UPDATE: Platini Loses Appeal At CAS Over 90-Day FIFA Ban

UEFA-President Michel Platini of France is surrounded by media after a hearing at the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. Platini appealed against a 90-day ban which is keeping him out of the presidential race for the sport's scandal-plagued governing body FIFA. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

Michel Platini failed to overturn his 90-day FIFA ban on Friday, with the ruling coming only minutes after Swiss federal prosecutors said they stepped up their criminal investigation into a US$2 million payment he received from soccer's scandal-hit governing body.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its three-man panel of judges was unanimous in ruling against the FIFA election hopeful's appeal, stating that the former France great would still be able to campaign for president after an expected FIFA ethics committee verdict.

Obaigbena: Dasuki’s Payments Were For Boko Haram Attack, 12 Affected Newspapers

Nduka Obaigbena

Nduka Obaigbena, editor-in-chief and chairman of THISDAY, says the ₦550 million payments he received from Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser (NSA), were compensation for the Boko Haram attack on the Abuja office of the newspaper on April 26, 2012.

US$1bn Vanishing Act In Kenya

Kenyan newspaper front pages BBC

The Kenyan newspaper front pages are dominated by the latest episode in a story about US$1bn which appear to have vanished. BBC News reports that Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga is refusing to talk to anti-corruption police about the 140bn Kenyan shillings (US$1.3bn/ £905m) that he had alleged had gone missing from the government.

He is arguing that as he is just a whistle blower, that he has alerted the public to the missing money and doesn’t need to be interrogated.  

The money was from loans - called Eurobonds - sold on the Irish stock exchange and was intended to be spent on infrastructure and to ease domestic borrowing.

AND THE WINNER IS ... 2015 BBC African Footballer Of The Year To Be Revealed Today

All in the running: Toure, Ayew, Brahimi, Aubameyang and Mane

The winner of the 2015 BBC African Footballer of the Year award will be announced today on BBC Africa Live. Football fans got to vote for one of the five on the shortlist:

Michel Platini: UEFA President Loses Suspension Appeal

UEFA president Michel Platini has failed in his bid to have his 90-day provisional ban from football activity lifted. Platini had asked for the suspension to be lifted to allow him to work but his request was denied by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The 60-year-old was suspended along with FIFA president Sepp Blatter in October while corruption claims are investigated.

Both deny any wrongdoing.

Buhari, Others Pay Last Respect To Benin’s Kerekou

President Muhammadu Buhari pays his last respects to the remains of former President Mathieu Kerekou, during the late leader’s funeral service at the Stade de L’amitie (the Friendship Stadium) in Cotonou, Benin Republic yesterday.

President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday in Cotonou that late President Mathieu Kerekou of Benin Republic would be long remembered as a father of his nation and founding father of ECOWAS.

Military Sites In Burundi Capital Attacked, Soldier Says 7 Dead; Gunfire, Explosions Shut Down Burundi's Capital

Timeline of Burundi's Turmoil

Anti-government gunmen attacked military sites in Burundi's capital on Friday and up to seven people were killed in fighting, officials and soldiers said, the latest flare-up in a nation Western powers fear is sliding back into ethnic conflict. Two soldiers and five attackers were killed in clashes around a base in Ngagara, a district of Bujumbura, one soldier told Reuters. He lives outside the base, one of three sites attacked in the capital, but said he spoke to colleagues inside.

A military spokesman could not be reached for comment.

FG Probes 10 Varsities Over Fraud, Sex Scandals; UNN, Uniabuja, Yabatech, Others For Probe

Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu

Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu yesterday in Abuja inaugurated committees to investigate the managements of 10 universities and polytechnics over allegations of abuse of due process, financial mismanagement and sexual harassment.

Zuma Appoints Finance Minister Without Experience In Middle of Economic Crisis; Meet South Africa’s New Finance Minister

South African president Jacob Zuma (R) shakes hands with newly appointed Minister of Finance David Van Rooyen (L) after a swearing in ceremony as the new South African Minister of Finance on December 10, 2015 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria

*Sacking Of Finance Minister Nene Shakes South African Confidence

South Africa's rand dropped to historic lows Thursday after President Jacob Zuma sacked his respected finance minister in a move that triggered widespread fears about the country's economic outlook. South Africa has faced mounting financial problems in recent years, with unemployment at over 25 percent, slowing GDP growth and power cuts hobbling industry.

Six Kenyan Politicians Arrested Over 'Mass Grave' Comments; Later Released

Kenyan senator Billow Kerrow (Image credits: BBC)

Six politicians from Kenya's north-eastern Mandera county have been arrested over comments they have made about the alleged discovery of a mass grave. A woman's body was discovered on Monday and residents fear there could be more in the area. 

On Tuesday, police obtained a court order to exhume bodies from the unmarked graves.

UPDATE: #ZumaMustFall Trending After Sacking Of Finance Minister

Nhlanhla Nene

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has sacked Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene - moving him to another "strategic position" not long after the country's credit rating was downgraded.

Trendsmap  - #ZumaMustFall is trending on Twitter in South Africa

The announcement has caused South Africa's currency the rand to fall close to a record low.

Tunisian Nobel Prize Winners In Oslo To Receive Prize; Five Quotes From Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

Chairperson of the Norwegian Nobel committee Kaci Kullmann-Five (L to R) speaks during the Peace Prize awarding ceremony at the City Hall in Oslo on 10 December 2015

Ms Kullmann-Five said this year's prize "is truly a prize for peace, awarded against a backdrop of unrest and war".

A ceremony took place today in Norway to present the Tunisian winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize with their award.

Speaking at the ceremony in Oslo, the leader of the Nobel Committee, Kaci Kullmanm Five, praised the winners - Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet - saying their work had helped the North African country find a way to peace during a time of great unrest.

AFP

Roger Federer And Coach Stefan Edberg End Partnership

Roger Federer has split from Coach Stefan Edberg, right

Roger Federer has split from his coach Stefan Edberg, the pair announced on Tuesday night. The world number three has been working with Edberg for two years, during which time he has won 11 tournaments including three top-level ATP Masters 1000 events.

Return Of 2 Million IDPs Begins Next Year – Buhari; Boko Haram Victims 'Ignored' – Miliband

Some of the displaced people are living the UN camps (Getty Images)

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that the return of persons displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency to their home communities will start in earnest next year.  Buhari gave the assurance at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday while receiving a delegation of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) led by former British Foreign Minister David Miliband.

The president said his government would do everything within its powers to facilitate the quick return and resettlement of over two million internally displaced persons in their towns and villages.

Five Charged In Australia Over Terror Plot

A man is being arrested during a counter-terrorism operation in Sydney on December 10, 2015 ©- (New South Wales Police/AFP)

Five people, including a 15-year-old boy, were charged Thursday in Sydney over a terror plot targeting a government building, with authorities expressing alarm at the age of those being radicalized.

The teenager and a 20-year-old man were seized at their homes Thursday morning and accused of conspiracy to conduct an act in preparation for a terrorist act. Three others currently in jail, aged 21, 22, and 22, were later charged with the same offence, police said.

Buhari: Arms Deal Scam A Breach Of Trust

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari last night described the misapplication of the arms purchase cash as “an abuse of trust.” He spoke at a dinner for the members of the House of Representatives at the old Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja.

Former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki, along with other individuals, are on trial for alleged diversion of arms purchase cash.

North Korean Leader's Uncle Says Fear Drove Defection To US

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un attends a meeting at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang, in November 2015 ©- (KCNA via KNS/AFP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's uncle has described how fear of the deadly power politics in Pyongyang drove him and his wife to defect to the United States nearly 20 years ago. In a telephone interview with South Korea's Yonhap news agency, Ri Kang said the couple had been deeply concerned what might become of them in any power struggle that followed the eventual death of Kim's father Kim Jong-Il.

Ri is married to Ko Yong-Suk, the younger sister of Kim Jong-Un's mother.

Minimum Wage Shouldn’t Be Burden On Any Governor — Oshiomhole

Adams Oshiomhole

Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole has said that the payment of ₦18,000 minimum wage should not be a burden to any state governor. Speaking with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja yesterday, ‎Oshiomhole said that welfare of the people is the main business of the leaders.

Governorship Election: Bayelsa’s Election Of Blood

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rescheduled Saturday’s governorship election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayesla State but the process failed to produce a winner.

As predicted, last Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa State lived up to its billing. It was not only volatile; it was bloody. Violence erupted in almost all the local government areas and allegations and counter allegations of rigging, ballot box snatching and other irregularities characterized the process. It was an election that was far from being free, fair and peaceful.

Côte d'Ivoire Parliament Speaker Leaves France Amid Court Row

Côte d'Ivoire newspapers in Abidjan run headline news on the arrest warrant issued by a French judge against parliamentary speaker, Guillaume Soro on December 8, 2015 ©Sia-Kambou (AFP)

Côte d'Ivoire's parliamentary speaker, who is at the centre of a diplomatic dispute between his country and France over a court investigation, left Paris for Abidjan on Wednesday evening, a spokesman said.

Guillaume Soro, who is also a former rebel chief, had been summoned by a Paris judge in connection with a complaint filed by Michel Gbagbo, son of former Côte d'Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo, who was ousted in 2011 and is currently awaiting trial in The Hague.