A News Aggregator That Covers The World's Major Wars And Conflicts. Military, Political, And Intelligence News Are Also Covered. Occasionally We Will Have Our Own Opinions Or Observations To Make.
Ukraine’s presidential office is criticizing FIFA for refusing to show a video message from President Volodymyr Zelensky in Qatar’s Lusail Stadium ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday.
The video, which was recorded in English, is meant to be an “appeal for peace,” Ukraine’s presidential office said in a written statement to CNN on Saturday.
“Qatar supported the President’s initiative, but FIFA blocked the initiative and will not allow the video address of the president to be shown before the final game,” the statement said.
The captain of Iran's national soccer team has renewed his criticism of a ban on female spectators following reports a young Iranian woman set herself alight after being sentenced to prison for trying to attend a men's soccer match.
Masoud Soleimani Shojaei -- who is considered a national hero -- said on September 6 that the ban was the result of "rotten and disgusting thinking."
Women are banned from attending male sporting events in Iran. In past years, only selected groups of women have been allowed into stadiums to watch soccer matches or other men's sporting events.
Devoted female soccer fans have managed to defy the ban on rare occasions by disguising themselves as men.
Russia is through to the World Cup quarterfinals after beating Spain during a penalty shootout at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Russia soaked up long periods of pressure and defended resolutely before sealing the victory, and sending its home capacity crowd into rapture.
Russia has won its round of 16 match against Spain by winning the penalty shootout 4-3 due to two saves by goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, ultimately making it to quarterfinals.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: I have not talked about the World Cup in Russia on this blog (or anywhere else for that matter) for one simple reason .... I love soccer, but because of family responsibilities I have been stuck in Montreal. But I have been given the green-light this evening that if Russia does defeat Croatia in the quarterfinals on July 7 (which I know they will) .... I can go and everything will be taken care of (thank-you GF). And I will certainly go .... much to the chagrin of my cousin's daughter who is baby-sitting my condo in Moscow and will need to leave, but much to the joy of my many friends and other family members who will be happy to see me, and who have already made sure that we will have tickets to see the semi-finals and the final match. Needless to say that if I do go ..... blogging will be sporadic for at least a week.
Flies and mosquitos are running rampant in the Russian city of Volgograd ahead of Monday's World Cup clash between England and Tunisia.
Helicopters have been deployed to spray insecticide on the Volgograd Arena, which will host four games over the course of the tournament.
Volgograd – formerly Stalingrad – sits along the Volga River in the southwest part of the country. The stadium itself is right on the bank of the river, which many fear could mean the bug problem will be even worse than in other parts of the city.
English press and fans have taken to Twitter to voice the seriousness of the problem. The swarms of bugs have caused some broadcasters to cancel live shots and are wreaking havoc in the city's fan zones.
WNU Editor: I have experienced the man-eating black flies and mosquitoes that show-up at this time of year in this part of Russia .... it is no joke. These things eat you alive ... and it is a gazillion times worse outside of the cities. But as bad as it is in Russia .... take it from me .... these flies and mosquitoes are puny to the ones that swarm the Quebec Laurentians and northern Quebec at this time of year. I was once caught in a swarm .... and I literally had to run for my life because to these guys I was prime beef. That is why it is always a relief to see the dragonflies show up. Now these guys are even bigger than the flies and mosquitoes .... and they eat these guys like there is no tomorrow that within a week or two everything returns back to normal. Sighhh .... the cycle of life.
A participant dresses Achilles the cat in Russian colors on Wednesday after predicting a win for Russia against Saudi Arabia in Thursday's opening match. Dylan Martinez/Reuters
An "official oracle" has spoken — or eaten, technically — and predicted victory for Russia.
That was the news from St. Petersburg Wednesday after Achilles the cat picked Russia to win the opening match of the World Cup on Thursday in a game against Saudi Arabia.
He picked between two bowls of cat food, and chose the one marked with the three colors of the Russian flag — "however not without hesitation," according to Russia's state-owned Tass news agency.
* Mass brawl broke out in stadium after Russian fans ripped down English flags and chased hundreds across terraces
* Supporters were seen hurling themselves over railings and frantic parents holding children, as they tried to escape
* UEFA has launched disciplinary proceedings regarding crowd incidents with Russia set to face sterner punishment
* Trouble waged for a third day on streets with police separating supporters with water cannon and tear gas
* An England fan, 51, is fighting for his life in hospital while 35 others have been left needing treatment for injuries
* Northern Ireland fans have also been battling local youths in Nice prior to their match against Poland today
Violence spilled onto the terraces in Marseille as fans brawled with each other in the Stade Vélodrome after England's draw with Russia.
Supporters were seen fighting after the final whistle as Balaclava-clad Russian thugs ripped down English flags and ran after their rivals across rows of seats.
Hundreds of English fans were chased out of the ground by Russian hooligans as ugly scenes marred the opening of the tournament.
Fans hurled themselves over railings and worried parents were seen carrying small children away from the rioting, with stewards - rather than police - left to intervene between scuffles.
UEFA has announced that it will launch an investigation into the crowd incidents, with 2018 World Cup hosts Russia set to face the more serious action action for their part in the violence.
WNU Editor: In the past couple of years we have all read the reports on how violent English soccer fans were. But I was always saying to myself .... wait till they meet Russian soccer fans. After yesterday we now know the answer to that.
More News On Yesterday's Russian - English Soccer Fan Clashes
The leader of Somali’s soccer federation wants to play ball with Al Shabaab.
The Al Qaeda-linked militant group was invited to participate in Somalia's soccer tournament, despite the group's resentment toward the sport and history of bloodshed, including deadly attacks during the 2010 World Cup.
Abdiqani Said Arab, the head of the Somali Football Federation, told BBC News that the militants will be given a chance if they'd like to play.
I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.
