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Street Child World Cup Wraps in Mexico with Trophies, Music and U2

Irish rock band U2 lead singer Bono applauds beside guitarist The Edge during the match between Indonesia and Argentina for the Boys’ Shield final at the fifth Street Child World Cup football tournament, bringing together street-connected young people from 28 countries, in Texcoco, near Mexico City, Mexico, May 14, 2026, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches in Mexico. REUTERS/Henry Romero
Irish rock band U2 lead singer Bono applauds beside guitarist The Edge during the match between Indonesia and Argentina for the Boys’ Shield final at the fifth Street Child World Cup football tournament, bringing together street-connected young people from 28 countries, in Texcoco, near Mexico City, Mexico, May 14, 2026, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches in Mexico. REUTERS/Henry Romero
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Street Child World Cup Wraps in Mexico with Trophies, Music and U2

Irish rock band U2 lead singer Bono applauds beside guitarist The Edge during the match between Indonesia and Argentina for the Boys’ Shield final at the fifth Street Child World Cup football tournament, bringing together street-connected young people from 28 countries, in Texcoco, near Mexico City, Mexico, May 14, 2026, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches in Mexico. REUTERS/Henry Romero
Irish rock band U2 lead singer Bono applauds beside guitarist The Edge during the match between Indonesia and Argentina for the Boys’ Shield final at the fifth Street Child World Cup football tournament, bringing together street-connected young people from 28 countries, in Texcoco, near Mexico City, Mexico, May 14, 2026, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches in Mexico. REUTERS/Henry Romero

Brazil's boys danced on a bus and Mexico's girls lifted a trophy on home soil, while U2 enjoyed the festivities as the Street Child World Cup brought music, football and celebration to Mexico.

Street-connected young people from 28 teams representing more than 20 countries gathered for the fifth edition of the tournament, which began on May 6 and held its semi-finals and finals in Texcoco, outside Mexico City, on Thursday.

The Irish rock band added star power to the finals, with drummer Larry Mullen Jr. flipping the coin before the boys' Shield final, while Bono, the Edge and Adam Clayton applauded from the sidelines.

At one point, ⁠Bono gestured for ⁠people to turn around and focus on the young players on the pitch.

"This is the fifth Street Child World Cup. It's about creating a global platform for young people's voices to be heard. On their demands on identity, access to education, protection from violence and gender equality," Street Child United CEO and co-founder John Wroe told Reuters.

"And we invite them to play a world cup where the World Cup is. And it's all about getting the eyes of the ⁠world's media on them so they can amplify their voices and bring about lasting change on behalf of street-connected children all over the world."

Brazil's boys beat India in the Cup final, sparking jubilant celebrations, while Mexico's girls won the girls' Cup division against Kenya. Indonesia's boys and Brazil's girls topped the Shield divisions.

Brazil boys captain Joao JV, 18, from Rio de Janeiro, said the victory marked the end of a long journey.

"I want to thank God, first of all. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be here in Mexico, especially to be with my teammates. We've been training for a long time, two years. And so, it is so gratifying for us to be here because we've all dreamt of this.

"To represent Brazil outside ⁠the country is indescribable. ⁠And so, we're all really happy. And I thank God for us getting the title."

Players also spoke about the experience beyond the pitch, from meeting teams from other countries to taking part in workshops on issues affecting street-connected youth.

"The thing I like the most about being at the World Cup is the opportunity to mingle with players from other countries. I also really liked the light show," said India girls captain Pavithra Vellaiyangiri, 17, from Chennai.

The tournament ended in festival style, with American rapper and singer Paul Russell performing as players celebrated nearby.

"Yeah, it's wild to hear that for some of them, it's their first time on a plane; for some of them, it's their first time meeting someone from another country. So, it's cool you can see the way it's just broadening their own understanding of the world and of their place in it. Yeah, it's super cool to see," Russell said.

