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United States President Donald Trump has said an initial agreement to end the US-Israeli war with Iran is “scheduled to get signed tomorrow”.

But that announcement, made on Trump’s Truth Social account on Saturday, contradicts an earlier statement by Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.

In remarks carried by Iran’s IRNA news agency, Baghaei said a memorandum of understanding would not be signed on Sunday and that negotiators are not planning to travel immediately to Geneva, Switzerland, in preparation for such an event.

According to Baghaei, a signing could happen “in the coming days”.

Hours later, Trump wrote, “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL.” Sunday marks Trump’s 80th birthday.

In recent days, Iran and the US have repeatedly contradicted each other when describing the details of the anticipated agreement, even as both sides have broadly signalled that a deal was closer than ever before.

Still, no terms have been officially released, with US and Iranian officials on Friday stressing that the agreement had not been finalised.

Beyond opening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said in Saturday’s post that the agreement would be a “A WALL TO NO NUCLEAR WEAPON!” and that “no money would exchange hands”.

Trump also maintained that “at the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust”, referring to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

But speaking on Iran’s Press TV on Friday, Iranian ⁠⁠Foreign ⁠⁠Minister Abbas Araghchi said the initial memorandum of understanding would only be a launch point for negotiations about the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.

He added that the signing would result in an immediate pause in fighting, but that Iran and Oman would continue to administer the Strait of Hormuz.

The issue of lifting foreign sanctions against Iran and unfreezing the country’s assets would be discussed following the signing of the memorandum of understanding, Araghchi said.

From threats to diplomacy

The latest flurry of diplomacy came after the US and Iran traded strikes for two days this week, threatening to end a pause in fighting that has persisted since April 8.

The US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, amid ongoing indirect talks on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.

The US and Israel had also launched a 12-day war on Iran in 2025, during another round of nuclear talks.

Iranian officials have said that deep distrust towards the US has slowed the progress towards creating a lasting agreement to bring the current war to an end.

Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly pledged to reach a deal that would surpass the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), struck under his Democratic rival, former President Barack Obama.

That agreement, from which Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018, saw Tehran agree to limit its nuclear programme and allow for international inspections in exchange for sanctions relief.

For years, Iran has maintained that it is building a nuclear programme for civilian use only and is not seeking a nuclear weapon.

In his post on Truth Social, Trump again pledged that any deal reached would be more stringent than the JCPOA.

“Our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous Administrations have had,” he said.

“Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly,” he added.

“If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!” he wrote, without elaborating on what his threat meant.

Animal lovers in Gaza are resorting to desperate measures to keep their pets alive and healthy. Only two pet clinics are still operating, and critical veterinary supplies and animal food are running low. Vets are warning animal deaths will rise unless supplies arrive soon.

Israeli attack reportedly kills one person in central Gaza’s Bureij camp, as a disabled Palestinian is shot in the West Bank.

Israeli forces have carried out a deadly attack in a refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Palestinian media reports, as casualties continue to mount in the enclave despite a “ceasefire” declared months ago.

The Israeli drone attack in the Bureij camp on Saturday killed one person and injured two others, reported the Wafa news agency.

The Palestinian Information Center identified the person killed as Muawiya al-Aydi, a local municipality worker.

Further north, a separate Israeli attack injured a person at a gathering in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood, according to Wafa.

Despite a ceasefire technically in effect since October, Israel’s military has regularly attacked Gaza, over half of which is under Israeli military control in defiance of the ceasefire’s terms.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least two Palestinians have been killed and 11 injured in Israeli attacks on the enclave in the past 48 hours.

The ministry said 983 people have been killed and 3,122 injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire was declared.

Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the agreement through its continued attacks and by shifting the so-called “Yellow Line” that demarcates Israeli-controlled areas in Gaza.

“Israeli actions reflect its unwillingness to implement the ceasefire agreement and aim to blow up the negotiation track and thwart the efforts being made, while continuing escalation to serve political and electoral considerations,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem on Friday.

Disabled Palestinian shot, injured in West Bank

Israeli troops also carried out a series of violent raids in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, part of a pattern of near-daily operations since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

According to Wafa, Israeli forces deployed stun grenades and tear gas during two separate incidents near Bethlehem, causing numerous injuries: one during a raid on the Dheisheh refugee camp and the other while blocking access to the Solomon’s Pools reservoirs.

A disabled Palestinian man was also shot and injured in the town of Duma, near Hebron.

Wafa said Israeli forces shot the man, while Israeli media cited Israeli police as saying an Israeli settler was responsible. According to Israeli police, the settler felt threatened by the man who was carrying a rock.

