Numerous E-bikes and E-scooters were seized in the operation

A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs and possession of a knife.

He was apprehended as part of a police probe into illegal and antisocial use of E-bikes, E-scooters, and motorbikes in Cardiff.

Officers carried out the operation after what they said were ongoing concerns. They seized a number of E-bikes and scooters in the Fairwater, Gabalfa, and Whitchurch areas of the city.

Cannabis, cash, a mobile phone, and knife were also seized as a result of stop-searches.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs and possession of a knife.

The operation in Cardiff comes after police in Swansea city centre seized 29 illegal E-bikes in the months of April and May.

Riders were “given words of advice in most cases as officers aim to provide education on the law in the first instance,” they said.

PC Scott Pearson, from Swansea and Neath Port Talbot officers, said: “These bikes have been seized under Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act due to the riders not having a license or proof of insurance. In either case, the E-bikes are also not registered for use on UK roads.”

South Wales Police is urging people to check the law before buying an e-bike or e-scooter.

The force says on its website that electrical scooters (also known as E-scooters) and unregistered E-motorbikes are classed as motor vehicles under the Road Traffic Act.

This means the rules that apply to motor vehicles also apply to E-scooters including the need to have a licence and insurance.

There are two ways of using an E-scooter:

• by privately owning one
• by renting one through an authorised rental scheme.

It’s not currently possible to get insurance for privately-owned E-scooters. This means it’s illegal to use them on the road or in public spaces such as parks, street pavements, and shopping centres.

If you use a privately-owned E-scooter in public you risk the vehicle being seized under the Road Traffic Act for having no insurance.

If you cause serious harm to another person while riding an E-scooter or E-motorbike the incident will be investigated in the same way it would if you were riding a motorcycle or driving a car.

If you own an E-scooter you can only use it in on private land such as in a garden but you must have the permission of the landowner to do so.

You can rent E-scooters in some parts of the UK. Where a rental trial scheme is running rental E-scooters can be used on public roads, some cycle lanes, and other public spaces. But you must follow the relevant road traffic laws or face prosecution.

To use a rental E-scooter in an approved area you must:

• hold the correct driving licence
• have insurance (the rental companies provide this when you hire from them)
• meet the minimum age limit (this can vary depending on the rental company)

If you breach the rules when using an E-scooter or E-motorbike you could face a fixed penalty notice as well as the seizure of your E-scooter/E-motorbike and its disposal.

Forces set and enforce penalties differently so the penalty will vary depending on where the offence is committed.

The fixed penalty notice could include:

• a £300 fine and six penalty points on your licence for having no insurance
• a £100 fine and three to six penalty points for riding without the correct licence

You could also be committing an offence if you’re caught:

• riding on a pavement: fixed penalty notice and possible £50 fine
• using a mobile phone or other handheld mobile device while riding: £200 and six penalty points
• riding through red lights: fixed penalty notice, £100 fine, and possible penalty points
• drink-driving: the same as if you were driving a car meaning you could face court-imposed fines, a driving ban, and possible imprisonment

If you’re using an E-scooter or E-motorbike in public in an antisocial manner you can also risk the vehicle being seized as has happened in Cardiff.

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At a press conference at Stormont this afternoon, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher briefed reporters on the status of the investigation.

Commenting on the prospect of disorder, the police chief warned people against being influenced “from afar through social media”.

“There will be an increased police presence across Northern Ireland this evening and in the coming days to provide help, support, and reassurance for all our communities, and to keep everybody safe,” he said.

“There is considerable posting on social media. I appeal for everyone to be mindful of what they view and share online. Sharing footage risks causing further trauma to the injured man’s family and loved ones, and may impact on this investigation.

“We are aware, of course, of protest activity being discussed across Northern Ireland this evening, and we continue to monitor this very carefully.

“And I understand that last night’s attempted murder will leave people feeling enraged with emotions from fear to anger, but please, please let the PSNI, let the police do their job unfettered and undistracted by wider concerns there may be about disorder.”

TOKYO (AP) — Chinese and North Korean state-run media this week devoted thousands of words to Xi Jinping ‘s summit with Kim Jong Un, but made no mention of a key matter for Washington: the North’s steadfast pursuit of nuclear weapons that could threaten the United States and its allies in Asia.

