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Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or on this day in 2018, marking the first time since 2007 the award did not go to either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder broke the stranglehold placed on France Football’s prestigious award by Messi and Ronaldo in the previous decade at a ceremony in Paris. Argentina forward Messi and former Real team-mate Ronaldo and had each won the Ballon d’Or on five occasions since Brazilian Kaka did so in 2007. In his acceptance speech, Modric said: “It’s a unique feeling. I am happy, proud and honoured. I have sensational emotions at the moment that are really hard to describe in words. “First of all, I would like to thank my team-mates and coaches at Real Madrid and all the people who work for Real Madrid, all my coaches and team-mates with the national team, all those who voted for me and of course, my family, my wife and kids. “They are fulfilling me as a person and helping me in all aspects to be successful as a professional. “As a kid, we all have dreams. My dream was to play for a big club, to win important trophies. I dreamed about it, but the Ballon d’Or was more than a childhood dream for me and it’s a real honour and a privilege to hold this trophy.” Modric’s recognition was reward for a fine 12 months during which he helped his club lift the Champions League for the third successive season before playing a key role in Croatia’s surge to the 2018 World Cup final. He won the Golden Ball for his contribution in Russia and was named the Best FIFA Footballer of the Year, and was the first Croatian to claim the Ballon d’Or. Modric, now 38, is still playing for Real Madrid and helped his country to the World Cup semi-finals last year in Qatar. Read More Eddie Howe salutes performance as Newcastle end gruelling week with Man Utd win Ding Junhui beats Judd Trump to set up UK final showdown with Ronnie O’Sullivan Pep Guardiola knows Man City fans will be behind team if ‘bad moments’ arrive Win ‘blows belief into Everton’ after points deduction – Sean Dyche Dwight McNeil fires Everton to morale-boosting win at Nottingham Forest Paul Heckingbottom stands by his work as Sheffield United lose again

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INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 29, 2023--

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Firefighters are battling to try to bring the worst wildfire in decades on Tenerife under control. Fernando Clavijo, regional leader of the Canary Islands, said: "The fire and the weather have behaved in a more normal fashion after showing very unusual behaviour earlier. We've managed to work more intensely during the night... preparing containment lines on the ground," he told a news conference. The fire in the north of the Spanish Canary Island, which started late on Tuesday, has forced the evacuation or confinement of nearly 8,000 people in eight municipalities. "The good news is that there have been no new evacuations," added Mr Clavijo. He has called the wildfire the most complex the Atlantic Ocean archipelago has faced in 40 years, due to a combination of hot, dry and windy weather, as well as difficult terrain. Images and videos posted on social media showed the flames coming down the hill close to houses in small neighbourhoods and a massive cloud of smoke rising from the area. The fire is located up in a pine wooded mountain area with several municipalities on its flanks, including Arafo and Candelaria to the east, and La Orotava to the west. Army captain Rafael San Jose told Spanish National Television that some progress had been made overnight into Friday stopping the fire's spread but that rising temperatures during the day was increasing the difficulty for those fighting the blaze. The Canary Islands have been in drought for most of the past few years, just like most of mainland Spain. The islands have recorded below-average rainfall in recent years because of changing weather patterns impacted by the climate crisis. Mr Clavijo said the blaze, which has scorched 3,200 hectares (7,900 acres), was still very virulent but that fortunately there had been no injuries so far. He said Friday's efforts would be crucial to containing the fire. He said the combination of extreme temperatures and the fire had turned the area into a virtual oven. The north of the island was forecast to have a maximum temperature of 30C (84F) on Friday with light winds but temperatures were set to rise further over the weekend. The flames cover a perimetre of 40 kilometres (25 miles) encircling some 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of land. Nearly 300 firefighters and Spanish army soldiers are in the area, which is around 20 kilometres (12 miles) away from its main town, Santa Cruz. Tenerife is one of Europe's main tourist destinations. Its tourism office has stressed that the most popular tourist areas are far from the fire. Business continues as usual in hotels, beaches and other tourist sites near the coast and in the midlands, the office said. But access to the Teide National Park, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Tenerife after the beaches, was closed on Thursday evening and all tourist facilities around the Teide volcano area, including accommodation, were to be evacuated. The seven-island archipelago is located off the north-west coast of Africa and south-west of mainland Spain. More than 2,000 people were evacuated in a wildfire on the nearby La Palma island last month that affected some 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres). Wildfires have burned almost 64,000 hectares (158,000 acres) in Spain in the first seven months of the year, according to Spanish government data. That's the third highest figure in the last decade. Spain accounted for almost 40 per cent of the nearly 800,00 hectares (2 million acres) burned in the European Union in 2022, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. Associated Press Read More Mapped: Where are the wildfires in Tenerife?

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