Boxer Khelif not competing in latest tournament: organisersThu, 05 Jun 2025 20:21:18 GMT

Algerian Olympic champion boxer Imane Khelif, who is at the centre of a row over gender eligibility, will not compete in this week’s tournament in The Netherlands, organisers said Thursday.Dirk Renders, spokesman for the Eindhoven Box Cup, confirmed to AFP the boxer would not be taking part, adding: “The decision of her exclusion is up …

Boxer Khelif not competing in latest tournament: organisersThu, 05 Jun 2025 20:21:18 GMT Read More »

Nantes: manifestation contre un gala organisé par un fonds créé par le milliardaire Stérin

Un millier de personnes ont manifesté jeudi soir à Nantes leur opposition à l’organisation d’un gala “La nuit du Bien commun”, mouvement fondé notamment par le milliardaire conservateur Pierre-Édouard Stérin, selon un chiffrage de la préfecture.Un rassemblement, à l’appel de diverses associations et syndicats, était organisé à 17h00 à quelques centaines de mètres de la cité des congrès, où le gala est organisé, et un autre se tenait devant le centre hospitalier.Selon la préfecture de Loire-Atlantique, 1.100 personnes étaient rassemblées, 900 à la manifestation à l’appel de l’ultra gauche et 200 à la manifestation syndicale.”Cette Nuit porte mal son nom. Ça n’a rien du bien commun. Le bien commun, c’est l’argent des contribuables qu’on redistribue pour plus de services publics, pour plus de solidarité, etc. Et là, ils sont en train d’accaparer cette idée de bien commun par des milliardaires, par des fortunes qui choisissent lors de galas, à qui ils donnent, à quelles associations…”, a déclaré Pierre Bedouet, 36 ans, de la CGT spectacle. Parmi les banderoles figuraient notamment “Stérin nuit au bien commun”, “Ne financez pas la peur mais plutôt les Restos du cœur” ou encore “Stérin glissant”.Pierre-Edouard Stérin “s’est retiré il y a quelques jours de la Nuit du bien commun avec trois cofondateurs apparemment. Mais bon, ça ne change rien. Il a lancé quelque chose avec un état d’esprit et on continue à lutter contre cet état d’esprit”, a déclaré Céline Pella, co-secrétaire FSU de Loire-Atlantique. Dans un communiqué de la CGT, la LDH ou encore de la FSU, les opposants estiment que “le fonds du bien commun est en fait une façade du véritable projet de Pierre-Edouard Stérin qui s’appelle Pericles (…), ce plan vise à faire gagner les idées de l’extrême droite et des droites extrêmes dans les têtes et dans les urnes (…)”.Un important dispositif policier était en place et les manifestations étaient interdites par arrêté préfectoral aux abords de la cité des congrès.Vers 20h00, des heurts ont éclaté et en fin de soirée la préfecture a indiqué à l’AFP qu’il y avait eu sept interpellations.Pierre-Edouard Stérin, homme d’affaires conservateur devenu milliardaire avec son entreprise de coffrets cadeaux Smartbox, est initiateur d’un projet politique baptisé “Périclès”.La Nuit du Bien Commun, qui comprend notamment un fonds de dotation destiné à financer des projets associatifs, est née en 2017, au théâtre Mogador, à Paris, sur une idée de Thibault Farrenq, Pierre-Edouard Stérin et Stanislas Billot de Lochner.Les galas de levée de dons sont organisés dans différentes villes de France, ainsi qu’à Bruxelles et Genève.”Thibault Farrenq et Pierre-Edouard Stérin n’exercent désormais plus aucune responsabilité exécutive dans l’organisation de ces soirées. En décembre 2024, Stanislas Billot de Lochner a même estimé que le +temps des fondateurs était terminé+ officialisant ainsi la transmission de ce concept innovant à une nouvelle génération d’équipes engagées dans ce projet”, selon le site internet du Bien commun. 

Pakistan, India bring heavy-hitters to persuade US after conflict

Weeks after a military crisis, India and Pakistan have dispatched top lawmakers to press their cases in the United States, where President Donald Trump has shown eagerness for diplomacy between them.After crisscrossing the world, the delegations descended this week at the same time on Washington, which played a key mediatory role in a ceasefire after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed adversaries in May.In strikingly similar strategies, the rival delegations are both led by veteran politicians who have been critical of their countries’ governments and are known for their ease in speaking to Western audiences.Pakistan has embraced an active role for the Trump administration while India, which has close relations with Washington, has been more circumspect and has long refused outside mediation on the flashpoint Himalayan territory of Kashmir.”Just like the United States and President Trump played a role in encouraging us to achieve this ceasefire, I believe they should play their part in encouraging both sides to engage in a comprehensive dialogue,” said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the scion of a political dynasty whose Pakistan People’s Party says it belongs neither to the governing coalition nor opposition.”I don’t quite understand the Indian government’s hesitance,” he told AFP. “I’m the first to criticize the United States for so many reasons, but where they do the right thing, where they do the difficult task of actually achieving a ceasefire, they deserve appreciation.”India’s delegation is led by one of its most prominent opposition politicians, Shashi Tharoor, a former senior UN official and writer.He said he was putting the national interest first, despite disagreements domestically with Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Tharoor said he heard “total support and solidarity for India” during his meetings with US lawmakers and a “complete understanding of India’s right to defend itself against terrorism.”- ‘No equivalence’ -Gunmen on April 22 massacred 26 tourists on the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, most singled out as Hindus, in the deadliest attack on civilians in decades in the scenic region that has seen a long-running insurgency.India accused Pakistan of backing the assailants and launched strikes on Pakistani territory. More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides.”There can be no equivalence between a country sending terrorists and a country having its civilians killed — holiday-makers, tourists, men shot down in front of their wives and children after being asked their religion,” Tharoor told a news conference.He said he was “puzzled” by those who believe denials of responsibility by Pakistan, pointing to how US forces found Osama bin Laden in the country.Tharoor also noted that former Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari — Bilawal’s father — had advocated peace with India but was in power during the siege of Mumbai on November 26, 2008.”If they can’t control what they’re doing to us, why bother to talk to them?” said Tharoor, who pointed to the outsized role of the military in Pakistan.- ‘A new normal’ -Trump has repeatedly credited his administration with averting nuclear war and said the United States had negotiated an agreement to hold talks between the two sides at a neutral site, an assertion that met India’s silence.Pakistan had cool relations with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, whose aides bitterly resented Islamabad’s role in the Afghanistan war, but Pakistan has quickly worked to woo Trump including with the arrest of a suspect in a deadly 2021 attack that killed more than 170 people, including 13 US troops, during the withdrawal from Kabul.Bilawal — recalling how his mother, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in an attack — said Pakistan was ready to discuss terrorism with India but that Kashmir as a “root cause” also needed to be on the table.He said that India was establishing a dangerous new precedent in South Asia where whenever there is a terrorist attack in any country, “you go straight to war.””I think that the fate of 1.7 billion people and our two great nations should not left in the hands of these nameless, faceless, non-state actors and this new normal that India is trying to impose on the region,” he said.The two delegations have no plans to meet in Washington.

Pakistan, India bring heavy-hitters to persuade US after conflict

Weeks after a military crisis, India and Pakistan have dispatched top lawmakers to press their cases in the United States, where President Donald Trump has shown eagerness for diplomacy between them.After crisscrossing the world, the delegations descended this week at the same time on Washington, which played a key mediatory role in a ceasefire after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed adversaries in May.In strikingly similar strategies, the rival delegations are both led by veteran politicians who have been critical of their countries’ governments and are known for their ease in speaking to Western audiences.Pakistan has embraced an active role for the Trump administration while India, which has close relations with Washington, has been more circumspect and has long refused outside mediation on the flashpoint Himalayan territory of Kashmir.”Just like the United States and President Trump played a role in encouraging us to achieve this ceasefire, I believe they should play their part in encouraging both sides to engage in a comprehensive dialogue,” said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the scion of a political dynasty whose Pakistan People’s Party says it belongs neither to the governing coalition nor opposition.”I don’t quite understand the Indian government’s hesitance,” he told AFP. “I’m the first to criticize the United States for so many reasons, but where they do the right thing, where they do the difficult task of actually achieving a ceasefire, they deserve appreciation.”India’s delegation is led by one of its most prominent opposition politicians, Shashi Tharoor, a former senior UN official and writer.He said he was putting the national interest first, despite disagreements domestically with Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Tharoor said he heard “total support and solidarity for India” during his meetings with US lawmakers and a “complete understanding of India’s right to defend itself against terrorism.”- ‘No equivalence’ -Gunmen on April 22 massacred 26 tourists on the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, most singled out as Hindus, in the deadliest attack on civilians in decades in the scenic region that has seen a long-running insurgency.India accused Pakistan of backing the assailants and launched strikes on Pakistani territory. More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides.”There can be no equivalence between a country sending terrorists and a country having its civilians killed — holiday-makers, tourists, men shot down in front of their wives and children after being asked their religion,” Tharoor told a news conference.He said he was “puzzled” by those who believe denials of responsibility by Pakistan, pointing to how US forces found Osama bin Laden in the country.Tharoor also noted that former Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari — Bilawal’s father — had advocated peace with India but was in power during the siege of Mumbai on November 26, 2008.”If they can’t control what they’re doing to us, why bother to talk to them?” said Tharoor, who pointed to the outsized role of the military in Pakistan.- ‘A new normal’ -Trump has repeatedly credited his administration with averting nuclear war and said the United States had negotiated an agreement to hold talks between the two sides at a neutral site, an assertion that met India’s silence.Pakistan had cool relations with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, whose aides bitterly resented Islamabad’s role in the Afghanistan war, but Pakistan has quickly worked to woo Trump including with the arrest of a suspect in a deadly 2021 attack that killed more than 170 people, including 13 US troops, during the withdrawal from Kabul.Bilawal — recalling how his mother, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in an attack — said Pakistan was ready to discuss terrorism with India but that Kashmir as a “root cause” also needed to be on the table.He said that India was establishing a dangerous new precedent in South Asia where whenever there is a terrorist attack in any country, “you go straight to war.””I think that the fate of 1.7 billion people and our two great nations should not left in the hands of these nameless, faceless, non-state actors and this new normal that India is trying to impose on the region,” he said.The two delegations have no plans to meet in Washington.