The silence says more than reams of the carefully framed propaganda.

Until disarmament talks finally fell apart in 2019, Washington and Beijing were yearslong partners in diplomacy seeking to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for much-needed aid and political recognition.

Beijing routinely called for “denuclearization” — a bureaucratic term for nuclear disarmament — and there was hope in Washington, as well as in Seoul and Tokyo, that China would use its perceived influence as Pyongyang’s diplomatic and economic protector to push the North on the nuclear standoff.

Xi’s visit to Pyongyang on Monday and Tuesday — his first visit there in seven years — could spell the end of that hope — and signal a significant shift in how he views the North’s nuclear weapons.

From Beijing’s perspective, Xi’s silence may be an acknowledgment of how far North Korea’s nuclear program has come since Kim Jong Un took power in 2011 — and also how unlikely it is that diplomacy could get the North to give up the weapons it sees as its largest guarantee against outside interference.

Xi’s silence on nuclear arms is golden for North Korea

The Chinese leader’s last trip to North Korea, in 2019, was starkly different — Xi was quoted in Chinese media as saying his nation would play a constructive role in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Beijing wants, above all, stability in North Korea and the region. A collapse in Pyongyang could send millions streaming across their long shared border.

To that end, China has often avoided directly pushing for the end of North Korea’s nuclear program, according to an analysis by Jiyong Zheng, dean of the Institute of Regional Studies at Tianjin Foreign Studies University in China.

Instead, Beijing called for the denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula — a careful wording that allowed China to also express a desire for an end to U.S. commitments to use its nuclear arsenal to protect South Korea and the deployment of U.S. nuclear capable bombers near the Korean Peninsula.

In recent months, Beijing has signaled it wants to prioritize stabilizing the situation on the peninsula, with denuclearization as a second aim, Zheng wrote.

Similarly, after last month’s summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Xi, the White House said the two leaders confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea.

China, however, only said the U.S. and Chinese leaders discussed the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

On Sunday, Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, dismissed as “false information” the U.S. readout of the Xi-Trump meeting.

Last week, Kim Jong Un unveiled a new plant to produce nuclear ingredients and vowed to bolster nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” His sister also said that any U.S. push for the denuclearization of North Korea was an “anachronistic dream.”

It may be that China doesn’t want to see North Korea and the U.S. growing too close, said Park Won Gon, a professor at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University, adding that Beijing might prefer to keep the North within its sphere of influence and use that relationship as leverage with the U.S.

Xi may be tacitly accepting North Korea’s push for nukes

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told reporters on Monday that North Korea is producing enough nuclear fuel annually for about 10 to 20 bombs and is close to perfecting its intercontinental ballistic missile technology, which could deliver a nuclear bomb to the U.S. mainland.

Kim, meanwhile, has stressed that nuclear weapons are an essential part of the North’s national identity. He has enshrined North Korea’s nuclear status in the constitution and dedicated a growing share of resources, industry and bureaucracy toward sustaining it.

Some analysts see China’s avoidance of the word “denuclearization” in Xi’s visit this time as a clear change in Beijing’s stance, and a tacit acceptance of North Korea’s nuclear status.

This shift could mean that efforts by the U.S., Japan and South Korea to deter the North will become a regular push rather than something seen as more temporary, according to Seong-Hyon Lee, a senior fellow at the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations.

“Beijing’s silence should not be viewed as a bureaucratic oversight but as a deliberate strategic signal,” Lee said. “By tacitly accepting North Korea’s nuclear status, Beijing strengthens its position as an indispensable stakeholder in any future negotiations.”

Even so, China’s acceptance of North Korea’s military ambitions may have limits.

While Xi’s visit signals a “strategic embrace of Kim,” it is “not a blank check for North Korea,” said Leif-Eric Easley, also a professor at Ewha Womans University.

Beijing wants stability and respect for its regional ambitions, Easley said. “North Korea’s persistent expansion of military capabilities is pushing the limits of what its larger neighbor will tolerate.”

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Associated Press reporters Kim Tong-hyung and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, Huizhong Wu in Bangkok, and Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Foster Klug, the AP’s news director for the Koreas, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, has reported on North Korea and traveled there frequently since 2005.

