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SEOUL, Aug. 21 (UPI) — South Korea’s presidential Blue House on Friday called on North Korea to halt its “derogatory remarks” toward Seoul, one day after Kim Yo Jong mocked the South over the scaling back of joint U.S.-South Korea military drills.

“Derogatory remarks toward our government and president do not help in building mutual trust,” the Blue House said in remarks reported by Yonhap News Agency.

“We call on the North to halt unnecessary criticism and march together toward peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula,” it added.

The remarks came in response to a commentary by Kim, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in which she derided Seoul as a “puppet” of the United States and accused President Lee Jae Myung of making “double-dealing remarks.”

This week’s decision to cut short the Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise has “placed Seoul in a poor plight of discontinuing the ‘war game’ it liked very much,” Kim said in the commentary carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency late Thursday.

She said Lee “uttered shameful words” in a social media post in which he expressed respect for U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to scale back the exercise while also pledging that South Korea would continue to build up a self-sufficient military capacity.

“Such double-dealing behavior vividly proves uneasiness and impatience of the ROK,” Kim said, using the official acronym for South Korea.

“The world witnesses that the U.S. security aids are no longer free of charge,” she added. “Seoul should be aware of the unavoidable fate of the ‘puppet.'”

The exchange comes after Trump called for the allies’ joint military drills to be “substantially reduced” in a Truth Social post Sunday, saying they are expensive and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday announced that the two sides would cut short the ongoing exercise by almost a week. The command-post portion of the exercise was set to conclude Friday, although a pared-down set of field training drills will continue through next week as originally scheduled.

The directive has been widely seen as an effort by Trump to restart diplomacy with the North, and on Wednesday he told reporters that he expected to meet Kim Jong Un this year.

In an earlier KCNA commentary, however, Kim Yo Jong downplayed the significance of the exercise reduction, calling it “unworthy of comment.”

“If the U.S. calculates that it can propagate its recent measure as the one of so-called good faith, they will not get desired answer,” she said.

On Thursday, Pyongyang fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, Seoul’s military said, marking the North’s third missile launch in less than two weeks.

The Blue House on Friday reiterated its commitment to pursuing peaceful coexistence between the two Koreas.

“As a party directly involved in building peace on the Korean Peninsula, the government will continue its close cooperation with the U.S. while making proactive efforts to help resume North Korea-U.S. dialogue as a ‘pacemaker,'” the presidential office said, according to Yonhap.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Washington will impose its ‘toughest sanctions in history’ to ‘collapse’ Iran’s government, warning of consequences for countries that maintain economic ties with Tehran.

The head of one of Hollywood’s largest talent agencies warned state leaders that a new budget bill threatens job gains from California’s film and TV credit program.

Legislators earlier this year passed a provision in the state budget that extends limitations on corporate tax credits, including a $5-million state tax credit cap each year.

But film industry advocates say the corporate tax credit cap will hurt film producers and undercut the effectiveness of the state’s expanded film and TV tax credits.

Lawmakers more than doubled annual funding for the program last year to $750 million in an effort to boost jobs and stem the exodus of film work from California.

CAA Chief Executive Bryan Lourd called for state leaders to create an exemption for tax credits earned under the expanded film and TV program.

“Without this fix, we risk destabilizing a program that is critical to keeping film and television production in California and the thousands of jobs it supports,” Lourd wrote in an Aug. 11 letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and President Pro Tempore Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara).

“California must make itself competitive with the rest of the country and the world if it hopes to have a thriving entertainment ecosystem,” Lourd wrote. “Honoring commitments that have already been made to the entertainment industry is an essential step in achieving that goal.”

Film industry advocates expected producers would be exempted from the tax credit cap.

“It’s a reversal of California economic policy as it relates to the entertainment industry in an unhelpful and uncompetitive direction,” said Hilary Krane, CAA’s chief legal officer, in an interview. . “It undermines people’s ability to plan for the economics of the program because they all counted on a certain amount coming in under the previous rules that they were entitled to and had, but now can’t use.”

Last month, more than three dozen California lawmakers signed a letter calling attention to the issue. Hollywood unions also have raised alarm.

“The result of the changes is that production companies will lose the full value of credits already earned in exchange for creating middle-class entertainment industry jobs and other economic benefits to the State,” the Entertainment Union Coalition said last month.

Nick Miller, Rivas’ spokesperson, said the state Assembly is taking a hard look at the issue.

“Our lawmakers strengthened California’s film and TV jobs program last year and will keep fighting for creative industry workers,” Miller said in an email.

Newsom’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Time is running out for a fix to happen this session, which ends in less than two weeks.

State Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles) said state leaders are working on introducing legislation soon to address the issue.

Already, tens of thousands of jobs have come back to Southern California due to the modernization of the film and TV tax credit program, he said.

“We just saw the beginning of that resurgence and we don’t want to nip that in the bud,” Zbur said in an interview.

FairSquare says the FIFA president should not be able to run again under the world football organisation’s statutes.

Human rights organisation FairSquare has urged FIFA to rule that Gianni Infantino is ineligible to seek another term as the football governing body’s president, arguing he ⁠has already served the maximum three terms permitted under the body’s statutes.

FIFA presidents are limited to three terms in office. However, in 2022, Infantino successfully argued that his first spell in charge, which began when he was elected at an Extraordinary FIFA Congress ⁠in 2016 following Sepp Blatter’s resignation, should not count towards that limit because it completed an interrupted mandate.

