Author: Editor

MOROCCO and Paris Saint Germain defender Achraf Hakimi has been named Arab Sportsman of the Year for 2022. The 24-year-old full back received the accolade at the Joy Awards in his country’s capital Riyadh after a memorable year on the international and domestic stage. Hakimi played a key role as the Atlas Lions reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, before helping the North Africans to a record breaking World Cup campaign. Morocco, who had only once made it out the group stages at a World Cup prior to Qatar 2022, became the first African side…

BURKINA Faso has confirmed that it wants 400 French troops stationed there to leave within a month. Government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo said the country, which is battling jihadist extremism, wanted to defend itself. French President Emmanuel Macron had asked the authorities to clarify their position after state media reported on Saturday that Burkina Faso was ending an agreement signed between the two countries in 2018. The report said the Burkinabe authorities still wanted support from France in the form of equipment. Mr Macron had said there was “great confusion” over the reported comments. Last year, French troops pulled out of…

KENYA’S opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has said his political coalition does not recognise William Ruto as the President of Kenya and declared the new Kenyan government as “illegitimate”. Mr Ruto beat him in last August’s poll, but Mr Odinga – who appeared at Nairobi’s Kamukunji Stadium along with his running mate Martha Karua, and other allies – repeated claims that the results were manipulated. Claims that had already been rejected in court. He declared that he and his movement “reject the 2022 election result totally”, which was received with great cheers and applause from an adoring crowd. “We cannot and…

SWEDEN’S prime minister has been caught up in a political row after it emerged he hired a top aide who went eel fishing illegally, and misled the police about it. Ulf Kristersson has admitted he knew Peter Magnus Nilsson had broken the law before appointing him last October. The aide’s behaviour was “stupid”, but did not mean Mr Nilsson was unsuitable for the job, the PM said. The opposition Social Democrats are calling on Mr Nilsson to resign. The centre-left party’s justice spokesperson Ardalan Shekarabi told public broadcaster SVT it was unacceptable for a chief aide of the prime minister…

A GUNMAN killed seven people before being arrested in California on Monday, just two days after a shooting claimed 11 lives at a popular dance hall. The latest attacks occurred at two separate locations in the coastal city of Half Moon Bay, about 30 miles (50 km) south of San Francisco. The attacker was identified as 67-year-old Zhao Chunli, a local resident. It comes as the state mourns the deaths in majority-Asian Monterey Park during celebrations for the Lunar New Year. The suspect on Monday was filmed by news cameras turning himself in to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office…

AT least eight Arsenal fans have been arrested in the Ugandan city of Jinja after celebrating the club’s win against Manchester United in the English Premier League. The fans were wearing the club’s red jersey and carrying a symbolic trophy. Police said they didn’t have a permit to hold the procession which is a public order offence. Arsenal scored a dramatic last-minute goal to win 3-2 in Sunday’s match against a fierce rival. The result gave the Gunners a five-point cushion at the top of the table, giving hope to fans around the world that the club could end its…

SOUTH Africa has defended its decision to hold a joint military exercise with Russia and China next month. Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor condemned the “double-standard” which says some countries can perform such exercises but others are not. “All countries conduct military exercises with friends worldwide,” Dr Pandor added. The comments came at a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Pretoria. The event attracted a small group of protesters outside the venue, waiving Ukrainian flags. Dr Pandor went on to slam the suggestion that South Africa cannot conduct the military exercises it wants to as an “abuse of…

KADUNA High Court has ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to “immediately” charge Tukur Mamu to Court if any offence was discovered about him regarding his alleged involvement in ransom negotiation on behalf of terrorists who kidnapped the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers on March 28th, 2022. Mamu, the Publisher of Desert Herald newspaper and media consultant to Shiehk Ahmed Gumi, the popular Kaduna Islamic, was arrested in Cairo capital of Egypt on September 6, 2022 en route Saudi Arabia with his family members. Mamu, who was at the forefront of negotiations for the release of the Kaduna-train captives, was detained…

EVERTON have sacked manager Frank Lampard after less than a year in charge at Goodison Park. Defeat at fellow strugglers West Ham United on Saturday was Everton’s ninth loss in 12 Premier League games. They are second from bottom of the table with 15 points from 20 matches, above Southampton on goal difference. Former England midfielder Lampard, 44, replaced Rafael Benitez in January 2022 with the team 16th in the table and helped Everton avoid relegation. Everton are now looking for their sixth permanent manager in five years. After a 1-1 draw at reigning champions Manchester City on 31 December,…

SWEDISH music streaming giant Spotify said Monday it was cutting six percent of its roughly 10,000 employees, the latest cost-cutting announcement among technology companies. “In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth. And for this reason, today, we are reducing our employee base by about six percent across the company,” Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek said on Spotify’s official blog. “I take full accountability for the moves that got us here today,” Ek added. The Swedish company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has invested heavily since its launch to fuel growth…

THE Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has disclosed that it generated N10.1 trillion as revenue for the 2022 fiscal year. That was the highest revenue from any government owned enterprise (GOE) in history. FIRS chairman, Muhammad Nami, made the disclosure on Monday in an interview with select journalists in his Abuja office. News Point Nigeria reports that the target for the year was N10.4 trillion. The revenue generated was a little below the target for the agency by the federal government in 2022. Mr Nami, however, explained that over N1.4 trillion was lost to federal government’s tax waivers for some…

THE presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has urged leaders of faiths in the country to champion the cause of justice that would deepen national unity and advance democracy ahead of the February 25 election. Tinubu also asked religious leaders to desist from efforts by some politicians to substitute sentiments with competence in the run off to the election. A statement by the Tinubu Media Office said the APC candidate spoke on Sunday evening during a town hall meeting with Muslim leaders from the North East as part of his campaign tour to Bauchi…

THE abducted Sole Administrator of the Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, Chris Ohizu, has been beheaded. The council boss was butchered on Sunday after his abductors allegedly received N6 million as ransom. Video of his beheading surfaced online on Sunday, where his killers insisted that there would be no election in the country. A source from the LGA, who did not want to be named, told News Point Nigeria that, the killers of the sole administrator published videos of the beheading with the phone of their victim on his WhatsApp status. The source said, “The sole administrator…

A CIVIL Society group known as the Coalition of Civil Society OrganizationsOn Budget, Accountability and Good Governance has condemned what it calls unnecessary distraction of the Governor of the Central Bank Godwin Emefiele. The group in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja said it is mobilising Nigerians to resist the blackmails against the apex bank chief whom they described as a great performer. The statement which was signed by its Director General Amb. Dr. Emmanuel Nkweke and  Director of Mobilisation Comrade John Davidson decried the activities of those he described as enemies of Nigeria who are seriously bent…

THE Federal Competition, Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Sunday said that complaints on Nigeria’s Aviation Industry ranked third in the list of those it received in 2022. Dr Adams Abdullah, Director of Operations, FCCPC, said this in a statement in Lagos. Abdullah said that complaints on various incidents in the sector account for 674 of the 13,580 received by the commission in 2022. He said that the aviation sector complaints came behind those on financial services — 5,709, and the Electricity and Power sector — 3,293. The director said that complaints received about the aviation sector were on delays, cancellations,…

AN outspoken Cameroonian radio journalist has been found dead, after he disappeared on Tuesday in a suspected abduction. Martinez Zogo was director of the privately-owned Amplitude FM and hosted a popular radio show called “Embouteillage” or traffic jam. He had recently talked on air about an alleged embezzlement case involving a wealthy businessmen and top officials. A spokesperson from Amplitude FM said that, along with Mr Zogo’s wife, they had identified the body of the radio presenter, which was found dumped on bare ground outside the capital, Yaoundé. A media rights group said that police heard a loud noise outside…

RUSSIA’S Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, is visiting South Africa for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine 11 months ago, which Pretoria has refused to condemn. While Russia is being shunned by the West, it has historic ties with Pretoria as well as close business links through the Brics bloc of emerging economies. Mr Lavrov is due to hold talks with his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, in Pretoria. A protest by anti-Russia demonstrators is planned outside the venue of the talks. South Africa plans to hold joint naval exercises Operation Mosi with Russia and China next month.

BARCELONA extended their lead at the top of La Liga after a goal from Spain international Pedri proved enough to seal victory at home to Getafe. Xavi’s side were without suspended forwards Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres and struggled to put away the relegation-threatened visitors. But Pedri’s well-worked fifth goal of the season sealed a 14th league win. The Catalan side opened up a six-point gap over second-placed Real Madrid, who play later on Sunday. Spain forward Ansu Fati, 20, struggled to fill in for leading goal scorer Lewandowski. Barcelona’s greatest threat came from out wide, from France’s Ousmane Dembélé…

ENGLISH teenagers Jude Bellingham and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens scored for Borussia Dortmund at they returned to action after 72 days to beat Augsburg in a thrilling Bundesliga game. It was Bellingham’s first game since England’s defeat by France in the World Cup quarter-final on 10 December. Augsburg came from a goal behind three times before Dortmund clinched it with Giovanni Reyna’s brilliant volley. Sebastien Haller made his debut after testicular cancer treatment. Reyna’s winner, with 12 minutes to go, capped a spell of three goals in four minutes which begun when England Under-19 forward Bynoe-Gittens curled in a shot from long…

Arsenal 3 vs Man United 2 ARSENAL retained control of the Premier League title race after Eddie Nketiah’s 90th-minute winner gave them a dramatic victory over Manchester United in a thriller at Emirates Stadium. Manchester City’s earlier win over Wolverhampton Wanderers applied pressure on the Gunners but they responded with character and quality, even after going behind, to secure a five-point advantage at the top with a game in hand. United’s man of the moment Marcus Rashford fired home a superb right-foot strike from 25 yards to give them a 17th-minute lead. Arsenal responded fiercely and were level seven minutes…