Business
(VIDEO) Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron First Player Sent Off for Covering Mouth at World Cup
SAN FRANCISCO — Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron became the first player ejected under a new rule prohibiting covering one’s mouth while speaking to an opponent, receiving a red card during his team’s Group B match against Turkey on Friday.
The incident occurred just before halftime with Paraguay leading 1-0 in the match at Levi’s Stadium. Almiron, 32, obscured his mouth with his hand while addressing Turkey’s Mert Muldur, who promptly alerted the referee. Video assistant referee review confirmed the violation, leading referee Ivan Barton of El Salvador to issue the red card.
The new regulation, implemented for the first time at this World Cup, aims to curb potential abusive language during matches. International Football Association Board officials approved the measure during an April meeting in Vancouver, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino supporting stricter enforcement against unsportsmanlike conduct.
Commentators and former players offered mixed reactions to the decision. Clinton Morrison, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Live, noted the importance of adhering to established rules. “If you know the rules, you shouldn’t do it. You’ve got to credit the referee and the VAR for making that decision,” Morrison said. “Not everyone would agree with it, but if those are the rules, you’ve got to stick by the rules.”
Despite playing more than half the match shorthanded, Paraguay held on for a 1-0 victory. The result keeps their knockout stage hopes alive heading into their final group match against Australia.
The rule’s introduction follows several high-profile incidents involving players covering their mouths during conversations with opponents. Earlier this year, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni faced scrutiny after an exchange with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr., ultimately receiving a suspension for related conduct.
FIFA officials emphasized that referees maintain discretion based on context when applying the rule. The measure seeks to promote transparency and discourage potential verbal abuse while maintaining the flow of competitive play.
Almiron had already encountered another new regulation in Paraguay’s opening group match against the United States. Initially booked for a foul, the decision was reversed after video review determined simulation, resulting in a yellow card for diving.
Turkey dominated possession and created numerous opportunities despite the loss. The result eliminates them from knockout contention, though they displayed competitive spirit throughout the match.
The incident sparked immediate discussion among players, coaches and fans regarding the new rule’s implementation. Some viewed it as necessary for maintaining respect in the game, while others worried it could lead to overly harsh punishments for minor infractions.
Paraguay coach expressed mixed feelings about the red card’s impact. “It was a very tough match for many reasons,” he said. “The players did their best. It was very difficult to face this match with two players less with this environment.”
The rule forms part of broader efforts to address player conduct and enhance match integrity. Officials hope consistent enforcement will reduce unsportsmanlike behavior while preserving the competitive nature of international football.
For Paraguay, the victory provides crucial momentum despite the disciplinary setback. Advancing from the group stage would represent a significant achievement for the South American nation in its World Cup campaign.
Turkey’s elimination highlights the challenges of competing in a tough group. Their performance demonstrated quality that could prove valuable in future tournaments as the team continues developing.
The match also featured strong defensive play from Paraguay, which limited Turkey’s attacking threats despite the numerical disadvantage. Goalkeeper performance and organized defending proved decisive in securing the result.
As the tournament progresses, teams and players will adapt to the new regulations. Referees face the challenge of consistent application while managing match flow and player emotions.
The incident underscores ongoing efforts to improve sportsmanship in football. While controversial, such rules aim to create a more respectful environment for players, officials and fans alike.
Paraguay’s remaining group fixture against Australia will test their ability to perform under pressure. A positive result could secure advancement and validate their competitive approach despite early disciplinary issues.
The World Cup continues showcasing both athletic excellence and evolving governance of the sport. New regulations like the mouth-covering rule reflect football’s attempt to balance tradition with modern standards of conduct.
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Stock Market Holiday: BSE, NSE closed on June 26 sets up extended weekend for Dalal Street
A total of 16 stock market holidays have been scheduled for 2026, out of which nine have already passed.
Following next week’s closure, the next market holiday will fall on Monday, September 14, for Ganesh Chaturthi. In the second half of the year, markets will also remain closed on October 2 for Gandhi Jayanti, October 20 for Dussehra, November 10 for Diwali Balipratipada, November 24 for Guru Nanak Jayanti and December 25 for Christmas, which will be the final market holiday of 2026.
Will MCX be closed?
Meanwhile, Multi Commodity Exchange of India will remain closed during the morning session on June 26 but will resume trading in the evening session. According to MCX’s annual trading calendar, the exchange has 16 trading holidays in 2026, with either partial or full-day closures.
The National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited will remain shut for both trading sessions on the same day.