NEW YORK (AP) — Another sudden reversal for high-flying artificial-intelligence stocks sent Wall Street reeling on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% after careening between an initial gain of 1% and a midday loss of 2.3%, pulling further from its all-time high set a week ago. After similar yo-yo moves, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 86 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1%.

Indexes swung lower after companies selling computer chips, memory and other building blocks of the AI boom broke from early gains to losses. Micron Technology went from a jump of 4% to a plummet of 10%, for example, before finishing with a drop of 1.4%. That’s a day after it soared 9.9% and two days after it plunged 13.3%.

The computer memory company’s stock has already tripled so far this year, raising criticism that it’s gone too far, too fast. Following last week’s industrywide sell-off, the question is whether AI stocks broadly are heading for a long downturn or just needed a shake-out to get rid of excessive optimism.

All the while, several big-name AI companies are racing to list their stocks on a U.S. exchange and sell them at high prices. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said Monday it was the latest to file confidential paperwork with U.S. regulators top open the door for an initial public offering. SpaceX’s IPO could happen later this week.

The weakness for AI stocks drowned out the benefit Wall Street got from easing oil prices. Nearly three out of every four stocks within the S&P 500 rose, despite the sharp swings for the overall index, as the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil sank 3% to $91.45.

Oil prices have been unsteady as hopes rise and fade that the United States and Iran can reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. A reopening would allow oil tankers to resume delivering crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

Oil prices pared their losses, though, after President Donald Trump said Iran was responsible for downing an American military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and that the United States “must” respond to the attack.

High oil prices caused by the war with Iran have already created a painful acceleration of inflation for U.S. shoppers. They have also pushed bond yields higher worldwide, raising the pressure on stock prices.

Treasury yields eased Tuesday with the fade in oil prices, relaxing some of that pressure. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.52% from 4.56% late Monday, though it’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

The latest monthly updates on U.S. inflation will arrive later in the week, with one on consumer prices coming Wednesday and one on wholesale prices coming Thursday.

Inflation is high enough, and the U.S. job market looks strong enough, that traders on Wall Street largely expect the Federal Reserve will have to raise its main interest rate at least once by the end of this year. Higher interest rates would keep a lid on inflation, but they would also threaten to slow the economy and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate recently hit its highest level in nine months, and high costs to borrow money could discourage the building of AI data centers that are fueling the U.S. economy’s growth.

On Wall Street, airline stocks flew higher after the drop in oil prices hinted at less pressure on their fuel bills. American Airlines rose 3.6%, and Delta Air Lines gained 3.8%.

J.M. Smucker jumped 10.4% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company behind the Folgers, Hostess and other brands benefited from higher prices charged for coffee and sweet baked goods. It joined a long list of U.S. companies delivering stronger profit growth than analysts expected, which has helped drive the S&P 500 to record after record this year.

Nuvalent soared 39.3% after GSK agreed to buy the biotech company for $10.6 billion. The shares of U.K.-based GSK that trade in New York added 1.2%.

All told, the S&P 500 slipped 19.08 points to 7,386.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 86.10 to 50,872.11, and the Nasdaq composite fell 250.84 to 25,678.82.

In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped in Europe following bigger moves in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 8.2% and nearly recovered Monday’s plunge of 8.3%. It’s been beholden to the performance of big tech stocks like SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

The UK State Pension age is gradually increasing from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and March 2028 for those born after April 1960

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People are being advised to verify their State Pension age as the long-anticipated rise from 66 to 67 is currently taking place. The adjustment began in April and means those born in the early 1960s may not retire at 66, with their State Pension age instead being calculated according to their date of birth.

The State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67 between now and March 2028. Those born between April 6, 1960, and March 5, 1961, will have their retirement age extended beyond 66, with the precise age dependent on their birth date.

For some individuals, this could result in waiting several additional months before they can begin collecting their State Pension. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is urging those nearing retirement to verify their State Pension age so they understand precisely when they will qualify, as payments do not commence automatically.

DWP said: “Between April 2026 and March 2028, the State Pension age will gradually rise from 66 to 67, affecting those born on or after 6 April 1960.

