Category: News
World Risks ‘Disintegration Of The International Order’ As Macron Fails To Woo Xi Into Pressuring Putin
World Risks ‘Disintegration Of The International Order’ As Macron Fails To Woo Xi Into Pressuring Putin
“We are facing the risk of the disintegration of the international order that brought peace to the world for decades, and in this context, the dialogue between China and France is even more essential than ever,” Macron said on Thursday while on a tour of China. It was his fourth state visit, and part of a renewed effort to woo Chinese President Xi Jinping to the West’s side on stepping up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I hope that China will join our call, our efforts to achieve, as soon as possible, at the very least a ceasefire in the form of a moratorium on strikes targeting critical infrastructure,” the French leader said. But the consensus is that Macron’s latest effort has once again failed to gain anything in the way of a concession from Xi on the Ukraine issue.
Xi only vaguely stated that “China supports all efforts that work towards peace” while urging a peace deal that all parties would accept, in a clear nod to Moscow’s position that there are still a number of unsatisfactory aspects to the Trump-proposed peace plan.
President Xi also interestingly used language and themes often employed by Putin, for example stressing the needs to carry on the “banner of multilateralism” when it comes to China-France relations:
“No matter how the external environment changes, both sides as major powers should always demonstrate independence and strategic vision, show mutual understanding and mutual support for each other on core matters and major critical issues,” he said.
“China and France should demonstrate their sense of responsibility, raise high the banner of multilateralism … and firmly stand on the right side of history.”
Friday’s commentary from Rabobank says this is all a case for pessimism when it comes to the closeness or else great distance of a potential Ukraine peace deal:
The kind of multilateralism that Xi has in mind is an important point to consider. Is Xi talking about an idealistic evolution of the United Nations where more power is given to the developing world but disputes are resolved via dialogue? Or is he talking about ending US hegemony to carve the world up into spheres of influence for regional great powers to preside over? Xi’s reluctance to get involved in brokering a peace deal in Ukraine and recent naval deployments in the wake of a diplomatic spat with Japan will make many nervous that it is the latter.
A spheres of influence paradigm is certainly favorable in the eyes of Vladimir Putin. He has reportedly rejected the latest peace overtures from US special envoy Witkoff and told India Today that Ukrainian troops will either leave the Donbas region or Russia will “liberate these territories by force”. Kremlin officials have reportedly told journalists that a peace deal remains a long way off. The Wall Street Journal editorial today says “maybe it is time to conclude that Mr. Putin doesn’t want peace” while arguing that Putin has no incentive to negotiate in good faith while he feels that he is winning.
So, peace in our time? Don’t count on it.
European leaders have not been pleased that the US plan is the first to ever seriously offer territorial concessions since the war’s start. Some European officials alongside media reports in the EU have gone so far as to accuse Putin of ‘faking’ interest in peace efforts.
While the Kremlin has called the prior Tuesday Moscow talks involving Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner “constructive” – it conceded that little actual progress was made toward a deal, given Russia is demanding nothing less than full legal and international recognition of the territories under its control.
Putin has followed up with a warning that Russia is ready seize more Ukrainian territory as the ‘special military operation’ continues. “Either we liberate these territories by force of arms. Or Ukrainian troops leave these territories,” he has freshly warned.
Images from Macron’s three-day rare “sightseeing” tour of China with President Xi:
Chinese President Xi Jinping and visiting French President Emmanuel Macron had friendly exchanges on Friday in Dujiangyan in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Xinhua reported.
Upon their arrival, Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were warmly… pic.twitter.com/xoPQsuzH4R
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) December 5, 2025
Mutual strikes on energy infrastructure are only continuing to escalate. President Putin has also warned his military is readying to expand strikes on Ukrainian ports, in retaliation for a spate of drone attacks on tankers transporting Russian oil to global markets.
With Ukraine peace being elusive, apparently, Xi and Macron handled a series of lesser matters Thursday and Friday,” EuroNews reports. “They signed 12 agreements, including ones calling for cooperation on a new round of panda conservation efforts and exchanges in higher education and research.” The same report notes that the European Union “ran a massive trade deficit with China of more than €300 billion last year. China alone represents 46% of France’s total trade deficit.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/05/2025 – 17:20
Colombia no se confía, pese a sorteo favorable para el Mundial 2026
Por JOSÉ MANUEL VALLADARES
BOGOTÁ (AP) — Cuando el sorteo para la Copa del Mundo de 2026 colocó a Colombia en el Grupo K en el que se enfrentará con Portugal, Uzbekistán y el ganador del repechaje entre Congo, Jamaica y Nueva Caledonia, más de un hincha de la Tricolor esbozó una sonrisa.
Pero, a diferencia de los aficionados, en el seno del seleccionado colombiano se eligió la prudencia ante la suerte que se repartió el viernes en Washington, para el campeonato que se jugará en Estados Unidos, México y Canadá.
“En los sorteos hay un poco de azar”, comentó el seleccionador de Colombia, el argentino Néstor Lorenzo. “Nos tocó un gran equipo como Portugal, uno de los mejores del mundo en este momento, pero nos gusta competir y enfrentarnos a este tipo de selecciones”.
