Osimhen, Oshoala, Nnadozie, Abiodun Make Final Shortlist For CAF 2023 Awards

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Osimhen, Oshoala, Nnadozie, Abiodun Make Final Shortlist For CAF 2023 Awards

The African football governing body confirmed the finalists for the CAF awards - billed for Morocco next Monday - in posts on its social media platforms on Thursday.

The African football governing body confirmed the finalists for the CAF awards – billed for Morocco next Monday – in posts on its social media platforms on Thursday.

Osimhen, who plays for Napoli in the Italian Serie, will do battle with Egyptian Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi who was part of Morocco’s historical World Cup run in Qatar late last year.

Despite battling Hakimi who helped Morocco to reach the World Cup semis, a first on the continent, and Salah who was in fine form for Liverpool last year, Osimhen is in pole position to land the coveted prize after becoming the first African to win the highest goalscorer gong in the Italian Serie A.

His goals were instrumental as Napoli scooped their first Scudetto prize title in 33 years. The former Lille man was also the highest-ranked African in the 2023 Ballon d’Or when he finished ninth.

For the Women’s category, Osimhen’s compatriot Oshoala is on the cusp of a record-extending fifth CAF Women’s Player of the Year gong. The Barcelona Femeni star was on the team’s treble-winning side last season. She also scored one goal as the Super Falcons reached the last 16 of the FIFA Women’s World Cup played earlier in the year.

But the Nigerian has stiff competition with  Racing Louisville and South African star Thembi Kgatlana and Zambia’s Barbara Banda.

Super Falcons Chiamaka Nnadozie of Paris FC is also in contention for the Goalkeeper of the Year (Women) and has to contend with Khadija Er-Rmichi of Morocco and Andile Dlamini (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns).

In the Young Player of the Year (Women), there is also another Nigerian –  Deborah Abiodun. The Pittsburgh Panthers midfielder  – despite playing one of the team’s four games at the World Cup – has been one of the breakout stars on the continent in the last year.  She featured for Nigeria at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The Super Falcons are also in contention for the Women’s Team of The Year award.

Those Found Culpable For Kaduna Bombing Will Be Punished – Shettima

Those Found Culpable For Kaduna Bombing Will Be Punished – Shettima

The Vice president gave the assurance when he visited the victims of the attack at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in the Kaduna State capital.

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has assured that the Federal Government is determined to fully probe the accidental bombing by the Nigerian Army in Tudun Biri village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and thereafter punish anyone found culpable in the incident.

He also pledged that the victims of the incident would be supported by the Federal Government.

The Vice president gave the assurance when he visited the victims of the attack at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in the Kaduna State capital on Thursday.

“There is no gain in dwelling too much on this incident that has happened. I am here because the President is deeply concerned; he was deeply touched by what happened.

“Let’s not talk about the numbers, one life lost in cold blood is as gruesome as millions lost in a pogrom. The heart of the President is with the bereaved families. We were at the hospital to sympathise with the victims and be rest assured that the Federal Government stands by the community affected and the government and people of Kaduna State on this unfortunate incident.

“It is already directed by Mr President, an investigation is being conducted with a view to preventing a re-occurrence of the incident and we expect a report to be submitted in the shortest possible time,” Shettima said days after the incident threw the nation into mourning.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has visited the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital to offer his condolences and support to the victims and families of the recent bomb strikes in Kaduna.

Shettima toured the hospital wards, meeting with injured victims and their loved ones. 

He also assured that the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu is committed to the total eradication of terrorism and banditry in the Northern region and other parts of the country.

Shettima was received on arrival in Kaduna State by Governor Uba Sani who accompanied him to the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital where he commiserated with the victims.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),  Abdullahi Ganduje were among Shettima’s entourage.

 

The Vice President’s condolence visit comes four days after the deadly airstrike that killed over 85 persons and injured several others in the North-Western state.

Sunday’s tragic incident has received condemnation from local and international watchdogs, all calling for investigations and a standardised review of procedural activities.

There was confusion in the wake of the airstrike with many calling out the Nigerian Air Force. However, the agency was quick to absolve itself of responsibility for the incident. The Kaduna State government hours later said the Nigerian Army had claimed responsibility for the accidental bombing in Nigeria’s North-West region.

The Army has since taken responsibility for the accident with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, during his visit apologising to the community over the matter, promising to halt a repeat of such an incident.

“My assessment of that unfortunate incident of Sunday, December 3, 2023, is that it is grave, regrettable. We will do everything possible to prevent such an occurrence from happening again in the conduct of our operations going forward,” he said about one of the country’s deadliest military bombing accidents.

