Palestinian Authority says Israel killed two teens in West Bank
The Palestinian Authority said Thursday that Israeli soldiers had killed two 15-year-olds in the occupied West Bank, while Israel called them “terrorists” attempting to carry out an attack.Settler violence has surged in recent weeks across the West Bank, drawing international condemnation and even rare criticism from within the Israeli military and government.”A short while ago, IDF soldiers who were operating adjacent to the community of Karmei Zur, eliminated two terrorists who were on their way to carry out a terror attack,” the military said in a statement, without providing details.Palestinian authorities also did not provide any details.The deaths came as Israel said it had received the body of one of the last four hostages held in Gaza from the Red Cross on Thursday as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas.It later said forensics experts had confirmed the body was that of Meny Godard, killed at age 73 the day of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.Meanwhile, the Ramallah-based Palestinian foreign ministry said Israeli settlers set ablaze the Hajja Hamida mosque near the town of Deir Istiya in the north.”This blatantly violates the sanctity of places of worship and reflects the deep-rooted racism driving settlers under the protection of the occupying government,” the ministry said.AFP photographs from the scene showed burned copies of the Koran and walls blackened by smoke, and graffiti on a wall of the mosque. The Israeli military said security forces were dispatched to the scene following “a report and footage… regarding suspects who set fire to a mosque and sprayed graffiti”. In a statement, it said that no suspects were identified after a review of the incident, which was handed over to the Israeli police and security agency.”The IDF condemns any form of violence and will continue to operate to safeguard the security and order in the area,” it added.- ‘Red line’ -UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, with his spokesman saying that “such acts of violence and desecration of religious sites are unacceptable”.”Such incidents are part of an increasing pattern of extremist violence that is inflaming tensions and must stop immediately,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.Thursday’s arson attack came a day after the Israeli army chief pledged to halt settler violence.”We are aware of the recent violent incidents in which Israeli civilians attacked Palestinians and Israelis. I strongly condemn them,” Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a statement.”These acts contradict our values, cross a red line and divert the attention of our troops from their mission,” he said.Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, where more than 500,000 Israelis now live in settlements.A minority of these Israelis engage in violence against Palestinians, who complain that Israeli forces usually do not arrest settlers.All settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.Earlier this month, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that October 2025 was the worst month for settler violence since it began recording in 2006, with at least 264 attacks that caused casualties or property damage.Almost none of the perpetrators have been held to account by the Israeli authorities.Violence has surged across the West Bank since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.At least 1,003 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the Palestinian health ministry.During the same period, 43 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank, according to official Israeli figures.
Mondial-2026: l’Italie vient à bout de la Moldavie et fait patienter la Norvège
L’Italie est maintenant fixée: après sa laborieuse victoire contre la Moldavie (2-0) jeudi, il lui faudra battre la Norvège dimanche par au moins… 9 buts d’écart pour décrocher sa qualification directe pour le Mondial-2026.Depuis qu’il a pris ses fonctions de sélectionneur de la Nazionale en remplacement de Luciano Spalletti, Gennaro Gattuso savait que terminer à la première place du groupe I, après le camouflet d’Oslo (défaite 3-0) début juin, serait difficile.Cette mission est désormais quasiment impossible. L’Italie, déjà assuré depuis la fenêtre d’octobre de terminer au pire 2e, a pourtant remporté ses six derniers matches, mais sa différence de buts avec le leader norvégien, son prochain adversaire, est rédhibitoire, même si les Azzuri devaient battre Erling Haaland et ses coéquipiers dimanche à San Siro.Après sa victoire face à l’Estonie, grâce à des doublés de Haaland et d’Alexander Sorloth, la Norvège totalise 21 points, soit trois de plus que l’Italie.Même en cas de victoire pour revenir à égalité de points, la Nazionale, avec sa différence de buts de +12, contre +29 à la Norvège, devra probablement se contenter de la deuxième place, et donc disputer fin mars des barrages, qui lui ont été fatals pour les deux dernières Coupes du monde (2018, 2022).Gattuso ne se faisait de toutes façons guère d’illusions. C’est aussi pour cela qu’il a fait tourner son effectif en laissant son gardien titulaire Gianluigi Donnarumma sur le banc et en remaniant son attaque portée pour ce match par le revenant Gianluigi Scamacca et par Riccardo Orsolini.Dans cette configuration expérimentale, l’Italie a sans surprise manqué de repères et mis du temps à trouver la bonne carburation.Il a fallu attendre la 88e minute pour que Gianluca Mancini libère la dizaine de tifosi venus à Chisinau et écoeure les Norvégiens, virtuellement qualifiés jusque là pour leur première Coupe du monde depuis 1998.Le grand espoir italien Francesco Pio Esposito a ajouté un second but dans le temps additionnel (90e+2).”Les matches faciles n’existent plus, si vous vous attendiez qu’on remporte ce match 11-1 comme la Norvège l’avait fait, vous vous êtes trompés. Je suis très satisfait de mon équipe”, a déclaré Gattuso, agacé.”On a fait ce qu’on devait faire, on a donné du temps de jeu à des joueurs qui ne jouent pas beaucoup et on va de l’avant”, a insisté “Rino”, qui a enchaîné cinq victoires en autant de matches depuis sa nomination.
Blue Origin launches NASA Mars mission and sticks booster landing
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket on Thursday with NASA twin spacecraft destined for Mars aboard, and in a breakthrough stuck the landing of its booster.The launch was stalled for days over weather both on Earth and in space, but it was worth the wait: in the rocket’s second-ever flight, Blue Origin managed to recover the booster for reuse.Ecstatic cheers rang out at the launch site in Florida’s Cape Canaveral as the booster gracefully nailed its landing on a floating platform. Prior to Thursday, only Elon Musk’s SpaceX had managed to accomplish such a maneuver with an orbital-class rocket.Blue Origin’s accomplishment comes amid intensified rivalry between the two billionaire-owned private space companies, as the US space agency NASA recently opened up bids for its planned Moon mission.”Damn that was exciting!” said Jared Isaacman — a Musk ally who President Donald Trump recently nominated again to head NASA — on X, congratulating Blue Origin.A handful of figures at SpaceX also had praise for their rivals, with their VP of Launch, Kiko Dontchev, saying the feat “moves the country and industry forward.”The launch was repeatedly delayed: on Sunday over weather on Earth, and on Wednesday over weather in space.The second postponement was over “highly elevated solar activity” that NASA was worried could impact or damage its spacecraft.And multiple glitches meant delays yet again on Thursday — hold-ups Blue Origin did not explain. But at 3:55 pm (2055 GMT), New Glenn finally blasted off.The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket now has the task of sending NASA’s ESCAPADE twin spacecraft to Mars, in a bid to study the Red Planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.Applause resounded once more as the spacecraft successfully deployed.Joseph Westlake, a NASA heliophysicist, explained during Thursday’s webcast how the twin spacecraft named “Blue” and “Gold” will first finding a “benign, safe parking orbit” to make “measurements about the space weather here on Earth.”Then, once the planets have reached the ideal alignment in the fall of 2026, the spacecraft will get a boost from Earth’s gravity and begin the journey to Mars, where they will arrive in 2027.This type of launch could allow for more frequent missions in the future, because they could proceed outside the window of direct alignment of Earth and Mars that happens approximately once every two years.- ‘Launch, land, repeat’ -New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January also was marked a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, was lost during descent.Thursday’s achievement signals that Blue Origin is on its way to reducing costs by reusing boosters rather than allowing them to plummet into the ocean.”Launch, land, repeat — it starts today,” said Eddie Seyffert, among Blue Origin’s webcast commentators.And it comes as US President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with China.George Nield — a senior aerospace executive whose work promotes the commercial space industry, and who has flown with Blue Origin in the past — told AFP this launch would be an “indicator” of the company’s progress.It could show “whether they can play increased roles in near-term lunar exploration,” he said.
Colombia scraps threat to end intel sharing with US
Colombia’s leftist president backtracked on a threat to cut decades-old intelligence ties with the United States Thursday, a move the country’s ex-spy chiefs had dubbed “unthinkable” and “absurd.” Gustavo Petro caused shock in Bogota and Washington by abruptly ordering his government to suspend communications and “dealings with US security agencies” at all levels Tuesday.His announcement deepened a bitter personal row with President Donald Trump over US strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. Several former US and Colombian security officials expressed shock and anger at Petro’s announcement, warning it could lead to instability at home and more cocaine being exported overseas. But on Thursday, Interior Minister Armando Benedetti — a close aide of Petro’s — said intelligence sharing would continue. He claimed there had been a “misinterpretation” of Petro’s comments.Petro then told new police officers that intelligence would be shared with the United States as long as “they commit to not using it in violation of human rights treaties.”Colombia’s security services said they were blindsided by Petro’s initial order, which was issued in the evening on social media. Petro is well known for his late-night social media posts containing typos, factual errors or announcing initiatives that never materialize. – ‘Makes no sense’ -“You know how the president is — he sends a message on X, but it’s not that easy,” one lieutenant currently serving in the armed forces told AFP. The move elicited fierce reactions from Colombian ex-military and intelligence bosses.The decision was “absurd” and “makes no sense,” according to one former head of police, who spoke on condition of anonymity.He expressed fury that Petro’s decision could aid drug trafficking groups and cause the amount of cocaine exported from Colombia to “overflow.” “How much mourning? How many widows? How many orphans? How much pain do we carry — personally, institutionally, and patriotically — because of drug trafficking?” Forged from a decades-long war against insurgents and cartels, Colombia’s military and intelligence services are seen as highly capable. They also have close ties with US agencies, from whom they have received hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. One former US intelligence official said information gleaned by Colombian officers was often vital in supporting American eavesdropping and satellite intelligence.Petro’s announcement followed a months-long personal spat between him and Trump, who, without providing evidence, accused Petro of being involved in drug trafficking.The United States has since hit the Colombian leader and his family with financial sanctions. Petro, for his part, has gone out of his way to criticize Trump’s bombings in the Caribbean and Pacific that have sunk 20 boats and killed at least 76 people. The Trump administration is close to the right-wing opposition in Colombia, which has high hopes of winning legislative and presidential elections next year.
Stocks slide despite end of US government shutdown
Global stocks slid back sharply on Thursday, dashing hopes that US President Donald Trump’s signing of a spending bill to end a record government shutdown might enliven trading floors.Investors had sought a boost after lawmakers in Washington voted to end the 43-day stoppage that closed key services and suspended the release of data crucial to gauging the state of the world’s top economy.But the main exchanges in Europe and on Wall Street were down across the board, following modest gains in Asia.”While it’s unclear whether the shutdown was ever a real drag on equities — given that stocks largely rallied through it — the question now is whether the market’s recent exuberance has run its course,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at StoneX.London was pegged back after data showed the UK economy slowed in the third quarter, dealing another blow to the Labour government ahead of its annual budget this month.- ‘Overstretched’ tech -Investors are bracing for long-awaited economic reports as well that have been held up by the closure of vital services in the United States.This comes particularly as the Federal Reserve assesses whether to cut interest rates further next month.However, US National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said figures on jobs for October would likely be incomplete as statistics agencies had been unable to collect the necessary data.Concerns also mounted that this year’s AI-led market rally may have pushed valuations too high and led to a bubble in the tech sector that could burst at any time.”Big Tech valuations and big spending will remain front of mind for investors until Microsoft, for example, can say that AI-boosted software sales have exploded — and that’s not yet the case,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote bank.Razaqzada said technology shares look “increasingly overvalued and overstretched” but he added it was “far too early to call a top in this cycle” as investors were still enthusiastic about artificial intelligence.Oil prices advanced after plunging around four percent on Wednesday following OPEC’s monthly crude market report, which forecast an oversupply in the third quarter.Easing tensions in the Middle East and increased output by OPEC and other key producers have put the commodity’s price under pressure.- Key figures at around 2135 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 1.7 percent at 47,457.22 points (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.7 percent at 6,737.49 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 2.3 percent at 22,870.36 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.0 percent at 9,807.68 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,232.49 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.4 percent at 24,042.91 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 51,281.83 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 27,073.03 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 4,029.50 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.53 yen from 154.80 yen on WednesdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1634 from $1.1587 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3189 from $1.3129Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.21 pence from 88.25 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $63.01 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $58.69 per barrel
Mondial-2026: les Bleus et Mbappé écrasent l’Ukraine et obtiennent leur visa pour l’Amérique
Les Bleus verront l’Amérique. Portée par sa superstar Kylian Mbappé, auteur d’un doublé et héros du match, l’équipe de France a réussi sa mission et a brillamment décroché son billet pour le Mondial-2026 en écrasant l’Ukraine (4-0), jeudi au Parc des Princes.Les joueurs de Didier Deschamps avaient besoin d’un succès pour assurer leur présence à la Coupe du monde, organisée aux Etats-Unis, au Mexique et au Canada et ils ont parfaitement rempli leur contrat à une journée du terme de la campagne qualificative. Au cours d’une soirée au caractère décisif, il fallait forcément que la délivrance vienne des pieds d’un joueur majeur. Comme un symbole et alors que les Français s’enlisaient dans une domination stérile et sans saveur, c’est le capitaine Mbappé qui s’est une nouvelle fois mué en sauveur en transformant après la pause un penalty sifflé pour une faute de Taras Mykhavko sur Michael Olise (55e). Sa panenka, puis son but inscrit de près (83e), qui ont expédié les siens à la Coupe du monde, resteront forcément dans les annales. Le N.10 a ainsi été exact au rendez-vous, fortifiant encore peu plus son aura et se rapprochant, avec 55 buts en 94 sélections, du record d’Olivier Giroud (57). Michael Olise, auteur de sa 4e réalisation en 13 apparitions sous le maillot bleu (76e), et Hugo Ekitike, qui a ouvert son compteur sur le plan international (88e), ont aussi participé à la fête. Le déplacement en Azerbaïdjan, dimanche, sera donc sans enjeu et permettra sans doute au sélectionneur de donner du temps de jeu aux remplaçants. Le technicien de 57 ans peut déjà commencer à se projeter vers sa 7e et dernière phase finale et savourer son sans-faute, lui qui n’aura manqué aucun tournoi depuis sa nomination en 2012. Avant de passer la main, probablement à l’icône Zinédine Zidane, grandissime favori pour lui succéder, Deschamps tentera de perpétuer sa légende en ramenant une troisième étoile pour le football tricolore. Il sera auparavant attentif au tirage au sort, prévu le 5 décembre à Washington, qui déterminera les adversaires de la France au 1er tour. – La jeunesse triomphante -La quête du précieux sésame pour le prochain Mondial aura été finalement assez aisée dans une poule largement à la portée de Kylian Mbappé et de sa bande. Même confrontée à une litanie de blessures à chaque rassemblement, la France n’a pas réellement eu à forcer son talent pour s’extraire d’un groupe D sans véritable adversaire à sa taille (Ukraine, Islande, Azerbaïdjan). Avec un effectif sans cesse remodelé, surtout en attaque, elle a été par moments poussive et jamais vraiment flamboyante mais l’essentiel est sauf. Le match face aux Ukrainiens a pour une fois dérogé à la règle. On attendait des Tricolores qu’ils emballent la rencontre, la venue de l’Ukraine ayant réveillé le souvenir du barrage retour du 19 novembre 2013 pour l’accession à la Coupe du monde 2014, un match fondateur pour le sélectionneur (3-0). Si avant le penalty de Mbappé, ses joueurs n’avaient été que très rarement à la hauteur de l’évènement, ne parvenant pas à faire vibrer le Parc des Princes, l’ouverture du score du capitaine a ouvert en grand les vannes de l’attaque et les éléments offensifs s’en sont donnés à coeur joie après la pause. En l’absence de trois joueurs de poids en attaque (le Ballon d’Or Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Marcus Thuram), Deschamps avait confié l’animation du jeu à Rayan Cherki dans un 4-2-3-1 devenu depuis le début de l’année le schéma préférentiel des Bleus.L’apport de l’ex-Lyonnais, qui effectue des débuts très prometteurs à Manchester City et fêtait seulement sa 3e sélection à 22 ans, a été globalement assez pauvre, loin de son entrée fracassante parmi les internationaux en demi-finales de la Ligue des nations contre l’Espagne en juin dernier (défaite 5-4 avec un but et une passe décisive). Mais qu’importe pour Deschamps qui a pu compter sur un Bradley Barcola en jambes, un Ekitike très mordant après son entrée et un Olise toujours aussi précieux, une jeunesse parfaitement emmenée par un grand Mbappé. Autant d’atouts dans la besace du sélectionneur en vue de la Coupe du monde. Vivement 2026.