The house always win. What applies to casinos also applies to FIFA ahead of the closing weekend of the World Cup. The sporting gods are certainly on FIFA's side. France's 2-0 win over Morocco on Wednesday sets up a dream final for organisers: Kylian Mbappé's Les Bleus against Lionel Messi's Argentina. On Paris's Champs-Élysées, it felt like a win-win moment on Wednesday. The Atlas Lions beat the odds to reach the semi-finals, doing a nation and a continent proud as well as those French who have roots on the other side of the Mediterranean. 

A World Cup victory is always a great photo opportunity for any politician, regardless of human rights concerns over the host nation. French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to the semi-final in Qatar and will return for the final.Speaking of Qatar, the EU is embroiled in what could be its worst ever corruption scandal after Belgian federal police nabbed €1.5 million in cash. Doha denies greasing palms to get lawmakers to approve visa-free travel for its citizens. So far there have been four arrests, including one of the European Parliament's 14 vice presidents. Greek Social Democrat Eva Kaili denies it all, even though her own father was intercepted with a briefcase full of cash. The scandal has got the Parliament's president promising to fast-track a full overhaul of ethics rules.It's not been the kind of year Russia's president had banked on. Vladimir Putin scrapped what had been a holiday season tradition: his marathon annual press conference, where pro-Kremlin journalists don attention-grabbing garb in the hopes of getting picked on for a question.With winter comes scenes reminiscent of World War I. FRANCE 24's team in Donetsk have filmed Ukrainian troops digging trenches in preparati... Go on reading on our web site.
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