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Anything is Possible, Benzema Gushes As He Wins First Ballon d’Or

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2 years ago

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First time Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema said anything is possible if one never gives up on his dreams.

The Real Madrid’s France forward Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d’Or award for the best men’s player in the world on Monday.

Benzema, who played a pivotal role in Madrid’s run to the Champions League title last season, was the first French player to win the trophy since Zinedine Zidane in 1998 and the fifth after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini and Jean-Pierre Papin.

“This prize in front of me makes me really proud. When I was small, it was a childhood dream, I never gave up. Anything is possible,” Benzema said on stage at the ceremony.

“There was a difficult period when I wasn’t in the French team but I never gave up. I’m really proud of my journey here.

“It wasn’t easy, it was a difficult time for my family as well.”

Benzema beat Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane of Senegal and Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne after Argentina’s Lionel Messi won the award for a record seventh time last year.

Benzema had a stellar season with Real, scoring 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions as he helped guide them to a LaLiga and Champions League double.

His 15 goals in the Champions League guided Real Madrid to a record-extending 14th title.

Real Madrid made remarkable comebacks from losing positions in the last-16, quarter-finals and semi-finals against Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City respectively — with Benzema scoring in each of the second legs.

The highlight of their European campaign was the 3-1 win in the second leg against PSG when the Spanish club were 2-0 down on aggregate, with Benzema grabbing a 17-minute hat-trick in the second half to stun the Ligue 1 side.

Meanwhile, Spanish international and FC Barcelona’s midfielder Putellas won the women’s Ballon d’Or for a second straight year, beating England’s European Championship winner Beth Mead and Australia’s Sam Kerr.

Putellas, who was also named FIFA Best Women’s Player earlier this year, was top scorer in the Champions League last season with 11 goals and scored 18 in the Primera Division.

The 28-year-old missed the Euros for Spain, however, after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury on the eve of the tournament in England.

Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois won the Lev Yashin award for the best goalkeeper last season, with the towering shot stopper making nine saves in the final to keep a clean sheet against Liverpool in a 1-0 victory in Paris.

However, the teams in the Champions League final lost out on the Best Club award, which went to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who won a fourth Premier League title in five years.

FC Barcelona’s 18-year-old midfielder Gavi picked up the Kopa Trophy for the best under-21 player, while Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane won the inaugural Socrates award, with the Senegal international recognised for his humanitarian efforts.

Lewandowski did not go home empty handed either as he picked up the Gerd Muller Trophy for the best striker after scoring 50 goals in all competitions for Bayern last season.

NAN

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Donald Trump Sworn in As 47th American President, Pledges Swift Border Crackdown

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54 mins ago

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January 20, 2025

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Donald Trump has pledged to rescue America from what he described as years of betrayal and decline after he was sworn in as president on Monday, prioritizing a crackdown on illegal immigration and portraying himself as a national savior chosen by God.
“For American citizens, January 20, 2025, is Liberation Day,” Trump, 78, said inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, the symbol of U.S. democracy that was invaded on Jan. 6, 2021, by a mob of Trump supporters intent on reversing his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.
The half-hour speech echoed some of the themes he sounded at his first inauguration in 2017, when he spoke of the “American carnage” of crime and job loss that he said had ravaged the country.
The inauguration completes a triumphant return for a political disruptor who was twice impeached, survived two assassination attempts, was convicted in a criminal trial and faced charges for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss. He is the first president in more then a century to win a second term after losing the White House.
“I was saved by God to make America great again,” Trump said, referring to the assassin’s bullet that grazed his ear in July.
Trump is the first felon to serve as president after a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to a porn star.
“Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback,” he said. “I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do in America. The impossible is what we do best.”
While Trump sought to portray himself as a peacemaker and unifier, his speech was often sharply partisan. He repeated false claims from his campaign that other countries were emptying their prisons into America and voiced familiar and unfounded grievances over his criminal prosecutions.
With Biden seated nearby, affecting a polite smile, Trump issued a stinging indictment of his predecessor’s policies from immigration to foreign affairs and outlined a raft of executive actions aimed at blocking border crossings, ending federal diversity programs and overhauling international trade.
Source: Reuters
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Hamas Releases Israeli Hostages As Ceasefire Agreement Comes into Effect

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1 day ago

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January 19, 2025

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The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.

The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.

In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.

Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.

Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.

One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.

Source: CNN

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Again, Kemi Badenoch Lashes Out at Nigeria Says Country’s ‘Dream Killer’

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1 day ago

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January 19, 2025

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The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”

Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.

“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.

“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.

“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.

“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.

“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”

Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.

She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.

She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.

“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”

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