France midfielder Lassana Diarra reveals cousin died in Paris terror attacks

The France midfielder Lassana Diarra has revealed that his cousin Asta Diakité was killed during the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night .

Diarra, who played 80 minutes of the match against Germany, said in a statement that his cousin was like “a big sister to me … In this climate of terror, it is important for all of us who are representatives of our country and its diversity to speak and remain united against a horror that has no colour, no religion.”

Diarra’s team-mate Antoine Griezmann, meanwhile, said that his sister Maude had escaped the attack at the Bataclan concert hall which left at least 87 people dead.

The Atlético Madrid forward confirmed early on Saturday that his sister had made it out, having earlier used social media to say: “God take care of my sister and the French.” He later wrote: “Thanks God my sister was able to exit the Bataclan. All my prayers to the victims and their families.”

The France coach, Didier Deschamps, and his German counterpart, Joachim Löw, were reportedly both told of the developing security situation in Paris at half-time but are understood not to have informed players at that stage, with the details still unclear. When the game ended, players were seen stopping in the tunnel area to watch television coverage and they were subsequently briefed by officials.

Cristiano Ronaldo: I want to retire with 'dignity', not in USA, Qatar or Dubai

Cristiano Ronaldo said Friday that he wants to end his career “with dignity” and not playing in “the United States, Qatar or Dubai”. The Real Madrid and Portugal star, the subject of a new documentary that premiered on Monday in London, said Thursday in an interview on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show that he expected to play six or seven more seasons and hoped to finish his career at the highest level. The remarks ostensibly referenced the recent wave of top players who have finished their careers outside of Europe’s top leagues, among them MLS imports Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, along with Xavi, the lifelong Barcelona midfielder who signed with Qatari club Al Sadd in May. “That does not mean it’s bad play in the leagues of the United States, Qatar or Dubai, but I do not see myself there,” Ronaldo said. Ronaldo, who turns 31 in February, became Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer last month and has th...

Young people to lose access to unemployment benefits as part of welfare reforms

YOUNG people will not be able to get unemployment benefits until they turn 25 under reforms introduced by the Turnbull Government today. The coalition has unveiled wide-ranging welfare reforms in parliament today, including changes to the Newstart program. It hopes to stop people aged 22 to 24 getting Newstart or the Sickness allowance, and they will instead be shifted to the Youth Allowance payment. This will reduce the amount of money that they will be able to get, costing a single person living away from home about $90 a fortnight. They will also be required to study in order to qualify for the payments. “The key aim of this measure is to provide incentives for young unemployed people to obtain the relevant education and training to increase employability,” according to an explanatory memorandum for the bill. However, it says Youth Allowance does allow students to earn a higher amount of money from part-time or casual work than Newstart, before this begins imp...

Battle to keep guns from former Queensland policeman with PTSD

IT’S been almost 10 years since Ben Alexander Ephraim Dyball left the Queensland police under a cloud of trauma and allegations of bizarre behaviour. He’s had a tough time letting go of the past. That was apparent when officers from Warwick Police — where Mr Dyball was once stationed — raided his Elbow Valley property and allegedly found a stash of old police uniforms, official police notepads, gun holsters (including one of the concealable variety), handgun and rifle ammunition, several police identification cards, two pairs of police handcuffs and 450g of marijuana. A weapons licence Mr Dyball had previously declared stolen and a number of rifle bolts were also seized. The officers had waited until the 49-year-old was at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) in Toowoomba appealing the suspension of his weapons licence, to exercise their search warrant. The Queensland Weapons Licensing Unit revoked Mr Dyball’s licence in September 2015 following a bizarr...

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