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South Korea and Japan will resume their joint maritime search and rescue exercises (SAREX) starting early next month, Seoul’s defense chief said Saturday, calling it a “symbolic” move that reflects improving bilateral relations.South Korea’s Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back announced the plan during bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi, held on the margins of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.”The SAREX drills will take place on June 7,” South Korea’s (Yonhap) news agency quoted the defense minister as saying in the opening remarks. “I believe the resumption of the drills after nine years carries a highly symbolic and declaratory meaning.”The drills will be conducted jointly with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force in international waters southeast of Jeju Island, South Korea’s Navy said in a separate release.The exercise will involve its 4,900-ton ROKS Cheon Ja Bong landing ship, Japan’s 7,250-ton Aegis-equipped Kongo destroyer and a Japanese maritime patrol helicopter, it added.Launched in 1999, the biennial SAREX exercise was designed to train procedures for coordinated responses between naval ships from both countries in the event of maritime incidents in waters near the Korean Peninsula.But the drills have been suspended since the 10th round in 2017, as bilateral ties soured following a dispute over a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft making an unusually low-altitude flyby over a South Korean warship in December 2018.Seoul had decried the plane’s approach as a “menacing” flight, while Tokyo accused the South Korean vessel of having locked its fire-control radar on the plane.The two countries agreed to prevent a recurrence of such a spat during defense ministers’ talks in June 2024 under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol government amid a dramatic warming of bilateral relations. Source link
PSG’s President Nasser al-Khelaifi (centre) and Spanish head coach Luis Enrique (right) pose with the club’s Portuguese Football Advisor Luis Campos winning the UEFA Champions League…
Paris St Germain players celebrate winning the UEFA Champions League final against Arsenal at Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary, on May 30, 2026. (Reuters) Paris Saint-Germain claimed back-to-back Champions League triumphs with a 4-3 shoot-out win over Arsenal following a 1-1 draw after extra time on Saturday in Budapest, with Eberechi Eze and Gabriel missing from the spot.Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions showed great resilience to take the game beyond 120 minutes, but fell to a second final defeat, 20 years after their first in Paris against Barcelona.Luis Enrique’s side became only the second besides Real Madrid to win the competition in consecutive years in the Champions League era.PSG’s first triumph was 55 years in the making, 14 of those under Qatari ownership, the second could start what they hope is an era of dominance and dynasty-building.Luis Enrique rebuilt the team swiftly and efficiently, removing the club’s superstars and building a cohesive and committed attacking side, capable of shredding opposition with terrifying pace.It was the Spaniard’s third Champions League triumph, making him one of only five coaches to complete a hat-trick — the first coming with Barcelona in 2015.For a while it looked unlikely as Kai Havertz powered Arsenal ahead after six minutes but Ousmane Dembele’s penalty midway through the second half took a tight game to extra time and ultimately penalties.Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber was fit after a groin injury but his rust from over two months out led Arteta to deploy Cristhian Mosquera out of position at right-back.The coach also opted for Havertz in attack over Viktor Gyokeres, and for an hour it seemed like his calls would pay off.Luis Enrique selected 10 of the side which demolished Inter Milan 5-0 in last year’s final as PSG finally lifted the trophy they so badly craved.In Arsenal’s only prior final German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off in the opening stages as they were defeated by Barcelona in Paris in 2006.They got off to a far better start at the Puskas Arena, with Lehmann’s compatriot Havertz firing the Gunners ahead after just six minutes.Havertz, who scored the winning goal in Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League final victory, could not believe his luck after Marquinhos’s attempted clearance hit Leandro Trossard and bounced into his path.The forward galloped into open space behind PSG’s defence and towards Matvey Safonov’s goal. Havertz had a tight angle to overcome but rifled a strike into the roof of the net.It was the worst possible start for PSG against a miserly Arsenal side who had conceded just six goals on the run to the final.Their disciplined defending kept the Parisians at bay with consummate ease, as Luis Enrique’s side controlled the ball but could not break through Arsenal’s defensive bastion.Gabriel Magalhaes made an excellent last-ditch challenge to pick Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s pocket. The dynamic Georgian has been the tournament’s best player but in the first half was not allowed room to breathe.The French champions appealed for a penalty when Bukayo Saka bungled an attempted clearance and the ball hit both his arms, but referee Daniel Siebert was unmoved. Fighting back PSG were reduced to frustrated pot-shots from distance and after the break moved the ball quicker to try and destabilise Arsenal’s rearguard.Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya saved from Achraf Hakimi’s bouncing free-kick before Kvaratskhelia finally had his say. After the winger’s slick one-two with Dembele, Mosquera bundled him down in the box with a clumsy foul.Dembele sent Raya the wrong way with a low penalty to level, with PSG fans igniting several flares in celebration. It was their 45th goal of the competition, matching the all-time record.PSG almost set a new one when Kvaratskhelia hurtled down the left but teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly deflected his shot against the post.Substitute Bradley Barcola fired a fine chance wide on the break before extra time, as the French side threatened frequently, a tiring Arsenal suddenly giving them too much space.The Gunners pleaded for a penalty of their own when substitute Noni Madueke went down under pressure from Nuno Mendes, but it would have been harsh on the PSG defender whom the winger was pulling.To a shoot-out it went, with PSG confident after already claiming three trophies on penalties this season, and winning their last five. They also took the first spot kick, and at the end in front of their own supporters.Arsenal blinked first, with Ebereche Eze firing wide but Raya then saved from PSG’s Mendes. Declan Rice drilled home to level at 2-2.After Lucas Beraldo put the Ligue 1 winners 4-3 up, Arsenal defender Gabriel was left with the fifth kick for his side and lashed it high over the crossbar to hand PSG the trophy. Related Story…
Austria’s Anastasia Potapova (left) shakes hands with Coco Gauff of the U.S. after winning their third-round match at the French Open in Paris on Saturday. (Reuters)…
Spinner Arafat Minhas (right) and Pakistan’s captain Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrate after the dismissal of Australia’s Cameron Green during the first one-day international (ODI) at the…
The Qatar men’s beach volleyball team has advanced to the semifinals of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Ostrava Elite 16, taking place in Czechia.Qatari duo Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan secured qualification after defeating the Argentine duo Nicolas and Tomas Capogrosso 2-1 in their quarterfinal match Saturday.The match was highly competitive and closely contested, as Qatar lost the first set 19-21, yet managed to bounce back strongly, showing championship character by winning the second and third sets 21-15 and 21-19 respectively, demonstrating the ability to turn tides in critical moments.Team Qatar will face David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden in the semifinals on Sunday. Source link
The ceasefire agreed in Lebanon last month has brought little respite for civilians, who are being driven from a steadily expanding swathe of the country by a relentless Israeli campaign of evacuations and air strikes. The US-brokered truce announced on April 16, after about six weeks of fighting, has failed to halt the violence between Israel and Hezbollah. Both are carrying out near-daily attacks while accusing the other of violating the pact. That’s left hundreds of thousands of civilians in southern Lebanon displaced from their homes. Shortly after the ceasefire declaration, Israel published a map marking out a buffer zone covering nearly 600sq km (230 sq miles) that it had occupied with ground forces, and listing 57 towns and villages where it had warned residents to evacuate. Since then, though, the Israel military has carried out hundreds of air strikes on a far wider area outside that occupied zone and issued evacuation orders covering more than 100 additional Lebanese towns and villages, according to a Reuters review of Israeli statements. Together with the occupied zone, these orders span about 2,000 sq km of Lebanon — about a fifth of the entire country — much of which has been rendered effectively off-limits to residents, according to the review and interviews with local officials, aid workers and displaced people. The reporting provides one of the most detailed pictures yet of the growing displacement crisis engulfing this small country on the eastern Mediterranean. The fighting is part of a wider conflagration across the Middle East. Israel aims to drive back its sworn enemies – Iran and its proxy forces, including Hezbollah and Hamas – with a stated strategy to create “buffer zones” along its borders with Gaza, Syria and now Lebanon to safeguard its citizens. The growing evacuation area, along with confusion about ongoing attacks and the eventual extent of the Israeli buffer zone, has made many residents fear they may never return to their homes. “There is no way we are coming back now,” said Iyad Watfi, a mukhtar — elected official — in Bazouriye, who said the town once home to 13,000 people had been hit by multiple air strikes and evacuation orders since the truce. “Last week, we had 20 buildings destroyed in the town in one night.” Only a tiny portion of the population remained, with most others sheltering in tents to the north, he said, adding that few felt safe to return in the foreseeable future. The latest Lebanese conflict erupted on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel in solidarity with Iran, which was under Israeli and US attack. Israel responded with a ground invasion of Lebanon, leading to fighting that has so far killed more than 3,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands, according to the Lebanese government. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters its air campaign in Lebanon since the ceasefire was not aimed at displacing civilians but rather designed to eliminate threats from Hezbollah, which it accused of embedding forces and weaponry in civilian areas. It characterised the evacuation notices as “recommendations” issued before air strikes, allowing citizens to leave if they choose. Hezbollah’s media office didn’t respond to a request for comment. The group, a political and military movement, has itself carried out regular attacks including kamikaze drone strikes since the ceasefire. It has said that, despite the truce, it has the right to resist continued Israeli aggression and denies placing military assets in civilian areas. Reuters reached mukhtars from 20 of the towns and villages subject to Israeli evacuation orders since the ceasefire, communities with pre-conflict populations ranging from hundreds to thousands of people. Most estimated the percentage of residents remaining in single digits, saying most had fled northwards or to the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. “People’s nerves are shattered. They can’t take it anymore so they left,” said Ali Nazzal, a mukhtar in Srifa who said the village was virtually deserted. “The ceasefire is a lie.” The situation looks increasingly bleak for civilians in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that Israel would escalate its strikes, prompting residents to flee southern suburbs of Beirut, further to the north. Israel has since issued a new slew of evacuation orders, encompassing more than a dozen new towns and villages and declaring a large section of the south a “combat zone”. The ongoing conflict could have implications for the broader US-Israeli war on Iran, with Tehran demanding a halt to Israeli attacks in Lebanon as a condition in peace talks. ISRAEL STRIKES OVER 1,000 TARGETS SINCE TRUCEOn March 31, Netanyahu said his country’s area of occupation in Lebanon would stretch to the Litani River, about 30km north of the border with Israel. He described it as “a vast buffer zone” to thwart anti-tank fire and the threat of invasion. By the April 16 ceasefire, Israeli forces had only occupied about half of that area. However, the subsequent barrage of air strikes and evacuation orders has driven people from areas even well beyond the river. Only about half the towns and villages subject to evacuation orders since the ceasefire are south of the Litani, with the rest to the north of the river, some more than 20km from the waterway, the review of Israeli statements found. On May 12, the Israeli military said it had struck more than 1,100 targets since the ceasefire, including weapons warehouses, launchers and sites where Hezbollah was operating. Reuters identified the location of more than 300 of those strikes during the first month of the ceasefire by reviewing reports published by Lebanon’s state news agency. An analysis of nighttime lights data captured by the satellite-based VIIRS sensor, which was carried out for Reuters by Professor Hadi Jaafar at the American University of Beirut, showed a significant reduction in light emissions across south Lebanon since the conflict began. The light levels have remained depressed in some areas during the ceasefire, strongly suggesting that many displaced residents have not returned, Jaafar said. ‘WE WANT TO RETURN, EVEN TO SLEEP ON GROUND’Israeli forces have used explosives and bulldozers in demolitions that effectively erase many villages in the 600sq km zone its ground forces occupied before the ceasefire after the defence minister vowed on March 31 to destroy “all homes” near the border. In areas outside Israeli occupation, many residents tried to return during the ceasefire but were driven out again, often within days, by renewed evacuation orders and air strikes, according to local officials, displaced people and aid workers. Hawraa Yousef Ghadbouni, 39, said she fled from the southern town of Qlaileh to the coastal city of Sidon after the latest conflict began on March 2, sleeping in a car with her husband and three children. After the ceasefire, they returned and found their home partially standing, with two rooms still intact, amid ruined houses and shops. Within a day, shelling and air strikes forced them to flee again, this time to the coastal city of Tyre, about 10km to the north. When Tyre, too, was bombed, they returned to Sidon, taking refuge in a school turned shelter. “We want to return, even if we have to sleep on the ground,” Ghadbouni said. “What matters is going back. Life here is not sustainable.” In the town of Bedias, about a half-hour drive north of Qlaileh, Wael al-Amin, a 48-year-old medic, was sitting outside his brother’s home on May 10, drinking coffee and watching his children play despite the steady buzz of a drone overhead. “I thought, ‘Let them play’,” he said from a hospital in Tyre. “These are children. Who would target them?” Moments later, a blast tore through his brother’s house, sending a cloud of debris into the air. Amin stumbled through the smoke until he found his eight-year-old son, wounded amid the rubble. “He told me, ‘I’m here’,” he said. Amin pulled the boy to safety before discovering that his brother had been killed in the strike. Source link
The Hajj season for the year 1447 AH is thoroughly devoid of any epidemic outbreaks or threats that affect public health, the Saudi Ministry of Health confirmed in a statement on Saturday.The statement added that the general health conditions of pilgrims have been stable and assured throughout the whole season, despite the consecutive epidemics that engulfed the world, along with global health developments that precipitated leveraging the highest levels of surveillance and alertness.This year’s pilgrimage season marked global epidemic developments, including Ebola in several nations, as well as the monitoring of cases linked to hantavirus at the global level, the statement reads.It further noted that this move has reinforced the importance of early readiness, persistent epidemiological surveillance, coordination with national and international health authorities, and strengthening preparedness to respond to any potential public health risks.The Ministry reemphasized that no suspected or confirmed epidemics have been reported, including both Ebola and hantavirus among pilgrims during this season.The health system has been operating 24/7 through leveraging preventive treatment, first aid, and awareness services, alongside epidemiological investigations, rapid response measures, and an ongoing whole-of-government approach employed during Hajj operations, enabling pilgrims to perform rites in a serene environment, the statement underlined.Saudi Minister of Health Fahad Abdulrahman AlJalajel said the Hajj season was free of epidemics and health threats in the wake of consecutive global health challenges.He added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia senses its responsibility in protecting human health, not only inside Saudi borders but beyond them, to ensure global public health safety.This endeavor stems from Saudi Arabia’s standing in hosting this significant human congregation, with Muslims coming from a variety of countries of the world and then returning home after finishing their rites while they are safe and fit, AlJalajel clarified.On Friday, Saudi Arabia announced the success of this year’s pilgrimage season on multiple levels. Source link
