A massage therapist sparked debate online after being filmed arguing about Muslims in a grocery store
More than $140,000 has been raised online on behalf of a Texas woman filmed making anti-Islam comments in a grocery store.
The 44-second video which surfaced on Sunday shows a woman in blue medical scrubs confronting two other women who remain off camera.
The woman, identified by media reports as massage therapist Dasha Kilpatrick, says: “Islam is a terrorist organization, not a religion. I’m very educated on this subject. You need to leave. You’re not welcome here. This is not a Muslim country. This is a Christian country.”
One of the women is heard responding, “You need to leave,” while another says, “We have citizenship here.”
The altercation was reportedly filmed inside an H-E-B supermarket in Conroe, Texas.
After Kilpatrick faced backlash online, a fundraiser was launched on the Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo. As of Tuesday, it raised $140,178.
This is not an outlier or an isolated incident. Perhaps the most disturbing part is the conviction this woman has in believing neighbors shopping at HEB are a threat to her and her country. This "hate virus" is a contagion we must confront with facts, truth, and unity. #txlegepic.twitter.com/Sg30vqknhp
— Rep. Suleman Lalani, M.D. (@DoctorLalani) June 21, 2026
“Dasha’s been fully doxxed, fired, and canceled for daring to speak truth in her own country. She’s now dealing with lost income, threats, and the mob coming for her holistic practice,” the fundraiser page states.
Texas State Representative Suleman Lalani described Kilpatrick’s remarks as “disturbing.”
“This ‘hate virus’ is a contagion we must confront with facts, truth, and unity,” he wrote on X.
Inner Light Holistic Healing, a business where Kilpatrick was reportedly listed as an employee, has been flooded with negative reviews.
Others, including Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace, expressed support for Kilpatrick.
“I stand with Dasha, do you?” Mace wrote on X.
Anti-Muslim incidents in the US have increased in recent years amid debates over immigration, conflicts in the Middle East, and concerns about Islamist terrorism.
President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order restricting entry from several Muslim-majority countries during his first term in office, has recently accused Democrats of covering up several high-profile fraud cases in Minnesota involving Somali Americans.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it received 8,683 complaints of discrimination and bigotry last year, the highest annual number since the organization began publishing the data in 1996.
Alireza Beiranvand delivered another outstanding World Cup performance on Sunday, making seven saves to help Iran battle to a 0-0 draw against Belgium in Group G in Los Angeles.
The Iranian goalkeeper repeatedly frustrated the Belgian side's attacks and helped Team Melli collect a second consecutive draw, but the result will leave a sense of frustration after the Red Devils were reduced to 10 men in the second half.
Belgium defender Nathan Ngoy was shown a straight red card in the 66th minute after a costly mistake. His attempted back pass fell short before he brought down Mehdi Taremi to prevent the Iran forward from bursting through on goal.
The Iranians were unable to turn their numerical advantage into a winning goal, needing instead to once again rely on Beiranvand late in the match. The shot-stopper denied Maxim De Cuyper on two occasions, including a close-range opportunity in the 86th minute.
A second straight draw extended a difficult run for the Belgians, who have yet to score through their own efforts at this tournament, after opening with a 1-1 stalemate against Egypt that featured an own goal. Despite controlling possession for much of the opening hour, Belgium once again lacked a cutting edge in front of the net.
Despite the off-field challenges surrounding the team, Iran once again showed resilience on the pitch. With two draws from two matches, the squad will head into its final game in Group G knowing that a place in the knockout phase remains within reach.
Iran and Belgium both have two points after back-to-back draws, while Egypt now leads the group with four points following a 3-1 triumph in Vancouver that left bottom side New Zealand stuck on one, behind goals from Mostafa Zico, Mohamed Salah and Trezeguet.
In the day's other high-profile match, Spain bounced back emphatically from its disappointing opening draw by thrashing Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Group H in Atlanta. Lamine Yamal scored his first World Cup goal and Mikel Oyarzabal struck twice as the European champions rediscovered their attacking rhythm.
Yamal gave the Spaniards an early breakthrough in the 10th minute after arriving at the back post to convert Oyarzabal's pass. The Saudis struggled to cope with La Roja's movement and quickly fell further behind, with Oyarzabal finding the net twice in the space of three minutes before halftime to put the result beyond doubt.
An own goal shortly after the break completed the scoring as Spain cruised through the remainder of the contest. Yamal's opener also earned him a place in the record books, as the 18-year-old became the second-youngest Spanish scorer at a World Cup, as well as the second-youngest player to notch the first goal for a team at the tournament behind Brazil legend Pele.
Cabo Verde, meanwhile, continued its run as one of the tournament's biggest surprises after fighting back to earn a 2-2 draw against Uruguay in Group H in Miami. The result came just days after the Blue Sharks held Spain to a scoreless draw in their World Cup debut.
Kevin Pina put Cabo Verde ahead with the country's first-ever World Cup goal, before La Celeste responded through Maximiliano Araujo and Agustin Canobbio prior to halftime. The African side refused to back down, however, with Helio Varela restoring parity in the second half to clinch another valuable point.
The draw leaves Cabo Verde firmly in contention for a place in the knockout phase heading into its final group match against Saudi Arabia. With two points from two games, the Atlantic island archipelago has already turned heads by standing toe-to-toe with two former World Cup champions.
Cabo Verde and Uruguay both have two points after their stalemate, behind top-of-the-table Spain with four, while Saudi Arabia brings up the rear with one.
Riots, revolutionaries, symbols, scandals – and the conflict no other rich country had to face like the US
Recently George Floyd’s brother showed off his new diamond encrusted gold medallion with George’s face on it worth about $45,000. He claimed that it immortalized Floyd’s legacy.
Many commenters were doubtful if that was the best way to express feelings and asked whether the medallion had been paid for with donations to Floyd’s family.
Today, the struggle for minority rights in the US may look chaotic, strange, and even bizarre. But in fact, it wasn’t that different in the 20th century – that idealized era of famous orators and revolutionaries, as well as now-forgotten riots and strange political projects.
Moreover, we tend to forget that when it comes to minority rights, no other developed nation has faced the same challenges as the US.
At the time of the start of the Black Power movement, the situation with racial equality in the US was, for lack of a better word, confusing. African Americans, like everyone “born or naturalized in the United States,” had been considered full-fledged American citizens since July 9, 1868, when the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted. Technically, at that point the debate over the rights of African Americans was over.
At the same time, however, the Jim Crow laws – a collection of statutes which discriminated against African Americans – remained in effect in many states. These laws were named after the minstrel song ‘Jump Jim Crow’ which mocked African Americans. The social segregation laws ranged from requiring African Americans to sit in designated rear sections of buses and trains to bans on interracial marriages.
These laws were primarily in effect in the South and Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. But some of the laws were also in effect in other states, like Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California.
