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Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs will not face a retrial over domestic violence claims after prosecutors on Tuesday withdrew the charges.
Giggs, 49, was due to go on trial for a second time on July 31 after a month-long trial last year ended without the jury reaching a verdict.
Brendan Rodgers said Tuesday that he had returned to coach Celtic “quicker than I had thought” and pledged to continue the attacking philosophy of predecessor Ange Postecoglou.
Rodgers has begun his second stint in charge of the Glasgow giants after replacing Postecoglou, who left for Tottenham after leading Celtic to the Scottish domestic treble last season.
Rodgers won all seven available trophies during his first stint at Parkhead in two-and-a-half years between 2016 and 2019, before leaving to join Leicester.
The Northern Irishman is back at the Hoops after being sacked by Leicester in April and he said it was “a great privelege” to return.
“I had hoped that one day again I would have the opportunity – it’s maybe come a little bit quicker than I had thought,” Rodgers said in Japan, where Celtic will play Yokohama F-Marinos on Wednesday in the first game of their pre-season tour.
“I’m very proud and privileged to be back here again and I’m very ambitious to have a successful period.”
Celtic have won 11 of the last 12 Scottish Premiership titles and 17 domestic trophies in the past seven seasons.
Postecoglou won five of those during his two years in charge but the lure of the Premier League proved too much to resist as he takes on the challenge of trying to revitalise Spurs after a disastrous 12 months.
Rodgers said he would look to “tweak” Celtic’s tactics but stressed that he and Postecoglou’s “principles are very much the same”.
“Defensively it’s very aggressive, it’s very synchronised, very coordinated, it’s full of emotion and aggression,” he said.
“Then when you have the ball, the challenge is to create goals and score goals.”
Postecoglou coached Yokohama in the J-League before joining Celtic and he brought several players from Japan to Parkhead.
Kyogo Furuhashi was named Scotland’s player of the year last season after scoring 27 goals, while Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata are also on the club’s books.
Rodgers said his Japanese players were “doing a phenomenal job”.
“I think the humility, the hard work, the quality, also what has improved over the years and years is the tactical idea of the game,” he said.
“You can look around the world and Japanese players are really progressing so well.”
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition has revealed the identity of an alleged ‘killer squad’ known as Operation Support Unit (OSU), which they claim was set up by the government to harm them and protesters.
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka stated during a press conference on Tuesday at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation that they have information on the identity of the squad members and how they operate.
“We know its members wear civilian clothes, they travel in groups of five people from one ethnic community,” said Kalonzo.
“They are heavily armed with lethal weapons and are better facilitated in logistics, communications and transportation.”
The Wiper party leader also claimed that OSU is to blame for the deaths reported during last week’s protests, claiming that they fired from a number of Subaru vehicles as well as a Toyota Succeed.
“This is a group that last week, killed people in Kamukunji, Mlolongo and Jogoo Road. They fired at people from unmarked green, black, grey, silver, red and white mostly Subaru vehicles and they also fired from one grey Toyota Succeed,” he said.
“These vehicles are all parked in the traffic police headquarters near Kenyatta Hospital, the Anti-Terror Police Unit and Nairobi Regional headquarters. Their only mission is to assassinate or grievously harm Azimio leaders and Kenyans protesting against government policies.”
The coalition, on the other hand, stated that they will not back down in their fight against the government, citing the high cost of living as one of their main concerns.
They stated that the protests would begin on Wednesday and end on Friday, and that they would continue every week “until the battle is won.”
Raila Odinga, leader of Azimio la Umoja, said in a statement on Saturday, July 15, that OSU, which he claimed was disbanded a while ago, has been resurrected and that it is the squad on which the government is relying for ‘kusafirisha (transport)’ Azimio leaders.
“OSU, now under a Mr. Zakary Kariuki, was disbanded a few years ago and its members sent home. The squad is back. Last Wednesday. OSU was in Kamukunji, Jogoo Road and Mlolongo firing at protesters and killing some. OSU’s main brief is to hurt and execute Azimio leaders and protesters.”
Kenya Kwanza leadership in Mombasa is now planning parallel demonstrations on Wednesday to counteract Azimio La Umoja’s planned protests.
The leaders, led by East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) Member of Parliament Hassan Omar, stated that they will not sit back and watch Azimio goons paralyse business and the general economy of Mombasa.