Colombia irá de la mano de su capitán James Rodríguez, quien a sus 34 años disputará su tercer Mundial, luego de brillar en Brasil 2014, donde finalizó como máximo artillero con seis goles. En Rusia 2018, una lesión solo le permitió disputar tres encuentros, mientras en Qatar 2022 no lograron superar las eliminatorias sudamericanas.
Todos los oponentes son inéditos en competiciones oficiales para Colombia.
El enfrentamiento entre Colombia y Portugal será en la tercera fecha del grupo y pondrá frente a frente a James con Cristiano Ronaldo, con quien compartió en el Real Madrid entre 2014 y 2017.
“Jugar el Mundial siempre es una alegría muy grande y más cuando te haces más mayor porque el fútbol pasa, el tiempo pasa para todo el mundo”, indicó James, quien suma 122 partidos y 31 dianas con la selección. “Estoy con muy buenas vibras para esta Copa del Mundo, y todo el país también. Vamos todos por el mismo camino, y todos lo que estamos dentro sentimos eso”.
Colombia, que por situarse en el puesto 13 del ranking FIFA estuvo en el Bombo 2 del sorteo, debutará el 17 de junio del próximo año contra Uzbekistán, 50 en el listado.
“Uzbekistán es una de las selecciones que en esa parte del mundo viene haciendo las cosas bien”, comentó el arquero David Ospina, que irá por tercera vez a la Copa del Mundo. “Lo importante es estar bien en los clubes para llegar en un óptimo estado al Mundial”.
Tras el debut ante Uzbekistán, el calendario de Colombia continuará el 23 con el vencedor de la repesca entre Congo, Jamaica y Nueva Caledonia, que se conocerá el 31 de marzo.
“Nos tocó un cabeza de serie impresionante, un gran equipo como Portugal. La idea es llegar al tercer partido ya clasificados, para poder hacer cambios y darles a minutos a los jugadores que no hayan visto acción”, puntualizó Lorenzo.
El choque contra Portugal, fijado para el 27 de junio, no solo será el más complicado en teoría para los cafeteros, sino que podría ser decisivo para las posiciones finales del grupo.
“Portugal viene haciendo las cosas bien, de la mano de un jugador histórico como Cristiano Ronaldo”, reconoció Ospina.
Con el impacto del delantero Luis Díaz, quien registra 12 dianas y seis asistencias en sus primeros meses con el Bayern Múnich, Colombia aspira igualar su mejor actuación cuando alcanzó los cuartos de final en Brasil 2014.
“Se ha armado un grupo maravilloso y hemos cumplido con la promesa de regresar a Colombia a una cita mundialista”, analizó Lorenzo. “Contentos por estar aquí, ahora vamos a prepararnos lo mejor posible. Trataremos de llegar bien a junio. En los mundiales todo depende de cómo lleguemos nosotros”.
Con miras a la preparación para la cita mundialista, el presidente de la Federación Colombiana de Fútbol, Ramón Jesurún, informó que Francia y Croacia están en su agenda para ser los rivales en los partidos de fogueo para la fecha FIFA de marzo.
___
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Autogol de Da Costa da triunfo al Gladbach ante el Mainz, que sigue anclado en el fondo
MAINZ, Alemania (AP) — Mainz sigue anclado en el fondo de la Bundesliga después de que el visitante Bourssia Mönchengladbach ganara el viernes 1-0 con un autogol de Danny da Costa.
Mainz nunca había perdido ninguno de sus cinco partidos anteriores de la Bundesliga que jugó en viernes y Gladbach no había ganado ninguno de sus siete, pero esas rachas acabaron con el desafortunado gol en la segunda mitad de Da Costa.
El cabezazo de Haris Tabaković a los 58 minutos se dirigía desviado hasta que golpeó al defensor del Mainz y descolocó a su propio portero.
Nelson Weiper tuvo oportunidades para marcar para el Mainz, pero las desperdició, y Nicolas Moritz estuvo atento bajo los postes para el visitante, mientras que la racha sin victorias de Mainz en la liga se extendió a nueve partidos.
Mainz se mantiene último de la tabla de 20 equipos con seis puntos, uno detrás de St. Pauli.
Gladbach subió al noveno lugar.
___
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Donald Trump meets Mexican President Sheinbaum in person for the first time at World Cup draw
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has finally met with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum.
Their long-delayed first face-to-face discussion focused on next year’s World Cup — and included side discussions about trade and tariffs — but immigration was not the top issue. That’s despite Trump’s push to crack down on the U.S.-Mexico border being a centerpiece of his administration, and the driving force in the relations between both countries.
Trump has been in office for more than 10 months, and his having taken so long to see Sheinbaum in-person is striking given that meeting with the leader of the country’s southern neighbor is often a top priority for U.S. presidents.
Trump and Sheinbaum had been set to meet in June on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada, but that was scrapped after Trump rushed back to Washington early amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran.
