Asia

Magura, Bangladesh: Across Bangladesh, football fans have decked out their rooftops with the flags of Brazil and Argentina -- the most popular teams in a country that has never qualified for the World Cup. However, one man stands out not only for choosing a less-favoured team, but also for the sheer strength of his support. Amjad Hossain, a farmer from the southern district of Magura, has covered his land with a gigantic black, red and yellow flag to display his passion for four-time champions Germany. "I love the German football team, and Oliver Kahn is, in my view, the greatest goalkeeper of all time," the 72-year-old told AFP, referring to the legendary German stopper. At 7.5 kilometres (4.7 miles) in length, Hossain's flag meanders strikingly through the verdant fields. Football fans attend the unveiling of Germany's 7.5 kilometres (4.7 miles)-long national flag commisioned by Bangladeshi farmer Amjad Hossain (2L) in Magura district on June 10, 2026, on the eve of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament.Photo by AFP On Wednesday, the eve of the tournament, he spread it across his grounds in the presence of neighbours and a crowd of onlookers he believes were also Germany fans. Hossain has never been to Germany, and his embrace of its national team stems from a bout of poor health several years ago. "I was seriously ill in 2004 and 2005, and a German medicine cured me," he said. "Since then, I have loved Germany and its football." For the 2006 World Cup -- which Germany hosted -- he started out small, commissioning a mere 1.5-kilometre-long flag. At every tournament since, he has gradually increased its length, sometimes selling pieces of land to finance bigger banners, and holding watch parties. "My wife and other family members have never been angry, even though some people call me crazy," Hossain told AFP. Football is extremely popular in Bangladesh despite the national side languishing at 181st in the FIFA rankings. Hossain's adopted country has shown its appreciation by making him a lifetime member of the Germany fan club. The European nation kick off their campaign against minnows Curacao on Sunday, followed by games against Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Group E. Hossain will tune in from afar, in the firm belief that they will lift the trophy. His dream is to see his flag in a German museum -- and to watch the team in person one day. "I hope I'll have the chance," he said

Africa

Kinshasa: The Ministry of Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced on Saturday a spike in the number of confirmed Ebola virus infections to 710, while 139 deaths were recorded. The ministry posted on X that the total confirmed Ebola cases amount to 710, with 139 deaths. On 17 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda represents a state of emergency, noting that it poses a risk to other countries. As such, the WHO assesses the risk of regional spread of the virus as high.

Europe

Istanbul: Turkiye Artificial Intelligence Summit kicked off in Istanbul on Saturday amid wider participation from experts, domestic and international decision-makers, as well as delegations and representatives of global tech firms and funding enterprises. The two-day summit intends to chart the future vision for digital transformation and the localization of smart technologies, with the keynote panels in this event focusing on enhancing technological innovation and exploring the integration of smart systems with infrastructure and various industrial sectors. The first day showcased tech announcements and a pre-eminent strategy that paves the way for advancing the tech sector throughout 2026 and 2030, foremost of which is unveiling the national action plan for AI, which aims to mobilize USD 10 billion in investments devoted to developing digital infrastructure. This is alongside building data centers and expanding cloud computing technology, in parallel with earmarking no less than 2% of the public investment program for this sector to augment the capacity of installed data centers to reach 1 gigawatt by 2030. The summit also witnessed the launch by the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology of the local generative AI model "Bilge", which was fully developed using national software expertise, alongside the presentation of ongoing large language model projects such as the "MAIN" platform models and the T3 Foundation. The sessions broadly centered on the importance of achieving digital sovereignty through pursuing computing systems and distributed models to protect privacy and combat technological monopolization of data. The first-day event wrapped up by launching a comprehensive national program to eradicate illiteracy, aimed at training and qualifying five million citizens on AI-powered technologies and tools through extensive workshops to be carried out across various Turkish provinces over two years.