Other Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and vandalised property near Bethlehem, including assaulting Palestinian electrical workers and stealing water pipes, said Wafa.

June 12 (Asia Today) — Thousands of South Korean soccer fans packed Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Friday, cheering, gasping and celebrating through South Korea’s 2-1 comeback victory over Czechia in its opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“Dae-han-min-guk! Until the end!” fans shouted as the square turned red with supporters wearing national team jerseys and carrying South Korean flags, cheering sticks and handheld fans.

The Group A match was played Friday morning in South Korea, but the weekday timing did little to slow the crowd. Children, office workers and longtime members of the Red Devils, South Korea’s national soccer supporters’ group, gathered in front of a large outdoor screen set up near the square.

When the opening whistle sounded at 11 a.m., fans shouted “Fighting!” and “Let’s win!” Police unofficially estimated about 3,000 people had gathered at the square at the start of the match.

The temperature in Seoul rose to 28 degrees Celsius, or 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit, under clear skies. Many fans used parasols, portable fans and folding fans to cope with the heat.

Some supporters took vacation days to watch the match in public. Lee Hyun-soo, 37, an office worker who came with his elementary school-age child, said he used annual leave so they could cheer together.

“The next day is the weekend and my child also filed for an experiential learning day, so I took the day off,” Lee said. “It is very hot, but it is better than cloudy or rainy weather.”

South Korea controlled much of the early play but failed to score in the first half. When chances ended without a goal, fans grabbed their heads and groaned in frustration.

The crowd grew sharply near halftime as office workers from nearby buildings joined during their lunch breaks. Some skipped restaurant meals and watched while eating toast or convenience store food.

Kim Sung-il, 28, who works near Gwanghwamun Station, said he came with co-workers to watch the second half.

“Lunch break gives us enough time to watch the second half,” Kim said. “I hope the result lets us start the afternoon shift happily.”

As the crowd swelled, police and event staff moved quickly to control pedestrian flow. Seoul’s real-time city data showed about 14,000 to 16,000 people were in Gwanghwamun Square at noon, more than twice the 6,000 expected by the Korea Football Association.

Police deployed about 260 officers from three mobile units to manage the crowd. Officers and staff repeatedly asked fans to fold parasols while moving and to continue walking in one direction. No major safety incidents were reported.

The match turned tense in the second half. Czechia took the lead in the 59th minute when Ladislav Krejci scored with a header. The mood at the square briefly fell silent.

South Korea quickly answered. Hwang In-beom equalized in the 67th minute and later helped create the winning goal by substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu in the 80th minute.

As Oh’s goal went in, fans hugged friends, jumped in place and shouted in relief. Many stayed in the square after the final whistle, still caught up in the emotion of South Korea’s first opening-match win at a World Cup since 2010.

Kim Ji-min, 23, a university student, said she had been nervous before the match.

“I was very worried before the game, but I am so happy we came back and won,” Kim said.

Shim Sung-min, 42, an office worker, said the match felt cinematic.

“I heard this was South Korea’s first opening-match win in 16 years,” Shim said. “Today’s match felt like a movie. I think I can enjoy the rest of the weekend.”

South Korea’s win gave the team three points to begin Group A and lifted hopes among fans watching from Seoul that the national team can advance from the group stage.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260612010004331

‘$1,250’
‘$1,200’
‘$1,350’
‘FIFA should be ashamed of themselves.’

World Cup fans reveal how much they paid for a seat at the US’s opening game against Paraguay, amid controversy over record-high ticket costs and dynamic pricing.

June 12 (Asia Today) — A joint prosecution-police investigation team searched National Election Commission servers for a second consecutive day Friday as part of an inquiry into ballot shortages during South Korea’s June 3 local elections.

The team was conducting a search and seizure operation involving the commission’s servers, officials said.

Investigators on Thursday raided seven locations, including the National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, the Seoul election commission and district election offices in Songpa, Seocho, Gangnam, Gwangjin and Dongjak.

The raids were conducted as part of an investigation into suspected violations of the Public Official Election Act and alleged dereliction of duty.

The warrant reportedly listed more than 10 people as suspects, including former National Election Commission Chairman Noh Tae-ak, former Secretary-General Huh Chul-hoon and heads of regional election commissions.

The team has also begun sorting materials seized in the raids, including ballot printing plans, budget documents, voting records and electronic files. The seized materials are believed to include meeting minutes related to the commission’s decision to reduce the number of ballots printed.

Investigators plan to question election commission officials after reviewing the seized materials to determine how the ballot shortage occurred.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s major crimes investigation unit notified election commission officials Monday to appear for questioning and is coordinating interview schedules.

