World

Football’s world governing body announces plans to sell stakes of up to 20 percent in the World Cup and other events.

FIFA has proposed a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other events to private investors, provoking a furious response from the European football governing body, UEFA.

Under the plans announced by FIFA on Tuesday, a $20bn subsidiary would be created to run the World Cup and other events.

World football’s governing body said it would retain a majority share in the new FIFA Forward Enterprise, offering minority stakes to external investment to raise up to $4.2bn.

The plan still needs to be voted on by FIFA’s 211 member nations.

If successful, the proposed investor group is expected to be led by a vehicle founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, FIFA said.

UEFA said the proposal “crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross”.

Reinvested in the game

FIFA has just held a 48-team World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico – the biggest in the tournament’s history.

It is one of the world’s wealthiest sporting organisations, generating billions of dollars, largely from broadcasting rights, sponsorship and other commercial deals linked to the World Cup.

But it says this proposal can increase funds to widen access to the sport and strengthen global participation, with all net benefits to be reinvested in football.

“Football is the world’s most popular sport,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

“Parts of the game have turned that popularity into remarkable commercial value – and we celebrate that success and want it to continue, because it lifts the whole game.

“Our job is to make sure the rest of football grows with it: FIFA exists to support sustainable, inclusive development in every corner of the world.”

FIFA said that in addition to retaining sole control of the subsidiary, it would retain authority over football governance, competitions, match calendars and regulatory and sporting decisions.

‘World Cup is not a product’

The proposal deepens the divide between FIFA and UEFA, with Europe positioning itself as football’s custodian, while FIFA, a not-for-profit organisation, says it is focused on broadening access with financial largesse.

In a statement, UEFA said it takes the new proposals “extremely seriously”.

“So should every National Football Association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the game.

“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade – especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”

The United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, joined critics, saying on social media that the sport does not belong to investors.

“The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell,” Burnham wrote on X.

“Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out.”

Hundreds of mourners have paid their respects to the late Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

The Republican lawmaker and key ally of President Donald Trump unexpectedly died on July 11.

Graham was elected to the US Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008, 2014 and 2020. In 1994, he was elected to ⁠the US House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress, for South Carolina’s third congressional district. He recently served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Graham also served as a member of ‌the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

He was a strong supporter of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and had long pushed for military action against Iran.

Graham was a longtime backer of Israel and supported Trump’s ongoing war on Iran. In a planned documentary, Graham told the filmmakers he “almost cried” after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in February.

He also vocally supported Ukraine after Russia invaded the country in 2022.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several other world leaders attended Graham’s funeral service on Tuesday afternoon at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

Trump gave remarks, calling Graham a force in the world and US politics. He called Graham “a beloved friend” and said that he “died doing the work he was born to do”.

“For more than 30 years, nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it. Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it,” Trump said. “And no bill became law in the most exceptional republic in human history without Lindsey Graham having a say in it.”

He added: “He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart until that heart itself just gave out.”

PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, July 28 (UPI) — Seventy-six years after the United Nations Command was established to help repel North Korea’s invasion of the South, the multinational force remains an essential pillar of stability on the Korean Peninsula, its deputy commander said.

Speaking after a July 7 ceremony marking the command’s founding anniversary, Australian Army Lt. Gen. Scott A. Winter said the command’s responsibilities have evolved far beyond its wartime origins while remaining rooted in the Korean War armistice that halted fighting in 1953.

“The United Nations Command has two key missions,” Winter told UPI at UNC headquarters on Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, about 35 miles south of Seoul. “One is to enforce the armistice, which is a sacred duty that we take every day. The other is to coordinate sending-state contributions in times of crisis or conflict.”

Created by a U.N. Security Council resolution on July 7, 1950, the command brought together forces from 22 nations under U.S. leadership after North Korea invaded South Korea. More than 1.9 million service members from UNC member states served in combat, medical and logistical roles during the Korean War.

Active fighting ended with the signing of the armistice on July 27, 1953 — the anniversary of which was commemorated Monday — rather than a peace treaty, meaning the two Koreas remain technically at war. The UNC continues to oversee implementation of the agreement and maintains a rare direct communication channel with North Korea’s military.

Winter said the command still conducts routine telephone communications twice daily with the Korean People’s Army through the military hotline, also known as the “pink phone.”

“It continues to enable us to de-conflict, avoid any sort of miscalculation,” he said, citing the example of recent firefighting operations inside the Demilitarized Zone.

The milestone comes as North Korea has abandoned its longstanding policy of peaceful reunification with South Korea, accelerated development of its nuclear and missile programs and deepened military cooperation with Russia, including sending troops to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Winter said North Korea’s partnership with Russia has reinforced the need for the UNC to adapt to an increasingly complex security environment and strengthen its deterrence role on the peninsula.

“The growing nexus between North Korea and Russia is a reminder for all of us of the global nature of these security threats,” he said. “It’s clear that North Korea has gained both contemporary battlefield experience and exposure to technology.”

He argued that the UNC’s multinational composition strengthens deterrence by demonstrating that security on the Korean Peninsula remains an international concern.

“The more flags that we bring together, the more we can provide multinational legitimacy during periods of peace, the more we contribute to deterrence,” Winter said.

Despite renewed efforts by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s administration to reduce tensions with Pyongyang and eventually pursue a formal peace regime, Winter said the command would continue to have a role even if the armistice were someday replaced.

