Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday apologized for recorded comments that were leaked to the public last week, creating a firestorm in Iran less than two months before presidential elections.
The recordings of Mohammad Javad Zarif included frank comments on powerful late Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2020.
The attack at the time brought the U.S. and Iran to the brink of war. Soleimani’s funeral processions in Iran drew millions of people to the streets.
In the recordings, Zarif criticizes Soleimani’s separate relations with Russia and for refusing to stop using the national carrier Iran Air for Syrian operations despite Zarif’s objections.
Zarif said in an Instagram post Sunday he hoped Soleimani’s family would forgive him. “I hope that the great people of Iran and all the lovers of General (Soleimani) and especially the great family of Soleimani, will forgive me,” he said.
Zarif’s leaked comments were highly controversial in Iran, where officials mind their words amid a cut-throat political environment that includes the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Besides the criticism of Soleimani, a top commander in the Guard, Zarif’s leaked remarks included cutting references to the limits of his power in the theocracy.
Zarif has said he will not run for president in the upcoming election. Some had suggested him as a potential candidate to challenge hard-liners in the vote.
The United States has denied a report by Iran’s state-run television broadcaster that deals had been reached between the Islamic Republic, Washington and the United Kingdom that would see prisoners swapped and Tehran receive billions of dollars.
The official quoted by Iranian state TV said a deal made between the U.S. and Tehran involved a prisoner swap in exchange for the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian funds.
Sunday’s announcement by state television, relying on an unnamed source, comes amid a wider power struggle between hard-liners and the relatively moderate government of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
The broadcaster long controlled by hard-liners has aired similarly anonymously sourced reports contradicting diplomats in Vienna trying to negotiate a return to its nuclear deal with world powers.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Sunday’s report represented another means to disrupt negotiations by Rouhani officials or sabotage any potential negotiations with the West over frozen funds and prisoner exchanges.
But U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price immediately denied the Iranian state TV report stating they always raise the cases of Americans detained or missing in Iran.
Price did not elaborate but added that they will not stop until they are able to reunite them with their families.
Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain told Newsmen that report is untrue and that there is no agreement to release these four Americans but that they are working very hard to get them released.
Tehran holds four known Americans now in prison. They include Baquer and Siamak Namazi, environmentalist Morad Tahbaz and Iranian-American businessman Emad Shargi.
At least five people were killed on Sunday after Myanmar security forces opened fire on some of the biggest protests against military rule in days, three months after a coup plunged the country into crisis.
The protests, were coordinated with demonstrations in Myanmar communities around the world to mark what organisers called “the global Myanmar spring revolution.
Streams of demonstrators, some led by Buddhist monks, made their way through cities and towns including the commercial hub of Yangon, the second city of Mandalay.
The organisers said in a statement that they would shake the world with the voice of Myanmar people’s unity.
According to local Media, two people were shot and killed in the central town of Wetlet, while two people were killed in different towns in Shan State in the northeast.
Analysts say the protests are only one of the problems the generals have brought on with their Feb. 1 ouster of the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
According to U.N. estimates Wars with ethnic minority insurgents in remote frontier regions in the north and east have intensified significantly over the past three months, displacing tens of thousands of civilians.
In some places, civilians with crude weapons have battled security forces while in central areas military and government facilities that have been secure for generations have been hit by rocket attacks.
Antonio Conte’s men were named Scudetto winners following Atalanta’s slip up at Sassuolo on Sunday.
Inter have clinched their first Serie A title in 11 years, bringing Juventus’ long-running era of dominance to end in the process.
Atalanta were held to a 1-1 draw by Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium on Sunday which leaves the Milan club with an unassailable 13 point advantage at the top of the table with four games left to play.
Antonio Conte’s men knew they were on the brink of glory after beating Crotone 2-0 in their last outing, and now the Nerazzurri can officially start celebrating their 19th Scudetto.
Inter’s win at Crotone marked their 25th victory of the season, four more than any other team, with seven draws and just two defeats also recorded.
Conte’s side also boasts the best defensive record in the division and the second-best attacking record behind Atalanta, while their +45 goal difference is currently superior to all of their main rivals.
Inter are also unbeaten in 17 league matches, with their last defeat coming away at Sampdoria on January 6. Goal
Lewis Hamilton fought back to pass both Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen for a brilliant victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix.
The seven-time champion fell to third as Verstappen’s Red Bull overtook him at a restart after an early safety car.
