Day: January 22, 2022

MORONI, COMOROS — Comoros, the surprise package of the Africa Cup of Nations, is struggling to put a team together for their last-16 game against host nation Cameroon after 12 players and management tested positive for COVID-19, their federation announced Saturday.

The 12 positive tests include both of the Coelacanths’ fit goalkeepers, with the third goalkeeper, Salim Ben Boina already injured. Comoros is due to face Cameroon on Monday.

“The Coelacanths affected by COVID … include coach Amir Abdou, our only two goalkeepers, Moyadh Ousseini and Ali Ahamada,” the federation tweeted two days before a historic match for the Comoros who qualified for the last 16 in their first appearance at the tournament.

In a video posted on the account, general manager El Hadad Hamidi also named five outfield players who have tested positive: midfielders Nakibou Aboubakari, Yacine Bourhane, striker Mohamed M’Changama and defenders Kassim Abdallah and Alexis Souahy.

With no goalkeepers currently available for the game, the Comoros are in serious trouble.

Confederation of African Football rules for the tournament dictate that teams must play games as long as at least 11 players test negative for the coronavirus.

If no goalkeeper is available, an outfield player must stand in.

“We are trying to do everything in our power to find alternative solutions” but “without the coach, without major players and especially without our only two goalkeepers who remained, the situation is quite complicated,” admitted Hamidi.

The Comoros, representing a tiny island nation off the southeast coast of Africa, snatched their qualification to everyone’s surprise by beating Ghana 3-2 and advancing as one of the best third-placed sides.

 

Source: Voice of America

BEIJING, Fengtai, one of 16 districts of Beijing Municipality, today started district-wide nucleic acid testing, as local COVID-19 cases have been reported recently, local authorities said.

The district has found a cluster infection, and is facing the risk of community transmission, according to a statement released by the district’s COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control headquarters.

Beijing reported nine confirmed local COVID-19 cases and three asymptomatic cases, from 4;00 p.m. Friday to 4;00 p.m. yesterday.

Four of the confirmed cases and all three asymptomatic cases are from Fengtai District.

A residential compound in the district was also adjusted, from medium-risk to high-risk for COVID-19 yesterday, after the compound registered eight confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, in the 14 days to noon yesterday.

 

Source: Nam News Network

Berlin, Borussia Dortmund won 3-2 at Hoffenheim to cut the gap at the top of the Bundesliga back to three points, pending Bayern Munich’s trip to Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

 

Erling Haaland scored the first goal of the Saturday programme after six minutes and Marco Reus also netted as Dortmund quickly forgot their midweek Cup exit to St Pauli Hamburg and knocked Hoffenheim down to sixth from fourth, dpa reported.

 

Bayer Leverkusen bolstered their position in third with Moussa Diaby’s hat-trick sealing a 5-1 home win over Augsburg while Union Berlin climbed to fourth following a 2-1 win at struggling Borussia Mönchengladbach, which could spell trouble for coach Adi Hütter.

 

Freiburg are fifth after a 2-0 success over second-bottom Stuttgart and basement side Greuther Fürth grabbed only their second win with a 2-1 home victory over Mainz.

 

Cologne drew 2-2 at Bochum in Saturday’s late game to move up to seventh spot.

 

On Friday, mid-table Eintracht Frankfurt’s Champions League hopes suffered another blow in a 2-0 home defeat by Arminia Bielefeld, who are three points above the automatic drop zone.

 

As well as leaders Bayern’s travelling to the capital on Sunday, improving RB Leipzig host beleaguered Wolfsburg.

 

Dortmund made sure Bayern go into that game looking over their shoulder after Haaland’s early tap-in following a superb team move.

 

But Hoffenheim then struck the woodwork twice before Andrej Kramaric expertly guided Ihlas Bebou’s cross into the net just before the interval.

 

Dortmund had battered Freiburg 5-1 last weekend but followed up with Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to second tier St Pauli, which dumped the holders out of the German Cup at the last 16 stage.

 

Their inconsistency looked like it was again playing into the hands of Bayern, who are chasing a 10th straight title, but another fine team move set up to Reus to score on 58 minutes.

 

David Raum’s own goal then made the win safe for the visitors with Georginio Rutter’s strike for Hoffenheim coming too late. Haaland though limped off injured.

 

“We started well in the early minutes, then…we became too passive,” Reus told Sky TV. “We went to five at the back in the second half which helped.”

 

Leverkusen have a two-point cushion in the top four after Karim Bellarabi and Diaby netted early. Diaby’s second goal on 65 minutes quickly extinguished third-bottom Augsburg’s hopes of a comeback after Arne Maier cut the deficit.

 

France winger Diaby then completed his treble on the counter-attack for an eighth goal of the campaign with Lucas Alario’s backheel settling matters.

 

Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane said: “After a weak phase at the start to the second half, the team quickly took things into their hands. A deserved win in my opinion.”

 

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The Jordanian peacekeeping contingent, Mali/2, left the Kingdom Friday evening to join the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

 

The peacekeepers headed to the West African nation after the Jordanian force Mali/1 returned home, as their deployment is part of the Jordan Armed Forces’ participation in MINUSMA, which began in July, 2018, through providing humanitarian ground support at Gao Airport in northern Mali.

 

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Some 13 coronavirus deaths and 4,102 new cases were recorded in the Kingdom Saturday, bringing the death toll from the pandemic to 13,062 and the caseload to 113,4097, according to updated Health Ministry figures.

 

The positivity rate of about 23,680 PCR tests collected nationwide today was 17.32%, according to the media brief by the ministry.

 

It indicated that the number of currently active Covid-19 cases stands at 44,251, with 105 admitted to hospitals today, which raised to 632 the number of cases now being hospitalized. It also said 90 cases have left hospitals.

 

On hospital capacity, the report showed that the occupancy rate of isolation beds in the northern region was 9%, intensive care beds 27% and respirators 12%.

 

In the central region, the occupancy rate of isolation beds was 17%, intensive care 32% and respirators 13%, it said.

 

In the southern region, the occupancy rate of isolation beds was 7%, intensive care 7% and respirators 5%, it added.

 

According to the daily figures, 3,362 cases of recovery were recorded, bringing the total number of expected recoveries after the end of the 14-day isolation period to 1,076,901.

 

On vaccinations, the ministry said that a total of 4,543,024 people have taken the first dose of Covid vaccines and the number of those who were double-jabbed climbed to 4,150,567.

 

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY