NAIROBI, Kenya--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 20, 2025--
Urdd Gobaith Cymru is proud to announce that 13 young people from Wales recently travelled to Kilifi, Kenya, as part of its global youth empowerment initiative in partnership with Kenyan charity Moving the Goalposts (MTG).
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This international programme continues a long-standing collaboration between the Urdd, a Welsh youth organisation, and MTG. First launched in 2019 thanks to support by the Welsh Government, the programme is aimed at fostering cross-cultural understanding, youth development, and gender equity through the power of sports.
The core agenda of the 2025 visit was to empower young women across six Kenyan communities i.e. Vitengeni, Ganze, Bamba, Mombasa, Kaloleni and Kwale through leadership workshops and multi-sport sessions. Over the course of five days, the Welsh group engaged with more than 1,000 local girls, many of whom experienced structured sports like rugby, football, netball, and cricket for the first time. Beyond coaching, the initiative had a firm focus on teamwork, communication, health awareness, and education, while also addressing barriers to participation like community stigma and lack of parental support.
The visit also offered the young Welsh participants a transformative opportunity to learn from the values, culture, and resilience of their Kenyan peers strengthening mutual understanding and global citizenship. This initiative reflects the Urdd’s commitment to creating global learning opportunities through Welsh language, and empowering youth voices across borders.
Moving the Goalposts(MTG) is a community-based organization based in Kenya, particularly focused on empowering girls and young women through sports, primarily football. Established in 2001, MTG uses football as a tool to promote leadership, life skills, education, and health awareness among girls in rural and marginalized communities, especially in coastal Kenya.
Urdd Gobaith Cymru, Wales’ largest youth organisation, is internationally recognised for its pioneering work in delivering inclusive programmes through Welsh, a minority language. Its partnership with award-winning MTG dedicated to empowering girls in coastal Kenya through football brings together two communities with a shared mission: using sport and leadership to inspire change.
The programme has left a deep impression on all involved over the years. One young Welsh participant shared, “I hope I left a positive impact as they certainly left a mark on my heart,” while another added, “Over a thousand girls took part—amazing! This was the highlight of my year.”
Young changemakers harness the power of sport from Wales to Kenya
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.
Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines.
“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”
Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.
The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.
Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.
Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
