News Digest: Egypt Beats South Africa for AFCON 2019 Hosting Right; Group Plans U.S. Scholarship for Young Nigerian Athletes
1. Egypt beats South Africa for AFCON 2019 hosting right
Egypt beat South Africa to win the hosting rights for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON), which will begin in June.
According to the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Egypt got 16 votes to win the hosting bid. South Africa only got a vote. There was one abstention.
The vote was by members of the Caf executive committee, meeting in Dakar Senegal, where later in the day the African Footballer of the year will also be announced.
2. Group plans U.S. scholarship for young Nigerian Athletes
5-Stars Football Consultancy Ltd, in partnership with A.O Global Group, says it will hold Africa – U.S. Soccer Recruitment Tour to select young Nigerian athletes for scholarship to study in the U.S.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of 5-Stars Football Consultancy, Mr Olumide Aturu, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
3. Three killed, hundreds injured in South Africa train collision
At least three people were killed and around 300 injured on Tuesday after two trains collided in the South African capital Pretoria, an emergency services official said.
The crash, which occurred at 9:30 a.m. (07:30 GMT), left 82 passengers with serious injuries after a packed train careered into a stationary train at Mountain View station.
“We do not rule out the possibility of additional fatalities as we search under the wreckage,” emergency official Charles Mabaso told Reuters.
4. French official due to lead 'yellow vests' debate quits in pay furore
The official appointed by the French government to lead a national debate over the grievances raised by ‘yellow vest’ protesters quit on Tuesday following a controversy over her salary.
Former sports minister Chantal Jouanno said she could not guarantee conditions for a calm debate as she had become a focus of attention after a news magazine revealed she was paid 14,700 euros (13,225 pounds) per month to head France’s National Commission for Public Debate.
5. Trump appeals to US TV audience over wall
US President Donald Trump is set to argue that an immigration "crisis" requires his long-promised wall along the Mexican border.
Mr Trump will make his case in his first speech from the Oval Office at 21:00EST (0200 GMT Wednesday), ahead of a trip to the border on Thursday.
A partial government shutdown has been in effect for 17 days after lawmakers failed to break a budget impasse.
The president is insisting that $5bn (£4bn) be included for the border wall.