Brazil hammer Japan to secure top spot


 

BY Obakeng Maje

Brazil beat Japan 4-1 at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday (30 May) evening to finish top of Group B in the 8-Nation International Tournament.

Brazil will now meet South Africa in one semi-final, while Japan faces Argentina in the other.

The match got off to a fairly pedestrian start with both teams happy to push and probe for gaps.
Play was neat and compact, but lacked in terms of flair and goal-mouth action. 

The teams found themselves evenly matched with early chances for Japan when Ryota Tanabe fired just over from outside the box and then at the other end Jean Deretti helped the ball goalwards with his head, but it was an easy save for Masatoshi Kushibiki.

For a team as well organised as Japan, the goal they conceded after 33 minutes was an uncharacteristic mistake as keeper Kushibiki tried to play the ball to a defender instead gifting the ball to Victor Andrade, who drilled in a low shot in at the near post.

Six minutes later it was a more typical Brazilian goal that lead to their second, a slick passing move seeing the ball worked to Henrique Ribeiro on the right wing, he in turn unselfishly squaring to Bruno Mendes for a simple tap in.

There were also chances for Japan, but Shiota Sakaki and Tanabe sent decent efforts just wide.

It took the South American side just six second half minutes to increase their lead, substitute Adelmison Bispo Jr scoring with a powerful low drive across the keeper.

On the hour mark Brazil extended their lead to four when Misael Bueno broke down the right, before setting up Bruno Mendes to turn and shoot into the far post.

Japan were close to pulling one back in the 63rd minute, but a brave header from Tanabe went wide, and resulted in him being taken off injured.

Bispo Jr should have added a fifth after a defensive mistake, but curled the ball wide of goal.
With 15 minutes to go there was a rare chance for Japan as Takuma Arano fired into the side-netting.

There was however to be a late consolation for the Asian side when Shuto Minami was taken down in the box by Luiz Conde in injury time, Minami himself scoring comfortably from the spot.

Cameroon too strong for Kenya


BY Obakeng Maje

Cameroon secured their first win of the 8-Nation International Tournament with a 2-0 victory over Kenya at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday (30 May) night.

The match was all about pride, and the avoidance of finishing bottom of Group B, with neither side able to challenge for a place in the semi-finals after both losing their two opening matches.

Cameroon had the first chance of the game when Pierre Balliang fired in a powerful drive from the left hand side of the box, Kenyan keeper Joel Bataro only just able to get enough of a hand to be able to divert the ball away from goal.

In the 18th minute the west Africans were again close to scoring when Bataro rushed off his line to try and intercept a pass, only to find himself caught out of position, resulting in Emanauel Ewangue coming close with a lob from a tight angle.

The Kenyans were however not being outplayed, showing passion and commitment as they searched out their first point of the tournament.

In the 23rd minute Andrew Muranga showed neat skill and a turn of speed to beat Cameroon keeper Kerrido Haschou to the ball, but in trying to set up team-mate Meshak Karani the chance came to nothing.

A few minutes later and Karani was close when his powerful drive on the turn missed by a yard.
As the half progressed the Kenyans grew in confidence and started to spend more and more time in their opponents’ half.

It took Cameroon just three minutes into the second period to find the back of the net, Charles Etoundi scoring with a half volley on the second attempt after Bataro had blocked his first effort.

The west Africans were looking far more of a threat after the restart and their advantage was doubled in the 55th minute when Carlain Mbah scored from the penalty spot.

The spot kick had been awarded after Etoundi had rounded Bataro, inducing the shot-stopper into bringing him down.

Karani always appeared Kenya’s best bet for a goal, but was unable to get on the score-sheet on the hour mark, hitting the side-netting from 14-yards out.

Ten minutes from time a low cross from the right was met by Jean Bassilekin, but he shot straight at the Kenyan keeper.

There was a late chance for Danson Kago for the Kenyans, whose well-struck effort required Haschou needing a second attempt to keep the ball out as he tipped it over – with that ending their chance of taking something from this game, in which they had put in spirited performance.

 

N4 ROBBERS ARRESTED


BY Obakeng Maje

Brits police detective unit did a splendid  job by arresting three suspects who are believed to be behind the scourge of foul accidents along N4 since January this year.

One of the  suspects was arrested at Lions Park in Muldersdrift Gauteng Province and two others were  arrested in Majakaneng outside Brits. 

