Category: News
Azerbaiyán acusa a Irán de un ataque con drones en su territorio y afirma que dos civiles resultaron heridos
DUBÁI, Emiratos Árabes Unidos (AP) — Azerbaiyán acusa a Irán de un ataque con drones en su territorio y afirma que dos civiles resultaron heridos.
How Likely Is It That Pakistan Joins The Third Gulf War In Support Of Its Saudi Ally?
How Likely Is It That Pakistan Joins The Third Gulf War In Support Of Its Saudi Ally?
Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,
Pakistan could set into motion a sequence of events that restores its role as the US’ top regional ally, returns US troops to Afghanistan’s Bagram Airbase if they later team up against the Taliban, and therefore build a new regional order at the geostrategic crossroads of South and Central Asia.
Saudi Arabia has been attacked multiple times by Iran on the pretext that the US military infrastructure on its territory has been used to some extent in the US campaign against Iran, which led to what can be described as the Third Gulf War, in spite of the Saudi-Pakistani Mutual Defense Pact from last September. Iran clearly wasn’t deterred, but Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar still reminded Iran about it in what seems to either be another attempt to deter an escalation or intimate impending involvement in the war.
In his words, “We have a defence pact with Saudi Arabia. I conveyed to the Iranian side about our defence pact, to which he asked me to ensure that KSA’s land was not used. Then I had shuttle communication, as a result of which, as you can compare, the least attacks from Iran are to Saudi Arabia and Oman.” Objectively speaking, it reflects poorly on Pakistan that Iran ignored Dar’s reminder and still attacked Saudi Arabia, hence why he coped that “the least attacks from Iran are to Saudi Arabia”.
Mutual defense pacts are supposed to deter attacks, not simply reduce the number and intensity thereof, which in any case didn’t even happen like Dar claimed since Iran continues to attack Saudi Arabia with gusto. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are now thrown into the dilemma of either activating their mutual defense pact to significantly escalate the conflict through their joint involvement therein, likely coordinated with their shared US ally if that happens, or tacitly admit that it’s militarily impotent.
The crushing reputational costs of failing to activate their previously hyped-up mutual defense pact place additional pressure upon their policymakers to do so, even if the decision is delayed till after the US and Israel destroy more of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers to reduce the risks to them. Saudi Arabia hosts US bases and its economy is extremely vulnerable to large-scale disruptions from low-cost drone strikes alone, while Pakistan is a “Major Non-NATO Ally” with very close ties to Trump 2.0.
The aforesaid factors greatly raise the chances of them activating their mutual defense pact. In that case, Saudi Arabia might also lead some of the smaller Gulf Kingdoms that have also been attacked by Iran into battle against it as part of an even larger US-coordinated escalation, which could occur in parallel with Pakistani strikes and/or even limited ground ops on the anti-terrorist pretext of targeting Baloch separatists. Pakistan has three reasons to do this apart from the earlier-mentioned reputational one.
In brief, it wants to restore its role as the US’ top regional partner after India replaced it following the Indo-US trade deal, to which end doing the US a favor in Iran could also be the cover for destroying rival India’s port in Chabahar while improving the odds of them teaming up against the Taliban. Pakistan is actively destroying their leftover US stockpiles, which could facilitate Trump’s desired return of US troops to Bagram Airbase, thus possibly replacing Indian influence in Afghanistan with American and Pakistani.
Therefore, by activating its mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia after Iran’s attacks against its ally, Pakistan can set into motion a sequence of events for building a new regional order with the US at the geostrategic crossroads of South and Central Asia. This outcome could also see them aid their shared Turkish ally’s challenge to Russia in the latter region along its vulnerable southern periphery. These calculations are compelling enough that Pakistan’s involvement in the Third Gulf War can’t be ruled out.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 03/05/2026 – 03:30
China Is Scrambling
China Is Scrambling
Authored by Zineb Riboua via Beyond the Ideological,
The men in Zhongnanhai do not rattle easily. Decades of patient statecraft, a foreign policy built on studied ambiguity, and an economy engineered to absorb external shocks have granted Beijing’s leadership a remarkable tolerance for turbulence. Operation Epic Fury, the American-Israeli air campaign now dismantling Iran’s military architecture, has produced something unusual in the corridors of Chinese power: visible confusion.