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Brooch Given to First Passenger to Board Doomed Steamship Found at Roadshow

The brooch contains a dedication with the date April 21 1894 (AP)
The brooch contains a dedication with the date April 21 1894 (AP)
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Brooch Given to First Passenger to Board Doomed Steamship Found at Roadshow

The brooch contains a dedication with the date April 21 1894 (AP)
The brooch contains a dedication with the date April 21 1894 (AP)

A brooch given to the first passenger to board a Dundee-built steamship 37 years before she sank has surfaced at an antiques roadshow.

The decorative item was presented to Elizabeth Anderson on April 21 1894, the date of the maiden voyage of the SS Citrine, according to the British website ‘itv News.’

Built by Dundee shipbuilders W B Thompson & Co, the Citrine was one of a number of vessels in the Glasgow-based “Gem line,” all of which were named after gemstones or minerals.

The shipping firm was owned by William Robertson, who started out with a single barge in 1852 before growing it into one of the largest coastal bulk shipping fleets in Britain.

The brooch was presented to Anderson by Robertson and is inscribed with the words “SS Citrine, April 21 1894, Elizabeth McIntyre Anderson, from William Robertson.”

The sides of the gold-colored item are shaped as a ship’s rope and its center has been designed as a life ring mounted with a citrine stone, echoing the name of the vessel.

The Citrine sank on March 17 1931 after striking rocks at Bradda Head, Port Erin, on the Isle of Man.

Accounts at the time described the ship’s final moments in darkness, heavy weather and confusion, and the disaster claimed the lives of nine of her 11 crew members.

William Robertson had been dead for 12 years by the time of the sinking but the business remained in family hands under his sons, William Francis Robertson and James Robertson.
The brooch was discovered at a WeBuyVintage roadshow in Fleetwood, Lancashire.

Varieties

NASA Robot Mission Aiming to Rescue Space Telescope

This handout photo released by NASA on July 31, 2004, shows the Swift spacecraft being unwrapped in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP)
This handout photo released by NASA on July 31, 2004, shows the Swift spacecraft being unwrapped in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP)
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NASA Robot Mission Aiming to Rescue Space Telescope

This handout photo released by NASA on July 31, 2004, shows the Swift spacecraft being unwrapped in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP)
This handout photo released by NASA on July 31, 2004, shows the Swift spacecraft being unwrapped in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP)

NASA on Tuesday is set to launch a daring robotic rescue mission, a long shot bid to prevent one of its aging telescopes from vanishing into dust.

If successful, the effort could pave the way for giving other satellites a second life.

The operation is set to last several months, kicking off with the launch of a robot designed to rescue the Swift space telescope that's currently falling towards Earth.

Without intervention, Swift is expected to soon burn up in the atmosphere.

The rescue spacecraft developed by the US startup Katalyst is slated to lift off Tuesday at 1023 GMT from a Pacific Ocean atoll aboard a small rocket named Pegasus.

The rocket-propelled launch vehicle will not take off from a launch pad. Instead, it will be released from a jet.

"Everything about this mission is so crazy," said NASA astrophysicist Regina Caputo with a laugh during an interview with AFP.

After it reaches an orbit near that of the telescope, the robot must locate Swift across the vastness of space.

The aim is then for the robot to maneuver around the telescope and latch on with three movable arms.

It will then vie to tow Swift into a stable orbit over the course of at least a month, rescuing it from destruction by moving it about 300 kilometers higher.

"This is a lot of firsts stacked on top of each other," said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, the director of NASA's astrophysics division, during a recent call with reporters.

"I'm just deeply thankful that we're even giving this a go."

The idea of such a rescue might seem odd at first glance.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory telescope was launched in 2004, and was originally designed for a two-year mission.

The device was intended to study gamma-ray bursts, what Caputo called "the most energetic things that happen in the universe."

She likened it to a supercharged version of a supernova, which is a dramatic, explosive death of a star.

