Author: News Desk

Lionel Messi’s family have confirmed that the Argentina captain’s father Jorge has a ‘health-related situation.’ Albiceleste captain Messi matched Germany legend Miroslav Klose’s record 16 goals at the World Cup with his first hat-trick at the tournament against Algeria. He was emotional as he celebrated his opener and called the game “difficult and complicated” because of “a matter totally separate from sport”. Now his family have released a statement to address rumours around Jorge Messi’s health. Following his hat-trick against Algeria, Lionel Messi is now the joint-top scorer in World Cup history.He has equalled Miroslav Klose’s tally of 16 goals after becoming…

Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images U.S. forces have lifted their blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, U.S. Central Command announced Thursday. The move is one of the conditions in a ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran while the countries move into the next phase of negotiations over the next 60 days. Iran, for its part, has committed to letting oil tankers move safely through the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20% of the world’s oil transited before the war began. The agreement, signed Wednesday, states that Iran will allow commercial vessels to transit the…

Everyone knows Mexico shares a long land border with the United States. But how much do you know about this dividing line and the vibrant, complex regions on either side of it? To enhance your knowledge of the Mexico-U.S. border, here’s a quick crash course in 10 numbers. This is the length in kilometers of the Mexico-U.S. border. The border runs from the Pacific coast in the Tijuana-San Diego area to the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Rio Grande near Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas. The length of the border in miles is 1,954. This is the ranking…

A Nova Scotia high school has asked students to return their new yearbooks after a Holocaust denial reference was found inside. “6 million? Nah, 271k” a screenshot of a West Bedford High School yearbook shared on Facebook reads, a reference that 271,000 Jews were killed in the Holocaust and not the generally accepted figure of six million. Neli Shpoker, whose son attends the high school, told the National Post, “It is painful to see, but unfortunately not surprising.” Shpoker’s maternal grandparents were survivors, and she said that Holocaust education is woefully neglected in the curriculum. “As a result, they may…

UNITED NATIONS — Nearly 25,000 children caught in conflict were victims of a record number of violations last year, including killings, rape and recruitment to fight, and for the first time, government forces – not armed groups – were the main perpetrators, a new United Nations report says. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ annual report, released this week, has a blacklist of violators against children: government forces from eight nations and 67 armed groups from 16 countries and territories. The number of violations – which also include abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access to help them -…

Busy Philipps has always wanted to watch Dawson’s Creek from the beginning, but after the death of her costar James Van Der Beek, she’s not sure if the timing will ever be right. “I was thinking about doing a rewatch for myself, you know, like, watching it for the first time, Dawson’s Creek, but I just haven’t yet,” Philipps, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, June 17, while promoting her partnership with Supernus Pharmaceuticals and Qelbree for an ADHD campaign. “And also, you know, it’s hard.” The actress — who played Audrey Liddell on the last two seasons of the…

Lewis Hamilton traded his racing schedule for a miniature shopping trip this week. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion stopped by #TinyTarget, a branded miniature retail set, to celebrate his non-alcoholic agave spirit brand Almave making its debut on Target shelves. It’s a genuine milestone for the brand. Almave is now available at Target stores across the country, putting it within reach of millions of shoppers. Target marked the launch by setting up one of its TinyTarget activations – a pint-sized, fully styled version of one of its stores. Hamilton brought @agabiotico along for the occasion. The two put their…

June 18, 2026; Inglewood, California, U.S.; Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ermedin Demirovic in action with Switzerland’s Manuel Akanji. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Twenty-year-old Johan Manzambi scored a late brace after coming on in the 71st minute, Ruben Vargas and Granit Xhaka also scored and Switzerland erupted late for a 4-1 victory over 10-man Bosnia and Herzegovina Thursday to go atop Group B at the World Cup. The last three Swiss tallies in Inglewood, Calif., followed the 80th-minute dismissal of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic, who was rightly sent off for hauling down Breel Embolo to deny an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. When…

It turns out the burning cross found at a Chicago park wasn’t the work of White supremacists, but an anti-Trump former student at the University of Illinois Chicago who isn’t White. Merlin Lu, 21, was charged with two counts of committing a hate crime, arson, property damage and other offenses for setting ablaze a large wooden cross found leaning against a tree last week in Chicago’s Grant Park. The charges filed Wednesday came after Mr. Lu admitted to a local television station that he set the June 9 fire, but insisted it was intended as a protest against President Trump.…

AI inference company Baseten is close to finalizing a stunning $1.5 billion funding round at a $13 billion valuation, the Wall Street Journal reports. Just five months ago, the startup announced that it had raised a $300 million Series E at a $5 billion valuation. And that round was just nine months after raising a $150 million Series D. If finalized, this latest round would represent a 160% increase in valuation in less than half a year. However, the WSJ reports that this is a split-priced round, a tactic startups are using to boost their headline valuation and make lead…