World News - .geographical media - RSS

Whisper it softly to Oprah

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:38:27 GMT

1 of 2

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Whisper it softly to Oprah Winfrey; her candidate for the White House is the Joseph of Egypt.

The earth is alive with his name and the name he bore is Obama.
The world has woken up to a strange reflection, never seen before.
A rarity indeed for Obama, has touched the unreachable star.

But our gratitude goes to Oprah Winfrey for creating that platform, which has helped to tip the scales in his favour, when she uttered those prophetic words

That: “Obama is the One”
It became the decisive factor upon which the race for the white house has been decided.

Obama, Obama, the Valentine of the Electorate’s dream for hope and change, has change the sails of wind and touch the unreachable star

Like armies of locusts on a harvest field, his supporters have eliminated all his opponents, for none but Obama represents their dream of hope and change.

Obama is indeed the Joseph of Egypt, wise with words, astounding in intellect with mind-blowing charisma.

Tell Oprah that she was right, for none but Obama has succeeded in condensing America’s multicultural ethnic groups to a family constellation like the milky galaxies high above.

And as the crowning moment draws near, the world wake up,
To a tomorrow unlike none; to a sunrise never seen before, for Obama’s victory was destined to happen, like Joseph of Egypt wondrous Cherubs would guide his steps and gentle winds of fair sails would follow him through as he walk steadfastly towards his destination the journey of Hope and change.

Tell Oprah that in the year 2060, a new dollar bill
Would be in circulation bearing Obama’s face, scarlet ribbons would festoon all plagues and writings bearing his name.

Whisper it softly to Oprah that in the year 2080, Critics, and historians would Absolve him; Artist and Painters would hunt for his personal effects to adorn Museum walls and in wonderment folks would cluster at fireplaces; making fairy tales of Obama earthshaking legendry.

Researchers would rewrite history books for he has touched the unreachable star.

Hence Obama’s astounding achievement is a rarity indeed for the world has woken up to a strange reflection, never seen before and the earth is alive with his name OBAMA.

Author: DO

Scorpions heroic performance

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:39:53 GMT

« previous

1 of 7

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The Gambia Scorpions came from behind to record a historic 1-1 draw against Senegal in the final match of the second round qualifying of the 2010 joint World Cup and Nations Cup qualifier match, on Saturday, in Dakar.

The Gambia travelled to Senegal, completely written off by book makers, having failed to collect a point in Dakar since 1962. But right from the kick off, at the Leopord Sedar Senghore Stadium, The Gambia proved the better side, dictating the pace of a match watched by tens of thousands of Senegalese supporters.

The Gambia could have taken the lead as early as the 7th minute, when Brann’s athletic striker, Njogu Demba, back-heeled for Ebou Sillah whose frantic effort was parried for a corner kick by goalkeeper Tony Sylva, whose good display in the Gambia-dominated matchspared the host in the first half.

Fresh from break, The Gambia were still up for the game. However, the unconvincing host side counted themselves lucky when they broke the deadlock on the 62nd minute through a scuffed goal from Kader Mangane.

Despite being at a goal down, the Scorpions maintained the never-die spirit and the price paid off in the 86th minute when Azziz Corr Nyan blasted in the vital equaliser to seal the match at 1-1 draw, a result that kicked Senegal out of both competitions.

Shortly after the final whistle, fans in The Gambia who closely followed the match on television and radio took to the streets, jubilating what many described as the “end of Senegal’s dominance over Gambia” in football.

In the Senegalese capital, Dakar, it was a different story as angry fans went on the rampage, vandalizing government vehicles and the headquarters of the Senegalese Football Federation, in reaction to their team’s lackluster performance.

Author: by Nanama Keita

Moore fires Sonko warning

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:50:00 GMT

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Tranmere Rovers manager, Ronnie Moore, placed defensive discipline at the top of the agenda this week.

The English League One manager has fired warning to the Gambia international midfielder Edrissa Sonko and his forward partner, Chris Shuker, to start knuckling down to the defensive side of their roles they prepare to put their fragile away form to the test.

Moore believes his creative and attacking players must find the discipline to fulfill their defensive responsibilities if Tranmere are to become stronger and more resilient on the road – no matter what formation he chooses to use.

