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Ronaldo scores 900th goal and San Marino earns first competitive win. Spain held by Serbia

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MADRID (AP) — With his 900th career goal, Cristiano Ronaldo got the best of Luka Modric in the duel of veterans in the Nations League on Thursday.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo became the first man to reach the 900-goal milestone in official matches for club and country by scoring in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Modric’s Croatia.

“It means a lot,” Ronaldo said. “It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number, because as I continue to play, it would happen naturally.”

Spain was held at Serbia in its first match since winning the European Championship, while San Marino won a competitive game for the first time by beating Liechtenstein.

Ronaldo vs. Modric

Ronaldo and Modric, the former Real Madrid teammates, are nearing the end of their careers but are still going strong with their national teams. Modric will turn 39 on Monday.

Ronaldo found the net in the 34th minute at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon to put Portugal up 2-1. He put his hands to his head and dropped to his knees during the celebration.

“It was emotional because it’s a milestone,” he said. “It seems like any other milestone, but only I know, and the people around me, how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and psychologically fit, to score 900 goals. It’s a unique milestone in my career.”

It was Ronaldo’s 131st international career goal.

He was coming off a disappointing performance at the European Championship, when he went scoreless in all five of Portugal’s games before it was eliminated in a penalty shootout by France in the quarterfinals.

Diogo Dalot had put Portugal ahead seven minutes into the match, and his own-goal in the 41st made it 1-1.

Lewandowski strikes

Another veteran who left his mark on Thursday was 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski, who scored from the penalty spot in Poland’s 3-2 win at Scotland. Poland’s winner came with another penalty kick — converted by Nicola Zalewski — seven minutes into stoppage time.

Vancouver Whitecaps captain Ryan Gauld came off the bench in the 71st minute to make his Scotland senior debut.

Ronaldo, Modric and Lewandowski have combined for 542 national-team games and 239 goals heading into this week.

Spain held

Spain was held to a 0-0 draw at Serbia in its first match since winning Euro 2024. La Roja has been the hottest team in Europe recently, having won the 2023 Nations League, Euro 2024 and the men’s gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Youngsters Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, the stars at Euro 2024, were kept in check from the start.

Spain has another away game next, against Switzerland in Geneva.

San Marino finally wins

San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 for its first-ever competitive win thanks to Nicko Sensoli’s 53rd-minute goal.

It had beaten Liechtenstein by the same score in 2004, but in a friendly.

San Marino, a tiny nation surrounded by Italy, is No. 210 — last — in FIFA’s world rankings. Liechtenstein isn’t far ahead at No. 199.

The victory came in Group D1 of the competition.

Other results

Denmark defeated Switzerland 2-0 in Group A4. In League C, Sweden beat Azerbaijan 3-1 and Northern Ireland got past Luxembourg 2-0. Slovakia won 1-0 at Estonia and Belarus and Bulgaria drew 0-0.

The European qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup will be drawn in Zurich in December, likely with seedings decided by FIFA world rankings updated in November after Nations League group play ends.

___

AP soccer:

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RCMP investigating after three found dead in Lloydminster, Sask.

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LLOYDMINSTER, SASK. – RCMP are investigating the deaths of three people in Lloydminster, Sask.

They said in a news release Thursday that there is no risk to the public.

On Wednesday evening, they said there was a heavy police presence around 50th Street and 47th Avenue as officers investigated an “unfolding incident.”

Mounties have not said how the people died, their ages or their genders.

Multiple media reports from the scene show yellow police tape blocking off a home, as well as an adjacent road and alleyway.

The city of Lloydminster straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.

Mounties said the three people were found on the Saskatchewan side of the city, but that the Alberta RCMP are investigating.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 12, 2024.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story; An earlier version said the three deceased were found on the Alberta side of Lloydminster.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Three injured in Kingston, Ont., assault, police negotiating suspect’s surrender

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KINGSTON, Ont. – Police in Kingston, Ont., say three people have been sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a violent daytime assault.

Kingston police say officers have surrounded a suspect and were trying to negotiate his surrender as of 1 p.m.

Spokesperson Const. Anthony Colangeli says police received reports that the suspect may have been wielding an edged or blunt weapon, possibly both.

Colangeli says officers were called to the Integrated Care Hub around 10:40 a.m. after a report of a serious assault.

He says the three victims were all assaulted “in the vicinity,” of the drop-in health centre, not inside.

Police have closed Montreal Street between Railway Street and Hickson Avenue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

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Government intervention in Air Canada talks a threat to competition: Transat CEO

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Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.

“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.

“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.

Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.

Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.

Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.

The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.

As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”

“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.

The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.

It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.

Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.

The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.

“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”

Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.

“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.

“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.

“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

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