FIFA World Cup 2026: Biggest takeaways from the semifinals

The semifinals are now behind us, with plenty of key moments and incidents to digest ahead of Sunday's final.

Palestinians in Gaza search through homes destroyed by Israeli strikes

Palestinians are inspecting the damage in Nuseirat after Israeli strikes reduced their homes to rubble.

John Esposito, pioneering scholar of Islam in the US, dies aged 86

Georgetown scholar and author spent decades building bridges between the Islamic and Western worlds.

US hosts global meet on ‘far-left terror’: Who’s attending, why it matters

More than 65 countries expected to address 'renewed threats' from 'far-left political violence and terrorism'.

'Moment of joy' as Uganda discharges last Ebola patient

Most of the recent cases were among travellers from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fraud crackdown on Ghana ID cards makes digital checks compulsory – photocopies banned

Companies are now required to verify a person’s identity electronically to curb theft and forgery.

World Cup: Tuchel, Messi and why Argentina beat England in semifinal

England's poor defensive tactics, Lionel Messi's enduring brilliance, and Argentina self-belief behind 2-1 comeback win.

Palestinians fight fires after settler attacks in the occupied West Bank

Overnight Israeli settler attacks set farmlands ablaze in Masafer Yatta and burned vehicles near Tulkarem.

‘Destroyed my whole life’: Lebanese families wiped out in Israeli attacks

Hussein Saleh describes an Israeli air attack in Tyre that killed his family, including his wife and his only child. 

Venezuela’s recovery clouded by uncertainty three weeks after earthquake

In Venezuela, the focus has shifted from rescue to rebuilding three weeks after devastating earthquakes.