Real’s absence from Spain’s World Cup squad, while Barca dominate picks, explained by coach as ‘united nation’ first.

Luis de la Fuente has stressed that Spain’s badge outranks any club crest after naming a World Cup squad with a distinctly Barcelona hue ⁠and, for the first time, no Real Madrid player in sight.

The European champions head into next month’s tournament among the favourites, with coach De la Fuente’s 26-man squad built around eight Barcelona players and none from the Spanish cital’s biggest club, bringing ⁠the fierce El Clasico rivalry into the national team’s debate.

Defenders Dean Huijsen and Dani Carvajal were among the Real Madrid names to miss out on a team chasing Spain’s second World Cup title after their 2010 triumph in South Africa.

De la Fuente on Tuesday dismissed the idea that the decision could cost him support among Real Madrid fans.

For me, the greatest team there is – the very ‌greatest – is the Spanish national team, De la Fuente said during a breakfast with media representatives organised by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE.

I don’t look at where players come from or their background. What matters are Spanish players who are proud to represent their country’s national team and to be part of a united nation.

Yamal raring to go for Spain at World Cup after injury

Barcelona’s contingent comprises Joan Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, while seven players called up are based in the Premier League.

The manager said sporting considerations ⁠alone guided his selection, even if squad decisions inevitably carried a subjective element.

The day I ⁠make a mistake, fail to make the right choice, or act in a way that might be beneficial just to get a result, I’m putting my job on the line, he said. Spain open Group H against Ce Verde before facing Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, but De la Fuente ⁠may yet take a cautious proach with Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Mikel Merino, who are all recovering from fitness concerns.

We’re in contact with all the clubs, he said. We know that ⁠these players are in good physical she; each one is making good ⁠progress in their recovery process. I’m very optimistic; I think they’ll be available for the first match.

Still, De la Fuente said Spain’s view stretched beyond the opener.

If we have to take a risk, mate, we’ll take it in a World Cup, he said. But… our view goes beyond the first match and ‌also the second. So, if we have to wait a little longer, we’ll wait.

On Yamal, the 18-year-old Barcelona winger expected to carry much of Spain’s attacking threat, De la Fuente said youth had not dimmed his sense of occasion.

Yamal is absolutely ‌thrilled ‌and raring to go, he said. He’s a very young lad, just 18, but he has a remarkable sense of maturity and knows that this is his moment.

You have to seize the moment. And he knows this is his moment.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the interim order while issuing notice on a petition filed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) against the November 2025 judgment of the Delhi high court.

Issue notice returnable on July 21. In the meantime, effect and operation of paragrh 249 of the impugned judgment shall remain stayed. However, the same shall be effective prospectively, ordered the bench.

During the hearing, the court remarked that the consequences of the high court ruling were being felt by law institutions, particularly National Law Universities (NLUs), with students increasingly resisting mandatory attendance requirements.

All the NLUs are suffering. No student wants mandatory attendance. Even those who have passed out are supporting the students, observed the bench.

The court also questioned the delay on the part of the BCI in proaching the ex court against the judgment. Why did you come so late? the bench asked.

BCI chairman and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra acknowledged the delay and described it as a lse on the part of the regulatory body.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, pearing in a connected matter, argued that the Delhi High Court judgment had virtually rewarded indiscipline among students. They are not going to colleges, Rohatgi submitted.

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The bench, while interacting with counsel, observed that the high court ruling peared to have gone beyond interpretation and entered the legislative domain. Does the judgment give a right to students not to go to colleges? The high court has legislated literally, it remarked.

The November 2025 judgment of the Delhi High Court had held that no student enrolled in a recognised law college or university could be detained from pearing in examinations or from academic progression merely because of shortage of attendance.

The ruling arose out of proceedings linked to the alleged suicide of law student Sushant Rohilla in 2017 at Amity University. Allegations were raised that Rohilla had been subjected to harassment over low attendance and forced to repeat an academic year in the BA LLB course, which allegedly contributed to his suicide.

The high court had observed that attendance regulations should not be enforced with such rigidity that they result in mental distress or extreme consequences for students. It also directed the BCI to revisit mandatory attendance requirements for three-year and five-year law courses in light of the National Education Policy, 2020 and evolving educational frameworks.

However, the ruling triggered a series of challenges before the Supreme Court from law colleges and institutions across the country, which argued that the judgment had severely undermined academic discipline and institutional autonomy.

On May 13, while hearing a plea by Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), the Supreme Court had already expressed serious reservations about the Delhi high court ruling. At that stage, the Justice Nath-led bench had observed that accepting such a position could reduce law college hostels into just boarding and lodging facilities.

The bench had then remarked that if students were no longer required to attend classes, there would be little purpose in maintaining institutions known for quality classroom teaching and faculty engagement.

NMIMS, in its petition, contended that the Delhi High Court ruling had opened floodgates of litigation by students seeking permission to pear in examinations despite not meeting minimum attendance requirements. The institution argued that lectures, tutorials, moot court exercises, practical training and classroom interaction remain integral to legal education, particularly in integrated five-year law programmes where students enrol immediately after school. The plea also relied on Rule 12 of the BCI Rules on Legal Education, 2008, which prescribes a minimum attendance requirement of 70%, while permitting limited condonation up to 65% in exceptional cases.