“Having a ready-made coalition prior to a crisis is much easier than trying to pull a coalition together in crisis or conflict,” Winter said. “I absolutely believe that the best way to prevent conflict is through that multilateral working together.”

He added that the armistice itself was designed to create conditions for a political settlement rather than become a permanent arrangement.

“The armistice was put in place to ultimately create the space for a political solution,” he said. “We welcome any moves in that direction.”

Reflecting on the anniversary, Winter said the command’s history offers lessons that remain relevant as conflicts continue in Europe and the Middle East.

“Seventy-six years ago, nations came together because they understood that’s what it would take to prevent further aggression,” he said. “The importance of multilateralism, the importance of building coalitions of the willing with like-minded countries, because the alternative is unthinkable.”

WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham, the son of pool hall owners who rose to become one of his generation’s more influential U.S. politicians at home and abroad, is being eulogized Tuesday as a “swashbuckling” public servant and “true American original” during memorial services in Washington.

Graham’s remains arrived at the U.S. Capitol, where the Republican served for more than 30 years as an indefatigable dealmaker who talked and laughed and badgered his colleagues into action. His flag-draped casket was carried inside by an armed forces team, in recognition of his military service.

Later, a funeral will be held at Washington National Cathedral with lawmakers and foreign leaders, a testament to his stature on the global stage.

“Lindsey was a towering figure,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, adding there was “no one more capable of cracking up a room.”

“I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again,” said Thune (R-S.D.), choking back tears.

President Trump is expected to deliver remarks at the cathedral, alongside Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity and other conservative leaders.

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyplan to be in attendance, a nod to Graham’s role as a foremost believer in the power of the U.S. and its military to intervene in the world’s problems.

It’s the start of two days of services, with burial Wednesday in Graham’s home state of South Carolina. Joint Base Charleston will be renamed in his honor, the White House said.

Graham died suddenly on July 11 at his home in Washington of a likely aortic tear, according to preliminary findings. He had just returned from a whirlwind trip to a NATO summit in Turkey, where he celebrated his birthday, and a visit to Ukraine. He was 71.

A place of honor to ‘say our final goodbyes’

The morning service in the Capitol Rotunda provided a place of tribute where former presidents and military leaders and other prominent Americans have been memorialized.

Vice President JD Vance along with several Cabinet officials and former senators, including Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, were in attendance, as was acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche, who faces a rocky Senate confirmation for the job.

Vance described Graham as a “swashbuckling” figure — “who swashbuckled into the Senate” with his suit jacket open — and was impossible not to like.

“A true American original,” Vance said.

First elected to Congress in the 1994 Republican revolt that swept the GOP to power, Graham was part of a new era of conservatives to take their seats in the House — and among the first Republicans from his Southern state since Reconstruction.

Mascaro, Kinnard and Jalonick write for the Associated Press. Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this story.

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 reached its final week, Gourav Roy, an Indian software engineer living in San Francisco, drove more than 9,650 kilometres (6,000 miles) across the United States to attend both the semifinals and the final.

For Roy, it was the next best thing to what he had grown up dreaming of: seeing India play in the World Cup.

But the possibility of that dream coming true is looking ever more distant as deep-rooted systemic issues and the failure to implement reforms have left the country of 1.45 billion ranked a lowly 138th in the world, failing to even qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

“I’ve learned to love without expectation. That’s the burden of the Indian football fan,” said Roy.

While countries with tiny populations like Curacao and Cape Verde qualified for the 2026 World Cup, India remains a prime example of wasted potential in the planet’s most popular sport.

Those working in Indian football say the problems range from poor youth development systems, a lack of popularity, and a national federation (the All India Football Federation) struggling to implement a uniform vision with a loose patchwork of state associations.

“If you ask me, to clean up the system and reorganise it will take a full cycle of four years,” Ravi Puskur, the CEO of Indian Super League (ISL) club FC Goa, told Reuters.

“Then it’s another 20-25 years to get us to the World Cup.”

Confined to pockets

In cricket-mad India, football remains popular only in a handful of states like West Bengal, Goa, Kerala, Mizoram and Manipur.

The ISL, launched in 2014 with the backing of Reliance Industries, one of India’s biggest conglomerates, tried to change that with limited success.

In 2025, the AIFF and Reliance did not renew their partnership as negotiations stalled amid a Supreme Court case to implement a new constitution for the federation.

This year, under new management led by clubs, the ISL is yet to finalise a broadcaster and announce fixtures.

NorthEast United CEO Mandar Tamhane, who previously led Bengaluru FC, said clubs alone cannot fix Indian football.

“You’re talking about the government, corporate India… it has to be a collective effort,” he said.

“The federation has to make sure the clubs, state associations, the corporates and other stakeholders all work together.”

Weak youth development

AIFF executive committee member and Mizoram’s sports minister Lalnghinglova Hmar said the government can help with infrastructure, but for Indian football to improve, the country’s youth development system needs a drastic overhaul.

“In South Korea and Japan, kids play over 40 competitive matches per season. This is missing in India,” he said.

“We start developing players too late. Most under-15 players get only 12 to 15 competitive games yearly. Some get called up to the youth national camp after playing less than 20 competitive games.

“We’re short on qualified coaches. Many states don’t even have a youth league… we just can’t compete like that.”

But India’s size, the very thing that makes it an attractive sports market and led to the huge success of cricket’s Indian Premier League, also makes it difficult for the AIFF to implement widespread reforms.

