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Report – Inter Milan Suffer Double Injury Blow Ahead Of FIFA Club World Cup

Report – Inter Milan Suffer Double Injury Blow Ahead Of FIFA Club World Cup

Yahoo2 days ago

Inter Milan stars Hakan Calhanoglu and Yann Bisseck suffered injury setbacks during the Champions League final.
Per Tuttosport via FCInterNews, both players must undergo further checks before the FIFA Club World Cup.
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As if being battered in the final wasn't devastating enough, Inter lost several first-team stars to injuries.
Indeed, Hakan Calhanoglu had to come off midway through the second half, risking his availability for Turkey.
Vincenzo Montella's side will take on the United States and Mexico in international friendlies this month.
However, Calhanoglu may miss both matches and return to Milan to work on his recovery.
Hakan Calhanoglu & Yann Bisseck Hand Inter Milan Double Injury Blow Ahead of FIFA Club World Cup
MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 23: Yann Aurel Bisseck of FC Internazionale looks on, during the warm up prior to the coppa Italia Semi Final match between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 23, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by)
In addition to Calhanoglu, Yann Bisseck picked up a thigh injury in the Munich showpiece.
Despite replacing Benjamin Pavard early in the second half, he didn't last more than a few minutes on the field.
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Furthermore, he has already pulled out of the German squad for upcoming UEFA Nations League games.
Meanwhile, foreign suitors keep piling up, with Manchester United joining West Ham United in the race for the 24-year-old.

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A quiet Tiananmen Square anniversary shows China's ability to suppress history
A quiet Tiananmen Square anniversary shows China's ability to suppress history

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A quiet Tiananmen Square anniversary shows China's ability to suppress history

BEIJING — For most Chinese, the 36th anniversary of a bloody crackdown that ended pro-democracy protests in China passed like any other weekday. And that's just how the ruling Communist Party wants it. Security was tight Wednesday around Beijing's Tiananmen Square, where weeks of student-led protests shook the party in 1989. Under then-leader Deng Xiaoping, the military was sent in to end the protest on the night of June 3-4. Using live ammunition, soldiers forced their way through crowds that tried to block them from reaching the square. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed, including dozens of soldiers. The party has tried, with some success, to erase what it calls the 'political turmoil' of 1989 from the collective memory. It bans any public commemoration or mention of the June 4 crackdown, scrubbing references from the internet. In recent years, that ban has been extended to Hong Kong, where a once-massive annual candlelight vigil is no longer permitted. Police said they brought 10 people on suspicion of breaching public peace to a police station for investigation. Three were still detained late Wednesday, while the rest were allowed to leave. Police also arrested a woman for failing to show her identity document and a man for obstructing police officers from performing their duties. It is only in Taiwan, a self-governing island that is claimed by China but runs its own affairs, that large June 4 gatherings can still take place. Tiananmen Square is a vast space in the center of Beijing with monumental, communist-era buildings along two sides and the mausoleum of Mao Zedong, who founded the communist era in 1949, on the south end. University students occupied this symbolically important site in the spring of 1989. Their calls for freedoms divided the party leadership. The decision to send in troops marked a decisive turning point in the evolution of modern China, keeping the party firmly in control as it loosened economic restrictions. Chinese officials have said the country's rapid economic development since then proves the decisions made at the time were correct. 'On the political turmoil that happened in the late 1980s, the Chinese government has already reached a clear conclusion,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Wednesday. He added that China would continue along its current path of what it calls 'socialism with Chinese characteristics.' Tiananmen Mothers, a group formed by relatives of the victims, made an annual online appeal to the government. Signed by 108 members, it called for an independent investigation into what happened on June 4, 1989, including a list of all who died. The group also demanded compensation for the families and a legal case against those responsible for the deaths. The British and German Embassies in Beijing posted videos commemorating the anniversary on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, but they were later taken down, presumably by censors. The Canadian and German Embassies displayed images of a single lit candle on large screens facing the main street. In Hong Kong, a carnival showcasing Chinese food and products was held in Victoria Park, where tens of thousands of people used to gather for a candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary. Hong Kong authorities first shut down the vigil during the Covid-19 pandemic and arrested the organizers in 2021. The moves were part of a broader crackdown on dissent following monthslong anti-government protests in 2019 that turned violent and paralyzed parts of the city. A former district council member, Chan Kim-kam, said customs officers questioned her at her shop on the eve of June 4 after she advertised small white candles for sale in an Instagram post titled 'June, we don't forget.' 'You know, Hong Kongers have become silent lambs after 2019,' said King Ng, who was at the park on Wednesday. Police were out in force to try to prevent any protest, and took several people away from the park on Wednesday. They included a young woman wearing a school uniform and holding flowers, a man who lowered his head in apparent prayer, and a man wearing a white T-shirt reading 'Vindication for June 4. It's getting closer and closer.' Police also questioned a woman who lit up a mosquito lamp, but eventually let her go. Rows of electronic candles lit up the windows of the U.S. consulate, and the British consulate projected 'VIIV' — Roman numerals in reference to June 4 — on one of its walls. The British and Canadian consulates earlier posted social media messages about remembering June 4. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997. The U.S. consulate posted a message from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on its website. 'The CCP actively tries to censor the facts,' Rubio said, referring to China's Communist Party. 'But the world will never forget.' Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te used the anniversary to position the island he leads on the frontline of defending democracy against authoritarianism. In a Facebook post, he drew a distinction between Taiwan's multiparty democracy and China's one-party rule. 'Authoritarian governments often choose to remain silent and forget about history, while democratic societies choose to preserve the truth and refuse to forget those who have contributed to the ideals of human rights and the dreams they embrace,' Lai wrote. Taiwan transitioned from authoritarianism to democracy in a process that began in the late 1980s. It relies on support principally from the U.S., along with other democratic partners, to deter China from an invasion. Several hundred people gathered Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil in downtown Taipei's Freedom Square. In the center stood a scaled-down model of the 'Pillar of Shame,' a sculpture commemorating the protests that once stood on the campus of the University of Hong Kong. Hong Kong authorities have placed bounties on some activists who have moved abroad. Other democracy advocates in the semi-autonomous Chinese city remain in jail or intimidated into silence. Wu Lang-huang, a Taiwanese professor who was present when troops arrived on the square in 1989, said he will continue to document what happened and collect related artifacts. 'It's not just about remembering what happened then but also for the lessons it tells us about modern Hong Kong and Taiwan,' Wu said. One of the vigil's organizers, who went by the name Mimi for fear of repercussions, said some may question why people born years after the 1989 protests still care. 'It's about memory, which is itself a form of resistance,' she said.

