Photo : Mourinho’s father buried in Portugal

Jose Mourinho’s father, Felix, has been laid to rest in Portugal.
He passed away at the age of 79 on Sunday, after a battle with illness.

A church service was held upon Mourinho’s arrival in Portugal on Tuesday and the Manchester United manager was seen carrying the coffin into the church.

The coffin was draped with the flags of the two clubs Felix played for – Vitoria Setubal and Belenenses. Hundreds of mourners lined the streets of Setubal for the service.

Ronaldo, Morata and Mbappe futures discussed by Del Bosque

Former Real Madrid and Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has offered his thoughts on the futures of Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata and Kylian Mbappe.

Ronaldo, who is with the Portugal squad at the Confederations Cup, is said to be unhappy and considering an exit from Madrid amid scrutiny over his tax affairs from Spanish authorities.

Del Bosque, who led Spain to back-to-back World Cup and European Championship glory but retired after Euro 2016, admits it would be a blow for the nation if it lost one of the two stars – Lionel Messi being the other – who have taken the game to new heights.

"[Ronaldo] would be a most important loss," said Del Bosque.
"We are in a moment in which, together with Messi, he has defined the last era of our football.
"We are in the era of Messi and Ronaldo and we are lucky in Spain to be able to count on the two best players in the world."

Morata started just 14 LaLiga games for Madrid last season and is reportedly a target for Manchester United, though Del Bosque believes such a transfer would be a "shame".
"What is good for him is mainly that he plays, but I think he is very well at Real Madrid," said the 66-year-old.

"It would be a shame if he leaves, but I have always said that it is a positive for Spanish football that our players have been able to go abroad and have been able to play."
Part of the reason Morata is believed to be heading for the exit is due to heavy links between Madrid and Monaco's teenage sensation Mbappe.

It has been suggested a world-record bid would be required to take the France international away from Stade Louis II, something Del Bosque considers a risk.
He added: "[He] has demonstrated his qualities [and] is a player with very good physical and technical prospects.

"But the process of maturing is not always the same for every player, many times you are running a risk, especially for the amounts of money that is being talked about."

Chief of Air Staff in recruitment scandal as North allegedly gets 80 percent slot

A civil rights organisation, Campaign Against Military Impunity, has raised the alarm over alleged recruitment scandal in the Nigerian Air Force.

The organisation alleged that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, had compromised standards in the recruitment exercise for non-commissioned officers from the core North.

“Presently at the Airforce Base in Kaduna, there is ongoing pre-training formalities and tests for successful recruits, where 80 per cent of them are Northerners”, CAMI said.
Executive Director of CAMI, Victor Coker, told journalists in Abuja yesterday, that the government should carry out an audit of the exercise and courses going on in all the military training institutions.

“To unravel this misnomer, there should be an audit of the courses going on in all the training institutions. The audit should look at the composition and last three batches of those in training”, he stressed.

“They were supposed to take 68 persons in each state; but after the normal recruitment, the Chief of Air Staff now brought over 2,000 names spread across the core Northern States.
“Out of this figure, only 30/40 was given to the South. This is not the first time it is happening. Such things have been done in DSS, EFCC, and even police, Army and the Navy.

“We keep on preaching One Nigeria, One Nigeria. But behind the empty slogan of One Nigeria lies bare-faced hypocrisy and grand design to sentence part of the country to perpetual slavery.”

According to him, Northerners have been so smart to shortchange the entire South even during previous population census exercises conducted by the National Population Commission (NPC),
“How can the desert be more populated than the tropical rain forest? This was how the population census was done before independence”, he queried.

NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, has denied the allegation.
He said, “I think it is most advisable that the list of the people recruited should be made public first. Then, those making the claims can painstakingly go through the list.

