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  • Palestinian teens killed during settler attack on West Bank village, officials say

    Palestinian teens killed during settler attack on West Bank village, officials say

    Palestinian Teens Killed in West Bank Settler Attack

    Constantvpn.com – Grief swept through al-Mughayyir, a small village near Ramallah, on Thursday as mourners carried the coffins of two teenagers shot dead Wednesday in what local officials described as a settler-led assault. Omar al-Nassan, 19, and Khalil Abu Alia, 16, were struck by gunfire while trying to stop Israeli settlers from seizing livestock belonging to villagers, the village council said. The incident escalated into a broader confrontation between residents and the intruders, and the two young men were hit during the ensuing chaos.

    The Israeli military presented a different account. In a written statement, the army said its troops had entered al-Mughayyir to protect an Israeli civilian and police officers tasked with recovering stolen animals. Soldiers, the statement continued, opened fire on what it called

    “key instigators” of a “violent disturbance,” during which Palestinians threw stones at military personnel.

    No further details were released about whether the teens were in civilian clothing or about the exact circumstances of each shot.

    Escalating Violence Across the West Bank

    The killings land amid a sharp uptick in settler aggression. United Nations tallies indicate that more than three settler attacks have been logged every day on average so far this year. Al-Mughayyir has endured repeated incursions, and messages circulating in WhatsApp groups used by settler communities have pointed to an intent to pressure the village’s remaining residents into leaving their homes.

    UN figures place the broader death toll at least at 81 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since January, with at least 23 of those deaths tied to settler attacks. Over the same span, three Israelis — a combination of security personnel and civilians — were killed by Palestinians in the territory, according to the UN.

    Human rights groups and international observers have sharpened their criticism of the Israeli military, accusing it of active participation in settler raids, passive observation of assaults, or a failure to prosecute perpetrators. Accountability questions grow louder as weekly attacks on Palestinian villages continue with little visible consequence.

    First Arrest After Qusra Raids

    In a related development, Israeli police announced Thursday that a 19-year-old settler had been detained on suspicion of involvement in Saturday’s assault on the village of Qusra — the first arrest of its kind in weeks of repeated attacks on that community. Dozens of masked settlers reportedly descended on Qusra, surrounding a home while Palestinians inside were trapped, and pelting the structure with stones. Soldiers deployed to the scene allegedly held the trapped Palestinians in place while allowing the settlers to walk away freely. The military described its role as removing

    “rioters”

    and safeguarding residents.

    Demolition at Khirbet al-Tabban

    Separately, Israeli forces razed the Palestinian village of Khirbet al-Tabban in the Masafer Yatta area of the South Hebron Hills on Wednesday. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem reported that the village’s 70 residents — including 28 children — received no advance notice before demolition crews arrived and were barred from retrieving personal belongings. The group called it the most substantial single demolition in Masafer Yatta since May 2025.

    The land was designated by the Israeli military in the 1980s as a restricted firing zone for training exercises, covering roughly 3,000 hectares. The army maintains that Palestinian structures built there are unlawful. In 2022, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the right to demolish homes within the firing zone and expel their inhabitants, despite residents’ arguments that such action contravened international law and that their families had occupied the land before the State of Israel was founded in 1948.

    B’Tselem counts Khirbet al-Tabban as the 66th Palestinian community expelled by Israeli authorities since the Gaza war began in October 2023. The organization alleges these expulsions form part of a broader campaign of

    “ethnic cleansing”

    being carried out across the West Bank.

    Settlement Context

    Since Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war, it has constructed approximately 160 settlements housing around 700,000 Jewish residents. Palestinians seek this territory, together with Gaza, as the basis for a future state.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where did the killings take place? Al-Mughayyir, a small village in the West Bank near Ramallah, where two teenagers were shot during a confrontation with Israeli settlers over livestock.

    How many Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year? According to UN figures, at least 81 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since January, with at least 23 of those deaths connected to settler attacks.

    What happened at Khirbet al-Tabban? Israeli forces demolished the village in the Masafer Yatta area on Wednesday. B’Tselem reported that 70 residents, including 28 children, were given no advance notice and were prevented from retrieving belongings.

    Has anyone been arrested in connection with recent settler attacks? Yes. Israeli police detained a 19-year-old settler on suspicion of involvement in the assault on Qusra, marking the first arrest of its kind in weeks of repeated attacks on that community.

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  • US billionaire Leon Black defies summons and sues Epstein panel

    US billionaire Leon Black defies summons and sues Epstein panel

    Leon Black Takes Legal Stand Against Congressional Subpoena in Epstein Probe

    Constantvpn.com – One of America’s wealthiest investors has chosen the courtroom over the witness stand, filing a federal lawsuit to block a congressional committee’s attempt to compel his testimony in the ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial empire and personal conduct. The move places Black squarely in opposition to the House Oversight Committee, which had issued subpoenas demanding both documentary production and an on-camera deposition under oath.

    The suit, lodged in federal court in Washington on Thursday, contends that the subpoenas are legally “invalid” and bear “no legitimate connection” to the committee’s stated legislative purpose. Black’s legal team frames the action as a necessary defense against what they characterize as an overreach of congressional authority.

    The June Walkout That Triggered the Confrontation

    The dispute traces back to a June hearing in which Black voluntarily appeared before the committee. According to lawmakers present, he departed the room mid-testimony after questions turned to nondisclosure agreements he may have signed in connection with Epstein-related matters. That departure prompted the committee to issue the subpoenas now at the center of the litigation, ordering Black to produce the NDAs and submit to a sworn, recorded deposition.

    Black has consistently maintained that he committed no wrongdoing in his years-long association with Epstein. He told the committee in June that he retained Epstein as a wealth management adviser and paid him approximately $158 million (£120 million) over that period for what he described as legitimate purposes. He further stated that he remained unaware of Epstein’s “nefarious activity until Epstein was charged with trafficking in July 2019.”

    What Are NDAs and Why Do They Matter Here?

    Nondisclosure agreements are contractual instruments in which two or more parties agree to keep specified information confidential. They commonly appear in employment contracts, business settlements, and private dispute resolutions. In the Epstein investigation, NDAs have become a focal point because they may conceal details about who was involved in Epstein’s network, what arrangements were made, and whether victims or associates were compensated in exchange for silence.

    Black’s attorneys argue that compelling disclosure of these agreements would force the revelation of identities of women who “value their privacy, who have no known or public connection to Epstein, who bargained for confidentiality and have refused to release it.” The argument positions the lawsuit as a privacy protection rather than an evasion of accountability.

    “This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein. It is about trying to destroy Mr Black,” Susan Estrich, an attorney for Black, said in a press release on Thursday. “We were left with no choice but to file this lawsuit in response to an abuse of Congressional power.”

    Congressional Reaction: Calls for Contempt

    Committee members reacted swiftly and sharply to Black’s failure to appear. Robert Garcia, a member of the House Oversight Committee, issued a statement following the missed deposition date.

    “By refusing to testify today, Leon Black is now defying two Congressional subpoenas,” Garcia said. “His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable. We must hold him in contempt immediately.”

    Chairman James Comer echoed the frustration, framing the absence as a failure to answer to the public.

    “It’s a shame Leon Black is hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people,” Comer said. “Mr Black’s testimony is crucial to our investigation.”

    A contempt-of-Congress finding carries serious consequences. It would allow the committee to refer Black to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution, a step that has been used sparingly in modern history but carries the weight of the full authority of the federal government behind it. The threat of such a referral is generally understood to be one of the most potent levers Congress possesses to compel compliance from recalcitrant witnesses.

    The Ganieva Affair and the Question of Extortion

    Black’s personal history with Epstein extends beyond financial management. Court records reveal a six-year relationship with Guzel Ganieva, a former Russian model, which concluded amid allegations of abuse. In a lawsuit she later filed against Black — ultimately dismissed by a judge — Ganieva alleged that Black prepared a nondisclosure agreement in 2015 to secure her silence following the breakup.

    Documents released by the US Department of Justice show that Epstein, acting in an advisory capacity, suggested in an email to his assistant that Black hire former law enforcement officers to approach Ganieva. Estrich has characterized Ganieva’s accusations as “demonstrably false,” while Black himself has previously described himself as the victim of extortion in the matter.

    The judge who dismissed Ganieva’s suit cited both the NDA she had signed and approximately $9 million (£6.6 million) she received in the years following the agreement’s execution. The existence of such a payment, combined with the NDA’s terms, has made the arrangement a recurring point of inquiry in the broader Epstein investigation.

    Black’s Departure from Apollo and the Epstein Files

    Black stepped away from Apollo Global Management, the alternative-asset firm he co-founded, in 2021. At the time of his departure, he attributed the decision in part to the sustained public and media scrutiny surrounding his ties to Epstein, saying the attention had taken “a toll” on his health.

    His name and image appear among the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice, a vast collection of photographs, videos, and investigative documents pertaining to the late financier. Officials have noted that inclusion in those files does not, by itself, suggest wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the files have become a central evidentiary resource for the congressional investigation, and Black’s presence within them has kept him in the committee’s crosshairs.

    Broader Implications

    The Black litigation tests the outer boundaries of congressional investigative power. If the court sustains the committee’s subpoenas, it will reinforce the view that Congress may compel testimony and document production from private individuals when pursuing a legitimate legislative inquiry — even when the subject objects on privacy or relevance grounds. If the court sides with Black, it could narrow the circumstances under which oversight committees may issue compulsory process, a development that would affect future investigations into corporate and financial matters.

    For Epstein’s victims and advocates, the stakes are personal: NDAs signed under the shadow of Epstein’s network have long been suspected of silencing witnesses and complicating accountability. Whether Black’s agreements will ultimately be produced in court or remain sealed will shape how thoroughly the committee can map the full scope of Epstein’s relationships and the mechanisms used to manage them.

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  • Around 2,000 fall ill in Indonesia after eating free school meals

    Around 2,000 fall ill in Indonesia after eating free school meals

    Indonesia’s Free School Meals Programme Faces Back-to-Back Poisoning Crises

    Constantvpn.com – Roughly 2,000 students and teachers across the Indonesian archipelago have been struck by foodborne illness within a single three-day window, all traced to meals distributed under the government’s Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) initiative. The rapid succession of outbreaks has turned what was meant to be a flagship nutrition policy into a national public-health emergency and a political flashpoint for President Prabowo Subianto, whose administration has staked considerable prestige on the multibillion-dollar scheme.

    The Rembang Outbreak: 777 Affected in One School

    The most recent and largest single-site incident unfolded at a senior secondary school in Lasem, Rembang regency, Central Java, on Wednesday at lunchtime. A total of 752 pupils and 25 teaching staff developed symptoms consistent with acute food poisoning after consuming MBG-provided meals. Headteacher Juhartutik described the chaos that followed:

    “They had diarrhoea and took turns using the toilet. There are 40 toilets in total, so they can’t accommodate everyone.”

    In the aftermath, the school sent home nearly 1,200 additional pupils and 95 members of staff as a precaution, while several of the worst-affected individuals were transported to hospital. Juhartutik confirmed that the government would shoulder all associated medical expenses and that the local food distributor had arrived on campus to assume accountability for the incident.

    A Pattern Across the Archipelago

    The Rembang episode did not occur in isolation. Just one day earlier, on Tuesday, 730 people fell ill after eating MBG meals at an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, according to a local health official. Among those affected was a parent identified as Reni, whose child experienced dizziness and nausea before progressing to more severe gastrointestinal distress. Several students at that school were so debilitated they required wheelchair transport to receive hospital care.

    Further down the island chain, hundreds of additional cases have been logged across multiple schools in Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, within the same week. Taken together, the cumulative toll exceeds 2,000 individuals, making this the most concentrated wave of school-linked food poisoning recorded in recent Indonesian history.

    What Went Wrong: Storage, Preparation, and Distribution

    Parents and teachers who inspected the meals described chicken that had turned slimy, dishes that appeared undercooked, and food emitting a distinctly fishy odour. In most food-poisoning events of this kind, the underlying cause traces back to improper cold-chain storage, inadequate cooking temperatures, or cross-contamination during preparation and transport. Local authorities have launched investigations into each suspected outbreak, and food samples are currently undergoing laboratory testing to identify the specific contaminant or pathogen responsible.

    Accountability and Institutional Response

    Achmad Sholeh Syarifudin, who heads the food distribution unit operating in Lasem, issued a public apology and accepted what he called “full responsibility for the recovery of students and teachers.” He announced that his unit would undertake a comprehensive operational review in the wake of the incident.

    At the national level, the head of Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency addressed the possibility of systemic failure:

    “If it is identified that there was negligence and there are criminal elements, I apologise, we cannot help.”

    The remark pointedly left open the question of whether individual contractors or officials will face formal sanctions, a matter that has drawn sharp scrutiny from opposition lawmakers and civil-society watchdogs.

    Political Stakes of the MBG Programme

    The Makan Bergizi Gratis scheme was unveiled as one of Prabowo Subianto’s signature domestic policies, designed to improve caloric and micronutrient intake among Indonesia’s roughly 50 million schoolchildren. Its budget runs into the multibillion-dollar range, making it one of the largest food-distribution operations ever attempted in Southeast Asia. The programme’s rapid rollout—covering tens of thousands of schools across 38 provinces—has stretched logistics, quality-control, and oversight capacity well beyond what existing infrastructure could comfortably absorb.

    Even before this week’s poisoning wave, the scheme had attracted allegations of procurement corruption and sustained criticism over its per-meal cost. The latest incidents have compounded those concerns, raising the question of whether the distribution model—relying on local contractors to prepare, transport, and serve meals—can be made safe at the scale the government demands. Prabowo’s administration has already dismissed the head of the free-meals scheme in the aftermath of earlier poisoning episodes, signalling that political pressure is mounting on officials tasked with keeping the programme running.

    For the families of affected children, the immediate concern is medical recovery and assurance that no further contaminated meals will reach school canteens. For policymakers, the challenge is broader: how to deliver a nationwide nutrition guarantee without sacrificing the basic food-safety safeguards that make such a programme viable in the first place.

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  • Feminist activist and journalist Gloria Steinem dies, aged 92

    Feminist activist and journalist Gloria Steinem dies, aged 92

    Gloria Steinem, Voice of Second-Wave Feminism, Has Died at 92

    Constantvpn.com – Gloria Steinem, the journalist and organizer who helped define the American women’s liberation movement of the 1970s, has died at the age of 92. Her foundation confirmed the news on Instagram, stating she “passed away peacefully” at her New York City residence on Wednesday, “surrounded by many who loved her.” For more than six decades, Steinem shaped how a nation talked about gender, power, and justice — a legacy that now enters its final chapter.

    From Toledo to Grassroots Organizing

    Born on 25 March 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem grew up amid what she described as a turbulent childhood. She did not attend school on a full-time basis until the age of 12. After completing university studies in the late 1950s, she traveled to India on a research scholarship. There, over two years, she assumed a variety of roles that included assisting village women in mounting non-violent protests against government policies — an experience that ignited her lifelong commitment to grassroots organizing.

    In the early 1960s she relocated to New York City to pursue freelance writing. Her breakthrough piece was an exposé on the working conditions of Playboy Bunnies, which brought her national attention almost overnight. She subsequently became a columnist for New York Magazine before turning her considerable influence toward a new publishing venture.

    Founding Ms. Magazine and the Women’s Action Alliance

    In 1972, Steinem co-founded Ms. magazine, one of the first periodicals in the United States to center women’s concerns beyond domestic management and beauty standards. The publication gave a platform to voices that had long been excluded from mainstream journalism and opened editorial doors that remained closed for decades.

    More than five decades ago, she also co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance, an organization dedicated to combating sexism across political, economic, and cultural spheres. Through both vehicles, she shaped public discourse on gender equality for generations of readers, editors, and activists who followed in her wake.

    Reproductive Rights and Broader Advocacy

    During the 1970s, Steinem became one of the most prominent advocates for women’s reproductive autonomy in America. She had personally undergone an illegal abortion in London at age 22, an experience that gave her cause a deeply personal urgency. Years later, she celebrated the US Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion. Nearly half a century afterward, she witnessed the overturning of that landmark ruling.

    Her advocacy extended well beyond reproductive issues. She spoke publicly in support of same-sex marriage legalization, pushed for equal pay and equal rights for women, and protested both the death penalty and female genital mutilation. Each campaign drew on the same conviction: that structural inequality demanded organized, sustained opposition.

    Marriage and Personal Life

    For decades, Steinem was well known for rejecting marriage as an institution. That stance shifted in 2000 when she wed David Bale, a South African-born entrepreneur and environmentalist who was also the father of actor Christian Bale. Bale died three years later of brain lymphoma. Asked why she had altered her position on marriage, she offered a characteristically wry reply:

    “I didn’t change. Marriage changed.”

    Honors and Later Years

    In 2013, President Barack Obama conferred upon her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian decoration in the United States. Her foundation noted that “she continued working for equality until the very end.”

    In her final years, Steinem remained embedded in community life and writing. She welcomed guests into her home for “Talking Circles,” a tradition her foundation said would continue after her passing. Her commitment to transforming her home into a hub for social-justice movements, along with a forthcoming book titled An Unexpected Life, were described by the foundation as “among many gifts Gloria has given the world with the hope they have ripple effects for generations to come.”

    The foundation added:

    “Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard. Her words, actions and example gave people permission to be their truest selves. Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humour.”

    Tributes from Friends and Public Figures

    Tributes poured in on Thursday following the announcement of her death. Writers, feminists, and public figures took to social media to express gratitude, many stating she had fundamentally altered the course of their lives.

