MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[‘Soccer’ is incorrect, or is it still the fine term for the beautiful game?]]> British university students created their own slang at the time, abbreviating words and “association football” was shortened to “assoc” and slanged to “soccer.” (Pic The Conversation) By Kirk Bowman (*) - At the 2026 World Cup draw, FIFA Peace Prize recipient and U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the game should really be called “football.”

“There’s no question about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL. It really doesn’t make any sense,” said Trump, an apparently new convert to the round-ball game.He isn’t alone. The word “soccer” is, in some parts of the world, shunned by some fans.

]]> Sat, 06 Jun 2026 08:00:00 GMT <![CDATA[Lufthansa Boeing 787's nose gear collapses at Frankfurt gate, injuring four staff]]> Lufthansa said the nose gear “unexpectedly retracted” while the aircraft was stationary at Gate A15, and that the impact with the ground caused significant damage to the plane's nose The nose landing gear of a Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner collapsed on Thursday while the aircraft was parked at a boarding gate at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, leaving four people slightly injured. The plane was being prepared to operate a flight to Los Angeles when, at around 12:45 p.m. local time, the nose gear gave way and the front of the fuselage came to rest on the tarmac, sustaining considerable damage.

]]> Thu, 04 Jun 2026 21:23:00 GMT <![CDATA[US proposes forced-labor tariffs on 60 economies, with Brazil and China facing 12.5%]]> The initiative seeks to replace the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February, when it found that President Donald Trump had exceeded his authority by using an economic emergency law The US government proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on 60 economies —59 countries and the 27-nation European Union— for failing to ban or effectively enforce the prohibition on imports of goods made with forced labor. The measure, announced Tuesday night by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, relies on Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act and is the White House's most ambitious step yet to rebuild its tariff policy.

]]> Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:40:00 GMT <![CDATA[Ukraine hits St. Petersburg oil terminal with drones as Russia's economic forum opens]]> A column of black smoke rose over the port, in view of forum attendees, while Pulkovo airport suspended or diverted about thirty flights. Ukraine launched a mass drone attack against several Russian regions early on Wednesday and struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, coinciding with the opening of the country's main economic forum. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 345 drones over 15 regions, including Moscow and Leningrad, where St. Petersburg is located.

]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:38:00 GMT <![CDATA[BAS confirmed as world’s leading center for Antarctic and Southern Ocean research]]> Professor Dame Jane Francis (Director of BAS) and Oliver Darke (Director of Operations, Engineering and Infrastructure) representing the UK at ATCM in Japan A major new analysis has confirmed the UK’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS) as the world’s leading center for Antarctic and Southern Ocean research. This was revealed during the Antarctic treaty Consultive Meeting, ATCM, recent May meeting in Japan that convened Antarctic Leaders and government official from across the world.

]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:30:00 GMT <![CDATA[The irreversible smart phones and world’s dropping birth rates]]> The birth rate was stable in countries like the U.S., the U.K. and Australia in the early 2000s, but in 2007, it started dropping in all those countries. By Gwynne Dyer - Smart phones seem to be directly linked to a worldwide crash in the birth rate. It is “quite plausible that the modern digital media environment has had profound effects on society that have led to a decline in romantic coupling,” according to Melissa Kearney, professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame.

]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:54:00 GMT <![CDATA[How Triangle Pest Control Helps Protect Charlotte, NC Homes Year-Round]]> Photo: Pexels Pests have the ability to transform a cozy house into a stressful environment within a very short time. Homeowners in Charlotte are frequently faced with ants in their kitchens, mosquitoes in their backyards, rodents in their attics, and termites around their wooden buildings.

]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2026 02:04:00 GMT <![CDATA[EU-Mercosur trade deal takes effect provisionally as legal challenge awaits ruling]]> Practical implementation is already showing its first challenges A month after the provisional entry into force of the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur, exchanges have been governed since May 1 by the terms agreed upon, while political and legal attention in Brussels centers on the EU Court of Justice, which must rule on the validity of the mechanism chosen to launch the treaty.

]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2026 23:06:00 GMT <![CDATA[Israel and Hezbollah keep firing despite Trump's announcement of an end to hostilities]]> Netanyahu emerged battered, at home and abroad, from his intention the previous day to launch a wave of bombings on Beirut, canceled on Trump's orders A day after US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to end the military clashes in Lebanon, the fighting continued on Tuesday with little change from previous days. Israel is limiting itself to not striking Beirut, but its bombings killed 12 people in various parts of the country. Hezbollah, for its part, kept firing, though it stopped aiming at the Israeli towns farthest from the border that it had recently been targeting.

]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:48:00 GMT <![CDATA[Falklands Legislative Assembly marks Overseas Territories Day and start of Pride Month]]> “Though diverse in geography and culture, we are united by our shared values, our commitment to self-governance, and our pride in being British,” the Legislative Assembly said The Falklands Legislative Assembly on 1 June marked British Overseas Territories Day with an institutional ceremony at Victory Green, in Stanley, in which the archipelago's flag flew alongside that of the United Kingdom throughout the day. The annual commemoration brings together the fourteen British Overseas Territories scattered across the Caribbean, the South Atlantic, the Antarctic, and the Pacific under a shared agenda of self-government and links with the administering power.

]]> Mon, 01 Jun 2026 13:39:00 GMT