THE BBC has apologised after sexual noises interrupted live television coverage of the FA Cup. Moaning was heard while Gary Lineker presented the third-round replay between Wolves and Liverpool on Tuesday. The football pundit later posted a picture of a mobile phone he said was “taped to the back of the set”. “We apologise to any viewers offended during the live coverage of the football this evening,” the BBC said. A spokesperson said the BBC was investigating the incident. Lineker tried to laugh off the incident as he presented the programme in a studio at Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium alongside pundits…
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TOTTENHAM boss Antonio Conte believes it is not his sole responsibility to explain the situation at the club and other figures should be held to account over the team’s poor form. Spurs were beaten 2-0 by leaders Arsenal on Sunday and have lost five of their past nine league games. They have dropped to fifth in the table and face Manchester City on Thursday. “In England I think there’s a bad habit that it’s only the coach [who] talks and explains,” said Conte. “I’ve never seen the medical department coming here to explain. I’ve never seen the club or the…
A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has summoned Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to appear on Wednesday over a $53 million judgement debt arising from the Paris Club refunds. Justice Inyang Ekwo in an application for garnishee made on October 20, 2022, ordered Emefiele to appear on January 18 as the hearing date for the matter. The order followed the application by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joe Agi, against Linas International Ltd, the Minister of Finance and the CBN through his lawyers, Isaac Ekpa and Chinonso Obasi, seeking an order directing the Inspector General…
BRITISH billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s firm Ineos has officially entered the race to buy Manchester United. United’s owners the Glazer family said in November that they were considering selling the club as they “explore strategic alternatives”. Ineos said the company had “formally put ourselves into the process”. Ratcliffe made an unsuccessful late £4.25bn offer to buy Chelsea last year after owner Roman Abramovich put the London club up for sale. Born the son of a joiner in Failsworth, in Greater Manchester, Ratcliffe is a boyhood fan of United and one of the UK’s richest men. He said he would have…
AbdulSamad Rabiu, Chairman and Founder of BUA Group received a delegation from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) led by Sérgio Pimenta, Regional Vice President for Africa, at the BUA Cement HQ in Lagos State, on Tuesday. – The publication of this picture is supported by BUA Group.
WILL 2023 be a defining moment for the Nigerian youth and the future of Nigeria? Obviously a slippery question that deserves attention. The most recent Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) voter registration data suggests that youths have a historic role to play in the forthcoming election. They have an incredible demographic advantage and, if they choose, can decide the outcome of the election in any way they deem favourable to Nigeria. However, the crucial rhetorical question to consider is: will Nigerian youths constructively deploy this demographic power to influence the outcome of the elections and redefine the future of Nigeria,…
MARVEL Studios’ Black Panther ‘Wakanda Forever’ has smashed its box-office record by becoming the first film to reach N1 billion in Nigeria and Ghana since its release in November 2022. The distributor of blockbuster films in Nigeria and the Walt Disney Company Africa, FilmOne, announced this in a statement on Sunday. “We are ecstatic about the incredible response that Marvel Studios’ Black Panther – Wakanda Forever – has received at the box office,” said co-founders of FilmOne, Moses Babatope and Kene Okwuosa. “The follow-up to Ryan Coogler’s 2018 hit Black Panther has proven a draw for cinemagoers, captivating audiences across…
MUSIC stars Wizkid, Davido , Burna Boy, and Asake have dominated the winners’ list at the eighth All Africa Music Awards (Afrima). Tala, by Ivorian artist Didi B, was named song of the year at the lavish ceremony held in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. This year big names including Ghanaian rapper Black Sherif and Nigerian duo P-Squared performed. Nigerian singer Asake was named Breakout Artist of the Year. During his acceptance speech Asake, whose real name is Ahmed Ololade, said winning was a dream come true: “It started as a dream, but today, it’s a reality. Thanks to God, my…
LEARNING in primary and secondary schools resumes on Tuesday in Malawi’s two major cities following a cholera outbreak that killed hundreds of people. Schools in the capital, Lilongwe, and the commercial hub, Blantyre, had remained closed for at least two weeks after the Christmas holidays. The cholera outbreak began in March last year and has so far killed more than 750 people. Infections are still high in Lilongwe and Blantyre. Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda said schools now have access to safe water and improved sanitation facilities, which will go a long way in reducing infections reported in schools. The minister…
THE co-pilot of the ill-fated flight that crashed in Nepal on Sunday lost her husband in a plane crash 16 years earlier, it has emerged. Anju Khatiwada was co-piloting Yeti Airlines flight 691 when it smashed into a gorge near the tourist town of Pokhara, killing all on board in the country’s worst air disaster in 30 years. Her husband Dipak Pokhrel had also been co-piloting a Yeti Airlines flight when he died – and it was his death that spurred Anju to pursue a career in aviation. Distraught at her loss, alone with their young child, Anju’s grief became…
