''Sexual assault survivors should be supported, while abusers held accountable - Joe Biden says, days after sexual assault allegations against him emanated
 ''Sexual assault survivors should be supported, while abusers held accountable - Joe Biden says, days after sexual assault allegations against him emanated
The presumptive Democratic nominee for the US Presidential elections, Joe Biden, has said he is in support of sexual assaulters in the military being brought to book while survivors be supported, days after new evidence erupted alleging he sexually assaulted former Senate staffer Tara Reade in 1993 while she worked for him. 
Joe Biden was part of a virtual fundraiser on Wednesday evening, and he notably was not asked about the sexual assault allegation made by Reade. 
But a woman named Nancy Parrish, who is an advocate of combating sexual assault in the military, asked the former Vice President what he would do about sexual assault in the military. She asked Biden, if he will support “moving the military justice system into the 21st century by empowering experienced military prosecutors to make prosecution decisions for non-military crimes -- serious felonies like rape, murder, and child abuse.” To which Biden responded;"The answer is yes, yes, yes," "When I was vice president, that was my position as well.'As a matter of fact, I had a real run-in with one of the members of the Joint Chiefs in the Cabinet Room on that issue. Look, we have to change the culture of abuse in this country, especially in armed services." Biden promised that "survivors" of sexual assault in the military will be "supported" and "abusers" will be "held accountable for their crimes." "Number one: I will order the Defense Department to take urgent and aggressive action to make sure survivors are in fact supported and abusers are held accountable for their crimes.''Independently, I’d immediately appoint a commission of current and former military leaders, sexual-assault survivors and their advocates and sexual-assault experts, and give them 90 days to make concrete recommendations to me, including on prosecution decisions.”The post ''Sexual assault survivors should be supported, while abusers held accountable - Joe Biden says, days after sexual assault allegations against him emanated appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.from Linda Ikeji's Blog https://ift.tt/2WaLwR4
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posted by Mailbucca @ April 30, 2020
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Two COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded in Kano state. The state Ministry of Health disclosed this via its Twitter handle on Thursday morning, April 30. The Ministry also confirmed 24 new cases of COVID-19 in the state. The state now has 139 cases with a total of 5 confirmed deaths. 
President Buhari on Monday April 27, announced a two week lockdown in Kano state following the increase in mysterious deaths recorded in the state. The post 
Humanitarian minister, Sadiya Farouq and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Admininstration Control (NAFDAC) have both issued differing statements on how some states in the country received expired rice as Coronavirus palliatives. Recall that the expired bags of rice some states received from the federal government has led to a heated contention both offline and online in the last few days. Ms Farouq who commented on dispute the expired bags of rice ignited before now, had said that the food items were "handed over by the Nigerian Customs Service after being assessed by NAFDAC“. She said; “As you may recall, we mentioned here that we distributed the rice relief to the states. The rice was handed over to us by the Nigerian Customs Service and it was assessed by NAFDAC, who issued a clearance before the goods were released for onward distribution to the states.“So, as far as we are concerned, the rice was certified fit for human consumption." Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye however countered the claim in an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday April 28. Adeyeye stated that NAFDAC was not invited “to test the rice” distributed to Oyo State as claimed by the minister, but was only invited to take samples of rice from Idi-Iroko, Ikeja, and Ogun state. She added that the agency “was not asked to test and certify the ones in Ibadan from where other South-west states got their allocations.” NAFDAC DG said; “We got an invitation to sample rice from Idi-Iroko from Ogun and Ikeja Customs. Our staff went to Idi-Iroko and Ogun to sample the rice and they also went to Ikeja to sample rice, some of the samples are still in our lab in Oshodi. We tested the samples and they passed.“The one for Oyo State, I cannot say anything because NAFDAC was not called by the Ibadan Command or the South-west command of customs to come and check samples in Ibadan.”So, I cannot say anything about the Ibadan Command rice that went to Oyo and possibly to Osun State." Mrs Farouq who challenged Adeyeye's comment while speaking at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday April 29, insisted that officials of the minstry she heads got a certificate “issued by NAFDAC”. She further disclosed that the Customs and NAFDAC will be sorting out their communication gap later. Farouq said; “We still stand by what we said because this was what was conveyed to us by Customs and we have a certificate to that effect.“The certificate indicated that the rice given to us is fit for human consumption and that was before I even flagged-off the distribution in Lagos state. We will make that certificate available later today. “Let me also remind us that NAFDAC, Customs, and the ministry respect each other’s mandate while carrying out our respective responsibilities.“So Nigerian Customs Service and NAFDAC, I am sure will sort the communication gap and we will report back to this platform once that is done."The post 
An experimental drug, Remdesvir, has proved effective against the new Coronavirus in a major study done by the National Institutes of Health, the US Government have announced . White House health advisor and top US infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci has revealed that data collected from the Coronavirus drug trial testing with the antiviral drug Remdesivir showed 'quite good news' and has set a new standard of care for COVID-19 patients. 
According to the study led by the US National Institute of Health, the drug shortens the time it takes for patients to recover by four days on average, and it is the first drug treatment to pass such a strict test against the virus.Remdesivir, produced by Gilead Sciences was tested in 1,063 hospitalized Coronavirus patients around the world and according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the drug reduced the time it takes patients to recover by 31%, 11 days on average versus 15 days for those just given usual care. Fauci also said the drug led to fewer deaths among Covid-19 patients.“What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus,” Fauci said Wednesday night. “This will be the standard of care." Covid-19 has killed close to 300,000 people since it emerged late last year in China and a treatment that works against it could greatly slow down the death rate. A statement from the US Food and Drug Administration says that the agency has been talking with California-based Gilead “regarding making remdesivir available to patients as quickly as possible, as appropriate.”“We are excited and optimistic,” said one expert, Vanderbilt University’s Dr. Mark Denison whose laboratory first tested remdesivir against other coronaviruses in 2013 .“It’s active against every coronavirus that we’ve ever tested,” he said. “It was very hard for the virus to develop resistance to remdesivir. That means the drug would likely be effective over longer term use.” The company producing the drugs have revealed that it would publish it's results and findings in a medical journal soon.The post 
Veteran Bollywood actor, Rishi Kapoor has died. The award winning actor died in an Indian hospital in the early hours of today, April 30, after a two-year battle with leukemia. He was 67. Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and returned to India last September following treatment in New York. He was recently admitted to a hospital in Mumbai for further treatment."The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last. He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him."He was grateful for the love of his fans that poured in from the world over. In his passing, they would all understand that he would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears," a statement from his family read The statement also urged his fans and well-wishers to respect India's current lockdown restrictions, noting: "He would not have it any other way." Kapoor made his debut as a child actor in 1970 in his father Raj Kapoor's film "Mera Naam Joker" ("My Name is Joker"). His first lead role was in the 1973 romantic film "Bobby" and it won him the Filmfare Award, India's equivalent of the Oscars, for Best Actor. Over the course of his career, Kapoor acted in more than 100 films, playing both the romantic lead and character roles. He is survived by his wife, actress Neetu Singh and two children, including actor Ranbir Kapoor.The post 
According to Amnesty International, 19 Nigerians have so far been killed by security operatives during the lockdown to contain the spread of Coronavirus. The lockdown in Nigeria began in March in some states and in April in others and a task force was set up to ensure compliance. Unfortunately, in the course of carrying out their duties, some Nigerians were killed. Joseph Pessu was shot dead by a soldier in Warri on Thursday, April 2. His death sparked outrage and counter attacks as youths beat up soldiers and soldiers, in turn, threatened to deal with members of the community and rape their women. Also, a policewoman was shot dead by her male colleague who is a member of the Rivers state taskforce on the COVID-19 lockdown. The incident happened on April 23. Amnesty International puts the total number of those killed in Nigeria at 19. A tweet shared by Amnesty International Nigeria reads: "We have been monitoring human rights violation on lockdown in the fight against #COVID19: —So far 19 Nigerians have been killed by security personnel: #COVID19NIGERIA." 