African Americans also frequently met with informal discrimination. For example, they were often denied access to skilled professions, admission to universities, and, most importantly, mortgages. Many banks also practiced “redlining”: neighborhoods with large black populations were considered high or “red” risk, even if they were peaceful and prosperous. Therefore, the lenders refused to issue loans to residents of these areas. At this time, housing prices began to rise, making it nearly impossible to improve living conditions without getting a mortgage.
In fact, these informal, unwritten restrictions were even worse than the Jim Crow laws. They not only isolated African Americans from society but also prevented them from improving their situation. But if anyone pointed out this injustice, skeptics could respond that there were no official laws against African Americans that prevented them from taking out loans or voting. On paper, they were free and full-fledged citizens, but in practice, things were different.
In 1964, a Harlem resident got into a conflict with a group of black schoolchildren. 15-year-old African American Jerome Powell was shot and killed by police in front of his friends and about a dozen witnesses. A police officer claimed Powell had lunged at him with a knife, while other witnesses claimed the teenager had actually surrendered. On June 16, the riots, later known as the Harlem Riots, began. Approximately 4,000 people participated in them. Ultimately, one person was killed, 118 were injured, and 465 were arrested.
Powell’s death was the spark that lit a powder keg. Tensions in black neighborhoods had been growing for a long time, and the frustration erupted into violence. Over the next four years, new riots erupted in black neighborhoods across the United States. They became known as the Ghetto Riots.
The situation culminated in nationwide riots in April 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. There were pogroms, lootings, fires, and shootouts in cities across the US. In Chicago alone, 11 people were killed and more than 500 injured.
Then-US President Lyndon B. Johnson was somewhat understanding of the rioters and said, “When you put your foot on a man’s neck and hold him down for three hundred years, and then you let him up, what’s he going to do? He’s going to knock your block off.” However, he had no plans to negotiate with the rioters and was unable to allocate significant resources for social assistance, since the authorities were preoccupied with the Vietnam War.
Johnson authorized the army to suppress the riots and condemned all those who broke the law. His successor, Richard Nixon, maintained a hardline policy against black activists and their allies. US authorities had long viewed Black Power with suspicion, and sometimes even hostility.
Soft power and revolutionaries
Sixty years ago, on July 16, 1966 (exactly two years after the death of Jerome Powell) activist Kwame Ture (better known as Stokely Carmichael) delivered a speech outlining the ideas that he had united under the slogan ‘Black power’.
“It is a call for black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It is a call for black people to define their own goals, to lead their own organizations,” Carmichael said.
His speech was the culmination of the March Against Fear, in the course of which participants marched from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi to protest racism in the South and restrictions on their voting rights. As a result, thousands of African Americans were registered to vote. This was not a spontaneous action, but the result of arduous work.
While some participated in the riots, others established dozens of organizations to fight for the rights of minorities: from student councils to human rights groups. Most of the organizations consisted of passionate enthusiasts who organized peaceful protests, managed media support, and demanded de facto equality.
The Ghetto Riots frightened many Americans, even those who ideologically supported the struggle of the minorities. But the soft power approach of the activists helped foster a positive image of the movement.
One niche group, the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), was responsible for one of the movement’s most famous symbols. At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, African American Tommie Smith won the 200-meter race, setting a new record of 19.83 seconds.
At the awards ceremony, he and bronze medalist John Carlos stood barefoot, with heads bowed and black gloves raised in a gesture of solidarity with the fight for black rights. Australian Peter Norman, a white athlete who won the silver medal, wore an OPHR badge to the ceremony as a sign of solidarity.
Smith and Carlos’ gesture drew criticism from politicians and Olympic officials, but they were the ones who showed the ‘humane’ face of the protest movement.
Some organizations, however, were not satisfied and wanted more. Ideas were voiced about creating an independent black state, where African Americans could create their own institutions and ensure social justice. This state was supposed to be established on the territory of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi – the US government was supposed to transfer these states as reparations for slavery and ‘oppression’.
The Nation of Islam, an eccentric organization of black Muslims, particularly advocated for separation from the United States. It was popular for a while, largely thanks to Malcolm X. But following his departure from the organization, it lost followers and delved deeper into esotericism.
The Black Power movement also gave birth to revolutionary organizations which carried out bombings and shootouts with the police. As a result of their terrorist actions, about 100 people died.
It is difficult to say what proved more effective in the fight for the rights of African Americans: the peaceful protests, the threats of the revolutionaries, or simply the passage of time. But over time, most of the demands of Black Power supporters were fulfilled: by the end of the '60s, Jim Crow laws and restrictions in schools and cities were abolished, and anti-discriminatory laws were introduced. The overall culture also changed and became more inclusive.
Of course, to this day, people still complain about the unfair structure of society, since the struggle for freedom and equality never ends. But for the next 40 years, the US did not experience mass civil unrest or the resurgence of armed groups.
Failed export
By the '60s, the US was already actively exporting culture and ideas to Europe. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that the vivid and highly idealized image of the struggle for minority rights had reached young people “across the pond.”
Protest culture grew and tensions increased. Finally, it spilled out onto the streets. On August 9, 1970, the Mangrove Protest occurred in London – a mass demonstration of activists outraged by police harassment of the local Afro-Caribbean community. The riot resulted in clashes and was followed by a high-profile trial.
And then... silence. Of course, in the UK, France, and other European countries, racism and equality were important issues: the flow of migrants from the colonies was increasing, and their integration became a pressing issue. But there were hardly any protests or riots.
There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the fight for racial equality was largely integrated into the protests which socialists, liberals, and students organized against the policies of Margaret Thatcher, Charles de Gaulle and other conservative leaders. Therefore, the rights of minorities never became such a big social issue as in the US.
Secondly, in Europe, minorities became a truly noticeable group of the population only in the '60s, after the first waves of migration from the colonies. By this time, liberal ideas had already taken root in society and the government, so building a tolerant society was relatively simple.
Moreover, many countries – especially Spain, Russia and the Asian countries – had been ethnically and religiously diverse for a long time. They first encountered the issue of integrating “other-minded people” into society hundreds of years ago, so with newcomers, this process was a lot easier.
Of course, racial and ethnic conflicts are not unique to the United States. One of the most serious issues in the EU is the slow assimilation of new migrants. In Russia, there are still echoes of the conflicts between Russians and North Caucasians (although they have really lost steam over the last decade). And in China there are complaints of chauvinism – not only against whites or Africans, but also against other ethnic groups within China.
But in no First World country have the rights of minorities caused such disruption and violence or captured the attention of politicians and society for years. The US is the only developed country that has had to deal with such issues. Similar situations have only occurred in Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.
For a while, it seemed as if Americans had resolved the minority rights issue. But recent events show that this is still a long way off.
The attack targeted a large group of people celebrating Juneteenth, CBS News has reported
At least 13 people were injured in a suspected drive-by shooting that targeted a holiday crowd in Chicago on Friday night, CBS News has reported.