The investigation follows widespread criticism over ballot shortages at some polling stations during the June 3 local elections. The incident led to public complaints, calls for accountability and the resignations of senior election officials.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260612010004362

The company said it received ⁠an export control directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for foreign nationals.

The AI firm Anthropic has blocked access to its newly released cutting-edge software, following an order by the United States government.

In a blog post published Friday, the company behind the Claude chatbot said government agencies had instructed it to prevent all foreign nationals from accessing the AI models Fable 5 and Mythos 5, citing national security concerns.

Anthropic said it received the order at 5:21pm (21:21 GMT) on Friday and that the letter did not explain the government’s specific security concern in detail.

The ban also affects foreigners currently in the US – including those working at Anthropic.

As a result of the order, the company had to cut off access for everyone at short notice, it said.

The artificial intelligence behind Anthropic’s Mythos AI model is particularly adept at detecting software vulnerabilities, some of which have remained undiscovered for decades.

This capability has been used by US authorities and selected companies to plug security gaps.

However, a concern from the outset has been that such AI could become a dangerous cyberweapon in the wrong hands.

The Fable 5 model, released just this week, is based on Mythos technology, but its cybersecurity and biotechnology capabilities are blocked.

Mythos 5 is the non-public full version, which should continue to be used only by government agencies and selected corporate partners to harden their systems.

Anthropic emphasised that it had so far received only partial information from the government.

The company said it had reviewed a report which, in its assessment, was likely to have triggered the order.

Anthropic’s experts concluded that this referred to a limited capability to use the AI to review specific programme code and correct errors.

Models from other providers, such as GPT-5.5 from rival OpenAI, also possess this capability, the company stressed.

Anthropic said it disagreed that software used by hundreds of millions of users should be blocked for this reason, and that the safety measures in Fable 5 have been extensively tested.

Earlier this month, Anthropic proposed that the world’s top artificial intelligence companies coordinate to pause development of advanced AI systems, warning that the technology is improving so quickly that there is a risk humans would lose control.

The company said in a blog post in early June that, as cutting-edge AI gets increasingly faster at carrying out tasks, “it would be good for the world to have the option to slow or temporarily pause” its development.

June 12 (Asia Today) — OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman is expected to visit Naver on Monday, a week after Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang met with the South Korean technology company’s leadership.

Industry sources said Altman plans to visit South Korea during a two-day trip beginning Sunday and meet officials from major Korean companies, including Naver, Kakao and Samsung Electronics, to discuss artificial intelligence cooperation.

The expected Naver visit comes shortly after Huang visited Naver’s 1784 headquarters in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Monday and met with Lee Hae-jin, Naver’s founder and chairman.

The back-to-back visits by two of the most influential figures in the global AI industry are drawing renewed attention to Naver’s role in the sector. Industry officials said OpenAI may be interested in Naver’s data, service ecosystem and experience operating consumer platforms at scale.

Naver has built large user data assets through search, shopping, content, community, mapping and reservation services. As competition in generative AI increasingly depends on access to high-quality data, those assets are viewed as one of Naver’s main strengths.

Naver recently outlined what it calls a “product-native LLM” strategy, saying it will optimize AI for specific services such as search, shopping, maps and reservations rather than rely only on a single general-purpose model.

The company develops its own AI models and also operates a creator ecosystem of about 20 million people, with more than 630 million pieces of content produced annually. It also owns large-scale data center infrastructure and runs the services where AI can be applied directly to users.

A Naver official said competition in AI is changing quickly.

“In the past, the key was developing a better model,” the official said. “Now, the ability to secure high-quality data, service experience and the infrastructure to support them is emerging as a decisive factor.”

Naver is also seeking to expand AI search into agentic AI services, in which AI does not simply answer a user’s question but can help complete tasks such as reservations and purchases.

Global interest in Naver also grew after Huang’s visit this week. During his meeting with Lee, the Nvidia chief described Naver as a “world-class AI company.”

Huang cited possible cooperation with Naver in several areas, including participation in Nvidia’s Nemotron Alliance, the development of AI factories and robotics. He said Naver was selected because it has world-class cloud technology and AI talent.

Industry officials said Nvidia appears to view Naver as an AI infrastructure partner, while OpenAI may see potential in Naver’s data and service ecosystem.

“Naver’s combined strength in AI models, data, services and infrastructure is attracting attention from global AI companies,” one industry official said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260612010004347

The Israeli military has ordered residents of 20 Lebanese towns and villages to leave their homes immediately.

Israeli air raids across southern Lebanon have killed one person as attacks continue despite a United States-brokered “ceasefire”.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the person was killed in an Israeli air raid in the municipality of Maarakeh, in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut, said that over the course of Friday and into the evening, there were continued Israeli air attacks on towns and villages that are well north of what the Israelis call the “Yellow Line” – the part of southern Lebanon that they have been seeking to control and to occupy.