In a letter sent to FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) as reported by The Athletic, FairSquare said that interpretation was inconsistent with FIFA statutes.

“The complaint we have filed provides clear evidence that this is a clear breach of the rules and one that sets a very dangerous precedent,” FairSquare’s ‌Director Nicholas McGeehan told the Reuters news agency.

“The rules state clearly that three presidential terms is the maximum allowed; FIFA can’t simply circumvent this rule – which serves as a check on presidential power – by saying that his first term doesn’t count.”

Infantino is facing mounting scrutiny ahead of next year’s FIFA Congress, where he is expected to seek re-election for the 2027-31 cycle. The vote is scheduled to take place in Morocco on March 18.

Last week, UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF called for a review of Infantino’s conduct after FIFA proposed creating a $20bn subsidiary linked to its competitions, including the World Cup, to ⁠attract private investment. Sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters that the three confederations viewed the letter ⁠as an opportunity for Infantino to quit with his dignity intact.

Several national associations have also voiced concerns. Scottish Football Association chief executive Ian Maxwell told the BBC on Monday that his federation would not support Infantino’s re-election.

Infantino, however, retains the backing of the African and South American confederations.

Questions over transparency

FairSquare also questioned the transparency of the 2022 ruling, saying the committee’s reasoning had never been made public.

“The fact they didn’t provide any reasoning to support this ⁠claim, and that they announced the apparent decision two days before the final of ⁠the Qatar 2022 World Cup, suggests that they knew full well that there was no basis to discount Infantino’s first term,” McGeehan said.

The letter to the GACC was drafted with assistance from Miguel Maduro, the former head of FIFA’s independent Governance and Review Committee, who said the governing body could not disregard its ‌own rules.

“The principle of term limits was a fundamental aspect of the 2016 reform aimed at limiting power and the rule introduced is clear: no FIFA president can serve more than three terms of office,” Maduro said in a statement.

“Trying to carve ‌out ‌an exception to such a rule for Mr Infantino reveals both a resistance to the principle of term limits and how some at FIFA conceive of rules not as rules but as obstacles to be circumvented.”

More than half of women’s organisations still operating in Afghanistan could cease operations within the next year, UN Women warns.

Five years since the Taliban came to power, the United Nations has warned that funding issues mean more than half of women’s organisations still operating in Afghanistan could cease operations within the next year.

Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s special representative in Afghanistan, appealed to donor countries on Friday not to cut funding for women’s programmes, saying to do so would only deepen the suffering of Afghan women.

More than half of 74 women’s organisations surveyed in April are likely to have to suspend operations or close in the next year due to funding problems, Ferguson said.

The UN’s $1.7bn humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan was only 25 percent funded, and nearly three-quarters of the women’s organisations had experienced funding cuts in 2025, while about two-thirds reported that they had six months or less of operational funding remaining, she added.

The UN’s call comes as the Taliban marks five years since US forces withdrew from the country, effectively handing back power to the group in August 2021, after 20 years of war.

Bright white flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have been installed this week across the Afghan capital Kabul, with new murals declaring: “Independence is a sign of dignity, pride and identity”.

The Taliban is also hosting a cricket match as part of the celebrations – but, just like much of public life in Afghanistan, women and girls are barred from attending.

Crippling restrictions for Afghan women

The Taliban has imposed more than 100 decrees restricting women’s rights since returning to power, affecting nearly every aspect of their daily lives, from education and employment to freedom of movement, healthcare and access to justice, Ferguson said.

Despite repeated Taliban promises to find an ideologically compliant way for them to attend school, girls are still banned from secondary schools and women from universities.

More than half of 3,200 women surveyed by UN Women said they now leave their homes only once or twice a month.

Seven in 10 women described their mental health as bad or very bad, Ferguson said.

On Friday, a group of 56 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Lebanon, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, issued a joint statement at the UN renewing calls on the Taliban to reverse restrictions on women and girls, saying its “systematic repression of women and girls has become a defining feature of the current system”.

A slew of challenges

Five years of Taliban rule have left wider Afghan society facing a slew of other challenges.

More than half of primary school-aged children are out of school, and child malnutrition has reached critical levels in a third of Afghanistan’s provinces, according to the UN World Food Programme.

Infrastructure in the country has been damaged by a series of deadly earthquakes and floods that have also killed thousands.

While deaths from “terrorism” have fallen precipitously since the Taliban took power, according to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the country has become embroiled in a series of deadly border confrontations with its neighbours in both Iran and Pakistan.

The country also remains relatively diplomatically isolated, with Russia being the only country worldwide to formally recognise Taliban rule.

Aug. 7 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Friday urged U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to reinstall charges against several people accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Pirro, a long-time Trump ally, has been in hot water with the president since admitting last week that damage to the pool was due to a “botched installation and not vandalism.”

On Friday, Trump said Pirro should “re-visit her hastily made decision.”

“Now that people are able to see it up close, they are reporting pure VANDALISM at The Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

A D.C. judge on Thursday dismissed the case against the most prominent of the defendants, Olympian David Hearn, 67, who faced 10 years in prison on a felony charge.

Defense attorneys have requested the dismissal of misdemeanor charges against three other people accused of vandalism.

Hearn and the other defendants were indicted on accusations that they purposefully ripped up pieces of the recently-installed blue sealant from the pool’s bottom.