Stock Market Holidays 2026
In 2026, four key holidays fall on weekends and therefore will not lead to additional market closures. These include Mahashivratri on February 15 and Eid-Ul-Fitr on March 21, both of which have already passed, along with Independence Day on August 15 and Diwali Laxmi Pujan on November 8.
Diwali Laxmi Pujan will fall on a Sunday this year, though exchanges will conduct the customary Muhurat Trading session on November 8. The timings for the special one-hour session will be announced closer to the date. Independence Day, meanwhile, falls on a Saturday.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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BBC Radio 4 – Money Box, Pension delays and fraud figures
Capita chiefs promised MPs on the Public Accounts Committee it would fix long-running problems with its administration of one of the biggest pension schemes in the country by the end of this month.
Tens of thousands of retired and serving civil servants have been reporting long delays to payments, leading to serious financial hardship to pensioners and their families.
But Money Box has learned the deadline isn’t likely to be met. We speak to the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee about what happens next.
And cases of reported are still increasing. We explain how AI has become the latest weapon in the fraudsters’ armoury.
Also, holiday season is upon us. What can we do to minimise the hit from those annoying non-sterling transaction fees levied every time we use our plastic. A consumer expert shares his advice.
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Nancy Guthrie Case Reframed by Crypto Firm’s “Wrench Attack” Label as Police Confirm Motive Pending
More than four months after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona, home, a retired FBI agent says a leading cybersecurity company has publicly classified the case as a cryptocurrency-motivated kidnapping — what the industry calls a “wrench attack by proxy.” If the designation holds up, it would reframe the disappearance of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother as part of a documented and growing pattern of violent crimes targeting people connected to digital-currency wealth.
What CertiK Said
Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI agent and NewsNation contributor, posted on X on Saturday, June 13, sharing a screenshot from cybersecurity firm CertiK. In it, CertiK described Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping as part of a “$6 million bitcoin ransom demand” and tied it to what the company called “the documented trend of proxy target selection already identified in our 2025 report.”
CertiK published a broader report documenting 34 verified wrench attacks between January and April 2026, a 41% increase from the 24 incidents recorded during the same period in 2025. Total losses from these attacks exceeded $101 million in just four months. Among the cases flagged in the report was the suspected abduction of Nancy Guthrie, which CertiK categorized as a potential “wrench attack by proxy.” Ransom notes demanding $6 million in Bitcoin were reportedly sent to multiple media outlets, including KGUN9 and TMZ.
What a “Wrench Attack” Means
The term “wrench attack” comes from the cryptocurrency world. It refers to a physical assault or threat, sometimes literally with a wrench or other weapon, aimed at forcing someone to hand over digital assets. A “proxy” variation targets not the crypto holder directly but a family member or associate, using the threat against that person as leverage. The term traces back to a satirical XKCD webcomic first published in 2009, built on the joke that it’s easier to beat someone with a wrench until they give up their password than it is to hack a cryptocurrency wallet.
Coffindaffer characterized the development in stark terms in her post. “Nancy Guthrie: It’s the biggest public break in Nancy’s Case as CertiK, arguably the Leading Crypto Security company in the World, has designated Nancy’s abduction as a Wrench attack by Proxy,” she wrote. “Does CertiK have knowledge as to (whether) Savannah has a Bitcoin account? This is a huge breakthrough. Times have changed. And how these networks operate is new to LE. Unless LE knows who took Nancy, then a Wrench by Proxy Is on the Table.”
An Important Caveat
Despite the attention generated by Coffindaffer’s post, the designation remains, at this stage, an outside assessment rather than a confirmed law enforcement finding. Nothing in the public domain confirms CertiK’s internal knowledge beyond the screenshot Coffindaffer shared, and the assessment remains speculative rather than established fact. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the inquiry, says detectives are still examining DNA and pursuing leads, but no suspect has been identified. The FBI is assisting, yet there has been no confirmation that agents accept the “wrench attack” label or see the case as part of a wider crypto-crime pattern.
Authorities have not officially confirmed any motive in the case, despite the various theories that have circulated publicly in recent weeks.
A Pattern Beyond This Single Case
CertiK’s broader research frames the Guthrie case as one example of an accelerating trend rather than an isolated incident. The blockchain security firm’s data shows wrench attacks are not slowing down. As the report notes, hardware wallets, multisig setups, and time-locked transactions were designed to protect against digital threats, but they do very little when someone threatens a person’s family. The Guthrie case illustrates that wealth proximity, not just wealth ownership, creates risk — meaning a person doesn’t need to hold Bitcoin to become a target, only to be connected to someone who does, or who is perceived to.