They added: "On lockdown, in the fight against #COVID19 Nigerians have been experiencing human rights violations. This is unacceptable and must end:" 
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Popular Nigerian dancer and video vixen, Kodak died in the late hours of Wednesday, April 29. According to reports, Kodak was electrocuted while charging her phone at a video director’s home in Omole Estate, Lagos. She was confirmed dead at a nearby hospital she was rushed to. 
Olamide who penned down a tribute to her wrote; Rest up Kodak 
Popular dancer, Poco Lee also wrote; We lost A Legend in the Dance Industry & Nigeria at large....Forever in our Hearts #restinpeacepicturekodak 
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The Osun State government has confirmed the interception of some Northern travellers who came into the state while hiding in trucks carrying essential goods amid a ban on inter-state travels. Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Adeyanju Binuyo confirmed this in a press conference with journalists on Wednesday April 29. He said the travellers have been tracked down and will be immediately sent back to their home states. Binuyo said; “Government is aware of a huge influx of non- Osun residents into the state, especially from Zamfara. They were coming majorly through the Ondo axis, accompanying trucks that are carrying food materials purportedly to be sold around the South West generally.“The intelligence that we’ve gathered in the last few days is such that they usually have two or a maximum of three people attached to a truck to assist in discharging the goods. But now we have sometimes ten of them hidden among the goods.“Sometimes the trucks would stop and drop some of them off along Ife express road where they are received by their fellow northerners already resident in the state. The government has been receiving a lot of such reports most especially now that Amotekun has been properly set up. This portends a great danger especially at a time like this when Osun is doing everything to avoid community transmission of COVID-19. This is not the time to be reckless and allow safety or security breaches at our borders."Only food, medical, beverages, petroleum, agriculture and construction supply trucks are exempted but they cannot have more than three persons per truck.” The Deputy Chief of Staff also disclosed that security agents in the state including Amotekun have been mandated to identify and supervise all the entry points. The post 
Muhammed Goni who is the first democratically elected governor of Borno State is reportedly dead. The late politician was in his 80s and he died at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday April 29. A relative of the former governor, Lawan Kareto who is a serving member of the Borno State executive council confirmed his death. He told Premium Times; “We have lost our beloved elder this evening. “We thank God for the good life he has had. Living to become 80 plus is not a small blessing from Allah. May his soul rest in peace.” Mr Goni was elected governor of Borno in 1979, but lost his second term bid in 1983. He also contested for the governorship seat in Borno State under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2011, but lost to former governor Kashim Shettima, now a senator.The post 
Cross River State health commisioner, Betta Edu has lashed out at the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) over a recent comment about some Nigerian states who are yet to record Coronavirus cases. LIB reported earlier that the Director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu had stated that Coronavirus will get to every state in Nigeria as he pointed out that some states are yet to send in enough samples for tests. He averred that some states which are yet to record cases of COVID-19 are either negligent in testing and tracing, or actively hiding the disease within their territories. However Betta Edu who slammed the agency over the comment while addressing newsmen on Wednesday April 29, stated that she wants the pressure on Cross River State to stop. She also alleged that some residents of the state have been receiving text messages in which they are promised millions if they can claim they are Coronavirus positive. The health commissioner also stated that they are expected to conduct Coronavirus test in a community with 500,000 people with just 50 test kits. Watch the video; View this post on Instagram Insists not all states must have #Coronavirus cases. She also alleged that some residents of the state have been receiving text messages in which they are promised millions, if they can claim they are Coronavirus positiveA post shared by Lindaikejiblog (@lindaikejiblogofficial) on Apr 29, 2020 at 11:30pm PDTThe post 
Remdesivir shows success in COVID-19 trial drug – Studyhttps://bit.ly/35paOzaLockdown: Nigerians groan over inability to access cash stocked in bankshttps://bit.ly/2VNNGqDCOVID-19: Public servants in Kaduna decry 25% salary cuthttps://bit.ly/2SjxZ8LCourt refuses to further vary Maina’s bail conditionshttps://bit.ly/2yc8ak0 The post 