“We can’t accept you causing economic turmoil in Mombasa, I want to tell our women rep and senator, that enough is enough, let them do it, I have told them, that we will be behind the police to see who dares,” Omar said.
Omar accused ODM leadership in Mombasa of “taking advantage of the poor”.
“We will not accept any minute of protest, even if its three minutes, we have reports that they are planning in Bangladesh, Maweni, Kisauni and Tudor Mwisho, and Majengo they want to use the poor to benefit themselves, we will be on the streets ourselves to protect our property,” he said.
Diplomats from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and nine other countries have expressed concern over violence and loss of life during anti-government protests in Kenya.
In a joint statement, the 13 envoys have urged parties to resolve differences peacefully.
The diplomats insisted that they support efforts by the government and the opposition to find a peaceful and lasting solution.
“We are saddened by the loss of life and concerned by high levels of violence, including the use of live rounds and the destruction of property, during the recent demonstrations,” the Ambassadors and High Commissioners said.
“We recognise the daily hardships faced by many Kenyans and urge all parties to table concerns through a meaningful dialogue and resolve their differences peacefully to build the nation together, ensuring no further loss of life.”
Their statement comes ahead of Azimio’s planned three-day protests that are expected to start on Wednesday, through to Friday.
In a press briefing held on Tuesday, Azimio maintained that the protests would go on despite the pressure from the government and religious leaders.
“Even with the intimidation of withdrawal of security, Azimio confirms that the protests planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week are on as earlier announced.
“The use of force has been unnecessary and totally disproportionate. We have always appealed to our protesters to remain peaceful, and we urge them to continue doing so,” Azimio’s statement read in part.
Members of the County Assemblies across the country have now called off their three-month strike to pave the way for the Senate to investigate their grievances.
Through the Association of Members of County Assemblies (AMCA), they have agreed to resume their plenaries in the assembly awaiting recommendations by the Senate.
In May, members of 35 county assemblies downed tools to agitate for a review of their salaries from the current Sh86,000 to the previous Sh165,000 which was slashed by SRC.
The association accused the County Assembly Forum (CAF) that is composed of Speakers of misleading the SRC on the issue of their salaries and ward fund.
According to the association Secretary-General Stanley Karanja, their meeting with the Senate two weeks ago had borne fruits and hence the need to call off the strike.
He said that the leaders of AMCA had met the Deputy President, COG chair and the Committee of Devolution in the Senate to discuss the grievances.
“After consultations, we have decided to call off our strike and continue with our plenaries as we wait for the report from the Senate,” he said.
The Naivasha East MCA was however quick to warn that the association would not hesitate to call for another strike if their demands were not met.
He noted that it was becoming near impossible for MCAs to conduct their duty of oversight due to low funding by the counties.
“We are not calling for a salary increase but for SRC to recall its directive to have our salaries slashed as this is against the law and immoral,” he said.
Addressing the press in Naivasha, Karanja pointed an accusing finger at the County Assembly Forum for allegedly backstabbing them as they defended their salaries.
“The Association of Members of County Assemblies will from now henceforth review the salaries of the Speakers who are earning Sh644,000 from Sh265,000,” he promised.
Lakeview MCA Alex Mbugua admitted that it had been agonizing time for county assemblies following the standoff which had adversely affected budgetary allocation.
“The county assembly is the defender of devolution and we thank the Senate for intervening on this issue that has adversely affected service delivery,” he said.
This was echoed by his Viwandani counterpart Mwangi Muraya who said that they had hope and belief that the Senate would address the grievances of MCAs.
“We shall resume our role of oversight as we wait for the Senate’s report but we shall not hesitate to down tools if our grievances are not addressed,” he said.
Nearly 50 lobbying groups are urging America’s President Joe Biden’s administration to halt engagement talks with Kenya until President William Ruto rejects an anti-gay bill introduced by Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma.
Kaluma’s “Family Protection Bill” submitted to Parliament seeks to criminalise homosexuality, same-sex marriages, and LGBTQ practises.
Lobby groups now want the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) talks to be halted until the Head of State acts.
“In partnership with LGBTQI+ groups in Kenya, we reiterate our request that you pause STIP negotiations until President Ruto commits to vetoing this bill,” the lobby groups told the Biden administration in a letter addressed to US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai.