The attacks come after an announcement by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday that the United States and Iran have agreed on the wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war, and that mediators were working with both sides to finalise a deal.

Iranian media report the initial agreement would declare an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon”.

This has led to fears that Israel’s actions in Lebanon could scupper a deal, since Israel is not a party to the negotiations between the US and Iran, and its leaders have said they do not plan to withdraw from Lebanon.

The attacks also come amid a supposed ceasefire, agreed between Israeli and Lebanese officials earlier this month, that would require a “complete cessation” of fire by Hezbollah, yet the fighting continues.

The next round of talks between the two countries is expected on June 22, with a view towards reaching a comprehensive agreement.

Israel issues forced displacement orders, demolishes homes

Israeli attacks at dawn have demolished homes and government buildings in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, the country’s NNA reports.

The Israeli military also ordered residents of 20 Lebanese towns and villages to leave their homes immediately and move “north of the Zahrani River”.

The forced displacement orders apply to Deir al-Zahrani, al-Namirieh, al-Sharquieh, al-Dewayr, Harouf, Habboush, Kfarjoz, Zibdine (Nabatieh), Nabatieh al-Tahta, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kfar Rouman, Al-Mahmoudieh, Sajed (Jezzine), Reihan, Aaramta, Kfarchouba, Mlki, Al-Lawiza (Jezzine), Jarjouh and Arab Salim.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said an air raid alert had been activated in the northern town of Metula due to the “infiltration of a hostile aircraft” from Lebanon, but did not name the armed group Hezbollah.

Los Angeles, United States – Draped with a US flag, Alex Saldivar could hardly contain his broad smile as he exited the stadium after the United States beat Paraguay 4-1.

Not only did his team win their World Cup opener, they did so on home soil – and the 23-year-old got to witness it.

“This is a dream come true, a serious dream come true. I don’t know what to say,” Saldivar said, as he swayed from side to side, alternating his standing foot.

His excitement sums up the historic day for US football.

Tens of thousands of fans had descended on SoFi Stadium, putting on an eccentric display of oversized hats and US flag-themed outfits.

White and red striped dungarees, blue and white hair, star-spangled trousers, painted faces and Uncle Sam suits – supporters represented their country’s colours in every possible way.

Ryan Schellhous, who came to Los Angeles from San Jose in northern California, was dressed literally from head to toe in US flag colours, including a mask that only showed his eyes.

He told Al Jazeera it was great to have the World Cup in the US.

“There’s a lot of excitement for soccer in America right now, and this is great,” Schellhous said, adding that he expected Team USA to go deep in the tournament if players perform to the best of their ability.

For many fans, the World Cup is offering a rare opportunity to experience football at its best. And they are cherishing the moment.

Michele Churchill, who travelled from Virginia with her three children to attend the opening match, called it a “bucket list” event.

Asked about the exorbitant ticket prices, she said the experience is worth it.

Churchill also had a bold prediction for the US team’s fortunes at the tournament.

“They’re going to win. They’re going to take the cup,” she told Al Jazeera.

Law enforcement

Fans started streaming into the stadium four hours before the game. One was dressed in a Gulf-style thobe with a US flag as a headscarf. Another was in an outfit resembling George Washington, the first president of the US.

Despite concerns about logistics and organisation, everything went largely smoothly with armies of staff and volunteers ensuring safety and orderliness.

An alphabet soup of law enforcement agencies was present.

The Transportation Security Administration staffed entrances to oversee the airport-style security checkpoints. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Department of Homeland Security were also at the scene.

On the local level, heavily armed agents from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were also deployed around the stadium, as were Inglewood Police officers.

Many agents were accompanied by police dogs. Before crowds started to arrive, some had their canine companions pose for a photo next to the oversized World Cup ball outside the stadium.

Reports that President Donald Trump may attend the first game ultimately did not materialise to the apparent relief of many fans in mostly liberal Los Angeles.

Inside the stadium, it was celebrities – the likes of Tom Cruise and David Beckham – who got the cheers from the crowd.

Stadium atmosphere

It took a while for the stadium to fill out.

About an hour from kickoff, during the first part of the opening ceremony, which featured several rappers, including Future and Rema, the venue was still almost half-empty and the crowd was quiet.

But coinciding with Katy Perry taking the stage before the first whistle, the stadium started to come to life, and chants of “USA, USA” grew louder.

It was really forward Christian Pulisic who electrified the crowd with his first-half display, running straight at his markers and producing dangerous crosses or shots.