    Meghan Markle, who described Steinem as “my friend and mentor,” shared photographs of the two together on Instagram. She wrote that beyond their professional

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  • UN warns of ‘supersized’ El Niño as countries prepare for impact

    UN warns of ‘supersized’ El Niño as countries prepare for impact

    Pacific Ocean Temperatures Signal a Historic El Niño as Global Preparedness Ramps Up

    Constantvpn.com – The Panama Canal will cut the number of vessels transiting its locks by more than 10 percent this Thursday, a precaution tied directly to forecast drops in rainfall that could lower the waterway’s operating depth. Roughly 14,000 ships rely on the canal each year, making it both a linchpin of international commerce and a vital revenue stream for Panama. The reduction is one of the earliest tangible consequences of what forecasters now describe as the most powerful El Niño event recorded since at least 1950 — and possibly by a wide margin.

    The World Meteorological Organization, the UN body responsible for atmospheric monitoring, has published updated data indicating the current episode could persist until February 2027 at the earliest. Monthly sea-surface readings in the central and eastern tropical Pacific are trending toward four degrees Celsius above the long-term mean, a threshold that would place this event far beyond the “very strong” category already in view. Beneath the surface, anomalies are even more extreme, with subsurface readings exceeding eight degrees above normal in certain zones of the Pacific basin.

    What El Niño Actually Does

    El Niño is a recurring oscillation in the Pacific Ocean tied to shifts in trade-wind patterns. When the winds weaken, warm surface water that normally pools in the western Pacific drifts eastward, dumping enormous quantities of heat into the atmosphere. That heat reshapes atmospheric circulation globally: regions that typically receive monsoon moisture can fall into prolonged drought, while tropical basins elsewhere see intensified cyclone activity and heavier downpours. East African nations such as Kenya endured devastating rainfall during the previous El Niño cycle, illustrating how quickly the phenomenon can overwhelm infrastructure built for normal climatic variability.

    Compounding the natural signal is the backdrop of anthropogenic warming. Forecasters stress that El Niño’s temperature boost will land on top of an already-rising global baseline, meaning peak heat events will exceed anything seen in prior decades.

    The UN’s Alarm

    UN Secretary-General António Guterres framed the situation in stark terms when addressing the latest WMO briefing:

    “El Niño is being supersized before our eyes. We are entering a danger zone of extreme weather. The science leaves no room for doubt: the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up.”

    The WMO has launched what it calls a “major mobilisation” to push its short-range extreme-weather forecasts into as many local communities as possible. Secretary-General Celeste Saulo underscored the stakes:

    “El Niño has the potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world.”

    National governments and research institutions have responded by hardening early-warning networks and pre-positioning medical and humanitarian assets ahead of forecast impact windows. Yet the sheer magnitude of this particular episode has raised alarms among climate scientists and disaster-planning bodies, particularly regarding populations already stretched thin by poverty, conflict, or prior climate shocks.

    Australia’s Marine Front

    For Australia, the oceanic dimension of El Niño carries a distinct and immediate threat. The country has been battered by successive marine heatwaves in recent years — events driven by the broader warming trend — which have triggered mass coral bleaching, explosive algae blooms, and what officials have termed “unprecedented damage” to coastal ecosystems.

    Dr Alistair Hobday, chief researcher at Australia’s national science agency, explained that El Niño, while a natural oscillation, tends to amplify precisely the kind of extreme oceanic heating that fuels those disasters. This year’s marine-heatwave outlook suggests the Great Barrier Reef will escape the worst conditions, affording its coral colonies additional time to recover from prior bleaching episodes. The southern states, however, face a far less forgiving forecast.

    “Southern Australia is getting slammed. It had an algal bloom last year, it’s got bird flu now, and it looks like marine heatwaves will be stronger there this summer.”

    The previous southern marine heatwave left starving penguin colonies, mass fish kills, suffocating algal mats, and jellyfish invasions along the coasts of South Australia and Tasmania. In response, Australia has rolled out early-warning protocols for marine crises, giving fisheries time to access financial relief, allowing managers to relocate sensitive species, and increasing the frequency of coral-health monitoring. Even so, Hobday acknowledged privately that the scale of the current event unsettles him.

    Rainfall Shifts and Downstream Risks

    While the full atmospheric footprint of this El Niño will unfold well into 2027, the WMO projects significant reorganisation of rainfall patterns within the coming months. Broad swathes of South East Asia, Central America, and northern South America are forecast to experience below-normal precipitation, elevating the probability of agricultural drought and wildfire seasons of unusual severity. The Panama Canal adjustment described above is a microcosm of that risk: when rainfall feeding the Gatun Lake basin falls, the canal’s draft shrinks, and operators must throttle traffic to prevent groundings.

    Above-normal sea temperatures are also anticipated across the Indian Ocean, the tropical Atlantic, and sections of the Australian coastline, meaning the El Niño signal will not be confined to the Pacific. For island nations, smallholder farmers, and coastal communities across those basins, the coming months will test whether the strengthened warning systems and pre-positioned aid stocks are sufficient to blunt what the WMO and national meteorological services now describe as a once-in-a-generation compound hazard.

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  • ‘Adonis’ Gibbs-White’s chance to shine – will Tuchel take notice?

    ‘Adonis’ Gibbs-White’s chance to shine – will Tuchel take notice?

    Gibbs-White’s Number 10 Gambit: Can Tuchel Finally Look Away?

    Constantvpn.com – When Thomas Tuchel named his England squad for the World Cup last May, Morgan Gibbs-White’s name was conspicuously absent. The response came not in words but in gesture: on the final matchday of the season, the Nottingham Forest captain scored against Bournemouth, pointed squarely at his own chest, and raised both hands aloft — a silent, unmistakable reference to the number 10 shirt he wears. The message was delivered. Now, as the new campaign unfolds, Gibbs-White is ensuring the follow-up arrives with equal force.

    A Season of Escalating Pressure

    The 26-year-old midfielder has carried Forest’s attacking burden with increasing weight since Elliot Anderson departed for Manchester City in a record-breaking £116 million transfer. With the Scotsman gone, the creative engine of the team now rests squarely on Gibbs-White’s shoulders, and manager Oliver Glasner has made no pretence about that reality. The former Crystal Palace boss confirmed in August that his star was never leaving the club once Anderson’s exit became certain, and the number 10 role was handed over without hesitation.

    Glasner’s tactical adjustment has been deliberate. James McAtee, the former Manchester City academy product, has been pushed into a deeper, tempo-controlling position, freeing Gibbs-White to roam the final third and threaten goal with far greater latitude. The arrangement has produced immediate results: on Saturday, Gibbs-White assisted Dan Ndoye’s opener before converting a penalty in Forest’s 2-2 draw at Anfield — a performance that marked a dramatic turnaround after two consecutive defeats at the hands of Leeds United in both the Premier League and the Carabao Cup.

    The Numbers That Cannot Be Ignored

    Statistically, Gibbs-White is having a remarkable calendar year. He has been directly involved in 20 club goals across all competitions in 2026 — 15 goals and five assists — a figure that ties him with Erling Haaland for the joint-most of any Premier League player. Yet the Forest man has actually outscored the Manchester City striker in the league itself: 13 Premier League goals for Gibbs-White against Haaland’s 10. His scoring rate stands at one league goal every 129 minutes this year, a figure that includes his first senior hat-trick, delivered against Burnley in April.

    Those numbers sit alongside a physical output that Glasner has praised openly. At Anfield, Gibbs-White covered 11.4 kilometres — the third-highest distance on the pitch for his side — and registered 16 sprints, tied for the team lead. His expected goals tally of 0.79 also topped Forest’s internal metrics for the match, underscoring that his contributions extend well beyond the penalty spot.

    The Tottenham Saga and a Loyalty Test

    Not long ago, Gibbs-White was one step from walking through the doors at Tottenham Hotspur. The near-completed move collapsed when Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis personally intervened, travelling to the club’s training camp in Portugal to meet the midfielder face-to-face. Forest had threatened legal action against Spurs over the situation, and the episode left a bitter residue. Gibbs-White stayed. Days later he signed a new three-year contract and went on to finish the season with a career-best 18 goals in all competitions.

    That March goal at Tottenham — the decisive strike in a 3-0 victory — gave Forest the platform to survive in the top flight and kept Spurs sweating over their own top-flight status until the final day. The loyalty displayed then has only deepened since, particularly now that Glasner has publicly sealed the arrangement.

    “There was never a tiny question mark about it. It was complete commitment and alignment that Morgan stays here, also from his side,” Glasner said. “I have always seen him as a top player, a player who can make the difference, a player who can create chances and score himself. It’s something he’s showed since day one. He is very professional, very hard-working. He looks like an Adonis — just muscles.”

    “He has all the freedom in the attack and I’m not surprised, I could see what I expected to see. A fantastic player and a great person.”

    The England Question, Again

    With England scheduled to face Spain, Croatia, and the Czech Republic in upcoming Nations League fixtures, the conversation around Gibbs-White’s international prospects will inevitably intensify. Glasner, however, has urged his captain to park that ambition and focus exclusively on club performance.

    “At the end it makes no sense thinking about it so much. The better he performs the better he will do in his career, for clubs or for England,” the manager added. “If you perform well and do things right you will be called up. Every manager in the world will call the best players and if you are among them you will be called up.”

    “It’s the same for Morgan. He started to score, 10 goals he scored from March onward, late in the season. He had seven to eight months before where he didn’t score so many goals. For him it’s getting consistency into the game.”

    That consistency point is the crux. Gibbs-White’s final 15 matches of last season yielded 10 goals — enough to make him one of the league’s most dangerous players in the closing stretch, yet insufficient to overcome Tuchel’s selection calculus. The gap between late-season brilliance and sustained, season-long output remains the single variable that could determine whether this becomes a career-defining year or another near-miss.

    What Comes Next

    Forest’s next fixture is a home match against Tottenham — the very club that came within inches of signing him last summer. The irony is not lost on anyone at the City Ground. Gibbs-White will arrive at that contest carrying the weight of a season’s worth of expectation, a manager’s unambiguous trust, and a national-team audience that has, for now, chosen to look elsewhere. Whether the number 10 shirt becomes synonymous with England’s future or remains a Nottingham Forest artefact will be decided not by gestures or chest-pointing, but by the quiet accumulation of performances across the months ahead.

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  • Ashes tickets pricing people out of game – Vaughan

    Ashes tickets pricing people out of game – Vaughan

    Former England Captain Warns Ashes Ticket Surge Risks Alienating Core Fanbase

    Constantvpn.com – The question of whether cricket’s most storied rivalry can remain accessible to ordinary supporters has taken centre stage after Michael Vaughan, former England captain, publicly condemned what he describes as an unsustainable jump in ticket costs for next summer’s men’s Ashes series. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Vaughan argued that the England and Wales Cricket Board’s pricing strategy for the 2027 fixture at Edgbaston could deliver “a shock” to the very audience the sport claims to want to welcome.

    The criticism centres on a 43% uplift in ticket prices for the third Test, scheduled for 8 July at Birmingham’s Edgbaston ground. In the Hollies Stand — a section seating close to 6,000 spectators and long celebrated for its raucous, partisan atmosphere — the price tag has climbed from £115 in 2023 to £165 for the equivalent seat in 2027. Vaughan called the increase “far too much” and “really poor,” posting his frustration on social media before elaborating on air.

    “I think the game’s got to be very careful. I think you’re going to be pricing a lot of people out of the biggest series of them all.”

    The Family Bill Problem

    Vaughan’s arithmetic is blunt: a family of four, with children aged over 16, faces a combined ticket cost approaching £1,000 for just three days at Edgbaston. Add drinks, food, travel, and possibly overnight accommodation, and the total outlay for a single weekend of cricket balloons well beyond what most households budget for a major sporting outing. The cheapest adult tickets across the first three days sit at £115, with every purchase carrying a £2.50 booking fee. Members of the ground can access seats at £92, but that concession excludes the vast majority of the public.

