SEVILLA claimed a record-extending seventh Europa League title as they beat Roma on penalties at a raucous Puskas Arena in Budapest. Gonzalo Montiel, who also scored the winning penalty for Argentina in the World Cup final against France, repeated the trick for the Spanish side following a 1-1 draw, with a retaken spot kick after Roger Ibanez and Gianluca Mancini had missed for Roma. The Spanish side, have now won all seven of the finals they have played in the competition with captain Jesus Navas involved in their first triumph against Middlesbrough in 2006. Their most recent sees them qualify…
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ACTOR Al Pacino will soon be a father for the fourth time — at age 83, US media said Wednesday. His partner, 29-year-old Noor Alfallah, is eight months pregnant, according to the showbiz and gossip news site TMZ. Pacino’s agent did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. Pacino — known for such films as “The Godfather” (1972), “Scarface” (1983) and “Scent of a Woman” (1992), for which he won an Oscar — has three grown children from previous relationships. Alfallah was previously linked to rock icon Mick Jagger. Fellow movie legend Robert De Niro recently made a…
UKRAINIAN officials say further Russian missile strikes overnight have left at last three people dead in the capital, Kyiv. The attack targeted the Desnyanskyi district in Kyiv’s eastern suburbs. An 11-year-old girl, her mother and another woman were killed in the attack, say authorities. Twenty people are reported to be injured. “Everything happened very fast, probably within 15 minutes,” says resident Liudmyla. The Ukrainian armed forces say its air defence systems intercepted 10 missiles from Russia’s Bryansk region. It is the 18th attack on the capital since the start of May.
ONE of Africa’s most-celebrated authors and playwrights, Ghanaian Ama Ata Aidoo, has died aged 81. A renowned feminist, she depicted and celebrated the condition of African women in works such as The Dilemma of a Ghost, Our Sister Killjoy and Changes. She opposed what she described as a “Western perception that the African female is a downtrodden wretch”. She also served as education minister in the early 1980s but resigned when she could not make education free. In a statement, her family said “our beloved relative and writer” passed away after a short illness, requesting privacy to allow them to…
SUDANESE officials say the army has suspended ceasefire talks with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accusing the group of repeatedly violating previous truce agreements. The army took the decision “because the rebels have never implemented a single one of the provisions of a short-term ceasefire which required their withdrawal from hospitals and residential buildings, and have repeatedly violated the truce”, a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has told the AFP news agency. A Sudanese diplomatic source also informed the Reuters news agency about the army’s withdrawal from the fragile ceasefire talks, which are aimed at enabling humanitarian…
DUTCH international striker Quincy Promes, already facing trial in the Netherlands for stabbing a cousin, has been charged with importing cocaine, the public prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday. The 31-year-old Spartak Moscow player is accused, along with another 31-year-old Dutchman, of importing “several hundred kilos” of cocaine in January 2020, notably through the port of Antwerp, in Belgium, the public prosecutor’s office told AFP. The preliminary hearing will take place on June 5, local media reported. The player will not be present because of contractual obligations with his club, Dutch news agency ANP reported. The Russian Premier League season ends…
GALATASARAY won the Turkish league title for the 23rd time on Tuesday after beating Ankaragucu 4-1 in Ankara. Argentine forward Mauro Icardi scored twice while Baris Alper Yilmaz and Sergio Oliveira both found the net. It is Galatasaray’s first league title since 2019 and puts them four ahead of Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce in the all-time winners list. The victory lifted Galatasaray five points clear of Fenerbahce at the top of the Super Lig with a game left. It was a perfect response after they finished 13th in the 2021-22 campaign – the worst finish in the club’s history.