But in court filings, Pirro’s office said she had been misled by the Interior Department into believing they had caused “nearly all of the damage” to the pool.

“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Trump posted on Truth Social the following day. “I don’t know what she was thinking?”

Renovating the reflecting pool cost the government nearly $15 million in a no-bid contract.

In court filings, Pirro said the “botched” renovation “was the result of a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration.”

“Davey Hearn is innocent and today’s dismissal reflects that simple fact,” the Olympian’s lawyers said in a statement on Thursday.

“But this case never should’ve been brought in the first place,” they added. “The Department of Justice’s decision to seek an indictment was a miscarriage of justice.”

Charity warns that shrinking humanitarian support could threaten efforts to support communities trying to rebuild lives after 1,200 days of conflict.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has called for greater international support for Sudan, saying humanitarian needs are escalating while funding falls far short.

“Sudan is one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, yet it is also one of its most overlooked” IFRC Special Envoy for Sudan, Derk Segaar, told reporters in Geneva after returning from the Sudan.

Sudan plunged into all-out war in April 2023 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese military, leading to the deaths of at least 59,000 people, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a conflict monitoring group.

Aid groups say the figure is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.

Segaar said while some aid is trickling into Kordofan and Darfur regions, the whole of Sudan has been devastated by the war, including Khartoum, where millions lack reliable electricity, clean water and healthcare, as cholera, malnutrition and floods pose additional risks.

He said 35 million people require humanitarian assistance, more than 9 million are internally displaced, and fighting has driven 4.5 million people out of Sudan.

Fighting

Speaking before a gathering of soldiers, Sudanese Army Lieutenant-General Yasser al-Atta on Monday said the military is advancing on all fronts with the aim of eliminating the RSF before the end of the year.

The location of the gathering was not specified.

“We are implementing the theory of advancing in all directions, with all fronts moving simultaneously, as happened during the recapture of Khartoum state,” al-Atta said.

“Before the end of this year, there will not be a single Janjaweed fighter,” he said, using a term to refer to the RSF, “or a foreign fighter, and we are determined to achieve that”.

Al-Atta’s remarks came days after the army and allied forces carried out a rapid operation in which they seized Bara, Jabra al-Sheikh, Um Sayala and other positions along a key road connecting Omdurman with el-Obeid in North Kordofan.

Sudan’s three Kordofan states – North, West and South – have witnessed continued fighting between the army and the RSF since October 2025.

Diplomacy

Meanwhile, the United Nations is ramping up efforts to get the stalled political process on track.

The UN says representatives from five international organisations, including the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the European Union and the League of Arab States held talks with Sudanese political parties on Monday.

“Building on exploratory consultations held in Addis Ababa in June, the Quintet engaged Sudanese civilian political leaders in recent days. Discussions continued on proposals and perspectives for advancing the political process, including through the establishment of confidence-building measures,” said UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.

The UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, is also talking with RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo to discuss reducing escalation.

US President Donald Trump says an agreement with Iran is imminent, with negotiations set to begin on Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince spoke to Donald Trump about the deepening crisis between Washington and Tehran, urging a renewed push for dialogue over further military escalation, hours before the United States president halted his latest attacks on Iran.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) spoke to Trump by phone and “stressed the need to prioritise dialogue to reduce escalation and the importance of making every possible effort to achieve calm that paves the way for diplomatic solutions”.

MBS also highlighted the need to preserve the Gulf’s security and stability and prevent a wider conflict “whose repercussions would affect regional and international security and stability”, SPA added.

Trump announced on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday that he would hold off on new strikes against Iran, citing the outline of a deal to end five months of war.

On Saturday, he had struck a very different note, declaring the US “locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran”, at levels of force not seen “since World War II”.

The reversal capped a day of dramatic swings in tone from Washington, after weeks in which the conflict has repeatedly threatened to widen into a broader Gulf confrontation.

Trump said he was calling off the planned attack only because Iran and other Middle Eastern governments had asked Washington to hold back, insisting “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to”.

That deal, he wrote, would involve reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending Iran’s “nuclear threat,” with Israel joining the US “in this commitment”.

Iranian state media quoted military officials dismissing Trump’s claim that Tehran had sought a pause as “nothing but a new lie”, insisting Iranian forces remained on high alert.

‘Keep the dialogue going’

The Saudi crown prince’s intervention, according to a person familiar with the call cited by US media, centred on concern that a major US strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure could trigger Iranian retaliation against Gulf oil and gas facilities.

The kingdom has already faced direct attacks in recent weeks, intercepting drones aimed at its eastern oil facilities and at Riyadh, while Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen have separately struck Saudi crude infrastructure and threatened a Red Sea naval blockade.

The war began on February 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes aimed at destroying Iran’s missile programme, preventing a nuclear weapon and cutting off support for allied armed groups.

A June ceasefire collapsed within weeks in a dispute over shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway carrying roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports, reigniting the fighting in July.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US strikes had destroyed much of Iran’s navy, air force and missile defences, leaving it without the “conventional shield” it once relied on. “That’s changed the whole dynamic,” he told Fox News, arguing that the US was now approaching negotiations with Iran “from a position of strength, not from a position of weakness.”

Marlin Hardinger, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, said direct Saudi involvement in mediation, alongside Qatar, Pakistan and Oman, appeared to have pushed Trump to reconsider, “letting some of the senior leaders in the region step forward and take charge of this”, as he put it.

