عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Baby Haaland in Peru: Newborns Take Names of World Cup Stars

Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after beating the Ivory Coast at the World Cup. (Getty Images)
Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after beating the Ivory Coast at the World Cup. (Getty Images)
TT
TT

Baby Haaland in Peru: Newborns Take Names of World Cup Stars

Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after beating the Ivory Coast at the World Cup. (Getty Images)
Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after beating the Ivory Coast at the World Cup. (Getty Images)

In Peru, there is ‌a wave of new baby Haalands. In Argentina, Lionel has raced up the rankings, and in Mexico a girl was reportedly named after three football players. Parents in Latin America are already christening a new generation of babies after the stars of the World Cup.

Hundreds of newborns in Peru have been named for rising stars such as Norway's Erling Haaland, while names inspired by legacy icons like Lionel Messi, Brazil's Neymar and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo each count around 30,000 registrations, Ivan Torres, a spokesperson for Peru's civil registry RENIEC told Panamericana TV last week.

"Haaland is now Peruvian too," Torres said, noting one newborn was simply ‌named "Mundial" after the ‌Spanish shorthand for the World Cup. Peru did not ‌qualify ⁠for the tournament.

Many ⁠Latin Americans with teams not competing or knocked out have been unwilling to support Argentina — broadly seen as too Eurocentric — and thrown their support behind the Norwegian team, whose "Viking row" and Haaland-driven run to the quarter-finals for the first time won them legions of new fans.

In Mexico, which co-hosted the World Cup with the US and Canada, a picture of a birth certificate went viral on social ⁠media showing a baby girl named Quiñona Ysisidra Morita ‌Haaland Guevara - a reference to Mexican stars ‌Julián Quiñones and Gilberto Mora as well as the Norwegian striker.

Ysisidra is a play on "Y ‌si sí?", or "What if?", the upbeat mantra chanted by Mexican fans until ‌they were knocked out by England in the last 16.

Mexico's governance secretariat did not immediately verify the authenticity of the certificate.

In Argentina, Enzo, Emiliano and Lionel topped the list of most popular boy names in the northeastern province of Salta the week before ‌the final, according to local authorities who attributed the trend to the "World Cup phenomenon."

Argentina's World Cup team, who ⁠will play in ⁠Sunday's final, include midfielder Enzo Fernandez and goalkeeper Emiliano "Dibu" Martinez, as well as team captain Messi.

Fabiola Molina, who hosts Mexico City-based podcast "Sin manual para padres" ("No manual for parents"), told Reuters the trend had a history across Latin America dating back to Diego Maradona's 1986 goal against England.

"A few years ago when the Backstreet Boys were popular, many women were naming their sons Kevin and Brian, and that's why it's very common in countries like Bolivia, Chile and Argentina to find someone called Brian Gonzalez, for example."

"It's funny, but it could also be prejudicial to children when they grow up," she said. "Just because your name is Messi or Lionel, it doesn't mean you'll grow up to be a good soccer player — destiny won't carve that out for you."

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Northeast Spain Wildfire Destroys Over 12,000 Hectares

Firefighters work at a site, following a wildfire in the municipality of Ores, northern Aragon region, Spain July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via Reuters)
Firefighters work at a site, following a wildfire in the municipality of Ores, northern Aragon region, Spain July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via Reuters)
TT
TT

Northeast Spain Wildfire Destroys Over 12,000 Hectares

Firefighters work at a site, following a wildfire in the municipality of Ores, northern Aragon region, Spain July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via Reuters)
Firefighters work at a site, following a wildfire in the municipality of Ores, northern Aragon region, Spain July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via Reuters)

A major wildfire that has been raging for two days in northeast Spain has reduced more than 12,000 hectares of land to ash, regional authorities said Friday, warning of a "very high risk of spreading".

"The night has been very complex, very difficult. At this time, we estimate that the burned area exceeds 12,000 hectares" (29,650 acres), Roberto Bermúdez de Castro, who is responsible for security issues within the regional government of Aragon, told the media.

Spain is still reeling from another fire last week in the southern Andalusia region that killed 13 people -- including seven Britons and an American -- and destroyed 7,000 hectares, the deadliest such disaster in the country's recent history.

More than 450 firefighters backed by army reinforcements were battling the growing blaze near the city of Zaragoza, in a sparsely populated part of the Aragon region, where five small villages have been evacuated.

Peak temperatures of up to 40C have hit Aragon in recent days.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of extreme heat, which creates favorable conditions for the spread of wildfires and complicates firefighting efforts.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned Tuesday on a visit to fire-devastated Andalusia that Spain was facing a "complicated summer" for wildfires.