But he passed Verstappen four laps later and then hunted down and did the same to his Mercedes team-mate before moving on to control the race.
The win gives Hamilton an eight-point championship lead over Verstappen.
It was a statement race for Hamilton, who has moved on to 97 career Grand Prix victories, and a clear demonstration of his unquenched desire to secure a world record eighth world title this year.
But he missed out on the point for fastest lap after both Verstappen and Bottas pitted for fresh tyres to chase it in the closing laps.
The Dutchman, bidding to minimise the damage in his fight with Hamilton for the title, thought he had taken it – although his time was deleted for going beyond track limits, and so the point went to Bottas instead.
No answer to Hamilton
Hamilton has opened up an eight-point lead in the drivers’ championship
Hamilton lost out to Bottas in the fight for pole position on Saturday by just 0.007 seconds and the two Mercedes, with Verstappen behind, moved away in formation at the start.
But a safety car was triggered on lap two when Kimi Raikkonen drove into the back of Alfa Romeo team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi on the pit straight and tore off his front wing.
At the restart, Bottas waited until he was halfway around the final corner before accelerating away and Verstappen anticipated the situation perfectly, sweeping past Hamilton in a superlative move around the outside of Turn One.
Verstappen stayed right behind Bottas but could not pass him and was soon under pressure from Hamilton, determined to repay the compliment.
At the end of lap 10, Verstappen had a slide on the exit of Turn 14, the effective final corner, and Hamilton grabbed his chance, closing on the Red Bull and repassing Verstappen.
The Dutchman defended to the inside, but Hamilton squeezed alongside him there anyway over the dusty part of the track to claim the corner.
Next, it was Bottas’ turn to fall prey to Hamilton, who tracked his team-mate closely for nine laps before pulling off a lovely outside pass at Turn One.
The race was now Hamilton’s to lose, and he was always in control, as the focus turned to the fight for second between Bottas and Verstappen.
The decisive moments came around the pit stops.
Red Bull brought Verstappen in first on lap 35, with Bottas following him in a lap later.
The Mercedes retained the lead, but Verstappen was close behind the Finn as he came out of the pits, and Bottas’ fate was sealed when he had huge slide on the exit of Turn Three.
Verstappen closed right up and passed into the hairpin at Turn Five. Bottas dropped three seconds back from the Red Bull before coming back for a few laps, but then fell away again as the top three positions were sealed.
Raikkonen ended up in the gravel after colliding with team-mate Giovinazzi
Alonso’s recovery drive
Sergio Perez took fourth for Red Bull, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who moved up from his disappointing eighth place on the grid partly thanks to his ability to start on the medium tyre because he was fast enough to make it through second qualifying on it.
That put him in a stronger strategic position than team-mate Carlos Sainz, who started fifth on the softs, and after their pit stops, Leclerc closed up to Sainz, who was ordered to let his team-mate by.
Sainz, who had switched from softs to mediums, then fell back into the clutches of the Alpines of first Esteban Ocon, who qualified a superb sixth, and then Fernando Alonso, who had a disappointing qualifying performance in 13th but drove an excellent race with a long first stint on the medium tyre.
Alonso passed Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren shortly after they had stopped within a lap of each other, and then dispatched Sainz before closing in on Ocon in the final laps, finishing just a second behind after starting seven places behind him.
Ricciardo also passed Sainz in the closing laps to take ninth, a decent result after qualifying 16th as the Ferrari dropped back to take the final point.
Driver of the day
It has to be Hamilton. Both he and Verstappen pulled off superb overtaking moves into Turn One – but Hamilton had to do two to win the race, and pass both his title rival and his team-mate. It was a drive of pure class and will have a sent a powerful message to Verstappen in their intense fight
What happens next?
The Spanish Grand Prix next weekend – another very different circuit and the prospect of another close fight in what is turning into a vintage year.
‘Tough race, physically and mentally’ – what they said
Hamilton: “That was such a tough race, physically and mentally, keeping everything together. I didn’t quite get as good a start as Valtteri and then lost out at the restart which was not good. I had to try and reposition myself best I could, I think Max made a mistake at some point and that was perfect. With Valtteri I had to make the move early on before the tyres were destroyed and I just managed to get him at Turn One. Right on my limit. Great race.”
