Chan 2014: Bafana smell death in date with Eagles

NIGERIA’S Super Eagles and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana live to fight another day as the draw pits the two teams in Group A of the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
At the draw ceremony held in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, host South Africa will contest the Group A campaign in Cape Town and will have the challenge of the Super Eagles as well as Mali and Mozambique to contend with.
However, the South Africans are already in awe of the group.
Kirsten Nematandani, President of the South Africa Football Association (SAFA), said after the draw: “The presence of Nigeria and Mali coupled with Mozambique makes it the ‘group of death.”
Bafana start the championship with a match against Mozambique on January 11 while Nigeria tackle Mali later in the day.
For both Nigeria and South Africa, the January 19 match day is a clean slate as the Eagles and Bafana have never met on this level, CHAN being a continental championship meant for players who ply their trade in domestic league.

G7 GOVS MAY DUMP ATIKU •No deal yet with Jonathan - New PDP •Hold me responsible for PDP Reps’ fracas - Tambuwal •PDP crisis, act of God - APC Reps caucus

THE talks between President Goodluck Jonathan and members of the G7 group of aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appeared to be heading for the rocks, following indications that the G7 members may dump Atiku Abubakar and are thinking of Accord Party as an option.
Accord Party is believed to have been formed by loyalists of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, ahead of the 2007 general election, but was later taken over by former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja.
Sources in the polity, however, told the Nigerian Tribune that the aggrieved governors of the PDP were eyeing the Accord Party, to strengthen their negotiations with other parties.
Besides, it was learnt that the governors believed that President Jonathan was not ready to shift his position on any of their demands, especially the call for an end to what they called harassment from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“The governors are worried that the president will not cede anything to them, as the body language in the last meeting showed. He seemed to have made up his mind, going by the dissolution of Kano State PDP executive in the midst of the talks,” a source close to the G7 governors said.
Sources said the group was being careful in teaming up with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), as  the choice of the party’s presidential candidate would determine whether or not they could work with the merger party.
It was also gathered that loyalists of Obasanjo, who kick started the rebellion in the PDP, became uncomfortable that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was becoming the rallying point in the agitation, with Atiku reportedly positioning the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) to reap the benefits of the rebellion.
Sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the G7 team of aggrieved PDP governors had, therefore, decided on the Accord Party as a viable option to achieve many things at the same time.
A source said one of the plans on the agenda was to push the PDP to hasten the acceptance of their terms, while also open up to other parties as the beautiful bride.
A source said the decision had been taken ahead of the October 7 meeting at the Presidential Villa, so as not to get caught unawares by President Jonathan.
“The reason for the decision to move to Accord Party shortly is to prepare our minds for the worst. We are not hearing anything new from the meetings.
“The president appears not to be feeling the heat of the rebellion and the earlier we actualise our option, the faster the message will sink,” a source among the aggrieved governors said.
No deal yet with Jonathan —New PDPTHE reported cease-fire and peace deal between the warring factions of the People Democratic Party (PDP) has been disowned by the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led faction of the party, as it denied ever endorsing President Goodluck Jonathan  for re-election in 2015.
The Baraje-led faction specifically accused the Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, of lying about the outcome of the reconciliation talks, while it urged Nigerians and supporters to ignore what it called “the concocted tales of Governor Akpabio.”
In a statement signed by the factional national publicity secretary, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, the faction urged its supporters to “ignore the tissue of lies and propaganda from the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led faction of the party on the outcome of our meeting with President Jonathan at the Presidential Villa on Sunday.”
The faction noted that “the fact of the case is that no agreement has been reached on any of the issues tabled before the president and until we see results, Nigerians should ignore the present efforts by the Tukur camp to deceive them.”
On whether President Jonathan should contest the 2015 presidential election or not, the faction noted that the PDP  had “a mechanism and system of electing its standard-bearers for any election and until the time to choose the party’s presidential standard-bearer comes, any speculation on this is just a mere academic exercise.”
The party accused Tukur and other forces around the president of lacking seriousness in the search for peace within the party, noting that “just a few hours after Sunday’s meeting , Tukur-led faction once more showed its disdain for peace by unilaterally setting up a caretaker committee to run the affairs of Kano chapter.
“This was done without recourse to either the leader of the party in Kano State, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, or other stakeholders of the party from the state.
“This illegality is a clear violation of our party’s constitution and was hurriedly done just to spite Governor Kwankwaso.”
While urging party supporters in  Kano to ignore the caretaker committee, the statement said the faction had set in motion, machinery to organise a proper election as stipulated by the constitution of the party.
PDP crisis, act of God —APC Reps’ caucus
LAWMAKERS on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, disclosed that the current crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was an act of God.
The APC lawmakers, at a press briefing chaired by the Minority Leader of the House, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, said “we are undoubtedly, as are most Nigerians, pleased with what is unfolding in the PDP. We are pleased not just for us, but for the vast majority of the suffering Nigerian masses. In all of these happenings, we see the hand of God.”
A mild drama, however, played out during the press briefing, when the deputy minority whip, Honourable Garba Datti, said members of the New PDP had already indicated interest to join APC and maintained that the APC caucus had met with them earlier on Wednesday, but was cut short by Honourable Gbajabiamila and other APC members in attendance.
Honourable Gbajabiamila, in his address, said “we want to invite our colleagues in the House, who found their way into the PDP through craft or deception, but who, in their hearts, are progressive in inclination and bent, to join hands with us in pursuing our agenda of change and hope of saving Nigeria.
“This is our time, this is our moment. Let us seize it. There is much work to be done, but the labourers are few. All hands must be on deck at this critical moment in our nation’s history.”
He added that “the break-up of the PDP was imminent and one need not be a rocket scientist to have seen it coming.
“It is impossible to build something on nothing or on a weak foundation where the reason for your existence in the first place was not to govern but to milk the collective patrimony of over 160 million people.
“Such a mission cannot stand, even where you conjecture and your plan or dream is to continue to pillage what God has given to a nation for the next 60 years as once claimed by an excited but hallucinating PDP leader.”
Gbajabiamila further stated that APC as a party did not have two, three, four or seven-point agenda, adding that “we only have one, an agenda to save Nigeria and usher in change as our slogan suggests.”
He said “it is under that one-item agenda that we find many agendas. The agenda that brings change to a rotten education system; the agenda that reduces, if not eliminate, the scourge of poverty; the agenda that provides stable electricity as a right of every Nigerian; the agenda that would pursue the establishment of world class hospitals; an agenda that would develop our infrastructure; that would make corruption which has become cultural under a rudderless government a thing of shame; an agenda that would make us a federal republic and not a unitary government.”
The minority leader called for a partnership and a rainbow coalition with all Nigerians, adding that “though tribe or tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand.”
He tasked Nigerians that it was time they went to the polls to take issues that affected their lives seriously.
“Furthermore, we intend, on a quarterly basis, to also give our own “State of the Nation” address from the legislative monocle.
“We believe that the people who voted us into office are entitled and have a right as opposed to a privilege to be carried along in all affairs of the state,” he said.

