Victor Wembanyama put on a show for the NBA scouts in attendance for Metropolitans 92’s 112-106 victory against G League Ignite on Thursday.
Wembanyama, 18, is viewed as the best NBA prospect since LeBron James entered the 2003 draft straight out of high school, standing at seven-foot-four while demonstrating tremendous movement, ball handling and shooting touch.
After posting 37 points with five blocks while shooting seven-of-11 from three-point range in his United States debut on Tuesday, the future top overall draft pick backed it up with 36 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in his second go.
The exhibition series was conceived to allow Wembanyama to go head-to-head with fellow top prospect Scoot Henderson, who is signed to the G League. Unfortunately, a knee-on-knee collision between the two headline stars five minutes into the first quarter ended Henderson’s night, although he is expected to make a quick recovery after being diagnosed with a bone bruise.
Wembanyama will spend this season playing professionally in France’s top league, and his agent confirmed the young phenom has no interest in shutting things down to protect his stock for the draft.
We don’t know what is more insane, Wembanyama’s highlight reel or his stat line!!🔥🤯
Victor Wembanyama is honoured to have been labelled a “generational talent” and an “alien” by the legendary LeBron James.
Wembanyama is projected to be the number one pick in the NBA Draft next year and the French teenager has demonstrated why during his first trip to America this week.
The 18-year-old once again showed what the hype is all about as he scored 36 points, claimed 11 rebounds and made four blocks for Metropolitans 92 in a 112-106 win over G League Ignite on Thursday.
Over the two exhibition games this week, Wembanyama racked up 73 points, was 22-for-44 shooting, landed nine three-pointers, took 15 rebounds and made nine blocked shots.
Los Angeles Lakerssuperstar James said of the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama: “Everybody has been labelling this unicorn thing.
“Everybody has been a unicorn for the last two years, but he’s more like an alien. I’ve never seen, no one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is, but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor.”
James added: “His ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot step-back jumpers out of the post, step-back threes, catch-and-shoot threes, block shots… he’s for sure a generational talent.”
Wembanyama was proud when he heard James singing his praises, but will remain grounded.
He said: “It’s obviously an honour to see such great people talk like this about me, but it really doesn’t change anything.
“I was like, ‘Oh that’s cool.’ But no more. I have to try to stay focused. The thing is, I didn’t do anything yet.”
G League coach Jason Hart also had high praise for Wembanyama.
He said: “We will never see another player like that again. Just like I said about Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal], they just don’t come around often.
“The good thing for me coaching, I’m glad I got a chance to play against him at 18. At 24, he’s going to be a whole new player, somebody else’s problem.”
Novak Djokovic is feeling “physically fresh and mentally motivated” after maintaining his positive form with victory over Botic Van De Zandschulp in round two of the Astana Open.
The Serbian brushed aside Cristian Garin in his opener and did likewise in Thursday’s match with Van De Zandschulp, prevailing in just 71 minutes in the Kazakh capital.
Djokovic has now won six matches in a row and is seeking back-to-back titles after triumphing at the Tel Aviv Open last week – his 89th ATP singles crown.
He reeled off five games in a row in the second set to advance 6-3 6-1, with that his 30th tour-level victory of the year.
And as Djokovic nears the end of a rather mixed season, the 21-time grand slam winner is in the mood to add further titles to his collection.
“My season is different from any other so don’t look at my season in comparison to others,” he said in his post-match interview.
“I haven’t played for over three months before Israel so I definitely am physically and mentally motivated to do well.”
Awaiting Djokovic in the quarter-final is Karen Khachanov, who eliminated Marin Cilic with a 2-6 6-3 6-3 comeback victory.
World number four Daniil Medvedev also advanced thanks to a 6-3 6-2 win over Emil Ruusuvuori, while Hubert Hurkacz beat Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-4.
At the Japan Open, third seed Taylor Fritz defeated Hiroki Moriya in three sets and will now face fifth seed Nick Kyrgios, who recovered to beat Kamil Majchrzak 3-6 6-2 6-2.
Denis Shapovalov, looking to build on his run to the Seoul Open final, got the better of home hope Rio Noguchi with a 6-3 6-1 win to advance to the quarter-finals.
Anett Kontaveit and Maria Sakkari were both knocked out of the Ostrava Open on Thursday as several top seeds tumbled.
Third seed Kontaveit, who won this competition last year, retired when a set down to Tereza Martincova, while world number seven Maria Sakkari was defeated 5-7 7-5 7-5 by 21-year-old American Alycia Parks in a big upset.
Parks lost the opener but found two crucial breaks of serve when 6-5 up in both the second and third sets to eliminate the fourth seed.
The withdrawal of Belinda Bencica – seeded sixth – with a foot injury put Barbora Krejcikova into the quarter-finals, while Ekaterina Alexandrova will also be in the last eight after overcoming fifth seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1 7-6.
Anett Kontaveit and Maria Sakkari were both knocked out of the Ostrava Open on Thursday as several top seeds tumbled.
Third seed Kontaveit, who won this competition last year, retired when a set down to Tereza Martincova, while world number seven Maria Sakkari was defeated 5-7 7-5 7-5 by 21-year-old American Alycia Parks in a big upset.
Parks lost the opener but found two crucial breaks of serve when 6-5 up in both the second and third sets to eliminate the fourth seed.
The withdrawal of Belinda Bencica – seeded sixth – with a foot injury put Barbora Krejcikova into the quarter-finals, while Ekaterina Alexandrova will also be in the last eight after overcoming fifth seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1 7-6.
Backing up a first Top-20 win with a FIRST TOP-10 WIN 🙌
The tournament favourites were in much better form at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia, as the top two seeds sealed their places in the quarter-finals with straight-sets wins.
Favourite Ons Jabeur cruised to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Evgeniya Rodina, converting four of her seven break points to safely advance to the next round of her home tournament.
And number two seed Veronika Kudermetova eased past Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-4 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Diane Parry.
Roberto De Zerbi enjoyed a fantastic debut as Brighton manager last Saturday, leading his new team to a 3-3 draw at Anfield after many pundits had written them off ahead of their trip to Liverpool.
But rather than pinching himself after that game, De Zerbi would have been kicking himself that the Seagulls failed to take all three points from a match in which his players put together a hugely impressive all-action display against Liverpool.
In sharp contrast, Tottenham’s weekend provided an altogether less enjoyable experience. Antonio Conte’s team produced a guileless performance devoid of adventure in the North London derby and could have no complaints to come away with a 3-1 defeat.
With Emerson Royal sent off and barely a glove laid on bitter rivals Arsenal, Spurs supporters trudged home from the Emirates with very few positives to cling on to.
So, given last weekend’s results, Saturday’s clash at the Amex Stadium takes on a particularly important feel.
De Zerbi will be desperate to ride the wave of optimism that is propelling his new club forward and defeat in his first home game as Brighton manager would come as quite the dampener to the positive vibes.
But defeat for Tottenham may start to get supporters muttering about exactly where they are heading under Conte — what had looked like an exciting season is in danger of falling flat.
Brighton vs Tottenham (Saturday, 5.30pm)
Team news
De Zerbi has only one confirmed absentee with Jakub Moder out until the new year, but there are doubts over the availability of midfielder Enock Mwepu, who fell ill and was hospitalised during international duty and may again miss out.
Conte could be without as many as five Tottenham players.
Wing-back Royal serves the first of his three-match suspension while fellow defender Japhet Tanganga has picked up a knock in training which looks set to rule him out.
The Italian will also be sweating over the fitness of centre-back Eric Dier, who played on after suffering a knee injury against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek but was limping heavily after the match.
Winger Lucas Moura will again miss out with an inflamed tendon but the more pressing issue will be Dejan Kulusevski’s hamstring injury, which looks likely to rule him out again this weekend.
The Swede’s linking play is key to Conte’s preferred 3-4-3 formation so the Italian may choose to switch to a 3-5-2 to get his misfiring frontline back on track.
The stats
Brighton and Tottenham have traded blows in equal measure over recent campaigns, with the pair claiming a win apiece against each other in each of the past three Premier League campaigns.
Spurs just edge the head-to-heads over that timeframe, as they won last season’s FA Cup fourth-round meeting with the Seagulls — a game in which two strong XIs delivered an entertaining clash that slightly flattered Conte’s men by ending 3-1.
However, no opponent has stifled Tottenham under Conte as effectively as Brighton, who restricted Spurs to just 0.4 expected goals as they beat them 1-0 in North London this April.
That victory came towards the start of the Seagulls’ run of 16 Premier League matches that has seen them lose just twice, draw five times and win nine, including victories over Arsenal and Tottenham as well as two defeats of Manchester United.
Antonio Conte’s demanding nature means he will not be impressed by Tottenham’s form
Prediction
Brighton’s succession planning under Tony Bloom has been second to none, with multiple managers, staff and key players leaving over the past decade without affecting the club’s upwards trajectory.
Even so, it would have been reasonable to expect the departure of manager Graham Potter — who had made a massive impact at the club over the past three seasons — to negatively impact the squad.
Those concerns were swiftly dismissed with last weekend’s superb performance at Anfield, when the Seagulls really should have dealt Liverpool their first defeat in 27 Premier League home games.
Nor was it a smash and grab by De Zerbi’s men, who would have been out of sight by half-time had it not been for the excellence of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, who made two big saves to keep the score down to 2-0 to Brighton after 30 minutes.
De Zerbi has promised not to tinker too much with the foundations put in place by Potter but Brighton showed a noticeable increase in their high pressing at Anfield as they looked to force errors in the Liverpool backline.
Playing through a high press has long been a problem for Tottenham, and while Conte’s passing patterns have helped reduce the team’s vulnerability in this area they still struggle to evade a well-organised press.
That weakness against Brighton’s strength puts the Seagulls among Spurs’ trickiest opponents and with Conte’s men struggling for fluency, prices of 17/10 for a Brighton victory look too big to ignore.
Mercedes openly accepted the presence of Lewis Hamiltonand George Russell at the top of Friday’s Japanese Grand Prix practice time sheets was misleading.
Ahead of a weekend that could see Red Bull’s Max Verstappen clinch a second successive title in the drivers’ championship, it was the Mercedes pair who had the fastest cars on the track in wet conditions.
Their pace could to some extent be attributed to Mercedes’ decision to allow both to use new tyre sets, however, as other teams equipped their cars with used sets, giving the Silver Arrows an advantage.
Russell had been 18th quickest in first practice, and Hamilton 13th, but in the later session it was Russell who set the fastest lap of one minute and 41.935 seconds, with Hamilton just 0.235 seconds behind him.
Verstappen was third on the time sheets, some 0.851secs adrift, just ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Andrew Shovlin, the Mercedes track-side engineering director, said there were grounds for cautious optimism, while acknowledging the team had not suddenly taken a giant leap ahead of their rivals.
“The time sheets are not a fair reflection of pace as our times were set on new tyres,” Shovlin said. “But, like for like, we seemed to be in a reasonable position compared to Red Bull and Ferrari. We are expecting a dry qualifying session and most likely a dry race.”
🏁 FP2 CLASSIFICATION 🏁@MercedesAMGF1 take a one-two into Saturday 👀
Ahead of Saturday’s qualifying, Hamilton said: “Looking to tomorrow, I don’t really know what to expect. I guess Ferrari and Red Bull will be rapid, and I hope that we are fast too – like I do each week!”
Russell said it was hard to predict how the Mercedes cars would contend over the weekend.
Quoted on the team’s website, Russell said: “It is always nice to end the day top of the time sheets, and it was a decent improvement from FP1 when we were pretty much at the bottom.
“The wet conditions today were probably not that representative for the rest of the weekend, but it was a good learning opportunity for the future; it’s important to understand things like the tyre crossover from wet to intermediate, and even if that doesn’t pay dividends this weekend, it will in the future.
“I’ve no idea what to expect tomorrow in the dry – we will be battling for the top six positions, and hopefully we have a shot at something better than that. Let’s wait and see.”
Conor Benn is a “clean athlete”, according to his father Nigel, after the 26-year-old’s fight against Chris Eubank Jr was called off due to a failed drugs test.
On Wednesday, it emerged Benn had tested positive for the banned substance clomifene last month.
The British Boxing Board of Control subsequently prohibited the fight from taking place. Although promoters on both sides attempted to force a U-turn, their efforts were unsuccessful, with the fight officially postponed on Thursday.
Nigel Benn posted a video message to Instagram earlier today defending his son, calling him a “dedicated trainer” and a “clean athlete”.
“As you know, we’re in total shock,” the former WBO middleweight and WBC super-middleweight champion said. “I’ve been with my son for the last 10 weeks and the training has just gone the absolute best it could ever have been.
“He’s a dedicated trainer, he leaves no stone unturned and we’ll get to the bottom of this.
“I love my son, I know he don’t cut no comers. He just goes straight at it, 100 per cent.
“We’ll keep you informed, we’ll let you know what the next step is, but you know, he’s a faithful trainer and a clean athlete. Speak to you all soon. God bless.”
Nigel Benn famously twice fought Chris Eubank Sr in the 1990s, with Eubank winning the first contest and the second ending in a draw.
Pep Guardiola is ready to freeze Ilkay Gundogan out of his Manchester City plans – until the captain brings his wife to eat at the manager’s top table.
Sara Gundogan this week complained about the cuisine on offer in Manchester, saying there was “horrible food everywhere”.
She even claimed it was a struggle to find anything fresh, suggesting restaurants were using frozen food and had an obsession with making money from selling high-priced drinks.
The comments on Instagram made the front page of a major tabloid newspaper and did not go down well among Manchester’s restaurateurs.
Guardiola owns an eatery in the city himself, a Spanish tapas spot.
When asked about the remarks from the City midfielder’s wife, Guardiola initially appeared to agree with her stance, saying: “It is right.”
