24 Nigerian girls freed after school kidnappingTue, 25 Nov 2025 20:22:43 GMT

Two dozen Nigerian girls who were kidnapped from their boarding school last week in the country’s northwest have been released, the presidency announced Tuesday.Nigeria has suffered a string of abductions of schoolchildren since Islamist group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls in Chibok in the restive northeast in 2014, sparking an international outcry.”President Bola Tinubu has …

24 Nigerian girls freed after school kidnappingTue, 25 Nov 2025 20:22:43 GMT Read More »

Ligue des champions: Tottenham, la grosse avarie avant Paris

Tottenham et Thomas Frank naviguent en eaux troubles avant de défier le Paris SG mercredi, sonnés par leur récent naufrage à Arsenal où l’option ultra-défensive choisie par l’entraîneur des Spurs a échoué dans les grandes largeurs et fait naître des doutes plus profonds.”Une mentalité de petit club”, voilà comment le quotidien The Telegraph a dépeint l’approche du Danois, avec cinq défenseurs au coup d’envoi et aucune ambition offensive, lors du derby du Nord de Londres perdu 4 à 1, dimanche chez le voisin ennemi.Une telle débâcle, c’était même “gênant à voir” pour Les Ferdinand, ex-joueur de Tottenham. “L’entraîneur s’est trompé dans ses choix tactiques” et il a “envoyé le mauvais message aux joueurs”, venus subir les vagues d’Arsenal, a-t-il analysé sur Sky Sports.Admiré pour son travail à Brentford (2018-2025), qu’il a fait monter puis stabilisé en Premier League, Thomas Frank a fait le grand saut durant l’été en rejoignant Tottenham, un club de bien plus grande envergure, tout juste sacré en Ligue Europa.Et pour certains observateurs, il n’a pas encore mesuré les attentes et ambitions attachées à sa nouvelle mission. “C’est le problème à chaque fois qu’un entraîneur progresse dans sa carrière et rejoint une équipe de haut niveau”, a tranché l’ancien international Jamie Carragher, dimanche.- Formation défensive mais explosive -Les managers “d’élite”, a développé le consultant sur Sky Sports, ne forment pas des équipes “difficiles à battre parfois”, mais faites “pour gagner des matches, c’est la grande différence. Si vous n’intégrez pas cela, vous ne resterez pas longtemps en poste”.A sa décharge, Frank n’est là que depuis juin et l’urgence consistait, à son arrivée, à équilibrer une formation tournée à outrance vers l’attaque sous la baguette de son prédécesseur, Ange Postecoglou.Pourtant, c’est au début de son mandat que les Spurs ont réalisé leurs performances les plus abouties contre des grosses écuries: en août, face au Paris Saint-Germain en Supercoupe d’Europe (défaite aux tirs au but) et à Manchester City en Premier League (victoire 2-0).Pour ces deux sommets, il avait opté pour une formation résolument défensive mais explosive, déterminée à piquer l’adversaire en contre-attaque.A l’entendre, c’est d’ailleurs le projet qu’il espérait dupliquer à l’Emirates dimanche face à Arsenal. “Quand tu as une défense à cinq, tu peux toujours être offensifs de plusieurs manières. Mais aujourd’hui, nous n’avons pas réussi”, a-t-il constaté.- “Très, très intelligent!” -Le système importe moins que l’animation, a-t-il insisté. Et, avec ironie, il a rappelé que le passage à une défense à quatre, dimanche en seconde période, n’avait eu absolument aucun effet: “J’ai changé à la mi-temps. Très, très intelligent! Une minute après, ils marquaient le but du 3-0”.L’entraîneur penche plutôt pour la théorie de l’accident, une décompression passagère comme lors de la défaite 1-0 contre Chelsea, début novembre à domicile.Dans une saison, “sur 60 matches, il y en aura peut-être 10 à 12 parfaits, une trentaine de moyens et quelques-uns en dessous”, comme ceux-là, a-t-il plaidé mardi depuis Paris. “Une partie de mon travail consiste à gérer ces revers et à en tirer des leçons”.Le PSG aurait tort dans tous les cas de sous-estimer les Londoniens. Car, malgré leurs déboires passagers, il leur reste des armes bien rodées comme sur phases arrêtées: corners, coups francs… et touches longues, avec l’ancien Lensois Kevin Danso à la manoeuvre.Le danger peut aussi venir d’une initiative individuelle. Attention aux accélérations de Mohammed Kudus, aux inspirations de Richarlison (auteur d’un superbe lob contre Arsenal) ou aux dépassements de fonction de Micky van de Ven. Bon de la tête, le très rapide défenseur central a signé un des buts de l’année au bout d’une chevauchée fantastique contre Copenhague (4-0) début novembre.

Israel says Gaza hostage coffin received

Israel said on Tuesday it had received the coffin of a hostage held in Gaza, with the remains undergoing forensic examination to determine their identity.Prior to this latest handover, the bodies of three deceased hostages were still being held in the Gaza Strip — those of two Israelis and one Thai national.Hamas and its allies have been handing over the final hostages as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel that came into force on October 10.”Israel has received, via the Red Cross, the coffin of a fallen hostage,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.The coffin was handed over to the Israeli military and security services inside the Gaza Strip, then transferred to Israel where it was received in a military ceremony.The coffin was then taken to the National Centre of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv.An AFP journalist saw a white van, escorted by police vehicles and motorcycle outriders, going through the gates of the forensic centre.Police officers, lined up outside the gates, saluted.- ‘Difficult hour’ -“Upon completion of the identification process, formal notification will be delivered to the family,” Netanyahu’s office said.”The families of the fallen hostages have been updated accordingly, and our hearts are with them in this difficult hour.”The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned.”The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed it had “facilitated the transfer of one deceased to Israeli authorities, acting as a neutral intermediary”. Islamic Jihad’s armed wing said it had located the body of a hostage on Monday during search operations in the central Gaza Strip.A source in the Palestinian militant group, who requested anonymity, said the remains belonged to one of the last three hostages.- Fragile truce -The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people.Militants took 251 people hostage during the attack.Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed at least 69,775 people, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.At the start of the ceasefire, militants were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.All the living hostages were released early in the ceasefire, while the return of the deceased hostages has dragged on, with Hamas blaming difficulties in getting to the bodies under the rubble.In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians.- Trio ‘must come back’ -Prior to Tuesday’s handover, the bodies of three hostages were still in Gaza.Dror Or, 48, was killed in the October 7, 2023 attack on his home in Beeri kibbutz and his body taken to Gaza. He was head chef and cheesemaker in the kibbutz dairy.Sudthisak Rinthalak, 43, was from Nong Khai province in northeastern Thailand. He worked in agriculture in Beeri. He was killed in the attack and his body taken to Gaza.Ran Gvili, 24, an officer in the Yasam elite police unit in the southern Negev region, was on medical leave. When he heard of the attack he decided to leave his home with his own gun. He died in the fighting at the Alumim kibbutz and his body was taken to Gaza.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said on X: “Dror, Ran and Sudthisak must come back. We will not stop until they return.”Gvili’s sister Shira added: “I miss my brother terribly and want him to come back. We are exhausted. The constant fear that it simply won’t happen is tiring.”

California affirms vaccine advice after US govt autism change

Liberal US states led by California on Tuesday said parents should continue to get their children immunized, contradicting what they said was “dangerous misinformation on vaccines and autism” issued by the federal government.The West Coast Health Alliance said it was “deeply concerned” by the anti-science mood that has overtaken the Centers for Disease Control under the leadership of vaccine skeptic Health Secretary Robert Kennedy. “Rigorous research of millions of people in multiple countries over decades provides high-quality evidence that vaccines are not linked to autism,” said a statement from the alliance, which groups California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.”Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with multiple contributing genetic and environmental factors. Suggesting it stems from any single cause, such as vaccination, misleads families who deserve accurate guidance.”The intervention comes after the CDC revised its website, using language that undermines its previous, scientifically grounded position.The new language accuses health authorities of having “ignored” research supporting a link and said the US health department “has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism.”A purported connection between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism stems from a flawed study published in 1998, which was retracted for including falsified data. Its results have not been replicated and are refuted by voluminous subsequent research.Kennedy has a long history of promoting dubious claims, many of which have become articles of faith among adherents to his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, a vital part of President Donald Trump’s fractious Make America Great Again (MAGA) coalition.The website edits last week were met with anger and fear by career scientists and other public health figures who have spent years combatting such false information.The West Coast Health Alliance came together in September in an effort to counter what many Democrats see as a dangerous turn towards conspiracy theories in the highest reaches of US government.Organizers say it is intended to “safeguard scientific expertise” and ensure public policy is informed by trusted and qualified voices.”Through this partnership, the four states will coordinate health guidelines by aligning immunization recommendations informed by respected national medical organizations, allowing all people in the United States to receive consistent, science-based recommendations they can rely on — regardless of shifting federal actions,” they said.