Spanish club Rayo Vallecano mourn ex-Nigeria goalie Agbonavbare

Rayo Vallecano's former Nigerian goalkeeper Wilfred Agbonavbare passed away on Tuesday in an hospital in the town of Alcala de Henares, close to Madrid, after a long battle against cancer.

"We are mourning. Cancer has taken our away Wilfred," read a message in Rayo's official Twitter account.

The club said there will be a minute's silence in his honour at Rayo's home game on Friday against Deportivo La Coruna.

In Rayo Vallecano's last Liga match at Vicente Calderon Stadium against Atletico Madrid on 24 January was displayed a banner that read "Fuerza Wilfred" (You Can Do It Wilfred). But the former Super Eagles goalkeeper didn't survive it. He was part of the Nigerian U-20 side at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico that included Yisa Sofoluwe, Dahiri Sadi, Femi Olukanni, Tarila Okoronwanta, Humphrey Edobor, Tajudeen Disu, Ali Jeje, Amaechi Otti, Benson Edema, Christopher Anigala etc

Agbonavbare played for the then famous New Nigeria Bank of Benin (NNB) and BCC Lions, then played for Rayo Vallecano between 1990-1996 before calling it quit in his career with Spanish third division side Ecija.

He was reserve goalkeeper for Nigeria at the USA 1994 World Cup and made 15 appearances for the Super Eagles. His most recent engagement was as a porter at Madrid's Barajas airport and goalkeeping coach in a community team in Madrid.

Pharrell Williams' 'Happy' vibe wow fans in Qatar

Pharrell Williams produced magical moments and ecstasy in a musical concert to spread joy on the sidelines of the 24th Men's Handball World Championship 2015 at the magnificent Losail Multipurpose Hall with his infectious mega-hit"Happy" on Thursday night.

The hitmaker had everyone in attendance dancing to his Oscar-nominated song for an hour plus in well-lit party atmosphere.

The celebratory single was the last piece of music the artist performed after the various singles from his different albums. Expectedly it was a full house with over 6000 fans who tuned up to watch the handball game between Russia and Denmark.

Fans were already in frenzy before the singer-songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams came on stage. When he finally arrived with his energetic dancers, the atmosphere was rocking with the lighting like a clubhouse as attendants stood to cheer the US star who wore an Armani jean, white t-shirt and a brown suede bowler hat.

Pharrell in describing the atmosphere said, "I have one word to describe this place, its beautiful".

"I am thrilled about the atmosphere and I am happy to see Pharrell live in Doha," said a Danish journalist.

Explaining the atmosphere at the Losail hall, a Doha resident said, "Honestly this is the kind of atmosphere that makes one love Qatar, everybody is happy dancing."

"As you can see people are not getting tired of Happy and that's really the trick," explained Marco, an Argentinean.

On Saturday, following the match between Denmark and Poland, Gwen Stefani will perform at the Losail Multipurpose Hall.

Cathay Pacific named the world's safest airline

Cathay Pacific has been named as the world's safest airline, followed by Emirates, EVA Air of Taiwan and Air Canada.


The European airline with the best safety record is KLM, according to new data published by Hamburg-based Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC).


JACDEC researchers score the world's 60 biggest airlines according to traffic versus the number of accidents and losses over the past 30 years. No UK airlines are currently in the top 12 worldwide.


It said that in 2014, the death toll from commercial passenger flights was four times higher than in 2013, making it the second worst in a decade.


The fatality rate was increased by Malaysia Airlines' twin disasters - the loss of flight MH370 with 239 people onboard and the shooting down of flight MH17, killing 298 - and the AirAsia crash on December 28 with the loss of 162 lives.


As a result, Malaysia Airlines fell from 34^th place in the safety rankings to 57^th.


About half of last year's fatalities came from the Asia-Pacific region.


JACDEC's full data for 2015 will be published at the end of this month.

Nigerians must respect laws of host countries

ABUJA Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister Aminu Wali has urged Nigerians travelling or residing abroad to respect the laws of their host countries following the execution of 2 Nigerians in Indonesians on drug related offenses.

The minister made the appeal recently while interacting with journalists regretted that 12 other Nigerians were still on death row in Indonesia for drug offenses.