Xi Jinping is scrambling. The word is not used lightly. For a leader who has built his image on strategic composure and long-horizon thinking, the current moment is acutely dangerous. Not because China faces a direct military threat, but because every available response to the crisis in the Persian Gulf leads Beijing into a trap of its own contradictions.
Three Reasons Operation Epic Fury Is Catastrophic for Xi
First, the Iranian counterweight is gone. In 2021, Xi told senior Party officials that “the East is rising and the West is declining,” that America was “the biggest source of chaos in the present-day world,” and that China was entering a period of strategic opportunity. Iran was central to that thesis. Beijing needed a defiant Tehran to keep Washington pinned down in the Gulf, to sustain a sanctions-proof energy corridor, and above all, to stand as living evidence that American power had hard limits. The entire architecture of CCP’s dogma of inevitability, which rested on Iran’s ability to endure, and Epic Fury removed the foundation in a single afternoon.
Khamenei was the man who made the thesis feel real. Beijing’s relationship with the Islamic Republic was never really ideological, but Khamenei’s survival was the single most useful fact in Chinese foreign policy. Here was a man Washington had threatened, sanctioned, plotted against, and encircled for over four decades, and he was still giving Friday sermons. Xi personally signed the comprehensive strategic partnership with Khamenei’s government. He personally authorized the weapons transfers. And he personally wielded the Security Council veto. None of it kept Khamenei alive for one additional hour once Washington decided he was finished.
Second, Xi’s own story is collapsing from the inside. The story he told 1.4 billion people, that America is a declining power incapable of decisive force projection, does not match what happened in seventy-two hours over Tehran. State media can suppress the footage and the censors can scrub Weibo, but the ones who matter most, the military planners, the foreign policy professionals, the provincial officials who read between the lines for a living, know what they saw. And if the story is wrong about Iran, the unavoidable next question is whether it was ever right about anything else.
Third, the energy math turns against Beijing. China bought 1.38 million barrels per day of Iranian oil last year and takes over 80% of everything Iran ships. Half of China’s total oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. With Ayatollah Khamenei now dead and Iran’s military leadership weakened, the Gulf’s strategic balance shifts decisively toward Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose energy ties with the United States are strengthening. China’s old selling point was very simple and transactional: we buy your oil and never mention human rights. That pitch loses its utility when Gulf producers already feel protected by an American security guarantee that just proved, on live television, that it works.
The Messaging Trap
Xi’s communications problem may be worse than his strategic one, because there is no good answer. If Beijing endorses the strikes, it loses the “Global South.” If Beijing condemns the strikes, it attaches Chinese prestige to a dead man’s regime, and risks provoking a Trump administration that has just demonstrated, through the act itself, that it does not bluff.
So Beijing chose the remaining option: hide behind the United Nations. Mao Ning called the killing “a grave violation of sovereignty.” The language sounds forceful, but the Belt and Road countries are watching, and what they see so far is a confused superpower reading from a script while American carriers do the actual deciding.
Every Iranian Move Is a Chinese Loss
The truly vicious part of Beijing’s situation is that Iran’s entire playbook for retaliation was designed to punish Washington, but the geography and economics of each weapon mean the damage lands on China instead. Iranian missiles aimed at Gulf states threaten the very oil infrastructure and port facilities that Chinese companies have spent billions investing in across the region.
The Strait of Hormuz is worse. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced within hours that no ship would pass through the channel, a threat designed as leverage against the West, except that the United States has a shale industry and a crisis-proof strategic petroleum reserve. In fact, according to Kayrros, as of March 31, 2025, China had only filled 56% percent of its above-ground strategic and commercial storage facilities.
Which means that nearly 45% of China’s own oil imports now sit/would sit hostage to a blockade that was never meant to hurt Beijing. The Houthis have resumed attacks on Red Sea shipping, every flare-up in Iraq threatens oil concessions that Chinese companies spent billions building, and the sum of Iran’s resistance amounts to a systematic disruption of Chinese commercial interests across every waterway and energy corridor Beijing depends on, executed in Khamenei’s name, with no regard for who actually pays the price.
Counting Moves
The clearest sign of Beijing’s disorientation is the absence of action: no emergency summits, no diplomatic maneuvers, no military repositioning, even as a Chinese citizen was killed in crossfire in Tehran and over 300 nationals were evacuated. The sum total of Beijing’s response to the largest American military operation in a generation remains a press conference.
