Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Year: 2025

Nations League final: Spain-Portugal more than Yamal battle, says Ronaldo

Nations League final: Spain-Portugal more than Yamal battle, says Ronaldo

Defending champions Spain face 2019 winners, and Iberian rivals, Portugal in Sunday’s Nations League final in Munich. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo acknowledged that he was “another generation” to Spain starlet Lamine Yamal but said Sunday’s Nations League final was more than just a battle between the duo. The final in Munich has been framed as a showdown between veteran Ronaldo, 40, one of the game’s biggest names, and 17-year-old Yamal, the most exciting young talent in world football. Ronaldo scored the winner to send Portugal past Germany into the final, and Yamal was named man-of-the-match after bagging a brace in Spain’s wild 5-4 semifinal win over France. Ronaldo, however, said the focus on the two individuals was overblown, calling Spain “maybe the best national team in the world”. “There are different generations, one is coming in and another is exiting the stage. If you want to see me as another generation, then that’s OK. “When you talk about a clash between Cristiano and someone else, that’s not how it works. The media always try to hype things up, which is a normal thing, but it’s one team versus another team.” Advertisement “You’ve been talking about Lamine a lot and you’re right to do so because he’s very good,” Ronaldo told journalists, adding, “but I’d like to talk about the team. “They’ve got Nico Williams, great midfielders like Pedri and their coach [Luis] de la Fuente is very good, very strong, very disciplined.” Spain’s Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring his side’s third goal against France int the Nations League semifinal with Spain’s Nico Williams [Angelika Warmuth/Reuters] Portugal last beat their Iberian neighbours in a competitive fixture 21 years ago, in a match which Ronaldo started. Like Yamal, Ronaldo burst onto the scene at a young age. Aged just 18, Ronaldo impressed so much for boyhood side Sporting in a 3-1 win over Manchester United in a friendly in Lisbon that the English club decided to buy him, bringing him to Old Trafford less than a week later. Like a young Ronaldo, Yamal has consistently impressed since bursting onto the scene, winning a league and cup double with Barcelona this season after lifting the Euro 2024 title in Germany last year. The Portuguese veteran asked the media to allow the teenager to grow and improve without pressure, reminding them the Spanish star “with funny hair” was just “three years older than my son”. “The kid has been doing very well, but what I ask is for you to let him grow, not put him under pressure. For the good of football, we need to let him grow in his own way and enjoy the talent he has.” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said Yamal was “only 17, but very mature for his age. Well-prepared, intelligent – he lives life as if it’s all normal, and that’s what we want for him”. De la Fuente said the national side were “trying to walk alongside [Yamal] in his education,” but added “you’d be surprised, shocked, how calm he is. Advertisement “He’s special. For some people, this would be a situation of maximum stress. But for him, he’s relaxed, he’s in control – he masters the situation.” The coach also took time to praise Ronaldo, calling him “a legend in football and an example of the values I like: effort, work rate, sacrifice, getting better every day and never letting your guard down. “Portugal are led by a footballer who will go down in history with an indelible legacy.” Both Spain and Portugal have already won the Nations League. Spain are the current champions from their win in 2023, while Portugal won the inaugural tournament back in 2019. Spain have won 16 and drawn two of their past 18 fixtures – and have not lost a competitive match since March 2023. Spain forward Mikel Oyarzabal told reporters his side “do not think we are better than anyone,” but “we trust ourselves 100 percent and know we can compete in every game. “We’ve shown that over the years. Our level is very high.” Adblock test (Why?)

ICE operating in LA for 2nd day amid protests against immigration raids

ICE operating in LA for 2nd day amid protests against immigration raids

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested at least 44 people on Friday during a raid in downtown Los Angeles. Authorities in the United States have extended their immigration crackdown operation in the Los Angeles, California area for a second day following protests at a federal detention centre that were met with police tear gas and stun grenades. Border Patrol personnel stood in front of an industrial park in the city of Paramount, clad in riot gear and gas masks on Saturday, as bystanders jeered. “ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] out of Paramount. We see you for what you are,” a woman announced through a megaphone. “You are not welcome here.” One hand-held sign said, “No Human Being is Illegal.” The boulevard was closed to traffic as US Border Patrol circulated the area. ICE arrested at least 44 people on Friday after executing search warrants at multiple locations, including a clothing warehouse in what opponents described as an “oppressive and vile paramilitary operation”. The raids quickly triggered protests and demonstrators blocked entrances and exits for the Edward R Royal Federal Building in downtown LA, where detainees were being processed. Advertisement The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) denounced the raids and referred to the immigration authorities as “masked goons”. “We call on our elected officials to uphold their commitment to all Angelenos – immigrants and non-immigrants alike – by taking all action necessary to grind this oppressive and vile paramilitary operation to a halt and keep our city safe and whole,” the statement read. Senior White House aide, and Trump’s key anti-immigration proponent, Stephen Miller wrote on X on Saturday that the protests against the ICE raids were an “insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States”. In a separate post, Miller said LA police chief Jim McDonnell was siding with “invaders over citizens” after he said his officers would not help ICE in any way. The immigration crackdown is part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport a record number of people living in the country illegally, as the White House set a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 immigrants a day. LA Mayor Karen Bass strongly condemned the raids  Friday: “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this”. ICE acting Director Todd Lyons slammed Bass’s statement, claiming that the mayor had taken the side of “chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement”. “Make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens,” Lyons said. Adblock test (Why?)

