Six FC Kallon lads set to represent Sierra Leone in the coming U15 Zone 2 Tourney to be hosted in Guinea. Striker Richmond A Kamara, defensive midfielder Alhaji Ali Conteh, right wing-back Unisa Conteh, Attacking midfielders Emmanuel Combay and Abass Dura Bangura, and goalkeeper Alfred Jones are the FC Kallon players that will make the trip with the Sierra Leone national U15 team to Guinea for the Zone 2 event. The three lads joined FC Kallon two years ago at the U12 stage. Three months ago, they were promoted to the U14 team of FC Kallon where they are presently playing. As a result of their high potentials and their spectacular performances during training sessions of the team, the experienced U15 Head Coach Abu 'Magic' Sankoh was left with no option but to add them to his game plan for the U15 competition in Guinea. FC Kallon Technical Director, Musa Kallon expressed his delight at the recent positive outcome when making his statement. "As a club we will continue to promote the development pathway of the players from all the categories, both for the club and the country as a whole. This is as a result of the implementation of the development project set by the CEO, Mohamed Kallon, a decade ago" he concluded proudly. Sierra Leone are set to play two matches with the first being against Senegal on the Friday 21st May 2021. Speaking to Mata, the Head Coach of FC Kallon U14 team, he showed optimism and confidence in her boys "All the players selected deserve their call up and I am hopeful that the lads will make Sierra Leone, FC Kallon and their families proud in their debut major tournament for their beloved country.
The Sierra Leone Football Association has proposed dates for the pending African Cup of Nations qualifying match between Sierra Leone and Benin.
The proposed dates are the 12, 13 and 14 June respectively.
SLFA sent the proposed dates on May 11 when asked by CAF to do a ‘Full Inspection’ of the Siaka Steven Stadium.
The proposed dates and venue are however subject to CAF’s approval.
The match between Leon Star and Benin was canceled ahead of kick-off in Freetown after five Benin players received news they had tested positive for Covid-19 and would not be allowed to play.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69299706/Nicki_Minaj.0.jpg)
“I’m woman enough to admit when I’ve been washed on a track by the greats,” Nicki wrote on Twitter.
Nicki Minaj is often lauded for her lyrical prowess, but even she admits to moments where fellow emcees have outperformed her on a track. Over the weekend, she publicly acknowledged that both Lil Wayne and Drake “washed” her on one of three new records featured on the re-release of her 2009 mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty.
The Queens native held a brief Q&A session on Twitter where she answered some questions about her son, her mental health and of course, her new music. When one fan asked her to name her favorite Drake and Wayne bars, she replied, “Way too many.”
Nicki Minaj reveals Drake helped her get over her writer’s block
The response was followed by an unexpected but frank admission of their individual performances on their recent collaboration, “Seeing Green.”
All I know is that they washed me on #SeeingGreen,” she tweeted. “I’m woman enough to admit when I’ve been washed on a track by the greats, and it’s ok #Barbz I’ve washed them b4. We’ll live through this one. I was still a lil rusty. I washed them in my head on #Fractions.”
Nicki’s response follows her previous confession that she experienced a severe case of writer’s block during her musical hiatus. The block, she previously explained, came to an end after a few heart-to-hearts with Drake, who sent her the track “Seeing Green” with hopes to inspire her, and hear her, him and Wayne on the same track again.
Nicki Minaj unveils re-release of ‘Beam Me Up Scotty’ project
“He single-handedly got me out of my writer’s block, and I’m never gonna forget it,” she told fans amid an Instagram Live session ahead of her re-release. “He sent me something, and it made me feel so competitive again. I was like, ‘What the fuck am I doing? Like, I need to start writing!’ Whenever I hear Drake and Wayne rap, it always inspires something in me.”
See Nicki Minaj’s tweet
“Miss you so much,” the rapper wrote.
Nicki Minaj paid tribute to her late father on what would have been his 65th birthday. The Queens rapper, who only recently opened up about losing her dad, shared a sweet Instagram post on Sunday (May 16).
“Happy Birthday Daddy. Miss u so much. So much. So so much,” she captioned a photo of her father. “Rest In Peace. Oh my God.”
As reported by REVOLT, Robert Maraj, Nicki’s father, was killed in a hit-and-run accident back in February. Maraj was reportedly walking in a Long Island, New York neighborhood when he was struck by a 1992 white Volvo. The driver, who was later identified as Charles Polevich, fled the scene and Maraj was rushed to a local hospital where he tragically succumbed to his injuries.