Diplomats’ central task now, Hardinger told Al Jazeera, was simply to “keep the dialogue going”.

Mediators in Islamabad and Doha say they are cautiously optimistic that stalled talks could resume within days.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration urged the Supreme Court on Monday to lift a judge’s order and clear the way for state-by-state lists of citizens who are eligible to vote by mail.

Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer filed an emergency appeal and said judges in Boston had wrongly intervened too soon.

In March, Trump ordered the U.S. Postal Service to direct states to compile a list of citizens who are eligible to vote. This list would limit who may receive a mail ballot.

He also ordered the Department of Homeland Security to “compile and transmit state-specific lists of individuals who are citizens and will be 18 years of age or older at the time of an upcoming election,” Sauer said.

Lawyers for California and 22 other Democratic-led states sued, arguing the states, not the federal government, have the constitutional authority to set the rules for voting and elections.

In June, they won before a federal judge in Boston who blocked Trump’s order from going forward, at least in the 23 states which had sued. Her decision was upheld over the weekend by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.

In his appeal, Trump’s solicitor general focused on a procedural question, not the issue of whether the president has the legal authority to impose national rules on state-run elections.

Sauer said the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security had not issued final specific plans to comply with Trump’s directive.

“Courts cannot enjoin implementation of Executive Orders that leave open material issues that still need to be resolved by agencies,” he wrote.

He asked the court to lift or stay the “premature injunctions.”

Time is running short, he said.

“Absent a stay … there will not be sufficient time to obtain appellate relief before the November election,” Sauer said. “That is especially true because implementation efforts for any USPS rule or DHS policy will need to begin well before November … particularly given that absentee and mail-in voting begin (in some States) several weeks prior to Election Day.”

The justices asked for a response from the 23 Democratic states by Aug. 3.

Pressure is growing on the EU to sanction Israel for its expansion of illegal settlements and violence against Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank.

The European Union has renewed its call on Israel to halt the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning that continued construction and other unilateral measures threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state.

An EU spokesperson on Friday urged Israel to stop the legalisation of settlement outposts, land appropriation, demolitions, forced evictions of Palestinians, and other actions that “undermine the viability of the two-state solution”.

The statement came days after Israel’s security cabinet approved the allocation of 1.3 billion shekels ($427.8m) to establish 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The funding package marks one of Israel’s largest recent investments in settlement expansion and has drawn criticism from Palestinian officials and international partners.

The United Nations, the International Court of Justice and most countries consider Israeli settlements in territory occupied by Israel since 1967 to be illegal under international law. Israel rejects that interpretation.

The EU has long maintained that it does not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the territories it occupied in 1967. However, the 27-member bloc remains divided over whether to take stronger measures against Israel’s settlement policy.

EU foreign ministers this week failed to reach a consensus on proposals that could restrict trade with settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite growing calls from several member states for tougher action.

The renewed diplomatic pressure comes amid continuing violence in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians, including children, have been injured in separate incidents involving Israeli settlers and Israeli forces.

On Friday, two Palestinian children were taken to hospital after suffering head and facial injuries when Israeli settlers allegedly hurled stones at their family’s vehicle in the Wadi al-Sha’er area, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

In another incident, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was shot by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. He remains in hospital.

“Everybody agrees that the situation in the West Bank is really intolerable,” the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said ahead of talks among EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

“What is happening in the West Bank is actually making it more and more impossible that the two-state solution ever can come into effect,” she added.

Kashmir clashes have killed 31 since June, leading UN rights chief Volker Turk to appeal for calm

The United Nations human rights chief has called for an independent investigation into deadly unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, urged Islamabad to launch “prompt, thorough and impartial investigations” into all civilian and security force deaths. At least 31 people have been killed in clashes since last month, in the run-up to regional elections at the end of this month.

The unrest has involved the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), an umbrella group of traders and activists.

While the movement initially formed to protest against rising food prices and utility tariffs, the current flashpoint centres on a legal dispute over legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees. The JAAC demands the abolition of those seats, arguing they allow non-residents to alter local political outcomes.

UN officials expressed alarm over Pakistan’s decision to classify the JAAC as a proscribed “terrorist” organisation under domestic anti-terrorism laws.

The global body warned that utilising anti-terror mechanisms to criminalise peaceful assembly and enforce widespread internet blackouts raises severe freedom of association concerns.

The crisis has amplified the long-running diplomatic feud between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan, which have both claimed the disputed Himalayan territory in full since their independence in 1947.

According to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, the crisis hit a deadly new peak on July 14 during intense clashes in the Poonch division, where security forces attempted to clear roadblocks ahead of a planned JAAC “long march” to Muzaffarabad. The escalation resulted in nine deaths – seven civil activists and two law enforcement officers.

Defending the state actions during the violence, Poonch Divisional Commissioner Waheed Khan told Reuters that protesters had blocked a security convoy and attacked officials. “Police and security officials responded in self-defence.”

In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in an official statement released on Wednesday that the unrest was a “direct consequence of Pakistan’s decades-long systemic exploitation” of the region.

Turk has appealed for immediate calm, pushing for “meaningful and inclusive political dialogue” over security-led measures to defuse deep-seated grievances regarding regional autonomy and inflation.

LONDON — The British government on Thursday urged FIFA to investigate Argentina’s team after players posed with a banner claiming sovereignty over the contested Falkland Islands.

Argentina beat England 2-1 in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.

During post-match celebrations, Argentine players held a banner handed over by fans in the stands, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine.”

Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. They were invaded in 1982 under orders from Argentina’s then-military dictatorship, triggering a 10-week war won by Britain.

“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are,” a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday. “Self-determination rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”

Starmer supported calls for FIFA to investigate, the spokesperson said, after U.K. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behavior was “entirely inappropriate.”

FIFA can prosecute Argentina’s players and soccer federation because its disciplinary code prohibits at stadiums any “message that is not appropriate for a sports event” including those of “a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature.”

The FIFA fines for political messaging are $5,000 to $20,000.

FIFA was approached for comment Thursday.

A FIFA disciplinary case under previous leadership banned a South Korea player for two 2014 World Cup qualifying games because he held up a similar banner about a territorial claim against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics. Park Jong-woo took a fan banner with the slogan “Dokdo is our territory” after South Korea beat Japan in the men’s bronze medal game.

On Wednesday, Argentina player Lisandro Martínez was asked if the banner could have stirred deep emotions and tears for a veteran of the Malvinas conflict.

“We couldn’t let the Argentine people down” said Martínez, who has played in England for the past four years with Manchester United.

Argentina-England soccer rivalry

The sporting rivalry between the two countries is heightened by political tensions over the South Atlantic archipelago. It is a British overseas territory with a population of around 3,500 people located about 8,000 miles from the U.K. and 300 miles from Argentina.

Argentina argues that the islands were illegally taken from it in 1833. Britain, which says its territorial claim dates to 1765, sent a warship to the islands in 1833 to expel Argentine forces who sought to establish sovereignty over the territory.

The war in 1982 killed 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service personnel and three islanders.

That conflict ended during the 1982 World Cup in Spain where Argentina, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all played. British television networks declined to broadcast Argentina playing in the tournament’s opening game, when the defending champion lost to Belgium.

“Sadly, it is a sad part of our history,” Argentina player Leandro Paredes said in Atlanta about the banner, “for everyone involved in that chapter of, I repeat, our history. And it hurts. We knew we were playing for them, too.”

Politics in soccer

British government minister Kyle told the BBC “politics needs to be separate from football.”

“In fact, the World Cup has one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football,” he said. “That is now a matter for FIFA.”

FIFA’s statutory political neutrality has been questioned at this World Cup after its president, Gianni Infantino, and disciplinary process — which could now judge Argentina — seemed to cave to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump in allowing United States forward Folarin Balogun to play Belgium in the round of 16.

Balogun was shown a red card in the previous round and FIFA disciplinary rules mandated he should be banned from his team’s next game. FIFA deferred that suspension for one year of probation, provoking an all-time controversy in modern World Cup history. Belgium beat the U.S. 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Infantino is expected to sit with Trump and Argentina President Javier Milei, who are political allies, at the World Cup final Sunday. Argentina plays Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Previous cases

Argentina players showed the same “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” slogan at a warmup game in June 2014 in Buenos Aires for the World Cup that started days later in Brazil.

FIFA’s disciplinary panel ruling in that case was published after the tournament finished and fined the Argentina federation $37,000.

In the 2012 London Olympics case, FIFA’s ruling said the conduct of the South Korea player “cannot be tolerated.”

At the 2022 World Cup, FIFA fined the Serbia federation 20,000 Swiss francs ($24,800) for hanging a political banner about neighboring independent state Kosovo in the locker room before playing Brazil.

It showed a map of Serbia that included the territory of Kosovo, which has been an independent state since 2008, and the slogan “No Surrender.”

Lawless and Dunbar write for the Associated Press. Dunbar contributed to this report from Geneva.

A pilot’s wife has shared some handy airport security tips for anyone asked to remove their shoes – and it’s all about being prepared with a few simple travel essentials

Being asked to remove your shoes at the airport is a fairly routine occurrence. The extra checks largely stem from an incident in 2001, when a passenger attempted to conceal explosives in his shoes while boarding a flight.

While it remains an important safety measure – making it far easier for airport security to check footwear for items that could be smuggled through – it can be rather tiresome for those of us simply heading off on a well-earned holiday.

There’s no denying it feels a bit awkward padding through security in just your socks or bare feet. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it can also leave your feet dirty, given the sheer number of people passing through the area.

Fortunately, a pilot’s wife named Laurie has some handy advice to share. The travel expert, based in Houston in the US, regularly posts useful content on her popular Instagram page.

She has put forward two top tips for when you find yourself faced with this security request. So here’s what you need to do to prepare yourself:

1. Clean your feet with an antibacterial wipe

Most travellers don’t have access to showers at the airport – and trying to use a sink might attract some rather odd looks from fellow passengers.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t freshen up. Packing antibacterial wipes in your hand luggage could prove to be a real game-changer.

You can swiftly clean your feet if you’re required to walk through security barefoot, taking just a matter of seconds without holding up your journey.

Even better, antibacterial wipes serve other purposes too. Many passengers like to wipe down surfaces on the plane to avoid picking up any unwanted germs.

We recommend giving aeroplane windows a swift wipe if you’re planning to rest against them.

Other commonly touched surfaces – such as TV screens, remote controls or tray tables – may also require a quick clean. So don’t forget to pack those wipes!

2. Pack an extra pair of socks

Even when wearing socks, the thought of treading over a grimy floor can be quite unpleasant. It’s also less than ideal if you’re going to be travelling in the same socks all day, meaning they’ll stay dirty throughout.