Self-acclaimed plastic surgeon, Dr Anu has defended herself after being called out over alleged botched surgeries she conducted and death of former beauty queen, Onwuzuligbo Miriam Nneka. Dr Anu who lashed out at those calling her out, stated that she doesn't think the dead should be disrespected in any way, as pictures of the late Nneka has been making the rounds on social media. She also pointed out that those dragging her should have channelled their grieviances through appropriate channels instead of social media. The Nigerian doctor also stated that Nneka never died at her plastic surgery clinic. Though she admitted that the late beauty queen underwent plastic surgery, she however added that she (Nneka) "walked" into Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for pneumonia treatment. Dr Anu stated that while Nneka was at LUTH for over a month, she was made to lie on her bum and also forced to discontinue her antibiotics medication which must have led to complications. She insisted that there is evidence to show that the deceased who she claimed was mismanaged at LUTH, never had fats in her lungs after her surgery. Watch her video below; View this post on Instagram . . This is coming after the self-acclaimed Plastic Surgeon was called out over alleged botched surgeries she conducted which led to death of former beauty queen, Onwuzuligbo Miriam NnekaA post shared by Lindaikejiblog (@lindaikejiblogofficial) on Apr 29, 2020 at 11:11pm PDTThe post 
The British Government will advise its citizens to wear face masks at work, in shops, or on public transport with Coronavirus lockdown set to last into 2021. According to The Sun, Government’s top scientists met on Tuesday to decide on the face-covering move to help stop the coronavirus spread, amid fears that social distancing will roll into 2021, as chances of a vaccine within a year are slim.This comes after a Britain’s top doctor issued a warning that the nation may have to live with tough social distancing measures for “the next calendar year”.Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty also stressed that the chances of a vaccine in the next year were “incredibly small”. He said: “In the long run, the exit from this is going to be one of two things, ideally. “A vaccine, and there are a variety of ways they can be deployed . . . or highly effective drugs so that people stop dying of this disease even if they catch it.”But he added: “The probability of having those any time in the next calendar year are incredibly small and I think we should be realistic about that. “We’re going to have to rely on other social measures, which of course are very socially disruptive as everyone is finding at the moment. “But it’s going to take a long time.”Earlier this week, The Sun exclusively reported that Brits should not expect to see a return to normal life in 2020, because ministers are expected to issue the masking advice as soon as the weekend.The publication claimed that the new guidance will be for any face-covering to be used, even just a scarf, and will apply to all who go into confined spaces with others where it is difficult to observe the two-metre distancing rule.Compulsory orders to wear masks are not expected, but it was reported that it may happen when the lockdown restrictions loosen.The post 
A Spanish news anchor has been accused of cheating on his girlfriend after viewers spotted a semi-naked woman while he was filming a live segment. Alfonso Merlos, 41, was hosting on the Estado de Alarma channel live on YouTube from his home, amid the coronavirus lockdown when the scantily clad lady walked into the background of the shot. 
Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to note that the woman was not his partner Marta López, a former star of the Spanish “Big Brother” reality show, and then discovered that she was Alexia Rivas, a 27-year-old journalist. 
After accusations that he was cheating on his Big Brother star girlfriend Marta López, Merlos has addressed the situation and insisted that he and López have broken up. 'If you think that my attitude has not been correct or that there are things that I have not done well,' he said. 'I have no problem asking for forgiveness, although my goal was not to harm someone else.' Journalist Alexia also added that she has been seeing the anchor for a few weeks, and that he said he was single when they started seeing each other. 'I didn't get into a relationship, he told me he was single. We have been [seeing each other] three weeks,' she told Socialité. In another twist to the drama, Spanish Big Brother star Marta López said that she was still with Merlos at the time, and described the situation on live TV 'shameful'. 'I had been mad at Alfonso for four days. He didn't want me to do something that affected my family. I did it, and he got mad. We argue,' she told the outlet. 
