Ligue 1 : Vainqueur à Saint-Étienne, Nice met la pression sur l’OM
Porté par la forme offensive de Jonathan Clauss, Nice a remporté à Saint-Étienne (3-1) sa quatrième victoire consécutive en Ligue 1 et rejoint provisoirement Marseille à la deuxième place au terme d’un match animé de la 24e journée samedi. Dans ce mano a mano méditerranéen pour la place de dauphin du Paris SG, les Marseillais reçoivent Nantes dimanche (20H45) en clôture de la journée.  Saint-Étienne, qui n’a plus gagné depuis huit journées et une victoire contre Reims le 4 janvier (3-1), se retrouve relégable après le succès du Havre à Lens (3-4). Les deux prochains matches des Stéphanois, au Havre et chez la lanterne rouge, Montpellier, pèseront très lourd dans la course au maintien que semblent condamnées à livrer les trois équipes. Samedi, les Verts sont tombés sur un adversaire tout simplement plus fort, qui les avait écrasés 8-0 à l’aller. Pourtant, après la rapide ouverture du score niçoise d’une tête de Pablo Rosario reprenant un tir de Jonathan Clauss repoussé par le gardien Gautier Larsonneur (10), l’égalisation stéphanoise par le Belge Lucas Stassin au terme d’un joli mouvement collectif, est apparue méritée (32). Saint-Étienne avait globalement maîtrisé la première période. Mais en seconde période, Nice, dominateur, a justifié ses prétentions au podium. Buteur à Montpellier la semaine dernière (2-0), Clauss a de nouveau été déterminant, son centre tendu de la droite poussant Mickaël Nadé à marquer contre son camp (52, 2-1). Puis les Niçois ont porté le score à 3-1 par Evann Guessand qui a repris, en première intention, une passe de Mohamed-Ali Cho servi par… Clauss (69). Clauss déterminantDans un très bon jour, le latéral a été au coeur des offensives niçoises les plus tranchantes: dès la 7e minute, Larsonneur avait dû s’interposer sur une tête de Baptiste Santamaria à la réception de son coup franc. Et c’est encore Clauss, à la réception d’un centre de Melvin Bard, qui a forcé le portier stéphanois à s’employer (24). De quoi se faire pardonner une approximation de placement sur l’égalisation des Stéphanois.En face, ceux-ci n’ont pas manqué de volonté et de combativité. Mais leurs carences techniques les laissent à la merci d’une défaillance individuelle à l’image du but contre son camp de Nadé. Après avoir laissé beaucoup d’énergie, l’ASSE ne s’est créée que de rares occasions: une tentative de Stassin arrêtée par Marcin Bulka (48), une autre d’Augustine Boakye qui a manqué le cadre de justesse (86).Â
Coupe d’Angleterre: Manchester City renverse Plymouth et file en quarts
Manchester City s’est qualifié pour les quarts de finale de la Coupe d’Angleterre en renversant Plymouth Argyle, club avant-dernier de D2 tombeur de Liverpool au tour précédent, samedi à domicile (3-1).Les hommes de Pep Guardiola ont été surpris par Plymouth, sur une tête de Maksym Talovierov (38e). L’entraîneur catalan avait décidé de laisser quelques cadres sur le banc et de donner du temps de jeu à certains jeunes, un choix payant.L’un d’eux, Nico O’Reilly, a d’abord égalisé, juste avant le retour aux vestiaires, sur une tête que le gardien a touché, en vain (45e+1), avant de donner l’avantage à Manchester City, encore de la tête (76e). Le troisième but a été inscrit par Kevin De Bruyne, qui a conclu dans le but vide (90e).Plus tôt dans la journée, Crystal Palace a battu 3-1 Millwall (D2) dans un match marqué par le terrible choc entre Jean-Philippe Mateta, blessé à la tête et sorti sur une civière sous assistance respiratoire, et le gardien de Millwall, exclu pour son geste.Bournemouth a pris l’avantage sur Wolverhampton au bout des tirs au but (1-1, 5-4 aux tirs au but) et Preston North End, 15e de D2, rejoint les quarts pour la première fois depuis 1966 grâce à sa victoire contre Burnley (3-0).Vendredi 28 février(+) Aston Villa – Cardiff City 2 – 0Samedi 1er mars(+) Crystal Palace – Millwall 3 – 1(+) Preston NE – Burnley 3 – 0(+) Bournemouth – Wolverhampton 1 – 1 t.a.b. (5-4)(+) Manchester City – Plymouth Argyle 3 – 1Dimanche 2 mars Newcastle – BrightonManchester United – FulhamLundi 3 mars Nottingham Forest – Ipswich Town
Allemagne: Dominateur à Francfort, Leverkusen prêt pour le choc contre le Bayern en C1
Grâce à un grand Granit Xhaka, le Bayer Leverkusen s’est facilité la tâche en sept minutes à Francfort, pour dominer l’Eintracht (4-1) en championnat samedi, et préparer au mieux son duel contre le Bayern Munich en Ligue des Champions. Au soir de la 24e journée et à dix matches de la fin, le Bayer compte 53 points, soit huit de moins que le Bayern Munich, vainqueur vendredi soir sur le terrain du VFB Stuttgart (1-3). L’espoir de rejoindre les Bavarois au championnat et de conserver son titre est donc infime pour Leverkusen.  Mais l’équipe de Xabi Alonso a fait le plein de confiance dans l’optique du déplacement en Bavière mercredi, en huitième de finale aller de Ligue des champions. Le “Meister” (champion en titre) et le “Rekordmeister” (détenteur du record de titres) munichois ont en effet rendez-vous pour la suprématie allemande sur la scène européenne.Car en championnat, les jeux ne sont pas loin d’être faits:  l’opération reconquête du titre national entamée par les joueurs de Vincent Kompany est en bonne voie. Leverkusen a laissé passer il y a deux semaines une occasion de relancer le suspense en ne faisant que match nul (0-0) à domicile contre le Bayern, malgré une très large domination pendant 90 minutes.Samedi au Waldstadion de Francfort, Granit Xhaka a été étincelant en première période dans le rôle de distributeur dans le dos de la défense de l’Eintracht. L’international suisse a trouvé Nathan Tella pour l’ouverture du score (26e).- Invaincu à l’extérieur depuis mai 2023 -C’est encore Xhaka qui a idéalement servi Alejandro Grimaldo sept minutes plus tard pour le 3e but du Werkself, l’Espagnol trouvant en retrait Patrik Schick qui a devancé son défenseur pour son 16e but en Bundesliga (34).Entretemps, Nordi Mukiele avait doublé la mise pour son équipe (30), sur un corner tiré par Xhaka et mal renvoyé par la défense de Francfort.Le 13ème but en Bundesliga d’Hugo Ekitiké (37) a relancé Francfort et montré les petites fragilités défensives de Leverkusen, qui n’a plus perdu à l’extérieur en Bundesliga depuis le 27 mai 2023 (21 victoires, huit nuls).L’Eintracht conserve sa 3e place, mais voit Mayence, vainqueur sur la pelouse du RB Leipzig, se rapprocher à un point (41 contre 42), dans une lutte pour la qualification en Ligue des champions très indécise: sept points seulement séparent le 3e du 10ème, le Borussia Dortmund.En difficulté sur la scène nationale, le Borussia a enchaîné sur la pelouse de Sankt Pauli un deuxième succès consécutif inédit cette saison en championnat (2-0), avant de recevoir Lille en Ligue des champions mardi.Les deux buts du BVB ont été inscrits par Serhou Guirassy (14e but en championnat) et Karim Adeyemi.
PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey after 40 years of armed struggle
Outlawed Kurdish militants on Saturday declared a ceasefire with Turkey following a landmark call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan asking the group to disband and end more than four decades of armed struggle. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed the peace process initiated by a close nationalist ally, warned Turkey would pursue anti-PKK fight unless the group kept their pledge to disband.”In order to pave the way for the implementation of (Ocalan’s) call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today,” the PKK executive committee said, quoted by the pro-PKK ANF news agency.It was the first reaction from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after Ocalan this week called for the dissolution of the group and asked it to lay down its arms.”We agree with the content of the call as it is and we say that we will follow and implement it,” said the committee, which is based in northern Iraq. “None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked,” it added.The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency since 1984.Its original aim was to carve out a homeland for Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey’s 85 million people.More recently however, the group has called for more autonomy, and cultural and linguistic rights, rather than independence. Since Ocalan was jailed in 1999 there have been various attempts to end the bloodshed, which has cost more than 40,000 lives. – ‘Iron fist ready’ -After several meetings with Ocalan at his island prison, the pro-Kurdish DEM party on Thursday relayed his appeal for PKK to lay down its weapons and convene a congress to announce the organisation’s dissolution. The PKK said on Saturday it was ready to convene a congress but “for this to happen, a suitable secure environment must be created” and Ocalan “must personally direct and lead it for the success of the congress”.The group also said Ocalan’s prison conditions must be eased.He “must be able to live and work in physical freedom and be able to establish unhindered relationships with anyone he wants”, said the group.Hours after the PKK declared a ceasefire, Erdogan warned: “If the promises given are not kept … we will continue our ongoing operations.” He was speaking from Istanbul at a meal to break the Ramadan fast.There was nothing, he said, “that would disturb the sacred spirits of our martyrs” killed by the PKK.Turkey would be the winner, he insisted.”We always keep our iron fist ready in case the hand we extend is left hanging in the air or bitten,” he added, in what appeared to be a warning to the PKK.Erdogan on Friday described Ocalan’s appeal as “a historic opportunity”. -‘More stable Syria’-Analysts say establishing a truce with the PKK would help both Turkey and Syria, where strongman Bashar al-Assad was ousted late last year. “A peace deal with the PKK is likely to make it easier to reunify and establish a more stable Syria,” Anthony Skinner, director of research at Marlow Global, told AFP.”This is a key objective for the Turkish government which has had to contend with the ongoing threat of cross-border mass migration and terrorism.” Turkey’s army, which has troops deployed in northern Syria, regularly attacks areas controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces it considers “terrorists” linked to the PKK.Analyst Bayram Balci, of Sciences Po Paris university, said the PKK was well aware that the regional context had changed.Syria’s Kurdish fighters “no longer have the support of Assad, they may no longer have the strong support of the Americans,” he said. “The threat of Daesh still exists, but it is not as strong as before. And then there is also a kind of fatigue,” he added, referring to the IS group. – ‘Positive and important’ -Iraq has welcomed Ocalan’s call as “a positive and important step towards achieving stability in the region”.The PKK’s presence in Iraq has been a recurrent source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara.The group holds positions in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, where Turkey also maintains military bases and often carries out ground and air operations against Kurdish militants.After the last round of peace talks collapsed in 2015, no further contact was made with the PKK until October when hardline nationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahceli offered a surprise peace gesture if Ocalan rejected violence.burs-fo/jj
Former governor Cuomo says will run for mayor of New York City
Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic governor of New York and a man once thought to have his eye on the presidency, said Saturday he will run in November to be mayor of New York City.The current mayor of the largest US city, Eric Adams, is embattled — politically wounded by indictment on corruption charges. Cuomo himself resigned amid scandal in 2021 after 10 years as governor following accusations of sexual harassment. A prosecutor dropped charges against him in January 2022.”Did I make mistakes, some painfully? Definitely, and I believe I learned from them, and that I am a better person for it, and I hope to show you that every day,” the 67-year-old Cuomo said in announcing his candidacy in a video on X.”New York City is in trouble,” he declared, adding that was why he decided to run. “You see it in the empty storefronts, the graffiti, the grime, the migrant influx, the random violence — the city just feels threatening, out of control and in crisis.”He said he had frequently worked with then-New York real estate developer Donald Trump, adding, “I hope President Trump remembers his hometown and works with us to make it better.” The New York Times called Cuomo’s declared candidacy an “audacious comeback attempt” after he resigned in disgrace.Adams, a former police officer elected in 2021 on promises to make the city safer, has seen his popularity plummet as New York struggles with an influx of more than 200,000 migrants.He has promised to work more closely with the Trump administration on migrant issues. Trump’s Justice Department took the unusual step of suspending its corruption case against Adams, prompting suggestions — which both sides deny — of a quid pro quo.Cuomo, the son of New York governor Mario Cuomo, has a long history as one of the Democratic party’s most prominent liberals.He was secretary of housing and urban development under President Bill Clinton, and later served as New York attorney general.   As governor, he signed state legislation to legalize same-sex marriage and medical use of cannabis, as well as one of the country’s strictest gun control laws.
US to deploy nearly 3,000 additional troops to southern border
The United States will deploy nearly 3,000 additional troops to its border with Mexico, bringing the total number of active-duty personnel there to around 9,000, the US military said Saturday.Border security is a key priority for President Donald Trump, who declared a national emergency at the US frontier with Mexico on his first day in office.”Approximately 2,400 soldiers from elements of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 4th Infantry Division” will be sent to the border, along with “approximately 500 soldiers from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade,” US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) said in a statement.The Stryker unit “will not conduct or be involved in interdiction or deportation operations,” it said, but rather will assist in detection and monitoring, administrative duties and transportation and engineering support, among other tasks.Troops from the aviation unit will meanwhile “assist in the movement of personnel, equipment, and supplies; and provide aerial medical evacuation capabilities,” NORTHCOM said.”These deployments will bring additional agility and capability to further efforts to stop the flow of illegal migrancy and drugs at the southern border,” its commander, General Gregory Guillot said.- Trump says ‘invasion’ is over -The Trump administration has launched what it cast as a major effort to combat illegal migration that has included immigration raids, arrests and deportations.Trump on Saturday hailed his administration’s border security efforts, posting on his Truth Social platform that “the Invasion of our Country is OVER.””Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants. Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation,” the president wrote.Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth visited the southern frontier at the beginning of last month, vowing that “we are going to get control of this border.”He warned drug cartels that “all options are on the table,” after Trump signed an executive order in January that said they “constitute a national security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime.”Hegseth also said that “any assets necessary” from the Defense Department will be used to support “the expulsion and detention of those in our country illegally,” including the US base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.Trump unveiled a surprise plan last month to hold up to 30,000 migrants at the base — a facility notorious for abuses against terror suspects detained after the September 11, 2001 attacks — and US forces have held dozens of people there in recent weeks, many of whom have since been deported.