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  • Messi in Spanish Court Over Tax Fraud

    Messi in Spanish Court Over Tax Fraud

    Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi and his father are to appear in a Spanish court over tax fraud allegations.

    The 26-year-old Argentine, who has been named World Player of the Year four times, and his father Jorge Messi are accused of defrauding the authorities of more than 4m euros (£3.4m).

    They are suspected of using companies abroad – in Belize and Uruguay – to sell the rights to use Messi’s image.

    They both deny the allegations, which date back to 2007-09.

    ‘Tougher line’
    The striker and his father are expected to be questioned in a closed-court session in Gava – the affluent Barcelona district where the footballer lives.

    They are accused of three counts of defrauding the Spanish state of taxes.

    The income related to Messi’s image rights included contracts with Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Proctor and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company.

    In August, the two accused made a payment of 5m euros to the tax authorities – the 4.16m of the alleged unpaid tax plus interest.

    But state prosecutors are still pursuing the case – as the tax authorities are taking a much tougher line as a result of Spain’s economic crisis, reports the BBC’s Tom Burridge in Madrid.

    Earlier, Messi stated that he and and his father “have never committed any infringement. We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations.”

    Messi’s net salary from Barcelona is said to be about 16m euros a year, making him one of the world’s most highly-paid sportspeople.

    He has also signed multi-million-dollar endorsements with commercial sponsors around the world.

    Messi’s achievements on the field have made him one of the most marketable in the business.

    He came from a modest background and has overcome a serious health issue, joining Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000 and making his first-team debut only three years later.

    But the allegations are a big blow to the prestige of Messi, who has long been seen as a more humble figure than most top-class footballers.

    Messi
    BBC

  • Jewels from 1966 Air India Crash Found on Mont Blanc

    Jewels from 1966 Air India Crash Found on Mont Blanc

    {{A French climber scaling a glacier off Mont Blanc got more than satisfaction for his efforts when he stumbled across a treasure trove of emeralds, rubies and sapphires that had been buried for decades.}}

    The jewels, estimated to be worth up to 246,000 euros ($332,000), lay hidden in a metal box that was on board an Indian plane that crashed in the desolate landscape some 50 years ago.

    The climber turned the haul in to local police.

    “This was an honest young man who very quickly realised that they belonged to someone who died on the glacier,” local gendarmerie chief Sylvain Merly told AFP.

    “He could have kept them but he preferred to give them to the police,” Merly said, adding that the climber stumbled upon the box earlier this month and that some of the sachets containing the precious stones bore the stamp ‘Made in India.’

    French authorities are contacting their Indian counterparts to trace the owner or heirs of the jewels.

    Under French law, the jewellery could be handed over to the mountaineer if these are not identified, Merly said.

    Two Air India planes crashed into Mont Blanc in 1950 and in 1966. Climbers routinely find debris, baggage and human remains.

    In September last year, India took possession of a bag of diplomatic mail from the Kangchenjunga, a Boeing 707 flying from Mumbai which crashed on the southwest face of Mont Blanc on January 24, 1966.

    The crash killed 117 people including the pioneer of India’s nuclear programme Homi Jehangir Bhabha.

    AFP

  • Iran Plays Down Prospects for Quick IAEA Nuclear Deal

    Iran Plays Down Prospects for Quick IAEA Nuclear Deal

    {{ Iran’s envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog played down prospects for a quick breakthrough in talks on Friday with the agency on a stalled investigation into Tehran’s disputed atomic program.}}

    Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, was asked by reporters whether he expected an agreement in discussions due to start with the IAEA at around 10 a.m.

    The meeting between Iran and the IAEA will be the first since Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, took office as new Iranian president in early August, pledging to try to resolve the Islamic state’s nuclear dispute with the West.

    It comes after talks between Iran and world powers at the United Nations on Thursday.

    “This is the first meeting so nobody I guess should expect that in just (a) one-day meeting we can solve (our) problems,” Najafi, who was appointed new Iranian ambassador last month, said.

    “We are going to have a first meeting with the agency. We expect to review the existing issues and also exchange views on the ways we can continue our cooperation to resolve all issues.”