The once faint chants turned into deafening roars when the US scored their first, courtesy of a Paraguayan own goal in the seventh minute.

The distinct screams of goal celebrations would ring out three more times for Team USA at the stadium, with Folarin Balogun finding the net twice and Giovanni Reyna scoring a gorgeous curler from the edge of the box to wrap up the game.

A stadium announcer said more than 70,000 people were in attendance.

“We have a full house,” he said to the cheers of the crowd.

But the announcement did not pass the eye test.

Many seats throughout the stadium remained empty, especially in the most expensive sections overlooking the middle of the field.

It is possible that organisers FIFA did sell every seat but resellers struggled to offload some tickets.

The bottom line – ticket prices and Trump’s travel policies may be dampening the buzz around the World Cup, but the tournament is still delivering what football promises: happiness, excitement and a sense of togetherness.

President Donald Trump has posted a video of a ‘swift and lethal’ US strike he claims has killed the leader of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. Trump said Venezuela helped the US with the strike on Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores.

June 12 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday said the proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery does not harm competition or consumers in the United States.

The Justice Department said that it finds the proposed merger is unlikely to harm competition among similar companies or the ability of American consumers to access video-based media, it said in a press release.

Paramount in January hiked up its offer well beyond what Netflix had offered for the entertainment conglomerate, circumventing the streaming leader from acquiring it, and triggering antitrust investigations in a number of nations both operate in.

At least ten state attorneys general said last week they would sue the federal government to stop the proposed merger, which would create a monolith company comprised of several of the most significant companies in television, film and entertainment.

“This investigation included a review of reams of documentary evidence, hours of deposition testimony of senior-level executives, interviews with third-party witnesses and staff-led meetings with the parties themselves,” the Justice Department said in the release.

“These investigative efforts all led to the same conclusion: The film and television industry is highly dynamic and the proposed transaction is not likely to harm competition or American consumers,” the department said.

The Justice Department said in the release that, among other discoveries that drove its decision, the fact that Warner Bros. has “been a repeated acquisition target in the media and entertainment industry” shows that it is appropriate to approve the merger.

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.

Partey’s visa was denied due to the multiple charges of rape he faces in the United Kingdom.

Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey will not play in his team’s World Cup opener after Canada denied his visa application while he awaits trial on multiple charges of rape in the United Kingdom.

FIFA said on Friday in a statement that the 32-year-old Partey won’t be able to travel from his team’s base camp in Smithfield, Rhode Island, for Ghana’s opening match with Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.

“His visa application has been refused by the Canadian government,” the governing body of world football said.

“FIFA is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas. As with previous FIFA events, the host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a statement that every person wanting to come to Canada is assessed individually “based on the facts available and the law that applies”.

“Canada is proud to be a host country for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and is working to facilitate a successful event while maintaining the safety and security of Canadians,” the IRCC said in the statement.

“Canada has been consistent that hosting major events does not change Canada’s immigration laws.”

Partey was travelling back to Ghana’s base camp in Rhode Island after his visa denial. He will be able to play on June 23 when Ghana play England in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Ghana conclude group play on June 27 against Croatia in Philadelphia.

Partey is scheduled to stand trial in November or later on allegations dating to his time with English club Arsenal from 2020-25. Partey, who now plays in Spain for Villarreal, has pleaded not guilty.

A second World Cup player, Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi, is awaiting trial on similar charges in Paris.

Ghana are making their fifth appearance in the last six World Cups.

June 12 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s Trade Ministry is accelerating a project to convert master workers’ tacit manufacturing knowledge into artificial intelligence data as the country seeks to preserve industrial skills threatened by aging and labor shortages.

Tacit knowledge refers to experience and know-how that skilled workers often use without writing it down. In manufacturing, it can include judgment used in process optimization, quality control, welding, equipment checks and other work that depends on years of experience.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the fourth M.AX conference Friday at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul. The conference focused on development and cooperation strategies for using master workers’ tacit knowledge in manufacturing AI transformation.

Officials and experts discussed how to build AI systems that can capture knowledge from industrial sites and how labor and management can cooperate in the process.

The ministry said skilled manufacturing experience is becoming a core asset in the AI era. Officials warned that if the know-how of retiring workers is lost, companies could face weaker process control, lower quality management and reduced manufacturing competitiveness.

The government is using 48 billion won, or about $31.2 million, from this year’s supplementary budget to support pilot projects for 30 manufacturing processes. The projects will build tacit knowledge datasets and develop AI models.

The ministry plans to prioritize processes with high safety risks or severe labor shortages. AI models developed through the project are also expected to be used to train new workers.

