How It Is Celebrated – Christmas In Botswana

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December 6, 2021

Botswana is in the southern hemisphere, so Christmas comes during the summer when it is very hot.

During the spring, families who own cows and goats take their livestock to live far away from their fields in a place called cattlepost. Some cows and goats always live at the cattleposts, but others are moved to the cattlepost in the spring and back to the village area in the fall.

About one third of people live in the cities of Gaborone, Francistown Jwaneng and Lobatse.

About a week before Christmas, most people from these cities travel back to their home villages. And then, people from the villages travel out to their cattleposts for several days after Christmas.

The churches in the villages have special services on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, the church is usually more full than on any other day of the year.

Sometimes three different choirs will sing during the Christmas Eve Service: the regular choir, the youth choir and a children’s choir.

On Christmas Day, many people walk or drive out to their cattlepost. Each family’s cattlepost is about six kilometres from the next family’s cattlepost.

The families go to visit other cattleposts and sing Christmas songs acapella in beautiful four part harmony.

The people of Botswana often dance as they sing. Some choirs have new choir uniforms made before Christmas. Then the choir walks or drives from one cattlepost to another that are associated with their village singing for the different families.

Most families kill a goat or a cow at Christmas time and enjoy eating a lot of meat during the Christmas holidays.

Some people will have a Christmas Tree, although this is a relatively new custom. Giving gifts is also popular but for most people gifts are homemade. Often only rich people can afford to buy gifts for each other.

Boxing Day is also a public holiday in Botswana.

Once Upon A Time – Dec. 6 – 1865 – 13th Amendment Of The United States Constitution Is Ratified, Abolishing Slavery

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 6, 2021

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1240 Mongols under Batu Khan occupy and destroy Kiev; out of 50,000 people in the city only 2,000 survive.

1812 Czar Alexander I signs a decree allowing a Bible Society in St. Petersberg, Russia.

1829 Missionary William Carey learns that Sati (widow-burning) has been abolished in India. Although it is Sunday morning, he races to prepare the announcement before nightfall, fearing delay may cost lives.

1863 Ordination of Imad-ud-din in Calcutta as a deacon. He had converted from Islam to Christianity and will author at least twenty-four Christian books and receive the degree of Doctor of Divinity.

1865 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery.

1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty signed; Ireland receives dominion status; partition creates Northern Ireland.

1996 Elijah Abubakar Yisa, Muslim convert to Christianity, a priest of the Anglican Church, opens his church as a haven for displaced people during rioting in Nigeria. Acting in his capacity as a pastor, he also will speak with authorities, defusing the crisis.

1998 Hugo Chávez is elected President of Venezuela.

2006 NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

Today’s Historical Events

Today In Film & Tv

2002 “Adaptation” directed by Spike Jonze, starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep premieres.

Today In Music

1969 300,000 attend Altamont free concert in California, featuring The Rolling Stones. Marred by violence and four deaths.

Today In Sport

1992 San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice catches NFL record 101st touchdown in a 27-3 win over Miami Dolphins at Candlestick Park

Do You Know This Fact About Today? Did You Know?

1768 1st edition of “Encyclopedia Brittanica” published in Scotland

Would You Believe This Fact About Today? Would You Believe?

1877 Thomas Edison records himself reciting “Mary had a little lamb”

Argentina Pays Paraguay $45 million For Overdue Of Yacyretá Energy

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 5, 2021

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Argentina Friday has paid Paraguay US $ 19 million for overdue Yacyretá energy, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, head of Paraguay’s side within Yacyretá’s Binational Entity (EBY) announced.

Of the US $ 100 million Argentina owed, it had agreed to pay US $ 44 million this year.

In fact, Argentina wired over some US $ 19,735,172, totaling US $ 45,759,943 in 2021. With these payments, Argentina has honored what it had pledged to pay this year.

The EBY also said the entire proceedings had been transferred over to the Finance Ministry. Last year, the EBY had requested the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry to negotiate with the Argentine government, which resulted in these payments.

