Author: Editor

BAYERN Munich “need to improve” for Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Paris St-Germain despite a third straight win, says Julian Nagelsmann. Bayern earned a 3-0 home win against Bochum to stay top of the Bundesliga. Surprise challengers Union Berlin are a point behind the 10-time defending champions after fighting back to beat RB Leipzig 2-1 later on Saturday. English teenager Jamie Bynoe-Gittens scored as Borussia Dortmund, who play Chelsea this week, beat Werder Bremen. Despite the win against Bochum, Bayern boss Nagelsmann said his side must raise their level when they face PSG at Parc des Princes. “We played well…

UNREST in southern Turkey has disrupted rescue efforts in some places following Monday’s deadly earthquake, three rescue groups have said. The death toll in Turkey and Syria from the quake has surpassed 28,000, and hope of finding many more survivors is fading despite some miraculous rescues. German rescuers and the Austrian army paused search operations on Saturday, citing clashes between unnamed groups. Security is expected to worsen as food supplies dwindle, one rescuer said. Turkey’s president said he would use emergency powers to punish anyone breaking the law. An Austrian army spokesperson said early on Saturday that clashes between unidentified…

ANOTHER unidentified object has been shot down over North American airspace, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed. He said the latest object “violated Canadian airspace” and was shot down over Yukon in north-west Canada. Both Canadian and US aircraft were scrambled to track down the object which Mr Trudeau says was taken out by a US F-22 fighter jet. It is the third object to be shot down over North America in the last week. The American military destroyed a Chinese balloon last weekend, and on Friday an unspecified object the size of a small car was shot down…

THE Defence Headquarters has dismissed as malicious propaganda, the report peddled by some unscrupulous elements of plot by some military officers to disrupt the forthcoming general elections. The Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja. The defence spokesman added that the Armed Forces of Nigeria was dismayed that even politically exposed persons had denigrated themselves into joining the agents of destabilisation. He said that the unscrupulous elements claimed that some military officers met with a Presidential candidate with the aim of disrupting the general elections and setting the country on…

Arsenal 1 vs Brentford 1 SUBSTITUTE Leandro Trossard scored his first goal for Arsenal but the Premier League leaders missed the chance to move eight points clear at the top as Ivan Toney earned resilient Brentford a deserved point. After a goalless first half in which the Bees hit the woodwork through Toney, the Gunners took the lead when Trossard struck at the back post four minutes after coming off the bench. But Brentford got the reward their excellent away performance at Emirates Stadium deserved when Toney nodded in Christian Norgaard’s cross from close range. There was a lengthy check…

REAL Madrid lifted the Club World Cup for a record fifth time with a pulsating 5-3 win over Al Hilal on Saturday in Morocco. Vinicius Junior and Fede Valverde struck twice each, while Karim Benzema also scored on his return from injury in Madrid’s spectacular victory over their Saudi Arabian opponents. Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who qualified as Champions League winners last season, had far too much attacking quality for their opponents to handle. Madrid’s emphatic triumph at Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium secured their second piece of silverware of the season, after winning the European Super Cup in August. It…

BARCELONA coach Xavi Hernandez hailed striker Robert Lewandowski for helping change the mindset at the club. The Catalans are eight points clear of rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga and beat Los Blancos in Saudi Arabia to win the Spanish Super Cup in January. Last season, Barcelona failed to win a trophy but the mood changed in the summer when the club brought in several players, including former Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski. “Lewandowski is accustomed to winning titles with Bayern. He had brought us that winning mentality, that of a champion,” Xavi told reporters Saturday. The 34-year-old…

ONE of South Africa’s hottest rap artists, Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA, has been shot dead outside a restaurant in the southeastern city of Durban, his family said Saturday. The 35-year-old won multiple South African awards, was nominated several times for a Black Entertainment Television (BET) Award in the United States, and was once nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award. “It is with extreme sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our beloved son,” his parents Tony and Lynn Forbes said in a statement posted on AKA’s Twitter account. “Our son was loved, and he gave love in return.”…

THE newly-appointed Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, has given assurance of safety to Youth Corps members during the forthcoming general elections. Ahmed gave the assurance during his official visit to the Oyo State NYSC Orientation Camp on Friday in Iseyin, Oyo State. He informed the corps members that he had on assumption of duty visited all service chiefs in the country to get assurance from them for the protection of Corps members on election duties. He, however, urged the Corps members to abide by the rules and regulations guiding their participation as umpires in…

RUSSIAN forces have bombarded power facilities across Ukraine as officials said a new Russian offensive was under way in the east. Ukraine’s air force said 61 of 71 Russian missiles had been shot down on Friday. But energy minister German Galushchenko said Russia had hit power facilities in six regions with missiles and drones, causing blackouts across most of Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly attacked civilian infrastructure far from the front lines, leaving millions of Ukrainians without power, heat or water for days at a time in the middle of winter. The barrages have often followed Ukrainian diplomatic or battlefield advances.…

