As the Qatar 2022 World Cup saw formerly colonised peoples take on former colonial powers on the football field, conversations about “scars of the present’s past” inevitably erupted both online and offline. France, in particular, which played against both Tunisia and Morocco, found itself in the middle of them. Amid this noise and general World Cup excitement, a relevant piece of news seemingly passed under the global media radar. On December 12, the European Union announced it was establishing “a military partnership mission” in Niger to support “its fight against terrorism”. The mission, under the command of French Vice Admiral…
Author: National Tone
After three losses at the 2022 World Cup, the Canadian men’s national soccer team has dropped below the top 50 in the FIFA rankings. Canada dropped the farthest of all World Cup teams in the rankings, falling 12 places to 53rd after starting the tournament in 41st place. World Cup host Qatar dropped from 50th to 60th. Despite winning it all on Sunday, Argentina will not start the year as the world No. 1 as Brazil retained the top spot in the FIFA rankings. Elsewhere in Concacaf, the United States became the top nation in the confederation. The Americans surpassed…
Eva Kaili asks a Belgian court to release her from detention under electronic surveillance.A Greek MEP at the centre of a corruption scandal rocking the European Parliament has protested her innocence in a Belgian court, asking to be released from detention. Eva Kaili, 44, was “cooperating in an active manner” with the Belgian federal prosecutor’s investigation and was requesting to be released under electronic surveillance, her lawyer, Andre Risopoulos, said outside the Brussels courtroom on Thursday. The judge, who was only deciding custody terms and not weighing the case itself, was expected to give a decision later in the day.…
The prime minister, who has refused to concede, said the military was deployed to ensure security.Fiji’s military has been called in to help police maintain law and order after last week’s disputed election that resulted in a hung parliament. The Pacific nation’s longtime Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama confirmed the move on Thursday, citing unsubstantiated reports of post-vote ethnic violence as the reason for the military deployment. Bainimarama has refused to concede, despite rival Sitiveni Rabuka’s Political Alliance party and two other parties announcing they had the numbers to form a coalition and the next government. Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama receives…
Extradited Chinese-Canadian suspect Tse Chi Lop, 59, said to head up the Asian mega-cartel ‘Sam Gor’, or ‘The Company’.The alleged boss of Asia’s biggest crime syndicate and one of the world’s most wanted men has been extradited to Australia and arrested on drug trafficking charges, police said. Australian police said on Thursday that the suspect’s extradition from the Netherlands was the culmination of a long-running investigation into an organised crime syndicate known as “Sam Gor”, or “The Company”, that it says trafficked methamphetamine worth millions of dollars into Australia. A person familiar with the case told Reuters that the suspect…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has delivered a defiant wartime message in Washington, DC, in which he thanked US leaders and “ordinary Americans” for supporting his country’s fight against Russia and reminded them that military assistance to Ukraine was not “charity” but an “investment” in a democratic world. Invoking memories of the United States’s victory over Nazi Germany in a key World War II battle, Zelenskyy also said there could be “no compromises” in trying to bring an end to Russia’s war on his country. In his first trip outside of Ukraine since the war began in February, Zelenskyy told a…
The New York Mets are back in the news once again. New York has reportedly traded catcher James McCann and cash to the Baltimore Orioles in return for a player to be named later on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; The move comes less than 24 hours after the Mets made waves throughout the baseball world, signing Carlos Correa to a 12-year, $315 million deal. While this deal is nowhere near as substantial, they still have one thing in common – the Mets are spending money. New York will reportedly pay for…
MONCTON, N.B. – As the world junior championship approaches, Canada continued to look impressive in pre-tournament play with a 6-1 win over Slovakia on Wednesday at the Avenir Centre. Joshua Roy, with one goal and one assist, and Colton Dach, Brandt Clarke, Zach Dean, Brennan Othmann and Dylan Guenther all scored for Canada. Connor Bedard and Shane Wright each had two assists and Benjamin Gaudreau stopped 16 shots. Samuel Honzek halted Gaudreau’s shutout bid with Slovakia’s lone goal at 2:24 of the third period. Patrik Andrisik had 41 saves. Canada went 2-for-6 on the power play, with Slovakia going 0-for-5.…
The United Nations Security Council has adopted its first resolution on Myanmar in 74 years, which demands an end to violence and calls on the country’s military rulers to release all political prisoners, including democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar’s military seized power from Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021, arresting her and other officials, and has responded to pro-democracy protests and dissent with lethal force that has killed several thousand people and seen more than 16,000 jailed. China and Russia, who have supported Myanmar’s military leaders since the coup, abstained from the UN vote on Wednesday, along…
Despite high inflation, rising interest rates and a possible recession, US consumer confidence saw a sharp rebound.The confidence of American consumers rebounded this month to end the year on a high note despite high inflation, rising interest rates that have made credit cards and mortgages more expensive, and growing anxiety about a possible recession. The Conference Board reported Wednesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 108.3 in December, up from 101.4 in November. It was a sharp rebound, pushing the index to its highest level since April. Last month’s figure was the lowest since July. The business research group’s…