Holders Ivory Coast had a number of chances to score, but Amad Diallo’s goal in the opening minute gave them a winning start to their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title defense.
The Ivorians battled to defeat their rivals in the opening Group F game on Wednesday in Morocco, but they were unable to convert the numerous chances they had.
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In the 49th minute, Diallo side-footed the ball into the net to make it three points, but the Ivorians’ sharper start would have been much more decisive.
After being surprise recall for the Cup of Nations finals, Wilfried Zaha wasted several chances while Franck Kessie saved two point-blank saves from Mozambique goalkeeper Ernan, who was playing his first international since more than two years.
In the 89th minute, Bayo had an opportunity to clear an effort off the line with Ernan caught well out of his goal, and Ivorian substitute Vakoun Bayo had one with an easy header in front of goal, but somehow it was wide.
Dominguez, 42 years, one month and six days old, was chosen as a second-half substitute for Mozambique, making him the oldest outfield player in tournament history, trailing only former Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, who was 44 when he played in the 2017 final.
Since making their tournament debut in 1986, Mozambique is still unable to defeat other nations in a final. With a record of four draws and 12 losses, they are currently in their sixth meeting.
In the 49th minute, Diallo, center, scores the game’s all-important goal [Khaled Desouki/AFP]
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), more than a million additional documents have been discovered that might be related to Jeffrey Epstein, a late sex offender and financier.
The DOJ stated in a social media post on Wednesday that it is reviewing the documents and will need “a few more weeks” before announcing a release of the information under the law.
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According to a statement from the DOJ, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI have informed the DOJ that they have uncovered more than a million more documents that might be related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Additionally, more time is needed to comply with the government’s request to open its files on Epstein and his long-time ally Ghislaine Maxwell.
The DOJ asserted in a statement that its attorneys are “working around the clock” to review those documents and make the necessary redactions, which the law, which was nearly unanimously passed, do.
This process may take longer than a few more weeks due to the volume of the material. According to the DOJ, the Department will continue to fully comply with President [Donald] Trump’s request to release the files.
full disclosure
A dozen US senators are asking the justice department’s watchdog to review the department’s failure to release all Epstein-related records by Friday’s required deadline, arguing that victims “deserve full disclosure” and the “peace of mind” of an independent audit.
In a letter to Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume, signed by Senator Lisa Murkowski, a member of Trump’s Republican party, on Wednesday, she urged him to review the Justice Department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
A neutral assessment of the organization’s compliance with the statutory disclosure requirements is necessary, the senators wrote. “Given the]Trump] Administration’s historic hostility to releasing the files, politicisation of the Epstein case more broadly, and failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” they wrote.
According to them, complete transparency “is necessary to identify members of our society who enabled and participated in Epstein’s crimes.”
Republican Representative Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor of the transparency act, stated on Wednesday on X: “DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and missing the deadline.”
The Justice Department has stated that it will release records on a rolling basis despite the deadline. It attributed the delay to the labor-intensive process of concealing survivors’ names and other identifying details.
Over the weekend and on Tuesday, more records were made available. When additional records might be available, the department has not given any notice.
According to deputy attorney general Todd Blanche, “the reason we are still reviewing documents and continuing our process is simply to protect victims,” Blanche stated on Sunday during the NBC television network’s Meet the Press program.
In honor of the thousands of people killed in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, thousands of people have gathered in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve for the first public gatherings since 2022. The city has since canceled or muted the festivities for two years.
A giant Christmas tree in Manger Square in the occupied West Bank city replaced a nativity display from the war that featured a baby Jesus amid rubble and barbed wire, symbolizing the destruction in Gaza.
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Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the most renowned Catholic leader in the Holy Land, who drove from Jerusalem in the customary Christmas procession and called for “a Christmas full of light” led the festivities.
On December 24, 2025, clergymen and alter boys line up in Bethlehem, in the biblical city of Bethlehem, to attend Christmas service in the Manger Square. (AFP)
Scout bands from West Bank towns carried Palestinian and Palestinian flags through Bethlehem’s streets while playing their bagpipes.
Israel’s forces have launched nearly daily raids across the West Bank, detained thousands of Palestinians, and severely restricted movement between cities since the start of the country’s bloody war against Gaza.
Palestinians claim that Bethlehem’s economy is dependent on the increased military presence, road closures, and checkpoint delays, paralyzing the tourism industry.
Only a small number of foreign visitors attended the celebrations, with the majority of them being local residents.
During the genocidal war in Gaza, Bethlehem’s unemployment rate increased from 14 percent to 65 percent, according to Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati earlier this month. Around 4, 000 people left the city in search of work, he added, as the economy deteriorated.
Israeli settlement attacks and raids
Even after a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, which has been repeatedly violated by Israeli forces, was established in October, despite ongoing raids and large-scale military incursions across the occupied West Bank.
The raids frequently result in numerous mass arrests of Palestinians, home searches and demolitions, as well as physical assaults that occasionally result in fatalities.
Since the UN’s humanitarian office began keeping track of data in 2006, Israeli settlers’ attacks on Palestinians have reached their highest level. The Israeli military has frequently protected the victims of the attacks, which have included killings, beatings, and property destruction.
More than 570 Israeli settlers were reportedly under police guard entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem earlier on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
According to Palestinians, these incursions violate the third-holiest site in Islam’s tradition.
Palestinian officials claim that this move adds to a decades-long project of demographic engineering, land theft, and security, as Israel’s security cabinet has also approved plans to formalize 19 illegal settlements across the West Bank.
On Wednesday, the move was criticized by the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and other nations.
In a joint statement, the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain all called on Israel to reverse this decision as well as the settlement expansion.
The UN issues a warning that the conflict is getting worse, despite Khartoum’s proposal to end it.