Germany's straight-talking new leader is meeting with Trump for the first time. Here's why it matters
Germany's straight-talking new leader is meeting with Trump for the first time. Here's why it matters

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Germany's straight-talking new leader is meeting with Trump for the first time. Here's why it matters

Friedrich Merz, the newly inaugurated German chancellor, will take a seat in the Oval Office on Thursday for his first in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump. The meeting comes as a series of high-stakes international issues once again come to the fore. Trump has issued another round of warnings to the European Union on tariffs; the war in Ukraine appears no closer to ending; and pressure is mounting on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. Since taking office, Merz has been on a tour of European capitals, meeting with France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Keiier Starmer and Poland's Donald Tusk – before they all appeared in Kyiv alongside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of European unity. The one major omission has been a meeting with Trump. While there have been phone calls between the two, the handshake accompanied by the frantic clicks of camera shutters will mark the start of the new German-US relationship. Germany's status as the economic powerhouse of Europe and Merz's repositioning of the country as a leader in European security – which includes a commitment to beef up its military and fall in line with Trump's demands for NATO members to increase defense spending – underscore the importance of a successful encounter. There is also the chance of an explosive diplomatic broadside, as seen with President Zelensky and, more recently, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa. Both Vice President, JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have recently criticized Germany's decision to classify the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party, as 'certainly right-wing extremists', and therefore expanding surveillance on the party. Both took to X, to express their anger at what they called the German 'establishment' for the designation. Secretary Rubio said, 'that's not democracy – it's tyranny in disguise'. Vance followed up by saying Germany is trying to redivide the country, 'the West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt — not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment.' The German Foreign Ministry, for its part, said on X, the decision was democratic, 'the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law.' Merz, a few days later, also rejected the statements, saying 'Germany was liberated from tyranny by the US; Germany is stable, liberal, and democratic today. We don't need a remedial lesson in democracy.' The expectation though, is that this will be a cordial meeting. Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the United States, told CNN that Merz is 'totally ready' for the meeting and said the chancellor's personality and manner of communicating would help him win over the president. 'He doesn't mince his words… That's not Friedrich Merz's style. He says what he thinks. He's transparent. He's direct. And I would imagine that that is something which Donald Trump will hopefully learn to appreciate.' That directness, particularly as regards Europe's relationship with the US, has already raised eyebrows in some quarters. In the minutes after Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party won the largest share of the vote on February 23, making him the likely next chancellor, he said, 'the utmost priority is strengthening Europe as quickly as possible, so that we achieve independence from the US step-by-step.' He added that the Trump administration 'doesn't care much about the fate of Europe.' Merz also had a few other choice words for the US in the days following the election. And only last week, he delivered a riposte to comments made earlier this year by Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference in which he accused European allies of backsliding on freedom of expression – a speech which at the time Merz described as having disturbed him. Vance posed a question to which we 'have the strongest and best answer imaginable,' Merz said in Berlin on Thursday, 'namely, the conviction that freedom and democracy are worth standing up for resolutely and, if necessary, fighting to preserve them.' These comments notwithstanding, Claudia Mayor, senior vice president at the German Marshall Fund, a think tank focused on US-German relations, assessed that since the election 'the tone has been turned down' by Merz. She noted that on May 8, Merz held a phone call with Trump in which he said, 'the United States remains an indispensable friend and partner of Germany.' At a business summit a few days later, Merz revealed that he had invited Trump to Germany. As part of that trip, he would accompany the US president to the rural town of Bad Dürkheim, the childhood home of Trump's paternal grandfather. And recently there has been Germany's alignment with the US on NATO defense spending. Merz and his government have indicated that they are ready to comply with, and push others to agree to, the long-stated Trump demand that members of the alliance increase spending on defense to 5% of GDP. Building up a positive working relationship, though, is likely to be Germany's major ambition for the White House meeting. And Merz's previous roles and experience could play a big part in bringing that about. Formerly the head of 'Atlantik Brucke,' or Atlantic