away from his demons,” said Ronen Dorfan, a journalist and sports historian based in Budapest whose research was instrumental in putting the exhibit together. “His father was murdered, his sister was murdered. You never know how you survived in Budapest during the war so he had guilt feelings.”

A jersey worn by player Max Wozniak and a jersey from the 1930s are displayed in an exhibit called “The Beautiful Game … The Untold Story.”

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

The exhibit was designed in three sections, the first devoted to the years before World War II, the second is about the Holocaust and the third is the postwar years. And while it details Jewish participation in, and influence on, global soccer, it also challenges the cliché that Jews were intellectuals, artists and laborers but not athletes.

“We are always trying to challenge stereotypes. Stereotypes that we might have about ourselves and even stereotypes that we believe about others,” said Jordanna Gessler, the museum’s vice president of education and exhibits who helped curate the show. “It’s crucial to help people find their place and their voice and really see the unity, the similarities between people.

“This is a story that was lost in time and we’re really bringing it out,” Gessler added. “To really have this conversation and encourage people to explore stories that they might not know.”

One thing people might not know is that in the 1920s and ‘30s, Europe’s best teams weren’t in England, Germany or France, but in Austria and Hungary, where they were led by Jewish players and coaches such as Hugo Meisl, Jozsef Braun, Arpad Weisz, Marton Bukovi, Gusztav Sebes and Gyula Mandi. Weisz and Braun were both killed by the Nazis.

A soccer ball from the 1974 World Cup is displayed at an exhibit called “The Beautiful Game … The Untold Story.”

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

The surge of antisemitism and fascism in Germany, Italy and Eastern Europe helped spread the influence of those revolutionary players and coaches around the world.

“With the rise of the Reich and the Holocaust, the coaches ran away,” Dorfan said. “And they ran to every corner of the world, to Brazil, to Argentina, to Portugal [and] provided coaches to Real Madrid, to Barcelona, to Benfica, to Flamengo.

“There isn’t one of these clubs that doesn’t owe its tactical development in the ‘40s and ‘50s to the Jewish coaches, which came primarily from Hungary.”

The primary tactical development was the shift from the popular but rigid 2-3-5 formation, which required immense physical endurance and tactical discipline, to the fluid 4-2-4, which spread the wingers to the touch line and allowed for improvisation and creativity on the attacking end, a formation pioneered in Budapest in the 1920s.

“They developed a more refined game of passing the ball, keeping it on the carpet rather than the English kick and run, and really put thought into tactical thinking,” Dorfan said.

Guttmann, who played or coached for more than two dozen teams in his career — including one, in Romania, that paid him in vegetables during the postwar period — brought the Hungarian approach to Brazil in 1957 when he coached Sao Paulo to a championship. After Vicente Feola, the manager Guttmann replaced at Sao Paulo, took over the national team a year later, he brought the formation with him, popularizing many of the tactics still used in modern soccer, such as fluid defensive wingers, overlapping full backs, the use of a withdrawn striker and an attacking midfield.

The soccer team at the Theresienstadt concentration camp’s flag is displayed in a Holocaust Museum LA exhibit called “The Beautiful Game … The Untold Story.”

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

“He is the whole exhibition in one man,” Dorfan said of Guttmann.

“Obviously if we wouldn’t have had the Holocaust, those [coaches] wouldn’t be kept out of Europe, Europe would be much stronger, much more developed. [And] then the development of Brazil or the success of Brazil would be coming much later,” Sander said.

Dorfan spent the better part of two years tracking down many of the more than 100 trophies, uniforms, photos and trinkets that make up “The Beautiful Game” exhibit, a search that required determination, perseverance and more than a little luck. Many of the items, because of their ties to Jewish athletes and teams, were hidden during the war and presumed lost. Others resurfaced only through detective work that sent Dorfan following leads that spanned decades and crossed more than a dozen borders.

That also cost money. So Alan Rothenberg, the man who, as president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, first brought the World Cup to Los Angeles 32 years ago, stepped up to lead an effort that raised more than $1 million to fund the exhibit.

“The story really needs to be told, particularly with what’s going on right now with respect to antisemitism,” Rothenberg said. “It’s really important for people to realize what can happen. And soccer is a great vehicle to draw them in. The one main thing in the museum is bringing schoolkids in.”

The Nazis and their collaborators failed in their attempt to erase the history of Jewish soccer pioneers; in fact, they inadvertently popularized both the men — and women — and their ideas. But the sport also helped other Jews survive a dark period and Kean said that may be the most beautiful and uplifting part of “The Beautiful Game.”

“The main reason we decided to do this exhibition in the first place is because for years so many survivors, when they talk about their life before the war, so many of them talk about soccer. So many of them were passionate and fond of the sport,” she said.

“We knew the exhibit opening was going to coincide with the World Cup. L.A. is going to be on the world stage. This is a great opportunity for the museum to get these stories out.”

Adrian Vestea nominated as prime minister after previous choice, Eugen Tomac, withdraws.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan has nominated Adrian Vestea, a National Liberal Party member and former mayor, as prime minister to form a new government after the previous choice for the post withdrew.

“Eugen Tomac withdrew his mandate this morning and as such ‌I nominate Adrian Vestea as prime minister,” Dan, a centrist, said in a post on X on Sunday.