Uzbekistan seals footballing dream with World Cup qualification

Uzbekistan are heading to next year’s World Cup for the first time in the country’s history, a feat that caps years of progress in a part of the world not known for its footballing prowess.The Central Asian nation qualified for football’s premier international tournament on Thursday thanks to a 0-0 draw with the United Arab Emirates — enough to seal the achievement with one game to spare.”I cannot convey my feelings. I am very, very happy — for the first time in 34 years the Uzbekistan national team has reached the World Cup,” Otabek Khaydarov, a 36-year-old entrepreneur told AFP in Tashkent after the final whistle.Ex-Soviet Uzbekistan started competing as an independent nation in the 1990s, following the break-up of the USSR.Footage shared on social media showed the players, draped in national flags, mobbing coach Timur Kapadze in the press room after the game.The expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams has given traditional outsiders, like Uzbekistan, the chance to break into the top ranks of world football.But their success is not just down to a larger World Cup. Uzbekistan is one of Asia’s fastest developing footballing nations.And across Central Asia, the sport is in the ascendancy — backed by state funding and growing popularity in a region where combat sports traditionally reign supreme.Ravshan Khaydarov, the coach of Uzbekistan’s under-23 national team, said qualification is the result of “a long-term effort”.”Presidential decrees adopted to reform football five or six years ago marked the beginning of a process that is still ongoing,” he told AFP on the sidelines of a match in Tashkent, ahead of the crunch game against UAE.The construction of new stadiums and training centres, sometimes with FIFA’s support, has been crucial, he said.- State affair -Such backing from the top is essential in a region dominated by autocratic regimes.In both Uzbekistan and neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, the national football federations are controlled by powerful secret service chiefs.On the pitch, Uzbekistan’s charge to the tournament — to be staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico — was led by the star trio of centre back Abdukodir Khusanov, striker Eldor Shomurodov and winger Abbosbek Fayzullaev.Khusanov, who moved to Manchester City in a reported $45-million deal earlier this year, has become a national hero at home.Bootleg jerseys featuring his name and number are available at bazaars across the landlocked country.Footballing bosses are confident the success of Khusanov and Shomurodov, who plays for Roma in Italy, can be replicated.More than a third of the country’s 35 million people are under the age of 20 — a huge talent pool waiting to be coached.”It is important to have a systemic approach to identifying talent and selecting the best players who will become famous. The world will know Uzbekistan thanks to our national team,” said coach Khaydarov.”Our dream is to see Uzbek players in the best European clubs.”- ‘Creativity’ – The country has already had glory at the youth level, recently winning the Asian U17 and U20 Cups and qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.”The strength of Uzbek football lies in the combination of play, technique, passing and attacking,” said Azamat Abduraimov, a former player and now coach.”Uzbek football has always been renowned for its creativity. We have always had good strikers and creative, technical midfielders. But we lacked success because we were weak in defence,” he added. Centre-back Khusanov, who Abduraimov coached as a teenager, has helped address that balance.Many see 21-year-old winger Fayzullaev, who plays for CSKA Moscow and was voted Asia’s best young player in 2023, as the next Uzbek in line for a big money move to Europe.His playing style has been compared to star Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who just won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain.For the national team, qualifying for next year’s World Cup brings a new set of challenges.Uzbekistan has never played an international match against a top European side, and most of its young talent still lack experience on the biggest stages.In Tashkent, supporter Otabek was relishing the step up.”I would like to have strong opponents at the World Cup, I know at that there will be no weak ones there.”