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5 games that counted against Erik ten Hag after Manchester United sacking

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BY STAFF REPORTER 

Erik ten Hag has been sacked as Manchester United manager.

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United’s new ownership have made the move after a poor start to the season, which continued at West Ham on Sunday when they slipped to their fourth Premier League defeat of the campaign.

They sit in 14th place and have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five games that counted against the former Ajax boss in his final 12 months in charge.

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A 2-1 win over Chelsea in early December was arguably United’s best performance of the season to that point and should have been something to build on.

Instead, just three days later they were embarrassed by Andoni Iraola’s Cherries as Bournemouth enjoyed a first victory at Old Trafford – and in some style.

Dominic Solanke opened the scoring five minutes in and then hit a post before further goals from Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi led to boos from many of the United fans that stuck around until the end.

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Manchester United 1 Fulham 2 – Premier League, February 24, 2024

Confirmation of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment into United, and the overhaul of football operations it would bring, had brought a sense of optimism to Old Trafford.

But it took only a few days for United to puncture it with yet another home defeat.

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Harry Maguire thought he had earned a point with an 89th-minute equaliser only for United to switch off and allow Alex Iwobi to strike a dramatic stoppage-time winner.

Coventry 3 Manchester United 3 (United won 4-2 on penalties) – FA Cup, April 21, 2024

Even in victory there were alarm bells ringing at Wembley as United reached a second successive FA Cup final.

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United were firm favourites against Championship opposition and duly took a 3-0 lead, apparently cruising to victory.

But Coventry scored three goals in the last 20 minutes to force extra-time and even thought they had won it through Victor Torp in the last minute of that period before VAR intervened with an offside decision.

United came through the penalty shoot-out but it was a victory without much honour.

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Crystal Palace 4 Man Utd 0 – Premier League, May 6, 2024

Perhaps United’s worst day of the season came at Selhurst Park as Palace completed their maiden Premier League double over the Red Devils.

Michael Olise scored twice as Palace overwhelmed a patched-up United defence manned by Jonny Evans and Casemiro.

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Defeat left United with only two wins from 10 league games, a run which would ultimately cost them any chance of finishing in the European places.

Man Utd 0 Tottenham 3 – Premier League, September 29, 2024

United had been swept aside by bitter rivals Liverpool and dropped points in the Europa League against lowly-ranked Dutch side FC Twente in their two previous games at Old Trafford.

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The mood worsened within three minutes of the Premier League clash with Tottenham as centre-back Micky van de Ven dribbled 70 yards through the heart of the United team before crossing for Brennan Johnson to open the scoring.

United captain Bruno Fernandes then saw red before the interval, after which further goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Solanke were the least Spurs deserved in a dominant display as the pressure on Ten Hag intensified.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT (UK)

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National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) locomotive suffered significant damage after catching fire while transporting export coal to Zambi. The incident occurred between Kalala and Matetsi sidings, resulting in the explosion of the locomotive’s fuel tanks.

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According to the NRZ press statement on Monday, “A National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotive suffered some damages after it caught fire this afternoon while transporting export coal to Zambia.” Fortunately, the crew members on board managed to escape unharmed.

The NRZ responded swiftly to the incident, dispatching a rescue train with crews to the site. The team successfully extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. However, the locomotive itself sustained considerable damage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, with investigations currently underway. “Investigations are already underway to establish the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the locomotive,” the NRZ statement read.

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In the community

Human-wildlife conflict claims 18 lives in Zimbabwe’s first quarter

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has reported a disturbing trend of human-wildlife conflict in the country’s first quarter of 2025. According to the authority, 18 people have lost their lives, and 32 others have been injured in encounters with wildlife.

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ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo revealed that the authority received 579 cases of human-wildlife conflict, which they managed to respond to promptly. The incidents have also resulted in significant livestock losses, with at least 53 cattle and 85 goats killed by wildlife.

The districts most affected by these incidents include Binga, Hwange, Kariba, Chiredzi, Hurungwe, Nyaminyami, and Mbire. ZimParks has been working tirelessly to raise awareness about wildlife behaviors and effective preventive measures in these areas.

In response to the crisis, ZimParks has translocated 129 animals back into protected areas and eliminated 158 animals deemed problematic.

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“We encourage communities to continue reporting incidents to ZimParks Problem Animal Control numbers and local leadership, such as Councillors, Traditional Leaders, and Rural District Council Authorities, to ensure that we preserve lives,” Farawo urged.

The significant increase in livestock losses, with cattle deaths rising from 18 to 53 and goat deaths from 21 to 85 compared to the same period in 2024, highlights the growing challenge of human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe.

ZimParks’ efforts to mitigate the conflict include community initiatives to educate people on managing wildlife encounters effectively.

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Tens of Thousands in Zimbabwe Go Hungry as the Rains — and US Aid — Hold Back

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Tanayeishe Musau eats baobab porridge after school at his home in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, where the dish has become a daily staple amid worsening drought and hunger. Once a simple supplement, baobab porridge is now a primary meal for families like his, following widespread food shortages and the suspension of international aid.

BY LINDA MUJURU

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal.

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Agnes Tauzeni stands on her parched field. She is a mother to two children, and is expecting another. But now, in a time that might otherwise have been joyful, her hopes wither like the struggling crops before her.

 

Three times she’s gambled on the rains; three times the sky has betrayed her. Her first two plantings failed. The soil was too dry to sustain life. Though her third attempt yielded a few weak shoots, they offered little promise of a meaningful harvest. El Niño-driven droughts have disrupted once-reliable rains, leaving Tauzeni’s family and many like hers struggling to feed themselves.

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“I am always hungry,” Tauzeni says.

 

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She worries about the health of her unborn child, based on how little nutrition she consumes herself.

 

Adding to this, food aid, previously funded by the US Agency for International Development, halted suddenly in January. That transformed what was already a struggle into a desperate battle for survival.

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The food aid ended when US President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order that paused nearly all US foreign aid, most of which was administered by USAID. That agency is now all but defunct.

 

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Food aid in Zimbabwe was an ongoing area of funding for USAID. In November 2024, the agency announced $130 million for two seven-year programs, implemented by CARE and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, that would provide food aid and other related support to areas of Zimbabwe most in need. The programs, which stopped, were just part of an ongoing slate of activities designed to help Zimbabwe’s neediest people.

 

About 7.6 million people in Zimbabwe — nearly half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance, according to a 2025 UNICEF report. Of those, nearly 6 million, like Tauzeni, rely on subsistence farming.

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Through the support of organizations with funding from USAID, people previously received cereals, edible seeds, oil and food vouchers.

 

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“A sudden withdrawal can put the entire community in a dire situation,” says Hilton Mbozi, a seed systems and climate change expert.

 

Tauzeni recalls that her community used to receive food supplies such as beans, cooking oil and peanut butter to help combat malnutrition.

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When Tauzeni got married in 2017, her fields promised abundance. Her harvests were plentiful, and her family never lacked food. Now, those memories feel like whispers from another world. The past two agricultural seasons, those harvests have been devastatingly poor.

 

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With an empty granary and dwindling options, Tauzeni’s family survives on the same food every day: baobab porridge in the morning and sadza with wild okra in the evening. But Tauzeniworries whether even this will be on the table in the coming months.

 

“The little maize I have, I got after weeding someone else’s crops, but that won’t take us far,” she says.

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Tauzeni says a 20-kilogram (44-pound) bag of maize costs US$13 in her village, an amount out of reach for her. Her only source of income is farming. When that fails, she has no money at all.

 

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Hunger like Tauzeni experiences is widespread. Some families now eat just once a day.

 

Headman David Musau, leader of Musau village where Tauzenilives, says some people in his village did not plant any seeds this season, fearing losses due to the low rainfall. The government provides food aid inconsistently, usually 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of wheat per person for three months.

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“It’s not enough, but it helps,” he says.

 

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But without any other food aid, survival is at stake, he says. “People will die in the near future.”

 

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