There is still no sign of peace in Sudan as 2025 draws to a close.
More than two and a half years ago, the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have engaged in conflict, which has caused tens of thousands of casualties and forced millions to flee.
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The UN Security Council was given a peace plan this week by the prime minister. The RSF would lose both its weapons and the land it controls.
According to the RSF, the strategy is “closer to fantasy than politics.”
What does Sudan’s future hold?
Presenter: Sami Zeidan
Guests:
Ahmad Ibrahim, an independent analyst for Sudan
Former US National Security Council director of African affairs Cameron Hudson
As its leader, Tarique Rahman, prepares to return home after almost 17 years in exile, Bangladesh’s main opposition party claims to be preparing a sizable show of support.
Rahman is widely regarded as the party’s front-runner for the country’s parliamentary elections scheduled for February, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) wants to mobilise up to five million supporters in the capital to support him.
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Following the removal of Sheikh Hasina from power in a student-led uprising last year, his expected arrival from London on Thursday is in line with the BNP’s recovery.
Rahman, 60, is the acting chairman of the BNP and the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
With the exception of brief caretaker administrations, power has largely alternated between Zia and Hasina since 1991. The BNP appears to be in a position to win the race now that Hasina’s Awami League has been barred from contesting the February 12 election.
A “defining political moment”
The supporters expected to line the route from the airport to the reception venue, according to BNP leaders, who claim they are coordinating security arrangements with the authorities.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, the senior leader of the BNP, declared, “This will be a defining political moment.”
Rahman has lived in London since 2008 after being charged with money laundering and allegedly plotting to assassinate Hasina after serving numerous criminal sentences in Bangladesh. Following Hasina’s resignation from office, the legal repercussions that had prevented his return were removed.
Rahman will travel to his mother, who has been battling a serious illness for months, straight from the airport to the rally venue, according to BNP officials.
A fragile transition is being led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which oversees the homecoming. After years of political unrest, Bangladesh’s ability to reclaim its democracy is seen as crucially tested by the election.
Concerns about the state’s ability to guarantee a credible vote are still present due to the recent attacks on media outlets and sporadic violence.
Rahman’s return was welcomed by the National Citizen Party (NCP), which emerged from the Hasina-toppled youth protest movement.
In their opening match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Algeria eased to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Sudan with the help of captain Riyad Mahrez in each half.
After just 82 seconds, Mahrez was given the opening match by the Algerian fans, who made up the majority of the 16, 115-person crowd at Rabat’s Moulay El Hassan Stadium.
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The former Manchester City winger, who is currently with Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia, scored Algeria’s second goal just after the hour mark, and Ibrahim Maza put the best possible finishing touches on the night of the match.
Zinedine Zidane, a legend of France and his family from Algeria, and his son Luca, a star for the Desert Foxes, were among the spectators in the Moroccan capital.
Algerian supporters were cheered loudly for his performance on big screens in the ground, which showed how impressive their team was.
Algeria broke the deadlock against the group outsiders despite being eliminated in the first round without winning at either of the previous two AFCON competitions.
When Hicham Boudaoui’s back-heel from Mohamed Amoura crossed the penalty box to tee up Mahrez, the match was hardly more than a minute old. Before entering, he took a second.
Then, Zidane did well to save Algeria from Yaser Awad Boshara, who was by far the better side.
Six minutes before the break, Salaheldin Adil was sent off for a second booking for slicing down Rayan Ait-Nouri, severely reducing Sudan’s chances of regaining their composure.
Ramy Bensebaini’s goal was later disallowed for offside, but Mahrez equaled 2-0 with a lovely outside-of-the-boot assist from Amoura on 61 minutes.
Mahrez has eight goals in the tournament now that he has won it for the sixth time. Late in the game, the Algerian fans ovated him.
With five minutes left, substitute Maza of Bayer Leverkusen scored Algeria’s 100th AFCON goal and made it 3-0. Maza finished from Baghdad Bounedjah’s knockdown.
Since winning the Cup of Nations in 1970, Sudan has only won once in 17 of its matches.
[Sebastien Bozon/AFP] Mahrez celebrates scoring the team’s second goal.
Equatorial Guinea and Burkinabe in the late AFCON match.
In the opening Group E game of the day, Burkinabe defeated Equatorial Guinea 2-1 thanks to two goals in stoppage time.
Equatorial Guinea opened the scoring with a surprise lead in the 85th minute through substitute Marvin Anieboh, who had a man sent off early in the second half, and looked poised to eke out yet another surprise victory in the Cup of Nations.
However, Burkinabe came back late in stoppage time, scoring Georgi Minoungou, before Edmond Tapsoba, the team’s star, scored the winning goal with the final try of the game.
Even after Equatorial Guinea was reduced to 10 men when Basilio Ndiong caught Traore on his toe with a dangerous tackle five minutes into the second half, Burkinabe looked the stronger of the two teams.
Burkinabe had a number of chances at Stade Mohammed V thanks to the team’s numerical advantage, and Lassina Traore, who had a long injury layoff, did have the ball in the net with a first touch from substitute Lassina Traore. However, his 71st-minute effort was declared unfavorable.
Equatorial Guinea then threatened another of their signature outbursts with Anieboh’s stunning header with five minutes left.
Equatorial Guinea, the second-smallest nation at the tournament behind Morocco, did a fantastic job at the final AFCON finals in the Ivory Coast, defeating the hosts 4-0 in the group stage to finish top of their group before falling to Guinea in the last 16.
With eight more minutes of added time remaining, Burkinabe was on the verge of another upset triumph.
Tapsoba, a Bayer Leverkusen defender, was instrumental in turning the game around when he passed Ouattara, who was felled in the box, but Minoungou tucked the loose ball away from a tight angle.