Amused by the topic, he quickly changed tack to jokingly add: “I’m disappointed she still didn’t [try] my restaurant. That is what is annoying me. Gundo’s not going to play one more minute…
“I’m going to invite her, and Gundo as well, to go to Tast. Of course they’re going to eat properly.”
Tottenham are capable of winning the Premier League, according to Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
The Italian faces compatriot Antonio Conte’s side on Saturday in his first home game since taking over from Graham Potter at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton could leapfrog Spurs into third with a win, with the Seagulls currently sitting fourth in the Premier League table, three points and three goals behind the north London club having played a game fewer.
After losing at rivals Arsenal last Sunday, Spurs are four points off the Gunners at the summit, but speaking at a press conference on Friday, De Zerbi thinks Conte’s men can still challenge.
“I think Tottenham are in the right condition to win the Premier League,” he said. “It’s not easy, because there’s [Manchester] City, Liverpool, Chelsea, but in the transfer market they bought very good players and after one year to work with Antonio, I think they are able to win the Premier League.
“The squad is better than one or two years ago. If he doesn’t play [Dejan] Kulusevski, he plays Richarlison, if he doesn’t play [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg or [Rodrigo] Bentancur, he can play [former Brighton midfielder, Yves] Bissouma.
“Tottenham are a good team, not only the first 11 – but 20 or 22 players.”
De Zerbi’s reign at Brighton got underway with an impressive 3-3 draw at Liverpool last Saturday, with Leandro Trossard scoring a hat-trick at Anfield.
“I never speak about the result, but my teams always play with courage and braveness,” De Zerbi said. “I want my team playing to make the game with personality and the right mentality to build the right condition to win the game.”
The former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach also said it could take time for his influence on the team to be seen, but conceded he does not intend to change much from Potter’s successful time at the club before the Englishman left for Chelsea.
“It is a difficult moment for a lot of things, for the language, for the new staff, the new team, for the new ideas,” he said. “I would like to put more ideas in… I don’t want to change that much, but of course I want to put my hand [on the squad].
“If [owner] Tony Bloom and [chief executive] Paul Barber have chosen me, it means they want to see the team playing with my idea of football.
“At the same time you have to deal with not changing too much, but also how to put my ideas on top.”
Tributes will be paid at Saturday’s game to Tottenham’s fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, who died earlier this week at the age of 61 after being diagnosed with leukaemia.
“We are very sad for this loss,” De Zerbi said. “Some of my assistant staff knew Gian Piero. We are sorry for him, for Antonio and his staff and for the family.
“It was very bad news for Tottenham, but also for people who work in our football world.”
Lionel Messiwill sit out of Paris Saint-Germain‘s Ligue 1 trip to Reims after suffering from discomfort in his calf, Christophe Galtier has confirmed.
Messi opened the scoring in spectacular fashion as PSG drew 1-1 at Benfica on Wednesday, becoming the first player to score against 40 different teams in Champions Leaguehistory.
He has also been involved in seven goals in his last five Ligue 1 matches (two goals, five assists), but a medical update issued by the club revealed Messi would miss Saturday’s match despite undergoing “reassuring examinations” on a calf injury.
“There will be changes,” PSG boss Galtier subsequently told Friday’s pre-match news conference.
“Leo Messi will not be fit for Reims but will resume training on Sunday morning. Kylian Mbappe has angina but will be travelling to Reims.”
Meanwhile, Galtier praised Gianluigi Donnarumma for his response to criticism of his early season performances, after the Italy goalkeeper made six saves at Benfica.
“He works well, nobody is airtight against remarks – sometimes it becomes criticism and nobody is insensitive,” Galtier said.
“What I could notice in this period is that he remained focused on his work, by trying to eliminate his little flaws and keep his strengths.
“I saw nothing different in his preparation for the Benfica match. Obviously, he and the whole team, we were all satisfied with his performance in Lisbon.
“I always pointed out his few little mistakes, whether it was a lack of concentration or other issues. He was told after Benfica that he must continue to always be efficient.”
Should PSG win at Reims, they will have taken 28 points from their first 10 matches of the Ligue 1 campaign.
In the 21st century, only two teams have reached at least 28 points at that stage of a Ligue 1 season, with both going on to finish as champions (Lyon – 28 in 2006-07, and PSG – 30 in 2018-19).
Erik ten Hag has warned it will take “months” to consistently produce the intensity Manchester United need to become a force again.
There was an air of optimism at Old Trafford following four consecutive Premier League wins, but that came to a juddering halt when the Red Devils suffered a chastening 6-3 derby defeat at Manchester City last Sunday.
The champions tore United apart, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scoring hat-tricks in a rout at the Etihad Stadium.
Ten Hag’s side came from behind to win 3-2 at Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday and return to top-flight action with a trip to Everton on Sunday.
Dutchman Ten Hag, who left Ajax to take the United hot seat at the end of last season, says it will take time for his side to reach the sort of levels he expects.
“It’s more – it’s physical, it’s mental, it’s also sustainability,” he said.
“It’s like a routine, a way of life and you have to bring it to every training in your system, as a squad and an individual player.
“When you have had a lack of it in the last years, it’s not something that you build or progress in a week or a month.
“Now it’s a system that has to be [in place]. It is a demand nowadays top football and it’s quite clear City is the standard in that. There are more teams, but I think we can deliver that.
“We have seen it against Liverpool and we have seen it against Arsenal, but now we have to do it on a consistent basis, that is what we have to work for now.
“It will not come overnight, it will also take more than weeks – it will take months.”
Ten Hag also expects United to be more disciplined and streetwise.
He added: “I know nasty, I know what it is. In that manner we can progress but sometimes also play a little bit smarter.
“Like we have too many bookings and some players at the start of Premier League, they play tough.
“But I wonder [why] we collect so many bookings and I don’t understand, like the first booking [for Diogo Dalot at City] on Sunday, I really don’t understand.
“We want to play tough, we want to keep the game going and then in the second minute already it’s a booking for Diogo.
“Also, I saw many other bookings where I think, ‘Is that necessary?’ I have to keep the reminder to the players to play smart, but they have to play nasty as well.”
Raphael Varane could return from an ankle injury at Goodison Park, but Harry Maguire remains sidelined along with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Donny van de Beek.
Thomas Muller will not feature when Bayern Munich meet Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after continuing to suffer from COVID-19 symptoms, Julian Nagelsmann has revealed.
Joshua Kimmich, however, is in contention to return after recovering from the virus, as Bayern bid for a ninth consecutive win over their rivals.
Muller and Kimmich missed Tuesday’s 5-0 Champions League win over Viktoria Plzen after testing positive for the virus last week, but both players have now returned negative tests.
However, Nagelsmann revealed on Friday that Muller was still experiencing symptoms and would miss the trip to BVB, although he was more positive regarding Kimmich’s chances.
“Though they have both tested negative, Thomas Muller still has some cold symptoms, so he won’t be in the squad,” Nagelsmann said.
“Joshua Kimmich, everything looks good. He has no symptoms, he was asymptomatic the whole time.
“He’ll travel with the squad and then we’ll see how far off he is after five days on the sidelines, whether he can feature in the starting lineup.
“It’s a special game and that might mean there are special circumstances, but we’ll see how training goes and how he feels.
“At the end of the day, both are now free from the constraints, which is good news.”
With surprise packages Union Berlin and Freiburg setting the pace at the Bundesliga summit, Saturday’s game will represent the first time in 13 years that neither Bayern or Dortmund has topped the league table ahead of a head-to-head meeting.
Though Dortmund’s eight-match losing streak against Bayern is their joint- longest against any opponent in their history, Nagelsmann is wary of the threat posed by Edin Terzic’s men.
“They have made some good signings and have put together a strong team,” he added. “Overall, I think they are having a solid season.
“They are a tough opponent and it will definitely be a really good game. We want to win more than anything.
“Dortmund like to defend deep and remain compact while waiting for opportunities to counter. They always have a clear shape when they counter.
“There’s not really any sense of extra anticipation or tension, the preparations are the same. We don’t want to let the tension come in too early, because if it comes too early, it can be hard to carry through.”
The match will also see two of Europe’s most highly rated prospects go head-to-head, as Bayern and Germany creator Jamal Musiala faces in-form England midfielder Jude Bellingham.
Nagelsmann praised both players’ development over recent months.
The Bayern boss added: “Bellingham is having a very good season, he’s very active, a different player to Jamal.
“He’s more of a box-to-box player. With Jamal, it’s all about the danger he can pose in front of goal, the passes he can play, and we’re very happy that we have him.
“He has developed really well. He also developed well last season but didn’t really hit that top level. Now, we’re starting to see him do that.
“They both also have good standings in their national teams as well, so I think we can all enjoy the fact they are in the Bundesliga.”
Chelsea head coach Graham Potter says there is a “long way to go” in the hunt for a top-four finish in the Premier League.
The Blues sit fifth, with Manchester United and Fulham the only sides in the top 10 to have suffered more defeats than Chelsea’s two.
Chelsea are eight points behind early pacesetters Arsenal, while the battle for Champions League qualification is set to be as fierce as ever.
Tottenham are four points ahead of Chelsea, while Liverpool have made a below-par start to the season by their lofty standards. Manchester United are only a point behind Potter’s team, while Manchester City seem more likely to be pushing for the title than tussling for a place in the top four, albeit they are second behind the Gunners.
Potter, though, knows it is far too early to draw any conclusions.
“I think we’ve made a little bit of progress from the first day to now, as you’d expect. There is a long way to go,” he said in Friday’s press conference ahead of Chelsea’s clash with manageress Wolves.
“We have to focus on the next match. We’ve got this incredible amount of games so rather than think too much about what’s going to happen at the end of the season, just focus on the next game.”
Potter also had positive news to share regarding Wesley Fofana and N’Golo Kante.
Fofana suffered an injury in the midweek win against Milan in the Champions League but will not be sidelined as long as was initially feared, while Kante has been absent since going off against Tottenham in Chelsea’s second game of the season.
“Wesley’s knee is not as bad as we thought. After the game we were concerned. It will be a few weeks we think. It’s considerably better than it could be,” Potter added.
“Possibly [he can return before the World Cup], it depends how his rehab goes. We wouldn’t want to put too much of a timescale on it but there is a chance.
“N’Golo is doing more and more integration with the team. He’s still not available for the weekend but he’s getting closer.”
His family, however, said he regularly visited Hebron to see them and to work. They described the claims about the motive as rumour.
Homosexuality is rejected within the most socially and religiously conservative parts of both Palestinian and Israeli societies. The reports suggest he had fled his home on a humanitarian permit while hoping to go to Canada.
Activist Natali Farah told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper Mr Abu Marhia was well known and liked and the whole LGBTQ community was “crying now”.
“Everyone is scared,” she added.
Palestinians also expressed revulsion at the beheading.
A presenter for Karama radio station, quoted by the Times of Israel, said the crime had “crossed every single red line in our society, whether in terms of morals, customs, or basic humanity”.
Some 90 Palestinians who identify as LGBT currently live as asylum seekers in Israel, the newspaper said, after suffering discrimination in their home communities. They have only been allowed to seek work in Israel since July.
Pep Guardiola will never get sick of talking about Erling Haaland, but he insists comparisons to Lionel Messi are unwelcome.
The Manchester City boss has promised striker Haaland a holiday during the World Cup, because Norway have not qualified, and he may need a break in any case after a breathless start to his career in England.
Former Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland has stayed healthy and the goals have flowed, just as City’s title rivals feared they would.
At this rate, Haaland could finish the season with the sort of haul Messi often brought in for Barcelona during his prime years, regularly scoring more than 50 across all competitions.
Guardiola has been fortunate to coach them both, and he was asked whether the attention foisted on Haaland was the most he has known since having Messi under his wing at Barcelona.
“The people who compare Erling with Leo, I think we don’t help,” Guardiola said. “How many ‘new Messis’ appeared in the world of football since I started? Ten, 15?
“Always you fail. Erling has to do his own career, his own job. He’s a different player.”
Guardiola pointed to the number of times he is asked about Haaland. He also suggested that within other teams, such focus on a big-time player might cause unrest.
“For me, it’s OK,” Guardiola said. “We’re fortunate that the guys who are here accept it perfectly. At other clubs, other people, would not like it.
“Here they are delighted. We have Kevin [De Bruyne] who is an exceptional person and is happy to have him, because both know they can be better playing alongside [each other].
“The same for all of them. We don’t have incredible players who say, ‘Why do they always talk about just him?’.
“This is why it’s a joy to train this type of players.”
Guardiola said he would rather Haaland was playing at the World Cup.
“But he’s young, and he’ll have an opportunity in four years,” added the City boss. “Fans want to see the best players possible and Erling is one of them.”
With three hat-tricks in his last three Premier League home games, capped by last week’s treble against Manchester United, Haaland is on a special streak.
Southampton visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and while they held City to home and away draws last season, that was before Haaland arrived.
City are the only unbeaten team in the Premier League, following Tottenham’s defeat to Arsenal last week, and have won their last eight home games in the competition, scoring three or more goals each time.
Aston Villa were the last team to have a longer run of top-flight home wins while scoring three-plus goals in each game, putting a run of 13 together between December 1930 and September 1931.
Perhaps City will threaten that mark, if Haaland stays fit and in form. Guardiola is bewitched by his striker’s movement and how he reads play.
“It’s just the fact there’s a deflection, and he’s there. Why does the ball finish where he is?” said the Spaniard.
“What can I teach? It’s complete instincts, it’s natural. He did it in Norway, in Austria, in Germany, and he’s doing it here.”
And yet Guardiola still feels Haaland can improve.
“Every player knows, ‘I can do better’,” said Guardiola. “In our life we have a chance to always improve until we die, and he’s not an exception.”
Guardiola is not blind to the potential for Haaland to break records this season.
“It would be good,” Guardiola said. “If he continues this rhythm, then you don’t have to be a clever person to realise it, but who knows.
“After the Community Shield some people had a lot of doubts; now they have a lot of certainties.
