Victor Wembanyama’s first career ejection will not have a suspension included, as the NBA decided not to dock the San Antonio Spurs big man for the elbow he threw on Minnesota Timberwolves’ Naz Reid in Game 4 of their Western Conference Semifinals series.
Wembanyama will be available for Game 5 of the series, which is set for Tuesday night, per ESPN.
Wembanyama was originally issued an offensive foul after hitting Reid in the face with his elbow while being double-teamed in the corner after securing a rebound. But video review saw the elbow hit Reid square in his jaw and neck, which sent him to the hardwood.
Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs looks on during the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Target Center on May 10, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.(David Berding/Getty Images)
Officials announced that Wembanyama’s foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 for excessive contact above the neck. As a result, it’s an automatic ejection.
The ejection came with just 8:39 left in the second quarter, which marked the earliest an NBA All-Star had been ejected from a playoff game since 1997-98, per ESPN Research.
Wembanyama, an MVP candidate, can’t be replicated on the court for the Spurs, who eventually lost to the Timberwolves, 114-109, to even up the series at two games apiece heading into Game 5.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson used his postgame press conference to defend the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, specifically the level of physicality Wembanyama gets from opponents during games.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid reacts after an injury during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA second-round playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs in Minneapolis on May 10, 2026.(Abbie Parr/AP)
“Just the amount of physicality that people play with him, at some level, you have to protect yourself,” he said, via ESPN. “Every single play on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose their physicality on you. He’s gotten pushed down in transition, running freely. We don’t complain because we’re just going to play. We don’t really give a s—. But at some stage, he should be protected. If not, he’s going to have to protect himself, and unfortunately, stuff like that happens.
“It’s starting to get disgusting in terms of when he tries to fight through things, be professional and mature and deal with some of that stuff. I’m glad he took matters into his own hands. Not in terms of hitting Naz Reid, but he’s going to have to protect himself if they’re not. And I think it’s disgusting.”
Johnson added that there was “zero intent” on Wembanyama’s elbow to Reid’s face, believing that a Game 5 suspension “would be ridiculous.” But it was always the league’s decision in the end.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama walks across the court after committing a flagrant foul that led to his ejection during the first half of Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis on May 10, 2026.(Abbie Parr/AP)
Ultimately, they decided Johnson’s stance was correct, and Wembanyama will be on the court with his teammates in a pivotal Game 5 as the series returns to San Antonio on Tuesday night.
London freezes assets and travel for those accused of laundering billions and plotting Iranian-backed hostile activity.
Published On 11 May 202611 May 2026
The British government has imposed sanctions on an Iranian-linked network accused of plotting attacks in the UK and elsewhere.
The Foreign Office has issued travel bans, asset freezes and director disqualification orders to nine people and three entities, linked to “Iranian-backed hostile activity”.
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They are accused of plotting attacks and financing efforts to destabilise Britain and its allies on behalf of Iran.
The sanctioned include alleged members and associates of the Zindashti criminal network, accused of threatening, planning or conducting attacks against people and assets in Britain and elsewhere.
Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, the network’s alleged leader, was sanctioned by both Britain and the United States in 2024. Authorities described him at the time as the head of an international drug and trafficking cartel directed by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
The European Union followed with its own designations last year.
London, Washington and Brussels have all accused the network of conducting assassination and kidnapping operations, targeting critics of the Iranian government.
Billions
Others sanctioned by the UK included five members of the Zarringhalam family, who are accused of helping finance destabilisation efforts.
Three of the family were sanctioned by the United States last year for their alleged role in Iran’s shadow banking network. Washington said it laundered billions of dollars through front companies in the UAE and Hong Kong.
Two exchange houses linked to the family’s network, Berelian Exchange and GCM Exchange, were also designated.
Also named are Turkish national Ekrem Oztunc, Namiq Salifov from Azerbaijan and Nihat Abdul Kadir Asan from Iran. All are accused of threatening, planning or conducting attacks in the UK or elsewhere.
The designations are the latest in a series of measures Britain has taken against Iran in recent months. They follow separate sanctions issued in February targeting members of Iran’s security apparatus for violently suppressing widespread pro-reform protests earlier this year.
