Liverpool have no alternative to Kylian Mbappe

Liverpool Echo journalist James Pearce has claimed that Liverpool will not pursue another striker, even if they fail to bring Kylian Mbappe to Anfield.
Pearce, a renowned source of information on all things LFC, was speaking at a Q&A with Reds fans on Thursday when he said:

“There is no alternative to Mbappe. That was always a long shot and with him seemingly out of reach, [Jurgen] Klopp is happy to push on with the striking options he’s already got.”

The reporter also thinks it is very unlikely that teenage sensation will even make a move to England:

“If Mbappe wanted a move to the Premier League, Liverpool would be prepared to bid for him, but I don’t expect that to happen.”

The Monaco striker has been estimated to be worth around £100 million with European outfits such as Real Madrid and PSG interested in the 18 year-old.
He continued:

“I’m not aware of Liverpool showing any interest in either [Alexandre] Lacazette or [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang this summer. I think the only way we’ll see Liverpool buy a striker this summer is if [Daniel] Sturridge says he wants out.”

Liverpool so far have purchased Mohamed Salah for £34 million with Dominic Solanke also set to join the Reds from Chelsea on 1st July.

Pope Francis injects new blood into cardinals club

Pope Francis on Wednesday created five new cardinals in a colourful ritual ceremony at the Vatican that blended centuries of tradition with the Argentine pontiff's vision of a remodelled Church for the 21st century.

Four of the five new cardinals come from countries that have never had a cardinal before: El Salvador, Laos, Mali and Sweden. The fifth is from Spain.
In a hard-hitting homily, Francis told them they should regard themselves as servants of the most vulnerable and not be misled by the traditional description of cardinals as 'Princes of the Church'.

The world they have to deal with, Francis said, is "the innocent who suffer and die as victims of war and terrorism; the forms of enslavement that continue to violate human dignity even in the age of human rights; the refugee camps which at times seem more like a hell than a purgatory; the systematic discarding of all that is no longer useful, people included."

Experts say Francis's latest choice of cardinals reflects his desire to reach out to the peripheries of the global Catholic community, a recurring theme of his papacy.
Three of the new appointments are from countries with only small minority Catholic congregations.

As well as expanding its global footprint, the appointments increase the size of the electoral college that will select the next pope to 121 members, 49 of whom have been appointed since he became pope in March 2013.
The total number of cardinals is much larger, 225 including the new inductees, but only those under the age of 80 are eligible to join the conclave which will elect the pope's successor.
Blood spilled

"I think it reflects what Francis is about for him to create cardinals from Laos, Mali and Sweden," said one of the new appointments, Sweden's Anders Arborelius.
The Bishop of Stockholm told AFP he had been shocked to learn of his impending elevation.

"A priest showed me the announcement on the internet - at first I thought it was a joke," Arborelius, 67, said.

His new colleague Juan Omella, the 78-year-old bishop of Barcelona, concurred.
"The pope has a very universal vision. He wants to strengthen the areas on the margins where the Church is growing," he said in an interview ahead of Wednesday's consistory, as the formal swearing-in is known.

After vowing obedience to the Church and the pope, each of the five knelt before Francis to receive their cardinal's hat, a ring and a title linking them to a church in Rome.
As he placed the four-peaked "birettas" on their heads, Francis reminded the new cardinals, in Latin, that the hats' scarlet colour was a symbol of the blood they must be prepared to spill for their faith.

Then, as other popes have done since cardinals were first appointed nearly 1,000 years ago, Francis handed over the Papal Bull, or decree, that formalises the creation of new members.
Church for the poor
The latest appointments continue a recent trend towards increasing the representation of Asia, Africa and Latin America within the college of cardinals at the expense of European and North American clerics.

But those latter areas remain hugely influential, making up 56 percent of the college. Italy alone has almost a fifth (24) of cardinals eligible to vote in the conclave that elects popes.

