Countries in Southern Africa have agreed to deploy forces to help quell a jihadist insurgency wreaking havoc in northern Mozambique over the past three years.
At the end of a one-day summit, the bloc’s executive secretary Stergomena Tax said that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc “approved” the deployment of the “SADC Standby Force in support of Mozambique to combat of terrorism and acts of violent extremism in Cabo Delgado.
A document leaked earlier this year recommended sending around 3,000 soldiers to Cabo Delgado province, where insurgents have seized control of towns and villages, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
The violence has escalated in the gas-rich north of Mozambique since breaking out in late 2017 and there are fears it could spill over into neighbouring countries.
On March 24, Islamic State-linked militants launched coordinated attacks on the northern town of Palma, ransacking buildings and murdering residents as thousands fled into the surrounding forests.
The assault marked an intensification of violence and has driven around 800,000 people from their homes, according to the United Nations, and claimed the lives of more than 2,800 people — half of them civilians.
The leaders of Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe attended the talks in Maputo.
The National Youth Service Corps Director-General, Brig. General Shuaibu Ibrahim, say the accounts of about 1,000 corps members nationwide who had tried to compromise its staff on posting and redeployment has blocked.
He said the NYSC was still investigating the incidents and anybody involved would be disciplined accordingly.
Ibrahim stated these in an interview with journalists at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria in Abuja after declaring open the 2020 inspectors development programme, with the theme: “Optimising the ideals of the scheme through effective utilisation of the NYSC inspector.”
The corps members whose accounts were suspended belongs to the 2021 Batch A, Streams 1 and 2, who sought redeployment from the original states they were posted to.
While some of the affected corps members were said to have sought redeployment from some states, especially in the North because of insecurity, a few others, however, sought redeployment on health grounds, among others.
Besides cancelling the redeployment, the NYSC was said to have also suspended their accounts and stopped their monthly allowance.
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has appointed his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba the commander of land forces in the army.
It is the second time in six months that the Head of State is promoting his 48-year old son in the security institution.
Muhoozi previously served as head of the Special Forces Command (SFC), which is an elite guard that specializes in protecting the President and first family.
he is known for posting warning messages towards Uganda’s ‘enemies’ on Twitter, Muhoozi and is seen by many as a candidate to succeed his father, should he elect to retire after being President for close to four decades.
His latest promotion comes days after Museveni also reappointed his wife the Minister for Sports and Education.
This coming after the 76-year old won the 2021 presidential elections after garnering 58 percent of all votes cast, according to the electoral commision.
In other announcements made on Thursday, June 24, 2021, Museveni, who is serving his sixth term five-year term, promoted Wilson Mbasu Mbadi to the rank of General and appointed him as the new Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), replacing Gen David Muhoozi who was recently appointed as the Minister of State for Internal Affairs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is adding a warning about rare cases of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults to fact sheets for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory groups, meeting to discuss reported cases of the heart condition after vaccination, found the inflammation in adolescents and young adults is likely linked to the vaccines, but that the benefits of the shots appeared to clearly outweigh the risk.
Health regulators in several countries have been investigating whether the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots using new mRNA technology present a risk and, if so, how serious.
The CDC said that patients with heart inflammation following vaccination generally recover from the symptoms and do well.
The U.S. Department of Health And Human Services, joined by leading U.S. doctors groups and public health officials, put out a statement underscoring that the vaccines are safe and effective and that the heart side effect is “extremely rare.”
Doctors and hospitals have been warned by the CDC to watch for symptoms of myocarditis or pericarditis, and the FDA warning will further raise awareness.
Concerns about the more highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant taking hold in the United States, and its impact on younger people, have added to the urgency to increase vaccinations even as the inoculation effort here has slowed considerably.
The number of Americans receiving their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine is down about 85% since peaking in mid-April, and will likely fail to meet President Joe Biden’s goal to have delivered at least one shot to 70% of adults by July 4.
It could have been any one of four teams – and at different points during a dizzying couple of hours on Wednesday night, England were pencilled in to face all of them – but in the end, it was Germany.
Gareth Southgate’s side will line up against Joachim Low’s men in the last 16 of Euro 2020 on Tuesday in front of around 40,000 spectators at Wembley, in a fixture with as much drama as it has history over the years.
“Now we travel to England,” said Low after his side squeaked through with a 2-2 draw against Hungary. “It’s great news to play in London at Wembley against England.”
Despite Germany’s lukewarm start to the tournament, Low’s upbeat demeanour is understandable – it generally has not gone well for England in previous meetings.
World Cup 2010: Three Lions haunted by ‘ghost goal’
England’s World Cup ended in a mixture of humiliation and controversy as they were thrashed by Germany in Bloemfontein in 2010.
Germany’s deserved win and convincing victory margin was overshadowed by a moment England believe robbed them of the hope of reaching the last eight of the tournament in South Africa.
Matthew Upson had thrown England a lifeline just before half-time after a vastly superior Germany had taken a stranglehold on the game with goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.ADVERTISEMENT
And moments after Upson’s header, Frank Lampard’s superb lofted finish landed feet over the line behind German keeper Manuel Neuer, a fact obvious to almost everyone inside the Free State Stadium.
But the goal was not given and Thomas Muller added two more goals as Germany ran out convincing winners.
Euro 2000: England win, just…..
It has not always been one-way traffic when England and Germany have faced one another at a tournament.
The Three Lions finally overcame their footballing nemesis in a nail-biting Euro 2000 clash.
Skipper Alan Shearer scored the goal that gave the English a first competitive win over their arch-rivals since the 1966 World Cup final.
However, it was still not enough for England to progress from the group stage.
They lost their next game to Romania and made an early exit.
Euro 1996: Southgate misses from the spot
On 26 June 1996, England and Germany met at Wembley with the prize being a place in the Euro 96 final.
Shearer gave England a dream start with a goal after three minutes before Stefan Kuntz equalised after 16 minutes.
A tense semi-final went to extra time but the two teams could still not be separated so it came down to penalties.
England scored their first five before current England manager Southgate missed his attempt.
And when Andreas Moller tucked his attempt away, it sparked wild German celebrations to leave England fans heartbroken.
Will England overcome Germany this time?
This is Joachim Low’s last tournament in charge of Germany. Low has already announced he will step down from his role after the Euros.
Will next Tuesday’s match with England be his last?
The three-time European champions and four-time world champions were dumped out of the 2018 World Cup at the group stage.
Despite three years of experimenting since then, Low has yet to find a settled side or system and for long spells on Wednesday results as they stood would have left them bottom of Group F and eliminated.
One thing is for sure, England is likely to come to a standstill next Tuesday as Southgate’s side look to win their first major tournament since they beat West Germany in the World Cup final in 1966.
If they get past Germany, England will meet the winners of Sweden against Ukraine in the quarter-finals in Rome on 3 July.
Another penalty shootout?
Former England midfielder Danny Murphy says England have nothing to fear against Germany.
Speaking on BBC One, Murphy said: “We have players that could cause them and Portugal problems if we get them at a later stage.
“If you’re sat in that England squad, [you] shouldn’t have any fear.”
Former Germany head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said he was relishing the match.
“Both Germany and England are in a similar situation, position by position,” he added. “I think it will be a very even battle and it will be about the form on the day.Euro 2020: So Jurgen it’s England v Germany, will there be penalties…?
“We saw a different Germany face against Portugal and we saw a different face tonight, and England were the same against Scotland and Croatia.
“We will see a fascinating game in England v Germany because we do not know what to expect.
“If you go player by player and team by team in Germany and England, this is a 50/50 situation that could end up again in a penalty shootout.”
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 109th goal for Portugal in Wednesday’s Euro 2020 game against France to equal former Iran striker Ali Daei’s all-time international record.
The 36-year-old Ronaldo, the leading scorer in European Championship history, converted his second penalty of the game in Budapest to match the record in his 178th international appearance.
Ronaldo is the first player to appear at five editions of the tournament and has scored five times in three Group F games.
The Juventus striker has now scored 14 European Championship goals, five more than French great Michel Platini, who netted nine times when he led France to glory in 1984.
Ronaldo netted his first international goal in a 2-1 loss to Greece in the opening game of Euro 2004 in Portugal, where the hosts later lost to Greece 1-0 in the final.
Daei, nicknamed the ‘Shariar’ (King in Persian), scored a remarkable 109 goals in 149 appearances for Iran between 1993 and 2006, an achievement many thought would never be matched.
Daei has said on several occasions that he would be “delighted” if Ronaldo broke his record, as he believes the Juventus striker ranks among the best three players in history, alongside Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.CHECK THIS ALSO:
“Congratulations to @cristiano who is now one goal away from breaking the men’s international goal scoring record,” Daei posted on Instagram.
“I am honoured that this remarkable achievement will belong to Ronaldo – the great champion of football and caring humanist who inspires and impacts lives throughout the world.”
Nigerian footballer Anthony Nwakaeme has adopted a novel approach to tackling racism by saying that the best way to disarm any abusers is by smiling at them.
According to BBC reports, the 32-year-old, who currently plays for Turkey’s Trabzonspor, believes the issue is spreading in football despite recent campaigns by Fifa, Uefa and a host of others, such as Premier League footballers taking the knee, to combat it.
After 11 years playing across Europe, including spells in Romania and Israel, he believes that tackling the problem head on is the best way ahead.
“Racism is in sports and growing bigger in football,” Nwakaeme told BBC Sport Africa. “It will continue to spread everywhere and I can’t confidently say when it can be kicked out of football.”
The forward recounts an incident from his time in Israel, which he says has armed him for the ongoing fight against what he calls a ‘societal problem’.
“I experienced racism few years ago when I played in Israel with my team [Hapoel Be’er Sheva] away to Maccabi Haifa,” he explained. “Right there on the pitch, I decided I was not going to let those abusing me win.
“The Maccabi Haifa fans were making monkey noises and booing me, then I turned, looked straight at them and then I smiled.”
“As soon as they saw my reaction, they realised that what they had done hadn’t affected me in anyway, so they started applauding me, cheering and singing my name.”
Nwakaeme said the gesture empowered him to deal with the issue, determined as he was not to give the group the satisfaction of seeing him react negatively.
“Sometimes instead of fighting you, I’ll avoid (confronting) you,” he added. “That was exactly what happened there.”
“I know I could have challenged them or stopped the game in my own way, but I was enjoying myself on the pitch, I felt powerful and I was making life difficult for their team.
“I wasn’t going to let them distract me or put me down. I wouldn’t allow anyone to make me feel less of a man by reacting negatively.
“Once they noticed I wasn’t falling or dropping to that level of anger or hatred, they began to cheer me up. Why should I let them win?
“I understand that not many footballers can handle it that way, but personally I don’t pay attention to those things because racism is a societal problem.”
During his three-year spell at Hapoel Be’er Sheva, where he scored 43 goals in 120 appearances after joining in 2015 (from rivals Hapoel Ra’anana), he won three successive league titles and twice lifted the Israeli Cup.
After over a decade in Europe, Nwakaeme said football authorities cannot solve racism issues alone because it is a wider problem.
“The truth is that racism didn’t start with football, it started many years ago,” he said.
“We can see it in everyday life and that clearly shows it’s a problem that is way more than just football. It’s a societal problem and we cannot fix it without fixing society.
“You can see the past years they [Fifa and Uefa] have been fighting racism… but season after season there are incidents. As much as the authorities continue to campaign and tackle it with mere threats, before the end of the season it will continue rear its head again somehow.
“Personally, I’ve made up my mind not to pay attention to abuses, if you like me or you don’t like me, that’s your problem.
“Whether you’re being racist to me it’s also your problem. I’m here to play football and enjoy myself at the same time, that’s the most important thing for me.”
Ahead of the international friendly match against México next month in Los Angeles USA, invited Home-based Super Eagles commenced preparations for the match yesterday in Abuja.
The 25 players invited for the assignment all turned up for the day-one training session which began in the morning with former Super Eagles coach, Austin Eguavoen, taking charge of the proceeding while Team’s manager Gernot Rohr observed from the stand with handful football fans also watching as the players underwent patience practice exercise.
The light session yesterday morning saw Enugu Rangers’ front man, Ibrahim Olawoyin scored the only goal of the match against Ikechukwu Ezenwa led side.
Rohr had surprised pundits when we invited entirely home-based players for the match but reports has it that most of the foreign-based players actually opted out and wanted their off season vacation and rest well for loaded program from their respective clubs and at same time prepare for next World Cup qualifying round of matches which will come up in September.
While it may by a wise decision to give room to domestic players for more exposure, an inside source disclosed that with most likely defeat against the team will no doubt has an adverse effect on the team in the next FIFA ranking when it is released next month.
Nigeria still maintained 32nd position in the ranking and third best on the continent with Senegal, Tunisia ahead of the team while current AFCON Champion, Algeria are fourth on the log.
Nigeria will play the Concacaf on July 3rd at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the stadium that staged the final match of USA 94 World Cup final which Brazil won on penalty shoot-out against Italy.
The team according to NFF, will train twice a day
Players in Camp
Goalkeepers: Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Heartland FC); Shaibu Suleman (PKE FC Lagos); Nwabali Stanley Bobo (Lobi Stars)
Uefa declined a request to light up the Allianz Arena in rainbow colours before Germany’s Euro 2020 match against Hungary on Wednesday.
According to BBC, Munich mayor Dieter Reiter made the request in protest against a new law in Hungary that bans the sharing of any content seen as promoting homosexuality and gender change to under-18s.
Uefa says it denied the request because of the “political context”.
Reiter described Uefa’s decision as “shameful”.
In a statement, European football’s governing body said: “Uefa understands that the intention is also to send a message to promote diversity and inclusion – a cause, which Uefa has been supporting for many years – having joined forces with European clubs, national teams and their players, launching campaigns and plenty of activities all over Europe to promote the ethos that football should be open to everyone.
“And consequently, Uefa has proposed alternative dates for the illumination which align better with existing events.
“Racism, homophobia, sexism, and all forms of discrimination are a stain on our societies – and represent one of the biggest problems faced by the game today. Discriminatory behaviour has marred both matches themselves and, outside the stadiums, the online discourse around the sport we love.”
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will be allowed to wear his rainbow captain’s armband during the game.
Uefa has proposed to Munich to light the stadium in rainbow colours on either 28 June – the Christopher Street Liberation Day – or between 3-9 July which is the Christopher Street Day week in Munich.
Christopher Street Day is an annual LGBTQ+ celebration held annually in cities across Germany and Switzerland, held in memory of the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969. It is the countries’ counterpart to Pride.
On Monday, the German football association (DFB) said it would also prefer any such protest to be held on a date other than Wednesday.
Mayor Reiter has dismissed those suggestions and says other Munich landmarks will be lit up on Wednesday instead.
“I find it shameful that Uefa forbids us to send a message here in Munich for openness, tolerance, respect and solidarity with the LGBTQI+ community,” he said in a statement.
“The alternative suggestion of illuminating the Allianz Arena on another day contradicts any message that is supposed to emanate from rainbow lighting.
“Tomorrow, as the city of Munich, we will still send a clear sign of our solidarity and our respect for sexual equality to Hungary and the world.
“We will not only fly rainbow flags at Munich town hall – I assume that the city council will decide this tomorrow with a large majority – but also make the wind turbine adjacent to the arena shine brightly and also the Munich Olympic Tower.
“Because we are concerned with a signal for a non-negotiable basic right for all people: equality and tolerance.”
A number of other German clubs including Wolfsburg, Cologne and Hertha Berlin, say they will light their stadium up in rainbow colours, while Werder Bremen have put up Pride flags outside their ground.
Uefa declined a request to light up the Allianz Arena in rainbow colours before Germany’s Euro 2020 match against Hungary on Wednesday.
According to BBC, Munich mayor Dieter Reiter made the request in protest against a new law in Hungary that bans the sharing of any content seen as promoting homosexuality and gender change to under-18s.
Uefa says it denied the request because of the “political context”.
Reiter described Uefa’s decision as “shameful”.
In a statement, European football’s governing body said: “Uefa understands that the intention is also to send a message to promote diversity and inclusion – a cause, which Uefa has been supporting for many years – having joined forces with European clubs, national teams and their players, launching campaigns and plenty of activities all over Europe to promote the ethos that football should be open to everyone.
“And consequently, Uefa has proposed alternative dates for the illumination which align better with existing events.
“Racism, homophobia, sexism, and all forms of discrimination are a stain on our societies – and represent one of the biggest problems faced by the game today. Discriminatory behaviour has marred both matches themselves and, outside the stadiums, the online discourse around the sport we love.”
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will be allowed to wear his rainbow captain’s armband during the game.
Uefa has proposed to Munich to light the stadium in rainbow colours on either 28 June – the Christopher Street Liberation Day – or between 3-9 July which is the Christopher Street Day week in Munich.
Christopher Street Day is an annual LGBTQ+ celebration held annually in cities across Germany and Switzerland, held in memory of the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969. It is the countries’ counterpart to Pride.
On Monday, the German football association (DFB) said it would also prefer any such protest to be held on a date other than Wednesday.
Mayor Reiter has dismissed those suggestions and says other Munich landmarks will be lit up on Wednesday instead.
“I find it shameful that Uefa forbids us to send a message here in Munich for openness, tolerance, respect and solidarity with the LGBTQI+ community,” he said in a statement.
“The alternative suggestion of illuminating the Allianz Arena on another day contradicts any message that is supposed to emanate from rainbow lighting.
“Tomorrow, as the city of Munich, we will still send a clear sign of our solidarity and our respect for sexual equality to Hungary and the world.
“We will not only fly rainbow flags at Munich town hall – I assume that the city council will decide this tomorrow with a large majority – but also make the wind turbine adjacent to the arena shine brightly and also the Munich Olympic Tower.
“Because we are concerned with a signal for a non-negotiable basic right for all people: equality and tolerance.”
A number of other German clubs including Wolfsburg, Cologne and Hertha Berlin, say they will light their stadium up in rainbow colours, while Werder Bremen have put up Pride flags outside their ground.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