Yacyretá Dam is 808 metres (2,651 ft) long, and its installed equipment has a maximum power output of 3,100 megawatts (4,200,000 hp), with a record

Duarte -a former Paraguayan President between 2003 and 2008- insisted there were over US $ 100 million in debt, of which US $ 44 million were to be paid this year, but Argentine ended up paying a sum above it and that the remaining part of the debt is to be canceled throughout 2022.

Argentina had made the first payment in September worth US $ 15 million, Duarte Frutos had announced after a meeting with Foreign Minister Euclides Acevedo and President Mario Abdo Benítez.

Optimism As Nigeria Takes Over Presidency Of Great Green Wall In Africa

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 5, 2021

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Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari has taken over the Presidency of the Great Green Wall in Africa for the next two years.

This was disclosed by Nigeria’s Minister of State for the Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor at the end of the 4th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government (CHSG) of the Pan African Agency for the Great Green Wall held in Abuja, Nigeria’s Seat of power.

According to the Minister, “At the end of the 4th Ordinary Session of the CHSG, Nigeria took over the Presidency of the PAGGW. So for the next two years, Nigeria and President Buhari will be the President of the Great Green Wall Initiative in Africa.

“This means that within the period, Nigeria will work assiduously towards addressing the problems of land degradation, food security, desertification, Climate Change, depletion of the forest ecosystems and biodiversity in Africa, among others”.

Ikeazor expressed optimism that with the unparalleled commitment of Mr President on addressing issues of Climate Change and desertification, coupled with the immense respect he commands within the International Community, a lot would be achieved during his tenure.

He stressed that the realization of financial pledges that emerged as outcome of the “One Planet Summit” held on 11th January, 2021 in Paris, France would be given utmost priority.

He expressed optimistic assurances that the restoration of Africa degraded ecosystems and ensuring the resilience of our people against Climate Change effects shall be strengthened.
The Great Green Wall or Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel is a project led by the African Union, initially conceived as a way to combat desertification in the Sahel region and hold back expansion of the Sahara, by planting a wall of trees stretching across the entire Sahel.

Dubai Expo 2020: Buhari Commends UAE President On Commitment To Trade, Investment Relations

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 5, 2021

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President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria remains the most viable and attractive investment destination in Africa.

He says also that the country is on the path of becoming the continent’s leading industrial and trading nation.

The president made the declarations when he addressed a trade and investments forum at the Dubai Expo 2020, in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

The event was organised by the Nigerian-Arabian Gulf Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.

‘‘Nigeria’s pavilion at the Expo 2020 clearly shows why we remain the most viable and attractive investment destination in Africa.Our location, our natural resources, our population, and our regulations are there for all to see. Nigeria is on its way to becoming a leading industrial and trading nation in Africa.

‘‘To achieve this, our government focused on policies, projects and programmes that support private sector investors. We introduced numerous fiscal incentives and infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing the viability of investments.

‘‘In spite of the adverse global economic environment of recent years, Nigeria’s investment environment has greatly improved at the national and sub-regional levels,’’ Adesina quoted the president as having said.

President Buhari assured captains of industry and entrepreneurs, who had shown interest and commitment to enhance trade and investment relations with Nigeria, that government would continue to work with them to improve the business climate.

He added that this had become essential as the African Continental Free Trade Area comes into full effect.

‘‘Just in November, I reminded business leaders that most of Africa’s challenges, whether security, economic or corruption, can be traced to our inability to domesticate the production of our most basic requirements.

“I said this at the Intra Africa Trade fair in Durban and said the inability was responsible for our failure to provide jobs for our teeming and dynamic youth population.

‘‘I am pleased that this Forum focuses on ‘Unveiling trade and investment opportunities in Nigeria,’ and I encourage you all to keep an open mind and look beyond the challenges.

‘‘In this room, we have governors, ministers and heads of government agencies that can address all your questions and concerns. We are here to support you and I hope you will all take this opportunity to move your investment decisions forward,’’ he said.

President Buhari also expressed gratitude to his hosts, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates and the Emir of Abu Dhabi.

He commended their unwavering commitment to strengthen trade and investment relations between both countries through various initiatives, partnerships and support.