“In a 4-4-2 system the two wingers must tuck in and defend when they have to. But it is the hardest thing in the world to get wingers to be disciplined. They are always wanting to get forward. They don’t want to do the hard job of defending.

“It has to be instilled into them. If not we will have to change the people who play there,” Moore told club website.

Moore is confident Rovers will be able to take care of themselves at Prenton Park this season after winning three out of four games in front of their own supporters so far.

But he reckons a 1-0 defeat to League One leaders Oldham last Saturday served as a reminder that his team cannot bank on home results always going their way.

The away record – showing three defeats and eight goals conceded – has to improve. And that means plugging the defensive leaks ahead of the League One visits to Huddersfield on Saturday and to Peterborough at the following weekend.

Meanwhile, Tranmere Johnstone’s Paint Trophy second round tie against Crew Alexandra will be played at Prenton Park on Monday, October 6.
The unfamiliar Monday tie enables Edrissa Sonko to be involved before he travels to Banjul for Scorpions World Cup and Nations Cup qualifier tie against Senegal later the same week.

Author: by Nanama keita

APRC convenes national conference

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:28:26 GMT

« previous

1 of 2

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Thousands of APRC militants, supporters, and sympathisers, Saturday, converged at the Jerma Beach Hotel in Kololi, for a two-day conference, sanctioned by the National Mobilising Committee of the country’s ruling party.

The vice-president and secretary of state for Women’s Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, presided over the opening ceremony of the national discussion, on behalf of President Yahya Jammeh. The conference brought together delegates from across the four corners of the country.

With the theme: ‘Institutional strengthening of APRC in the context of national development," the conference aimed at discussing key issues, among them a review of the party’s strategies and action plan, and the subsequent adoption of the document; the party’s constitution; and selection criteria of its candidates.

In her statement on behalf of the Gambian leader, Vice-president Njie-Saidy thanked Allah for the 14 years of development. She echoed calls for unity and respect for authority. Three categories of people, she said, have been key to the successes of the APRC: opinion leaders; the rich; and the educated. She paid homage to Mr Amadou Samba, as one of the foremost helpers of the party in terms of financial support.

Vice President Njie-Saidy also reminded delegates that the conference was a follow-up to an earlier one held in Mansakonko, Lower River Region. The issues discussed there, the vice-president said, are waiting to be discussed. She then challenged the delegates to justify their representation by making their presence felt throughout the discussions.

The party’s national mobilizer, SoS Yankunba Touray, echoed his deputy, Madam Aji Fatou Sallah. He told the gathering that there was no doubt that the party was doing fine among the women folk, who he said do not just stop at talking, but manifest their support for the party by action. Hon Touray compared the party’s performance in the last two elections, arguing that the results indicate an increase in the APRC’s performance.

He however, cautioned against complacency, urging the membership to brace up for the forthcoming general registration in 2010 and the subsequent elections.

A representative of the National Assembly, Hon Sulayman Joof, said that the party’s problem is not the opposition, but what he called "intra-party feud." This, he cautioned, would not augur well for the APRC.

In his welcome statement, the chairperson of the occasion, Hon Fabakary Tombong Jatta, who is the majority leader of the National Assembly, praised the delegates for the high turnout.

Hon Jatta attributed the event in the fully packed hall of the country’s newest five-star hotel, to the people’s readiness to heed the Gambian leader’s call; a man that has championed, and continues to champion their cause.

“This is an indication of the party leader’s commitment to take the country where it belongs in terms of development,” he told a jubilant audience. The majority leader argued that every Gambian, be they APRC supporters or not, who had a knowledge of where the country was before July 1994, could tell the difference today, and that anybody could guess where the nation is heading. He, however, urged all regardless of party affiliation, to focus on the development aspirations of the country.

The APRC’s general-secretary, Manlafi Jarju, stressed the need for unity among party members, respect for authority, and "most importantly, to maintain loyalty to the ideals of the party’s constitution." He said that there would be no success without the full participation of the membership.

A representative of the APRC’s youth wing, Majanko Samusa, said that national consultations like this are what politics entails, and that it is what takes a nation forward. Dialogue, he went on, is essential.

He also called on the youth folk to beware of the danger of disunity among their ranks. This was a view shared by a representative of the council of elders, as well as the party’s deputy national mobiliser, who sought to remind the women folk of President Jammeh’s unreserved support for their cause.

Also present at the occasion were the Speaker of the National Assembly, secretaries of state, NAMs, a number of Gambian ambassadors, as well as delegates from APRC chapters overseas.

Author: by Kemo Cham

Gambian supporters off to Mauritania

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:16:49 GMT

Friday, July 11, 2008

At least twenty-five Gambian supporters left Banjul yesterday for Nouachott, Mauritania, to cheer up the Gambia under 20 team in the second leg of the qualifiers for 2009 Rwanda under 20 championship finals.

The Gambia will face Mauritania on Saturday, July 12, for the return leg of the qualifying round of Rwanda finals.

Bai Cham, president of the National Scorpions Fans Club, told Observer Sports that their trip was made possible thanks to the efforts of the Gambia Football Association who provided a coaster to convey the supporters to cheer up the team in the West African country.

Defender Pa Modou Njie’s last-gasp goal aid Gambia beat Mauritania 1-0 in the Banjul first-leg tie two weeks back, and the 2007 African bronze medalists only need to avoid a defeat on Saturday in order to progress to the next stage of the qualifiers where they will meet either Ghana or Libya.

Author: by Nanama Keita

Gambian fans in Mauritania

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:33:45 GMT

Thursday, July 10, 2008

At least twenty-five Gambian fans will leave Banjul today for Nouachott, Mauritania, to cheer up the Gambia under 20 team in the second leg of the qualifiers for 2009 Rwanda under 20 championship finals.

Bai Cham, president of the National Scorpions Fans Club, told Observer Sports that the Gambia Football Association has provided a coaster to convey the supporters to cheer up the team in the West African country.

Italian coach Lorenzo Rubinazzi and his 18-man squad safely arrived in Mauritania on Wednesday ahead of the return leg which is scheduled for Saturday, July 12.

The skipper and only foreign player in the Darling Scorpions line-up, Pa Modou Njie, scored a last-gasp goal to aid Gambia to a 1-0 victory over the visitors in the Banjul first-leg tie two weeks back, and the 2007 African bronze medalists only need to avoid a defeat on Saturday in order to progress to the next stage of the qualifiers where they will meet either Ghana or Libya.

Author: by Nanama Keita

Zimbabwe election valid - Says President Jammeh

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:59:00 GMT

Thursday, July 03, 2008

president Alhaji Dr Yahya jammeh, has given the June 27 Presidential election run-off in Zimbabwe a clean bill of health, saying “Zimbabwe’s election is valid”. The president, in addition, branded the leader of the main opposition mDC, morgan Tchangarai, as a “blue-eyed boy” and “puppet” of the West, emphasising that Zimbabwe will never be colonised again.

The plain speaking Gambian leader made these remarks in an interview with newsmen at the airport, upon his arrival from the 11th AU summit in the Egyptian Red Sea Resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, which lasted for two days.

According to Dr Jammeh, the summit was not diversion on the Zimbabwe issue but rather showed African leaders working for the continent’s interest and those who are for West. He added: “The pronouncements of major Western media before the summit was what those representing Western interests came with, but they have regretted it’.

The Gambian leader made comparison to an election recently held in an Eastern African country, which was described as not free and fair by all institutions involved in the process, yet the West decided to be mute about it. the aftermath of that election was marred by violence during which many were killed, thousands displaced and the end result was a unity government.

To him, Africans accept Mugabe’s re-election, because it was lawful as the country’s laws do not ban elections if a party decides to boycott.

hypocrisy

Dr Jammeh again made reference to an event in a country in the Horn of Africa, where opposition protesters were shot and killed with impunity. he added that the government went to the extent of refusing to release the dead bodies unless the relatives paid for the bullets, but yet still the West made no noise, because that government was serving their interests.

“Why Zimbabwe?” he asked. “Because the whites are involved,” he said, answering his rhetorical question. he observed that the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe was not Mugabe’s making, but the West’s just because they want to effect a change of government, which will be ruled by their puppet.

Dr Jammeh wondered why the West during the first round of the election decreed the process foul only to endorse it when the MDC emerged as the winner.

He agreed with President Museveni of Uganda that elections cannot be free and fair, when the opposition are backed by external forces to destablise a country by launching attacks on ruling party supporters and use NGOs to induce the electorate.

inclusive government

To Dr Jammeh, president Mugabe can accommodate “nationalists” and “patriots” who have divergent views with him but have the country’s interest at heart. But the decision for that mechanism to be in place lies with the government and people of Zimbabwe.