Israel kills more than 70 in Gaza, including 16 in bombing family building

Israel kills more than 70 in Gaza, including 16 in bombing family building

Israeli raids across Gaza have killed at least 75 Palestinians, with rescuers scrambling to find dozens of bodies under the rubble after the bombing of a residential building in Gaza City described by the enclave’s civil defence as a “full-fledged massacre”. Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basel told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army gave “no warning, no alert” before Saturday’s strike on the house in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City that left at least 16 people dead, including women and children. “This is truly a full-fledged massacre … a building full of civilians,” said Basel, who added that approximately 85 people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. “We woke up to the strikes, destruction, yelling, rocks hitting us,” said Hamed Keheel, a displaced Palestinian at the site, noting that the attack had taken place on the second day of Eid al-Adha. “This is the occupation,” he said. “Instead of waking up to cheer our children and dress them up to enjoy Eid, we wake up to carry women and children’s bodies from under rubble.” Advertisement Local resident Hassan Alkhor told Al Jazeera that the building belonged to the Abu Sharia family. “May God hold the Israeli forces and [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu accountable,” he said. The Israeli military said afterwards that it had killed Asaad Abu Sharia, the leader of the Mujahideen Brigades, who it claimed had participated in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, according to a report in the Times of Israel published Saturday. Hamas confirmed the killing in a statement shared on Telegram, saying that Abu Sharia’s brother, Ahmed Abu Sharia, had also been assassinated in the attack, which it said was “part of a series of brutal massacres against civilians”. ‘A handful of rice for our starving children’ Also on Saturday, Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians waiting near an aid distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the latest in a series of deadly incidents around the group’s operations that have killed 118 people and left others missing in less than two weeks. Gaza resident Samir Abu Hadid told the AFP news agency that thousands of people had gathered at the al-Alam roundabout near the aid site. “As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli [forces] opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians,” Abu Hadid said. One woman told Al Jazeera her husband had been killed in the attack after going to the aid point to get “a handful of rice for our starving children”. Advertisement “He said he felt he was walking towards death, I begged him not to leave. He insisted to find anything to feed our children,” she said. The GHF, a shadowy United States-backed private group engaged by Israel to distribute aid under the protection of its troops and security contractors, began operations in late May, replacing existing networks run by the United Nations and charities that have worked for decades. Critics say the group does not abide by humanitarian principles of neutrality, claiming that its operations weaponise aid, serving Israel’s stated aims of ethnically cleansing large swaths of Gaza and controlling the entire enclave. GHF said on Saturday that it was unable to distribute any humanitarian relief because Hamas issued “direct threats” against its operations. “These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk,” it said in a statement. Hamas told the Reuters news agency that it had no knowledge of these “alleged threats”. The United Nations, which has refused to cooperate with the GHF, has warned that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. ‘Lost future generation’ As Israel continued its attacks amid the looming famine, it emerged that health authorities had recorded more than 300 miscarriages over an 80-day period in the enclave. Expectant mothers face an increased risk of miscarriage and premature births, with basic medical supplies such as iron supplements and prenatal vitamins impossible to obtain. Advertisement Brenda Kelly, a consultant obstetrician at Oxford University Hospital, told Al Jazeera that Gaza was “losing a future generation of children”, alluding to a “staggering rise” in stillbirths, miscarriages and pre-term births. “What we’re seeing now is the direct fallout of Israel’s weaponising of hunger in Gaza – impacting babies’ growth and growth restriction is one of the leading causes of miscarriages and stillbirth,” she said. Severe malnutrition among pregnant women is compounded by severe stress and psychological trauma, as well as repeated displacement and a lack of safe shelter, she said. Those babies that do survive face heightened health risks. “We know that famine experienced in-utero has lifelong consequences for children who then go into adulthood with much higher risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as mental health disorders,” she said. Adblock test (Why?)

National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles County as anti-ICE protests rage: border czar Tom Homan

National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles County as anti-ICE protests rage: border czar Tom Homan

The National Guard will be deployed to Los Angeles County after anti-ICE protests continued to escalate Saturday afternoon, Trump administration border czar Tom Homan told Fox News Saturday. On Saturday, tear gas was deployed near Home Depot in Paramount, California, where ICE agents were allegedly conducting a raid. Following the raid, a violent protest broke out and several arrests were made for assault on a federal agent. In an interview with Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show,” Homan said authorities are “stepping up” and “mobiliz[ing] to address violence and destruction occurring near raid locations where demonstrators are gathering. “American people, this is about enforcing the law, and again, we’re not going to apologize for doing it,” Homan said.