International News

Haiti Transitional Council Sworn In After Months of Violence

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2 years ago

April 25, 2024

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The installation of the nine-member Presidential Transitional Council marks the first step to forming a new government after months of chaos following gang warfare.

Images shared on social media showed the council members greeted with fanfare at the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, and the head of a party represented in the body confirmed to AFP that they had taken an oath of office.

The council — made up of eight men and one woman — is to attend an official inauguration ceremony, which an official press invitation said would be held at the prime minister’s office, known as the Villa d’Accueil.

Meanwhile, Henry — who had promised in March to step down when a council was installed — thanked the Haitian people “for the opportunity to serve our country with integrity, wisdom and honor.”

“Haiti will be reborn,” he wrote in his resignation letter, which was released Thursday but dated Wednesday from Los Angeles.

Pending the formation of a new government, economy minister Michel Patrick Boisvert was appointed as interim prime minister, the outgoing cabinet said.

Boisvert had already taken over some official communications in recent weeks, with Henry in the United States and unable to return to his country after a trip to Kenya.

The council, whose installation was delayed multiple times by weeks of infighting, is now tasked with getting the country ready for new elections by 2026.

After facing a series of crises, including economic vulnerability and natural disasters, Haiti’s political instability has only worsened since the 2021 assassination of president Jovenel Moise.

The country of 11.6 million has no sitting legislature and has not held elections since 2016.

It is unknown how the country’s powerful gangs will respond to the new council, made up of figures from across Haiti’s political spectrum, after voicing anger at their exclusion from transitional talks.

Gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, whose 1,000-member G9 alliance controls parts of Port-au-Prince, was among those excluded.

The violence, exacerbated by prison breakouts in February, has sparked a worsening humanitarian crisis in Haiti, with aid agencies pleading for help amid growing hunger, surging poverty and a lack of health care.

The United Nations says some 360,000 Haitians are internally displaced, with the gang violence forcing 95,000 people to flee the capital and pushing five million into “acute hunger.”

Last year, a UN-backed force led by Kenya was tasked with deploying to the country and helping its beleaguered police rein in criminal gangs.

Kenya then said it had put plans on deploying the force on hold until the transitional council was stood up.

AFP

International News

Barcelona Seals New Deal With Head Coach Flick

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20 hours ago

May 18, 2026

thecolumnng

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Barcelona completes contract renewal with head coach Hansi Flick, per official announcement.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Flick’s new contract with Barcelona runs until June 2028, with an option to extend until June 2029, meaning the coach could stay for three more seasons.

In his first season in charge, Flick led the team to a domestic treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup.

This season, Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup again and retained the La Liga title, bringing his total to five trophies in two seasons.

Entertainment

Erling Haaland Makes Acting Debut In Animated Film

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20 hours ago

May 18, 2026

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Erling Haaland will follow in the footsteps of David Beckham and Vinnie Jones by taking his first steps into the acting world, with the Norwegian striker set to make his film debut.

The Manchester City striker will voice a character described as ‘an animated version of himself’, in the upcoming animated film Viqueens.

This is according to the Hollywood Reporter, who say that the 25-year-old is playing a Viking called Haaland in the motion picture.

The adventure-comedy is directed and co-written by the award-winning Harald Zwart, the Norwegian director known for The Karate Kid and Agent Cody Banks.

‘As a Norwegian storyteller making a Viking adventure for a global audience, having Erling Haaland join feels incredibly exciting,’ said Zwart.

‘Erling has already become a kind of real-life Viking icon around the world – powerful, fearless and uniquely Norwegian.

‘Bringing him into this universe as himself gives the film an unexpected energy and authenticity that felt completely right for this story.’

Solveig Langeland, managing director of Sola Media, added: ‘Erling Haaland transcends sports – he’s a global cultural figure.

‘His involvement brings another exciting dimension to a film that already combines international adventure, humour, and emotional storytelling in a way we believe will resonate with audiences everywhere.’

He follows the likes of Beckham and Jones, who have already hit the cinema screens around the country.

Beckham made his silver screen debut in his pal Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur back in 2017 alongside film stars Charlie Hunnam and Eric Bana, playing hardened battleguard Trigger in the flick.

Meanwhile, Jones is known for portraying gangsters on screen, and as recently as 2024 played gamekeeper Geoff in Ritchie’s series The Gentlemen, featuring Theo James.

He famously also played Coach Dinklage in She’s the Man, and was The Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand.

Haaland may need a while before he becomes the big actor that Jones has become, though, with plenty of years on the pitch still ahead of him.

The striker’s focus will currently be on winning the Premier League with Manchester City, as they look to hunt down Arsenal, who are two points ahead at the top, with two games to go.

Haaland will next be in action on Tuesday night as they travel to Bournemouth.

International News

Iran squad travel to Turkey for friendlies, US visas

Published

23 hours ago

May 18, 2026

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Iran’s national football team was headed to Turkey on Monday to play a final friendly match and apply for visas to fly to the United States for the 2026 World Cup, Iranian media reported.

The team plan to participate in the tournament despite co-host Washington having launched a war against Iran with a massive wave of attacks alongside ally Israel on February 28.

The fighting has been on hold for weeks thanks to a ceasefire, but peace talks have failed to make a breakthrough and new drone attacks against Gulf countries at the weekend combined with threats from US President Donald Trump raising fears of a return to fighting.

The team “departed this morning for Antalya, Turkey to play its final friendly match before flying to the United States for the 2026 World Cup,” the Tasnim news agency reported.

It said the squad consisted of 22 domestic-based players alongside their coaching staff.

On Saturday, head coach Amir Ghalenoei said they would also be completing visa applications for the US while in Turkey.

– ‘Let ’em play’ –

Iran secured their spot at the World Cup in March 2025, but since then the United States has twice launched attacks on the country.

US officials have insisted that Iran is welcome at the tournament, while organiser FIFA has said it will go ahead as planned and rejected Iranian suggestions that their games be moved to co-hosts Mexico or Canada.

“I think let ’em play,” Trump said in late April.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any problem would not be with Iranian players but “some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them”, suggesting they may have ties to the Revolutionary Guards, which Washington has branded a terrorist organisation.

Last month, officials from Iran’s football federation abandoned a trip to the FIFA congress in Canada, saying they had been “insulted” by Canadian immigration officers.

One of their delegation, Mehdi Taj, is a former member of the Revolutionary Guards, which Canada has also designated a terror group.

The Iranian football team hope to play two friendlies in Antalya.

They have already confirmed one match, against The Gambia, on May 29, said Sam Mehdizadeh, an Iranian-Canadian who heads a company that sets up friendlies for the team.

“No visas have been issued yet,” Taj, the head of Iran’s football federation, told Iranian media on Thursday.

On Saturday, FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom held a meeting in Turkey with the federation, describing it as constructive, as did Taj.

When the squad reaches the United States, Iran will set up their base camp in Tucson, Arizona.

The team, who are in Group G, are due to kick off their campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 15 June, before facing Belgium in the same city and then Egypt in Seattle.

AFP