TURKEY’S most devastating earthquake since 1939 has raised big questions about whether such a large-scale tragedy could have been avoided and whether President Erdogan’s government could have done more to save lives. With elections on the horizon, his future is on the line after 20 years in power and his pleas for national unity have gone unheeded. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has admitted shortcomings in the response, but he appeared to blame fate on a visit to one disaster zone: “Such things have always happened. It’s part of destiny’s plan.” Turkey lies on two fault lines and has earthquake building codes…

SHEIKH Saud bin Ibrahim Shuraim has resigned as Imam and Khateeb of Masjid Al Haram, Makkah The Imam excused to re-new his contract with the General Presidency in latter months of 2022 citing personal reasons. The Imam can however return in a temporary role to lead Taraweeh Prayers which will be confirmed in due course ahead of Ramadan. Inside the Haramain earlier reported that a prominent Imam had resigned. Well placed sources have informed Inside the Haramain that the Imam can renew his contract and come back at his discretion. It is pertinent to mention that the General Presidency for…

A TWO-Day curfew has been called in a northern province of Equatorial Guinea, called Kié-Ntem, after 20 people died of an as-yet unidentified illness. The deaths were confirmed by the head of Olamze District Hospital, which is a short distance across the border in Cameroon. According to the Cameroonian health authorities, the victims contracted some form of haemorrhagic fever because their symptoms included nosebleeds, weakness, vomiting blood, fever and diarrhoea. The cases of contagion and deaths are from three localities in northern Equatorial Guinea. Four of the victims came from the same family. Contamination occurs through direct contact with the…

SOMALIA has reopened its embassy in the UK after 32 years, in a ceremony attended by ambassador Abdulkadir Ahmed Kheyr, Olympic champion Mo Farah and Somali-Canadian model Sabrina Dhowre, among others. The embassy in London is expected to provide consular services to the nearly 500,000-strong diaspora community in the UK who are eligible for Somali citizenship, and other services including travel documentation and marriage certificates. It will also host cultural and other informative events. Ambassador Kheyr said that reopening the embassy was a positive step in strengthening UK-Somali relations. The Somali embassy in London was officially closed in 1991 following…

ENGLAND forward Beth Mead and Argentina star Lionel Messi have been shortlisted for the Fifa Best Player awards for 2022. Mead won the Golden Boot and player of the tournament awards as she helped England win Euro 2022. She is up for the Best Fifa women’s player, while Messi is nominated for the men’s award. Messi inspired Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup, scoring seven goals and being named best player. The Paris St-Germain forward is up against club-mate Kylian Mbappe – whose France side were beaten by Messi’s Argentina in the final – and Real Madrid striker Karim…

MANCHESTER City have been “already sentenced” over alleged financial rule breaches, says manager Pep Guardiola. The Premier League charged City with more than 100 breaches of its financial rules on Monday. A two-year ban from European competitions for breaching Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in 2020. “The club proved they were completely innocent,” said Guardiola. “What’s happened since Monday is the same as what happened with Uefa. We have already been condemned. “You have to understand that 19 teams in the Premier League are accusing us without us having…

THE top humanitarian aid agency in the US government has pledged $85m (£70m) in urgent life-saving relief for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) funding will go towards shelter, cold weather supplies, food, water and healthcare. The moves comes as countries around the world send search crews and aid to the region, where over 20,000 have died. Rescuers say supplies are needed now or more people will die from the cold. In a statement on Thursday, USAID said it is also providing “hygiene and sanitation assistance to keep people safe and healthy”. The…

RUSSIA’S latest aerial attack on Ukraine saw missiles cross Moldovan airspace, Ukrainian and Moldovan officials have said. Kyiv’s top general said missiles also flew above Romania – a claim denied by Romania, but later repeated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Zelensky said the missiles represented a “challenge” to Nato, of which Romania is a member country. A Russian government spokesperson deflected questions about the incident. During a regular call with journalists, Dmitry Peskov told the BBC it was a matter for the defence ministry, which is yet to comment. Moldova’s country’s defence ministry described the missile flyover as a…

President Buhari presides over the Council Of State Meeting at the Statehouse, Abuja. 10th Feb, 2023.

ENGLAND manager Sarina Wiegman and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola have been shortlisted for Fifa Best Awards. Wiegman guided England to European Championship glory on home soil last year, the team’s first major trophy. The Dutchwoman, who also won the Euros as Netherlands boss in 2017, claimed the Fifa Best Award in 2017 and 2020. City manager Guardiola is one of three finalists in the men’s coach category and won the Premier League title last season. The others are Lionel Scaloni, who led Argentina the winning World Cup in Qatar, and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, who clinched a La…