The incident took place on Juneteenth, a holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the US.
At around 11 PM, a red SUV drove up to a large group of people in Roseland on the city’s South Side, and two people inside began shooting into the crowd, Chicago Police said, according to CBS News.
A 26-year-old woman in critical condition is being treated at the University of Chicago Hospital, it added.
The crime scene is littered with at least 100 evidence markers, while multiple cars and a bus stop were hit by gunfire, the outlet reported. The number of evidence markers suggests that roughly 100 rounds may have been fired.
Detectives are investigating, CBS said.
At least four people have been killed and at least nine others injured in separate shootings across the city since Friday night, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
The suspect reportedly claimed he was “protecting the country” from Muslims, as the attacks came amid a nationwide scandal over Pakistani rape gangs
Five men have been injured in a series of suspected anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh after an armed man was seen moving through the city, according to police and local media reports.
A 36-year-old white man has been arrested following what Police Scotland described as a “fast-moving sequence of events” on Friday night. Counter-terrorism officers have joined local police in the investigation, according to the BBC.
The attacks reportedly began near a mosque in Broomhouse, in the west of the city, where two men were injured and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Three other men were attacked on Telford Road and Leith Walk, police said, adding that “there is no further risk to the public.”
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show a bare-chested man carrying a large weapon and causing damage at several locations.
BREAKING NEWS: Counter Terrorism Police have launched an investigation after five people were stabbed in Edinburgh. A 36-year-old white Scottish man has been arrested in connection with the incident.
According to authorities, the suspect allegedly made a statement following his… pic.twitter.com/UDMNLECiDv
According to media reports, after the arrest the man said he was “protecting the country from these f***ing Muslim bastards raping our young daughters.”
The attacks came against the backdrop of a report released by Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe that revealed predominantly Pakistani men had raped and abused large numbers of mostly white British girls across almost half of the UK’s municipalities over several decades. The findings triggered a nationwide backlash and reignited debate over immigration, policing and the authorities’ handling of child sexual exploitation cases.
#BREAKING: Scottish man arrested after stabbing five people in Edinburgh; says he was “protecting the country” from Muslims “raping our young daughters.” pic.twitter.com/EmYsakE53B
Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton called the incident a “shocking attack” and said there was “no place for racism or faith-based hate in Scotland.”
MEND Scotland, a Muslim engagement group, said several of the victims were from the Muslim community.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney also commented, saying that he was “deeply concerned” and that there was “no place for violence, racism or intolerance” in the country.
Co-hosts Canada moved to the brink of the knockout stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after Jonathan David scored a hat-trick in a commanding 6-0 victory over Qatar on Thursday, a landmark win that was tempered by the serious injury suffered by midfielder Ismaël Koné.
The result earned Canada their first-ever World Cup victory and continued the country's impressive start to Group B after opening the tournament with a draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also represented an unprecedented attacking explosion for a team that had scored only two goals across all of its previous World Cup appearances.
David led the way with three goals, while Cyle Larin, Nathan Saliba and an own goal by Mohamed Manai completed the rout. Qatar finished the match with nine players after Homan Ahmed and Assim Madibo both received marching orders.
Canada's celebrations, however, were overshadowed by concern for Koné, who was stretchered off early in the second half after suffering a broken left leg following a challenge from Madibo. The midfielder was taken to hospital and was preparing for surgery, with his family by his side.
Head coach Jesse Marsch described the occasion as a defining moment for Canadian football despite the emotional scenes surrounding Koné's injury.
"No one will forget this, and no Canadian will forget this day," Marsch said. "It's an incredibly seminal moment for everyone to understand that there's talent in this country, that there's mentality, that there's desire, that there are a lot of things that make this country special."
In other matches on the day, Switzerland's breakthrough finally arrived in the closing stages after coach Murat Yakin introduced Johan Manzambi in the 71st minute. The 20-year-old immediately changed the game, meeting a loose ball near the penalty spot with a powerful side volley after Amar Memic's attempted clearance from Ruben Vargas' cross to give the Swiss the lead.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's hopes of salvaging a result suffered another blow six minutes later when defender Tarik Muharemovic was shown a straight red card for bringing down Breel Embolo from behind and denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Switzerland quickly took advantage of the numerical edge, with Embolo setting up Vargas before Manzambi completed his brace in the 90th minute. Bosnian substitute Ermin Mahmic briefly reduced the deficit with a stunning volley in stoppage time, but captain Granit Xhaka converted a late penalty to complete the scoring.
The 4-1 victory put Switzerland in control of Group B with four points from two matches following its opening draw against Qatar. Bosnia and Herzegovina remained on one point and now faces a difficult task in its final group match against Qatar after conceding all five of its goals in the tournament after the 70th minute.
South Africa had struggled to create clear-cut opportunities for much of the match and looked set to leave Atlanta empty-handed before a late turning point helped them salvage a point. Pavel Sulc handled Thapelo Maseko's shot inside the penalty area in the 81st minute, allowing Teboho Mokoena to convert from the spot and secure Bafana Bafana's first point of the tournament.
Czech Republic had numerous opportunities to put the match out of reach long before the equalizer arrived. Patrik Schick headed wide inside the opening minute, while Vladimir Darida and Schick both squandered promising chances early in the second half. South Africa, meanwhile, rarely tested goalkeeper Matej Kovar until the closing stages, but the late goal sparked a surge of momentum that nearly produced a winner.
The result keeps Group A finely balanced heading into the final round of fixtures, with both South Africa and the Czech Republic still in contention for a place in the knockout stage. South Africa coach Hugo Broos praised his team's response after the opening defeat to Mexico and highlighted his players' resilience against a physically imposing opponent. "I am very proud of my team when you see the reaction after the Mexico game," Broos said. "The Czech Republic team is very powerful, and very tall. We did very well with the second balls. It was a fantastic performance."
In the other clash of Group A, Mexico edged the Republic of Korea 1-0 to become the first team to reach the last 32.
Thousands took to the streets of Geneva ahead of the summit at a nearby French resort town
Riot police in Geneva clashed with protesters on Sunday ahead of a Group of Seven summit in neighboring France. The violence disrupted a No-G7 demonstration which drew thousands.
Geneva lies around 30 km from Evian-les-Bains, a French resort town on the shores of Lake Geneva where the 2026 G7 summit is scheduled to take place Monday to Wednesday. The Swiss authorities closed 25 of the 35 border crossings with France from Thursday afternoon, citing security concerns.
Around 60 organizations representing a range of causes, including feminist groups, trade unions, and supporters of Palestinian and Kurdish statehood, took part in the Geneva march. Organizers said around 20,000 people attended; police estimated the crowd at 7,000 at the start of the demonstration.
Police used water cannons and tear gas against rioters, who hurled projectiles at the officers.
