Gunners captain Martin Odegaard opened the scoring midway through the first half and an own goal just before the break gave the home side a cushion. The result lifts Arsenal to 68 points -- one ahead of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, who host Sheffield United on Thursday. Defending champions Manchester City, playing fourth-placed Aston Villa on Wednesday, started the evening in third place, a point behind Arsenal. Mikel Arteta's men dominated possession in the opening stages at the Emirates but created... Читать дальше...
Textor, whose teams include Brazilian club Botafogo, will go on trial on April 15 before a disciplinary panel of the Superior Court of Sport for Football, the court said in a statement. If convicted of violating the national legal code for sport, he could face a 360-day suspension and fines of up to $40,000. The 58-year-old media and tech mogul has repeatedly made allegations of match-fixing in Brazil's top flight, blaming "corruption" for Botafogo's spectacular collapse in the home stretch of the 2023 season... Читать дальше...
South Africa's parliament speaker resigned on Wednesday, weeks after her home was raided in a graft probe likely to hurt the ruling African National Congress heading into May elections.
Guardiola had staunchly defended Haaland during his pre-match press conference after criticism from former Manchester United captain Roy Keane. Keane said the Norwegian's general play was only befitting of a player in England's fourth-tier League Two during Sunday's 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal. Haaland, who scored 52 goals as City won a treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup last season, has struggled for his best form since suffering a foot injury in a 1-0 defeat to Villa in December. Читать дальше...
Nigeria's Chiamaka Nnadozie, voted Africa’s best goalkeeper in 2023, has also been a key player for Paris Football Club (Paris FC) since 2020, helping the team to a clear victory (3-0) over Montpellier last weekend. Her Super Falcons, Nigeria’s national women’s football team, face South Africa on April 4 and 9 as they vie for a spot in Paris. In the run-up to her adopted city’s Olympic Games, "Maka" is staying strong in her belief that nothing happens by chance.
"We are waiting for a much more detailed clarification of what the causes have been, bearing in mind that the Israeli government knew about the actions and the itinerary of this NGO on the ground in Gaza," Sanchez told a Doha news conference at the end of a three-nation tour of the Middle East. "It seems to me absolutely unacceptable, insufficient," he added when asked about Netanyahu's statements about the tragedy. US-based food aid organisation World Central Kitchen -- founded by Spanish-American... Читать дальше...
Playing outside of the competition for the Palme d'Or, it is the latest from prolific director Quentin Dupieux. The 49-year-old filmmaker has established himself as a star of absurdist comedies with 13 films in 17 years, but may be better known internationally as electronic music star Mr Oizo. "Second Act" also stars two big names of French cinema, Vincent Lindon and Louis Garrel. The festival, which runs from May 14 to 25, has in recent years selected French films as openers, which are simultaneously released nationwide in France. Читать дальше...
Traffic ground to a halt on several key highways trapping hundreds of motorists. Infrastructure minister Andreas Carlson left an EU meeting in Brussels to return home over the emergency. Carlson told a press conference late Wednesday that traffic on most roads was moving again. But he said car and truck drivers that did not have proper tyres for the wintery conditions should not go out on the roads. Many drivers have switched from winter to summer tyres. The minister said many road closures had... Читать дальше...
Among the victims of Monday's air strike in Damascus against the Iranian consulate was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Guards, his deputy Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, and five other officers. While Iran has blamed Israel for the attack and vowed to retaliate, some analysts suspect that Iran remains unwilling to provoke a full-scale war.
Chelsea said in a statement the "defamatory comments" made towards Gallagher were "completely unacceptable" and that the video had been taken out of context. The incident took place before kick-off in Chelsea's match against Burnley at Stamford Bridge, with the 24-year-old seemingly unaware that one of the mascots had held up his hand. Pochettino rejected any suggestion that Gallagher acted intentionally as he hit back at the online reaction. "It has upset me so much," he said. "No one wants to do this with this intention. Читать дальше...
Coca plantations blanket the mountains along the narrow Micay canyon, the heartland of Colombia's holdout guerrillas, who rule their fiefdom like a mini-state. In makeshift laboratories, farmers openly mix coca leaf with gasoline to extract a paste used to make the pure cocaine that is one of Colombia's top exports. Micay canyon is a major source of tension in negotiations between the government and the EMC rebels who broke away from the FARC guerilla group when it signed a peace deal with the government in 2016. Читать дальше...
The inmates argued in a court filing that their right to religious freedom would be violated if the New York state prison service upheld a planned penitentiary lockdown during the eclipse. "Eclipses, like the one on April 8, are recognized by various religions as special events that warrant gathering, celebration, worship, and prayer," said the submission lodged on March 29. "(The inmates) have each expressed a sincerely held religious belief that April's solar eclipse is a religious event." New... Читать дальше...
