Report says 47 percent of physical damage from pair of earthquakes impacted residential buildings.
The World Bank has said that the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela in late June caused an estimated $19.6bn in physical damage, underscoring the country’s challenging path to recovery.
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In a statement on Thursday, the World Bank said 47 percent of the damage occurred to residential buildings, while 27 percent occurred to infrastructure and 26 percent to non-residential buildings.
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“The earthquakes have disrupted lives, damaged critical infrastructure, and created new challenges for Venezuela’s recovery,” Susana Cordeiro Guerra, the World Bank vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, said in a statement. “Recovering effectively begins with reliable evidence.”
Government authorities have estimated that the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 killed at least 5,000 people and injured nearly 17,000. An additional 18,000 remain homeless, as the country struggles to recover from the destruction amid persistent economic hardship.
Even before the disaster, the World Bank estimated that 76 percent of people in Venezuela, suffering from years of economic mismanagement and crushing US sanctions, were living in poverty.
“Without timely additional investment, the negative impact on productive capacity and living standards will slow the path to recovery,” said Cordeiro Guerra.
The World Bank says its estimate is meant to provide the Venezuelan government and those hoping to assist with recovery efforts with data on the scale of the challenges ahead.
The report, conducted using Global Rapid Damage Estimation (GRADE), says the areas of La Guaira state and Distrito Capital were most severely impacted. The estimate relies on local seismic data, remote-based earthquake modelling, satellite imagery, and damage reports from government and humanitarian groups.
While countries around the world have pledged support for Venezuela, it remains unclear where the funds for recovery might come from.
The United States, which has exercised substantial control over Venezuelan affairs since abducting the country’s former leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a military raid in January, announced on Thursday that it would give more than $200m to the Red Cross to assist people impacted by conflict and natural disasters.
“Today’s contributions support organisations that respond quickly when disasters strike, provide unparalleled access to people in need in conflict settings, and leverage preexisting worldwide disaster and humanitarian response infrastructure,” the diplomatic mission said in a statement.
Those funds do not appear to be targeted specifically at Venezuela. %!s()
Promoter Eddie Hearn said history has shown that Anthony Joshua has never withdrawn from a fight as he responded to Tyson Fury's recent claims that the all-British heavyweight battle might not happen.
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Joshua and Fury return to the ring this week for fights against Kristian Prenga and Mariusz Wach, respectively, that have been billed as must-win final warm-ups before facing each other.
The British rivals are expected to finally meet in November, with a date and venue yet to be announced, but, in a recent interview with Sky Sports, Fury cast doubt over the fight, revealing he is prepared to face "somebody else" later this year.
Hearn hit back, saying Fury, not Joshua, posed the greater flight risk due to his track record of fight withdrawals.
'Show greatness' - Team Usyk's motivational message to AJ
Why isn't Tyson Fury's fight being shown live on TV?
Ahead of his fight against Prenga on Saturday, Joshua said in his press conference that his ambition was to 'conquer the earth and then the universe', but did not want to talk about Fury so as not to disrespect his upcoming opponent.
He did, though, add that he would not care if The Gypsy King was ringside for the bout.
'We have our doubts over Fury'
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Fury weighed in 26 pounds lighter than former world title challenger Mariusz Wach ahead of their heavyweight showdown in Thailand
"Look at history," Hearn told Sky Sports. "Check the facts, check the resume. If you really want to pick one fighter who's more reliable than the other, I don't think it's a close-run race.
"What fight has AJ ever signed for that he's not competed in? What fight has AJ ever pulled out of?
"He's got the most solid resume and the most professional attitude of any fighter I've ever worked with. Can we say the same about Tyson Fury? No. That's the reality of the situation.
"If odds are being thrown around about who might pull out of this fight, trust me, it isn't Anthony Joshua.
"Don't forget, AJ has not only fought every contender he could have, he also previously signed to fight Tyson Fury, who pulled out of the fight because of an arbitration ruling involving Deontay Wilder.
"So don't worry about AJ, he's as game as they come. But we have our doubts about whether Fury will turn up, especially if AJ looks great on Saturday night."
Council yet to be contacted about extending Fury vs AJ to 2am start
Brent Council are yet to be contacted about extending the curfew at Wembley Stadium to allow a 2am ring walk for the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua fight.
Turki Al-Sheikh, who is organising the all-British bout, previously said he wants the fight to take place at a time that works for a global audience, and intends to hold talks with the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan.
Brent Council, the local authority that would be involved in granting approval, has previously said an extension to Wembley's current 11pm curfew would need to be assessed by the stadium's safety advisory group, which the council is part of.
When contacted by Sky Sports, Wembley Stadium would not provide any comment on events that have not been officially announced.
Fury 'the king of mind games'
Time will tell whether there is more substance to Fury's doubts, but Hearn suspects it could be the latest example of the 'Gypsy King' looking to land the first blow by getting into his opponent's head.
"This build-up is going to be epic," Hearn added. "We know the fight is going to be epic. In and out of the ring, this is going to be box office. We've waited a long time for this.
