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☆ Duke gives Australia halftime lead over Tunisia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

AL WAKRAH, Qatar, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Australia lead Tunisia 1-0 at halftime in their second World Cup Group D game on Saturday, after striker Mitchell Duke opened the scoring in the 23rd minute at the Al Janoub Stadium. Australia, looking to win their first World Cup match since 2010, scored from a counter-attack when Duke got on the end of Craig Goodwin's cross and directed a glancing header past the goalkeeper. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Al Wakrah; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 3 McDonald's employees in Atlanta, Georgia help deliver a customer's baby in the bathroom after she goes into labor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

3 McDonald's employees in Atlanta, Georgia rushed into action when a customer went into labor. When Woodward went to check on the customer, she found her on the ground heavily breathing and shouting in pain, Woodward told ABC News. Kaigler called 911 as she and the other employees rushed to help the customer. The 911 operator talked the employees through the delivery process, while Woodward held the woman's hand as she delivered her baby. After about 15 minutes of intense labor, the woman gave birth to her baby before the paramedics arrived.

☆ Fans pause action for Friday prayers during first World Cup in a Muslim country
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, Nov 25 (Reuters) - As noon approached, muezzins across Qatar called Muslim soccer players, fans and officials to the first Friday prayers of the first World Cup to take place in a Muslim country. Unusually for soccer, Muslim fans say Qatar's World Cup has accommodated them like never before - with stadium prayer rooms, concessions selling halal food and no beer-swilling supporters to contend with in the stands following a stadium alcohol ban. For now, Muslim fans are just enjoying an event that caters to their needs. Ridwaan Goolam Hoosen, an avid South African soccer fan, is used to having to leave the grounds to find a prayer space, including at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. "It feels as if this World Cup is for me, it works for me, it fits for me...This is the first of its kind like this," Goolam Hoosen said.

☆ EBRD to support $206 million in Ukraine investment via local banks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Wednesday it will help facilitate loans in Ukraine for key industries from agriculture to pharmaceuticals. The bank will issue risk-sharing instruments to local banks Credit Agricole Ukraine, ProCredit Bank, OTP Bank Ukraine and leasing company OTP Leasing aimed at backing up half of the risk of 200 million euros ($206.34 million) in new financing, according to an emailed statement from the bank. The EBRD will provide a 50-million euro guarantee to support the lending, which is also aimed at sectors such as food processing, transport and logistics and retail. "The bank's dedicated food security package envisages supporting 200 million euros of investment this year in Ukraine," the statement added. ($1 = 0.9693 euros)Reporting by Jorgelina do RosarioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EBRD warns of rise in 'zombie' firms if pandemic measures continue
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development urged governments in its region to rethink COVID-19 support measures for companies, warning that propping up "zombie" firms could have a knock-on effect on healthy businesses. However, ongoing support was no longer sustainable in a world of high interest rates, the EBRD said. Having zombie firms present in an economy creates negative spillovers for healthy firms, which see lower investment, revenue and employment, the EBRD warned. The problem is more present in economies dominated by government-run companies and banks, the EBRD found: 13% of state-owned enterprises in the 12-country sample used for the study could be classified as zombie firms, compared with 9% of privately-owned firms. The EBRD report also showed mixed progress on reforms by countries in six key areas, from competitiveness and resilience to the way they are governed.

☆ Crowd gives Tunisia lift as they hold Denmark 0-0 at halftime
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

AL RAYYAN, Qatar, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Underdogs Tunisia were drawing energy from a spirited crowd at the Education City Stadium on Tuesday and holding Denmark 0-0 at halftime in the opening Group D clash at the World Cup in Qatar. The north Africans enjoyed noisy support from a sea of red-clad fans, many of whom live and work in the Gulf emirate, and could have gone ahead three minutes before the break but Kasper Schmeichel made a superb one-handed save to deny Issam Jebali. Writing by Mark Gleeson in Doha; Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Denmark held by fired-up Tunisia in World Cup opener
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Nick Said | Michael Church | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Denmark thought they should have had a penalty in stoppage time for handball that was checked at the VAR screen by referee Cesar Arturo Ramos, but he instead gave a free kick to Tunisia. We are underway with the tournament, but our heads would have been a little higher with a better result." Tunisia, who this week had spoken of their pride at qualifying for World Cup in an Arab country, were fired up from the first whistle, celebrating each tackle like a goal, and had two excellent chances to open the scoring. "This is the World Cup, it's the most important competition in the world. Hjulmand will be sweating on a knee injury to midfielder Thomas Delaney that forced him off in the first half.

