Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just two league matches in charge, reports the BBC. Ten Hag, 55, was only appointed by the German club in the summer, having been fired by United in October.
The Dutchman is the third former United boss to be sacked in a week – after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was dismissed by Besiktas on Thursday, and Jose Mourinho exited Fenerbahce on Friday.
“Nobody wanted to take this step,” Leverkusen managing director Simon Rolfes told the club websit
“However, the past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team with this set-up is not feasible.” Ten Hag’s sacking is the fastest in Bundesliga history, breaking the previous record of five matches.
Leverkusen have earned one point from their first two league games. They let a one-goal lead slip to lose 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim and on Saturday conceded two late goals against 10-man Werder Bremen to draw 3-3, having led 2-0 and 3-1.
Ten Hag’s first game in charge was a 4-0 German Cup win over fourth-tier side SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach on August 15. He signed a two-year contract to succeed Xabi Alonso as head coach in May after the Spaniard, who led Leverkusen to a league and cup double in 2023-24, was appointed Real Madrid boss. (Guardian)
President Bola Tinubu has condoled with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) over the death of the 18th indigenous Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Solomon Ehigiator Arase, CFR, who died on Sunday at 69.
President Tinubu commiserated with the family, friends and associates of the highly resourceful officer. Arase’s reforms as IGP and later as Chairman of the Police Service Commission brought lasting changes to the force.
The President acknowledged the dedication of the former IGP to enhancing security in the country, through initiatives such as the Intelligence Response Team, the Complaint Response Unit, and Safer Highway Patrols.
Reflecting on Arase’s laudable service to the country, President Tinubu remarked, “Arase served the police force meritoriously from 1981 to 2016. During his career, he led tactical, operational, and intelligence units, including United Nations Peacekeeping in Namibia, the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom, and the Principal Staff Officer to three IGPs.
“He was Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB), and Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department.
“After retirement, he continued to serve the nation in various public roles, including as Chairman of the Police Service Commission and as head of the Task Force on implementing the Edo State Anti-Community Development Association Law.
“His expertise extended to consultancy roles with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the European Centre for Electoral Support, the Human Rights Centre at the University of Oslo, and as a member of the Committee on Prevention of Torture in Geneva, Switzerland.”
“I pray for the peaceful repose of the soul of this dedicated security expert, whose experience and contributions will be deeply missed by our nation”. (Vanguard)
Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the visit of his Colombian counterpart, Francia Márquez, marks the beginning of a new era in relations between Nigeria and Colombia.
Márquez, who arrived in Abuja on Saturday for a three-day official visit, was accompanied by her spouse, Mr. Rafael Yerney Pinillo Ocoró, cabinet ministers, senior government officials, and business leaders.
The delegation is expected to engage Nigerian counterparts in discussions across key sectors to strengthen diplomatic and economic cooperation.
Speaking at a gala dinner held on Sunday night at the Presidential Villa in honour of the Colombian Vice President, Shettima said the visit was proof that both nations were set to enter a union that would foster deeper political cooperation and bolder economic ventures.
The vice president said Márquez’s visit to Nigeria is expected to deepen diplomatic and strategic relations between Nigeria and Colombia and enhance collaboration in areas of mutual interest, including governance, trade, agriculture, energy, education, and security, among others.
He said, “The visit is proof that Nigeria and Colombia are about to enter an era of fraternal union that would create deeper political cooperation, bolder economic ventures, and richer people-to-people exchanges.” (Punch)
The Trump administration has moved to terminate almost 500 employees of federally funded news organisation Voice of America (VOA).
The step is the latest in President Donald Trump’s drive to strip back the outlet, which the White House has accused of being “radical”.
Acting CEO of VOA’s parent agency, Kari Lake, said the decision would “help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money.” A union representing employees called the step illegal in a statement to the New York Times.
VOA was set up during World War Two to counter Nazi propaganda, and has become a major global broadcaster.
The outlet is overseen by the Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which said a total of 532 positions would be eliminated. The majority of those employees are from VOA, which would be left with 108 staff, according to a court filing.
In June, Lake announced 639 employees would be terminated, although the notices were later rescinded due to paperwork errors. Some employees also filed lawsuits to block the terminations.
The announcement late on Friday night came a day after a judge ruled the Trump administration had not followed proper procedures in its attempt to fire VOA’s director, Michael Abramowitz. The judge also ordered Lake to sit for a deposition, where she would be questioned by lawyers.
The lawsuit was brought by a group of agency employees trying to block attempts to close down VOA.
“We find Lake’s continued attacks on our agency abhorrent,” they said in a statement to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
“We are looking forward to her deposition to hear whether her plan to dismantle VOA was done with the rigorous review process that Congress requires. So far we have not seen any evidence of that, and as such we will continue to fight for what we believe to be our rights under the law.”
Most of VOA’s journalists have been on administrative leave since March but some Farsi-speaking staff were called back as war between Israel and Iran broke out this summer.
The notices will also not affect journalists working in its Office of Cuba Broadcasting division, which broadcasts news in Spanish from Miami.
Critics say Trump’s attempts to strip back VOA amount to an attack on press freedom, and impacts America’s ability to exercise soft power abroad. The administration has accused the outlet of being “anti-Trump” and “radical”.
VOA broadcasts TV, radio and digital content in almost 50 languages. (BBC)
More than 800 people have been killed and at least 2,800 injured after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan, a spokesperson for the country’s Taliban government has said.
Health authorities in the capital Kabul, however, said the numbers could change as they worked to reach remote areas.
The earthquake struck the country’s northeastern province of Kunar near the Pakistan border at 11.47pm local time (8.17pm UK time) on Sunday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said.
The quake’s epicentre was near Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, at a depth of 8.7 miles (14km). Jalalabad is situated about 74 miles (119km) from Kabul.
There was a second earthquake in the same province about 20 minutes later, with a magnitude of 4.5 and a depth of 6.2 miles (10km). This was later followed by a 5.2 earthquake at the same depth.
“All our… teams have been mobilised to accelerate assistance, so that comprehensive and full support can be provided,” interior ministry spokesperson Abdul Maten Qanee told Reuters news agency, citing efforts in areas from security to food and health.
Homes of mud and stone were levelled by the midnight quake and several villages completely destroyed in Kunar province, officials said.
Rescuers searched for survivors in several districts of the mountainous province where the quake hit.
Images showed helicopters ferrying aid out to the affected, and residents helping soldiers and medics carry the wounded to ambulances.
Footage from Nangarhar province showed people frantically digging through rubble with their hands, searching for loved ones in the dead of night.
Hundreds of injured people have been taken to hospital, a local official said, with figures likely to rise.
Ziaul Haq Mohammadi, a student at Al-Falah University in Jalalabad, was studying in his room at home when the quake struck. He said he was knocked over by the power of the tremor.
“We spent the whole night in fear and anxiety because at any moment another earthquake could happen,” he said.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, said: “Sadly, tonight’s earthquake has caused loss of life and property damage in some of our eastern provinces.
“Local officials and residents are currently engaged in rescue efforts for the affected people. Support teams from the centre and nearby provinces are also on their way.”
He added “all available resources will be utilised to save lives”.
According to earlier reports, 30 people were killed in a single village.
“The number of casualties and injuries is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on site,” said health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman.
Earlier, an Afghan foreign office spokesperson said “no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work”.
Later, India said it had delivered 1,000 family tents to Kabul and was moving 15 tonnes of food material to Kunar, with more aid to be sent on Tuesday. A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said it was ready to provide disaster relief assistance “according to Afghanistan’s needs and within its capacity”.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said its mission in Afghanistan was preparing to help those in areas devastated by the quake.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, described the disaster as “a perfect storm”.
He told Sky News: “It is very tragic. We have very little information as of yet, but already reports of hundreds of people killed and many more made homeless.
“It is a country that is already suffering from a multiplicity of crises – there is a big drought, Iran has sent back almost two million people, Pakistan is trying to do the same with Afghans living there – and of course, it is extremely difficult to mobilise resources because of the Taliban.
“It’s a perfect storm, and this earthquake, likely to have been quite devastating, is just going to add to the misery. So, a strong appeal to all of those who can help.”