“Pausing the trade talks aligns with the Biden Administration’s position of defending LGBTQI+ rights globally. This move would advance a worker-centered, inclusive trade policy. Moreover, stopping trade talks would send a message to countries around the world that the United States.”
The lobby wants Tai to ask Ruto and Trade CS Moses Kuria to commit to opposing any bill or policy that would impose new anti-LGBTQ+ criminal penalties on Kenyans.
They have launched a petition drive to collect 10,000 signatures in order to halt the trade talks.
If Kaluma’s bill is passed, homosexual convicts’ rights to assembly, demonstration, association, expression, belief, privacy, and employment in childcare institutions will be restricted.
Furthermore, the bill forbids homosexual adoption and sex acts on animals. Kaluma has also stated that homosexuality should be punished because it is illegal in Kenya.
Similarly, Kaluma’s bill seeks to outlaw sexual health, as well as sexual health rights and education.
If passed, the bill will protect parents’ and guardians’ prior rights to their children’s education.
It will reaffirm parents’ rights to be informed about, and consent to, sexuality education and abortion procedures involving their children.
“It seeks to ban comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in Pre-primary, primary and secondary schools education programs,” he said as quoted by the Star.
More than 15,000 residents of Mbooni East in Makueni County are set to benefit from improved maternal and child health services after the M-PESA Foundation and the county government opened a newly constructed Maternal and Child Health Unit at Tawa sub-County Hospital.
The Foundation invested KES 27 million in the project while Makueni County government equipped the facility at a cost of KES 4.8 million. The health facility will be crucial in reducing referrals and bringing services closer to residents of Mbooni sub-County. It will also contribute to reducing maternal and child health mortality.
“In our efforts to curb maternal and infant mortality, the M-PESA Foundation has partnered with several counties to enhance service delivery. That is why we have intervened here in Makueni County to bring services closer to the people and transform as many lives as possible,” said Nicholas Nganga, Chairman, M-PESA Foundation.
The Foundation has ongoing maternal health projects at Ndhiwa sub-County Hospital in Homa Bay, Makwa Dispensary in Kiambu, Talek Community Hospital in Narok and Brase Clinic in Migori County.
Chief Justice Martha Koome has appointed a three-judge bench to hear and decide the case challenging the Finance Act of 2023.
Justices David Majanja( Presiding), Lawrence Mogambi and Christine Meori will set a date when the matter will be mentioned for hearing.
The Finance Bill was suspended by Justice Mugure Thande, who directed that the file be brought before the Chief Justice for further instructions.
The petitioners, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition, want the high court to overturn the Act’s implementation, claiming that it was rushed through parliament without public participation.
They argue that the Act is unconstitutional and should not be implemented because it will harm many Kenyans who are already suffering.
The government, through Attorney General Justin Muturi, filed preliminary objections to have the petitions dismissed, but these were rejected by Justice Thande on the grounds that the applicant raised serious issues that needed to be heard.
As a result, the judge extended the conservatory orders suspending the Act until the case is heard and decided.
Actress Sofia Vergara and husband Joe Manganiello have announced they are divorcing after seven years of marriage.
The couple, who married in 2015, confirmed the news on Monday as they issued a statement through their representatives.
The statement read: “We have made the difficult decision to divorce.
“As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”
The Standard has contacted Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello’s reps for comment.
The Modern Family, 51, actor wed Manganiello in a lavish Palm Beach wedding back in 2015.
The two actors first met in 2014 while attending the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and went on their first date weeks later following her split from then boyfriend, Nick Loeb.
After dating for six months, Manganiello got down on bended knee and popped the question.
Reflecting on their relationship in 2015, Manganiello admitted his other half had reservations about dating again, as she had recently ended her four-year relationship with Loeb.
The Magic Mike star told Haute Living of their feelings for one another: “But we knew right away, and she knew she was screwed.
“I said to her, ‘If you need to be single, go do it and do it now if that’s what you need to do,’ and she didn’t.
“She tried to stay away from actors, and I tried to stay away from actresses as much as possible, because of the fear of being away from each other.
“What happened then was that we wound up in relationships with people who didn’t understand us.”
News of their divorce comes as Vergara recently celebrated her birthday while holidaying in Italy.
Although sharing posts from her trip on Instagram, Manganiello was noticeably absent from any photos she posted.
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