The conference included examples of AI already being applied in manufacturing. Sungwon, a stainless steel pipe maker, said it is using AI in welding work where skilled workers previously relied on visual judgment to support operators’ decision-making.

Participants said the project’s success will require data standardization, verification systems, proper compensation for workers who share their knowledge and sufficient communication with employees before implementation.

Some participants also proposed creating an advisory group of national quality masters so the project can better reflect expertise from actual manufacturing sites.

Kim Sung-yeol, head of the ministry’s industrial growth office, said the project is designed to protect South Korea’s manufacturing base.

“This project is about protecting manufacturing and manufacturing sites, which are among our core assets,” Kim said. “Because it is a project to preserve and transfer the tacit knowledge of master workers, we will do our best to help solve difficulties at manufacturing sites.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260612010004392

June 12 (Asia Today) — Nam June Paik connected Seoul, Tokyo and New York by satellite in 1986.

His project, “Bye Bye Kipling,” brought Korean traditional dance, American popular music and Japanese avant-garde art together on one screen in real time. The work directly challenged British writer Rudyard Kipling’s famous line that East and West could never meet, presenting instead the possibility of communication across borders and cultures.

That history of encounter and exchange is at the center of “Road movie: Art between Korea and Japan since 1945,” now on view at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, in Gwacheon. The exhibition marks the 60th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan and traces 80 years of artistic exchange since Korea’s liberation in 1945.

The exhibition features about 200 works by 43 artists and artist teams from both countries. It was jointly organized by the Korean museum and the Yokohama Museum of Art. The show first opened in Yokohama late last year and drew about 37,000 visitors before coming to South Korea.

Featured artists include Nam June Paik, Lee Ufan, Lee Bul, Jung Yeondoo, Koki Tanaka, Jiro Takamatsu and Takashi Murakami, along with other major figures in contemporary Korean and Japanese art.

Paik is one of the central figures in the exhibition. He studied aesthetics and art history in Japan in the 1950s and later built close ties with Japan’s avant-garde art scene. It was there that he met Shigeko Kubota, his lifelong partner and artistic collaborator.

Alongside “Bye Bye Kipling,” the exhibition presents Kubota’s video work “Broken Diary: Korean Trip,” which documents Paik’s return to South Korea after 34 years abroad.

The exhibition, however, does not focus only on well-known artists. Its first section, “In Between: Zainichi Koreans’ Gaze,” examines the lives of Korean artists who remained in Japan after liberation. Cho Yanggyu’s “Sealed Warehouse” depicts a dark, enclosed labor site and reflects both the reality faced by Zainichi Koreans and the wounds left by national division.

The exhibition also explores the growth of artistic exchange after South Korea and Japan normalized diplomatic relations in 1965. Works by Lee Ufan, Park Seo-bo, Yun Hyong-keun, Jiro Takamatsu and Kishio Suga show how artists in the two countries influenced one another as modern art movements developed across borders.

Later works by Masato Nakamura, Takashi Murakami and Lee Bul show how artistic exchange expanded in the 1990s from official institutions to personal networks and collaborative relationships.

Lee Bul’s “Cyborg W5” presents a futuristic but incomplete body, questioning boundaries between humans and machines and between male and female identities. The work reflects the shared concerns about technology and identity that shaped Korean and Japanese contemporary art after the 1990s.

The exhibition’s final section shifts from past exchange to present-day solidarity. Koki Tanaka’s “Vulnerable Histories: A Road Movie” links the massacre of Koreans after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake to more recent anti-Korean demonstrations in Japan, asking viewers to consider histories of discrimination and exclusion.

Jung Yeondoo’s “Magician’s Walk” reflects on landscapes after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and explores the possibility of empathy and solidarity with the suffering of others.

The exhibition also extends to the museum’s outdoor sculpture park in Gwacheon. Six sculptures by Korean artists based in Japan and Japanese artists, including Duckjun Kwak, Quac Insik and Lee Ufan, highlight the museum’s role as an important site of Korean-Japanese artistic exchange.

Kim Sung-hee, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, said the exhibition revisits “historical moments experienced by the two countries and the traces of artistic exchange formed within them.”

Kim said she hopes the exhibition will offer visitors a chance to rediscover “the status and possibilities of Korean and Japanese contemporary art.”

The exhibition runs through Sept. 27.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260612010003954

Jibril Rajoub is in Mexico awaiting a US visa to attend the World Cup 2026.

The head of the Palestinian Football Association says he is waiting in Mexico City for permission to enter the United States to attend the FIFA World Cup with other federation heads.

Jibril Rajoub attended the opening match between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday, but he has now joined several people accredited to attend the World Cup who have been denied visas or have yet to receive them from the US.