Kate Carey, an officer at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), warned of the risk of landslides due to heavy rainfall in affected areas.
She also said the shrinking of funding for Afghanistan, led by US aid cuts, was hampering the response to the quake.
Ms Carey said: “The actual delivery of response has been badly hit by the funding cuts this year, but also the number of people we have on the ground is much less than we would have had six months ago.” (SkyNews)
Chelsea signed Argentina international Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United for a reported 40 million pounds ($54 million) on Saturday, adding more competition for the two winger spots.
The 21-year-old Garnacho left United after falling out of favor with manager Ruben Amorim at the end of last season. His last game for the club was the 1-0 loss to Tottenham in the Europa League final, when he was a second-half substitute, and he hasn’t even been on the bench for United’s matches this season.
Garnacho will compete with Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens and Estevao for a place in a team that won the Club World Cup over the summer and will play in the Champions League this season. Chelsea also has Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk on its books.
“It’s an incredible moment for my family and I to join this great club,” Garnacho said. “I can’t wait to get started.
“I watched the Club World Cup and to join the world champions is special – we’re the best team in the world! It’s amazing to be here and I’m very happy.”
Selling Garnacho will also help United to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. (JapanToday)
Full time was approaching at Anfield and it was clear something special was needed to separate Liverpool and Arsenal as they slugged out an early-season heavyweight contest in the Premier League on Sunday.
Enter Dominik Szoboszlai.
With a long-range free kick that flew in off the post in the 83rd minute, Szoboszlai earned Liverpool a hard-fought 1-0 win over the opponent likely to be the biggest challenger to its title.
“The game needed a moment of magic for either team to win it,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said, “and it was Dominik who did so.”
Many thought Manchester City would be back in the title race this season, but perhaps not.
Collapsing to a 2-1 loss at Brighton, for a second straight loss, was another sign that Pep Guardiola’s once-dominant team has lost its aura.
“This is the reality — we are not at the level from a long time (ago),” City midfielder Rodri said.
Szoboszlai is popular among Liverpool fans for his work ethic and versatility, and the Hungary midfielder was filling in at right back — for so long the position of the now-departed Trent Alexander-Arnold — because of injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.
Szoboszlai did his best impression of Alexander-Arnold with a top-quality dead-ball strike that was out of keeping with the rest of the game.
“Until now Trent was taking them,” Szoboszlai said of his former teammate who now plays for Real Madrid. “Now I could finally take one.”
It secured a third straight win for Liverpool, with the defending champions the only team on a maximum nine points after three rounds of the Premier League. They’ve already beaten two tough rivals in Newcastle and Arsenal, too.
As for Arsenal, it was a first loss this season — extending its winless record at Anfield dating back to 2012 — and a first league goal conceded by a defense that was without center back William Saliba from the fifth minute at Anfield because of a leg injury.
“When you play against this kind of team and at a high level where the margins are minimal, they can be decided by a magic moment,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “We needed that moment for us and we didn’t have it.”
The defeat at Brighton followed a 2-0 home loss to Tottenham last weekend for City, which is demonstrating the same vulnerabilities and brittleness it showed last season when surrendering the title to Liverpool after four consecutive years as champions.
Brajan Gruda surged through an open defense, rounded goalkeeper James Trafford and slotted into an empty net for the 89th-minute winner for Brighton, which trailed to Erling Haaland’s first-half strike — his 88th goal in 100 Premier League appearances since moving to England in 2022.
City, which gave a first start to Rodri — the Ballon d’Or winner — since September last year following a serious knee injury, conceded an equalizer in the 67th minute after Matheus Nunes raised his arm in the area to block a shot.
James Milner converted the penalty for Brighton to become — at age 39 years and 239 days — the second-oldest scorer in Premier League history. He is also the second youngest, having netted as a 16-year-old for Leeds.
With City noticeably fading, Brighton created a succession of chances before Gruda converted one to seal a repeat of his team’s come-from-behind 2-1 win over City last season.
“We forgot to play,” Guardiola said.
City’s only points so far this season have come from a 4-0 opening-round win at Wolverhampton, after which pundits were saying Guardiola’s team was back. Now, it has fewer points than Manchester United.