The Spaniard, who is playing this weekend in LIV Golf's Miami event at Doral, overturned a four-stroke deficit on the final day last year to defeat Americans Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson by four shots. Last week he travelled to Augusta and, as well as playing the course, took some time to take in the scene of his second major triumph. "I wanted to go back at least once before Masters Week. I didn't want the first time back at Augusta National to be the tournament week, I wanted to get a lot of the emotions out of the way... Читать дальше...
Sunday's win over Brighton, allied to Manchester City's goalless draw with Arsenal, took the Reds back to the top of the table with nine matches remaining. But with Liverpool just two points clear of Arsenal, and more games to come in midweek and at the weekend, Klopp is taking nothing for granted ahead of Thursday's match at home to basement club Sheffield United. "The situation is, for us, Sheffield United, and not who is the favourite," Klopp told a pre-match press conference on Wednesday. ... Читать дальше...
Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is cooperating with authorities, his office said on Wednesday, after police searched his office premises as part of what a judicial source said was a preliminary probe into possible corruption.
'Boks head coach Rassie Erasmus said last month he preferred his captain to be playing in South Africa, with their next Test in June. Flanker Kolisi, 32, joined French club Racing 92, after October's second World Cup triumph, on a contract until 2026. "That's normal. I knew that before making the decision to come here," Kolisi told reporters. "He (Erasmus) speaks and he says this is the situation, it is what it is, there's nothing I can do about that," he added. Kolisi will return from a thumb... Читать дальше...
All this week, France 24’s culture show arts24 is putting Rwandan artists in the spotlight ahead of the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsis this weekend. Arts24’s Eve Jackson was in the studio to talk about some of those they met in Kigali, and how artists in the country are helping to rewrite Rwanda’s future.
World powers have widely condemned an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip that killed seven charity staff delivering desperately needed aid to the war-torn territory. World Central Kitchen -- one of two NGOs spearheading efforts to distribute aid brought by boat -- said a "targeted Israeli strike" on Monday killed Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian staff. France 24’s Leela Jacinto takes a look at how the control of aid and food into Gaza has become both a political and military... Читать дальше...
The killing of foreign aid workers in Gaza has piled further pressure on Israel over its conduct of the war against Hamas, renewing scrutiny of how the Israeli army selects its targets in an ongoing military campaign that has devastated most of the Gaza Strip and killed or maimed tens of thousands of its inhabitants.
Flags flew at half-mast as the northern European country observed a day of mourning a day after the boy had opened fire at his school in the Finnish city of Vantaa. "The motive for the act has been confirmed to be bullying," police said in a statement. The suspect said during questioning that "he has been the victim of bullying," the statement added. "This information has also been confirmed during the preliminary investigation by the police." Police also said that the young suspect had only been... Читать дальше...
Spanish police on Wednesday briefly arrested disgraced ex-football chief Luis Rubiales in connection with an alleged graft scandal at the RFEF football federation when he was president.
Senegal's once jailed opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye is now the West African nation's fifth and youngest president ever, promising to restore stability and ring in a new era of economic progress. As Diomaye Faye evokes Senegal's 'profound desire for change', FRANCE 24's François Picard is joined by Mamadou Diouf, Historian, Leitner Family Professor of African Studies and Director of Columbia University's Institute for African Studies.
Injuries have plagued United in an awkward second season for Dutch manager Erik ten Hag, with the side faltering in the Premier League and knocked out of Europe before Christmas. A lacklustre 1-1 draw with Brentford, where Sweden international Victor Lindelof suffered a hamstring injury that is likely to sideline him for a month, left United sixth in the table, nine points adrift of fifth-placed Tottenham. Lisandro Martinez has suffered a calf problem in training while fellow defenders Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are also sidelined. Читать дальше...
Under Switzerland's direct democracy system, citizens can trigger popular votes by collecting 100,000 valid signatures within 18 months. The hard right Swiss People's Party (SVP) submitted 114,600 signatures to the Federal Chancellery in Bern on Wednesday -- collected in half the time. "Mass immigration continues its frantic course... with devastating consequences for our small country," said the SVP, which is the biggest party in the wealthy Alpine nation. Adopting the initiative "is urgent to protect our unique landscape... Читать дальше...
A fire that raged from the basement of a 16-storey building in central Istanbul killed at least 29 people Tuesday, with flames and thick smoke billowing for hours despite a massive emergency response. The fire was contained and rescue efforts had ended by early evening, the city governor's office said, and eight people were arrested over the blaze that began in a basement where builders had been renovating a nightclub.
