Edmonton, Calgary and Prague have been selected as the host cities for the next edition of the World Cup of Hockey in 2028.
The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association unveiled their choices Monday of the two Canadian cities and the capital of the Czech Republic in connection with the league’s annual March general managers meeting in South Florida.
“We at the National Hockey League and our partners at the National Hockey League Players’ Association can’t wait to bring the World Cup of Hockey 2028 to three spectacular venues in three cities that shine when staging big events," Commissioner Gary Bettman said upon announcing the decision. "We know Calgary, Edmonton and Prague will serve as fantastic hosts for hockey fans from all over the globe, and that the greatest hockey players in the world will compete on a level that will make this event truly memorable.”
The bidding process began with expressions of interest in June, with formal proposals from 25 locations in September narrowing the field.
Edmonton, along with Toronto, was one of the sites of the pandemic “bubbles” used to hold the playoffs in 2020. Calgary is set to open a new arena for the Flames in the fall of 2027 to replace the aging Saddledome. Prague has hosted nine of the league's regular-season games.
The event is being brought back as part of the plan to have an international competition with the NHL’s top players every even-numbered year, either the World Cup or the Olympics. NHL players returned to the Olympic stage in Milan after a 12-year absence, with the U.S. beating Canada in overtime in a memorable gold-medal game that put the sport in the spotlight beyond just the hockey community.
“Coming off the amazing international hockey played at the recent Olympic Winter Games, NHL players are very excited to return to international hockey at the World Cup of Hockey 2028,” NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said. “Calgary, Edmonton and Prague are cities with very deep roots in hockey, and the games will be played in three hockey venues that will be amongst the best in the world.
The last World Cup of Hockey took place in 2016 and before that 2004 and 1996, with labor strife among the reasons it has not been staged regularly. The plan is for an eight-team tournament and 17 total games, taking place in February 2028.
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FILE - People stand outside Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers NHL hockey club, after it was damaged following flooding from a storm in Edmonton, Alberta, July 17, 2020. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP, file)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban forces and Pakistan’s military exchanged fire along their border Monday, killing at least four civilians including two children in Afghanistan, officials there said, as the deadliest fighting between the neighbors in years continued for a third week.
The U.N. Security Council called on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to immediately step up efforts to combat terrorism. Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, which it says carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
The Security Council resolution, adopted unanimously, didn't name Pakistan but condemns “in the strongest terms all terrorist activity including terrorist attacks.” The resolution also extends the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, for three months.
Pakistan’s government often accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing safe haven to the Pakistani Taliban, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, as well as to outlawed Baloch separatist groups and other militants who frequently target Pakistani security forces and civilians across the country. Kabul denies the charge.
Afghan officials said 10 other people in southeastern Afghanistan were wounded in Monday's exchange of fire. Mortar shells fired from Pakistan overnight struck villages in Khost province and destroyed several homes, said Mustaghfar Gurbaz, a spokesperson for the provincial governor.
On Sunday, Pakistan said a mortar fired from Afghanistan hit a house in northwestern Bajaur district, killing four members of a family and wounding two others, including a 5-year-old. Residents and officials said the military on Monday targeted Afghan positions along the border, where Sunday’s attack originated.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, which repeatedly has said its military only targets Afghan posts and militant hideouts.
Islamabad has described the situation as an “open war.” The cross-border clashes have included multiple Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said Afghanistan's Taliban administration crossed a “red line” by deploying drones that injured several civilians in Pakistan last week.
Responding to those attacks, Pakistan’s air force over the weekend struck equipment storage sites and “technical support infrastructure” in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, saying it was being used for attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul said Pakistan hit two locations, including an empty security site and a drug rehabilitation center that sustained minor damage.
In Kabul, Afghanistan’s administrative Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi overnight said defending sovereignty is the duty of all citizens. Speaking during a meeting with political analysts and media figures, Hanafi expressed regret over civilian casualties in recent Pakistani attacks, saying the war was imposed on Afghanistan.
The fighting began in late February after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan that Kabul said killed civilians. The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October after earlier fighting killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Sunday that the military has killed 684 Afghan Taliban forces, a claim rejected by Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government, which says casualties are far lower. Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry and other officials have said Afghanistan has killed more than 100 Pakistani soldiers.
Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.
People attend the funeral prayers of police officers, killed in the roadside bomb explosion, outskirts of Lakki Marwat, a district in northwest Pakistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/G.A. Marwat)
Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)
Residents and Taliban police gather the remains of a projectile at the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)
