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Envoys visit Tigray to discuss crisis – reports

Henry Williams
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Envoys visit Tigray to discuss crisis – reports

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and the African Union’s envoy for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, visited the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia on Sunday to discuss humanitarian access and a possible ceasefire in the year-long conflict.

Mr Griffiths and Mr Obasanjo, a former Nigerian president, were in the regional capital Mekelle at the same time, according to reports.

It is unclear, however, whether the two were on the same trip.

Tigray TV reported that the two met “the president of Tigray government, Dr Debretsion Gebremichael” in his office for talks on the “crisis in Ethiopia and ways to deliver humanitarian aid and regional issues”.

It said Mr Griffiths and Mr Obasanjo later returned to Addis Ababa.

Three days of mourning over Sierra Leone tragedy

Henry Williams
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Three days of mourning over Sierra Leone tragedy

Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio has declared three days of national mourning after a fuel tanker explosion on Friday killed more than 100 people.

Mr Maada Bio said the country must learn from the incident, adding that those injured would be given free treatment.

He said he was setting up a task force to look into the incident, and make recommendations on how to avoid this happening again.

Later on Monday, flags will be flown at half-mast to remember the victims.

At least 101 people died and about 100 others were injured when the tanker blew up after colliding with another truck in the capital Freetown.

Sierra Leone has suffered a number of recent tragedies.

Oscar Pistorius parole process to start in South Africa

Henry Williams
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Oscar Pistorius parole process to start in South Africa

South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, in prison for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, may soon meet her parents as part of the process leading to parole being considered, officials say.

He is eligible for possible release after having served half his sentence.

But he first has to take part in what is called “restorative justice”.

Pistorius shot Steenkamp dead in 2013 saying he mistook her for a burglar at his home in the capital, Pretoria.

The 34-year-old fired four times through a locked toilet door.

In 2014, at the conclusion of a trial that was followed around the world, he was given a five-year term for manslaughter.

But Pistorius was found guilty of murder on appeal in 2015 and the sentence was later increased to 13 years and five months.

Why Tanzanian Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah hardly known back home

Henry Williams
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Why Tanzanian Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah hardly known back home

Zanzibar-born Abdulrazak Gurnah became the most talked-about writer in the world when he won this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, yet he is little known in Tanzania.

The accolade for the 72-year-old author was hailed as ground-breaking for African writing, but in bookshops across the East Africa nation, Gurnah’s novels are nowhere to be found.

While Gurnah’s books have been primarily marketed in the UK, where he has lived for the last five decades, his 10 novels analyse issues close to the heart of Zanzibaris.

He explores the impact of colonialism on East African identity, and the experiences of refugees as they are forced to seek homes elsewhere.

Gurnah himself left his home aged around 18 – fleeing the turmoil and violence that followed the 1964 revolution which overthrew Zanzibar’s Arab minority ruling elite.

South Africa corruption whistle-blower flees for his life

Henry Williams
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South Africa corruption whistle-blower flees for his life

A South African whistleblower who testified at a state inquiry into massive corruption allegations has left the country fearing for his life.

“If I remained at home there was a good chance I’d be silenced, so I left,” Athol Williams said. He named 39 people and companies involved in the scandal.

A public inquiry investigating corruption during the presidency of Jacob Zuma has heard from multiple witnesses.

The Zondo Commission – named after the judge chairing the inquiry – was set up in 2018 to investigate allegations of corruption and fraud in the public sector including in government institutions.

Zuma was convicted of contempt for refusing to appear before the commission. He was jailed but then freed on medical parole. He faced numerous charges of corruption, which he denies.

Barcelona Unveil Xavi As New Coach

Emenike Agu
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Barcelona Unveil Xavi As New Coach

Xavi Hernandez was unveiled as Barcelona’s new coach on Monday as thousands of fans welcomed the debt-ridden club’s legendary former midfielder back to Camp Nou.

Xavi walked out to chants of “Xavi, Xavi” before signing his contract on the pitch, alongside his family and Barca president Joan Laporta.

“I don’t want to get too emotional so I will just tell you one thing — we are the best club in the world,” Xavi told the crowd of around 10,000 fans.

“And we will work to the highest standards to have success. We cannot accept defeats or draws, we have to win every game.”

Laporta said: “Today will be a historic day for Barca.”

Xavi is the first Barca coach to be presented on the pitch in front of fans at the 99,000-capacity stadium, with the routine usually only reserved for the club’s biggest signings.

The return of the 41-year-old as coach, six years after he left Barcelona to play in Qatar, has generated huge excitement and raised hopes the club can begin a return to Europe’s elite.

Barca sit ninth in La Liga, with the club grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. They have not been European champions since 2015.

Xavi’s appointment was confirmed in the early hours of Saturday and he flew out of Doha a few hours later, before watching Barcelona at a distance as they threw away a three-goal lead away at Celta Vigo to draw 3-3.

He then attended in person to watch the club’s youngsters as Barca B beat Sevilla B at the Johan Cruyff Stadium on Saturday evening.

Xavi’s first training session in charge will be on Tuesday, although the squad is depleted by injuries and absentees away on international duty.

Barcelona’s first game with Xavi in the dug-out will be at home to local rivals Espanyol on November 20.

After playing 767 games for Barcelona, Xavi left to play for Al Sadd in Qatar in 2015 before taking over as the team’s coach four years later.

He is widely considered one of the Barca’s greatest ever players, having won eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues, as well as the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain.

