Kante joins Benzema at Al-Ittihad on 3-year deal as Saudi Arabia entices another star player

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Kante joins Benzema at Al-Ittihad on 3-year deal as Saudi Arabia entices another star player Saudi Arabian soccer champion Al-Ittihad has another high-profile French player to accompany Karim Benzema at the team next season.N’Golo Kante completed his move on a three-year deal on Wednesday after leaving Chelsea, with Al-Ittihad welcoming the 32-year-old midfielder with a series of tweets containing the hashtag “WelcomeBox2Box” — referring to his hard-running style of play.He will reportedly earn more than $100 million across the length of the deal at a club based in Jeddah and coached by former Tottenham and Wolverhampton manager Nuno Espirito Santo. It recently won the Saudi league ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.Kante, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 and has been one of the best players in the Premier League in recent years as a back-to-back champion with Leicester and Chelsea, has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons.That hasn’t put off Al-Ittihad from apparently spending big on Kante, a f...

Arresto en Escocia: piloto llega aparentemente borracho a su vuelo con destino a Nueva York

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Arresto en Escocia: piloto llega aparentemente borracho a su vuelo con destino a Nueva York Un piloto de Delta Airlines fue arrestado en Escocia después de que presuntamente se presentó borracho para un vuelo con destino a la ciudad de Nueva York y forzó la cancelación del viaje, informaron las autoridades el martes.El vuelo 209 normalmente sale del aeropuerto de Edimburgo a las 10:35 a. m. SCT en un viaje de siete horas y media al aeropuerto internacional John F. Kennedy, pero nunca despegó el viernes.El piloto, identificado solo como un hombre de 61 años, fue arrestado alrededor de las 10 a.m. hora local, dijo la policía. Fue fichado bajo sospecha de violar la Ley de Seguridad del Transporte y Ferrocarriles del Reino Unido de 2003, que prohíbe que los pilotos y otros operadores de transporte se vean afectados en el trabajo.Esta información fue originalmente publicada en NBCNews. El solsticio de verano de 2023 comienza esta semana. Esto es lo que debes saber Sumergible desaparecido: avión de Canadá detecta ruidos en el área de búsq...

Seattle hosts Indiana after Boston’s 25-point game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Seattle hosts Indiana after Boston’s 25-point game Indiana Fever (4-7, 3-5 Eastern Conference) at Seattle Storm (3-7, 3-4 Western Conference)Seattle; Thursday, 10 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Indiana plays the Seattle Storm after Aliyah Boston scored 25 points in the Fever’s 100-94 loss to the Atlanta Dream.Seattle finished 22-14 overall with a 13-5 record at home during the 2022-23 season. The Storm shot 44.2% from the field and 36.1% from 3-point range last season.Indiana finished 5-31 overall with a 2-16 record on the road last season. The Fever averaged 78.0 points per game last season, 14.4 from the free throw line and 20.4 from beyond the arc.INJURIES: Storm: None listed.Fever: None listed.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Sky face the Mystics on 4-game losing streak

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Sky face the Mystics on 4-game losing streak Washington Mystics (7-4, 3-3 Eastern Conference) at Chicago Sky (5-7, 2-5 Eastern Conference)Chicago; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Chicago heads into the matchup with Washington as losers of four in a row.The Sky are 2-5 in conference games. Chicago ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference in rebounding with 35.0 rebounds. Alanna Smith leads the Sky with 6.8 boards.The Mystics are 3-3 against Eastern Conference teams. Washington is sixth in the Eastern Conference scoring 27.5 points per game in the paint led by Shakira Austin averaging 9.3.The teams play for the third time this season. In the last meeting on June 18 the Mystics won 77-69 led by 20 points from Elena Delle Donne, while Morgan Bertsch scored 16 points for the Sky.TOP PERFORMERS: Smith is shooting 53.4% and averaging 10.3 points for the Sky.Delle Donne is averaging 18.4 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Mystics.LAST 10 GAMES: Sky: 3-7, averaging 79.9 points, 34.6 rebounds, 20.0 assists, 5.1 steals and 5.1 blocks per game...

Minnesota and Connecticut square off in non-conference matchup

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Minnesota and Connecticut square off in non-conference matchup Connecticut Sun (9-3, 5-2 Eastern Conference) at Minnesota Lynx (3-8, 3-4 Western Conference)Minneapolis; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Minnesota and Connecticut square off in non-conference action.The Lynx are 1-4 in home games. Minnesota is 1-1 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.The Sun have gone 6-1 away from home. Connecticut has a 1-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.The teams square off for the second time this season. The Sun won the last meeting 89-84 on June 2. Natisha Hiedeman scored 19 points to help lead the Sun to the victory.TOP PERFORMERS: Napheesa Collier is shooting 47.5% and averaging 20.5 points for the Lynx.DeWanna Bonner is averaging 17.8 points for the Sun.LAST 10 GAMES: Lynx: 3-7, averaging 78.3 points, 35.0 rebounds, 17.9 assists, 5.4 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 42.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 85.0 points per game.Sun: 7-3, averaging 84.1 points, 33.2 rebounds, 22.1 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.0 blocks pe...

