Amazing Afghan Lionel Messi filmed playing football

Internet search is over as five-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi, who lives in a Taliban controlled area of Afghanistan, identified as boy playing in shirt made from plastic bag.

The young fan in a photograph that spread on social media has been identified as Murtaza Ahmadi, a five-year-old boy who lives in a Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan.

The shirt was made by his brother, from a plastic bag Photo: AFP

Murtaza had no idea he had become an internet sensation after his elder brother, Homayoun, 15, posted the photographs on Facebook two weeks ago.

Thousands of amateur sleuths trawled through picture archives trying to find the boy, as offers flooded in of real football shirts.

Murtaza, whose father admitted he could not afford to buy him a replica jersey, said he had only a punctured ball to play with in his village in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province.

“I love Messi, he plays well, the shirt was made by my brother and I liked it very much,” he said after being tracked down by the AFP news agency.

“We do not have a football playground near our house, and the only ball I have is punctured.

“I want to be like Messi, when I grow up.”

The shirt was made by his brother, from a plastic bag with Messi's name and number written on with marker pen.

Internet detectives initially believed the boy in the pictures was an Iraqi Kurd before Murtaza’s uncle Azim Ahamdi, who lives in Australia, posted pictures of his nephew and said he was the unwitting star of the story.

The family, who live in a remote rural area, only learnt about Murtaza’s newfound fame from relatives when Murtaza’s father’s visited the Afghan capital Kabul.

He told AFP he had high hopes for his son.

“He asked me to buy him a Messi jersey but I am a farmer and could not afford it,” Mohammad Arif Ahamdi, a father of six, said.

“Murtaza wants to meet Lionel Messi in person one day.

“I want my son to become a good football player in the future and become the Messi of Afghanistan.”

Football is hugely popular in Afghanistan although the national stadium in Kabul was used as a venue for executions during the years of Taliban rule until 2001.

TWO COPS ACCUSED OF RAPE NOT YET ARRESTED

A report shown a Police Investigator in South Africa  said two Caledon police officers accused of raping a teenager have not yet been arrested.

Both officers allegedly dragged the 19-year-old into a bush near her home before one of them raped her earlier this month.

He said officials expect to make arrests soon.

The police watchdog said its awaiting technical reports that will confirm which one of the men raped the 19-year-old.

It’s alleged the two police officers, one a sergeant and the other a constable, were supposed to take the young woman to a police station when they attacked her.

On Friday, Table Bay police officer Bathini Maqwazima, appeared in court for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old-girl.

Photo of a 15-year-old Somali boy who 'stabbed to death' Swedish social worker

Six-foot tall, the 'child' accused of murdering a Swedish aid worker appeared in court today.

Somali-born Youssaf Khaliif Nuur, ‎charged with murdering Alexandra Mezher, 22, towered over his translator as he walked into the courtroom in Gothenburg. 

She was knifed to death as she tried to break up a fight at the shelter for unaccompanied child refugees where she worked alone in charge of ten youths. 

She died saving the life of another resident whom allegedly knife-wielding Khaliif Nuur was trying to kill, police sources said. Swedish prosecutors admit they do not know if Somalian Khaliif Nuur, supposedly aged 15, is his true identity. 

Psychology graduate Miss Mezher had warned her mother she ‎was caring for 'big powerful guys' aged up to 24 in the shelter for children aged 14 to 17. 

Children's asylum applications are fast-tracked ‎in Sweden, prompting some grown men to lie and say they are teenagers. ‎Handcuffed Khaliif Nuur, looking older than his supposed 15 years, was ushered into court wearing a blanket over his head, a white T-shirt, light blue shirt and jeans.‎

Judge Henrik Andersson asked him: 'Are you Youssaf Khaliif Nuur?' and he nodded and said yes. 

He asked if he wanted to make a statement regarding the charges of murder and attempted murder, and his lawyer Nicklas Unger said: 'My client does not want to express himself in any way regarding the charges.'

He said his client objected to being held in custody, but prosecutor Linda Viking argued he might abscond or interfere with evidence if he was bailed.

The hearing then continued behind closed doors, and the alleged killer was ‎later remanded into custody until February 11. 

Killed: Miss Mezher (left and right), 22, described as an 'angel' by her mother (left), was fatally stabbed in the back and thigh at the asylum centre for young, unaccompanied migrants in Molndal, Sweden, on Monday morning. She died saving the life of another resident whom allegedly knife-wielding Khaliif Nuur was trying to kill, police sources said

Celebrations as a town welcomes first baby in almost 30 years

The alpine town of Ostana, in the Italian region of Piedmont, welcomes its first baby in 28 years

A tiny alpine town in northern Italy has welcomed its first baby in 28 years.

