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Brazilian Football Legend, Mario Zagallo Is Dead

Published

2 years 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

Nigerian Jailed Six Years In U.S. For Sextortion

Published

1 day ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

Imoleayo Samuel Aina, also known as “Alice Dave,” a 27-year-old Nigerian national, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison following his conviction on multiple charges connected to the sexual extortion and subsequent death of a young man in Pennsylvania.

The sentence, handed down by United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky, includes 72 months of incarceration, five years of supervised release, and a restitution payment of $3,250. Aina had earlier pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, interstate threats to injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and wire fraud.

Aina and his co-defendant, Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, were initially arrested in Nigeria in July 2024 and subsequently extradited to the United States. Another co-defendant, Afeez Olatunji Adewale, remains in Nigeria pending extradition. Abiodun, 26, was sentenced to five years in June 2025 for his role in money laundering and wire fraud related to the same sextortion scheme.

U.S. Attorney David Metcalf described Aina as “the driving force behind this sextortion scheme, which left a young man, and then his family, traumatised.” He added, “The Department of Justice won’t just stand by when innocent victims in the U.S. are harmed by criminal scammers overseas. As this case shows, we can — and we will — find, prosecute, and hold accountable these insidious sextortionists who terrorise people for money.”

Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, emphasised the wider message of the prosecution. “This case is a powerful reminder of the profound harm sextortion inflicts on young people and their families, and of our unwavering commitment to pursuing those who perpetrate it.

“Whether you are in the United States or operating from abroad, the FBI and our partners will relentlessly pursue you. If you exploit our youth, we will bring you to justice.”

The investigation, conducted jointly by the FBI and the Abington Township Police Department, was supported by multiple international and Nigerian authorities, including Nigeria’s Attorney General, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department.

Aina’s co-defendants played complementary roles in the scheme. Abiodun functioned as the financial intermediary, while Adewale, who remains in Nigeria, faces charges of money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud.

Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Brown, prosecuting the case, noted the international collaboration required to secure Aina’s extradition and conviction. “This prosecution demonstrates that national borders do not shield those who exploit and defraud others. Those who choose to target the vulnerable should understand that justice will reach them, regardless of location,” he said.

Headline

UK Ends Automatic Benefits For Asylum Seekers In Major Reform

Published

1 day ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

Britain’s interior minister on Sunday defended plans to drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, insisting that irregular migration was “tearing our country apart”.

The measures, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, aim to stop thousands of migrants from arriving in England from northern France on small boats — crossings that are fuelling support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.

But the proposals were criticised as “harsh and unnecessary” by the Refugee Council charity and are likely to be opposed by left-wing lawmakers within Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s embattled Labour government.

“I really reject this idea that dealing with this problem is somehow engaging in far-right talking points,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told BBC television.

“This is a moral mission for me, because I can see illegal migration is tearing our country apart, it is dividing communities.”

Presently, those given refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship.

But Mahmood’s ministry, known as the Home Office, said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months.

That protection will be “regularly reviewed” and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added.

The ministry also said that it intended to make those refugees who were granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK long-term, up from the current five years.

It also announced that it would create “new safe and legal routes for genuine refugees” through “capped work and study routes”.

Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with some 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures.

The Home Office called the new proposals, which Mahmood will lay out in parliament on Monday, the “largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times”.

It said the reforms would make it less attractive for irregular migrants to come to Britain, and make it easier to remove those already in the country.

– Benefits crackdown –

A statutory legal duty to provide support to asylum seekers, introduced in a 2005 law, would also be revoked, the Home Office said.

That means housing and weekly financial allowances would no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers.
It would be “discretionary”, meaning the government could deny assistance to any asylum seeker who could work or support themselves but did not, or those who committed crimes.

Starmer, elected in July 2024, is under pressure to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats from France, something that also troubled his Conservative predecessors.

More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year following such dangerous journeys — more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022.

Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, has led Labour by double-digit margins in opinion polls for most of this year.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the government to rethink its plans, saying they “will not deter” the crossings.

“They should ensure that refugees who work hard and contribute to Britain can build secure, settled lives and give back to their communities,” he said.

Labour is taking inspiration from Denmark’s coalition government — led by the centre-left Social Democrats — which has implemented some of the strictest migration policies in Europe.

