NEWS

• Liverpool say Mané could be out for six weeks

  Oct 11, 2017 by Admin / 393 Views

  

  LONDON – Liverpool forward Sadio Mané could be out of action for up to six weeks after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty, the club said on Tuesday.

  A statement on the club’s website said he was substituted just before the end of Senegal’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over the Cape Verde Islands on Saturday.

  “It has now been confirmed that he picked up an injury during that fixture that could keep him out of action for up to six weeks,” the statement said.

  Mané’s absence is a huge blow for Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after the forward scored three goals in four Premier League appearances this season.

   

  The injury is especially badly timed for Klopp with Liverpool’s bitter rivals Manchester United visiting Anfield on Saturday.

  Liverpool are already seven points behind United in the Premier League and can’t afford to drop points against Jose Mourinho’s in-form United.

  Mané’s value to Liverpool has been immense since his move from Southampton in 2016, but he has struggled to stay fit.

  He scored 13 Premier League goals last season despite missing the whole of January due to the Africa Cup of Nations.

  Liverpool won just once in seven matches in all competitions during his time away with Senegal.

  Mané tore the meniscus in a knee during April’s Merseyside derby against Everton which prematurely ended his season and required surgery.

  They coped better that time, with five wins, two draws and a defeat.

  Having worked hard to get back to fitness this term, Mané was sent off at Manchester City on September 9, resulting in a three-match ban.

  Since his debut in August 2016 Liverpool average 2.2 Premier League goals with Mané in the team, compared to 1.6 goals in his absence.

  Klopp has signed Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain since the end of last season to add more depth to his attacking options.

  Egypt winger Salah has scored six in 11 games this season, making him the club’s leading scorer, but former Arsenal midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain has been less impressive so far.

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• Kenyan opposition leader Odinga withdraws from elections

  Oct 10, 2017 by Admin / 330 Views

  

  Nairobi - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Tuesday he would not stand in a court-ordered re-run of August's presidential election that is scheduled for October 26.

  Odinga has repeatedly said he would boycott the polls if the election board did not replace officials he blamed for irregularities in August.

  "In the interest of the people of Kenya, the region and world at large, we believe that all will be best served by (opposition grouping) NASA vacating the presidential candidature of elections slated for 26th of October, 2017," Odinga told a news conference in the capital of Nairobi.

  Last month, the Supreme Court nullified incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta's win on August 8 due to procedural irregularities and ordered a new poll to be held within 60 days.

  On Tuesday, legislators from the ruling party were debating proposed amendments to the election laws, which said if a candidate boycotted an election, the remaining candidate automatically wins.

  Opposition legislators boycotted the session.

  Ruling party legislators told Reuters on Monday that they were trying to head off a constitutional crisis if Odinga pulled out of the election.

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• Liberia votes to choose Ellen Johnson Sirleaf successor

  Oct 10, 2017 by Admin / 348 Views

  

  Liberians have been voting to choose a successor to Africa's first elected female president and Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

  Ex-football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boakai are the main contenders in the race to succeed her.

  Liberia, founded by freed US slaves in the 19th Century, has not had a smooth transfer of power in 73 years.

  Ms Sirleaf urged people to vote peacefully in a nation still recovering from a 14-year civil war.

  "Your vote is about you and your family - not party, ethnicity," she said in an address to to the nation.

  • Africa Live: Updates from the election
  • Is war criminal pulling strings from prison?

  A total of 20 presidential candidates are running to succeed Ms Sirleaf.

  They include Alex Cummings, a former Coca-Cola executive, and MacDella Cooper, a former model and ex-girlfriend of Mr Weah.

  Ms Sirleaf, 78, is stepping down at the end of her two terms.

  When will we get results?

  The head of the electoral commission, Jerome Kokoya, told the BBC's Newsday programme that counting of votes would begin as soon as polls close at 18:00 GMT, and that he expected early results to be announced by 23:00 GMT.

  Image copyrightAFPImage captionGeorge Weah is hoping to be third time lucky in his presidential bid

  Provisional results could come as soon as Wednesday but might take up to two weeks due to the poor state of the country's infrastructure.

  To avoid a run-off, the winner of the presidential race must get 50% plus one vote.

  With so many candidates running, most analysts expect there to be a second round.

  Is Liberia peaceful now?

  Ms Sirleaf took office in 2006, after her predecessor, Charles Taylor, was forced out of office by rebels in 2003, ending the long civil war.

  Taylor is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence in the UK for war crimes related to the conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

  Mr Weah, 51, has chosen Taylor's ex-wife Jewel Howard Taylor as his running mate.