American entrepreneur Elon Musk, the co-owner and CEO of Tesla, became the world’s first trillionaire last week after his other company, SpaceX, raised $75 billion in an IPO.
Apart from the clashes, the five-kilometer march along the shores of Lake Geneva, which passed near the United Nations quarter, was described by the media as loud and colorful but largely contained. Demonstrators chanted slogans against fascism, imperialism, and capitalism. One banner depicted US President Donald Trump as a dinosaur devouring the Earth.
The G7 was formed in 1973 as a club of the world’s largest economies, but its influence has declined as non-Western powers, especially China, gain greater weight in the global economy. Critics argue that the format is outdated and far less relevant than the more inclusive G20.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is reportedly expected to attend the meeting in Evian to seek additional funding for Kiev’s drone war against Russia. Politico reports that Ukraine hopes to raise up to $20 billion from NATO countries.
Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi’s trip is an opportunity to move “from declarations to action,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said
Somaliland’s president has made his first visit to Israel, months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government controversially recognized the breakaway territory as an independent state.
Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi was welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday at the start of what officials described as the first state visit by a Somaliland leader to Israel.
Herzog said it was a “great honor” to receive Abdullahi on a visit that “symbolizes the great potential of the new partnership” between the “two countries,” adding that the two sides must now move “from declarations to action.”
Somaliland’s presidency said Abdullahi was received with full state honors and that the two leaders held talks on economic and investment partnerships, innovation, technology, agriculture, and regional security. The Somaliland leader also visited the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Mount Herzl, and the Grove of Nations, where he planted a tree.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Abdullahi thanked West Jerusalem for receiving him and said the people of Somaliland spent decades seeking international recognition.
“They were asking only one question. To see us. Only one country decided to see us,” he said, referring to Israel.
Israel recognized Somaliland as a sovereign state in December, drawing condemnation from Somalia and several African governments. Netanyahu’s office said at the time that the two sides had signed a joint declaration and that the move was made “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”
#01. The President of the Republic of Somaliland visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Mount Herzl, and the Grove of Nations, where he ceremonially planted a tree. pic.twitter.com/nfGtvoABAd
Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland part of its territory, has rejected Israel’s recognition as illegal and a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also condemned Somaliland’s plan to open an embassy in Jerusalem, saying any unilateral action by the breakaway region has no legal effect. Israel remains the only state to recognize Somaliland.
The African Union has also rejected the move, warning that it risks setting a “dangerous precedent” and could undermine peace and stability across the continent.
Somaliland gained independence from the UK in 1960, while Somalia achieved independence from Italy shortly afterwards. The two states were united as the Somali Republic in 1960 until Somaliland proclaimed sovereignty in 1991 following a decade-long civil war. Abdullahi, who took office in December 2024, has made securing international recognition for Somaliland a top priority.
His trip to Israel follows the opening of a new Somaliland representative office in Taipei last Friday, despite objections from Somalia and China. Somaliland’s representative in Taiwan, Mahmoud Adam Jama Galaal, said Beijing and Mogadishu failed to pressure Hargeisa into cutting ties with the island, which he described as a “very important ally.”
“We have the right to choose who we have relationships with. It’s our prerogative,” he said, according to Reuters.
Brazil settled for a 1-1 draw against Morocco in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday, with Vinicius Junior scoring a crucial equalizer after the record five-time champions were outplayed for long stretches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
North African football giants Morocco took a deserved lead through Ismael Saibari and threatened to hand Brazil a defeat in Group C before Real Madrid star Vinicius produced a moment of individual brilliance to rescue a point for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
The Atlas Lions made the brighter start and controlled much of the first half through an energetic midfield led by 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, who continued to justify the growing excitement surrounding his international future.
Brazil struggled to gain control in midfield as Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes found it difficult to cope with Morocco's intensity and movement. Morocco repeatedly targeted Brazil's right flank, where central defender Roger Ibanez had been deployed at right-back.
The breakthrough arrived after a moment of inspiration from Brahim Diaz. The Morocco playmaker collected the ball deep inside his own half before delivering a perfectly weighted pass for Saibari, who raced through and calmly lifted his finish over goalkeeper Alisson to put Morocco ahead.
The 2022 World Cup semi-finalists nearly doubled their advantage shortly afterward, but right-back Achraf Hakimi elected to shoot rather than square the ball to Diaz in a promising position.
Brazil eventually found themselves level through Vinicius. The 25-year-old collected a pass from Guimaraes near the byline, skipped past Neil El Aynaoui and fired home from a tight angle to level the score before halftime.
Ancelotti, Brazil's first ever foreign coach reacted at the break by replacing both Casemiro and Ibanez with Fabinho and Danilo, with the changes helping the South American team regain greater control of the contest. Brazil who last won the World Cup in 2002, looked more organized after the interval and spent long periods pushing Morocco deeper into their own half.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was required to make several important saves, keeping out efforts from Igor Thiago and later substitute Luis Henrique as Brazil searched for a winner.
Mohamed Ouahbi's team, meanwhile, remained dangerous on the counterattack and nearly snatched victory late on after a mistake from Alisson created a promising opportunity.
Despite Brazil's improved second-half display, Ancelotti admitted his side has significant work to do if it hopes to challenge for a sixth World Cup title.
"We need to improve," the Italian said after the match. "This was a tough match, especially in the beginning. The team was a bit anxious, nerves were all over the place. I think we have to reassess what we did in this match. But we can't lose heart - you don't win a World Cup based on your first match."
Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi, who took charge earlier this year, was encouraged by his team's performance despite missing out on all three points.
"The players are disappointed because they wanted to win," Ouahbi said. "In the second half, the rhythm dropped but that is understandable against a team of this quality."
The result leaves both teams with work to do in Group C, though Morocco's performance reinforced its status as one of the tournament's potential dark horses, while Brazil will look for further improvement under Ancelotti as the World Cup progresses.
The New York Knicks completed a remarkable postseason run on Saturday night, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to secure their first championship since 1973.
Jalen Brunson was named NBA Finals MVP after producing a historic performance, scoring a franchise Finals-record 45 points as New York clinched the series 4-1.
The title run was defined by resilience. The Knicks rallied from double-digit deficits in all four of their victories against San Antonio, including a 16-point comeback in the championship-clinching game.
"I have no words," Brunson said during the on-court celebration. "It's everything I ever dreamed of."
The Spurs once again seized control early, building a 10-point lead in the first quarter before stretching the advantage to 16 in the second. New York struggled offensively from the opening tip, missing 16 of its first 18 shots and failing to make its first 11 attempts from inside the arc.
At one stage, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama had more blocked shots than the Knicks had made field goals. Yet New York gradually found its footing, using a 22-9 run in the second quarter to cut the deficit before trailing 42-37 at halftime.
As they did throughout the series, the Knicks responded well when the pressure was highest.
Brunson took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 consecutive points to fuel another comeback and move New York to within touching distance of the championship. His 45-point outing broke the franchise Finals record previously held by Willis Reed, who scored 38 points against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1970.