West Ham eased the pressure on manager Graham Potter with a 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest, secured by goals from the 84th minute by Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta — from the penalty spot — and Callum Wilson.
West Ham lost its first two games in the league, conceding eight goals in the process, and also was eliminated from the English League Cup in midweek.
Paqueta, the Brazil midfielder, celebrated his successful penalty kick by pretending to answer a call and throw away a phone before kissing the badge on his jersey — perhaps a nod to being linked over the past 24 hours with a move to Aston Villa.
World Cup-winning Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez was left out of Aston Villa’s team for the 3-0 home loss to Crystal Palace amid speculation about his future.
Reports have linked Martinez with a move to Manchester United ahead of the transfer window closing on Monday, and Villa manager Unai Emery chose to play Marco Bizot in goal instead.
Bizot gave away a penalty that was converted in the 21st minute by Jean-Philippe Mateta to give Palace the lead, before captain Marc Guehi — reportedly the subject of a bid from Liverpool — curled a second into the top corner in the 68th. Ismaila Sarr added a third before going off injured. (JapanToday)
Chinese President Xi Jinping began welcoming dignitaries including United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and Egyptian Premier Moustafa Madbouly on Saturday before a summit attended by leaders from more than 20 countries.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation gathering will be held in the northern port city of Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, days before a massive military parade in nearby Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II.
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will be among some 26 world leaders slated to attend the parade.
The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Sixteen more countries are affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are also due to arrive in Tianjin ahead of the summit.
China and Russia have used the organisation — sometimes touted as a counter to the Western-dominated NATO military alliance — to deepen ties with Central Asian states.
Other leaders including Iranian and Turkish presidents Masoud Pezeshkian and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend the bloc’s largest meeting since its founding in 2001.
Multiple bilateral meetings are expected to be held on the sidelines of the summit.
The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin will discuss the Ukraine conflict with Erdogan on Monday.
Turkey has hosted three rounds of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine this year that have failed to break the deadlock over how to end the conflict, triggered when Moscow launched its invasion of its pro-European neighbour in February 2022.
Putin will also talk about Tehran’s nuclear programme on Monday with his Iranian counterpart Pezeshkian, a meeting that comes as Iran faces fresh Western pressure.
Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, triggered a “snapback” mechanism on Thursday to reinstate UN sanctions on Tehran for failing to comply with commitments made in a 2015 deal over its nuclear programme.
Russia’s foreign ministry warned that the reimposition of sanctions against Iran risked “irreparable consequences”.
Tehran and Moscow have been bolstering political, military and economic ties over the past decade as Russia drifted away from the West.
Relations between them grew even closer after Moscow launched its offensive against Ukraine.
Modi’s visit comes after a trip to Japan, and is his first to China since 2018.
The world’s two most populous nations are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia and fought a deadly border clash in 2020.
A thaw began last October when Modi met with Xi for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia. (Punch)
Carlos Alcaraz hit a behind-the-back shot at the U.S. Open to win a point in a 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Arthur Rinderknech on Sunday that made the Spaniard the youngest man in the Open era to reach 13 Grand Slam quarterfinals.
“Sometimes, I practice it. I’m not going to lie,” the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz said about the bit of wizardry he delivered in the first set. “But I mean, I don’t practice it, like, too many times. Just in practice, if the opportunity is there, I will try. In the match, it’s kind of the same. If I have the opportunity, why not?”
At 22 years and 3 months old, Alcaraz is about 6 months younger than Boris Becker was when he got to major quarterfinal No. 13.
Alcaraz’s opponent on Tuesday will be No. 20 Jiri Lehecka, a 23-year-old from the Czech Republic. Lehecka advanced to his second Slam quarterfinal with a 7-6 (4), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over Adrian Mannarino.
Early on against Rinderknech, a Frenchman who played college tennis at Texas A&M, Alcaraz closed a love hold that made the score 2-all in spectacular fashion. Moving to his right at midcourt, Alcaraz found himself in what appeared to be a bad spot when Rinderknech wrong-footed him.
But Alcaraz wrapped his racket around his body and flicked a shot up the line ( see it here ).