Soccer took center stage — but tariffs still loom large
Trump and Sheinbaum sat talking in the president’s box and also appeared onstage with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Kennedy Center for Friday’s 2026 World Cup draw. The U.S., Mexico and Canada are co-hosting the tournament, which begins in June.
A senior White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private meetings, said Trump, Sheinbaum and Carney met privately after participating in the draw.
Sheinbaum had said before leaving Mexico that she’d talk to Trump about tariffs that his administration has imposed on automobiles, steel and aluminum from Mexico, among other things. She said after appearing at the Kennedy Center that the three leaders “talked about the great opportunity that the 2026 FIFA World Cup represents for the three countries and about the good relationship we have.”
“We agreed to continue working together on trade issues with our teams,” Sheinbaum posted on X.
Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner. The the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement which Trump forged in his first term as a replacement for 1994’s North American Free Trade Agreement also remains in place. But U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has begun scrutinizing it ahead of a joint review process set for July.
In the meantime, the U.S. and Mexico’s priorities have been reshaped by the steep drop in the number of people crossing into the U.S. illegally along its southern border, as well as the White House’s — so far largely unrealized — threats to impose large trade tariffs on its neighbor.
Before speaking in-person, Trump and Sheinbaum had repeatedly talked by phone, discussing tariffs and Mexican efforts to help combat the trafficking of fentanyl into the U.S. But despite other world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, having already met with Trump this term, the meeting with Sheinbaum hadn’t happened until Friday.
The Trump whisperer?
Waiting so long to meet in person hasn’t seemed to hurt Mexico’s president’s standing with Trump.
The two spoke by phone in November 2024, with the then-U.S. president-elect declaring afterward that they’d agreed “to stop Migration through Mexico” — even as Sheinbaum suggested her country had already been doing enough.
Trump soon after taking office threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico in an effort to force that country to better combat fentanyl smuggling, only to later agree to a pause.
The White House subsequently backed off tariff threats against most Mexican goods. Then, in October, Sheinbaum announced that the U.S. had given her country another extension to avoid sweeping 25% tariffs on goods it imports to the U.S. — even as many items covered by the USMCA trade deal remain exempt.
Mexico, though, hasn’t avoided all U.S. tariffs. Sheinbaum’s country continues to try to negotiate its way out of import levies Trump has imposed worth 25% on the automotive sector and 50% on steel and aluminum.
Sheinbaum’s success at mitigating many tariffs, and other successes in the bilateral relationship, has led some to wonder if she has a special gift for getting what she wants from him.
She’s largely pulled it off by affording Trump the respect the U.S. president demands from leaders around the world — but especially a neighboring country — and by deploying occasional humor and pushing back, always respectfully, when necessary.
Sheinbaum also defused another potential point of contention, Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” by proposing dryly that North America should be renamed “América Mexicana,” or “Mexican America.” That’s because a founding document dating from 1814 that preceded Mexico’s constitution referred to it that way.
Still, Mexican officials continue to work furiously to lessen the trade blow from tariffs going into 2026 — levies that could wreck its already low-growth economy, particularly in its all-important automotive sector. Sheinbaum’s government has also sought to defend its citizens living in the U.S. as the Trump administration expands its mass deportation operations.
Sheinbaum’s government also lobbied unsuccessfully against a 1% U.S. tax on remittances, or money transfers that millions of Mexicans send home every year from the United States. It was approved as part of Trump’s tax cut and spending package and takes effect Jan. 1.
Trump’s push for mass deportations
Trump has directed federal officials to prioritize major deportation pushes in Democratic-run cities — an extraordinary move that lays bare the politics of the issues. He’s also deployed the National Guard in an effort to curb crime, which has led to a spike in immigration-related arrests, in places like Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, as well as Memphis, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon.
The Trump administration says its priority is targeting “the worst of the worst” criminals, but most of the people detained in operations around the country have not had violent criminal histories.
Such operations often meant targeting Mexican citizens who have lived and worked in the United States for years and may face deportation to a homeland they no longer know well. It also has meant serious threats of declining remittance income, which has fallen for seven consecutive months.
The lower number of illegal U.S.-Mexico border crossings has knocked immigration off its perch as the top agenda item for the U.S.-Mexico bilateral relations for the first time in recent memory.
Mexican officials now say conversations around immigration have shifted toward cajoling countries into taking back their citizens and reintegrating them to keep them from leaving again — a major Trump administration priority around the world.
Cooperation on security
Sheinbaum has blunted some of the Trump administration’s tough talk on fentanyl and drug smuggling cartels by giving her security chief Omar García Harfuch more authority.
Mexico has also extradited dozens of drug cartel figures to the U.S., including Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought in the 1985 killing of a DEA agent. That show of goodwill, and a much more visible effort against the cartels’ fentanyl production, has gotten the Trump administration’s attention.
That’s a significant improvement. Only a few years ago, the DEA struggled to get visas for its people in Mexico, and then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador accused the U.S. government of fabricating evidence against a former Mexican defense secretary, though he never presented evidence to back up the allegation.
