Author: Editor

KING Charles III will not feature on Australia’s new five dollar note, the country’s central bank has announced. The new design will pay tribute to “the culture and history of the First Australians”, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says. A portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II appears on the current design of five dollar note. The Queen’s death last year reignited debates about Australia’s future as a constitutional monarchy. “This decision by the Reserve Bank Board follows consultation with the Australian government, which supports this change,” the bank said in a statement. “The Bank will consult with First…

TWO missed penalties, a skied sitter and being taken off injured after just 21 minutes – Kylian Mbappe endured a nightmare evening as his Paris St-Germain side won at Montpellier. The France striker had an early spot-kick saved and then – after a reprieve – saw his retake cannon off the post, only for him to fire the rebound over an empty net. Mbappe limped off holding his hamstring soon after, less than a fortnight before PSG’s Champions League last-16 first-leg tie with Bayern Munich. Speaking after the game, coach Christophe Galtier suggested the injury was down to a knock…

MANCHESTER United eased through their EFL Cup semi-final second leg with Nottingham Forest to book a 1999 Wembley rematch with Newcastle. Second-half goals from Anthony Martial and Fred ensured victory on the night for Erik ten Hag’s side, even though a place in the final was virtually secure anyway thanks to their 3-0 first-leg triumph at the City Ground. Martial marked his return from a four-match injury absence by driving home his sixth goal of the season, after a pass intended for Marcus Rashford deflected back to the French striker 17 minutes from time. Within 180 seconds, United had another…

JOAO Cancelo made an instant impact on his Bayern Munich debut as they cruised into the German Cup quarter-final with a 4-0 win at Mainz. The Portuguese full-back, who joined on loan from Manchester City on Tuesday, crossed for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s volleyed opener on 17 minutes. Jamal Musiala drilled home a second soon after before Leroy Sane’s calm finish made it three before the break. Alphonso Davies headed home a fourth late on for a dominant Bayern. Mainz’s Alexander Hack was then dismissed for a lunge on Musiala, just minutes after manager Bo Svensson was sent off for dissent,…

BARCELONA won away at Real Betis to move eight points clear at the top of La Liga. Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva made three saves to deny Pedri before Raphinha scored from Alejandro Balde’s cross. La Liga’s top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski hit his 14th league goal of the season after Ronald Araujo’s knockdown to make it 2-0. Betis pulled one back late on through Jules Kounde’s own goal but Barca held on for the victory. After the final whistle, Betis midfielder William Carvalho was shown a red card after complaining to the referee. The result leaves Barcelona on 50 points from…

THE All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on Wednesday unveiled Hajiya Hadiza Mohammed as its Vice-Presidential Candidate for the Feb 25 general election. Edozie Njoku, National Chairman, APGA, unveiled Mohammed at a ceremony on Wednesday in Abuja, naming Jonathan Elendu as Director-General, of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC). Njoku commended the judiciary for finally resolving the party’s crisis, lauding the party loyalists that stood by the party. He alleged that he was accused of so many things including forging a Supreme Court judgment and expressed happiness that truth had prevailed. Njoku said that with the court judgement, it was left…

DANGOTE Industries Limited (DIL) has signed an agreement with China Sinoma International Engineering to build a six million tons per annum cement plant in Itori, Ogun State. The agreement was signed by the chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote alongside theGroup executive director, Strategy, Capital Projects & Portfolio Development, DIL, Devakumar Edwin,while ChinaSinoma Engineering was represented by its Grouppresident, Yin Zhisong, and the company’s chairman, Liu Renyue. Dangote speaking at the signing ceremony, said that new integrated cement plant at completion will strengthen the local production capacity of Dangote Cement, bringing its local capacity to 41.25 million tons per…

THE Vice Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano, Prof Sagir Adamu Abbas, has expressed deep sorrow over the death of a former Vice Chancellor, Prof Ibrahim H. Umar, who died on Monday. He described the late Prof. I. H. Umar as humble, simple and a complete gentleman who served the university and his motherland deligently . In a condolence message issued by the Deputy Registrar, Public Affairs, Lamara Garba and made available to News Point Nigeria, Wednesday, Prof Abbas said Nigeria had, indeed, lost another rare gem, whose contributions to national growth were enormous. “He was an inspirational leader with…

SAUDI Arabia has won a bid to host the 2027 Asian Cup, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Wednesday. The announcement was made at the AFC Congress in the Bahraini capital of Manama. Saudi Arabia was the sole bidder after India withdrew in December. “We are excited to deliver the greatest tournament in the competition’s history,” the kingdom’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said after the announcement. “The kingdom is transforming before our eyes and we are filled with excitement for what it will look like in 2027.” The world’s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has thrown…

HIS 56th birthday is just around the corner but Japanese striker Kazuyoshi Miura is still making moves in football – literally. Miura, in his fifth decade as a professional footballer, has joined Portuguese second-division side Oliveirense on loan from J-League outfit Yokohama FC. His new adventure in Portugal represents a sixth country in which he has played, following spells in Brazil, Japan, Italy, Croatia and Australia. “Even though this is a new place for me, I’ll work hard to show everyone the kind of play I’m known for,” said Miura, who will celebrate his birthday on 26 February. He has…