Nicki Minaj breaks silence on father’s death
Nicki spoke out about her dad’s death for the first time last Thursday (May 13) after releasing her Beam Me Up Scotty mixtape on streaming services.
“[Though] I can’t really bring myself to discuss the passing of my father as of yet, I can say it has been the most devastating loss of my life,” Nicki wrote to her fans. “I find myself wanting to call him all the time. More so now that he’s gone. Life is really funny that way. May his soul rest in paradise. He was very loved and will be very missed.”
Nicki Minaj’s mom files $150 million lawsuit against man charged in dad’s death
Polevich later surrendered himself to police and was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with physical evidence. In March, Nicki’s mom, Carol Maraj, filed a lawsuit against him for $150 million. Attorneys Paul Napoli and Ben Crump are representing her in the civil case.
“Charles Polevich was not only irresponsible & negligent in hitting Maraj, but was more concerned about running away and hiding than seeking help,” Crump tweeted at the time.
See Nicki’s birthday post about her father below.
Henry McCollum and Leon Brown spent 31 years in jail in connection to the rape and death of an 11-year-old.
Two half-brothers in North Carolina have received $75 million worth of financial compensation after they were falsely convicted of rape and murder, the Associated Press reported.
Henry McCollum and Leon Brown were both given $1 million for each of the 31 years they served in prison. Per the News & Observer, they split an additional $13 million awarded by the jury for punitive damages.
Roughly three decades ago, McCollum and Brown were arrested in connection with the 1983 rape and death of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie. The half-brothers, who were said to have low IQs when they were interrogated by cops, were allegedly pressured into admitting their involvement and subsequently sentenced as a result.
Woman claims she was wrongfully accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during Capitol riots
McCollum, who was 19 at the time, was sentenced to death while Brown, then 15 years old, received a life sentence.
In 2015, new DNA was discovered that proved another man was responsible for Buie’s death. Their convictions were removed, and they were freed from custody. They filed a civil rights lawsuit shortly after.
The suit, the News & Observer reported, alleged that law enforcement not only forced them into making false confessions but suppressed and made up evidence in the case. Additionally, they accused North Carolina police of overlooking evidence that could have long proved their innocence in Buie’s rape and murder.
FIRE BOX alongside X-VERT
Drake, as you well know, is a momma’s boy . So, this Mother’s Day weekend, he’s feeling especially generous—the rapper will release a new set from his very popular candle line Better World Fragrance House, and is giving Canadians a chance to cop one for free when they order from his favourite local restaurants via Uber Eats.
The scented candle line was announced last December through a partnership with Revolve, boasting fragrances like Sweeter Tings, Williamsburg Sleepover, Good Thoughts, and Muskoka. The standout, however, was Carby Musk , which Revolve described as a “smooth musk fragrance” that, ahem, “actually smells like Drake.”
The candles were buzzing on social media last year, with Drake gifting them to the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and Norman Powell, as well as Steph and Ayesha Curry and Kehlani.
Better World has provided a limited number of candles to a curated list of Toronto and Vancouver restaurants. From May 7 to 9, customers who order $50 or more worth of food from those eateries could snag the essence of Drake while supplies last. Candles are limited to one per patron.
a press release (05/05/2021)
The President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists SLAJ has urged the Members of Parliament to scrutinise the dubious Cybercrime Bill.
Journalist Amin Kef-Ranger of the Calabash newspaper reports – In observing World Press Freedom Day on Monday 3rd May 2021, the President of SLAJ Mr Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, appealed to the elected representatives of the people in Parliament to scrutinise the Cybercrime Bill and take on board their concerns and those from expert groups in the same spirit and manner they collectively pursued and achieved the repeal of Part V of the Public Order Act of 1965 and the passing of the IMC Act 2020. (Photo: IMC Chair George Khoryama, 1st left, Information Minister Rahman Swaray, 2nd left, and SLAJ President Nasralla, right).
Mr Sahid Nasralla said: “Thirty years ago, a group of journalists, including our own Paul Kamara from Sierra Leone, met in Namibia to adopt the Windhoek Declaration for the development of a free, independent and pluralistic press.” He added that SLAJ joined the rest of the world and UNESCO to celebrate 30yrs of the Windhoek Declaration, as it gives them an opportunity to reflect on where they have come from, where they are now and where they want to go with regards to freedom of speech and of the press. And it further reminds them of their responsibilities as journalists, and the obligations of governments to guarantee these fundamental rights that are crucial to the development of the country’s democracy.
