Africa, for the first time in the history of the World Cup, entered the semi-finals on Saturday after Morocco beat Ronaldo’s Portugal 1-0.
The match that launched Morocco into the semi-finals ended with cheers and tears. While Morocco and its supporters made merry on the landmark win, Portugal’s Ronaldo just like Uruguay’s Suarez could not hold back the tears pouring from his eyes as he walked down the tunnel.
Morocco will play France on Wednesday, 14 December and may proceed to the finals, if they win while Croatia will play Argentina on Tuesday, 13 December.
Germany’s foiled coup
![Police escort Prince Heinrich XIII P R in Frankfurt [Tilman Blasshofer/Reuters TV via Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2022/12/screenshot-ichef.bbci_.co_.uk-2022.12.08-10_10_44.png?resize=662%2C363&ssl=1)
Police escort Prince Heinrich XIII P R in Frankfurt [Tilman Blasshofer/Reuters TV via Reuters]25 people were arrested on Wednesday across Germany in connection to a plot to overthrow the government.
Germany’s federal prosecutor, according to news reports, said the 25 were supporters of the far-right group, Reichsbuerger Movement, who planned to storm the parliament by force to install as national leader a prince who had sought support from Russia.
Russia, however, has denied involvement in the plot.
About 3,000 officers conducted the raids at 130 sites across 11 German federal states against adherents of the so-called Reich Citizens Movement.
About 22 of the arrested individuals were German citizens and were detained on suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organisation” while three others allegedly supported the organisation, including a Russian citizen.
Peru’s first female leader
Peru on Wednesday swore in its first female leader following a long day of political imbroglio which saw the impeachment of former president Pedro Castillo.
Dina Boluarte, 60, was vice to Mr Castillo who was impeached on Wednesday after announcing a state of emergency and the dissolution of parliament.
Following Mr Castillo’s impeachment, Ms Boluarte was called upon to take over leadership of the South American country. She was sworn in as president and would be in office till 2026.
She condemned her predecessor’s attempt to dissolve parliament, describing it as an attempted coup.
She called for a political truce after months of instability, including two prior impeachment attempts, and said a new cabinet inclusive of all political stripes would be formed.
Ms Boluarte on Saturday amidst protests blocking highways and causing unrest, swore in a cabinet of 19 ministers with eight of them being women.
France24 reported that protests took a violent turn Saturday in the southern Andean city of Andahuaylas, where police used tear gas to quell thousands of marchers, some of whom used slingshots to repel police.
Iran begins protest-related execution
In the first publicly known execution, Iran on Thursday announced the execution of Mohsen Shekari, as identified by the official news website of the Iranian judiciary.
He was convicted for an alleged crime stemming from the country’s ongoing protests. He was convicted of “waging war against God” for allegedly attacking a security officer with a knife and closing off a street in Tehran.
Mr Shekari’s trial was with the speed of light as the judiciary said there was just over a month between the man’s first court session and his execution.
He was arrested on 25 September, just over a week after protests erupted across Iran following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country’s morality police for allegedly not adhering to Iran’s mandatory dress code for women.
Twenty people — including four police — were injured in the clashes, the national human rights ombudsman’s office said in a tweet. Two police officers who were taken hostage by protesters were later freed.