Not everything has gone so smoothly, though. Trump criticized Sheinbaum for rejecting his proposal to send U.S. troops to Mexico to help thwart the illegal drug trade.
Last month, Sheinbaum said there was no way the U.S. military would be able to make strikes in Mexico, after Trump said he was open to the idea. And she has denounced U.S. strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
“The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight,” Trump said earlier this year.
Sheinbaum declined to take the bait — and avoided turning up the political pressure — by sidestepping Trump’s criticism.
Associated Press writer Chris Sherman contributed from Mexico City.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/05/trump-meets-mexican-president-sheinbaum/
Watch: Biden Called For Strike Force To Crush Drug Cartels In 1989!
Watch: Biden Called For Strike Force To Crush Drug Cartels In 1989!
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
Democrats are melting down over Trump’s targeted strikes on narco-terrorists, yet a freshly resurfaced clip shows Joe Biden demanding the same aggressive action decades ago, proving their opposition is pure partisan sabotage as cartel poison floods America unchecked.
A 1989 C-SPAN clip of then-Senator Joe Biden has gone viral amid the Trump administration’s boat strikes on drug runners, highlighting the glaring double standard from Democrats who now baselessly cry “war crimes” over actions Biden once championed.
In the speech, Biden urged, “Let’s go after the drug lords where they live with an international strike force. There must be no safe haven for these narco-terrorists …”
1989. Joe Biden delivers a televised message from the Democrat party, calling on then President Bush to do more to stop the flow of drugs into the country.
In addition to calling for more prisons and more cops, Biden said that Democrats want the creation of a strike force to… pic.twitter.com/mV8SbVsnob
— MAZE (@mazemoore) December 3, 2025
What changed? Under Biden’s presidency, fentanyl deaths skyrocketed, with cartels controlling swaths of the border and trafficking exploding to record levels. Now, as Trump delivers on promises to hit back hard, Dems side with the traffickers out of sheer Trump derangement.
The clip, from a February 7, 1989, Senate hearing on crime and drugs, shows Biden pushing for swift, severe punishment of dealers and international operations to dismantle cartels before they infiltrate the U.S.
He emphasized, “We have to join together to ensure that drug dealers are punished swiftly surely and severely.”
This echoes Trump’s designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, a move Biden never pursued despite his tough talk.
Fast-forward to 2025, and Trump’s team is executing precision strikes on vessels linked to Venezuela’s Maduro regime and cartel operations, destroying drug cargoes and neutralising threats in the Caribbean.
Joe would watch that clip today, and say, “Who is this idiot conservative? He’s got it all wrong. C’mon mannnn.”
— Zeeko Jr (@ZeekoJr) December 3, 2025
That’s the Biden I remember. Pro America, back when Dems could be patriots. Now you have to piss all over everything.
— RB of Jonesboro (@RBJboro) December 3, 2025
It’s amazing. Trump is everything the democrats ever wanted in a single package and they hate him for it.
— ccypbg (@ccippk) December 3, 2025
Then he finally got into office and escorted criminals & drugs directly into our country
— logicallydumb (@logicallydumbb) December 3, 2025
Trump security advisor Stephen Miller blasted Democrats Wednesday for their twisted priorities in an explosive interview.
Miller declared, “This is the first time I can EVER think where a major political party has sided with narco-trafficking, murdering, terrorist SCUM!”
He added, “A Democrat says ‘oh, there’s no such thing as a narco-terrorist. They’re just narco-persons!’ ISIS and these narco-terrorists in our hemisphere use the same tactics. They use r*pe as a weapon. They skin people alive. They cut off their heads. They burn them to death!”
Miller further asserted “We’re not going off running around the Middle East trying to ‘build democracies’ in caves and deserts and in distant sands that have never known democracy.”
“We’re using the military to protect American security, American prosperity, American lives right here where we live, where our children live!” he urged.
Democrats, meanwhile, are inciting military discord while soft-pedaling cartel savagery. As we covered earlier, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner echoed seditious calls on MSNBC, stating “the uniformed military may help save us from this president.”
Warner ranted, “I’m going to want to get answers on what did Pete Hegseth order? Why haven’t we seen the whole unedited video if there’s nothing inappropriate here? You could have cleared this up without the admiral coming in. He’s got a great reputation, I respect him. I want to get the truth. And I’m not sure we’ve had the truth from Hegseth yet.”
Fresh reporting dismantles media smears. The New York Times revealed Hegseth authorized a Sept. 2 strike “to kill the people on the boat, destroy the vessel, and eliminate its drug cargo,” but it “did not specifically address what to do if a first missile failed to fully accomplish these goals, and it was not based on surveillance showing at least two survivors after the initial blast.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified Hegseth “authorized Adm. Frank M. Bradley to conduct kinetic strikes, ensuring the boat was destroyed and the threat eliminated.”
In addition, ABC’s Martha Raddatz provided key updates on ‘World News Tonight’, noting “According to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back on to the boat after the initial strike. They were believed to be potentially in communication with others, and salvaging some of the drugs.”
Raddatz added, “Because of that, it was determined they were still in the fight and valid targets.”
ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Wednesday’s ‘World News Tonight’ about drug boat-gate: “And tonight, new information: According to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back on to the boat after the initial strike. They were believed to be potentially in… pic.twitter.com/R5eHFzzDql
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 4, 2025
This confirms the strikes followed rules of engagement, with legal oversight—completely debunking Dem hysteria.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/05/2025 – 17:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-biden-called-strike-force-crush-drug-cartels-1989
An international body tasked with governing Gaza will be announced by the end of year, officials say
DOHA, Qatar — An international body tasked with governing the Gaza Strip under the next phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire is expected to be announced by the end of the year, an Arab official and a Western diplomat said Friday.
According to the ceasefire agreement, the authority — known as the Board of Peace and chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump — is to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction under a two-year, renewable U.N. mandate.
It will include about a dozen other Middle Eastern and Western leaders, the Arab official and the Western diplomat told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
The path forward for Gaza
Also to be announced is a committee of Palestinian technocrats who will run the day-to-day administration of post-war Gaza, they two said. The Western diplomat, who spoke to the AP over the phone from Cairo, said the announcement about this will likely happen when Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet later this month.
The ceasefire deal also calls for an armed International Stabilization Force to keep security and ensure the disarming of the fighter Hamas group, a key demand of Israel.
The announcement would be a significant step forward in implementing Trump’s 20-point plan for the territory devastated by Israel’s two-year campaign against Hamas.
The shaky ceasefire, which came into effect on Oct. 10, has been tested by outbursts of violence and accusations by both sides of violations of the truce. The first phase of the ceasefire has neared completion, though Hamas is still to hand over the remains of a last Israel hostage called for under the deal.
The Arab official said that talks are still ongoing over which countries will take part in the international force for Gaza but that he expects deployment will begin in the first quarter of 2026.
A U.S. official gave a similar timeline, saying that “boots on the ground” could be a reality in early 2026. The official spoke to the AP on the same condition of anonymity. Axios first reported the anticipated announcement on Thursday.
The Arab official said that “extensive talks” will start immediately with Hamas and Israel on the details of the second phase, which he expects to be tough.
Those talks are expected the tackle the issue of disarming Hamas, a step the fighter group has not yet agreed to. The plan also calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from the roughly half of the Gaza Strip that they still control as the international force deploys.
Funding for a rebuilding plan for the Gaza Strip still has not been determined. Some Palestinians have expressed concern over the apparent lack of a Palestinian voice in the body and the lack of a firm promise in the plan that they will eventually gain statehood.
Netanyahu’s government rejects the creation of a Palestinian state, and the U.S.-brokered deal includes only a vague provision that a pathway toward statehood may be possible if certain conditions are met.
Israel’s plan to open a Gaza border crossing with Egypt
Israel announced on Wednesday that it plans to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in the coming days, allowing Palestinians to leave the devastated strip as laid out by the ceasefire agreement. That could be a major development for residents, for whom leaving has been extremely difficult — if not impossible — for most of the war.
However, the governments of Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar all expressed “deep concern” on Friday about the plan.
A dispute also emerged between Egypt and Israel — Cairo wants Palestinians to be able to return to Gaza through the crossing and says it would only be opened if movement is allowed both ways. Israel has said that Palestinians will not be able to return to Gaza through the crossing until the last hostages’ remains are returned from Gaza.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the eight countries said the Rafah crossing must be open in both directions to allow for “freedom of movement” for Palestinians. They also expressed concern that if Palestinians were to leave Gaza, they might not be allowed to return.
The ministers underscored “their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land,” they wrote.
A rising death toll
On Friday, Israel’s military said it killed a man in northern Gaza who was approaching the troops with another man, both of whom were “carrying suspicious objects.”
Israeli forces also killed another man in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 38-year-old was shot by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank while the military said the man threw a rock at soldiers.
The killings mark the latest violence in the Palestinian territories, which has fueled concern that it could shake Gaza’s fragile truce.
The latest Israel-Hamas war started when Hamas-led fighter attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage. Israel’s subsequent campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,100 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Doha, Qatar, and Megan Janetsky in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/05/international-body-governing-gaza/
Cowboys retroceden en derrota ante los Lions, pero siguen pensando en los playoffs
Por SCHUYLER DIXON
La defensa de Dallas retrocedió, al igual que la protección para el mariscal de campo Dak Prescott, en un juego que los Cowboys necesitaban ganar desesperadamente para mantener alguna esperanza realista de llegar a los playoffs.
El equipo que perdió 44-30 ante los Lions de Detroit se pareció más al que tenía un récord perdedor antes de la semana de descanso que al grupo que ganó tres seguidos desde entonces para superar el .500 por primera vez.
Prácticamente ahora la única esperanza para los Cowboys (6-6-1) es ganar sus cuatro juegos restantes, comenzando en horario estelar el 14 de diciembre en casa contra Minnesota. Incluso entonces, necesitarán ayuda. Por eso las probabilidades de playoffs para Dallas son del 8%.
