Could the next Messi come from Nigeria as Barcelona launches Lagos academy?

One of the world's biggest and most successful clubs, Barcelona, is launching a football academy in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub.

The academy, in Africa's biggest city, is the first of its kind on the continent. It is modelled on Barcelona's flagship La Masia Academy in Spain which has produced stars such as Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi.

Somalia Mogadishu car bomb: At least 34 people killed

Source: BBC - February 20, 2017

At least 34 people have been killed and about 50 injured in a car bomb blast in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The car blew up in the city's southern Madina district, officials say.
The blast - which ripped through shops and food stalls - is the first major attack in the capital since the election of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed earlier this month.
No group has claimed responsibility, although al-Shabab militants are likely to be the prime suspects.
On Saturday a senior al-Shabab commander vowed to target the president's supporters.

South Africa’s political woes couldn’t come at a worse time for its troubled economy.

Source: CNBC - February 18, 2017

South Africa, once a standout emerging market economy, is caught in the middle of a political hurricane that's adding impetus to a downward economic spiral.
A week after chaos erupted at his annual speech—which resulted in soldiers having to be summoned to parliament—President Jacob Zuma appears increasingly isolated politically. A growing number of investors say that is proving to be a distraction from what requires Zuma's urgent attention, namely the economy.
Zuma's political turmoil is taking place against a backdrop of sky-high unemployment, stagnant growth and a credit rating dancing on the edge of junk. Since last year, Zuma's government has pulled out all the stops to avert a possible downgrade, but the country's turbulent politics have complicated his task.
With the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) schedule to meet next on March 30th, market analysts are widely expecting the central bank to keep rates at 7 percent, in order to help curb higher-than-expected inflation.

Trump administration drafts plan to raise asylum bar, speed deportations

Source: REUTERS - February 18, 2017

The Department of Homeland Security has prepared new guidance for immigration agents aimed at speeding up deportations by denying asylum claims earlier in the process.
The new guidelines, contained in a draft memo dated February 17 but not yet sent to field offices, directs agents to only pass applicants who have a good chance of ultimately getting asylum, but does not give specific criteria for establishing credible fear of persecution if sent home.
The guidance instructs asylum officers to "elicit all relevant information" in determining whether an applicant has “credible fear” of persecution if returned home, the first obstacle faced by migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border requesting asylum.

US-China relationship key to stability of APAC region: Ng Eng Hen

Source: CHANNELS NEWS ASIA

SINGAPORE: How the US and China engage with each other and Asian countries will be key to the stability of the Asia Pacific (APAC) region comprising East Asia, the Korean Peninsula and ASEAN, Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Sunday (Feb 19).
Speaking at the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Germany, Dr Ng said that with a new US administration at the helm, it was "particularly important" for both the US and China to articulate their foreign policy objectives towards Asia.

Russia to Settle Soviet Debt in 2017

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES - February 19, 2017

Russia's Finance Ministry announced last week that it had cleared the Soviet Union's $60.6 million debt to the former-Yugoslavian nation of Macedonia. This leaves Russia with just one more payment to settle: $125.2 million owed to Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
An unnamed finance ministry source told Russian tabloid Izvestia that the debts would be cleared by the end of the summer.
Russia inherited a debt of more than $66 billion when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Much of the money owned to the Yugoslav government came from business deals which saw communist Yugoslavia provide the Soviet Union with consumer goods.

The Gambia: President Barrow sworn in at packed stadium

BBC - February 19, 2017

The Gambia has formally sworn in its new elected President, Adama Barrow, in front of a crowd of thousands including African heads of state.

It was the second time he had taken the oath after his formal inauguration was delayed by the reluctance of his predecessor to leave office.
"This is a victory for democracy," he told a full stadium of his countrymen near the capital Banjul.
"Few people would have thought that I'd be standing here today," he said.
He told the crowd that Gambian people now had the power to control their own destiny and that he was going to free political prisoners and improve press freedom.

