Days
Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil completes Fenerbahce move
Mesut Ozil has finally completed his move to Fenerbahce on a free transfer from Arsenal – and penned an emotional farewell message. The outcast playmaker, 32, sealed his return to homeland Turkey on Sunday and insisted the club’s supporters would ‘forever remain’ in his heart. Ozil said goodbye to his former team-mates at the Emirates last week and has now brought an end to his seven-and-a-half-year stint in the Premier League. In a statement released on Arsenal’s website, Ozil said: ‘I’d like to thank the club for this amazing journey over the past seven and a half years. ‘The support I have felt from the team and fans during my time here has been truly incredible and something I will always be grateful for. ‘Together we won trophies for the first time in years and created memories that w...
Rivers United defeat Bloemfontein Celtics in CAF Confederation qualifier
Rivers United are through to the final playoff round of the CAF Confederation Cup after they again defeated South Africa’s Bloemfontein Celtics on Saturday. Despite playing at a neutral ground, at the Charles De Gaulles Stadium in Port Novo, Benin Republic, Rivers United posted a 3-0 win over Celtics to progress on 5-0 aggregate scoreline. The Pride of Rivers had registered a 2-0 win when they played the first leg in South Africa in December and despite the uncertainties that postponed and rescheduled the second leg, Stanley Eguma’s men delivered yet another flawless performance. Just as it was in the first leg, the duo of Fortune Omoniwari and Godwin Aguda were again the goal scorers for Rivers United on Saturday with the latter scoring twice this time. Rivers United now have their work w...
ACF: Attack on Fulani a social upheaval that may destabilise Nigeria
The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has condemned the attack on a Fulani community in the southwest, insisting that such an act was a social upheaval that may destabilize the country. ACF also alleged that security agents did nothing when the attack was carried out. Emmanuel Yawe, National Publicity Secretary, Arewa Consultative Forum, in a statement on Saturday entitled “STOP THE DRIFT IN THE SOUTHWEST”, recalled that the civil war in the 1960’s started with attacks and counter-attacks like the Oyo attack on Fulani. He stated that “this morning, we received reports of an attack by Yoruba Youths on Alhaji Saliu Abdulkadir, the Serki Fulani in Oyo State. In the reports, he was attacked and driven out of his house, eleven cars and his house burnt with his family members now living in the bush...
Zimbabwe loses two more ministers to coronavirus
Two ministers serving in the Zimbabwean government died of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) within a matter of days, prompting the country to announce on Saturday plans to further tighten lockdown measures. Late on Friday, the government announced that Transport Minister Joel Matiza had died after falling ill with COVID-19, less than two days after the country lost Foreign minister Sibusiso Moyo to the same disease. Four government ministers have succumbed to the coronavirus in Zimbabwe so far. According to unconfirmed media reports, several other cabinet ministers are fighting for their lives in a private hospital. “We are in a dark cloud that we have to clear very soon,” deputy health minister John Mangwiro told dpa. Mangwiro revealed plans to intensify the current lockdown, which has been in ...
U.S. Senate confirms Joe Biden nominee Lloyd Austin as defense secretary
The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed President Joe Biden’s nominee, retired Army General Lloyd Austin, to serve as Secretary of Defense – the first Black American in the role. The vote was an overwhelming 90-2 in the 100-member chamber, far more than the simple majority needed. Lawmakers from both parties said they were pleased that Austin would be installed to lead the Pentagon just two days after Biden was sworn in as president on Wednesday. Senator Jack Reed, the incoming Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, noted the wide range of challenges facing the country – including the coronavirus pandemic and competition with China and Russia. “General Austin is an exceptionally qualified leader with a long and distinguished career in the U.S. military,” Reed said before t...
NDLEA intercepts 21.9kg of cocaine at Abuja airport
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja has intercepted 21.9kg of Cocaine. This contained in a statement signed by the NDLEA airport Commander, Mr Kabir Tsakuwa on Monday in Abuja. The statement signed by the agency’s Spokesman, Deputy Commander of Narcotics (DCN) Jonah Achema, the illicit substance concealed in two suite cases was the largest single seizure by the Command. He noted that the two unaccompanied and unclaimed suit cases were discovered after the arrival of Ethiopian Airline, ET 910 in Abuja from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. According to him, during the inward clearance of the flight, the vigilant officers of the Command became suspicious upon noticing that the two brief cases were abandoned on the conveyor belt without any...
