ARGENTINA IN WORLD CUP FINAL GIVES TIRED NATION A REASON TO CELEBRATE

For the many millions who weren’t inside the golden bowl that the Lusail Stadium is, the closing moments of the World Cup final were being played on a split screen.

On one, Lionel Messi – the freshly-minted world champion following Argentina’s win over France via penalty shootout 4-2 in the greatest final of all time, which ended 3-3 after extra time– punching the air and celebrating like a man possessed, hugging his teammates one after another, sobbing. On the other, the scenes of delirium at the Obelisco, where thousands of strangers sang, danced, hugged, cried, jumped in joy and chanted the name of their hero. The kind of emotions only football can evoke.

They’d been planning this party in central Buenos Aires for days. The government put policy-making on hold. The Financial Times reported Argentina’s labour minister Kelly Olmos ‘said tackling inflation could wait and that the first priority was “to win” the championship.’

Big corporates paused their marketing plans until after the World Cup to gauge the mood of the nation.

On Sunday, the streets in the country’s capital were shut. The supermarkets brought down their shutters well before the noon kick-off, local time. And a key trade association ‘advised’ businesses to take ‘precautions’ so that their employees aren’t disappointed and demotivated to work for the rest of the year – in other words, a directive to keep their premises closed during the final.

And they all descended upon Obelisco. Just like 1978. Back then, when Argentina first won the World Cup while the country was ruled by a military dictatorship, people would watch the games in cinema halls and then flock to Obelisco to celebrate the wins.

Though not as dire as in 1978, Argentina’s triumph comes against a backdrop of political turmoil and deep economic distress. This month, inflation in Argentina is projected to reach 100 per cent, as per the Economist. The country’s vice-president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, was last month convicted on charges of corruption. The Washington Post estimated that ‘almost 40 per cent of the country’s population now lives below the poverty line’, thus forcing people to move abroad.

But as the country grapples with another crippling crisis, Messi has pulled off a – pardon the pun – Messiah act for the nth time. This one, though, will define his legacy. Not just because he – in his final attempt – did what Maradona did: win a World Cup. But in doing so, he’s lifted the economic gloom and despair that’s cast over the country.

IRAN URGED TO FREE ACTOR WHO BACKED PROTESTS

Iran on Sunday faced calls from celebrities and rights groups to free the actor Taraneh Alidoosti, one of the most prominent figures yet arrested in its crackdown on the three-month protest movement. Alidoosti, 38, was arrested on Saturday, official media said, after a string of social media posts supporting the protest movement including removing her headscarf and condemning the execution of protesters. Alidoossti has considerable international renown due to her performances in award-winning films, including the Oscar-winning 2016 film “The Salesman”.

“Taraneh is one of Iran’s most talented and acclaimed actors. . . I hope she’s free to keep representing the strength of Iranian cinema soon,” Cameron Bailey, head of the Toronto International Film Festival, tweeted. Prominent British actor of Iranian origin Nazanin Boniadi also took to social media in support of Alidoosti, saying she’d been arrested for “posting a photo of herself without compulsory hijab in solidarity with the protesters”.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said “women are beingjailed in Iran for refusing to wear forced hijabs, including prominent actress Taraneh Alidoosti. The power of women’s voices terrify the Iran’s rulers. ” The judiciary’s Mizan Online website said the actor was arrested “by order of the judicial authority” as she “did not provide documentation for some of her claims” about the protests.

NEW BOOM FOR ARMS MAKERS AS US MILITARY SPENDING INCREASES

Washington : The prospect of growing military threats from both China and Russia is driving bipartisan support for a surge in Pentagon spending, setting up another potential boom for weapons makers that is likely to extend beyond the war in Ukraine. Congress is on track in the coming week to give final approval to a national military budget for the current fiscal year that is expected to reach approximately $858 billion —or $45 billion above what President Biden had requested.

If approved at this level, the Pentagon budget will have grown at 4. 3% per year over the last two years — even after inflation —compared with an average of less than 1% a year in real dollars between 2015 and 2021, according to an analysis by Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments for New York Times. Spending on procurement would rise sharply next year, including a 55% jump in army funding to buy new missiles and a 47% jump for the navy’s weapons purchases.

On Friday, Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, put the buildup in strategic terms, saying the war in Ukraine had exposed shortfalls in the nation’s military industrial base that needed to be addressed to ensure the United States is “able to support Ukraine and to be able to deal with contingencies elsewhere in the world”.

Lockheed Martin, the nation’s largest military contractor, had booked more than $950 million worth of its own missile military orders from the Pentagon in part to refill stockpiles being used in Ukraine. The army has awarded Raytheon Technologies more than $2 billion in contracts to deliver missile systems to expand or replenish weapons used to help Ukraine.

“We went through six yearsof Stingers in 10 months,” Gregory J Hayes, Raytheon’s chief executive, said in an interview earlier this month, referring to 1,600 of the company’s shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles sent by the US to Ukraine. “So it will take us multiple years to restock and replenish. ”

CHINA TO SEE THREE WINTER COVID WAVES - OFFICIAL

A top Chinese health official says he believes China is experiencing the first of three expected waves of Covid infections this winter.

The country is seeing a surge in cases since the lifting of its most severe restrictions earlier this month.

The latest official figures appear to show a relatively low number of new daily cases.

However, there are concerns that these numbers are an underestimate due to a recent reduction in Covid testing.

The government reported only 2,097 new daily cases on Sunday.

Epidemiologist Wu Zunyou has said he believes the current spike in infections would run until mid-January, while the second wave would then be triggered by mass travel in January around the week-long Lunar New Year celebrations which begin on 21 January. Millions of people usually travel at this time to spend the holiday with family.

The third surge in cases would run from late February to mid-March as people return to work after the holiday, Dr Wu said.

He told a conference on Saturday that current vaccinations levels offered a certain level of protection against the surges and had resulted in a drop in the number of severe cases.

UKRAINE: RUSSIA TO DEPLOY MUSICIANS TO FRONT TO BOOST MORALE

Russia says it will deploy musicians and singers to the front lines of its war in Ukraine to boost troops' morale.

The defence ministry announced the formation of the "front-line creative brigade" this week, saying it would also include circus performers.

The UK's Ministry of Defence highlighted the brigade's creation in an intelligence update on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited frontline troops in Ukraine, Moscow said.

In a statement posted to Telegram, the defence ministry said Mr Shoigu "flew around the areas of deployment of troops and checked the advanced positions of Russian units in the zone of the special military operation", referring to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched on 24 February.

The ministry added that he "spoke with troops on the front line" and at a "command post" - but the BBC cannot confirm when the visit took place or whether Mr Shoigu visited Ukraine itself.

Commenting on Mr Shoigu's reported visit, Ukraine's military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi told Ukrainian TV channels: "I don't really believe that he is so brave" to travel to the battlefield.

This comes as UK defence officials said low morale continues to be a "significant vulnerability across much of the Russian force".

The UK said the new creative brigade - which follows a recent campaign, urging the public to donate musical instruments to troops - is in keeping with the historic use of "military music and organised entertainment" to boost morale.

PRACHANDA MEETS DEUBA, EXPRESSES DESIRE TO BE PM

Kathmandu : Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, the chairman of the CPN-Maoist Centre, has met Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and reportedly expressed his desire to become the country’s new premier, as the two leaders discussed how to take the ruling coalition forward and form the next government. The meeting on Saturday assumes significance as President Bidya Devi Bhandari is considering calling parties to put forward their claims to form the next government. “The President has not yet decided on a specific day. However, she will very soon call the parties to stake their claim,” Tika Dhakal, press expert to Bhandari, told The Kathmandu Post.

No party in the 275-member House of Representatives has 138 seats required to form the new government. The ruling alliance which together has numbers close to the majority is still undecided on who leads the new cabinet.

Nepali Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said Prachanda has formally sought the support of Nepali Congress to become PM in the first half of the five-year term, the newspaper said.

While forging an electoral alliance ahead of the November 20 polls, Deuba and Prachanda had reportedly struck a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ on leading the government by turns. Deuba, who is the front-runner to become Prime Minister for the sixth time, has not given any definite answer to Prachanda, a source told The Kathmandu Post newspaper.

TALIBAN SEIZE POLICE STATION IN PAKISTAN

The Taliban militants on Sunday seized a counter-terrorism centre and took hostages in Bannu district of Pakistan’s troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the police said.

There is a hostage situation ongoing at the Counter-terrorism Department installation at Bannu Cantonment, an official said.

The militants infiltrated into the Cantonment and freed imprisoned wanted terrorists, the police said.

They subsequently took control of a section of the compound, holding CTD security personnel hostage, the police added.

The Pakistan Army troops were immediately dispatched to the area, which had been sealed. Local residents have been asked to remain indoors.