Greek Super League giants Panathinaikos have paid the debts owned Ghana midfielder Michael Essien in order to escape relegation punishment after they were ordered by court to settle the player. Essien, 35, signed a two-year deal with Panathaniakos in 2015 as a free agent in a deal that made him the club’s highest earner – … Read more
Tokyo 2020: future of boxing at the Olympics under threat over governance The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has warned that boxing’s place at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo could be under threat. President of the IOC Thomas Bach says he remains “extremely worried” about the governance of the sport. The International Amateur Boxing Association … Read more
The United Nations is “not giving up” on efforts to seal a Cyprus reunification deal despite the failure of an international summit held in Switzerland earlier this month, UN envoy Espen Barth Eide said on Monday. “We have a complicated situation… We were not able to stitch it together to a final deal. That was … Read more
Turkey on Thursday accused Cyprus of taking “dangerous” steps in its search for energy resources in the Mediterranean, two weeks after crunch talks aimed at reunifying the divided island collapsed. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited the Turkish-controlled breakaway statelet of northern Cyprus to mark the 43rd anniversary of Turkey’s July 20 invasion that led … Read more
Foo Fighters will play a televised concert at the Acropolis in a rare rock show at one of the world’s most iconic historical sites, producers announced Friday. The alternative rock icons led by Dave Grohl of Nirvana fame will perform July 10 at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the nearly 2,000-old stone theater on a … Read more
Inside an art gallery on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Selma Bolayir draws a large yellow sun on a black-and-white picture of a South Vietnamese soldier who appears to be crying. “When I look (at) this young soldier, I feel so upset, because I am a mother,” says the elegant 73-year-old, her eyes outlined … Read more
Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders agreed Sunday to return to the negotiating table later this month in a new bid to clinch a historic deal on reunifying the island. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the new round of talks following a four-hour dinner meeting with the two leaders at UN headquarters in New York. Guterres … Read more
Greece and Germany have agreed to slow the reunification of refugee families divided between the two nations during their scramble to safety, according to a leaked letter published Monday. “Family reunification transfer to Germany will slow down as agreed,” Greek Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas wrote to German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere in a May … Read more
Efforts are underway to remove hundreds of refugees from an unhygienic makeshift camp at an ex-Olympics facility in greater Athens, a migration ministry source said Tuesday. “We are down there today to register the refugees’ needs and officially inform them that they should relocate to organised camps,” the source told AFP. Some 700 mainly Afghan … Read more
The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, Kitack Lim has presented an award of honour to Dr. Kofi Mbiah for distinguished service to the International Maritime Organization for nearly two decades. In a speech to mark the closing ceremony of the 104th Session of the Legal Committee – one of the main committees through … Read more
Dr. Emmanuel Kofi Mbiah, the sixth Chair of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Legal Committee and the first black man to hold that position, has stepped down as Chair,after nearly two decades of service to the IMO. There was uncharacteristically loud applauds and a standing ovation after he delivered his farewell address. Below is the … Read more
It is fair to say that Ghana regularly dispenses with its national coaches at the turn of this generation with the Black Stars having welcomed 13 in the past 15 years. The impacts they leave, and the tangible successes they chalked have been varying. But nothing has generated so much fuss about the hiring and … Read more
Former Deputy Minister for Tourism, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, says some aspects of the country’s cultural heritage should be left untouched by modernisation. “Even though culture is dynamic, some aspects of our culture should not be modernised for any gains,” she added. Ms Gomashie said this in an interview with the GNA, on her return from … Read more
In its 70-year history, the International Monetary Fund has been no stranger to financial crises and policy disputes but now faces a new challenge: a US administration fundamentally opposed to some of its most important positions. With the Fund’s 189 members due to stage a semi-annual meeting in Washington this week, there has been no … Read more
From his early raves to massive club shows, Tiesto has spent the past 20 years guiding the ebbs and flows of each audience. He finds the connection so intimate he has a ready comparison. “Basically it’s like having sex,” he said. Tijs “Tiesto” Verwest, who is the world’s second highest-paid DJ on the list of … Read more
Former Ghana international Kuuku Dadzie has justified, but only by words, why he is the best of four local coaches to have applied for the vacant Black Stars job. The ex-defender, together with Bashir Hayford, Karim Abdul Razak, and Kwesi Appiah, is among a reported 95 coaches to have submitted their CVs to the Ghana … Read more
An archaeological treasure trove on the site of a planned metro station in central Algiers is set to become a museum, opening a window on 2,000 years of history. The site, close to the Algerian capital’s UNESCO-listed casbah, has yielded remains from the city’s Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and French periods. “It was spectacular,” said archaeologist … Read more
New York medical examiners investigating the mysterious death of a Russian diplomat are contradicting the police conclusions in the case. Sergei Krivov, a 63-year-old security officer, was found dead on the morning of Election Day – November 8 – at the Russian Consulate in New York. Initially, the New York Police Department ruled that the … Read more
Greece must not be granted a “bail in” that would involve creditors taking a loss on their loans, Germany’s deputy Finance Minister said in an interview broadcast on Sunday, reiterating the German government’s opposition to debt relief for Athens. “There must not be a bail-in,” Jens Spahn told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, according to a written … Read more
Australian Olympic swimming great Grant Hackett says he will seek treatment overseas for mental health problems after what he called “the toughest week of my life”. The 36-year-old, who went into hiding after his brief arrest last week following a family bust-up, released a statement thanking “mum and dad for helping me through the toughest … Read more