UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) has fined Benfica 40,000 euros ($46,000) for racist abuse by fans during a Champions League match against Real Madrid. The fine was imposed for "illicit chants and gestures by two supporters" at the February 17 game in Lisbon, UEFA announced on Wednesday.
US Representative Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi expressing concerns over newly disclosed records related to classified documents that former President Donald Trump retained after leaving office. Raskin argued that the revelations suggest Trump may have stolen documents so sensitive that only six people in the entire US government had access to them. He added that other disclosures indicate Trump could have kept classified documents pertinent to his business interests and potentially showed a classified map to passengers on a private plane, raising alarms about national security risks.
A jury in Los Angeles, California, has found Alphabet's Google and Meta liable for the addictive design of their social media platforms, ordering them to pay $3 million in damages. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday after over 40 hours of deliberation across nine days, following a trial that began more than a month ago with opening statements.
Leading European populist and far-right figures gathered in Budapest for a "Patriots' Grand Assembly" to support Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's re-election campaign. Despite the presence of prominent leaders such as Geert Wilders of the Netherlands, Marine Le Pen of France, and Santiago Abascal of Spain, the event drew only around 2,000 attendees, predominantly elderly supporters of Orban's Fidesz party. Speakers lavished praise on Orban, calling him a "lion" and a "true hero," but this failed to mask the mounting challenges he faces ahead of the April 12 parliamentary election.
Former TODAY show co-host Savannah Guthrie has given her first interview about her family's "agony" following the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, 84, who has been missing since February 1 after being last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona. Police have released images of a masked person captured by security cameras, but investigative leads have so far not yielded concrete results.
A regional branch of Germany's Left Party in Lower Saxony has adopted a resolution rejecting "the Zionism that actually exists today," sparking intense debate over whether it denies Israel's right to exist. The controversial text, titled "The Left Party in Lower Saxony rejects the Zionism that actually exists today," blurs the line between antisemitic rhetoric and legitimate criticism of Israeli policies, according to experts. This move comes amid ongoing tensions over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and internal party divisions.
A Los Angeles jury has delivered a historic verdict in favor of a young woman who sued Meta and Google over her childhood addiction to social media, finding that the companies intentionally built addictive platforms that harmed the mental health of 20-year-old Kaley. This outcome is likely to influence hundreds of similar cases currently proceeding through US courts, highlighting growing legal scrutiny over tech giants' practices.
The United Nations General Assembly has voted to recognise the slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity", a resolution proposed by Ghana that calls on UN member states to consider apologising for the slave trade and contributing to a reparations fund. The resolution does not specify a monetary amount. It was adopted with 123 votes in favour, three against – from the US, Israeli, and Argentine regimes – and 52 abstentions, including the UK regime and European Union member states.
US Republican Congressman Thomas Massie from Kentucky, in an interview with BBC Newsnight, criticized the justice system's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, stating it is not working. He said, "Men need to be perp-walked in handcuffs to the jail, and until we see that here in this country... we don't have a system of justice that's working." Massie, who co-authored the law compelling the release of Epstein files, expressed dissatisfaction with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the number of redacted or withheld documents, despite DOJ officials claiming to have released all files except permitted exemptions.
Six national football teams, having endured months of regional qualification rounds and years of pursuing their ultimate dream, will have one final opportunity to secure a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 during the interconfederation playoffs this week. The tournament will determine two teams that will earn spots in the World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
A high-ranking diplomatic source has confirmed that Iran received a 15-point plan from the United States aimed at ending the US-Israeli war against the country, but Tehran described the proposal as "extremely maximalist and unreasonable." The source told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the plan is "not beautiful even on paper," calling it deceptive and misleading in its presentation. This rejection comes as US President Donald Trump has allegedly claimed that negotiations are underway, despite Iranian denials and ongoing military escalations.
The German government has launched a new climate protection program worth €8 billion ($9.25 billion), aimed at boosting wind power and e-mobility. The package includes 67 measures designed to save an additional 27.1 million tons of CO2 by 2030. However, Germany is currently falling short of its legally binding target to reduce emissions by at least 65% compared to 1990 levels, raising questions about the program's adequacy.