Robin van Persie has won Goal of the Month for August! Re-watch his impressive strike here

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2013/Sep/robin-van-persie-first-vs-swansea-voted-manchester-united-goal-of-the-month-for-august.aspx?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=FB0702

Robin scoops goal prize

Robin van Persie’s opener at Swansea has been named Manchester United’s Goal of the Month for August after one of the closest votes we can remember.

The Dutchman’s acrobatic effort picked up 33% of the votes cast by fans on ManUtd.com and its six international versions, narrowly beating his rising drive at the Liberty Stadium into second place (32%).

Danny Welbeck’s chip against the Swans followed closely behind on 30%, meaning the top three strikes were all scored in the same game.

Also nominated were goals by Davide Petrucci and Jesse Lingard for the Reds’ Under-21s, and Sean Goss, Ruairi Croskery and James Wilson for the Under-18s.

African Beauty: Hollywood classics get photographic remake

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

"Breakfast At Onomo's," by Antoine Tempe, a French-born American photographer with years of working experience in West Africa.

"Thelma & Louise," also by Tempe.

Diop, 33, has also embarked on a project aimed at documenting "Africa's contemporary urban scene."

Dubbed "The Studio of Vanities," the project is a series of staged images of the young generation of Dakar's cultural entrepreneurs.

Apart from fine arts and staged portraits, Diop's body of work also includes fashion photography -- Image: "Blutiful shades of black."