Both the Federal and Kaduna State governments have ordered a full investigation into the incident.

The Kaduna incident happened months after another fatal airstrike on Kwatiri, a Nasarawa village. At least 39 persons were killed and six others injured in the 24 January incident.

Peru’s Ex-President Fujimori, 85, Freed After Pardon Reinstated

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Peru’s Ex-President Fujimori, 85, Freed After Pardon Reinstated

Fujimori was sent to prison in 2009 over massacres committed by army death squads in 1991 and 1992 in which 25 people, including a child, were killed in supposed anti-terrorist operations.

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, 85, was freed from prison on Wednesday after a court reinstated a pardon of his 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity.

Fujimori, who served from 1990 to 2000 and is now in poor health, left the Barbadillo prison in Lima and was greeted by his children Keiko, a three time failed presidential hopeful, and Kenji, a businessman. The elder Fujimori wore nasal tubes providing him with oxygen from a tank.

They all drove away in a gray truck that moved slowly through a crowd of cheering supporters.

“Our heart is bursting with joy, because this man was imprisoned unfairly,” said one supporter who gave her name only as Nikita.

Keiko Fujumori said her father’s condition is fragile. “The most important thing is to take care of him and that he recover little by little,” she told reporters outside her home.

She added: “We know that the best therapy is the love of his family.”

Fujimori was sent to prison in 2009 over massacres committed by army death squads in 1991 and 1992 in which 25 people, including a child, were killed in supposed anti-terrorist operations.

On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court ordered him freed for humanitarian reasons, reinstating a pardon that was first granted in 2017 but revoked by the Supreme Court two years later.

Fujimori, who is of Japanese heritage, has divided Peruvians like few other ex-leaders.

For some, he bolstered economic growth through his neo-liberal economic policies, and deserves praise for crushing left-wing insurgencies, including the Shining Path rebels.

Others remember with loathing his ruthless, authoritarian government style.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged authorities not to immediately free him, seeking time to assess the Peruvian court ruling.

Peru’s Constitutional Court had ordered Fujimori to be released last year on humanitarian grounds, but the Inter-American court then also urged against the move, which the government in Lima heeded.

This time the government ignored the Inter-American court and freed the aging ex-president.

The Constitutional Court reasoned that beside humanitarian reasons for freeing him, Fujimori had served about two-thirds of his sentence.

Fujimori was impeached in November 2000 on grounds of “moral incapacity” and was also accused of corruption.

The previous day he had fled to Japan, the homeland of his parents, and resigned by fax. He later went to Chile, from where he was extradited in 2007.

These days he suffers recurrent respiratory, neurological and hypertension problems and has had tongue cancer.

The ruling Tuesday to reinstate the pardon cannot be appealed.

In other legal woes, Fujimori has pleaded guilty to bribing lawmakers and spying on rivals while in power.

He was also investigated over the forced sterilization of hundreds of thousands of poor, mostly Indigenous women during his final four years in power.

An estimated 270,000 Peruvians, many of them Indigenous people who did not speak Spanish, underwent surgery to have their fallopian tubes tied as part of a family planning program implemented under Fujimori.

In 2021, a judge ruled that Fujimori could not, at the time, be prosecuted in the case for technical legal reasons.

Keiko Fujimori said last year she would pardon her father if elected, but she was defeated by leftist Pedro Castillo — who was later ousted and jailed at the same prison as the elder Fujimori.

Denmark’s Parliament Adopts Law Banning Qur’an Burnings

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Denmark’s Parliament Adopts Law Banning Qur’an Burnings

In practical terms, it will be forbidden to burn, tear or otherwise defile holy texts publicly or in videos intended to be disseminated widely.

Denmark’s parliament on Thursday adopted a law criminalising the “inappropriate treatment” of religious texts, effectively banning Koran burnings after a series of desecrations of Islam’s holy book sparked anger in Muslim countries over the summer.

The bill, which prohibits “inappropriate treatment of writings with significant religious importance for a recognised religious community”, was passed with 94 votes in favour and 77 opposed in the 179-seat Folketing.

“We must protect the security of Denmark and the Danes. Therefore, it is important that we now have better protection against the systematic insults we have seen for a long time,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in a statement.

In practical terms, it will be forbidden to burn, tear or otherwise defile holy texts publicly or in videos intended to be disseminated widely.

Those who break the law, which will be evaluated after three years, risk a fine or up to two years in prison.