    “The fans first and foremost are the reason any sporting occasion is a good one, don’t price them out because they might get a shock.”

    Vaughan drew a pointed contrast between the ECB’s stated ambition to make cricket “the most inclusive” sport in Britain and the practical reality of its pricing decisions. He noted that the Hollies Stand experience — once defined by packed terraces and communal singing — now risks becoming a premium product where, in his colourful phrasing, spectators will sit “among the beer snakes” while costumed characters in giraffe and elephant outfits parade past.

    Where the Money Went

    The 2023 Ashes series, which concluded in a 2-2 draw after Australia took the first two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s, generated what the ECB described as “every day sold out in advance, with total attendance topping 545,000.” That commercial success, Vaughan suggested, should have funded ground improvements rather than flowing back into ticket prices. He pointed to The Hundred’s revenue stream, which he believed was earmarked for venue upgrades, and observed that within roughly a year of that money arriving, it appeared to have been absorbed into the pricing structure as well.

    An Edgbaston Stadium spokesperson pushed back, stating that 2027 prices are “broadly in line with other host venues and major British sporting events such as Wimbledon and the Formula One at Silverstone.” The spokesperson added that entry-level prices track inflation relative to the 2023 visit and that the ground, like the rest of the country, is “battling increased costs and trying to manage these wherever we can.”

    A Series Spread Across Ten Grounds

    The 2027 Ashes will be contested across five Tests beginning at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on 18 June, with England seeking to reclaim a trophy they lost 4-1 in Australia last winter. Lord’s hosts the second Test from 30 June, Edgbaston the third from 8 July, the Utilita Bowl in Southampton the fourth from 21 July — making it the tenth UK venue to stage a men’s Ashes Test — and the Kia Oval the decider from 29 July.

    Ticket prices at the London grounds exceed Edgbaston’s: the best seats at Lord’s reach £190, while the Oval’s top tier sits at £185. The ballot for the 2027 series opened on Wednesday. By contrast, next week’s third Test between England and Pakistan at Edgbaston, priced between £57.50 and £87.50 for adults, has failed to sell out — a telling indicator of where the market currently sits.

    Edgbaston’s capacity is temporarily reduced to accommodate construction of an on-site hotel, a factor the ground cites in explaining its commercial pressures. Yet the juxtaposition of unsold Pakistan Test tickets against a 43% Ashes premium raises questions about whether the pricing reflects genuine demand or an assumption that the Ashes brand commands automatic full houses regardless of cost.

    A Wider Pattern of Price Escalation

    Cricket’s ticket controversy does not exist in isolation. Last month at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium — a 23,000-capacity athletics venue — a crowd of just 13,623 watched 24-year-old Briton Amy Hunt claim the women’s 100m title at the European Athletics Championships. Supporters attributed the thin attendance partly to Category A straight-side tickets priced at £150, with no junior concessions offered. The men’s 100m final saw the same seats listed at £110.

    In April, organisers of next year’s Ryder Cup centenary event in Ireland defended daily general-admission tickets of 499 euros (approximately £434) for the three tournament days at Adare Manor in County Limerick, scheduled for 17–19 September. That figure compares with a maximum of 260 euros charged at the 2023 edition in Italy — a near-doubling in four years for a comparable product.

    For cricket, the stakes are particular. The Ashes is not merely a sporting fixture; it is a cultural institution with generational roots, pub traditions, and a fanbase that has sustained the game through decades of domestic and international competition. Vaughan’s warning is ultimately about whether that relationship can survive a pricing model that treats the most loyal supporters as a revenue stream rather than the foundation on which the entire enterprise rests.

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  • ‘I was seeing spots’ – third seed Auger-Aliassime stunned in New York

    ‘I was seeing spots’ – third seed Auger-Aliassime stunned in New York

    Auger-Aliassime’s US Open Run Ends in Mystery: Third Seed Falls to Unseeded Khachanov

    Constantvpn.com – The New York tennis world was thrown into disarray on Thursday when the tournament’s third seed, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, was eliminated in the second round by unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov. The match, which ended 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 6-2 in Khachanov’s favor, marked the earliest departure of any top-10 player in the men’s singles draw this year and raised immediate questions about the physical condition of a player who had been performing at an elite level just weeks earlier.

    Auger-Aliassime, 26, had reached the semi-finals of the US Open on two prior occasions and arrived in New York carrying momentum from quarter-final runs at both Wimbledon and the French Open earlier in the year. Yet the Canadian admitted that something went wrong almost immediately once the Khachanov contest began.

    “After a set and a half, I just couldn’t feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and couldn’t recover,” Auger-Aliassime told reporters following the match. “I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn’t.”

    The player emphasized that the episode was unlike anything he had experienced in his professional career. He noted that muscle cramps and late-match fatigue are routine occurrences in long rallies and five-set battles, but this sensation was categorically different.

    “I’ve never felt quite like that. I’ve had cramps before. I’ve felt tired towards the end of matches, but in a normal way. This was abnormal a little bit, and there were no signs in the last couple of days and no signs this morning, as well.”

    A Pattern of Physical Trouble

    The New York exit is the latest chapter in a troubling stretch for the Canadian. In August, Auger-Aliassime pulled out of the Rogers Cup in Montreal citing a back injury, a withdrawal that interrupted what had been a strong summer on hard courts. The absence of any warning symptoms before the Khachanov match, as he himself noted, makes the sudden onset particularly puzzling and likely to prompt further medical evaluation before he attempts another competitive appearance.

    Khachanov, who had not reached a Grand Slam quarter-final before this tournament, handled the post-match interview with evident empathy toward his opponent.

    “I am not sure but maybe he had some physical issues and that is part of our sport,” the Russian said. “I wish him to feel better and speedy recovery if he is injured.”

    Heat and Humidity Compound the Toll

    The conditions in New York on Thursday were far from ideal for players already managing fatigue. After several days of persistent rain that had disrupted scheduling and compressed rest periods, temperatures climbed to 30 degrees Celsius. The combination of elevated heat, residual humidity from the prior wet spell, and compressed match days created an environment in which even well-prepared athletes can experience acute physical distress.