“I don’t believe that it’s fair to use or to abuse and deny the right of all footballers all over the world to attend,” the veteran Palestinian political figure told The Associated Press news agency.

The Palestinian team did not qualify for the World Cup, but FIFA typically invites the heads of football associations from around the world to the event every four years, which it frames as a celebration of global unity.

“Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico and the United States for the FIFA World Cup next year. We are working exactly for that,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said last year.

The US, however, has refused entry to delegates from several countries, including a referee from Somalia and a photographer travelling with Iraq’s team.

Infantino said this week that FIFA had been trying to resolve visa issues but could not overrule the US government.

“We need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

The US Department of State had no immediate comment on Rajoub’s visa, but last year implemented new restrictions on Palestinian passport holders, including on anyone who had been employed by the Palestinian Authority.

It revoked a visa to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to the United Nations General Assembly last September.

Rajoub and other Palestinian football officials have long argued that Israel violates statutes by allowing teams from settlements in the occupied West Bank to play in Israel’s national league.

They have pushed FIFA to sanction Israel, highlighting restrictions on the movement of Palestinian players and how Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has damaged or destroyed 80 percent of sports facilities and killed at least 565 players there, according to the association.

Last month, Rajoub refused to shake hands with the head of Israel’s football federation at Infantino’s behest because he said the gesture would not heal wounds but instead whitewash Israel’s actions.

Rajoub pointed out that when Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup, it did not implement comparable visa restrictions for people who were invited to the tournament.

The US president has sought to reshape the capital city’s image and institutions through series of plans and projects.

President Donald Trump’s name is set to be removed from the facade of the Kennedy Center, an entertainment and cultural institution in Washington, DC, after a judge rejected a last-minute request to keep it in place.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper dismissed an effort by the centre’s board, whose members were handpicked by Trump, to reverse a previous order taking his name off the building by Friday.

The saga is yet another example of Trump’s effort to make changes to major sites and institutions across the nation’s capital, on which he has sought to impose himself through a series of planned projects that include an enormous triumphal arch and a White House ballroom.

Many of those efforts have faced legal challenges.

Trump dismissed the centre’s previous leadership and appointed a board that named him chairman.

Cooper had ruled last month that the addition of Trump’s name to the exterior of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was illegal and ordered its removal.

“Unfortunately, Judge Cooper and the Radical Left would rather see it DIE than have President Trump transform it into something that everyone could be proud of,” Trump wrote in a 580-word social media post at the time, slamming the decision, referring to himself in third-person.

A June 4 memo from the centre’s Office of General Counsel had instructed staff to use the name “The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center” in email signatures, letterhead and other documents. The centre’s website also dropped Trump’s name.

But the board attempted to salvage the change in an appeal on Thursday, appealing a previous ruling that denied their request for a stay. Cooper rejected that request on Friday.

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, pursuing a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state amid its ongoing war with the United States and Israel, four sources told the Reuters news agency.

The report on the move coincided with the final stages of broader negotiations between Tehran and Washington to end the war. Diplomats say those talks involve the release of tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks under US sanctions.

Two regional sources told Reuters that the UAE had agreed to release a total of $10bn, more than $3bn of which had already been delivered.

Two other sources with knowledge of the ⁠arrangement put the total funds involved at $20bn, adding that the move had been agreed in return for a halt to Iranian attacks on the UAE.

One of the sources with knowledge of the arrangement also said a first tranche of $3bn had already been made available.

Reuters could not establish whether the funds earmarked for the transfers belong to the UAE or originate in long-blocked Iranian accounts in the UAE banking system, or elsewhere.

But a UAE official, asked to comment on the transfer, said the country was trying to ease tension and foster peace.

“The UAE’s foreign policy is guided by promoting de-escalation and reducing tensions across ‌the region, while advancing lasting peace and stability,” the official said.

“The UAE supports efforts, including those undertaken by the United States, to protect the peoples of the region from the repercussions of conflict.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’s request for comment on the move.

‘Red line’ workaround

Earlier on Friday, Vice President JD Vance said that frozen funds would not immediately be released to Iran upon signing a deal with the US.

He said the potential deal is structured to ensure that economic benefits would flow to Tehran if it meets its obligations.

There was no immediate response from Iranian authorities to a Reuters request for comment on the move.

None of the sources cited by Reuters would agree to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The arrangement signals a striking pivot from the open animosity of UAE-Iran relations through much of the war, when Iranian attacks emptied Dubai’s hotels, ⁠drove some expatriates to flee and shook the reputation for safety that is central to the country’s position as a premier business hub.