☆ France coach Deschamps decides not to replace Benzema
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - France coach Didier Deschamps has decided not to replace injured striker Karim Benzema in his World Cup squad, leaving the reigning champions with 25 players for their title defence. Asked on Sunday by TeleFoot whether he would replace the Ballon d'Or winner in his squad, Deschamps said "No". Benzema was the second French player to join the casualty list in less than a week after forward Christopher Nkunku was injured in a training session and replaced in the squad by Randal Kolo Muani. Influential midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante were ruled out of the tournament by injury before Deschamps named his squad. "Of course, it is bad news for France, and we feel like we're cursed, because it's just player after player out, and then it ends up with Karim Benzema being hurt during training," Parisian fan Samuel Pautrat said.

☆ Dark horses Denmark face tricky Tunisia test in World Cup opener
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Philip O'Connor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Denmark go into their opening World Cup game against a tricky Tunisia side on Tuesday in the unusual position of being among Europe's dark horses, in with an outside chance of winning the tournament if they can get everything right in Qatar. The key group game will be against France, a side they beat twice in the recent Nations League campaign. Eriksen's World Cup debut came in South Africa, but back then he was a teenager just breaking through in the senior ranks of the national team. At the 2018 World Cup they held England scoreless until Harry Kane scored in the 91st minute to give the English a narrow win. He's a tremendous football player," Hjulmand said, and now Tunisia have to find a way to stop him.

☆ France's Macron accuses Russia of 'predatory' influence in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of feeding anti-French propaganda in Africa to serve "predatory" ambitions in troubled African nations, where France has suffered military setbacks and a wider loss of influence over recent years. "This perception is fed by others, it's a political project," Macron told TV5 Monde in an interview. France, the former colonial power in most of Western and central Africa, has longstanding military ties across Francophone Africa and French troops were stationed in Mali for a decade as part of a counter-terrorism operation. It has also been jockeying for influence with Russia in recent years, with the deployment of private military contractor Wagner Group in several countries, including in the Central African Republic (CAR) and in Mali. "It's done with the complicity of a Russian military junta," he said.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar from November 20 to December 18. This is the first World Cup tournament held in the Middle East, and the last before the World Cup expands to 48 teams in 2026. How to watch the 2022 World CupYou can watch the 2022 World Cup on Fox and Fox Sports 1 in the United States starting November 20. 2022 World Cup scheduleWe'll be updating our World Cup schedule every week with more upcoming matches, so be sure to check back for the latest details. The 2022 FIFA World Cup is being held in Qatar from November 20 to December 18.

☆ France striker Giroud hopes it's third time lucky for World Cup goals
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Karolos Grohmann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Giroud is France's second top all-time scorer, two goals shy of Thierry Henry's national team scoring record of 51. In total he has scored three goals in World Cup and Euro tournaments in his career. "Yes, I scored one in 2014 (World Cup) and a few at the 2016 Euros. "For me it's kind of a blessing to have the opportunity to play for my country in a third World Cup." "To win one World Cup is obviously such a big a childhood dream.

☆ World Cup 2022: start date, schedule, teams, venues and final
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Here's what you need to know about the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Qatar:When does World Cup 2022 start? * The World Cup will start a day earlier than originally scheduled to ensure hosts Qatar play the opening match. The World Cup will feature 32 teams and will begin with a group stage, with teams divided into eight groups of four. * Games will take place at eight stadiums -- Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Iconic Stadium, Stadium 974, Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium. * With 80,000 seats, Lusail Iconic Stadium is the largest of Qatar's eight World Cup stadiums.