Travel expert Laurie shares two tips for handling this situation effectively. She recommends: “Wear a pair of ratty old socks through the [security] line and toss them when done.”

If chucking them isn’t possible, Laurie suggests bringing along a spare pair with a small plastic bag. You can then change into clean socks, pop the dirty ones into the bag, and wash them once you’ve reached your destination.

Laurie’s advice has proved popular online, racking up over 1,100 likes since being posted, with many voicing their gratitude.

One user commented: “Always the best tips!”. Meanwhile, another agreed: “Very good tips.”

July 10 (Asia Today) — U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to expand production in the United States as Micron accelerates a major domestic investment plan, raising questions over whether Washington is signaling continued shortages in artificial intelligence memory chips.

Lutnick referred directly to Samsung and SK Hynix at Micron’s large-scale investment site in the United States. Micron is building a production plant in Clay, N.Y.

Lutnick said he wanted to bring Micron competitors Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to the United States and have them build production facilities there.

The remarks drew attention in South Korea because Samsung and SK Hynix recently announced plans to invest 800 trillion won, about $530 billion, in the Honam region in southwestern South Korea. Industry officials had already expected Washington to push the Korean chipmakers to increase U.S. investment.

Because Lutnick directly named the two companies and urged investment, attention is now focused on how the remarks could affect Samsung and SK Hynix.

Some analysts also said the call for production investment in the United States, the central market for artificial intelligence, may indicate that memory semiconductors remain in short supply despite debate over whether the chip market is nearing a peak.

Micron said Wednesday it will expand investment in U.S. fabrication plants and technology to more than $250 billion by 2035. The company has set a goal of producing 40% of its DRAM in the United States and will move up part of its New York fabrication plant construction schedule.

Lutnick’s message that he also wants Samsung and SK Hynix to invest locally is fueling expectations that the surge in semiconductor demand could continue for some time.

Some stock market analysts have recently raised concerns that large artificial intelligence data center operators, known as hyperscalers, could slow the pace of investment. But industry officials still expect supply and demand to begin moving toward balance no earlier than 2028.

Others see Lutnick’s remarks as a sign that the U.S. government is reviving pressure for local investment after a quieter period. The comments came one day before SK Hynix’s Nasdaq listing of American depositary receipts, prompting speculation that Washington may want funds raised through the listing to be invested in the United States rather than South Korea.

Since 2025, the United States has imposed reciprocal tariffs and temporary import surcharges. Semiconductors are currently excluded, but the U.S. government has suggested it could impose tariffs of up to 100% on all semiconductor imports. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump pressured memory chipmakers to invest in the United States, saying companies that do not build plants domestically could face 100% tariffs.

With Samsung and SK Hynix recently announcing a combined 800 trillion won investment plan in South Korea, industry observers said pressure for additional U.S. investment could grow. Lutnick’s latest comments were seen as moving in that direction.

Similar views have emerged overseas. Japan’s Nikkei recently said that because Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together account for about 60% of the global memory market, the U.S. administration could raise monopoly concerns and demand relocation or investment in the United States.

— 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=20260710010003905

US President Donald Trump gave his blessing earlier this week to domestic Ukrainian production of the missiles.

Ukraine must make every effort to start domestic production of desperately needed Patriot interceptor missiles as soon as possible, now that Washington has agreed to grant Kyiv the necessary licences, President Volodymyr ⁠Zelenskyy has said.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday after returning from this week’s NATO summit in Turkiye, Zelenskyy said that political approval had been obtained from US President Donald Trump when they met in Ankara and the challenge now was to quickly take the practical steps needed to begin production.

“We resolved this issue ‌politically,” he said. “It’s now very important that our technical teams, all our representatives from different ministries, representatives of the executive branch, start working on this without delay, so that we can get licences very quickly and start production in Ukraine as soon as possible.”

Although Kyiv has received regular donations of Patriot missiles from its allies for its defence against Russia’s invasion, global supplies are running low, and Ukraine is using the interceptors at a faster rate than they can be produced in the US.

Zelenskyy has been pressing the US to allow Ukraine to start producing the missiles itself to overcome the supply shortage.

At a joint news conference with Zelenskyy in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump told him: “We’re going to give a licence to you to make Patriots. This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough.”

The Patriot is a US-made air defence system. Its PAC-3 interceptor – short for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 – is one of the few Western weapons capable of shooting down the ballistic missiles Russia has ⁠increasingly fired at Ukrainian cities.

Zelenskyy said his meeting with Trump had been a success, and he had also reached agreements with European allies.

“I believe this was a productive summit for Ukraine. In the coming days, we’ll receive a package from the United States, and there were also some separate agreements,” he said, referring to securing more PAC-3 interceptors.

“President Trump has repeatedly emphasised that today, only two to three countries in the world can produce Patriots, because the others are not technologically ready. Ukraine is recognised by America as a country that is ready to do this,” Zelenskyy said.

“Now, after our agreement with the president, our teams, our diplomats, the foreign ministries and defence ministries need to agree on all the remaining technical details. The sooner we reach those agreements, the sooner we will be able to produce Patriots.”

Patriot production will take months

However, Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister, warned that setting up domestic production of the mobile, surface-to-air systems will take many months.

On his Telegram channel, Beskrestnov said a production licence would typically come with technical process documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing.

The main obstacle would be time, rather than Ukraine’s technical or organisational capacity, he said, due to bottlenecks, including the long production cycle for some subcontracted components, which could take 12 to 24 months.

