Namibia Forward Shalulile Voted Best Player In South Africa

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June 7, 2021

Mamelodi Sundowns forward Peter Shalulile was 450,000 rand richer on Monday after winning the two major annual South African football awards after he scored 22 goals in all competitions for the Pretoria club, and was voted Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season.

Coaches of the 16 top-flight clubs chose the Player of the Season. The other prize was decided by a poll of Premiership footballers.

Windhoek-born Shalulile began his professional career with local club Tura Magic in 2011 and joined then second-tier South African outfit Highlands Park four years later.

He moved to Sundowns last year and enjoyed an outstanding first season as his team won a fourth straight Premiership title and reached the CAF Champions League quarter-finals.

Although Shalulile consistently creates headlines because of his scoring exploits, Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi said it was the selflessness of the Namibian that impressed him.

It was a profitable virtual awards ceremony for non-South Africans, with fellow Namibian Deon Hotto, Zimbabwean Washington Arubi and Ugandan Denis Onyango also winning.

Winger Hotto was voted the best player in the MTN 8, an early season knockout competition reserved for the clubs finishing first to eighth in the previous Premiership.

Goalkeeper Arubi, back in top-flight football last season at the age of 35, was voted the outstanding FA Cup player after helping rank outsiders TTM lift the trophy.

Nigeria’s Senate President says Work completed, PIB to be passed in June

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Henry Williams

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June 7, 2021

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Ahmed Lawal, Nigeria Senate President has said that lawmakers will pass the PIB this month as bot committees in the upper and lower chambers are now writing the final report.

Lawal said this in a speech at the fourth edition of the Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) on Monday.

His speech followed remarks by Femi Gbajabiamilia, speaker of the House of Representatives who said that though the lawmakers imposed a deadline of April to pass the bill but it could not meet the deadline because it was important to get it right after 20 years of failed attempts.

The Senate President said previous attempts from 2007 were unsuccessful because either the lawmakers or members of the executive branch decided to go it alone.

The Senate President further said that the corporative approach where the National Assembly is working with the executive had been proven to be successful.

FG Gives Condition For Lifting Twitter Ban

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Emenike Agu

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June 7, 2021

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The Federal Government said in a meeting with representatives of foreign embassies that the Twitter ban would be lifted if the social media company would foster the “responsible” use of its platform.

This was disclosed by the Foreign Minister, Godfrey Onyeama, on Monday after he met with the foreign dignitaries.

What the Minister said

“The condition would be responsible use of the social media and that really has to be it.

We are not saying that Twitter is threatening the country or any such thing; why we have taken this measure is to stop them to be used as platforms for destabilisation and facilitation of criminality or encouragement of criminalities.”

The Minister added that the FG wants to use Social Media for good, citing that Nigerian lives matter and the government will do everything to preserve Nigerian lives, “when we feel our goals are threatened, actions need to be taken,” he said.

In case you missed it

Western nations including the European Union, Canada, Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, released a joint statement on the Twitter ban.

“We convey our disappointment over the Government of Nigeria’s announcement suspending #Twitter and proposing registration requirements for other social media.

We strongly support the fundamental human right of free expression and access to information as a pillar of democracy in Nigeria as around the world and these rights apply online as well as offline,” they said.

Mexico President Upbeat Despite Election Setback

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Zoe Maven

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June 7, 2021

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Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday his ruling coalition was on course to retain its control of the lower house, despite a setback in legislative elections he called “free and fair.”

Initial results indicated that Lopez Obrador’s Morena party lost the absolute majority it held in the lower house of Congress, complicating his promised “transformation” of the country.

But he struck an upbeat tone, noting that together with its political partners, Morena was still projected to hold more than half the seats.

The vote was seen as a referendum on Lopez Obrador’s more than two years in office overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic and cartel-related violence.

Dozens of politicians were murdered in the months leading up to the polls for the lower house of Congress, 15 of 32 state governors and thousands of local politicians.