El Salvador's first cardinal, Gregorio Rosa Chavez, 74, was a close friend of Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran archbishop slain by a death squad as he gave mass in 1980, during the Central American state's brutal civil war.
Often portrayed as an advocate of liberation theology, Romero shared Francis's belief that the Church should be at the service of the poor.
"He should be here in my place," Rosa Chavez told AFP. "He is a cardinal by martyr's blood."
Mali's Jean Zerbo and Laotian bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, 73, are the other new appointments.

One, Scottish former archbishop Keith O'Brien, renounced his voting rights in 2015 after being forced to step down over predatory sexual conduct with student priests.
Zerbo's appointment as Mali's first cardinal was clouded by reports he was one of three Church officials in the mostly-Muslim African state to have access to 12 million euros held in several accounts at a private bank in Switzerland.

The Church in Mali has denied any wrongdoing. Zerbo had been due to speak at Wednesday's ceremony but was belatedly replaced by Omella - because ill health had created doubts over his attendance, according to the Vatican.

Protests, policy rows, volatile leaders — welcome to the Hamburg G20 summit

Summits of world leaders are usually highly choreographed affairs that leave little to chance.
They are held in locations that are easily shielded from demonstrators. And policy differences are papered over by envoys behind closed doors well ahead of time.

But the G20 meeting in Hamburg next week will be different.
Host German Chancellor Angela Merkel has taken a high-risk gamble by choosing to hold the summit in the center of the northern port city, partly to show the world that big protests are tolerated in a healthy democracy. This has created a huge challenge for police.

On the policy front, she is determined not to surrender too much ground to U.S. President Donald Trump on climate change, trade and migration, possibly setting the scene for an unusual public clash.
"Quite honestly, it is hard to know what will happen in Hamburg," said a senior German official who has been involved in the preparations and who declined to be identified. "It will not be a summit of great unity, that's for sure."

"The biggest concern is security," the official said. "If we have another Genoa, it will be a failure," the official added, referring to the 2001 G8 summit in which protesters engaged in violent clashes with police. One person was shot dead and hundreds were injured.
The stakes are high at the July 7-8 summit for Merkel, who is in the midst of a federal election campaign and can ill afford images of chaos and disharmony.

Her relations with three of the most high-profile participants, Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, are strained.
Trump and Putin will be meeting face-to-face for the first time, an encounter which will be intensely scrutinized and could overshadow the entire summit.

Merkel chose Hamburg, the city where she was born before her father moved the family to communist East Germany, to send a message of openness. It was the nightclubs of Hamburg, which traces its history back to mediaeval times and was badly bombed in World War Two, that helped to launch the Beatles.
The city is one of the biggest trading hubs in Europe. It is home to some of Germany's biggest media groups and perhaps its most potent symbol of left-wing dissent, the Rote Flora, a former theater in the city's Sternschanze district that has been occupied by anti-capitalist squatters for nearly three decades.

An additional incentive for Merkel, an avid opera fan, was the opportunity to show off Hamburg's new architectural marvel, the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, where G20 leaders will gather for dinner on the first evening of the summit.

"WELCOME TO HELL"

Ahead of the summit, the German government has played up the fact that protesters will be allowed to voice their opposition to the event. The message to leaders like Trump, Putin and Erdogan is clear: tolerance for public dissent is a cornerstone of a confident, open democracy.
"We are a country where people have a right to demonstrate," said Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert. "Every citizen has a right to protest. And that counts for the G20 too."

That message has put huge pressure on German police. If they cannot keep the peace, Hamburg officials have acknowledged, it will amount to a defeat for Merkel in her own backyard.
Some 20,000 police, with dogs, horses and helicopters and 7.8 kilometers (4.8 miles) of steel barriers will be deployed.

Police will be facing off against tens of thousands of protesters who plan to encircle the convention center in the heart of the city where leaders will meet - a far cry from Schloss Elmau, the idyllic, isolated retreat in the Bavarian Alps where Germany held a G7 summit two years ago.
Security officials say that up to 8,000 of the demonstrators will be anarchists and left-wing radicals whose main goal is to disrupt the summit. They are planning a protest on the eve of the G20 that they have dubbed "Welcome to Hell".

"The policies of the G20 have created hellish conditions in many countries around the world," Andreas Blechschmidt, one of the organizers of the July 6 protest, told Reuters in front of the Rote Flora, which stands just a few hundred meters from the site where the leaders will meet.
"We want to show them that we can turn up the heat too," he said. Behind him, a large banner reading "Capitalism will end anyway, you decide when" hung from the graffiti-covered squat.
Other protests will be held on July 7 and 8.

Police are also worried about clashes between supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the militant group engaged in an armed struggle against the Turkish state, and Turkish nationalists who support Erdogan.
"More so than Trump, the presence of Erdogan is mobilizing people across Europe," said Werner Raetz, a veteran German activist involved in the planning of the G20 protests.

CLIMATE, TRADE, MIGRATION

On policy however, the German government views Trump and his "America First" doctrine, as its biggest headache.

At previous G20 summits, a broadly united West led by the United States and Europe would push countries like Russia, China, India and Brazil to follow its lead. But since Trump entered the White House, the Western consensus has broken down.
Trump ignored pleas from his Western allies at a G7 summit in Sicily last month and announced he would pull out of the Paris climate accord. His administration has been threatening countries like Germany and China with punitive trade measures on steel in the run-up to the G20.

Washington even appears to be backtracking on language pledging to "fight all forms of protectionism" that Trump approved at the G7, say German officials, who list migration as another source of contention.
On both climate and trade, Merkel's best ally in Hamburg may prove to be Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will meet her in Berlin before the summit.

"Everything is open," said Ulrich Speck, senior research fellow at the Elcano Royal Institute think-tank in Brussels. "There is not a clear Western position. It's a big change in the international landscape."
A decade ago, at a G8 summit in Heiligendamm on Germany's Baltic coast, Merkel managed to coax President George W. Bush - who like Trump had pulled out of a global climate pact shortly after taking office - into supporting a new climate deal with substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

In the aftermath, German media anointed her "Gipfelkoenigin", or queen of summits, for her ability to forge sensitive compromises between leaders with disparate views.
But in a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament on Thursday, Merkel acknowledged that no such compromises were likely in Hamburg.

"These will not be easy talks," she said. "The differences are obvious and it would be wrong to pretend they aren't there. I simply won't do this." - Reuters

Venus Williams ‘at fault’ in Florida crash that killed man

Tennis pro Venus Williams is responsible for a Florida car crash that landed an elderly man in the hospital before his eventual death, according to a report.

Jerome Barson, 78, endured head trauma in the June 9 collision and died two weeks later in an intensive care unit Sunday, TMZ reported Thursday.

Barson’s wife reportedly told police she T-boned Williams’ SUV traveling westbound in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., after the athlete abruptly entered an intersection northbound.
“(Williams) is at fault for violating the right of way of (the other driver),” the police report allegedly said.

The tennis great blamed the crash on heavy traffic that left her vehicle jutting out into the intersection, according to the report. Cops did not believe she'd been distracted by a device or under drug or alcohol influence.

Barson’s wife was reportedly also hospitalized for injuries, including broken bones.
A rep for Williams did not immediately return the Daily News' request for comment.

Court dissolves nine-year-old marriage over adultery

An Ado-Ekiti Customary Court on Thursday dissolved the 9-year-old marriage between Afolabi Adebayo and his wife, Kemisola.

The marriage was dissolved on grounds of frequent fighting, adultery, lack of care, among others.

Adebayo, 38, a resident of No. 14, Faglo Lane, Basiri, Ado-Ekiti, accused his wife of waywardness and not being a straightforward woman.
He told the court that he has seen his wife with different men, adding that, if she wanted to receive a call, she would leave the house.

