Category World News

Xabi Alonso’s first victory as Madrid manager came with Federico Valverde’s sliding goal in the 70th minute.

Following a heartfelt 1-1 draw against Al Hilal in Wednesday’s opener and Raul Asencio’s early dismissal on Sunday, his team’s FIFA Club World Cup campaign is now back on track.

With a win or draw against RB Salzburg on Thursday in Philadelphia, Real Madrid will be able to place in the last 16. Later on Sunday in Washington, D.C., Al Hilal will play Salzburg.

Elias Montiel’s deflected effort in the 80th minute gave Pachuca a consolation goal, but Thibault Courtois did little to help the victors save 10 saves.

Despite leading their Spanish opponents 25-8 overall and 11-3 in attempts on target, the Mexican side was defeated.

However, their opponents had more quality in their attacks than they did in Pachuca’s 2-1 loss to Salzburg on Wednesday.

Asencio was immediately dismissed in the seventh minute for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity after Salomon Rondon was hauled down just beyond the penalty area by Ramon Abatti, who had no hesitation in doing so.

However, the Spaniards took the lead for the majority of the opening 15 minutes before the Spaniards took the final 15 to a 2-0 lead.

Fran Garcia was quickly freed in the 35th when Gonzalo Garcia’s quick flick-on was released. The latter then picked up Carlos Moreno’s late run, who slid his low finish past him from 15 yards, with a square ball from Bellingham.

On another flowing Madrid move, this time with Gonzalo Garcia providing the final square pass following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first-touch cross, Guler provided the finishing touch from inside the area in the 43rd.

After the break, Pachuca continued to exert pressure, with John Kennedy’s 61st-minute strike well past his left post and Bryan Gonzalez’s early-second-half effort being forced over the bar.

However, Real Madrid held on for an impressive win thanks to Valverde’s well-taken goal, which almost ended the game.

After the game, Bellingham, who was named the player of the match, applauded the team spirit.

After receiving the red card, “we stayed well together.” Raul [Asencio] erred, of course. He told DAZN, “He is young and it will happen.”

“It was amazing to see how the team worked together and won the game.”

Courtois received praise, according to Alonso.

After the game, he told DAZN, “We are so happy to have [Courtois] in goal.”

When we only had one player, he was extremely trustworthy. We prepared our chances by sacrificing a lot of sacrifices while we defended.

According to ESPN’s report from Sunday, the Houston Rockets will trade guard Jalen Green and forward Dillon Brooks for the team’s top overall pick from the Phoenix Suns for five second-round picks.

The US National Basketball Association (NBA) will begin its new league year on July 6th, allowing for the completion of the trade. At that point, Durant will be eligible to agree to a $ 122 million extension.

Durant’s current contract has one more year left, and he’s projected to make $ 54,7 million between 2025 and 2026.

The Rockets finished the regular season as the second-seeded team in the Western Conference, and Durant will be their new coach. The All-Star forward will travel to Houston along with Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet, and Alperen Sengun, among others.

Durant, who turns 37 in September, played 62 games for the Suns between 2024 and 2025. Not far off of his career averages, he scored 26.6 points, grabbed 6.0% of his rebounds, grabbed 4.2% of his assists, and added 1.2% of his own. Additionally, he shot 43.0% from the three-point line.

Durant has appeared in 1, 123 games for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (2007-2016), Golden State Warriors (2016-19), Brooklyn Nets (2020-2023), and Suns (2010-2019). He was also named to the All-NBA first team six times. He averages 27.2% in his career and holds 70.1 rebounds. With a long-range shooting percentage of 39 percent, and 1.1 blocks and 4.4 assists.

Green, 23, started all 82 games this season with a 21.0% average, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. In a potent backcourt, he now travels to Phoenix, joining All-Star Devin Booker.

Since being chosen by the Rockets with the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, he has made 307 points, 4.3% of his shots, and 3.4 assists in 307 games.