“If even half the states were doing a proper job at grassroots, things would grow,” Hmar added.

The uncertainty over the ISL, which forced some teams to suspend player salaries last year, also dealt a blow to the clubs’ development programmes.

“If you can provide stability, gradually the investment will increase,” Puskur said.

A limited window

With India bidding to host the 2036 Olympics, the government is considering the launch of a “sports passport” that allows Indian-origin athletes to represent the country.

The AIFF leadership has backed the initiative, believing it will help improve the national team’s performances. But the proposal is still far from becoming law, and Hmar said Indian football needs to act fast.

“The other nations aren’t sitting idle… if we don’t match them, even if we improve, we will remain where we are,” he said.

While Indian football hangs in limbo, fans like Roy can only live in hope.

“They are talking about a 64-team World Cup,” he said. “It won’t gift us anything, but more places mean more hope.”

July 28 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Tuesday to seek U.S. support to defend Ukrainian cities against Russian ballistic missiles, as well as a broader partnership to help hasten the end of the war.

In a post on X shortly after he arrived in Washington on Monday night, Zelensky said the top priority for Ukraine was “anti-ballistic defense and strategic cooperation with America.”

“Peace needs to be brought closer,” wrote Zelensky.

The talks come days after a conference call between Zelensky and his negotiating team and Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on how to kickstart stalled diplomatic efforts to bring peace closer and three weeks after a Trump-Zelensky meeting in Turkey.

Trump used the meeting on the sidelines of NATO’s annual summit to praise the way Ukraine was prosecuting the war and announce that he wanted to give Ukraine rights to manufacture Patriot air-defense missiles.

A worldwide shortage of missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot air-defense batteries has degraded Ukraine’s ability to defend itself amid a sustained Russian airborne campaign targeting Ukraine’s cities with highly destructive ballistic missiles in recent months.

Zelensky said he would also join Trump and other world leaders at Washington National Cathedral for the funeral of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a staunch supporter of Ukraine who passed away suddenly July 11 on his return from a trip to Kyiv.

“On behalf of all of Ukraine, we will honor the memory of Senator Lindsey Graham. Together with everyone attending the ceremony in Washington, we will remember his commitment to security and freedom across the transatlantic community and around the world,” said Zelensky.

Graham had just secured Trump’s backing for a long-delayed bipartisan bill imposing tough new secondary sanctions targeting Russia that he introduced along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in the U.S. Senate in April 2025.

In recognition of Graham, his Senate colleagues vowed to expedite the passage of his Sanctioning Russia Act, albeit a version that waters down the 500% tariff he wanted imposed on the imports of countries that purchase Russian oil and natural gas.

A first procedural vote was scheduled for later Tuesday with Zelensky expected to meet with senators afterward.

July 28 (UPI) — Hurricane Genevieve remained a powerful Category 4 storm Monday night in the Pacific, according to forecasters who said it was bringing life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions to the Baja California Peninsula.

The storm was located about 505 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. MST update. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph and was moving northwest at 12 mph.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect, though forecasters said swells generated by Genevieve were affecting portions of the southwestern coast of Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula.

“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the NHC said.

Although it remained a major hurricane, forecasters expected it to steadily weaken over the next several days, during which it is forecast to move northwest to west-northwest.

Ex-superstar player succeeds Didier Deschamps as France manager after the national team’s bitter semifinal exit in the United States.

Former France midfielder Zinedine Zidane will take over as national team head coach, the French Football Federation posted on X on Tuesday.

The appointment of the former Real Madrid manager comes two weeks after Didier Deschamps’ tenure as coach ended following France’s fourth-place finish at the World Cup. His final match in charge was the 6-4 defeat by England.

Zidane, 54, is expected to begin his reign with an away UEFA Nations League game against Turkiye before France host Italy at the Stade de France on October 2.

Deschamps, who left after 14 years at the helm, oversaw 185 matches and 120 victories, guiding France to the 2018 World Cup title, the 2020-21 Nations League trophy and the Euro 2016 and 2022 World Cup finals.

Both share a long association, having been teammates in the 1998 World Cup-winning side at  home in France.

Zidane played a pivotal role in that triumph and won the Ballon d’Or that year.

July 28 (UPI) — Chad has announced it is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, days after a U.S. official urged the central African nation to consider doing so and amid a concerted U.S. campaign seeking to dismantle the court.

In an official communique made public Monday, Chad’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it notified United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of its decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the court, following what it described as an “in-depth examination” of its operations.

The ministry said the court’s effectiveness “has remained limited and uneven in light of the expectations that led to its creation,” alleging an anti-African bias and noting that its first nine investigations concerned situations in Africa. The ICC currently lists 17 situations under investigation.

Chad also highlighted that six of the seven people in the court’s custody are being prosecuted in connection with situations in Africa.

“Taken together, these objective factors explain the perception, widely shared among numerous states and their populations, that the court’s judicial activity has remained durably concentrated on the Global South in general and on the African continent in particular, which have consistently been victims of a form of political instrumentalization of the ICC,” the ministry said.

It called on the African Union and member stats to reconsider the future of what it called an “apparently biased system” and to strengthen the African judicial mechanisms instead.

The decision, which is to take effect in one year, comes amid an intensified U.S. campaign against the ICC following the court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a campaign seeking to “dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

The United States is not a member of the ICC, and although the Trump administration has taken a more aggressive stance toward the court, the United States has long rejected the cour’s assertion of jurisdiction of U.S. nationals without Washington’s consent.