According to Spanish news outlet Lecturas, Merlos and López had fallen out over an ex-boyfriend of hers, causing them to spend four days apart, during which the broadcast occurred. The publication claimed that a call from López's ex, whom she shares a son with, reportedly sparked the argument that led to the pair separating for four days. Watch the video below. The post 
Davido's fiancee and mother of his son, Chioma Rowland is celebrating her 25th birthday today, April 30. The singer, 27, took to Instagram to wish her a happy birthday with beautiful words. 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE STRONGEST WOMAN I KNOW !!! @thechefchi !!!! !!! Ohhhh Man if we wasn’t on lockdown u already know we for turn the city upside down!! !!!! My dear wife, may your birthday be as happy as you have made me. AND THATS ON GANG ! #1 CRO,' Davido wrote. View this post on Instagram HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE STRONGEST WOMAN I KNOW !!! @thechefchi !!!! !!! Ohhhh Man if we wasn’t on lockdown u already know we for turn the city upside down!! !!!! My dear wife, may your birthday be as happy as you have made me. AND THATS ON GANG ! #1 CRO A post shared by Davido Adeleke (@davidoofficial) on Apr 29, 2020 at 4:34pm PDTThe post 
A fisherman identified as Mr. Duobo, caught a huge Hippopotamus in Aku-gbene fishing camp, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, on Wednesday. According to the fisherman, the sea animal has been disturbing farms in the camp for a while now. He described April 29, 2020, as his luckiest day since he started fishing in the camp, as it was the day the Hippopotamus was finally caught by him. Duobo said all fishermen in the camp have set different kinds of traps for the sea animal but each attempt always failed. He said he had set a trap for the Hippopotamus with ropes and bamboo sticks three days ago, and had been monitoring it. He was happy when he realised it had caught the animal. He thanked his Hausa friend Mohammed, a fisherman residing at Polaku community, Yenagoa, for helping him achieve the feat. The post 
196 new cases of Coronavirus have been recorded in Nigeria. According to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control NCDC, 87 of the new cases were recorded in Lagos, 24 in Kano, 18 in Gombe, 17 in Kaduna, 16-in FCT, 10 in Katsina, 8 in Sokoto, 7 in Edo 6 in Borno, 1 in Yobe, 1 in Ebonyi and 1 in Adamawa State. 
As at 11:55 pm, on Wednesday April 29, 1728 COVID-19 cases have reported in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory. 
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Nnamdi Kanu, leader of proscribed secessionist group, Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, addressed his followers on Facebook live on Wednesday, April 29. Kanu who fled Nigeria in Septemver 2018 after the military invaded his home in Abia, is still insisting that President Buhari is not the one currently presiding over the affairs of the nation in Aso Rock. According to him, the man currently presiding over Nigeria is named "Jubril ," a clone of President Buhari. He said Jubril is now bleaching his skin so he can be as light skinned as Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy.Kanu also alleged that first lady Aisha Buhari is now the one in charge of Aso Rock. He also responded to late Abba Kyari's daughter, Aisha, who asked people who have accused her father of causing the troubles in Nigeria, to allow those that love him to mourn and grieve him. Watch a short clip from his live session below. The post 
US President, Donald Trump, has continued his criticism of the United Nation's chief health body, the World Health Organization (WHO), calling the organization a 'Pipe organ' for China during the Coronavirus outbreak.Earlier in April, Trump froze payments of close to $500m to the WHO, accusing the health body of working with China to cover up the spread of the virus. Trump has also asked US intelligence agencies to find out if China and the WHO covered up knowledge about the early spread of COVID-19, a disease that has affected 3,207,285 worldwide while 227,369 deaths have been recorded . 
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, Trump and other world leaders have blasted China for its lack of transparency and for hiding the true number of coronavirus cases in China.Trump on Wednesday blasted the WHO and China saying China “misled us,” then he now said the WHO should have been looking out for the interest of the US and other nations of the world rather than China as the US payment to the WHO is about $500 million compared to China’s contribution of around $38 million.“They must have known more than they knew,” he told reporters about the UN agency during a meeting with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards in the Oval Office.“We knew things that they didn’t know, and either they didn’t know they didn’t tell us … right now, they’re literally a pipe organ for China, that’s the way I view it,” the president said.''Despite the difference in payments they seem to work for China, and they should have been in there early on. They should have known what was going on. And they should have been able to stop it,” Trump said. The post 
London based football club, Tottenham, have been named as the most Valuable premier league team beating the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.According to an in-depth study by the University of Liverpool Management School, Tottenham beat their rivals to the gong due to their business model and low salary payments compared to the likes of United, City and Liverpool. The north London club who haven't yet won a trophy have now been named the most valuable football team in England due to their monetary value.According to University of Liverpool Management School football finance expert Kieran Maguire, Tottenham now have an overall club value of £2.567billion due to their 'highly regimented and generally low wage system, along with a highly commercial stadium with continuous earning potential. '' 
Man City, 2018's table toppers with a value of £2.364bn, drop into second after seeing a decrease in value to the figure of £2.2bn while Manchester United previously second, have now dropped to fourth.Not surprisingly, Liverpool have risen to fourth with a total of £1.627bn in the most recent study , Maguire explains: 'Spurs are top of the valuation table because in 2018-19 they delivered a Champions League final and a top four Premier League finish on a wage budget that was £100-150m lower than the rest of the "Big Six".'As such they made more profits, and this was reflected in the final valuation number.'These factors led to a 21 per cent increase in income, to £461m for Spurs in 2018-19, against an unbelievably light 39 per cent player wage cost – the lowest ratio in the Premier League.'By comparison, top four rivals Leicester City see 84 per cent of their income eaten up by player wages. Tottenham also only spent a net £22m on players – only Watford spent less (£21m) – where Chelsea spent net £290m, Liverpool £223m, Man Utd £135m and Man City £87m.'The post 
US President, Donald Trump, has confirmed his government will be gifting Nigeria 200 ventilators as the nation battles the Coronavirus pandemic. Recall President Buhari had a telephone chat with the US President who promised to give Nigeria ventilators. President Trump had a press conference where he confirmed his government will be giving Nigeria 200 or more ventilators. According to him, we will do anything for ventilators.''I spoke today to Nigeria. They will do anything for ventillators. We are going to send at least two hundren ventillators to Nigeria, probably more than that'' he said Watch the video below View this post on Instagram Donald Trump confirms his administration will be sending 200 Ventilators to Nigeria. . . Recall he had a telephone conversation with President Buhari yesterday and he promised to send some ventilators here.A post shared by Lindaikejiblog (@lindaikejiblogofficial) on Apr 29, 2020 at 12:47pm PDTThe post 
American reality star, Angela Simmons has taken to Instagram to promote body positivity while explaining how she’s learned to love herself unconditionally. Sharing these new sexy photos of herself, the mother of one wrote: 'She’s not perfect, her weight fluctuates, she has her days when she’s not sure ... she doesn’t have a 6 pack .... 
Throughout this all she’s learned to love herself unconditionally... because if she didn’t who would ? She is me . And I am her ... My strength is rooted deeper than the surface. I want to encourage you to love your body. Wherever you stand with it . It’s not easy . But it’s worth it. You are worth it. You don’t have to be what anyone( society) tells you to be. You can be YOU freely. There’s nothing more beautiful than a confident woman ! Built not Bought.' 