CHELSEA winger Hakim Ziyech’s proposed loan move to Paris St-Germain has been blocked by France’s governing body, the LFP. A deal was agreed before the French deadline for the 29-year-old. But PSG sources were critical of Chelsea’s conduct, claiming required paperwork was not submitted on time. Ziyech was in Paris expecting a deal to be confirmed, but the registration was not completed and so he will return to Chelsea for the rest of the season. BBC Sport understands the player contacted Chelsea owner Todd Boehly directly in an effort to resolve the matter, but his pleas were ultimately unsuccessful. The…

REGIONAL leaders meeting in Somalia have agreed on a joint offensive operation against Islamist militant group al-Shabab. The “search and destroy” operation will boost the momentum built up by government forces who have made huge gains over the past few months, including recovering territory controlled by the al Qaeda-affiliated group. “The time sensitive campaign will prevent any future infiltrating elements in the region,” said the communique signed by the leaders of Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya It did not provide any details about the operation. Al-Shabab, which launched mortar shells in Mogadishu ahead of the leaders’ meeting, has not responded…

A COURT in Cameroon has sentenced a former defence minister to 30 years in prison for embezzling nearly $40m (£32m). Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o was accused of inflating contracts to buy military equipment from Brazil. His wife, Bernadette, was also found guilty of embezzlement and was handed a 10-year sentence. The court decided to seize many of the defendants’ assets, including luxury cars, houses and land titles. The pair denied wrongdoing and their lawyer said they would appeal against the verdicts at the Supreme Court. Cameroonian journalist Jules Koum Koum, who later died in a road accident, had exposed the…

FOUR key suspects in the July 7, 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise were transferred from Haiti to the United States on Tuesday to face criminal charges, the US Justice Department has announced. A total of seven suspects in the case are now in US custody. Dozens of others still languish in Haiti’s main penitentiary, which is severely overcrowded and often lacks food and water for inmates. The department on Tuesday said Haitian-American dual citizens James Solages, 37 and Joseph Vincent, 57, and Colombian citizen German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 44, have been charged with conspiring to commit murder or…

NO classified documents were found during an FBI search of President Joe Biden’s home in Rehoboth, Delaware, his lawyer says. In a statement, Mr Biden’s attorney said Wednesday’s search was “planned” with the president’s “full support”. The nearly four-hour search of the property related to a wider probe into the handling of classified documents. The FBI has not commented on the search. As it was consensual, no search warrant was sought. Mr Biden’s lawyer, Bob Bauer, said the search was carried out “without advance public notice” in the interests of “operational security and integrity”. Following the search – which lasted…

Approves $500 Each As Parting Gift GOVERNOR Babagana Umara Zulum on Wednesday bided farewell to 19 youths, most of them grew up as orphans and vulnerable indigenes of Borno State. The students will soon be departing for Suez City in Egypt, to study and obtain Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery (MBBS) degrees on full government scholarship, for a duration of five years.  The scholarship to Suez University for which Zulum released N250m was one of the outcomes of a visit to some Egyptian Universities by Governor Zulum in November, 2020. The governor had, during that trip, promised to approve scholarship…

FORMER Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr Dakuku Peterside has challenged Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike to name his preferred presidential candidate for the February poll. The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also condemned unwarranted attacks on the campaign grounds of the party in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area. Speaking at the APC rally in Opobo-Nkoro, Peterside, in a statement by his Media Team, claimed that “Wike is not a man of courage, as he wants Nigerians to believe”. He said: “Wike avoids difficult conversations, lacks vision and pursues personal interest above people’s interest. “I…

A RUSSIAN company said it will offer five million roubles ($72,000) in cash to the first soldiers who destroy or capture western-made tanks in Ukraine, after the Kremlin vowed Russian forces would wipe out any Western tanks shipped to Ukraine. The United States, Germany and several other European countries are lining up to send Kyiv dozens of advanced combat tanks over the next few months to help boost Ukraine’s military capacity as the war approaches the 12-month mark. The decision has been criticised by the Kremlin as a dangerous escalation, and spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the tanks would “burn” on…

AUTHORITIES are investigating how a suicide bomber killed at least 100 people at a mosque in a high security zone in Peshawar, Pakistan. The attack, one of the country’s deadliest in recent years, has shocked Pakistanis. Most of the dead were security force members at prayer. City police who are on the frontline against militants believe they were targeted to demoralise them. It comes two months after the Pakistani Taliban abandoned a ceasefire. Since then violence has been on the rise, with frequent attacks on police and soldiers. A claim that the hard-line Islamist militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), as…

AN IVORIAN drum seized by France during colonization is about to be returned to the Ivory Coast. The sacred Djidji Ayokwe drum was used to communicate warning messages up to thirty kilometres around villages. In 1916 the drum was confiscated by the French colonial administration and transferred to France in 1910. The “talking drum”, as it was nicknamed,has been restored in a workshop near Paris under the supervision of the Quay Branly Museum. “You can see that it has been quite badly affected by wood-eating insects which have dug galleries, certainly repeatedly, and that this has structurally weakened the drum”,…