The minister said the federal government appealed to the Indonesian government to commute the death sentence to other forms of imprisonments but the Indonesians still carried on with the death penalty. He said the Nigerian government has been engaging the Indonesian authorities on sparing the lives of the 12 Nigerians remaining in jail.

Meanwhile, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman, House Committee on Diaspora has stressed the need for government to take deliberate measure towards ensuring that the 12 Nigerians on death row are not executed.

Sounding a note of warning, Indonesia's Attorney General Muhammed Prasetyo has said there is no excuse for drug dealers and, "hopefully, this will have a deterrent effect."

A word is enough for the wise......

.

Nigeria security adviser suggests postponement of election

Nigeria should delay elections planned for next month to give organisers more time to distribute millions of biometric ID cards to voters, the National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan said on Thursday.

Sambo Dasuki said during a talk at London think-tank Chatham House that he had discussed the matter with the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and had said a delay within the time allowed by the law would be a good idea.
"That is what we are encouraging at the moment," he said.
The elections will be the first where voters have to have a biometric card, introduced to guard against fraud that has plagued past polls.

Dasuki said INEC had distributed 30 million cards in the past year but had another 30 million to hand out.
He said INEC had assured him it would achieve this in time for the February date, but he thought it would make more sense to take more time. He added that there was a 90-day window during which the election could legally take place.

"It costs you nothing, it's still within the law," Dasuki said he had told the INEC chairman.
Dasuki said it was for INEC and not for him to decide.
"What sense does it make to vote three months early when there are 30 million cards still with INEC? That's my position," Dasuki said.

Real Madrid top football rich list for 10th straight year

Spain's Real Madrid have emerged as the world's richest football club for the 10th straight year in the annual Football Money League published by accountants Deloitte, with a revenue of $639 million.

English team Manchester United moved up from fourth to second on the list, which is based on 2013-14 season revenues despite enduring its worst-ever league campaign. German champions Bayern Munich came in third, followed by Spain's FC Barcelona and French side Paris Saint-Germain.

English clubs Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool were placed sixth to ninth, all of them showing healthy rises in revenues.

The Deloitte football money league list:
1. Real Madrid: $639m ($602.7m)
2. Man Utd: $602.3m ($492.3m)
3. Bayern Munich: $566.8m ($500.1m)
4. Barcelona: $563.5m ($560.5m)
5. Paris Saint Germain: $551.5m ($463.2m)
6. Manchester City: $481.9m ($367.2m)
7. Chelsea: $451.1m ($352.4m)
8. Arsenal: $417.9m ($330.2m)
9. Liverpool: $355.8m ($279.5m)
10. Juventus: $325m ($316.4m)

Chadian Prime Minister lead thousands to support army move against Boko Haram

Chadian Prime Minister Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet led demonstrators on Saturday as they marched from N'Djamena’s city hall to the Place de Nation square, carrying Chadian flags and chanting in French and Arabic: "Kick the forces of evil out of our territory," in response to the government’s decision to send troops to fight Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists.

A large banner read: "We support our army. The people of Chad support their Cameroonian and Nigerian brothers in the fight against terrorism."

"Today's march is a strong signal, a warning to Boko Haram and above all a march for peace to protect our vital interests, to protect our economy, to protect Chad's security," Deubet said.

"The country is seriously threatened by Boko Haram," said Ouchar Tourguidi, head of the main party in parliament, calling the rally "important for boosting morale of our troops who are going to the front."

Dozens of Chadian tanks headed out of the capital on Friday south towards Cameroon after Chad's parliament approved the deployment.

Chad's plunge into the war against Boko Haram came after a large-scale attack by the militants in Baga, the Nigerian town on the shores of Lake Chad were as many as 2,000 people were massacred by the militants in a raid on January 7 described by US Secretary of State John Kerry as a "crime against humanity".

Cameroon's President Paul Biya had announced Thursday that his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby had agreed to send "a substantial contingent" of troops to help Cameroonian armed forces, who have faced repeated attacks from Boko Haram.

The Russian ambassador to the country also pledged to supply Cameroon with more modern weapons to combat the Islamist insurgents.

Jonathan makes surprise visit to insurgency-hit northeast Nigeria

MAIDUGURI- President Goodluck Jonathan made a surprise visit to insurgency-plagued northeast Nigeria on Thursday, a rebuff to critics who say he has ignored the plight of victims of Boko Haram Islamist militants.

