Ivory Coast top AFCON group ahead of Cameroon, Algeria win againWed, 31 Dec 2025 21:43:57 GMT

Reigning champions Ivory Coast pipped Cameroon to top spot in their group after Algeria maintained their perfect record as the first round of the Africa Cup of Nations concluded on Wednesday.The Ivorians and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon came into their last Group F matches with identical records, leaving open the possibility that a drawing …

Ivory Coast top AFCON group ahead of Cameroon, Algeria win againWed, 31 Dec 2025 21:43:57 GMT Read More »

CAN-2025: la Côte d’Ivoire renverse le Gabon et arrache la première place du groupe F

La Côte d’Ivoire, déjà qualifiée et largement remaniée, a arraché la victoire 3-2 dans le temps additionnel face au Gabon dans le dernier match de groupe de la CAN-2025 mercredi à Marrakech, où elle retrouvera le Burkina Faso en huitièmes de finale.Un vent de folie s’est abattu sur le Grand stade de Marrakech lorsque Bazoumana Touré, alors que le speaker venait d’annoncer cinq minutes de jeu supplémentaire, a inscrit de la tête le troisième but ivoirien, donnant ainsi l’avantage aux Eléphants, pour la première fois de la rencontre (3-2, 90+1).Le but du jeune attaquant d’Hoffenheim, 19 ans, rentré en jeu à la place de son capitaine Franck Kessié a changé, au bout du bout le cours d’une soirée complètement folle et propulsé la Côte d’Ivoire en tête de son groupe, elle qui a oscillé, 90 minutes durant entre la seconde et la troisième places au gré de l’évolution du score dans l’autre rencontre entre le Cameroun et le Mozambique.Tout le groupe ivoirien a fondu sur son héros du soir et le public acquis à sa cause a explosé: les tenants du titre vont rester à Marrakech quelques jours supplémentaires et accueilleront pour les huitièmes de finale mardi, le Burkina Faso, deuxième du groupe E.Le Burkina y arrivera amoindri: dans la journée, son gardien Hervé Koffi, parmi les meilleurs du tournoi, blessé à la cuisse droite, n’a pu terminer la rencontre face au Soudan (2-0).Que ce fut dur pour la Côte d’Ivoire: le Gabon, déjà éliminé et sans sa star Pierre-Emeric Aubameyang, légèrement blessé à la cuisse et rentré se faire soigner à Marseille, était bien décidé à ne pas terminer cette CAN-2025 fanny.Défaites contre le Cameroun 1-0 et surtout face au Mozambique 3-2, les Panthères ont pris les commandes de la rencontre dès la 11e minute.Elles ont profité d’une bourde d’Alban Lafont, titularisé à la place de Yahia Fofana dans les buts, qui a relâché une frappe de Teddy Averlant que Guelor Kanga a reprise pour facilement ouvrir le score (1-0, 11e).Dix minutes plus tard, l’ancien gardien nantais, désormais au Panathinaïkos en Grèce, fébrile tout au long de la rencontre, a été battu une deuxième fois par une frappe à l’entrée de la surface de Denis Bouanga (2-0, 21e).- Coup de froid avant le coup de chaud -Dans le même temps, le Mozambique, à Agadir, a ouvert le score face au Cameroun, dépassant ainsi virtuellement les deux favoris du groupe F. A cet instant précis, le tenant ivoirien, 3e, aurait dû aller défier le Nigeria de Victor Osimhen, épouvantail de la phase de groupe, lundi à Fès.Mais le Cameroun dans l’autre rencontre, a très vite égalisé pour reprendre la tête du groupe, reléguant le Mozambique au 3e rang.La Côte d’Ivoire surtout a remis de l’ordre dans son jeu, accaparé le ballon et réduit le score juste avant la mi-temps par Jean-Philippe Krasso après une passe de Wilfried Zaha (2-1, 44e).Les Éléphants ont continué sur leur lancée en seconde période en faisant le siège du but de François Bekale, le portier gabonais, bien aidés par la rentrée de leur jeune duo côté droit, Guela Doué-Amad Diallo (76e), chouchous des supporters ivoiriens.Et leurs efforts ont été récompensés après une tête d’Evann Guessand à la réception d’un corner de Christopher Opéri (2-2, 84e). Avant que la folie ne s’abatte sur Marrakech.Le Cameroun ressuscité l’a emporté 2-1 face au Mozambique mais finit 2e à la différence de but. Il ira défier l’Afrique du Sud dimanche à Rabat. Le Mozambique aura fort à faire face au Nigéria, lundi à Fès, pour le premier huitième de finale de CAN de son histoire.

