Reporting
Barcelona outclass Villarreal after recent disappointments
Barcelona responded to a trying week by thrashing Villarreal 4-1 away to stay alive in the Liga title race, producing one of their best displays under coach Quique Setien. The Catalans had drawn their last two matches to hand more momentum to league leaders Real Madrid but Sunday’s win took them to 73 points after 34 games, four behind their arch-rivals who won 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao earlier on Sunday. An own goal from Pau Torres put Barca in front in the third minute, with Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno levelling on the rebound in the 14th before the visitors restored their lead through an outstanding curling strike from Luis Suarez six minutes later. Antoine Griezmann stretched Barca’s advantage just before the break with a sublime chip, having been dropped from the starting lineup in the la...
Liverpool reiterate need for safe celebrations ahead of Villa clash
Liverpool have again urged their supporters to avoid mass gatherings in the city and to celebrate their Premier League triumph safely at home in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, chief executive Peter Moore said on Friday. Liverpool’s 30-year wait for their 19th English top-flight crown ended last week when Manchester City lost at Chelsea and thousands of fans turned up at their Anfield stadium to celebrate. Local media reported that fans launched fireworks at the Royal Liver Building, with a fire breaking out on the balcony of the landmark owned by Farhad Moshiri, the majority shareholder of the side’s local rivals Everton. Liverpool, Merseyside police and the City Council issued a statement condemning the “wholly unacceptable” behaviour, while manager Juergen Klopp requeste...
Timo Werner bids Leipzig farewell with double in victory over Augsburg
German striker Timo Werner marked his RB Leipzig swansong with two well-taken goals to guide his side to a 2-1 victory at Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Leipzig full back Nordi Mukiele and midfielder Emil Forsberg spurned glorious opportunities before Werner, who will depart for Chelsea at the end of the season, put his side in front in the 28th minute. The 24-year-old latched on to a defence-splitting pass from Amadou Haidara before rounding Augsburg goalkeeper Tomas Koubek for his 27th league goal of the season. Augsburg, who had a red card for Philipp Max overturned by VAR in the second half, hit back through Ruben Vargas, whose long-range effort proved too powerful for Yvon Mvogo to keep out. Werner added a second eight minutes from time, latching on to Angelino’s cross-field ...
NSE upgrades data portal to improve market access
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday announced the upgrade of its Data Portal (X-DataPortal) to revamp and improve market accessibility for subscribers. Mr Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the exchange, said in a statement in Lagos that the portal upgrade was to explore digital technologies to provide top notch accessibility. Onyema said: “The upgrade of the X-DataPortal is in line with the desire of the NSE to continue providing an exchange that is easily accessible, leveraging digital technology. “The newly enhanced X-DataPortal has, therefore, been equipped with market-focussed features that will complement the NSE website and other NSE portals in response to stakeholders’ increased demands for easy access to data. “Given the importance of Market Data in investment decisi...
Former South African president withdraws from US rights talk
South Africa’s last apartheid president, F.W. de Klerk, has withdrawn from a U.S. seminar about minority rights because he did not want to embarrass himself or his hosts in the current charged racial climate, his foundation said on Sunday. De Klerk, who was the head of South Africa’s white minority government until 1994, was scheduled to speak on July 1 at an American Bar Association (ABA) virtual event on issues such as minority rights, racism and the rule of law. But his participation unleashed a barrage of criticism from South African opposition parties and activists who called on ABA to cancel De Klerk’s attendance given his role in the apartheid-era security apparatus. “The allegation that De Klerk was involved in gross violations of human rights is baseless,” the F.W. de Klerk founda...
Turkey and Russia put off talks expected to tackle Libya and Syria
Russia and Turkey have postponed ministerial-level talks which were expected to focus on Libya and Syria, where the two countries support opposing sides in long-standing conflicts. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov decided to put off the talks during a phone call on Sunday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. “The two countries deputy ministers will continue contacts and talks in the period ahead. Minister-level talks will be held at a later date,” the ministry said in a statement. Lavrov and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had been set to visit Istanbul for the discussions. The Russian foreign ministry said discussion will be held on the date of the ministers’ meeting. The United Nations said this week that warring sides had begun ne...
Ugandan to lose $1.6 billion in tourism earnings as a result of coronavirus
Uganda will lose $1.6 billion a year in earnings from tourism as visitors stay away due to the impact of the coronavirus, President Yoweri Museveni said. Tourism is one of Uganda’s economic mainstays as the east African country attracts visitors to see a range of game including lions, giraffes, buffalos and others that roam its savannahs. Others are drawn by the mountain gorillas in forest in the southwest of the country on the border with Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. “Already Ugandan will lose 1.6 billion dollars per annum from the loss of tourism,” Museveni said in a speech late on Monday referring to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. The president did not say what time frame he was referring to. Latest available data from the country’s statistics’ office shows Uganda ea...
NBS: Nigerian annual inflation at 12.34 percent in April
Annual inflation in Nigeria stood at 12.34% in April, compared with 12.26% in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. A separate food price index showed inflation at 15.03% in April, compared with 14.98% in March. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Naomi Osaka using lockdown to conquer inner demons
Two-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is using the novel coronavirus shutdown as one of self reflection to try and overcome her crippling shyness. The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the hiatus will continue until at least mid-July with many countries in lockdown to contain the virus. Japan’s Osaka, who trains in the United States, the country worst affected by the flu-like virus with over 1.4 million infections and more than 83,000 deaths, is taking advantage of the extended break to do some soul searching. “I think people know me as being really shy… I want to take the quarantine time to just think about everything, and for me, I have a lot of regrets before I go to sleep,” Osaka told CNN Sport. Petra Kvitova said last year Osaka would hav...
Farah feels Tokyo delay could help 10,000m title defence
Multiple Olympic champion Mo Farah says the postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021 could work to his advantage as the Briton will now have around 20 months to train for the defence of his 10,000m title having switched his focus back to the track. The 37-year-old retired from track athletics in 2017 to focus on road marathons but announced in November last year that he was returning for one more tilt at 10,000m gold. The target then was only a matter of months away but the year’s postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. Farah, who must still qualify, will be 38 by the time of the Games in July and August next year but is looking on the bright side. “Having postponed it actually helps me a bit more,” he told Reuters while training in isolation in London’s Richmon...
Rory McIlroy to play first three PGA Tour events when season resumes
World number one Rory McIlroy says he is planning to play in the PGA Tour’s first three tournaments when the season resumes next month after the COVID-19 disruption. The golf calendar has been severely impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 291,000 people around the world, with three of the sport’s four majors rescheduled and the British Open cancelled. The Tour’s schedule restarts with the Charles Schwab Challenge (June 11-14 in Fort Worth, Texas) followed by the RBC Heritage (June 18-21 in Hilton Head, South Carolina) and the Travelers Championship (June 25-28 in Cromwell, Connecticut). “Right now, I’m planning to play the first three events,” McIlroy, who is also set to play in a $3 million charity skins match on May 17, told reporters. “I miss the competition...
Lesotho records first coronavirus case
Lesotho recorded its first case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the health ministry said, becoming the last country in southern and East Africa to be afflicted by the virus. The ministry said it had conducted 81 tests for COVID-19 from travellers from South Africa and Saudi Arabia, of which one was positive. The remote, high-altitude kingdom, nestled in a South African mountain range, had previously been spared the coronavirus, although its bigger, more industrialised neighbour has recorded more than 10,000 cases. The disease has struck at a time of political uncertainty in Lesotho, with embattled Prime Minister Thomas Thabane due to step down by the end of next week after his coalition collapsed in parliament. His exit would clear the way for a solution to a political crisis that erupted late l...