During the NATO summit, Trump praised Zelenskyy for doing “an amazing job”, a sharp change in tone from past criticisms of the Ukrainian leader.

Trump insisted that he remained determined to facilitate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

“It’s not the easiest; not the easiest thing,” the US president said of an eventual peace settlement. “There’s a lot of commitment, and there’s a lot of love of the countries and everything else. But I think we’ve made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks.”

Wicklow manager Oisin McConville hopes this weekend’s Tailteann Cup final against Down proves a launchpad for the county as he chases his first trophy in inter-county management.

Having fallen just short of shocking Dublin in the Leinster SFC quarter-finals in April, the Garden County recorded wins over Limerick, Tipperary, Antrim and Offaly to set up a shot at silverware at Croke Park on Saturday (15:30 BST).

Since being introduced in 2022, the second-tier Tailteann Cup has given winners Westmeath, Meath, Down and Kildare the opportunity to compete in the All-Ireland series – and McConville hopes Wicklow can follow suit.

“I look at the teams that have won the Tailteann Cup, Down, Meath and Westmeath – all those teams are capable of challenging at the highest level and they’ve already proved that,” said McConville, an All-Ireland winner with Armagh in 2002.

“If our trajectory was something similar to what they’ve gone through, then definitely.

“But we can’t be accepting of the fact that we’re just in the Tailteann Cup final, we want to go ahead and win it now.”

Wicklow have shown impressive spirit en route to Croke Park. They overturned a nine-point deficit to beat Antrim by the minimum in Belfast in the quarter-finals (2-19 to 3-15) before a second-half surge against Offaly saw them roar back from eight points down to win a dramatic semi-final 2-26 to 4-15.

But 2024 champions Down have serious pedigree at this level having edged past Fermanagh in the semi-finals to reach their third Tailteann Cup decider.

“They’ve got a lot of dangers, they’ve been playing at a high level over the last couple of years. They were in Division Two, back down to Division Three and are going back to Division Two next year,” McConville, who took over as Wicklow boss before the 2023 season, said of the Mournemen.

“[In the] Ulster Championship, they beat Donegal and that’s the standout result. If you look at that game on a standalone, that’s a scary thought.

“The likes of [Odhran] Murdock, [Daniel] Guinness and Pat Havern, they’re very hard to pin down. That’s the job that’s ahead of us.

“We know the enormity of the task, but we have to have confidence in our ability and how good we’ve been in the past four games. A lot of the concentration has to be on ourselves.”

Harry Poulton moved from Brighton and moved to Benidorm after visiting the city with his mates when he was 18 – but there are certain spots he says tourists should avoid

Benidorm is one of the most popular European holiday destinations among Brits and attracts approximately five million tourists annually. Harry Poulton, 24, grew fond of the resort following a visit with mates at 18 and now regards his decision to relocate there as the finest decision he’s ever made.

Nevertheless, he wishes to pass on his expertise to holidaymakers preparing to explore the seaside city on Spain’s Costa Blanca. Taking to TikTok, where he’s amassed more than 40,000 followers, he highlighted three locations in the nightlife hotspot that he believes are best avoided owing to safety concerns.

First on his list is the ‘Yellow Brick Road’, a centre of bars and eateries that represents the core of local nightlife, covering streets such as Leanto, Ibiza, and Leerida.

Harry cautioned: “The Yellow Brick Road – this little public pathway […] leads all the way up to the Rio Park. Now, it has been known for a few things, mainly small thefts like pickpocketing. Generally, during the day, it’s absolutely fine. I’d recommend avoiding it at night.”

The second spot Harry suggests swerving is Pueblo Alley, situated close to Levante Beach.

“This is one I definitely recommend avoiding, especially late at night, as you do get the pickpockets hanging around this area,” he warned. “You also get the odd lady of the night. There are plenty of other ways around”.

Topping Harry’s list of places to steer clear of is ‘Mugger’s Alley’, meanwhile.

“It is the most notorious – it’s the one we all know,” he exclaimed. “Known for pickpocketing, ladies of the night, it’s just an area I would avoid. They’re even doing these new taxi scams. It’s crazy. Save yourself the hassle and cross the road.”

Despite acknowledging these risks, Harry remains a devoted admirer of this popular holiday hotspot.

He argues that many British holidaymakers hold misconceptions about Benidorm, insisting that concerns over crafty scams and overpriced goods are often way off the mark.

What’s more, since swapping Brighton for Benidorm, Harry has watched his living expenses drop considerably, with monthly outgoings now falling between £500 and £1,000, including bills.

Harry proclaimed: “If you live here, you get it. Benidorm is paradise – and anyone who says otherwise is lying.”

Like a good striker, Folarin Balogun never loses sight of the goal. And the goal for the U.S. team in this summer’s World Cup hasn’t been just to win, which they’ve done, but to inspire.

And that’s how Balogun found himself on the field, shaking hands with Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, about 45 minutes after Claus gave him a controversial red card in Wednesday’s win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, a red card that will keep him out of Monday’s round-of-16 game with Belgium.

“Little kids are watching, and we have to show them the correct way to handle things, even when you think it’s unjust,” Balogun said Friday.

“It’s not an excuse to be disrespectful, to not do the right thing. I’m aware that the World Cup might be the first time a lot of American viewers are tuning in. So it’s important, whether things happen to you good or bad, just to continue to be yourself.”