Bochy `dumbfounded’ by `embarrassing’ call that gives the White Sox a comeback win over the Rangers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Bochy `dumbfounded’ by `embarrassing’ call that gives the White Sox a comeback win over the Rangers CHICAGO (AP) — Zach Remillard singled in Elvis Andrus with the go-ahead run on a play that was overturned by video review, and the Chicago White Sox rallied with three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Texas Rangers 7-6 on Tuesday night.Remillard has had a busy first week in the majors. In his debut Saturday at Seattle, the 29-year-old infielder knocked in the tying run in the ninth and the winner in the 11th.This time, the finish was more controversial.Andrus tied it with a single off Grant Anderson (1-1) that plated two runs with two outs. Remillard followed with a line drive to left field, and Andrus was initially called out at the plate by umpire D.J. Reyburn on Travis Jankowski’s throw.Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was ejected after the call was overturned, because catcher Jonah Heim was ruled to have blocked the plate illegally. Bochy was booted for the 80th time in his career.“For that call to be made, I’m dumbfounded,” Bochy said. “It’s absolutely one of the worst calls I’...

Ex-Aussie PM admits he hid submarine plot from Macron

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Ex-Aussie PM admits he hid submarine plot from Macron Australia’s former Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged he did not tell French President Emmanuel Macron he was planning to renege on a €56 billion submarine contract and buy U.S.-made subs instead.“Our strategy was that if we are going to do this, we can’t let it lead to the French knowing — in case that damages the French deal,” Morrison said in an upcoming book seen by newswire Agence France-Presse.“So, we had to build Chinese walls — pardon the pun — around our discussions,” said Morrison, in an interview with Australian journalist Richard Kerbaj for a new chapter of the book “The Secret History of The Five Eyes,” about the intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. An updated version of the book will be published in July.Morrison explained he secretly worked with the U.S. and the U.K. for two years to form an alternative alliance — labeled AUKUS — in which the three countries would share...

Germany appoints senior lawmaker with governing party as ambassador to Russia

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Germany appoints senior lawmaker with governing party as ambassador to Russia BERLIN (AP) — Germany has appointed a senior lawmaker with one of the country’s governing parties as its new ambassador to Russia, handing him the delicate diplomatic post as tensions spiral over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.The Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Russia has given its formal approval for Alexander Lambsdorff to become ambassador, a necessary step before he can take the post. It said that he is expected to start work this summer.Lambsdorff, 56, has experience in Germany’s diplomatic service, which he joined in 1995. He worked in the Foreign Ministry’s Russia department in 2003 and 2004. In recent years, he has been better known as a prominent politician. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2017 before joining the German parliament. He is currently a deputy leader of the parliamentary group of the Free Democrats, the smallest of three parties in Germany’s governing coalition.Germany’s relations with Moscow have becom...

China calls Biden comments calling leader Xi a dictator ‘extremely absurd and irresponsible’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

China calls Biden comments calling leader Xi a dictator ‘extremely absurd and irresponsible’ BEIJING (AP) — China has called comments by President Joe Biden describing Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a dictator “extremely absurd and irresponsible.” The new clash of words comes just over a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing that sought to break the ice in a relationship that has hit a historical low. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Wednesday said Biden’s comments at a fundraiser in California “go totally against facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and severely infringe on China’s political dignity.” “It is a blatant political provocation. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and opposition,” Mao said at a daily briefing. “The U.S. remarks are extremely absurd and irresponsible,” Mao said. Blinken’s visit, during which he met with Xi, was aimed at easing tensions between the two superpowers but appeared not to have achieved any solid results. Biden, at the fundraiser on Tuesday night local time, said that Xi wa...

Russia says it downed 3 drones outside Moscow, suspects it was attack by Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:31:42 GMT

Russia says it downed 3 drones outside Moscow, suspects it was attack by Ukraine Two drones were brought down outside Moscow as they approached the warehouses of a local military unit, Moscow region Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said Wednesday, in what could be the latest attempt by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia during the early stages of Kyiv’s most recent counteroffensive.The wreckage of a third drone was found about 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from the site of the crash, Russian media reported. No damage or casualties were reported.Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it was “an unsuccessful attempt at a terrorist attack” by “the Kyiv regime” on its facilities in the Moscow region, adding in a statement that all three drones were brought down by radio-electronic means.Ukraine, which usually doesn’t confirm attacks on Russian soil, made no immediate comment about the downed drones. Previously, Ukrainian officials have emphasized the country’s right to strike any target in response to Russia’s invasion and war that started in February 2022.In ...