☆ No advantage for Australia from Qatar experience, says Degenek
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Central defender Milos Degenek does not believe Australia will gain an advantage at the World Cup from having played regularly in host nation Qatar's air-conditioned stadiums during the qualifying rounds for this month's tournament. The only advantage there's going to be is we've been here the last year, year-and-a-half four or five times to play different qualifying games." All eight of the venues being used for the World Cup are cooled to mitigate the high temperatures that affect the Gulf region. Australia played preliminaries against China and Oman at the Khalifa Stadium, which will host eight World Cup games, before facing the United Arab Emirates and Peru in playoffs at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. Arnold's team will take on defending champions France in their opening game of the World Cup on Nov. 22 before facing Tunisia and Denmark.

☆ France's Deschamps says he has replacements ready for Kimpembe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Borussia Moenchengladbach striker Marcus Thuram and AS Monaco defender Axel Disasi were called up as Deschamps completed his squad, the French federation said on Monday. Disasi made the final cut after Kimpembe ruled himself out because of a hamstring injury. "Kimpembe did not have all the elements to be ready," Deschamps told reporters on Monday. Asked about his options to replace Kimpembe, the France coach added: "Konate and Upamecano. Deschamps also said 29-year-old Manchester United centre back Raphael Varane, who has been included in the squad despite being injured in October, was making good progress.

For more than 70 days this summer, a marine heatwave cooked the waters of the western Mediterranean. "We've been witnessing marine heatwaves during the last 20 years," said Garrabou, who's also coordinator of the T-MEDNet marine monitoring network. A 2016 marine heatwave along Chile's southern coast caused huge algae blooms that wiped out fish farms and cost the aquaculture industry some $800 million, said scientist Kathryn Smith with the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. As the world warms, marine heatwaves are expected to become more frequent, according to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Though economists have yet to account fully for the impacts of marine heatwaves, recent experience has many concerned.

☆ Every World Cup 2022 squad announced: USMNT, Germany, Belgium and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —‘Tis the season for wall charts and fans gathering around to pick their starting teams for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. “It’s always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, he scores three goals in World Cup qualifying and isn’t going to be a part of the program. Again, it’s more about who we did add that we felt good about.”All but one of the 26 will be making their World Cup debut at this year’s tournament and, according to the USMNT, it will be the youngest team to qualify for the World Cup. Octavio Passos/Getty Images Europe/Getty ImagesGhanaManager: Otto AddoThe final squad has not been announced yet. READ: Meet Otto Addo, the coach responsible for guiding some of Europe’s brightest young talents (2021)—–PortugalManager: Fernando SantosThe final squad has not been announced yet.

☆ Djerba: The Ancient Tunisian Island Where Contemporary Art Is King
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Abbie Kozolchyk | Photographs Chedly Ben Ibrahim For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JUST OFF TUNISIA’S southeastern coast sits a spot with a long history of intriguing names, from the Odyssean Land of the Lotus-Eaters to the Flaubertian Island of Golden Sand. But a decidedly modern moniker turned out to be the one I couldn’t resist: Djerbahood. It’s a new handle for an ancient village on the island of Djerba, where street art has transformed the weather-beaten walls into a sprawling open-air gallery. I’d long been meaning to visit, drawn to the singular coexistence between Djerba’s ancient Jewish and Muslim communities—and tempted by the occasional sand-and-sea postcard from a Parisian friend (one of the legions of Europeans and North Africans who retreat regularly to the island’s beach resorts). When I started seeing news of a fresh wave of art installations this year, I finally booked my trip.

☆ Sabalenka knocks Pegula out of WTA Finals with group stage win
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Belarusian world number seven Sabalenka, who finished the group stage with a 2-1 record, advances if Sakkari wins one set. If the Greek drops a set, or even loses in three sets, there are still mathematical possibilities for Sabalenka to progress. Sabalenka made a blistering start, breaking Pegula to open the match and again for a 5-2 lead. World number three Pegula then fought off four set points to break straight back but Sabalenka broke to love in the next game to wrap up the set. World number two Jabeur of Tunisia and No.

