Category World News

The signing of Marcus Rashford is about to strengthen Barcelona’s already impressive front line.

A source with knowledge of Rashford’s transfer to Barcelona confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday.

The person did not want to be identified because she was not permitted to discuss the transfer in public.

The 27-year-old England international, who was once regarded as one of Europe’s top talents, would have a chance to rekindle a career that had stagnated in recent years as a result of his demise at United and his loan spell at Aston Villa, which ended last season on-loan.

According to Spanish media, Barcelona would have the option to purchase Rashford for about $35 million with the one-year loan.

Barcelona attempted to add another piece to the front line in place of veteran Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and veteran Robert Lewandowski, but they struggled to do so. They had the best attack in Spanish football last season, one of the most prolific ones in Europe.

Rashford has won five major awards, including two FA Cups and the Europa League, throughout his entire career at United, scoring 138 goals in 429 appearances.

However, he had a difficult time living up to the hype that surrounded him when he first appeared as a teenager in 2016 and only managed 20 goals in three seasons. He combined to score 15 goals in 17 games on loan at Villa during his previous two seasons at United.

With 102 goals, Barcelona overtook Real Madrid, who had scored 24 more goals in the Spanish league title. Before being eliminated by Inter Milan in the semifinals, the Catalan club also had 43 goals in the Champions League, five more than Paris Saint-Germain’s.

A Bangladeshi air force training aircraft crashed into a college and school campus in the capital of Dhaka, according to a fire services official and local media reports. At least 19 people were killed.

Around 1 p.m. (07:00 GMT) when students were taking tests or enrolling in regular classes, the F-7 BGI aircraft crashed into the Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka’s Uttara neighborhood.

After the accident, more than 50 people, including children and adults, were taken to the burn facility, according to a doctor from the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

As crowds gathered to watch the crash’s aftermath, pictures captured a large fire that was close to a lawn and emitted a thick cloud of smoke into the sky.

The plane’s mangled remains, which appeared to have slammed into a building’s side, were soaked in water by firefighters, who also ruined the metal grills and cut a gap in the structure.

According to Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where some victims were taken, “a third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital.”

People were filmed crying and screaming in social media videos as they sought comfort from others.

When I went to the gate and picked up my kids, I realized something was coming from behind and sounded like there was an explosion. When I turned around, all I could see was smoke and fire,” school teacher Masud Tarik told Reuters.

The interim Bangladeshi government’s head, Muhammad Yunus, stated that “necessary steps” would be taken to “ensure all kinds of assistance” and “to investigate the cause of the accident.”

The air force suffered irreparable harm from this accident, according to him, “students, parents, teachers, staff, and others.”

In response to the crash, Yunus also revealed that the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery had set up an emergency hotline.

The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society requested donations for injured people.

After being accused of unlawfully possessing ammunition for allegedly playing a role in deadly anti-government protests in June, a prominent Kenyan human rights activist was released on bail.

Two days after being detained and charged by the police, Boniface Mwangi is accused of eschewing two mobile phones, a laptop, and notebooks in addition to his arrest.

Numerous activists were lining up in the courtroom, some of whom wore Kenyan flags. Mwangi described his prosecution as “a big shame,” calling his prosecution “no evidence” in a press release.

His lawyer thanked the court for allowing him to be released on bail, according to his attorney, according to Reuters news agency.

Since last year, Kenya has been the subject of widespread antigovernment protests, first against tax increases in a finance bill and then to demand President William Ruto’s resignation.

Police have been accused of human rights violations since the protests started, including allegations that they tortured and abducted government critics.

More than 100 people have been killed in the protests, according to rights organizations. They have been brutally suppressed.

In a government crackdown on a protest this month, at least 31 people were killed and more than 100 were hurt. At least 19 people were killed in a similar demonstration against Ruto in June.

During the June protests, police detained Mwangi, a former photojournalist, and detained him on Saturday after he was accused of “facilitating terrorist acts.” The activist refuted the accusations, saying, “I am not a terrorist, as he claimed in a post that his supporters shared on social media.

His arrest sparked a wave of outcry online, with the hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi becoming well-known and human rights organizations expressing their disapproval.

An ally and a journalist were accused of paying “goons” to fuel unrest at last month’s protests when police raided Mwangi’s home on a search warrant.

However, dozens of activists and 37 rights organizations claim they have not yet been able to establish that the warrant was issued by a judge.

According to the organizations’ joint statement, Mwangi’s arrest on “unjustified terrorism allegations” is a violation of the justice system to crush the opposition.

The organizations claim that what began as targeted repression of young protesters demanding accountability has turned into a full-scale assault on Kenya’s democracy.

In a fierce police crackdown in June of last year, Al Jazeera’s digital documentary series Close Up profiled Mwangi. He then claimed that because he was pursuing justice for the families of protesters who had been killed by police, he was given the nickname “People’s Watchman.”

Mwangi, who once ran for office in Kenya on an anti-corruption platform, has been detained numerous times.

He had traveled to Tanzania’s largest city on May 19 to support treason-accused opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who had been detained there on May 19th.

The Tanzanian police accused Mwangi and an accomplice, award-winning activist Agather Atuhaire, of sexually abusing them while they were being held, both of whom were detained.

On Monday, the first Bedouin families drove on buses and trucks to meet Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. As the government intends to evacuate 1,500 people, they were transported to nearby Daraa.

According to Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, who was reporting from Damascus’ capital, about noon (9:00 GMT), “At least 500 people have already left on 10 buses this morning, and more are expected to leave Suwayda in the next few hours.”

Nearly 260 people were killed and threatened to end Syria’s post-war transition as a result of the clashes between the Druze minority and the Bedouin clans, which started on July 13. According to the UN International Organization for Migration, 128, 571 people were also displaced by the violence.

Israel intervened by bombing Syria’s Ministry of Defense structures in Damascus, and Israel launched airstrikes against them. Syrian government forces in Suwayda province were also attacked by Israeli forces, who claimed they were protecting the Druze, who Israel refers to as its “brothers.”

Vall claimed that some Bedouin families were willing to flee the area.

“Seven districts of Suwayda are largely or partially inhabited by Arab Bedouins, and some of them are willing to leave on their own,” he said.

As efforts to achieve a total ceasefire are in progress, Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the SANA news agency that the evacuation process will also allow displaced civilians from Suwayda to return.

According to al-Dalati, “We have imposed a security cordon in the Suwayda area to keep it secure and to put an end to the fighting there.” This will maintain the course that will lead to province stability and reconciliation.

The Bedouin fighters will release the captive Druze women, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in the United Kingdom.

After negotiations for a captives swap ended late on Sunday, the Suwayda Observatory and activist groups reported hearing what they claimed were Israeli helicopters and air strikes over villages where some conflicted between the Bedouins and the Druze.

The Israeli military claimed to be unaware of any overnight strikes in Syria.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that a first Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy on Sunday entered Suwayda with UN humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies, and fuel.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, the interim leader of Syria, has criticized the Druze community’s loyalists, accusing them of being connected to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, who has been a part of the conflict. He vowed to hold accountable those responsible for committing targeted attacks and other crimes.

The al-Assad family, which ruled Syria for 53 years, was largely celebrated by the Druze minority when it was overthrown in December.

According to a spokesperson for the South Korean Ministry of Unification, South Korea is considering allowing individual tours to North Korea as it looks at ways to improve relations with its neighbor.

The ministry said in a statement on Monday that the government is “writing and pursuing North Korean policies with the intention of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and strengthening inter-Korean ties” with various measures being considered.

Seoul is now easing its strained ties with its northern rival with the announcement of President Lee Jae-myung’s victory, who has pledged to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

Lee ordered a halt to leaflet campaigns criticizing the North’s leaders by anti-Pyongyang activists in an effort to lower the tensions. He also ordered the suspension of anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border.

The Unification Ministry, which deals with inter-Korean affairs,’s Koo Byung-sam, a spokesperson, declined to comment on a “particular issue.” However, he claimed in a report from the Reuters news agency that he understood that individual tours were not in violation of international sanctions.

Additionally, Lee’s administration is reportedly considering resuming individual trips to North Korea as a tool for resuming negotiations with Pyongyang, according to South Korea’s newspaper Dong-A Ilbo.

Lee mentioned the idea at a July 10 National Security Council meeting, it was reported. According to the report, the government conducted a plan review after quoting a senior official.

North Korea’s limited sources of funding are those that are not subject to UN sanctions for its nuclear and weapons programs.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency also reported on Monday that the National Intelligence Service had suspended all of its decades-old broadcasts that targeted the North Korean regime, citing anti-Pyongyang broadcasters.

After the Korean War of 1950-1953 ended without an armistice and not a peace treaty, Lee said he will talk with senior security officials about how to restart dialogue with North Korea, which is technically still at war with the South.

Kim Jong Un’s flagship project, which promotes tourism, recently opened a beach resort in the city of Wonsan. However, a note released on Wednesday by DPR Korea Tour, a website run by the country’s National Tourism Administration, indicates that the tourist destination is temporarily refusing to welcome foreign visitors.

Even after COVID-19 border restrictions were lifted, which made it possible to travel by rail and fly with Russia and China, North Korea’s tourism sector appears to be struggling.

When asked if South Koreans would visit Wonsan, Koo claimed North Korea must first introduce foreign visitors.