Solidarity
South Africans gather in support of Jacob Zuma — a day before jail deadline
Hundreds of supporters gathered in a show of solidarity for former South African president Jacob Zuma outside his Nkandla homestead Saturday, as the deadline looms for him to hand himself over. In an unprecedented ruling, Zuma was on Tuesday told by the constitutional court to hand himself over by Sunday to start a 15-month jail term for contempt of court. Supporters, mainly members of the African National Congress’s Umkhonto Wesizwe military wing, have for weeks camped outside Zuma’s home in KwaZula-Natal province in solidarity with the former leader. Donning traditional leopard skins and ostrich feathers – wielding spears, shields and clubs known as “knobkerries,” men known as “amaButho,” or Zulu regiments marched in the streets of Nkandla, singing praise songs about Zuma. Bare-breasted ...
PANDEF cautions Nigerian government over Nnamdi Kanu, Sunday Igboho, others
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has cautioned the Federal Government over some of its recent actions, warning that the government should consider the consequences of treating with contempt, the 16-Point Agenda it presented to President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2016. The group also condemned the midnight raid on the house of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho and cautioned the Government’s plan to identify the sponsors of the rearrested leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. The socio-cultural organization said the action of the government has caused the Niger Delta youths to declare a vote of no-confidence on PANDEF because it was the leaders of the region that requested them to stay action when they took a decision to cri...
South Africa’s Jacob Zuma mounts last-ditch legal fight against jail term
South Africa’s ex-president Jacob Zuma on Friday mounted a last-ditch legal bid to avoid prison after the country’s top court ordered him jailed for failing to appear before graft investigators. In a landmark ruling, the Constitutional Court on Tuesday handed Zuma a 15-month term for contempt after he snubbed a probe into the theft of state assets under his tenure. If the 79-year-old fails to turn himself in by Sunday, police will be given a further three days to arrest him and take him to jail to start the sentence. As the deadline loomed, Zuma pleaded on Friday that the order be “reconsidered and rescinded.” “It will not be futile,” Zuma said in papers filed to the court, “to make one last attempt to invite the Constitutional Court to relook its decision and to merely reassess whether it...
No Uefa hammer for gay supporting German skipper
The German FA has said it will not be punished by UEFA for the rainbow-coloured captain’s armband Germany skipper Manuel Neuer has worn during Euro 2020 in solidarity with gay pride this month. The German Football Association (DFB) said it has received a letter from European football’s governing body stating that a review of the matter has been stopped. “The armband has been assessed as a team symbol for diversity and thus for a ‘good cause’”, the DFB said on Twitter. Normally, the captains of each team at the European Championship are obliged to wear a standard armband issued by UEFA. Former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, who came out as gay after retiring in 2013 and is now head of sport at VfB Stuttgart, was unimpressed that UEFA were even looking into the armband matter. “Come...
Euro 2020: Jose Mourinho ‘prayed’ and ‘cried’ after Eriksen collapsed
Jose Mourinho revealed he “prayed” and “cried” for Christian Eriksen after the Denmark star collapsed during Saturday’s Euro 2020 clash against Finland. Inter midfielder Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest when collapsing on the pitch before being resuscitated, Denmark’s team doctor Morten Boesen said. Eriksen was given CPR by medics in the first half of the Group B match after falling to the ground with no other player around him – the fixture was originally suspended, but the former Tottenham star was later confirmed to be “awake” and the game resumed a little under two hours later, with Finland winning 1-0 in Copenhagen. Ex-Tottenham head coach Mourinho spent time with Eriksen prior to the Denmark international’s move to Inter in 2020 and the Roma-bound boss said he was reduced to tears. “I...
Morocco says Madrid seeks to ‘Europeanise’ its crisis with Rabat
Morocco’s foreign minister on Wednesday accused Spain of trying to turn a political crisis between the two countries into an EU problem by focusing on migration and ignoring the root causes. The row blew up in April after Spain admitted the leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, Brahim Ghali, for medical treatment without informing Rabat, which regards the disputed territory as its own. Morocco then appeared to relax border controls with Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on May 17, leading to an influx of at least 8,000 migrants. Since then Spain and Morocco have traded accusations of violating good neighbourliness, with Spain saying Morocco used the migrants while Rabat says Spain acted in connivance with “adversaries” of its territorial integrity. “Spain tries to Europe...