Verstappen: “My race was pretty decent. I had a good restart and then of course, I tried to put the pressure on Valtteri. At the end, I think we just lacked a little bit of pace but overall, Lewis got by again and once after the pit stop, the warm up is super hard on this tyres. This was an odd weekend in terms of grip. We were not on top of it here but we’ll see what we can do in Barcelona.”
Bottas: “I don’t really know what happened in the first stint. I didn’t have the pace for unknown reasons. After that the second stint was pretty good but there was some issue with a sensor or something. We’ve had a strong package overall today so I don’t really know why in the first stint it didn’t work.”
Hamilton leads Verstappen 2-1 for race wins so far this seasaonAlonso finished eighth in Portugal after starting 13th on the grid Bottas failed to secure the race win despite starting on pole in Portugal
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Friday in Abuja announced the dissolution of 31 national sports federations.
The minister also immediately announced the constitution of caretaker committees to oversee the federations until elections into their boards.
Following is the full list of members of the caretaker committees:
1. AQUATICS FEDERATION OF NIGERIA NAME DESIGNATION 1 Babatunde Fatai Williams Chairman 2 Onyeacholom Stephen Augustus Member 3 Sani Mohammed Secretary-General
2. ATHLETICS FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
NAME DESIGNATION 1 Olamide George Chairman 2 Maria Wophill Member 3 Adisa A. Beyioku Secretary-General
3. BADMINTON FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
NAME DESIGNATION 1 Francis Orbih Chairman 2 Olumide Bamiduro Member 3 Victor Osuoha Secretary-General
4. BASKETBALL FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
NAME DESIGNATION 1 Musa Kida Chairman 2 Prof. Florence B. Adeyanju Member 3 Afolabi Olabisi Omobola Secretary-General
5. NIGERIA BOXING FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Gen. Joseph Ayeni (Rtd.) Chairman 2 Mrs. Uche Julie Netufo Member 3 Obot Uko Monday Secretary-General
6. NIGERIA CHESS FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION
1 DIG. Sani Muhammed Chairman 2 Bode Durotoye Member 3 Akinyele Dapo Secretary-General
7. NIGERIA CRICKET FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Prof. Yahaya Adam Ukwanya Chairman 2 Prof. Mariamn Suleiman Member 3 Taiwo Oriss Secretary-General
8. CYCLING FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
NAME DESIGNATION 1 G. Massari Chairman 2 Mohammed Bashir Member 3 Shammah Makpa Secretary-General
9. DARTS FEDERATION OF NIGERIA NAME DESIGNATION 1 Abubakar Gaiya Haruna Chairman 2 Rita Oyoku Nwaeke Member 3 Etim Udokang Secretary-General
10. NIGERIA DEAF SPORTS FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Alh. U. Nahuche Chairman 2 Ogundele Olusola Foluke Member 3 Agbabiaka Lukman Secretary-General
11. FIVES FEDERATION OF NIGERIA NAME DESIGNATION 1 Abubakar A. Dangaladima Chairman 2 Sheba Victoria Jefferson Member 3 Salisu Mamman Secretary-General
12. NIGERIA GOLF FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Olagunsoye Oyinlola Chairman 2 Dr. Patrick Uwagbale Member 3 Almu Umar Lambu Secretary-General
13. GYMNASTICS FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
NAME DESIGNATION 1. Kelvin Erhurnwunse Chairman 2 Moyosore Ogunseinde Member 3 Davies Oludare Secretary-General
14. HANDBALL FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
NAME DESIGNATION 1 Samuel Ocheho Chairman 2 Halima Banjeminia Member 3 Muhammed Maigidansama Secretary-General
15. NIGERIA HOCKEY FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Sen Abdul Ningi Chairman 2 Dr Success Anyanwu Member 3 Rita Mosindi Secretary-General
16. NIGERIA JUDO FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Brig. Gen. Z.L. Abubakar Chairman 2 Prof. A.O. De-Souza Member 3 Monica Otumola Secretary-General
17. KARATE FEDERATION OF NIGERIA NAME DESIGNATION 1 Silas Agara Chairman 2 Dare Jegede Member 3 Adamu Maikano Secretary-General
18. KICKBOXING FEDERATION OF NIGERIA NAME DESIGNATION 1 Yakubu Abubakar Chairman 2 Dr. (Mrs) Uwaoma Ifeyinwa A Member 3 Ademisoro Oluwasegun Secretary-General
19 NIGERIA WUSHU KUNGFU FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Adewunmi Adekunle Chairman 2 Amaefule Kathleen Chimezien Member 3 Abbas Wosilat Secretary-General
