Negotiations
Dutch FA opens talks with Louis van Gaal over return to national team
Louis van Gaal has moved a step closer to returning as Netherlands coach for a third time after meeting with Dutch football association officials to discuss the job, local media reported on Friday. The reports said the 69-year-old held talks at his home in Portugal on Thursday with KNVB directors Nico-Jan Hoogma and Eric Gudde, who are responsible for the choice of a new coach after Frank de Boer’s resignation. De Boer resigned after their Euro 2020 last-16 defeat to Czech Republic on June 27 and the KNVB said it would move swiftly to find a replacement, with the team set to resume their World Cup qualification campaign in September. Van Gaal, who officially retired in 2019 but stepped away from the game two years earlier after leaving Manchester United, had two previous spells at the helm...
APC insists Governor Matawalle is Zamfara party leader
The All Progressives Congress on Friday reiterated its conferment of the leadership of the Zamfara State chapter of the party on Governor Bello Matawalle. This is coming on the heels of the rejection of the governor’s leadership by former governor Abdelaziz Yari, and a party stalwart, Senator Kabiru Marafa. The Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee of the party, Governor Mai Mala Buni, had while welcoming Matawalle into the party, dissolved the APC state executive committee and announced Matawalle as the new party leader. However, Yari and Marafa had in separate interviews with the Hausa Service of the BBC, rejected Buni’s declaration, insisting that negotiations were still ongoing. When contacted, via the telephone, on Friday, the National Secretary of t...
Settlers in occupied West Bank agree to evacuate illegal outpost
Israeli settlers who constructed an unapproved outpost near Beita in the occupied West Bank said they have agreed to withdraw from the site. Tensions in the occupied West Bank reached new highs in the past months with the Evyatar settlement being one of the focal points of clashes as settlers refused to evacuate the land and Palestinians demonstrated against their presence. Several Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli forces supporting the illegal settlers. According to a statement on Wednesday by the Samaria Regional Council, a settlers’ organisation, the Israelis are due to leave by Friday following a compromise offered to them by the Israeli government. The Samaria Regional Council also reportedly said the settlement’s structures will not be demolished, but rather...
PSG steals Georginio Wijnaldum from Barca’s grips with better offer
Liverpool’s Dutch midfielder, Georginio Wijnaldum, who had been a long-time target to firm up the Catalan midfield for Barcelona, made a sudden volte face by deciding for former French Ligue champions Paris Saint-Germain instead. Just when the details of his move from former English Premier League champions Liverpool were almost fully sorted with arrangements on course for Wijnaldum’s medicals at Camp Nou, PSG jumped ahead to challenge for the midfielder’s interest with a juicier offer which appears to have worked in their favour. The Ligue 1 side has now won the race to sign 30-year-old central midfielder on a free transfer from Liverpool. PSG found their way around advanced talks between Wijnaldum and Barca by showing the defender their determination to attract him to Paris by improving ...
Nigerian government asks judiciary, parliamentary staff to call off strike
The Federal Government has directed members of the striking Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) to “urgently” call off their over-two-month-old strike. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, gave the directive in a statement on Tuesday, threatening that the government might be forced to invoke “sections of the Trade Disputes Acts” if the strike persisted longer. The threat is a government’s familiar warning of possible introduction of “no-work-no-pay” policy to break adamant striking workers. “The ministry will not be happy to be pushed into invoking sections of the Trade Disputes Acts capable of eroding all the gains made so far in the negotiations since May 6, 2021,” the statement signed by the ministry of Labou...
Jorginho almost joined Manchester City in 2018 – agent
Chelsea star Jorginho was close to joining Manchester City prior to his move to west London, according to the midfielder’s agent. Jorginho followed Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri to Stamford Bridge in 2018 and has since become a key part of the Blues line-up, helping them to Champions League final victory over City in May. But if things had turned out differently he might well have lined up against his current team-mates in Porto. “It was Napoli’s choice,” agent Joao Santos explained to Football Italia. “They were negotiating with Manchester City, but then they began talks with Chelsea, and that’s where we ended up. “We have nothing against Manchester City. Playing at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola would have been satisfying, but that’s how transfers work. “Sometimes things can change ver...
