Author: Editor

ALGERIA opened its new 40,000-seat stadium on Saturday just days before the country hosts the 2022 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN). The iconic Nelson Mandela Stadium in the capital of Algiers was inaugurated with a friendly match against Ghana following a ceremony attended by several local sporting dignitaries. Vociferous local football fans and families were also present as the Local Desert Foxes played the Black Galaxies to a goalless draw in the entertaining warm-up match. Algeria coach Abdelmadjid Bougherra expressed his admiration for the new Nelson Mandela Stadium, likening it to some of the top stadiums in Europe. “To be…

CHELSEA have signed Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix on loan for the rest of the season. The 23-year-old played for Portugal at the World Cup and scored one goal in five outings at the tournament. Felix has attracted interest from Arsenal and Manchester United but is understood to favour a move to Chelsea. Atletico made Felix the fifth most expensive player in history when they paid Benfica £113m for the then 19-year-old in 2019. Although he has impressed at times, Felix has not reached the heights expected on a consistent basis. Blues owner Todd Boehly is keen to bolster manager…

FRANCE goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris has announced his retirement from international football aged 36. The Tottenham captain’s decision comes three weeks after France were beaten by Argentina on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final on 18 December. Lloris had captained his country to World Cup victory four years earlier when they won the 2018 tournament. “I’ve decided to stop my international career, with the feeling that I have given everything,” said Lloris. Speaking to French publication L’Equipe, he added: “I think it is important to announce this now, two-and-a-half months before the start of Euro qualifying.” France have been drawn…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) on Monday inaugurated the Yobe Cargo Airport named after him. The President expressed joy for the honour to commission the airport that was named after him. “It is my singular honour and privilege to commission this project which is named after me,” Buhari said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the President also commissioned the newly built Police Headquarters, Police Ultra-modern Market, Maternal and Child Healthcare Complex, among others. Buhari was accompanied by the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, Gov. Mai Mala Buni and his Borno counterpart, Babagana Zulum, Minister of Police Affairs,…

CANADA has finalised an agreement with the United States and weapons maker Lockheed Martin to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets, the government announced, as it seeks to upgrade the country’s ageing fleet. During a news conference on Monday, Defence Minister Anita Anand said the $14.2bn ($19bn Canadian) deal marked the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 30 years. As our world grows darker, with Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, this project has taken on heightened significance, especially given the importance of interoperability with our allies,” Anand said.…

ISRAEL’s new far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has instructed police to remove Palestinian flags from public spaces, calling the Palestinian national symbol an act of “terrorism”. Israeli law does not outlaw Palestinian flags but police and soldiers have the right to remove them in cases where they deem there is a threat to public order. Sunday’s directive from Ben-Gvir, who heads the ultranationalist Jewish Power party in Benjamin Netanyahu’s new far-right government and as national security minister oversees the police, appears to signal a hardline and uncompromising attitude towards Palestinian expressions of identity and free speech and pro-Palestinian…

By Bala Ibrahim THE people of Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, and home to the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have joined the bandwagon, by going in the popular trend of supporting the increasingly attractive train of the Tinubu/Shetima campaign caravan, which has made an alarming appearance in the city today. The trio of President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu and the party’s Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stormed the state with a force that clearly ridiculed the rumours of aloofness from the campaign, that is spread by the…

FRENCH Football Federation president Noel le Graet has apologised for “clumsy remarks” he made about Zinedine Zidane’s potential interest in coaching the national team. In an interview with French radio, 81-year-old Le Graet said he “wouldn’t even have taken his call” if Zidane had been in touch. Le Graet said on Monday the comments “do not reflect” his views. France boss Didier Deschamps signed a new contract until 2026 on Saturday. “I would like to apologise for these remarks, which absolutely do not reflect my views nor my consideration for the player he was and the coach he has become,”…

OUSMANE Dembele scored a first-half winner as Barcelona moved three points clear at the top of La Liga by edging to victory against Atletico Madrid. Dembele scored with a sweet side-foot finish following Gavi’s lay-off and also hit a post in the second half. Atletico could have levelled in added time but Antoine Griezmann’s effort was cleared off the line by Ronald Araujo. Both sides finished with 10 men after Stefan Savic and Ferran Torres were dismissed for a scuffle. The two former Manchester City players grappled each other off the ball, ending up on the turf, and were shown…

NEWLY promoted, Bendel Insurance of Benin, yesterday, returned to top-flight league in grand style, when the team defeated Akwa United in the Match Day One fixture of the Nigeria Professional League played at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo. Star boy, Imade Osehenkhoe, put the Benin Arsenal in the lead in the 37th minute to record the first goal of the new season of the abridge league. The hosts, the Promise Keepers, threw everything at their visitors to level score, but to no avail, as the Benin-based team frustrated their hosts’ attempt to equalise. Insurance’s Ismael Seriki extended their…

IN an interview with the UK’s ITV news channel, Prince Harry agreed when the interviewer said that he and his brother, Prince William, had a dispute over Africa. In a highly personal and explosive 90-minute interview Harry, who now lives in California, agreed with the suggestion that he had a sibling rivalry with his sibling, which spilled over into charity work in Africa. The prince conceded that his brother did not want him to get too involved in charity work in Africa because William saw the continent as his “thing”, in the words of interviewer Tom Bradby. It is not…

A MAN has appeared in court accused of throwing an egg towards King Charles III during a walkabout. Harry May, 21, of Moreton Road South, Luton, is charged with a public order offence relating to the King’s visit to the town on 6 December. Mr May appeared at Luton Magistrates’ Court, where prosecutors said the case could only be heard by the Chief Magistrate. The next hearing is at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday. The defendant, who gave his full name as Harry Spartacus May, is accused of using threatening/abusive words/behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Prosecutor Matthew…

NEARLY 90% of people in Henan, China’s third most populous province, have now been infected with Covid, local health officials say. Provincial official Kan Quancheng revealed the figure – amounting to about 88.5 million people – at a press conference. China is battling an unprecedented surge in cases after abandoning zero-Covid policies in December. The move followed rare protests against lockdowns, quarantines and mass tests. Mr Kan did not specify a timeline for when all the infections happened – but as China’s previous zero-Covid policy kept cases to a minimum, it’s likely the vast majority of Henan’s infections occurred in…

THE vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Datti Baba-Ahmed, says if he and Peter Obi are elected into office in February, their administration will take sports, especially football, seriously. Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, were knocked out of the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon in 2022 and failed to make it to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, losing the spot to Ghana. Baba-Ahmed spoke during an appearance alongside the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on The Peoples Townhall, a live event organised by Channels Television and its partners on Sunday. He said they would…

THE Edo State Police Command has revealed that the gunmen, who invaded the Train station in the State on Saturday, have started making contacts with families of some of the kidnap victims. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Chidi Nwabuzor, disclosed that a family of one of the kidnap victims was at a Police Station to report that the kidnappers contacted them to pick up some of their relatives that were earlier kidnapped. He stated that though, on getting to the said place and waiting for several hours, the family members did not receive their loved ones as said…

FORMER military president, General Ibrahim Babangida IBB has travelled to Germany, our correspondent gathered yesterday. It was learnt that IBB travelled yesterday with his second son, Aminu and a security aide and will return after the general elections. It was also learnt that the former leader took off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja with all his other children at the airport to bid him farewell. A close family source told LEADERSHIP that IBB had sought to travel as usual to evade any controversy ahead of the general elections and also undertake his usual medical checks. The source said; “His…

Man City 4 vs Chelsea 0 MANCHESTER City cruised into the FA Cup fourth round with a routine victory over a desperately poor Chelsea at Etihad Stadium. This was a far cry from what has traditionally been a hugely competitive meeting between two Premier League giants as City wrapped up a tie with either Oxford United or Arsenal in the next round by the interval. City’s win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday was hard-fought but this was a stroll, Riyad Mahrez setting them on their way with a brilliant 23rd-minute free-kick before World Cup winner Julian Alvarez scored…

CAMEROON’s Under-17s face a race against time to field a team for regional African Cup of Nations qualifiers after more players failed age tests ordered by Samuel Eto’o, president of the country’s governing body, Fecafoot. The former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker’s insistence on using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) screening saw the squad ravaged at their training camp in Mbankomo, on the outskirt of Yaounde. Of the initial 30-member group, 28 failed the tests. But News Point Nigeria now understands Cameroon have suffered a fresh setback as 15 new players also failed tests on Tuesday making the number 43, with…

FORMER Belgium manager Roberto Martinez is on the brink of becoming the new boss of Portugal. The Spaniard has been in talks to replace Fernando Santos, who stood down as manager after Portugal’s quarter-final loss to Morocco at the World Cup. Martinez also left his role with Belgium following the team’s group-stage exit in Qatar. The former Everton and Wigan manager was appointed in 2016 and was out of contract after the World Cup. Belgium, who claimed third place in 2018, went into the tournament as the world’s second-ranked team by Fifa. Listen on Sounds banner.

ON 6th of January, 2023, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, along side Hon. Minister of Water Resources, Engr.Sulaiman H. Adamu formally flagged off a multi-billion Naira water project in a bid to end the age-long water supply challenges in Gombe Metropolis and environs. The project commenced with the signing of memorandum of understanding between Gombe State Government and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in August 2021. The physical implementation of the project commenced with the award of contract in May 2022 to Jidadu Ventures Nigeria Limited at the total contract sum of 11.492 billion naira and engineering consultancy services to…