Chinese sporting authorities have cancelled next month's friendly international between Argentina and Nigeria amid a growing backlash against Lionel Messi's failure to play in an Inter Miami match in Hong Kong last week.
Argentina were scheduled to play Nigeria in the Chinese city of Hangzhou next month before facing the Ivory Coast in Beijing, but Messi's failure to take the field for Inter Miami in Hong Kong on Sunday caused widespread anger among fans. The organiser of the Hong Kong match said they would give fans a 50 percent refund for tickets after the Argentine did not take the field due to injury, but played in Japan days later. The backlash grew on Friday, with Hangzhou sports authorities saying that Argentina's friendly against Nigeria would no longer take place. "As a commercial event, a company and the Argentinean soccer team negotiated that the team would play a friendly match in March this year in the city of Hangzhou," the Hangzhou authorities said in a statement. "In view of the current well-known reasons, according to the competent authorities, conditions to hold the friendly match are not mature, therefore (we) have decided to cancel it." It was not immediately clear if Argentina's other friendly against Ivory Coast in Beijing would also be cancelled. The Chinese FA did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment sent outside normal business hours. The Argentine FA also did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Tatler Asian, a privately owned publishing and lifestyle company, said in a statement on its Instagram page that it was "deeply sorry" and "heartbroken" that fans were let down after Messi stayed on the bench during Sunday's match. The match in Hong Kong drew 40,000 fans, with some spectators paying up to $1000 per ticket. The cost of all match tickets bought from official channels can be 50 percent refunded, Tatler said, adding that it had been in discussions with the Hong Kong government to resolve the issue. Inter Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino said Messi was deemed unfit to play in the friendly in Hong Kong, but he came on as a 60th minute substitute against Vissel Kobe on Wednesday. "When we learned that Messi would not be playing, we pleaded with Inter Miami CF ownership and management to urge him to stand up, engage with the spectators and explain why he couldn't play," Tatler said. "He didn't. The fact that Messi and (team mate Luis) Suarez played in Japan on Feb. 7 feels like another slap in the face." In the match in Tokyo, entire blocks of seats at the Japan National Stadium were unoccupied, with just 28,614 tickets sold. Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians and some fans swiftly condemned Messi's participation in the Japan match, with state-controlled Global Times writing that his absence posed many questions on the differential treatment for Hong Kong. In a statement, Hong Kong's government said Tatler Asia had made its best effort to arrange a refund, adding that many people had questions about the incident. "The government hopes that the Inter Miami team will eventually provide a reasonable explanation to Hong Kong citizens and fans who came to Hong Kong to watch the game." Tatler Asia said Inter Miami had committed to ensuring that their top players, including Messi and Uruguay's Suarez, would play for 45 minutes unless injured. It said it had hoped to create an iconic moment in support of the government's efforts to remind the world how relevant and exciting Hong Kong is. "That dream is broken today for us and all those who bought tickets to see Messi on the pitch."
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Libertarian economist Javier Milei was elected to become Argentina’s next president on Sunday.
With 86.59% of the votes counted, Milei won with nearly 56%, while his rival in the runoff, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, received 44%. Before the official results were announced, Massa conceded defeat in a speech. “The results are not what we expected, and I have contacted Javier Milei to congratulate him and wish him luck,” he said, thanking his supporters. “I am a man of democracy and I value nothing more than the verdict of the people. I am confident that tomorrow we can start working with Javier Milei to ensure an orderly transition [of power],” President Alberto Fernandez wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Milei, a 53-year-old self-described “anarcho-capitalist” who leads the Liberty Advances party, has been compared to former US President Donald Trump due to his sometimes brash and eccentric personality. During his campaign, Milei made several radical proposals, including the abolishing of the country’s central bank and swapping the Argentine peso for the US dollar as the country's official currency. He also advocated public spending cuts as a way to fix the economy. Libertarians typically see government activity as an encroachment on individual freedom and advocate a free market approach coupled with far lower taxes and little or no social spending. Voters have been frustrated by a cost-of-living crisis and triple-digit inflation, which over the summer hit its highest level since the early 1990s. A political outsider, Milei has built his appeal around promises to revive the economy, as Argentina is on track to slip into a recession for the sixth time in a decade. Lionel Messi won the eighth Ballon d’Or of his remarkable career, while Spain’s World Cup-winning star Aitana Bonmati took the women’s prize at a glittering ceremony in Paris.