M.I Abaga Pays Tribute To Igbo Artists, Calls For Support From Other Nigerians
Sensational Nigerian rapper, M.I Abaga has showered accolades on Nigerian music acts from the East and of the Igbo ethnic nationality. This is coming at the backdrop of the current security crisis rocking the eastern part of Nigerian. The Chocolate City label front man also called for other Nigerians to show their support for the Igbos because they’ve contributed a great deal to the growth of the Nigerian music industry and the country at large. According to M.I, the saying that Igbos are being hated by the rest of the citizens in Nigeria is an outdated context and that all Nigerians should show solidarity to the plight of the region. He also took out the time to name some Igbo artists whom he paid tribute to via his tweet starting from label mate Blaqbonez. The rapper made this known via ...
Minister charges diplomats to change the narratives about Nigeria
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, yesterday, charged officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to change the narratives about the country. Onyeama stated this during the opening of a three-day induction programme for over 350 officers posted to Nigerian missions abroad in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Onyeama told the officers that it had been a rocky and bumpy road to get to the point in which they were set to depart the country, adding that he was however glad that the day had arrived. “I am here to rejoice and to express my love for you all and to say that we have to keep hope alive, we have to maintain solidarity. We are in this thing together and by God’s grace, we will all be an asset for our country, Nigeria. That is what it is really all about, about Nigeria,...
Akwa Ibom first lady leads women’s protest on raped, murdered job seeker
Wife of Akwa Ibom State’s Governor Udom Emmanuel, Dr. Martha Emmanuel, on Wednesday led over 3,000 women from different walks of life on a solidarity march to protest the gruesome murder of Miss Iniubong Umoren. The women took over Uyo metropolis, singing dirges and carrying placards with different inscriptions like: “We want justice for Iniubong,” “Justice for one is justice for all,” “No more rape, no more gender-based violence.” Other inscriptions said: “#Stand in Solidarity with Akwa Ibom State women and demand justiceforIniubongUmoren,” “#Rape is a crime punishable by law,” among others. The women marched from Ibom Connection down to Nuwana Iba and then moved to Wellington Bassey Way leading to the state’s Government House. Other dignitaries who accompanied the wife of the Governor on...
Mexico City rail overpass collapses, killing 15 and injuring 70
Fifteen people were killed and 70 hurt when an overpass carrying Mexico City metro train cars partially collapsed on to a road on Monday night, authorities said. A dramatic video on local channel Milenio TV shows the overpass of the metro’s 12 line collapsing on top of cars on a road below. Videos on television and social media showed emergency medical crews and firefighters combing through the wreckage looking for survivors. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said 15 people were killed and that a car was trapped under the rubble. Sheinbaum said on Twitter “unfortunately there are dead and injured people. I am on site supporting the installation of the command center.” The city’s Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection Agency initially put the toll at 13 and 70 people injured. ...
UEFA exco member: Super League clubs will be thrown out of Champions League
Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid could be kicked out of this season’s Champions League this week, according to the Danish FA chairman Jesper Moller. Moller, who is a member of UEFA’s Executive Committee, says the teams involved in the new Super League could face sanctions following Sunday’s groundbreaking announcement. One team that wasn’t part of the Super League’s unveiling was Paris Saint-Germain, who are the only semi-finalists currently not involved in the new competition. “The clubs are going out, and I expect that to happen on Friday, and then you have to see how to finish the Champions League,” Moller told DR Sport. He added: “There must be one extraordinary executive committee meeting on Friday. I have an expectation that the 12 clubs will be thrown out.” As things stand, ...
Premier League clubs excluded from Super League set meeting to discuss path forward
The 14 Premier League clubs excluded from Super League plans are set for a meeting on Tuesday, according to a report. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham were not invited to the meeting, with the remaining teams set to discuss a path forward. The aforementioned six teams were among the 12 clubs confirmed for the new competition, which was announced on Sunday. Though six of its biggest clubs have announced their involvement, the Premier League released a strong statement on Sunday condemning the proposal. “The Premier League condemns any proposal that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are at the heart of the domestic and European football pyramid,” the statement read. “Fans of any club in England and across Europe c...
