PSG beat Barcelona for winning start to Champions League defence

In a gripping Champions League match, Paris St Germain rallied from a goal down to defeat Barcelona 2-1. The defending champions came back from a set of injuries to claim a valuable victory away from home.

Barcelona put a strong start to their Wednesday game, and Ferran Torres slid in the 19th minute to beat the offside trap and slot past PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier with a precise pass from Marcus Rashford across the box.

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Despite missing Marquinhos and their starting attacking trio of Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Desire Doue, PSG reacted tenaciously.

Nuno Mendes won the match in the 38th minute by making a stunning run down the left, beating three defenders before setting up Senny Mayulu, 19, who bravely finished in the bottom corner.

In the 83rd minute, PSG finally scored a deserved winner from a quick counter, with Achraf Hakimi crossing for Goncalo Ramos to fire home from close range.

Barcelona captain Freddie de Jong told Movistar+, “You have to be disappointed at the end when you concede in the final minute of the game to lose at home.”

“They]PSG] were generally better in the second half and in the final stages. Better starting is our goal. They were better in the second half, after all, but it went back and forth.

Ferran Torres scores Barcelona’s opener against PSG [Albert Gea/Reuters]

Man City and Juventus were held to victory, but Newcastle and Arsenal won.

After Eric Dier converted a penalty in the 90th minute for the hosts, Manchester City had to settle for a draw of 2-2 with Monaco.

After Renato Veiga’s late equalizer, Villarreal and Juventus tied the game at 1-1.

After 12 minutes, Gabriel Martinelli scored the winning goal, and Bukayo Sako added a pair of goals in injury time to earn the win.

Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal, said, “We want to be creative and we know the quality of the team.”

Everyone can tell from each and every player on the pitch that you want to keep your place. “Everyone can see the quality and depth in the squad now.

Odegaard praised Arsenal’s second-place finish in the English Premier League for three straight seasons, which included being knocked out of the Champions League in the finals last year, adding: “We have used everything that happened to us in a good way and have also introduced a few new players… hopefully this is going to be our year.”

Nick Woltemade is making an effort to erase Alexander Isak from Newcastle fans.

The 93 million-dollar signing made his third goal for Newcastle in four starts to give them a 4-0 victory over Union Saint-Gilloise.

The German international was acquired to fill Isak’s contentious move to Liverpool. And he has immediately impacted people.

Sandro Tonali’s goal-directed shot past Kjell Scherpen was his 17th-minute goal at Lotto Park, which gave Newcastle the perfect start. He was also appreciated for putting the right foot in the right place at the right moment, according to him.

Following his goal against Arsenal on Sunday, Woltemade has now scored in back-to-back games. The early signs of his potential replacement after his transfer from Stuttgart are encouraging, but he still needs to demonstrate that he can. Isak scored 54 goals in 78 Premier League starts for Newcastle.

Anthony Gordon scored twice from the penalty spot to give Newcastle the lead at halftime, and Harvey Barnes added a fourth.

Morocco arrests hundreds of protesters as rallies turn violent

More than 400 people have been detained by Moroccan authorities as a result of obscene protests that demanded changes to the public health and education sectors, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Interior.

Authorities in the North African nation reported that on Wednesday, a fifth night of youth protests were occurring in cities across the country, but that night’s violence was reported to have increased. As demonstrators tore down cars and squattered shops, according to them, 263 members of the security forces and 23 civilians were hurt.

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A loosely organized, unidentified youth organization hailed as GenZ 212, and uses platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and the gaming app Discord to conduct the online demonstrations.

A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said in a statement that young men threw stones and knives at each other on Tuesday night. He claimed that 409 people were seized by the police.

A protest calling for changes to the healthcare and education system in Rabat is being held by members of the security forces.

According to him, administrative buildings, banks, and shops were vandalized or looted in the cities of Ait Amira, Inezgane, Agadir, and Tiznit, as well as Oujda, in the eastern city.

A bank building and damaged ATM machines that appeared to have been looted with broken glass scattered across the ground were seen in videos that were circulated on social media and verified by Al Jazeera.

The GenZ 212 group stated in posts about the protests that it would continue to support peaceful protests. It claimed that it only had an argument with the government and not with security forces.

According to a statement from the Interior Ministry, 20 private cars and 142 security vehicles had been set on fire.

Morocco has historically experienced peaceful protests over economic and social conditions, but this week’s demonstrations are the most violent since at least 2016 and 2017 when protesters clashed with security forces in the north of the Rif region.

Jane Goodall, conservationist and chimpanzee expert, dies aged 91

Danish PM warns that Russia is waging hybrid war on Europe

Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, has warned that Europe must arm itself in the face of Russian hybrid warfare.

“I hope everyone understands that there is a hybrid war where there is one that involves Poland, one that involves Denmark, and the other where there is likely to see sabotage or drones flying,” Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday.

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She was facilitating a summit of European leaders, where they discussed how to collaborate on better defense and deterrence.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, was present as well, and he urged the EU to approach Russia cautiously.

Macron said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit in Copenhagen that “we must all be very cautious because we are in a time of confrontation with a lot of hybridity.”

“We must be strong to stop aggressions, but we must also be very cautious and steer clear of any escalation,” he continued.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, also warned against overreacting.

“Despite everything, I believe we must think in a calm manner. I believe that provocations shouldn’t be used against us. That is certainly true, and we must equip ourselves, she said.

Conventional methods like tanks and missiles are used in hybrid warfare, as well as unconventional ones like cyberattacks and internet disinformation, according to the authors.

The French president cited cyberattacks during elections, its war against Ukraine, the use of nuclear threats, and recent airspace violations as evidence that Russia has been “a very aggressive player” for some time.

Following a number of drone incidents last week that occurred close to the country’s airports and military installations, the EU’s heads of state and prime ministers convened in Denmark’s capital.

A unique radar system was installed at Copenhagen Airport prior to the meeting to aid in surveillance. A week ago, the airfield was closed due to unidentified drones, which caused significant disruption.

Prior to the talks, Denmark received aircraft, ships, and air defense systems from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK.

There is only one country that is willing to threaten us, and that is Russia, so we need a very strong response back, according to Frederiksen, despite the Danish authorities’ failure to identify those suspected of doing so.

In response to growing threats, the Danish prime minister made an appeal for rearmament.

“We need to rearm,” I want. I want to purchase additional capabilities. For instance, she cited the need for more innovation in drone technology. “I believe that this is the most challenging and dangerous situation for Europe to date since the end of World War II,” he said.

Airspace violations

Over the past month, serious airspace violations have been reported in Europe, but not everyone is in agreement on a plan.

Macron last week claimed that the alliance’s response would have to “go up a notch” in the event of “new provocations” from Moscow after Russia was held responsible for drone incursions against NATO members Poland and Romania.

If a Russian fighter jet were to enter European airspace, Macron did not rule out downing it.

In an interview with the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he said, “In accordance with the doctrine of strategic ambiguity, I can tell you that nothing is ruled out.”

Poland reported last month that it had shot down Russian drones as Moscow launched an airstrike against Ukraine, while Romania’s defense ministry claimed a drone had breached its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Macron also alleged on Wednesday that an oil tanker off the coast of France had “very serious wrongdoings” and connected it to Russia’s shadow fleet, which is avoiding Western sanctions for its involvement in Ukraine’s conflict.

Last week, the tanker was off the coast of Denmark, and Danish naval experts cited it as having flown drones over the Nordic nation.

In the shadows of US President Donald Trump’s commitment to NATO, leaders and intelligence services predicted that Russia would launch an offensive elsewhere in Europe in three to five years following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.