“Yo también sabía lo que estaba en juego respecto a nuestras probabilidades de entrar a los playoffs”, dijo el propietario Jerry Jones en su programa de radio el viernes en 105.3 The Fan. “¿Podemos literalmente ganar todos? Por supuesto que podemos ganar todos. ¿Va a ser difícil? Por supuesto que sí. Tenemos que mirar la posibilidad muy estrecha de que si salimos aquí y jugamos mejor de lo que jugamos anoche, sí, podemos seguir jugando cuando llegue el momento de los playoffs”.
Los Cowboys no pudieron detener a los Lions cuando lo necesitaban, permitiendo que anotaran touchdowns causados por una pobre cobertura de devoluciones de patada dos veces en el último cuarto después de que Dallas redujo la diferencia a un solo touchdown.
Prescott fue capturado cinco veces, igualando su récord de temporada, y lanzó dos intercepciones, incluida una en la primera jugada de la segunda mitad que los Lions convirtieron en un touchdown para una ventaja de 27-9.
El quarterback estrella fue presionado para lanzar un pase hacia atrás, resultando en una pérdida de 16 yardas.
Dos veces en la primera mitad, los Cowboys enfrentaron una jugada de segunda y 25 o más, lo cual es parte de la razón por la que se conformaron con tres goles de campo antes del descanso. Dallas convirtió solo una de sus tres visitas dentro de la línea de 20 yardas en touchdowns.
Ahora los Cowboys no saben cuándo recuperarán a CeeDee Lamb. El receptor estrella golpeó fuertemente su casco contra el césped al intentar atrapar un balón y fue rápidamente descartado con una conmoción.
Tener que seguir adelante sin Lamb será otro golpe. Dallas había ganado cada juego desde el intercambio por Quinnen Williams que impulsó a una defensa en apuros.
“No creo que este sea un momento de desánimo, ‘Oh, manos arriba, hemos terminado’”, dijo Prescott. “Esta es la primera vez que este grupo, hasta cierto punto, sufre esto. Lo usamos como combustible”.
Qué funciona
La figura legendaria del pateador Brandon Aubrey crece. Es el primero en la historia de la NFL con tres goles de campo de al menos 55 yardas en un juego, incluyendo uno de 63 yardas. Los tres de al menos 60 yardas de Aubrey este año son la mayor cantidad en una temporada en la historia de la liga. El jugador de 30 años extendió su récord con el sexto de al menos 60 yardas en su carrera de tres años. Ah, y Aubrey igualó su récord personal con cinco goles de campo contra los Lions. El único que casi falló fue el más corto, de 42 yardas.
Necesita ayuda
La cobertura de patadas de salida fue menos que estelar cuando los Cowboys permitieron devoluciones a la línea de 41 yardas de Detroit y 49 en el último cuarto. La primera devolución llegó con Dallas abajo por tres, la segunda cuando el déficit era de siete con 3:42 restantes. Los Lions convirtieron ambas largas devoluciones de Tom Kennedy en touchdowns. Kennedy promedió 40 yardas en tres devoluciones de patada de salida.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Argentina bendecida con grupo ‘ganable’ en el sorteo del Mundial, pero inquieta lo que sigue
Por DÉBORA REY
BUENOS AIRES (AP) — En el camino hacia la defensa del título, el campeón del mundo Argentina recibió un guiño de la suerte con un grupo que, de acuerdo a los pergaminos de los rivales, no debería tener problemas para superar.
La Albiceleste se medirá ante Argelia, Austria y la debutante Jordania en el Grupo J, según quedó definido en el sorteo de la primera ronda de la próxima Copa del Mundo este viernes en Washington.
“Accesible no hay nada, pero son tres rivales ganables”, expresó el lateral Nicolás Tagliafico, uno de los pilares de la defensa argentina, al reaccionar al sorteo en sus redes sociales.
“No podemos quejarnos”, opinó el técnico Lionel Scaloni, aunque advirtió que “no hay rivales fáciles”.
“Tenemos experiencia del anterior Mundial, en el que el equipo más accesible (del grupo) nos ganó”, recordó el entrenador en referencia a la derrota 2-1 ante Arabia Saudita en el debut de Qatar 2022, que luego terminarían conquistando los argentinos.
“Hay que afrontar todos los equipos como se fuera el último”, remarcó.
Argentina, que todavía no tiene certezas si su capitán Lionel Messi disputará la competencia con 39 años, abrirá la zona ante Argelia, que regresa a la máxima cita tras dos ediciones ausentes. Riyad Mahrez, otrora emblema del Manchester City, actualmente juega en el club saudí Al Ahli, es el capitán y figura.
El único antecedente de enfrentamiento entre ambos combinados fue un amistoso en 2007, con victoria 4-3 de la Albiceleste.
“Al entrenador lo conozco, Vladimir Pecicvih, me dirigió en la Lazio (de Italia). Sé cómo juega, tiene una cultura de juego muy interesante”, analizó Scaloni. “Es una buena selección, con grandes jugadores, un semillero para Europa”.
Por primera vez en 28 años, Austria regresa a una Copa del Mundo. Fue primera de su zona en la clasificación europeo y su capitán es David Alaba, defensor del Real Madrid.