“At the end of the season we’ll see, okay, he’s scored how many goals, how many chances have we had to win the titles?”
Carlo Ancelottiacknowledges Karim Benzema is “a bit tired” following his return from injury, but has refused to rule out using the striker when Real Madrid face Getafe on Saturday.
Benzema missed three weeks after sustaining a thigh injury in the Champions League win over Celtic last month, returning to Los Blancos’ side for last week’s 1-1 draw with Osasuna.
The France striker crashed a late penalty against the crossbar in that match as Madrid dropped points for the first time this season in LaLiga, and also failed to impress in Wednesday’s 2-1 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Benzema failed to score despite recording eight shots totalling 0.93 expected goals (xG) in that contest, and Spanish media reports had suggested he was doubtful for the trip to Getafe.
However, Ancelotti insists Benzema has not been ruled out of Saturday’s game, saying: “Benzema has played two full games after being out for a month, he’s a bit tired.
“He’s not ruled out. If he’s fine tomorrow, he can play. I see the usual Karim, we don’t have to worry.
“It may be that he rests in Getafe, we’ll see, we don’t want to force anything.”
Ancelotti revealed only two players had asked him for a rest during his long coaching career, adding: “The players are not so honest when they are tired.
“I prefer that they tell me that they are loaded and avoid injuries, but it has only happened to me twice in 30 years: Pepe and [Clarence] Seedorf.”
If Benzema does feature on Saturday, he will look to extend a fine run of form on the road. The Ballon d’Or favourite has scored nine away goals in LaLiga in 2022, more than any other player, finding the net in six of his last nine away appearances.
Ancelotti offered a positive update on the fitness of Thibaut Courtois, who has missed Madrid’s last two games due to a hernia issue, confirming he should be available for next week’s Clasico meeting with Barcelona.
“Courtois is improving from his inflammation, it’s getting better,” he said. “We’ll see if he gets to Warsaw [to face Shakhtar on Tuesday], but he’ll be safe in the Clasico.”
Ancelotti was also asked about the future of midfielder Toni Kroos, who is yet to sign an extension to his Madrid contract, which expires next year.
The Italian coach is relaxed about the situation, though, adding: “Kroos never gets angry, he never feels the pressure. Sometimes I ask him if he’s nervous, and he always says no.
“The renewal is in his hands, if he wants to renew, Real Madrid will be very happy.”
Sarina Wiegman has stressed the importance of England’s friendly with USA as they continue 2023 World Cup preparations.
The European champions host the world champions at a sold-out Wembley tonight on the back of qualifying for the global showpiece last month.
While the FA are using the game to mark 50 years since the first England women’s international, it is a strictly business affair for Wiegman.
The Lionesses won all 10 of their qualifying games at a canter, netting 80 goals without conceding in the process, and she reiterated how much her side now need to face the best in the world as often as possible.
The Dutch coach, 52, said: “We need these games to see where we are. We can play lower-ranked teams but it doesn’t give you the picture you need to prepare for the World Cup.
“What we have seen in Europe is the improvement of the game. You can see the difference between the Euros in 2017 and 2022. The game has improved so much tactically and technically with many different styles of play.
“The Americans have improved too and brought in some younger players and newer players.
“I am really looking forward to it. USA are one of the best teams in the world, they are ranked No1. I think everyone in the USA team is very excited to come to Europe and play top-level teams.”
England boss Sarina Wiegman is confident her squad can beat USA despite a couple of high-profile absentees
Both sides are missing some high-profile players with skipper Leah Williamson and striker Alessia Russo out for England and Alex Morgan absent for the visitors.
But Wiegman is thrilled with her squad and has called on the Lionesses to “dominate” the four-time world champions.
She added: “We are not only thinking about the result, we don’t only want to win, we want to dominate the game.
“That is what we will try to do and what we hope to do. We are a team that everyone expects to win.
“We put pressure on ourselves. We want to win every time we go on the pitch.”
Megan Rapinoe and her USA team-mates are thrilled to be playing at Wembley
USA’s air of invincibility has certainly diminished since their 2019 World Cup win as a number of stars near the end of their careers.
They only finished third at the Olympics in 2021 and 37-year-old attacker Megan Rapinoe is wary of the improvements other countries are making.
The 2019 Ballon d’Or winner said: “These teams are so good. We saw it in the World Cup, the Euros, the Champions League.
“The level of football right now is just insane. We’re happy to be right in the mix at the top.
“There’s a reason we’re at Wembley, that there’s 90,000 people coming and these two particular teams have stretched way past the field and done something special.
“I feel this is a really special moment in women’s football. This is one of those special career moments that don’t come around often.”
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri urged his under-fire team to manage their nerves ahead of Saturday’s trip to Serie A champions Milan.
Juve have only won three of their eight Serie Amatches this season, and Allegri has faced severe criticism with the Bianconeri already seven points behind leaders Napoli.
While Allegri’s team boosted their Champions League hopes by beating Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday, they go to San Siro having failed to win any of their three away league games this term.
Should they fail to beat the Rossoneri, it will be just the second time they have started a Serie A season with a four-match winless run on the road, having done so in 1993-94.
Allegri believes his team’s problems are primarily psychological, saying: “The other day I was reflecting, we made a mistake with Salernitana [in a 2-2 draw last month], regardless of what happened at the end.
“We got too nervous and it doesn’t have to happen any more, because the championship is long.
“We wasted a lot of energy and we arrived at Monza not in the ideal conditions to get the three points that would have changed the standings.
“The most important thing is to give continuity, tomorrow is a great game and we have to play it. We need a high level of performance.
“However, they have a strong team, with technical and very fast players. They have [Rafael] Leao who can shift the balance, then they play in front of their fans and San Siro pushes them when full.
“You need personality and clarity. It will be a good test.
“It is Milan-Juventus, we play against the Italian champions and it will be more difficult than usual because they come from a bad defeat [3-0 to Chelsea], and they will want to make up for it.”
Allegri led Milan to the Scudetto in the 2010-11 season, but Stefano Pioli ended the Rossoneri’s 11-year wait to replicate that triumph in May.
The Juventus boss heaped praise on his counterpart as he added: “He is doing better [than myself], because they have four points more than us.
“I can only congratulate Pioli for the work he is doing, for the championship he won last year, which they haven’t won since 2011. The numbers are all on his side.”
Milan have avoided defeat in four of their last five Serie A meetings with Juventus (W2 L2), having lost 13 of their previous 14 league games against them (W1).
Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has signed a new contract until 2025, despite being on a five-game losing streak in the Premier League.
The 42-year-old took charge of the club in September 2021 and led the charge to promotion to the Premier League, finishing fourth in the Championship before beating Huddersfield Town in the play-off final.
Forest bolstered their squad for a return to the top-flight, signing 23 players in total, but have been unable to find form, sitting rock-bottom of the standings with just four points from the opening eight matches.
A 4-0 defeat at Leicester City on Monday extended Forest’s losing streak to five games, raising speculation that Cooper’s position is under threat – but the club have made it clear he retains the faith of the hierarchy.
A statement from the club announcing Cooper’s new deal on Friday read: “It is now important that our focus is solely on football.
“As a group we are all concentrated and will do everything we can to help the team move up the league table and once again demonstrate our qualities that led us to the Premier League.”
Forest welcome Aston Villa to the City Ground on Monday, with six further fixtures in the Premier League beyond that before the season pauses for the World Cup in Qatar.
RB Leipzig technical director Christopher Vivell has been dismissed by the Bundesliga outfit amid reports linking him with a move to Chelsea.
Vivell joined Leipzig in 2020 after performing a similar role at Salzburg, where he worked alongside Christoph Freund as the club unearthed several young prospects, including Erling Haaland.
Both Vivell and Freund have recently been linked with Chelsea, who have been looking to appoint a sporting director since Petr Cech’s departure in June.
Chairman Todd Boehly has been performing the role on an interim basis during the first few months of his tenure, but Vivell’s Leipzig departure could potentially open the door to a move.
A statement from the German club said: “Christopher Vivell was released from his position as technical director yesterday, Thursday, with immediate effect due to differing views.”
Vivell’s former colleague Freund confirmed he would not be making the move to Stamford Bridge last month, declaring: “I came to the conclusion that I am in the best place at Salzburg, and a move was out of the question for me.”
Chelsea have been linked with several other sporting directors throughout their search, including Sevilla’s Monchi and Michael Edwards, formerly of Liverpool.
Christopher Vivell was dismissed from his role as technical director on Thursday due to difference contrasting views.
His duties will be taken over by by the existing setup until Max Eberl’s tenure as sporting director tenure begins. pic.twitter.com/ifAWANvfdU
Steven Bergwijn has settled into life at Ajax well since leaving Tottenham in the summer.
The Dutch international has scored eight times in 12 appearances for the Eredivisie champions so far and he shows no signs of slowing down.
Bergwijn struggled for game time in North London and his form suffered as a result.
But since making the switch to the Johan Cruyff Arena, he has had a run of matches that has allowed him to thrive under boss Alfred Schreuder.
Ahead of Ajax’s clash with FC Volendam on Saturday, we take a look at the secret behind the forward’s success so far this season.
Keeping the faith
Spurs fans never doubted that Bergwijn is a player with a lot of quality and the potential to play at the top level of football.
But there was a point in his career where he seemed lost and unsure of his place under Antonio Conte — a manager who started the Dutchman just once in the Premier League.
The difference in the player’s attitude and work-rate has been evident since his move back to the Eredivisie and this is down to a consecutive run of games.
Schreuder has started Bergwijn in all but one of Ajax’s eight league matches this season, with the former PSV Eindhoven man returning six goals in that time.
The 24-cap international has already played 569 minutes under the new head coach in Amsterdam — over double the amount of playing time he had received this time last season.
One of the factors of the player’s success has come from feeling wanted.
Ajax made Bergwijn their club record signing and he has already gone a long way to repaying the faith placed in him.
Steven Bergwijn operates mainly as a left winger for Ajax
Confidence is key
In December 2020, Spurs were drawing 1-1 with Liverpool at Anfield. A win would have put the visitors three points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Bergwijn had a huge chance to put Jose Mourinho’s side ahead but his effort hit the post and Spurs went on to lose the match.
The trickster scored only once that season and his confidence in front of goal completely vanished.
Scoring a hat-trick for the 36-time Eredivisie champions in his second game for the club has had the opposite effect on the forward in the new campaign.
Clearly, Bergwijn is a player who operates with momentum and positivity and starting the season well has benefitted his form for both club and country.
He has played a prominent role for both Ajax and the Netherlands national team this year and should he continue in his current vein of form, he is well on course to trump the 14 league goals he scored for PSV in 2018-19.
No case for defence
Ajax have seen Steven Bergwijn’s trademark celebration on multiple occasions this season
Both Mourinho and Conte are known for their stellar defensive records but this does not come without sacrificing free-flowing, attacking play at times.
Ajax’s No7 was an awkward fit under the Italian as he was not defensively sound enough to operate as a wing-back.
After being signed by Mourinho in January 2020, Bergwijn was restrained in his freedom to operate across the frontline — ultimately contributing to his lack of goal involvements.
With Schreuder, the Amsterdam-born attacker has featured on both wings as well as a central striker.
He has elevated his game and output for Ajax, including a goal in the 4-0 thumping of Rangers in the Champions League.
His turn of pace and quick feet make him dangerous in the final third of the pitch — if he is not scoring, he is creating for his team-mates.
Driven by ambition
Steven Bergwijn will be hoping to perform for the Netherlands at the World Cup
Bergwijn himself has stated that he wants to prove himself at a top club following his underwhelming spell at Spurs.
Speaking on the move to his hometown outfit, he said: “I was getting left out of the team there [Tottenham] and of course, you just want to play. So if you can go back to Ajax it’s quite tempting.”
Schreuder has praised his new player more than once this season and he was particularly impressed with his ambition to make a move happen.
He said: “It is indicative of Steven’s ambition that he chose to make the step to Ajax, he is a player with many qualities.
“He has enormous drive and is also very goal-oriented. Of course, I am happy that we were able to sign him, he adds new quality to our team.”
Berwgijn has stated that he was unhappy in London and he has already gone a long way to making his former club regret selling him just two months into the new season.
His goal now will be to continue his strong start to the campaign and carry his form into the World Cup, where the Netherlands will hope their flying forward can shine on the biggest stage.
At least 18 women and children have drowned in Nigeria’s north-western Zamfara state after their boats capsized as a gang of kidnappers opened fire on them, a resident has said.
The 18 were among dozens of people trying to escape an attack by the gunmen on the village of Birnin Wajje in the Bukkuyum area.
The attackers shot dead at least six people and kidnapped seven other villagers before opening fire on the those fleeing on two boats, the resident told the BBC.
The shooting caused something of a stampede on the boats, which then tipped over, the resident explained.
A police spokesman confirmed to the BBC that there had been attack on the village and drownings, but could not give casualty figures.
The resident, who the BBC is not naming for safety reasons, said that 18 bodies had been recovered, but several others were still missing.
The attackers have also abducted at least 16 people in the nearby village of Dargaje.
Zamfara is one of Nigerian states worst affected by killings and kidnappings for ransom.
South Africa claimed a fourth successive ODI victory over India as they kick-started their three-match series with a nine-run win in Lucknow, despite Sanju Samson’s efforts.
With rain reducing the match to 40 overs per innings, India won the toss and put the tourists into bat on Thursday.
Despite a flurry of wickets between the 13th and 16th overs, with Shardul Thakur (2-35) the pick of India’s bowlers, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller remained unbeaten on 74 and 75 respectively to guide the Proteas to 249-4.
Quinton de Kock scored 48 from 54 deliveries before being dismissed by Ravi Bishnoi, but Miller and Klaasen combined for a 139-run partnership to see out the innings.
Wayne Parnell and Kagiso Rabada set about damaging India’s response, with Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan falling inside the opening six overs.