Vestea, 52, ⁠is the county council president of the central Romanian county of Brasov. Eugen Tomac had ⁠been seeking to lead a government of technocrats but lacked support from the parties in parliament.

Vestea, who served as a development minister from 2023 to 2024, said in a statement that he wants a “political government that will undertake real reforms and keep Romania on a pro-Western path”.

“We are the sixth largest country in Europe, and we need to put a major emphasis on development. Which I will do from day one,” he said.

Dan’s two nominations for the prime ministerial role this month come after a no-confidence vote toppled former Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in May. A general election is not scheduled until 2028.

Dan said Vestea was suitable for the role because he had “gone through all the administrative stages” throughout his political career.

“He was a successful mayor, a successful county council president, a successful minister, and he attracted European funds, being focused on development, for example the Brasov airport, which is a success,” Dan said.

Parliamentary parties have previously said a minority government, whose members do not hold a ⁠majority of the seats in parliament, would be better ⁠than a government of technocrats.

Vestea will ⁠have 10 days to form ⁠a government and must win a parliamentary vote of confidence to take up his new post.

Romania has one of the highest budget deficits in the European Union and suffers from rampant inflation and a technical recession.

When a coalition government came to power in June 2025, it made reducing the budget deficit a priority. Bolojan was sworn in with the aim of ending one of Romania’s worst political crises in its post-communist history, but his government lasted less than a year.

Qatar has earned its first-ever FIFA World Cup point in dramatic fashion against Switzerland. An injury time own goal put Qatar level with the Swiss in San Francisco. Al Jazeera’s Paul Rhys was there.

Your holiday could be ruined if you don’t do the vital check first.

Thousands of Brits are counting down to their summer holidays, but there is a very important check that needs to be done first. Many people have already been caught out, leaving their getaways in tatters.

Travel expert Simon Calder recently explained that “thousands upon thousands” of people haven’t realised before it is too late and missed their booked holidays. To help avoid it happening to more holidaymakers, I asked a range of travel experts the one important check everyone must do before heading to the airport.

They all agreed that Brits heading to Europe need to not only check the passport’s validity but also ensure it was issued less than 10 years ago. Before 2018, passports could remain valid for as long as 10 years and nine months.

But now if you are heading to the EU or Schengen areas, you cannot have passports older than 10 years when you arrive at their holiday destination. It must also be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to return home.

The check every Brit needs to do

Francis Hellyer, CEO of tickadoo, said: “People check the expiry date, see it is months away, and relax. But for getting into the EU the border does not care about your expiry date, it cares about your issue date.

“If your passport is more than 10 years old on the day you land, you can be turned away at the gate even with eight months left on the page. Check the date of issue, not just the date of expiry.”

Natasha Inglis, Implementation and Client Success Director at Good Business Travel, added: “Your passport might still be in date, but that doesn’t always mean it’s valid for travel.

“Most travellers only look at their passport’s expiry date, but the issue date is just as important. For travel to EU countries, passports must be less than 10 years old on the day you arrive.

“This means that certain valid passports could still be rejected at the airport, so it’s really crucial to check both dates before you travel.”

Patrick Hill, Head of Paramount Cruises, said he is seeing “more and more” people getting caught out, especially when making last minute bookings.

He urged travellers to make the passport check before booking rather than before flying, and remember the new rules regarding the 10 year issue date.

Patrick explained: “If you renewed before October 1, 2018, the Passport Office sometimes carried over unused months from your old passport. The EU doesn’t count those. So check your date of issue, not just your expiry, they’re not the same thing.”

As well as passports not being allowed to be older than 10 years, there must be three months left after the date you plan to leave the Schengen area. However, Patrick noted that cruise lines often require six months from the end of the cruise.

He added: “Check both your issue date and expiry date the moment you start booking, not the week you travel. We’ve seen too many holidays evaporate at the check-in desk over a few missing months.”

How to check your passport

Find the date of issue on your passport photo page and add 10 years. Make sure your outbound flight falls before that date.

Next, find the date of expiry and minus three months. Make sure your return flight falls before that date. Ensure you check every passport included in your booking, especially children’s passports as they only last five years.

Francis Hellyer warned: “Do not assume that being allowed to check in means you are safe. Airlines turn away borderline passports to avoid EU fines, and immigration can still refuse you even after you board. If anything looks tight, renew now.”

He added: “When someone is refused boarding, the flight is only the start of the loss. We see how much a family spends on the holiday itself, the tours, the show tickets, the day trips, and a lot of that is non-refundable. A passport check takes two minutes and it is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy for the whole trip.”

Asian Cup holders Qatar level in injury time to draw 1-1 with Switzerland in World Cup 2026 opening game.

Boualem Khoukhi scored an equalising goal on a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and Qatar spoiled a dominant day by Switzerland in a 1-1 draw in Group B of the World Cup.

Several of the Qatari players fell to the ground on Saturday in celebration of the late goal, as others ran to each other to embrace.

Breel Embolo scored for Switzerland from the penalty spot in the first half just over a week after being cleared to enter the US following a visa delay, but the Swiss failed to capitalise on multiple other scoring chances.

In the 13th minute, Embolo was fouled by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada, who received a yellow card on the play. Abunada lay face down and appeared motionless for a couple of minutes before he began to move his legs and was able to stand up again.

When Embolo calmly sent his penalty into the upper left corner in the 17th minute, it sent the red-clad Swiss fans into a dancing frenzy in the stands of San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.

