The News Review:

- Nigerian church leaders praise new cardinal from West Africa
- WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 404 for 24-30 November 2007
- The Sun News n-line | Sports
- Pope creates 23 cardinals from 14 countries
- Sporting News – Your expert source for MLB Baseball NFL Football…

Nigerian church leaders praise new cardinal from West Africa
Catholic News Service – Nov 24, 2007
The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria Archbishop Felix Alaba Job of Ibadan described the new cardinal as someone who “is cool (and) calculating a loving and devoted priest. ” “He is somebody that will contribute to better the relations existing between Christians and Muslims worldwide as he had done in his home country Senegal over the years” the archbishop said. “Remember that the majority of Senegalese are Muslims but his opinion is always highly revered by the country’s nationals” the archbishop said. Catholics form about 5 percent of Senegal’s population of 12. More than 19 million Catholics live in Nigeria.

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 404 for 24-30 November 2007
Reuters AlertNet – Nov 24, 2007
The government is offering in part jobs in the civil service to retiring soldiers. “We have rejected the government’s propositions” Clement uedraogo head of a group of aggrieved retired soldiers told IRIN on 28 November just after the government announced new measures for the military. “We say it’s our demands or nothing. ” Active and former soldiers have been demanding a five-year increase in the retirement age back pay for recently retired soldiers and increased pensions to reflect the cost of living… They were trafficked from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal like thousands of others – sometimes as young as four years old – who work the cotton fields of Senegal’s southern agricultural region or are taken to religious leaders who force them to beg on the streets in return for a Koranic education. Known as the talibés the forced child beggars are often subjected to horrible living conditions beatings and sometimes sexual abuse. Many are malnourished uneducated and do not have access to health care.

The Sun News n-line | Sports
Daily Sun – Nov 24, 2007
God said to me: ‘My son I want to start with Togo because they believe a lot in their voodoo (juju). I will give you the power to work for them (Togo) to qualify for the World Cup. ’ "By the time I started I told Keshi that Togo will beat Senegal 3–1 and it came to pass. That was their second match after they lost to Zambia in their first match. "I predicted that Togo would beat Liberia in Monrovia but we ended up with a draw because I did not go when I was supposed to go there. The next match was against Congo and I told him we must win the game and we won by 2–0. I also told him before we went to Mali that we would beat them by 2–1 and we beat Mali by that margin.

Pope creates 23 cardinals from 14 countries
Catholic News Service – Nov 24, 2007
In the end it did not rain during the consistory. The pope walked out to the steps of the basilica afterward and extemporized a talk to those who waited outside. Among those in the square was a large contingent from Senegal — many of them now living in Italy — who came to cheer Cardinal Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar. They wore T-shirts with the cardinal’s name and picture on the front and the phrase “Where can we go Lord?” written on the back in French. Alphonse Mendy a native of Dakar said the nomination was especially important for the African country because it put the spotlight on the minority Catholic population in a country that is more than 90 percent Muslim. After the consistory the cardinals scattered to various receptions throughout the day including a big open house held in the late afternoon in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. The following day the pope was to celebrate Mass with the new cardinals and give them each a gold ring to symbolize their special bond of communion with Rome.

Sporting News – Your expert source for MLB Baseball NFL Football…
SportingNews.com – Nov 24, 2007
“To give to this continent a face a human face the human face of football and also to say that on this continent there is no one dominating color” he said. “They are all different colors and all of them are united in the World Cup in Africa and united by this face. In terms of soccer the 2010 World Cup is getting back what Africa has given over the past two decades when Algeria Cameroon Nigeria and Senegal made their marks at soccer’s biggest championship by beating some of the main contenders. Instead of the stars of African soccer going to other parts of the world to show off their skills every four years the big names from Europe South America Central and North America and Asia will be on their way to Africa in three years. The qualifying rounds have already started in many parts of the world notably South America where Brazil and Argentina are already among the front runners. But Sunday’s draw involves the big contenders from Europe which will have 13 of the 32 finalists while the likes of the United States Mexico Japan South Korea and Australia will also know their routes to the World Cup. The draw takes place before 3000 invited guests in Durban’s International Conference Center as a continent which is often seen as the future of the game finally gets its first big FIFA event.