During the arrest the police  seized  goods that are suspected  to have been robbed from the accidents victims.  The arrest happened on Tuesday 29 My 2012.

“All three suspects who are Zimbabwean Nationals aged between 20 and 23 were linked to numerous cases of Rapes and Robberies which are reported to have  been committed along N4 highway between Brits and Majakaneng” Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said. 

In one of the recent incidents, a Botswana Director of Ministries Transport and Communications and his wife were on their way to Botswana when their car capsized  just few kilometres outside Bokfontein.

Surprisingly the three suspects emerged from the nearby bush and pretended to be offering assistance.

The suspects allegedly assaulted the 40 year-old Botswana national  while his wife was gang raped before the two were robbed of their belongings including undisclosed amount of cash.

“The  police investigations revealed that, the suspects` modus operandi is that they placed barricades such as stones and hard objects on the road and when unaware motorists  drive over the objects,  lose control of their vehicles upon which the vehicle overturn and the suspects will seize the opportunity and attack their prays and vanished into thin air” Ngubane outlined.

Since from the beginning of this year, community members particularly motorists have been trapped with stones barricading the road where vehicles collided and rolled, and victims tortured with rapes and robbed of their money. 

The properties that were found in possession of the suspects ranges from Laptops, Clothing, and Cell phones, wrist watches, Computers and Foreign Currencies. All properties recovered are suspected to have been robbed from the victims who were subjected to assault and rape during their ordeal.

Suspects who are  charged with Possession of Suspected Stolen Properties, Robberies, and Rape, are expected to appear before Brits Magistrate`s Court on Friday 01 June 2011.

Police had appealed  to members of general public, more especially motorists who might have been attached  and robbed while travelling along the N4 Highway in similar manner by suspects befitting the herein given description to visit  the Brits Police Station to identify their properties.

 

LOVER FIND GIRLFRIEND AND STEPSON IN POOL OF BLOOD


BY Obakeng Maje

It is alleged that the 55-year-old woman and her 10-year-old son were found in a pool of blood in their residential place in Tigane the morning of 29 May 2012 at about 06:00. 

According to the information received, the deceased’s boyfriend came home in the morning after a late night with his friends.

“He found his girlfriend and his step son in a pool of blood and immediately called the police” said Sergant Moiloa.

When the police arrived they found the woman’s body lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen.  It appears as the woman’s throat was cut off. 

The police searched the house and also found a 10-year-old boy lying in a pool of blood on the bed and his throat was also cut off.

 

The police are investigating a murder case and so far no one has been arrested.

 

 

Charles Taylor sentenced to 50 years


Leidschendam – A UN-backed war crimes court sentenced former Liberian president Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison Wednesday for arming Sierra Leone rebels in return for “blood diamonds”.

“The trial chamber unanimously sentences you to a single term of imprisonment for 50 years on all counts,” said Special Court for Sierra Leone judge Richard Lussick at the court based just outside The Hague.

United most popular club in the world


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The largest global football follower survey ever conducted has on Wednesday named Manchester United the world’s most popular club, with 659 million followers worldwide.

The survey was carried out by leading market research agency, Kantar, and gathered 54,000 respondents from 39 countries. The club that Forbes recently named the most valuable in world sport was identified as the favourite team of 659 million followers around the world.

Kantar found that football remains the world’s most popular sport, with 1.6 billion followers globally, reinforcing the results of a recent Fifa survey which produced a similar figure.

Richard Arnold, the Club’s Commercial Director, commented on the long-term strategy that has made Manchester United the number one club in the world’s number one sport:

“Manchester United has built on a tradition of iconic players, iconic teams and iconic achievements – Beckham, Busby, Benfica ’68. Now our games are broadcast to 1.15 billion households globally, to an audience of over four billion a year. Manchester United resonates with followers all over the world, and it’s their passion and support that means year after year we can continue doing what matters most to everyone at the Club: playing attacking football and competing for trophies.

“The growth in our followers since 2007 correlates with what we have seen as we have rolled out our new approach to reaching fans. From the increase in TV viewership from two to four billion last season, to the demand from millions of media subscribers in 72 countries through our media partnerships, to the way the footage of Wayne’s (Rooney) overhead kick echoed around the world on social media, we can see that the connections to the club are growing exponentially.”

FOLLOWER FACTS

Manchester United has 659 million followers worldwide:

*71 million in Americas

*90 million in Europe

*173 million in Middle East and Africa

*325 million in Asia Pacific

*108 million in China alone – almost half of all China’s football followers

* The number of Manchester United followers globally has grown by 98% since the previous survey in 2007

* Manchester United’s family of followers is larger than the combined population of the USA, Brazil and Mexico. – Sapa

Breivik ‘wanted to be like Beckham’


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Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik told a friend he wanted to be “like David Beckham”.

Three former friends told his trial on Tuesday that the Norwegian fanatic thought of himself as a “metrosexual” because he wore make-up.

They also revealed that he had plastic surgery to make his nose look more “Aryan” and said they had speculated about his sexuality.

One of the friends, who have been allowed to remain anonymous, said: “He used make-up, powder, those kinds of things, and he explained that as being ‘metrosexual’. He made reference to David Beckham being that at the time.”

Another friend said: “Some people thought he had turned gay and… he cut out his friends because he did not want to face it.”

Breivik, who killed 77 people in a bombing and gun attack last year, claims he had an operation on a broken nose following a fight with a Muslim gang.

But his friends couldn’t recall any such brawl.

A friend said: “I remember that Anders wanted to reduce the size of his nose for reasons of vanity.

“This was a cosmetic procedure. I remember that he was very focused on his appearance. He didn’t try to hide it. He said he had an Arab’s nose.: – Daily Mail


Settlement agreement for ANC, gallery


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It would not make sense to continue with a court case against The Spear painting, which depicts President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed, the ANC said on Wednesday.

“Indeed, we are no longer taking the Goodman Gallery to court. We are no longer taking City Press to court,” said African National Congress spokesman Jackson Mthembu.

He was speaking at a joint media briefing between the ANC and the Goodman Gallery, announcing a settlement agreement on the controversial artwork.

Mthembu said now that a settlement had been reached, the court action in the High Court in Johannesburg was no longer necessary.

“There is no need for us to continue taking City Press to court, or the Goodman Gallery to court. It would not make sense,” said Mthembu.

Goodman Gallery director Liza Essers said the painting would not be displayed in the gallery because it had been defaced.

The settlement agreement with the ANC did not include an agreement on removing the picture from the Goodman Gallery’s website.

However, she said the image would be taken down from the website at some point.

The ANC went to court to get the painting removed from the gallery, and also took the City Press to court because it had published a picture of the painting on its website.

Meanwhile, the Film and Publications Board was expected to decide by the end of the week on whether the painting should be classified. – Sapa


Cape Town rape sentence set aside


Cape Town – A man convicted of raping, drugging and intimidating a girl had his conviction and sentencing set aside because a magistrate had not followed proper procedure in taking the girl’s oath, it was reported on Wednesday. 

A full bench of Western Cape High Court judges ruled on Tuesday that Lance Bessick’s conviction and sentencing in the Atlantis Regional Court in July 2009 was invalid, the Cape Times reported.

Bessick was found guilty largely based on the girl’s testimony, who was 15-years-old when she testified. But she had indicated that she did not understand the meaning of an oath or affirmation.

Judge Robert Henney, in his judgment, said the unnamed magistrate had failed to explain the meaning of the oath and had then skipped to the next step, which was to hold an informal investigation into whether she knew the difference between a lie and the truth.

Henney said it was “not a mere non-compliance with a technicality”, but a process required by law to ensure a reliable version of events was placed before the court.

“The impact of improper conviction and subsequent incarceration is much greater for the accused.”

– SAPA

 

ANC, gallery to hold joint media briefing


Johannesburg – The ANC and the Goodman Gallery will brief the media on Wednesday on the details of an agreement they reached after a march in protest against a painting depicting President Jacob Zuma with exposed genitals. 

The briefing would be held at the Goodman Gallery, in Jan Smuts Avenue, Rosebank, where the artwork was initially shown, it said in a statement on Tuesday night.

“Both ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembuand Goodman Gallery director Liza Essers will be present at the event,” the gallery said.

On Tuesday, ANC supporters marched to the gallery to express their disgust of the painting. A memorandum was handed to the gallery’s management.

SA Communist Party leader Blade Nzimandewas insisting that the painting not be surrendered to the German who bought it for R136 000.

The painting The Spear by artist Brett Murray was part of his Hail to the Thief II exhibition. It has since been defaced and removed from the gallery.

An image of the painting has been removed from City Press’ website.

– SAPA