Four days before Chad announced its decision to withdraw from the ICC, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul spoke with U.S. Under Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia Jr..

A statement from Chad said the call was made at the request of the United States. During the call, Garcia expressed the United States’ concerns about the ICC’s operation and requested that Chad review its membership, which Fadoul said Chad would.

“The United States welcomes Chad’s decision to withdraw from the ICC and join the growing number of nations reclaiming their sovereignty from this flawed institution,” the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs said in a statement.

“The United States will never surrender its sovereignty to an unaccountable global tribunal, and we are launching a comprehensive, whole-of-government campaign to end the ICC’s illegitimate overreach. We call on all other ICC members to withdraw from the Rome Statute.”

The announcement comes days after Venezuela announced it was withdrawing from the ICC.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger all announced their withdrawals from the court in June 2026.

July 27 (Asia Today) — Growing artificial intelligence demand and stronger trade barriers are rapidly reshaping the production and supply chains of South Korea’s major manufacturing industries, the Bank of Korea said Monday.

The central bank said Taiwan has become South Korea’s second-largest semiconductor export destination as the AI supply chain draws Korean memory-chip producers closer to Taiwanese manufacturers.

Meanwhile, South Korean automakers are increasing production in the United States and expanding hybrid vehicle exports as tariffs and U.S. industrial policies make direct exports less competitive.

The findings were included in the Bank of Korea’s Map of Production and Supply Chains for South Korea’s Major Manufacturing Industries. The report used data from 2024 and 2025 to examine 11 industries, including semiconductors, automobiles, steel, shipbuilding and petrochemicals.

South Korean semiconductor exports to Taiwan nearly tripled from $12.78 billion in 2022 to $36.77 billion in 2025.

Taiwan’s share of South Korea’s semiconductor exports increased from 9% to 19.9%, moving it from the fourth-largest export destination to the second largest.

China remained the largest destination, but its share fell from 53.1% in 2022 to 40.3% in 2025.

The central bank attributed the change to a shift in demand from conventional dynamic random-access memory chips to graphics processing units and high-bandwidth memory used in AI systems.

The AI semiconductor supply chain generally involves U.S.-based Nvidia designing graphics processors, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. producing and packaging the chips and Samsung Electronics and SK hynix supplying high-bandwidth memory.

That structure has increased the volume of South Korean semiconductor products shipped to Taiwan.

Semiconductors have also become more important to South Korea’s overall manufacturing sector.

Domestic semiconductor production rose from 74 trillion won in 2014 to 210.8 trillion won in 2024 ($50.4 billion to $143.6 billion). Its share of total manufacturing production doubled from 5% to 10.1% during the same period.

Production remains heavily concentrated in the greater Seoul area, which accounted for 82.3% of the national total. The Chungcheong region accounted for another 14.7%.

Major facilities in the Seoul metropolitan region include Samsung Electronics plants in Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek and Giheung and SK hynix’s plant in Icheon.

China’s growing influence was most apparent in South Korea’s automobile import market.

The share of vehicle imports from China increased from 3.5% in 2022 to 37.2% in 2025. Chinese-made vehicles accounted for about 70% of South Korea’s electric vehicle imports by value in 2025.

The report attributed the increase to China’s price competitiveness and its extensive supply chain covering vehicles, batteries and components.

The United States remained South Korea’s largest automobile export market in 2025. Shipments were valued at $30.15 billion and accounted for 41.9% of total finished-vehicle exports.

However, the United States’ share of South Korea’s electric vehicle exports fell from 33.6% in 2022 to 5.2% in 2025.

The central bank said U.S. subsidies, local production requirements and tariff barriers had weakened the competitiveness of electric vehicles manufactured in South Korea and shipped directly to the United States.

South Korean automakers have responded by expanding U.S. factory operations while increasing exports of hybrid vehicles.

Hybrids’ share of South Korea’s finished-vehicle exports rose from 11.6% in 2022 to 20.4% in 2025.

The shift reflects automakers’ efforts to respond to slowing electric vehicle demand and insufficient charging infrastructure by offering vehicles that combine electric motors with internal combustion engines.

— 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=20260727010009651

July 27 (Asia Today) — Nvidia plans to invest $1 billion in South Korean technology company Naver as the companies expand a partnership to build large-scale artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Naver said Monday it would issue about 7.24 million new shares to Nvidia through a private placement. The transaction would give the U.S. chipmaker a stake of about 4.5%, making it Naver’s third-largest shareholder.

Payment for the shares is scheduled for Oct. 30.

The investment would deepen a partnership announced in June to build global AI factories serving demand for sovereign AI, which refers to AI infrastructure and models operated under a country’s own laws and data controls.

The companies previously focused on supplying graphics processing units and cooperating on technology. Nvidia’s planned equity investment would broaden the relationship into a strategic partnership involving computing infrastructure, software, customers and capital.

Naver said Nvidia decided to invest because of the South Korean company’s full-stack AI capabilities, which include data centers, graphics processor clusters, cloud platforms, large language models and consumer services.

Naver operates graphics processor infrastructure at more than 20 locations across South Korea and plans to use that experience to expand its GPU-as-a-service and sovereign AI businesses.

Naver Cloud and Nvidia are also discussing an AI computing partnership that could include joint development of global AI factory projects.

The companies plan to combine Nvidia computing systems with Naver’s cloud, software and AI services rather than limiting their relationship to hardware purchases.