Xi bet a decade of foreign policy on Khamenei’s ability to withstand American pressure, and the bet did not pay off. Operation Epic Fury was designed to break the Islamic Republic, but it may also have exposed the uncomfortable truth that Chinese influence in the Middle East was only as durable as the assumption that no one would ever call it into question, and in Zhongnanhai, they know it.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 03/05/2026 – 02:45
Televisora estatal de Irán difunde mensaje de un ayatolá que pide “derramar” la sangre de los israelíes y de Trump
DUBÁI, Emiratos Árabes Unidos (AP) — Televisora estatal de Irán difunde mensaje de un ayatolá que pide “derramar” la sangre de los israelíes y de Trump.
En el 50mo aniversario de los Paralímpicos de Invierno se espera dominio chino
Por TALES AZZONI
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italia (AP) — Los Juegos Paralímpicos de Invierno llegan a Milán Cortina para celebrar su 50º aniversario, en momentos en que China busca ampliar su dominio como potencia en estas justas, mientras que Ucrania y otras naciones boicotean la ceremonia inaugural por el regreso de la bandera y el himno rusos.
Los Juegos comenzarán oficialmente el viernes en medio de las tensiones de la guerra en Oriente Medio, que generaron dificultades de viaje para algunas de las naciones que llegan a Italia debido a interrupciones generalizadas de vuelos. Irán tenía previsto contar con un esquiador en Milán Cortina.
El curling en silla de ruedas inauguró el programa de competencias desde el miércoles y el deporte se vio rápidamente sacudido por otro escándalo, después de que dos piedras fueron robadas de la sede de stos duelos. Durante los Juegos Olímpicos, el equipo canadiense fue acusado de hacer trampa.
Los Juegos Paralímpicos regresan a Italia 20 años después de Turín 2006. Será la 14ª edición de los Juegos Paralímpicos de Invierno desde la primera en Ornskoldsvik, Suecia, en 1976.
En aquel entonces compitieron casi 200 atletas en dos deportes. Unos 660 deportistas participarán en las seis disciplinas en Italia desde el viernes hasta el 15 de marzo.
Estados Unidos envía a Italia una delegación de 72 integrantes, en comparación con el grupo de 67 que llevó a Beijing 2022. La delegación de este año incluye a Oksana Masters, la paralímpica estadounidense de invierno más laureada, y a la esquiadora alpina de 16 años Meg Gustafson.
Regresa la bandera rusa
Los atletas rusos competirán bajo su propia bandera en los Juegos Paralímpicos por primera vez en más de una década, y el himno nacional del país podría sonar para los medallistas de oro, algo que no ocurre en el escenario de un gran evento deportivo mundial desde la invasión a Ucrania en 2022.
La bandera rusa no ondea en los Paralímpicos desde los Juegos de Invierno de 2014 en Sochi, mientras. El himno nacional no se escucha en unos Juegos Olímpicos o Paralímpicos desde Río de Janeiro 2016.
Podría ser la primera vez que el himno suene en el escenario de cualquier gran evento deportivo mundial en cuatro años.
Ucrania fue la primera en anunciar que planeaba boicotear la ceremonia de apertura por la decisión sobre Rusia, Otras siete naciones planeaban no asistir por razones políticas: República Checa, Estonia, Finlandia, Letonia, Polonia, Lituania y Holanda.
Algunas otras naciones no asistirán a la ceremonia de apertura para que sus atletas descansen antes de sus competencias, no como boicot.
Alemania criticó la decisión del Comité Paralímpico Internacional, de otorgar invitaciones a deportistas rusos y bielorrusos para participar en Milán Cortina.
“El Equipo Paralímpico Alemán no participará en el Desfile de las Naciones durante la ceremonia de apertura en Verona”, indicó esa delegación. “Esta decisión sirve tanto para concentrarnos en las próximas competencias como para expresar respetuosamente solidaridad con la delegación ucraniana”.
El Comité Paralímpico Internacional asignó plazas a atletas rusos y de Bielorrusia, estrecha aliada de Rusia, el 17 de febrero.
Los atletas rusos y bielorrusos habían estado compitiendo como deportistas neutrales individuales, sin su bandera, himno ni colores de equipo.
Inicialmente, los rusos fueron vetados por un programa de dopaje patrocinado por el Estado, y las sanciones se mantuvieron desde la invasión de Ucrania en 2022.
El ministro de Deportes de Ucrania, Matvii Bidnyi, había escrito en una publicación en redes sociales que el país “no participará en ningún otro evento paralímpico oficial”.
