Author Archives: TARIQ ABDULLAH

PTI Supporters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) listen to speeches by deposed leader Ozgur Ozel during a rally in Izmir, Turkey, on Tuesday. Riot police used water cannons on Tuesday to prevent people from gathering to hear a speech by the deposed leader. Ozel and the core leadership of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, were removed from their posts on Thursday by a court order that many people consider to be politically motivated.

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, May 26: Meghalaya’s ambitious push to strengthen its sporting infrastructure gathered momentum on Tuesday as the Committee on Government Assurances of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly reviewed progress at three major projects, including the under-construction Mawkhannu Football Stadium, the indoor stadium at Umsawli and the Water Sports Centre at Umtham.

The inspection team, led by Committee Chairman Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar, visited the sites in East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts to assess the pace of work and overall development of the facilities, which are expected to play a key role in boosting football and adventure sports in the state.

The biggest attraction remains the football-specific stadium at Mawkhannu in New Shillong. Once completed, the 40,000-capacity venue is expected to become one of the largest football stadiums in the country and a major landmark for the sport in the Northeast. Officials informed that the project, being implemented by KPC Projects Limited, is scheduled for completion by the latter part of 2028 in accordance with the tender agreement.

Members of the committee expressed satisfaction over the ongoing construction work and said the project reflects Meghalaya’s growing sporting ambitions. Tongkhar described the stadium as a matter of pride for the state and said the infrastructure being developed could significantly strengthen Meghalaya’s position as an emerging football hub in India. Apart from the football stadium, the committee also inspected the Water Sports Centre at Umtham in Ri-Bhoi district, where a dedicated canoe slalom course is being developed. Spread across 14 acres and estimated to cost around Rs 21 crore, the facility is expected to serve both as a national-level training centre and as a boost for adventure sports tourism in the state.

Umtham has steadily gained attention in recent years for activities such as river canoeing, kayaking and rafting, and the upcoming infrastructure is likely to further establish the area as a key destination for whitewater sports in the Northeast.

The delegation also reviewed the indoor sports infrastructure at Umsawli and noted the rapid pace of development in New Shillong, particularly in terms of connectivity and supporting infrastructure around the upcoming sports venues.

PTI: Israeli settler parents travel with their baby on camels in the Judean Desert near the settlement of Kochav Hashachar, in the West Bank, on Monday.

(PTI)

BEIJING, May 26: China on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to the Quad, saying it was opposed to the formation of exclusive groupings and engaging in bloc confrontation.

“China has stated its position on Quad on multiple occasions,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here when asked to comment on the grouping’s new measures to boost maritime surveillance in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace, stability and prosperity, and not target any third party. We oppose forming exclusive groupings or engaging in bloc confrontation,” she said.

The Quad comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia.

At a meeting of its foreign ministers in Delhi on Tuesday, the Quad unveiled new measures to boost maritime surveillance and port infra- structure across the Indo- Pacific against the backdrop of China’s growing military posturing in the region.

The Quad grouping also expanded cooperation in critical minerals and energy.

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, May 26: Rymbai Shkenshynriah SC joined Langsning FC from Group B in the semifinals of the 5th Meghalaya State League after the conclusion of the last quarterfinal league stage matches at the SSA Stadium here on Tuesday.

Group A winners Non-gkseh SSCC and runners-up Shillong Lajong FC also qualified for the semis, which will be played on 29 and 30 May. The final of the mega league, which is an initiative of the Meghalaya Football Association with the support of the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, will be held on 4 June.

Shkenshynriah just need-ed a draw to qualify for the last-four and reach their second consecutive MSL semifinal but came through as 5-2 winners over Nang-kiew Irat SC. All seven goals were scored in the second half, with Iaishah Bareh (56′), Hesmiki Rymbai (69′, 90’+3), Niponghi Sumer (77′) and Harita Suchen (90’+4) scoring for Shken-shynriah and Brolington Warlarpih (58′) and Justerwell Tham (81′) for Nang-kiew.

The team from East Jaintia Hills betrayed a few nerves at the start but also wanted to score early in order to put Nangkiew Irat under pressure. However, the first half was without a goal from either side but the game came alive in the second 45 minutes with Iaishah dinking the ball past Emerald Dan in the Nangkiew goal before outrunning the goalkeeper and scoring. Nangkiew lev-elled immediately, however, when a Wallamsuk Nong-khlaw shot took a deflection off team mate Brolington for the equaliser.

Rymbai Shkenshynriah (in white-blue), Nangkiew Irat (in red) players in action.

Hesmiki restored Shken-shynriah’s lead, slamming the ball into the top part of the net, and Niponghi made it 3-1 with an excellent free-kick from the edge of the box. Justerwell ensured that Nangkiew were still in the game after he reduced the margin with just under 10 minutes of regulation time still to play but his team were vulnerable at the back and Shkenshynriah scored twice in stoppage time to the great delight of their fans. Shkenshynriah thus finished with 12 points and Nangkiew came third with 9.

In the earlier game, Lang-sning confirmed first place in the group with a 2-0 win against bottom side Maram FC. Donlad Diengdoh (41′) and Nelson Rymbai (48′) secured victory with a goal each on either side of half time.

Langsning moved to the semifinals with five wins and one defeat, which gave them 15 points, the most of any team in either of the two quarterfinal groups. For Maram, this was their sixth loss but competing in this statewide league with the best teams from around Meghalaya should give them plenty of positives as they begin their defence of their Tura Super Division title shortly.

Both semifinals have been scheduled for 6pm on their respective days at the SSA Stadium. In the first, Nongk-seh will face Rymbai Shken-shynriah on 29 May followed by Langsning against Lajong the following day.

(AP) BUENOS AIRES, May 26: Argentina forward Julian Alvarez has said the reigning world champions will head into the FIFA World Cup 2026 with the same winning mentality that guided them to glory in Qatar, insisting that the Albiceleste always aim to finish as champions.

Alvarez, who emerged as one of Argentina’s break-out stars during the 2022 World Cup campaign, reflected on how dramatically his role in the national team has evolved over the past four years. The 26-year-old travelled to Qatar largely as a back-up option be-hind Lautaro Martinez, who had been instru-mental in Argenti-na’s Copa America tri-umph in 2021. However, after making substitute ap-pearances against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, Alvarez earned a start-ing place in the final group-stage match against Poland and never relin-quished it.Now one of Scaloni’s most trusted players, Alvarez heads into the tournament as an estab-lished starter and one of the central figures in Ar-gentina’s attack alongside Lautaro Martinez.

India face Jamaica challenge

(PTI)

LONDON, May 26: The Indian men’s national team will return to English soil after 24 years as they take on Jamaica in the Unity Cup 2026 semi-final at The Valley here on Wednesday.

UNITY CUP INDIA VS JAMAICA Starts at 12:00 AM IST

India’s return to the United Kingdom brings with it both nostalgia and opportunity. The last time the Blue Tigers played in the UK was in 2002, also against Jamaica, when the sides met twice in friendly matches in Watford and Wolverhampton.

Now, more than two decades later, India arrive in London under head coach Khalid Jamil, with the tour-nament offering an early opportunity to test them-selves against higher-ranked opposition from the opposite ends of the globe.

The four-nation tourna-ment features India, Jamaica, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The latter two will meet in the first semi-final on Tuesday night. The winners of the semi-finals will advance to the final on May 30, while the remaining teams will contest the third-place play-off on the same day.

“We have selected players who performed well in the ISL,” said Jamil in the press conference on Monday.

“Based on that, we will continue to build the team. Whoever performs well gets selected.” With the Indian Super League season having concluded only a few days ago, with East Bengal FC being crowned champions, the squad arrives in com-petitive rhythm and physical readiness.

Jamil has consistently stressed merit and form as the basis of selection, and the Unity Cup now presents an opportunity for several play-ers to establish themselves internationally.

The Blue Tigers, on Mon-day, arrived in the British capital with 17 players after the withdrawal of Mohun Bagan SG players. Goal-keeper Hrithik Tiwari joined a day later, while Jamil has also called up midfielder Macarton Nickson and de-fender Nikhil Barla, who reached the camp on Tues-day.

Forward Edmund La-irindika iterated that the tournament represents both exposure and an important benchmark for the team’s progress. “This is a very good exposure for us and a great experience. It is an opportu-nity to test ourselves against higher-ranked teams. We will try our best to get posi-tive results,” said Lalrindika. India, ranked 136th, enter the contest as underdogs against a 71st-ranked Jamaica side that came within a game of qualifying for the World Cup. The Reggae Boyz lost to DR Congo in the qualify-ing play-offs in March. Yet Jamil has made it clear that the challenge itself is pre-cisely why the tournament matters. “It is very good for us to be here and play in this tournament. Jamaica are definitely a stronger team, but we will try our best to do well. It is important for us to make a good start,” said Jamil, who himself toured England with the national team in 2000 and 2001.

Jamaica arrive with one of the youngest squads in the competition, carrying an average age of 22.8 years. Head coach Rudolph Speid explained that several se-nior players were rested after long club seasons, but expressed confidence in the group assembled for the tournament, which contains 11 players plying their trade in England.

Some experienced names in the Jamaican squad in-clude captain and defender Damion Lowe, right-back Dexter Lembikisa, defender Joel Latibeaudiere, who won the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup in India while represent-ing England, and midfielder Isaac Hayden.

(Agencies)

ZURICH, May 26: FIFA will introduce a special “concussion substitution” rule at the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, marking the first time the tournament will feature a dedicated emergency replacement for players suffering head injuries during matches.

Under the new regulation, teams will be allowed to make an additional substitution if a player is suspected of sustaining a concussion or serious head injury. The change will not count towards the standard limit of five tactical substitutions permitted during a game.

The move has been widely welcomed as an important step towards improving player safety and ensuring quicker medical intervention during high-intensity matches.

Medical teams and match officials are expected to closely monitor head injury incidents.

GOALKEEPERS: Maxime Crepeau (Orlando City), Owen Goodman (Barnsley), Dayne St. Clair (Inter Miami).

DEFENDERS: Zorhan Bassong (Sporting Kansas City), Moise Bombito (Nice), Derek Cornelius (Rangers), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Luc de Fougerolles (Dender EH), Alistair Johnston (Celtic), Alfie Jones (Middlesbrough), Jamie Knight-Lebel (Swindon Town), Richie Laryea (Toronto), Ralph Priso (Vancouver Whitecaps), Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split), Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire).

MIDFIELDERS: Ali Ahmed (Norwich City), Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal), Mathieu Choiniere (LAFC), Stephen Eustaquio (LAFC), Marcelo Flores (Tigres UANL), Ismael Kone (Sassuolo), Liam Millar (Hull City), Jayden Nelson (Austin), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto), Nathan-Dylan Saliba (Anderlecht), Jacob Shaffelburg (LAFC).

FORWARDS: Jonathan David (Juventus), Promise David (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise), Daniel Jebbison (Preston North End), Cyle Larin (Southampton), Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal), Jacen Russell-Rowe (Toulouse).

Rongdal Kide and a goal