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punjab vs delhi
– Photo: IANS
Expansion
After the lethal bowling of Mitchell Starc and Madhav Tiwari, Delhi Capitals defeated Punjab Kings by three wickets on the basis of stormy half-century innings of Akshar Patel and David Miller. Punjab, after losing the toss and opting to bat first in the IPL match played in Dharamshala on Monday, scored 210 runs for five wickets in 20 overs with the help of half-centuries from Priyansh Arya (56) and Shreyas Iyer (59*). In reply, Delhi scored 216 runs for seven wickets in 19 overs and won the match. For Punjab, Arshdeep and Yash Thakur took two wickets each while Ben Dwarshuis and Marcus Stoinis took one wicket each.
Donald Trump pledged to suspend the US federal gas tax in a bid to reduce pressure on Americans after the US-Israel war on Iran sparked a sharp rise in fuel prices.
The US president told reporters on Monday that his administration would look to pause the tax “till it’s appropriate”, as drivers count the cost of the surge in oil prices in the two months since US and Israel forces attacked Iran.
The federal gas tax – 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline, and 24.4 cents for diesel – raises about $500m each week for the federal government.
Suspending it is “a great idea”, Trump told CBS News on Monday. “Yup, we’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in.”
He later confirmed the idea during public remarks at the White House, acknowledging the gas tax was a small percentage of the rising costs.
The national average of gasoline prices hit $4.52 per gallon on Monday, nearing its highest levels since 2022, according to AAA – up from $3.14 per gallon a year ago.
The increased fuel costs come amid an affordability crisis in the US, a top concern for voters ahead of this year’s midterm elections as they get squeezed on the prices of everyday goods. People across the country have told the Guardian they are cutting back on basic needs as fuel costs rise.
Suspending the tax requires congressional action. Republican lawmakers immediately said they would introduce bills to suspend the tax. Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, said on X that he was introducing legislation, and Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Texas, said she would introduce a bill in the House of Represenatives on the topic “in light of Trump’s recent remarks”.
“American families need this relief on gas prices,” Luna said. “My office will be working directly with President Trump to ensure we deliver this win for the American people.”
Oil prices have continued to climb since Trump called Iran’s response to US peace proposals “totally unacceptable” over the weekend.
Top oil and gas companies have pulled in big profits as these fuel prices increased. Analysis for the Guardian found that the world’s top 100 oil and gas companies “banked more than $30m every hour in unearned profit in the first month of the US-Israeli war in Iran”.
Medics had to restrain Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi while tending to his bullet wound when the body of his colleague Shireen Abu Akleh arrived at Ibn Sina hospital in the occupied West Bank.
“I managed to look and see Shireen lying next to me. I couldn’t believe the situation. I started screaming, and I tried to get to her. They didn’t let me,” said al-Samoudi as he recounted to Al Jazeera the events of May 11, 2022.
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“But I knew from my experience in field work that it was clear that she had been killed.”
Earlier that day, Israeli soldiers had shot al-Samoudi in the back before firing another bullet that claimed the life of Abu Akleh, a US citizen and veteran Al Jazeera correspondent who was renowned across the Arab world.
Monday marks the fourth anniversary of the killing of Abu Akleh.
Immediately following the shooting, Al Jazeera denounced it as an assassination in “cold blood”. Since then, Israel has killed hundreds of journalists and more than 10 US citizens in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank.
None of the killings, including the Abu Akleh case, led to any arrest or charges.
Advocates say Washington’s failure to ensure accountability for the Al Jazeera correspondent set the stage for greater Israeli abuses against the press.
“The absence of accountability, the absence of justice, the absence of the law and the failure to prosecute the perpetrators of the crime of assassination of Shireen led to these miseries that we are witnessing and the systemic and widespread killing of journalists,” al-Samoudi said.
Israeli police attack mourners as they carry the casket of slain Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in east Jerusalem, May 13, 2022 [File: Maya Levin/AP Photo]
US role
Al-Samoudi argued that the US has a special responsibility to ensure justice for Abu Akleh because the reporter was an American citizen and due to Washington’s close ties to Israel.
The US provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid each year and provides diplomatic cover to its Middle East ally at the United Nations and other international forums.