    That same environment took its toll on another seeded player the same day. Italy’s 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti, who had been building momentum through the early rounds, was dismantled by Australian wildcard Dane Sweeny in a 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 rout. Musetti’s physical struggles were visible throughout the contest, and the wildcard’s aggressive baseline game exploited every moment of diminished intensity from the Italian.

    Djokovic’s Shadow Looms Over the Draw

    The wave of early exits among the top seeds was set in motion by the first-round departure of Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion and fourth seed, who had already left New York before the second round began. The Serbian’s own words about that match — that he “despised every moment I spent on the court for that” — framed a tournament in which the upper echelon of the men’s draw has been decimated at an unusual rate.

    With Djokovic gone in round one, Auger-Aliassime now gone in round two, and Musetti eliminated alongside them, the remaining bracket has opened considerably. Players ranked outside the top 20 now have a realistic path to deep rounds, and the tournament’s competitive landscape has shifted dramatically within just two sessions of play.

    What Comes Next for Auger-Aliassime

    The Canadian’s immediate future is uncertain. A dizzy episode accompanied by visual disturbances during a high-intensity five-set match warrants careful medical assessment before any return to competition. Given his recent back trouble in Montreal and the fact that he reported no pre-match warning signs, the medical team will likely want to rule out cardiovascular or neurological causes before clearing him for further play.

    For the US Open bracket, his departure reshuffles the path through his half of the draw and hands a significant opportunity to players who would ordinarily face him only in later rounds. The tournament, already destabilized by Djokovic’s first-round exit, now carries a distinctly unpredictable character as the second round concludes and the third round approaches under what promises to be continued warm New York weather.

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  • Kyrgios given one-month ban for positive cocaine test

    Kyrgios given one-month ban for positive cocaine test

    Kyrgios Cleared to Compete After Cocaine-Related Suspension Ends

    Constantvpn.com – The Australian tennis world watches closely as Nick Kyrgios regains his eligibility to compete following the conclusion of a one-month suspension tied to a positive drug test. The 31-year-old former world number 13 was cleared to return to court on Thursday, 3 September, after serving out a penalty imposed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) over a cocaine metabolite detected in a sample collected during the Mallorca Open in June.

    The episode traces back to the early hours of 20 June, when Kyrgios told ITIA investigators that he had used cocaine at a nightclub in Magaluf, Mallorca. Two days later he stepped onto the court for his first-round singles match at that same tournament, where he was defeated in straight sets by fellow Australian Adam Walton. Because the singles draw had been published on 21 June, the governing body treated the period from that date onward as “in competition,” meaning the substance use fell just outside the competitive window. An independent expert consulted by the ITIA confirmed the timing, and the agency accepted that the use occurred outside competition.

    How the Ban Was Calculated

    The sample, submitted during the Mallorca event, tested positive for benzoylecgonine — the primary metabolite produced when the body breaks down cocaine. Under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list, cocaine is categorised as both a stimulant and a substance of abuse, making any detectable trace a reportable violation.

    Kyrgios faced a potential maximum sanction of three months. That ceiling was reduced to one month because he entered a structured treatment programme, with an invoice confirming payment for the programme beginning on 28 August. The provisional suspension was announced on 4 August, and the full one-month period ran through to 3 September.

    The reduced penalty places Kyrgios on the same one-month timeline as Iga Swiatek received for her own anti-doping case, and two months shorter than the three-month sanction handed to Jannik Sinner. Kyrgios has publicly criticised both of those rulings, calling them “disgusting” for tennis and describing the sport’s integrity system as “awful.”

    Financial and Ranking Consequences

    Beyond the time away from competition, Kyrgios forfeits the 6,570 euros (approximately £5,650) in prize money he would have earned at the Mallorca Open. His ATP singles ranking has slipped to 918, a stark contrast to his peak position of world number 13 reached earlier in his career.

    A Career Under Strain

    The cocaine episode lands against a backdrop of prolonged physical and psychological difficulty. Kyrgios has played only four singles matches this season, winning one and losing three. Since the start of 2023, he has managed just two victories across eight matches, hampered by recurring knee problems and reconstructive wrist surgery. His most recent competitive appearance before the Mallorca incident came in the men’s doubles at Wimbledon, where he and partner Alexander Bublik were eliminated in the first round.

    When the positive test was first made public, Kyrgios announced he would withdraw from social media and public life for 28 days to concentrate on his recovery. In a lengthy Instagram statement he reflected on the cumulative damage of years of injury:

    “My body hasn’t been able to do what my mind expects it to do. Coming to terms with being near the end of my career has been harder than I ever imagined. None of that excuses what I did.”

    He added that the past several years of physical setbacks had taken “a huge toll on me, both mentally and physically.”

    Mental Health and a Long Road Back

    Kyrgios has spoken openly about mental-health struggles that extend well beyond the court. After his Wimbledon defeat in 2019, he spent time in a psychiatric hospital in London and has said he “genuinely contemplated” suicide during that period. Those disclosures made him one of the more candid voices in a sport where psychological pressure is rarely discussed in public terms.

    A Controversial Legacy

    Long before the cocaine test, Kyrgios had built a reputation as one of tennis’s most polarising personalities. He has accumulated substantial fines for smashing racquets, audible obscenities directed at opponents or officials, and heated exchanges with chair umpires. In 2023 he admitted to having assaulted an ex-girlfriend two years earlier, though he avoided a criminal conviction. A series of comments widely characterised as misogynistic drew further criticism, and in 2024 he shared a social-media post by influencer Andrew Tate — a figure Kyrgios later said he had gone “to all lengths” to distance himself from.

    What Comes Next

    With the ban now served, Kyrgios is free to enter any tournament immediately. Yet the practical question for players, promoters, and fans alike is whether a body that has endured repeated knee and wrist operations, combined with the psychological weight of a career in decline, can translate eligibility back into competitive form. His seven ATP Tour singles titles and his run to the 2022 Wimbledon final — where he fell in four sets to Novak Djokovic — remain the benchmark against which any return will be measured. He and compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis also captured the Australian Open men’s doubles title that same year, a reminder of the partnership and tactical range that once defined his game.