For Messi, the trophy awarded to him on Monday rewards, above all else, his inspirational performances at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, when he dragged Argentina to victory, scoring seven goals and being named the tournament’s best player. It was the crowning moment of his astonishing career, and it allowed him to see off stiff competition, in particular from Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, to take the award on the stage of the Chatelet Theatre in Paris. It was a return to the French capital after he departed from Paris Saint-Germain in June and his subsequent move to Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. Messi thanked his Argentina coach, teammates and staff for making his victory possible. “Tonight I’m enjoying myself. It’s a pleasure that will never leave me, and I hope to be able to enjoy it for many years to come,” Messi said through a translator. “Becoming world champion was the title we were missing. I’d like to thank everyone who helped make Argentina the world champion team.” Messi dedicated the trophy to late Argentina legend Diego Maradona, who would have celebrated his 63rd birthday on Monday. “Happy birthday Diego. This is for you too,” he said. Messi benefits from a recent change which means the award is based on a player’s record over the last season, rather than over the calendar year. Saudi Arabia and Iran are among six countries to join BRICS as new members next year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced, on the final day of a summit of the group that considers itself a counterweight to Western powers.The group encompassing five major emerging economies – China, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and India – which makes decisions by consensus, agreed on “the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process”, during the three-day annual summit held in Johannesburg this week, Ramaphosa said on Thursday. As part of the first phase, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates will join Saudi Arabia and Iran to become full BRICS members in January 2024. Other phases will follow. “This membership expansion is historic,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping. “The expansion is also a new starting point for BRICS cooperation. It will bring new vigour to the BRICS cooperation mechanism and further strengthen the force for world peace and development.”
A senior adviser to Iran’s president on Thursday welcomed the country’s admission to the grouping. “Permanent membership in the group of global emerging economies is considered a historic development and a strategic success for the foreign policy of the Islamic republic,” Mohammad Jamshidi wrote on X, which was previously known as Twitter. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed what he called “a great moment” for his country. “Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous global order,” Abiy said on Twitter. The core group of five BRICS countries has been discussing the issue of expansion for more than a year, Ramaphosa said, and the new members were invited this week after an agreement was reached at the summit. The expansion of the group is part of its plan to build dominance and reshape global governance into a “multipolar” world order that puts voices of the Global South at the centre of the world agenda. The inclusion of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran and Egypt marks the first MENA representation in the group, and the inclusion of Argentina was championed by member Brazil. Expansion was pushed heavily by Russia and China, analysts said, as they are facing pushback from Western nations in the form of sanctions. Other BRICS countries were initially more ambivalent, but leaders came out in vocal support of the plan this week. The grouping of emerging economies has been in formal existence for 15 years. Some experts told Al Jazeera that it has not achieved much and the diffuse nature of their political and social interests means BRICS leaders do not always agree on issues. Some say that has prevented them from becoming a more powerful or effective entity. Africa’s highest-ranked team will still look to challenge the Netherlands in the opening clash despite injury to star player. In February, the Teranga Lions secured their first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title after beating Egypt on penalties. The Netherlands have also enjoyed considerable success in their continental exploits, topping their Nations League group and notching two morale-boosting wins against their Benelux rivals, Belgium.
