Headline

Brazilian Football Legend, Mario Zagallo Is Dead

Published

1 year ago

January 6, 2024

Brazilian football legend and the first person to win the FIFA World Cup as both a player and coach, Mario Zagallo, has died at the age of 92.

Zagallo was as instrumental figure as any in Brazil’s rise to prominence as a global football power.

Zagallo, who died on Friday, was the only surviving member of the Brazilian team that lifted the 1958 World Cup trophy, the country’s first title and one that eased the pain of a traumatic defeat by Uruguay at the Maracana eight years prior.

“I was at the Maracana for that fateful loss to Uruguay. I was a soldier and it was my job to keep people off the pitch,” said Zagallo, of a result that prompted national mourning.

“I’ll never forget the silence, the sadness and the disappointment of that defeat,” he noted.

His legendary teammate, Pele, died in December 2022.

While that memory remained vivid, Zagallo would do his utmost to relieve the anguish by leaving his fingerprints on four of Brazil’s five World Cup triumphs.

Emerging from the amateur ranks during the 1950s, Zagallo, a diminutive left winger, embodied Brazil’s quest to blend attacking flair with defensive solidity, combining his exquisite technique with admirable commitment.

He won five Rio de Janeiro state championships with Flamengo and Botafogo. He only made his Brazil debut at the age of 26, shortly before the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but became an integral member of the team, winning 37 caps.

Brazil’s run of success

The tournament, which launched 17-year-old sensation Pele on the world stage, ended with Brazil beating the hosts 5-2 in the final. Zagallo scored his team’s fourth and then set up Pele for the final goal.

Four years later, Zagallo played every single minute as a Garrincha-inspired Brazil overcame an injury sustained by Pele in the group stage to retain their crown, coming from behind to beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in Santiago.

After retirement, Zagallo returned to the game as a manager, taking over former club Botafogo and leading them to two more state titles in a country under a military dictatorship.

Joao Saldanha had guided the national team to the 1970 World Cup in Mexico but was cast aside before the tournament in favor of Zagallo. Saldanha fell out with Pele and refused to bow to demands of then-president Emilio Garrastazu Medici on squad selection and, as a known Communist sympathizer, his fate was sealed.

Zagallo, just 38 at the time, inherited an exceptionally gifted squad — including Pele, Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho and Rivelino — and oversaw six wins from six games as Brazil captured the title for a third time in four attempts.

Years ahead of his time as a player, Zagallo quickly demonstrated his merit as a coach. He later reflected on the fabled 1970 World Cup, dominated by a spectacular Brazilian display, as his “greatest memory as a manager”.

A counter-intuitive type who believed in the number 13, Zagallo’s unabating hunger for success brought further domestic titles with Fluminense and Flamengo before he ventured abroad to Kuwait, winning the Gulf Cup in 1976 and reaching that year’s Asian Cup final.

Tireless pursuit of glory

After taking the United Arab Emirates to Italy in 1990, Zagallo was called on by Brazil for a final time, as technical director for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Together with his protege, Carlos Alberto Perreira, he guided the side to another world title after a dull final against Italy led to a penalty shootout.

His tilt at a fifth success fell agonizingly short in 1998 when Ronaldo, the pre-eminent player of his generation, suffered a mysterious fit before the final and Brazil slumped to a 3-0 defeat to hosts France.

Zagallo’s durability and lasting aura ensured he was a natural choice to stand in briefly for the departed Luiz Felipe Scolari following Brazil’s fifth World Cup victory in 2002.

“He was one of the greatest Brazilian players of his generation and, after winning the World Cup four times, he has left a permanent mark on Brazilian football,” said Ronaldo of the man nicknamed “The Professor”.

His wife of 57 years, Alcina de Castro, passed away in 2012.

AFP

Headline

Trump Orders Inquiry Into ‘Conspiracy’ To Hide Biden’s Health Decline

Published

12 hours ago

June 5, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into what Republicans claim was a “conspiracy” to cover up Joe Biden’s declining cognitive health during his time in the White House.