A HIGHWAY gun attack on security forces in northern Mexico left 10 people dead on Monday, authorities said. “Civil Force personnel were attacked with bullets by subjects who were traveling aboard three armored trucks,” Nuevo Leon Public Security Secretary Gerardo Palacios wrote on Facebook. Ten criminal suspects were killed and four officers injured, he added. The attack took place along a highway between Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas states, a region hit by violence connected to organized crime. Roads between the two states have been the scenes of kidnappings, disappearances and robberies. Mexico has counted more than 340,000 killings and some…
NORTH Korea has said an accident happened as it planned to send up its first space satellite, causing it to crash into the sea. Pyongyang announced earlier it planned to launch a satellite by 11 June to monitor US military activities. It now says it will attempt a second launch as soon as possible. The launch sparked a false alarm in the South Korean capital Seoul, while in Japan a warning was issued to residents of Okinawa, in the south. There was chaos and confusion in Seoul as people awoke to the sound of an air raid siren and an…
KENYAN-BORN Bernice Kariuki has resigned as Arsenal’s private chef after two years at the English Premier League club. She announced her departure as Arsenal recorded a thumping victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, winning 5-0 to end the season in second place. “A final day flourish. Finished the season with a bang! Simply the best!!! Arsenal… Arsenal… Arsenal. 2020/2023, the best special season ever. I hang my gloves as a very proud chef, it’s been an honour working for the best club in the whole world. I was truly humbled,” she posted on Facebook. Ms Kariuki was picked by the…
THE Zimbabwean government summoned the acting US ambassador to the country on Tuesday over election-related social media posts, which it said amounted to activism and meddling in the country’s internal affairs. Last week, the US embassy encouraged Zimbabweans to register to vote “and make sure your voice is heard”. In a statement, Zimbabwe’s acting permanent secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs, Rofina Chikava, confirmed the meeting. She said she told the US embassy’s charge d’affairs Elaine French that the posts were unacceptable and deviated from diplomatic norms. A spokeswoman for the US embassy said there was no problem with…
THE Vice-chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Olufemi Peters, is in Marrakech, Morocco, for the 9th Africa Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) Regional Workshop. According to a statement by the Director, Media and Publicity, NOUN, Ibrahim Sheme, on Tuesday, the workshop, organised by the Association of African Universities (AAU), aims at enhancing the capacity of universities to deliver high-quality training and applied research to address regional development challenges. It brings together leaders of the 53 Centres of Excellence, government representatives, key higher education stakeholders, policy think tanks, and partners such as the World Bank, the…
CHELSEA have appointed former Tottenham and Paris St-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager. The Argentine, 51, begins his new role on 1 July 2023 on a two-year contract, with an option of a further year. Interim boss Frank Lampard took Chelsea to 12th in the Premier League – their lowest finish for more than 25 years. “Mauricio is a world-class coach with an outstanding track record. We are all looking forward to having him on board,” the club said. Chelsea say Pochettino was first choice and the only manager who was brought into the club for talks. He…
NIGERIA will face rivals Argentina in the Round of 16 at the 2023 U-20 World Cup. The Flying Eagles will take on the hosts in an encounter on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Ladan Bosso’s team finished as one of the third-best-placed teams after earning six points from three Group D games. They beat the Dominican Republic 2-1, and humbled Italy in their second match before bowing to heavyweights Brazil 2-0. Argentina, on the other hand, won all three games, bulldozing Uzbekistan, Guatemala, and New Zealand in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. Argentina are tournament favourites and the most successful…
SAUDI Arabia has put to death two Bahrainis accused of plotting terrorist operations, state media said on Monday, raising the number of similar executions to nine this month. The Bahraini nationals, identified as Jaafar Sultan and Sadiq Thamer, had been charged with “joining a terrorist cell led by a man wanted in Bahrain”, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. There was no immediate reaction from Bahraini authorities. Since May 2 Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most prolific users of the death penalty, has executed nine terrorism convicts, all but one in the eastern region where the Shiite minority…
APPLE supplier Foxconn is ramping up efforts to recruit more workers for the world’s largest iPhone factory, ahead of the launch of a new model. Foxconn says new workers at its plant in Zhengzhou, China will get bonuses of up to 3,000 yuan ($424; £343) if they stay in the job for at least 90 days. Current employees who successfully refer a friend or family member will also qualify for an award, it says. The iPhone 15 is expected to be launched in September. Foxconn employees who refer a new recruit will now receive 500 yuan if the person stays…
THE United States and Saudi Arabia have welcomed the extension of a ceasefire deal between Sudan’s warring military factions for another five days. Washington and Riyadh announced the latest deal, as well as brokering the previous week-long truce. In a joint statement, they acknowledged that the ceasefire had not been fully observed, but said it had allowed the delivery of aid to two million people in Sudan. The UN World Food Programme said the relative lull in fighting had allowed it to send supplies to residents trapped in the capital, Khartoum, for the first time since fighting erupted six weeks…
A LIBYAN court is reported to have issued death sentences to 35 people accused of being members of the militant Islamic State (IS) group. A further 23 were jailed at the hearing in Misrata. Five people were acquitted. The defendants – all held since December 2016 – are the first group of more than 300 alleged jihadists due to be tried and sentenced. The case comes six years after more than 700 pro-Tripoli government fighters were killed in a battle to retake the Libyan city of Sirte from IS fighters.
SEVERAL countries on Monday formally presented their goodwill messages and letters of support and solidarity to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The letters were presented to the president by the special envoys and heads of missions of the countries after his inauguration as the 16th President of Nigeria. Among the countries are United Kingdom, United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Brazil, South Korea, Israel, Cape Verde, Somalia and Nicaragua. While congratulating President Tinubu, the new UK High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, presented letters from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, King Charles and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed sadness over the death of the founder of Daar Communications, owners of African Independence Television (AIT) and Raypower, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi. Dokpesi died on Monday at an Abuja hospital. In a statement issued from his office Monday evening, the President described the death of the media mogul as a huge loss to the Nigerian media industry and the country. “The death of High Chief Raymond Dokpesi is a blow to the media industry where he has played pioneering roles in private broadcasting. His pacesetting investment in the industry is an inspiration to many…