Author: National Tone

Watch Moroccan fans celebrate historic World Cup winHost nation: Qatar Dates: 20 November-18 December Coverage: Live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Day-by-day TV listings – Full coverage detailsHistory makers.Three previous African sides had reached the quarter-finals of the competition – but could not take that step further.This time, it was different.Marvellous Morocco have lit up this World Cup – and their fans got their reward by witnessing their side becoming the first from their continent to reach the semi-finals.Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal were sent home, and the…

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And then there were four. The FIFA World Cup semifinals were officially set in stone when the final whistle blew after France defeated England in a heated quarterfinals matchup. The remaining playing field features the reigning champs in France, their opponent from the 2018 finals Croatia, the first African team to reach the semifinals in Morocco, and Argentina, who are hoping to cement their star player’s legacy. Here’s how the schedule for the semifinal games will play out: Tuesday, Dec. 13 Argentina vs. Croatia, 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT — Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, Qatar Wednesday, Dec. 14…

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TURIN, Italy — Canada’s Piper Gilles and Poirier captured gold in ice dance at the ISU Grand Prix Final on Saturday. Gilles and Poirier scored 129.71 for their free dance program to music from Madonna’s “Evita,” for a total score of 215.64. Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates won silver with 211.94, while Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy claimed the bronze (206.84). The 30-year-old Gilles, and Poirier, 31, also won both their Grand Prix assignments this season — Skate Canada International and Grand Prix Finland. The world bronze medallists had never finished higher than fifth at the Grand…

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Doha, Qatar – At 7:58pm, history was made. As the crowd chanted “ole, ole, ole”, Morocco’s substitutes and technical staff urged the referee to blow the final whistle. The majority of the 44,198 people in the stands joined them. There were whistles, cheers, applause and tears. In the middle of it all, there were prayers on the lips and in the hearts At 7.58pm, the referee answered those calls. At 7.58pm, those prayers were answered too. At 7.58pm, Morocco, to the surprise of the world and to the disbelief of Moroccans themselves, sealed a stunning win over Portugal and became…

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The US sanctions freeze assests including those of Guinea’s former President Conde and Mali’s former President Keita’s son.The United States has imposed sanctions on more than 40 people and entities for alleged rights abuses from nine countries, including Guinea’s former President Alpha Conde and Karim Keita, son of former Malian leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Karim Keita. In a statement released on Friday, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the announcement was the outcome of a thorough and multiyear investigation. Conde, who was deposed in a coup in September 2021, was sanctioned for his “connection to serious…

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Opponents say a vote on December 17 under the country’s new constitution is illegitimate and are calling for a boycott.Hundreds of Tunisians have taken to the streets to protest against President Kais Saied a week before parliamentary elections are set to take place under a new constitution. “Saied get out!” protesters chanted as they marched in the centre of the capital, Tunis, on Saturday. Speakers at the protest, including senior politicians from opposition parties, said the vote scheduled for December 17 was illegitimate and urged a boycott, accusing Saied of carrying out an undemocratic coup. “All the opposition is agreed…

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Germany and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is out for the rest of the season after breaking his leg in a skiing accident.The 36-year-old was on holiday after Germany’s exit from the World Cup at the group stage but suffered the injury which needed surgery. Neuer confirmed he will not play again this season.He posted on Instagram: “What can I say, the end of the year could have definitely gone better… While I was trying to get my head clear while ski touring, I suffered a lower leg fracture.”Yesterday’s surgery went well. Many thanks to the doctors! However, it hurts…

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Seventy-four years since the United Nations recognised the equal and inalienable right of all humans to live freely and peacefully, a South Sudanese asylum seeker is demanding the international community live up to its own principles. As the world marked Human Rights Day on Saturday, David Yambio marched to the UN’s refugee agency headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to stage a second day of a sit-in alongside civil society organisations and fellow asylum seekers. The 25-year-old was recruited as a child soldier before fleeing war both in his home country and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He arrived in…

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Lai, 75, was jailed for five years and nine months, and fined 2 million Hong Kong dollars ($257,000) on a fraud charge.Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has received a new jail sentence of five years and nine months after being found guilty of fraud in a contractual dispute – the latest in a series of cases against prominent activists that critics say are aimed at snuffing out dissent in the city. Lai, the 75-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, had recently completed a 20-month jail term resulting from multiple convictions for his part in pro-democracy protests…

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‘I will not close the door to playing with Brazil, nor do I say 100 percent that I’ll come back,’ Neymar said.Brazil’s Neymar says he is unsure if he will play for the national team at another World Cup after his side’s stunning loss to Croatia in their quarter-final match on Friday. Neymar, playing in his third World Cup for the number one ranked Brazil, broke down in tears after Marquinhos struck the post in a penalty shootout, giving Croatia a 4-2 win. “Honestly, I do not know,” Neymar, 30, told reporters in Al Rayyan, Qatar, after the heartbreaking defeat.…

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