London (BN24) – A National League Cup match between Manchester United’s under-21s and Tamworth was abandoned Wednesday night after United midfielder Sekou Kone suffered a serious head injury.
The incident occurred late in the first half at The Lamb Ground when the 19-year-old collided with an opponent while defending a corner. Kone initially stood up after the impact but quickly returned to the ground, prompting urgent medical attention. He was treated on the pitch for about 15 minutes before being stretchered off and taken out of the stadium.
The match was first suspended as teams awaited a replacement ambulance, but officials later confirmed it would not resume.
Kone, signed from Malian club Guidars FC for about £1 million last year, has yet to make a competitive appearance for Manchester United’s senior team but has featured in pre-season tours and been named on the bench for Premier League fixtures, including against Tottenham, Everton and Nottingham Forest.
Under-21 coach Travis Binnion previously described Kone as a “long-term project” with clear talent, noting the focus on improving his positional discipline and decision-making. The club had been considering a loan move to give the midfielder more first-team experience this season.
United’s U21s remain in Group A of the competition alongside Brackley, Rochdale and Solihull Moors. No further details on Kone’s condition were immediately available.
Tel Aviv, Israel (BN24) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Tuesday that ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations are now centered on a single, comprehensive agreement to secure the release of all remaining hostages, rather than a phased approach. The shift comes amid new mediation efforts by Egypt and Qatar, which, according to Arab officials, could link the release of every captive to a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas stalled last month, but Cairo’s state-run Qahera news channel reported the arrival of a Hamas delegation for renewed discussions — a sign diplomacy remains alive despite 22 months of war. Hamas continues to hold 50 hostages from the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 others. Israel believes around 20 captives remain alive.
In an interview with Israel’s i24 News, Netanyahu was asked whether partial deals were still on the table. “I think it’s behind us,” he said. “I want all of them — the release of all the hostages, both alive and dead. That’s the stage we’re at.” He stressed that Israel’s demands remain unchanged: the return of all hostages and the surrender of Hamas, after which Israel would still maintain security control over Gaza.
Hamas has reiterated that it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, an enduring ceasefire, and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. The group rejects laying down arms, as Israel has demanded.
The United Nations on Tuesday issued a stark warning that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza have reached their worst levels since the war began. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, five people died in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition and starvation, bringing the wartime toll to 222 — including 121 adults and 101 children. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said aid deliveries remain far below what’s needed, with Israeli restrictions continuing to delay food and essential supplies.
Israel’s military, meanwhile, said it struck militants in Gaza disguised as aid workers using a vehicle bearing the World Central Kitchen logo. The army said the men were armed and not affiliated with the charity. World Central Kitchen confirmed no link and condemned the impersonation, saying it endangers civilians and aid workers.
The war, which has killed more than 61,400 Palestinians according to Gaza health officials, has displaced most of the territory’s population and devastated infrastructure. Israel disputes the casualty figures but has not provided its own.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government’s gross national debt has climbed to an unprecedented $37 trillion, according to new Treasury Department figures released Tuesday, underscoring the rapid acceleration of federal borrowing and the mounting cost pressures facing taxpayers.
The milestone arrives years ahead of earlier projections. In January 2020, the Congressional Budget Office forecasted the nation’s debt would not surpass $37 trillion until after fiscal year 2030. But the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic — which shut down large parts of the economy in 2020 — prompted massive federal borrowing under then-President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden to stabilize markets and support recovery efforts.
That trajectory has continued, fueled in part by additional government spending. Earlier this year, Trump signed into law a Republican-backed tax cut and spending package expected to add $4.1 trillion to the debt over the next decade, according to the CBO.
Michael Peterson, chair and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, warned that surging debt drives up interest rates, which “adds costs for everyone and reduces private sector investment.” He noted that within the federal budget, debt “crowds out important priorities and creates a damaging cycle of more borrowing, more interest costs, and even more borrowing.”
Wendy Edelberg, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Congress’s spending and revenue decisions will continue to fuel borrowing well into the coming years. “We’re going to borrow a lot over the course of 2026, we’re going to borrow a lot over the course of 2027, and it’s just going to keep going,” she said.
The Government Accountability Office has outlined several consequences of rising debt for Americans, including higher borrowing costs for mortgages and car loans, slower wage growth, and more expensive goods and services.