On the eve of the elections, gunmen killed five people helping to organize voting in southern Mexico, while two human heads were left at polling stations in the border city of Tijuana on election day.

A quick initial vote count suggested Lopez Obrador’s Morena party alone was set to take between 190 and 203 of the 500 seats in the lower house, the National Electoral Institute said.

Lopez Obrador was elected in 2018 for a term of six years, vowing to overhaul Mexico’s “neoliberal” economic model, root out corruption and end profligacy by a privileged elite.

But his presidency has been largely dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than a quarter of a million people dead in Mexico and devastated the economy.

Nigerian Singer Wizkid Changes Signature Name On Social Media To Big Wiz

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Koko Lawrence

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June 7, 2021

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Grammy award-winning Nigerian singer, Ayo Balogun, also known as Wizkid, shocked his fans on Monday as he changed his Instagram name from Wizkid to Big Wiz.

Without a formal announcement, the artiste has hinted on how he would rather be addressed by fans.

Fans of the 30-year-old singer had in the past suggested that the singer remove the suffix ‘-kid’ from his name, based on his age and achievements in the Nigerian music industry over the past decade.

Meanwhile, the singer is not the first Nigerian musician to change names, either formally or informally.

For instance, Legendary singer, Tuface, changed his name to 2baba; iconic rap artiste, Sauce Kid, changed his name to Sinzu; and Kiss Daniel changed to Kizz Daniel.

Trial Of MH17 Crash Victims Moves Into Crucial Phase

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Zoe Maven

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June 7, 2021

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Dutch judges said Monday they wanted relatives of victims to finally have “clarity” about the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine as the trial of four suspects entered a key phase.

Some relatives were in court for the start of a week in which judges will at last examine evidence against the three Russians and one Ukrainian who are on trial in absentia over the July 2014 disaster.

The trial formally began in March 2020 but has until now dealt with legal arguments, mainly about the admissibility of evidence in the crash in which all 298 passengers and crew on the Boeing 777 were killed.

Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis told the court up until today no one has come forward and said they are even partially responsible for the crash of MH17

Steenhuis said it was crucial for the evidence to be heard in open court despite the absence of Russian nationals Oleg Pulatov, Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky, and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko.

Judges said the court will this week look at evidence about three key questions: whether the Boeing 777 was shot down by a Russian-made missile; the location the missile was fired from, and the role of the four suspects in the crash.

The idea that the plane had been downed by a BUK surface-to-air missile operated by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine was the “main scenario”, Steenhuis added, but they would also look at theories including that a plane had shot down MH17.

The court would be highlighting key parts of the evidence and not going over every part in court, he warned.

France’s Anti-Trust Watchdog Fines Google €220 Million

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Zoe Maven

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June 7, 2021

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Google is being fined 220 million euros by France’s antitrust watchdog for abusing its ‘dominant’ position in online advertising.

The head of the authority, Isabelle de Silva, said the decision was unprecedented in the way that it delved into the complex algorithmic auctions that power Google’s online display advertising business.

She said, the fine, along with Google’s commitment to changing its practices, “will make it possible to re-establish a level playing field for all players, and the ability for publishers to make the most of their advertising space.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, did not dispute the facts and opted to settle after proposing some changes, according to a prepared statement from the Competition Authority.

Google France’s legal director, Maria Gomri, said in a blog post Monday that Google has been collaborating for the past two years with the French watchdog on issues related to ad technology, notably the platform known as Google Ad Manager.

She wrote that commitments made during negotiations would “make it easier for publishers to make use of data and use our tools with other ad technologies.”

The French authority’s investigation was prompted by complaints from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., French newspaper group Le Figaro and Belgium-based Rossel La Voix. Le Figaro later withdrew its complaint.

U.S. tech giants have been facing intensifying scrutiny in Europe and elsewhere over their business practices.

Germany became the latest country to launch an investigation of Google, using stepped up powers to scrutinize digital giants.