Tough fixture for both Monday’s match will likely represent the greatest challenge in Group A for both teams, who will fancy their chances against Ecuador and Qatar, ranked 44th and 50th in the world, respectively. The contest at Al Thumama Stadium had promised to pit Liverpool’s mercurial centre-back Virgil van Dijk against his former teammate and prolific goalscorer Sadio Mané. However, this year’s Ballon d’Or runner-up picked up a leg injury playing for German champions Bayern Munich and has been ruled out of the tournament, in a big blow to the African champions that has left its supporters in shock. “We know that we have lost a great leader but I think that there will be more players that will show themselves and we must be ready,” defender Kalidou Koulibaly said. Midfielder Nampalys Mendy agreed. “We have to be ready, ready before any eventuality, it’s true that the absence of Sado will harm us enormously … because he is an important player. We have players of great quality too, so we are confident in our quality, and we will do everything to show it.” Still, Micky Jnr, a football journalist specialising in African football, expressed confidence that “this Senegal team will progress from the group”. He expects Senegal to claim, at least, a point against the Netherlands, or “maybe surprise the Europeans with a win”. The midfield battle At the back, both teams boast several world-class options. Van Dijk is joined by the likes of Inter Milan’s Stefan de Vrij and Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt for the Oranje. Senegal can rely on Chelsea’s Koulibaly and RB Leipzig’s Abdou Diallo. In between the sticks, Senegal seemingly has the upper hand with Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy. Even though the keeper has struggled for form this season, his international experience far outweighs what the Netherlands offers. Dutch manager Louis van Gaal has yet to settle on his number one, but in the past two matches, he handed Ajax shot-stopper Remko Pasveer his first international caps at the ripe age of 39. In midfield, the Oranje boast the likes of Frenkie de Jong and the free-scoring Cody Gakpo, who continues to light up the Dutch Eredivisie with 13 goals and 15 assists in 24 games so far this season. “It is going to be a cagey game; I think the battle will be won in midfield,” says Jnr, who highlights Senegal’s Pape Matar Sarr, a talented footballer with an “excellent work rate” as someone to look out for. Senegal has some exciting options in attack, such as Boulaye Dia, who is currently on loan to Serie A side Salernitana from Villareal. However, Mané will be a huge loss for Senegal, whose defence will have to cope with Memphis Depay who seems to have recovered from an injury. “We have players who play at the highest level, the biggest clubs in the world. We have experience. We have talent. We have a good mixture. But first and foremost, we have team spirit. And I think that’s the start and the key to success. It’s not guaranteed success, of course, but it’s a good way to start,” van Dijk said on Thursday, while also hailing van Gaal’s leadership. “We have a fantastic manager, experienced manager,” he added. “It’s going to be a very big one against the African champions and we’ll do everything in our power to hopefully get a good result and start our World Cup in the best way possible.” The Argentine foreign ministry has confirmed that Chinese mining company Tibet Summit Resources will invest $2.2 billion in two lithium exploration projects in the South American country. The Shanghai-based company is expected to create around 10,000 jobs in Argentina, according to the statement released on Friday. The ministry noted that the plans were shared by Jianrong Huang, the president of Tibet Summit Resources, with Argentine ambassador Sabino Vaca Narvaja at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Under the plan, the Chinese firm will invest around $700 million into the Salar de Diablillos project in Salta province, which is expected to produce 50,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate starting next year. Meanwhile, another $1.5 billion will be used for construction of a plant at the Arizaro salt flat, also located in Salta, which is expected to produce between 50,000 and 100,000 tons of lithium carbonate by 2024.
Argentina, along with Bolivia and Chile, is part of the Lithium Triangle, a region of the Andes that accounts for around 54% of the world’s white metal reserves. Globally, the South American nation is ranked the fourth biggest lithium producer, after Australia, Chile and China, according to a report from the Argentine Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM). The football shirt worn by Diego Maradona when scoring his iconic 'Hand of God' goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has been sold for £7.14 million ($8.9 million) at auction, smashing an all-time the record for sports memorabilia.
A group of Argentines had reportedly arrived in London looking to prevent the sale by Sotheby's, with the item previously owned by ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Steve Hodge. Hodge played in his country's 2-1 quarter-final defeat to the eventual winners of the Mexico-held tournament, Argentina, and then swapped shirts with Maradona, who passed away in late 2020. In four inspired minutes at the start of the second half with the match still scoreless, Maradona first rose above Peter Shilton to punch the ball past the imposing 'keeper before later famously claiming it was the 'Hand of God' that put Argentina 1-0 up. For his second effort, Maradona embarked on a genius slalom run past a number of hapless Three Lions stars from his own half to slide the ball past Shilton and complete what was later voted the 'Goal of the Century'. Managing to exchange tops with Maradona at full time after England could not capitalize on an 81st-minute Gary Lineker consolation, Hodge had previously loaned the garment to the National Football Museum in Manchester for 20 years. Argentina - President Mauricio MacriOSAKA, June 28 -- Macri is aiming for his second term in the presidential