‘The US World Cup is facing two crises: a financial mess — and ICE.’
Nellie Pou at The Guardian
The “final match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in East Rutherford, New Jersey,” but if the U.S. “doesn’t get its act together, we risk turning a generational opportunity into an international embarrassment,” says Nellie Pou. The “first problem is money.” Every “day of delay makes an already complex logistical challenge harder.” The games “also face a second threat: ICE.” When an “immigration enforcement agency signals it may be at our stadiums and public events, it raises legitimate fears.”
‘Ballet isn’t dead, but Timothée Chalamet might have a point’
Chloe Angyal at Time
Timothée Chalamet recently “spoke about the vibrancy of cinema,” and “went on to claim that ‘no one cares’ about ballet or opera,” says Chloe Angyal. To many, “Chalamet sounded like an ignorant bully.” Ballet is “too often the butt of the joke,” often relying on the “shared assumption that ballet is feminine, frivolous and a little gay.” While Chalamet “did not make such insults himself, his comments fit into this broader context of disparagement and dismissal.” In the US, “ballet is starved for state resources, which reflects a widespread lack of respect.”
‘Trump wants the Kurds to wage war in Iran. They should beware.’
Stephen Kinzer at The Boston Globe
As the “war against Iran intensifies, an old Middle East impulse has suddenly reemerged: Arm the Kurds,” says Stephen Kinzer. For “decades, the United States has used Kurdish militias as proxies.” Now President Donald Trump “wants them to enter Iran and try to set off an ethnic uprising. They should beware.” Even “with American air support, the few thousand Iranian Kurds who might launch an insurgency inside their country would have no realistic chance to advance against Iran’s military.”
‘Russia’s use of poison: a reality Europe has been slow to confront.’
Marie Jégo at Le Monde
Eliminating opponents “by poisoning them is embedded in the DNA of Russian power,” says Marie Jégo. The “advantage of poison is that it is not easily detected.” The “fact that Russia, a signatory to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, could so brazenly use poisons is a reality Europe has been slow to address.” It was “not until 2023 that Moscow lost its seat on the organization’s executive council and 2026 before the criminal state was called out.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
