International News
Burkina Arrests Three Soldiers Over ‘Plot’ Against Regime
Three soldiers in Burkina Faso have been arrested and charged with plotting against the ruling junta, the country’s military prosecutor said on Friday.
The vehicle carrying Burkina Faso’s new junta leader Capitain Ibrahim Traore leaves the General Sangoule Lamizana military camp in Ouagadougou on October 8, 2022, following the funerals of 27 soldiers killed as they escorted 207-vehicles in a convoy in Gaskinde.
Investigators last month received a tipoff about “soldiers and former soldiers working in intelligence” who were scouting out the homes and other locations used by key figures in the junta, including strongman Captain Ibrahim Traore, he said in a statement.
Their goal was to “destabilise… the transition”, it said, referring to a term used to describe interim military rule before promised elections.
Investigations led to the arrest of the three, who have been ordered detained by an examining magistrate.
They have been charged with involvement in a “military plot, breach of military orders, plotting against state security, criminal association and endangerment”, military prosecutor Major Alphonse Zorma said in the statement.
The three were named as Warrant Officer Windinmalegde Kabore; Sergeant Brice Ismael Ramde; and former corporal Sami Dah, who had previously been convicted in a plot against the state in 2015.
“(They) unequivocally admitted the facts,” said Zorma.
The impoverished Sahel state is one of Africa’s most turbulent countries, enjoying few periods of stability since gaining independence from France in 1960 as the Republic of Upper Volta.
Last year, it experienced two coups, both of them fuelled by anger within the military over the toll from a long-running jihadist insurgency.
Traore took power on September 30, 2022, at the age of just 34, making him the world’s youngest leader outside of royalty.
He toppled Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who little more than eight months earlier had ousted Burkina’s elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
Shortly after Traore’s takeover, military prosecutors in December said there had been an attempt to “destabilise state institutions”.
Those behind it, they said, were civilians and a lieutenant-colonel named Emmanuel Zoungrana.
More than 16,000 civilians, troops and police in Burkina Faso have died since jihadists in neighbouring Mali launched their campaign in 2015, according to an NGO monitor called the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).
More than two million people have been forced to flee their homes, creating one of Africa’s worst internal displacement crises.
Traore has promised a return to democracy with presidential elections by July 2024.
AFP
June 5th, Transfermarkt updated. The new market values of Barcelona players. Three players increased and nine decreased, with Raphinha dropping by 10 million to 70 million euros.
Increase (Euros)
Joan-Garcia increased by 5 million to 45 million
Eric-Garcia increased by 5 million to 40 million
Gerard-Martin increased by 10 million to 35 million
Decrease (Euros)
Raphinha decreased by 10 million to 70 million
Kounde decreased by 5 million to 60 million
Balde decreased by 5 million to 50 million
De Jong decreased by 10 million to 35 million
Casado decreased by 2 million to 18 million
Christensen decreased by 1 million to 8 million
Cancelo decreased by 1 million to 8 million
Lewandowski decreased by 1 million to 7 million
Szczesny decreased by 100,000 to 800,000
Unchanged (Euros)
Yamal 200 million
Pedri 150 million
Fermin 100 million
Cubarsi 80 million
Olmo 60 million
Ferran Torres 50 million
Rashford 40 million
Gavi 30 million
Bernal 30 million
Araujo 20 million
Bardghji 15 million
Bitcoin dropped below $60,000 on Friday, its lowest level since October 2024, just before Donald Trump’s election which propelled it to a record high.
The currency fell by about 6 percent around 1615 GMT, to $59.7709, before paring its losses slightly.
The election of Trump, a staunch advocate of cryptocurrencies, to the White House in November 2024 for a second term sparked a wave of enthusiasm in the sector, sending the price of bitcoin soaring to nearly $110,000.
AFP
Man City are considering taking legal action after a Real Madrid presedential candidate said he would sign Erling Haaland, if elected.
What actually happened?
Real presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme, who faces current president Florentino Perez in Sunday’s vote, claimed on Spanish TV show El Hormiguero on Wednesday night that Haaland had a release clause and wants to move to the Bernabeu. He also held up a Real shirt with ‘Haaland 9’ on the back.
Riquelme, who also promised to sign Haaland’s City team-mate Rodri, said: “If I break my promises regarding either of these players, I’ve signed a guarantee where I’d pay 100 per cent of membership costs for next season.
“Haaland has a release clause, and he wants to come to Madrid.”
What was City’s response?
However, Manchester City have moved quickly to refute those claims, saying in a statement that there is “no chance” Haaland will be leaving the Etihad Stadium any time soon. The Premier League club also said they are considering legal action over the shirt stunt.
A City spokesperson said in a statement: “The stories which have emerged from Spain regarding the future of Erling Haaland are untrue.
“There is no chance of this happening and there is no contractual clause to enable it.
“We are considering legal action for the use of our player image in this context.”
Haaland is under contract at the Etihad until the summer of 2034 and Haaland’s agent Rafaela Pimenta and his father Alfie Haaland laughed off suggestions the 25-year-old could soon be heading to the Spanish capital.
A joint-statement released in the early hours of Thursday morning said: “All very entertaining but not true. We wish all the best for both candidates in the Real Madrid elections.”
What was Perez’s response?
Meanwhile, current Real president Florentino Perez made his own election pledge on Wednesday night, seemingly confirming Jose Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid as manager, if he wins next Sunday’s presidential election.
Perez posted a video on X in which Mourinho features in a Real shirt saying: “Yes”, while the only other words to accompany it say: “Meanwhile, on TV, they just keep talking and talking and talking. So much history to be made.”
The video was posted in response to Riquelme’s TV apperaance promoting his rival bid.
Perez has made no secret of his intention to name Mourinho as head coach should he win the vote and remain for an eighth term in the role, but his social media post appears to have made it official.
Mourinho is widely expected to agree a three-year-deal to return to the Bernabeu Stadium and replace Alvaro Arbeloa, who was appointed in January after Xabi Alonso’s departure.
Benfica have yet to confirm Mourinho’s departure, while speculation has been mounting that Marco Silva is being lined up as his successor after the Portuguese announced he will leave Fulham when his contract expires in June.
Real Madrid’s presidential election on Sunday will be decided by the club’s members. It is the first contested election since 2006 as club members will choose between incumbent Perez, 79, and businessman Riquelme, 37.
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