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Messi, Mbappé Make Time 100 List Of Most Influential People

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The annual Time 100 list, which honors the most influential people of the year, featured PSG stars, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé as athletes whose contributions far exceed their star status on the field of play.

On Thursday, Time magazine published its list for 2023, which included the Argentinian soccer icon and French soccer star alongside Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, World Tennis Association No. 1 women’s player Iga Świątek, and women’s alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

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Kylian Mbappé

Arguably the fastest soccer player in the world and, at 24, Mbappé is only getting better.

He has been on the cusp of FIFA and soccer’s most prized individual awards, though he established himself as one of the most dangerous players in the sport after a dominant showing in the 2022 World Cup, in which he scored half of France’s 16 goals.

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READ ALSO: Messi, Neymar, Ramos May Join Ronaldo In Saudi Arabia League

The France forward celebrates after scoring a goal against Argentina in extra time.

In fact, in the final – an eventual loss to Argentina – Mbappé scored twice in a 90-second span to keep France in the match, and finished with a hat trick.

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His eight goals in the 2022 World Cup were the most in a single World Cup since Brazilian star Ronaldo in 2002. Mbappé is tied with Pele with 12 World Cup goals overall, and he needs only four more to match Miroslav Klose’s record.

With his age, though, it’s within reason that Mbappé might have up to three more World Cups in his career. And with his dominant final, Mbappé showed that he’s a player who can take over a game, even on the biggest stage.

READ ALSO: mbaMbappe Takes Fresh Decision On Leaving PSG For New Club

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Walt called Mbappé “a living rags-to-riches fairy tale” and wrote, “Despite his incredible celebrity, Mbappé has three home truths from his mom that keep him grounded: ‘Respect, humility, lucidity.’”

Lionel Messi

Messi crowned his illustrious career in December, when the long-time captain of the Argentinian men’s soccer team won his first career World Cup.

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He also won the tournament’s Golden Ball, given to the World Cup’s best player. He can add that to seven Ballon d’Or trophies — given to the best player in the world for that calendar year — four Champions League titles and more than 100 goals scored while representing Argentina.

Argentina players carry Lionel Messi on their shoulders after winning the 2022 World Cup final against France at Lusail Stadium.

READ ALSO: Lionel Messi Offered €200m By New Club

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Messi’s sheer wizardry with the ball near his feet ushered in a style of playmaking that those who have come in subsequent waves have tried to emulate, and not only in Argentina.

Though, arguably, no sports star has become a bigger draw in their home country than Messi, who was recently serenaded outside a Buenos Aires steakhouse when social media reports circulated that he was dining there. Even at 35, Messi continues to be a draw and might be the most recognizable athlete in the world.

Federer shared his respect for Messi, writing: “My career has just come to an end. I now realize how much weight we athletes carry. But in our daily lives, we don’t even realize it.

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“For a football player like Messi, that weight likely feels more massive, as he represents both a world-renowned club and a very passionate country. … Even those who don’t follow football must have realized the true impact of the world’s most popular game.”

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US Suspends Work Visas For Nigerian, Foreign Truck Drivers

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The United States government has suspended the issuance of work visas for Nigerian and other foreign truck drivers, citing job security concerns and safety risks for American citizens.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision on Thursday, saying it takes immediate effect.

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According to him, the rising number of foreign truck drivers on U.S. highways is both threatening lives and reducing opportunities for American truckers.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: US Visa Restrictions On ECOWAS Countries Threaten Regional Prosperity — FG

Effective immediately, we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

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“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio said.

The move comes under President Donald Trump’s renewed clampdown on immigration since returning to office in January 2025.

READ ALSO:US Visa Adjudication Sparks Concerns Over Diplomatic Relations

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As part of new measures, travellers from countries with high visa overstay rates or weak travel databases will be required to pay a bond of $5,000 to $15,000 before obtaining certain categories of visas.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria also directed all visa applicants to disclose their social media handles from the past five years, warning that failure to comply could result in denial of applications and possible ineligibility for future visas.