How It Is Celebrated – Christmas In Bolivia

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 5, 2021

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In Bolivia, Christmas is celebrated from Christmas Eve until Epiphany (6th January).

Most of the population of Bolivia is Catholic and many people go to a Midnight Mass service on Christmas Eve called the ‘Misa de Gallo’ (Mass of the rooster). At Midnight people like to let off fire-crackers!

Families often eat the main Christmas meal after the Misa de Gallo. The traditional meal is ‘picana’, a stew/soup made from chicken, beef (or lamb) and pork which is served with potatoes and corn. There might also be salads, roast pork (lechón) or roast beef, and lots of tropical fruit.

After the meal families might exchange presents, although present giving isn’t very common.

Some people exchange presents at Epiphany, remembering the Wise Men who brought presents to Jesus. Children also might get a set of new clothes at New Years.

Nativity Scenes (‘pesebre’ meaning ‘stable’ or ‘nacimientos’ meaning ‘nativity scenes’) are quite common Christmas decorations in Bolivia. Churches often have large scenes outside them. The baby Jesus is put in the manger after the Misa de Gallo.

Christmas Trees are becoming more popular although often only in large towns and cities.

For many poor people and often in rural areas, Christmas isn’t widely celebrated and it’s just a normal working day.

In Bolivia workers get double or three times the normal salary in December!

This is called ‘El Aguinaldo’ and is a government law and has to be paid for by the employers. Many workplaces also give a ‘Canastón de fin de Año’ or ‘End of the year basket’ to their employees. It’s a large basket or container full of things like grocery items, a bottle of cidra (non alcoholic sparkling cider) and a panetón (sweet fruit bread).

Once Upon A Time – Dec. 5 – 1848 – US President James K. Polk Triggers Gold Rush Of 1849 By Confirming Gold Discovery In California

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 5, 2021

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771 Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman

1349 500 Jews of Nuremberg massacred during Black Death riots

1456 Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die

1848 US President James K. Polk triggers gold rush of 1849 by confirming a gold discovery in California

1933 Prohibition ends in the US when 21st Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, 18th Amendment repealed (5:32 PM EST)

1969 Four-node ARPANET network is established

Today’s Historical Events
Today in Film & TV
2001 “Ocean’s Eleven” directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts premieres in Westwood, California

Today in Music
1973 Paul McCartney & Wings release album “Band on the Run” in the US

Today in Sport
2017 Russia is banned from the next Winter Olympics in South Korea over state-sponsored doping

Do you know this fact about today? Did You Know?
1717 English pirate Blackbeard ransacks the merchant sloop “Margaret” and keeps her captain, Henry Bostock prisoner for 8 hours before releasing him. Bostock later provides 1st record of Blackbeard’s appearance, and the source for his name.

Would you believe this fact about today? Would You Believe?
1945 Flight 19 the “Lost Squadron” of 5 torpedo bombers and 14 airmen is lost east of Florida in the supposed Bermuda Triangle

Davis Cup: Novak Djokovic And Serbia Lose To Croatia In Madrid

By

Emenike Agu

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December 5, 2021

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World number one pair Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic have not dropped a set in their four wins at the Davis Cup Finals

Novak Djokovic could not prevent Serbia missing out on the Davis Cup final after he and Filip Krajinovic lost in the decisive doubles against Croatia.

Djokovic beat former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the singles, levelling the semi-final tie after Croatia’s Borna Gojo won against Dusan Lajovic.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, the world number ones, put Croatia into the final with a 7-5 6-1 win in Madrid.

Croatia will play either the Russian Tennis Federation or Germany on Sunday.

With the expertise of Mektic and Pavic proving crucial against the two Serb singles players, Djokovic said it illustrated the need for his nation to find a strong doubles pairing if they are to win the Davis Cup for a second time.

“We definitely need to improve our doubles part of the team. We need to have a doubles team that is constantly playing together,” said Djokovic, who was instrumental in Serbia’s 2010 win.

“Otherwise it’s going to be a Mount Everest for us to climb every time we play like this.”

