Iraq hired former Australia boss Graham Arnold as head coach of its national team on Friday.
Arnold quit as coach of Australia in September after six years in charge during which he took the Socceroos to the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup, where they lost to eventual winner Argentina.
Iraq is third in Group B of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and Arnold will start with two crucial games against leader South Korea in Basra on June 5 and second-place Jordan in Amman five days later.
Six points from these two matches would seal Iraq’s place at the tournament for the first time since its 1986 debut.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Australia's coach Graham Arnold watches his players during the Asian Cup Group B soccer match between Australia and Uzbekistan at Al Janoub Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.
The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.
“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.
The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”
Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.
During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.
Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.
Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”
President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
