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Argentines celebrate ‘new stage’ in Messi’s career ahead of PSG move

AFP

Argentines reacted with joy and pride as their national idol Lionel Messi arrived in France on Tuesday ahead of his expected move to Paris Saint-Germain following two decades at Barcelona.

The South American country may be 11,000 kilometres from Paris but Argentines were glued to their screens following the latest developments of the world’s most famous No.10.

“Messi and the day of the 10: he’s arrived and revolutionised Paris!” said sports newspaper Ole, referring to the day of the month and Messi’s shirt number.

While Barcelona fans may be crying at the loss of their star and PSG diehards rejoicing, Argentines viewed the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s move positively.

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“He’s come to the end of the cycle at Barcelona and it’s good to broaden your horizons,” Jose Iturria, a 60-year-old health worker in Buenos Aires, told AFP.

“The truth is he deserves the best because he’s the best player in the world.”

Messi is joining other stars in Paris such as France forward Kylian Mbappe, Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Spain center-back Sergio Ramos and Brazil’s Neymar.

Dario Luque, 38, said his new club will give Messi “a change of air and as he’ll be surrounded by more stars… it will be good for him and the team.”

– ‘It won’t be the same’ –

Speaking to Argentine channel C5N, Argentina’s ambassador to France, Leonardo Constatino said amongst Argentines in France “there is great pride. Everyone is delighted and it’s very exciting.

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“We’re lucky to have the best player in the world in Paris.”

Constatino said he had received “many calls” from people wanting to meet Messi.

Argentina’s football association produced an emotional video that was circulating on social media called “Chin up champion” that began with Messi’s tears at his farewell press conference in Barcelona.

“The most incredible thing is that no Argentine will ever desert you, go where you go,” said the video that featured scenes from Messi’s career and family life.

Last month, Messi inspired Argentina to victory in the Copa America to end the country’s 27-year wait for a major trophy.

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“PSG is a team full of (major) figures and Leo keeps saying he wants to carry on achieving things, it’s the ideal team for him,” Elvio Paolorosso, a former physio with Argentina and Barcelona, told AM 550 radio station.

He said PSG’s Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino would help Messi settle.

“The city, the language will be a problem for the family but for him it’s one of the best teams of the moment, as well as having an Argentine coach who will make things easier.”

“It won’t be the same seeing Barcelona without you,” Javier Mascherano, the former Argentina international midfielder who spent eight years at Barcelona alongside Messi, wrote on Instagram.

“It’s the start of a new stage and there’s no doubt you will leave your indelible mark wherever you want to go. Always the best.”

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FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Arrested in Mexico and Deported to U.S.

Authorities in Mexico announced Thursday that Samuel Ramírez Jr., a U.S. citizen accused of murdering two women and listed among the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, was arrested in the northern state of Sinaloa.

Ramírez Jr., 33, was detained Tuesday in Culiacán just 1 hour and 13 minutes after being added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Ten Most Wanted list, the agency said in a statement.

The suspect, who was born in California, has already been deported to the U.S. state of Washington, where he faces charges related to the fatal shooting of two women at a bar in Federal Way in May 2023.

A court issued an arrest warrant for Ramírez in November last year, and the FBI initially offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture, later increasing the amount to up to $1 million.

“To protect individuals’ privacy and ensure continued cooperation from the public, the FBI does not confirm the identity of those who provide information,” the agency said in its statement.

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UN experts warn Nicaragua runs vast transnational network to monitor exiled dissidents

Nicaragua maintains an “extensive” transnational network to monitor and intimidate opposition figures living in exile, affecting “hundreds of thousands” of people, the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua warned on Tuesday.

In a statement, the experts said their report “details an extensive transnational architecture of surveillance and intelligence used to monitor, intimidate and attack the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans living abroad.”

The report, which will be presented on March 16 to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, states that the structure maintained by the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo includes the army, the police, migration authorities and diplomatic missions.

According to the statement, “the government has arbitrarily stripped 452 Nicaraguans of their nationality, left thousands more exiled in a situation of de facto statelessness, and prevented many from returning to Nicaragua.”

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Trump: ‘We Think It’s True’ Amid Claims Iran’s Supreme Leader Was Killed

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he believes multiple reports claiming the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the U.S. and Israeli offensive against the Islamic Republic are likely true, though he stopped short of confirming the news.

“We have a feeling that the information is correct,” he said, according to NBC News. “I don’t want to say anything definitive until I see it, but we think that’s the case. And many of their leaders have disappeared,” he added.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “many indications” that Khamenei had died in an attack on his residential compound.