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Judge Orders Closure Of Trump’s Controversial ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Migrant Camp

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A US federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration and Florida state government from bringing any new migrants to the detention centre known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and ordered much of the site to be dismantled, effectively shuttering the facility.

Florida’s government swiftly announced it would appeal the decision.

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The detention centre was hastily assembled in just eight days in June with bunk beds, wire cages and large white tents at an abandoned airfield in Florida’s Everglades wetlands, home to a large population of alligators.

President Donald Trump, who has vowed to deport millions of undocumented migrants, visited the centre last month, boasting about the harsh conditions and joking that the reptilian predators will serve as guards.

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The White House has nicknamed the facility “Alligator Alcatraz,” a reference to the former island prison in San Francisco Bay that Trump has said he wants to reopen.

The centre was planned to hold 3,000 migrants, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

But it has come under fire from both environmentalists and critics of Trump’s crackdown on migration, who consider the facility to be inhumane.

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The new ruling on Thursday by District Judge Kathleen Williams comes after a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.

READ ALSO:Trump, Putin Make No Breakthrough On Ukraine Deal, End Summit

The environmental groups argue that the detention centre threatens the sensitive Everglades ecosystem and was hastily built without conducting the legally required environmental impact studies.

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– Sixty-day deadline –

Earlier this month, Williams had ordered further construction at the centre to be temporarily halted.

Now she has ordered the Trump administration and the state of Florida — which is governed by Republican Ron DeSantis — to remove all temporary fencing installed at the centre within 60 days, as well as all lighting, generators and waste and sewage treatment systems.

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The order also prohibits “bringing any additional persons onto the… site who were not already being detained at the site.”

READ ALSO:Trump Threatens 250% Tariffs On Foreign Pharmaceuticals

Several detainees have spoken with AFP about the conditions at the centre, including a lack of medical care, mistreatment and the alleged violation of their legal rights.

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“They don’t even treat animals like this. This is like torture,” said Luis Gonzalez, a 25-year-old Cuban who called AFP from inside the centre.

He recently shared a cell with about 30 people, a space enclosed by chain-linked fencing that he compared to a chicken coop.

The Trump administration has said it wants to make this a model for other detention centres across the country.

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Japan City Mulls Two-hour Daily Smartphone Limit

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A Japanese city will urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties.

The limit, which will be recommended for all residents in central Japan’s Toyoake City, will not be binding, and there will be no penalties incurred for higher usage, according to the draft ordinance.

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The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues… including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said in a statement on Friday.

The draft urges elementary school students to avoid smartphones after 9:00 pm, and junior high students and older are advised not to use them after 10:00 pm.

READ ALSO:Two Japanese Boxers Die From Brain Injuries At Same Event

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The move prompted an online backlash, with many calling the plan unrealistic.

“I understand their intention, but the two-hour limit is impossible,” one user wrote on social media platform X.

In two hours, I cannot even read a book or watch a movie (on my smartphone),” wrote another.

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Others said smartphone use should be a decision for families to make for themselves.

The angry response prompted the mayor to clarify that the two-hour limit was not mandatory, emphasising that the guidelines “acknowledge smartphones are useful and indispensable in daily life”.

READ ALSO:Japan’s Petabit: What To Know About Internet Speed That Can Download 67 Million Songs In A second

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The ordinance will be considered next week, and if passed, it will come into effect in October.

In 2020, the western Kagawa region issued a first-of-its-kind ordinance calling for children to be limited to an hour a day of gaming during the week, and 90 minutes during school holidays.

It also suggested children aged 12 to 15 should not be allowed to use smartphones later than 9:00 pm, with the limit rising to 10:00 pm for children between 15 and 18.

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Japanese youth spend slightly over five hours on average a day online on weekdays, according to a survey published in March by the Children and Families Agency.

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