The SLAJ President maintained that for Sierra Leone and SLAJ specifically, for the first time in 50 years they are commemorating World Press Freedom Day without having to call on the government to scrap the infamous Criminal and Seditious Libel Law contained in Part V of the Public Order Act of 1965. He noted that Freedom of Expression is the fundamental human right upon which all other freedoms (association, assembly, and peaceful protest) depend, and so they want to thank the President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio, his government, and the Parliament of Sierra Leone for this brave accomplishment. (Photo: SLAJ boss Nasralla).
He said to start the celebration of this landmark victory, SLAJ is opening a Book of Reflection on the demise of the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law, where victims will share their experiences with the anti-free speech legislation, stating that later on in the course of the year, SLAJ will premiere a documentary showing the long walk to freedom; and they are also working to install a commemorative structure to Free Speech and Free Media.
“Let me reiterate what I said following the repeal of the criminal libel law that whilst we have been given more freedom to do our work, we must know that such freedom goes with immense responsibility. So we must not give any reason to those who were opposed to the repeal to say we told you not to repeal. This is not to say, however, that as journalists, we must not investigate and expose corruption in high places; or we must not hold public officials and our government to account. What we are saying is for us to do all of this, but in a responsible manner and strictly following the codes that define our profession,” Mr Sahid Nasralla maintained.
On the Cybercrime Bill, Nasralla said SLAJ has made its position clear on the Cybercrime Bill 2020 that it is not against legislation that seeks to protect and promote responsible use of cyberspace, which is becoming increasingly a dangerous threat to our individual and collective security, peace and stability, but that in its current draft form, it is not a good law for our country.
He pointed out that in their position statement, which is on behalf of the entire media fraternity in the country, including the IMC, RAIC, and MRCG, and which they have submitted to the Ministry of Information and Communications and the leadership of Parliament, they raised serious concerns relating to provisions and sections in the bill that have the potential to undermine the gains we have made as a country in the area of freedom of expression and of the press, and people’s privacy rights. (Photo: High table).
On the safety and security of journalists he said a recent study on the State of Safety of Journalists Policies and Practices Among Media Houses in the country conducted by the MFWA and MRCG, with support from the Dutch Foreign Ministry (through the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana) shows that majority of the media houses study lacked safety and security, and gender policies, furthering that Journalists in the line of duty expose themselves to dangers when covering riots or demonstrations, and most popular perpetrators of violations against journalists are police officers, military personnel, politicians, civil servants, and community stakeholders/people.
So while the criminal libel law is gone, harassment and intimidation of journalists are now taking different forms. He stated: “SLAJ is concerned about this and we will discuss these issues, including the recommendations of the study, at our coming AGM to brainstorm on workable approaches to ensure the safety and security of all journalists, and to promote gender mainstreaming in the media.https://res.adx.opera.com/pagead/?w=328&h=0&pk=s4592841791680&ct=&uc=true&cc=US&lc=en&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn-af.feednews.com%2Fnews%2Fdetail%2F18217c57d0a9a7158c110c4f77939f40-push%3Ffeatures%3D2114219%26client%3Dmini%26uid%3D14a6a9f7f94a7f4d17fb9bcf26647b2105038822%26like_count%3D0&rf=&cst=UTF-8&title=T24gV29ybGQgUHJlc3MgRGF5IFNpZXJyYSBMZW9uZSBKb3VybmFsaXN0cyBVcmdlIE1QcyBUbyBTZWVrIE1vcmUgQ2xhcml0eSBPbiBDeWJlcmNyaW1lIEJpbGwgLSBPcGVyYSBOZXdzIE9mZmljaWFs&vr=cdn-af.feednews.com&bl=en-US&sh=640&sw=360&sch=6036&scw=360&scl=0&sct=0&tz=GMT%2B0000&vph=568&vpw=360&debug=false
“We want to look at the future role of the media and verified information. In 10 years’ time, the role of the media in providing accurate information, exposing corruption, holding public officials and governments to account, educating and raising awareness, etc. will not change much. What will change is the demand for greater responsibility of the media in combating fake news, hate speech, misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories, all of which have culminated into a raging media virus called infodemic,” he maintained.
He concluded by urging the Government and politicians to make a bold commitment to never again pass any law that will criminalise free speech and urged every journalist to aspire to be a true and patriotic professional.
Celebrities Vybes 