Nvidia said the proposed investment is subject to customary closing conditions and Naver securing at least $9 billion in committed project financing separate from Nvidia’s investment.

Brookfield has signed a nonbinding term sheet under which the global investment firm could provide up to $9 billion for computing infrastructure. The companies are discussing a structure in which Brookfield would develop or finance graphics processor systems and data centers for Naver’s use.

Naver’s own investment obligations have not been finalized.

The company plans to begin operating a 55-megawatt AI factory in the first half of 2027, expand capacity to 100 megawatts by the end of that year and reach 200 megawatts in 2028.

Its longer-term goal is to develop gigawatt-scale infrastructure.

Naver plans to begin the project at its GAK Sejong data center and later pursue sovereign AI customers in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East.

The company is also seeking to improve shareholder returns. Its board voted Friday to cancel about 4.9 million treasury shares valued at approximately 1.02 trillion won ($694.5 million). The shares are scheduled to be retired Aug. 3.

“The investments by Nvidia and Brookfield will be an important turning point for Naver’s future growth,” Naver Chief Executive Officer Choi Soo-yeon said.

Choi said the company would work to secure AI factory customers and establish itself as a major global AI infrastructure provider.

Naver board Chairman Lee Hae-jin said the partnership would allow the company to take its data center technology and operating expertise to the global market.

“We will actively cooperate with companies around the world to create an AI ecosystem that respects the diversity of countries and communities,” Lee 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=20260727010009741

July 27 (UPI) — The U.S. Consulate in Toronto was shot at early Monday, according to authorities, marking the second time the facility been targeted by gunfire this year.

Deputy Chief Frank Barredo of the Toronto Police Service told reporters in a press conference that a police security detail at the consulate in downtown Toronto heard what sounded like a gunshot in the vicinity at 4:46 a.m. EDT.

The officer noticed a white late-model Honda Accord with no license plates speed away from the building and radioed the information. Additional officers noticed the suspect vehicle nearby and engaged it in a high-speed chase onto the Don Valley Parkway, heading northbound.

Barredo said the suspect vehicle was driving at speeds in excess of 87 miles per hour, prompting officers to end the chase, in accordance with police procedures because of the danger posed to the public, near the Don Mills Road and the DVP.

At the scene, police recovered a single shell casing, he said. The building’s facade also suffered damage, he added.

While no motive is known, Barredo said police suspect the shooting was premeditated.

“I don’t think it’s just a fluke that there was no license plate on the vehicle,” he said. He also described the shooting as “brazen” and “reckless” given that a police cruiser was parked outside.

Two security officers were inside the heavily fortified building at the time of the shooting, though Barredo said they would not necessarily have noticed the shot.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow mirrored Barredo’s description of the shooting as a “brazen attack” and vowed to work with authorities to get “the illegal American guns off our street” and to bring those responsible to justice.

“I want to say to the person or persons responsible. We will get you. We have apprehended the previous shooters, all three of them, and we will bring you to justice. You will be held accountable,” she said.

UPI has contacted the consulate for comment.

The shooting comes amid fraying relations between Canada and the United States. President Donald Trump‘s combative rhetoric and actions, including threatening to annex Canada and imposing stiff tariffs on it, have angered many across the Great White North and have compelled Ottawa to begin distancing itself economically and militarily from Washington.

In March, multiple shots were fired at the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto.

Last month, Toronto police arrested three people in connection with the March shooting. Constable Marc Pinizzotto was killed in a related police raid.

Police said the shooting was one of at least 27 they believe were carried out by criminals for hire. Authorities have not made public who hired them.

The second shooting at the consulate also occurred as two Jewish-owned bakeries in the city were the targets of vandalism, at least one of which was shot at.

Asked if the second shooting at the consulate was potentially another criminal-for-hire plot or connected to the bakery shootings, Barredo said it was too early to tell.

“We, obviously, would not rule that out as a possibility,” he said.

“We do know that is a phenomenon that has grown in the GTA area. Some criminals simply perform services for hire. They don’t have any personal interest in matter; they simply are hired to carry out a specific act of criminality.”

Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree said in an online statement he was “appalled by the brazen shooting” and has spoken with Chow, and offered his full support to the Toronto Police Service.

“Violence of any kind will never be tolerated in Canada,” he said.

July 27 (Asia Today) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty of making false statements during his successful 2022 presidential campaign.

The Seoul Central District Court said Yoon’s statements concerned his relationship with Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman also known as Geonjin, and his alleged introduction of a lawyer to former tax official Yoon Woo-jin.

“The impact of a candidate publicly making false statements during a debate or other campaign event on an election is extremely significant,” the court said. It added that the seriousness of Yoon’s conduct should not be regarded as minor.

Yoon’s attorneys said the court misunderstood the facts and relevant law and accepted only the special counsel’s arguments. They said they would appeal.

If the ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, the main opposition People Power Party could be required to return about 39.7 billion won, or $27.1 million, in campaign expenses reimbursed by the government following Yoon’s election.

It would be the largest repayment of election expenses by a political party in South Korean history.

Yoon was charged over comments he made while running for president.

During an interview at the launch of a Buddhist leaders’ forum on Jan. 17, 2022, Yoon said a party official had introduced him to Jeon and that he and his wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee, had never met Jeon together.

Prosecutors argued that Yoon had repeatedly received advice from Jeon and falsely portrayed their relationship as a chance introduction during the campaign.

