Nigerian referees excluded as FIFA releases list of World Cup officials

Three months to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the referees that will officiate during the football mundial have been unveiled.

FIFA on Thursday released a list of 36 referees and 63 assistant referees appointed as match officials — but no single Nigerian was included in the list.

Six referees and 10 assistant referees from Africa were included in the list.

According to FIFA, “the choice of the final group of match officials selected to officiate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia was based on each referee’s skills and personality, as well as his level of understanding of football and ability to read both the game and the various tactics employed by teams.

“Over the last three years, preparatory seminars have taken place for referees and assistant referees focusing on fair play, protecting players and the image of the game, as well as consistency and uniformity”.

The selected FIFA World Cup match officials will a seminar for two weeks in April at the technical centre of the Italian Football Association in Coverciano, Italy.

The officials will be divided into two groups, which will also include video assistant referee (VAR) candidates.

Here is the list of African referees and assistants referees for the World Cup.

Six referees from Africa

Abid Charef Medhi (Algeria)

Diedhiou Malang (Senegal)

Gassama Bakary (Papa of Guinea)

Grisha Ghead (Egypt)

Sikawe Janny (Zambia)

Tessema Weyesa Bamlak (Ethiopia)

Ten assistant referees from Africa

Achik Redouane (Morocco)

Ahmed Waleed (Sudan)

Birumushahu Jean Claude (Burundi)

Camera Djibril (Senegal)

Dos Santos Jerson Emiliano (Angola)

Etchiali Abdelhak (Algeria)

Hmila Anouar (Tunisia)

Range Marwa (Kenya)

Samba El Hadji Malick (Senegal)

Siwela Zakhele Thusi (South Africa) - Cable Nigeria

Mayor of Dakar jailed five years for fraud

One of Senegal’s most popular politicians has been jailed on charges of fraud which his supporters claimed are politically motivated.

Khalifa Sall, mayor of the capital Dakar, was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling $3.4m (£2.4m), the BBC reports.

His conviction bars him from next year’s elections, when he had been expected to present a strong challenge to President Macky Sall.

The convicted mayor is not a relation of the President.

Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in West Africa.

It is the only country on mainland West Africa never to have had a military coup.

It has seen two peaceful transfers of power following elections, most recently in 2012, when Macky Sall became president.

Khalifa Sall, 62, was arrested last year and successfully stood for parliament even though he was in detention at the time.

His parliamentary immunity was lifted so he could stand trial.

PL news : No club is too good to be relegated - Hodgson

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson claims that no team is too good to be relegated, ahead of his sides’ crunch tie against Liverpool this weekend.

Hodgson says his side have to focus on ensuring they retain their Premier League status as they approach the final season run in.

Having faced a host of tough opponents in recent weeks, Hodgson hopes his side can remain grounded against what can be considered an easier run in to close out the season.

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Talking ahead of this weekend’s clash at Selhurst Park, Hodgson said:

“We have to stay competitive and not throw in the towel or give up even if go a goal behind. We’ll keep believing in the work we do and believing in each other.”

“Our goal is a simple one to stay in this league. It’s a nervous and anxious time because none of us can guarantee we’ll achieve our goal.”

“The dangerous situation is if we start believing our run-in is better than others and that our players are good enough to keep us in the league. Nobody will be too good to get relegated.” - Read Sport

I don't have €30billion in my bank account -Flamini

Mathieu Flamini says reports he has €30billion in his bank account are inaccurate.

Forbes claimed the former Arsenal midfielder - now with Getafe in LaLiga - had established the fortune through his company, GF Biochemicals, which produces levulinic acid.

But the former France international denied that is the case and rejected suggestions he is the world's richest footballer.

"Well, it's important to rectify things," Flamini told L'Equipe.

"Contrary to what I read, I do not have €30billion in my bank account.

"And this sum does not correspond to the valuation of my company, GF Biochemicals."

Flamini explained how estimates had wrongly given him a personal fortune that would make him one of the richest people in the world.

"In fact, it [€30billion] is the total value of the market we want to 'attack' with the new technologies we have developed in recent years," Flamini said.

"There was a misunderstanding. It's as if we had given a single restaurant the value of the entire catering market in France."

Asked directly if he is a billionaire, Flamini said: "Oh no, not at all.

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"I'm sorry about this story because I did not go into this business to make money." - Goal

California : Starbucks, others must carry cancer warning , judge rules

Starbucks (SBUX) and other coffee companies in California should have to post warnings because the brew may contain an ingredient that's been linked to cancer, a judge has ruled. The culprit is acrylamide, a chemical produced in the bean roasting process that is a known carcinogen and has been at the heart of an eight-year legal struggle between a tiny nonprofit group and Big Coffee.

The Council for Education and Research on Toxics sued to require the coffee industry to remove acrylamide from its processing — like potato chip makers did when it sued them years ago — or disclose the danger in ominous warning signs or labels. The industry, led by Starbucks Corp., said the level of the chemical in coffee isn't harmful and any risks are outweighed by benefits.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said Wednesday that the coffee makers hadn't presented the proper grounds at trial to prevail.

"While plaintiff offered evidence that consumption of coffee increases the risk of harm to the fetus, to infants, to children and to adults, defendants' medical and epidemiology experts testified that they had no opinion on causation," Berle wrote in his proposed ruling. "Defendants failed to satisfy their burden of proving ... that consumption of coffee confers a benefit to human health."

The suit was brought against Starbucks and 90 other companies under a law passed by California voters in 1986 that has been credited with culling cancer-causing chemicals from myriad products and also criticized for leading to quick settlement shakedowns.

The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, better known as Proposition 65, requires warning labels for about 900 chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects. It allows private citizens, advocacy groups and attorneys to sue on behalf of the state and collect a portion of civil penalties for failure to provide warnings.

"This lawsuit has made a mockery of Prop. 65, has confused consumers, and does nothing to improve public health," said William Murray, president and CEO of the National Coffee Association, who added that coffee had been shown to be a healthy beverage.

Scientific evidence on coffee has gone back and forth for a long time, but concerns have eased recently about possible dangers of coffee, with some studies finding health benefits.

In 2016, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization moved coffee off its "possible carcinogen" list.

Studies indicate coffee is unlikely to cause breast, prostate or pancreatic cancer, and it seems to lower the risks for liver and uterine cancers, the agency said. Evidence is inadequate to determine its effect on dozens of other cancer types.

CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus, director of the Westside Cancer Center at USC, says he believes it is too early to put this kind of blanket warning on coffee.

"When you put a bold declaration that 'X may cause cancer' when there isn't data to that effect in humans, to me it causes panic rather than informed knowledge," he told "CBS This Morning."

Coffee companies have said it's not feasible to remove acrylamide from their product without ruining the flavor.

But attorney Raphael Metzger, who brought the lawsuit and drinks a few cups of coffee a day, said the industry could remove the chemical without impairing taste.

"I firmly believe if the potato chip industry can do it, so can the coffee industry," Metzger said. "A warning won't be that effective because it's an addictive product."

Many California coffee shops have already posted warnings that say acrylamide is cancer-causing chemical found in coffee. But signs that are supposed to be posted at the point of sale are often found in places not easily visible, such as below the counter where cream and sugar are available.

Customers at shops that post warnings are often unaware or unconcerned about them.

Afternoon coffee drinkers at a Los Angeles Starbucks said they might look into the warning or give coffee drinking a second thought after the ruling, but the cup of joe was likely to win out.

"I just don't think it would stop me," said Jen Bitterman, a digital marketing technologist. "I love the taste, I love the ritual, I love the high, the energy, and I think I'm addicted to it."

Darlington Ibekwe, a lawyer in Los Angeles, said a cancer warning would be annoying but wouldn't stop him from treating himself to three lattes a week.

"It's like cigarettes. Like, damn, now I've got to see this?" he said. "Dude, I'm enjoying my coffee."

The defendants have a couple weeks to challenge the ruling before it is final and could seek relief from an appellate court.

If the ruling stands, it could come with a stiff financial penalty and could rattle consumers beyond state lines.

The judge can set another phase of trial to consider potential civil penalties up to $2,500 per person exposed each day over eight years. That could be an astronomical sum in a state with close to 40 million residents, though such a massive fine is unlikely.

California's outsized market could make it difficult to tailor packaging with warning labels specifically to stores in the state.

That means out-of-state coffee drinkers could also take their coffee with a cancer warning. Cream and sugar would still be optional. - CBS News 

Zamfara killings: ‘Call your people to order’ – Emir of Anka tells Fulani leaders

The Emir of Anka in Zamfara, Alhaji Attahiru Ahmad has called on Fulani leaders to call their people to order following spate of crimes involving Fulani herdsmen.

The monarch made the call on Friday in Anka while briefing journalists in his palace over last Wednesday killings of Bawan Daji villagers in his emirate.

“It is disturbing to hear that most of the criminal attacks taking place in almost all parts of the country, involve the Fulani or they are always mentioned,” he said.

This, according to him, should worry the Fulani leaders, adding that it was expected that by now, they should call on their people and find out what they really wanted.

“This meeting should be called immediately because it is a matter of urgency that should be addressed before it is too late, ” the traditional ruler said.

He said, even though the recent attack in the area had nothing to do with Fulani/farmers’ feud, most of the attackers were alleged to be of the Fulani extraction.

South African President Ramaphosa travels economy class

President Cyril Ramaphosa has stunned South Africans as he was spotted travelling to Durban in economy class.

It was on a Safair flight from Pretoria on Friday morning. He was on his way to attend the Covenant Fellowship Church International in eSikhaleni, Kwazulu Natal north coast.

Ramaphosa’s co-passengers snapped photos with the president which were shared on Twitter, according to News24.

While some commended the South African leader  for cutting costs, some  others were cynical, dismissing the gesture as a PR stunt.

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko told News24 that the president will at all times use the mode of transport which is most practical, convenient and cost effective for his duties.

Ramaphosa who is 65 years old is South Africa’s  fifth  President. He succeeded Jacob Zuma  on 15 February 2018. Zuma resigned after the African National Congress recalled him.