election expected in October but is likely to face an uphill battle amid Argentina's economic woes. Inflation was nearly 50 percent in 2018 and the country's currency, the peso, has been heavily devalued, sapping households of spending power. The 60-year-old leader is a son of a prominent Italian-born industrialist and was brought up in the family business. He studied civil engineering at university and served as senior officials in construction and other companies. In 1991, he was kidnapped by rogue police officers and was held for nearly two weeks until his family paid ransom, an experience that purportedly led him to pursue a career in politics. The ransom is said to have totaled millions of dollars. Macri later became head of the Boca Juniors, one of the country's most popular soccer teams, before being elected mayor of Buenos Aires in 2007. He has been president since 2015 and was the host of last year's G-20 summit in the Argentine capital. A big fan of Freddie Mercury, he has sometimes impersonated the late Queen singer. BUENOS AIRES, June 16 -- A massive failure in the electrical interconnection system left Argentina and Uruguay without power, according to reports by local media. According to Infobae, an Argentinian website, the country has been in the dark for more than an hour, and all trains are suspended. Electricity supplier company Edesur Argentina said in a tweet: "A massive failure in the electrical interconnection system left Argentina and Uruguay without power." "Never has anything like this happened before," Alejandra Martinez, a spokeperson for the company told Infobae. Local media in Argentina said the blackout ocurred at around 12:00 GMT (07:00 local time). Social media reports on the blackout were widespread. "Huge blackout in Argentina: the City, the Province of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe were left in the dark," a news agency posted on Twitter. The girl had fallen pregnant after being raped by her grandmother’s boyfriend. A practitioner who assisted in the procedure told the Guardian there were thousands of such cases in Argentina. Last week, the Guardian reported the story of Lucía – not her real name – who was raped by her grandmother’s 65-year-old partner. She was denied an abortion, despite the law allowing terminations in cases of rape or when the woman’s life is at risk. Despite Lucía qualifying on both accounts, local authorities in the northern province of Tucumán, where she lives, delayed a decision until 23 weeks into her pregnancy. By that time Lucía was not physically able to undergo a normal, vaginal abortion. Instead she had to undergo what is called a hysterotomy abortion, in which the foetus is removed via a small incision in the abdomen, similar to a caesarean section. Rescued by hospital staff, the foetus survived the procedure but is not expected to live.
Cecilia Ousset, who assisted her husband, Jorge Gijena, in carrying out the procedure, said she was “horrified” by the outcome of the case. “At no moment was it our intention to force the girl to give [a] live birth,” said Ousset in a phone interview punctuated with tears. Ousset and her husband are pro-choice private practitioners, called in by the government when the public hospital staff refused to carry out the court-ordered procedure. Ousset feels they were tricked by a deliberate and ultimately successful ploy by provincial officials to delay the procedure long enough to force the delivery of a live newborn. BUENOS AIRES, November 17 -- Argentine Navy officials announced early Saturday that searchers have found the missing submarine ARA San Juan deep in the Atlantic a year after it disappeared with 44 crewmen aboard.
The vessel was detected 800 meters (2,625 feet) under the surface off the Valdes Peninsula in Argentine Patagonia, the statement said. The navy said a “positive identification” had been made by a remote-operated submersible from the American ship Ocean Infinity, which was hired for the latest search for the missing vessel. The Seabed Constructor — a vessel owned by U.S. search firm Ocean Infinity, which set out in September on the latest attempt to find the San Juan — found the missing sub. The Ocean Infinity ship “decided to do a new search and, thanks to God, it was able to find the zone,” navy spokesman Rodolfo Ramallo told Todo Noticias TV. The discovery was announced just two days after families of the missing sailors held a commemoration one year after the sub disappeared last Nov. 15. On Thursday, on the anniversary of its disappearance, President Mauricio Macri said the families of the submariners should not feel alone and delivered an “absolute and non-negotiable commitment” to find “the truth.” Macri promised a full investigation after the submarine was lost. Federal police raided naval bases and other buildings last January as part of the probe, soon after the government dismissed the head of the navy. The San Juan was returning to its base in the coastal city of Mar del Plata when contact was lost. Argentina gave up hope of finding survivors after an intense search aided by 18 countries, but the navy has continued searching for the vessel. The German-built diesel-electric TR-1700 class submarine was commissioned in the mid-1980s and was most recently refitted between 2008 and 2014. During the $12 million retrofitting, the vessel was cut in half and had its engines and batteries replaced. Experts said refits can be difficult because they involve integrating systems produced by different manufacturers, and even the tiniest mistake during the cutting phase can put the safety of the ship and crew at risk. The navy said previously the captain reported on the day it disappeared that water entered the snorkel and caused one of the sub’s batteries to short-circuit. The captain later communicated that it had been contained. Some hours later, an explosion was detected near the time and place where the San Juan was last heard from. The navy said the blast could have been caused by a “concentration of hydrogen” triggered by the battery problem reported by the captain. |
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