Taiwan says request to drop word ‘country’ preceded BioNTech vaccine deal collapse
Germany’s BioNTech asked Taiwan to remove the word “country” from an announcement they planned to make on a COVID-19 vaccine sale to the island, its health minister said on Thursday, giving details of the deal whose axing was blamed on China by Taipei. Taiwan and China are engaged in an escalating war of words after Beijing offered the shots to the Chinese-claimed island via Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, which has a contract to sell them in Greater China. Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told a daily news briefing the government had signed and sent back a “final contract” agreed with BioNTech after months of negotiations, and the two sides were on the verge of issuing a press release on Jan. 8. But four hours later “BioNTech suddenly sent a letter, saying they strongly ...
Liverpool boss refuses to confirm Gini Wijnaldum’s departure
Jurgen Klopp refused to confirm whether Gini Wijnaldum is set to play his final game for Liverpool this weekend, but insisted the midfielder’s commitment to the Reds cannot be questioned. Wijnaldum’s contract at Anfield expires next month, and there is no sign of the 30-year-old agreeing a renewal. Bayern Munich and Barcelona have been strongly linked with the Dutch international, who is likely to captain the Reds on Sunday in their crunch clash with Crystal Palace at home. Klopp refused to be drawn on Wijnaldum’s future at a press conference at Kirkby on Friday, telling reporters: “There’s nothing to say in this moment. We have a game to play. We will see after the final whistle on Sunday.” Later, though, he was asked whether the idea of such an influential player – Wijnaldum has made 50 ...
Tottenham speak to two Bundesliga managers as they hunt for new boss
Reuters Tottemham Hotspur have reportedly stepped up their search of finding a new manager by speaking to Hansi Flick and Ralf Rangnick. The North London side currently have former midfielder Ryan Mason at the helm on an interim basis following the sacking of Jose Mourinho last month. Mason has won three out of his four Premier League matches in charge – helping Spurs climb to sixth in the table. And with European football looking all-but secure for next season, Daniel Levy is now turning his attention to finding a permanent boss to take over in the summer. Tottenham were keen on luring Julian Nagelsmann away from RB Leipzig, but it has been confirmed that he will take over from Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich. According to the Guardian, Spurs have spoken to Flick about him potentially moving...
Kaduna strike: Northern governors call for calm
The Northern Governors Forum has called for calm and dialogue between Kaduna State Government and organised labour, to resolve the ongoing warning strike by workers in the state. The Chairman of the forum and Governor of Plateau, Mr Simon Lalong, made the call in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Makut Macham, on Tuesday in Jos. He said the forum was concerned of the impact of the strike on the state and its residents following the lockdown of economic activities in the state. The chairman noted that dialogue and negotiations were effective tools of addressing dispute in labour relations. He called for restraint and de-escalation of the situation to enable amicable resolutions. He pointed out that peaceful resolution was only possible when both parties operate wi...
Somalia invites state leaders to crucial election talks
Somalia’s prime minister on Sunday invited regional leaders to a fresh round of negotiations in the hope of resolving a protracted feud over elections that sparked violence in the capital. The troubled Horn of Africa country is experiencing its worst political crisis in years, with fighting erupting in Mogadishu last week after the president extended his mandate by two years without going to elections. Opposition fighters remain in the capital even after President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed backed away from the mandate extension at the weekend and agreed to hold a fresh vote. The president, better known by his nickname Farmajo, tasked his prime minister with reaching out to rivals and overseeing the negotiations, a key opposition demand. A government spokesman said Prime Minister Mohamed Hu...
Guatemalan president says graft fighter biased, ahead of Harris visit
Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei criticized the country’s best-known graft prosecutor for what he said was a left-wing politicization of the fight against corruption, a view at odds with strong U.S. backing for his work. Speaking in an interview with Reuters late on Tuesday, Giammattei nonetheless expressed hope that a visit to Guatemala next week by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will produce shared strategies to create prosperity in rural areas prone to emigration. Harris, a Democrat, is in charge of Washington efforts to tackle the causes of mass migration from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, collectively dubbed the Northern Triangle, including a focus on corruption and poor governance that she says limit opportunities. There is a $4 billion U.S. aid package to the reg...