☆ MENA, Central Asia economies show resilience but global headwinds loom -IMF
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Economic activity in the Middle East and Central Asia was resilient with recovery continuing in 2022 but the region must guard against growing global headwinds and push ahead with reforms, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. Countries should be on alert as "headwinds are growing, vulnerabilities are growing" with a global economic slowdown, volatile food and energy prices and tightening financial conditions, IMF Middle East and Central Asia Director Jihad Azour told Reuters ahead of the October report's release. An urgent policy challenge was tackling the cost-of-living crisis by restoring price stability, protecting vulnerable groups through targeted support and ensuring food security. Economic growth in 2023 was forecast by the IMF at 4% percent and likely narrow to 3.5% in the medium term. "Spillovers from the war could put the CCA's progress toward reducing poverty and inequality at risk," the report said.

☆ Twitter is now owned by Elon Musk — here's a brief history from the app's founding in 2006 to the present
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In this photo illustration, former U.S. President Donald Trump's archived Twitter account is shown on a phone screen with the Twitter logo in the background. And they happen to be the hands of Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and one of the app's most high-profile provocateurs. 2006In March, Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams created Twitter, which was originally a side project stemming from the podcasting tool Odeo. 2011Twitter became an essential social media tool used during the Arab Spring, the wave of antigovernmental protests throughout Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. The combined wealth of Williams, Dorsey, and Costolo hit roughly $4 billion.

[1/3] Manuela Teixeira, who runs six businesses in Old Chelsea village, stands at the counter of her cafe Biscotti & Cie, which she says faces a dire labor shortage, in Old Chelsea, Quebec, Canada, October 3, 2022. Canada has the worst labor shortages in the Western world, according to the latest OECD data from late 2021. Quebec's immigration ministry didn't respond to a query on the arrival caps and labor challenges for this article. The new census data showed 28.7% of recent immigrants to the province spoke French as their first language, up from 25.7% in 2016. When company workers had to isolate after arriving from Tunisia during COVID-19, people in the town rallied to help with supplies, she said.

☆ Australian players call out Qatar's human rights record ahead of World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Australia's national soccer team spoke out against World Cup host Qatar's record on human rights and same-sex relationships in a video released on Thursday, adding to criticism of the country in the weeks ahead of the tournament. Qatar, the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup, has come under intense international pressure for its treatment of foreign workers and restrictive social laws. A separate statement from Football Australia, the peak soccer body, on Thursday acknowledged reforms but said the games had been associated "with suffering for some migrant workers and their families." Disquiet over the country's human rights record has led to calls for teams and officials to boycott the games. Australia will play against France, Denmark and Tunisia after the World Cup kicks off on Nov. 20.

☆ Protests paralyse Tunisian town after migrant deaths
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TUNIS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A southern Tunisian coastal town was paralysed by protests on Tuesday amid growing anger over the fate of people who drowned in a migrant shipwreck last month, with some buried in unmarked graves. Images showed the streets of Zarzis packed with protesters chanting anti-authority slogans with shops and government institutions closed. Nothing," he said, adding that Walid felt he had no future in Tunisia despite being an excellent student. Protests began in Zarzis this month after a boat believed to be carrying 18 migrants disappeared. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Tarek Amara, writing by Angus McDowall, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The agreement is also seen as critical to unlock bilateral aid from country donors that wanted the reassurance of an IMF programme that Tunisia would carry out reforms to put its finances on a more sustainable footing. "The agreement is an important step for Tunisia's public finances and will allow Tunisia to borrow from some bilateral sources," a senior Tunisian official said on condition of anonymity. It is subject to the approval of the IMF board, which is scheduled to discuss Tunisia's programme request in December, the fund said. The IMF warned that in the near term growth would likely slow with more pressure on inflation and on the external and fiscal balances. The government negotiated for months with the IMF and had to also to sign an agreement with the UGTT to limit public sector wage increases over the next three years.

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