Yoon was also charged over remarks at a Kwanhun Club debate on Dec. 14, 2021. He denied introducing a former senior prosecution official as an attorney for Yoon Woo-jin, a former district tax office chief who had faced a bribery investigation.

The court said Yoon’s statement contradicted the nature of his relationship with the former tax official.

Under South Korean election law, candidates who receive at least 15% of the vote can receive full government reimbursement of eligible campaign expenses. Candidates who receive between 10% and 15% can recover half of their expenses.

A political party must return reimbursed campaign expenses and the candidate’s deposit if its presidential nominee receives a final conviction carrying a fine of at least 1 million won, or about $680, for an election-law offense. The repayment must generally be made within 30 days.

The ruling adds to Yoon’s mounting legal problems following his removal from office over his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024.

The Supreme Court this month upheld a seven-year prison sentence against Yoon for offenses that included obstructing authorities attempting to detain him and violating legal procedures surrounding the martial law declaration.

Yoon was separately sentenced to life imprisonment in February after a lower court convicted him of leading an insurrection through the martial law declaration. His appeal is pending before the Seoul High Court.

In June, a lower court sentenced him to 30 years in prison for ordering military drone flights into North Korea in an alleged attempt to escalate tensions and create a justification for martial law. Yoon has appealed that ruling.

— 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=20260727010009828

July 27 (UPI) — Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado and opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia said they will not participate a dialogue between representatives of the Venezuelan government and members of the National Assembly elected in 2015.

They said, however, they will not stand in the way of any initiative that produces concrete progress toward a democratic transition.

The dialogue mechanism was announced earlier this month by representatives of the government led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and members of the National Assembly elected in 2015, headed by Dinorah Figuera.

Both sides said the talks will formally begin Saturday and address issues that include institutional recovery, the electoral system, guarantees for political participation and the country’s reconstruction after the June 24 dual earthquakes.

The process has the backing of the United States. The U.S. State Department described the roadmap as an important step toward Venezuela’s political reconciliation and national recovery, while the Spanish newspaper El País reported that Washington has played an active role in promoting the talks and a possible political transition.

In a joint statement addressed to the Venezuelan people and the international community, Machado and González said they did not participate in the design, creation or operation of the dialogue mechanism.

“Those promoting it must inform the country of its objectives, its methodology and its timetable,” they said.

The opposition leaders said they will assess any negotiation based on “concrete and verifiable” results, including restoration of democratic institutions, release of all political prisoners, guarantees for all political actors without exclusion, a timely timetable for presidential elections and full respect for the will of the people.

The statement opens by reaffirming the validity of the mandate that, according to both leaders, emerged from the opposition primary election held Oct. 22, 2023, and the presidential election of July 28, 2024.

“That mandate remains in force,” they said.

Machado and González also said Venezuela is facing a crisis that has accumulated over more than 25 years and was made worse the June 24 earthquakes, which they said left communities devastated and deepened the humanitarian emergency.

Against that backdrop, they alleged that citizen-led aid efforts after the earthquakes were subject to attempts to block and control the aid.

“Venezuelans saw with their own eyes how the aid organized by the people themselves was blocked, diverted and controlled to prevent it from reaching those who needed it most,” the statement said.

The opposition leaders argued that rebuilding the country requires “a new government with moral authority and managerial capacity” to guarantee freedoms, restore the institutions of the Republic and support families affected by the disaster.

Machado and González reiterated their commitment to return to Venezuela to stand alongside the public during the country’s reconstruction.

July 27 (UPI) — Brazil and China agreed Monday to speed up negotiations on a trade agreement between Mercosur and China as both countries seek to strengthen economic ties after new U.S. tariffs hit Brazilian exports.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by telephone for more than an hour just days after the United States confirmed a 25% tariff on Brazilian exports.

Lula said on X that the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to expanding cooperation in strategic and high-technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, satellites, critical minerals processing and fertilizer trade.

In the post, Lula highlighted the “positive results” of bilateral trade and the recent short-term visa waiver, saying the measures “will increase tourist flows and business opportunities.”

He also emphasized the need to expand cooperation in other sectors and advance negotiations on a trade agreement between Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, and China.

“I stressed that our government remains committed to diversifying markets,” Lula wrote.

The two leaders also discussed global conflicts and their impact on people’s lives, as well as global food and energy security, identifying them as key international challenges.

“While discussing the crisis in the Middle East, we agreed that restrictions on freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have harmful effects on the global economy,” Lula said.

According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, Xi rejected what he described as external interference in Brazil’s electoral process and expressed China’s willingness to support Lula’s government.

Xi said that under new global circumstances and challenges, China and Brazil, as leading members of the Global South, should uphold historical justice and the progress of civilization while playing a greater role in reforming and improving the global governance system and defending international fairness and justice.

According to Xi, China “highly values Brazil’s international standing and significant influence, supports the country in safeguarding its sovereignty and independence, opposes foreign interference and will contribute to maintaining regional and global peace and stability.”

Lula also said both leaders criticized the inability of the United Nations Security Council to respond effectively to current international crises and reaffirmed Brazil’s and China’s commitment to multilateralism. They agreed to maintain close coordination on international issues through forums, including the United Nations and the BRICS group.

The conversation comes as Lula has intensified his efforts to diversify Brazil’s trade relationships. In an article published Sunday in The Washington Post, he described the new U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods as a “strategic mistake” and said Brazil would pursue alternative markets to expand investment and economic partnerships.