That doesn’t mean Balogun didn’t think the red card was unjust. He does. And he definitely thinks something bad happened to him and his team since Balogun, the Americans’ leading scorer with three goals in as many games, will have to sit out the team’s most important game in a generation.

It’s just means that Balogun, who celebrated his 25th birthday Friday, is also mature enough to understand a game — even a World Cup elimination game — is just a game.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” he said before the team’s training session at the University of Washington. “There’s been lots of different emotions. I’ve been upset, I’ve been happy. But for me, it was just important to stay calm. I never want to react out of anger and out of emotion.”

Balogun, who had given his team a 1-0 lead in the waning seconds of the first half, collided with Tarik Muharemovic 16 minutes into the second half, and when the Bosnian defender planted his right leg below Balogun’s right foot, the American inadvertently stomped on his right ankle, twisting it awkwardly.

U.S. forward Folarin Balogun steps on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic’s foot and received a red card.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Both players went down and Claus did not signal a foul or pull card. But after the video assistant referee urged him to watch a replay, Claus walked away from the monitor and flashed the red card. That left the U.S. to finish Wednesday’s game with just 10 men and disqualified Balogun for Monday’s game. U.S. Soccer said Friday FIFA’s disciplinary committee did not add any games to Balogun’s suspension.

“There’s the scenarios that you simply can’t avoid,” he said, “and it has to be taken into context when it’s being reviewed. I felt it wasn’t on this occasion. There’s nowhere else to put your leg. It’s going to be unavoidable.

“I think a yellow card would have been fair. [But] it’s something that’s happened, so we have to move forward, and I have to accept it. The most important thing is just to focus on the bigger picture, which is Belgium.”

Replacing Balogun won’t be easy since he’s emerged as one of the team’s most effective and creative players, either scoring of setting up the go-ahead goal in all three of the U.S. wins.

“We’ve got guys that can fill in and have to be ready for the opportunity to step up,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “When you miss a player like Balo, obviously things change a little bit. But we’ve been flexible. Guys have shown that they’re ready to play.”

The most likely replacements are Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright. Pepi, who scored 16 goals for PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie this season, played 90 minutes in place of Balogun in the U.S. loss to Turkey in the final group-stage match. Wright, who had 17 goals for Coventry City in the English Championship, played in all four U.S. games in the 2022 World Cup, scoring once, but he has made just one appearance in this summer’s tournament.

“Balo is an important part of our team, and it’s a disappointing way for him to miss the next game,” said Wright, who grew up in Culver City and spent three years in the Galaxy academy. “But, I’ll always be ready and prepared for whatever comes.”

A victory over Belgium would send the U.S. to the quarterfinals of a World Cup for just the second time. It would also give it four wins in the tournament, double the number of victories in any previous World Cup and marking the first time the Americans have won twice in the knockout stages in the same tournament.

U.S. forward Ricardo Pepi pursues the ball during a World Cup match against Bosnia-Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara , Calif., on Wednesday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

It’s a moment, Adams acknowledged Friday, many players have waited for their whole lives.

“You need to embrace the moment, that’s for sure,” he said. “To have the opportunity to play in a round-of-16 game — which, obviously, last World Cup we did, but it was the first knockout game, not the second — it’s exciting. It was nice to get a little bit of a taste of what it feels like to play with something a little bit more on the line in the last game. I think that’s good preparation.

“Advancing and taking this thing as far as we can is the most important thing. We have a good opportunity here to do so.”

The airline has shared advice for passengers to help prevent delays during security checks

British Airways has advice to help passengers ‘avoid delays’ at the airport. The airline’s website shares the latest guidance and travel updates for customers. It also answers frequently asked questions to help passengers have the smoothest possible experience on travel days.

In the baggage FAQ section, the airline has offered a tip for anyone travelling with medication in their hand luggage. British Airways said it recommends that passengers carry a copy of their prescription for any medication they are carrying.

The advice said: “We recommend you carry a copy of the prescription for your medication to avoid delays at security or customs.” Passengers are advised to carry any essential medications in their hand luggage.

British Airways explained: “If you need to take regular medication, it’s important to pack enough essential medication for your personal use on board – and for the first few days of your journey – into your smaller under-seat item of hand baggage. This is in case your hold baggage is delayed for any reason.”

British Airways adds that this medication shouldn’t be packed in any larger cabin bags. “Avoid packing medication in your larger cabin bag as you may be asked to put it into the hold on busy flights.

“Additional medication for personal use at your destination can also be packed in your checked baggage, so long as you are carrying enough for a few days in your hand baggage in case of any eventuality.”

There are allowances for passengers who need to carry medicines exceeding 100ml. Gov.uk explains: “You’re allowed to carry the following in your hand luggage: essential medicines of more than 100ml, including liquid dietary foodstuffs and inhalers or medical equipment, if it’s essential for your journey.

“You’ll need to carry proof that the medication is prescribed to you (for example, a letter from your doctor or a copy of your prescription) if it’s both: in liquid form and in a container larger than 100ml. You do not need to show proof if the medication is either: in tablet form or liquid in a container that’s 100ml or smaller.”

Gov.uk also shares advice for any passengers travelling with medicine containing a controlled drug. The guidance states: “You must carry medicine containing a controlled drug with you in your hand luggage when entering or leaving the UK.

It may be taken away from you at the border if you cannot prove it was prescribed for you.”