“If the US had imposed the appropriate measures and sanctions against Israel over the killing of Shireen, it may have saved hundreds of Palestinian journalists and civilians,” al-Samoudi said, calling on US officials to “wake up” and stand against Israeli abuses.
“All this bias, all this support for Israel has proven to be a violation to our right to freedom and to exist as humans,” al-Samoudi said.
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, echoed that assessment.
“The US is the only power that could play a role here. It has levers it chooses not to use,” Zogby told Al Jazeera.
While Israeli officials confirmed in late 2022 that the US opened an investigation into the shooting of Abu Akleh, the probe has not led to any public reports or criminal charges.
Al-Samoudi, one of the few eyewitnesses to the shooting, said he was only interviewed by US officials once, and there was no follow-up.
The Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.
The administration of former President Joe Biden did not confirm the FBI probe, and it has adopted the Israeli narrative that the killing of Abu Akleh was accidental.
Martin Roux, head of the crisis desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said the killing of Abu Akleh sent a message that “Israel would be free to terrorise Palestinian journalists without consequence”.
“This was part of a long series of targeted killings of Palestinian reporters by the Israeli army. Unfortunately, we see not only a lack of accountability and justice but a lack of pressure from Israel’s allies such as the United States,” Roux told Al Jazeera.
What happened that day?
Despite the Israeli assertions that the shooting was not deliberate, al-Samoudi – who was working for Al Jazeera at that time – has stressed that he is certain that he and Abu Akleh were targeted.
The two Al Jazeera journalists had arrived at the western edge of the Jenin refugee camp along with other reporters that morning, where the Israeli military was carrying out a raid.
A row of Israeli military vehicles was parked up on a side street. The journalists were in clearly marked press gear.
“We entered the street. There were no [Palestinian] fighters. There were no clashes of any kind near us. There weren’t even any stone throwers. We were also far from Palestinian civilians who were behind us,” al-Samoudi said.
“As journalists, we were alone. We were looking at the Israeli army to get close to them to find a safe spot for coverage.”
Then the first shot rang. Al-Samoudi, who was at the front, turned around to alert Abu Akleh that Israeli soldiers were firing.
“I was telling her, ‘Let’s go back; it looks like they’re shooting towards us.’ As soon as I finished my sentence, I felt like something struck me. I put my hand on my back and found blood,” he said.
“Turning around made the bullet hit my back. The soldiers likely wanted to shoot me in the chest.”
According to al-Samoudi, Abu Akleh’s final words were, “Ali got injured”.
“The sniper who fired kept firing. I ran away. I was bleeding heavily. Shireen retreated and stood by a wall,” al-Samoudi said.
“I was running back to get to a hospital, so I didn’t look, or else I would have seen her getting shot. I got into a civilian car and told the driver to take me to the hospital, and we drove to Ibn Sina hospital, which was about 500 metres away.”
The journalists were visible and did not pose a threat to Israeli forces, al-Samoudi said, adding that there was no warning before the shooting.
“If they had told us to leave, we would have left,” he said.
Al-Samoudi highlighted that Abu Akleh was shot in the neck in a small, exposed area between her helmet and protective jacket.
“This was not an accident or a coincidence,” he said.
The killing of Abu Akleh came at a time when Israel was stepping up its deadly raids in the West Bank, with the government of then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pushing to portray itself as uncompromising against Palestinians amid criticism from the right.
Before the genocidal war on Gaza that broke out in October 2023, the UN declared 2022 the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in 16 years.
Al-Samoudi said the killing of Abu Akleh was a “targeted attack” aimed at Al Jazeera for its coverage of the Israeli assaults in the West Bank, particularly in Jenin.
“They didn’t want us to be there. There was an Israeli plan to commit more crimes against Palestinians,” he said.
“They didn’t want any eyewitnesses. They didn’t want any documentation. They didn’t want anyone to expose these Israeli abuses.”
‘Obfuscating’
After Abu Akleh was killed, Bennett falsely claimed that the correspondent was shot by Palestinian fighters, sharing a video of clashes that were streets away from the site of the shooting.
When that narrative collapsed, Israel said it opened an investigation into the incident.
In September of that year, the Israeli military said there was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh was “accidentally hit” by Israeli fire.