One of the ⁠sources with knowledge of the arrangement said the move offered a way to help solve the conflict between the US and Iran without either side crossing its red line. Iran can claim it extracted compensation for war damages. Washington can insist it paid nothing.

Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, obtains its own security and protects Dubai’s hub status, while framing the move as an investment in rebuilding regional trust.

The other source with knowledge of the arrangement said that in return for the disbursement, Iran ⁠would halt missile and drone attacks on the UAE, and there would be a rebuilding of bilateral ties, including intelligence sharing and economic cooperation.

The source added that Iran had approached at least two other Gulf Arab countries to make a similar arrangement.

The last known direct attack by Iran on ⁠the UAE was more than a month ago – a May 4 strike on the Gulf state’s Fujairah port on the Gulf ⁠of Oman.

The first source with knowledge of the arrangement said talks had started several weeks ago but quickened pace when officials of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard visited Abu Dhabi last week to meet Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, and stayed at his guest house.

That trip was followed by a visit by UAE officials to Tehran to negotiate the details of the mechanism.

Frozen funds

Dubai’s banks have long held substantial Iranian-linked deposits, much of them now immobilised under US sanctions that police the global dollar-clearing system and expose any foreign bank dealing with blacklisted Iranian entities to being cut off from the US financial network.

On April 11, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that the ‌US had agreed to release Iranian frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, although a US official swiftly denied the assertion.

The source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that unfreezing the assets was “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, a key issue in talks aimed at ending the conflict.

June 12 (UPI) — Facebook and Instagram were back to normal Friday afternoon after a morning outage.

The online outage tracking website Downdetector.com showed that Facebook had 291 reports of outages, and Instagram showed 207 as of 3:35 p.m. EDT.

Instagram’s peak of users reporting outages at 9:30 a.m. was at 10,553, while Facebook peaked at 127,222 at 9:48 a.m.

Meta’s systems dashboard showed all green checks at 2:15 p.m. EDT, noting “no known issues” or “resolved.”

One person on X reported Friday morning:

“FACEBOOK IS DOWN

“INSTAGRAM IS DOWN

“META ADS MANAGER IS DOWN

“QUICK EVERYONE GO OUTSIDE AND TOUCH GRASS”

Earlier Friday, Downdetector showed more than 100,000 people were having problems logging in to Facebook as of 10 a.m. EDT. It also showed more than 9,000 users reporting problems with Instagram and nearly 20,000 with Facebook Messenger.

Some users confirmed in the comments on Downdetector that they were experiencing issues with these platforms, noting that they were “automatically logged out,” “Can’t log in,” or were receiving an “Unknown error.”

June 12 (UPI) — SpaceX began trading Friday at $150 and has gone as high as $176 as SPCX in its initial public offering, the largest one in history.

Elon Musk and SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell rang the opening bell Friday. Musk was in Texas and Shotwell was at the Nasdaq in New York City.

After trading opened, the stock topped $160, sending the company to more than a $2 trillion market cap. By early afternoon, the stock was at $176.52.

“I love the incredible people of SpaceX beyond words,” Musk wrote Friday afternoon on X.

The company had traded more than 360 million shares as of 2 p.m. EDT Friday. It has more than 172 million shares on the Nasdaq alone, CNBC reported. Polymarket bettors believe, at 70%, that SpaceX will close at more than $2 trillion Friday. Five other U.S. companies have reached the $2 trillion market cap: Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon.

Already a trillionaire, Musk is about to be CEO of two of the Top 10 most valuable publicly traded companies at the same time.

Musk said before the IPO that SpaceX had been cash-flow positive since around 2015, CNBC reported. He said he chose to take the company public now to raise capital for “a significant growth phase.” Some plans for that growth include putting more than 100,000 satellites in orbit for communications and building artificial intelligence data centers in space.

“Having a private company was important to us early on because we weren’t really focused on quarterly financials, we were so focused on the long-term outlook for the company,” Shotwell told CNBC in an interview.

Shotwell said interest from investors also helped drive the decision.

“We’ve been feeling, over the last few years, a lot of pressure from everyday Americans and our friends that wanted to buy stock, and there was just no way for these folks to get in,” Shotwell said.

According to its prospectus, SpaceX has had a total loss of $41.3 billion since it was founded in 2002. Originally founded as a maker of reusable rockets, the only profitable part of the business has been the Starlink satellite Internet service.

In February, SpaceX acquired Musk’s startup xAI, which has been embattled this year for its ability to undress people in AI-generated images. Several countries and people have sued the company to force it to not allow the bot to do so against the victims’ will.

Citadel Securities, which helps execute trade orders, processed more retail activity for SpaceX than any other IPO auction on record, CNN reported the company said. Retail investors are regular people trading stocks instead of professionals.