Trillion-dollar milestones are arriving at a historically rapid pace. The U.S. hit $34 trillion in January 2024, $35 trillion in July, and $36 trillion in November. Peterson noted that “we are now adding a trillion more to the national debt every five months — more than twice as fast as the average rate over the last 25 years.” At the current pace, the Joint Economic Committee projects another trillion-dollar increase in roughly 173 days.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, urged lawmakers to act swiftly. “Hopefully this milestone is enough to wake up policymakers to the reality that we need to do something, and we need to do it quickly,” she said.
LONDON (BN24) — Former Premier League referee David Coote has been suspended for eight weeks by the Football Association and ordered to complete an education program after making disparaging remarks about former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
The FA announced Tuesday that Coote’s comments, captured in a video that surfaced on social media in November, constituted an aggravated breach of Rule E3.2 because they referenced Klopp’s German nationality. The remarks, dating back to 2020, were described by Coote as “crass and inappropriate,” with the 41-year-old expressing “deep remorse” during the disciplinary process.
Coote was dismissed by Professional Game Match Officials Ltd in December, shortly after the footage emerged. The FA charged him in June, confirming at the time that no further action would be taken over separate gambling misconduct allegations he denied following a full investigation.
His career faced further setbacks in November when a separate video appeared to show him snorting white powder during Euro 2024, prompting UEFA to issue a ban from officiating until June 2026.
Earlier this year, Coote publicly came out as gay, saying that the strain of concealing his sexuality had played a role in past poor decisions.
CHENGDU, China (BN24) — Italian orienteering athlete Mattia Debertolis has died after collapsing during the men’s middle-distance competition at the World Games in China, officials said. He was 29.
Debertolis was found unconscious on Friday and rushed to a hospital, where he received treatment at one of China’s leading medical institutions. Despite what organizers described as “immediate expert medical care,” he died on Aug. 12, 2025, according to a joint statement from the International World Games Association, the local organizing committee and the International Orienteering Federation.
“The World Games family, the LOC and the IOF are struck by this tragedy and extend their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the athlete and the whole orienteering community,” the statement said. Officials pledged to continue supporting his family and the sport’s community.
No cause of death has been released, and officials have not said why the athlete collapsed.
Debertolis, a member of Sweden’s IFK Lidingö orienteering club, had competed in multiple world championships and world cup events. The IOF described him as “not only an elite athlete, but also a highly skilled civil engineer,” noting he was pursuing a PhD at a university in Stockholm.
Orienteering is an outdoor navigation sport in which participants race across unfamiliar terrain using only a map and compass.
MADRID (BN24)— Thousands have been forced from their homes as deadly wildfires rage across southern Europe during a record-breaking heatwave, with firefighters battling relentless blazes in Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Greece.
In Spain, crews worked overnight to contain a fire near Madrid that claimed the life of a man in Tres Cantos, who died in hospital after suffering burns to 98% of his body. Fires were also reported in Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia and Galicia. The interior ministry declared a “pre-emergency,” placing national services on standby, while nearly 1,000 armed forces members joined firefighting efforts. Forecasters warned temperatures could climb to 44°C (112.2°F) in some areas.
In Portugal, more than 700 firefighters were deployed to control a blaze in Trancoso, roughly 217 miles northeast of Lisbon, while smaller fires burned further north. Vila Real mayor Alexandre Favaios, where a fire has been burning for 10 days, said, “We are being cooked alive, this cannot continue.”
Turkey faced multiple wildfires on Tuesday, including one in the northwestern province of Canakkale that forced hundreds to evacuate, temporarily shut Canakkale Airport and closed the Dardanelles Strait to shipping.
In Greece, several villages and a hotel were evacuated on the Ionian Sea islands of Zakynthos and Cephalonia, as well as four other mainland areas. “Winds are strong and the wildfire is out of control,” Zakynthos mayor Yiorgos Stasinopoulos told Greek public broadcaster ERT.
REDCLIFF, Zimbabwe (BN24) — Police say a 40-year-old woman was fatally attacked in Redcliff after rejecting a man’s romantic advances, a killing that has shocked the local community.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirmed that the incident took place on Aug. 10, 2025, at a bar in Mutegude Shops. Two men, Thembinkosi Ndlovu, 22, and Nkosinomusa Moyo, 24, have been arrested in connection with the death of Rosemary Diana.
According to a police statement posted on X, the attack began after Diana refused Moyo’s advances. Investigators allege that Ndlovu struck her repeatedly with a cooking stick while Moyo stabbed her in the back with a knife.
Authorities have launched a full investigation and are appealing to the public for information as they piece together the events leading up to the killing. The incident has sparked outrage and renewed conversations about violence against women in Zimbabwe.
