Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

On Thursday night, the Nicaraguan Football Association revealed the blunder they made which contributed to FIFA receiving accusations of vote rigging over Messi's the Best Men's Player award win. Nicaragua player Juan Barrera raised concerns about the validity of FIFA's The Best awards, claiming he did not vote for the players that were attributed to him. The Nicaraguan FA in a statement confirmed Barrera didn't vote. They said they mistakenly used his name and signature that was on a file from a year ago, and said the person who made the error had been fired. They said it was the recently appointed captain, Manuel Rosas, who voted. Prior to the clarification from the Nicaraguan FA, a FIFA spokesperson said,  'We have checked the voting documents submitted by the Nicaraguan FA and all these documents are signed and confirmed with the official stamp of the Nicaraguan FA. 'Having compared with the vote sheets submitted by the FAs and the ones we have publ...

Former French president, Jacques Chirac, who was head of state from 1995 to 2007, has died aged 86. Frederic Salat-Baroux, his son-in-law told AFP, " The president Jacques Chirac died this morning among his own people. Peacefully."  Salat-Baroux is married to the former president's daughter Claude Chirac. The late French president boasted one of the longest continuous political careers in Europe; having been mayor of Paris for 18 years, prime minister twice, and president twice. Jacques Chirac was born in 1932 in Paris, of a successful middle-class family. He married  Bernadette Chodron de Courcel, a member of the Parisian high bourgeoisie in 1956.  He volunteered for the French Army in 1956 during the Algerian war. At age 35, he became one of the youngest government ministers in France under President Charles de Gaulle. Jacques Chirac's time as president may have been marked by inaction and political stagnation but he will be remembered internationall...

Lionel Messi was honored yesterday night at Milan with football's most prestigious individual award - The Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year Award. He beat rivals Virgilvan Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to the gong. Messi had 46% of the votes, the Liverpool center-back had 38%, and Ronaldo, 36 %. Here's whom the three finalists voted for: Messi voted Sadio Mane, the biggest shock of the finalists' votes.  Ronaldo voted for former Ajax defender and current Juventus team-mate Matthijs de Ligt.  Van Dijk voted Messi. Those who participated in the voting process were the world's international captains and their managers, and a selected journalist from each country. Each voter had to select three candidates, with their first receiving five points, their second three points, and their third, a point. Messi - the Argentina captain voted Sadio Mane first, Cristiano Ronaldo second, and Frenkie de Jong third.  Virgil van Dijk - the Netherlands captain, ...

Sorry Liverpool, no hat-trick of triumphs for you tonight. Lionel Messi and not Virgil van Dijk wins FIFA  Men's Footballer of the Year Award. Messi beat Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award, which happens to be his sixth FIFA Footballer of the Year Award. Virgil Van Dijk came second, and Cristiano Ronaldo, third. Ronaldo was not in attendance this year, same as last year. Messi is now one major step ahead of Ronaldo in terms of  FIFA Footballer of the Year Awards, he has six, while Ronaldo has five. Messi's exploits for the 2018/2019 football season include: His 51 goals for Barcelona in 2018-19 - the highest in the top five European Leagues (England, Spain, Italy, France & Germany) and a country mile ahead of Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski who scored 11 goals fewer. Helping Barcelona reach the Champions League semi-final and Copa del Rey final. Claiming the European Golden Shoe as the Europe's top goalscorer  Being La Liga's...

Liverpool manager 52-year-old Jurgen Klopp beat Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola to win the award for Best Men's coach at the FIFA The Best Awards in Milan this evening. Liverpool won the Champions League and came second in the Premier League last season, recording a tally of 97 points.  Jurgen Klopp made a heart-warming announcement upon accepting his award. He announced that he just joined the Common Goal Initiative set up by Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata. Joining CGI implies that 1% of his salary would be channeled to the charity which pledges to "generate social change and improve lives. Wow. It’s quite heavy! I have to say thank you to a lot of people, start with my family sitting at home watching. Nobody would have expected this 20 years ago, five years ago, four years ago. Mauricio, I won that game, that’s why I’m here not you. That’s just how football is. I say thank you to my oustanding club, LFC. Whoev...

Jennifer Lopez aged 50, just stunned the fashion world, reviving the iconic green Versace dress that lead to the invention of Google Images. Lopez modeled the modern version of the dress at Versace's S/S 2020 show, making an incredible surprise appearance at the at Milan Fashion week, at the city's Piazza Sei Febbraio venue. The dress she wore at the show was an even more revealing version of the jungle dress she wore to the 42nd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 23, 2000.  The original jungle dress the ageless Lopez wore in 2000 inspired tech giant Google to create Google Images, as millions searched the internet in a bid to see the dress. At the time, it was the most popular search query Google had ever had. #VersaceSS20 honors fashion inspiring innovation, with #DonatellaVersace and the Google Assistant calling for @jlo in the Jungle dress. #MFW pic.twitter.com/9L1m8ETTkD — VERSACE (@Versace) September 20, 2019 The Versace S/S 2020 show which held ...

Lionel Messi has conquered the football world and is now looking forward to doing same in the world of fashion. Messi took the night off football yesterday, to debut his new clothing range "Messi" on the Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona. Messi's sister, Maria Sol Messi, was heavily involved in the project. She told the crowd,  "It's a dream come true. Fashion is what I like the most, ever since I was a child, and it was always a dream of mine to be involved with a clothing brand. I studied a lot to dedicate myself to this profession. When an opportunity such as this one presents itself, you have to take advantage of it." Rodrigo Messi, Messi's brother was also in attendance. The 'Messi' debut drew a lot of attention with large crowds turning out to see with the Barcelona talisman had come up with.

To date, most health experts maintain that up to one drink a day is okay for your health, with some studies previously mentioning some health-protective effects of alcohol. However, the most recent in depth research on the effects of alcohol on health reveals that no amount of alcohol is good for you. The global study, titled, The Global Burden of Diseases study, analyzed levels of alcohol use and its effects in 195 countries from 1990 to 2016, and includes insights from 592 studies and 28 million people worldwide. The study published in  The Lancet  in August 2018 analyzed data from 15 to 95-year-olds. The report states,  "Our results show that the safest level of drinking is none." It further says, "This level is in conflict with most health guidelines, which espouse health benefits associated with consuming up to two drinks per day." The authors of the study say that moderate drinking may protect people against ischemic heart disease, but they found th...

Nigeria has begun repatriating its citizens from South Africa following the xenophobic attacks perpetrated by some South Africans on foreigners, Aljazeera reports. About 1,000 foreign-owned businesses were targeted, including Nigerians, Ethiopians, Congolese, Zambians and Zimbabweans.  Air Peace, a private Nigerian airline, volunteered to fly Nigerian citizens to Nigeria's commercial capital - Lagos - for free, on Wednesday. The first batch of 189 Nigerians arrived Lagos late Wednesday. A second flight is set to depart today Thursday or Friday. 640 Nigerians in total are expected to leave South Africa. Many foreigners (more than 700) including Zimbabweans and Malawians, left their homes with just a few bags when violence broke out, and sought refuge in community centers.  Amidst the xenophobic violence in South Africa, "fake" videos have been circulating on social media showing Nigerians being killed in South Africa, but Nigeria's Foreign Ministry has sta...

Parenthood is a big deal for both the mom-to-be and dad-to-be. It is hence important that both parties take the time to be sure it is what they want before engaging themselves into this life-changing venture. Many men tend to feel unready for fatherhood when they contemplate the responsibility associated with being a dad, given that their principal role is that of a provider. However, financial responsibility isn't the only thing you should be thinking about or asking yourself about. We'll start with finance, anyway. Are your finances in order? You should be able to provide for your child's needs, but you mustn't necessarily wait until you are 'rich'. Having a steady source of income before having a child is advisable. Moreover, you can keep saving after the baby is born. You won't spend heavily in the first two or three years of your child's life; heavy spending comes when the child starts schooling. It is important to plan financially. If you...

Deciding whether you are ready or not for motherhood can be challenging for any woman. Sometimes, it's difficult to tell if your own deep and sincere desires for motherhood, a biological urge, or just an inclination to surrender to pressure from your family and society. It is okay to feel confused or uncertain as motherhood is a life-changing decision, you're committing to being a parent for the rest of your life. Only you can gauge your readiness for motherhood. Examine your desires, and ask yourself these questions: Do I want to be a mother? Why? Why not? How does being or not being a mother make me feel? Are my desires influenced by external pressure? How will having a baby change my life in the next year, next five, 10 years? What are the emotional, mental, physical, and financial requirements for good parenting? Do I need to make certain changes in my life before having a baby? Can I raise a child on my own, or must my partner assist me? How would I handle...

Let's discover Uganda through these amazing facts. 1. Uganda has been ruled by only one president since 1986 - President Yoweri Musevini. He has been at the helm of the nation for 33 years. In Uganda, it is commonly said that a Ugandan president is called Museveni, no matter the outcome of the elections. 2. The variety of English spoken in Uganda is termed Uglish. Uglish is influenced by Luganda and other local dialects. Uglish has hundreds of words that have their own unique meanings. You might hear Ugandans say, "Please don't dirten my shirt with your muddy hands." "Downer" is often used in place of "lower", e.g.  I broke my upper leg, but my downer leg was paining, too." 3. Uganda is the second-highest consumer of alcohol in Africa with an average of 11.93 liters of alcohol consumed per person per year. Just 2% of their alcohol consumption comes from wine, 4% from beer, and 94% from other sources. 4. Uganda has the ...