Según el Comité, la mayoría de los equipos ya estaba en Europa para entrenar. Otros reciben ayuda del organismo con los viajes en medio de la guerra en Oriente Medio.
Dominio chino
Los Juegos de Milán Cortina le darán a China la oportunidad de consolidarse como el país a vencer tanto en los Paralímpicos de Verano como en los de Invierno.
Los chinos han encabezado el medallero en los Paralímpicos de Verano en todas las ediciones desde 2004, y hace cuatro años ganaron los Juegos de Invierno por primera vez con una actuación récord que incluyó 18 oros, 20 platas y 23 bronces.
Más de 90 paratletas chinos compitieron por la delegación anfitriona en 2022, la mayor cifra registrada por cualquier nación.
Esta vez, China envía otra delegación numerosa a Italia. Tendrá 70 atletas, su mayor representación en el extranjero hasta la fecha dentro de estas justas.
Noruega es la nación más exitosa en los Juegos Paralímpicos de Invierno, por delante de Estados Unidos y Austria. China ocupa el 14º lugar en el medallero histórico, pero compitió en menos de la mitad de los Juegos en los que participaron Noruega, Estados Unidos y Austria desde los primeros Paralímpicos de Invierno en Ornskoldsvik.
El impulso de China para dominar los Paralímpicos de Invierno se fortaleció cuando fue elegida sede de los Juegos de Beijing, donde ganó 60 medallas más que su cosecha de una sola en PyeongChang 2018.
Después de los Juegos en casa, muchos fondos gubernamentales siguieron disponibles para programas paralímpicos y hubo cambios promovidos en varios frentes, incluidas nuevas leyes para personas con discapacidad a fin de fomentar su acceso al deporte.
“China desarrolló cientos de instructores y entrenadores de deporte adaptado con financiación gubernamental desde que comenzaron la inversión en deportes paralímpicos”, explicó NaRi Shin, profesora asistente de gestión deportiva en la Universidad de Michigan. “Capacitaron entrenadores para la participación masiva y han estado formando entrenadores para el deporte de élite”.
Shin, experta en desarrollo deportivo y en la forma en que los países de Asia Oriental han invertido en los Juegos Olímpicos y Paralímpicos, añadió: “Tienen juegos paratléticos nacionales y regionales dentro de las fronteras del país, pero también tuvieron los Juegos Olímpicos en 2008 y los Juegos de Invierno en 2022, así que han mantenido la serie de competencias para que estos atletas que entrenaron tengan la experiencia de competir a un nivel más alto”.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
501 Afghans Sue Germany Over Revoked Resettlement Promises, Demand Entry Into Europe
501 Afghans Sue Germany Over Revoked Resettlement Promises, Demand Entry Into Europe
Authored by Thomas Brooke via REMIX,
A total of 501 Afghan nationals are currently suing the German government after previously granted commitments to admit them into the country were withdrawn.
The cases are directed against Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which revoked earlier pledges by the previous federal government to allow the individuals to resettle in Germany. The total number of legal cases was revealed following a parliamentary inquiry by the Left Party.
Despite the growing number of legal challenges, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has stated that a change in policy is “not intended,” Welt reported.
Most of the plaintiffs are currently in Pakistan, where authorities have called on Afghan nationals without long-term status to leave the country immediately. Many of those affected had previously received assurances of admission under resettlement programs introduced following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
The legal action is being backed by left-wing NGOs as well as politicians from The Left. Clara Bünger, the party’s asylum spokesperson, described it as “shameful” that Afghans must sue to enforce what she said were firm pledges made by Berlin, and demanded that all original commitments be implemented without delay.
Their situation has deteriorated significantly in recent months. In July 2025, Pakistan began detaining Afghan nationals who had been earmarked for relocation to Germany but remained stuck in Islamabad after German authorities failed to complete their cases within the agreed timeframes. Around 2,500 Afghans were left in legal limbo as German background checks and visa procedures dragged on far beyond the three-month validity of Pakistani visas — often taking up to eight months.
A total of 501 Afghan nationals are currently suing the German government after previously granted commitments to admit them into the country were withdrawn.
The cases are directed against Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which revoked earlier pledges by the previous federal government to allow the individuals to resettle in Germany. The total number of legal cases was revealed following a parliamentary inquiry by the Left Party.
Despite the growing number of legal challenges, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has stated that a change in policy is “not intended,” Welt reported.