Eight people flee U.S. border patrol to seek asylum in Canada

Source: REUTERS - February 18, 2017

Eight asylum-seekers, including four children, barely made it across the Canadian border on Friday as a U.S. border patrol officer tried to stop them and a Reuters photographer captured the scene.
As a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer seized their passports and questioned a man in the front passenger seat of a taxi that had pulled up to the border in Champlain, New York, four adults and four young children fled the cab and ran to Royal Canadian Mounted Police on the other side.
One by one they scrambled across the snowy gully separating the two countries. RCMP officers watching from the other side helped them up, lifting the younger children and asking a woman, who leaned on her fellow passenger as she walked, if she needed medical care.

Putin Signs Executive Order Recognizing Passports Issued by Ukraine's Rebels

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES - February 18, 2017

Vladimir Putin signed an executive order on Saturday officially recognizing identification documents issued by the two breakaway “republics” in eastern Ukraine.

In addition to passports, the Russian Federation will recognize education documents, certificates recording births, deaths, marriages, and divorces, and automobile registrations.

Now, using documents issued by the self-declared “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk, individuals will be able to enter Russia.

Even a dead Robert Mugabe could stand in Zimbabwe election - wife

Source: BBC, February 18, 2017

The wife of Zimbabwe's 92-year-old President, Robert Mugabe, has said that he is so popular that if he died, he could run as a corpse in next year's election and still win votes.

Grace Mugabe, 51, was addressing a rally of the governing Zanu-PF party.
Mr Mugabe has governed Zimbabwe since the end of white-majority rule in 1980 following a bitterly fought war.
His wife, who has often professed her undying loyalty to her husband, has assumed an increasingly high profile.

All Eyes On Munich As Russia Feels Out New U.S. Administration

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES. February 17, 2017

At last year’s Munich Security Conference — a traditional get together for the transatlantic alliance — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev delivered a stark warning. It was time for the West to end sanction, he said, and join forces in a civilizational battle against radical Islam.

“It is either us or them,” Medvedev intoned. “It is time for everyone to realize this.”

His call fell on wearied, and unsympathetic ears. 2016 was a trying time for many of the attendees, after all. Russia’s actions in Syria exacerbated a migrant crisis sweeping Europe. Ukraine continued to pose a security dilemma. U.S. global leadership was under question.

Angola VP Manuel Vicente 'to face Portugal corruption charges'

BBC, February 17, 2017

The attorney-general's office says that Mr Vicente paid $810,000 (£650,000) in bribes to shut down corruption investigations that he was facing.
The alleged bribes were made to Portugal's former public prosecutor Orlando Figueira, who also faces charges as part of "Operation Fizz".
Mr Vicente's lawyer has denied the allegations, Portuguese media report.

Asia shares ease after run of gains; dollar, oil recover

Source: REUTERS, February 17, 2017


Asian stock markets took a breather on Friday from their recent surge as investors booked profits, while the dollar inched up after Thursday's slide and optimism over possible renewed supply cuts by OPEC lifted oil prices.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS pulled back 0.1 percent, on track to end the week up 1.3 percent, its fourth straight weekly gain.
Overnight, Wall Street lost momentum, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI barely eking out its sixth straight record high, while the S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC snapped a seven-day winning streak as investors slowed buying to digest recent gains.

ABUJA, Ningeria: 90% of the Cause of our Recession is Corruption

Source: THISDAY LIVE, February 12, 2017

Acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Nigerian Anti-graft Agency), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has said that corruption is virtually the sole reason for the country’s current economic stump. In an interview with Arise TV yesterday, Magu said it was because of the central place of corruption in the present economic woes that the federal government was paying a lot of attention to the recovery of stolen funds.

6 Signs There’s No Such Thing as Internet Freedom in Russia

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES February 12, 2017

Writing about Crimea, Ukraine, Syria or religion on social media in Russia has become a dangerous business. Saying — or typing — the wrong thing on the internet could now land you a harsher sentence than if you beat your wife.
The most recent report on Internet and media freedom in Russia released by the Agora international human rights group paints a bleak picture. Since the beginning of 2015, at least 47 people have been imprisoned for their statements online.

Egypt's '500kg' woman arrives at India hospital for surgery

Source: BBC February 12, 2017

An Egyptian woman, believed to be the world's heaviest woman at 500kg (78.5 stone), has arrived in Mumbai, India, for weight reduction surgery.
The family of 36-year-old Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty said it was the first time she had left home for 25 years.