July 27 (UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on his way to Washington, D.C., on Monday for his eighth meeting with President Donald Trump since he returned to the White House last year.

The war in Iran will be the key topic Trump and Netanyahu are expected to discuss when they meet at the White House this week. It will be their first meeting since the war began. The two leaders have expressed differing opinions about peace agreements in recent weeks.

“In these complex times, you need to act with both great determination and great wisdom,” Netanyahu said in a video statement Monday. “We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, primarily Iran. Of course, our goal is to protect our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us.”

Fighting between the United States and Iran resumed over the past two weeks after a preliminary peace agreement between both sides fell apart. The U.S. military said it paused strikes on Iran over the weekend after a series of daily attacks.

Iran’s military said it is also halting strikes against the United States as long as the United States holds off.

It is a politically significant time for both Netanyahu and Trump. On Oct. 27, Israel’s legislative election will include all 120 seats in the Knesset, determining who will lead the government. The prime minister will be determined in consultation between the Israeli president and the Knesset, through a series of coalition formations.

Meanwhile, Trump’s focus politically is on the midterm elections in November. The elections will determine the political makeup on Capitol Hill and Trump’s path toward advancing his agenda in the final two years of his term.

SEOUL, July 27 (UPI) — South Korea’s Hana Financial Group said Friday it posted record earnings for the first half of this year, driven by its banking and brokerage businesses.

The Seoul-based financial conglomerate noted its net profit amounted to $1.6 billion during the first six months of 2026, up 4.4% from a year earlier. Its flagship subsidiary, Hana Bank, made the largest contribution, with a bottom line of $1.45 billion.

Non-banking affiliates also delivered robust results. Hana Securities, one of the country’s major brokerages, more than doubled its net income to $186 million year-on-year during the January-June period.

During the third quarter, Hana Financial said it would spend $171 million on share buybacks and cancellations, bringing the annual total to $478 million. It also plans to increase 2026 dividends payments by 26.5% from a year ago.

The company expects overall cash dividends for this year to reach $820 million, up more than 10% from 2025.

Hana Financial CFO Park Jong-moo said that the group would raise its target for return on equity, or ROE, to 12% from the previous goal of 10%. The group’s ROE stood at 10.62% in the first half.

ROE measures how efficiently a company generates profit from the shareholders’ equity. In other words, Hana Financial aims to earn 12 cents of yearly net profit for every dollar of shareholders’ equity.

“We will create a virtuous cycle in which higher ROE leads to greater shareholder returns and enhanced corporate value,” Park told an earnings call. “We have raised our ROE target to 12% and set our shareholder payout ratio at 50% or higher.”

Hana Financial shares rose 1.46% on the Seoul bourse Friday before falling 1.36% Monday.

July 27 (UPI) — New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was scheduled Monday to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a Royal Navy base training Ukrainian forces.

Ahead of the visit, the first of any foreign leader since he got the keys to No. 10 Downing Street on July 20, Burnham told the BBC that he fully supported Ukraine and Britain’s “unwavering — 100%” backing for its ally would continue.

Burnham said the fact Zelensky was his first international visitor “illustrates the strength of the relationship between the two nations,” vowing to emulate the personal commitment to Zelensky shown by his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

“My support for Ukraine is unwavering — it is 100%. And I will do what, in Ukraine, people think is the right thing that they need,” said Burnham.

“Britain stands with Ukraine, shoulder to shoulder, and our support remains unwavering. Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve, and we will not back down until we achieve a long-lasting and just peace for Ukraine,” he added.

He will use the visit to the naval base to announce a deal permitting Ukraine to mass-manufacture Stone Cloak electronic warfare technology, which is fitted to drones to make them invisible to air defense radar.

Downing Street said that after Ukraine begins using Stone Cloak, it will be incorporated into Britain’s next generation of long-range weapons, including from Project Brakestop, which is developing low-cost cruise missiles.

Burnham said Stone Cloak was “the best of homegrown British innovation and proven on the frontline, and it will be vital to protecting our security in both our countries.”

Burnham and Zelensky will also meet with more than 200 Ukrainian service members taking part in Exercise Sea Breeze, a maritime training deployment involving Ukraine and 14 other countries aimed at boosting warfighting capabilities and tactics to deal with mines in the Black Sea.

In a post on X, Zelensky thanked Britain, saying that Ukraine valued that it could “always count on Britain’s principled decisions, leadership, and support.”

Total British support to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 is $33.3 billion, $21.3 billion of it military assistance, figures put out by Downing Street show, with bipartisan consensus across the previous administrations of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer.

Starmer’s final act as prime minister was to visit with Zelensky in Kyiv on July 17, his last official day as leader of the Labour Party.

Infantino also addressed criticism surrounding the standard of officiating at the tournament, in particular concerns about political interference after USA forward Folarin Balogun was made available for their last-16 tie when his one-match ban was suspended by Fifa – following the intervention of US President Donald Trump.

Of the 191 other red cards shown at a men’s World Cup, only one other player has escaped a suspension.

Uefa said the decision had “crossed a red line”, labelling it “unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable”, while the Norwegian Football Federation is considering filing a formal complaint to Fifa’s ethics committee.

Infantino, however, argued that such decisions are not out of the ordinary, claiming similar rulings are “routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues worldwide”.

He added: “It’s curious that the same countries employing these practices are the ones criticising.”