The Broader Investigation
The case has remained under intense investigation since Guthrie’s disappearance from her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson. She was last seen at her home on January 31, according to reports, and was reported missing by family the following day. Since then, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI have been processing DNA evidence, following up tips, and reviewing ransom letters connected to the case.
The investigation was formally upgraded from a missing persons case to a homicide investigation earlier this year, even as no official suspect has been named. A masked individual captured on Guthrie’s doorbell camera around the time of her disappearance remains a central, unidentified focus of the inquiry.
Savannah Guthrie’s Continued Absence
Savannah Guthrie has continued to navigate her role at Today amid the ongoing search for her mother, periodically stepping away from her anchor duties. She returned to the broadcast earlier this year following an extended leave of absence after her mother’s disappearance, though she has continued to take intermittent breaks from the show as the investigation has stretched on.
What Comes Next
With CertiK’s assessment now circulating widely but still unconfirmed by the FBI or Pima County investigators, the central question facing the case remains the same one that has persisted for months: whether law enforcement can convert the various competing theories — cryptocurrency ransom, the unidentified masked suspect, or other leads — into an actual identified perpetrator. Coffindaffer’s post suggests the crypto angle may open investigative doors that traditional law enforcement has been slow to walk through, but until the FBI or Pima County Sheriff’s Department issues an official statement addressing CertiK’s designation directly, the “wrench attack” theory remains one competing explanation among several in a case that has now stretched well past the four-month mark without a confirmed suspect or a resolution for the Guthrie family.
Anyone with information related to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. The family’s $1 million reward and the FBI’s $100,000 reward for information remain active.
Business
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Palantir Stock: Hold But Close To Buy, I Do This Instead Of Buying Shares (NASDAQ:PLTR)
“Fundamental Options” would be the title of my investing style, because I combine fundamental analysis with the power of options. I use Fundamental Analysis to quantitatively and qualitatively assess individual stocks and ETFs, and I pursue various strategies: Income oriented, especially BDCs, but also Utilities; Growth At A Reasonable Price, especially Tech, having a background in Software Development; Deep Value, based on Discounted Cash Flow and / or other industry specific valuation methods; Dividend Aristocrats.While I usually invest in stocks for long-term, I also have 20-25 strategies involving options that I use for various purposes: hedging stocks; bullish stock / ETF substitutes with improved risk / reward; neutral trades; trading volatility; earnings-related trades.Teaching is another passion of mine, I used to be a formal on non-formal teacher or coach in different areas of life, including authoring of a free local investing newsletter in the last years.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of PLTR either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Business
Bitcoin remains resilient at $63,600 amid steady ETF inflows and institutional buying
In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin was up 1.30% whereas Ethereum was up 1.67% to trade at $1,723 mark. Among the major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Tron, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin and Cardano gained upto 4.85%.
Also Read | Retirement savings gap after a career break? Expert shares how to recover without taking big risks WazirX market’s desk said this week, the crypto market saw a mix of positive signals and some caution from the macro side. The good news: easing geopolitical tensions and lower oil prices helped reduce inflation worries, improved overall market sentiment and supported a recovery in risk assets, including crypto.
Bitcoin remained strong at the beginning of the week. Institutional confidence also stayed high, with continued ETF inflows and Strategy adding another 1,587 BTC to its holdings. This shows that large investors continue to accumulate during uncertain periods rather than stepping away from the market, WazirX market’s desk further said.
The global crypto market capitalisation went up 1.28% to $2.19 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Piyush Walke, Derivatives Research Analyst, Delta Exchange said on Friday, Bitcoin traded within a narrow range of $62,300 to $63,300 as markets assessed the first significant test of the U.S.–Iran peace memorandum. Despite the geopolitical backdrop, price action across the cryptocurrency market suggests that traders are currently more focused on liquidity conditions than on macroeconomic or political developments.Walke further said from a technical perspective, Bitcoin continues to face resistance at its 20-day moving average, currently situated near $64,000.
Also Read | MF Tracker: Nippon India Small Cap Fund tops all equity funds over 10 years. Is it too late to invest?
In the past week, Bitcoin was down 0.14% and Ethereum was up 3.20%. Among the major altcoins, XRP, Solana, Tron, Hyperliquid, gained upto 19.37% whereas BNB, Dogecoin and Cardano fell upto 5.72%.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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