MEXICO CITY (BN24)— Mexico expelled 26 high-ranking drug cartel figures to the United States on Tuesday in the latest major security cooperation deal with the Trump administration, marking the second such mass transfer in recent months as both nations intensify efforts to combat cross-border narcotics trafficking.
mexican president and trump
The cartel leaders and other prominent criminal figures were transported by air from Mexico to American custody on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the operation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing transfer.
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and Security Ministry confirmed the transfers, which were executed following assurances from the U.S. Justice Department that American prosecutors would not pursue death penalty charges in any of the cases. The guarantee represents a standard diplomatic requirement for Mexico, which constitutionally prohibits capital punishment and typically requires such pledges before agreeing to extraditions.
Among those transferred to American custody was Abigael González Valencia, brother-in-law of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, who remains one of the most wanted fugitives by U.S. law enforcement. Valencia had been imprisoned since his February 2015 arrest in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, and had contested extradition proceedings for nearly a decade.
Valencia, alongside his two brothers, commanded “Los Cuinis,” the financial arm that funded the establishment and expansion of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has emerged as one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal organizations. The cartel orchestrates the trafficking of hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States and other international markets, while maintaining operations characterized by extreme violence, systematic murders, torture and widespread corruption of public officials.
The transfers also included Roberto Salazar, who faces charges related to the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The mass expulsion reflects the Trump administration’s elevated focus on dismantling dangerous drug cartels, demonstrated by the recent designation of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and seven other Latin American organized crime groups as foreign terrorist organizations. This classification enables expanded law enforcement tools and sanctions against the criminal networks.
The timing of Tuesday’s transfers carries particular significance as they occurred just days before the scheduled implementation of 25 percent tariffs on Mexican imports. The tariff threat represents part of broader economic pressure tactics employed by the Trump administration to secure enhanced cooperation on border security and drug interdiction efforts.
Late last month, Trump conducted telephone discussions with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, resulting in an agreement to delay previously threatened 30 percent tariffs for an additional 90 days to permit continued bilateral negotiations on security cooperation.
Sheinbaum has demonstrated increased willingness to collaborate on security matters compared to her predecessor, particularly through more aggressive pursuit and prosecution of Mexico’s powerful drug cartels. Her administration has shown greater receptivity to American requests for enhanced law enforcement cooperation and intelligence sharing.
However, the Mexican president has established firm boundaries regarding national sovereignty, explicitly rejecting suggestions from Trump and other American officials regarding potential U.S. military intervention on Mexican territory. Sheinbaum has consistently maintained that while Mexico will cooperate extensively on security matters, it will not accept any compromise of its territorial sovereignty or independent law enforcement operations.
The cartel expulsions represent the second major transfer of high-level criminal figures in recent months, indicating an evolving pattern of enhanced bilateral cooperation under mounting American pressure to address the cross-border flow of illegal narcotics, particularly fentanyl, which has contributed to a devastating overdose crisis in the United States.
The ongoing security partnership reflects both nations’ recognition that effective disruption of powerful drug cartels requires coordinated international law enforcement efforts, even as political tensions persist over broader immigration and trade policies between the neighboring countries.
KYIV, Ukraine (BN24) — Russian forces have achieved a significant breakthrough along the Ukrainian frontline near the coal-mining town of Dobropillia, advancing approximately 10 kilometers in what represents the most dramatic movement on the front this year, Ukrainian and military sources said Tuesday.
The offensive, involving an estimated 100,000 Russian troops in two separate thrusts, occurred just days before scheduled peace talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday. The timing of the advance could provide Putin with enhanced leverage during the critical negotiations.
Ukrainian military officials confirmed that Russian forces pushed forward in multiple sectors near Dobropillia as part of Moscow’s ongoing campaign to capture the entire Donetsk region. Additional advances were reported toward three villages in areas near Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk.
Ukraine’s DeepState monitoring organization warned that the situation had become increasingly volatile along the contested front.
“The situation is quite chaotic, as the enemy, having found gaps in the defence, is infiltrating deeper, trying to quickly consolidate and accumulate forces for further advancement,” the organization stated.
Military sources indicated the assault relied primarily on small sabotage and infantry groups to penetrate Ukrainian defensive positions. The breakthrough represents a significant tactical shift from previous Russian offensive operations in the region.
Ukrainian officials acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, confirming that reinforcements had been dispatched to counter the Russian advance. They reported that some Russian soldiers had been killed or captured during the fighting, though specific casualty figures were not immediately available.