“Use the free State Pension age calculator on GOV.UK to find your exact age – you just need your date of birth. You can also use the Check your State Pension forecast tool to see how much you might get and if you can increase it, for example, by filling any gaps in your record.”

Another crucial point is the State Pension does not commence automatically – individuals must actively claim it upon reaching State Pension age. The Pension Service typically dispatches an invitation letter approximately four months prior to an individual reaching their State Pension age, outlining the steps required to submit a claim, reports the Daily Record.

DWP said: “Remember, your State Pension doesn’t start automatically. The Pension Service will write to you around four months before you reach State Pension age to invite you to apply.”

Verifying your State Pension age is straightforward and can be completed online by entering your date of birth into the UK Government’s official State Pension age calculator.

The full New State Pension is now worth £241.30 a week, some £995.20 every four-week payment period. The precise sum an individual receives is determined by their National Insurance record.

Most people need around 35 qualifying years of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to receive the full New State Pension, while those with fewer qualifying years may be entitled to a reduced amount. You need 10 years of NICs to qualify for any State Pension payments.

The rise in State Pension age forms part of the UK Government’s long-term strategy, intended to account for increasing life expectancy and the escalating expense of pension funding.

Additional increases are already scheduled, with the State Pension age anticipated to climb further to 68 in the mid-2040s, though the precise timeline for this adjustment remains under review.

For now, the DWP states that the key priority is ensuring those approaching retirement are fully aware of when they become eligible for their State Pension and how to go about claiming it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After complaints about staffing cuts and long waits to get help at the Social Security Administration, its commissioner says he’s ready to make the case to Congress this week that things are getting a lot better at the embattled agency.

Frank Bisignano is expected to face pointed questions from lawmakers at a hearing on his agency’s customer service performance, its ability to pay Americans their benefits, protect their privacy, and other questions about the inner workings of the SSA.

He plans to tout shorter wait times and other customer service metrics to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing slated for Wednesday, and slam his predecessor for requiring appointments for field office visits, in a letter to lawmakers viewed by The Associated Press.

In the letter, Bisignano states that the SSA has cut phone wait times by 75% under his leadership, fixed frustrating website issues, and served 50% more people.

“I’ve been very clear. We will meet clients where they want to be met. You want to call us on a phone, we’ll have technology on the phone, or you can talk to somebody on the phone. You want to come to a field office, you can come with an appointment, or without,” Bisignano told The Associated Press in an interview.

Critics argue those gains are being achieved through temporary staffing shifts, increased reliance on online services, and workforce reductions that have created longer-term service risks, shifting bottlenecks around rather than solving staffing problems.

Bisignano dismisses the criticism. “People boo at Yankee Stadium, even when they’re winning,” he said.

Bisignano took over the agency after a series of chaotic customer service changes, leadership exits, and false allegations made by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — who ran the Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting program — that millions of dead people were receiving benefits.

The SSA cut 7,000 workers at the start of the Trump administration. Roughly 2,000 employees were reassigned last year into direct-service positions, including staff whose jobs don’t normally involve answering calls.

The SSA’s Inspector General — its internal watchdog — has identified ongoing errors in benefit administration and claims processing. But its latest semiannual report to Congress also shows the agency has made measurable progress in improving telephone service and deploying technology to speed disability claims processing.

The union representing SSA employees and field office workers says some offices are severely understaffed. That includes Ironwood, Michigan; Decorah, Iowa; Havre, Montana; Big Spring, Texas; Sheridan, Wyoming; Glasgow, Montana; Pierre, South Dakota; Cedar City, Utah; and Cody, Wyoming, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Council 220.

But Bisignano said no field offices have been closed and noted that the agency is committed to meeting clients where they prefer.

“What I’m trying to achieve is to have a better way for the American public to interact with the Social Security Administration,” Bisignano said.

Bisignano also serves as chief executive of the IRS, in a role that was created by the Trump administration. Asked about a new tax audit immunity deal for Trump and his family that was part of the controversial settlement crafted to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, Bisignano referred The Associated Press to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent comments to a congressional committee, where he refused comment on ongoing litigation.

Officials in Pomona, California, had to issue an apology after a recreation guide mailed out by the city reportedly included adult content.