More quickfire losses followed for India in the 17th and 18th overs – Ruturaj Gaikwad stumped and Ishan Kishan caught out – but the hosts had won their last seven ODIs and had resistance in them.
Shreyas Iyer’s 50 included eight fours, before he was dismissed by Lungi Ngidi (3-52), yet with Samson, India had hope.
The wicketkeeper struck an unbeaten 86, leading a team flurry of 63 runs off the final five overs. The onslaught ultimately came too late, though.
🚨 RESULT | SOUTH AFRICA WIN BY 9 RUNS
Wickets at regular intervals gave the #Proteas the early momentum but India fought back. A 93-run sixth-wicket stand threatened to steal the win but our bowlers held their nerve to claim the victory#INDvSA#BePartOfItpic.twitter.com/MqRBks42TE
India’s wicketkeeper batted superbly, striking 12 boundaries in a career-best innings and holding firm against South Africa’s deadly attack. He had decent support from Shardul Thakur (33), though in the end could not carry the tail through.
South Africa have not lost to India in a bilateral ODI series since February 2018, and the rest of the hosts batters must show similar levels to Samson if they are to end that run.
Klaasen and Miller the difference
With India’s bowlers failing to perform at their best – Mohammed Siraj failed to take a wicket and Bishnoi was particularly expensive, conceding 69 runs – it still took some fine batting from South Africa’s sixth-wicket pair to clinch victory.
Between them, Klaasen and Miller hit 16 boundaries, including five sixes, to ultimately take the game away from India.
England manager Gareth Southgate should take Ivan Toney to the World Cup, so says “biased” Brentford head coach Thomas Frank.
Toney has enjoyed a fine start to the season for Brentford, scoring five goals across eight Premier League appearances.
Indeed, since the start of last term, only five players have scored more goals in the competition than Toney (17), with Harry Kane (24) the sole English player to have netted more.
As well as being involved in seven of Brentford’s 15 Premier League goals this season, Toney has had more shots (23) and created more chances from open play (10) than any other player for the Bees.
After scoring a hat-trick in a 5-2 rout of Leeds United on September 3, Toney received his first England call-up for last month’s Nations League matches against Italy and Germany.
While he did not make an appearance in either game, Frank believes he must be an option for Southgate in Qatar.
Ahead of Brentford’s trip to Toney’s former club Newcastle United, Frank said in a press conference: “I think for Ivan the most important thing is to perform every day at the training ground and then perform on Saturday against Newcastle, hopefully score a goal or two.
“Keep doing that and with his performances he needs to ask questions to Gareth Southgate.
“It is up to Gareth to take the decision over what he thinks is the best squad for the World Cup. I am sure he will take the best squad.
“Gareth wants to win the World Cup so he will bring the best and most competitive squad.
“If you ask me, I see Ivan every day and I am biassed but I think he should be there.”
Brentford’s trip to St James’ Park comes a day after the one-year anniversary of the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed takeover of Newcastle.
At the time, the Magpies were languishing in the relegation zone under former boss Steve Bruce. Since then, Newcastle have taken 57 points in the top flight, with only the so called “big six” teams – Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham – winning more games (15).
For Frank, it would be a miraculous if Brentford manage to compete with Newcastle’s financial strength over the coming seasons.
“If we have the money we have now, they have their money and we continue doing that, if we are the same level at the same time, it will be an even bigger miracle than it is now that we are competing,” Frank said.
“Of course we know in football money talks. It is a very important part and that is one thing but the very good news is it is not only about money.
“Newcastle want to challenge that and there is no doubt they are aiming to be top six so maybe we need to start to talk about a top seven in the future.
“Put that aside, us being a bottom two budget club in the league, it is remarkable what we are doing.”
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has confirmed Qatar 2022 will be his last World Cup.
The mercurial Paris Saint-Germain forward will attempt to lift the trophy for the first time after helping his country win the Copa America last year.
Messi, 35, says he will not play in another World Cup following the showpiece in Qatar, which starts on November 20.
He told Star+: “This is my last World Cup, surely, yes.”
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner does not believe Argentina go into the tournament as the favourites to be crowned champions.
He added: “I don’t know if we are the great favourites, but Argentina itself is always a candidate because of our history, because of what it means, and more so how we qualified.
“But we are not the top favourites. I think there are other teams that are above us today, but we are there very close.
“We’re in a good moment because of how things turned out and with a very strong group. Afterwards, in a World Cup anything can happen, it’s very difficult. The favourites are not always the ones who end up winning.
“I see similar things from the group with the one from 2014. We can’t wait to get together.”
Messi feels sharp and raring to go for his last appearance on the biggest stage.
He said: “I feel good physically, I was able to do a very good pre-season this year that I hadn’t been able to do the previous year, because of how [the move to PSG] happened. I started playing late, with the season already started, without rhythm.
“Then I went to the national team, when I came back I had an injury in the middle [of the season]… This year’s pre-season was essential to start in a different way. And how I got to this year too, with a different head, with a different mentality and with great enthusiasm.”
Messi made his World Cup debut in Germany back in 2006 and has also featured in the past three editions of the tournament.
Argentina will start their quest to be crowned champions with a Group C clash against Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on November 22 before facing Mexico and Poland.
The World Bank says South Sudan cannot receive infrastructure funding from international investors due to lack of financial policies and transport sector regulations.
The bank has placed conditions to be met before the country begins receiving funding for roads infrastructure development.
A new study by an East African body, the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Co-ordination Authority (NCTTCA), has found that South Sudan’s roads are “the worst” in the region.
The roads became worse following recent torrential rains that made them impassable because of flash flooding and mud.
A delegation from the World Bank is in the capital, Juba, to discuss the possibility of supporting the country’s road network connectivity.
They said for the bank to support South Sudan’s transport sector, the government needs to put in place clear institutional regulations and financial policies.
“It is about the diagnostics and framework not being in place and this is the stage that we are at, in our engagement with the government of South Sudan. It doesn’t make sense to start investing when you don’t have the rules in place.
“These are the things that South Sudan needs to tackle,” Bernard Aritua, a World Bank official told reporters in Juba.
Gianluca Scamacca came off the bench to score the winner as West Ham beat Anderlecht 1-0 in Belgium.
The victory tightens the Hammers’ grip on qualification from their Europa Conference League group as they sit five points above Anderlecht with three games to play.
Irons boss David Moyes will be delighted with the three points given he made nine changes as Craig Dawson and Jarrod Bowen were the only two players who kept their place.
Michail Antonio started but came off for Scamacca who eventually scored the winner and Moyes gave his take on the dynamic.
He said: “I want strikers who are competitive against each other. When he’s getting those opportunities, he’s taking them. Tonight, we probably should have scored three.
“The three players [who came on], it was like bringing on three star acts. We are still getting used to Gianluca and [Lucas] Paqueta, but you could see right away it was a lift.
“The players who had started had done a pretty good job, but Gianluca got that opportunity and hit the target. We still have to play Anderlecht next week.”
West Ham boss David Moyes claps the away fans that travelled to Belgium
In the first half, Said Benrahma had a glorious chance to open the scoring but blazed the ball over the bar. Moyes came out and had his say on the situation.
He said: “We like him a lot, we think a lot of him. We are pushing him to continue hitting the target.
“Tonight was a typical example. If he wants to be competitive, he can play at this level, but when you get those, you have to take them.”
Moyes gave his overall thoughts on the three points.
He said: “I thought we did really well. I thought there were signs of our football improving, especially as the game went on.
“You could see the strength in the squad starting to come. You could see what we had on the bench and what we could bring on and what was required.
“We needed some saves from our keeper, but you are in Europe away from home.
“It was always going to be the case that we would have some moments that we might be under pressure but we missed some really big opportunities to be out of sight and probably should have scored more goals.”
Midfielder Flynn Downes is struggling to break into the Premier League team but was afforded a chance in this competition and impressed.
He said: “It was some game, it was a tough 90 minutes. I think the boys were unbelievable and we did what we set out to do – we nicked a goal at the end, defended well and it’s three points, so happy days.
“I love it. It obviously hasn’t been the start that I wanted as I haven’t played too much, but it is what it is, and the competition is tough.
“I’ve just been keeping my head down, working hard and waiting for opportunities like that.
“To be fair, playing alongside Dec [Rice] is unbelievable, and Manu [Lanzini] as well and all the boys in the middle. It’s a joy. They’re all such good players, so I learn a lot from them, and it’s a privilege, really.”
Burkina Faso’s military has warned the public not to circulate rumours and false information amid claims that France was working with unnamed army generals to remove new junta leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré from power.
“We urge you to freely go on with your activities. We especially urge you to refrain from any rumours and misinformation and remain true to our values of hospitality, tolerance and communal living,” a statement read on state-run RTB TV by a military officer said.
The ministry of communication also called the rumours “unfounded” and urged citizens to “remain calm and distance themselves from misinformation and trust official channels”.
The warning came after protests were held outside the state broadcaster in which demonstrators accused army generals of planning to remove Capt Traoré.
According to privately-owned Radio Omega, there were rumours that a general in the army could replace Capt Traoré as head of state.
Hearts’ hopes of progressing in the Europa Conference League suffered a damaging blow on Thursday as they were outclassed by Fiorentina at Tynecastle.
The cinch Premiership side trailed 2-0 at the break and then had teenager Lewis Neilson sent off early in the second half as they crashed to a chastening 3-0 loss in a one-sided encounter.
The result saw Fiorentina leapfrog Hearts to move into second place in Group A. The Edinburgh outfit travel to Florence for the rematch next week knowing they will almost certainly have to avoid defeat to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout phase.
Fiorentina arrived in Edinburgh with only one win in their previous 10 matches in all competitions and sat bottom of the Conference League group with just one point to their name.
Their under-pressure manager Vincenzo Italiano sent out a strong team, with former Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic back in the team after being left out for Sunday’s Serie A defeat at Atalanta.
Tynecastle was rocking as the teams emerged but the hosts got off to the worst possible start when Fiorentina took the lead with their first attack of the game in the fourth minute as the unmarked Rolando Mandragora headed home Aleksa Terzic’s cross from the right.
Hearts tried to find a response in the eighth minute but Michael Smith nodded straight into the arms of goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini after meeting Halliday’s delivery from the left.
La Viola went close to doubling their lead in the 13th minute when Jovic powered a free header over the bar after connecting with a corner from Cristiano Biraghi.
Hearts were struggling to get any kind of foothold in the game and goalkeeper Craig Gordon had to pull off an impressive save in the 21st minute when he dived to his left to tip behind a 25-yard thunderbolt from Fiorentina centre-back Igor.
Just as the hosts looked like they might be weathering the storm, however, they conceded a second goal two minutes before the break when Christian Kouame pounced to smash home a loose ball from eight yards out after Hearts failed to clear a ball into the box from the left.
The Jambos almost pulled one back right on half-time but Ginnelly was denied by Gollini after getting himself free on the angle of the six-yard box.
After a promising start to the second half, Hearts’ hopes of fighting back effectively evaporated when teenage centre-back Neilson was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on Jovic in the 49th minute.
As Hearts chased an unlikely route back into the game, Jovic sealed Fiorentina’s victory in the 78th minute when he finished off a counter-attack from close range.
The US says Russian mercenaries are exploiting natural resources in the Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan to fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Russia has rejected the charge as “anti-Russian rage”, Reuters news agency reports.
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Russia’s shadowy Wagner mercenary group was using the “ill-gotten gains” to “fund Moscow’s war machine in Africa, the Middle East, and Ukraine”.
“Make no mistake: people across Africa are paying a heavy price for the Wagner Group’s exploitative practices and human rights violations,” she told a UN Security Council meeting on the financing of armed groups through illicit trafficking of natural resources.
Russia denies any links to Wagner.
The group has been active in Libya since 2016, where it supported General Khalifa Haftar’s advance on the official government in Tripoli in 2019.
In 2017, the Wagner Group was invited into the Central African Republic (CAR) to guard diamond mines. It is also reported to be working in Sudan, protecting gold mines.
The number of Burundian asylum seekers arriving in Belgium through Serbia have drastically increased, overwhelming reception centres, authorities say.
Hundreds of Burundians are reportedly sleeping on roads and public parks in Brussels as they wait to be processed.
Josephine Nkunzimana is one of Belgium’s residents from Burundi who are offering basic needs for her compatriots “after an exhausting journey that takes them to cross more than five countries to arrive here”, she tells BBC Great Lakes.
Belgian authorities recorded 263 asylum seekers from Burundi in July, up from just 34 in May and 112 in June. This is eight times more than the previous three months, the Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique reports.
The paper quotes Dirk Van den Bulck, the Belgian commissioner for refugees, as saying that Burundian nationals do not need a visa to enter Serbia and once there, “they enter European territory via Romania”.
In June, the Burundian parliament ratified agreements on different sectors with the Serbian government.
Burundi, a former Belgian colony, is the poorest country in the world according to the World Bank’s GDP per capita report.
Most travellers are young people seeking a better life abroad with Belgium giving them hope as 96% of the Burundian asylum cases were accepted last year.
“But it is hard this time as many can be denied, [because] refugees from Ukraine are prioritised,” Mrs Nkunzimana says.
Media in Burundi cite ONLCT, a local anti-illegal migrant organisation, urging the government to manage its deal with Serbia so “it doesn’t cause problems” for Europe.
The Kenyan government’sdecision to reverse a ban on the import and cultivation of genetically modified organisms was “hasty,” activists and agricultural lobby groups denounced Thursday, calling for the prohibition to be “reinstated.”
The government of new President William Ruto on Monday allowed the import and cultivation of GMOs, banned since 2012, to address the country’s severe drought.
“The hasty decision to lift the ban on GMO imports into the country was taken without public debate,” according to a statement signed Thursday by a dozen organizations, including Greenpeace Africa.
“Food security is not only about the quantity but also the quality of food,” according to the organizations’ statement, which called for “the ban to be restored.”
Kenyahad banned the cultivation of GMOs in 2012, in part to protect small farms, which account for the majority of farms in the country.