CHINA’s population has fallen for the first time in 60 years, with the national birth rate hitting a record low – 6.77 births per 1,000 women. The population in 2022 – 1.4118 billion – fell by 850,000 from 2021. China’s birth rate has been declining for years, prompting a slew of policies to slow the trend. But seven years after scrapping the one-child policy, it has entered what one official described as an “era of negative population growth”. The birth rate in 2022 was also down from 7.52 in 2021, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, which released the…
SOME 50 women have been abducted in northern Burkina Faso, local officials say. Residents in Arbinda said two groups of women were taken as they were out gathering leaves and wild fruits because of a severe food shortage. A small number managed to escape and raise the alarm. The abductions happened on Thursday and Friday, but news has just emerged, as much of the area has been blockaded by Islamist militants. “The women got together to go and gather leaves and wild fruits in the bush because there is nothing left to eat,” one resident told the AFP news agency,…
SHAKHTAR Donetsk president Rinat Akhmetov has pledged to donate £22m to the Ukrainian war effort following the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea. The Premier League side signed Mudryk from Shakhtar on Sunday in a deal worth up to £89m, a transfer record for Ukrainian football. Akhmetov said the money would help a project named ‘Heart of Azovstal,’ aimed at “helping Mariupol defenders and the families of fallen soldiers”. Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022. “I want to thank the entire civilised world for helping Ukraine,” said Akhmetov. “Today we are able to talk about Ukrainian football thanks to…
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp has said he will not leave the club unless he is forced to, and hinted at changes at Anfield during the summer. The German’s comments come amid a run of poor form for the Reds, who are ninth in the Premier League and 10 points off a top-four spot. “Either the manager’s position changes or a lot of other things change,” said Klopp. “So, as far as I am concerned unless someone tells me I will not go.” He added: “So that means maybe there is a point where we have to change other stuff. We…
US officials have launched an investigation after two planes full of passengers almost collided at a New York airport last week. The close call happened on Friday at John F Kennedy International Airport, between a Boeing 777 headed to the UK and a Boeing 737 headed to the Dominican Republic. One plane was about to take off while the other was crossing the same runway. The collision was averted when an air controller noticed the two. Using an expletive, the air traffic controller attempted to stop the Delta aeroplane as it was preparing to take wing. “Delta 1943, cancel take-off…
THE Taliban have started using Twitter’s paid-for verification feature, meaning some now have blue ticks on their accounts. Previously, the blue tick indicated “active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest” verified by Twitter, and could not be purchased. But now, users can buy them through the new Twitter Blue service. At least two Taliban officials and four prominent supporters in Afghanistan are currently using the checkmarks. Hedayatullah Hedayat, the head of the Taliban’s department for “access to information”, now has the tick. His account has 187,000 followers and he regularly posts information related to the Taliban administration. He had…
INDUSTRIAL Action looked set to intensify on Monday after Britain’s largest teaching union announced a series of strike days over pay next month in England and Wales. The National Education Union (NEU) said its members voted overwhelmingly to walk out as part of calls for an above-inflation pay rise. The announcement came as public sector workers hold a wave of walkouts for salaries to take into account double-digit inflation. “We believe the government knows there needs to be a correction on teacher pay,” NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said in a live-streamed meeting with members. The union leaders are…
ITALY’s most-wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro has been arrested in Sicily after 30 years on the run. Messina Denaro was reportedly detained in a private clinic in Sicily’s capital, Palermo, where he was receiving treatment for cancer. He is alleged to be a boss of the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia and he was tried and sentenced to life in jail in absentia in 2002 over numerous murders. More than 100 members of the armed forces were involved in his arrest. Italian media reported that Messina Denaro was captured just before 10:00 (09:00 GMT) and taken to a secret location…
A BLAST on Sunday afternoon at a factory in northeastern Liaoning province’s Panshan County has killed five people, according to state broadcaster CCTV, which reported the fire at the facility was under control. An earlier tally put the number of dead and missing at two and 12 respectively, along with 34 injured. Videos and photos published earlier in the day by CCTV showed a cloud of thick smoke and flames rising from the factory, and a group of firefighters in helmets outside the plant. Videos and photos published earlier in the day by CCTV showed a cloud of thick smoke…
NINETEEN people were killed on Monday when a bus and a truck collided in northern Senegal, firefighters said, eight days after a smashup between two buses left 40 dead. Twenty-five people were injured in Monday’s accident, which occurred near Sakal in the Louga region, Papa Ange Michel Diatta, a colonel with the national firefighting service, told AFP. In a tweet, President Macky Sall said, “Another deadly accident on our roads… 19 human lives lost.” The toll “highlights the need to strengthen highway safety measures,” he said. Road accidents are common in Senegal, mainly because of driver error, poor roads and…