Month: August 2023

Ghana forward Mohammed Kudus left Ajax to join West Ham in a deal worth a reported $48 million on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Kudus joins holding midfielder Edson Alvarez in moving to the Olympic Stadium from Ajax in this summer’s transfer window and has signed a five-year deal.

Kudus scored 19 goals and had seven assists in all competitions for Ajax last season, including goals against Liverpool and Napoli in the Champions League.

“I’ve been dreaming to play in a league like this since I was a kid,” Kudus said. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment and I’m so happy to be here. But it doesn’t stop here, I want to keep going.

“I try my best to entertain the fans as I think that’s what football is all about. I’m just here to do my best and help the team. I’m really happy to be here. I will fight for the badge. I can’t wait to get started.”

Kudus has made 24 appearances for Ghana and played at the World Cup last year.

“He’s a terrific young talent, who has already shone at the very highest level for Ajax in the Champions League and made well over 150 senior appearances at the age of 23 — so it was no surprise to see so many top clubs chasing his signature this summer,” West Ham manager David Moyes said.

West Ham has also signed center midfielder James Ward-Prowse this summer as the club spends the money collected for selling Declan Rice to Arsenal.

Rwanda announced on Sunday that it had signed a five-year partnership with German club Bayern Munich to promote tourism in the East African country and set up a football academy.

“The ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’ is extending its visibility to a new European football league after England, where it is a sponsor of London club Arsenal, and France, where it is a partner of Paris Saint-Germain.

As part of this partnership, the “Visit Rwanda” logo will appear on the illuminated panels around the pitch at the Allianz Arena (75,000 seats), according to a press release from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the government body responsible for promoting the country.

The club, which won its eleventh consecutive national title last season and is a six-time winner of the UEFA Champions League, has also undertaken to set up a football academy in Rwanda.

The amount of the partnership is “contractually confidential”, RDB manager Clare Akamanzi told Africanewsguru.com.

“We are delighted to be partnering with FC Bayern to support the development of football for boys and girls in Rwanda. We are looking forward to creating the FC Bayern Academy where their expert coaches will be able to share their knowledge of the game with local coaches and players,” said Rwanda’s Minister of Sport, Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju, in the statement.

“Africa is a continent of opportunities. For FC Bayern, it is the next important step in our internationalisation,” said Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. For the past five years, the Rwandan government has been investing heavily in the sporting sphere, with the aim of attracting tourists and investors and raising the international profile of the country, whose history is marked by the 1994 genocide.

It signed a partnership with Arsenal in 2018, then with PSG the following year. It has also embarked on organising international sporting events, such as the World Road Cycling Championships in 2025, and in March hosted the 73rd Congress of the International Football Federation (Fifa).

Partnerships with Arsenal and PSG have generated more than $160 million (€148 million) and attracted a million visitors, generating an additional $445 million (€412 million), according to Clare Akamanzi in March.

A leader of the jihadist group Islamic State (EI), the “planner and sponsor” of three deadly attacks in 2018 in the capital Tripoli, has been captured, the head of Libya’s Government of National Unity announced on Thursday evening.

“Our forces apprehended on Tuesday a leader of the terrorist organization Daech (Arabic acronym for EI, ed. note), involved in the planning and command of terrorist acts that targeted our country’s institutions and their fallen officials,” Abdelhamid Dbeibah, head of Libya’s UN-recognized government based in the capital, said in a live TV address.

The operation was carried out jointly by the Radaa (Deterrence) Force and the Rahbat al-Dourou (Shields) Brigade from Tajoura (an eastern suburb of Tripoli), according to the government’s media office, which gave no further details on the identity or nationality of the jihadist.

Mr. Dbeibah renewed his government’s commitment to “fighting terrorism in all its forms”, “prosecuting anyone involved” in terrorist acts, and “strengthening stability throughout the country”, despite “difficulties and challenges” to protect Libya from “obscurantists, terrorists, and criminals”.

On May 2, 2018, 14 people were killed in a suicide attack claimed by the EI against the headquarters of the Libyan High Electoral Commission (HNEC) in Tripoli.

On September 10, 2018, a suicide attack by the jihadist group against the headquarters of the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) in the heart of the capital, killed two and wounded ten company staff.

On December 25, 2018, three people, including a Libyan diplomat, were killed in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (EI) group against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Taking advantage of the disintegration of the country’s security apparatus since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the EI, which has carried out several deadly attacks across the country, had set up strongholds in Derna (east) and Sirte (north-central), from which it was driven out in 2018 and late 2016 respectively.

Fifa opened disciplinary proceedings on Thursday against the president of the Spanish Football Association, Luis Rubiales, following the kiss he forced on player Jenni Hermoso during Spain’s victory in Sunday’s World Cup final.

“These facts could constitute a violation of paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 13 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code”, states the world body, which has so far remained silent while criticism and calls for his resignation have multiplied against Rubiales, both in the Spanish political world and more widely in the world of soccer.