Mikal Bridges added 14 points and Josh Hart contributed 13 as the Villanova trio helped guide the Knicks to one of the most significant victories in franchise history.
"I don't know what I'm feeling," Brunson said. "I'm in awe. Whenever someone counted us out, we found a way to come back and do something about it."
San Antonio was led by rookie Dylan Harper's 25 points, while Wembanyama finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.
The Knicks entered Game 5 with momentum already on their side after erasing a 29-point deficit in Game 4 before winning 107-106 on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining. It was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history.
Compared to that dramatic turnaround, overcoming a 16-point deficit in the decisive game seemed almost routine.
New York finished the postseason with a perfect 4-0 record in closeout games, all of them on the road. Thousands of Knicks fans traveled to Texas to witness the franchise end a championship drought that had lasted more than five decades.
For Brunson, who won two NCAA titles at Villanova before transforming the Knicks after arriving in New York four years ago, the Finals MVP award was the crowning achievement of an unforgettable season.
And for the Knicks, the long wait is finally over.
French rider Valentin Debise secured a thrilling victory for China's ZXMOTO in Race 1 of the FIM Supersport World Championship Emilia-Romagna Round on Saturday, claiming his sixth win of the 2026 season and strengthening his position in the championship battle.
The result lifted Debise to second place in the riders' standings on 188 points, ahead of Spain's Jaume Masia. ZXMOTO remains third in the manufacturers' championship with 190 points.
After finishing third in the Superpole race earlier in the weekend to earn a front-row starting position, Debise quickly established himself among the frontrunners when Race 1 got underway at the Misano circuit.
The Frenchman settled into third place behind Yamaha riders Can Öncü and Adrian Huertas Arenas during the opening laps, with the leading trio gradually breaking away from the rest of the field.
As the race progressed, the battle for victory narrowed. By Lap 9, Öncü dropped back, leaving Debise and Arenas locked in a head-to-head fight at the front.
The contest remained undecided until the final lap, when the two riders exchanged the lead several times. Debise ultimately made a decisive move in the closing stages and held on to take the checkered flag.
Arenas finished second, while Öncü completed the podium in third.
ZXMOTO's Federico Caricasulo crossed the line in ninth place, while QJMOTOR rider Raffaele De Rosa finished 16th.
Debise praised both his rivals and his team after the race.
"The race was very competitive," he said. "Winning is never easy, and I had to put in a lot of effort."
The 32-year-old also highlighted the progress made with the ZXMOTO machine throughout the season.
"The more we go on, the closer we get to understanding the bike. I really enjoy riding it and I feel comfortable," he added.
Debise credited the team for making effective technical adjustments after challenges encountered in high temperatures during the previous round in Aragon.
"Earlier at Aragon, the heat created some difficulties, but those problems have been resolved here and the bike is back to normal," he noted.
The Emilia-Romagna Round concludes with Race 2 on Sunday, where Debise will look to add another victory to his growing tally and further close the gap at the top of the championship standings.
The demonstrations in Scotland come after a stabbing attack allegedly involving a Sudanese asylum seeker
Anti-immigration and anti-racism protesters scuffled with police during rival demonstrations in Glasgow, Scotland, amid tensions fueled by a stabbing attack allegedly involving a Sudanese asylum seeker.
On Saturday, the NGO Stand Up to Racism held a rally in downtown Glasgow, with organizers calling on supporters to “reclaim the streets from the far right.” Participants carried Scottish and Palestinian flags and chanted, “Refugees are welcome here,” according to The Herald.
Around 70 counterprotesters arrived at the event, many dressed in black and wearing balaclavas.
THE STREET ARE OURS: THOUSANDS OF ANTIRACISTS RECLAIM THE STREETS IN GLASGOW AND HUMILIATE FAR RIGHT THUGS
— Stand Up to Racism - Scotland (@SUTRScotland) June 13, 2026
As police sought to keep the rival groups apart, some anti-immigration demonstrators pushed against barriers and shoved officers. Some of their opponents also pushed police while attempting to break through the separation line.
NEW🚨: Chaos on the streets of Glasgow, Scotland!
Police clash with young patriots protesting against mass migration.
Meanwhile, pro-migrant and woke groups are also holding demonstrations in Glasgow today. pic.twitter.com/W7smAavlu1
— The Reformed Media (@ReformedMedia_) June 13, 2026
#Scotland — Neo-nazis carrying Israeli flags are trying to attack anti-racist demonstrators in Glasgow.
An anti-racism demonstration also took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland to denounce the riots that followed a stabbing on Monday. A Sudanese asylum seeker has been charged with attacking a man in the street and allegedly blinding him in one eye.
Another high-profile incident occurred on Friday in Brierfield, England, where a man stabbed a 17-year-old girl in the middle of a street, causing non-life-threatening injuries. Police described the suspect as a British man of Pakistani descent.
The recent attacks have reignited debates about migration and what right-wing politicians and activists describe as two-tier policing. They argue that the incidents highlight the government’s inability to adequately address crimes committed by foreigners and other offenders.
Prominent anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson said he was detained for several hours at Heathrow Airport on Saturday under anti-terrorism legislation and had his phone seized by police.
According to Sky News, Robinson is scheduled to take part in a debate at the Oxford Union next week on whether the West is “right to be suspicious of Islam.”
By trapping migrants within the country indefinitely, the West is engineering a severe demographic crisis
Libyan social media has been simmering for weeks over the presence of irregular migrants, particularly those arriving from sub-Saharan Africa, with accusations directed at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international agencies operating in the country. What began as online outrage has now spilled into the streets of Tripoli, where tensions over migration have once again become a focal point of political anger in the capital already strained by division and economic pressure.
Libya hosts one of the largest migrant populations in North Africa. According to the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM), the country hostedmore than 700,000 migrants in 2024, rising to approximately 936,000by February 2026. This represents an increase of roughly 33% over the period – about 13% of the total population.
The majority of migrants are believed to be in an irregular situation and are concentrated in major urban centers such as Tripoli, Misrata, and Sebha. In the capital itself, aid agencies and local authorities describe large, fluid migrant communities that reflect Libya’s continuing role as a key transit hub toward Europe.
On June 4, protesters in the area of Janzour-Sarraj on the outskirts of Tripoli blocked access to the UNHCR office by unloading sand from a truck at the building’s entrance, effectively sealing off the compound, which was reported to be unoccupied at the time.
The move came after days of escalating rhetoric, including threats and online campaigns directed at the UN refugee agency and its representative in Libya, Carmen Sacco (UNHCR Libya spokesperson), following what activists described as misrepresented statements attributed to her regarding migrants and Libyan citizens. Video footage circulating on Libyan social media shows Libyan police attempting to calm the angry crowd and prevent it from breaking into the premises as the truck unloads sand at the entrance. The demonstrations followed a broader wave of calls for the closure of international organizations accused of facilitating the continued presence of migrants in Libya.
