Monday, August 3, 2026
Sudan army drone strike on court session kills 35, rights group says
DARFUR, Sudan
Thirty-five people were killed in a drone strike by the Sudanese army on a traditional court session in the north of the Darfur region, a local rights organisation has said.
Dozens more were reported injured in Sunday afternoon's attack.
The Emergency Lawyers Group, which monitors violence against civilians, said the attack occurred in Ghara al-Zawiya village that is controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The army has not commented.
The RSF holds most of Darfur, in the west of the country, as the two sides continue to fight in the three-year-long civil war that has devastated the country, killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes.
Sunday's "court session was being held under a tree with the participation of local community leaders," a witness is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
Four tribal leaders and two RSF commanders were among those killed in the attack, according to the witness.
The privately owned Darfur 24 website quoted a local resident who said that two drones flew over the town "before launching more than four missiles".
The Emergency Lawyers Group called for an investigation into the drone strike and condemned the targeting of the court saying that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a "grave violation of international humanitarian law".
It also noted that drones are being increasingly used "to target civilian areas and gatherings, which exacerbates the risks faced by the population".
The RSF has also been accused of war crimes including drone attacks on civilians over the past three years.
The paramilitary group's siege and attack on el-Fasher, one of Darfur's main cities, last year bore the "hallmarks of genocide" according to a UN fact-finding mission.
The RSF has denied the accusations.
English FA to drop support for Infantino's re-election
LONDON, England
English Football Association (FA) plans to formally withdraw its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, dealing him a major blow just days after he dropped his bid to sell some of his equity to private investors.
The FA said it will write to FIFA to formally withdraw its support for Gianni's fourth term.
This comes just moments after the Welsh and Finnish Associations had dropped their support for Gianni's candidature.
The British Prime Minister Andy Burnham alsosaid Sunday that FIFA President Gianni Infantino was not the right man to lead world soccer’s governing body in the latest fallout from the now abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
On Saturday, European soccer's governing body UEFA said it had lost confidence in FIFA’s leadership — possibly paving the way for a challenge to Infantino’s presidency. The governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer (CONCACAF) said FIFA leadership had “stopped putting football first.”
Infantino was forced into a backdown over his controversial plans to sell World Cup profits through a commercial subsidiary that would run its top competitions.
Infantino’s plans fell apart after UEFA’s 55-member nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions. CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also said they opposed the plan.
Despite Infantino's climbdown, UEFA said it would work with other confederations to "devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.”
Sunday, August 2, 2026
30 African countries included in permanent visa bond scheme
WASHINGTON, United States
Nationals from 50 countries, including 30 in Africa, will face security deposits of up to 20,000 U.S. dollars when applying for certain business and tourist visas under a permanent visa bond program announced by the United States.
Officials say the measure aims to curb visa overstays, but critics warn it could deter legitimate travelers.
The U.S. Department of State has made permanent a visa bond program requiring certain applicants from 50 countries to post security deposits of up to 20,000 U.S. dollars before receiving a visa.
The rule took effect on August 3, 2026, and applies to applicants seeking B-1 business and B-2 tourist visas. Consular officers may require a bond as a condition for issuing a visa, with the deposit forfeited if the traveler violates the terms of their stay after entering the United States.
The permanent policy expands a pilot program introduced in August 2025.
During the trial, applicants could be asked to pay bonds of 5,000, 10,000 or 15,000 dollars. Under the finalized rule, the lowest tier has been scrapped, while the 10,000- and 15,000-dollar levels remain. A new maximum bond of 20,000 dollars has been introduced.
Thirty of the 50 countries covered by the program are in Africa, including Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The measure means eligible applicants from those countries may be required to provide a refundable financial guarantee before obtaining visas for business or tourism, depending on an assessment by U.S. consular officers.
The State Department said the program is designed to reduce visa overstays, citing results from the pilot phase that it said demonstrated the bond requirement encouraged compliance with U.S. immigration rules.
However, immigration observers and tourism advocates argue the higher deposits could place travel beyond the reach of many prospective visitors, particularly from lower-income countries. They also warn the policy could reduce international tourism and affect businesses in U.S. destinations that rely heavily on foreign travelers.
Five dead, 41 missing, after Indonesia ferry catches fire
SURABAYA, Indonesia
Five people have been found dead and 41 are missing after an Indonesian ferry carrying at least 250 people caught fire while at sea, officials say.
The captain of the ship reported the fire - off Madura island - as the vessel sailed from the country's second-largest city, Surabaya in East Java, to Makassar in South Sulawesi, according to Basarnas, the National Search and Rescue Agency.
Footage played by local Indonesian news outlet iNews shows large numbers of people in life jackets on what appears to be a lifeboat.
Other clips show people climbing down from the ferry that has flames and plumes of smoke coming from the top of the vessel.
Basarnas posted a video to its TikTok, with a statement saying at 08:24 (02:24 GMT) the Surabaya Search and Rescue office received information that passenger ship KMP Mutiara Sentosa 2 was on fire.