The conclusion was at odds with the accounts of eyewitnesses and the investigations of several media outlets that found that Abu Akleh was targeted.
“Israel’s response to her killing set a template of denying, lying and obfuscating. First they say they didn’t do it. Then they say that somebody else did it. And finally, they say that they’ll look into it,” Zogby said.
“It’s a way to avoid accountability that Israel has used as a tried-and-true practice for all sorts of crimes. And because it worked, it creates a sense of impunity. Israel believes they can get away with it.”
He added that the US was “adopting the Israeli game plan” in dealing with the killing.
“Part of the process of obfuscation came from the US. They started an investigation and four years later there are still no answers. It is a means of shielding Israel through delay,” he said.
Over the past year, the US and Israel have also responded to the killing of other US citizens by Israeli soldiers and settlers with investigations that have not led to any charges.
For example, last year, US ambassador Mike Huckabee called on Israel to “aggressively investigate” the killing of 20-year-old American citizen Sayfollah Musallet, who was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank.
But 10 months later, there are still no criminal charges in the case.
Omar Shakir, executive director at DAWN, said the rights group has documented at least 14 US citizens killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 2003, but none of the perpetrators has been held accountable.
“When the United States failed to impose consequences on Israel for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, it sent a clear message: American lives do not matter when Israel kills them,” Shakir told Al Jazeera. “That climate of impunity has had deadly consequences.”
A photo of Shireen Abu Akleh displayed at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, May 11 [File: Ali Harb/Al Jazeera]
‘The coverage continues’
Over the past four years, Israel has become the top killer of journalists in the world, according to press freedom groups.
In many instances, the Israeli military has been documenting and sharing footage of assassinations of journalists, baselessly claiming that they belonged to Palestinian or Lebanese armed groups.
Israeli attacks have killed several Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, including prominent TV correspondents Ismail al-Ghoul and Anas al-Sharif.
In the West Bank, press freedom has also been under attack by Israel. Al-Samoudi was only released earlier this month after spending a year in Israeli administrative detention, where he endured abuse and lost a significant amount of weight.
Al-Samoudi said, in addition to the existing challenges, journalists in the West Bank are facing the growing threat of violent settlers, backed by the Israeli military.
“There are assaults against journalists. There are restrictions on their movement. There are brutal attacks and injuries,” he said.
In one of his first executive orders after returning to the White House last year, Trump lifted US sanctions against far-right Israeli settlers accused of carrying out and encouraging attacks against Palestinian civilians.
Al-Samoudi also underscored the growing trend of detaining journalists without a charge to which he himself has fallen victim.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, more than 40 Palestinian journalists remain in Israeli prisons.
“They want to stop us from doing our work, especially that we are the friends and colleagues of Shireen. We have said, and we will continue to say, ‘the coverage continues.’ Shireen Abu Akleh’s voice will not be silenced,” al-Samoudi said.
Al-Samoudi hailed Abu Akleh, stressing that her legacy will endure for generations.
“Shireen represented a comprehensive school in journalism, in humanity, in morality, in superior ideals. She was committed to fulfilling her mission with professionalism. Her coverage of the news was not ordinary or traditional,” he said.
“She was able to analyse, describe and report on any situation with sophistication, which granted her an elevated status that allowed her to get closer to the people and earn the respect of everyone. Generations will learn from her. Shireen Abu Akleh is the Palestinian flame that will never be extinguished.”
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As health officials track the hantavirus outbreak that began on the MV Hondius cruise ship, attention is turning to the Andes virus, a rare strain from South America that is causing concern.
The virus stemming from the cruise ship, which has caused around eight cases and three deaths as of May 11, was identified by the World Health Organization as the Andes strain.
Unlike most forms of hantavirus, which spread from rodents to humans, Andes is the only strain that is able to transmit from person to person, heightening fears about how outbreaks could unfold under the right conditions.
“The Andes strain has been increasing recently as rodents migrate north toward Buenos Aires in hot, wet climate conditions,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital. “It is predominately a rodent virus – current sequencing shows no mutations so far.”