Varieties

Scientists Find New Monkey Species in Congo's Rainforest

Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park, sit on a tree branch, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this undated handout image. Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via REUTERS
Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park, sit on a tree branch, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this undated handout image. Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via REUTERS
TT
TT

Scientists Find New Monkey Species in Congo's Rainforest

Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park, sit on a tree branch, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this undated handout image. Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via REUTERS
Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park, sit on a tree branch, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this undated handout image. Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via REUTERS

Scientists have identified a new species of monkey in Democratic Republic of Congo's rainforest, distinguished by patches of light-colored skin around its mouth, Florida Atlantic University said in a statement.

The discovery marks only the fifth new monkey species identified in Africa in the last 75 ⁠years, according to ⁠the statement issued this week.

The species known by locals as "Likweli" was named Colobus congoensis by scientists.

Small in size, the black monkey ⁠has a distinctive "mask-like appearance" with a vivid orange-cream patch surrounding its mouth and nose.

The newly identified primate's roaring possesses a distinct acoustic structure, the research showed.

"This discovery reinforces how much biodiversity remains undocumented in the Central Congo Basin," Reuters quoted John ⁠Hart, ⁠a conservation scientist from the Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation, as saying.

Researchers warn the monkey may already be at risk due to its small range area and population size and propose the International Union for Conservation of Nature should classify it as endangered.

Varieties

Japan Imperial Rules Tweaked, but Still No Woman Emperor

FILE -Well-wishers wave Japanese flags as Emperor Naruhito with his imperial families makes a public appearance at the balcony of Imperial Palace, Jan. 2, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE -Well-wishers wave Japanese flags as Emperor Naruhito with his imperial families makes a public appearance at the balcony of Imperial Palace, Jan. 2, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
TT
TT

Japan Imperial Rules Tweaked, but Still No Woman Emperor

FILE -Well-wishers wave Japanese flags as Emperor Naruhito with his imperial families makes a public appearance at the balcony of Imperial Palace, Jan. 2, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE -Well-wishers wave Japanese flags as Emperor Naruhito with his imperial families makes a public appearance at the balcony of Imperial Palace, Jan. 2, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Japan's parliament tweaked the imperial succession law on Friday but maintained the bar on women emperors -- despite surveys suggesting wide public support for the idea.

The future of the imperial household -- mythically descended from the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu -- depends currently on Prince Hisahito, the 19-year-old nephew of Emperor Naruhito, 66.

If Hisahito -- a fan of dragonflies, who is currently studying biology and is not married -- has no son, then under the rules as they stand he will have no heir and the bloodline will end.

There have been eight female emperors on the Chrysanthemum Throne in Japan's imperial family, whose divine status was renounced after World War II.

But an 1889 imperial house law stipulated that only men could become emperor, and only through the paternal line. This was carried over in 1947 into the current Imperial Household Law.

This rules out the popular Princess Aiko, 24, daughter of Naruhito, or any other royal woman ever becoming emperor.

The bill, passed by the upper house on Friday, allows the adoption of male distant relatives aged over 15 back into the imperial family -- as long as they are single -- and for their future sons to become eligible to ascend the throne.

They are members of 11 families that left the imperial register after Japan's defeat in World War II.

The new rules also end the practice of women having to lose their royal status after marrying a commoner, although because of their gender their children still cannot become emperor.

The legislation passed after wrangling within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Japan's first woman prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, who opposes female succession.

Seiichiro Murakami, a veteran of the conservative LDP, said after the bill passed the lower house on July 10 that it was "utterly outrageous" to rule out Aiko becoming emperor.

Asahiro Kuni, 81, a member of one of the 11 imperial branches, has also said he would advise his grandchildren to refuse the opportunity of becoming royals.

"By the age of 15, a person has grown up breathing the air of freedom," Kuni told the Asahi Shimbun daily.

A poll conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun last month found only 23 percent of people in favor of the sons of re-adopted imperial family members becoming emperor, and 34 percent against.

By contrast, more than 70 percent supported a woman emperor, and 40 percent a matrilineal one.

An Asahi Shimbun poll in May also showed 72 percent of respondents in favor of changing the rules to allow women to ascend the throne.

The imperial family now has 16 members in total, including five men -- retired emperor Akihito, 92, his brother, 90, the emperor, his brother, and Hisahito.

Hideya Kawanishi, a professor at Nagoya University and expert in Japan's emperor system, told AFP that the new bill "fails to reflect public opinion".

"For the conservative camp of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the likes, the overriding goal is to preserve the male-line, male-only succession to the throne, and that is precisely why they do not want to listen to the voices of the people," he said.

"I believe these amendments carry the risk of undermining public support for the symbolic Emperor system."

"Maybe it would have been good if they talked more about the possibility of female emperors and other stuff reflecting modern society," office worker Yoshiki Yaguchi, 66, told AFP while walking in the Yurakcho area of Tokyo.

"The male chauvinism has to be scrapped," high-school student Yumi told AFP as she came out of a shopping mall with her like-minded friend, Misa, also 17.