The country, the economic engine of East Africa, had been criticized after taking this decision, including by the United States, a major producer of GMOs.
In a statement issued on Monday, Kenyan authorities said they wanted to “significantly redefine agriculture in Kenya” and announced the authorization of “crops that are resistant to pests and diseases”.
The authorities claimed to have relied on advice from the World Health Organization and the FAO before making their decision.
But for activists and agricultural pressure groups, this decision “will open the market to American farmers who receive large subsidies”, which may weaken small Kenyan producers.
William Ruto, one of the country’s richest men, was elected in a close election last August and has promised to tackle inflation, which includes fuel, food, seed and fertilizer.
Within a week of taking office in September, the head of state had halved the price of fertilizer.
A former minister of agriculture, Mr. Ruto has promised to revitalize the sector, a pillar of the economy that accounts for 20% of GDP.
Kenya, the economic engine of East Africa, is suffering from a drought of unprecedented intensity in 40 years, and hunger is affecting at least 4 million people out of a population of more than 50 million. According to authorities, the drought is affecting 23 of the country’s 47 counties.
Four consecutive poor rainy seasons have created the driest conditions since the early 1980s.
Wales will now play in Switzerland on Tuesday ahead of a potential inter-continental play-off in February to determine qualification for next summer’s finals in Australia and New Zealand.
Gemma Grainger’s side incredibly had the ball in the net four times prior to the winner but, on a night when VAR was in operation for the first time at a Wales Women’s game, an offside flag denied them on each occasion.
Wales had welcomed a home clash with Bosnia, with midfielder Rowe going as far as to say she “nearly screamed the roof down” on drawing opponents ranked 63rd in the world, and 30 places below the Dragons.
But Bosnia proved far more resilient than their FIFA ranking suggested, with goalkeeper Almina Hodzic, in particular, a formidable last line of defence.
Wales were without Natasha Harding for what Grainger described as “personal reasons”, after the 103-times-capped midfielder made her Aston Villa debut last weekend.
But Wales were able to welcome back their most-capped player, Fishlock, who had missed last month’s final qualifiers against Greece and Slovenia because of injury.
Fishlock was involved throughout a first half that Wales dominated but were unable to break the deadlock.
Much of that was down to Hodzic, who made a series of excellent saves to keep the contest scoreless.
Hodzic stopped point-blank efforts from Fishlock and Ceri Holland, while she was relieved to see an offside flag after Kayleigh Green had rounded her and rolled the ball into the net.
Bosnia went close when Marija Aleksic’s snapshot was diverted by the outstretched foot of Laura O’Sullivan, but the visitors’ defence somehow escaped being breached after 17 minutes.
Hodzic parried Rowe’s 25-yard effort and pushed Holland’s follow-up effort on to the crossbar. A third opportunity saw Angharad James’ drive blocked by a Bosnian defender.
Wales kept driving forward as the half came to a close, but Hodzic was again in the right place to deny Holland and Rowe, and James volleyed over from Fishlock’s cross.
Bosnia showed more attacking intent after the break and it was more of an even contest.
Wales were almost embarrassed when Hayley Ladd headed Melisa Hasanbegovic’s pass towards her own goal with O’Sullivan stranded.
The Manchester United defender cleared the danger, and Wales regained the initiative in the final quarter with celebrations cut short three times.
Green, Ffion Morgan and Fishlock all saw goals ruled out. Substitute Morgan volleyed home just moments after replacing Carrie Jones, but Rhiannon Roberts appeared offside in the build-up.
But, just as Wales appeared out of luck, Fishlock popped up with her 35th international goal, and one of the most important of her distinguished career.
The Algerian government is investing in the English language as a tool for the future.
In September, primary schools across the country have introduced English to Year 3 students, a move that brings it on par with French.
Many parents welcome this change.
“I’m the father of two children studying in primary school. Teaching English in primary school is sensible. We should prepare for it because most parents of Algerian students aren’t ready to teach English to their children in primary school.
It requires means for the students to join the classes and learn the language properly. And we here in Algeria, are lacking the means”, said Farouk Lazizi, father of two students in primary school.
For others, the decision is about moving away from French, a language associated with colonial times.
“This will be our first step away from the French language, which is characterised by administrative complications and has brought nothing. Well-off French people are starting to teach their children English . If you, a French person, are teaching your child English, then I should also have the choice to change the language I teach my son. I want to drop the language of the coloniser and adopt the language used worldwide”, said Hacene, father of a primary pupil in the capital, Algiers.
During the summer, the education ministry was in a race against time to implement the presidential instructions.
“It’s a good thing – God willing – that our children can speak foreign languages. We’re happy and we hope that our Algerian children will learn more, especially English, because we’re sick of French, the language of colonialism, we want to move forward”, said retired primary school teacher, El Hadi.
In Algeria, children have to learn four languages from primary school. These are Arabic, Berber, French and English.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta felt his team “lacked consistency and domination” despite cruising to a 3-0 victory over Bodo/Glimt to move top of their Europa League group.
Eddie Nketiah and Rob Holding struck in the first half before Fabio Vieira added a late finish to end a run of three consecutive home games in European competition without victory for Arsenal.
The Gunners are now two points clear of second-placed PSV at the top of Group A, while also leading the Premier League after a brilliant start which has seen them win nine out of their first 10 games in all competitions for just the third time in club history.
However, Arteta had mixed feelings over his team’s performance against Bodo, telling BT Sport: “I’m really happy with the win, six points and a clean sheet.
“But we lacked connection between the players, we lacked consistency and domination through the game.
“There were eight changes and a lot of players that haven’t played a lot of minutes, and you could feel that, the timing was missing.
“In the final third we looked very dangerous, the goals we scored were good goals.”
Bodo started the second half brightly and Arteta reacted by making a number of substitutions, bringing on the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, the latter of whom provided a brilliant assist for Vieira.
Arteta explained the alterations were necessary due to some of the starters’ fitness, saying: “A few players, you could see they had a different intensity, not enough exposure in terms of minutes, so we had to make changes.”
Marcus Rashford says Manchester United would “have liked to have played better” as they came from behind to win 3-2 at Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League.
United went into the break a goal down after Karim Ansarifard put the Cypriot side ahead, but Erik ten Hag’s introduction of Marcus Rashford changed the game as he scored a double and assisted Anthony Martial to put the Red Devils 3-1 up and become the first United substitute to score and assist after coming on in the Europa League.
Despite conceding again to make it 3-2, United held on to make it six wins from their last seven Europa League away games and leave them second in Group E, three points behind leaders Real Sociedad.
Rashford felt his side did not play at their full capabilities against Omonia, telling BT Sport: “Yeah, it’s definitely job done, but we’d have liked to have played better.
“I wouldn’t say we defended bad, I think it was just mistakes and mistakes happen in football, so we have to move on. The fewer mistakes we can make, the better.
“The first 45 minutes, until they scored, we played well, we had good movement, but we probably could have got in behind them a bit more to be a bigger threat on the ball. I thought we played well, watching the first half.
“When he [Ten Hag] made the subs, he wanted us to be more dynamic, take our chances going forward and to try score goals. When you’re 1-0 behind, that’s what you need to do, so it was positive changes at half-time.”
Fellow substitute Martial also impressed, scoring in consecutive matches as a substitute for United for the first time since August 2017.
He has now been directly involved in four goals (three goals, one assist) in his three appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions this season, and Rashford praised his impact, adding: “He is a massive player for us, has been for a long time.
“When he is happy and at it he is an unbelievable player. I’ve always enjoyed playing with him. It was nice to link up with him today.
“We’ve both been injured, him longer than me, so it is good for him to get minutes and make an impact.”
Reigning Serie A champions AC Milan take on fellow giants Juventus at the San Siro this weekend.
Elsewhere, Udinese host Atalanta in a tantalising clash, while leaders Napoli visit winless Cremonese.
Inconsistent Inter Milan face a tough test at Sassuolo, with Jose Mourinho’s Roma hosting Lecce on Sunday night.
Game of the week: AC Milan vs Juventus (Saturday, 5pm)
Two of Italy’s biggest clubs meet in what should be a titanic clash in Lombardy.
Milan (two) and Juventus(four) are among the three teams that have lost the fewest Serie A matches in 2022, alongside Napoli (three).
However, the Bianconeri have been underwhelming on the road this term, managing just two points from their three away games.
The Rossoneri, meanwhile, have been strong on their own patch — but their six-match Serie A winning streak at the San Siro was ended in their last home match against Napoli.
They will hope Ante Rebic can maintain his positive record of scoring against Juventus — he has four goals in all competitions against them since joining Milan in 2019-20, the joint-most of any player in that period.
AC Milan’s Ante Rebic has been lethal from close range this term
Udinese vs Atalanta (Sunday, 2pm)
Third-place Udinese host unbeaten Atalanta hoping to jump above their table.
The visitors are unbeaten in their last nine Serie A meetings with their hosts (seven wins, two draws) and will hope to keep it that way by extending that record to 10 in a row.
Games between these two outfits are usually entertaining and 30 goals have been scored in their last six clashes.
Both sides are in excellent form, with Udinese having won each of their last six matches, while Atalanta have won their last four on the road without conceding.
If preserving their unbeaten status was not enough motivation, Gian Piero Gasperini’s 300th game in charge of Atalanta certainly will be — and they will be keen to mark the occasion appropriately.
Cremonese vs Napoli (Sunday, 5pm)
Cremonese are one of just two clubs yet to record a win in this season’s Serie A — while league leaders Napoli are one of only two that remain unbeaten.
The Partenopei are heavy favourites and will certainly set out on the front foot — no side in the competition has attempted more shots than their 150, while no team has faced more than the hosts’ 138.
Cremonese will do their utmost to put Napoli off their passing game. Luciano Spalletti’s unit have racked up the highest number of pass sequences that involve 10 or more passes in the league (112), while their opponents have made the most interceptions (99).
It seems highly likely that Napoli will extend their 12-game Serie A unbeaten streak (10 wins, two draws) against a struggling side, whose wait for a first league win of the season is expected to go on.
Napoli continued their strong start to the season by beating Torino last Saturday
Sassuolo vs Inter Milan (Saturday, 2pm)
Inter sit a disappointing ninth with four wins and four defeats from their first eight games — one place below Sassuolo on goal difference.
The hosts have kept five clean sheets so far, with only Barcelona (six) managing more in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
The Nerazzurri will be relying on Edin Dzeko and Robin Gosens to continue their strong individual records against Sassuolo, in the hopes of breaching their stubborn rearguard.
Dzeko has only scored more times in Serie A against Atalanta and Bologna (seven) than he has against Sassuolo (six), while Gosens (four) has not netted more against any other team in the competition.
Attacking wing-back Robin Gosens has an impressive goalscoring record against Sassuolo
Roma vs Lecce (Sunday, 7.45pm)
Roma will expect to get a result against Lecce based on recent history between the two teams.
The Giallorossi have won eight of their last nine Serie A meetings with this week’s opponents (one defeat) and have won 13 of the previous 15 clashes at home (two draws).
Mourinho’s men have been strong at the Stadio Olimpico, losing just one of their last 11 at home in the Italian top flight (six wins, four draws).
But they have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their previous four league outings — and Lecce will hope to capitalise on those recent deficiencies at the back.
The people of Ouagadougou are reacting to the announcement that Captain Ibrahim Traoré, leader of the 30 September coup d’etat, has taken power.
“It is a good thing that he assumes (power)” says one man. Traoré was designated head of state and supreme commander of the national armed forces on national television, in a statement entitled “Acte fundamental”.
“My problem is that as a young person, he needs advice”. says another citizen by the name Moumouni Ouédraogo. ”As he is a young person he needs advice. Without advice, it can’t work. We hope that all he has to do is listen to the advice and he’ll be fine.” Ouédraogo stressed.
Just a week ago, 34-year-old Ibrahim Traore was an unknown, even in his native Burkina Faso.
But in the space of a weekend, he catapulted himself from army captain to the world’s youngest leader — an ascent that has stoked hopes but also fears for a poor and chronically troubled country.
Traore, at the head of a core of disgruntled junior officers, ousted Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had seized power just in January.
The motive for the latest coup — as in January — was anger at failures to stem a seven-year jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven nearly two million people from their homes.
On Wednesday, Traore was declared president and “guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity… and continuity of the State.”
At that lofty moment, Traore became the world’s youngest leader, wresting the title from Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a whole two years older.
Traore’s previously unknown face is now plastered on portraits around the capital Ouagadougou.
His photo is even on sale in the main market, alongside portraits of Burkina’s revered assassinated radical leader, Thomas Sankara, and of Jesus.
– Military career –
Traore was born in Bondokuy, in western Burkina Faso, and studied geology in Ouagadougou before joining the army in 2010.
He graduated as an officer from the Georges Namonao Military School — a second-tier institution compared to the prestigious Kadiogo Military Academy (PMK) of which Damiba and others in the elite are alumni.
Traore emerged second in his class, a contemporary told AFP, describing him as “disciplined and brave.”
After graduation, he gained years of experience in the fight against jihadists.
He served in the badly-hit north and centre of the country before heading to a posting in neighbouring Mali in 2018 in the UN’s MINUSMA peacekeeping mission.
He was appointed captain in 2020.
A former superior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, recounted an incident that occurred in 2020 when the town of Barsalogho in central Burkina was on the verge of falling to the jihadists.
The highway into Barsalogho was believed to have been mined, so Traore led his men on a “commando trek” across the countryside, arriving in time to free the town, he said.
When Damiba took power in January, ousting elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Traore became a member of the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (MPSR), as the junta chose to call itself.
– Discontent –
In March, Damiba promoted Traore to head of artillery in the Kaya regiment in the centre of the country.
But it was a move that ironically would sow the seeds of Damiba’s own downfall.
The regiment became a cradle of discontent, and Traore, tasked by his colleagues with channelling their frustrations, made several trips to Ouagadougou to plead their case with Damiba.
