Justin Bieber announces 2020 comeback, DSS releases Omoyele Sowore, Sierra Leone appoints first female coach for men’s football team. Stay in the know with our Rave News Digest which summarizes five of the hottest global news you need to catch up on, saving you time and energy. Consider it your daily news fix.
Here is a rundown of five of the hottest news topics…
1. Ivory Coast arrest warrant for presidential candidate
Ivory Coast has issued an arrest warrant for former rebel leader and ex-Prime Minister Guillaume Soro who intends to run in next year’s presidential election. Mr Soro had been due to return to the country on Monday after several months abroad but instead landed in Ghana.
Public prosecutor Richard Adou said on state television that an arrest warrant had been issued for alleged breaches of state security, receiving stolen public resources and money laundering. Mr Soro denies the allegations.
Police fired tear gas to disperse his supporters who were protesting on the streets of Abidjan, the main city in Ivory Coast. The decision by the 47-year-old to run for president appears to have rattled President Alassane Ouattara who may be seeking re-election himself.
2. DSS releases Omoyele Sowore
The Department of State Security Service has finally complied with the court orders directing it to release the convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore, from custody.
Omoyele’s release came a few hours after the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), said in a statement on Tuesday that he had issued a directive to the DSS to release the Sahara Reporters publisher and the immediate-past National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
Malami said his directive followed the decision by the President, Muhammadu Buhari regime to comply with the court orders granting bail to the two men.
3. Justin Bieber reveals plans for 2020 comeback
Justin Bieber has given fans an early Christmas present – confirmation he is to make a 2020 comeback. Canadian pop star Justin Bieber chose 24 December to announce his comeback with the release of a new single, Yummy, on 3 January – the first track from an upcoming fifth album.
The 25-year-old also revealed he is to tour the US and his home nation between May and September. His tour dates make it unlikely – though not impossible – he will perform at Glastonbury in June.
The singer also announced he will appear in a new documentary TV series. Bieber took an extended break from music in 2017 after cancelling the last 14 dates of his Purpose World Tour.
4. Eight people die at sea in 24 hours while trying to reach Spain
At least seven people, including three women, drowned while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Morocco to Spain.
The Moroccan coastguard vessel which retrieved the bodies on Monday also rescued 70 survivors, including 10 women and a baby, who were found in a “very poor state” and were transferred to Nador in northern Morocco, where they would receive medical care. Some 24 are still missing after the boat carrying around 100 migrants capsized overnight, according to Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras.
On Tuesday, Spanish police retrieved a body from a boat off the southern coast – the eighth person killed at sea in 24 hours while trying to reach the country.
5. Sierra Leone appoints first female coach for men’s football team
Victoria Conteh has been appointed as the first female head coach of a Sierra Leone men’s Premier League side because she’s “qualified and that’s the bottom line”, according to the club’s owner.
East End Tigers – formerly known as Gem Stars of Tongo – have hired the former international on a two-year deal. The 45-year-old is the second woman to manage a top-flight men’s club in Africa after Ethiopia’s Meseret Manni coached Dire Dawa in 2015.
“We’ve decided to appoint her because she’s qualified and that’s the bottom line,” owner Victor Lewis told the media.
“It shouldn’t be a man or woman thing, it should be about who is qualified to do the job. We’re happy to secure her services and we believe her appointment is good for the women’s game.”
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