The expanded World Cup, the most logistically complex in the competition’s history, will be staged across 16 cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Eleven venues are in the US, with Mexico and Canada hosting three and two respectively.

The draw will be held at the Kennedy Center, a venue now chaired by Trump, giving Washington an indirect role in the tournament after missing out on hosting matches.

The event will feature high-profile co-hosts Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart, with performances by Village People, Andrea Bocelli, and Robbie Williams.

Sports icons including Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, and Shaquille O’Neal are slated to assist with the draw.

Read Also: FIFA Hits Transfer Ban on Heartland FC Over Unpaid Wages

FIFA president Gianni Infantino, known for his close ties with Trump, is expected to present the US President with the first FIFA Peace Prize, an award recognizing individuals who foster unity and hope.

Trump has positioned the World Cup as a signature milestone of his administration and the upcoming US 250th anniversary, while also stirring debate by threatening to relocate matches from cities he considers “unsafe.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will also attend the ceremony, underscoring the tri-nation collaboration behind the upcoming global event.

Source: Channels

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Under the deal, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, while Hamas will free 20 living hostages in the first phase. A source within Hamas said the swap will involve nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, including 250 serving life sentences.

The Israeli army confirmed preparations to withdraw troops from Gaza as part of the agreement. The deal also aligns with a peace plan announced earlier by U.S. President Donald Trump, which proposes Hamas’s disarmament and a transitional authority to govern Gaza.

News of the ceasefire sparked widespread celebration in Gaza, where residents expressed relief after years of bombardment and displacement. “Tears of joy flowed,” said displaced resident Samer Joudeh. “After two years of fear and loss, we finally feel a moment of respite.”

Talks were held behind closed doors in Egypt’s resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, with negotiators from Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. mediating. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed optimism, saying he would bring the hostages home “with God’s help.”

Read Also: Israel to ‘take control’ of Gaza City after approving new war plan

The war, which began after Hamas’s October 2023 attack that left over a thousand Israelis dead, has killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to health authorities.

Global calls for peace have grown amid mounting humanitarian crises and international protests. Both Israel and Hamas face accusations of war crimes, while mediators continue to push for lasting peace in the region.

Source: Channel

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Recall that, Kirk was fatally shot in the neck on Tuesday while speaking at a debate at Utah Valley University.

Authorities affirmed that the attacker fired a single round from a rooftop in what they described as a targeted assassination.

US President Donald Trump confirmed the arrest, noting that investigators acted “with a high degree of certainty” in taking Robinson into custody.

Trump commended the joint efforts of local police and state officials in the investigation.

Source: NBC

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The Trump administration did not immediately name countries for the new blacklist, but a senior official said that China, Iran and Afghanistan would be under review as they “persistently participate in hostage diplomacy”.

The countries designated by the State Department would be subject to sanctions and US export controls, and officials involved in the imprisonment would be barred from entry.

In one attempt rarely taken by the United States, officials said that the State Department could bar United State citizens from visiting countries put on the blacklist.

Beijing’s foreign ministry also slammed the new blacklist and said it “firmly opposed” it.

“China is a country governed by the rule of law, and there is absolutely no question of so-called wrongful detention,” spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a regular briefing.

He added that “China, as always, welcomes citizens and enterprises from all countries to visit and conduct business in China.”

Under former president Joe Biden, China released all Americans considered wrongfully detained, partly in return for the United States loosening a warning against Americans travelling to the Asian power, advice that had hurt the business climate.

Currently, the United States only strictly bans its citizens from travelling to North Korea, a step taken after American student Otto Warmbier was detained in 2016 in the totalitarian state and released the following year in a vegetative state, dying shortly thereafter.

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According to Trump, “Give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”

Beijing’s foreign ministry recounted that “foreign guests” had been invited to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II.

“It is to work together with peace-loving countries and peoples to remember history, cherish the memory of the martyrs, cherish peace, and create the future,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stated.

“China’s development of diplomatic relations with any country is never directed against any third party,” he said.

The Kremlin said it hoped Trump’s allegation on social media was a joke.

“I think not without irony, he said that these three are allegedly plotting against the United States,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told Russian state TV when asked about Trump’s post.

Source: Channels

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Representatives from Qatar and Egypt, who have been heavily involved in peace efforts, will deliver this latest proposal to the Palestinian extremist organisation, Hamas.

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better, IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he noted.

The president said U.S. representatives held a long and productive meeting with Israeli officials on Tuesday to discuss Gaza.

However, there was no immediate comment from the Israeli side.

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The speech came six days into the conflict, with Trump demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender” while boasting the United States could kill Khamenei and fueling speculation about a possible intervention.

The long-range attack began, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.

The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear program in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

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Macron made this known during a joint news conference at the White House.

Read Also: Russian Missiles Kill 37 In Ukraine, Gut Kyiv Children’s Hospital

He flew to Moscow weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago in an unsuccessful bid to dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin. Like then US president Joe Biden, Macron soon cut off contact with Putin.

Macron said there was a big change in that there was a new US administration but shared Europe’s own experience in negotiating after an earlier conflict in Ukraine a decade ago.

The President, who has mulled sending French troops to Ukraine to preserve any peace, said it was critical for the United States to offer support.

Trump and Biden both ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine, and Trump has pressed for Kyiv to sign a deal to hand over mineral wealth to the United States.

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Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid.

Efforts to redress the inequality have drawn criticism from conservatives, including South Africa-born the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk, who is a powerful Trump adviser.

Ramaphosa said in a statement that the South African government has not confiscated any land, after Trump’s claim in which he also accused the government of treating certain classes of people very badly and threatened to cut funding to the country.

Read Also: Trump: 3,690 US-based Nigerians face deportation

The government says the bill does not allow authorities to expropriate property arbitrarily and must first seek to reach an agreement with the owner.

It is a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the Constitution.

It said they look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest, adding they are certain that out of those engagements, they will share a better and common understanding over these matters.

Ramaphosa’s statement said that except for aid from the PEPFAR anti-HIV/Aids initiative, which makes up 17 percent of South Africa’s HIV/Aids programme, there is no other significant funding that is provided by the United States in South Africa.

It added that the US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa.

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The Interior Department said in a statement directed by the President that the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America’s highest peak Alaskan peak Denali will again bear the name Mount McKinley.

Similarly, Alaska’s towering peak had been called Mount McKinley before, in honor of former U.S. President William McKinley, but was renamed Denali – meaning tall in the Koyukon Indigenous language – in 1975 at the state’s request.

The department said the changes reaffirm the Nation’s commitment to preserving the extraordinary heritage of the United States and ensuring that future generations of Americans celebrate the legacy of its heroes and historic assets.

Read Also: Trump nominates Andrew Puzder as American ambassador to EU

Trump, in his inaugural address on Monday, said McKinley, a Republican who was president from 1897 to 1901, made the country very rich through tariffs and through talent.

McKinley was head of the U.S. in an expansionist era, gaining Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico as territories.

While Trump can direct the U.S. Geological Survey to change how it denotes the Gulf of Mexico, such a name change would unlikely be recognized internationally.

Mexico, which like the U.S. has a long coastline circling the body of water, has said the Gulf of Mexico name is internationally recognized and has been used as a maritime navigational reference going back hundreds of years.

Meanwhile, Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum earlier this month jokingly suggested North America, including the United States, be renamed Mexican America – an historic name used on an early map of the region.

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