The former Manchester City and Celtic defender was among the players targeted by the GFA in their bid to strengthen the West African side.

However, Frimpong revealed that Holland’s early faith in him influenced his decision to decline Ghana’s approach.

In an interview with 3Sports, the 23-year-old defender said, “I considered playing for Ghana and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) did make contact with me, but Holland were always the first one to come and they were the country that believed in me,” he said.

Frimpong, who has Ghanaian heritage, has made 10 appearances for the Netherlands.

Despite his choice to play for Holland, the defender is currently in Ghana enjoying the Christmas holidays.

Esmee Brugts scored two sublime, near-identical long-range curling efforts, either side of the break.

Jill Roord also netted twice with Lieke Martens, Katja Snoeijs and Danielle van de Donk the other Dutch scorers.

The 2019 runners-up will be in action against the runners-up from Group G in the first last 16 on Sunday.

Dutch set the pace ahead of world champions USA

The Dutch started the third and final group game second in Group E, behind the United States on goal difference, while Vietnam were already eliminated following a defeat by fellow debutants Portugal in their previous game.

Netherlands boss Andries Jonker named an unchanged starting line-up from the side that confirmed they are contenders in this tournament when they held reigning world champions the USA to a 1-1 draw.

The Netherlands may be missing their all-time top goalscorer in Vivianne Miedema, who is out with an ACL injury, but they had little trouble in finding the back of the net against Vietnam, with five different goalscorers.

Vietnam’s quest for a first-ever World Cup goal started brightly, but it proved to be short-lived as Martens chested down Dominique Janssen’s ball over the Vietnam defence and lobbed keeper Thi Kim Thanh Tran to give the Netherlands the lead after eight minutes.

It opened the floodgates with an unmarked Snoeijs adding a quick second before Brugts fired home a wonderful curling shot from 35 yards out to give the Netherlands a 3-0 lead after 18 minutes.

When Manchester City summer signing Roord tapped in a fourth it was enough to convince Vietnam boss Mai Duc Chung into a double substitution after only 28 minutes, with Thi Thu Thuong Luong and Thi Loan Hoang the unfortunate pair to depart prematurely, replaced by Thi Kieu Chuong and Thi My Anh Nguyen.

Vietnam went 22 minutes without conceding but an inevitable fifth arrived just before the break as Van de Donk latched onto a rebound.

The Golden Star Warriors changed their goalkeeper at half-time, but Thi Hang Khong could do little to stop Brugt’s superb second goal, which was an almost exact replica of her first.

The biggest winning margin of the tournament so far was completed when Stefanie van der Gragt headed the ball into Roord’s path for an easy finish.

In his first season with the Lancers, the 20-year-old watched from the bench as Brazilian winger David Neres scored in the first minute of injury time to dramatically hand his side a 2-1 win in the cup final.

Ryan Gravenberch put Ajax in the lead in the 23rd minute but Lois Openda hit back for the opposition only seven minutes later to level the score, before Neres’ late intervention. 

The trophy is Kudus’ first career title and the club’s 20th Dutch Cup. 

The Ghanaian was not the only African who celebrated Ajax’s win on Sunday.

Cote d’Ivoire striker Sebastien Haller, who transferred from West Ham United in January, featured for the entire duration of the game.

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The Morocco trio of right-back Noussair Mazraoui, winger Oussama Idrissi and attacker Zakaria Labyad also watched from the bench, just as Burkina Faso striker Lassina Traore and Dutch U21 striker of Ghanaian descent Brian Brobbey. 

Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana was, however, completely missing from the matchday squad as he continues to serve a Uefa ban for a failed drug test. 

Last summer, Kudus joined Ajax on a five-year contract from Danish Nordsjaelland, the deal reportedly worth €9 million.

He made his debut for the side in a league clash against RKC Waalwijk and scored his first goal in a 5-1 Eredivisie triumph over Heerenveen in October. 

In all competitions so far for Ajax, Kudus has made 16 appearances and scored twice, his number of outings limited by a meniscus injury sustained in October last year.

The youngster’s rise in stock has not only been a result of his promising start to life at Ajax.