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Ivory Coast Presidential candidate, Guillaume Soro has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption. The 47-year-old politician was convicted in absentia on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. He was found guilty of “embezzlement of public funds” and “money laundering” when he bought his Abidjan residence in 2007, while he was prime minister of a government of national unity. The Abidjan court fined him nearly seven million euros ($7.6 million), ordered the confiscation of his Abidjan home, and barred him from civic duties for five years. The court issued a fresh arrest warrant against him, in effect barring him from contesting elections, and ordered him to pay three million euros in damages and interest to the state. The former prime minister, who has been living in France on exile since December 2019, denied the corruption charges, claiming they are politically motivated. Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Soro in December for allegedly plotting a coup against his former ally Ouattara's government and stealing public funds. According to reports, Soro diverted his plane in the air instead of returning home in December to Ivory Coast when it became clear that Ivorian authorities had issued an arrest warrant for him. Soro has denied the charges, which he says are intended to prevent him from challenging Ouattara's preferred successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, in the election. If he doesn't get a successful appeal, the former rebel leader will be banned from standing for the October presidential election. “I am still running for the presidency and I will win,” Soro said after the verdict, describing the trial as a “parody”. Government lawyer Ben Meite Abdoulaye dismissed suggestions the verdict was political, calling it a "thunderbolt in the sky of Ivorian corruption". "This decision is the start of a new era in Ivory Coast. We must hunt down corruption wherever it is found," he said. The post 
New Super Eagles Assistant coach, Joseph Yobo, has denied reports that he condemned Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi as an 'inconsistent' performer for the Super Eagles who needed to be replaced in the team going forward.Yobo, a former Everton and Fenerbahce player, was appointed as an assistant to Super Eagles Head coach, Gernot Rohr a few months ago, replacing Imama Amakapabo after the expiration of his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation. 
Reports on Monday morning suggested the Super Eagles legendary defender said in an Instagram live video interview with a journalist that the Super Eagles needed a new creative midifelder in the mould of Wilson Oruma and Jay Jay Okocha as Iwobi was too inconsistent.But Yobo has now clarified the comments, saying he never called Iwobi 'inconsistent' but rather said he was 'unpredictable' after he was asked why the Super Eagles had not gotten a midfielder like Okocha and Oruma since they retired from the Super Eagles.“This is what clearly happened during the live interview session on Instagram, the anchorman said since Austin Jayjay Okocha retired Nigeria hasn’t gotten a proper number 10. '' Yobo told Brila FM''So, I addressed his questions by saying even when Okocha was playing we had Wilson Oruma because he (Oruma) was my teammate and John Mikel Obi has done well for the National team as number 10 and he did a great job before he retired,” said Yobo.“I said, I think Alex Iwobi can be a replacement for the number 10 role. I watched him at 2019 AFCON and the anchorman said, Iwobi is a good player but he’s inconsistent and I said, he is unpredictable and I like him.“I don’t know where he (the writer) got it all crossed out, he changed my words, I didn’t use the word inconsistent for Iwobi, the anchor mentioned that. I said he’s unpredictable and I like him, and his game his hard for midfielders and defenders to understand what he’s going to do,” he said. The post 
FIFA's Chief Medic, Michael D'Hooghe, has warned against the dangers of the English and German leagues plan to restart football quickly amid the Coronavirus pandemic as Coronavirus lockdown restrictions are slowly being eased across Europe. Michael D'Hooghe said football chiefs should see the Coronavirus crisis as a 'life and death' situation and postpone football till August as players spitting on the pitch could unleash deadly second wave of the virus. 
His warning comes after France joined Holland and Belgium to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 football season with no football until August but Germany's Bundesliga has revealed plans subject to approval from the federal government and state health authorities, to get going the season going on May 9. The Bundesliga is not alone in it's efforts to restart football as the Premier League is working towards trying to conclude the 2019-20 season in June and July.D'Hooghe expressed concern that players on a football field would not be able to adhere to these rules fearing changing jerseys, showering together and spitting on the ground could spread the virus.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, D'Hooghe said: 'We are all subject to decisions at national level from the public authorities. It is very simple. Football suddenly becomes not the most important thing in life.'I will be happy if we can start, in a convenient way, the next championship and have nothing before the start of next season.'If they could start the season 2020-21 end of August or beginning of September I would be happy. Then they could eventually avoid a second attack from the virus, which is not impossible.'Everyone has to be very careful for the moment. I have heard in many countries they are thinking about playing football again, with or without the public.'In my long career I have seen many situations where there has been a balance between economic and health. Mostly the economics won, whether that was about jetlag or football at altitude or in extreme conditions such as pollution situations.'If there is one circumstance where medical arguments should win against economical arguments, it is now. It is not a matter of money, it is a matter of life and death. It is very simple.' The post 