“If there is any state that is not fairly represented, then, let them raise the alarm, rather than be speculating. A list is not yet out, yet people are speculating that the North has been favoured.
“Don’t forget that each state should be fairly represented. If you have certified people and everybody in a state are not medically qualified, are you going to disregard everybody in that state?
“We operate with the highest standards and we do not compromise on standard, either medical, physical or academic.” - Daily Post

Billionaire kidnapper: Evans lists states he operated

Arrested billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, aka Evans, has given reasons he did not operate in South-West states apart from Lagos.
Evans also said he never committed any crime in his home state, Anambra but only collected ransom there.

He listed Lagos, Abia, Enugu, and Edo states as his main operational base.
Evans denied that he met any of his victims on social media, while insisting that his wife, Uchenna did not collect ransom for him in any occasion.
He told New Telegraph, “Police tracking located me in Anambra State, but it was not because I committed robbery or even kidnapped anyone there.

“If I kidnapped someone in Lagos, I sometime go to Anambra State to collect the ransom, just to avoid detention.”

When challenged that he once carried out simultaneous robbery operations in Oyo State in 2010, where three banks were raided, he denied, saying “No! I have never operated in any Yoruba state, let alone Oyo State.
“I have never operated there; Lagos is my state. I mostly operated from Lagos.

“Moreover, I also didn’t like operating in Yoruba states because I don’t know my way around there. I don’t know the terrains.
“It is not right to go where you don’t know, except you have someone that can lead you.
“There was never a time I said I got victims from Facebook or that my wife used to collect ransom on my behalf. I did not also say there are important personalities working with me in the East.”

Our unity negotiable, allow regions tired of Nigeria leave – Yoruba leaders tell FG

The Yoruba Assembly, an umbrella platform for sociopolitical groups in the South-west, has asked the federal government to conduct referendum to enable nationalities constituting Nigeria decide if they still want to remain together or separate.

The group led by Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd), comprises leading groups including Afenifere Renewal Group, O’dua Liberation Movement, Yoruba Council of Youth, Coalition of O’dua Self-determination Groups, O’dua Nationalist Coalition, O’dua Peoples Congress Reformed, O’dua National Congress and Agbekoya Reformed Society, among others.

In its five-page communiqué issued on Monday, Yoruba Assembly said it was compelled told hold an emergency meeting due to the rising tension in the country.

It said, “The current agitation lies the altruistic effort to establish a development-oriented and sustainable governance structure for Nigeria on the one hand and on the other hand, the objectionable attempt at sustaining Nigeria’s unitary constitution by the ruling clique that desire to permanently control the leverage of power in Nigeria for egoistic reasons.”

“The modern concept of sustainable development “is a process that must begin with the active consultation and participation of the people – therefore the need for a referendum is imminent.”

The leaders rejected a statement by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, that the unity of Nigeria was not negotiable and argued that the Nigerian unitary governance system “is outmoded”.

“In this age, every federating unit must be able to pilot its own development affair in accordance with its pace and socio-cultural peculiarities and uniqueness. This is unity that is negotiable.
“The on-going methodology of stemming the crisis by the presidency, whilst commendable for at least opening a fresh chapter in crisis management in Nigeria, has not provided any window of redress, as it seems only interested in affirming the worn cliché that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.

“That statement cannot hold true under a civil setting or democracy. Nigeria’s unity is negotiable. We can negotiate it to remain together or otherwise. If however we choose to remain together, the terms of engagement must be clear and acceptable to all Nigerians.

“The Yoruba nation is and has always been in thought-leading position on nationhood and we will continue with this leadership behaviour, especially at times like this. Hence we will not condone, nor engage with any recklessness that is against our core values and essence as a people.

“We reiterate the need for restructuring of Nigeria’s governance structure as our minimum demand. In our view, restructuring is desirable and currently inevitable. This must be restructuring on the terms that are attractive to all ethnic nationalities and if necessary, fought for.