In four Ghana appearances so far, the attacker has scored two goals and provided two assists.

Medical Care Minister Bruno Bruins suddenly keeled over while updating the parliament on Wednesday.

Alarming video shows colleagues rushing over to grab the 56-year-old as he crumples to the floor in the middle of his address.

He later cited exhaustion, saying he had fainted after weeks of intense work, as the country tries to stem the spread of the outbreak that has devastated European neighbor Italy.

“I felt faint from exhaustion and several intense weeks of work,” he tweeted. “I am now feeling better. I’m going home now to rest tonight so I can get back to work tomorrow to fight the #corona crisis as best I can,” he added.

But his job was already gone; Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Bruins had to step aside because it was unclear how long it would take him to recover.

“The nature of the crisis is such that it demands a minister who can be ready to go full throttle immediately,” he said in a televised press conference afterwards.

Vice Prime Minister Hugo de Jonge took over Bruins’ duties until a permanent replacement is found.

His first order of business was to expand social distancing measures on Thursday, and place a ban on visiting nursing homes.

“Because I realize that this is a very drastic measure,” he said, per NL Times. “If it is your own father or mother, it will of course affect everyone. Still, I think it is necessary. People in nursing homes can be very fragile, so the effects of the virus are very large. And we must protect the most vulnerable,” he said.

Like much of the continent, the country’s schools, bars and restaurants have all been closed.

The Netherlands has recorded almost 3,000 cases of COVID-19, 106 of which were fatal.

Christiansborg Castle was built by Danish colonialists in 1659 on a land obtained from Paramount Chief Okaikoi of the Ga ethnic group.

Over the years, the fort was juggled between the Portuguese, Swedish and Danish. Sometimes it was taken over by force; other times it was bought.

Seizing the castle

In 1693, Asamani, an Akwamu Chief, planned to seize control of the castle by way of a cunning trick.

A successful trader and warrior, Asameni moved to Accra, became proficient in the Danish language and disguised himself as a cook and interpreter to secure work at the castle.

He studied the site, and its occupants and operations, including the ships’ arrivals and departures as well as those of traders, merchants and others who worked and visited the Christiansborg castle.

The Akwamu was a state set up by Akan people (in present-day Ghana) that flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Asamani informed the Danes that he would escort a group of Akwamu traders to purchase ammunition.

In 1693, Asamani and 80 armed men impersonating traders entered the castle.

Since it was accepted practice to test merchandise prior to purchase, the men were given ammunition.

But they had also hidden ammunition, powder and shots under their clothes.

Once in the castle, the Akwamu attacked the unsuspecting Danes.

A fierce battle ensued. Severely wounded, Governor Janssen escaped to nearby Fort Crevecoeur.

Many Danish merchants and officials were injured, and some were taken to Akwamu as captives.

Asamani and his men captured the castle.

The Akwamu leader, Asameni occupied the Christiansborg castle for a year appointing himself “Governor” of Christiansborg Castle, trading with merchants from many nations.

He replaced the Danish with the Akwamu flag.

In 1694, Asamani sold the fort back to the Danes for 50 marks of gold (400 troy ounces, worth about $666,920.00 Today) but retained the keys.

The AKwamu Legacy

The Keys are still in the ethnic group’s possession till this day and it had since been kept by the Akwamu as a trophy and a proud symbol of the resistance by the Akwamus from the Danes.

In 1957, when Ghana became independent, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, the fort became Government House, the residence of the Governor-General.

When Ghana became a republic in 1960, it became the residence of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

Christiansborg Castle is not open to walk-in visitors.

The 18th-century crown, which has great religious significance, went missing from a church in Ethiopia 21 years ago, the Dutch government said in a statement.

Sirak Asfaw, an Ethiopian who emigrated to the Netherlands in the late 1970s, found the artifact in his Rotterdam apartment in a visitor’s bag.

He then approached the Dutch government to arrange for it to be returned to his home country.

Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed officially received the artifact on Thursday and thanked the Dutch government for bringing the “precious crown” home at an event attended by Asfaw and Sigrid Kaag, Netherlands foreign trade and development cooperation minister.