    For now, the administrative chapter is closed. The next chapter will be written on court, if and when Kyrgios chooses to step back onto it.

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  • Fifa accuses Uefa of ‘smear campaign’ against Infantino

    Fifa accuses Uefa of ‘smear campaign’ against Infantino

    FIFA Fires Back at UEFA Over Scrapped World Cup Deal, Accusing European Body of Weeks-Long “Smear Campaign”

    Constantvpn.com – The institutional rift between world football’s two most powerful governing bodies has deepened sharply after FIFA lodged court papers in the United States accusing UEFA of orchestrating a sustained “smear campaign against it and its leadership.” The filings, reviewed by journalists before publication, mark a dramatic escalation in a dispute that began when European football’s regulator moved to pursue what it describes as potential criminal claims in Switzerland over the now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme.

    At the heart of the conflict sits a proposal by FIFA president Gianni Infantino — who has held the role since 2016 — to carve out a commercial subsidiary holding stakes in the World Cup and sell a minority share to private investors. The plan, revealed in July of last year, triggered an immediate and fierce backlash from UEFA and several member confederations before being shelved within days. What followed was not a quiet retreat but a prolonged public campaign that FIFA now characterises as coordinated disinformation aimed at destabilising its leadership.

    FIFA’s Court Response: “A Fundamental Defect”

    In its US filings, FIFA asked the court to defer or oppose UEFA’s request for access to internal documents by the end of the month. The world governing body argued that UEFA’s application rests on what it calls a “fundamental defect” and multiple “legal deficiencies.”

    “Uefa seeks discovery in aid of a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and that Uefa admittedly lacks the authority to initiate. Despite that threshold problem, Uefa asks this court to authorise sweeping discovery about the FFE.”

    FIFA stressed that the FFE was never a concluded transaction but “only a proposal,” one that could have proceeded solely if a majority of its 211 member associations voted in favour and the relevant approvals of the FIFA Council were secured. In the organisation’s telling, UEFA bypassed that democratic mechanism entirely.

    “Rather than participate in that democratic process, Uefa issued a press release – the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership.”

    What Was the FFE Scheme?

    For readers unfamiliar with the mechanics: the FFE concept involved creating a new commercial entity that would hold intellectual-property rights to the World Cup tournament. A private investor would acquire roughly 20 per cent of that entity in exchange for a capital injection. Under the original terms discussed in July, venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and his firm Thrive Eternal were positioned as the lead investor, with a deal value of $4.2 billion (£3.1 billion) attached to the stake.

    FIFA’s stated rationale was financial redistribution. The organisation claimed the scheme would have lifted the per-association funding allocation for the 2027–2030 cycle from £5.9 million to £14.7 million — a near-tripling of resources flowing to smaller national federations. Critics, however, questioned whether the World Cup’s commercial value had been properly assessed before any sale was contemplated.

    Kushner’s Regret and the Trump Connection

    The Kushner dimension added an unusual layer of political sensitivity to an already volatile story. Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. His involvement drew scrutiny well beyond the football world, and on Sunday he issued a public statement expressing regret over the episode.

    “While we stand behind the motivations of FFE, we failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to… had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved.”

    UEFA has asked a New York court to compel testimony and document production from both Kushner and his company, as well as from American financier Greg Maffei, who served as a key adviser on the transaction. UEFA clarified that neither man is expected to become a defendant in any proceeding; rather, their accounts are sought to reconstruct the timeline of negotiations. According to UEFA’s lawyers, the pair first discussed the FFE concept in July 2025, and Infantino had “been discussing the underlying concept with Kushner for nearly a year before the terms sheet was ultimately signed.”

    UEFA’s Core Allegations

    European football’s governing body has framed its case around two principal charges. First, it alleges “criminal mismanagement” by Infantino in the handling of the proposal. Second, it contends that the World Cup was deliberately undervalued at approximately £15 billion — a figure it describes as “neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer.” UEFA further asserts that Infantino failed to consult FIFA’s internal hierarchy before advancing the plan, and characterises the pricing as “a fraudulently off-market price promoted by [him] for his own benefit.”

    UEFA has declined to comment publicly on FIFA’s latest filings, though insiders close to the European body have suggested that if FIFA genuinely has nothing to conceal, it should simply release the requested documents and allow the legal process to proceed without delay.

    The Economic Argument and Broader Power Dynamics

    Beyond the courtroom, the dispute carries a structural dimension that FIFA has now made explicit. In its filings, the world governing body accused UEFA of an “economic motivation” rooted in protecting its own market dominance. The argument runs that empowering smaller, developing-world federations with greater financial resources would intensify global competition, dilute UEFA’s commercial leverage, and create rivals for its flagship tournaments such as the Champions League and the European Championship.

    “If soccer is strengthened in the developing world, global competition increases, which ultimately reduces Uefa’s market power and provides more competition for its flagship tournaments. By raising funds to allow some of Fifa’s smaller member associations to better develop soccer, FFE would lead to more players from those nations choosing to represent their countries of origin and playing in their home leagues rather than playing abroad.”

    That framing positions the fight not merely as a procedural disagreement over document disclosure but as a contest over the distribution of economic power within global football — a question that has simmered for years between Europe’s wealthy leagues and the rest of the world.

    Infantino’s Position Under Pressure

    The legal escalation lands at a moment when Infantino’s grip on the presidency is already under strain. Three continental confederations have publicly called for him to stand down, and UEFA has signalled its intention to push for his removal should the boycott threat it previously floated be dropped in favour of formal governance action. Whether the US discovery battle will accelerate or complicate that political trajectory remains uncertain, but both sides now appear committed to a prolonged contest in which the World Cup’s commercial future — and the balance of power between Europe and the wider footballing world — are effectively on trial.

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