"It's going to be spicy, funny and compelling. Two very different characters. God willing they both get the wins on Friday and Saturday and we can finally get this thing on.
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Joshua says 'he knows what he need to do' against Kristian Prenga, as he prepares for his final warm-up fight before a probable mega-fight against Fury
"There will be mind games. Fury is the self-professed king of those and he's very good at it as well. Fury will think he can win the fight that way, before the first bell, but I think he will be very disappointed. AJ is mature enough to deal with that now."
As far as Hearn is concerned, the only scenarios that could scupper the fight are defeat or injury to either boxer this weekend.
"The only thing that's going to stop the fight from happening in November is if one of these guys gets beat this weekend or picks up an injury," he said. "Touch wood, especially the first one, hopefully neither of those will happen."
Saturday's opponent for Joshua, Prenga, remains something of an unknown quantity, but with all 20 of his professional victories coming by knockout, Hearn urged caution.
"Joshua is a great finisher, he's done that his whole career," he said. "If he sees an opportunity, he'll try to seize it.
"But I think it's a dangerous fight. Everybody talks about it being routine for AJ, but a lot has happened in his life. He's had to come back from a huge amount physically, mentally and emotionally.
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Joshua responded to Fury's claim about not being interested in watching his fight, casting doubt over a potential bout between the two later this year
"There will be a lot going through his mind on Saturday. Two guys who have been with him throughout his career won't be there. I'm sure he'll be fighting for them as well.
"Then there's the challenge of a big, strong, heavy-handed, motivated fighter who's coming to change his life.
"AJ has to take him out before he takes you out. That's heavyweight boxing. Prenga is dangerous. If he catches you on the chin, you'll know about it. AJ has got to be disciplined and switched on." %!s()
Full fixtures for England's men and women's sides in 2027, including The Ashes, the 150th Anniversary Test in Australia, home white-ball series against New Zealand and Bangladesh and the World Cup.
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All times UK and Ireland 🕰️
England Men's Fixtures 2027
Away to South Africa (Test cricket) - December 2026 and January 2027
First Test (Tuesday December 17-Saturday December 21) - Wanderers, Johannesburg
Second Test (Thursday December 26-Monday December 30) - SuperSport Park, Centurion
Third Test (Sunday January 3-Thursday January 7) - Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
Away to South Africa (white-ball cricket) - January 2027
First ODI (Sunday January 10) - Boland Park, Paarl
Second ODI (Wednesday January 13) - Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein
Third ODI (Friday January 15) - Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein
Away to Australia (Test cricket) - March
150th Anniversary Test (Thursday March 11-Monday March 15) - Melbourne Cricket Ground
Home to Pakistan (white-ball cricket) - May
First ODI (Saturday May 15) - Utilita Bowl, Southampton (11am)
Second ODI (Wednesday May 19) - Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester (1pm)
Third ODI (Friday May 21) - Headingley, Leeds (11am)
Fourth ODI (Sunday May 23) - Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street (11am)
Fifth ODI (Wednesday May 26) - Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (1pm)
Home to Bangladesh (Test cricket) - May to June
One-off Test (Friday May 28-Tuesday June 1) - Lord's, London (11am)
The Ashes: Home to Australia (Test Cricket) - June to August
Warm-up match England Lions vs Australia (Monday June 7 to Thursday June 10) - Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester*
*This fixture will be subject to review should Australia reach the ICC World Test Championship Final
Arsenal hold an interest in John Stones and Ezri Konsa as they look to sign a centre-back this summer following news of an extended period on the sidelines for William Saliba.
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Saliba has avoided the need for surgery after injuring his back during France's World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain but the 25-year-old faces a lengthy period of rehabilitation.
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Stones is available as a free agent having reached the end of his contract at Manchester City last month. Sky Sports News has reported the England defender is also a target for Chelsea.
The 32-year-old worked with Mikel Arteta during the Arsenal manager's time as assistant to Pep Guardiola at City.
William Saliba out for 'extended period' out with back injury
Transfer Centre LIVE! | Arsenal news & transfers🔴⚪
Arsenal fixtures & scores | FREE Arsenal PL highlights▶️
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We take a look at the best of Ezri Konsa's during the 2025-2026 Premier League campaign with the England defender being linked with a move to Arsenal.
Konsa, who represented England alongside Stones at the World Cup, is four years younger than Stones at 28 and has two years remaining on his contract at Aston Villa.
Sky Sports News understands Arsenal have been exploring the cost of a potential deal for Konsa but there is a significant gap in valuation with Villa.
Both Konsa and Stones can also operate at right-back.
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Arsenal's win rate drops from 68 per cent to 50 per cent without William Saliba starting
Arsenal have consolidated their defensive options by completing the permanent signing of Piero Hincapie following his loan spell from Bayer Leverkusen last season.
They also have Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera, Jurrien Timber and Ben White as centre-back options.
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Sky Sports News' Dharmesh Sheth says Arsenal are interested in Bradley Barcola
White has returned to training following the knee injury he suffered in May, while Timber said this week he is "hopefully back soon" as he continues his rehabilitation from a groin problem.