Most of the plaintiffs are currently in Pakistan, where authorities have called on Afghan nationals without long-term status to leave the country immediately. Many of those affected had previously received assurances of admission under resettlement programs introduced following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
The legal action is being backed by left-wing NGOs as well as politicians from The Left. Clara Bünger, the party’s asylum spokesperson, described it as “shameful” that Afghans must sue to enforce what she said were firm pledges made by Berlin, and demanded that all original commitments be implemented without delay.
Their situation has deteriorated significantly in recent months. In July 2025, Pakistan began detaining Afghan nationals who had been earmarked for relocation to Germany but remained stuck in Islamabad after German authorities failed to complete their cases within the agreed timeframes. Around 2,500 Afghans were left in legal limbo as German background checks and visa procedures dragged on far beyond the three-month validity of Pakistani visas — often taking up to eight months.
Islamabad had repeatedly warned Berlin that it could no longer tolerate the presence of thousands of Afghans with expired documents awaiting onward travel. With no resolution forthcoming, Pakistani authorities began arresting those whose status had lapsed and initiated deportation proceedings.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel praised Islamabad last year for doing what the German government wouldn’t. “Pakistan is deporting Afghans to their homeland, whom the conservative coalition government wanted to bring to Germany, thus thwarting these plans. A good thing! The German government must finally end the voluntary admission of Afghans,” she said.
The vetting procedures had already been exposed as deeply flawed. Last year, Bild reported that only one in eight Afghans who entered Germany through special protection programs had been fully vetted by security authorities beforehand. More than 31,000 Afghans, including family members, were said to have arrived without complete background checks.
Berlin has insisted that those flown in were primarily former local staff who had supported the German military during its deployment in Afghanistan. However, reports indicated that only a small proportion of passengers on recent charter flights were former employees of the Bundeswehr or their close relatives.
Security concerns were also raised by the German Police Union, which repeatedly called for Afghan relocation flights from Pakistan to be suspended, citing identity verification problems and potential risks. The union last year urged then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz to halt the program altogether.
In January of this year, it emerged that the federal government had attempted to reduce the backlog by offering financial compensation to Afghans willing to relinquish their resettlement pledges and drop litigation proceedings. According to a report cited by Die Zeit, around 700 individuals were contacted and offered several thousand euros to permanently withdraw from the admission schemes. By the end of the year, only 167 had accepted, while 357 rejected the proposal outright, leaving the majority still awaiting a decision on their future.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 03/05/2026 – 02:00
Apple apuesta a que furor por su película de F1 lleve espectadores a las carreras por streaming
Por JOE REEDY
Apple tuvo éxito el año pasado, cuando llevó la Fórmula 1 a la gran pantalla.
Espera que muchos de esos espectadores vean en sus televisores y dispositivos móviles el comienzo de la temporada este fin de semana, con el Gran Premio de Australia. La carrera marcará el debut de Apple TV como socio de transmisión de la F1 en Estados Unidos.
Apple alcanzó un acuerdo de cinco años con la serie mundial de automovilismo el otoño pasado, con un promedio de 150 millones de dólares por año. ESPN, que había transmitido las carreras de F1 desde 2018, pagó casi 90 millones de dólares durante una extensión de tres años firmada en 2022.
“Sin duda creemos que, durante los próximos cinco años, tenemos una gran oportunidad para que la Fórmula Uno y Apple TV hagan crecer el deporte de manera significativa”, confió Eddy Cue, vicepresidente sénior de servicios de Apple, durante una sesión informativa realizada la semana pasada. “En Estados Unidos, ha crecido bastante, pero al mismo tiempo sigue siendo relativamente pequeño en comparación con el tamaño de la base de aficionados.
“Íbamos a los cines cuando estábamos probando la película (de F1), y pedíamos a la gente que levantara la mano si alguna vez había visto una carrera, y muy pocas manos se levantaban. Pero después de ver la película, si les preguntas si quieren ir a una carrera o verla, básicamente todas las manos se levantan”.
“F1: The Movie” recaudó 189,6 millones de dólares en Estados Unidos y 633,3 millones en todo el mundo, lo que la convirtió en la película deportiva más taquillera de todos los tiempos. Recibió cuatro nominaciones al Oscar, que se entregará el 15 de marzo, incluida la de mejor película.
Ian Holmes, director de derechos de medios y transmisiones de Fórmula 1, señaló que el potencial que aporta Apple más allá de simplemente mostrar las carreras fue otro factor importante.
“Diría que probablemente somos el único deporte del mundo cuya audiencia se está volviendo más joven y con mayor proporción de mujeres, y eso no podría estar más representado que la actualidad en Estados Unidos”, comentó. “La manera en que Apple puede ofrecer su contenido es el enfoque más orientado al futuro que podríamos seguir.
“Sentimos que esto era increíble para ser relevantes y estar siempre disponibles para nuestra audiencia y para posibles nuevos aficionados”.
Apple mostrará las carreras en 4K Dolby Vision con sonido envolvente inmersivo 5.1. La opción está disponible para los suscriptores de Apple TV, con algunas carreras para quienes no son abonados.
Los espectadores pueden ver hasta cuatro señales en vivo a la vez durante las prácticas, la clasificación y las carreras mediante pantallas de vista múltiple. Además de las cámaras a bordo, habrá canales de cronometraje y puntuación.
Los espectadores también pueden elegir entre el equipo de comentaristas de F1 TV o el de Sky Sports. ESPN utilizó la señal de Sky Sports cuando transmitió las carreras.
Además de contenido en su aplicación de deportes, Apple ofrecerá diseños detallados de los circuitos en su programa de mapas, listas de reproducción de melodías seleccionadas por los pilotos en Apple Music, así como contenido en Apple News y pódcasts.
“Estamos entusiasmados con la relación que construimos con la Fórmula Uno, y nos acercamos mucho más y nos valoramos mutuamente, así como nuestras capacidades para innovar juntos, generar nuevas ideas”, afirmó Cue.
Apple TV también está mostrando la temporada más reciente de “Drive to Survive” como parte de una colaboración con Netflix. A la serie, en su octava temporada, también se le ha atribuido el aumento de la popularidad de la F1.
Netflix también llevará la señal de Apple TV del Gran Premio de Canadá para los espectadores de Estados Unidos del 22 al 24 de mayo.
La mayor pregunta es si los espectadores seguirán a la F1 hasta Apple TV. Eso no ocurrió de inmediato en 2023, cuando la MLS se mudó a Apple.
La F1 pasó de promediar 550.000 espectadores en su primer año en 2018 en ESPN a 1,3 millones la temporada pasada.
Apple no forma parte del sistema de medición de audiencia de Nielsen, y la empresa ha mantenido bajo estricta reserva las cifras de espectadores durante su relación con la MLS.
Además de una emocionante lucha por el título entre Lando Norris, Max Verstappen y Oscar Piastri, hay nuevas regulaciones para los autos, y Cadillac se suma a la parrilla.
“Creemos que hay una enorme oportunidad de crecimiento, y vamos a aprovechar todo lo que Apple tiene disponible”, aseveró Cue. “Creemos que hay una enorme oportunidad de hacer que el deporte crezca de manera significativa”.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Leonard anota 29 y Clippers vencen a Pacers 130-107 para su 3ra victoria seguida
INGLEWOOD, California, EE.UU. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard anotó 29 puntos, Bennedict Mathurin sumó 23 al atinar 8 de 11 tiros de campo, y los Clippers de Los Ángeles lograron su tercera victoria consecutiva al imponerse el miércoles 130-107 sobre los Pacers de Indiana.
Brook López aportó 17 puntos al triunfo de los Clippers, mientras que Darius Garland añadió 12 en su primer partido en casa desde que fue adquirido el mes pasado en un canje, procedente de los Cavaliers de Cleveland.
Pascal Siakam registró 29 puntos en su regreso tras perderse tres partidos por un esguince en la muñeca izquierda. Lideró así a los Pacers, quienes sin embargo sufrieron su séptima derrota seguida y cayeron al fondo de la clasificación de la Conferencia Este con marca de 15-47.
Jay Huff anotó 18 unidades y encestó 4 de 8 triples, en tanto que Jarace Walker terminó con 17 puntos.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
After missing two free throws, Stephen Dixon knew what he needed to do only seconds later. ‘Knock them down.’
Sophomore point guard Stephen Dixon didn’t let any doubt creep in for De La Salle.
After missing his two previous attempts only seconds earlier, Dixon returned to the free-throw line without any hesitation. The scenario was identical. He knew the result would be different.