The father of one said the major cause of their fighting was adultery, adding that when he could not bear it anymore, he had to leave the house for her.
He claimed that she does not respect him or his family members and recalled his wife being rude to his father and uncle, because they wanted to intervene in their matter.

The petitioner prayed the court to dissolve the marriage.
But the respondent, Kemisola, 35, denied the allegation of adultery.
She confirmed their incessant fighting and attributed ‎it to uncaring attitude of her husband towards her.

She admitted that her husband saw the phone number of a man on her phone, but the man was the husband of her sister.

Kemisola denied lack of respect for her father-in-law and uncle.
She, however, accepted the dissolution of the marriage and prayed the court to award her the custody of their 9-year-old daughter, Adedolapo.
The President of the Court, Mrs Olayinka Akomolede, in her judgment, observed that the marriage had broken down irretrievably and consequently dissolved the marriage.

Akomolede ruled that the custody of Adedolapo should be awarded to the wife, while her education should be jointly funded by both parties.
She also ordered that the petitioner should be paying N3, 000 as the child’s monthly feeding allowance.

She also granted the petitioner access to see his daughter anytime he feels like doing so.

Housewife offers N120,000 bride price to quit five-year-old barren marriage

A housewife, 33-year-old Seliat Abeeb, on Thursday in Omu-Aran, Kwara, offered to pay the bride price of N120, 000 demanded by her husband as a condition for dissolving their five-year-old barren marriage.

Seliat, who lives at Ago Olushola area in Otun, had on June 14 approached an Omu-Aran Area Court, seeking the dissolution of her marriage to Abeeb.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the money represents her bride price and other expenses incurred on Seliat as
claimed by Abeeb while their union lasted.
Seliat had in her petition told the court that she was no longer interested in the union that had yet to produce any child.

“I was forced to marry him against my will. I know quite well that my husband had spent some money on me.
“I am ready to pay the N120, 000 he demanded as condition for my release. He cannot use the huge amount to deter me from leaving.

“I am no longer interested in the union,” the estranged wife told the court.
Abeeb had earlier pleaded with the court to assist in reconciling him with his wife, a move Seliat vehemently resisted.
He, however, demanded N120, 000 as a precondition for her release.

“Since she is bent on leaving and having spent so much on her and her family, she should pay the stated amount to secure her release,” Abeeb insisted.

The judge, Mr Abolade Banigbe, in his ruling, said the court did its best to pacify Seliat but to no avail.
“We have no option than to dissolve the union.
“The case was earlier adjourned for settlement among the parties, but with the turn of event, the court has no option than to
dissolve the marriage.

“I have tried my best in this circumstance to see that the couple remain one, but the woman stood her grounds.
““he union between them cease to exist from now,” Banigbe declared.
Banigbe, however, awarded the sum of N50, 000 to be paid to Abeeb as against the N120, 000 he demanded.

28 Nigerians deported from UK

Barely 48 hours after 23 Nigerians were deported from Spain, the UK government has sent another 28 packing.

The deportees were accused of committing immigration-related offences in the country.
They arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMlA), Lagos, around 12:13pm.
Joseph Alabi, spokesman of the Lagos airport police command, confirmed the development to NAN.

Alabi said the deportees, comprising 21 males and seven females, were brought back aboard a chartered Titanic Airways aircraft with registration number: AWC-761/2.
He said they were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the police.

Also on ground to receive them were officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The deportees were profiled by the immigration authorities and were each given a stipend to facilitate their transportation to their respective states.

A spate of deportation of Nigerians (pictured) has been occurring in recent times.
Exactly a week ago, six European countries deported 34 Nigerians.
The UK had deported 35 Nigerians on May 24.
South Africa on May 19 also expelled 90 Nigerians, after it had on February 28 sent 97 Nigerians back home for committing various offences.