The 29-year-old forward applied for an urgent visa at the United States embassy in Bern on June 3, one day after he was denied boarding the team’s flight to travel for his third World Cup because of a 2018 criminal conviction that was only finalised in April.

Switzerland dominated the possession game on an unseasonably warm June afternoon — with sprinklers running during a first-half break.

There were thousands of empty seats scattered throughout Levi’s Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. Brazil and Colombia drew 70,971 two years ago in a group match at the Copa America. The stadium in Santa Clara staged the Super Bowl only four months ago.

Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made a save in the second minute after Edmilson Junior got through the defence for a one-on-one. Kobel corralled the ball again in the 90th on a close-range attempt by Ahmed Alaaeldin.

Switzerland is hoping to advance further than its round-of-16 showing four years ago before losing 6-1 to Portugal — when Goncalo Ramos delivered an improbable hat-trick playing in place of benched star Cristiano Ronaldo. The loss prompted Switzerland midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri to apologize the the fans.

The Swiss used consistency and experience to go unbeaten through qualifying against Sweden, Kosovo and Slovenia. Coach Murat Yakin’s team produced four wins and two draws to secure its sixth straight World Cup appearance and hasn’t missed one since 2002, but the team has never gotten beyond the quarterfinals.

Qatar, led by Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, had to qualify through a playoff in November — beating the United Arab Emirates and Oman — after missing an opportunity from its group stage of Asian qualifying.

The Gulf state country became the first host nation to lose all of its group matches four years ago. It lost to Senegal, Ecuador and the Netherlands in the 2022 tournament, scoring its lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Senegal.

A UK court has sentenced four pro-Palestine activists to jail for a raid on an Israeli arms factory near Bristol in 2024. Palestine Action says their aim was to ‘dismantle drones and weaponry’ they believed would be used to kill people in Gaza.

Thousands of Bosnia fans turned Toronto blue as they marched to the chants of ‘Free Palestine’ in Toronto.

Toronto, Canada — Nadia, a Bosnia and Herzegovina supporter who did not share her surname, stood out in her deep blue shirt as a sea of red-adorned Canada fans swarmed around her outside the Toronto Stadium an hour before kickoff to their FIFA World Cup 2026 opening game.

With the blue and yellow Bosnian flag draped around her, she found herself among the minority of “away” fans on Canadian soil on Thursday, less than two weeks after her team was given a warm welcome to the World Cup cohost nation.

It reminded Nadia, an immigrant, of her arrival in Canada in the mid-1990s when her family fled the Bosnian genocide that killed about 100,000 people and displaced more than two million.

“I wish I had space for two hearts so I could properly support both my countries,” Nadia told Al Jazeera when asked about her allegiance as loud roars of the crowd spilled out of the stadium behind her.

Nadia admitted her heart was ultimately with Bosnia, but the Canada cap she sported was a nod to the country that became home when she had to flee hers.

Earlier in the day, thousands of Bosnia supporters turned Toronto into a sea of blue as they marched towards the match venue in the city’s downtown while chanting “Free Palestine” to thunderous claps.

“They [Palestinians] should be free, enough with the wars and genocide,” Nadia said as her eyes welled up with tears. She took a deep breath before adding: “There is so much suffering, especially for the children.”

Cultures blend in Toronto

Dan, a Bosnia supporter in his 40s, was the same age as his primary school-aged son when he fled the genocide in his country.

The father-and-son duo enjoyed the game and soaked in the atmosphere among the 45,000-plus fans at the stadium before heading back slightly upset with the draw.

The day Canada opened its first World Cup became an amalgamation of immigrant Bosnian fans’ identities as they shared high fives and traded jerseys with their opposing numbers.

Every shade of skin colour and a multitude of mother tongues made the stadium and a nearby fan festival a microcosm of Toronto’s reputation as a multicultural hotspot.

The fan festival boasted the full spectrum of football enthusiasts — the hardcore supporters with expert analyses, laced with expletives at missed chances, and those in attendance purely for the vibes.

Football aside, several Canadian fans abhorred the immigration policies of their neighbour to the south. They were proud to be known for their hospitality at the 48-nation tournament across North America.

Admir, a travelling Bosnian fan, was full of praise for Canadian hospitality when he arrived from New Jersey.

“Everyone from ordinary people to stadium support staff to restaurant owners have been so accommodating since we got here,” he told Al Jazeera ahead of kickoff.

Compared with the barrage of immigration nightmare stories of World Cup supporters trying to enter the US, his journey to Canada was seamless.

Despite his home state hosting eight World Cup matches, Admir chose to pay an exorbitant price for tickets to see Bosnia, who returned to the World Cup after 12 years following a fairytale qualification.

The sun had drained most fans of their energy after the match, but not Tanya, who drove seven hours from New York to Toronto on Thursday morning.

“The atmosphere at the fan festival was amazing; Toronto has been great.”

“I think our boys played pretty well,” she said of the match. “We didn’t win, but it wasn’t a loss either.”

Progress for Kyiv’s membership bid given the green light after Hungary’s new government lifts Budapest’s veto.

The European Union has announced that the accession process for Ukraine and Moldova will launch next week.

At a meeting in Brussels on Friday, ambassadors from the 27 EU nations agreed to officially recommence negotiations with the two countries in Luxembourg on Monday.