The escalation comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions surrounding the upcoming Trump-Putin meeting. Moscow has accused Britain of attempting to undermine the scheduled peace talks, following comments from British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer questioning Putin’s trustworthiness.
“Peace must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it,” Starmer said Monday, expressing concerns that Ukrainian representatives could be excluded from the negotiations.
When asked about Putin’s reliability as a negotiating partner, Starmer’s official spokesman emphasized Britain’s skeptical stance toward the Russian leader while affirming support for both Ukraine and the U.S. peace initiative.
“Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine,” the spokesman said. “We will obviously support President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations.”
The spokesman stressed the importance of preventing any potential ceasefire from becoming an opportunity for Putin to regroup militarily.
“Any ceasefire cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again,” he said. “So we’re not going to leave it to trust. We’re going to ensure that we’re prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire.”
The Russian advance near Dobropillia marks a notable shift in momentum along a frontline that has remained relatively static for months. Military analysts suggest the timing of the offensive may be strategically calculated to strengthen Putin’s negotiating position ahead of the peace talks.
The breakthrough occurs as international attention focuses on the potential diplomatic resolution to the conflict that has raged for nearly three years. The success of the Russian advance could complicate Ukrainian defensive strategies and influence the parameters of any future peace agreement.
Ukrainian forces have been working to establish new defensive positions to contain the Russian advance while awaiting the arrival of reinforcements. The military situation remains fluid as both sides continue operations in the contested Donetsk region.
The diplomatic implications of the frontline movement extend beyond the immediate military consequences, potentially affecting the balance of power in upcoming negotiations between the world’s major powers.
Russian forces have maintained pressure across multiple sectors of the front as part of their broader objective to secure complete control over the Donetsk region, one of four Ukrainian territories that Moscow claims to have annexed.
The breakthrough near Dobropillia represents the most significant territorial gain by Russian forces in recent months and underscores the continued intensity of fighting despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.
As preparations continue for Friday’s summit, the military developments on the ground are likely to influence the negotiating positions of all parties involved in the peace process.
PORTO, Portugal (BN24) — A 59-year-old man died from accidental asphyxia after his partner stumbled and fell on top of him at their home in Porto, Portuguese authorities said Tuesday.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours in the residential Campanha district on the city’s outskirts when the woman lost her balance while getting out of bed and fell onto her partner, who was lying on the floor nearby.
The woman, described as 60 years old and weighing more than 100 kilograms, became trapped between the bed and wall after the fall, according to Portuguese police. Her screams for help alerted neighbors, who rushed to assist the couple.
Witnesses said it took five men to lift the woman off her partner, but the man was already unconscious by the time emergency responders arrived. Firefighters and paramedics attempted to revive him after he went into cardiac arrest, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
PSP police officers investigated the incident and determined it was an accidental death with no criminal intent involved.
“It’s been categorized as an accidental asphyxia,” said a source close to the investigation. “It’s obviously a very unusual death but there was no criminal intent. It was a stumble by the woman as she got out of bed and tried to move closer to her husband who was lying on the floor that led to what happened.”
The woman’s weight reportedly contributed to her inability to free herself after becoming trapped, according to Portuguese daily Correio da Manha. Local reports described her as obese, though her exact weight was not disclosed.
The man was described by neighbors as having a slight build, which may have contributed to the fatal outcome when his significantly heavier partner fell on top of him.
The couple had lived together in a common-law marriage for several years, according to Portuguese media reports, though they were not formally wed.
Following the tragedy, authorities offered grief counseling to the surviving woman, who has not been publicly identified along with her deceased partner.
The unusual nature of the death prompted a thorough police investigation, but officers concluded the incident was purely accidental. No charges will be filed in connection with the man’s death.
The Campanha district, where the incident occurred, is a residential area located on the outskirts of Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city. Emergency services responded quickly to the scene after receiving reports of the woman’s distressed calls for help.
Portuguese authorities emphasized that such incidents, while tragic, remain extremely rare. The case has been closed following the police investigation that ruled out any possibility of foul play.
The incident highlights the potential dangers of accidents in domestic settings, particularly involving individuals with significant weight differences or mobility challenges.
Local emergency responders praised the quick actions of neighbors who came to the couple’s aid, though their intervention ultimately came too late to save the man’s life.
Portuguese media coverage of the incident has focused on the accidental nature of the death while respecting the privacy of those involved in what authorities describe as a genuinely tragic accident.
The investigation’s conclusion brings closure to what police described as one of the more unusual accidental death cases they have encountered, while emphasizing the importance of home safety awareness for vulnerable individuals.
