Sin categoría
Messi’s boyhood club Newell’s creates school for kids with disabilities
AFP/Editor
Stefano may be just a kid, but he feels like a champion when he dribbles and scores like his beloved Lionel Messi.
The boy is one of nine children who just enrolled at the brand new football school for kids with learning disabilities, created by the Argentine great’s childhood club Newell’s Old Boys.
“We’re a real football family. My husband played for the club, my other two sons did too and the oldest got to the fourth division,” said Stefano’s mother, Marisa Meroi.
“Stefano wanted to be like his brothers,” she said.
Now he gets to practice dribbling, passing and shooting like his football hero who was on the Newell’s books as a child.
“I like Messi, I like (Nacho) Scocco (a Newell’s striker). I play well. I love my family, I love my mom,” said Stefano, 10, who has Down’s syndrome, adding that the club is “my life.”
Stefano gets kitted out in the Newell’s colors and then joins the eight other children aged from 6 to 12 with similar learning disabilities at the Griffa Sports Center used by the first team.
Based in Rosario, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, Newell’s are not the only club to launch such an initiative but theirs is a weekly training session that is free for the participants.
Going to training is a highlight of the day for the children, but also for the parents who watch their young players’ progress from the sidelines.
Sometimes the parents also join coaches in holding kids by the hand as they learn to control the ball. Some children shoot into an empty net before celebrating wildly.
Stefano is skilful and a natural footballer.
“He plays in another club with kids that don’t have special needs. Now he’s crazy about this. It’s amazing to have an inclusive school given the times we live in,” said Meroi.
– All champions –
Gonzalo Cejas is the father of Valentino, another of the school’s young athletes.
“I’m happy that he’s playing a sport. He likes playing with the ball. Right away we signed up so he could experience this. There are a lot of Nuls fans in the family,” he said, using the local nickname for Newell’s.
Silvina Casella, whose son Lazaro is in the program, says this is just one of “several sports” they’re going to try to “see how he gets on.”
Despite the fact that the school could tend to their child’s special needs, it took some convincing for Lazaro’s father to get onboard.
The city is split along footballing colors between Newell’s red and black and Rosario Central’s blue and yellow.
“We decided he would come despite his father being a Rosario Central fanatic,” said Casella.
When the session ends, Meroi and the other parents put on their masks. Covid-19 has ravaged Rosario as it has the rest of the Argentina, which has recorded more than 2.8 million cases and over 61,000 deaths.
Sin categoría
Trump renews criticism of Pope Leo XIV amid tensions over Iran
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, renewed his criticism of Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday night, urging that “someone tell him” that Iran has “killed at least 42,000 innocent protesters” and insisting that it is “unacceptable” for the country to possess nuclear weapons.
“Can someone please inform Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 completely unarmed, innocent protesters over the past two months, and that it is absolutely unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear bomb?” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
The statement comes amid an escalating public dispute between Trump and the pontiff over the conflict in Iran and the broader Middle East. The US president concluded his message with the phrase “AMERICA IS BACK.”
Pope Leo XIV, who was born in the United States, has repeatedly spoken out—both directly and indirectly—against Washington’s stance toward Tehran, while calling for peace in the region.
On Monday, Trump openly criticized the pope, describing him as “weak” and “terrible on foreign policy.”
Speaking aboard a flight to Algeria, the first stop of his trip to Africa, the pontiff said he was “not afraid” of the Trump administration and would continue to raise his voice against the ongoing conflict.
Sin categoría
Tehran engulfed in toxic cloud after strikes on fuel facilities
Tehran woke up under a sky that shifted from gray to black following strikes on fuel infrastructure, as the city has become engulfed in a toxic cloud that is turning daily life into a public health and environmental emergency.
Residents warn that what is falling from the sky is no longer just rain, but a mixture of oil and pollutants. Attacks on fuel depots have triggered prolonged fires, releasing thick plumes of smoke that continue to spread across the العاصمة.
For several days, facilities have remained ablaze, while a dark layer has settled over streets, homes, and even water reserves. Authorities have urged the population—more than nine million people—to remain indoors, especially vulnerable groups.
The extreme toxicity is linked to mazut, a dense petroleum byproduct with high sulfur content still used in Iran due to industrial limitations and sanctions. When burned, it releases hazardous particles that, when combined with moisture, result in contaminated rainfall.
The situation is worsened by Tehran’s geography. Surrounded by mountains, the city is affected by a temperature inversion phenomenon that traps pollutants near the ground, preventing their dispersion and creating a stagnant layer of toxic air over the population.
Residents have reported symptoms such as eye and skin irritation, headaches, and respiratory difficulties. Emergency agencies have also warned of potential chemical burns caused by acid rain.
Long-term concerns are mounting, as prolonged exposure to fine particles and heavy metals could lead to serious health conditions, including lung damage and cancer.
Contamination is also spreading to water sources and agricultural land, threatening the food supply in a country already facing water scarcity.
At a regional level, the environmental impact is expanding, with oil spills reported in the Persian Gulf, affecting marine ecosystems and fishing communities.
Sin categoría
FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Arrested in Mexico and Deported to U.S.
Authorities in Mexico announced Thursday that Samuel Ramírez Jr., a U.S. citizen accused of murdering two women and listed among the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, was arrested in the northern state of Sinaloa.
Ramírez Jr., 33, was detained Tuesday in Culiacán just 1 hour and 13 minutes after being added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Ten Most Wanted list, the agency said in a statement.
The suspect, who was born in California, has already been deported to the U.S. state of Washington, where he faces charges related to the fatal shooting of two women at a bar in Federal Way in May 2023.
A court issued an arrest warrant for Ramírez in November last year, and the FBI initially offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture, later increasing the amount to up to $1 million.
“To protect individuals’ privacy and ensure continued cooperation from the public, the FBI does not confirm the identity of those who provide information,” the agency said in its statement.
Panama confirms drug contamination of El Salvador coffee shipment occurred on its territory
Trump floats Vance-Rubio potential Republican ticket for 2028 election
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating Victory Day Truce
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