“The City of Pomona is aware that some copies of the recently mailed Recreation Guide may include inappropriate images that should not have appeared in a publication distributed to residents,” the city wrote on its Facebook page on Monday.

Officials said that the materials had not been approved for inclusion in the mailer and assured residents that the images were not meant to be included.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the images were “pornographic” in nature.

“We sincerely apologize to our community, especially to families and children who may have been affected,” city officials wrote. “This content does not reflect the City’s values, and we take this matter very seriously.”

The city pulled the guide from further distribution and has launched an investigation into how the images wound up in the guide.

Pomona Assistant City Manager Mark Gluba told The Daily Bulletin that officials have confirmed that the images were not added by the print shop the city contracted to produce the physical guides.

He told the paper on Tuesday that the city was “awaiting the Pomona Police Department to come take a crime report and coordinate the investigation in conjunction with the US Postal Inspection Service.”

“Our Community Services Department coordinates the Recreation Guide and approval of the final proof. Per our vendor, US Printing, the errors did not originate from their print shop, thus the City is looking into the matter with the assumption that a rogue actor may have created and mailed the inappropriate material.”

Officials assured the public that they were taking steps to make sure a similar situation does not occur in the future.

“We recognize this incident has damaged public trust and are committed to transparency as we review the issue and implement corrective actions,” city officials wrote.

Residents who want to see the city’s recreation guide as it’s intended to be seen can do so on the city’s website.

Masked males set commercial bins alight and pushed them into the Glider bus on the Newtownards Road in the east of the city on Tuesday evening

Protesters have set fire to a bus in Belfast as disorder flared at an anti-immigration demonstration organised in response to Monday night’s stabbing attack in the city.

Masked males set commercial bins alight and pushed them into the Glider bus on the Newtownards Road in the east of the city on Tuesday evening.

It came as a large crowd gathered in the area for a scheduled anti-immigration protest.

Demonstrations are taking place in areas across Northern Ireland following Monday night’s incident. Multiple roads have been blocked by groups of masked protesters.

Earlier, a man arrested on suspicion of the Belfast knife attack was charged with attempted murder.

The 30-year-old accused, who is Sudanese, is also charged with possession of an article with a blade or point in a public place and making threats to kill.

He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

In Northern Ireland, the authorities do not release the name of accused persons before they appear in court.

The victim of the attack, a man aged in his 40s, remained in a serious condition in hospital on Tuesday receiving treatment for serious eye, face and back wounds.

There has been widespread condemnation of Monday night’s knife assault.

Police commanders and political leaders had appealed for calm amid concern the planned anti-immigration protests would turn violent.

Detectives have said there is no indication Monday’s knife attack was terror-related.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has launched a “critical incident” in response to the incident which was captured on video and appears to show a man stabbing at the victim’s head and neck while he was lying on the ground.

The clip shows people, including one with a hurling stick, intervening to stop the man attacking the victim in the Kinnaird Avenue residential area close to the busy Antrim Road in north Belfast.

A kitchen knife was recovered from the scene.

Earlier on Tuesday, police revealed details on the arrested man’s immigration status and how he travelled to the UK.

He entered Northern Ireland across the Irish border in February 2023 having flown to Dublin from Paris.

He claimed asylum upon arrival and in September 2023 was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2028.

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher briefed reporters on the status of the investigation as he appeared alongside Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Justice Minister Naomi Long at a press conference at Stormont on Tuesday afternoon.

Commenting on the prospect of disorder, the police chief warned people against being influenced “from afar through social media”.

“I understand that last night’s attempted murder will leave people feeling enraged with emotions from fear to anger, but please, please let the PSNI, let the police do their job unfettered and undistracted by wider concerns there may be about disorder,” he said.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the knife attack.

“The horrific attack in Belfast last night is sickening,” he said.

“I have absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.

“My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and I thank the first responders, including members of the public who intervened.”

Later, the leaders of the five largest parties at Stormont issued a joint statement in response to the attack.

Sinn Féin vice president Ms O’Neill, DUP leader Gavin Robinson, Alliance Party leader Ms Long, UUP leader Jon Burrows and SDLP leader Claire Hanna said they were “united in our condemnation of the horrific incident in North Belfast last night”.

