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FIFA World Cup 2026: Organisers dismiss Trump venue move threat

By in News, World News

Organisers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup have dismissed concerns that United States President Donald Trump could move matches from cities he does not deem “safe”.

Republican President Trump said last month that he would consider moving games from Democrat-led San Francisco and Seattle if they did not cooperate with his immigration and crime initiatives.

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He raised the issue again this week, this time targeting Boston and its Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu, suggesting he could appeal directly to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino.

John Kristick, who led Canada, Mexico and the United States’s successful bid to jointly host the 2026 finals, emphasised that planning has been under way for nearly a decade and remains unaffected by political rhetoric.

“From what I’m seeing, there’s been zero distraction in terms of the preparedness,” Kristick, co-head of global events at Playfly Sports Consulting, said.

“Tickets are already being sold. Hospitality packages have been sold for almost a year now.”

More than one million World Cup tickets have been bought so far, FIFA said on Thursday, with fans from 212 countries and territories snapping up seats.

FIFA previously said that the global governing body for football has the final say on whether to move the 2026 World Cup, but this week noted, “Safety and security are obviously the governments’ responsibility.

“They decide what is in the best interest for public safety,” FIFA added.

“We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfil all necessary requirements.”

Ricardo Trade, CEO of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Local Organising Committee, said the abundance of good stadiums in the United States would make the possibility of relocating games “feasible”, so long as it does not happen after the December 5 draw.

“In a country like the United States, where every state has large, ready-to-use stadiums, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible,” said Trade, who also served as CEO of the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 in the US.

New York and New Jersey, responsible for eight games, including the final, have maintained their focus, said NYNJ Host Committee CEO Alex Lasry, with daily fan festivals planned across the country’s biggest metropolitan region.

“We’ve spoken to FIFA, we’re working with the White House Task Force, I don’t think there’s any worry about the games being moved,” said Lasry.

Grand Sumo event makes sensational return to London

By in News, Sports News
Getty Images
Thomas Fabbri

BBC News

Sumo wrestling has returned to London for the first time in over three decades, kicking off a five-day Grand Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The highly anticipated return of Japan’s iconic national sport has brought old and new fans alike to the same venue that hosted it in 1991.

Sumo wrestler Yokozuna Hoshoryu, eating a hot dog, poses for a selfie with two people near Big BenGetty Images

Hosts James Richardson and Hiro Morita welcomed people in the auditorium on Monday with an introduction to sumo’s basic rules and rituals.

Centre stage is the dohyo, an elevated ring built over the last week by Japanese and local experts with carefully sourced soil and clay.

Rikishi perform a ring-entering ceremony wearing colourful apronsGetty Images

There were huge cheers when some of the fan favourites, like 33-year-old Ura and 21-year-old Ukrainian sensation Aonishiki, walked onto the dohyo in their colourful kensho-mawashi, silk aprons worn during the entering ceremony.

Yokozuna Onosato performing his ring-entering ceremonyGetty Images

The bouts started with a couple of spectacular tsuridashi (frontal lifts out) with rikishi picking up their opponents and moving them out of the ring.

Some spirited bouts followed, often cheered loudly by the crowd, clearly not just made up of curious first-timers. Thousands of fans shouted their favourite rikishi’s names, held banners and towels, and proudly wore sumo accessories.

Sumo wrestlers Tamawashi (left) battles with Wakatakakage (right) at the centre of the dohyo, watched by a gyoji (sumo referee)Getty Images

The first night of action ended with the two Yokozuna Grand Champions, Hoshoryu and Onosato, defeating their opponents. A bow-twirling ceremony concluded day one, leaving fans in the auditorium and viewers at home captivated.

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    Two sumo wrestlers compete in a bout in Japan

At least 2 killed as police in Kenya fire shots to disperse Odinga mourners

By in News, World News

Published On 16 Oct 2025

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At least two people have been killed after police in Kenya fired shots to disperse crowds of mourners gathered to view the body of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who died earlier this week in India.

The country’s head of police operations, Adamson Bungei, confirmed the shooting at the 60,000-capacity football stadium in the capital, Nairobi, where the viewing was to take place on Thursday ahead of the funeral over the weekend.

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“We have at least two deaths,” Bungei told The Associated Press news agency, describing the incident as a “confrontation.”

Local media outlets KTN News and Citizen TV later said the death toll had increased to four, with dozens of people injured. After security forces fired shots, police lobbed tear gas to disperse thousands of mourners, the two broadcasters showed, leaving the stadium deserted.

Thousands of Odinga’s supporters began gathering on Nairobi’s streets from early morning on Thursday, with crowds congregating at Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre for the viewing.

Tensions increased when some people breached a gate in the arena, with security forces firing shots and tear gas in response. As mourners fled, a stampede erupted near the stadium gates.

After the incident, President William Ruto arrived at the stadium with members of Odinga’s family to view the coffin. Ruto and Odinga’s family paid their respects in a side room of the stadium.

The public viewing took place hours later outside the stadium gates.

Tensions had began earlier in the day when thousands of mourners briefly stormed Nairobi’s international airport, interrupting a ceremony for Ruto and other officials to receive Odinga’s body with military honours.

The incident prompted a two-hour suspension of airport operations.

Crowds also gathered in Bondo, the family’s ancestral seat in western Kenya, where Odinga is due to be buried on Sunday.

Odinga, ​​a key figure in African politics, died at the age of 80 on Wednesday during a trip to India for medical treatment, according to local police and hospital officials.

The former prime minister, who was affectionately known as “Baba” (father), ran five unsuccessful presidential campaigns between 1997 and 2022, but was seen as a major force for democratic reform.