Croatia won the first singles rubber when world number 279 Gojo fought back to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 against Lajovic, stretching his 100% record to three victories in a dream Davis Cup Finals for the 23-year-old.

Djokovic levelled the best-of-three tie by earning his 19th consecutive Davis Cup singles victory, fighting off eight break points against Cilic before winning 6-4 6-2.

That teed up a intriguing doubles match which featured the world’s best pairing and its leading singles player.

Mektic and Pavic, who won the Wimbledon and Olympic titles in a dominant 2021 season, had won all three of their Finals matches in straight sets and again showed their quality to do the same against the Serbs.

A tight first set swung the Croats’ way with the first break of the match in what proved to be the final game, then an early break in the second put them in command.

Djokovic was left kicking his bag in frustration as the Serbs trailed 3-1, sensing that it would be difficult for him and Krajinovic to fight back.

So it proved. The doubles specialists quickly won the next three games to put the 2005 and 2018 champions into a fourth final.

The Russians, with top-five players Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev in their team, were the pre-tournament favourites and face Germany in the second semi-final on Saturday (12:00 GMT).

Germany are without world number three Alexander Zverev, who did not want to play in the revamped 18-nation Davis Cup Finals, but reached the last fou by beating Great Britainr in the quarter-finals.

Dangote Hands Over Rehabilitated Abuja Stadium To Sports Ministry

By

Emenike Agu

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December 5, 2021

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The rehabilitated Moshood Abiola Stadium has been handed over to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development after repairs works were completed, Saturday PUNCH reports.

The repair work which is being handled by Aron Nigeria Limited is sponsored by billionaire Aliko Dangote.

Aron Executive Director Stakeholder Management and Corporate Communications of the Group, Mansur Ahmed, who represented Dangote, handed the rehabilitated stadium to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Friday.

The rehabilitation work was carried out on the main bowl pitch and scoreboard.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Dare lauded the Aron and Dangote Group for completing the project in record time, despite constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is a thing of joy to have this stadium come back to life. It is an iconic stadium, it is the national stadium, Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

“By the words of the experts here and those that have toured the facility, we have the latest grass here – Paspalum grass – one of the best, when we talk about football pitches across the World. Something exactly similar to what we have in Qatar, that will be used for the World Cup next year.

“We thank Aliko Dangote for opening his doors to us, and accepting to adopt the Moshood Abiola Stadium when we came up with our ‘Adopt-a-Pitch’ proposal. “We salute his commitment that culminated in the completion of the project today, inclusive of maintenance for at least two years,” Dare said.

30 Handball Players Resume Camp Ahead Africa Championship

By

Emenike Agu

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December 5, 2021

0

Ahead of the 2022 African Men’s Handball Championship scheduled to hold in Morocco, all 30 players invited by the technical adviser of the senior men national handball team, Coach Rafiu Salami, have arrived at camp.

The 30 players arrived in Abuja for camping after the executive board of the Handball Federation of Nigeria approved the list of players for preparation for the Nation’s Cup that is in its 25th edition.

The Africa Men Handball Championship, which will hold from January 13 to 23 2022, is the African qualifying tournament for the 2023 World Men’s Handball Championship in Poland and Sweden.

KS Vive Kielce player, Faruk Yusuf and Israel-based Obinna Annih top the list of the invited players.

The coach also extended invitations to several players who participated at the just concluded Prudent Energy Handball Premier League.

Some of the players include Goalkeeper Sanni Bature and his Kano Pillars teammates, Stephen Sesugh and Chris Ogedengbe, Confluence Stars duo Anthony Agada and Cameroon-born Michael John, Sokoto Rima’s Abbas Mohammed among others.

Also included are overseas-based players led by Annih and Kielce Vive of Poland sensation Yusuf.

Salami will be assisted by league winning Kano Pillars gaffer, Solomon Yola and goalkeeper trainer Segun Tunji.

Nigeria has participated in eleven editions of the Africa Men Handball Nations with their best outing recorded in the 1998 edition held in South Africa where they finished 4th after losing to Egypt 35-26.