"Based on information from the shipping company, the fire occurred at around 06:00-07:00 (00:00-01:00 GMT)."
Later, Basarnas said it got confirmation the ferry "was almost entirely engulfed in flames" as "passengers held on in the ship's bridge and bow while awaiting rescue".
It was unclear how the ferry caught fire, the statement said.
In some of the footage, can be seen jumping into the sea, with crowds of people in life jackets gathering and lifebuoys being thrown to some before they are carried into a rescue ship.
Saturday, August 1, 2026
Trump says he is cancelling strikes on Iran subject to 'rapidly' making deal
WASHINGTON, United States
United States President, Donald Trump says he has cancelled strikes against Iran provided a deal was struck "rapidly" with the country.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote that he had decided to "cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL" - which would include the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to "Iran's nuclear threat".
Trump said the decision had been taken alongside Israel. The announcement came amid US media reports that Washington might have been planning new, intense strikes on Iran over the weekend.
Tehran earlier accused the US of escalating tensions, saying any regional state co-operating with Washington would be "engulfed by the flames of war".
In the post, Trump said the US was "locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II".
But he said he had cancelled the strikes after being "asked" by Iran and other countries in the Middle East to "hold off" on any attack to allow for a deal to be reached.
He appeared to suggest progress towards an agreement had been made, saying that the "perimeters of a deal has been agreed to".
"This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat," he wrote.
Iran has not yet responded to Trump's announcement.
The US government had earlier urged Americans across the Middle East to be alert and ready to leave "should there be escalation" in the region.
"Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions," the security alert said on Saturday.
The US and Israel were planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, multiple sources earlier said.
The plan came up during Trump's cabinet meeting on Friday, sources told CBS News.
During that meeting, Trump was heard saying while reporters were still in the room: "We'll be hitting them [Iranians] very hard. At some point, they're going to say, 'We just can't take it anymore.'"
Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke to Trump on Saturday and "expressed concern" about the potential strikes. Reuters also reported the phone call.
Washington and Tehran have engaged in escalating strikes and counter-strikes since a ceasefire in April aimed at pausing the war fell apart in June.
"Resign or we will vote to oust you" - Uefa tells Gianni Infantino
GENEVA, Switzerland
Gianni Infantino is facing an ultimatum from Uefa: resign or face an emergency no-confidence vote.
It is understood all 55 of Uefa’s member nations would opt to oust Infantino in a vote of no-confidence if he refuses to step down. Uefa can trigger such a vote with just 43 member nations.
European football’s governing body announced a loss of confidence on Saturday morning and has demanded change after Infantino was forced to scrap his £15bn plan to sell a stake in the World Cup.
Uefa’s statement followed widespread opposition and a revolt within Fifa’s ranks that staff are calling “kill the monster”.
The Football Association backed Uefa’s stance, saying: “We fully support Uefa’s position. It is time for a full and robust review of Fifa’s leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently, for the benefit of all 211 member nations and with the long-term stewardship of football at its heart.”
In their statement calling for change at the top of Fifa, Uefa said: “We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.
“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, Uefa will work with its associations and in close co-operation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.
That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.
“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of Fifa’s member associations to elect him as their president in 2016, he said: ‘Of course we have to be transparent. I have been this in the last 15 years of my life in Uefa. You will have to play a part every day in the life of Fifa,’ before telling the assembled stakeholders, ‘The money of Fifa is your money. It’s not the money of the Fifa president. It’s your money. You are the national associations and the money of Fifa has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else.’
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent.
“And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.
“Uefa will begin work immediately with partners and stakeholders all over the world and right across the game to propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing Fifa Forward programme.
“We must start to use some of that money that is sat idle in Fifa’s bank account to deliver the kick start that the grass roots and the wider game need in each of the 211 countries of Fifa. But we don’t need to sell off the family silver to pay for it.
“This is a victory for the whole game. But it must not be the end of the story. The proposal has gone. The task of rebuilding trust in Fifa has only just begun.”
48,000 migrants return to Morocco after massive influx into Spanish enclave
MADRID, Spain
Spanish authorities say 48,000 migrants have returned voluntarily to Morocco after a massive influx of people into Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta sparked a humanitarian crisis.
Some 60,000 people have crossed into Ceuta in the last few days, reigniting the immigration debate across Europe.
Some swam several miles through the sea, defying authorities who tried to turn them back with water cannon, tear gas and warning shots.
At least 57 migrants died on the journey. Those who died include some who drowned or were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier near a border checkpoint.
Spain deployed its armed forces and additional police to restore order in Ceuta, which sits on the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and has been a Spanish possession since 1580.
On the Moroccan side of the border, security forces clashed with migrants. The chaos also had ripple effects abroad, with Italy and France pledging to tighten their controls on people arriving from Spain.
“The situation that Ceuta is going through is absolutely unsustainable,” Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas told journalists.
Meanwhile, migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, Spain’s other territory at the tip of North Africa, where they clashed with police.
During a visit to Ceuta on Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the incident a "violation of Spain's territorial integrity”.
He has deployed the armed forces to bolster security in Ceuta and Melilla.
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