Iran test-fires ballistic missiles on targets at sea
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards test-fired ballistic missiles against targets in the Indian Ocean as they wrapped up a two-day exercise, their official website reported Saturday. The missiles of “various classes” targeted “the enemy’s battleships and destroyed them from 1,800 kilometres (1,125 miles) away,” according to the Sepahnews website. The missiles were fired from central Iran at targets located in the northern Indian Ocean, the Guards said. A video released by state television showed two missiles being launched and targets being hit at sea. Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri was present on the second day of the drill, alongside Guards chief Major General Hossein Salami and aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh. “One of our major goals in...
AC Milan close to signing Fikayo Tomori on loan with buy option
Serie A leaders AC Milan are aiming to secure the loan signing of Fikayo Tomori from Chelsea with a buy option in the next few days, reputed journalist Fabrizio Romano reports. The England international has hardly played for the west London giants this term and he has made only four appearances in all competitions. Blues boss Frank Lampard recently said that Tomori could be loaned out and the Rossoneri are currently the leading candidates to sign him. However, the Serie A leaders want to keep hold of Tomori for the long-term and they are hopeful of negotiating a buy option for the centre-back worth €30m. The Blues are yet to given the go-ahead for the proposed deal, but Romano reports that the 23-year-old is prioritising a move to Stefano Pioli’s side. Tomori had a bright breakthrough seas...
U.S. imposes fresh sanctions on Iran in final days of Donald Trump presidency
The United States on Friday sanctioned companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over conventional arms proliferation. They are the latest in a series of measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Tehran in the waning days of President Donald Trump’s administration, which ends on Jan. 20. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington had sanctioned seven companies, including Chinese-based Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel Co. and UAE-based Accenture Building Materials, and two people for shipping steel to or from Iran. He said Iran’s Marine Industries Organization, Aerospace Industries Organization and the Iran Aviation Industries Organization had also been blacklisted over conven...
Report: Everton close to sealing loan deal for Bayern Munich striker
Everton are close to sealing a loan deal for Bayern Munich striker Josh Zirkzee as manager Carlo Ancelotti looks to bolster his attacking options, according to talkSPORT. The teenager will be moving to Goodison Park temporarily till the end of the campaign with a view to sealing a permanent move afterwards. Everton could be without Cenk Tosun in the coming days, with the Turkey international keen to leave before the end of the transfer window if he isn’t guaranteed regular playing minutes in the top-flight. It appears that the Toffees are preparing for his potential departure, and a move for Bayern’s 19-year-old Dutch striker looks to be on the cards. Zirkzee has featured in five games for the Bundesliga giants across all competitions in 2020-21 after playing 10 times last season and scori...
China possibly committed ‘genocide’ against Xinjiang Muslims
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) said on Thursday that new evidence had emerged in the past year that “crimes against humanity – and possibly genocide – are occurring”. The CECC also accused China of harassing Uighurs in the US. China has been widely condemned for setting up complexes in Xinjiang that it describes as “vocational training centres” to stamp out “extremism” and give people new skills, but others have called them concentration camps. The United Nations says at least one million Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in Xinjiang. Faith leaders, activist groups and others have said crimes against humanity, including genocide, are taking place there. Beijing denies abuse accusations. The CECC report called for a formal US “determination on whether atro...
Donald Trump mired in ‘self-pity’ as rift with allies deepens amid impeachment
Donald Trump has reportedly reverted to “self pity-mode” following his impeachment amid frustration that his Republican allies are failing to defend him. A White House adviser told CNN “everybody’s angry at everyone” inside the White House following the ratification against the president for “incitement to insurrection.” “He’s in self-pity mode,” the source told the broadcaster. On the other hand, the view among a number of those who are close to the US president is that “his actions led to here, no one else,” the source explained. “He instigated a mob to charge on the Capitol building to stop decertification, he’s not going to find a lot of sympathetic Republicans.” The White House did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment on the claims. The siege on the Capitol...