"What you're doing is not easy," he told officers and soldiers at an army barracks in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state.
"We thank you as a nation. Terrorism is a global phenomenon. We're working day and night, trying to curtail this madness."

Jonathan is running for re-election in a Feb. 14 vote in which security is a major issue. His main rival, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, is seen as tough on security.
It was the president's first visit to Borno, the area worst affected by the advance of rebels seeking to carve an Islamic state in Nigeria, since he declared a state of emergency in the northeast in May 2013.
Jonathan has been criticised for not doing enough -- and often not saying enough -- about relentless Boko Haram attacks that have killed thousands of civilians, kidnapped hundreds and pose the greatest security challenge to Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy.

His administration was seen as slow to react when the insurgents abducted some 200 schoolgirls last April.
The group's fighters seized the military base and town of Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, on Jan. 3. Baga was the headquarters of a multinational force with troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon. The militants have killed scores and razed dozens of homes there, with the military putting the death toll at 150, while some local officials have put it as high as 2,000.
Nigerian security forces repelled an attack by Boko Haram on the northeastern town of Biu on Wednesday, killing several insurgents.
Soldiers have complained of a severe lack of equipment and arms in the face of a determined foe.
"We will assist you to succeed in your efforts. We will give you what is due to you," Jonathan said. "In terms of equipment, we are better off now than when we started".


REUTERS

Man Utd sack scout for posting offensive messages

English football club Manchester United have sacked one of their European scouts for posting racially offensive comments on social networking site Facebook.

According to Daily Mail, Torben Aakjaer posted several anti-immigration messages. The 32-year-old Dane, in his comments, supported Denmark closing its borders and putting "extra personnel on every crossover and exit so all that eastern Europe dirt and s**t can be kept out" and a photograph of six pigs with a caption: "It's time to deploy our secret weapons against Islamists."

"The club received the evidence, launched an immediate investigation into the matter and has terminated our association with Aakjaer. Manchester United is an inclusive organisation and will not tolerate this sort of behaviour," a statement from Old Trafford said. However, the English tabloid reported that the Dane was not a permanent United staff member and was used on a casual basis to scout young players for the club's academy rather than the first team.

Nigerians In Chicago Wonder Why Boko Haram Massacre Isn't Getting Attention?

 The terrorist attack in Paris galvanized the world and sparked overwhelming sympathy. But the reaction to a massacre in Nigeria at the same time has been much different, even though many people more people died there.

According to CBS 2's Jim Williams reports Chicagoans and others are asking why?

The news coverage was non-stop when terrorists killed 17 in Paris and massive vigils were held around the world.

"17 people died, 1.5 million people march," said Boyede Sobita with the Nigerian American Professional Association. "2,000 people died and it's a blip on a radar."

A blip on the radar says Boyede Sobita the response to the group Boko Haram killing 2000 people last week in Nigeria, Sobita's parents' native country.

"The fact that we can allow this to happen without bringing the necessary attention to the people who are suffering is sad," Sobita said.

Experts explain the different responses this way: France is a close ally of the United States, the murders were seen an attack on free speech and linked to terrorist groups that threaten much of the world.

Nigerian-American Chime Asonye says Nigeria's government itself underplayed the violence there.

"If leadership does not shine a light and say this is an issue the world should turn its attention to, then people are not going to follow suit," Asonye said.

"Boko Harum has been ravaging Nigeria for the last five to six years, so the daily announcements of violence become numbing."

Still, Nigerian Americans in Chicago insist no violence should be ignored.

"From a human standpoint, tyranny anywhere is an attack on freedom everywhere," said Sobita.

The Nigerian-American Young Professionals group plans to hold vigils to call attention to the massacre and the threat posed by Boko Harum. They note that while the president of Nigeria sent condolences to France, he's said little about murders of 2,000 people in his own country.

In Nigeria, New Boko Haram Suicide Bomber Tactic: 'It's a Little Girl'

A girl perhaps no more than 10 years old detonated powerful explosives concealed under her veil at a crowded northern Nigeria market on Saturday, killing as many as 20 people and wounding many more. The blast inflicted devastating damage on shoppers at the Monday Market in Maiduguri, the shopping hub in a city that is at the heart of the Boko Haram insurgency.