Disillusionment at the response turned into anger, which appears to have crystallised into a resolve to seize power after an attack on a convoy in northern Burkina last month that left 27 soldiers and 10 civilians dead.
“Captain Traore symbolises the exasperation of junior officers and the rank and file,” said security consultant Mahamoudou Savadogo.
The new president faces a daunting task in regaining the upper hand over jihadist groups, some affiliated with Al-Qaeda and others with the Islamic State. They have steadily gained ground since they launched their attacks from Mali in 2015.
Yet Traore has promised to do “within three months” what “should have been done in the past eight months,” making a direct criticism of his predecessor.
Savadogo warned that one soldier overthrowing another illustrates “the deteriorating state of the army, which hardly exists anymore and which has just torn itself apart with this umpteenth coup d’etat”.
Traore’s takeover also comes amid deliberations with ECOWAS the regional bloc which is seeking to ensure and guide the sahelian state back to civilian rule within a set deadline. “I don’t even want Captain Traoré to respect the ECOWAS calendar. We don’t want the ECOWAS calendar. We don’t want ECOWAS. ECOWAS has never solved a problem in Africa.” one man in Ouagadougou says.
Alongside the ECOWAS issue is the struggle for influence between France and Russia in French-speaking Africa, where former French colonies are increasingly turning to Moscow.
Demonstrators who rallied for Traore in Ouagadougou during last weekend’s standoff with Damiba waved Russian flags and chanted anti-France slogans.
Traore seems — for now — to bring hope to many in a country sinking steadily in the quagmire.
On Monday, L’Observateur Paalga newspaper, went with a decidedly biblical headline: “Ibrahim, the intimate friend of God, will he be able to save us?”
Kenyan President William Ruto met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday to discuss bilateral cooperation and deepen the economic and strategic ties between the two countries on regional issues.
This is President Ruto’s first visit to Ethiopia after being elected.
It is to be recalled that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had taken part in the inauguration ceremony of President William Ruto in Nairobi on September 13/2022.
Ethiopia and Kenya are countries that have long-standing friendship and cooperation based on mutual benefit.
The visit also comes amid the ongoing war between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF).
Talks about the ongoing Tigray conflict are expected to take centre stage in the meeting between the two leaders.
Earlier on, President Ruto had affirmed that his administration would play an active role in spearheading the peace talks between the region.
Already, the African Union has organized high-level talks in South Africa on the protracted conflict, with Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta set to be part of the mediators.
Burkinabés gathered in the capital of Burkina Faso on Thursday to show their support for the country’s new junta leader, as rumours swirled of internal divisions in the army.
Ibrahim Traore was declared president on Wednesday after a two-day standoff that ousted Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, who had seized power only in January.
Traore was at the head of a core of disgruntled junior officers — but there were rumours just a few days later of discussions among some other army generals over potentially replacing him.
A crowd of several hundred people, mostly young men, gathered in front of the national radio and television centre in the city.
“We have learned that the generals are in consultation to appoint one of them in place of Captain Traore. It will not do! Not today, not tomorrow,” said one of those rallying, trader Amadou Congo.
Rumours circulating in Ouagadougou claimed there was a division between the junior officers represented by Traore and the high-ranking officers who moved in the same circles as Damiba.
After an hour of protesting a soldier sought to calm the crowd, and the new government denied rumours of a split.
“Information which has been circulating since this morning on social networks about generals meeting… is unfounded” according to a statement released by the communication ministry.
Calm has generally returned to the streets of Ouagadougou since last Friday’s coup and the turbulent weekend that followed.
Traore graduated as an officer from Burkina Faso’s Georges Namonao Military School — a second-tier institution compared to the prestigious Kadiogo Military Academy of which Damiba and others in the elite are alumni.
Some of the protesters were waving Burkina or Russian flags — with speculation rife that Burkina’s new leader may follow other fragile regimes in French-speaking Africa and forge close ties with Moscow at the expense of France.
Manchester Unitedmanager Erik ten Hag praised the “brilliant impact” of his substitutes as the Red Devils came from behind to beat Omonia Nicosia 3-2 in the Europa League.
United dominated the first half but went into the break a goal down after a quick counterattack allowed Karim Ansarifard to fire the hosts into the lead.
Ten Hagintroduced Marcus Rashford at the interval and he levelled seven minutes after coming on with a superb curled finish before setting up fellow substitute Anthony Martial with a clever flick to put United in front.
Rashford added a third late on, and despite conceding again to make it 3-2, United held on to earn an important victory that keeps them second in Group E, three points behind leaders Real Sociedad.
United’s last five goals in all competitions have now come from substitutes, a record for the club in the Premier League era (since 1992-93), and Ten Hag highlighted their work after the match.
When asked what he told the players at half-time to inspire the second-half comeback, Ten Hag told BT Sport: “More runs. We were too static.
“We had to make the movement to get behind – that is why we made two subs. The subs had a brilliant impact. That makes the team stronger.”
Despite the win, Ten Hag acknowledged his side must improve, adding: “We started well, with a couple of chances. Then an unnecessary mistake and a really bad ten minutes.
“We have to learn from that. We let the crowd come alive and you have to avoid that.”
Martial has now been directly involved in four goals in his three appearances for United in all competitions this season, while he has scored in consecutive matches as a substitute for the Red Devils for the first time since August 2017.
He scored a double off the bench in the 6-3 defeat to Manchester City at the weekend and impressed again against Omonia, with Ten Hag grateful to have him back after injury.
“It was really a big disappointment for this team and for me when he got injured in the last 10 minutes against Atletico Madrid [in pre-season],” Ten Hag said.
“We missed him in the first couple of weeks and that also had an effect on our team performance.”
After years of fighting for yards in the NFL, former running back Le’Veon Bell is scheduled to make his professional boxing debut against ex-UFC fighter Uriah Hall on the Jake Paul-Anderson Silva undercard on October 29.
Bell, a two-time first-team All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection who ran for 6,554 yards in 96 games over an eight-year NFL career, will enter the four-round bout in Glendale, Arizona after recording a knockout of fellow former NFL running back Adrian Peterson in the fifth round of an exhibition on September 10.
“As soon as Most Valuable Promotions approached me about joining the Paul-Silva pay-per-view, I told them I want in and didn’t care who the opponent was,” the 30-year-old Bell said.
“Uriah Hall is going to feel my punching power and tap out like he’s getting submitted. He is not built like me.”
Hall finished with a 17-11 record in MMA, and his eight knockouts/technical knockouts matched Anderson Silva and Thiago Silva for the most in UFC middleweight history.
“Le’Veon Bell, I hope you bring your best,” Hall said. “I know I will.”
The National Democratic Congress (NDC)on Thursday, October 6, 2022, held a press conference to discuss the matters that are impeding government’s fight against illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
The party’s presser was moderated by Communication Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, who suggested some radical measures government should put in place to address the canker.
Below is the full statement:
Good afternoon to you ladies and gentlemen of the media. We welcome you with the greatest of pleasure to this engagement to discuss an issue of great importance to our collective survival as a nation.
We are talking about the ever-worsening spate of illegal mining popularly referred to as “galamsey” and its attendant devastation that we are witnessing on our water bodies, forest reserves, cocoa farms, and general ecosystem.
Having been at the fore front of bringing to public attention, stories about some of the most obscene and egregious destructive effects of illegal mining in recent times, we are pretty sure that some of you in the media may have grown weary of our continuous discussion of this subject matter, for the simple reason that the more we talk about it, the worse it gets by the day. We are perhaps as weary as you are.
However, collectively, we cannot afford to be weary, because we are dealing with a menace whose ramifications portend grave danger not only for our generation and the very survival of our nation, but serious consequences for generations unborn.
We wish to highly commend you in the media for relentlessly highlighting the deleterious effects of illegal mining and constantly spending precious airtime, sometimes even at the peril of your lives to bring this issue to the front burner.
We have always maintained, that as far as we are concerned, and as the evidence bears us out, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government has not exhibited any genuine commitment to the fight against galamsey. And that their so-called fight against “galamsey” is nothing but a scam.
Indeed, we have always told Ghanaians that the single most important thing needed to wage a successful war against illegal mining in Ghana is the political will of the duty bearers of the country to confront the menace and all the dark forces fuelling it, regardless of whose ox is gored. It has however been clear to us from day one that behind the façade of the so-called galamsey fight of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, is a well-crafted ruse designed to appropriate the illicit galamsey trade for NPP apparatchiks and higher-ups in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and their foreign collaborators.
Time without number, we have got the clearest confirmation from countless instances of state-backed complicity, active participation and sometimes clear aiding and abetment of the illegal mining activities not only by officials of the NPP, but by some of the very men and women in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government entrusted with the responsibility of protecting our environment.
Indeed, Ghanaians would recall that on 17th April, 2017, President Akufo-Addo was appointed as a Co-chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) Advocates alongside Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg. Subsequent to that appointment, President Akufo-Addo on July 10th, 2017, in a speech delivered at the Accra International Conference Center, promised to “put his presidency on the line” in order to win the war against illegal mining.
Sadly, today, not only has the President once again failed to walk his talk, but the image of galamsey stands like a towering monument, reminding all Ghanaians of President Akufo-Addo’s deceitful character and his lack of political will to fight illegal mining.
You would all recall the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) which was formed by President Akufo-Addo at the outset of his fraudulent fight against illegal mining. This committee drew support from the media, civil society, both political and non-political actors and the general public, promising to be a potent vehicle that will bring an end to the galamasey menace. Several millions of taxpayers money was spent on this venture which would turn out to be the first of several ill-conceived, half-hearted and fruitless attempts by this government to combat a very serious problem as galamsey.
After banning legal small scale mining for over two (2) years and murdering some innocent Ghanaians in the process in line with their “shoot to kill” policy as espoused by NPP MP for Bekwai and first Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei Owusu, Ghanaians would later come to know, the Inter-Ministerial Task Force had no genuine commitment to fight “galamsey”. But instead, set out with the sole motive of driving away some unemployed Ghanaian youth and in some cases, licensed small scale miners, and replacing them with New Patriotic Party functionaries and footsoldiers.
Today, government’s so-called community mining program, has been taken over by NPP functionaries and government officials.
President Akufo-Addo’s engagement with chiefs and MMDCE’s in Kumasi yesterday provided yet another opportunity for him to engage in his usual flowery speeches which cannot win the war against galamsey. While urging the chiefs to help depoliticise the fight against “galamsey”, the President is reported to have told his MMDCE’s that fighting galamsey will convince Ghanaians to help the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ‘break the eight’. This has been the true nature of President Akufo-Addo who says one thing and does the exact opposite. He promised to protect our environment but turned around to strengthen “galamsey” and supervise the most devastating degradation of our environment.
Ladies and gentlemen, how can the man, President Akufo-Addo who stood on a political campaign platform in 2016 in Obuasi and promised to promote illegal mining when elected, lecturer us on the need to depoliticize the fight against illegal mining?
Today, distinguished friends, illegal mining has gotten out of hand in nearly all regions of Ghana, as galamsey activities blossom in 13 out of the 16 Regions of Ghana, a clear testament to the fact that the fight is completely lost. Having enjoyed the biggest goodwill from Ghanaians, support from you in the media, civil society, and political opponents, and having marshalled the coercive force of the state and spent millions of taxpayers funds on “Operation Vanguard”, “Galamstop” among others, ostensibly in the fight against the “Galamsey” menace, President Akufo-Addo’s scorecard on galamsey is an unmitigated disaster just as he has proven to be in the area of economic management and all other facets of our national life.
Not only has this government failed to preserve our environment, but our leadership today has compromised agriculture, livelihoods, and Sustainable Development Goals 6, 13, 14 and 15 which among other things talk about Water and Sanitation, Climate Action, Life below water and Life on Land.
Today, Ghana’s water bodies are more polluted and contaminated than ever witnessed in the history of this country. According to a recent JoyNews documentary by a journalist with Kumasi-based Luv FM, Erastus Asare Donkor, titled “Destruction for Gold”, majority of Ghana’s water bodies, including River Ankobra, the Pra River, River Ofin, the Afu Afu Stream, River Bonsa, the Totoa stream, the Nwui river, River Tano, River Bia and the Amoya Stream are all terribly polluted.
It is instructive to note that according to the Water Resources Commission, the recommended turbidity levels for drinking water is 5 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), while that for other water use ranges between 80 – 150 NTU. However, according to the documentary, samples collected from the above-mentioned water bodies showed turbidity levels of between 504 to 3,880 Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) as at the end of February 2022, which is 3,875 times higher than the acceptable value for drinking water. So badly polluted and contaminated are these water sources by mercury, lead and other dangerous chemicals, that water from these sources cannot be used for any human, domestic or even agricultural activity.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, as we have already indicated, President Akufo-Addo’s so-called fight against illegal mining is a complete scam. And we shall demonstrate this truth with six (6) instances where this government failed to act in the interest of the Ghanaian people relative to illegal mining.
Missing Excavators, vehicles, gold, weapons among others.
Despite the initial goodwill that this government’s supposed fight against illegal mining enjoyed from you in the media and the Ghanaian people, despite the millions of public funds that were expended on the IMCIM and the standing force (Operation Vanguard, Galamstop etc.), the first of several shocking and dumfounding revelations that were to follow were reports that as many as 500 Excavators, several ounces of gold, weapons and other valuables that were seized from illegal miners could not be accounted for.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, as the whole of Ghana struggled to come to terms with reports of missing excavators, gold, weapons and other valuables seized from illegal miners, a certain video emerged of a conversation between then Minister for Environment, Science and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng and Ekow Awusi, the NPP’s Central Regional Vice Chairman and the Auctioneer of the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce.
In the said video, Ekow Awusi is heard in an argument with the Minister at the latter’s office over the whereabouts of the missing 500 excavators. In the ensuing argument, Ekow Awusi was heard reminding the Minister that he was the one who instructed him to distribute seized excavators to some party officials and apparatchiks of the New Patriotic Party because “Party Hia Sika”, to wit, their party needed money. Ekow Awusi proceeded to remind the Minister that this agenda of “Party Hia Sika”, came from the New Patriotic Party leadership who had directed that proceeds from illegal mining be made available to shore up the party’s finances.
This confession all but confirmed reports that several of the missing excavators which were seized from illegal and small scale miners and entrusted in the care of government, were eventually distributed to NPP functionaries, who in turn took it to “galamsey” sites they had been allocated by the government.
Ladies and gentlemen, you would recall that Prof. Frimpong Boateng, the Minister of Environment at the time filed a formal
Complaint with the Police accusing Ekow Awusi as the one responsible for the missing excavators. Sadly but unsurprisingly, nothing has been done about the case till date. The case has been rendered a “foolish case”. Neither President Akufo-Addo nor Vice President, Alhaji Bawumia has commented or shown any interest in the matter. In spite of the overwhelming evidence of the then Minister for Environment’s complicity in illegal mining and the missing seized excavators, he was kept at post. The excavator thieves have been left off the hook to enjoy their loot. The missing excavators were never retrieved. Yet, Ekow Awusi’s auctioneer license has been restored to him.
Indeed, some of the excavators were later found with NPP elements all over the country, while pick-up vehicles which were equally seized from illegal miners were distributed among party people for party work. Even more worrying was the fact that weapons seized from these illegal miners could not be accounted for, as same were either sold or shared to NPP footsoldiers, some of which landed in the hands of vigilante groups affiliated with the ruling government. These facts have been corroborated publicly by NPP’s Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong.
The manner in which the missing excavators scandal has been handled, is smoking gun evidence of the complicity of President Akufo-Addo and his government in the illicit “galamsey” trade and their lack of political commitment to fighting the menace and its devastating effects on our environment.
The “party hia Sika” scandal once again exposes President Akufo-Addo and the ruling NPP are the chief culprits of the politicization of the fight against the illicit “Galamsey” trade.
Anas’ “Galamsey Fraud” Documentary
Friends from the media, you would recall that sometime in 2019, Ace Investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas of Tiger Eye PI fame, released an undercover investigative video which contained very startling details of how certain appointees of President Akufo-Addo and NPP apparatchiks made a mockery of the fight against illegal mining.
The documentary exposed the underbelly of official complicity in the fight against galamsey. It provided the clearest and most irrefutable evidence that beneath the surface of all the flowery rhetoric about protecting the environment and regulating small scale mining, President Akufo-Addo’s boys at the flagstaff house were promoting “galamsey” with reckless abandon through the shameful collection of bribes from Chinese and other illegal miners.
The evidence as captured on video revealed clear breaches of Ghana’s mining laws and other guidelines as espoused by the then Inter-Ministerial Task Force to help in its fight against the menace. As we witnessed in the undercover video, officials of the Akufo-Addo government who were entrusted with the responsibility to act in the best interest of the state, turned out to be the very enemies who compromised the state’s efforts.
In that video, Charles Bissue, the then Secretary to the IMCIM who doubled as a Presidential Staffer at the time, was clearly seen demanding and collecting bribes and abusing his office to facilitate illegal mining activities. Quite symbolically, Charles Bissue could be seen soliciting and collecting these bribes at a scene with a picture of President Akufo-Addo hanging conspicuously on a wall. It could be recalled that another supporting cast in the video was one Andy Owusu, who was dubbed a “connection man”, helping to facilitate the deal. Andy doubled as an Aid to Bernard Antwi Bosiako, popularly known as “Chairman Wontumi”, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP whose own galamsey exploits will be discussed later in this presentation.
Despite the mystery Mining Company (ORR Resource Enterprise) not meeting the vetting and verification procedure which provides for requirements such as inspection of documents like mining licenses, environmental and operating permits, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and other registration details, field mapping and other pertinent requirements, Charles Bissue circumvented all laid down regulations for ORR Resources Enterprise (the mystery company). He also sacrificed other mandatory requirements such as Minerals Commission, EPA and Forestry Commission permits on the altar of pecuniary inducement. The IMCIM’s roadmap was completely jettisoned and rendered a complete nugatory.
It is instructive to note that, till date no punitive action whatsoever has been taken against the then Secretary to the Inter Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining, Charles Bissue and his accomplice, Andy Owusu, Special Aide to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling NPP, Chairman Wontumi who were caught on tape collecting bribes from Chinese and other illegal miners to promote their criminal activities at a time the ban on legal small scale mining was still in force.
Indeed, even before the then Special Prosecutor could probe into the conduct of Charles Bissue, the Police CID contrived to clear him of every wrongdoing and absolved him of his crimes.
The handling of “galamsey” fraud scandal is yet another clear instance of governmental complicity in the illicit “Galamsey” trade which is destroying our water bodies, lands, forest reserves, cocoa farms and our entire ecological system.
The involvement of MMDCEs in “galamsey”.
Distinguished friends from the media, you would recall that sometime in the year 2018, the Minister for local government, Hajia Alima Mahama at an official conference with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government indicated that her outfit had evidence that several MMDCEs were engaged in the illicit “galamsey” trade. The minister went on to say that she knew the identities of the MMDCEs who were engaged in “galamsey” and was going to publish same but that never happened.
Since then, MMDCEs of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government who have been emboldened by this coverup and the President’s lack of commitment to the “galamsey” fight, have been actively promoting galamsey with brazen impunity.
Of the most troubling reports of the illegal mining activities of officials of the Akufo-Addo government have been those concerning the District Chief Executives for Elembele in the Western Region and Bosome Freho in the Ashanti region.
We begin with the DCE for Elembele who as far back as 5th April, 2020, was accused by his own NPP Constituency Executives of his involvement in illegal mining (galamsey) activities. These NPP executives had alleged that after a joint operation was carried out at some galamsey sites leading to the seizure of seven excavators and arrest of five persons, the DCE for Elembele, Kwasi Bonzo: “unpatriotically took ten thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC10,000) for each excavator, totaling GHC70,000 and shockingly released the excavators to them”.
No action whatsoever was taken against this DCE.
This is the same DCE who as recent as September 2022, was arrested for obstructing the Police in the retrieval of missing excavators that had been seized from “galamsey” sites in the area.
Under the watch of Kwasi Bonzo, Galamsey has now become a thriving “free for all” business in Ellembele. After destroying water bodies and forest reserves in the area, illegal miners have moved their equipment to the main township and are actively doing “galamsey” behind the official residence of the DCE and on the land of the Nkroful Senior High School in broad day light.
Then to the matter of the DCE for Bosome Freho in the Ashanti Region, Hon. Yaw Danso, who was clearly caught on tape directing party people on how they should use Chinese nationals to front their galamsey activities.
As far back as Monday, 1st February, 2021, some party executives of the New Patriotic Party and residents of the Bosome Freho District accused their District Chief Executive, Yaw Danso of engaging in galamsey activities. In fact, some residents described him as a “kingpin of galamsey in the area” who is fronting for Chinese nationals in illegal mining, and called on President Akufo-Addo to relief him of his post as District Chief Executive.
Indeed, the DCE is clearly heard in the audio that has emerged confessing to receiving 5% of the proceeds of galamsey from someone, which translated to an amount of GHC15,000 every two weeks as agreed between he and the owner of the galamsey concession in the presence of their lawyers. He was also heard in the audio giving instructions to someone to bring in Chinese miners to engage in galamsey in exchange for cash.
This strong evidence has been available to President Akufo-Addo and people at the forefront of the galamsey fight, yet they have failed to crack the whip.
President Akufo-Addo’s comment on this matter during his engagement with MMDCEs and some Chiefs in Kumasi yesterday shows clearly that he hasn’t repented from shielding his officials who are engaged in illegal mining and proves what walking contradiction he is, as he continues to skirt around this very important issue. Having admitted yesterday that he was aware of reports of the galamsey activities of his DCE for Bosome Freho, Yaw Danso, President Akufo-Addo’s claim that his errant DCE has lost his mother and would be invited to Accra for questioning at a later date, clearly betrays the President’s lack of genuine commitment to punish his own appointees who are behind this illicit business.
The Ghanaian people are simply tired of the President’s cocktail of empty and useless rhetorics on this subject of galamsey. We are saying to him today, that it is either we begin to see action on his part or he should simply spare us his empty talk.
Compromised Operation Vanguard, Operation Galamstop and Operation Halt after $3 Million spent on Drones.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, at the heart of President Akufo-Addo’s failed fight against illegal mining has been a huge expenditure on various military and sometimes joint security operations. From Operation Vanguard to Operation Halt and Galamstop, several millions of Ghana Cedis have been expended on procuring logistics, feeding security personnel and ostensibly reclaiming lands in the name of fighting illegal mining.
Despite the huge public funds that have been committed to the fight over the years, government has turned a blind eye on various reports of bribe-taking and extortion by security personnel embedded in these task forces. Instead of combating illegal mining, security personnel have been caught on camera time and again guarding galamsey sites and protecting illegal Chinese miners in areas such Tontokrom and Bipotenten in the Amansie areas of the Ashanti Region.
One such instance as revealed by a JoyNews report involved a Company known as Heritage Imperial deep in the Manso forest enclave of the Ashanti Region. The report revealed that military men belonging to the Ghana Armed Forces, assisted by members of the NPP vigilante group, Delta Force, were actively offering protection to a galamsey site.
These evidence have been available to the President Akufo-Addo and the powers that be, yet no action was taken to rid the task force of such criminally-minded officers. No wonder the fight has been a futile one and the various task forces have been a complete waste of taxpayers money.
Ladies and gentlemen, the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. John Peter Amewu, under whose leadership the galamsey fight began made an observation that members of the Operation Vanguard Team had been compromised by illegal miners. His statements were corroborated by then Eastern Regional Minister, Hon. Eric Daffour.
Aside these happenings in the early years of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, which have been indelibly inscribed in the womb of time, we also do recall that some chiefs in the Amansie area in the Ashanti Region had cause to accuse then head of the Forestry Commission, the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, aka Sir John and other high-ranking government officials of fronting illegal mining activities in that area.
Also, as recent as 27th April, 2022, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, who also doubles as the MP for Tarkwa Nsuem, George Mireku Duker was accused of his involvement in a dispute between two illegal small scale mining gangs, the Okobeng gang on one hand and the Mireku Duker side on the other hand. The leader of the group alleged to be affiliated with the MP died on the spot from a gunshot, while the leader of the Okobeng gang sustained deep cutlass wounds on the head and ears and was rushed to the Korle-Bu teaching hospital. The Deputy Minister and MP for Tarkwa was never sanctioned by President Akufo-Addo for allowing illegal mining activities in his backyard let alone actively encouraging and associating with same. Today, the Pataaho forest in Dompim, the hometown of Mireku Duker who doubles as a Chief in the area has become the hotbed of illegal mining, while he, who is supposed to be championing this government’s so-called fight against “Galamsey” looks on unconcerned.
Friends from the media, all the cases we have outlined point to an indisputable fact that the so-called fight against illegal mining under President Akufo-Addo has long been a wobbly, compromised one that is bound to fail. President Akufu-Addo has taken no interest in investigating these reports and bringing the named errant appointees to book. The only reasonable explanation for this strange reluctance of President Akufo-Addo to act on these cases of official complicity in “galamsey” is that President Akufo-Addo is himself complicit and benefits from the illicit “galamsey” trade of his appointees.
We all recall how under the leadership of Prof. Frimpong Boateng as Environment Minister, about $3 million of taxpayers money was spent on procuring drones for the use of these taskforces. Can the President tell the nation the whereabout of these drones and what use they have been put to?
Chairman Wontumi and activities of his Akonta Mining Limited in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve
Distinguished friends from the media, we are pretty sure you have followed recent events pertaining to the illegal mining activities of a company belonging to Bernard Antwi Bosiako, aka Chairman Wontumi, who is the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party. The said Company, known as Akonta Mining Limited, is reported to have been engaging in extensive illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve located at Samreboi in the Western Region, without any mining lease, mineral right, and/or permit to undertake any mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve. This fact has been confirmed by the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, yet Wontumi is still walking free.
As earlier revealed, Chairman Wontumi is one of the biggest and leading galamsey kingpins in this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, whose galamsey footprints have left vast devastation in various forest reserves in Ashanti, Eastern, Western and Western North Regions among others.
Emboldened by the nonchalance and lukewarm posturing of the President, NPP bandits and thugs who now work for Chairman Wontumi had the effrontery to engage in an open armed combat with the anti-Galamsey task force of the Okyehene at Asaman Tamfoe in the Eastern Region two weeks ago. This is how brazen Wontumi has become in his indiscriminate “galamsey” activities and destruction of the environment under the watch President Akufo-Addo and Vice President, Alhaji Bawumia.
As a leading figure within the NPP, we can understand why President Akufo-Addo has refused to crack the whip on Wontumi’s destruction of the environment, because this conduct ties perfectly into the grand agenda of “Party Hia Sika”, which aims at mobilizing money for the New Patriotic Party through illegal mining activities.
The Aisha Huang Debacle
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the final nail in the coffin of Akufo-Addo’s failed galamsey fight must certainly be the ignominious Aisha Huang debacle. The Aisha Huang debacle, as putrefying as it is, undoubtedly sums up the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government’s fight against galamsey, which has been one of hypocrisy, double standards and complicity.
We are sure, that you are all aware of how the Chinese woman, Aisha Huang, who was arrested in May 2017, and charged for undertaking illegal mining in Ghana and allegedly deported from the country in December 2018, ‘miraculously’ reemerged in Ghana.
Aisha Huang, who gained extreme notoriety for her galamsey activities and was tagged as the “Galamsey Queen”, is said to have been in Ghana all this while and was back to her illicit galamsey business until she was recently arrested after one of her partners reported her to the Police.
Indeed, many, including us in the NDC casted doubt over whether or not she was deported from the country in the first place when she was first arrested in 2017. As fate will have it, the chickens came home to roost when in a recent interview with Stone City FM in the Volta Region, on Monday, 12th September, 2022, truth mistakenly fell out of President Akufo-Addo’s mouth. In response to a question on the re-arrest of Aisha Huang, the President said: “I’m not sure whether she was in fact deported or whether she fled the country the first time, and has now come back”.
Much as the above statement from President Akufo-Addo was tragic, it revealed the inner truth and naked underbelly of the so-called fight against galamsey which has been nothing but lip service, half-hearted effort and complicity.
Having been arraigned before court once again and charged, it remains to be seen whether the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government will finally clothe itself in some glory, by prosecuting the notorious Aisha Huang to serve as a deterrent to others. But judging from events in times past, we are not in the least hopeful for any positive outcome. Only time will tell.
CONCLUSION
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, as we have amply demonstrated, the so-called fight against galamsey by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government is a scam and has been a lost battle from day one. This is because, there has never been any genuine commitment or political will on the part of the President to combat the menace.
History has shown that any time a leader sets out to fight a certain crime in society, be it illegal mining, corruption, drug trafficking or any other vice, there is bound to be resistance from dark forces, including those who benefit directly from those crimes. However, what distinguishes leaders who succeed from those who fail is the genuine political will not only to bring sunshine on those crimes, but to severely punish the culprits in order to serve as a deterrent to like-minded persons who may contemplate those crimes.
President Akufo-Addo has proven to be a leader who has specialized in talk without backing same with deeds. Today, our beloved country stands at a cross-road of unprecedented economic mess and unprecedented environmental degradation under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia.
Instead of accepting responsibility for his failed “Galamsey” fight, President Akufo-Addo aided by his Minister of Lands and Naturals Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor have resorted to shifting the blame to the Chieftaincy institution. This latest attempt by the Akufo-Addo government to blame the failed “Galamsey” fight on Chiefs and community leaders is shameful to say the least and must be condemned in no uncertain terms.
It is about time President Akufo-Addo understood the important duties of the high office he currently occupies. He is the President of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed forces. As President, he has authority and control over the security services and coercive powers of State. The mineral resources of the country are vested in him in trust for the people. And therefore he has the ultimate responsibility to ensure compliance with the mineral and mining laws of the country and the prosecution of those who breach same. More importantly, only he has powers to hire and fire appointees of his who engage in illegal mining. No attempt to shift or share the blame for his failed “Galamsey” fight will wash.
Mr. President, leaders are elected to solve problems, but you have only come to create more problems for the country only to turn around to massage the problems with flowery speeches and empty promises. Ghanaians are tired of your flowery speeches and useless rhetorics. Your so-called fight against galamsey has been a spectacular failure, and the only way to salvage it is for you to man up and finally begin to crack the whip on your errant appointees and NPP functionaries who are neck-deep in the “galamsey” business.
Mr. President, we demand the following urgent, concrete actions from you if you want Ghanaians to take you seriously:
We demand the immediate prosecution of all government functionaries and NPP officials who have engaged themselves in illegal mining (galamsey) activities such as Charles Bissue, Chairman Wontumi, Andy Owusu, Ekow Awusi, Prof. Frimpomg Boateng among others. This will be the first step to redemption and serve as a deterrent to other people within your government and party. You need to send a clear signal to Ghanaians that anyone caught in “galamsey” will be dealt with without fear or favour, regardless of party colours.
We demand that all the so-called illegal mining companies like the Akonta Mining Limited which belongs to Chairman Wontumi and Heritage Imperial Mining Company which belongs to Mr. Donald Enstuah, a known financeer of the NPP who have invaded forest reserves without any mining leases or permits, must be closed down and prosecuted. The assets of these companies must be confiscated and their owners surcharged with costs of the destruction of those forest reserves.
We demand that all security personnel complicit in illegal mining activities should be made to face internal investigations and discharged from the various services to serve as deterrent to others.
Mr. President, until you undertake the above actions faithfully, your so-called renewed fight against “galamsey” will remain a mirage. And you will be remembered by posterity as the President who promoted illegal mining by his appointees, party functionaries and their foreign collaborators and supervised the worst destruction of our environment.
Before I conclude, let me make the point that the NDC is not against mining in principle. What we are against is illegal mining, particularly mining in water bodies and irresponsible mining that destroys the environment without any reclamation. What we are vehemently against is hypocrisy of government officials, who after destroying the businesses of legal small miners, have turned around and engaged in the menace with brazen impunity.
Thank you for your attention ladies and gentlemen of the media and may God bless our homeland Ghana.
Saturday’s domestic dust-up between Chris Eubank Jrand Conor Benn has been postponed.
The bout at London’s O2 Arena was thrown into doubt yesterday when it came to light that trace amounts of a fertility drug had been detected in a sample Benn had submitted to VADA.
The British Boxing Board of Control then stepped in to declare the fight was “prohibited” and “not in the interests of boxing”.
A joint statement said: “After discussions with various parties, we have taken the decision to formally postpone the bout between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn.
“It is undeniable that the British Boxing Board of Control’s decision to withdraw their sanctioning was procedurally flawed and without due process.
“That remains a legal issue between the promoters and the board, which we intend to pursue.
“However, while there are legal routes to facilitate the fight taking place as planned, we do not believe that it is in the fighters’ interests for those to be pursued at such a late stage, or in the wider interests of the sport.
Conor Benn must now wait to see what the future holds for him
“As promoters, we take our obligations and duties very seriously and a full investigation will now need to take place.
“We will be making no further comment at this time and news for ticket holder refunds will follow.”
Hearn had taken to Twitter before the statement was released to kill off speculation that the grudge fight could be sanctioned by another governing body.
He said: “Let’s see what today brings. But to make one thing clear, I will not be promoting this fight with a foreign commission or alternative governing body on Saturday night.”
Despite the uncertainty regarding what would happen, unbeaten Benn, 26, appeared as scheduled at yesterday’s open workout.
He said at the event: “I’ve not committed any violations. I’ve not been suspended. So as far as I’m concerned, the fight is still going ahead.
Let’s see what today brings but to make one thing clear, I will not be promoting this fight with a foreign commission or alternative governing body on Saturday night
“I’ve spoken to Chris personally and we still want the fight to go ahead. We want the fight to happen for the fans.
“Throughout my whole career, all my tests have come up negative. I’m a clean athlete and we’ll get to the bottom of this.
“Chris fully believes in me. I’m a professional athlete and he was understanding.”
Speaking to iFLTV at the workout, 33-year-old Eubank added: “What he’s done is being investigated and things have to be right. I’m on weight. I did my job.
“It’s unfortunate and it’s a shame. I am starving right now and I am dehydrated — I’ve sacrificed, so let’s hope this can be salvaged.”
Following the decision to postpone the bout, Benn tweeted: “I am truly gutted that we were unable to make this fight happen on Saturday and I’m sorry to everyone who has been affected by the postponement.
“I am still completely shocked and surprised by this and it has been a tough couple of days.
“My team and I will consider the next options, including rescheduling the fight, but my immediate focus is on clearing my name because I am a clean athlete.”
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) held a press conference to discuss the incessant illegal mining activities happening in the country.
The presser was moderated by the party’s Communications Director Sammy Gyamfi.
This comes after President Akufo-Addo engaged the National House of Chiefs at Manhyia in the Ashanti Region over the menace that has destroyed several water bodies and forest reserves.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has increased its Monetary Policy Rateby 250 basis points to 24.5%.
Addressing the media, the Governor of the central bank, Dr. Ernest Addison, explained that the decision has been made check the rising rate of inflation as the country negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for an economic programme.
He explained that inflation remains elevated and the balance of risks is on the upside. Although the forecasts are for monthly inflation to continue to slow down, the risks are on the upside, emanating largely from pass-through effects of the currency depreciation, the recent upward adjustment in utility tariffs, and rising inflation expectations.
He therefore added that the committee therefore remains committed to re-anchoring inflation expectations and returning to a disinflation path.
The upward adjustment means it will become more expensive to borrow from banks, a situation that will push cost of living and doing business in the country further up.
BoG increases policy rate by 10% since March 2021
Since the Bank of Ghana first increase the policy rate in March 2021, the interest policy rate has gone up by 10%.
The Central Bank increased the policy rate by 2.5% on March 25, 2022 to 17%, and subsequently increased it on May 23, 2022 to 19%.
It again adjusted it upwards by 300 basis points to 22% in August 2022.
Former President John Dramani Mahama, on October 5, 2022 shared wide-ranging insights with the academic community of Liberty University, the biggest privately-owned tertiary institution in the United States.
The special guest of honour at the 2022 Convocation of the Virginia-based university delivered a 10-minute speech to a packed auditorium.
In his speech, John Mahama narrated how he entered politics at a time he was considering going into academia and the need to turn to God at all times.
He described Ghana as “an island of religious calmness in a sea of turbulence,” citing how “almost all our surrounding neighbours have in recent times experienced some major form of insurgency, coup d’etats or other conflicts, including religious conflicts.”
Governments, John Mahama noted, must guarantee peace and security and avenues to combat youth unemployment so that youth don’t become easy recruits due to frustration and lack of opportunity.
FIFA’s latest world rankings has revealed that the Black Stars of Ghana have dropped one place.
The four-time Africa Cup of Nations winners who occupied the 60th position are now 61st.
The Black Stars are still the least ranked country heading into the 2022 World Cup.
In Africa, Ghana’s senior national football team are ranked 11th, with Senegal maintaining top spot. Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria and Algeria complete Africa’s top five.
Brazil also maintain their top spot on the globe in a very familiar top 10, with Italy leapfrogging Spain into 6th, the only change.
172 games were played in total for the latest rankings, with Ghana (5) playing the most games.
Pep Guardiola has denied claims Erling Haaland has a release clause in his Manchester City contract that would allow him to join Real Madrid on favourable terms.
Haaland has been outstanding since joining City from Borussia Dortmund at the start of the season, netting twice against Copenhagen on Wednesday to take his tally to an astonishing 19 in 12 games.
But before that game, Fernando Sanz – a former Madrid player and later the president of Malaga – had suggested Haaland’s deal had an “exit clause” with “very beneficial conditions” for Los Blancos.
Haaland joined City after they activated a clause in his Dortmund contract, but Guardiola insisted after the Copenhagen game there was no truth in the claim.
“It’s not true,” he told reporters. “He has not got a release clause for Real Madrid or any other team. It’s not true. That’s all I can say.
“Absolutely not [it is not annoying]. There are rumours and people talk, and you cannot control it. We always have to worry about what we can control.
“The important thing is he can adapt really well, I have the feeling he is happy here. We tried with him and all of them, the people who stayed here, and made them happy. This is the most important thing.
“At the end, what’s going to happen in the future? Who knows it? Nobody knows it.
“What’s important is he’s happy and settled perfectly and incredibly loved by everyone. This is the most important thing.”
Haaland was substituted at half-time in the 5-0 win at Copenhagen, missing the chance to score another hat-trick after three in his past three home Premier League games.
Guardiola said the change was not planned, as he explained: “He played a lot of minutes three days ago, the game was under control, and Cole Palmer [his replacement] is an excellent player, a top-class player.
“If the game was tight, Erling would continue to play. But it was better to rest and to think of Southampton, a team we were not able to beat last season. Hopefully this season we can do it.”
Guardiola added: “Erling Haaland, what does he want? The same as us; to win the game. He made the hat-tricks to win the games.”
Of the performance, in which an own goal, a Riyad Mahrez penalty and Julian Alvarez’s close-range finish added to Haaland’s double, Guardiola said: “Today we see the reason why these years were really, really successful at this club.
“After Man United, 6-3, a lot of compliments, a lot of nice things, we were able to be humble enough to respect the opponent like every team we play. This is the secret of this team.”
Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup said his team “have to improve” but accepted: “There was not anything we could do to City.
“There were of course things we could always do better, but we just need to accept we were playing against the best team in the world right now. They are several levels above us.”
Sevilla have fired head coach Julen Lopetegui, with a comprehensive 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League proving to be his final game in charge.
Lopetegui led Sevilla to just one win in their first seven games of the season in LaLiga, and widespread reports had suggested he would be relieved of his duties after Wednesday’s match.
The former Spain and Real Madrid coach’s final game with Sevilla proved to be an unhappy one, as goals from Raphael Guerreiro, Jude Bellingham, Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt saw Dortmund dominate.
Speaking to Movistar after the defeat, Lopetegui revealed: “Right now I’m still coach of Sevilla but… I’ve already said goodbye to the team.
“I don’t get a negative feeling right now. The first thing I feel is gratitude to a club like Sevilla, the fans, the people of the city and my players, who have given me three wonderful seasons.
“I arrived with doubts and it was possible to turn it around with many successful seasons.”
A statement released by Sevilla less than 30 minutes after full-time then formally confirmed his departure, saying.
“Sevilla have dismissed Julen Lopetegui as coach of the first team after the clash [with] Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday,” the statement read.
“Lopetegui closes a successful stage with three magnificent campaigns in which the objectives were more than achieved, and a fourth season in which the results have not been on track, with Sevilla [taking] five points out of a possible 21 in LaLiga.”
Jorge Sampaoli – who coached Sevilla in the 2016-17 season – is reportedly being targeted to replace him, while Lopetegui has been linked with the vacant position at Wolves.
Dortmund’s rampant performance owed much to the display of Bellingham, who became the first English teenager to start a Champions League match as captain.
Bellingham marked the occasion with a fine solo goal, becoming just the second teenager to score in the first three games of a Champions League campaign.
The only other player to achieve that feat is Bellingham’s former BVB team-mate Erling Haaland, who did so with Salzburg in the 2019-20 season.
Bellingham’s tally of three Champions League goals this season is already a joint-high among English teenagers for a single campaign, along with Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, back in 2004-05.
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