Prosecuting Mugabe

The Gambian leader called the Western ploy to prosecute President Mugabe on the pretext of misrule as “free, fair and fine”. But questioned why they are not calling for the prosecution of the then white minority government in Zimbabwe and South Africa, where they carried out mass killings of Blacks, which was stopped by Mugabe and his fellow nationalists.

He added that today, the perpetrators of those crimes are living freely and no one is calling for their prosecution.

“We Africans should learn a lesson from this. They (the West) think they can dictate to us (Africans) and this is not acceptable. Africans should stand for Zimbabwe. After all what did the West did for Africa?,” he rhetorically asked.

The theme

Commenting on the theme of the summit, which was “Meeting the Millennium Development Goals in Water and Sanitation”, Dr Jammeh said sanitation is the problem in Africa and not water. “Leaders have realise that collective approach at continental level will enable the continent to meet the MDGs in 2015,” he added.

Author: by pa malick Faye

What is Stopping Supporters From Coming Out?

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:17:56 GMT

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

It is very sad to see our national teams playing in our home ground with a low turn out of spectators to come out and give support to our national teams. What is stopping supporters from coming out to support our national teams?

Pointsports went around to get people’s views on this issue; why people don’t come out to support our teams?

Speaking to Alieu Cham, alias Chama, of Sere kunda he said, “ it is very disappointing to see our stadium empty during our matches, since our game against Algeria, people refused to come out and give support to the team. To be honest we were the very ones who were crying for a foreign coach and for the GFA to organise a test match, which they have done but still now we don’t come out to support,” he said. He added that The Gambia is the only country where football tickets are very cheap to watch international football games.

Karamo Jaiteh, a Gambian fan expressed disappointment saying that he doesn’t think that Gambians like football. “ I don’t think Gambians like football, because if you listen to the comments we made during sports programs we always talk about the way forward for Gambian football. We are now well recommended in the game of football throughout the world. We saw the team’s performances from both the youth and senior national level. We saw where our football is heading so it is left to us now to give support to the teams when they are playing. In football you win lose or draw.”

He continued saying, “The Gambia are still in the race for the 2010 World and African of Nations qualifying rounds. We have a good chance of making it to our first appearance in the continental tournament. We need to change our attitude, we should not be talking on the radios without acting. Let’s be fair to ourselves, we should be supportive to our teams. When there are football games we have to encourage our players by attending.

In his remarks, Ebrima Mboob said, “ we don’t have anything to say to the people governing the game of football in the Gambia. We should start watching our games. Then we will have every right to make comments. We are supporting our team and the team belongs to the Gambian people. We own it, not the people governing it.” He continued saying, “ the private sector also needs to come out to support the game of football in The Gambia as Africell have done. When there is going to be a game companies should buy tickets to give to their workers along with T-shirts to show that they are committed to the development of sports in The Gambia. If we recall during the U17 tournament in Banjul we saw companies give out T. shirts to fans and even urging supporters to bring drums just to give the boys full courage. We need the same thing to bring support back to The Gambia and urge the general public and the companies to come all out and give support to our teams. We want to see another U17 and U20 team like the ones that we saw previous years. We have a very young team and they need to be encouraged and that can be only be done if the public comes out and the companies give support to the teams,” he stated.

It will be recalled that The Gambia played against Algeria in Banjul with an almost empty stadium. The U20 team played a test game with Senegal recently and last weekend against Mauritania in the CAF U20 Youth Championship in Rwanda 2009, and again there were very disappointing turnout. During those games we could count the number of spectators at the Independence Stadium. Players need the support of the spectators if they are to deliver.

Author: By Ebou Manneh

Source: Picture: Fans at the match

Opposition politician, supporters Exonerated

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:48:49 GMT

Friday, June 20, 2008

Lamin R. Darboe, a former UDP candidate in Kombo East constituency, is now a free man following the striking out of his case by the Brikama Magistrates’ Court for want of prosecution.

Mr. Darboe was charged alongside Buba Darboe and Jerreh Fatty for their alleged involvement in an assault that occasioned actual bodily.

The trio was on Tuesday acquitted and discharged of the charges for, according to magistrate John Njie, there wasn’t substantial evidence before the court to rely on in convicting the men.

Magistrate Njie explained that since the case was mentioned nearly two years ago, the prosecution had only called in two witnesses to prove the ingredients of the matter beyond reasonable doubt. He however added that none of the prosecution witnesses’ testimony was sufficient enough to prove the prosecution’s case.

He consequently acquitted and discharged the men of the charges.

It would be recalled that the three men were rounded up by security agents shortly after the results of the 2006 Kombo East by-elections were made public. They were subsequently charged with assault before being arraigned.

Author: By Abdoulie Nyockeh

Supporters Must Support!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:41:15 GMT

Friday, June 13, 2008

In the 2003 play-offs for the World Cup and the African Cup of Nations, Gambia played at home against Senegal and were held to a goaless draw. In the return match in Senegal, The Gambia were defeated 3-1. Gambia’s loss to Algeria in the first leg in Algiers by a single goal was followed by a 2-1 victory over Algeria in the return leg at home. Gambia beat Liberia here at home by 2-0 in that campaign and, needing only a draw or a narrow loss, threw the tournament in a heartbreaking 3-0 defeat in Monrovia. Two of the goals were woefully conceded in the last eight minutes. The Gambia crashed out of both tournaments.

This time around, and caught in the same group as 2003, Gambia have again been held to a goaless draw at home by Senegal and again have home advantage against Algeria in the first round. We have two hopes. Our first hope is that this time we can maintain a good scoreline in Senegal on our return leg, or even better a victory, depending on our result against Algeria. Our other hope is that we can this time not only defeat Algeria but improve the scoreline from 2-1 to 3-0 at least.

Needless to say, the Scorpions have to put up their best fight. They need every ounce of energy to maintain a good position in the play-offs. It is a tough assignment and sacrifice, but one they must make to make up to the nation the failed promise of 2003.

But again it must be said, as we have said before, that for sure success, a big onus is on the supporters to play their role. If the boys are to produce their best, then the supporters must play their part, and play it well. With sound support, the players can produce even more than their best. This is what we want to see happen starting with the Algeria match.

Supporters should come out in their thousands and shout in their thousands. We must not come out in our thousands and shout in our dozens. That would not fire the boys up. Support must be heard, felt, and above all, relentless.

Again we want to remind supporters to help the organisers by being orderly, disciplined and generally positive. We should all remember that we are now under the spyglass of the international football authorities, FIFA and CAF, and should prudently avoid financial sanctions as were inflicted on us during the Gambia/Algeria match last year. On that occasion we recall that the Disciplinary Board of CAF imposed a fine of $ 10,000.00 on Gambia on basis of what was found to be unruly behaviour of Gambian supporters as well as offensive conduct of some of our players during the 2008 African Cup Preliminaries against this same team Algeria here at Independence Stadium. The GFA president, Mr Seedy Kinteh has rightly called it a “watch-match”, and has cautioned for maximum care and restraint on part of all supporters. If our crowd comportment in our match against Senegal is anything to go by, we should not fear sanction but rather expect praise from the authorities. But we must be vigilant all the same. Furthermore in our own interest, we should protect ourselves against heat exhaustion by reducing exposure to the sun by for example wearing straw hats and carrying enough water and even salt and sugar to prevent dehydration.

Again Africell should be commended for their valuable support to The Gambia Football Association in particular, and to Gambian sports in general. We appeal once more to all successful businesses in this country to lend a hand to sports promotion in The Gambia. Let’s go Scorpions!

Forex Bureau Rates:

M J Finance 9965635

Buying

GBP = D40.00

US = D20.00

5000CFA = D240.00

EURO = D31.00

Swedish Kroner= D320

Danish Kroner= D370

Selling

GBP = D41.50

US = D21.50

5000CFA D 250.00

EURO D33.50

Kroner D350.00

Danish Kroner = D425

Forex Bureau Rates:

M J Finance 9965635

Buying

GBP = D40.00

US = D20.00

5000CFA = D240.00

EURO = D31.00

Swedish Kroner= D320

Danish Kroner= D370

Selling

GBP = D41.50

US = D21.50

5000CFA D 250.00

EURO D33.50

Kroner D350.00

Danish Kroner = D425