Football: Zimbabwe look to surprise in AFCON

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUUvJn2Xr2_p7twvInarYVb1FsKJvwGl-ASSgUTLD3FeWOMPr4gF09kj0X6gxvz84nG4s-99h7JhtxJjNuTNJzrI7wIVoZS7e388Y6sGy6abQW07lFQ21N7stBzVQSvx8LDj3gDRSngpi/s1600/zimbabwe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUUvJn2Xr2_p7twvInarYVb1FsKJvwGl-ASSgUTLD3FeWOMPr4gF09kj0X6gxvz84nG4s-99h7JhtxJjNuTNJzrI7wIVoZS7e388Y6sGy6abQW07lFQ21N7stBzVQSvx8LDj3gDRSngpi/s1600/zimbabwe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Zimbabwe, dubbed “The Warriors” by home fans, return to the Africa Cup of Nations for the third time hoping to shrug off their minnows tag after failing to make it beyond the group stages in 2004 and 2006. The southern African nation is pinning its dreams on players like Belgium-based striker Knowledge Musona, who is leading scorer at top-flight side KV Oostende, and South Africa-based Khama Billiat who had a strong season at Mamelodi Sundowns.<br /> <br /> Zimbabwe, who rank 102 in the world and 29 in Africa, won four of their six qualifying matches for the top African football showcase in Gabon next month despite being dogged by financial woes. The country’s football association is saddled with debt and has at times failed to pay players’ allowances and often relies on well-wishers to cover wages for players and coaches.<br /> <br /> An economic crisis and cash shortage has seen football match attendance figures plummeting. Last year the country was expelled from the 2018 World Cup preliminary competition over non-payment of a $67,000 debt to former coach Jose Claudinei Georgini, better known by his nickname Valinhos. Zimbabwe faces formidable opponents in Group B, which includes Senegal who are perched on the top rung on the continent, and Tunisia and Algeria who are third and fifth respectively. (<b><a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/01/zimbabwe-look-to-surprise-in-afcon/">source</a></b>)</div>

Football: Zimbabwe look to surprise in AFCON

Admin 0 16:50

Zimbabwe, dubbed “The Warriors” by home fans, return to the Africa Cup of Nations for the third time hoping to shrug off their minnows tag after failing to make it beyond the group stages in 2004 and 2006. The southern African nation is pinning its … Read more »

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Indonesia: PT DI Delivers CN235-220M Aircraft to Senegal

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXieWu9r4mjZIhyhvJW3DNvWqgdJVuCWaa-UApQuieNdYmsrci4fiLFAWwbuQqFvRsWkfPy1S8o206YIxrP2YOSW-_N7klzND58lM0k8jeK1djKjQ03241XiLBKdqR9iUmGADwWl4NY7HE/s1600/20160217_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXieWu9r4mjZIhyhvJW3DNvWqgdJVuCWaa-UApQuieNdYmsrci4fiLFAWwbuQqFvRsWkfPy1S8o206YIxrP2YOSW-_N7klzND58lM0k8jeK1djKjQ03241XiLBKdqR9iUmGADwWl4NY7HE/s1600/20160217_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> State-owned aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) will deliver one more CN235-220M Multipurpose Aircraft bought by A.D.-Trade Belgium for the Senegal Air Force.<br /> <br /> "CN235-220 Aircraft is well-known as an effective and efficient multipurpose aircraft capable of operating in limited runway," PT DI president director Budi Santoso said on Tuesday, December 27, 2016, in a written statement.<br /> <br /> Budi added that the company had delivered the same aircraft in late November for the Royal Thai Police.<br /> <br /> The preparation of the aircraft delivery was attended by Senegal's air force chief of staff General Ousmane Kane and A.D.-Trade Belgium deputy general director Max Abitbul. Also present was Budi and Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto.<br /> <br /> PT DI and A.D.-Trade Belgium had signed its fourth aircraft purchase agreement on November 6, 2014. Earlier, A.D. Trade Belgium bought three CN235 aircrafts, two of which are being used by Burkina Faso and one by Venezuela.<br /> <br /> Budi said that CN235-220M aircraft has configuration settings than can be changed in such a short time to meet certain purposes, including dropping paratroopers, medical evacuation, VIP transport. (<b><a href="http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/12/28/055830901/PT-DI-Delivers--CN235-220M-Aircraft-to-Senegal">source</a></b>)</div>

Indonesia: PT DI Delivers CN235-220M Aircraft to Senegal

Admin 0 16:44

State-owned aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) will deliver one more CN235-220M Multipurpose Aircraft bought by A.D.-Trade Belgium for the Senegal Air Force. "CN235-220 Aircraft is well-known as an effective and efficient multipurpose ai… Read more »

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Tolerance: Nigeria Could Teach the West a Few Things

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBOoeCCpr2BYNoV61vJ8mn_AX1zSRB0hFXuShntZhBEYi2s5qwgv5o4hjWOxryUH9MvOiWsFMYbUyDI4c6pfR6CNUAa0fqU6DDb6gUkKzyfKim7w-n2_hwRlo_FxWlrgX4D15upX7pV96/s1600/lagos2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBOoeCCpr2BYNoV61vJ8mn_AX1zSRB0hFXuShntZhBEYi2s5qwgv5o4hjWOxryUH9MvOiWsFMYbUyDI4c6pfR6CNUAa0fqU6DDb6gUkKzyfKim7w-n2_hwRlo_FxWlrgX4D15upX7pV96/s1600/lagos2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> A trip is often defined by its surprises, so here are my biggest revelations from six days in Lagos, Nigeria.<br /> <br /> Most of all, I found Lagos to be much safer than advertised. It is frequently described as one of the most dangerous cities on earth. Many people told me I was crazy to go there, and some Nigerian expats warned me I might not get out of the airport alive.<br /> <br /> The reality is that I walked around freely and in many parts of town. I didn’t try to go everywhere or at all hours, and I may have been lucky. Yet not once did I feel threatened, and I strongly suspect that a trip to Lagos is safer than a trip to Rio de Janeiro, a major tourist destination. (In my first trip to Rio I was attacked by children with pointed sticks. In my second I found myself caught in a gunfight between drug lords). Many Lagos residents credit the advent of closed-circuit television cameras for their safety improvements.<br /> <br /> So if you’re an experienced traveler, and tempted to visit Africa’s largest and arguably most dynamic city, don’t let safety concerns be a deal killer.<br /> <br /> The surprises mount. For all the negative publicity, many parts of Nigeria, especially Lagos, could and should serve as exemplars for religious tolerance.<br /> <br /> The reports of Boko Haram and terror killings are well known, and they reflect the interlocking and sometimes deadly combinations of regional, religious, sectarian and ethnic identities in the country, not to mention extreme inequalities of income and opportunity. Yet Nigeria has about 180 million people and is larger than Texas. The violence is the most frequently reported story in the West, but the underlying reality is far more complex and shows positive features.<br /> <br /> For instance, the city of Lagos is in many regards a marvel of religious tolerance. Nigeria is about 50 percent Muslim and 40 percent Christian, and the area surrounding Lagos is also highly mixed in terms of religion. That may sound like a recipe for trouble, but in matters of religion Lagos is almost entirely peaceful. Religious intermarriage is common and usually not problematic, as is the case in many (not all) other parts of Nigeria as well. Many top Nigerian politicians have married outside their religion, kept two separate religions in the family and enjoyed continued political success.<br /> <br /> Consider the scale and speed of this achievement. Lagos, with a population of about 20 million, is larger than many countries. It is the most commercially oriented part of Nigeria, and it grew so large only in the last few decades, as it attracted entrepreneurially minded people from many parts of Nigeria and other African countries. By one estimate, 85 new residents arrive every hour. That may sound chaotic, but in essence Nigeria has in a few decades created an almost entirely new, country-sized city built on the ideals and practice of religious tolerance. The current president, Muhammadu Buhari, is a Muslim who was supported in his election by many Christian leaders, on the grounds that he would fight corruption more effectively. His running mate served as a Pentecostal pastor.<br /> <br /> The recent history of Nigeria, Lagos in particular, is also a counterweight to some recent Western political trends. Many Westerners today fear resurgent nationalism, as illustrated by the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump.<br /> <br /> In Nigeria, nationalism is largely a progressive force, bringing the country together and allowing nation-building and infrastructure development. However imperfect or backward these processes might be -- Nigeria has at least 270 distinct ethnic groups and 370 languages -- in Nigeria one is rooting for nationalism to succeed. And it’s in Lagos, the country’s largest and most important window to the outside world, where the understanding of the importance of a common and stable national identity has made such progress.<br /> <br /> Many Westerners used to consider much of Africa backward in this regard, but we Westerners are learning again that national cohesion isn’t always so easy. Perhaps the political spectrum in many Western countries can realign itself in a direction analogous to some features of Nigeria, to ally liberalism and nationalism once again. (<b><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-03/nigeria-could-teach-the-west-a-few-things">source</a></b>)</div>

Tolerance: Nigeria Could Teach the West a Few Things

Admin 0 16:41

A trip is often defined by its surprises, so here are my biggest revelations from six days in Lagos, Nigeria. Most of all, I found Lagos to be much safer than advertised. It is frequently described as one of the most dangerous cities on earth. Many … Read more »

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