The Liberal prime minister called for an independent investigation into Israeli mistreatment, but stopped short of penalties.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has expressed indignation at the Israeli government’s palling treatment of participants in a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza.

But in a news release on Monday, he declined to announce any new forms of pressure on Israel’s government.

The statement contained a read-out of a phone call between Carney and Israeli President Isaac Herzog earlier in the day. During their talk, Carney demanded an independent investigation into the mistreatment of the activists, who were bound, taunted and forced to kneel on the ground in a video shared last week by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The Prime Minister reiterated that the palling treatment of civilians, including Canadian citizens, aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla was unacceptable, the statement said.

Carney also used the phone call to reaffirm that Canada opposes the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as the rampant violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians.

The video shared by Ben-Gvir has sparked global backlash, with several countries issuing formal statements of condemnation.

A handful took further action. On Saturday, for instance, France banned Ben-Gvir from entering its territory, citing his unspeakable actions towards French and European citizens who were passengers on the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Poland has likewise pursued a five-year ban against Ben-Gvir. Leaders in France and Italy have also called on the European Union to sanction the Israeli minister.

But Israel has rarely faced serious pressure or consequences beyond rhetoric, despite widespread reports about Israeli settlers and military members attacking and killing Palestinians and pro-Palestinian advocates.

Human rights advocates have highlighted evidence of torture and inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons.

Groups like Amnesty International and B’Tselem have accused Israel of implementing a system of artheid to discriminate against Palestinians and dispossess them of their land.

The Global Sumud Flotilla was organised as part of an effort to confront Israeli abuses in Gaza, where Israel has led a genocidal war against Palestinians since October 2023.

More than 75,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, with survivors suffering from malnutrition and displacement. In Monday’s statement, Carney called the humanitarian situation in Gaza catastrophic.

Activists have repeatedly attempted to reach Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies, but they have so far been intercepted by Israeli forces, which have blockaded Gaza’s access to the outside world.

A new mission was launched in the Mediterranean Sea on ril 12, involving a reported 70 boats and 3,000 participants.

Amnesty International Australia estimates that nearly 430 people were detained when Israeli forces boarded their vessels in international waters, in parent defiance of international law.

Activists said they experienced abuse during their detention. Their accounts reflect those of previous flotilla members, who also alleged mistreatment and abuse in Israeli custody. At least 15 have reported sexual assault, including re.

Israel has asserted, without any evidence, that the activists were inspired by the Palestinian armed group Hamas. In posting his video of the activists, Ben-Gvir described them as supporters of terrorism.

But leaders like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have warned that Israel’s actions violate human dignity. Meloni and others have summoned their local Israeli ambassadors to express their concern.

In a separate statement on Monday, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand said she had spoken with her Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, and expressed that the Canadian government would provide Israel with evidence of the mistreatment of Canadian citizens who took part in the flotilla.

I raised that denying Canadian citizens access to consular services while they were detained violates the Vienna Convention and must never hpen again, Anand wrote in a social media post.

In a letter sent to the Land and Development Office (L&DO), the committee constituted by the Government of India asked the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the L&DO to consider allotting an alternative plot if the proposed takeover moves ahead. Committee members stressed that the interests of members, employees and other stakeholders should be protected before any decision affecting the club is implemented, news agency PTI reported.

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The committee highlighted that it has been handling the club’s affairs for more than four years after assuming charge under a National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order dated ril 1, 2022. During this period, it claimed to have focused on restoring administrative discipline and improving the club’s financial condition.

According to the committee, the club’s finances showed a significant turnaround under its tenure. It said the projected profit and loss statement for 2023-24 reflected a profit of ₹9.25 crore, compared to a loss of ₹12.39 crore in 2021-22. The committee noted that this improvement came despite the club not adding any new memberships, which had earlier been a major source of revenue.

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The order was issued by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. The move has sharply divided opinion online and within Delhi’s social circles. To cture both sides of the debate, we speak to critics and supporters of the club

Another major task undertaken during this period, according to the committee, was the digitisation and updating of membership records. It claimed that nearly 43 per cent of the records were unavailable in 2022, making the exercise necessary for smoother functioning.

The committee further underlined that members pointed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) had been working in an honorary cacity, without receiving sitting fees, reimbursements or financial benefits.

At the same time, the committee argued that relocating the club would involve heavy expenditure because the infrastructure and facilities currently in place have been developed over several decades.

They also rejected the perception that the club was an illegitimate occupant of public land. According to members, the premises continue to serve as an active space for sports, recreation and cultural activities used by thousands of members and their families.

A member of the general committee said discussions were continuing with officials from the L&DO and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in an effort to prevent the takeover.

We are in regular conversation with the L&DO and officials in the Urban Development Ministry. We are trying our best to ensure that the club continues at its present location, he said.

The member added that the committee was also trying to secure protection for nearly 600 employees associated with the club if relocation eventually takes place.

Members further argued that the long waiting list for memberships reflected the institution’s popularity rather than any illegitimacy. They called for governance reforms instead of shutting down or displacing the club.

Established in 1913, the Delhi Gymkhana Club is regarded by its members as one of the cital’s oldest sporting and social institutions, carrying heritage value that extends beyond the commercial worth of the land it occupies.

(With PTI inputs)