Brooks, 29, averaged 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 75 games this season.

In 492 games with the Memphis Grizzlies (2017-20) and Rockets, he has contributed 14.2 points, 3.2% of his boards, and 2.0 assists. Houston selected him in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Fighting

Donald Trump, president of the United States, claimed that the military of his country had attacked three important Iranian nuclear sites.
• Trump claimed in a Facebook post that the heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility was “gone.”
• Without providing any proof or details, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon that the US strikes were an “incredible and overwhelming success.”
• Iran would face the “worst mistake they’ve ever made,” according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also threatened Iran with a similar threat.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkiye, that the US had “crossed a very big red line” by attacking Iran’s three nuclear facilities.
• The nuclear weapons organization of Iran claimed that “foreigners of]Iran] attacked the nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in a barbaric act that violated international law, particularly the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

• Trump was praised for making a “dumb decision” to attack Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• Iranian rockets and falling shrapnel have hit ten locations, according to Israeli emergency services. Following the US strikes, Iran’s most recent retaliation came in.
• Israel’s military claimed that it targeted “military targets” in western Iran with additional attacks.
• According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s most recent missile attacks targeted research facilities and Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel.
• As part of its retaliatory measures, the IRGC is currently using one of its most advanced missiles, the Kheibar Shekan. The missile, known as Khorramshahr-4, is thought to have Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal’s heaviest payload, according to a report from 2022.

Accidents and turbulence

• The US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities have not caused any fatalities, according to Pir Hossein Kolivand, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society.
• Iran had been anticipating the US attack on Fordow, according to a senior Iranian parliamentarian, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The adviser claimed that the site has been evacuated for a while and that the attack has not caused any irreversible damage.
• Residents near the Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz sites are not exposed to contamination or danger, according to the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization.
• In response to the US attack on Iran, the Israel Airports Authority claims to have closed its airspace until further notice “due to recent developments.”
• Following the US strikes, airline carriers have remained afloat of significant Middle Eastern locations, according to Flightradar24.
• According to the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online, a man who was found guilty of spying for Israel was sentenced to death.
• After Iran launched 40 missiles shortly after the US attacks, at least 27 people have been hurt in Israel. Ramat Aviv in Tel Aviv was one of the targets, and apartment blocks’ facades were raked open by missiles.
• At least two people were hurt when Israel bombed Tabriz in front of the IRGC’s Martyr Madani camp, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
• According to Iranian authorities, nine security personnel were killed when Israeli forces struck two military installations in the central Yazd province, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency.
• After Iran was bombarded, the Gulf states, which have several US military installations, are on high alert. This could lead to a growing war there.
• Bisher, Bahrain has instructed 70% of government employees to work from home.

US retaliation for attacks

• Sara Jacobs, a Democratic member of the US Congress, said in one of her initial reactions to the attack that “Trump’s strikes against Iran are not only unconstitutional, but they also carry the risk of starting a deadly, endless war.”
• Trump will bear full responsibility for “any adverse consequences,” according to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who did not request congressional approval for the strikes.
• A Palestinian-American congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib, described Trump’s decision to launch strikes on Iran without the consent of lawmakers as a “blatant violation” of the US Constitution.
• Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who has been spearheading legislation to restrict Trump’s ability to attack Iran without the consent of Congress, claimed the strikes are in violation of the US Constitution, which gives lawmakers the authority to make war decisions.
• Chris Murphy, a US senator, joined the Democratic critics’ chorus. He claimed that “the intelligence was briefed last week.” Iran “posed no immediate threat of attack on the United States.”

Politics, diplomacy, and global reactions

• Following US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the UN Security Council will convene in an urgent session on Sunday.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “grave alarm” and warned that the Middle East conflict could quickly “get out of control.” He referred to the assault as a “dangerous escalation.”
• International law is not a choice, but it is a duty, according to the head of the Red Cross International Committee.
• China “strongly condemned” the US attack, noting that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency guarded its nuclear facilities.
• The “absolute majority” of countries are opposed to “the actions of Israel and the United States,” according to Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.
• Hezbollah, a member of the Palestinian organization Hamas, and Yemen’s Houthis, all allies of Iran, condemned what Hezbollah called the US’s “barbaric and treacherous” attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

• Saudi Arabia stated that it is “following closely with deep concern” the United States of America’s “targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities” and the developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates all expressed concern about the regional implications of the attacks.
• The risk of an escalate was raised by the Foreign Ministry of Turkiye as a result of the US strikes.
• The US military action, according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “alleves” the “threat” caused by Tehran’s nuclear program.
• Kaja Kallas, the head of the European Union’s foreign policy, wants a return to dialogue. She argued that Iran should not be able to develop nuclear weapons because it would threaten international security.

After three days of a captivating Test series opener at Headingley, India overtook England by 96 runs in the second innings.

When rain stopped play a half-hour early, India was able to defeat the hosts for 465 at tea on Sunday to take a six-run lead into its second game.

Lokesh Rahul, the opening man, was 47 not out when Shubman Gill, the captain, stood beside him.

Brydon Carse sent opener Yashasvi Jaiswal 4 forbid, and Sai Sudharsan lost to Ben Stokes for the second time on 30.

Harry Brook led England’s batsmen on the day, riding his luck from 0 to 99 when he outstripped the fielder at a deep, backward square leg.

With 51 partnerships with Stokes, 73 with Jamie Smith, and 49 with Chris Woakes, Brook was in charge. England, however, lost to India by 73 when he was out at 398-7. With the new ball, which is only five overs old, India would have anticipated to wrap up the tail.

However, India needed to give star pacer Jasprit Bumrah a fifth start before fast bowling all-rounder Woakes and batter Carse smashed them for 55 runs off 44 balls.

In his 14th Test, five-for and 12th five-for away from home, Bumrah took the final two wickets, tying Kapil Dev’s India record. He took 5-83.

According to the Syrian Ministry of Health and Security, a suicide bomber attacked a church full of people, injuring at least 20 and injuring dozens more.

On Sunday, during the mass inside the Mar Elias Church, an explosion occurred in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus.

A member of the ISIL (ISIS) group entered the church and fired at the people there before igniting himself with an explosives vest, according to the Syrian Interior Ministry, echoing some witness testimony.

The death toll that was reported was preliminary. According to a statement posted on Telegram on Sunday, “Rescue teams from the Syria Civil Defence continue to recover bodies from the scene.”

At least 50 others were hurt, according to the official state agency SANA, citing the Health Ministry.

Children were reported to be among the casualties in some local media reports.

The newly formed interim government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa is attempting to win the support of minorities with the latest attack, which was the first of its kind in Syria in a long time.

There have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells affiliated with organizations like ISIL (ISIS) in Syria, which is recovering from a nearly 14-year civil war that left millions of people dead and displaced.

Since al-Sharaa became president in January 2025, both the United States and the European Union have lifted sanctions against Syria after its ouster.

He claimed that he was shooting at the church.

As the attacker fled as he was driving near the church, a witness who identified himself as Rawad claimed to have witnessed the suspect.

He claimed that while he was shooting at the church, he then blew himself up inside the church.

First responders and security personnel arrived on the scene quickly.

One woman screamed in agony as she tore up her tears and sat in her arms.

Hamza al-Mostafa, the country’s information minister, referred to the explosion as a “terrorist” attack.

He wrote in a post on X that “this cowardly act goes against the civic values that unite us.”

We pledge to continue fighting crime and protecting society from all threats to its safety, and we also support the state’s commitment to equal citizenship.

The “despicable” attack was condemned by France’s foreign ministry. France “exprims its full support to the Syrian people, who hope Syria will return to peace,” the ministry said in a statement.

The interior of the church, which was covered in debris and blood, was depicted in photos obtained by the Syria Civil Defense.