For many Libyans, migration has become the most visible symptom of a state that has never fully recovered from the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
This public anger is understandable. Libya remains deeply divided between rival authorities in the east and west, its southern and coastal borders remain beyond effective state control, and outdated migration frameworks are inconsistently applied. No single government exercises full sovereignty over the country’s territory.
Yet, instead of addressing these structural weaknesses, public debate is increasingly dominated by accusations against international agencies. The entities are portrayed by influential domestic voices, including Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Ghariani, as actively playing a role in entrenching the presence of transit populations and turning the country into a permanent dumping ground for Europe’s unwanted migrants.
While Western media and the protesting crowds themselves frame this around irregular migration and the UNHCR, the true undercurrent of this public anger runs far deeper. The street mobilization in Tripoli is a proxy for a society completely exhausted by what has become of their daily lives.
Living in a country that produces over 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, ordinary Libyans – confronted by skyrocketing costs where day-to-day prices can jump by 5% – are trapped in a grueling economic paradox. They face double-digit inflation, a collapsing dinar, and a severe liquidity crisis that makes buying basic food and medicine a daily struggle.
The anger directed at international agencies is actually a localized explosion of a broader fury: Libyans are watching their national wealth absorbed into an elite system of patronage and parallel spending, while they are left to their own devices in a country where institutional rot is so rampant that Transparency International’s index places Libya among the six most corrupt nations on earth.
At its core, the entire migration debate leads straight back to the original sin of the 2011 NATO intervention. Fifteen years ago, Western powers were lightning-fast to drop bombs and dismantle a functioning, sovereign state under the banner of false promises – guaranteeing “freedom, democracy, and prosperity.” Instead, the West walked away, leaving behind a permanent security vacuum and a legacy of institutional rot.
Today, the tragic irony is that while billions of dollars in oil revenues disappear into thin air every single year through unaccountable rival factions, virtually nothing has been achieved for the Libyan people. The “humanitarian intervention” of 2011 engineered a lawless geographic buffer zone where the local population inherits the fallout of Europe’s border crises while being robbed of their own country’s wealth.
This brings us to the core structural deception of Western policy toward Libya. The European Union and the UK frequently issue statements lamenting Libya’s lack of a unified government, its human rights record, its lawless borders, and, most importantly, its deplorable treatment of irregular migrants.
Yet, the same countries find no contradiction in treating this fragmentation not as a crisis to be solved, but as a vital policy tool. Under international law, for example, states are bound by the principle of non-refoulement, meaning they cannot legally return asylum seekers to a country where they face systemic abuse or conflict. Yet Libya’s UN-recognized government, a swarm of associated militias, and its rival authority in the eastern region are being enabled by the EU to do exactly that.
Through heavily funded initiatives like the Support to Integrated Border and Migration Management in Libya (SIBMMIL) program, hundreds of millions of euros have flowed into providing the Tripoli-based authorities with the vessels and coordination tools necessary to force the return of refugees caught in international waters.
This transactional arrangement, long maintained in the country’s west, is now being aggressively extended to the eastern-based parallel administration. Despite formally withholding diplomatic recognition from Khalifa Haftar’s government, Brussels is currently financing a new €3 million ($3.46 million) Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Benghazi.
By treating both rival authorities as outsourced border guards, the EU conveniently bypasses its own legal obligations, repatriating vulnerable populations to a territory perilous even for its own citizens.
Indeed, this policy of externalization has officially transitioned from hypocritical rhetoric to binding legislative reality. Following a definitive agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the revised Returns Regulation on June 1, 2026, EU interior ministers concluded their June 4 meeting by charting a course to rapidly operationalize a framework for extraterritorial “return hubs” – third-country jurisdictions within which Libya is functionally included due to its status as migration route.
The newly adopted rules escalate coercive measures, permitting member states to deport unsuccessful asylum seekers to holding facilities outside Europe’s borders – even if those individuals possess absolutely no geographic, cultural, or personal connection to the host nation.
To be clear, no one is claiming that the European Union possesses a premeditated blueprint to transform Libya into a permanent containment zone for transit populations – despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Libyans believe exactly that. However, the cumulative effect of these cynical containment policies achieves that precise result. By trapping hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants within the country, Western mechanisms project an impression that Europe is deliberately engineering a severe demographic crisis, forcing a settlement that dismantles the remains of Libya’s social cohesion.
Whether this outcome is an intentional strategy or the collateral damage of European self-interest, it has served as the catalyst behind the waves of anti-migrant anger fracturing the streets of Tripoli.
The toxic harvest of the 2011 NATO intervention has come full circle. The military campaign that shattered Libya’s institutional foundations under the banner of hollow promises has yielded a devastating reality. The structural fragmentation engineered by that original intervention have now been weaponized by Western capitals as a deliberate policy mechanism.
By financing localized militias and executing transactional arrangements across political divides, European governments have effectively transformed Libya into an offshore containment camp – a legal black hole designed to absorb the human fallout of their own border crises while shielding themselves from international accountability.
The suspect died following a standoff with officers, according to the Midland Police Department
At least one person has been killed and 11 others wounded after a gunman went on a shooting spree in Midland, Texas, Mayor Lori Blong said in a press briefing on Friday.
“We do have 11 known victims at this time,” she said. “There’s at least one victim that is dead on the scene.”
The police have confirmed that the gunman is also dead.
Officers initially responded to reports of an active shooter in the southwestern part of the city on Friday morning, according to the Midland Police Department.
“Officers heard gunfire coming from the building and worked quickly to secure and clear the area. Armored units were deployed, and partner agencies assisted in the response,” Midland Police Chief Greg Snow said in a statement, adding that attempts had been made to resolve the “standoff with the shooter” safely.
The police department later reported that “the suspect is confirmed deceased” and that the incident was over.
A video circulating on social media purportedly shows several officers taking cover behind a police cruiser, with one leaning out to fire an assault rifle.
🚨#Breaking Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis has confirmed an active shooter in #Midland Texas; the suspect is reportedly barricaded in a building in downtown Midland near the Tall City Vet Clinic and All American Collision and Victorian Inn in the area of Business 20 and…
The tournament should have been postponed. Instead, the media machine is polishing the brand and pretending not to see the blood.
There was never a chance that Washington’s man in FIFA, football’s world governing body, was going to do the right thing and postpone the World Cup. Nor that he would strip the US and Canada of hosting rights after their attack on Iran. The FIFA president, Lebanese-Swiss Gianni Infantino, is doing what’s right for his sport, his ‘shareholders’, and a compliant sports media will assist the most bigly sportswashing psy-op ever.
Sports media, no fur coat and no underwear
The term “fanboys/girls with laptops” is attributed to our former Capital Sports guest, Irish journalist Paul Kimmage. The ex-pro cyclist ‘spat in the soup’ of the sport he loved by exposing rampant doping in ‘Rough Ride’, to date, the finest sports book ever written. His target: the press pass wearing, goodie bag hungry mob of oddballs so in thrall to the stars they report on, that no crime or offence can be mentioned.
The nub is that the majority of these folks, who exist in every media outlet’s sports department in every country, were the last kids picked for teams in school. Devoid of sports ability (they believed), they vicariously live sporting lives by following their heroes and quietly going weak at the knees when Cristiano Ronaldo, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, or Maria Sharapova, cast a smile their way.
Some have landed top media management spots in FIFA, from where they dispense largesse [access and goodie bags] to those desperate to be favored. And media organizations, in order to ensure their reporters and commentators are granted permission to cover the World Cup, will ‘play ball’. What FIFA wants, FIFA gets, and the media will give it up happily.
Selling out to avoid missing out
It’s been interesting to witness my peers brag about covering this upcoming ‘show’. From LinkedIn to Instagram, so many decent folk are making sure everyone knows they’re going to the World Cup and their previous posts critiquing US or Israeli military adventures, or indeed FIFA, have either been edited or removed.
I asked one woman, who will work with a European broadcaster, where was her excellent takedown of the awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump? It had garnered hundreds of likes and comments on LinkedIn, yet, had vanished.
“My agent,” she replied, with a smiley face emoji, explaining that they were warned that any social media posts critical of the US or US government could mean a refusal at border control.
I guess I was lucky that I turned down the chance to work at the event, though my decision was formed pre-Iran attacks. I couldn’t morally perform a Men in Black on my brain and scrub my social media, articles, broadcasts, and soul clean.
One football writer I expected to take a stand was Alexander Abnos, a senior sports editor with The Guardian US. With the anti-ICE protests in his nation as a background, he wrote that the US “is not fit to stage soccer’s showpiece event.” He signed off with “it would be hard to argue if the World Cup was moved out of the US entirely.”
– Messi, mascots, tickets and Trump: 48 questions for the 48-team World Cup (April 1)
– Lionel Messi exits Miami game before World Cup with possible injury (May 25)
– World Cup 2025: a visual guide to the stadiums across the trio of host nations (June 1)
And he outdid himself, also on June 1, with a real doozy to show he was chugging the FIFA Kool Aid: “Gathered around a laptop, the USMNT create their World Cup journey’s first memeable moment.”
Alexander is not the worst, he’s just an example of what was already underway before the June 11 kick-off – and what is now in full swing. The media has already gone into overdrive with superlatives for the brand ambassadors of fizzy drinks and sportswear. We are already being encouraged to forget that the US, with the collusion of Canada and a clatter of other countries taking part in the jamboree, are complicit in the ongoing killing of Iranians, Palestinians, Russians, Lebanese, and more. The football is now on, and the brainwashing has already begun.
In the last two weeks, I’ve chatted with 19 fellow sports journalists and commentators, asking if they were off to the World Cup. From 6 different countries, working with a range of outlets from TV to radio to newspapers, they happily engaged.
Only three weren’t going, as they were covering it from home. Of the others, every single person felt “uneasy” or “not at all happy” to be going, telling that it was their job and that they had to “pay the mortgage.”
I asked the travelling 16 if they disagreed with the World Cup going ahead. Fourteen felt it should be postponed, two said it should be removed from the US and Canada, and given solely to Mexico. Those two, I should add, are French. All said they felt nervous about safety and that the fans will be ripped off.
One reporter, from BBC, said the only bonus is no English hooligan violence.
“As the old joke from 1994 goes, they’ll lose on small arms fire alone,” he joked. He was referring to asides made when the English team failed to qualify for the last time a World Cup was held in the US.
Yet the potential for a terrorist attack at a mega-event (World Cup or Olympic Games), has never been higher, or more expected.
Bombs and bedlam
The last successful terrorist attack, pardon the phrasing, at a mega-event was at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. That was by an anti-abortion activist and resulted in a single death. Atlanta will host seven games this summer, including a semi-final. Although combined intelligence agencies and police forces foiled a reported Osama Bin Laden plot at the 1998 World Cup in France, and Russia’s FSB thwarted several drone attacks in 2018, everyone was caught out on July 18 that year.
On the biggest stage of all, the Final between France and Croatia, with hundreds of millions watching and listening around the world, a rag tag collection of attention seekers dressed up as police officers charged onto the field. In my opinion, causing Croatia to wobble and lose their shape.
From my commentators spot in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, I saw uniformed people leap onto the field and thought, they shouldn’t be here, something’s wrong. A wave of panic hit the media zone and a prominent British commentator took off his headset and stood up to leave. It left a sour taste in the mouths of those there to cover the game.
Later, I was not alone in being infuriated when NPR’s Scott Simon called this dangerous precedent “a conspicious act of bravery.” I hope he’ll be happy if similar idiots or terrorists carry out a copy cat “act” this summer.
Entering end game
There is a real chance that there will be at least 3-5 occurrences like this, though they could be far more dangerous. The clowns who illegally entered the field of play in Moscow in 2018 may have cost Croatia the title, but at this World Cup, lives could be lost.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies gave their usual rundown of threats to the World Cup in regurgitated AI slop, which one FIFA insider told me is “what we all know anyway… and they offer zero insight.” FIFA are so concerned with safety, that they lumped in around $650 million to bolster security in host cities. In Russia and Qatar, this wasn’t needed. The US and their subordinate to the north are actively involved in wars in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran. A lot of people are ready to make a statement, FIFA know this.
“This is the most dangerous World Cup ever,” the FIFA man told me on on May 29. “Here in the [marketing] department, it’s the first time in my experience where staff are turning down the chance to go.” He’s been with FIFA since 2004.
The sentiment is echoed in fan group WhatsApp group chats, many are truly worried for their safety.
In an Eintracht Frankfurt ‘Nationalmannschaft’ [German National Team] group with over 1,000 followers, a debate has been raging over the wisdom of following their side in North America. One man, from Wiesbaden, made the point that the danger isn’t the German matches in Houston, Texas and East Rutherford, New Jersey, but the middle one against Cote d’Ivoire in Toronto. “It is a soft underbelly and the most dangerous. It could be bombs and bedlam,” he noted.
Yet, for sports media, the genuine fears of fans are hidden. England’s sports media is missing in action. They previously lied about and sneered at Qatar, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa. For the BBC in 2022, the biggest danger for ‘fans’ was not being able to drink beer in Qatar. In Russia, it was being murdered at passport control or disappeared to a gulag. It’s crickets for this World Cup.
The flash has already gone off, and most of the sports media seems happy to forget what came before. The biggest ever sportswashing event kicks off on June 11 and all we can hope for is no terrorist attacks, and some good football. I’m already halfway there.