Bridge, a think tank that promotes German-US ties, Merz is known in Germany as being an ardent proponent of the transatlantic relationship. He was a huge advocate for a US-EU trade agreement while at Atlantic Bridge and has spoken openly about his admiration for former US President Ronald Reagan. He also understands the corporate world, having served on numerous boards, including that of US global investment firm BlackRock. Ischinger, now the chairman of the board of trustees of the Munich Security Conference, said: 'If Donald Trump feels that he can trust Friedrich Merz, that's very important, and vice versa… because, these are dangerous times, and there must not be any misunderstanding.' Mayor, too, says much is at stake. She told CNN that although she believes the German government understands it needs to keep a good relationship with the White House, 'deep inside, they are totally, deeply, utterly worried' about the Trump administration and its commitment to the defense of NATO allies in Europe, particularly given the threats posed by an increasingly bellicose Russia. The conundrum, she said, is that Germany 'can't afford the Americans leaving,' because despite European commitments to increase spending on security, building up those capabilities takes years. 'At the same time, we don't want them to leave, because we think we are better off together,' she added. She points to the German coalition agreement, (essentially a contract between the two coalition parties, the CDU and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), on how they will govern Germany) and a major change in the constitution that could unlock half a trillion dollars of spending on the military, as indicators of the conflicting sentiment. The revision of Germany's constitutional debt brake, pushed through by Merz in March before he even formally became chancellor, was a 'revolutionary change by German standards,' Mayor said. But it was forced through because 'international relations have changed so much' that it appeared essential, she said. At the same time, she said, the coalition pact reads as if everything about the transatlantic relationship is in fine working order. 'If you're such great partners, why did we need a constitutional change?' Major asked. A Western diplomat, who was not authorized to speak ahead of the meeting, told CNN that Merz's recent words have been 'both tactical and strategic.' The source said Merz sees Germany as '(needing) to grow up and take care of (itself),' adding that the chancellor does not see that as possible 'in the next three years,' and thus it is still in Germany's interest to have a good relationship with the US and find a way to work together. Ischinger, too, sees pragmatism at play, suggesting that Merz could seek to replicate the personal relationship built by Macron with Trump. The German chancellor will want to ensure that 'Donald Trump understands that if Friedrich Merz is a committed European, that does not mean that Friedrich Merz is going to make the Atlantic wider,' he said.

NATO ministers to discuss defence spending hike ahead of key summit
NATO ministers to discuss defence spending hike ahead of key summit

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NATO ministers to discuss defence spending hike ahead of key summit

By Lili Bayer, Sabine Siebold and Andrew Gray BRUSSELS (Reuters) -NATO defence ministers will gather in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how to meet Donald Trump's demand for significant increases in spending, less than three weeks ahead of a key summit of the alliance in The Hague. The U.S. president has said NATO allies should boost investment in defence to 5% of gross domestic product, up from the current target of 2%. Diplomats say the European allies understand that hiking defence expenditure is the price of ensuring a continued U.S. commitment to the continent's security and that keeping America on board means allowing Trump to be able to declare a win on his 5% demand during the summit, scheduled for June 24-25. "We have to go further and we have to go faster," NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters on Wednesday. "A new defence investment plan will be at the heart of the NATO summit in The Hague," he added. In a bid to meet Trump's 5% goal, Rutte has proposed alliance members boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending, Reuters has reported. But details of the new investment plan will likely continue to be negotiated until the very eve of the NATO summit. "We have to find a realistic compromise between what is necessary and what is possible really to spend," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday. Countries remain divided over the timeline for a new pledge. "There's not unlimited time," U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told reporters on Wednesday. Rutte has proposed reaching the 5% by 2032 – a date that some eastern European states consider too distant but which some others see as too early and unrealistic given current spending and industrial production levels. A 2032 target is "definitely too late", Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said on Wednesday, arguing for a target of 2030 at the latest. There is also an ongoing debate over how to define "defence-related" spending, which might include spending on cybersecurity and certain types of infrastructure. "The aim is to find a definition that is precise enough to cover only real security-related investments, and at the same time broad enough to allow for national specifics," said one NATO diplomat.

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