Over the summer, Denmark and neighbouring Sweden became the focus of anger across several Muslim countries after a slew of protests involving burnings and desecrations of the Koran.

Nearly a thousand protesters attempted to march to the Danish embassy in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone in late July following a call by firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr.

In response to the worsened security situation, the Scandinavian country temporarily tightened border controls, but returned to normal on August 22.

Between July 21 and October 24 this year, 483 book burnings or flag burnings were recorded in Denmark, according to national police figures.

– Criticism –

Initially announced at the end of August, the bill was amended following criticism that its first draft limited freedom of expression and would be difficult to enforce.

It was originally planned to cover objects of significant religious importance.

The first draft was also criticised by some — including politicians, artists, media and freedom of speech experts — as a return to a blasphemy law that Denmark abolished in 2017.

During a lengthy debate in parliament ahead of the vote, opposition lawmakers railed against the government, accusing it of sacrificing freedom of expression.

“It is a betrayal. A huge failure on the part of the government,” Inger Stojberg, leader of far-right Denmark Democrats, told parliament.

In 2006, a wave of anti-Danish anger and violence erupted in the Muslim world following the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

“Imagine that we are becoming the generation that curtailed freedom of speech. I hadn’t actually thought this would be — and certainly not after the Muhammad crisis. Back then, we stood firm,” Stojberg said.

In neighbouring Sweden, the government has condemned desecrations of the Koran at protests while upholding the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.

It has vowed to explore legal means of stopping protests involving the burning of holy texts in certain circumstances.

Denmark is not the only European country to have banned burnings of the Koran.

According to Denmark’s justice ministry, eight European countries — Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania — do so to varying degrees.

In Greece, for example, the burning of a sacred text can be banned if the act takes place in or near a religious site.

British Poet Benjamin Zephaniah Dies Aged 65

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British Poet Benjamin Zephaniah Dies Aged 65

About two months ago, the poet was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

British poet Benjamin Zephaniah, who famously rejected an honour from Queen Elizabeth II over Britain’s empire and links to slavery, died on Thursday at the age of 65, his family said.

“It is with great sadness and regret that we announce the death of our beloved husband, son and brother in the early hours of this morning 7th December 2023,” the family said in a statement on Instagram, adding that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.

Pele’s Santos Suffer First-Ever Relegation

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Pele’s Santos Suffer First-Ever Relegation

Santos's relegation comes less then a year after three-time World Cup-

winner Pele's death on December 29, 2022, at age 82.

Iconic Brazilian club Santos, cradle of late football legend Pele, were relegated to the second division Wednesday for the first time in their history, just shy of the first anniversary of his death.

Santos suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Fortaleza in their final league match of the season, sealing their fate as the last of the four teams condemned to the “B Series” league next year.

The home of Pele and Neymar finished their lackluster season in 17th place, on 43 points — one shy of Bahia, who dodged relegation with a 4-1 win over Atletico Mineiro, and 27 short of Sao Paulo giants Palmeiras, who claimed their second straight league title.

Luis Suarez-led Gremio finished in a surprisingly strong second place on 68 points, thanks to a brace from the Uruguayan striker in their 3-2 win against Fluminense.

Santos’s relegation comes less then a year after three-time World Cup-winner Pele’s death on December 29, 2022, at age 82.

The embarrassment follows years of economic and athletic troubles at Santos, and leaves Flamengo and Sao Paulo as the only clubs in Brazil never to have been relegated.

Sanusi Seeks NNPC Audit, Says President Shouldn’t Be Petroleum Minister

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Sanusi Seeks NNPC Audit, Says President Shouldn’t Be Petroleum Minister

He insisted that the President should not be the Minister of Petroleum.

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has called for a proper audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), noting that this call was what cost him his job at the apex bank.

Sanusi made this known while delivering his remarks at The Bank Directors Summit holding at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.

Sanusi, who was CBN governor from June 2009 to February 2014, insisted that the President should not be the Minister of Petroleum.

For the ex-CBN chief, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) must remain until banks get together and pay up what they owe the system.

He also maintained that the banking sector must shore up its trust deficit in the eyes of the public and that there is no need to amend the CBN Act to keep the apex bank free of political influences.

In August, about three months after his inauguration, President Bola Tinubu split the Ministry of Petroleum Resources with the appointment of Ekperipe Ekpo as Minister of State, Gas Resources; and Heineken Lokpobiri as Minister of State, Petroleum Resources.

However, Tinubu, in an apparent tradition of his predecessor, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, kept the position of the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources to himself.