The move, which was slammed by Biden, is the latest in a long-running campaign by Trump — with the backing of Republican Party politicians and their cheerleaders in the conservative media — to discredit his predecessor.

But it also comes as a growing chorus of Democrats begin to acknowledge the former president appeared to have been slipping in recent years.

Those concerns were thrown into stark relief by a disastrous debate performance against Trump during last year’s presidential campaign, in which the then-81-year-old stumbled over his words and repeatedly lost his train of thought.

“In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline,” a presidential memorandum issued Wednesday reads.

“This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.

“The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”

– ‘Ridiculous and false’ –

Biden vehemently denied the allegations.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations,” he said in a statement shared with AFP.

“Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” he said, slamming the ordered probe as “nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation.”

Republicans have long claimed that Biden was suffering from intellectual decline even as the White House pressed ahead with major legislation and presidential decrees during his term.

They cite his infrequent public appearances, as well as his apparent unwillingness to sit for interviews as evidence of what they say was a man incapable of doing the demanding job of Commander-in-Chief of the United States.

They insist that those around him covered up his physical and cognitive decline, taking decisions on his behalf and using a device that could reproduce his signature to allow them to continue to run the country in his name.

– ‘Autopen’ –

“The Counsel to the President, in consultation with the Attorney General and the head of any other relevant executive department or agency… shall investigate… whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President,” the document says.

The probe will also look at “the circumstances surrounding Biden’s supposed execution of numerous executive actions during his final years in office (including) the policy documents for which the autopen was used (and) who directed that the President’s signature be affixed.”

Biden’s calamitous debate performance ultimately sank his bid for reelection, with key Democratic Party figures soon calling for him to drop out of the race.

But it was only several weeks later, after unsuccessful attempts to quieten his critics, that he withdrew, anointing his vice-president Kamala Harris, who eventually lost to Trump.

The Democratic Party is increasingly riven by squabbles about whether Biden could have been forced to step down earlier to give the party chance to find a more popular presidential candidate.

Biden’s former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday criticized the in-fighting by the Democrats, calling it a “betrayal” of Biden and announcing her departure from the party as a result.

The fight has been given oxygen with the publication of a book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that claims the former president’s inner circle connived to keep him from public view because of his decline, which included forgetting familiar faces like Hollywood star and party stalwart George Clooney.

Trump’s claims of a cover-up were also boosted by news that Biden is suffering from an “aggressive” prostate cancer, with some voices on the right insisting — without evidence — the diagnosis must have been known some time ago to those close to the former president.

AFP

Headline

Nigerian Dies In Swiss Police Custody, Authorities Launch Probe

Published

13 hours ago

June 5, 2025

Editor

The Switzerland authorities said they have begun an investigation into the murder of Michael Ekemezie, who reportedly died in Lausanne on May 25 after some Swiss police officers pinned his head to the ground during a routine check.

According to the family, the 39-year-old Ekemezie from Mgbakwu, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, reportedly collapsed and died at the police station less than an hour after being taken into custody.

The elder brother of the deceased, Henry Ekemezie, had in an interview with our correspondent on Monday, disclosed that his brother was chased by the police during a routine check, after he was caught up, handcuffed and pinned face-down, by an officer who used brutal force that proved fatal.

A viral video that circulated on X also showed the moment the deceased was pinned to the ground by a Swiss police officer, crying out in pain and shouting, “You’re hurting me.”

As a result, the family of the deceased, through their counsel, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, petitioned the Embassy of Switzerland in Nigeria and the Nigerian Diaspora Commission on May 30, 2025, demanding an investigation into his death.

The family lamented that since the incident took place, neither the Switzerland government or the Federal Government of Nigeria had reached out to the family.

However, in a reply dated June 4, 2025, the Swiss Embassy contacted the family of the deceased through their counsel, informing them that the competent prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.

