Spain defeats Belgium 2-1 to advance to World Cup semi-final against France
via The Namibian3 min read
Mikel Merino scored a late goal to secure Spain's 2-1 victory over Belgium, setting up a World Cup semi-final match against France. Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring for Spain, but Charles De Ketelaere equalized for Belgium before halftime. Belgium faced challenges with injuries, including Youri Tielemans during warm-ups and Amadou Onana's ruptured ACL. Spain's Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal were prominent in the attack. Belgium's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced off due to injury in the 70th minute, replaced by Senne Lammens, who was unable to hold onto a shot, leading to Merino's decisive rebound goal in the 88th minute. This marks Merino's second consecutive late winner from the bench. Spain will now prepare for their match against France in Dallas.
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Must ReadJulien Alfred and Emmanuel Wanyonyi delivered exceptional performances at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco. Wanyonyi set a world's best in the men's 1000m, a non-Olympic event, clocking 2:11.83, surpassing the previous record held by Kenyan compatriot Noah Ngeny since 1999. Alfred won the 200m with a meet record of 21.51 seconds, placing her third on the all-time list for the event, behind Florence Griffith Joyner and Shericka Jackson. Other notable results included Oblique Seville winning the men's 100m in 9.88 seconds, and Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis bettering his own meet record in the pole vault with 6.07m. Marileidy Paulino set a meet record in the women's 400m with 48.67 seconds, and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi achieved a Diamond League record in the men's one-lap race with 43.44 seconds. Nina Kennedy soared to an Oceania record of 4.95m in the pole vault, while Masai Russell won the women's 100m hurdles with a meet record of 12.20 seconds. Agnes Jebet Ngetich won the women's 3000m in a meet record of 8:08.55, and Miltiadis Tentoglou set a meet record of 8.61m in the men's long jump.
Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev have secured their spots in the Wimbledon final after defeating Novak Djokovic and Arthur Fery, respectively. Sinner, the Italian world number one, ended Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory. French Open champion Zverev, the German second seed, overcame British wildcard Fery in straight sets, 7-6 7/0, 6-2, 6-4. Sinner is aiming for his second consecutive Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam crown, while Zverev is seeking his second major title and first at the All England Club. Sinner enters the final as the favorite, having won his last nine encounters with Zverev, including four this year. Both players have dropped only two sets each in the tournament. Sinner expressed his happiness to be in another final at what he calls "the most special tournament." Zverev, who won the French Open, hopes to become the seventh man in the Open era to win both Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back. Djokovic, 39, stated his intention to return to Wimbledon next year, while Fery, despite his loss, expressed pride in his unexpected run to the semifinals.
Namibia was represented at the Obninsk New 2026 International Youth Forum, a leading international youth nuclear forum in Russia, which focused on developing a skilled workforce for the global nuclear power industry. The event hosted over 700 participants from 85 countries and high-level delegations from 10 nations, with thousands more joining online. The forum's agenda included discussions on youth engagement in the nuclear industry, international cooperation projects, and Obninsk's role in a global network of young nuclear leaders, alongside expert panel discussions. Noble Eiaseb from Namibia, founder and executive director of the Association of Young Generation in Nuclear of Namibia, was among the winners of the Atoms Empowering Africa video contest, a Rosatom educational initiative. Eiaseb stated his participation was driven by his belief in nuclear technologies' transformative role in addressing energy security, climate resilience, education, and industrial development in Africa. He valued the opportunity to engage with international experts and young professionals, exchange knowledge, and gain insights into advanced nuclear technologies and global cooperation. Rosatom director general Alexey Likhachev emphasized the mission to train qualified specialists for the nuclear industry, highlighting the need for a robust international education system in response to the world's increasing reliance on nuclear power.