Senior British officials recently visited the Scandinavian country, where successful asylum claims are at a 40-year-low.

Refugees in Denmark are entitled to a one-year renewable residency permit, and are encouraged to return home as soon as authorities deem there is no longer a need for a safe haven.

Family reunions are also subject to strict requirements, including a minimum age for both parents, language tests and guarantees of funds.

Labour’s more left-wing lawmakers will probably oppose the plans, fearing that the party is losing voters to progressive alternatives such as the Greens.

Headline

Overcrowding, Security Lapses Plague Nigerian Prisons —EU

Published

1 day ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

A report by the European Union Agency for Asylum has revealed that Nigeria’s custodial centres are battling “escalating security challenges.”

The report, sighted by Sunday PUNCH, was published in November 2025. It documented a decade-long pattern of prison escapes in the country, explaining why the custodial centres are confronting rising jailbreaks, citing persistent security lapses.

“Over the past decade, Nigeria has experienced a pattern of prison jailbreaks, resulting in thousands of inmates escaping correctional facilities nationwide,” the report noted.

Highlighting systemic weaknesses, the report cited overcrowding, structural deficiencies, and chronic underfunding as major contributors to the problem.

“One incident occurred in March 2025, when 12 inmates escaped from the Koton Karfe Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kogi State. Only five were recaptured.

“This marked the fourth jailbreak at this facility in 13 years, where nearly 700 inmates have fled, including about 100 freed during a 2012 Boko Haram attack,” it stated.

Observers attribute the recurring breakouts to “security gaps, together with possible insider complicity, which exacerbate the prisons’ vulnerabilities, especially amid attacks by armed groups like Boko Haram.”

Beyond security concerns, the report said overcrowding and poor infrastructure continued to strain the country’s correctional system.

“The country’s more than 240 prisons currently house over 80,000 inmates, with two-thirds awaiting trial.

“The observers also point to systemic issues such as overcrowding, outdated infrastructure, poor inmate conditions, slow judicial processes, and widespread corruption,” the report said.

“International bodies have also criticised the state of Nigeria’s detention system,” it stated.

Following a September 2024 visit, the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture described conditions in detention centres as “abysmal,” citing inadequate food, healthcare, and sanitation.

“Their assessment described conditions in most detention facilities as ‘abysmal.’ Additionally, Nigeria had not yet established a National Preventive Mechanism as required under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which Nigeria ratified in 2009.

“The Subcommittee called on Nigeria to urgently implement measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment, improve detention conditions—particularly in police stations and similar facilities—and enforce legal safeguards to end impunity for perpetrators of torture,” the report read.

The report also raised concerns over the continued use of the death penalty.

It added, “In Nigeria, the death penalty is a ‘lawful punishment’ imposed nationwide, including for offences that do not meet the threshold of ‘most serious crimes’ under international law.

“Although no executions have been carried out since 2016, courts across the country still regularly issue death sentences. In 2023, Nigerian courts issued over 246 new death sentences, raising the total number of individuals on death row to more than 3,413.”

In May 2024, the Senate proposed a bill to increase the maximum penalty for drug trafficking from life imprisonment to death, a move that has faced opposition from various stakeholders, including legislators, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime country representative, as well as activists and legal professionals.

“Such a proposal has reignited debate over the continued use of the death penalty in the country, with some authorities questioning the sustainability of retaining capital punishment.

“Further, although legal provisions allow for commutation of sentences by governors or chief judges after extended incarceration, inconsistencies in application have left many inmates in legal limbo,” said the report.

The Nigerian Correctional Service revealed in July 2025 that the country had 3,833 inmates on death row.

The report further stated that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has urged Nigeria to “impose a moratorium on executions, a stance supported by the European Union and United Nations.”

It added that the detention conditions remained “harsh,” falling short of United Nations minimum standards for prisoner treatment.

Media reports and information from the Nigerian Correctional Service website indicated that thousands of inmates have escaped from 13 custodial facilities between 2019 and 2025, including many awaiting trial for serious offences such as terrorism and armed robbery.

In response to the ongoing wave of jailbreaks that has plagued custodial centres nationwide over the past years, the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, recently vowed to enforce strict disciplinary action against any officers found to have been negligent.