The political leaders urged anyone with information that could help the police investigation to assist detectives.

They also issued an appeal for calm.

The scene outside an apartment complex off Kinnaird Avenue remained cordoned off on Tuesday, with markers visible on the ground where the attack had taken place.

For the latest on this developing story follow our live blog here.

In March this year, Craig Gordon travelled to London to see a man called Usamah Jannoun, a spine doctor who didn’t sugarcoat the risks involved in the treatment the 43-year-old needed to fix a neck injury.

“You’ve read the information leaflet,” Jannoun told the injured Hearts and Scotland goalkeeper.

“You could get paralysis, you could die…”

From there to here – in Charlotte, North Carolina getting ready for a World Cup that must have seemed like an impossible dream only a few short months ago.

Behind-the-scenes footage of Gordon talking to Jannoun features in Icons of Football, a BBC Scotland documentary on Gordon’s life and times, available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday at 06:00 BST. It’s by turns emotional, harrowing and inspirational.

Gordon says his entire career has been a series of comebacks, a litany of fights against the odds.

Through a succession of serious injuries – ankle issues, broken arms, broken leg, knee surgeries, neck and shoulder problems – he has missed an estimated 1,975 days of football or around 200 games. Way back in 2012 he suffered patellar tendonitis, a career-threatening condition that kept him out for two years.

He visited experts in Sweden and Spain, had three surgeries and visited a psychologist because his club at the time – Sunderland – thought the pain that left him in major difficulty when trying to climb the stairs or walk down the street might have been all in his head. It was not.

A surgeon advised Gordon to retire. He decided to carry on. From 2012 to 2014 he played no football. He was the forgotten man, cast into a recurring nightmare of rehab and hope.

“I suppose I try and hide it,” he says of the upset caused by all the physical trauma. “There are definitely times where I’ve cried because of injury. I just probably don’t show it to everybody else.”

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The World Cup referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the United States after arriving in Miami and subsequently cut from the tournament by FIFA was set to make history for his country.

Omar Artan was going to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament, which was announced two months ago. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.

He was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without giving details of those concerns. Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya that processed it.

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said Tuesday the referee was denied admittance for “very good reason” but also declined to go into details.

The move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country is highly unusual. Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subjected to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s strict crackdown on immigration. That raised concerns that fans, players and officials from those countries — most of which are African — might be caught up in the crackdown and denied entry for the World Cup despite having valid visas.

The Somalia Youth and Sports Ministry said on Tuesday that its embassy in the U.S. was trying to resolve the problem to allow Artan to referee at the World Cup, which opens on Thursday.

The refusal to allow him into the U.S. might be related to the larger travel restrictions on Somalia “rather than any specific allegation against him,” Isse Aden Abshir, a senior adviser at the Somalia sports ministry, told The Associated Press.

Artan subjected to ‘additional inspection’

Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Monday that Artan “underwent additional inspection” on arrival and called it “a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility.”

“Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry,” CBP said.

CBP said all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. — including World Cup players, coaches and staff — were subject to CBP inspection and vetting.

“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” the CBP statement said. “CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections, and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.”

FIFA drops ref from World Cup

FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and was informed by U.S. authorities that Artan’s “status will not be changed at present.” It said Artan wouldn’t be able to train and officiate at the World Cup.

“In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country,” FIFA said.

Still, FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino built close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump’s government as the U.S. prepared to co-host with Mexico and Canada and had publicly stressed how that would help the World Cup run smoothly.

Infantino did not immediately comment on the issue, while FIFA released a statement on behalf of Artan.

“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” Artan said in the statement.

He was to make history for Somalia

Artan was praised as one of Africa’s best referees and was the ref for the decisive leg of the African Champions League final last month — Africa’s biggest club soccer game.

He spoke in a recent interview with the Al Jazeera TV network about how he was honored to be selected as the first Somali to referee at the World Cup and how he faced challenges in his conflict-torn country in East Africa, including sometimes having to change his route to training because of explosions in the streets of the capital, Mogadishu.

“You cannot give up as a referee,” Artan said in the interview. This (going to the World Cup) was my big, big target and I’m really excited.”

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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva and AP writer Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup