The path to glory at the 2026 World Cup has now been laid out after the contenders discovered their tournament fate at Friday’s draw ceremony in Washington which was dominated by Donald Trump.The US President received FIFA’s new peace prize on stage at the Kennedy Center prior to the draw for the first 48-team World Cup, which offered kind starts to the tournament for holders Argentina and much-fancied Spain in particular.While the make-up of the groups was revealed along with the potential path through the knockout rounds for all the potential winners, the precise schedule for the competition will only be confirmed later Saturday.FIFA president Gianni Infantino will unveil the venues and kick-off times for all games from 1700 GMT, after which the teams will be able to focus on fine-tuning their preparations with barely six months left until the World Cup kicks off on June 11.Lionel Messi’s Argentina begin their defense of the trophy they won in Qatar in 2022 by facing Algeria, and will also play Austria and debutants Jordan in Group J.Reigning European champions Spain will kick off their campaign against first-time qualifiers Cape Verde before also taking on Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in Group H.”We want to do something big at this World Cup and that means making sure we do well in the group stage, then carrying on from there,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.Thomas Tuchel’s England, seeking to win a first World Cup since 1966, will be expected to top Group L ahead of 2018 finalists Croatia, Ghana and Panama.Two-time winners France face awkward tests against Senegal and Erling Haaland’s Norway in Group I, which will be completed by a play-off winner from either Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname.For the first time, the draw was done in such a way as to ensure the four highest-ranked nations were kept apart — Spain, Argentina, France and England cannot meet before the semi-finals, if all top their groups.- ‘Can’t get carried away’ -However, the path to that stage — with an extra knockout round now following the group phase — looks perilous.If the top seeds all win their groups, England could find themselves playing co-hosts Mexico in Mexico City in the last 16 and then Brazil in the quarter-finals, before a semi against Argentina.Other possible match-ups include France and Germany being on a last-16 collision course and a potential meeting between Messi’s Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarter-finals.”You cannot get carried away with building your way with who you are going to meet if you win the group, if you are second or whatever,” insisted Tuchel. “You just focus on the group, this is what you do.”The tournament will be held across the USA, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, with 16 more teams added to the global showpiece, up from the 32 nations involved in 2022. While the US will host most matches, including the final at the MetLife Stadium outside New York, three of the 16 venues will be in Mexico and two in Canada.The opening game sees Mexico play South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.The host nations have experienced turbulent relations since Trump came to power but he brushed that aside on Friday. “We’ve worked closely with those two countries, and the coordination and friendship and relationship has been outstanding,” Trump said after receiving his peace prize from Infantino.- ‘Like 104 Super Bowls’ -Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil and surprise 2022 semi-finalists Morocco will meet in Group C, which also features Scotland and Haiti — Scotland and Brazil will meet for the fifth time at a World Cup.Germany’s opponents in Group E will be Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Caribbean minnows Curacao, while Portugal face Uzbekistan, Colombia and a play-off winner.The United States got a manageable draw, with Paraguay, Australia and a European play-off winner in Group D.”Our first game is the final of the World Cup. And the second needs to be the final of the World Cup. That is the mentality, the mindset that we want to build,” said USA coach Mauricio Pochettino.The top two teams in each group advance to the last 32, joined by the eight best third-placed teams.”It will be the greatest World Cup ever,” Infantino claimed. “This is like 104 Super Bowls in one month — this is the magnitude of what we are organizing.”

An advisory panel appointed by President Donald Trump’s vaccine-skeptic health secretary voted Friday to stop recommending that all newborns in the United States receive a hepatitis B vaccine.The move to end the decades-old recommendation is the panel’s latest contentious about-face on vaccine policy since its overhaul by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this year.US health authorities previously recommended that all babies, not just those born to mothers believed to have hepatitis B, receive the first of three vaccine doses just after birth.The approach aimed, in part, to prevent transfers from mothers who unknowingly had hepatitis B or had falsely tested negative, and had virtually eradicated infections of the potentially deadly liver disease among young people in the country.After delaying the vote by a day, the panel on Friday passed its new recommendation for “individual-based decision-making,” in consultation with a health care provider, when children are born to mothers testing negatively for the disease.The decision to vaccinate at birth should “consider vaccine benefits, vaccine risks, and infection risks.”Trump hailed the move as “a very good decision” on his Truth Social platform.But the new recommendation was immediately condemned by several medical groups who noted widespread shortcomings in US maternal health screening as well as the possibility of infections from others.”This irresponsible and purposely misleading guidance will lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children,” American Academy of Pediatrics President Susan J. Kressly said in a statement.The vote was 8-3. Trump-appointed officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are expected to formally adopt the recommendations at a later date.The panel also voted to recommend that babies who are not vaccinated at birth wait at least two months to get the initial dose, and that blood tests be done to measure antibodies before a second dose.- Panel overhaul -After becoming health secretary, Kennedy sacked every member of the once-staid Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), replacing them with figures whose vaccine-skeptic views track more closely with his own.It has since set to work on reviewing prior recommendations — already tweaking advice on Covid-19 and measles shots.Medical experts fear the push could further contribute to declining vaccination rates in the United States.The panel on Friday also began a broader review of the childhood vaccination schedule, and sparked further controversy by allowing testimony from lawyer Aaron Siri, a close Kennedy associate known for spreading unfounded theories on the subject.While Trump vocally supports Kennedy’s policies, some in the Republican Party have pushed back, notably Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy.Cassidy, a medical doctor, condemned the ACIP decision, noting the original recommendation was never “a mandate” to get the jab.CDC officials “should not sign these new recommendations and instead retain the current, evidence-based approach,” he said on X.Cassidy’s expression of alarm, like his prior statements against Kennedy, provoked criticism after he provided the key vote to confirm the health secretary in February.- ‘Do no harm’ -The United States had urged universal vaccination at birth against hepatitis B since 1991, advice also recommended by China, Australia and the World Health Organization.But several ACIP members argued that Friday’s decision would align the United States with other economically developed countries such as France and Britain.The repercussions of the ACIP’s vaccine recommendations are broad because federal guidelines often dictate whether vaccines are paid for by health insurance companies in the United States, where a vaccine can cost hundreds of dollars.But the committee’s influence is waning amid withering criticism from the US scientific and medical community, with Democratic-led states announcing they will no longer follow its recommendations.Ahead of the vote, Cody Meissner, one of the few dissenting voices on the advisory committee, urged his colleagues not to change the current recommendations. “Do no harm is a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording,” he warned.

Holders Argentina and leading contenders Spain were handed kind draws for the 2026 World Cup in a star-studded ceremony at which US President Donald Trump received FIFA’s new peace prize.The event at the Kennedy Center in Washington started the final countdown to the tournament, six months out from the first-ever 48-team World Cup.Lionel Messi’s Argentina will begin their defense of the trophy they won in Qatar in 2022 by facing Algeria, and will also play Austria and debutants Jordan in Group J.Heavily-fancied Spain, the European champions, will kick off their campaign against first-time qualfiers Cape Verde before also taking on Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in Group H.”All the praise will not weaken us, quite the opposite,” insisted Spain coach Luis de la Fuente. “We want to do something big at this World Cup and that means making sure we do well in the group stage, then carrying on from there.”Thomas Tuchel’s England, seeking to win the World Cup for the first time since 1966, will hope to win Group L that features beaten 2018 finalists Croatia as well as Ghana and Panama.Two-time winners France, meanwhile, face awkward tests against Senegal and Erling Haaland’s Norway in Group I, which will be completed by an intercontinental play-off winner from either Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname.For the first time, the draw was done in such a way as to ensure the four highest-ranked nations were kept apart — Spain, Argentina, France and England cannot meet before the semi-finals, if all four top their groups.However, the path to that stage — with an extra knockout round now following the group phase — looks perilous for some of the contenders.If the top seeds all finish first in their groups, England could, for example, find themselves playing co-hosts Mexico in Mexico City in the last 16 and then Brazil in the quarter-finals, before a last-four clash with Argentina.- ‘Can’t get carried away’ -“You cannot get carried away with building your way with who you are going to meet if you win the group, if you are second or whatever,” said Tuchel. “You just focus on the group, this is what you do.”The tournament will be held across the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, with 16 more teams added to the global showpiece, up from the 32 nations involved in 2022. That means a total of 104 matches, compared to 64 games last time.While the US will host the majority of matches including the final at the MetLife Stadium outside New York, three of the 16 venues will be in Mexico and two in Canada.The three hosts have experienced turbulent relations since Trump came to power but he brushed that aside. “We’ve worked closely with those two countries, and the coordination and friendship and relationship has been outstanding,” Trump said after receiving his peace prize from FIFA president Gianni Infantino.”It is truly one of the great honors of my life. It is such an honor to be with Gianni. He has done such an incredible job,” Trump added.Trump seized the limelight, even dancing when the Village People performed, but Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum were also in attendance.The event was co-hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum and American actor and comedian Kevin Hart. NFL legend Tom Brady, ice hockey icon Wayne Gretzky and former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal were among the stars who helped conduct the draw.- ‘Like 104 Super Bowls’ -Co-hosts Mexico will take on South Africa in Group A in the opening game of the tournament at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on June 11.Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil and surprise 2022 semi-finalists Morocco came out together in Group C, which also features Scotland and Haiti.Germany’s opponents in Group E will be Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Caribbean minnows Curacao, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will face Uzbekistan, Colombia and a play-off winner.Co-hosts the United States got a manageable draw, with Paraguay, Australia and a European play-off winner in Group D.The top two teams in each group advance to the last 32, joined by the eight best third-placed teams.”It will be the greatest World Cup ever,” Infantino claimed. “This is like 104 Super Bowls in one month — this is the magnitude of what we are organizing.”Because of the complexity, teams will only learn the full details of their match venues and kick-off times on Saturday.

Streaming giant Netflix said Friday it will buy film and television studio Warner Bros. Discovery for nearly $83 billion, the entertainment industry’s biggest consolidation deal this decade.The acquisition, which will face regulatory scrutiny by the Trump administration and is opposed by top names in Hollywood, gives Netflix access to a vast film catalog as well as the prestigious streaming service HBO Max.It does not include cable channels such as CNN, TNT, TBS and Discovery, which are being spun off by Warner Bros. Discovery before the deal is due to close.Over the decades, Warner Brothers has produced film classics including “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane,” as well as more recent blockbuster shows including “The Sopranos”, “Game of Thrones” and the “Harry Potter” movies.”Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, which has produced global hits including “Stranger Things,” “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Squid Games.”The biggest previous such deal was Disney’s $71 billion acquisition of Fox in 2019.The transaction values Warner Bros. Discovery at $27.75 per share, implying a total equity value of approximately $72.0 billion and an enterprise value — including debt — of around $82.7 billion.Amid echoes of criticism and puzzlement about the deal, Netflix’s share price was down by more than three percent on Friday.”Today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, in the statement.The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, is to close within 12 to 18 months, they said.”Netflix aims to dominate Hollywood,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, a trading and investment firm.The analyst warned of a number of potential issues surrounding the deal, including fears of a Netflix monopoly once it commands such “a colossus in the TV and movie business.”- Antitrust issues expected -Brooks said she expected political issues given that a deal of this size would need regulatory approval from antitrust authorities in the US, and potentially elsewhere.According to the New York Post, White House officials have recently expressed concern about Netflix’s acquisition, which they believe could give the platform a dominant position in the US content market.The parent company of HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros. film studio officially put itself up for sale in October after receiving multiple unsolicited offers, setting aside a planned split into two separate entities — one focused on streaming and studios, the other on traditional cable networks.Warner Bros Discovery was originally targeted by Paramount — recently acquired by the billionaire family of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest men and a Trump ally.Netflix had joined Paramount Skydance and Comcast, the owner of NBCUniversal, in a second round of an auction that was being negotiated throughout the US Thanksgiving holiday.Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service with more than 280 million subscribers globally, has been working on a bridge loan totaling tens of billions of dollars to finance the acquisition, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.Top Hollywood players have voiced their preference to see Warner Bros. not end up in the hands of Netflix, citing concerns that the streaming company largely seeks to limit theatrical releases of its film productions.”Titanic” director James Cameron, speaking before Friday’s announcement, called any takeover of Warner Bros by Netflix “a disaster.”Netflix says it intends to maintain Warner Bros’ theatrical film releases and to expand US content production even though the company regularly expresses its belief that the movie theater era is essentially over. The streaming battles and the decline of traditional entertainment are leading to major strategic reorganizations among the big Hollywood players. In 2021, Amazon acquired the legendary Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45 billion, gaining a catalog of more than 4,000 films, including the James Bond and Rocky franchises. burs-arp/aha

Netflix faced fierce criticism on Friday over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros., the storied Hollywood studio.The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices.As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros. — the studio behind “Casablanca,” the “Harry Potter” movies and “Friends” — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. “Titanic” director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying Congress to oppose the deal, according to trade magazine Variety.In a letter to lawmakers, the anonymous filmmakers warned that Netflix would “effectively hold a noose around the theatrical marketplace,” further damaging a Hollywood ecosystem already strained by audiences’ shift from theaters and TV to streaming.”I could not think of a more effective way to reduce competition in Hollywood than selling WBD to Netflix,” Warner’s former CEO Jason Kilar wrote on X.At the center of Hollywood’s ire is Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who has declared that the era of moviegoers flocking to theaters is over. During an analyst call Friday, Sarandos acknowledged surprise over the acquisition but pledged to maintain Warner Bros.’ theatrical releases and preserve the HBO Max brand.Many industry veterans consider theatrical releases essential to cinema’s appeal and prestige — a stark contrast to streaming content consumed on home sofas or on mobile devices.Variety captured the industry’s alarm with a front-page headline asking: “Is Netflix Trying to Buy Warner Bros. or Kill It?”Michael O’Leary, CEO of Cinema United, the world’s largest exhibition trade association, warned: “Netflix’s success is television, not movies on the big screen. Theaters will close, communities will suffer, jobs will be lost.”- ‘Blunder’ -The backlash extended beyond Hollywood. Netflix shares plunged more than three percent following the announcement, while The Information, influential among tech industry readers, branded the deal an “$82.7 Billion Blunder” by a management team that “has rarely put a foot wrong.”Antitrust concerns loom large, with Netflix poised to control an even greater share of an entertainment industry it already dominates.Bipartisan opposition has emerged in Washington. US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, warned the deal “could force you into higher prices, fewer choices over what and how you watch, and may put American workers at risk.” Before the deal was announced, Republican Senator Mike Lee said Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming assets “should send alarms to antitrust enforcers around the world.”The deal’s biggest loser may be Warner Bros. competitor Paramount Skydance, the Hollywood studio owned by Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people and a close ally of US President Donald Trump. Ellison’s son David runs Paramount and may lobby the White House directly to block the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger.Unlike Netflix’s targeted acquisition, Paramount had sought to buy Warner Bros. in its entirety, including cable networks CNN, TNT, and TBS, which are being spun off separately.In a letter to Warner’s board on Thursday, presumably after it surmised the game was lost, Paramount accused Warner Bros. Discovery of running an unfair process that favored Netflix.

Canada-born US architect Frank Gehry, whose daring and whimsical designs from the Guggenheim Bilbao to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles captivated fans and critics, died on Friday. He was 96.Gehry was perhaps the biggest of the so-called “starchitects” — an elite group that includes Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhaas, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and others — and enjoyed his fame, but absolutely hated the label.”There are people who design buildings that are not technically and financially good, and there are those who do,” he told The Independent in 2009. “Two categories, simple.”His artistic genius and boldness shone through in his complex designs — such as the glass “sails” of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.He popularized contemporary architecture, and became such a sensation that he was featured on “The Simpsons” — all while insisting he was a simple maker of buildings. “I work with clients who respect the art of architecture,” he said in 2014, according to his biographer Paul Goldberger.Gehry’s representative Meaghan Lloyd told AFP that he died early Friday at his home in Santa Monica following a brief respiratory illness.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed Gehry’s “unmistakable vision.”- From Canada to Los Angeles -Born Frank Owen Goldberg in Toronto on February 28, 1929, to a Jewish family that would move to the United States in the late 1940s, he later changed his name to Gehry to avoid becoming the target of antisemitism.He studied architecture at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, graduating in 1954 before enlisting in the US Army and later continuing his studies in city planning at Harvard University, though he did not finish the program.Gehry eventually returned to Los Angeles to start his career working for Victor Gruen, a pioneer in the design of shopping malls. He went on to work in Paris with Andrew Remondet in 1961 before returning to Los Angeles, establishing his own architectural practice the following year.The ’70s and ’80s would mark the rollout of a long series of his most audacious and innovative architectural achievements, many of them in southern California. Close to the avant-garde “funk” art scene in California, Gehry’s deconstructionist and experimental style — sometimes derided as crude — is hard to categorize. Many of his buildings — irregularly-shaped metal facades that can look like crumpled paper — could only be realized with the help of computer design tools, which he fully embraced.This is maybe best reflected in his seminal reworking in 1978 of his own home in Santa Monica, where he long resided — it features corrugated metal wrapped around the original 1920s building.Gehry received the highest architectural honor, the Pritzker Prize, in 1989.- ‘Bilbao effect’ -Almost a decade later, he would unveil arguably his most iconic design: the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which earned him international acclaim and notice.The limestone and glass building with curvy walls clad in titanium scales is instantly recognizable as a Gehry design, and was once described by his American colleague Philip Johnson as “the greatest building of our time.” The building helped revitalize the ancient industrial heart of the Spanish city, attracting visitors from around the world and leading to the coining of the term “Bilbao effect” to explain how beautiful architecture can transform an area.”We will be forever grateful, and his spirit and legacy will always remain connected to Bilbao,” the museum said on social media.Emboldened, Gehry would take even greater risks in his next projects, which included the Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003), the Beekman Tower in New York (2011), and the Fondation Louis Vuitton (2014).LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault said he was “profoundly saddened” by Gehry’s death, calling him a “genius of lightness, transparency and grace.”Facebook tapped Gehry for a major expansion of its Menlo Park campus in California, which opened in 2018.- ‘I love working’ -Many of Gehry’s designs require complex computations — which he pushed to the limits.For a period, architects avoided the use of rounded or curved shapes as they caused headaches for engineers and led to spiralling construction costs.Gehry pushed back, using 3D modelling software similar to that used by aerospace firms to create unique building shapes while keeping costs in line with what developers would pay for a more conventional building of similar dimensions.The Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas — its walls and windows appearing to have melted under the hot desert sun — is a classic example of Gehry’s groundbreaking vision.”I love working. I love working things out,” he told The Guardian in 2019.