  This is the former footballer of the year's third attempt to become president.

  Ms Sirleaf has failed to campaign for Mr Boakai, fuelling speculation that the two have fallen out.

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• Robert Mugabe slams Zodwa Wabantu's 'no-panty policy'

  Oct 9, 2017 by Admin / 950 Views

  

  Speaking at an interface rally in Bindura on Saturday, President Robert Mugabe told a crowd of thousands that he knew he was  "disappointing many men" for banning Zodwa Wabantu from performing in Zimbabwe.

  The Zimbabwean president lambasted the Durban entertainer, who is famous for her sultry moves and revealing clothes, for attending parties without wearing underwear.

  He said: "I'm sorry we disappointed many men... You just come without covering your decency. What do you want? Men to see you? We don't want such..."

  Zodwa was set to perform in Zimbabwe, but was banned by the acting minister of Tourism and Hospitality last month when he ruled that the Durbanite will not be allowed to perform at the Harare International Carnival.

  Read: Zodwa Wabantu banned from Zimbabwe

  This happened after actress Anne Nhira complained to the tourism board that Wabantu should not be invited because she was not a Zimbabwean, she dressed scantily and she was a lesbian.

  Zodwa told TshisaLive she blamed her gig cancellation on "political games".

  "The show was cancelled at the last moment. They said I must tell everyone that I am sick and they would send me money to cover the trouble. It's a political thing. It was politics behind closed doors because apparently people were protesting that they want me to perform and sponsors were pulling out of the event because reports about me were drawing too much (negative) attention to the event," she said.

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• 'In Libya, if you do not kill, they will kill you'

  Oct 9, 2017 by Admin / 497 Views

  

  Aboard Seefuchs Rescue Ship - Just before the sun dipped into the Mediterranean on Saturday, rescuers spotted a tiny wooden boat on the horizon. It turned out to contain five young Libyans fleeing violence and turmoil who were waving their arms for help.

  The crew of the Seefuchs plucked them from the old fishing boat, gave them water and couscous and one of the men, 26-year-old Hamza Tekbali, explained why they had fled their country.

  "Libya is terrible," Tekbali told Reuters as he waited to be transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel. "In Libya, if you do not kill, they will kill you," he said, adding that he feared he would be sent straight back home.

  The Seefuchs, a ship operated by the humanitarian group Sea-Eye, carried the men to Catania, Italy, on Wednesday along with 16 other Libyans picked up on Sunday.

   

  Already this year some 800 Libyans have reached Italy by sea, more than double the number for the whole of 2016, according to data collected by the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR).

  The number is a fraction of the more than 100 000 non-Libyan migrants who have come to Italy from the country since January, but it suggests that the situation is deteriorating for Libyans in their own country.

  Migrants travelling through Libya from elsewhere in Africa en route to Europe already face terrible conditions.

  "For the past few months we have seen more Libyans," said Marco Rotunno, who monitors migrant arrivals for UNHCR in Sicily. "They mostly point to a lack of security as their reason for leaving. They talk about fighting, kidnappings, ransom and armed robberies."

  Conditions in Libya have deteriorated sharply since a 2011 uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

  Gangs frequently kidnap people for ransom, power and water outages are common, health services have been crippled and residents often have to queue for days to withdraw cash from banks due to a liquidity crisis.

  The United Nations is making a new push to end the conflict that has opened the way for Islamist militants and armed smuggling groups who have sent hundreds of thousands of migrants to Europe.

  In mid-September, fighting erupted in Sabratha, a people smuggling hub on the Western coast, after an armed group clamped down on migrant boat departures, prompting a cross-town rival to retaliate. As of Friday, at least 26 civilians and combatants had been killed and 170 wounded.

  Islamic State militants conduct attacks in Libya as well, including one on Wednesday that killed at least four people and wounded 39.

  UNHCR says there are still more than 217 000 internally displaced people in Libya and more than 278 000 who have recently returned home and who are considered people of concern.

  Tekbali abandoned his hometown of Kikla, which is located southwest of Tripoli and said it was too dangerous to return.

  His friend Rafat, who did not give his last name, said he was fleeing Libya after having been kidnapped by a militia in 2016. He was released after nine days when his father paid a ransom of 120 000 dinar (about R1.2 million) but said he feared a repeat.

  A third man, 24-year-old Alaa, said he was persecuted in Libya because his father had fought in Gaddafi's military.

  Tekbali said the five friends planned their voyage for a month and set out from a beach between Sabratha and Zuwara after paying 5 000 euros (about R80 000) to smugglers for the boat and the small outboard engine.

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