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Former Chelsea Boss Andre Villas-Boas Appointed Tottenham Hotspur Manager

Andre Villas-Boas Appointed Tottenham Hotspur Manager

Former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has been appointed the new head coach of Tottenham Hotspur, three weeks after Harry Redknapp was sacked.

Villas-Boas, 34, returns to football on a three-year contract four months after his dismissal at Chelsea.

“For me, this is one of the most exciting coaching positions in the Premier League,” said Villas-Boas.

“This is a squad any coach would love to work with. Together I believe we can bring success in the seasons ahead.”

Despite winning the Portuguese domestic double and the Europa League at Porto in 2010-11, Villas-Boas was sacked by Chelsea less than 12 months into a three-year contract in March.

In the wake of Redknapp’s dismissal, former France coach Laurent Blanc, Wigan’s Roberto Martinez, Fabio Capello and former Tottenham striker Jurgen Klinsmann were linked with the post before the ex-Porto boss emerged as Spurs’ preferred candidate.

“He has an outstanding reputation for his technical knowledge of the game and for creating well-organised teams capable of playing football in an attractive and attacking style,” Spurs chairman Daniel Levy told the club’s official website. 

“Andre shares our long-term ambitions and ethos of developing players and nurturing young talent, and he will be able to do so now at a new world-class training centre.”

Villas-Boas brings with him two members of the coaching staff who served under him at Chelsea, first-team fitness coach Jose Mario Rocha and Daniel Sousa, head of opposition scouting.

And Levy hinted that Tottenham would now look to add to their playing staff in the close season.

“It is important we now look to develop the potential within the squads at all levels, while strengthening the first team in the summer in key positions with players who will become part of the future success of the club,” he said.

Tottenham, who finished fourth in the Premier League table last season, launch the 2012-13 season away to Newcastle on 18 August.

Villas-Boas is scheduled to lead Spurs into action against his former club Chelsea on 20 October at White Hart Lane, with the Portuguese due to return to Stamford Bridge on 13 April.

His arrival follows last week’s news that winger Gareth Bale, 22, has signed a new four-year-deal with Spurs.

Andre Villas-Boas factfile

  • Born: 17 October 1977 in Porto, Portgual
  • Managerial career: Academica, Porto, Chelsea
  • Chelsea highs: Champions League group wins over over Bayer Leverkusen (2-0), Genk (5-0) and Valencia (3-0)
  • Chelsea lows: Won one of his last six Premier League games in charge as Chelsea dropped out of the race for the Premier League title, and was sacked after 256 days in charge

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Poverty Drops With Secondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Steve Crabtree and Anita Pugliese

Gallup polls from 2009 to 2011 find sub-Saharan Africans with a secondary education are less likely to live in poverty, stressing the need for universal access to this level of education. Across the 38 countries surveyed, a median of 85% of adults with a primary education or less are living on less than $2 per day (based on household income in international dollars), versus 62% of those with a secondary education. Those with a secondary education are also less likely to say there were times in the past year when they did not have enough money to buy food they or their families needed.

Though many sub-Saharan African countries have made great strides toward achieving universal primary education, access to secondary education remains spotty. There is only enough capacity for 36% of children in the region to enroll in secondary education, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s 2011 Global Education Digest. The report states that the rising number of primary school graduates and the need for more sophisticated workers with higher-level skills have increased the demand for secondary education in many sub-Saharan African countries.

Secondary schools are also often important venues for job placement. “[Secondary education] not only links initial education to higher education, but also connects the school system to the labor market,” the report notes. Across the 38 sub-Saharan African countries studied, those with a secondary education are about twice as likely as those with a primary education or less to say they work full time for an employer.

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In Uganda, Cervical Cancer is the Silent Killer

AMOLATAR/GULU, 25 June 2012 (IRIN) – In the obstetrics and gynaecology ward of St Mary’s Hospital Lacor in northern Uganda’s Gulu District, Apilli Kilara lies on the floor under a blood-stained sheet, staring at the ceiling.

Kilara, 43, and the mother of seven children, is in the advanced stages of cervical cancer.

