As the sport's popularity spread across the world, it developed its own colourful language/expressions. From clever slang to bizarre nicknames, the game's changing culture has thrown up some rather unusual turn of phrase. Here are 8 of the strangest football terms ever used.
A light sport aircraft crashed into Beijing's Citic Tower, the city's tallest skyscraper, causing an immediate evacuation and scattering debris. The incident, which occurred in the prominent business district, has raised concerns, with authorities yet to comment and the origin and circumstances of the crash remaining unknown. The aircraft was identified as a Sunward SA60L Aurora, and the crash highlights recent stringent regulations on recreational flying in Beijing's airspace.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to New Zealand culminated in the elevation of bilateral ties to a strategic partnership, with a focus on doubling trade and enhancing cooperation in sports and the Indo-Pacific region. Modi and his counterpart Christopher Luxon attended a sports showcase, acknowledging a century of sporting ties and discussing future collaborations, including India's preparations for the Commonwealth Games 2030. The visit also saw 18 concrete outcomes and 10 agreements signed, alongside discussions with business leaders.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reduced India's growth forecast for FY27 to 6.4 per cent, citing the potential impact of higher energy prices offsetting the country's economic resilience. Despite this, India remains among the fastest-growing major economies.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Iran to guarantee freedom and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil trade, amid ongoing tensions with the US.
Neeraj Chopra will compete in the Asian Games in Japan in September-October in his bid to defend the title.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will inaugurate the underground tunnel-boring work from Vikhroli to the Bandra Kurla Complex station in Mumbai on Sunday, marking the maiden use of a tunnel boring machine for the country's first bullet train project, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
India has strongly criticised China's practice of assigning 'fictitious names' to areas within Indian territory, stating that such actions are futile attempts to alter reality and negatively impact efforts to normalise bilateral relations.
Harmanpreet Kaur was on Tuesday retained as captain of a largely predictable 15-member India squad for this year's Asian Games in Japan.
China's week-long mediation between Pakistan and Afghanistan concludes without a formal agreement, though Beijing claims progress in exploring solutions to resolve their differences.
The Indian government has ordered the removal of three Chinese mobile applications - BAT-BMS, Lossigy, and Epoch-i-ion - from app stores, citing their alleged misuse to remotely disable battery-operated vehicles in India, amid heightened cybersecurity concerns.
Indian refiners have access to only limited Iranian volumes compared with Russian oil, and even the barrels on offer come with 'too many hassles'.
China and Bhutan held the 15th Expert Group Meeting to discuss boundary alignment, focusing on areas where there are no disputes, and agreed to maintain the momentum of negotiations.
A senior US official has warned against the weaponisation of digital and artificial intelligence sovereignty by political voices, urging nations to avoid costly re-invention of existing technology. The official highlighted the economic dangers of rebuilding entire tech stacks and emphasised India's crucial role as an indispensable partner in global technological leadership due to its engineering talent and innovation ecosystem.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Beijing to discuss the West Asia conflict, the Strait of Hormuz blockade, and bilateral relations with Chinese leaders.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has approved the development of a 1.75 million tonnes (mt) strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) in Mangaluru, a project deemed of national importance, with plans for broad commercial utilisation.
India's crude oil imports from Russia reached a record high of approximately 2.73 million barrels per day (mbpd) in June, driven by discounts of $2-5 a barrel. This surge comes as the West Asia crisis disrupted supplies from traditional sources and China reduced its own purchases, leading Russia to offer more favourable terms to India.
Lakshya Sen and the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered narrow losses as India trailed 0-2 against China in their final Group A tie of the Thomas Cup Finals.
'Our leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, are in touch with all Opposition parties, including the DMK and the AAP.'
Officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China are meeting in Urumqi to discuss regional security concerns and potential confidence-building measures.
India is increasingly focusing on long-range weapons capable of reaching targets across China.
India has significantly improved its position as a global foreign direct investment (FDI) destination, climbing two places to 11th in 2025, with inflows surging by nearly 44 per cent to $38.89 billion, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) World Investment Report 2026.
'They talked bad about our leaders. They said India was a dead economy. They were not sensitive to the Indian psyche.'
Julien Alfred became the third-fastest woman in 200m history with a 21.51-second win, while Emmanuel Wanyonyi broke a 27-year-old world record in the rarely contested 1,000m at the Monaco Diamond League.
Indian companies' overseas expansion plans are holding strong despite geopolitical tensions in West Asia, driven by structural factors like supply-chain diversification, free trade agreements, and market expansion, according to Ajay Sharma, managing director and head of banking at HSBC India.
With over 75 per cent indigenous content, the frigate is among the most self-reliant frontline warships built in India.
Much will depend on how the protagonists use the current interlude to work proactively for the beginning of a durable settlement or, on the contrary, prepare for a new round of escalation, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
China is mediating talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan to address their ongoing military conflict, following Pakistan's operation against terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan and UN reports questioning Pakistan's evidence of militant presence in Afghanistan.
Not a single retail outlet ran dry. Every household that wanted a cylinder got one. India faced neither a 1991 moment nor a 2013 one. Macroeconomic stability held. This was not an accident, and it was not luck alone. It was the work of a government that chose to act as it had during the pandemic -- deliberately and gradually, building one measure upon another rather than reaching for a single dramatic lever, explains V Anantha Nageswaran, chief economic advisor to the Government of India.
India's senior bridge teams, both A and B, have made an impressive start at the fifth Asia Cup Bridge Championship in Goa, positioning themselves among the top contenders after the opening day. While the senior teams excelled, the women's teams faced a challenging start.
Europe has overtaken Asia as India's biggest arms supplier, reflecting New Delhi's evolving defence procurement strategy.
The Indian Under-18 women's hockey team was defeated by China in a penalty shootout during the semi-finals of the Under-18 Asian Championships, ending their bid for a gold medal. After a 2-2 draw in regulation time, India lost 1-3 in the shootout and will now compete for the bronze medal.
Indian boxer Minakshi, a former world champion, has advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup (Stage 2) in the 51kg category after a dominant victory.
Is Bhutan merely experimenting with digital finance -- or is the Himalayan kingdom punching far above its weight, quietly playing one of the most sophisticated strategic games in Asia today? asks Varun Arya.
The US and India are collaborating to de-risk global supply chains for artificial intelligence technologies, particularly in semiconductor manufacturing and critical minerals processing. This partnership is facilitated through the US-led Pax Silica initiative, which aims to address over-concentration issues and single points of failure in supply chains, fostering a resilient global economy.
China and Pakistan have jointly proposed a five-point peace plan to address the ongoing conflict in West Asia, focusing on de-escalation and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Formerly Iran's second-largest oil customer, Indian financial institutions were forced to withhold crude oil payments following the 2018 US sanctions.
Russia and China vetoed a Bahrain-backed UN resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. A resolution that was already diluted to secure their abstentions.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini met the Indian Junior Women's Handball Team to extend his best wishes for the upcoming Junior Women's Handball World Championship in China. He emphasised the importance of sports and expressed confidence in the team's ability to bring glory to the nation.
India's top-seeded U-19 mixed doubles pair, P.B. Abhinandh and Divyanshi Bhowmick, secured a bronze medal at the Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships by reaching the semifinals after defeating a Chinese combination. They are now set to face Thailand in the next round.