US Open Champion Raducanu Ranks In World Top 20

Emenike Agu
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US Open Champion Raducanu Ranks In World Top 20

US Open champion Emma Raducanu moved into the top 20 of the world rankings for the first time on Monday.

The 18-year-old Briton, who is ranked 20th after reaching the quarter-finals of the Transylvania Open in October, became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam when she triumphed in New York in September.

This week, Raducanu is top seed for the Linz Open in Austria and has a bye into Tuesday’s second round.

Australian Ashleigh Barty remains number one after a week of the Billie Jean Cup, formerly known as the Fed Cup, but the competition’s results do not count toward the rankings system.

Latest women’s WTA world rankings on Monday:

1. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 7582 pts

2. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 6130

Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 4708

4. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 4510

5. Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 4310

6. Maria Sakkari (GRE) 3760

7. Ons Jabeur (TUN) 3455

8. Anett Kontaveit (EST) 3396

9. Iga Swiatek (POL) 3286 (+1)

.10. Paula Badosa (ESP) 3224 (+1)

11. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 3076 (+1)

12. Sofia Kenin (USA) 2971 (+3)

13. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 2956

14. Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 2855 (+2)

15. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 2726 (-1)

16. Elise Mertens (BEL) 2690 (+2)

17. Angelique Kerber (GER) 2671 (-8)

18. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 2660 (+1)

19. Jessica Pegula (USA) 2650 (+1)

20. Emma Raducanu (GBR) 2627 (+1)

CBN Says Fake N1000, N500 Notes Declined In 2020

Koko Lawrence
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CBN Says Fake N1000, N500 Notes Declined In 2020

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the faking of higher denomination banknotes in Nigeria dropped 20.80 per cent in volume and 12.18 per cent in value in 2020, lower than 84,934 pieces and N64.71 million in 2019.

The apex bank stated this in the Currency Operations 2020 Annual Report posted on its website.

According to the report, the N1,000 and N500 denominations constituted the bulk of counterfeited banknotes, accounting for 69.06 per cent and 30.79 per cent, respectively, of the total counterfeit notes.

It said: “Despite the decline, the recurring incidence of higher denomination banknote counterfeiting underscores the need to further strengthen the various measures designed by the Bank to prevent and mitigate the risk of counterfeiting.

“ In this regard, the Bank would sustain its publicity campaign, collation of data on counterfeits for analyses and monitoring, as well as strengthen its collaboration with security agencies to curb the incidences of counterfeiting,’’ the CBN said.

The CBN said that a total of 67,265 pieces of counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N56.83 million was recorded in the year under review.

It said that the data on counterfeit notes were mainly from four sources, namely: Security Agencies, Deposit Money Banks, CBN’s 24 processing centres and BWH PLC.

The apex bank said that the ratio of counterfeit notes to volume of banknotes in circulation was 13 pieces per million, compared to 20 pieces per million banknotes in 2019.

The apex bank assured that it would continue to collaborate with security agencies to sustain and combat counterfeiting activities as well as maintain the integrity of the banknotes in circulation.

CAF Women’s Champions League: Nigeria’s Rivers Angels Lose 0-3

Emenike Agu
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CAF Women’s Champions League: Nigeria’s Rivers Angels Lose 0-3

Nigeria’s sole representative at the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions Laegue, Rivers Angels FC, got off her campaign with a disappointing 0-3 defeat.

The Angels were thrashed by AS FAR of Morocco on Saturday.

The game played at the El Ahly Stadium, Cairo, Egypt, saw Sanaa Mssoudy’s hat trick secure the maximum three points for the North Africans.

Mssoudy’s 30th, 73rd and 84th minutes goals earned her a place in history as the first to score a hat trick in the maiden competition.

The defeat left the Rivers-based club at the bottom of Group B.

South African side, Mamelodi Sundowns, had earlier pipped Vihiga Queens of Kenya 1-0 in the first group game.

Rivers Angels will take on the South Africans in their second group match on Tuesday.

World Cup Qualifiers: Enyimba Goalkeeper Named As Replacement For Uzoho

Emenike Agu
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0
World Cup Qualifiers: Enyimba Goalkeeper Named As Replacement For Uzoho

Enyimba goalkeeper, John Noble, has been named a late replacement for one of the originally invited goalkeepers for the Super Eagles’ upcoming World Cup qualifying matches.

According to the information on the official Facebook page of the Super Eagles, Noble has taken the place of Francis Uzoho on the 24-man list released by coach Gernot Rohr.

It was revealed that Uzoho called in sick and would no longer be available for selection for the Qatar 2022 Match Day 5 and 6 qualifying games against Liberia (November 13) and Cape Verde (November 16).

Though he is yet to make his official debut for the national team, Noble has enjoyed a handful of invitations to the Super Eagles even as he remains hopeful of breaking into the mainstream of the national team sooner than later.

Noble, who hitherto was Enyimba’s first-choice goalkeeper, appears to have lost the position to a new arrival, Ojo Olorunleke.

Daniel Akpeyi and Maduka Okoye are the other two goalkeepers invited for the Liberia and Cape Verde fixtures.

The invited players and overseas-based members of the technical crew are to report directly to the city of Tangier on Monday, 8th November while technical officials from Nigeria are to report in Tangier the same day.

The World football –governing body FIFA, has already appointed referees from North Africa to officiate the Super Eagles’ last two games of the group phase of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifying series.

Tunisian official Youssef Essrayri, 42, will referee the Day 5 encounter between Liberia and Nigeria. For the match against Cape Verde in Lagos on November 19, FIFA has listed Algerian official Mustapha Ghorbal as the referee.

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