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UEFA warns Infantino over document destruction as Wales withdraws backing
Wales has become the first national football association to publicly withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino’s bid to remain FIFA president from 2027 to 2031, marking the culmination of the fallout from his abandoned plan to sell equity in FIFA competitions. The dispute escalated from an internal governance disagreement into open political opposition to Infantino’s…
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Coordinated dollar-yen intervention by US and Japan first since 2011
Japan and the United States carried out a coordinated intervention in currency markets on 3 August 2026, the first joint action of its kind between the two countries since 2011, after the yen fell to a forty-year low against the dollar. The Japanese Finance Ministry and the US Treasury jointly bought yen to arrest its…
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Furious UEFA warned Gianni Infantino NOT to destroy botched World Cup plan documents with lawsuit threatened before FIFA president abandoned his plot
UEFA formally warned FIFA president Gianni Infantino not to destroy any documents relating to a botched, now-abandoned World Cup plan, threatening legal action had evidence been tampered with. The episode marks a serious escalation between European football’s governing body and FIFA, reflecting UEFA’s fury both at the substance of the scheme and at how Infantino…
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US and Japan take action to prop up yen in rare joint move
Japan and the United States have confirmed they jointly intervened in currency markets last week to arrest a slide in the yen, which had fallen to a fresh 40-year low. It is the first joint intervention by the two countries since 2011, when they coordinated action after the earthquake and tsunami in eastern Japan, and…
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AstraZeneca holds talks with Bristol Myers Squibb over $400bn merger
AstraZeneca, Britain’s biggest drugmaker, is in talks to take over its US rival Bristol Myers Squibb in a deal that would create a near-$400bn (£300bn) pharmaceutical group. The tie-up would rank among the largest pharmaceutical mergers ever and would create the world’s fourth-biggest drugmaker by market value, significantly expanding AstraZeneca’s presence in the United States,…
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Israel says it has serious concerns with Hamas disarmament deal
Israel has voiced “serious security concerns” about a proposed Hamas disarmament deal announced last week by US President Donald Trump, even as Israeli forces continue strikes in Gaza. Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, said Israeli intelligence suggests Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely disarming, warning that…
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Locarno Pro Takes on the Big Issues: AI, “Algorithms and Consolidation Versus Creative Freedom”
The Locarno Film Festival’s industry programme, Locarno Pro, returns for its 15th edition from 6-11 August 2026 alongside the wider 79th festival, with this year’s agenda centred on how AI, data-driven power structures and industry consolidation are reshaping independent cinema. Director Markus Duffner said the topics will run throughout the programme’s panels and keynotes, reflecting…
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CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: The ostracism of Boy George for his pro-Israel song proves the intolerant Left now holds total control over what performers can think or say
Broadcaster Christopher Stevens argues that Boy George has been shunned by parts of the music industry after releasing a song supporting Israel amid its war in Gaza, a stance the columnist says exposes how narrowly acceptable opinion is now policed within the entertainment world. He frames the singer’s treatment as evidence that dissenting from a…
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On the spot: 50 of the most famous – and infamous – Panenka penalties of all time
The Guardian marks the 50th anniversary of Antonin Panenka’s audacious chipped penalty, which won Czechoslovakia the 1976 European Championship final against West Germany, by compiling a list of 50 of the most famous and infamous attempts at the technique since. The piece traces how the “Panenka” moved from an obscure moment barely noted in the…
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Trump’s hypocritical new tariffs are a chance for the world to fight back | Joseph Stiglitz
Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz argues that Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs, imposed under the pretext of curbing forced labour abroad, is actually a disguised attempt to seize a greater share of global trade for the United States. He notes the new tariffs closely mirror those Trump previously justified on the basis of bilateral…