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RD Congo : Jean-Noël Barrot en visite dans la province de l'Ituri
Le chef de la diplomatie française, Jean-Noël Barrot, est arrivé samedi 3 octobre dans la province orientale de l'Ituri (en République démocratique du Congo), l'épicentre de la plus grave épidémie d'Ebola de l'histoire de ce pays, a constaté l'AFP. La RD Congo est en proie à sa 17e épidémie de maladie Ebola, devenue en quelques mois la plus meurtrière jamais connue dans le vaste pays d'Afrique centrale. À ce jour, 8 300 cas d'Ebola dont 4 018 décès et 2 162 guérisons ont été recensés depuis le début de l'épidémie, pour un taux de létalité de 48,4 %, selon les dernières données des autorités congolaises. argolida.life
Western Province Cobras Begin Double Title Defence
Double defending champions YesPlay Western Province Cobras and last season’s finalists, the DP World Lions, are ready to go again as the Hollywoodbets Pro Series gets underway at three venues across South Africa on Saturday, 3 October 2026.
The latest season of South Africa’s women’s premier domestic competition will once again see the Hollywoodbets Pro50 action played on Saturdays, followed by the Hollywoodbets Pro20 tournament on Sundays.
In the opening round on Saturday and Sunday, the Cobras will host the Garden Route Badgers at the YesPlay Newlands in Cape Town while the Lions travel to the newly promoted Warriors in Gqeberha.
In the third clash of the weekend, the Fidelity Titans will face the Hollywoodbets Dolphins at the TUT Oval in Tshwane.
For Cobras batter Faye Tunnicliffe, last season’s success means the champions will have an added target on their backs this time around.
“I think we know we’re going to have targets on our backs, so we just kind of want to maintain that level that we ended off on last season, and hopefully we can take the winning momentum forward into the new season.”
YesPlay Western Province Cobras Batter, Faye Tunnicliffe
The experienced batter, who claimed the 2025/26 Pro20 Player of the Season award after amassing 422 runs in eight innings, believes the team’s strength lies in the environment they have created within the squad.
“I think it’s really just the camaraderie and the rapport within the team. We play for each other. We don’t have selfish players in the team, so we know that when we go out, we’re trying to perform for the badge.
“We have a lot of hard workers in the team as well, so we push each other, whether that’s fitness or skills or anything. We’re pretty competitive in the nets with each other as well, so we’re just looking to always get better and find that one percent.”
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For the Lions, the new season brings an opportunity to go one step further after finishing runners-up in both competitions, despite topping the Pro20 and Pro50 log standings.
“Expectation hasn’t changed. I think us getting to two finals, that’s still going to be an expectation. But obviously we want to, when we get to those situations, to do one better, obviously, to win those two finals,” Lions coach Sandile Masengemi said.
The disappointment of the two defeats has also provided added motivation during the pre-season.
“To lose those two finals really made us a little bit hungry for this coming season. So obviously we were hurting so much,” he added.
The Lions have placed a particular focus on their mindset during the off-season as they look to build on last season’s performances, which saw them record 13 victories out of 22 encounters across both formats.
“I think the biggest thing for me that we worked on this pre-season is our mindset. I think we do have the skill, just a change of mindset, allowing the players to play with a little bit of freedom to express themselves, play positive cricket.”
While the two sides begin the season with different motivations, Tunnicliffe believes the overall standard of the Hollywoodbets Pro Series, entering its third season, will continue to grow as more players bring experience from national and emerging environments back into their provincial teams following an active winter for the Proteas Women and SA Emerging.
“I think there’s also been a lot more exposure to national camps and stuff like that, so there are more senior players that are taking what they’ve learned at national level into the provincial spaces.”
“We’ve been professional now for a couple of years, so this is where the wheel really starts to turn, and we kick on.”
Faye Tunnicliffe
“Hopefully we can consistently see those 300-plus scores in 50 overs and 160 to 180 scores in the T20s.”
With the rest of the competition looking to close the gap, Tunnicliffe says the Cobras are determined to keep setting the standard.
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“I think we’ve always been a team that wants to keep pushing the standard of women’s cricket in the country, so I think we just want to keep doing that.
“I think people will be aware that we know that we’re defending champions, so they’re going to come hard at us, but hopefully we can come back harder.”
The Hollywoodbets Pro Series Week 1 from Saturday, 3 October to Sunday, 4 October 2026
Sat 3 Oct (Pro50): YesPlay Western Province Cobras vs. Garden Route Badgers (YesPlay Newlands, Cape Town)
Sat 3 Oct (Pro50): Warriors vs. DP World Lions (Dafabet St George’s Park, Gqeberha)
Sat 3 Oct (Pro50): Fidelity Titans vs. Hollywoodbets Dolphins (TUT Oval, Tshwane)
Sun 4 Oct (Pro20): YesPlay Western Province Cobras vs. Garden Route Badgers (YesPlay Newlands, Cape Town)
Sun 4 Oct (Pro20): Warriors vs. DP World Lions (Dafabet St George’s Park, Gqeberha)
Sun 4 Oct (Pro20): Fidelity Titans vs. Hollywoodbets Dolphins (TUT Oval, Tshwane)
All fixtures start at 10h00
Original Copy: Cricket South Africa, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: The YesPlay Western Province Cobras begin the defence of both Hollywoodbets Pro Series titles this season, following their eight-wicket win over the DP World Lions in the 2025/26 Hollywoodbets Pro50 final, which sealed a Pro Series double after their Pro20 triumph two days earlier, at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium in Durban on Sunday, 15 March 2026. Photo: Cricket South Africa
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Man City appeal against explosive ruling on breaches of financial rules
Manchester City confirmed Friday they had launched an appeal against a damning judgement that found the club guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.
An independent commission delivered its findings earlier this week and City had until Friday to appeal — the Premier League leaders announced shortly before midday (1100 GMT) they had done so.
No sanction has yet been decided upon but City could face substantial points deductions, a fine or even expulsion from the top division.
The 10-time English champions, who continue to deny any wrongdoing, said in a statement: “The club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.
“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case.”
The Premier League issued an update, saying said an “independent appeal board hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted”.
Earlier on Friday, the English Football Association broke its silence on the case, saying that the commission’s decision “has significant implications for the integrity of the game”.
“We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate,” the national governing body said in a statement.
– Sponsorship deals –
The independent commission found City guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules over a period of nearly a decade.
It said deals agreed by City artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018, a period in which they won three Premier League titles and other silverware.
The commission found the club had concealed the true state of its finances, saying City were “significantly in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits”.
It has been widely reported that City will argue that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club’s owners, as part of their appeal.
State-owned bodies are not banned from sponsoring clubs under Premier League rules.
The commission found City had arranged “sham” commercial deals with a number of its sponsors that were part of a “disguised funding scheme”.
It said those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees, with the remainder funded by club owners Abu Dhabi United Group.
Private investment company ADUG, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, bought City in 2008 and has transformed the club from also-rans into a dominant force.
Sheikh Mansour is also vice-president, deputy prime minister and chairman of the Presidential Court of the United Arab Emirates.
Downing Street said on Thursday that the super-club was not “above the rules” following criticism of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham over the case.
“As the prime minister made clear, the initial judgement is serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules,” a spokesperson said.
Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, told the BBC on Wednesday that he did not want to see the club’s Emirati owners walk away as a result of the case.
England coach Thomas Tuchel, who has City players Marc Guehi and Elliott Anderson in his squad, said the issue was the talk of the camp as his team prepare to face Croatia on Saturday.
“Of course the players talk about it, and City players talk about it, and we talk to them, but only briefly,” he said.
“They’re ready to go for tomorrow, that’s what they show on the pitch and that’s what they show in camp, but of course it’s a big topic.”
There is speculation that City could also be stripped of titles and the club also face a flood of compensation claims from rivals.
UAE airline Etihad Airways, City’s main sponsor, said earlier this week that it was considering legal action against the Premier League.
“Etihad categorically rejects any finding, conclusion or implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements,” an Etihad spokesperson said in a statement.
Bafana coach Mosimane to ring changes for Egypt friendly
Pitso Mosimane is set to make wholesale changes when Bafana Bafana face Egypt in an international friendly match at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday night (kickoff is at 8 pm SA time).
Goalkeepers Sipho Chaine and Ricardo Goss are expected to see some action, and so will the likes of Fawaaz Basadien, Khulumani Ndamani, Shandre Campbell, Puso Dithejane, Tashreeq Matthews and Cassius Mailula, among others.
Speaking to SAFA media on Friday afternoon, Mosimane said that his intention was always to give a run to all the members of the team at some stage of this extended three-match camp of two 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea, and the friendly against the Pharaohs.
“We are pleading for patience and support for them. They are breaking through, and we need to see what we have in our ranks. Unfortunately, we have a big team (Egypt) that we have to play against on Sunday. The challenge is we have to let them (the players) swim with the sharks, but we’ve got nothing to lose,” he said.
“It is a friendly game, and we need to see what they are capable of at this level. So we plead for patience and support for these youngsters. The country must understand that we have played the qualifiers (against Guinea and Eritrea) and we are done. That is the most important thing. It is important to build for the next FIFA World Cup, and if we don’t put them in now, when are we going to see them? We do not have friendly games until the Africa Cup of Nations next year, so this is the only chance they have.”
Mosimane added that he has also kept a close watch on the talent that is emerging from the South African Under-20 and Under-23 men’s national teams.
The U23s kicked off their 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games preparations on a positive note when they came from behind to defeat a stubborn Algeria 3-1 at the Dr Rantlai Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein on Thursday.
“We saw the U23s, we watched the game, and we are happy with what we saw; we are happy with the prospects,” said Mosimane.
Meanwhile, midfielders Bathusi Aubaas and Teboho Mokoena have been ruled out of the clash because of injuries.