“I started experiencing funny itching in my private parts after my fifth delivery in 2007. In November 2011 when I delivered my seventh child, I began noticing an on-and-off sharp pain in my pelvis with sudden bleeding in between my periods,” she told IRIN. “The pain and bleeding didn’t stop, that’s when I started imagining something was wrong with me.” Continue reading “In Uganda, Cervical Cancer is the Silent Killer”

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Look Under the Radar, Make Smart Choices

The key point in this essay is that in making tough choices in life, sometimes it’s best to look under the radar, because the best things, in most cases, are not found in the hype.

If you live in the US or follow US sports news, you will know that period leading to the NFL (National Football League) draft is one of the most exciting times for sports fans in the US. As sports analyst and experts present personal attributes (height, weight, reach, etc) of players and playing statistics, the general public is invited into a passionate debate  around who should make the first round pick and who should wait until the third or 6th.

Pick Like a GM

Make decisions like a GM a football team at draft night. A Good General Manager of a football team does not make a pick based on the recommendation by pundit on TV, hearsay, print media or rudimentary evidence of a player’s ability. He does his homework because he knows that at the end of the day, it’s not only the height and weight, 40-yard dash and yards-per-carry that matter.  He knows there are intangibles that determine the success of a team. Continue reading “Look Under the Radar, Make Smart Choices”

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Zimbabwean Members of Paliament to be Circumcised to Fight HIV

A group of Zimbabwean MPs is getting circumcised as part of a campaign to reduce HIV and Aids cases.

A small makeshift clinic for carrying out the procedures was erected in Parliament House in the capital Harare.

Blessing Chebundo, chairman of Zimbabwe Parliamentarians Against Aids, said his main objective was to inspire other citizens to follow suit.

Research by the UN has suggested male circumcision can reduce the spread of HIV and Aids.

A report by UNAids and the World Health Organisation said the risk of HIV infection among men could be reduced by 60%.

More than a million people in Zimbabwe are believed to be HIV-positive, with about 500,000 receiving anti-retroviral treatment.

Mr Chebundo said more than 120 MPs and parliamentary staff had shown an interest in the circumcision programme.

The BBC’s Brian Hungwe, in Harare says that by 12:00 local time (10:00GMT), four had had the procedure performed, with more expected later

Blessing Chebundo was the first to undergo the 10-minute operation.

He told the BBC there was a possibility that some members of the executive may also attend, including President Robert Mugabe.

The circumcision programme had attracted a lot of attention in Zimbabwe, and had divided opinion, our correspondent said.

The issue was raised in parliament in September 2011, when Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe made a plea to her fellow politicians.

At the time, many MPs shunned the idea.

As well as a clinic in parliament, the initiative has seen a tent set up across the road from parliament, where counselling sessions will be held.

Dr Owen Mugurungi, Director for Aids and TB unit with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, applauded those involved, the Zimbabwe Mail reported.

“We are happy with this initiative and we are happy more leaders will come on board,” he was quoted as saying.

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President Barack Obama Unveils US Strategy for Africa

The White House has announced a new US strategy for sub-Saharan Africa, which focuses on the continent’s economic potential.

It also explores issues related to democracy, security and development.

President Barack Obama said African democracy had improved but corruption was endemic in many countries and state institutions were weak.

The strategy comes as China’s presence on the continent continues to grow through investment and trade.

Mr Obama said he would work with Congress to develop preferential trade agreements with African countries, while fighting al-Qaeda and its affiliates on the continent. Continue reading “President Barack Obama Unveils US Strategy for Africa”

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UN agency warns of catastrophe without massive aid scale-up for displaced Malians

14 June 2012 – The United Nations refugee agency is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe unless there is a massive scale-up in responding to the needs of 320,000 people who have been displaced by the current political instability in Mali and the insecurity in the country’s north.

“The magnitude of the emergency, the number of displaced people and the serious conditions they are in – many are suffering from severe malnutrition – requires an urgent increase in the overall response to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe,” the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its latest update. Continue reading “UN agency warns of catastrophe without massive aid scale-up for displaced Malians”