“He fought tirelessly for multi-party democracy, and we are enjoying those freedoms today because of his struggle,” university student Felix Ambani Uneck told Reuters at the stadium.

Friday has been declared a public holiday and Kenyans are expected to gather at a different football stadium in Nairobi for a state funeral service.

Sport can ‘change country’ amid climate crisis

By in News, Sports News
Getty Images
Katie Gornall

BBC Sport correspondent

Grassroots clubs have the power to “change the country” and address the on-going issue of extreme weather making it more difficult to be physically active, according to Sport England.

The latest figures from the funding agency shows nearly two-thirds of adults and children are doing less activity as a result of extreme weather in the past 12 months.

Since 2023, £47.5m worth funding has been made available to help sports clubs become more sustainable and adapt to climate-driven disruption.

“We know that 120,000 grassroots football matches were called off last year, simply because of flooded pitches. This problem is real, and our problem is our own adaptability,” Sport England’s chair Chris Boardman told BBC Sport.

Physical inactivity associated with one in six deaths in the UK, according to Government data.

“It’s absolutely huge for society,” Boardman adds.

“Both in financial terms, for the economy and people’s quality of life. A lot of that is exacerbated by extreme weather which we know is just getting worse.”

A recent report by the Met Office warned that extreme weather events are the ‘new normal’ for the UK.

Many clubs have already adopted an action plan as a result of climate impact.

Whalley Range Cricket Club in Manchester have planted native trees beyond the boundary rope to better soak up excess water caused by flooding, while Oxford Harlequins RFC were awarded a £15,000 grant from Sport England to enhance the resilience of their surroundings, ensuring players can continue playing rugby despite extreme weather.

Boardman said: “People have to believe that there’s something that they can do. And the beauty of sport is that there’s 150,000 local clubs and community groups spread across the country.

“If all of them take small actions then that aggregates into real change. That’s the superpower.”

Sport England is also announcing the introduction of a new Sustainability Rating System to help organisations track their progress and get from a ‘starting’ state, through a ‘sustainable’ phase and ultimately to a ‘regenerative’ position.

Jennifer Lopez delivers brutal love admission after Ben Affleck divorce

By in Entertainment News, News

The singer looked back on her four marriages and what went wrong with them

Jennifer Lopez doesn’t think she’s ever been loved as she looks back on her failed marriage to Ben Affleck. The four-times married actress and singer mused over her relationship history in a candid interview.

Shifting the blame on to the men she has fallen in and out of love with, she said they had their own issues they were battling. It comes after her surprise divorce earlier this year. US chat show host Howard Stern asked “Have you ever been loved?’ “No,” Jennifer, 56, admitted.

She continued: “What I learned is that I’m not unloveable, it’s that they’re not capable. They don’t have it in them. They need to appreciate the little person inside of them. They gave me what they had. They gave me all of it all the time. They tried to give me the houses, the rings, all of it. But… ” “They didn’t love you?” prompted Stern. “They didn’t,” Jen answered. “And I didn’t love myself.”

J.Lo finalised her divorce with Affleck, 53, in January after just two and half years of marriage. The Hollywood power couple surprised the world when they announced they were marrying almost twenty years after first falling in love. They reunited in 2021, married at a Las Vegas chapel in July 2022, followed by a second ceremony in Georgia the following month. But it wasn’t to be, with the Jenny From The Block singer filing for divorce on their second wedding anniversary.

Their marriage was unravelling as the pair worked on a musical remake of the 1976 novel Kiss of the Spider Woman together but the pair but their differences to one side for the premiere this month, proving they were the friendliest of exes, and even sparkling speculation there could be a reconciliation on the cards.

If there was, J-Lo says she’ll be keeping her cards close to her chest this time and vowed not play out her love life in public. “I feel that I live my life very out loud even though I was in the public eye,” she told Stern on his Sirius XM show. “And I wanted to share my life with someone. I want someone to be there when I’m having my big important moments on my red carpet. Or if we’re going to the store. I didn’t hide from it, I spoke about it. What’s happened over the past few years to me and my children I feel like I want to keep that part so much more quiet in my life.”

A self-confessed romantic, Jennifer has been married and divorced four times and engaged twice more. She married to Cuban actor Ojani Noa in 1997 but it was short-lived, with the pair divorcing the following year. Then she was married to dancer Cris Judd from 2001 to 2003. Good Will Hunting star Ben met singer Jen in 2002 on the set of their movie, Gigli. Married to Judd at the time, Jennifer said she felt sparks immediately with Ben. They soon got engaged but postponed their wedding in 2003 and split the following year.

Both moved on, with Ben marrying another Jen, 13 Going On 30 actress Jennifer Garner. They have children Violet, 19, Fin, 16, and Sam, 13. In the meantime, J-Lo walked down the aisle with singer Marc Anthony. They had twins Max and Emma, now 17. They divorced in 2014 three years after departing. J-Lo was engaged to baseball player Alex Rodriguez in 2019 before they called it quits in 2021. Ben and Jen married a year later.

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Accepting some responsibility for the breakdown in her relationships. Jen says she’s learnt how to love herself through it all. “There’s a trade off,” she explained. “You have to learn how to navigate your personal life and my personal life has suffered because of that. And it took time for me to learn this. I kept thinking, I can do this and that. And now I realise you have to change your behaviour to have a successful relationship in your life.

“I think the work of my life is about self love. It’s about knowing I’m worthy of love and people. Paying attention to me and not leaving. That’s the work of my love, to know I’m whole on my own.”