Gamma-ray bursts are extremely brief, she explained, so the telescope was placed at an altitude of approximately 600 kilometers in low Earth orbit, so it could remain in constant communication with researchers.

But with that pro came a con -- at such an altitude, the device without its own propulsion would eventually drift closer to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

Caputo said that phenomenon was expected and normal, because when the Sun is in its more active cyclical stages, it emits more particles and causes an expansion of Earth's atmosphere.

That creates drag, meaning satellites in low Earth orbit lose altitude.

Yet when forecasts in early 2025 indicated the telescope was nearing the end of its life, NASA began considering a possible rescue.

"We decided, yeah, we want to go save this one this time, because of how special it is," said Domagal-Goldman.

Despite its age, the Swift telescope remains in high demand within the scientific community, not least for its rapid response capabilities.

Should it burn up, it could not be immediately replaced.

The mission attempting unprecedented maneuvers has a projected cost of $30 million to save the device, which originally cost $250 million.

The rescue robot named LINK will have to overcome numerous challenges and unknowns.

For example, engineers do not have a clear picture of what the back of the telescope actually looks like -- even though that's where the robot must latch on.

With a laugh, Caputo projected the chances of success at "maybe 50-50."

Still, both NASA and the company Katalyst believe the mission -- which could run into the fall -- might pave the way for new possibilities in spacecraft management, and is worth a shot.

Robert Lamontagne, a vice president at Katalyst, said during a call with journalists that it could represent the "start of a new model" to "refuel, reposition, repurpose, repair, and even upgrade satellites, even if they were never prepared for it."

Varieties

Rare Dinosaur Fossil from Antarctica is Found Tucked Away in a Drawer

This image provided by the Natural History Museum shows a fossil found in Antarctica that belongs to a group of dinosaurs called titanosaurs. (Natural History Museum via AP)
This image provided by the Natural History Museum shows a fossil found in Antarctica that belongs to a group of dinosaurs called titanosaurs. (Natural History Museum via AP)
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Rare Dinosaur Fossil from Antarctica is Found Tucked Away in a Drawer

This image provided by the Natural History Museum shows a fossil found in Antarctica that belongs to a group of dinosaurs called titanosaurs. (Natural History Museum via AP)
This image provided by the Natural History Museum shows a fossil found in Antarctica that belongs to a group of dinosaurs called titanosaurs. (Natural History Museum via AP)

Scientists have stumbled on a rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica, tucked away for decades in a drawer.

The bone comes from the tail of a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called a titanosaur. Scientists haven't yet identified the species it belongs to, The Associated Press reported.

It was discovered in 1985 during an expedition to Antarctica's James Ross Island and collected by geologist Mike Thomson. Working with the British Antarctic Survey, Thomson was mapping the area's rock layers and collected marine reptile fossils to help with future dating efforts. He recorded the find as a large reptile.

Decades later, paleontologist Mark Evans spotted the bone in the British Antarctic Survey's collections and wondered whether it might be a dinosaur.

He and other researchers analyzed the shape of the bone and compared it to other more complete dinosaur remains, confirming their discovery. The findings were published on Monday in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

Dinosaur fossils are rare to find in Antarctica because of the unforgiving ice caps. But millions of years ago, when this dinosaur lived, the region was populated by lush forests — a “rather different and much more hospitable place than we think of today,” said study co-author Paul Barrett with the Natural History Museum in London.

At about 23 feet (7 meters) long, the dinosaur was small for its group and may have been young when it died. Scientists don't know how the creature met its end, but they think its body floated away from the coast and sank to the sea floor, becoming fossilized in marine rock.

Technology has come a long way since the dinosaur tail bone was first found, allowing researchers to peer inside bones and gain even more detailed information about ancient creatures. Thomson died in 2020 before the fossil was identified as belonging to a dinosaur.

“If he were still with us, he would be delighted to know what this was,” Evans, a study co-author, said.