Home ยป Blogs
By Paul Rhys in Africa on June 13th, 2010
Picture from GALLO/GETTY

England talk about 44 years of hurt since they last won a World Cup.

For Algeria, Robert Koren's late goal for Slovenia on Sunday ensured it was 28 years of hurt since they last won a World Cup match.

The last time Algeria took home maximum points from a game at sport's biggest event, they beat Chile 3-2 in Oviedo to spark jubilation among their fans at Spain 1982 and back home on the streets of Algiers.

Then, it looked like the World Cup debutants would win through to the second round of the finals, having already produced a shock win against reigning European champions West Germany.

But in a match that changed the way the World Cup was organised, the Germans beat Austria 1-0 in the final group match the next day to put their neighbours through on goal difference.

By Gregg Carlstrom in Middle East on May 31st, 2010
Protesters in Istanbul wave Palestinian flags after the raid (Photo: AFP)

Early Monday morning, Israel attacked a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip; up to 10 people were killed in the pre-dawn raid, according to organisers and media sources.

We'll be live-blogging the aftermath of this incident throughout the day; keep checking back for international reaction, news from our correspondents on the ground, photos and video. (All times are GMT, except where noted.)

Tags: Ahmet Davutoglu, Algeria, Ali al-Shami, AM CDT, Amman, Amr El-Kahky, Amr Moussa, Angela Merkel, Arab League, Arab socialist party, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Australia, Avigdor Lieberman, Avital Leibovich, Ayman Mohyeldin, Baghdad, Ban Ki-Moon, Barack Obama, Beijing, Belgium, Bill Burton, Binyamin Netanyahu, Cairo, Canada, Catherine Ashton, Chicago, China, Congress, Egypt, Ehud Barak, European Parliament, European Union, Facebook, Fatah, Filippo Grandi, Gabi Ashkenazi, Gaza, George Washington University, Germany, Greece, Greek government, Greta Berlin, Guido Westerwelle, Ha'aretz, Haifa, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, IDF, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Israeli army, Israeli consulate, Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Israeli embassy in Amman, Israeli government, Israeli military, Israeli navy, Israeli police, Istanbul, James Jones, Jerusalem, Jerzy Buzek, Jordan, Kamel Khatib, Kampala, Kuwait, Lebanon, London, Mahmoud Abu Attar, Malaysia, Malcolm Smart, Marc Lynch, Mohammad Dahlan, Moqtada al-Sadr, Nabil al-Sharif, Nablus, navy, New York, Norway, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Paris, Physicians for Human Rights, Raed Salah, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Robert Serry, Ron Ben Yishai, Saad Hariri, Saeb Erekat, Salam Fayyad, Serbia, South Africa, Stephen Harper, Sweden, Tel Aviv, The Los Angeles Times, Turkey, Turkish consulate in Istanbul, Twitter, Uganda, Umm, Umm al-Fahm, UN security council, United Kingdom, United Nations, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, United Nations Security Council, United States, Washington, White House, William Hague, Yang Tao
By Paul Rhys in Africa on January 27th, 2010
Photo from EPA

There will be no football played in Benguela tonight.

After Ghana and Nigeria finish kicking a ball around a pitch in Luanda, attentions will turn away from the Angolan capital to more weighty affairs in the south.

Because Algeria are not taking on Egypt for a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

The two are meeting in the theatre of combat.

By Paul Rhys in Africa on January 19th, 2010

All sympathy to Mali, who are out of the Africa Cup of Nations after producing some stunning moments in the group stages of the tournament in Angola.

By Paul Rhys in Africa on January 15th, 2010
Photo from AFP

Unless you're one of that side's natural enemies, it's always a relief when the host nation of a major tournament stays in the competition.

Angola aren't yet out of the woods, but their 2-0 win over Malawi on Thursday put them in charge of their own destiny at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Malawi, of course, aren't exactly delighted at missing the chance to be the first team into the quarter-finals.

But half the thrill of these matches comes from the energy of the crowd, and I was glad to see Angola hold on to the points that could see their boisterous fans back to the cauldron of the November 11 stadium beyond the next match.

By Paul Rhys in Africa on January 11th, 2010

pitch.jpg

Less than two months ago, Algeria were celebrating qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986 by climbing the goalposts in Khartoum after a 1-0 playoff win against Egypt.

On Monday the Desert Foxes drove their fans up the wall by being deservedly thumped 3-0 by Malawi - ranked 99th in the world and statistically the worst team at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Malawi have not reached the continental tournament since 1984, losing by the same score to Algeria on March 5 that year and finishing bottom of their group with one point.

Now they are riding high two points clear at the top of Group A with the chance to qualify for the quarter-finals if they win their next match against Angola - a result that would leave the hosts' progress on a knife edge.

By John Terrett in Americas on January 4th, 2010
Photo by Reuters

At Reagan National airport just outside Washington this morning the runways were still lined with ploughed snow from the biggest storm to hit the city in 80 years.
 
It was freezing cold and a bright but powerless sun was glinting off the US Capitol building in central DC, which could be seen about six miles away across the Potomac River.
 
I was at Reagan National because Federal authorities had just introduced increased random screening for all flights destined for the US from around the world.
 
For passengers from 14 countries in particular, however, the searches will be compulsory.
 
The 14 are the four countries cited by the US state department as sponsors of terrorism - Sudan, Syria, Iran and Cuba - plus a further 10 "countries of interest" which officials say are "terrorism-prone": Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.

By Mohamed Vall in Middle East on November 20th, 2009

The aftermath of the World Cup qualifying match between Algeria and Egypt has amounted to a diplomatic storm over the North African region spreading even to Sudan. Egypt has recalled its ambassador to Algeria for consultation in protest over alleged attacks by Algerian fans on Egyptian fans in Khartoum.

Cairo says 21 Egyptians were wounded in the attacks on buses transporting them to Khartoum airport  after the match and has expressed deep dissatisfaction with what they described as Sudan's failure to protect their citizens. 

Khartoum is furious in response and believes Egyptian authorities have exaggerated a minor incident in which only two people were slightly wounded in order to alleviate the bitterness of their defeat in the game. Sudanese foreign minister summoned the Egyptian ambassador to Khartoum and told him of his government indignation at the Egyptian threat to send troops to protect Egyptians on the Sudanese soil. 

Syndicate content