At least 110 Nigerians were also repatriated by the Italian government within a time span of six weeks. - Cable Nigeria

No more financial support for Nigeria, says EU

Michel Arrion, the European Union (EU) ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, says EU cannot promise further financial assistance to Nigeria.

Arrion made this known at a lecture which the IBB Golf Club organised in Abuja.
The lecture had as its theme: ‘40 years of European Union in Nigeria: Lessons learned and the way forward’.

Arrion said Nigeria remains EU key partner in view of the role it plays in global affairs.
The envoy added that the union would scale up its efforts towards the country’s institutional, political and economic development for a more prosperous future.
He said Nigeria could not be said to be poor, as it has enough resources to meet its developmental needs.

Arrion called for a more equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth to ensure growth and stability and unleash its enormous economic potentials.
He explained that the combine aides to the country were about ten percent of its country’s annual budget.

According to him, the official development assistance (ODA) flow in Nigeria is about $2.5 billion yearly, which corresponds roughly to about 10 percent of the federal budget (N7,3trillion  or $24 billion).
This, he said has raised the question of should EU continue to give aide to Nigeria.

Arrion, however, said the regional block would scale up its efforts towards the country’s institutional, political and economic development for a more prosperous future.
“We are not offering more financial support, we are proposing more political and policy dialogue, technical assistance, capacity building, training, transfer of technology,” he said.

“We also proposing more advocacies for more private investments and other innovative sources of funding.”
The envoy, therefore, called for improving in tax collection to finance the development of the country.

According to him, Nigeria must find alternative funding to ODA including improved tax collection which must be improved at least five times more and also spend better.
Quoting Price Water Cooper (PwC 2016), he said: “Nigeria collects about N5.5 trillion or 18 billion dollars per year.

“About 10 million people (10 percent of adult population) are registered for personal income tax (half of them in Lagos).
“The rate of VAT compliance by registered entities is about 12 per cent. The rate is lower for corporate income tax nine per cent.”

He also said Nigeria must attract more foreign investment five times more, to reach the level of Angola or Vietnam for instance and put in place more and better Public Private Partnerships.
Arrion said the evolution of the vibrant relationship of equal partners between Nigeria and the EU was founded on shares values and aspirations and mutual trust.

According to him EU in its 40 years of engagement with Nigeria had identified development priorities, funded projects to stimulate the Nigeria’s economy, reduce hunger and disease.

He said the union had also helped to enhance institutional capacities, strengthen governance and fight insecurity in Nigeria. - Cable Nigeria

Femi Fani-Kayode: The cry of the Almajiri [Part 1]

On June 27th 2017 in Daura, Katsina State one Tanko Abdullahi and one Mohammed Shehu, after a meeting of the Arewa Youth Council, issued the following statement. They said,

“We are very much aware that all the attacks against President Muhammadu Buhari were planted in the media by the Yoruba and spread by southerners generally just to discredit the north in order to pave way for their son, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to become President

”​But their plans will fail ​I​nsha Allah. We shall resist every of such plans and ensure by all means possible, that the north completes its eight-year tenure and possibly even continue after then, and that the federal structure of Nigeria as it currently is, is not tampered with by secession mongers and their collaborators.
​”​Having given power to the Yoruba on a platter of gold in 1999 as a way of compensating them for the June 12 saga, it is quite worrisome and unfortunate that they have lived up to their legendary reputation of backstabbing and betrayal by supporting the divisive calls for restructuring or dismemberment of the nation against the will and desire of the north.

​”​We gave the late Chief MKO Abiola the mandate in 1993 but shortly after that, as it is with the Yoruba as a culture, they immediately started circling around Abiola plotting on how to emasculate the north and strip us of every access we had to the politics and economy of this nation.