It’s time Africa moved from the periphery and became a global defender of the rule of law and sovereignty, experts say
The joint US-Israeli military strikes on Iran and Tehran’s regional retaliation could give the African Union (AU) an opportunity to cement its identity as a defender of the UN charter and international law, but, as African experts argue, it seems to have missed it.
Dr. Wafula Okumu, executive director of The Borders Institute, says the AU’s reaction to the Iran crisis clearly showed that the continental body suffers from what he describes as a “crisis of consistency”.
According to Okumu, the AU Commission chairperson’s “softly-worded”statement on the US-Israeli attack on Iran and its sharp condemnation of Iran’s reaction portrayed Africa as succumbing to “selective Chartersim,” a practice it has long condemned in others.
“The AU appeared not keen on outrightly calling out the US and Israel for attacking Iran. It seemed to be taking a safe and neutral position, but its reaction to Iran’s retaliation lacked the tone of a peacemaker,” Dr. Okumu told RT.
Dr. Okumu notes that the AU’s “unsettling silence” on the breach of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, appeared to be justifying the actions of the aggressors (the US and Israel) against the victim of the aggression (Iran).
“The AU ought to have outrightly called out the US and Israel for violating Article 2(4). It should have questioned whether the conditions stipulated in Article 51 had been met to justify the invasion of Iran,” he said.
He explains that by adopting a posture of neutrality between an aggressor and a victim of that aggression, the AU “inadvertently weakened the very legal norms it purports to uphold.”
“The AU was simply not bold enough to call out the US and Israel for infringing on the sovereignty of Iran,” he said.
‘The current geopolitical settings are confusing for Africa’
Nicodemus Minde, a peace and security governance researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi, says Africa is good at the “art of selective application of principle’,’ especially in situations where powerful global players are the aggressors.
Minde argues that it was wrong for the AU to describe Iran’s retaliation as a violation of sovereignty, while failing to apply the same language when condemning the attacks by the US and Israel.
“The AU is a victim of unjustifiable inconsistency. There is nothing wrong with lawfully defending a victim against an aggressor. Africa must move from the periphery and be a bold, universal defender of the rule of law and sovereignty,” said Minde.
According to Minde, as much as it is right for the AU not to take sides in global crises, it is only right for it to side with the law while protecting its interests.
“The current geopolitical settings are complex and confusing for Africa, and the only thing that can shield Africa from being swallowed into the current global conflicts is by defending the law and speaking against violations committed by either the East or the West,” said Minde.
He called for the formulation of a common foreign policy among African Union member states to help the continent navigate shifting geopolitics with principled consistency.
‘A violation is a violation, whether committed by the US or Iran’
Chepkorir Sambu, a peace and security researcher and law lecturer at Kenya’s Kabarak University, explains that for the AU to become an effective foreign policy actor on the global stage, it should firmly ground its actions in international law and consistently defend the UN Charter.
Sambu says the AU and its leadership should stop living under the unspoken fear of the US and other Western power players, and instead openly call them out when they are wrong.
“What the AU needed in the US-Israel versus Iran crisis was not taking a pro-Iran or anti-West stand, but simply being pro-rule-of-law. We cannot appear to be subtly supporting the actions of the aggressor while loudly condemning the victim,” she argues.
She added, “Africa must be explicit in reaffirming Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter on the prohibition on the use of force as the cornerstone of international law. A violation is a violation, whether being committed by the US or Iran.”
Sambu argues that the AU should apply the same legal and moral standard to all breaches of sovereignty, regardless of the actor. Condemning Iran’s retaliation is legitimate, but it is legally and morally incoherent without a prior, and equally strong, condemnation of the initial attack.
‘Africa has the power to be the voice of reason’
Dr. Okumu says the time is ripe for Africa’s voice to dominate the global stage and that it matters now more than ever, especially as the world fragments amid great-power competition.
“Africa must come out as the voice and promoter of the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the non-use of force as the primary shields for less powerful states. The AU has a historic opportunity and a profound responsibility to be the world’s leading champion of these norms,” he told RT.
He says Africa should speak with a clear, principled, and unwavering voice, and be part of the geopolitical shifts and realignments without fear.
“Africa, through the AU, must avoid the trap of political expediency and embrace the disciplined legal consistency that is the true source of its authority. The continent has the power to be the voice of reason on the globe, and that power must be exercised,”Dr. Okumu concluded.
Scandal-plagued Graham Platner will face Republican Susan Collins in November’s Senate election
US Marine veteran Graham Platner, who recently covered up a Nazi-style tattoo, has won Maine’s Democratic Senate primary and will face Republican Senator Susan Collins in November.
Platner, a progressive with no previous political experience, won 75% of the vote, garnering support from left-wing Democrats and attracting large crowds with firebrand rhetoric, including promises to “topple the oligarchy” and accusations that his future opponent serves the “Epstein class.” Other Democrats, however, have expressed concerns about whether Platner can defeat Collins in light of his numerous scandals.
Platner, who completed three tours in Iraq with the Marines and another in Afghanistan as a National Guardsman, long had the Totenkopf emblem – the Nazi skull symbol famously referenced in the “Are We the Baddies?” Mitchell and Webb comedy skit – tattooed on his chest.
The candidate said he was unaware of the symbol’s meaning when he got the tattoo in Croatia in 2007 while heavily intoxicated alongside fellow service members. He described it as “a terrifying-looking skull and crossbones,” noting that the National Guard prohibits tattoos that are “extremist, racist, sexist, or otherwise indecent.”
CNN: "[Graham] Platner referred to [his tattoo] as 'my Totenkopf,' which is a reference to the skull and cross bone used by Nazi SS units years before the controversy became public." pic.twitter.com/maQ6FnoEDM
In October 2025, Platner covered the tattoo with a different design – a Celtic knot featuring a wolf-like creature that some suggested resembled Fenrir, a wolf from Norse mythology. Critics argued that Nordic-inspired imagery is also popular among some far-right and white supremacist groups.
“If I was ever under the impression that it was a symbol associated with that ideology, I would not have gone through life taking photographs of myself,” said Platner, who describes himself as an anti-fascist.
The Democrat faced accusations of anti-Semitism after he made the refusal to take donations from the pro-Israeli lobby group AIPAC a campaign point. Collins, who is openly pro-Israel, collected almost 20% of her war chest from AIPAC, according to media estimates.
Platner has also been criticized for old online posts in which he used homophobic slurs and argued that victims of sexual assault in the military should “act like an adult” and avoid getting “blacked out f*cked up.” He later apologized and attributed the comments to struggles with PTSD.
Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Platner had sent sexually explicit text messages to multiple women while married.
US President Donald Trump has endorsed Collins and branded Platner a “thug” who was “worse than any human being that has ever run for office.”
Trump’s approval rating remains near the lowest level of his political career as the campaign is dominated by concerns about the cost of living, rising energy prices, and the unpopular war with Iran.
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