“At least, we can say so for Yoruba people, but if our reaction had been sublime that would not be to underestimate its consequence couched in some of the desperation and quest exhibited by the Igbos and the high charged ultimatum given by the Hausa/Fulani”.
Yoruba Assembly decried the inability of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) “to stay true to its manifesto tenets on restructuring which is not helpful as it raises questions about their trustworthiness and of this government in itself, regarding adherence to principles and fundamental values and ethos.”

It also rejected a directive by the National Assembly for the executive to present to it the 2014 Constitutional Conference report and declared that a true federal constitution “has to be put together for Nigeria, which is beyond the purview of the National Assembly. Piecemeal amendments of the 1999 Constitution are no longer acceptable.”

The assembly further called on the governors of all South-west states and Houses of Assembly to take proactive steps by initiating dialogues and consultations among their people.
“We are watching them and when the time of reckoning comes, we shall know those who for selfish reasons and love of office refuse to stand by their people”.

“As it is our culture, the Yoruba Assembly will begin a consultative process with all Yoruba people including conducting an internal referendum and their decision will determine the next steps.

“We will take this proactive step to avoid the senseless war mongering. It is our position and advice that all other ethnic nationalities conduct similar consultative and engaging process among their peoples.” - Daily Post

Spain deports 23 Nigerians for various offences

The Spanish Government on Tuesday deported 23 Nigerians for committing various offences in the country, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

They were deported barely five days after 34 Nigerians were sent home from six European countries for committing immigration-related offences.

NAN reports that 34 Nigerians were jointly deported by six European countries on June 22 for committing immigration-related offences.

The deportees were sent back home from Switzerland, Germany, Iceland, Austria, Belgium and Hungary.

NAN gathered that the new set of deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMlA) Lagos, at about 6.40 a.m on Tuesday.

The new deportees, comprising 21 males and two females, were brought back in a privilege style aircraft with registration number EC-IZO.

DSP Joseph Alabi, the spokesman of the Lagos Airport Police Command, confirmed the development to NAN.

Alabi said that the deportees were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

He said that others also on ground to receive them were officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

According to him, nine of the deportees, who were deported for drug-related offences, were handed over to the NDLEA.

He said that two others, who were deported for criminal offences, were handed over to the police.

Alabi said that the remaining 12 deportees, accused of breaching the country’s immigration rules, were profiled and allowed to go to their respective destinations. 

North Korea's Kim Jong Un Spends Most Of His Time Eating Cheese And Plotting Against The West

When Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea, isn’t busy setting off missiles and laughing gleefully at cameras, his day-to-day life is more mundane than might otherwise be expected. 

North Korea is on everybody’s lips in 2017 after no less than 10 missile launches this year, some of which have skirted dangerously close to other countries — including one in March that landed just 186 miles off the coast of Japan.

Across Asia and the wider world, the concern is that Pyongyang will attach a nuclear warhead onto a long-distance missile — something North Korea claims to be able to do (even if it has not been independently verified). North Korea's inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) may even be able to reach Alaska, which has prompted the United States to step up pressure on its only ally, China, to either increase sanctions against Pyongyang or be sanctioned themselves.

The case of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old who was sent back from North Korea after a year in prison in a coma and subsequently died, has also radically increased tension between U.S. President Donald Trump and Pyongyang. Trump called Kim Jong Un “irrational” and in return, North Korea’s state media said Trump was a “psychopath”.
But to when he's not sparring with Donald Trump or supervising missile launches, how does Kim Jong Un spend his week?

At home with the family
Kim Jong Un usually appears in photographs surrounded by adoring children, the military, or his advisers, but rarely with his wife. Ri Sol-ju, 27, married Kim in 2009. Very little is known about her, and experts even debate the date of her birth. It’s not known if Ri Sol-ju is even her real name.

She is believed to have a PhD in science, while her family is from the political elite. There has been much speculation about Ri in foreign media. Some media speculated that she was actually singer Hyon Song-wol, famous for songs including “Excellent Horse-Like Lady”, and that the North Korean propaganda machine is simply trying to hide her past.

