Euro: Les Bleus finish in the lead after a peak of intensity against Ronaldo

Les Bleus hardly finished at the top of Group F against the reigning Portuguese champion (2-2), in Budapest after a suffocating duel between the stainless steel and record holder Cristiano Ronaldo and the rebellious Karim Benzema, with the meter finally unlocked before the eighth round of the Euro. Tight, indecisive, unbreathable and stunning, this 2021 France-Portugal version joins the long list of previous shocks, five years after the tricolor disappointment in the Euro 2016 final lost at home 1-0 in extra time against the Seleçao. But under the 32 degrees of Budapest, there were no winners or losers: the world champions won the first place they had come for, synonymous with a more affordable round of 16 against Switzerland next Monday in Bucharest, while the Portuguese left with the qualifying ticket that they did not have at the start. For Fernando Santos' men, trailing 2-1 at the start of the second half and eliminated at this point in the match, the rest of the adventure will begin in Seville against Belgium, the formidable semifinalist

EU discusses 5.7 billion euros in aid for Syrian refugees

On Thursday, the European Commission will propose to the leaders of the Twenty-Seven meeting at a summit in Brussels to allocate 5.7 billion euros to finance aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan until 2024, according to the proposal seen by AFP on Wednesday. An envelope of 3.5 billion euros is intended for actions in favour of the 3.7 million Syrians who have settled in Turkey to flee the conflict in their country. An initial grant of 535 million euros has already been released to continue EU actions in Turkey during 2021, the document states. The proposal was requested by European leaders in March but the Commission was slow to implement and was reprimanded by member states, to which it was only forwarded on Tuesday, diplomatic sources have learned. It was to be discussed on Wednesday by representatives of the Member States. The project will then be examined by European leaders who will meet the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, invited to their summit. Mr Guterres arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for talks with the European Commission and with the Belgian authorities

European candidates jostle at the space gate

There have never been so many candidates to become future European astronauts, especially in France, a sign of the growing appetite for space of an equally more feminine generation, called to fly to the Moon. The competition organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) promises to be fierce: between 4 and 6 aspirants will only win their ticket for the stars at the end of 2022, out of a total of... 22,589 candidates. A record figure for ESA, which has 22 Member States and three associated states. During its previous recruitment campaign, in 2008, it received 8,413 applications, including that of Thomas Pesquet from France

IN A NUTSHELL

John McAfee, the American creator of the famous antivirus software bearing his name, committed suicide on Wednesday in a prison in Spain, where a court had just ordered his extradition to the United States, which accuses him of tax evasion.

Brazil broke a new record of Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, with 115,228 new cases identified in 24 hours, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, confirming the arrival of a third wave.

French hospitals welcomed fewer than 10,000 patients with Covid-19, according to data from Public Health France published on Wednesday. This level has been higher since mid-October, in the middle of the second wave

Spain qualified for the round of 16 of the Euro soccer championship by beating Slovakia 5-0.

Sweden beat Poland 3-2 in St. Petersburg in the additional time to finish at the top of Group E.

Brazil got its third victory in three Copa America matches by beating Colombia 2-1 thanks to a goal by Casemiro on a corner from Neymar in extra time, Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro.