Back to homepage / Sport Nigeria holds Olympic champions Canada with penalty save in Women’s World Cup Christine Sinclair had a penalty saved as Olympic champions Canada were held 0-0 in their opener by Nigeria, who saw Deborah Abiodun pick up the first red card of this Women’s World Cup. Issued on: 21/07/2023 – 07:56 1 min Nigeria’s midfielder #10 Christy Ucheibe and Canada’s forward #19 Adriana Leon fight for the ball during their teams’ 2023 Women’s World Cup Group B football match at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, also known as AAMI Park, in Melbourne, Australia on July 21, 2023. Nigeria’s midfielder #10 Christy Ucheibe and Canada’s forward #19 Adriana Leon fight for the ball during their teams’ 2023 Women’s World Cup Group B football match at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, also known as AAMI Park, in Melbourne, Australia on July 21, 2023. © William West, AFP Text by: NEWS WIRES The 40-year-old skipper Sinclair is hoping to make history in Australia and New Zealand by becoming the first player to score at six World Cups. But she missed the chance to reach that milestone in Melbourne as her penalty early in the second half was saved by goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie. With few clear chances otherwise, that allowed the Super Falcons to come away with a morale-boosting draw in Group B, in which co-hosts Australia beat Ireland 1-0 on Thursday. Canada have never gone beyond the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup but are hoping to go deep into this year’s tournament on the back of winning gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021. However, they had a disrupted build-up as the team threatened to strike over pay, funding and contractual issues. They are also missing key players due to injury and perhaps continue to rely too heavily on Sinclair, the all-time top scorer in international football. Nigeria are appearing at their ninth World Cup but were themselves embroiled in controversy in the build-up as the team clashed with their national federation over bonuses. They had even threatened to boycott their opening game, but Randy Waldrum’s team produced a spirited performance that gives them hope of matching their run to the last 16 four years ago in France. Star striker Asisat Oshoala was unable to shine but the Nigerian defence gave away little against the attack of the team ranked seventh in the world. Daily newsletter Receive essential international news every morning Subscribe The key moment came shortly after half-time, when a spot-kick was awarded following a VAR check for a foul by Francisca Ordega on Sinclair. Sinclair dusted herself down to take the penalty but her kick was poor and Nnadozie was able to make the save. Abiodun was dismissed deep in stoppage time at the end of the game after another VAR review, a yellow card being upgraded to red. Replays showed her catching Ashley Lawrence with her studs above the ankle in a nasty challenge. (AFP)

RULE OF LAWBRAZIL
Brazil: Lula tightens gun laws in U-turn from Bolsonaro era
1 hour ago1 hour ago
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has reversed his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro’s policies that expanded gun ownership in the country, saying only the “police and the army must be well-armed.”

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Brazilian President Lula da Silva signs a law that places greater restrictions on access to guns, June 21, 2023
Lula has vowed to fight for a “disarmed country” by signing a new executive order on gunsImage: Sergio Lima/AFP
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tightened restrictions on firearms access by decree Friday.

The executive order reverses his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro’s regulations that expanded gun ownership in the country.

Lula’s decree reduces the number of guns civilians can possess for personal safety from four to two, and reduces the allowed ammunition for each gun from 200 rounds to 50.

It asks civilians for documentation to prove their need for guns and bars them from owning 9 mm pistols, restricting them to members of the police and military.

‘We will continue to fight for fewer weapons,’ says Lula
“It’s one thing for the regular citizen to have a gun at home for his protection, as a guarantee, because some people think this is safety. Let them have it,” Lula said Friday.

“But we cannot allow gun arsenals to be in people’s hands,” Lula said. “We will continue to fight for fewer weapons in our country. Only the police and the army must be well-armed,” he added.

The right to bear arms is not a constitutional guarantee in Brazil as it is in the United States, though Bolsonaro, a far right politician, greatly loosed restrictions during his time in office between 2019 and 2022.

Lula’s return – A Brazil divided
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Tens of thousands applied for gun permits during Bolsonaro years
The number of gun permits issued during Bolsonaro’s presidency sharply increased to 2.9 million in a country of 214 million, according to Instituto Sou da Paz, a non-profit that monitors public security.

The high numbers of new guns did not lead to a feared rise in violent crime, as the country has one of the world’s highest homicide rates.

The number of homicides during Bolsonaro’s last year in office, in 2022, was at about 47,500 and roughly even with the 2019 rate, a report released by the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP) on Thursday said.

Lula’s government is encouraging citizens to sell firearms not allowed under new rules before the end of the year. If people don’t, their guns will be confiscated by police.

rm/wd (AP, AFP)