Month: May 2026

The mixed martial arts arena is being assembled on a stretch of the grounds used for presidents’ Marine One departures and annual Easter egg rolls and picnics, alongside tennis and basketball courts, a horseshoe pit and a garden ​honoring presidents’ children and grandchildren, News.az reports, citing Reuters.
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UFC, the professional mixed martial arts league run by Trump ally Dana White, will ​stage a night of bouts at the executive mansion on June 14 as part of the ⁠country’s independence celebrations. The event will coincide with Trump’s 80th birthday.
Four pieces of giant metal scaffolding now rise in ​front of the White House, looming over the Truman Balcony, a columned terrace overlooking the South Lawn. Video screens will be ​suspended from them.
“The octagon,” the eight-sided metal cage in which combatants punch, kick, elbow and grapple, will sit inside, ringed with a chain-link fence. White has dubbed the arena “The Claw,” he said in an interview with the New Yorker magazine.
More than 4,000 spectators will watch the fight from ​the arena, Trump and White have said, with many tickets going to military personnel. Officials are also planning viewing areas ​on the Ellipse, a 52-acre park south of the White House, with aims to accommodate an additional 100,000. Weigh-ins will be held at ‌the ⁠Lincoln Memorial.
Trump, who plans to watch the bouts ringside, was an early backer of UFC when White took over the professional circuit in 2001. Trump allowed White to use his casino properties to host events when the fights were largely unregulated and, in some quarters, seen as seedy and unethical.
The late Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, a U.S. war hero and amateur ​boxer, derided the contests as “human ​cockfighting.”
His opposition, amplified by his ⁠influence in Congress, pushed UFC to seek state regulatory approval and build broader legitimacy in the early 2000s. In August 2025, it signed a $7.7 billion media rights deal with Paramount (PSKY.O), opens new tab.
The ​White House complex is already home to another major construction project: Trump’s $400 million state ballroom ​that opponents have ⁠criticized as a vanity project but which the president says is needed for national security.
The MMA arena and the new ballroom are just two of the projects Trump has launched since returning to the White House in January 2025.
He has also ordered the ⁠renovation of ​Lafayette Square, a public park on the north side of the White ​House, and repainting the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. He is also planning to build what he calls Independence Arch, ​reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, except much bigger.

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Rescuers have supplied food and drinking water to the trapped individuals to help them regain strength. Meanwhile, a medical team remains on standby at the cave entrance, and all seven people are expected to be safely evacuated by Thursday, News.az reports, citing Xinhua.
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According to a Lao News Agency report, the incident occurred on May 20, when seven villagers from Phanxay village in Xaysomboun province entered a deep and narrow cave in search of food. Continuous rainfall caused water levels inside the cave to rise, trapping the group inside. The cave’s complex geological structure, combined with an underground river flowing through it, makes the area highly vulnerable to flooding and other natural hazards during the rainy season.
Local authorities have continued rescue operations since the incident, with support from a Thai rescue team assisting in the search and evacuation efforts. The rescue operation is still underway.

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The survey showed that inflation and weaker purchasing power are pushing many households to opt for shorter and cheaper vacations, while half of respondents said they do not plan to take a summer holiday at all this year, News.az reports, citing Xinhua.
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Among those who do want to travel, most said they are planning brief or limited trips, with only a small share expecting to travel as usual or take longer holidays.
Many respondents said they are cutting holiday spending and choosing lower-cost accommodation options, including holiday homes and stays with relatives or friends. Only a smaller share is choosing hotels.
Despite cautious domestic spending, Greece’s tourism sector remained strong, with international arrivals up 38.3 percent year on year to 3.4 million and tourism revenues rising 64.3 percent to 1.96 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2026. 

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“Spain reported a new case among the passengers who are in quarantine, which brings the total number of cases to 13,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, News.az reports, citing Xinhua.
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There are no new deaths reported since May 2,the total number of deaths remains three out of 13 reported cases so far, Tedros said.
“The situation remains stable. Passengers who got sick are receiving needed care, while others remain in quarantine,” Tedros said, noting that WHO is in close contact with all the relevant governments.
Previously, a hantavirus outbreak aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius raised fears. However, WHO has said that the overall risk to the public remains low, and has recommended that all evacuated passengers undergo active health monitoring for 42 days from their last exposure date, either in designated quarantine facilities or at home, with the monitoring period lasting until June 21.

The post Number of hantavirus cases from cruise outbreak rises to 13, WHO says appeared first on azeritimes.com.

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