Argentina lo enfrentó en dos amistosos, con victoria 5-1 en 1980 y empate 1-1 en 1990.
La selección argentina nunca enfrentó a Jordania, representante de la Confederación Asiática de Futbol (AFC) favorecida por la ampliación a 48 equipos implementada para el Mundial de Estados Unidos, México y Canadá. Mousa Al-Taamari, extremo del Rennes de la liga francesa, resalta en su plantel.
Inquietud por sedes y 16avos
En Argentina quedaron menos conformes con el cuadro de la competencia, ya que podría darse un choque contra España o Uruguay, ambos en el Grupo H, en los 16vos de final.
“Cruce difícil. Pero primero hay que pasar, después se verá”, señaló Scaloni.
El otro lunar del sorteo son las sedes de los partidos. A priori, FIFA había designado a Kansas City, San Francisco y Dallas para el Grupo J, pero esto terminará de definirse el sábado.
En Argentina se especulaba con jugar en Miami, apostando al acompañamiento masivo de hinchas por la gran comunidad de argentinos que viven allí. Además, los vuelos desde Buenos Aires son menos costosos que la costa oeste.
Apenas concluido el sorteo, Scaloni descartó que la selección haga base en el sur de Florida, tal como tenía planificado la Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA).
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
“Widespread Misconduct”: Trump Admin Orders All Beneficiaries Of Nation’s Largest DEI Program To Surrender Financial Records
“Widespread Misconduct”: Trump Admin Orders All Beneficiaries Of Nation’s Largest DEI Program To Surrender Financial Records
The Daily Wire has learned that the Small Business Administration has ordered all 4,300 firms in its 8(a) “socially disadvantaged” program, which receive no-bid federal contracts, to turn over their financial records, including general ledgers, bank statements, payroll files, subcontracting agreements, and other internal documents, by January 5 or face removal from the program.
SBA’s crackdown on one of Washington’s oldest DEI initiatives follows mounting evidence that some 8(a) firms have become a major pipeline for fraud, pass-through schemes, and artificially inflated contract costs.
Late last month, Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and the investigative journalist who broke the Clinton Cash corruption story, published a report exposing the cronyism and corruption inside the 8(a) program, where pass-through firms handed bidless contracts on silver platters while quietly outsourcing the real work to major consulting companies.
“For years, DC insiders have exploited a federal DEI contracting program that provides windfalls to Beltway elites. This open secret isn’t about helping the downtrodden; it’s about bagging no-bid paydays. The SBA’s 8(a) program is long overdue for reform,” Schweizer wrote on X.
🚨 MASSIVE FRAUD ALERT: For years, DC insiders have exploited a federal DEI contracting program that provides windfalls to beltway elites. This open secret isn’t about helping the downtrodden; it’s about bagging no-bid paydays. The SBA’s 8(a) program is long overdue for reform.🧵 pic.twitter.com/G7X0hCQdYt
— Peter Schweizer (@peterschweizer) November 26, 2025
There was also a recent U.S. Treasury Department investigation into $9 billion in small-business contracting, amid alarming concerns from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and others about rampant fraud and abuse in preference-based programs. In other words, meritocracy will return under the Trump administration.
Everyone in the DC consulting world understands how the game works: set up a compliant 8(a) “small business,” win the no-bid award, and let the big consulting firms do all the work.
8(a) was DC’s best-kept secret – until journalist James O’Keefe blew the lid off the DEI program. O’Keefe went undercover and captured video of an individual linked to ATI Government Solutions bragging about keeping $65 million of a $100 million contract while subcontracting out the work.
💸 Pass-through abuse is just the beginning. A recent DOJ bust exposed the depth of blatant 8(a) fraud when a USAID officer bagged $1M+ in BRIBES while steering $500M+ in contracts to firms exploiting their “special status.” Shout out to @lukerosiak for his EXCELLENT reporting. pic.twitter.com/Op3xJONNqb
— Peter Schweizer (@peterschweizer) November 26, 2025
Several firms, including ATI, have since been suspended. Native American tribes whose names were used in pass-through schemes are also under increasing scrutiny.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said there is mounting evidence that minority contracts had become “a pass-through vehicle for rampant abuse and fraud,” especially after the Biden administration raised the target for contracts “set aside” for minorities from 5% to 15% of all contracting dollars.
“We’re committed to thoroughly reviewing every federal contract, contracting officer, and contractor — while working alongside federal law enforcement,” Loeffler said.
Such reports “have raised questions about widespread misconduct within the 8(a) Business Development Program, adding to years of credible concerns that the program designed to serve ‘socially and economically disadvantaged’ businesses has become a vehicle for institutionalized abuse at taxpayer expense,” the SBA wrote in its letter to the 4,300 “disadvantaged” firms.