The International Olympic Committee has said it will not investigate Infantino for any possible breaches of political neutrality, stating the complaint levelled by human rights campaign group FairSquare falls outside the jurisdiction of its ethics commission.

Infantino’s advice to his opponents was “to show some love” and “respect” to a tournament where “people came together as families, as fans, as one”.

“To everyone who missed our beautiful game, the emotions, the celebrations, the laughter, the crying, the deception and the joy. To all of you who missed watching kids, babies, grandparents and parents come together for the beautiful game… sorry that you were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed it all,” Infantino wrote.

“While they celebrated, you were busy planting seeds of hate. Our world needs love, not hate; tolerance, not division; celebration, not mourning.

“To those spending their time and energy hating us, please take a moment to reflect, meditate, pray or watch a football match and truly observe the faces, the eyes, the emotions.

“Because only our beautiful game can deliver such an extraordinary show, a show where everyone becomes one and reconnects as humans.

“I am incredibly proud, as Fifa President, to have contributed, even a little, to this show. It’s a great feeling.”

July 27 (UPI) — Two locations of a Jewish-owned Toronto bakery chain were damaged overnight, authorities said Sunday, as the incidents are being investigated by Toronto Police Service’s Hate Crime Unit.

The Toronto Police Service said both locations suffered broken windows, but only one appeared to be the result of gunfire.

“At this time, investigators are examining whether the incidents are connected and working to identify those responsible,” the Toronto Police Service said in a statement.

“There have been no reported injuries.”

Founded in 1979, Kiva’s Bagel has three locations in the city.

Duty Insp. Scott Bradbury told reporters that the incidents occurred overnight, sometime between the stores’ closing Saturday and opening Sunday, when police received calls from employees reporting the damage.

Toronto police said they received a report at 8:12 a.m. EDT of a broken window apparently struck by gunfire at the Kiva’s location at Young Street and St. Clair Avenue West. Evidence of a shooting was located, police said, adding there were no reported injuries.

About 20 minutes later, police said they received a report of a broken window at the Kiva’s location at Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue West.

“We understand that this is concerning for those that work and live in this area, especially members of the Jewish community, and we have all the resources available to thoroughly investigate this matter,” Bradbury said.

“Members of our Hate Crime, members of our guns and gangs integrated task force and our divisional units are here canvassing the area. So members of the public can be aware that there’s going to be an increased presence of police in that area conducting our investigation.”

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow described the incidents as “vile and unacceptable.”

“We all have a responsibility to stand against hate,” she said in an online statement.

“I will always stand with Toronto’s Jewish community against anti-Semitism.”

The incident come after Toronto recorded a sharp decline in reported hate crimes last year.

Toronto police recorded 231 hate-motivated occurrences last year, down nearly 48% from 443 in 2024.

Anti-Jewish occurrences, however, remained the most frequently reported category of hate crime, with 81 incidents, accounting for 35% of all hate crimes and 82% of all religiously motivated hate crimes.

However, police in May said there had been a “concerning” 40% increase in reported hate crimes so far in 2026, compared with the same period last year.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement Sunday that he was following the incidents involving the Kiva’s locations “with concern.”

“While thankfully none were injured, this is the latest attack in a long and horrifying line of violence and intimidation against the Canadian Jewish community,” he said online.

“The Canadian government must confront this anti-Semitic violent wave!”

July 26 (UPI) — Brazil’s foreign ministry has summoned Argentina’s ambassador after inflammatory remarks delivered by Argentinian President Javier Milei about Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over the weekend.

Argentinian diplomat Julio Bitelli must go to Brasilia on Sunday or early Monday to meet with Brazilian leaders in wake of Milei’s harsh attacks on Lula during the national convention of Brazil’s Liberal Party, or PL, in São Paulo on Saturday, diplomatic sources told the O Globo newspaper.

Milei used his speech to denounce what he called the “tragedy of socialism” in Latin America, singling out the Lula and Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court for intense criticism while praising PL presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro.

The Argentine leader hailed Bolsonaro as the only candidate who can stop Lula, saying that “there is no one else capable of stopping Lula” and his effect on the country or confronting criminal and drug trafficking organizations.

“Do not allow your future to be stolen. We are counting on you, Flavio, to stop this socialist garbage,” said Milei.

The Argentinian leader also slammed de Moraes for prohibiting him from visiting former president Jair Bolsonaro in a Brasilia prison where the ex-president is serving a 27-year prison sentence for leading a 2022 coup attempt against Lula.

“I was not allowed to visit my unjustly imprisoned friend,” said Milei, a declared ally of the Bolsonaro family.

Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the imprisoned former president, launched his formal bid challenging Lula at the PL convention, declaring, “This the beginning of the toughest battles of our life. A fight between good and evil.”

Reactions to Milei’s attacks reverberated throughout Brazil in Sunday.

Workers’ Party president Edinho Silva said the Argentine leader had crossed a line with the attacks.

“No public authority in Brazil is above criticism, as long as it is made in the appropriate manner and at the right time,” he said in a social media post. “However, it is unacceptable for a foreign head of state to come to our country and address its constitutional powers in disrespectful terms.”

It is no surprise that the current president of Argentina “behaves in this way,” he added. “After all, there are not a few recent situations in which he has shown himself not up to the office he holds.”

Brazilian Supreme Court President Luiz Edson Fachin, meanwhile, similarly pushed back, reaffirming the autonomy of the country’s judiciary.