As health officials track the hantavirus outbreak that began on the MV Hondius cruise ship, attention is turning to the Andes virus, a rare strain from South America that is causing concern.(iStock)
The virus is endemic primarily in Argentina, Chile and parts of southern South America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is primarily carried by a wild rodent species known as the long-tailed pygmy rice rat.
HPS is a rare but severe respiratory disease that mainly affects the lungs, causing fluid buildup that makes it hard to breathe. It can quickly become life-threatening, with 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms dying from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Passengers disembark from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on May 10, 2026.(Manu Fernandez/AP)
Early symptoms of HPS can include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, with about half of all patients also experiencing headaches, dizziness, chills and abdominal problems, like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, per the CDC.
While the Andes virus does have the capability to spread person to person, Siegel noted that studies show it is still rare.
“There is currently no treatment or vaccine,” the doctor noted. “The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases is working on monoclonal antibodies, and an MRNA vaccine is in the works.”
HPS is a rare but severe respiratory disease that mainly affects the lungs, causing fluid buildup that makes it hard to breathe.(iStock)
Patients with the virus typically receive supportive care, including rest, hydration and medications to manage symptoms.
Health experts have shared that the Andes virus appears to spread much less efficiently than more contagious viruses like measles, influenza and COVID.
“Andes virus testing is limited to people who have relevant symptoms and exposure history,” the agency wrote. “If you think you had contact with a person with Andes virus and are experiencing symptoms, contact a medical professional or your state or local health department immediately.”
Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.
For football fans, the majority of the build-up to the FIFA World Cup has centred on disappointment and shock more than excitement and delight.
Faced with wide-ranging issues – from expensive match tickets to logistical concerns – fans have directed their criticism towards the sport’s global governing body and local organisers in the three host nations: Canada, Mexico and the United States.
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Political tensions have also been a major talking point, following US-Israel attacks on Iran that led to a regional conflict with global ramifications. The war has repeatedly raised questions about the US hosting Iran’s games, but FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has confirmed that Iran’s Team Melli will play. However, Iranian officials have asked the World Cup hosts to address their concerns.
For fans attending the tournament, which begins on June 11 and concludes on July 19, or watching the 104 matches from across the globe, these are some key talking points:
Free fan festivals bring respite
After spending nearly six months expressing their outrage at “extortionate” prices for World Cup match tickets, local fans rushed to book their spots at the tournament’s official fan festivals in host cities.
While an unregulated resale market and dynamic pricing in the US allowed some tickets for the World Cup final to be priced as high as $2m apiece – drawing sharp criticism from fans, politicians and football experts – the decision by some host cities to offer free-of-charge entry to fan festivals proved to be an instant hit.
Local festivals will offer fans a chance to enjoy match screenings in a vibrant setting, with access to food, drinks – and, at some venues, free musical performances – in comparison to exorbitantly priced match tickets and inflated commuter fares to venues.
In Toronto, the first batch of tickets to the official fan festival sold out within four hours. The next 220,000 free general admission tickets will be released on Friday, according to tournament officials in the city.
Meanwhile, in New York City, all five boroughs will host free fan zones after the city’s football-enthusiast mayor, Zohran Mamdani, announced that fans should not be asked to pay for such events.
In the neighbouring US state of New Jersey, a selection of games will be shown at the Sports Illustrated Stadium, with tickets costing $10.
The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, renamed the New York New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup, will host the tournament final on July 19.
Atlanta, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Mexico City and Vancouver are among other host cities offering free general admission to fan festivals.
Los Angeles is charging $10 for admission to its official fan festival at the LA Memorial Coliseum, while free “fan zones” will be set up across local communities in Los Angeles County, home to several diaspora communities from World Cup participant nations.
One last World Cup for Panini sticker enthusiasts
A World Cup staple nearing its swan song is the Panini sticker book – a decades-old obsession for thousands of football fans, who engage in buying and trading stickers in a race to complete the album lined with stickers of top players.
The beloved sticker-trading tradition, with costs ranging from $1.50 to thousands of US dollars for sought-after pieces, is in full swing after the Italian company Panini released this year’s sticker book late in April.
With 48 nations heading for the tournament in June and July – the largest edition ever – 980 unique stickers, including 68 “special” ones, will be required to fill the 112-page album that will be available from Thursday.