"I am very interested in movement; movement of the human body but also of the fabrics, outfits and styles that are used to embellish the body," says Diop. "Image: I Feel Like A Bird Today."

Diop is a newcomer to Senegal's artistic scene, having quit his corporate job last year to fully dedicate himself to photography.

Key to his decision was the success of his "Fashion 2112, Le Futur Du Beau" series, which was exhibited at Bamako Encounters in 2011.

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

"Breakfast At Onomo's," by Antoine Tempe, a French-born American photographer with years of working experience in West Africa.

"Thelma & Louise," also by Tempe.

Diop, 33, has also embarked on a project aimed at documenting "Africa's contemporary urban scene."

Dubbed "The Studio of Vanities," the project is a series of staged images of the young generation of Dakar's cultural entrepreneurs.

Apart from fine arts and staged portraits, Diop's body of work also includes fashion photography -- Image: "Blutiful shades of black."

"I am very interested in movement; movement of the human body but also of the fabrics, outfits and styles that are used to embellish the body," says Diop. "Image: I Feel Like A Bird Today."

Diop is a newcomer to Senegal's artistic scene, having quit his corporate job last year to fully dedicate himself to photography.

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

"Breakfast At Onomo's," by Antoine Tempe, a French-born American photographer with years of working experience in West Africa.

"Thelma & Louise," also by Tempe.

Diop, 33, has also embarked on a project aimed at documenting "Africa's contemporary urban scene."

Dubbed "The Studio of Vanities," the project is a series of staged images of the young generation of Dakar's cultural entrepreneurs.

Apart from fine arts and staged portraits, Diop's body of work also includes fashion photography -- Image: "Blutiful shades of black."

"I am very interested in movement; movement of the human body but also of the fabrics, outfits and styles that are used to embellish the body," says Diop. "Image: I Feel Like A Bird Today."

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

"Breakfast At Onomo's," by Antoine Tempe, a French-born American photographer with years of working experience in West Africa.

"Thelma & Louise," also by Tempe.

Diop, 33, has also embarked on a project aimed at documenting "Africa's contemporary urban scene."

Dubbed "The Studio of Vanities," the project is a series of staged images of the young generation of Dakar's cultural entrepreneurs.

Apart from fine arts and staged portraits, Diop's body of work also includes fashion photography -- Image: "Blutiful shades of black."

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

"Breakfast At Onomo's," by Antoine Tempe, a French-born American photographer with years of working experience in West Africa.

"Thelma & Louise," also by Tempe.

Diop, 33, has also embarked on a project aimed at documenting "Africa's contemporary urban scene."

Dubbed "The Studio of Vanities," the project is a series of staged images of the young generation of Dakar's cultural entrepreneurs.

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

"Breakfast At Onomo's," by Antoine Tempe, a French-born American photographer with years of working experience in West Africa.

"Thelma & Louise," also by Tempe.

Diop, 33, has also embarked on a project aimed at documenting "Africa's contemporary urban scene."

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

"Breakfast At Onomo's," by Antoine Tempe, a French-born American photographer with years of working experience in West Africa.

"Thelma & Louise," also by Tempe.

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

"Breakfast At Onomo's," by Antoine Tempe, a French-born American photographer with years of working experience in West Africa.

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop, who also included "Frida" in the Onomolliwood series.

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

The artists chose movies they liked and which had influenced them, including "The Matrix," and gave them an African makeover.

Senegal-based photographers Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempe have revisited some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as "American Beauty," as part of their Onomolliwood series.

It is one of the iconic modern cinema scenes: Mena Suvari, as Angela in Oscar-winning "American Beauty," stretches her arms wide as she basks in a sea of floating rose petals during one of Lester's (Kevin Spacey) frequent fantasies.

But when Senegalese photographer Omar Victor Diop set out to recreate the provocative sequence for his latest project, finding a bed of red roses proved difficult. Undeterred, Diop found the solution by using a plant wall inside the hotel where the shoot was taking place.

"The creative process of this series itself is very similar to the way African contemporary creation often takes place," says Diop. "We often have to tweak concepts and styles from around the world and adapt them to our context, while preserving their original feel."