Dedicated to “discrimination”, the text referred to by Fifa punishes in particular the fact of “undermining the dignity or integrity” of a person “because of his sex” by a suspension “lasting at least ten matches, or any other appropriate disciplinary measure”.

Whatever the Zurich-based organization’s disciplinary committee decides, it will not rule on Luis Rubiales’ continued employment, which will be on the agenda of an extraordinary general meeting of the Spanish FA (RFEF) on Friday.

“Fifa reiterates its absolute commitment to respecting the integrity of all players, and therefore strongly condemns any behavior that runs counter to this value,” added Mr. Rubiales.

“Fifa reiterates its absolute commitment to respecting the integrity of all, and therefore strongly condemns any behavior that runs counter to this value,” added the statement from the body, which was urged to open an investigation on Wednesday evening by the FIFPro players’ union.

In footage shot on the podium at Sydney stadium on Sunday evening, just after Spain’s victory over England, Luis Rubiales can be seen taking striker Jennifer Hermoso’s head between his two hands, before kissing her on the mouth.

Ethiopia’s admission to the Brics, a bloc of emerging countries that until now has included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is a “high point” for Africa’s second most populous country, rejoiced its Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday.

Meeting at their summit in Johannesburg, the Brics, which aim to increase their influence in the world, announced on Thursday that they would welcome six new members in January: Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“An important moment for Ethiopia, the Brics leaders accepted our entry into the group today. Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous world order,” wrote Abiy Ahmed on his X (ex-Twitter) account.

“Congratulations to all Ethiopians!” also read the X account of the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s office.

Traditionally non-aligned, Ethiopia maintains close ties with Russia and China – its main trading partner – but also with the United States, even if relations with Washington became strained during the two-year conflict in the Tigray region (northern Ethiopia), which ended in November 2022.

Ethiopia was one of the world’s most dynamic economies during the 2010 decade, but its growth was curbed by the Covid-19 pandemic, climatic calamities, the conflict in Tigray and the global shockwave of the war in Ukraine.

At least 17 labourers working on a railway bridge being built across a ravine in India’s eastern Mizoram state were killed when it collapsed on Wednesday, officials said, with others reported missing.

Video footage posted by Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga showed a metal frame that had toppled off towering columns into a wooded valley below.

“Under construction railway over bridge at Sairang, near Aizawl collapsed today; at least 17 workers died,” Zoramthanga, who uses only one name, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Indian Express newspaper quoted a policeman as saying that 17 bodies had been recovered and “many others” were missing. It was not possible to immediately verify the reports of people missing.

The Hindu newspaper, quoting state government officials, reported some 40 workers had been at the site when the bridge collapsed.

“Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being given to those affected,” the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Modi was “pained” by the accident and offered his “condolences to those who have lost their loved ones”, his office said on X.

The government will pay some $2,400 to the next of kin of those killed, it said.

Mizoram is in the far east of India, bordering Myanmar.

People had “come out in large numbers to help with rescue”, Zoramthanga said, adding he was “deeply saddened and affected by this tragedy”.

Accidents on large infrastructure construction sites are common in India.

At least 20 workers were crushed to death in western India this month when a crane collapsed above an under-construction expressway outside the financial capital Mumbai.

In October last year, 130 people were killed in Gujarat when a bridge collapsed soon after it was repaired.

And in 2016, the collapse of a flyover onto a busy street in Kolkata killed at least 26 people.

In a courageous effort to transport food supplies from Niger amidst the challenging security situation in the region, a Ghanaian driver was tragically shot by suspected terrorists.

The assailants, believed to be terrorists, not only attacked the convoy but also set fire to multiple trucks.

The injured driver is currently undergoing treatment at a health facility in Niger. He was part of a group of drivers who opted for the Burkina Faso route to deliver essential food items to Ghana. The decision was prompted by the closure of Niger’s borders due to the military coup, leading to tensions with the ECOWAS regional bloc.

According to reports from Joy News, the drivers attempted to proceed past the Burkina Faso border independently after waiting in vain for security escorts. Regrettably, before they could secure safe passage, terrorists launched a violent attack on the convoy, resulting in the destruction of approximately four trucks.

Massahoudu Dambala, the proprietor of Damabala Enterprise, which employs around 35 trucks for transporting food from Niger to Ghana, recounted the harrowing incident to Joy News. He revealed that the drivers disregarded the terrorists’ commands to stop, leading to a confrontation that turned violent.

“They were waiting for escorts, but when those didn’t arrive, one of the vehicles decided to move ahead. After their success, our drivers also attempted the journey. As they set out, the jihadists emerged. Despite their attempts to halt the convoy, the drivers pressed on. Tragically, some turned back, while others abandoned their trucks,” Dambala recounted.

He further added, “Our leading vehicle was targeted; they burned it along with about 450 bags of beans it was carrying, along with three or four other trucks.”

The instability resulting from the recent military overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum has plunged Niger into a period of uncertainty. This political upheaval has severely disrupted both the movement of goods and people to and from the nation.