Mali’s Transitional President To Honour Election Commitment

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Zoe Maven

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June 7, 2021

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Mali’s coup leader Colonel Assimi Goita was sworn in as the transitional president on Monday at a ceremony in Bamako where he stated he would guarantee elections next year.

Amid pressure mounts from international powers, he reassured that the sub-regional and regional organisations and the international community in general that Mali will honour all its commitments for and in the best interests of the nation.

On May 24 Goita dismissed the transitional civilian president and prime minister, which caused former colonial power France to suspend its cooperation with the military.

The African Union also suspended Mali’s membership while International powers are eager to see if elections promised during the first coup in 2020 will transpire.

After the first coup in August, the government installed pledged to reform the constitution by October and stage elections in February 2022.

Mali is key to the stability of the Sahel region – which is plagued by jihadist groups and so maintaining international partnerships, is crucial as its security forces are thinly resourced.

Goita’s role comes after he led a second coup in nine months in May and despite international condemnation of his power grab.

East Texas Pastor Gets High School Diploma At 99

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Angel Gimalo

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June 7, 2021

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A 99-year-old World War II veteran, Jack Hetzel, has achieved his dream of getting his high school diploma.

It took him a while to achieve his dream, but Jack Hetzel, a 99-year-old World War II veteran who leads the First United Methodist Church in Big Sandy, Texas, is beaming with joy after recently achieving his dream of getting a high school diploma.

“It’s very exciting,” said Hetzel, who joined Big Sandy High School’s graduation ceremony to collect his honorary diploma last Friday, to KETK.

According to Hetzel & Hetzel Enterprises, where the recent graduate is listed as president and CEO, the pastor had no more than a third-grade education but enjoyed a full military career spanning 20 years in the U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. He fought six major battles in World War II in Europe and the Korean War.

“With no more than [a] third-grade education, Jack became an instructor of ‘Military Science’ at Texas A&M University. Since retiring from the military, Jack has always been involved with entrepreneurship, creating many successful businesses and nonprofit charities which are still in operation today. Jack is ‘happiest when helping people in need,’” the company noted.

Hetzel, who had received his GED in 1948, said he was forced to drop out of school in the third grade and could not get his diploma then because the school had no record of him attending.

“I have longed to get this diploma since 1948 when I passed my GED but the school that I have attended I’d only attended the third grade and they didn’t have any record of me so I then couldn’t get a diploma from that school,” Hetzel said.

He explained that even though he always regretted not getting his diploma he took advantage of alternative ways to learn.

“You see, when you have little education and then you have to come up through life and you have to front life with little education, you have to learn somehow,” said the preacher who will turn 100 this fall. “I used other people to be my teachers. So if I got a question, I’d go to somebody that knew and asked them the question and then I would use it in everyday life.”

On Memorial Day, Hetzel was recognized by the Texas Senate which adopted a resolution by state Sen. Bryan Hughes commending him for his achievement.

NNPC will deliver dividends to Nigerians this year says Kyari

By

Henry Williams

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June 7, 2021

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The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari has said he is hopeful that the state behemoth will be able to declare dividend this year.

Speaking at this year’s Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS), Kyari explained how the company is leveraging technology to achieve more efficiency which is helping the corporation reduce its high cost of operations and deliver more value to stakeholders.

He noted that the corporation is doing more in terms of cutting costs, becoming more efficient and investing in assets that give value.

In April, the NNPC had written Ahmed Idris, accountant-general of the federation, informing him that the corporation would not make any remittance to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in May.

In a copy of the letter seen by BusinessDay, the corporation said N111.96 billion would be deducted from April 2021 oil and gas proceeds — due to the FAAC in May — noting that the deduction was necessary to ensure the continuous supply of petroleum products to the nation and guarantee energy security.

The NNPC, in reaction, said the zero-revenue projection for May did not mean it was in bad financial straits as it pertains only to the federation revenue stream it manages.