Schweizer hinted at the 8(a) reforms needed:
⚖️ Here’s what needs to happen to end the 8(a) waste, fraud, and abuse once and for all:
1. Congress needs to investigate the program and subpoena ALL contractors suspected of fraud
2. Every agency that has 8(a) contracts needs to audit those contracts (start with the Pentagon!)… pic.twitter.com/OnbcfsrpKr
— Peter Schweizer (@peterschweizer) November 26, 2025
Last week…
🚨 BREAKING: Schweizer reveals the DEI fraud machine on @seanhannity radio – DC contracting program called “(8a).” Big report on @zerohedge and documented below ⬇️. Shout out to @SBA_Kelly for her leadership in helping bring this corrupt program to an end. https://t.co/mImdSA1IcH pic.twitter.com/CkgaBwcWxf
— Seamus Bruner (@seamusbruner) November 26, 2025
DEI mandates have proven to make the government more dysfunctional and more costly. It’s time to end the madness and “Make Meritocracy Great Again.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/05/2025 – 16:40
Los Whitecaps creen que pueden repetir el éxito ante Inter Miami en la final de la MLS
Por ANNE M. PETERSON
Vancouver ya superó al Inter Miami en una competencia importante este año, por lo que los Whitecaps sienten que pueden repetir la hazaña en la final de la MLS.
A finales de abril, los Whitecaps aplastaron a Lionel Messi y sus compañeros por 5-1 en el global en las semifinales de la Liga de Campeones de la CONCACAF. El partido de ida terminó con una victoria de 2-0 para Vancouver en el BC Place, seguida del triunfo por 3-1 en Florida.
“Sólo tenemos que confiar en nuestro juego”, expresó el centrocampista Ryan Gauld. “Ya hemos ido allí antes y también jugamos contra ellos aquí este año, y ofrecimos una gran actuación, obtuvimos dos muy buenos resultados. Así que hemos demostrado que podemos hacerlo cuando hay tanto en juego en una semifinal. Ahora, es la final. Así que tenemos que hacerlo de nuevo”.
En ese momento, Vancouver estaba enrachado y lideraba la liga con apenas una derrota en diez partidos. El delantero Brian White había conseguido seis de sus 16 goles.
Los Whitecaps terminaron segundos en el Oeste detrás de San Diego, el equipo al que vencieron 3-1 en las finales de Conferencia el fin de semana pasado para llegar al partido del sábado en Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Es la primera vez que Vancouver va por la Copa MLS. Gauld y sus compañeros ya conocen los desafíos que plantea un equipo con Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets y el uruguayo Luis Suárez en sus filas.
“Creo que la amenaza que representan es obvia con los individuos que tienen, que pueden hacer una jugada mágica de la nada”, añadió Gauld. “Son el tipo de jugadores que puedes neutralizar durante ocho, nueve minutos, y luego simplemente cobran vida. Así que se trata de mantenerse alerta y luego hacer nuestro trabajo durante los 90, 120 minutos, lo que sea”.
La temporada pasada, los Whitecaps terminaron octavos en la clasificación y derrotaron a Portland en el partido de comodines antes de caer ante LAFC en la primera ronda de los playoffs.
Vancouver se ha clasificado a la postemporada en tres de los últimos cinco años, pero no había avanzado más allá de la primera ronda. Desde que los Whitecaps se unieron a la liga en 2011, lo más lejos que han llegado son los cuartos de final, en 2015 y 2017.
Esta es la primera temporada de Vancouver con el entrenador danés Jesper Sørensen, quien ha mantenido al equipo concentrado en medio de la incertidumbre de una posible venta y la incorporación de una superestrella alemana.
Los propietarios de Vancouver anunciaron a finales del año pasado que el club estaba a la venta. Greg Kerfoot ha sido el dueño desde 2002, cuando formaba parte de la North American Soccer League. Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett y el exaastro de la NBA Steve Nash se unieron a Kerfoot en 2008 antes de que los Whitecaps se incorporaran a la MLS en 2011. Mallett sugirió en agosto que la estrategia del grupo podría haber cambiado para agregar un nuevo socio.
También está el asunto del estadio. El contrato de arrendamiento de los Whitecaps en BC Place expira a fin de año y no hay mucho movimiento para tener un estadio específico para fútbol. El Comisionado de la MLS, Don Garber, dijo durante su discurso anual sobre el estado de la liga que el equipo está buscando un contrato de arrendamiento más favorable o podría tener que tomar “decisiones difíciles”.
Los Whitecaps incorporaron también al ganador de la Copa del Mundo Thomas Müller este verano, después de 17 temporadas con el Bayern Múnich. Pero en lugar de eclipsar a sus compañeros, Müller ha asumido el papel de facilitador.
“No tenemos sólo un jugador, tenemos muchos chicos fuertes, muchas cualidades”, afirmó Müller después de la victoria sobre San Diego. “Tenemos que unirlo todo, y estamos creciendo, estamos aprendiendo. Soy muy feliz de ser parte de esto, de aportar mi experiencia al grupo”.
Sørensen dijo que nunca realmente esperó que los Whitecaps llegaran a jugar por la Copa MLS.
“Pero a medida que avanzaba la temporada, comienzas a ver que tienes la calidad para tal vez llegar lejos”, comentó. “Y ahora aquí estamos”.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
