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The 2026 World Cup has a prize pool of $871 million, the biggest in football history. How much is every country getting and where does the money come from? Al Jazeera’s Yasmeen ElTahan explains.Published On 7 Jul 20267 Jul 2026Click here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharegoogleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo

Intriguing verdict that poses gut-wrenching personal dilemma for Le Pen – snap analysisJon HenleyEurope correspondentIt’s an intriguing verdict: the court has ruled Marine Le Pen eligible to run in next year’s presidential elections by in effect reducing her term of inelegibilty for public office to just 15 months – but at the same time it has ensured it will be very difficult for her to to do so by ordering her to wear an electronic bracelet for one year, something she has repeatedly said she will not do.It is understood that several senior party members have tried to persuade her…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.High-profile investor Terry Smith has accused Unilever of misleading him over its divestment strategy and warned that the spin-off of its food business bears “all the hallmarks” of Nelson Peltz, the activist investor who has targeted the group.The fund manager, who sold out entirely from Unilever a few months ago, said that after the consumer goods group demerged its ice cream division in 2025 he was told by its management that there would be no more disposals in the foreseeable future.Unilever then…

Africa’s displacement zones may be the continent’s least contested fintech market. While more than 850 commercial banks and 1,200 fintechs compete for mainstream African consumers, fewer than 10 formal financial institutions have built products for the continent’s 27 million displaced people. That gap represents a $3.2 billion formal financial services opportunity sitting in markets where mobile money adoption already exceeds continental averages in several conflict-affected settings. A report launched today by Amahoro Coalition makes the commercial case for fintech and digital financial services players to move before the window closes. The report draws on household survey data from more than…

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Abuja The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, deferred the full-blown hearing of substantive appeals seeking to set aside the judgment that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties until July 14. The adjournment followed the failure of some of the parties to file and exchange the necessary processes in time. Some of the respondents drew the attention of the court to processes they said were served on them before the commencement of the proceedings and requested time to file their responses. Consequently,…

Ayodeji Ake In  developed  countries,  many  people  living  with  sickle  cell  disease  routinely  celebrate  their  50th, 60th  birthdays  and  beyond,  enjoying  good  quality  of  life  thanks  to  comprehensive  care.   In Nigeria, the story is painfully different. Too many  Warriors face a devastating “survival wall” in early  adulthood, with dreams of career success and  family life cut short not solely by the disease, but  by systemic failures, chronic shortages, and our  collective silence.  A major culprit is the persistent national blood  crisis. Nigeria meets only a fraction of its blood transfusion needs — often estimated at around 25-30 per cent of…

Last September, JWST took this image of a protostellar jet at the outskirts of the Milky Way. From tip to tip, the jet spans about double the distance from the Sun to its closest neighbouring star system, α Centauri.Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Yu Cheng (NAOJ); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)From black holes in the early Universe1 to atmospheres cloaking distant planets2, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) studies cosmic phenomena that no other observatory has been able to probe. The most powerful infrared telescope ever built, it released its first images four years ago this week.‘It’s a dream’: JWST…

Key eventsSinner says Struff is very tough to play against, but deserves all he’s done and achieved in his career as a great person off the court with an amazing team.Early in the match, he felt he was struggling a bit with Struff the better player, but he started serving better and though he was a break up in set two and couldn’t use it, he tried to stay there mentally and is happy to be back in the semis.The second set could’ve ended in a different way as he sees tiebreakers at 50/50, but Struff’s first-set percentage dropped and…

Award-winning author Patrice Lawrence has been named the new children’s laureate.The author, known for writing Orangeboy, will take on the role as the leading representative of children’s literature until 2028.Brighton-born Lawrence was presented with the silver laureate medal by the outgoing children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce at a ceremony in London earlier.She said: “I will champion the power of books to make us feel like we belong, and shared stories as a tool for bringing people together.”Lawrence, who now lives in Hastings, said she also wanted to “celebrate the unsung heroes who bring joy and nurture reading communities through their work”.She…

If there’s anything more uncomfortable than enduring a heatwave in Britain, it’s sleeping through one.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.But hot nights are only going to get more common if the climate crisis continues its long march. While Britons are already accustomed to poor sleep – with the average adult getting just three days a week of good kip, according to the Mental Health Foundation – heat doesn’t help. Dr Allie Hare, consultant in sleep medicine and co-president of the British Sleep Society, says: “Being too hot…