    Iran and the United States held their highest-level substantive talks in a generation at the United Nations, saying the tone was positive but sounding cautious about resolving the standoff.

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met after Zarif held wider talks with the United States and other major powers to address Western suspicions that Iran may be trying to develop atomic weapons.

    Separately from big power diplomacy to resolve the decade-old dispute that could yet trigger a Middle East war, the IAEA has held 10 rounds of talks with Iran since early 2012 to try to resume a blocked inquiry into suspected atom bomb research.

    The talks have so far yielded no results but Western states see Friday’s meeting in Vienna as a litmus test of any substantive Iranian shift from its intransigence under Rouhani’s hardline conservative predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    Iran denies it is seeking to develop the capability make nuclear weapons, saying its program is a peaceful bid to generate electricity.

    wirestory

  • Police Seize More Drugs, Arrest Three

    Police Seize More Drugs, Arrest Three

    {{Rwanda National Police has intercepted more drugs which include 528 boules of cannabis, 238 litres of Kanyanga and a carton of African Gin.}}

    Three people were arrested in connection with the illegal act in various parts of the country.

    One of the suspects; Joshua Rusangiza, 29, and Emmanuel Mazane, were arrested in Rilima sector, Bugesera district with 210 litres of kanyanga.

    Others are Alphonse Harerimana, 43, a resident of Ruhango sector of Ruhango district, who was intercepted with 200 boules of cannabis.

    He is held at Nyamagana Police station.

    Another suspect, Augustin Niyonkuru, 27, of Kimihurura sector, Gasabo district, was caught with 328 boules of cannabis.

    The Central region Police Spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Urbain Mwiseneza reminded the public that drug abuse is not only punishable by the law but also harmful to one’s health.

    He thanked the public for its continued cooperation providing Police with timely information to prevent and apprehend criminals.

    The suspects will face one to three years of imprisonment and a fine of Rwf50, 000 to 500, 000 as stipulates in article 594 of the penal code.

  • Rwanda & Kenya to Play in Qualifying Rounds of African Women Championships

    Rwanda & Kenya to Play in Qualifying Rounds of African Women Championships

    {{Kenya has been drawn against Rwanda in the qualifying rounds of the 9th Edition of the African Women Championships.}}

    This will be Kenya’s maiden appearance in the continental showpiece, in which a record 25 teams have entered.

    The Starlets will play their match away on February 15 and the return leg two weeks later in Nairobi, with the winner proceeding to the next round to play the winner of the Nigeria versus Sierra Leone match.

    Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Chairperson for Women Committee, Angeline Elijah, said preparations for the championships would start with the selection of the team, adding that they expect the team to do well.

    “We will select players from the Under-20 and Under -17 national teams to take part in the contests. The Under-20 team did the country proud when they nearly qualified for the World Cup.

    We have a lot of talent when it comes to women’s football in the country and giving them a chance to take part in international events will expose them,” the official told FeverPitch.

    Strong team

    Kenya has only taken part in junior women’s tournaments such as the Under-20 and Under-17, and is expected to select a strong team for the qualifiers.

    Defending champions Equatorial Guinea, runners-up South Africa and bronze medallists Cameroon will be seeded and so start their campaign from the second stage.

    Algeria will face Morocco while Egypt will battle it out with Tunisia. Ethiopia will take on South Sudan.

    Burkina Faso will play against Ghana in another fixture, with Cote d’Ivore playing against Mali.

    Guinea Bissau will entertain Senegal while Mozambique will host Comoros.

    Botswana will battle it out with Zimbabwe while Zambia will tackle Tanzania in the preliminary matches. The finals of the championships will be held in Namibia from September 11-25, 2014.

    The national Under-17 team never took part in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers earlier this month. They cited lack of communication from Equatorial Guinea, where they were scheduled to play their opening match.

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  • Oil Well Discovered in Northern Kenya

    Oil Well Discovered in Northern Kenya

    {{Tullow Oil plc (“Tullow”) announced on Thursday that the Ekales-1 wildcat, located in Block 13T in Northern Kenya, has made a new oil discovery.}}

    Results of drilling, wire line logs and samples of reservoir fluid indicate a potential net oil pay in the Auwerwer and Upper Lokone sandstone reservoirs of between 60 and 100 metres.

    Future flow testing aims to confirm productivity from these zones.

    “This is the fourth consecutive wildcat discovery, in the first oil basin opened in Northern Kenya, since our drilling commenced in 2012,” said Tullow in its website.

    The Ekales-1 well is located between the Ngamia-1 and Twiga South-1 oil discoveries and the reservoir properties at this location appear similar to those previously encountered. Once operations have completed the rig will move to drill the exploration prospect Amosing-1 south of Ngamia-1.

    Tullow operates the Ekales-1 well and Africa Oil (50 per cent) has a non-operated interest.

    “Elsewhere in Kenya, the Agete-1 well, also in block 13T, commenced drilling in mid-September and we expect a third rig to be operational in Q4 2013.”

    Angus McCoss, Exploration Director, Tullow Oil plc said “This success at the Ekales-1 wildcat is further evidence of the exceptional oil potential of our East African Rift Basin acreage.

    Having opened the first basin with the Ngamia-1 well last year, we are now increasing the pace of exploration in Kenya aiming for 12 wells over the next 12 months.”

    wirestory

  • 80 Zim Elephants Poisoned With Cyanide

    80 Zim Elephants Poisoned With Cyanide

    {{Zimbabwean ivory poachers have killed more than 80 elephants by poisoning water holes with cyanide, endangering one of the world’s biggest herds, a minister said on Wednesday.}}

    Environment minister Saviour Kasukuwere said the elephants had died in the last few weeks in the Hwange national park, the southern African nation’s largest, while security forces were preoccupied with a July 31 general election.

    Police and rangers had recovered 19 tusks, cyanide and wire snares after a sweep through villages close to the park, which lies just south of Victoria Falls.

    “We are declaring war on the poachers,” he told Reuters. “We are responding with all our might because our wildlife, including the elephants they are killing, are part of the natural resources and wealth that we want to benefit the people of Zimbabwe.”

    Zimbabwe is home to some of Africa’s largest herds, with half of its estimated 80,000 elephants thought to be in Hwange.

    Kasukuwere, who was appointed to the environment ministry a week ago, said he would push for stiff penalties for convicted poachers, who routinely get less than the 9-year jail term imposed for cattle rustling.

    Zimbabwe is working to revive its tourism industry, including its wildlife sector, which has suffered years of decline blamed by some on long-serving President Robert Mugabe’s economic policies.

    Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, in power since the former Rhodesia gained independence from Britain in 1980, was re-elected in an election in July that was rejected by his main rivals as rigged.

  • Number of Child Labourers Worldwide Drops

    Number of Child Labourers Worldwide Drops

    {{The number of child labourers worldwide has dropped by a third since 2000, the UN labour agency said Monday, but warned that progress was not being made fast enough.}}

    The number of child labourers fell to 168 million last year from 246 million in 2000, said an International Labour Organisation (ILO) report released ahead of a Global Child Labour conference in Brasilia next month.

    It hailed particular progress in cutting the number of youngsters doing hazardous work, “likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children,” which had fallen to 85 million from 171 million in 2000.

    “We are moving in the right direction, but progress is still too slow,” said ILO director-general Guy Ryder.

    “If we are serious about ending the scourge of child labour in the foreseeable future, then we need a substantial stepping-up of efforts at all levels. There are 168 million good reasons to do so,” he said in a statement.

    While the numbers have fallen substantially, 11 percent of the world’s children are still working instead of attending school — half of them doing hazardous work, stressed Constance Thomas, who heads the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).

    The organisation has set a 2016 target of ridding the world of hazardous child labour, which includes dangerous work within a wide range of sectors including agriculture, mining and construction.

    But “we’re probably not going to reach that target at this pace,” Thomas told reporters in Geneva.

    To further reduce child labour, she stressed that countries needed to forge ahead with more policies promoting education, social protection measures and poverty reduction, as well as creating decent jobs for adults to remove the need of sending children to work.

    {{Setbacks in Rwanda, Mongolia }}

    Most child labourers are found in the Asia-Pacific region, which counts 78 million of them, down from 113.6 million in 2000.

    Thomas said Cambodia especially had seen a “fairly dramatic decrease” in child labour, which now affects 12 percent of its children, compared to 26 percent in 2000.

    But Mongolia, which until recently was on track to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, has suffered a significant setback, with figures rising nearly two percent from 2007 after a harsh winter storm ruined the livelihoods of many families, she said.

    In Sub-Saharan Africa, the worst-hit region in proportion to its population where more than 21 percent of children work, Uganda, Cameroon and Madagascar were among those making good progress, while Rwanda is heading “in the wrong direction,” Thomas said.

    The ILO report also showed that 9.2 million children are considered underage labourers in the Middle East and North Africa, while some 12 million are found in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    Agriculture remains the sector where most child labourers are found, accounting for nearly 59 percent of all working children, the report showed. But an increasing share were also working in more urban settings such as the manufacturing industry.

    The report noted that progress has especially been made in reducing the number of girls in child labour, with the number falling by 40 percent over the 12-year-period, a drop the ILO attributed to a variety of gender-focused measures in many countries.

    The number of girls doing hazardous work declined by more than half over the same period.

    The figures do not however include household chores, which are predominantly performed by girls, the report added.

    AFP

  • Egypt reveal 2014 World Cup play-off venue

    Egypt reveal 2014 World Cup play-off venue

    {{Egypt have revealed they will use a military stadium in Cairo to host Ghana in the second leg of the sides’ 2014 World Cup play-off.}}

    It will be the first time Egypt have played in the capital since October 2011, following the Port Said tragedy and civil unrest in the country.

    The Pharaohs’ recent home matches have been in the Red Sea resort of El Gouna.
    But they have chosen the 30,000-capacity 30 June Air Defence Stadium for the crucial match against Ghana.

    It will be played on 19 November, with kick-off set for 1900 (local time).

    The two-legged tie – one of five in the final African qualifying round – will decide who makes it through to next year’s finals in Brazil.

    Egypt’s Minister of Sports Taher Abu Zeid announced the decision for the venue on Tuesday.

    And it was also confirmed that fans will be allowed to attend the game.

    Supporters have largely been banned from matches in Egypt since the Port Said riots at a match between Al Ahly and Al Masry that claimed the lives of more than 70 people.

    Domestic football was also suspended in the country and although it resumed after a year’s absence the league was again stopped in July after the military overthrow of president Muhamed Mursi’s government and subsequent violence.

    Ghana had already announced that the first leg of the tie will be played at the Baba Yara stadium in Kumasi on 15 October.

    BBC

  • Mandela ‘sitting up’–Grandson

    Mandela ‘sitting up’–Grandson

    {{Global anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, who is recovering at home after spending nearly three months in hospital, is said to be doing “much better” and sitting up on his bed, his grandson was quoted as saying on Thursday.}}

    Mbuso Mandela told The New Age newspaper that the 95-year-old statesman was “sitting up and looking around” and had spent the Tuesday public holiday surrounded by family.

    “I saw him again yesterday (Wednesday) at lunch, He is doing well,” he said, adding that “we are keeping him company”.

    He stressed that Mandela was “much better” and not completely bed-ridden.

    Mandela is receiving intensive care for a respiratory illness at his Johannesburg home where he returned after being discharged on September 1.

    He had spent 86 days in a Pretoria hospital.

    His condition was described as critical but stable throughout his stay.

    The frail statesman has faced several health scares in recent years amid lung problems that date back to his 27 years in jail.

    He has been hospitalised several times since last December. His latest hospitalisation was his longest.

    The frail statesman is admired for his lifelong sacrifice in fighting the brutal regime of racial segregation installed with apartheid in 1948.

    In his address at the United Nations in New York, President Jacob Zuma said Mandela “continues to respond to treatment.”

    Mandela became South Africa’s first black president in 1994, after leading talks that ended white minority rule and put the ruling African National Congress in power.

    wirestory