World News
UN receives 37 sexual accusations against personnel
The United Nations has received about 37 allegations of sexual abuse against its personnel in the first quarter of 2019, according to one of its representatives.
Mr. Farhan Haq, who is the Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the organization, revealed this at a news conference in New York on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the alleged offenders, according to Haq, include civilian and uniformed personnel from peacekeeping as well as employees of agencies. He quickly noted, however, that not all the accusations reported had been fully substantiated, and that many were in the initial stage of assessment.
“Of the 37 accusations, there are 49 victims: 28 are women while 11 are girls, one boy, seven females of unknown age, one unknown adult and one unknown child.
He also stated that “Sixteen of these allegations are considered as sexual abuse, 27 as sexual exploitation, four are of an unknown nature, while other two have been categorized as “other”, of which one was closed.
“Of these 37 allegations, one has been validated through an investigation and has been referred to the Member State,’’ the spokesperson said. He also added that four of the accusations were not substantiated; 26 at various stages of examination, and six under preliminary assessment to determine if there is adequate information to investigate.
In addition, Haq also detailed that the world body had received about 33 allegations, involving 37 victims and 38 perpetrators, against non-UN personnel working as implementing partners.
Meanwhile, the UN has continued to strengthen efforts to implement the Secretary-General’s strategy to fight sexual exploitation and manipulation, according to Haq.
More so, “In March, the 2018 Secretary General’s unusual actions for protection from sexual exploitation report was however released, which contains updates to the data provided in the previous reports.
“This also includes prioritizing the rights and self-esteem of victims, ending impunity, engaging with all member states, civil society and external associates and improving strategic communication for education as well as transparency.
“We’ve also continued in our exertions to engage with all associate states and encourage their Heads of State and Government to join the Secretary General’s Circle of Leadership, on prevention of response to sexual abuse in UN operations, which now stands at about 74 members.
Similarly, “The Secretary-General encouraged member states to become parties to the Voluntary Compact with the Secretary-General of the UN on the Commitment to Eradicate all forms of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse,’’ he said.
The NBA All-Star game has now to be called The Kobe Bryant MVP Award. NBA commissioner, Adam Silver made this announcement on Saturday 15th February.
The Kobe Bryant MVP Award will be given this Sunday at the closing of this year’s All-Star Game in Chicago. Both teams will be captained by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lebron James respectively. Team Lebron will put on No 2 and team Giannis will put on No 24. These two numbers were worn by Gianna, Kobe’s daughter and Kobe Bryant.
Recall that Kobe won the All-Star Game MVP in 2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011. Also, he played as the youngest player to feature in the All-Star Game at 19 in 1998.
The Health Ministry in Egypt has confirmed the first case of the deadly Coronavirus. The authorities made this disclosure on Friday 14th February in a press release. They said the World Health Organization has been informed and the patient is in isolation for monitoring and treatment.
The patient’s nationality was not given. However, Egypt is the 28th country in the world to record Coronavirus and the first in Africa.
So, over 64,000 cases of the Coronavirus have been diagnosed around the world and 1,363 persons have been confirmed dead since its outbreak in Wuhan, China
Sports
English Club, Manchester City Banned From Champions League For 2-Years And Slammed With A Fine Of £25m By UEFA
Manchester City has been placed on a 2-year ban by UEFA and fined £25m.
However, the club was banned for falsely inflating their sponsorship income. It makes it look like it was earning more than it was spending on the purchase of players. So, the Financial Fair Play made this discovery as they checked through the club’s account.
However, Manchester City has said they will appeal the judgment with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). So, the club is now suspended for the next two years from UEFA competitions.
The verdict came as a result of an investigation conducted by a German magazine Der Spiegel sometimes in November 2018. It alleged that the owner of the club single-handedly funded the club. This covers sponsorship of the club’s stadium, academy, and the club’s shirts through the Etihad airline.
Manchester City has, however, said they were disappointed by the verdict.
“In December 2018, the UEFA Chief Investigator publicly previewed the outcome and sanction he intended to be delivered to Manchester City before any investigation had even begun. The subsequent flawed and consistently leaked UEFA process he oversaw has meant that there was little doubt in the result that he would deliver.
“Simply put, this is a case initiated by UEFA, prosecuted by UEFA and judged by UEFA. With this prejudicial process now over, the Club will pursue an impartial judgment as quickly as possible and will, therefore, in the first instance, commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity.”
