Author: News Desk

Thursday’s front pages offer a variety of headlines, mostly domestic stories, with no single lead story dominating the front splashes. Several papers report on the stabbing of a soldier in Gillingham in Kent, while the ongoing bullying scandal on the popular TV series Strictly Come Dancing continues to be heavily covered by the tabloids.

The back pages report Ben White is considering playing for England again now Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland have departed. Olympics 2024 is also covered on the back – with Morocco’s win over Argentina a popular story.

Tanker with 1,500 tonnes of oil sinks off Philippines A tanker carrying nearly 1.5 million litres of industrial fuel capsized and sank off the coast of the Philippine capital on Thursday, causing a significant oil spill. Sixteen crew members of the Philippine-flagged MT Terra Nova were rescued, while one remains missing, according to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista. Bautista said the oil spill was detected, but strong winds and high waves, exacerbated by Typhoon Gaemi, hindered response efforts. The typhoon had already caused severe flooding in Metro Manila and its suburbs the previous day and made landfall in Taiwan, resulting in…

Morocco beat Argentina in game marked by crowd troubles and chaos  The first football match of the Olympics was suspended for nearly two hours due to crowd trouble. Morocco led Argentina 2-0 before Argentina scored and pressed for an equaliser. Cristian Medina appeared to make it 2-2 in the 16th minute of 15 scheduled injury-time minutes, sparking chaos. The match eventually resumed in an empty stadium after a lengthy delay, with VAR disallowing Argentina’s equaliser, resulting in a controversial 2-1 victory for Morocco. Both Moroccan goals were scored by Soufiane Rahimi, while Giuliano Simeone, son of Diego Simeone, scored for…

Kenya’s Ruto appoints opposition to Cabinet amid unrest Kenya’s President William Ruto has nominated key allies of opposition leader Raila Odinga to his cabinet, in an attempt to calm the rising dissatisfaction with his government.  He gave four posts to the opposition including key positions: in finance and energy ministries. The four members of the main opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), who have joined the cabinet are: It’s the first time the opposition will serve in the government since Odinga took up the post of prime minister in then-President Mwai Kibaki’s cabinet in 2008. Ruto’s decision follows widespread…

Shares drop in US and Asia as AI stocks slide Financial markets in the US and Asia experienced sharp declines as investors sold off technology stocks, particularly those related to artificial intelligence (AI). In New York, the S&P 500 dropped 2.3%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 1.2%. Major firms like Nvidia, Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla led the losses. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei index fell by 3%. AI chip giant Nvidia’s shares fell 6.8%, losing about 15% of its value over two weeks. Tesla’s stock dropped over 12% following disappointing financial results.…

Netanyahu defends Gaza war as protesters rally outside US Congress In an address to the US Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that “our enemies are your enemies,” aiming to garner US support for the war against Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu’s speech was warmly received by predominantly Republican lawmakers, marking his fourth address to a joint session of Congress. “When we fight Iran, we’re fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America,” Netanyahu said. “Our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory,” he added. However, the event highlighted political divisions,…

Joe Biden tells US it’s time to ‘pass the torch’ to Harris In a televised address, President Joe Biden explained his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, urging it was time to “pass the torch to a new generation.” At 81, Biden endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris, aiming to unify Democrats and the nation. It was his first speech since exiting the race on July 21, clearing the path for Harris’s candidacy. Meanwhile, Republican candidate Donald Trump criticised Harris at a rally, calling her a “radical left lunatic,” with polls suggesting a close contest between Trump and Harris. Biden’s…

US military detects, intercepts Russian fighter jets, 2 Chinese H-6 bombers prior to Biden’s address Ahead of President Biden’s first address in the Oval Office since announcing he was dropping out of the presidential race, the North American Aerospace Defense Command Public Affairs (NORAD) says it sent out fighter jets to intercept two Russian Tu-95 “Bear” bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers off the coast of Alaska. In a press release, the agency confirmed that it detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian TU-95 and two PRC H-6 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on July…

Paris Olympics 2024 – A quick guide When and where Olympic Games start? The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will officially get underway this Friday evening, July 26, with the traditional opening ceremony. However, rugby sevens, handball and football are scheduled to start before. What time is the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony? The Olympics opening ceremony is expected to begin at 7.30pm in Paris, so 6.30pm UK time. Where can I watch the Olympics in the UK? While lots of coverage will be available for free on BBC and BBC iPlayer, Eurosport has the rights to full Olympic coverage this year.…

Canada Olympic football team sack coaches after using drone to spy on rivals The Canadian women’s football team have sacked two members of staff after they were accused of using a drone to ‘spy’ on New Zealand’s team ahead of the Paris Olympics. On Tuesday, the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) claimed that a drone caught flying over and filming their training camp belonged to a member of Canada’s side. Defending Olympic champions Canada play New Zealand in their opening group game of Paris 2024 on Thursday afternoon. The NZOC, who said they were ‘deeply shocked and disappointed’, reported the…