The multigenerational fan-favourite hobby has evolved since its inception in 1970, with trading moving to WhatsApp groups, using the hashtag “Got, Got, Need” on social media, and with meet-ups in public spaces to trade Panini stickers.
For many children, completing the album is an even more cherished goal than their national team winning the World Cup, and parents, eager to please them, take over to help them meet the challenge.
A viral social media video recently showed Brazil star Marquinho’s children squealing with delight as young Spanish star Lamine Yamal emerged as one of seven cards from their Panini sticker pack.
FIFA’s ‘host city’ collectible shirts censured
Last week, FIFA released limited-edition collectible football shirts for each host city for a price of $375, a staggering amount that can compete with the expensive match tickets and commuter fares, leaving fans disappointed but not too surprised.
Football followers have taken to social media to criticise FIFA and accuse the sport’s global governing body of trying to profit from the World Cup more than caring about the fan experience.
Each one of the 16 host cities has its own shirt and, in a marketing ploy, only 999 shirts are available per city.
None of the four US shirts released last week – in Kansas City, Boston, Seattle, and New York-New Jersey – have sold out yet.
The flamboyant colours and graphics don’t seem to be everyone’s cup of tea, with one social media user asking to be paid to wear the shirt instead of spending money on buying it. However, there are some who consider them a piece of memorabilia.
How will we watch the World Cup, ask fans in India and China
Millions of football fans in the world’s two most populous nations may not be able to watch the World Cup due to a deadlock over broadcast rights in India and no official decision on the airing of the tournament in China.
There has been no deal announcement in China, which FIFA says accounted for 49.8 percent of all hours of viewing on digital and social platforms globally during the 2022 World Cup, as well as in India.
FIFA has concluded agreements with broadcasters in at least 175 territories globally, but it is unusual to not have a confirmed agreement in India and China with one month to go before the World Cup.
Some social media users seemed unfazed by a potential broadcast blackout, citing illegal streaming websites as their saviours, while others have cited the timing of the fixtures – some of which will kick off way past midnight in Asia – as a good enough reason to not watch the tournament.
Three opening ceremonies, plenty of talking points
Another first at this year’s World Cup will be its three opening ceremonies in each host nation instead of one mega event.
Mexico City will inaugurate the tournament with its opening ceremony on June 11, hours before the hosts take on South Africa. The performance will showcase international music artists such as Alejandro Fernandez, J Balvin and Tyla, and fans will have “an active role to play in the show”, according to FIFA.
American singer Katy Perry will perform in the US edition, while Canadian icons Alanis Morissette and Michael Buble will headline the opening ceremony in their home country.
South Korea’s Lisa is set to become the first female K-pop artist to perform at the World Cup opening ceremony – following in the footsteps of her male compatriot Jung Kook, who lit up the Qatar 2022 curtain-raiser with his tournament anthem, Believers.
Colombian pop icon Shakira, whose World Cup song Waka Waka became a global hit in 2010 and shone the limelight on pre-tournament performances, has unveiled a song – titled Dai Dai – for the 2026 tournament. But she has not been named among the opening ceremony performers.
Billy Bob Thornton believes there’s a time and a place for celebrity activism.
During an appearance on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast, the “Landman” actor, 70, explained why he’s never been one to use his Hollywood platform to force political or personal beliefs on others.
“I don’t know anything about politics,” Thornton said. “I have no idea. And the stuff that I do believe, I don’t want to force it down somebody else’s throat because I’m not an expert on that.”
Billy Bob Thornton pushed back on celebrity activism in Hollywood.(Matei Horvath/Getty Images)
“I’m not really big on like at awards shows all of a sudden you start talking about saving the badgers and stuff. Like Ricky Gervais said, you know, it’s like get your little award and f— off, you know?”
This isn’t the first time Thornton has been vocal about his disdain for celebrity activism.
During an interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in November, Thornton shared he doesn’t really “care about awards anymore,” saying he’s “got plenty of them” and won most of them “under the wire, when awards were kind of real still.”
“I’ve won a couple recently,” he said. “But these days I just look at it as like, ‘Oh, OK, we’re gonna go over here and, you know, have some dry chicken breast and green beans, you know, and we’ll listen to people get up there and pontificate about how awesome they are.'”