Born a week ago, little Pablo is the youngest resident of Ostana in the Piedmont region; when his parents brought him home from the hospital in Turin where he was born, their fellow residents celebrated the arrival of only the town's 85th inhabitant.

"At first I couldn't believe it was true," Giacomo Lombardo, the town's mayor, told CNN. 

"The news almost shocked me. It's a dream come true."

Since only about half of the population lives there year round, Pablo and his family, father Josè Berdugo Vallelago, mother Silvia Rovere and sisters Clara and Alice, make up about 10% of Ostana's "permanent" residents.

"We love challenges," said Josè, 36-year-old physiotherapist originally from Madrid, Spain. "Five years ago, we decided to leave Turin and change our life."

The couple planned to move to Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, but their life took an unexpected turn when they got the chance to manage an alpine refuge.

"When the city selected our project, we moved to Ostana, and we have never regretted our decision," said Josè. "We love the quality of the life here. Ostana is a safe place for our daughters, and we feel part of this community."

Silvia Rovere about to register her son Pablo at local registry office

Home to more 1,000 people a century ago, Ostana has seen its population slump in recent decades; in the 1980s only five people lived there permanently.

"The decline accelerated during the 1970s, and the last baby was born in 1987," said Lombardo, who has been mayor for 20 of the past 30 years.

For two decades, the community has tried to reverse the trend, investing in cultural activities and tourism to create new jobs and attract young people.

Ostana is not alone in its fight against depopulation. It is estimated that the number of Italian ghost towns already tops 6,000.

Small towns throughout the country have seen their population dwindling, as young people leave to study and chase better job opportunities elsewhere.

A variety of solutions have been tried: The Sicilian city of Gangi has offered abandoned houses for free, demanding only that their new owners renovate them; in other cases, entire villages have been put up for sale.

People in Ostana hope that the model stork carrying a blue bundle built to celebrate Pablo's arrival will soon welcome even more babies.

"We broke the ice," said Josè, "and I hope other people will come here."

Consfusion as explosion hits pipeline in Bayelsa

Explosion has again rocked a major pipeline in the Niger Delta region, a few days after an attack on oil and gas pipelines in the Gbaramatu kingdom Delta state, dealt a deadly blow on the economy, according to The Nation.

This time the attack occurred on a pipeline owned by the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

‎Persons suspected to be unrepentant militants were said to have attacked the pipeline located along Orukari, Golubokiri and Kpongbokiri communities in Brass

Panic was said to have gripped the communities following the disposition of the government against acts capable of worsening the bleeding economy.

It was learnt that the attackers committed the heinous economic crime on Thursday night.

The incident caused massive spillage of crude oil not the waterways and fishing camps.

A member representing Brass Constituency 1 in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Isreal Sunny-Igoli confirmed the explosion in a statement he signed in Yenagoa.

Igoli said that ‎preliminary investigations into the incident showed that it was an act of sabotage carried out to hurt the economic interests of Bayelsa and Nigeria.

He said the latest explosion coming after bombing of pipelines recently in the same axis was worrisome and capable of forcing oil companies out of operation and adversely affecting the Nigeria’s economy.

Sunny- Goli called on security agencies to beef up security around oil facilities to prevent future attacks adding that economic saboteurs were bent on crippling Nigeria’s economy.

He said: “I want to condemn the latest attack on Agip pipeline at Kpongbokiri. This is a clear sabotage by economic saboteurs. Recently they blasted pipeline at Orukari and Golubokiri.

“I condemned this latest attack on Agip pipeline at Kpongbokiri in its entirety. It is sabotage against Nigeria in a bid to cripple the economy at a time the Nation is struggling with decline in revenue due to the fall in oil prices.

“It is common knowledge that because of the low price of oil which is our main source of revenue, many states can hardly pay workers salaries. This sabotage is capable of crippling the economy if not urgently curbed.

“If these attacks are not checked and the perpetrators brought to book and Agip decides to pull out of Bayelsa state it would be disastrous for us as a people.

“Bayelsa state is an oil producing state and our revenue from the federal government is based on our quota of production but this would be reduced if Agip decides to pull out because incessant attacks on its facilities are not stopped.

“I want to urge security agencies to probe the attack on Agip pipeline and ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and brought to book. Bayelsans especially those that have oil facilities around them should also be vigilant and report any suspicious movement to security agencies to prevent further attacks.”