That series is "Onomolliwood," a dazzling collection of images in which Diop and Antoine Tempe, a Senegal-based French-American photographer, revisited several Hollywood classics to give an African take on some of cinema's most iconic moments.

The two artists merged their passion for aesthetics and performance art to offer a collection of striking images infused with flowing swirls of color, vivacious textures and dynamic characters.

"I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa," explains Diop.

Read this: Artists' road trip across Africa

Senegalese photographer Omar Victor Diop.

PHOTO: ANTOINE TEMPE

Completely self-taught, the 33-year-old is a newcomer to Senegal's creative scene. He started experimenting with cameras on the streets of Dakar in 2010, at a time when he was still working in corporate communications for a multinational.

But much to his surprise, Diop's first conceptual project, the futuristic "Fashion 2112," was selected the following year to be showcased at Bamako Encounters, Africa's premier photo exhibition.

After that, Diop decided to fully pursue his passion for photography. He quit his job last year and quickly started building an eclectic body of work that spreads from conceptual art to fashion photography and portraits.

CNN's African Voices spoke to Diop about revisiting cinema classics and the transition from the corporate world to art.

Photography as an agent of change

How photographers documented apartheid

CNN: "The Matrix," "American Beauty" and "Frida" are just some of the famous films featured in the Onomolliwood series. What was the inspiration behind the project?

Omar Victor Diop: I worked on this project with French-born American photographer Antoine Tempe after an invitation by the Onomo Hotel Group. We thought that actually using cinema as a general theme would be a way for our respective creative universes to meet because cinema involves fashion and aesthetics, but it also involves an important performance dimension.

We started working with the movies we liked, the movies that had influenced us. I remember watching in the 1980s the same movies as the young people of Paris and New York and maybe Bangkok. At the end of the day we're all the same young people regardless of where you were born and where you were raised and somehow I wanted to show this also through the choice of movies in the series.

CNN: Is part of your artistic goal to show the modern side of Dakar and Senegal?

OVD: Yes, and it's not even about the new Africa, it's just that because of globalization and the internet the modernity of Africa has sort of accelerated. But even back in the 1980s, when I was just a kid, I can tell you that Dakar was very modernized and international.

Another advantage we had was that we were open to not only the Western world but the entire world -- we had African cultural content, Asian content, Chinese or Indian movies. It's just a shame that all of this, especially the urban life of the 1980s, is not documented.

Read this: Photos show Congo in new light

It's terrific when you realize that you can actually write your own history as you live your passion.
Omar Victor Diop, photographer

So when I think about creating a new series I always make sure that not only the current Africa but also the one I grew up is somehow portrayed. I believe it's the responsibility of a photographer to not only conceptualize but also come up with some work that can be used as a reference in the future as a history document.

CNN: How is it working as an artist in Dakar today?

OVD: It's very exciting being part of the creative scene in Dakar right now. I think the period we are living in is a breakthrough, in the sense that there is a sustained and growing interest for "another Africa." Also, African artists are now aware that they can communicate to the world, and speak about and for themselves. It's terrific when you realize that you can actually write your own history as you live your passion.

CNN: What kind of themes fascinate you?

OVD: I am very interested in movement; movement of the human body but also of the fabrics, outfits and styles that are used to embellish the body. Even in my fashion photography I always make sure that there is a movement that is captured, and that tells a story.

I'm also interested in the aesthetics of the 1970s and the 1980s, especially in Africa, and I always try to recreate that with the use of colors and styling references.

It's very exciting being part of the creative scene in Dakar right now.
Omar Victor Diop, photographer

And I'm also interested in personalities; that's why I've started a series of portraits called "The Studio of Vanities." The reason behind it was that I wanted to somehow pay homage and also document the youngest generation of Dakar's cultural entrepreneurs -- I'm convinced that many of these people are going to be very successful and are going to bring a lot of great things to the cultural sector in the next few years.

CNN: How was the transition from the corporate world to becoming artist?

OVD: I quit my job a year ago; it was a quite bold decision that scared many people around me because being an artist was not considered as a valid option. I come from a family where my mum is a lawyer and my dad is a chartered accountant -- both of them having very senior jobs throughout their careers -- and I attended top schools that were very advanced and quite expensive. With the money my family invested in me, of course you can imagine my mum being quite devastated, but I now have their full support.