“My mentality was just the next play up and knock them down,” Dixon said, nodding. “I missed the first two that could have settled the game. I knew the next two would do the same thing,
“I just stepped up and did what I needed to do.”
What Dixon needed to do was hit two free throws with 8.4 seconds lift for the host Meteors, icing a 59-55 win Wednesday night over King in a Class 3A De La Salle Sectional semifinal in Chicago.
Dixon finished with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals for the third-seeded Meteors (19-17), who play top-seeded Hyde Park (24-9) at 7 p.m. Friday for the sectional title.
De La Salle’s Stephen Dixon (5) smiles after making a basket against King during a Class 3A De La Salle Sectional semifinal game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
Senior guard Carlos Cueva made five 3-pointers in adding 17 points for De La Salle. Senior forward Remi Edwards chipped in with nine points, eight rebounds and a crucial late steal.
King (16-10) roared all the way back, cutting a 22-point deficit in the third quarter down to a single possession following the missed free throws. Senior forward Lucas Johnson stayed confident.
“I had faith in him,” said Johnson, who fouled out earlier in the third quarter, of Dixon. “He’s like a little brother to me. He always takes control. After I went out, I knew he was going to pick it up.
“He always has great energy and I can always count on him.”
De La Salle’s Stephen Dixon (5) looks for a passing option against King during a Class 3A De La Salle Sectional semifinal game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
Dixon scored seven points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer, and Cueva then hit straight straight 3-pointers in a 15-0 run during the second quarter that helped build a 31-18 halftime lead.
At the end, though, nobody was more on the edge of a seat quite like Dixon’s older sister, Kailey, a senior cheerleader at King. She also plays on the flag football team for the Jaguars.
During the game, Kailey sat with their mother, Carol, in the middle of the stands that bisected each student section. Her loyalty and interest was never in doubt.
“I knew who I was going for,” Kailey said. “I knew he was going to come back strong. My brother pushes himself to be the best person possible like going to the gym every morning to work out.
“I’m very proud of him.”
De La Salle’s Stephen Dixon (5) hits a jump shot over King’s Amir Brown (2) during a Class 3A De La Salle Sectional semifinal game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
Stephen Dixon spent eighth grade being homeschooled. His final two high school choices were between going to De La Salle or joining his sister at King.
“One of my cousins came here and played volleyball,” he said. “My uncles and my cousins were all basketball players. Coming in as a freshman last year was more of a learning experience.
“I took what I found out and brought it into this season.”
The season has been marked by tumult and change for the Meteors, with several prominent players transferring before the preseason even began. Sophomore guard Roosevelt Thomas also left for a prep school in the middle of the winter.
De La Salle’s Stephen Dixon (5) shoots a free throw against King during a Class 3A De La Salle Sectional semifinal game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
De La Salle, which finished seventh in the Catholic League Blue, had more regular-season losses than victories. But Dixon persevered through the volatile times.
“It’s all a process of learning the game and understanding the process,” he said. “The season is a marathon. You learn more from losses. We stayed together, executed and fixed our mistakes.”
Dixon, who recently developed a fascination with stock options, is looking to teach himself about investing. His own stock is also on the upswing.
Before the game, Kailey Dixon conducted a FaceTime interview between her brother and his opposite number at King, junior point guard Terrel Keys.
“She was holding her hands out and showing me how I should guard him and telling me to handle business,” Stephen said. “I think I did that.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/05/stephen-dixon-de-la-salle-basketball/
Canciller iraní dice que EEUU “lamentará amargamente” el precedente que sentó al hundir una fragata
Por JON GAMBRELL
DUBÁI, Emiratos Árabes Unidos (AP) — El ministro de Exteriores de Irán afirmó el jueves que Estados Unidos “llegará a lamentar amargamente el precedente que ha sentado” después de que un submarino estadounidense hundió una fragata iraní frente a la costa de Sri Lanka.
El comentario de Abbas Araghchi es la primera declaración oficial del gobierno iraní acerca del hundimiento del IRIS Dena en el océano Índico.
Araghchi hizo el comentario en la red social X y señaló que “Estados Unidos ha perpetrado una atrocidad en el mar, a 2.000 millas de las costas de Irán”.
“La fragata Dena, invitada de la Armada de India y que transportaba a casi 130 marineros, fue alcanzada en aguas internacionales sin previo aviso”, explicó en su mensaje. “Recuerden mis palabras: Estados Unidos llegará a lamentar amargamente el precedente que ha sentado”.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
