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Ethiopia says army can re-enter seized Tigray capital Mekelle in weeks
The Ethiopian army could re-enter the seized Tigray regional capital of Mekelle within weeks if needed, a spokesman for a government task force said on Wednesday, adding that government-allied Eritrean forces had withdrawn from the region. It was the first public statement by a federal government official since Mekelle was taken by Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces this week in a major turn of events after eight months of conflict in which thousands of people have been killed. read more People in Mekelle, where communications were down on Wednesday, said on Monday incoming Tigrayan fighters had been greeted with cheers. There were similar scenes in the northern town of Shire on Wednesday, where Eritrean forces had pulled out and Tigrayan forces had entered, residents said. Peo...
Manchester United ready to listen to offers for Dean Henderson
Manchester United are willing to listen to offers for goalkeeper Dean Henderson amid concerns over his attitude, Football Insider claims. The England international started last season as the back-up goalkeeper behind David de Gea, but he became a regular during the back end of the campaign. Despite this, he was ignored for the Europa League final against Villarreal. The club lost via a penalty shoot-out, with De Gea failing to save any of the 11 spot-kicks. Ahead of next season, the club are planning a radical overhaul of the goalkeeping department, and they have already released Sergio Romero and Joel Pereira. The club are also open to offers for Henderson and De Gea but acknowledge that they may struggle to offload the latter due to his hefty £350,000-a-week wages. Henderson is said to b...
Marcus Rashford penalty gives England win over Romania in Euro warm-up
Marcus Rashford’s penalty earned England an unconvincing 1-0 win over Romania in their final warm-up friendly ahead of Euro 2020 in Middlesbrough on Sunday. However, victory for Gareth Southgate’s men was again overshadowed by booing from supporters as the players took the knee before kick-off. Southgate’s selection will also be questioned as he named an experimental line-up with five players who are not part of his final squad making an appearance at some point in the game. There is still one place up for grabs in Southgate’s 26-man squad, though, due to an injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold. James Ward-Prowse, Ben Godfrey and Ben White were all given the chance to further their case from the start, while Jesse Lingard and Ollie Watkins came off the bench in the second-half. An inexperience...
Jordi Cruyff returning to Barcelona in advisor role
Jordi Cruyff, the son of Barcelona legend Johan, is returning to Camp Nou in an advisor role. The 47-year-old followed in the footsteps of his famous father when stepping out of the La Masia academy system in Catalunya. Much of his career was spent away from Barca, while he has also dabbled in coaching since hanging up his boots, but a familiar face now forms part of the restructuring work being put in behind the scenes by Blaugrana president Joan Laporta. Barca have said in a statement on the club’s official website: “FC Barcelona announces that Jordi Cruyff will join the football area of the Club and form part of the new organisational structure as of August 1. “Jordi Cruyff, who was a player in Barca’s youth teams and in the Barca first team from 1993 to 1996, returns in a strategic rol...
Manchester United board in disagreement with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over Paul Pogba
Manchester United’s board and manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, are in disagreement over the future of Paul Pogba. The Mirror says with his contract at Old Trafford due to expire next year, attentions are starting to turn towards a possible new contract. Solskjaer wants the midfielder to stay at the club, having worked so hard to get him back to his blistering best. But it’s said that, behind the scenes, there’s a split in opinion. Some United board members are wary of meeting Pogba’s salary demands with the player’s agent, Mino Raiola, wanting his client to pocket £400,000-a-week. That’s just too steep at the current moment in time, particularly with the coronavirus crisis raging on and Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane being amongst their current targets. United are said to value their midfie...
Why Wilfried Zaha is no longer taking the knee
Wilfried Zaha became the first Premier League player not to kneel before kick-off on Saturday since top-flight footballers started using the gesture to protest racial injustice last summer. The Crystal Palace winger instead chose to “stand tall” ahead of the match with West Brom, something he had said in February he was going to do but hadn’t started a game since then due to injury. Zaha released a statement ahead of kick-off outlining his intention to do so and his reasons for it. What he said “My decision to stand at kick-off has been public knowledge for a couple of weeks now,” the Ivorian international said. “There is no right or wrong decision, but for me personally I feel kneeling has just become a part of the pre-match routine and at the moment it doesn’t matter whether we kneel or ...
Manchester United star Donny van de Beek urged to consider January transfer exit
Ajax and Netherlands legend Ronald de Boer has advised Donny Van De Beek to leave Manchester United in this January transfer window. Van De Beek has struggled for game time since his £39million move from Ajax. The 23-year-old has started just two Premier League games this season and has been completely left out the squad for United’s last three fixtures. And De Boer thinks the Holland international should consider leaving with the Euros coming up this summer. He told AD: “The European Championship is coming, he will undoubtedly want to be there. “Maybe it would be good for him to discuss with the club exactly what they want with him. “If the view on playing time does not improve, he may have to declare that he should be loaned or even sold. “You have to be lucky every now and then. Of cour...
US Democrat Senate wins push stocks higher despite Capitol chaos
Clean sweep by Democrats allows them to enact big-spending policies likely to benefit the economy, investors say. Global stock markets rose and bonds nursed losses on Thursday in anticipation of a big-borrowing and big-spending Democratic administration driving growth, following runoff elections that gave the party control of both houses of the United States Congress. On Wednesday, US Treasury bonds had suffered their steepest selloff in months after Democratic Party victories in two races in the state of Georgia handed them narrow control of the Senate and the power to pass their agenda. US S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9 percent as markets seemed to shake off a late fade that pulled Wall Street indexes back from fresh record peaks when chaotic protest...
Woman shot dead in US Capitol was a veteran and Trump supporter
The woman who died Wednesday of a bullet wound during the violent storming of the US Capitol was shot by police, authorities said. The only fatality tied to Wednesday’s unrest was the woman, reportedly a dedicated Donald Trump backer and air force veteran who was among a throng of supporters of the president that invaded the US legislature. Washington police chief Robert Contee said three other people, one woman and two men, had died Wednesday in the area around the Capitol, but did not link those deaths to the violence. Each of the three “appeared to have suffered medical emergencies which resulted in their deaths,” Contee told reporters. Contee said 52 people had been arrested Wednesday, 26 of them on the grounds of the Capitol, for curfew violations, unlawful entry and weapons charges. ...
TikTok to hide graphic videos behind warning screens
TikTok has unveiled a newly updated set of community guidelines and tools, which include new warning screens on graphic videos, a new text-to-voice accessibility feature, and updated health resources. The update brings new vaccine information which will be added to TikTok’s coronavirus resource hub as well as resources to be shown if people search for certain terms, like those related to self-harm. According to TikTok, the graphic content warning screens are meant to prevent the accidental viewing of content that some might find disturbing. The screen gives two options, letting users either view the clip or skip it entirely. More extreme content is removed from the service entirely, but the new warning labels cover clips that might be allowed for “documentary reasons,” scenes from horror m...
Southampton confirm Arsenal target to leave club on free transfer
Southampton have confirmed that Arsenal and AC Milan target Ryan Bertrand will leave the club for free this summer. Bertrand has spent the last six years of his career on Southampton’s books, scoring eight goals in 240 appearances, but he will walk through the St Mary’s exit doors at the end of the 2020-21 season after failing to reach an extension agreement with the club. The Saints have announced the 31-year-old’s departure, thanking him for his sterling contribution to their cause while insisting he will always hold a special place in the heart of the club’s supporters. “Southampton Football Club can today confirm that Ryan Bertrand will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season,” a statement on the club’s official website read. “Bertrand was a key part of the te...