21. NIGERIA RUGBY FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1. Iyorcha Grace Chairman 2 Ntisien Williams Member 3 James Eakyns Secretary-General
22. NIGERIA SCRABBLE FEDERATION
NAME DESIGNATION 1. Suleiman Garba Gora Chairman 2 Aka Olabotoke Member 3 Abimbola Adesiyan Secretary-General
23. NIGERIA SHOOTING FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Maj. Gen. Johnny Hamakim Chairman 2 Group Cpt. Rahinato Garba Member 3 Akanmu Olusoji Secretary-General
24. NIGERIA SQUASH FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Oyerinde Oyeyemi Adeboye Chairman 2 Uba Uchenna Chukwudi Member 3 Evelyn Fabunmi Secretary-General
25. NIGERIA TABLE TENNIS FEDERATION
NAME DESIGNATION 1. Tikon Ishaku Chairman 2 Oladapo Olabanji Member 3 Asiegbu Chimezie Secretary-General
26. NIGERIA TAEKWONDO FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Mrs. Margaret Binga Chairman 2 Chika Chukwumerije Member 3 Kabir Yusuf Secretary-General
27. NIGERIA TENNIS FEDERATION NAME DESIGNATION 1 Akindoju Ifedayo Olaloye Chairman 2 Prof. Osaretin Aigbovo Member 3 Abulude John Oludayo Secretary-General
28. TRADITIONAL SPORTS FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
NAME DESIGNATION 1 Usman Musa Chairman 2 Bamdele B. Funke Member 3 Libata Ahmed Abdullahi Secretary-General
29. NIGERIA VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION
NAME DESIGNATION 1 Musa Nimrod Chairman 2 Habu Gumel Member 3 Ngozi Amayo Secretary-General
30. NIGERIA WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION
NAME DESIGNATION 1 Tonobok Ojuru Okowa Chairman 2 Laurence Iquaibom Member 3 Mariam Akande Secretary-General
31. NIGERIA WRESTLING FEDERATIONS
NAME DESIGNATION 1 Daniel Igali Chairman 2 Damiam Ohaike Member 3 Patrick Abobi Secretary-General
At least 8,000 families have been affected with around 2000 people displaced in lakeside communities after recent flooding from the rising waters of Lake Tanganyika at the port of Bujumbura in Burundi.
The lakeside communities include Bugarama, Kanyenkoko, Muhuta, Nyanza-Lac, Gatumba, Rukaramu, Kibenga, Gisyo and Kabondo in the province of Bujumbura Rural, roughly 12 km outside the city.
This is according to an April 25 report by The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) which shows that the number of people affected could most probably rise as flooded houses continue to collapse.
The lake’s levels have been slowly rising since February 2021 and stood at 776.45 metres above sea level as of April 19, as on that night, torrential rains caused the banks of the Ruzizi River to overflow.
Eye witnesses living in Gatumba says the waters have flooded homes since January, but they started little by little in November and December adding that Children have to use boats to go to school.
Local experts have warned the media that if the lake’s levels exceed 777 metres, areas around Bujumbura port will also see flooding.
Heavy rainfall since the start of April has worsened the situation with further rainfall predicted until mid-May
Also, strong winds and landslides have also affected hundreds of people in other parts of the country, the majority of whom are now displaced.
Germany is returning hundreds of Benin Bronzes that were mostly looted from West Africa by a British colonial expedition and subsequently sold to collections around the world, including German museums.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called a move a “turning point in dealing with colonial history and welcomed a deal reached with museums and authorities in Nigeria to work on a restitution plan.
Germany’s minister for culture, Monika Gruetters, said the Benin Bronzes were a key test for the way the country deals with its colonial past and confronting historic and moral responsibility.
Gruetters said the goal is to contribute to “understanding and reconciliation” with the descendants of those whose cultural treasures were stolen in colonial times adding that the first returns are planned for next year.
A historian Juergen Zimmerer, professor of global history at the University of Hamburg, has welcomed the plans, but said they don’t go far enough as there is no precise time plan nor an unconditional commitment to restitute all looted artifacts.
He also noted it’s not yet clear how many objects will be returned, or whether there will be any recognition of the efforts by civil society groups that had called for the restitution.
