The election, seen as a sham by most in the country, did nothing to defuse the tensions that will likely lead to the downfall of President Kais Saeid’s authoritarian regime.Tunisia’s December 17 parliamentary election, the first since Tunisian President Kais Saied’s July 2021 power grab turned the country into a de-facto dictatorship, proved to be a sham as expected. With less than nine percent of eligible voters taking part, Saturday’s electoral theatrics marked not only the death of Tunisia’s once vibrant young democracy but also the official end of the Arab Spring that birthed it. Saied’s regime and its remaining…
Author: National Tone
After three losses at the 2022 World Cup, the Canadian men’s national soccer team will drop below the top 50 in the FIFA rankings. Canada will be the co-biggest fallers of all World Cup teams in the rankings which are set to drop on Thursday, according to Dale Johnson of ESPN. The Reds will fall 12 places to 53rd, after starting the tournament in 41st place. World Cup hosts Qatar is tied with Canada as the biggest fallers, dropping from 50th to 62nd. Despite winning it all on Sunday, Argentina will not start the year as the world No. 1.…
Police have charged three men after a pitch invasion forced the Melbourne derby in the A-League to be abandoned. Melbourne City keeper Tom Glover and referee Alex King were hit by a metal bucket, and a TV cameraman was hurt too in the game against Melbourne Victory.Victoria Police saidexternal-link the arrests included a 23-year-old, who is alleged to have struck Glover with the bucket.The three men “self-presented to police stations” and have been bailed to appear in court on 27 February.The other two men are aged 18 and 19 and their charges relate to separate alleged assaults on Glover, with…
Naval vessel HTMS Sukhothai capsizes in high waves late on Sunday while patrolling the Gulf of Thailand.Thai navy ships and helicopters are searching for 31 sailors missing after their warship sank in rough seas in the Gulf of Thailand. The HTMS Sukhothai capsized late on Sunday while it was on patrol about 37km (22 miles) off the nation’s southeastern coast. As of Monday afternoon, 75 sailors serving on the corvette had been rescued and 31 were still missing, the navy said. High waves that caused the accident had lessened since the sinking but were still high enough to endanger small…
Doha, Qatar – The Qatar World Cup came to a spectacular end on Sunday. It was 12 years in the making. It came and went in the space of 28 days, taking with it the crowds, the raucous chanting on the streets, and all the buzz. On the morning after, Qatar woke up to the realisation that the World Cup was over. The alleys of the popular Souq Waqif in the capital, Doha, were a mere shadow of themselves that were filled with Brazilians, Argentinians, Moroccans and fans of dozens of other participating nations. “I felt a great sadness when…
Lionel Messi has fulfilled a destiny which has been his since before birth and has brought spring back to Argentina – so say his country’s newspapers.The Argentine press is filled with poetic prose, conveying the emotion of the journalists who have waited 36 years to see their side on top of the world again.In newspaper Pagina 12, Jose Luis Lanao wrote that “it is spring once again”, describing Argentina’s flag as “sky blue and white like a cherry blossom illuminated by the open sky”.He describes the country as “the world champion in soccer and joy”external-link.In another newspaper, Clarin, journalist Juan…
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, many Palestinians felt this war concerns them directly. Over the past nine months, they have seen direct parallels between their own experience of occupation and military violence and the Ukrainians’. Whether it is the targeting of civilian housing, schools, religious buildings, etc; the destruction of the electrical grid as a form of collective punishment; accusations of using civilians as “live shields” when the death toll climbs; or the occupation power denying the nationhood and statehood of the occupied, the similarities are apparent. But not for the Ukrainian government. In fact,…
‘This team made people fall in love with them for the first time in decades,’ an Argentinian fan said.Celebrations have gripped Argentina where tens of thousands of fans flooded the streets of Buenos Aires after the Argentinian team’s World Cup win – their first since 1986. Drone footage on Sunday showed thousands of Argentinians gathered at the city’s iconic obelisk and outside the home of the late footballing legend Diego Maradona. Millions of Argentines had cried, shouted and hugged as they followed the final match against France earlier – a roller coaster of emotions. “I feel an immense happiness in…
“We’ll never see anything like this again.”It had everything. Superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe going head to head. Dramatic comeback goals. And a nerve-wracking penalty shootout decider.Social media was sent into meltdown, sports stars around the world were transfixed and those in Lusail Stadium were treated to a mouth-watering showpiece.”I couldn’t imagine that happening – where you see two great teams going toe to toe and no-one takes a back step,” said Ferdinand on BBC One.”The two superstars on either team slugging it out, goal for goal…magnificent.”Ex-England striker Alan Shearer added: “We’re breathless, it was just an unbelievable final.…
Venus Williams has been awarded a wild card entry to play at the Australian Open next month, 25 years after she played the Grand Slam tournament for the first time.The 42-year-old Williams has reached the final twice in Australia, including a loss to her younger sister, Serena, in the 2017 championship match. She will be contesting the season-opening major for the 22nd time. “I am very excited to be returning to Melbourne to compete at the Australian Open in January,” the seven-time major winner said in a statement.”I’ve been competing in the country for over 20 years now and the…