The explosion, witnessed by dozens of people, represented a new tactic in the Islamists’ campaign with their decision to use perhaps their youngest-ever suicide bomber. The terrorist group has increasingly employed women as suicide bombers, even as it has stepped up its abductions of girls across northeast Nigeria, including the kidnapping of more than 200 in the town of Chibok in April.

Late last year, two women hit the Monday Market in suicide attacks, killing dozens, and in one week last summer four women carried out bombings in northern Nigeria’s biggest city, Kano. But the use of a child to kill - witnesses, police officials, a top hospital official in Maiduguri and local vigilantes all agreed that the bomber was very young - may be unprecedented in the insurgency.

“It’s a little girl,” said the hospital official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of his position. “The body is beyond recognition, but from the face you can see it’s a young person. A young pretty girl.”

A vigilante group has taken responsibility for much of what little security exists in Maiduguri, and on Saturday morning, before the blast, several members of the group had screened the girl with metal detectors as she entered the market, said a spokesman, Abubakar Faruq. The girl resisted, the vigilantes noticed a bulge around her waist and the bomb went off, Faruq said.

A police spokesman said 20 people were killed and 18 others critically wounded. Several witnesses said it appeared that the girl might not have been aware of her deadly burden. Bakura Bashir, a shopper who witnessed the explosion, said: “This girl may not necessarily know she was conveying a timed bomb. The girl was torn into two halves, and half of her body was thrown across buildings by the devastating blast.”

A top federal police official in the capital, Abuja, who once worked in Maiduguri, said Saturday that the terrorist group appeared to have embarked on a new path. “It’s something quite new, and it’s disturbing, using these young, young girls wearing hijabs,” the official said, referring to the Muslim veil. “Now, one has to be suspicious of any lady wearing a hijab - whether it’s a young lady, or an old lady,” said the police official, who asked not to be quoted by name because of concerns about his position. Boko Haram has carried out a spate of attacks recently in the northeast, including a devastating one in Baga, a fishing village north of Maiduguri, that killed dozens last week; an assault on the nearby city of Damaturu on Friday evening that set off a gunbattle lasting more than four hours, but that was ultimately repelled by security forces; and a bombing in Potiskum on Saturday that killed two police officers.

The New York Times News Service

Abuja to host first inaugural Africapitalism Institute board meeting

Emerging African economic think tank, the Africapitalism Institute, will hold its inaugural board meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, Nigeria.

The institute, founded by Nigerian billionaire and Chairman of proprietary investment firm Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, was established in May 2014 with the aim of promoting an economically progressive Africa that is championed by the private sector.

The buzz surrounding the innovative concept, which canvasses for a comprehensive transformation of the continent through long-term investments in strategic sectors, has already attracted high calibre economic leaders such as Dr Jim O’Neill, creator of the terms “BRIC” and “MINT”, Jose Maria Aznar, Former Prime Minister of Spain, and Matthew Bishop, Globalization Editor of The Economist, to its board room; all of which will be present in its first ever executive meeting.

While the bulk of the Institute’s work thus far has been in emphasizing the private sector’s role in driving Africa’s growth, the Board will also discuss the forthcoming Africapitalism Index – a ground breaking, annual analysis of the way African economies are growing. The index, though long in the making, is the first of its kind.

To be launched later this year, the Index will take the global discussion about the African economic story several layers deeper, through a detailed benchmarking of the key drivers — and barriers – of growth. By quantifying and ranking economies based on how “Africapitalist” they are, or aren’t, the Index will establish a standard by which countries and other indices related to Africa are judged going forward.

Ventures Africa

Qatar wrap up Asian Cup preparation with win

Qatar defeated Team Wellington in a friendly match in wild conditions at the Australian Institute of Sport to conclude their warm-up for Qatar's Asian Cup campaign on Monday, which opens against the United Arab Emirates at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

The match against ASB Premiership leaders was tough and keenly contested, exactly what coach Djamel Belmadi wanted to test his team.

Qatar scored early goals and a disallowed Team Wellington goal meant the Gulf Cup of Nations champions led 2-0 at halftime. First was Ibrahim Majed’s glancing header that beat Michael O'Keefe following a free kick from Hassan Haydos.

The second goal by Meshaal Abdullah showed how strong and confident the Al Ahli striker been recently. He received a through pass from Khalfan Ibrahim and moved on his stride into the box, staving off the challenge of Team Wellington skipper to roll the ball past the hapless custodian O'Keefe.

The Matt Calcott-coached side then dominated for periods before conceding a third goal with 15 minutes to play. Boualem Khoukhi registered his name on the scoresheet with a side foot tap in after scored the third with a tap in after a teammate dispossess an opponent to lay a pass for the Al Arabi forward to score in the last 15 minutes of the encounter.

Qatar to pose stiff test to Iran for group supremacy

Qatar’s eight appearance in the Asian Cup is different from their previous outings considering Djamel Belamdi’s team is the most in-form side ahead of next week’s Asian Cup kickoff but must contend with Iran considered favourites to win Group C.

While Qatar played 18 international matches in 2014, winning nine, drawing eight and losing just once.  Iran have only managed a single win since the World Cup, beating  South Korea 1-0 in an international friendly in November. Qatar defeated Asian Cup host, Australia during a friendly in October and then a month later, won the Gulf Cup with convincing victories over fellow Asian Cup representatives Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Belmadi’s team though youthful but has garnered experience over the past year with successes in West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) championship and Gulf Cup. The team’s strength is their attacking options which has Boualem Khoukhi as the star man to watch in the tournament. The Al Arabi striker pumped in six goals last January to win the WAFF title for Qatar and scored the winner in the Gulf Cup in November. Khalfan Ibrahim, Hassan Haydos and Meshaal Abdullah provide enough power going forward and the options vary from Abdqulqadir Illyas, Ismael Mohammed, Muhammed Muntari to overlapping left back Abdelkarim Hassan.

One thing is for sure, it will be interesting tournament for Qatar and if they have a good game in their opening match against UAE, then the against Iran in Sydney on January 15 could well decide top spot in Group C.  Winning the group could well prove decisive for Qatar or Iran as they face prospect of meeting defending champions Japan expected to dominate in Group D ahead of Jordan, Iraq and Palestine.

Iran is the 51^st ranked team in the world and the best in Asia, will be led by Portuguese boss Carlos Queiroz once again as Team Melli continue in their efforts to reclaim the mantel as Asian's leading football nation.

The Iranians are captained by  veteran midfielder Javad Nekounam, who plies his trade with Osasuna in the Spanish La Liga. Iran's team boasts a potent mix of youth and experience and have a strong European flavour. The 34-year-old Nekounam has been the backbone of Iran's national team for more than decade, playing in three previous Asian Cups, and is approaching 150 caps.

There are four members of the Iranian who play in Qatar Stars League and will some idea on Qatari players. They are alal Hosseini (Al Ahli), Masoud Shojaei (Al Shahniya), Ashkan Dejagah (Al Arabi) and Mehrdad Pooladi (Al Shahniya).

Iran’s World Cup campaign in Brazil was not too impressive as they did not make it out of their group, but Quieroz's team proved they could compete with the best with a breathtaking performance against Argentina. After playing out a goalless draw with Nigeria in their group opener, Argentina captain Lionel Messi struck a 91st-minute injury-time winner to break the hearts of Iran, who went on to lose 3-1 to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the final match.

Iran, thee three-time Asian Cup champions will contend with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the group’s other matches. Both teams are tricky and would provide good test in the group for both Qatar and Iran.

Bahrain won their group ahead of Qatar with a slim victory over Al Anabi and forcing a draw in Doha.

 UAE ranked 85^th in the world will take inspiration from their third place finish in the Gulf Cup. Before then, they had played out four straight draws in friendly matches, notably a 0-0 with Australia. They will rely on the services of Ahmed Khalil who was in good form in the Gulf Cup.

Fog disrupts flights at Abu Dhabi Airport

Etihad Airways flights to and from Abu Dhabi have been disrupted this morning (3 January) by the closure of Abu Dhabi International Airport due to severe fog.

Following the closure at 2.30am, the airline diverted seven inbound flights to three other airports in the UAE – Dubai World Central, Al Ain and Al Bateen.

Other inbound flights have been delayed, and departures from Abu Dhabi have been affected.

The runways were re-opened at 3.40am. Etihad Airways is working to minimise disruption to its customers, and will provide updates.

Passengers are advised to contact the Etihad Airways Contact Centre on +971 (0) 2599 0000 or visit the Etihad Airways website at www.etihad.com/flightstatus for more information on the status of flights in and out of Abu Dhabi Airport.