Liverpool sacked manager Arne Slot on Saturday, saying the club were seeking a “change of direction”, after a disastrous defence of their Premier League title. The Reds finished fifth in the table, 25 points behind champions Arsenal, despite spending a Premier League record of nearly £450mn ($605mn) on new players in one transfer window last year. Outgoing Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is reportedly set to take over at Anfield after leading the Cherries into Europe for the first time in the club’s history. Just over a year ago Slot was heralded as a hero after taking on the daunting role of succeeding Jurgen Klopp and leading Liverpool to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title in his debut season in charge. Yet fans turned on the Dutchman this season after a series of lacklustre performances. There was also sign of dressing room disharmony, most notably from Mohamed Salah on his way out of the club. In an explosive social media post earlier this month, which was liked by multiple members of the Liverpool squad, Salah called for a return to “heavy metal football”, referring to Klopp’s high energy style of play, in a perceived dig at Slot’s more cautious approach. Liverpool’s return of 60 points was their lowest since the 2015/16 season. Despite their troubles, it had been reported that Slot would be handed a stay of execution after securing Champions League qualification. However, the club’s owners, the American-based Fenway Sports Group, have succumbed to fan pressure to axe the former Feyenoord boss. “We have collectively come to the conclusion that change is necessary in order for the club to keep moving forward. Again, it must be stressed that this is not a decision which has been reached lightly, anything but,” the club said in a statement. “The conclusion we have come to is built on a belief that the team’s trajectory is best addressed through a change of direction. That does not diminish the work Arne has done here, or the respect we have for him. Nor is it a reflection of his talents. Rather, it is indicative of the need for a different approach. “Arne leaves with our gratitude, with a Premier League title to his name, and with the knowledge that he and his family will always be welcomed back at Anfield.” Liverpool added that “the process to appoint a successor is under way”. Many fans were keen for the return of Xabi Alonso to Anfield, but the club’s former midfielder will instead take charge of Chelsea next season. Iraola’s stock is high after an 18-game unbeaten league run to finish the campaign in sixth, just three points behind Liverpool despite vastly inferior resources. The Spaniard also worked together with Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, who previously held a similar role at Bournemouth. Slot ultimately paid for failing to get a return on Liverpool’s huge investment last summer. British transfer record signing Alexander Isak was beset by fitness problems, while Florian Wirtz struggled with the transition to the Premier League after a £100 million move from Bayer Leverkusen.Slot, though, also had to deal with emotional turmoil caused by the death of forward Diogo Jota in a car accident in July. Source link
Amazon has launched 29 new internet satellites into low Earth orbit as part of its plan to expand the “Project Kuiper” constellation and provide high-speed, low-latency internet services to users around the world, particularly in remote areas and regions lacking traditional telecommunications infrastructure.The company stated that the launch took place from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, using the “Atlas V” rocket operated by United Launch Alliance.It added that all stages of the mission proceeded according to plan, with all systems operating normally throughout the flight.The satellites were deployed in multiple stages after reaching their predetermined orbits. The mission control center confirmed the successful separation of all 29 satellites from the rocket and their successful insertion into orbit, Amazon highlighted.It indicated that these new satellites are part of the project’s space internet system, which aims to provide high-speed broadband connectivity services to users worldwide, especially in remote areas or regions with limited ground-based communication networks.The company confirmed that Project Kuiper aims to build a large-scale constellation of satellites operating in low Earth orbit to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet services. The project is considered one of the main competitors to the “Starlink” satellite internet service operated by SpaceX.This mission represents a new milestone in expanding the Kuiper network, as part of its ambitious plan to deploy more than 3,200 satellites into low Earth orbit in order to enhance global coverage of satellite internet services in the years ahead, Amazon noted.This step comes at a time when the global satellite internet market is witnessing increasing competition among technology and space companies, alongside accelerating investments in low Earth orbit satellite systems to expand worldwide internet access. Source link