Arteta an admirer of Stones
It's easy to see the logic behind Arsenal's interest in Stones. He is available on a free transfer and brings a wealth of experience following a glittering 10-year spell at the Etihad Stadium during which he won 17 trophies including six Premier League titles.
Arteta knows his game intimately having worked with him for three years under Guardiola and confirmed his admiration when Arsenal were rumoured to be interested in signing him in 2020.
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Stones featured five times for England at the World Cup
"John is a player I really like," he said. "We followed him before we signed him when I was at City. I worked with him for many years. I know him well and when I look at centre-backs, he has many attributes that I like."
Stones' availability on a free adds to his appeal as someone who could provide short-term cover for Saliba having proved his fitness at the World Cup, where he made five appearances for England over the course of the tournament.
His injury history is, however, a concern.
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Stones was limited to only 439 Premier League minutes last season due to thigh, calf and muscular injuries, and only played 547 minutes in another disrupted campaign before that.
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The former Everton defender did not play more than 59 per cent of Premier League minutes in any of his 10 seasons at Manchester City.
Konsa attractive but tougher deal to do
Konsa offers far more robustness than Stones. He has made a minimum of 33 Premier League starts in five consecutive seasons for Aston Villa and has no history of significant injury.
Like Stones, he is comfortable in possession and able to withstand opposition pressure on the ball. He primarily plays as a right-sided centre-back, in the same position as Saliba, but showed his capacity to play at right-back during the World Cup.
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Konsa had the highest ground-duel success rate in the Premier League last season
Konsa also boasts outstanding physical qualities and ranks as one of the Premier League's best one-on-one defenders. In fact, according to Opta, he had the highest ground-duel success rate of any outfield player in the Premier League last term, at 73 per cent.
That combativeness is sure to appeal to Arteta but signing him over Stones would require a far greater financial outlay on a player who turns 29 in October, with Aston Villa said to value him at £60m.
Which players match Saliba's profile?
Interestingly, neither Stones nor Konsa appear among the 10 most stylistically similar players to Saliba across Europe's major leagues when using Twenty3's player similarity tool, although Konsa only narrowly misses out in 12th.
The tool, which factors a range of statistics, ranks Inter's Manuel Akanji, formerly of Manchester City, Nice defender Kojo Peprah Oppong and Como's Jacobo Ramon as the most similar players to Saliba, with similarity scores of 97 per cent.
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The only Premier League defenders in the top 10 are Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah and Manchester City's Ruben Dias, who are given similarity scores of 94 per cent. %!s()
The Anker SOLIX S2000 was released on June 2, 2026 with new energy efficient technology, the next generation of LFP batteries, and a launch price of $1,199. Less than two months later, as part of a one day Lightning Deal, Amazon has it for 50% off. That's right, you can currently get it for $599.99 shipped.
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Save 50% ($600 Off) the Anker SOLIX S2000 Power Station
New Release
Anker Solix S2000 2,010Wh 1,500W LiFePO4 Power Station
The Anker SOLIX S2000 is one of the smallest and lightest 2kWh power stations I've seen, measuring 8.2" by 11.1" by 12.7" and weighing 36 pounds. It's 35% smaller than the C2000 and 6 pounds lighter. The S2000 is equipped with a hefty 2,048Wh battery array that's big enough to be your sole power source for off-grid use, or as emergency backup power for your home when you don't want to lug out the even heavier, noisier, and stinkier gas generator.
The S2000 has eight outputs, including five 1,500W (3,000 peak) 120V three-prong AC outlets, one 100W USB-C port, one 15W USB-C port, and one 12W USB-A port. It has smart functionality for remote monitoring and control via a mobile app.
The S2000 is one of the most efficient power stations available, with up to 96% inverter efficiency and a phantom power draw of less than 6W. That means your appliances will run even longer compared to other 2kWh power stations. The S2000 also functions as an excellent UPS battery backup with a switchover speed of under 10ms. Most other power stations labelled for UPS/EPS use have a switchover speed of under 20-30ms. That basically means your appliance, gaming PC, fish tank, CPAP machine, or whatever will carry on normally without interruption when the power source switches over during an outage, just like a typical dedicated UPS.
Speaking of the battery, the S2000 uses the latest generation 314Ah LiFePO4 battery cells that feature a 15-year lifespan and up to 10,000 charge cycles compared to the standard LiFePO4 battery cells with 10-year lifespan and 3,000 to 6,000 charge cycles. LiFePO4 has inherently safer chemistry, longer lifespan, and slower calendar aging than traditional lithium-ion. It is widely regarded as the best battery option for power stations.
Anker has another older 2kWh model - the C2000 - but the S2000 fills a different niche. The S2000 is also currently $300 cheaper than the C2000, making it a more attractive option for the budget-minded. The S2000 is also smaller, lighter, and more energy efficient. Tradeoffs include a lower power rating (1,500W vs 2,400W), a slightly slower maximum charging rate, and lack of a shore power outlet for RVs. TL;DR If you're not using the power station for super high power-demand needs like power tools or an RV, then the S2000 is probably the better choice for you, especially at its current lower price.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.%!s()