EU leaders agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova in December 2023. However, negotiations were paused due to opposition from Hungary, led at the time by pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, to Kyiv’s membership bid.

Both Kyiv and Chisinau view EU membership as additional security against Russian aggression. Moscow insists that maintaining control over its “near abroad” – its term for the post-Soviet states – is key to its national security.

“All member states agreed to open the first accession negotiations cluster with Ukraine and Moldova,” European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint social media post.

Hungary’s new government, which took power in May, agreed last week to drop Orban’s veto, allowing the accession process to resume.

“This is a recognition of the determination, courage and hard work shown by both countries in advancing reforms, even in the face of immense challenges,” Costa and von der Leyen said.

“Enlargement is a strategic choice,” they said, adding, “In a world marked by growing uncertainty, a larger European Union is in our common interest.”

Entry negotiations with Kyiv were formally opened in June 2024, kickstarting a complex process that usually takes years and involves negotiations on everything from agriculture to the rule of law.

The move was largely symbolic, intended as a powerful show of support for Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

New Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar struck a deal with Kyiv on the rights of Ukraine’s Hungarian ethnic minority last week. The issue has long been a sticking point between the neighbouring countries.

But Magyar has said Hungary does not support a fast-track procedure for Ukraine to join the EU.

He said Budapest will hold a referendum on Ukraine’s membership, should it “succeed in closing all 33 accession chapters within the next 10 to 15 years”.

Talks will begin on Monday with the opening of the “fundamentals” section of the process, Costa and van der Leyen said in their statement.

This covers basic principles such as rule of law that the two candidate countries will be expected to adhere to.

Migration has been a central theme throughout Pope Leo’s weeklong tour of Spain.

Pope Leo has warned human traffickers that they will face God’s wrath if they continue to exploit desperate African people trying to reach Europe via Spain’s Canary Islands.

On Friday, his second day in the Canary Islands, the pontiff said that he wanted to directly address those who “take advantage of people’s desperation [or] organise death routes”.

Throughout his weeklong tour of Spain, the American pope has insisted on the inherent dignity and rights of migrants, urging global leaders to welcome and integrate them into society.

“Stop. Repent,” said Pope Leo. “For every life lost, every family deceived … you will have to appear before divine justice.”

“Repent while there is still time,” he said, invoking the Catholic belief that someone who committed evil acts in life can confess their sins and make amends or be sent to hell upon their death.

Leo was visiting the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the western coast of Africa, as the culmination of a three-stop tour of Spain.

The islands are one of the main gateways into Europe for migrants, who risk a deadly journey across the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, often in improvised and overcrowded small craft.

Earlier, the first man from the United States to lead the Roman Catholic Church, warned world leaders that history would condemn those who allowed people fleeing war or poverty to suffer.

Located more than 1,000km (620 miles) from mainland Spain, the Canaries saw migration peak in 2024, when the islands received 46,843 migrants, compared with fewer than 1,000 in 2015, according to official data.

More than 3,000 people died last year trying to reach the islands, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras.

The pope also visited an interim housing centre in Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, to hear testimonies from migrants. The facility has received some 70,000 people since it opened in 2021.

One woman, Bousso Diouf, told Pope Leo that migrants did not want special privileges but “respect, humanity and the opportunity to live with dignity.”

A new beach rule for a European hotspot has been introduced for anyone aged between 10 and 65, but one traveller has dubbed it the ‘most unusual beach rule of 2026’

A popular European destination that welcomes thousands of Brits each year is introducing a new beach rule for everyone aged 10 to 65.

A day out at the beach, be it in the UK during the summer months or in Europe, is often accompanied by an umbrella to help provide shade from the balmy sun. However, holidaymakers of a certain age have been banned from using a parasol on a beach in Sardinia, Italy.

Under the new rule introduced earlier this month, Punta Molentis Beach, near the popular resort town of Villasimius in Sardinia, only allows families with children under 10 years old or people over 65 to put up an umbrella. It comes as the Italian beach limits the number of visitors to 150 at a time and puts in strict restrictions following wildfires in July last year.

In addition, visitors arriving at Punta Molentis Beach on foot will need to pay a fee of €10 (£8.60), while those arriving by boat will pay €5 (£4.31). Meanwhile, only 70 cars will be able to access the beach per day until 31 October, and reservations will be compulsory to visit, the Villasimius council website reported.

The town council also said in a message: “It’s therefore necessary to limit human impact and ensure protection of this heritage for future generations.”

The rules are in place throughout the summer season and aim to protect the beloved beach following last summer’s wildfires. Holidaymakers were forced to flee the wildfires by boat after they erupted in late July 2025, with around 100 hectares of Punta Molentis said to have been destroyed by the blaze, including cars in the beach car park.

However, not everyone is happy with the new rules. One person commented on X, formerly Twitter: “Banning shade in the Mediterranean summer heat sounds incredibly dangerous.”

A second said: “Guess I’m just gonna roast under the sun then, sounds like a fun time for my skin.” While a third added: “This might be the most unusual beach rule of 2026.”

One more wrote: “Banning basic sun protection for specific age groups under the guise of ‘saving space’ is a massive skin cancer risk waiting to happen.”

However, the council noted on its website that: “The ecosystem of Punta Molentis is one of the most valuable in our territory but also one of the most fragile.”

Meanwhile, in the Italian hotspot of Sorrento, people are banned from wearing swimwear away from beaches and pools. Anyone caught out could face fines of up to €500 (around 431), while Portofino, Positano and Capri have also enforced similar rules.

The rule is to avoid tourists walking around town or going to lunch in swimsuits or bikinis. But it doesn’t just apply to swimwear, as those caught walking around topless could also face a fine.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Ukraine said it reclaimed more of its territory than it lost during May, reversing a Russian trend of monthly net gains.

“The ratio of liberated and lost territories is almost 100 square kilometres (40 square miles) in our favour,” wrote Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii on his Telegram messaging channel.

Ukrainian defence news outlet Militarnyi estimated net gains slightly higher, at 120 sq km (46 sq miles), citing sources within the military. Militarnyi said Russia seized 130 sq km (50 sq miles) and lost 250 sq km (100 sq miles) during the month.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank using open source geolocated information, assessed Ukrainian gains higher still, saying Russia had seized or infiltrated 40 sq km (15 sq miles) in May but lost control of about 280 sq km (108 sq miles).

The ISW believed Ukraine actually reversed Russian gains in April, when it estimated Moscow’s gains at 28 sq km (11 sq miles) of Ukrainian land and lost 116 sq km (45 sq miles).

The ISW’s assessments suggest Ukrainian gains are growing.

Syrskii said Ukraine reclaimed 600 sq km (230 sq miles) during the first five months of 2026.

However, Russia was successful on one part of the front

Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets reported on June 10 that Russian forces had advanced into eastern Konstiantynivka, the southernmost of a “fortress belt” of four cities in the eastern region of Donetsk. Russian forces first infiltrated parts of the city last October, and now hold about 13 percent of it, said the ISW.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has prioritised the capture of the remaining one-fifth of Donetsk he does not possess, but his set deadlines to achieve this have been missed several times.

Putin may be putting out feelers for potential ceasefire talks. Although on June 5 he rejected a call from Zelenskyy for direct talks, Zelenskyy said he had met with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich who acted as Putin’s intermediary.

Mid-range attacks devastate Russian logistics

Ukraine says its battlefield achievements are thanks to a strategy of disrupting Russian supply lines by striking fuel and ammunition in warehouses and in transit.

“The logistical lockdown is working,” said Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. “The number of hits on enemy targets at a distance of over 50km (30 miles) from the (frontline) has doubled,” he said, comparing May to April.

Syrskii put the May total at almost 2,000 strikes.

The effects of Ukraine’s strategy have begun to build up.

Weeks of attacks in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia reduced Russian military traffic by more than 70 percent along the M-14 motorway, the main east-west route, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

On June 7, regional authorities prohibited traffic along the M-14 altogether, Brovdi said.

That forced Russian planners to route more supplies along two highways that reach Kherson and Zaporizhia, via Crimea – the E105 and E97.

The following day, Ukraine struck a bridge that shoulders the E105 over the Chonhar Strait, leaving only the E97 passable. On June 9, as about 50 Russian fuel and ammunition trucks were routed to the E97, Ukrainian forces ambushed and destroyed some of them at Armyansk, commander Dmitry Filatov told Suspilne Radio.

“This operation would not have been possible if other units had not struck at Mariupol and the road to Berdyansk,” Filatov said, referring to the mainland routes. “This is what led to the units stationed in the Hulyaipil direction starting to be supplied, not via the Mariupol highways, but via Crimea.”

Civilians in Crimea have faced severe fuel shortages as a result of Ukrainian strikes, and these became dramatically worse in the past week.

On June 7, Sevastopol occupation governor Mikhail Razvozhaev rationed fuel to 20 litres per car per day. He later changed that to 20 litres per week.

Shortages were reportedly forcing troop evacuations from some outlying positions.

The Ukrainian underground group Atesh, which operates in Crimea, said Russian units were abandoning their positions on the Kinburn Spit because they were running out of food and fuel.

“We will create conditions under which it will be extremely difficult for military personnel and defence industry workers to remain in Crimea, in the temporarily occupied territories, or to use the routes leading to them,” Brovdi told Reuters.

Although Russia’s air force continues to command the skies over eastern Ukraine and to drop large ordnance there, Ukraine’s own figures suggest its drone superiority is the more effective tool.

Ukrainian short-and medium-range drones hit 180,000 targets in May, said Syrskii, 12.7 percent more than in April.

Ukrainian defenders are also reportedly becoming more adept at shooting down Russian Shahed drones with their own interceptor drones. Although Russia launched 25 percent more Shaheds in May compared to April, shoot-downs increased by 50 percent to about 4,000, said Fedorov,

Fedorov expected a step-change in Shahed elimination once a new generation of interceptor goes into full production which “automates 95 percent of the entire interception process”.

Beyond these mid-range strikes, Ukraine has also continued a successful long-range strike campaign that has devastated Russian refineries, oil depots and offloading terminals, reducing Russian oil production and export revenue.

Russian recruitment is low

Aware of the Ukrainian drone threat, Russia has created unmanned systems units of its own but appears to be having trouble manning them.

Since the beginning of the year, 14,500 people have signed contracts to serve in these units, about 21 percent of the annual recruitment target, said Syrskii. Overall, Ukraine has killed or wounded 12,500 more troops than Russia has been able to recruit this year, he said.

That is both because casualty figures have been rising since last autumn there – Ukraine estimated 31,500 Russian casualties in May – and because Moscow’s recruitment has been falling, despite increased bonuses to sign-up.

Russian opposition source Vazhnye Istorii said 71,200 people had been paid enlistment bonuses in the first quarter of 2026 according to budget data, compared to almost 90,000 in the first quarter of 2025.

It estimated that recruitment in 2025 was already 10 percent lower than in 2024.

France and Germany have announced this week that they are ditching a landmark project to jointly develop a sixth-generation fighter jet.

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Monday that the project is being terminated, in what is being seen as a major blow to efforts to boost defence cooperation between European Union states, a key issue amid uncertainty cast by United States President Donald Trump over the readiness of the US to help defend its NATO allies.

Trump’s disdain for Europe’s reliance on the US has been building for years.

Since 2019, the US president has been flirting with the idea of obtaining Greenland.

His remarks about his desire for the island, a self-governing territory which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, built to a crescendo at the start of this year, with European leaders signalling their displeasure with the idea and Trump even threatening additional trade tariffs on those countries standing in his way.

Both Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly stated that the island is not for sale.

At one point, before Trump backed down after agreeing to a “framework of a future deal” on Greenland during a January meeting with NATO’s Mark Rutte in Davos, it seemed as if the US might even try to take the island by force – a notion that would have been inconceivable before the era of Donald Trump.

The threat of military action set off alarm bells in European capitals.

In addition to all this, Trump has withdrawn much of the US’s support for Ukraine and has consistently berated his European NATO partners for not spending enough on their own defence for years, outright urging them to reduce their reliance on the US for military protection.

More recently, Europe’s refusal to join the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began with strikes on Tehran on February 28, has further irked the US president and deepened concerns that a widening transatlantic rift could weaken the continent’s security and embolden Russia.

Until this week, a counterweight to these burgeoning concerns was in hand – the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, a landmark pact to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet involving France, Germany and Spain.

But disagreements over whether France’s Dassault Aviation, or Airbus, which also represents Germany and Spain, should take the lead on the project have ultimately led to its collapse.

Analysts, however, say all hope is not lost: despite the dissolution of the bellwether venture, Europeans can indeed become strategically autonomous, they say – but the road there runs through shared military integration, rather than shared political aspiration.

The FCAS hoopla does “highlight the limitation of Europe’s defence industrial landscape, where national needs sometimes clash with the broader goal of defence integration”, Giuseppe Spatafora, a policy analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, told Al Jazeera.

“But we also shouldn’t overestimate its impact.”

Setback, not collapse

According to Jamie Shea, a retired NATO official and associate fellow with the International Security Programme at Chatham House, FCAS’s dissolution is certainly a setback – but does not spell the collapse of European defence integration in its entirety.

“It was the type of high-tech, innovative and future-oriented programme that Europeans need to be able to achieve successfully if they are to become strategically autonomous and break their dependence on the US for major weapons systems,” Shea told Al Jazeera.

It had been hoped that FCAS would move the needle forward, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), space, data fusion, and the manned and autonomous systems interface space, he said.

Others would have additionally joined the project as it gained momentum, as Spain did, he added, potentially creating a domino effect in next-generation defence technologies across the continent.

But, crucially, Spatafora said, the project dates back to 2017 – a different era, before Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine and before Trump’s return to the White House.

“Nowadays, the project might be designed differently to reflect the scenario,” he said.

“But it doesn’t affect the broader trend in Europe towards reducing dependencies on US military systems and strengthening its own defence capabilities.”

France and Germany will continue with some components of FCAS, such as its “combat cloud” feature, which will increase Europe’s cyber command-and-control capabilities, said Spatafora.

Airbus and a number of other German companies are also seeking to continue the programme in other areas, particularly software architecture and drone technology, Shea said.

“So there may be benefits for European defence and its defence technology base even if a manned fighter aircraft is not built,” said Shea.

Furthermore, there are “scores” of other joint defence projects being launched in Europe at the moment, even if they are not quite as ambitious as FCAS, he added.

Guntram Wolff, a senior fellow at the European think tank Bruegel, similarly urged against alarmism.

“I would not interpret this decision overly negatively,” Wolff told Al Jazeera.

“FCAS was a very complicated project and its military relevance may well be overstated at a moment of increasing importance of cheap autonomous systems. In part, the decision also reflects a reassessment of whether the high cost was really warranted.”

Europe, meanwhile, has other strengths it can build on, the analysts said.

The continent is strong in shipbuilding, submarines, short-range missiles and air defence – with systems like the German IRIS-T and the French-Italian SAMP/T – and has demonstrated it can build capable fighter jets, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, Tornado and Gripen programmes have shown, Shea said.

Lessons and challenges

Europe’s main problem is underinvestment and the difficulty it has in scaling up to the level of mass production that modern warfare demands, said Shea.

This issue was brought into sharp focus this week when the UK’s secretary of state for defence dramatically resigned from government over defence funding.

He simply cannot keep the country safe on what he has been given to spend, he said. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, he wrote: “You have been unable and the Treasury has been unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” he wrote.

Ultimately, European nations are going to have to come together if they have any hope of matching US military might in the future, analysts say.

“It is the challenge of integrating all systems and all domains into a single battlefield management space where the US is in advance of the Europeans,” Shea said.

“Drones, which Russia and Ukraine are producing in the millions, are a case in point. Even the US suffers from weapons shortages as we have seen in the Iran war,” the former NATO official added.

Spatafora echoed the idea that the Russia-Ukraine war has lessons to offer the rest of Europe.

“The lesson of the war in Ukraine is that, in order to deter and defend itself properly, Europe needs cheap, mass-produced capabilities,” he said.

FCAS was about a very expensive capability, “so it was not really the key need for Europe’s deterrence today”, the analyst said.

The more pressing question that FCAS raises is how European nations will coordinate large projects which single countries cannot produce on their own and which could clash with the interests of numerous national industries. This is the conundrum which will likely shape the design of future EU instruments to support cooperative defence projects, said Spatafora.

Another challenge facing the continent is that major platforms like aircraft, ships or land warfare vehicles can take decades to develop, and contracts signed today will yield equipment that will not be on the battlefield before 2040, Shea said.

Europe will need to upgrade its current capabilities – recent upgrades to the Eurofighter jet and the Leopard tank are examples he cited – and look for gap-fillers elsewhere.

Spatafora argues that the FCAS collapse should not push European countries back towards reliance on American systems – or at least not more than they already have.

“The Trump administration’s approach and the depletion of stock after the Iran war have significantly reduced the reliability of US supplies,” he said.

The reliability of US guarantees, he added, depends on other assets – long-range missiles, forward-deployed troops, command-and-control infrastructure – “rather than on a next-generation fighter jet”, the analyst added.

‘Military requirements’ over ‘political ambition’

The FCAS failure is certainly good news for Russia, Shea said, “and also for the US, which will hope to sell Europe even more F-35s and maintain Europe’s traditional dependency on US military equipment”.

A rebound from the collapsed project, therefore, he argued, is necessary. But that is already in the works, analysts say, as Europe is already turning away from US dependability.

They point to the high likelihood of renewed interest in the UK-Italy-Japan Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) for a sixth-generation stealth fighter jet, in European Space Agency military space capabilities, and in EU defence financing mechanisms like the Security Action for Europe (SAFE).

Joint ventures with Ukraine, which, under fire from Russia for four years, has mastered mass production of drone technology and AI, should also help keep Europe up to speed in key areas, Shea added.

“The US has proven to be unreliable, or simply unable to remain committed to Europe, and the defence budgets are growing,” Spatfora said.

Washington will continue to remain relevant for certain capabilities – nuclear deterrence above all – but over time, European countries will seek to develop more and more on their own.

The ultimate lesson of FCAS, however, Shea argued, is that defence integration “has to be driven by military requirements rather than political ambition”.

Cooperation between France and Germany has always been difficult, he said – they have large defence companies “that do not want to play second fiddle to the other”, he said.

A more promising model, he said, is the joint UK-Norway agreement to produce a new destroyer-class warship, with BAE Systems as the main contractor and smaller Norwegian companies participating.

“Both countries operate in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea and share exactly the same concept of what the ship should be,” explained Shea.

“So it is this model of bottom-up, natural cooperation rather than top-down political cooperation that Europe needs to pursue.”

Five goals, four water breaks, three red cards and a glittering opening ceremony.

The World Cup 2026 opening day delivered everything you could ask for.

From an early thunder strike to a late winning goal, Thursday was filled with drama, stretching from Mexico City to Zapopan.

Al Jazeera breaks down the key takeaways from the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s day 1:

Is this going to be the World Cup with the most red cards?

The three red cards brandished to Yaya Sithole, Themba Zwame and Cesar Montes during Mexico’s 2-0 win over South Africa were an unusual sight at a World Cup.

In the last two editions, Qatar 2022 and Russia 2018, only four red cards were handed out during the entire tournament. This year’s World Cup opening game nearly matched that singlehandedly.

With officiating at the start of the tournament usually setting the tone for the rest of the campaign, the sequence of sending offs at Estadio Azteca could be repeated several times during the 39-day, 104-match spectacle in North America.

Thursday’s three reds fell just one short of the record of four at a World Cup 2006 game, nicknamed the “Battle of Nuremberg”, between Portugal and the Netherlands.

The record for the most red cards – 28 – was also set at the same tournament in Germany.

Controversial VAR at the centre of debate again

The look of confusion and disbelief among South African players after Zwane was sent off for flinging an arm into Mexico’s Roberto Alvarado’s face prompted the debate: Is Video Assistant Referee (VAR) playing spoilsport again?

Referee Wilton Sampaio did not initially pull out the red card, but after being sent to the pitchside monitor by VAR, Sampaio decided to send Zwane off.

While the replays were unclear, it seemed Zwane was trying to move past Alvarado, but his hand caught the Mexican’s face in the process.

Zwane was ultimately booked for “violent conduct”, a controversial decision, which seemed harsh given it was not an obvious call. South Africa coach Hugo Broos was not convinced by it, either.

“The second red card, I think the Mexican player blocked my player,” Broos said in the post-match media conference.

“It’s the position of the referee, and we have to accept it also, but I don’t think [it was a red], it was too soft to give that as a red card.”

Hydration breaks or momentum killers?

The introduction of fixed hydration breaks – one in each half – came into effect for the first time at the World Cup on Thursday, and attracted early criticism from viewers and coaches alike.

While some broadcasters stuck with the live feed featuring players, others cut to commercials, disrupting the match-viewing experience for fans watching on TV.

Viewers in the United States were frustrated after broadcaster Fox cut away to full-screen commercials and they missed some live action during the second half of the Mexico vs South Africa opening match.

US head coach Mauricio Pochettino had a mixed opinion over the three-minute breaks, which are held regardless of weather conditions and introduced by FIFA to prioritise player welfare.

“I don’t like it. I only like it when the conditions are very extreme, but when the conditions are good, it is not necessary to have water breaks,” he said during a news conference on Thursday.

“For me, it’s 50-50. For coaches and staff, it’s a chance to make some changes or fix problems. But it’s part of the game, and we accept that.

“I don’t agree with it, but it’s not a big issue and won’t have a big effect on the games,” he said, adding that he did not watch the opening game.

Son Heung-min misfires, but South Korea prevail

Son Heung-min has often been the hero of the South Korea national team on the biggest stage, but on Thursday, even though the talisman got the lion’s share of the chances, he failed to score in their 2-1 win over Czechia.

Son worked seamlessly with the impressive Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung to create a host of first-half chances, with the trio combining darting runs through the middle with a succession of dangerous pass-and-go moves that they just could not finish.

But Oh Hyeon-gyu and Hwang In-beom stepped up to the occasion, bagging a goal each to steer the Koreans to a dramatic late comeback win over Czechia.

South Korea vs Czechia: A clash of styles

Even though both teams opted for a 3-4-3 formation, there was a stark difference in their systems and approach.

South Korea played a fluid, possession-based style of football, while Czechia were heavily reliant on dead balls, opting for a rugged, route-one tactic.

Although the Czechs broke forward first with direct, physical play, the Koreans – buoyed by a largely Mexican crowd rooting for them – bounced back with their dominance of possession and stylish play, getting the better of their set-piece specialist opponents.

Three people have been killed in the border region between Russia and Ukraine, according to officials, as the two sides launched attacks on each other in the latest exchange of fire.

In Russia, two civilians were killed and two wounded in the region of Bryansk after Kyiv struck the settlement of Suzemka with artillery, Acting Governor Egor Kovalchuk said in a post on Telegram on Friday.

A ⁠drone ⁠also hit an apartment building in Russia’s ⁠central region of Tatarstan, ⁠injuring three people, while industrial facilities were ‌hit, regional head Rustam Minnikhanov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Production work was ⁠not suspended, ⁠however, he added, but did not identify ⁠any plants. ⁠The region ⁠is home to key oil processing and petrochemical ‌facilities, among others.

⁠Russia’s ⁠city of Togliatti, home to ⁠the country’s biggest ⁠carmaker Avtovaz, also came under a drone attack overnight, Samara ‌region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said on Telegram.

“Attention! Drone attack regime ⁠for Togliatti,” he ⁠wrote. Togliatti is a city ⁠on the ⁠Volga River some 800 km (500 miles) southeast ‌of Moscow.

These strikes are what Ukraine refers to as a “logistics lockdown”, said Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine, reported from Kyiv. She explained that they are mid-range strikes anywhere over 30 kilometres (17 miles) from the front line, using long-range drones and sometimes heavy weaponry to target things like oil refineries, bridges, logistics, and roads as a means of halting Russia’s front-line operations.

At the same time, she said, Ukraine also launches what it calls “long-range sanctions” against Russian targets – a “tongue-in-cheek term … that we’ve seen escalating over the past several months, where Ukraine is targeting Russia’s oil refineries and oil industry,” MacAlpine explained.

In Ukraine, a drone attack in the border region of Sumy caused casualties.

A 44-year-old woman working as a rail station operator died on her way to a shelter during the strike, according to the head of Ukrainian Railways, Oleksandr Pertsovkyi.

Another woman, a station attendant, was wounded in the attack, Pertsovkyi added.

Three people were wounded in separate attacks on Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region.

“We’ve seen continual threats by Russia before massive attacks, and we have certainly seen the results of those actions here in cities like Kyiv, where ballistics continue to be the Achilles heel for Ukraine”, MacAlpine said.

Russian fuel shortages after Ukrainian attacks

In recent months, Kyiv has carried out an increasing number of attacks on Russia and Russian-occupied territories.

On Thursday, fuel stations on the Russian-held Crimean Peninsula ran out of petrol after a Ukrainian campaign against the peninsula’s supply lines escalated.

A witness in Sevastopol, the peninsula’s largest city, told the Reuters news agency there was no fuel at most local petrol stations, with supplies struggling to keep up with a rationing regime imposed in recent weeks.

Another witness, in the resort town of Yevpatoriya, ⁠said there was a long queue outside the only petrol station open there.

Ukraine has been intensifying drone attacks on supply lines to the peninsula, which Russia seized from Kyiv in 2014. Local authorities have imposed fuel rationing regimes, with some foodstuffs also running short.

Besides Russian-held Crimea, only ‌two regions in Siberia have officially confirmed the shortages.

Most other regions have said the situation is under control, and that some disruptions were caused by panic buying. Moscow has denied there were any problems with fuel supplies.

How does a football penalty become a story about survival? As Bosnia and Herzegovina prepare to face Canada in their 2026 World Cup opener, many eyes will be on Esmir Bajraktarevic. Born in the US, to a family affected by the Srebrenica genocide, his journey is about far more than just football.