Aiden Foster Carter, an expert on North Korea and honorary senior research fellow in Sociology and Modern Korea at Leeds University explains that the secrecy around Kim Jong Un is because life in North Korea is on a “need to know basis.” “We’ve actually seen his [Kim Jong Un’s] wife more than Kim Jong Il (his father) because he had a very complicated love life,” explains Carter.

It’s believed Kim Jong Un has a daughter, born in 2012, called Kim Ju-rae, but little is known about the child. In 2013, NBA star Dennis Rodman returned from North Korea and  confirmed that Kim Jong Un has a baby girl, but if she exists she has not yet been formally introduced to the nation. North Korean tradition is for the children of leaders not to be introduced formally until they are adults, which was the case for both Kim Sung Il, and Kim Jong Un, explains Foster-Carter.

Where does he live?
Ryongsang Residence, known by locals as “Central Luxury Mansion” is in Pyongyang, and is huge, 4.6 sq miles in total. Facilities at the palace include an Olympic-sized swimming pool, banqueting facilities, a running track and athletics field, a shooting range, and stables. Satellite images show the house also has a giant waterslide. 

Kim has plenty of alternatives to the Ryongsang Palace, should he wish to leave the capital.
In 2013, Kim Jong Un chartered a $7 million 95-foot luxury yacht around the North Korean coastline during a tour, and Kim also calls a palatial complex on the coast near Wonsan his home. Rodman described Kim’s life in Wonsan as a “seven star party” like going to “visit Hawaii except [Kim] is the only one there.”

Foster Carter tells Newsweek that we just don’t know how many palaces he has or how long he spends in each. “You certainly couldn’t describe him as a workaholic like his father, so I imagine he spends more of his time relaxing rather than being in the centre of politics.”

What does he do during his week?
The state newspaper Rodong Sinmun has a special section detailing “Supreme Leader Activities,” which is meant to give the impression that Kim Jong Un is devoted to his people. His public life revolves around parades, factory visits, and discussing missile launches, according to the paper.

“Lavish photographs accompany the activities Kim is purported to be undertaking. Any we know a lot from defectors what these factory openings and other occasions are like. Bluntly, they’re scared when they find out the leader is coming to visit,” says Foster Carter.

“On a practical level production usually has to be stop for a few weeks to ensure that Kim’s visit is incredibly smooth. They also used to have this thing in North Korea called the Midas Touch. Anything Kim Il Sung touched had to be taken out of operation and put in a glass case.”

Factories of note he has visited over the last few months include a Dental Hygiene factory, a Giant Catfish factory, and a mushroom processing plant. Kim has also given advice at a Kimchi factory on how to increase its yield.

At the Dental Hygiene factory, Kim also imparted some important advice. Rodong Sinmun reported: “[He said] the factory makes a positive contribution to the promotion of the people's health, which is viewed seriously by him. He then gave an instruction to be regarded as a guideline in management of the factory.”

Kim also attends parades, many of which celebrate his family and the overthrow of imperialist aggressors (the United States).

What does he spend money on?
A UN report in 2014 found that Kim likes luxury living. He buys bottles of alcohol which cost the state $30 million, electronic goods costing $37 million and watches, which cost another $8.2 million.

In public, he dresses demurely in black or white overalls, smocks, or military attire, but in private, it’s high-end fashion all the way. The report estimates that the total state spending on luxury goods rose from $300 million a year under Kim Jong Il, to $645.8 million in 2012.

He eats his favourite food
In 2012, Kim Jong Un reportedly became so fat that he developed a cyst on his ankle, and required surgery to remove it.

And Kim’s love of cheese and wine is no secret. The U.K.’s Metro newspaper reported that Kim Jong Un had to retreat from public life after eating too much Emmental cheese, after a large shipment of it arrived from Switzerland.
“Kim Jong Un certainly seems to enjoy the good life,” says Foster Carter. - Newsweek