A British colonial expedition looted vast numbers of treasures from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, including numerous bas-reliefs and sculptures.
While hundreds of artifacts ended up in the British Museum, hundreds were also sold to other collections such as the Ethnological Museum in Berlin, which has one of the world’s largest collection of historical objects from the Kingdom of Benin.
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on media professionals to exercise their freedom with responsibility.
The president, according to a statement by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, made this appeal while celebrating the World Press Freedom Day.
According to Adesina, “On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, observed globally every May 3, President Muhammadu Buhari recommits to freedom of the press, and urges media professionals to wield freedom responsibly, and without licentiousness.
“While celebrating the landmark day with the media, the President notes that freedom of the press is an irreducible minimum in a democracy that would flourish, adding that freedom must, however, be used responsibly.
“That everything is permitted does not mean that there are no rules of correctness, particularly in a polity seriously challenged as ours now.
“The media must be sensitive to what we are going through as a country, and anything that would exacerbate the situation, and further inflame passions and emotions, should be avoided.
“The media needs to ensure that while informing, educating, entertaining and setting agenda for public discourse, it does not encourage incendiary words and actions that could further hurt our unity in diversity.”
Licentious freedom, the President said, was different from freedom with responsibility, and charged the Nigerian media to embrace the latter, rather than the former.
On the part of government, President Buhari pledged greater cooperation with the media to discharge its duties, in line with the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, “Information as a Public Good.”
He advised those who manage information for government to do everything in public interest, while also encouraging the media to use the Freedom of Information Act available to make its jobs easier.
The President said he believed that it was very vital to have access to reliable information in an era of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech, all to cause discord in society.
Manchester United’s home game against Liverpool was delayed after about 200 fans broke into their Old Trafford stadium to protest against the Glazer family’s ownership of the club.
The game was set to kick off at 16:30 pm but was put back on safety grounds.
United fans got on to the pitch to protest and, after they were removed, some got back on to it later on.
There also appeared to be a protest outside the hotel where the United players stayed before the game.
Fans gathered outside the ground and scores of green and gold flares – the colours of United’s first shirts when they were Newton Heath, and of the original anti-Glazer protests in 2010 – were set off at 14:00.
The protests follow United’s decision, along with five fellow Premier League clubs, to join the European Super League last month before they all pulled out.
Referee Michael Oliver and former United captain Gary Neville were among those whose vehicles were surrounded as they entered the stadium.
There was no trouble and both were allowed through amid much anti-Glazer chanting.
The Police, the Premier League, Trafford Council and the two clubs agreed that the game wouldn’t be able to go ahead.
“Following the security breach at Old Trafford, the Manchester United vs. Liverpool game has been postponed,” a statement from the Premier League said.
“This is a collective decision from the police, both clubs, the Premier League and local authorities.
“The security and safety of everyone at Old Trafford remain of paramount importance. We understand and respect the strength of feeling but condemn all acts of violence, criminal damage and trespass, especially given the associated COVID-19 breaches. Fans have many channels by which to make their views known, but the actions of a minority seen today have no justification.
“We sympathise with the police and stewards who had to deal with a dangerous situation that should have no place in football.
“The rearrangement of the fixture will be communicated in due course.”
It remains to be seen when the game can be played, considering Manchester United’s continued Europa League involvement.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Apologizes For Leaked Comments
Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday apologized for recorded comments that were leaked to the public last week, creating a firestorm in Iran less than two months before presidential elections.
The recordings of Mohammad Javad Zarif included frank comments on powerful late Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2020.
The attack at the time brought the U.S. and Iran to the brink of war. Soleimani’s funeral processions in Iran drew millions of people to the streets.
In the recordings, Zarif criticizes Soleimani’s separate relations with Russia and for refusing to stop using the national carrier Iran Air for Syrian operations despite Zarif’s objections.
Zarif said in an Instagram post Sunday he hoped Soleimani’s family would forgive him. “I hope that the great people of Iran and all the lovers of General (Soleimani) and especially the great family of Soleimani, will forgive me,” he said.
Zarif’s leaked comments were highly controversial in Iran, where officials mind their words amid a cut-throat political environment that includes the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Besides the criticism of Soleimani, a top commander in the Guard, Zarif’s leaked remarks included cutting references to the limits of his power in the theocracy.
Zarif has said he will not run for president in the upcoming election. Some had suggested him as a potential candidate to challenge hard-liners in the vote.