Perhaps startled that the point wasn’t over, Rinderknech hit a volley that landed in the net. A big smile crossed Alcaraz’s face as he looked over at his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in the stands. Alcaraz then placed his right index finger behind his ear, as if acknowledging the spectators’ cheers.
“The people like it; I like playing tennis like this,” Alcaraz said. “My style of tennis fits pretty well to the energy here.”
Alcaraz wound up taking that set in a tiebreaker. Then, midway through the second, Alcaraz produced another highlight-worthy effort with a no-look passing winner, racing forward to get to a short ball and glancing down the line as though he was going to hit to Rinderknech’s backhand, but instead steering a forehand cross-court.
By the last game, even Rinderknech was smiling at other next-level strokes by Alcaraz, who has won 54 of 55 service games through four matches this year at Flushing Meadows. He claimed the title here in 2022 for the first of his five Grand Slam trophies.
Alcaraz is into his fourth major quarterfinal of 2025, the first time in his career he’s gone 4 for 4 in that category in a season. He lost to Novak Djokovic at that stage at the Australian Open in January, won the French Open in June and lost to No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final at Wimbledon in July.
In women’s action, Taylor Townsend couldn’t covert eight match points in a second set that ended with a 25-minute tiebreaker and was eliminated with a 1-6, 7-6 (13), 6-3 loss to Barbora Krejcikova.
With fans chanting “Let’s go Taylor! Let’s go Taylor!” for a player who became a fan favorite during the tournament after her confrontation with Jelena Ostapenko following her second-round victory, Townsend was repeatedly a point away from what would have been her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula irolled into the last eight by routing fellow American Ann Li 6-1, 6-2 in just 54 minutes and will face Krejcikova. (JapanToday)
Novak Djokovic beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie in four sets on Friday to became the oldest man to reach the U.S. Open last 16 since Jimmy Connors in 1991.
The 38-year-old Djokovic earned a record 192nd Grand Slam match win on hard courts as he defeated Norrie 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-3, staying in the hunt for an unprecedented 25th major title.
“Coming into any match you really want to win in straight sets without any drama but obviously that’s not possible,” said Djokovic. “It’s good that I get tested. I obviously haven’t had any matches since Wimbledon. I’m still trying to find my rhythm and my groove on the court.”
Djokovic has now defeated Norrie in all seven of their meetings and is through to the fourth round in New York for the 16th time in his career.
On Sunday he will play German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff, who has already knocked out two seeds in Holger Rune and Frances Tiafoe.
A lone break of Norrie’s serve in the seventh game was enough for Djokovic to pocket the opening set, but not before he summoned the physio to work on his lower back.
The Serbian star headed off court for a medical timeout and returned to serve out the first set.
“It’s all right, you have some ups and downs. You don’t want to reveal too much to the rivals listening,” said a grinning Djokovic, refusing to elaborate on the nature of his back issue.
He had the chance to make further inroads in the second set but Norrie saved three break points and then pinched the tie-break from his smoldering rival who double-faulted on set point.
Norrie took that momentum into the third set with an early break, drawing an emphatic response from Djokovic as he responded by winning four straight games.
Djokovic soon made the set his and another break to start the fourth set gave him the cushion required to close out a milestone victory.
In women’s action, world number one Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the fourth round after extending her remarkable streak of tie-break victories to defeat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
Reigning champion Sabalenka punched her ticket to the last 16 after seeing off Fernandez 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) in one hour 39 minutes on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Sabalenka’s decisive second set victory was capped by her 18th consecutive tie-break win.
The victory was also sweet revenge for Sabalenka, who suffered an upset defeat to then teenager Fernandez in the semi-finals of the 2021 U.S. Open.
“I wanted this revenge badly,” Sabalenka said afterwards. “It was a tough lesson for me back then. Since then, we never played again. I just wanted to prove to myself that the lesson was learned and that I developed as a player and I could get this win.”
Sabalenka attributes her dominance of tie-breaks this season to a tougher mental approach.
“I definitely think that mentally I’m pretty strong, and I’m still growing, because I’m learning a lot of lessons, and all of those lessons making me tougher, tougher, and tougher,” she said. (JapanToday)
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