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Kaag said the government was pleased to have expedited the “rightful return” of the artifact to Ethiopia.

“We’re honoured and delighted to have been able to facilitate the rightful return. This is the crowning achievement of returning this heritage to its rightful place,” Kaag said in a statement.

More western governments have pledged to return stolen African artifacts that were looted from the continent centuries ago.

In November, France handed a historical sword stolen from Senegal to the government and it says it plans to permanently repatriate more artifacts looted from Africa during its colonial rule to their original owners.

French collections house at least 90,000 pieces originating from sub-Saharan Africa with around 70,000 works in Paris’ Quai Branly museum alone, according to a 2018 report on stolen artifacts from the continent.

In a statement Monday, he expressed regret that some media houses have suggested that he called the ‘Ghana beyond aid’ agenda to be replaced by a ‘Ghana beyond corruption’ agenda.

”Nothing could be further from the truth. The Netherlands has been and will be a staunch supporter of the Ghana beyond aid agenda initiated by President Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017” he said.

He said all efforts by government and civil society in Ghana to stamp out corruption are part and parcel of the agenda. 

ALSO: Audio: Gov’t reacts to “Ghana Beyond corruption” comment by Netherlands diplomat

Mr Stikker added that the Netherlands was also committed to supporting the efforts of Ghana to fight corruption, including some support to civil society organizations such as the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII).

”I hope this will help the determined efforts of government and civil society to fight corruption which is a core element of the Ghana beyond aid agenda,” the statement said.

Below is the statement by the Ambassador 

“All efforts of government and civil society in Ghana to stamp out corruption are part and parcel of the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda”, said Dutch Ambassador Ron Strikker this morning when clarifying his catchphrase “Ghana Beyond Corruption” used at the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Ghana Integrity Initiative in Accra last Thursday.

ALSO: ‘I don’t clear accused persons; recommendations from institutions do’ – Akufo-Addo

“Much to my regret some media have suggested that I called for the Ghana beyond Aid Agenda to be replaced by a Ghana beyond Corruption Agenda. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Netherlands has been and will be a staunch supporter of the Ghana beyond Aid Agenda initiated by President Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017”.

Referring to the remarks he made at the GII 20th Anniversary Event, “Twenty Years of Fighting Corruption”, Ambassador Strikker said that the Netherlands was also committed to support the efforts of Ghana to fight corruption, including some support to civil society organizations such as the Ghana Integrity Initiative.

“I hope this will help the determined efforts of government and civil society to fight corruption which is a core element of the Ghana beyond Aid Agenda,” the ambassador added.

Source: Ghana|Dutch Embassy

A picture shows the Prime Minister of Netherlands, Mark Rutte parking his cycle outside the Dutch Royal House where he had a meeting with the King.

The bizarre animal was picked up by a Dutch trawler near Hoek van Holland, and is the first known case of conjoined twin porpoises.

Fearing it would be illegal to keep the specimen, the fishermen took a few quick photographs of the dead creature and threw it back into the ocean.

Experts at the University of Rotterdam are now poring over those photographs in the hopes of learning more about parapagus dicephalus – partial twinning – in marine life.

Two-headed porpoise caught in fishing net

They have already confirmed that the porpoises died shortly after birth because the tail had not stiffened, which allows newborn porpoises to swim.

Both heads also had small hairs on the upper lip, which should fall out shortly after the animals are born.

The harbour porpoise is one of the most common cetaceans – a group of marine life which includes whales and dolphins – found in north west European waters.

“The anatomy of cetaceans is strikingly different from terrestrial mammals with adaptations for living in the sea as a mammal. Much is unknown,” Erwin Kompanje, of the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, told the New Scientist.

“Adding any extra case to the known nine specimens brings more knowledge on this aspect.”

He said it was regrettable that the fisherman decided to throw the creature back into the ocean, as it is unlikely it will ever be seen again.

The two-headed porpoise is the 10th example of a conjoined twin to be found within the cetaceans group.

“Normal twins are extremely rare in cetaceans,” added Mr Kompanje.

“There is simply not enough room in the body of the female to give room to more than one fetus.”