Thornton said there’s a time and place to share your personal beliefs, and award shows are not one of them.(Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Thornton said “there’s a time and place for [activism]” and during award shows, “you should just stick to what it is.”
“Don’t go up there and talk about saving the badgers in Wisconsin or something, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “And people would argue and say, ‘Well, no, because I have a voice and because everybody knows me. This is a great platform for me to put this out there.'”
“Well, how about this? If you have a billion dollars, and you want to save the badgers, f—ing save them,” he added. “I mean, you got plenty of money to save the badgers, trust me. That is not, that’s barely gonna cut into your budget.”
Last year, the actor opened up about the challenges he faced as a rising actor in Hollywood years ago.
Billy Bob Thornton thinks Hollywood is prejudiced toward people from southern states.(Getty Images)
While appearing alongside his “Landman” co-star Sam Elliott in a joint interview with Fox News Digital, the Arkansas native shared his view that there was a “certain prejudice” when he first arrived on the scene in Los Angeles.
“It certainly makes you, at least for a period of time, stay in your wheelhouse,” Thornton said. “A guy from the Bronx can play a guy from Mississippi in the movies, I’ve found over the years. But a guy from Mississippi can’t really play a guy from the Bronx.”
“There was a certain prejudice with southern actors for a long time,” he continued. “I don’t know, I actually did an audition once for a student film, and they told me I wasn’t southern enough.”
Thornton has been open about his disdain for celebrity activism in the past.(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+)
“It was about a guy from Alabama just off the turnip truck in California,” Thornton added. “And I said, ‘Well, I am just off the turnip truck from Arkansas.’ And it’s like, ‘What do you mean?’ And what they were looking for was that Foghorn Leghorn [accent], you know, the rooster on the cartoon. That’s the accent they were looking for, and I never really heard that. I grew up down there.”
Thornton later noted that while he initially struggled, he could later have his pick of roles after he rose to fame and established himself as a bankable actor.
“Here’s what it is,” he said. “Once you’re successful, I could walk into Universal Studios and say, ‘I wanna play Bette Davis.’ And they go, ‘Oh, that sounds like a good idea.’ And then when I was coming up, I couldn’t get a part as a hillbilly.”
Fox News Digital’s Larry Fink and Ashley Hume contributed to this post.
Senator Ronald Dela Rosa has evaded a drug war warrant against him.
Published On 11 May 202611 May 2026
A senator from the Philippines has taken refuge inside the country’s parliament after the International Criminal Court unsealed an arrest warrant regarding his role in the Philippines’ deadly drug war.
Ronald Dela Rosa was pictured by local media fleeing into the Senate building on Monday, as police sought to detain him.
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The warrant, which had been held under seal since November, was spurred by the former police chief’s role in ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs, which prosecutors say killed tens of thousands during his time in office in 2016-2022.
The ICC confirmed on Monday evening that the warrant had been issued confidentially on November 6. It charges Dela Rosa as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the “crime against humanity of murder”.
The former police chief is accused of responsibility for killings carried out between July 2016 and April 2018.
Fleeing
Duterte is accused of having created, funded and armed death squads to kill suspected narcotics dealers and users during his time as president.
The former head of state was arrested and taken to The Hague by the ICC in March 2025. Charges of crimes against humanity were confirmed in April this year.
The ICC has named eight co-perpetrators in the case, including Dela Rosa, who ran the Philippine National Police during the height of the drug war, and oversaw operations that human rights groups say killed tens of thousands.
Ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte puts a hat on then-Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa [Noel Celis/AFP]
Rumours of an impending warrant in November had seen Dela Rosa vanish from public life. However, he resurfaced on Monday to cast the deciding vote in a Senate leadership coup by Duterte ally Alan Peter Cayetano.
However, on arrival at the parliament, he found National Bureau of Investigation agents in wait, and local media video showed him fleeing through the chamber’s corridors.
Cayetano quickly placed the Senate on “lockdown” and told reporters he would only honour an arrest order made by a Philippine court.
Later on Monday, Dela Rosa went live on Facebook to appeal for support.
“They want to fly me to The Hague,” he said. “I became Philippine National Police chief to work, then this is what they will do to me?”