The reaction by the Switzerland embassy is coming after the report featured in the South-East Punch on Wednesday.

The letter dated June 4, 2025, and signed by the Chargé d’Affaires of Switzerland, Siamak Rouhani, was made available to newsmen on Wednesday,

The letter read, “The Embassy of Switzerland acknowledges receipt of your letter dated 30 May, 2025.

“The Embassy would like to inform that the competent prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the death of a person of African origin on May 25, 2025, at a police station in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“The results of this investigation are pending. In accordance with the principle of separation of powers and of the protection of personal data, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not hold any information concerning ongoing cantonal proceedings and cannot interfere in them.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, therefore, has no information concerning the circumstances of this tragic event. The deceased’s family and its agent – supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Bern – can therefore interact directly with the competent cantonal authorities.”

However, in its reaction, the family of the deceased, through their legal counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, acknowledged the response of the Swiss Embassy while reiterating with unwavering resolve a demand for a thorough, transparent, and expedited investigation.

“On May 30, 2025, we submitted a formal petition to the Embassy of Switzerland in Nigeria, urging an immediate and transparent investigation into the tragic and deeply disturbing death of Mr Michael Ekemezie, a Nigerian citizen who lost his life after reportedly being brutalised by Swiss police officers in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 25, 2025.

“Today, we acknowledge receipt of an official response dated June 4, 2025, signed by the Chargé d’Affaires, Mr Siamak Rouhani. In the correspondence, the Embassy confirmed that the competent cantonal prosecutor’s office has formally launched an investigation into the incident. However, invoking Switzerland’s strict data protection laws and constitutional principle of separation of powers, the embassy declined to disclose further details at this stage.

“While we take note of this official acknowledgement and the initiation of investigative proceedings, we remain deeply concerned about the lack of transparency and the continued silence surrounding the exact circumstances of Mr Ekemezie’s death. A young Nigerian life was lost, under suspicious and distressing conditions, while in the custody of a country that proudly upholds itself as a global advocate of human rights, justice, and the rule of law.

“This is not just a legal matter; it is a human tragedy. A mother grieves. A family mourns. A nation watches with bated breath.

“Justice must not be shielded behind bureaucratic procedures. It must not be delayed. And it must never be denied. We urge the Swiss government and all relevant authorities to fully cooperate with the government of Nigeria and the legal representatives of Mr Ekemezie’s family, and every diplomatic and legal channel must be pursued. The truth must be uncovered. Accountability must be served,” the family said in a statement.

Headline

Trump Bans Citizens Of Chad, Congo, 10 Others From Entering US

Published

14 hours ago

June 5, 2025

Editor

President Donald Trump has signed a new proclamation barring citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States, citing national security concerns.

The full travel ban affects nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The restriction will take effect on June 9, 2025.

In addition to the full bans, the proclamation imposes partial restrictions on citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

There are some exemptions, including athletes travelling for major sporting events, some Afghan nationals and dual nationals with citizenship in unaffected countries, according to the BBC.

Trump stated that the measure is intended to prevent individuals considered potential security risks from gaining entry into the US.

“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen,” he said in a video message posted on X on Wednesday.

According to the White House, the countries facing the harshest restrictions were deemed to have a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” poor cooperation on visa-related security measures, and inadequate systems for verifying travelers’ identities.

The administration also cited issues such as poor record-keeping of criminal histories and high visa overstay rates as contributing factors.

The new directive builds on Trump’s broader immigration crackdown initiated at the beginning of his second term.

On January 20, the president signed an executive order mandating stricter security checks for foreign nationals and instructing federal agencies to review which countries should face entry suspensions due to inadequate vetting procedures.

This move echoes Trump’s controversial travel ban during his first term, which initially targeted seven predominantly Muslim countries and was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2018.

The ban was later repealed by President Joe Biden in 2021, who described it as “a stain on our national conscience.”