Europe
Highlander Adventure: my first post-lockdown trip
As restrictions begin to ease around the world, Peter prepares to head out on his first post-lockdown trip: the Highlander Adventure After 100 days in lockdown, I am itching to return to the trail. As someone who is most content outdoors, I have found the restrictions particularly claustrophobic, despite devising some rather creative ways to pass the time. I haven’t spent 100 days in a single place since 2015 when Kia and I were sequestered for several months in a tiny French village with nothing more than a bakery and a corner shop nearby and no means of transport other than our bicycles. That, however, that was under very different circumstances. We had just returned from a year-long trip around the world and we needed to hunker down and focus on work. Also, we weren’t under lockdown. We...
IOM: More than 240 illegal immigrants rescued off Libyan coast
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said, on Monday, that more than 240 illegal immigrants were rescued off the Libyan coast in the past week. “On July 13-20, 243 migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libya,’’ the IOM said. IOM mentioned that a total of 6,119 illegal immigrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya since 2020, while 9,225 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya last year. Among those rescued off the coast and returned to Libya this year were 453 women and 327 miners, IOM added. The state of insecurity and chaos in Libya makes the country a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants who wanted to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe. Immigrant shelters in Libya are overcrowded with im...
Pep Guardiola: Manchester City deserve an apology
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his team deserved an apology, after their two-year UEFA ban from European football was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) — a verdict he called “a good day for football”. Guardiola said the club’s reputation had been damaged by the furore around allegations that they broke Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules and fired back at comments from rival managers Jose Mourinho and Juergen Klopp. Mourinho had described the CAS decision to fine City 10 million euros ($11.39 million) for non-cooperation with the investigation as “disgraceful”. “Maybe. The thing about the money, maybe. But Jose and all the managers should know that we were damaged. We should be apologised (to). Because, like I said many times, if we did something wrong, we will...
Ibrahim Magu failed to account for interest on N550 billion recovered loot – panel
Voice of Nigeria A prior presidential panel, which investigated the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, indicted him, a report has alleged. The report noted that the embattled EFCC boss had been unable to account for the interest generated from N550bn cash recovered from 2015 to 2020. The panel is separate from the panel led by a former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, which is currently probing Magu and other top officials of the agency. The chairman of the previous committee was Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim and the members were DIG Anthony Ogbizi; a member from Federal Ministry of Justice; Mualledi Dogondaji from the EFCC; Hassan Abdullahi from the DSS; an unnamed member from the Office of the Accountant General of the...
10 hikes through the cleanest air in the world
From Canada’s wild backcountry to the jungles of Brunei, we take a look at some fantastic hikes through the cleanest air in the world The view wasn’t so bad. Sure, it was over the communal bin area but there was a roof so you didn’t really notice it. We had to put up some net curtains because precisely six flats and nine balconies had a direct view into our flat but that was okay – privacy was always hard to come by in London. Even the noise wasn’t really a problem. Being on the road wasn’t always quiet. It was the air. Heavy pollution, barely noticeable before we left London, left my skin shockingly grimey at the end of the day. My every-other-morning run by the River Lea would wind through a host of unnatural smells and the city’s cars were always numerous as ever. Statis...
Rasheedat Ajibade hails CAF for introducing Women’s Champions League
Super Falcons and Norwegian Toppserien forward Rasheedat Ajibade has applauded the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to introduce Women’s CAF Champions League. Speaking in a chat, Ajibade said CAF women’s champions league will encourage female football development in the continent and also benefit women clubs more as they would have something to play at the end of every league season. “I must tell tell you that it is a very good development. I personally applauded CAF for the initiative to introduce Champions League for Women. “It will help in increasing numbers of female participation in football and strengthened female club management. ” It will also bring out healthy competition among clubs and also attract foreign players both within and outside Africa. “Also the ...
Pep Guardiola ‘interfered in medical matters’ at Bayern Munich – ex-team doctor
Getty Images Pep Guardiola “interfered in medical matters” at Bayern Munich, according to former team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, who says the highly-rated coach thought he “knew everything better than I did”. Guardiola was drafted in to replace Jupp Heynckes in the Allianz Arena hot seat in the summer of 2013, inheriting a treble-winning squad brimming with world-class talent. The Spaniard had already established himself as arguably the finest manager in Europe by that time, after assembling one of the greatest teams in history at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012. As expected, Bayern continued to dominate the domestic scene in Germany with Guardiola at the helm, but he was unable to deliver success in Europe. The 49-year-old picked up seven major trophies during his time at the A...
12 best hikes in the Peak District National Park
The best hikes in the Peak District National Park showcase some of England’s finest and most accessible hillwalking countryside When we made our move to the country, we very nearly ended up in the Peak District. It was a toss-up between there and the Yorkshire Dales, but in the end, the pull of the Dales was just a touch too strong. The Peak District, however, came a very close second. Wedged between the northern cities of Manchester and Sheffield, the Peak District National Park may well be England’s most accessible wilderness. Britain’s first national park is an idyllic landscape with a vast range of natural beauty. The occasionally bleak but eternally beautiful Pennine countryside boasts dramatic waterfalls, deep dales, rocky crags, quaint market towns and cosy villages seemingly untouc...
FBI: Hushpuppi attempted to dupe Premier League club of £100 million
Alleged international fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Ray Hushpuppi, on Friday made his first court appearance in an American court where the Federal Bureau of Investigation alleged that he attempted to dupe an English Premier League football club of £100m (N48.4bn). The allegation is contained in an affidavit deposed to by FBI Special Agent, Andre Innocenti, who is assigned to the Los Angeles Filed Office High-tech Organise Crime Squad. According to the FBI, the suspect is facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering among others. The affidavit read in part, “Abbas and others further conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100 million (approximately $124 million) from an English Premie...
Stefano Pioli: Zlatan Ibrahimovic not ready for Roma
AC Milan coach, Stefano Pioli, has said that Zlatan Ibrahimovic won’t be in the squad for today’s meeting with AS Roma.’ Pioli concedes Milan need victory to keep their European hopes alive. He said, “Every game is different. It also depends on the attitude of our opponents. In this end of the season, it’ll be important to understand the moments of the match. “It’ll be hot tomorrow, so we’ll have to pace ourselves. We’ll have to be aggressive but also careful. “We did well at Lecce and we must also do that against Roma. They know how to defend but could give us space to work in. “Our attackers have always moved around. With Ibra up top, we have different characteristics, but even he likes to come deep for the ball. “Now, we must insist on mobility in attack. We need to make the most of the...
Five Red Star Belgrade players test positive for coronavirus
Five players from Serbian club Red Star Belgrade have tested positive for coronavirus after playing a match attended by 16,000 people, the club said Monday. The announcement came 12 days after Red Star faced city rivals Partizan Belgrade in front of a crowd of around 16,000 people, the largest gathering of that kind in Europe since the beginning of the pandemic. The Serbian government has been loosening lockdown rules and earlier this month it announced that open-air gatherings with an unlimited amount of people would be allowed. But coverage from television channel RTS appeared to show little sign of health guidelines in place in the match with Partizan as well as at other league matches. Following the final match of the season against Proleter on Saturday, Red Star Belgrade celebrated wi...
Osinachi Ohale bids farewell to CD Tacon ahead of rumoured Serie A move
Osinachi Ohale has appreciated Spanish side Club Deportivo (CD) Tacon ahead of a rumoured move to Serie A this summer. The Nigeria international spent the 2019-20 season at the Spanish Primera Iberdrola outfit and made 15 appearances, scoring twice in the process for David Aznar’s side since joining last September. Of her two goals, the first came in Tacon’s 5-1 thrashing of Toni Payne’s Sevilla on January 4 and the second in a 4-3 win over rivals Madrid CFF in a local derby in the capital four weeks later. And following the league cancellation in May, which saw her side finish 10th this season – with 23 points from 21 matches – the 28-year-old has thanked the entire club setup. “Hi everyone. It is time to announce that I will be leaving CD Tacon when my contract expires at the end of the ...