World welcomes 2026 after a year of Trump, truces and turmoilWed, 31 Dec 2025 21:31:44 GMT

People around the globe toasted the end of 2025 as the clock ticked down on Wednesday, bidding farewell to one of the hottest years on record, packed with Trump tariffs, the announcement of Gaza truce and vain hopes for peace in Ukraine.Russian President Vladimir Putin used his traditional New Year address to tell his compatriots …

World welcomes 2026 after a year of Trump, truces and turmoilWed, 31 Dec 2025 21:31:44 GMT Read More »

Stocks pull lower at end of record year for markets

Stock markets mostly retreated Wednesday in thin trading, following a year of record gains for key assets as central banks cut interest rates and the tech sector boomed thanks to the growth of artificial intelligence.Wall Street’s main indices dipped to close the final trading day of 2025, with little fresh economic data apart from a drop in both first-time and continuing claims for jobless benefits in recent weeks.Still, all three indices logged solid gains for the full year.The Dow added 13 percent in 2025, the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 16.4 percent and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite surged 20.4 percent over the year.”Generally speaking, 2025 was a spectacular year for equities,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.Across the globe, stock markets struck record highs and enjoyed double-digit gains in 2025, thanks in large part to interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve following drops in inflation.London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index jumped more than 21 percent in 2025 — the biggest gain for 16 years. Frankfurt rallied 23 percent in 2025, while Paris saw an annual gain of more than 10 percent.In Asia, Seoul stocks rocketed 75 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 28 percent, and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 won more than 26 percent.”To push meaningfully higher in 2026, equities will need confirmation that the Fed can deliver at least the two rate cuts still priced by the market, with growth unimpeded,” noted Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.Minutes of the Fed’s policy meeting in December, which were released on Tuesday, indicated that most of its officials see future rate cuts as appropriate, should inflation cool over time as expected.A surge in the tech sector on the back of the vast amounts of cash pumped into AI also helped push stocks to record highs, but concerns that valuations of AI stocks are too high gnawed at investors late in 2025. AI chip juggernaut Nvidia became the world’s first $5 trillion company at the end of October, while its current worth stands at around $4.5 trillion.The price of gold, seen as a safe haven investment, scored multiple record highs this year. The precious metal has benefitted from weakness to the dollar caused by the Fed’s rate cuts and economic growth concerns triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs war.On Wednesday, the price of silver slid further having struck record highs in December.Oil prices have retreated nearly 20 percent over the year, pressured by an oversupplied market.Bitcoin, emphasizing the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency sector, soared to a record high above $126,000 in October before ending the year around $88,000.- Key figures at around 2105 GMT – New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 48,063.29 points (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.7 percent at 6,845.50 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 23,241.99 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,931.38 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,149.50 (close)Frankfurt – market closed for holidayHong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 25,630.54 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,968.84 (close)Tokyo – market closed for holidayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1750 from $1.1774 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3478 from $1.3503Dollar/yen: UP at 156.66 yen from 156.00 yen Euro/pound: UP at 87.18 pence from 87.15 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $60.85 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $57.42 per barrelburs-rl-bys/sst

US prosecutor says Trump charges proved beyond ‘reasonable doubt’

A former top prosecutor told lawmakers his investigations into Donald Trump demonstrated “beyond a reasonable doubt” the US president committed crimes aimed at overturning the 2020 election and hoarding government documents, according to testimony released Wednesday.The 255-page transcript, made public by the House Judiciary Committee, provides the most comprehensive account yet of former special counsel Jack Smith’s reasoning for charging Trump — and a point-by-point rebuttal to Republican claims that the prosecutions were politically motivated.In a sworn deposition lasting more than eight hours earlier this month, Smith said the decision to bring charges rested with him but stressed that the underlying conduct was Trump’s alone.”Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith said.”Our investigation also developed powerful evidence that showed that President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January of 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a ballroom and a bathroom.”Trump had been charged with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and obstruct the peaceful transfer of power, and with unlawfully retaining classified documents while blocking efforts to recover them. Both prosecutions were dropped after his reelection, in line with Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president.Smith noted that grand juries in two federal districts returned indictments after reviewing evidence gathered by career prosecutors.He said Trump knowingly pursued false claims of election fraud to block certification of the 2020 vote, and rejected arguments that such conduct was protected speech. “There is no historical analog for what President Trump did in this case,” Smith told lawmakers.Smith also described the 2021 Capitol riot as an assault on American democracy, saying the violence was foreseeable and later exploited to pressure Congress to delay certification of the election results.On the documents case, he said prosecutors uncovered powerful evidence that Trump repeatedly obstructed government efforts to recover the material, though a court order limited what he could disclose.And he repeatedly rejected suggestions that the timing or substance of the prosecutions was influenced by politics or the 2024 presidential race. “If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today,” he said, “I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.”