”​They had also raised a secret army of their elites to carry out these sinister plans against the north if Abiola eventually became President. It was this army that was unleashed on the nation in the guise of NADECO during the June 12 impasse.
​”​May we remind the Yoruba that without the willingness and magnanimity of the north, there was no way Abiola could have purportedly won that election, and that all the Yoruba have now as assets in the south west, especially Lagos, were given to them by our leaders out of our own usual magnanimity.

​”​However, time and time again, the Yoruba have always turned their back on us whenever their support is needed. They have chosen to pitch tent with the Igbo this time around just to spite us, but we shall not succumb to their antics”.

Their words are laced with hate, fuelled by ignorance, filled with contempt, propelled by hubristic pride and garnished with the arrogance of Atilla the Hun: indeed they have spoken like the true almajiris that they are.
Meanwhile let us look at the facts​: ​12 million children are out of school in Nigeria. Out of the 12 million, 10 million are from the north whilst Kano state alone has 3 million beggars.

Nigeria has the highest number of young girls suffering from Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) in the world. And 90 per cent of those young girls are from the north.
According to the UNDP 72 per cent of northern Nigerians are living below the poverty line.
According to UNICEF if Nigeria were to ever break up the core north would be the poorest and most barren place on the African continent.

According to Nasir El Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna state in northern Nigeria, if the north-western zone of the country were to ever find itself on its own it would be poorer and more ravaged by war than Afghanistan.
According to the World Terror Index Boko Haram and the Fulani militias are the first and fourth “most deadly terrorist organisations in the world” respectively and they both come from northern Nigeria.

According to UNESCO 65 million Nigerians, which represents 50 per cent of the total population!) are stark illiterates and 55 million of them are from the north.
According to UNICEF the heartland and base of pedophiia, child sex, child slavery and child marriage on the African continent is northern Nigeria.

According to President Donald Trump of the United States of America “northern Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places for Christians to live in the world” and “Christians are murdered there in their thousands every year whilst Churches are blown up and burnt down”.
According to CNN “the bastion of radical Islam, Islamic terror and Islamic fundamentalism in Africa is northern Nigeria”.

According to Governor Yari of Zamfara state in north western Nigeria the north has been afflicted with all manner of diseases and epidemics, including meningitis, as a consequence of their many sins against Allah.
According to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo the northern states “have the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the country, the lowest rate of child enrolment in schools, the highest number of unemployed young people, the highest levels of poverty and faces the challenge of inter-ethic and inter-religious conflict including the Boko Haram terrorism.”

All these daunting challenges, disturbing facts and alarming statistics and instead of putting their house in order the Arewa Youth Coalition not only threaten the Igbo with mass murder and genocide and order them to leave the north by October 1st but they have also gone a step further by insulting the Yoruba and accused us of being “serial traitors” and of “trying to impose Osinbajo on Nigeria as President”.

This is the same Osinbajo that has bent over backwards to appease them, that has taken all their insults and provocations and that has resolved to accept the fact that he is more a co-ordinator of government affairs than an Acting President.
I really do wonder what these young northerners really want?
They issue quit notices to fellow Nigerians and they are still going about freely and with AK47 and daggers stained with the blood of their innocent compatriots.

They issue statements insulting their compatriots by calling them ungrateful backstabbers even after stabbing and butchering them to death .
They tell the world that Yoruba Muslims are not real Muslims and that they will never allow them to lead in prayers in the mosque.
I ask again what do these young northerners really want?

Do they really believe that the rest of us are interested in THEIR Nigeria anymore? To many the unity of Nigeria is not sacrosanct and neither do we insist on it at the cost of our lives, our future, our self-respect and our dignity.
This position has been confirmed and re-affirmed by the General Alani Akinrinade-led Yoruba Assembly, the Odua People’s Congress, the Odua Liberation Movement and Afenifere itself.

We may love Nigeria but we are not prepared to sacrifice our liberty on the alter as a sacrifice to her gods and neither are we prepared to be treated like animals or a people that have no history or do not know where they are coming from. The Yoruba culture and race are irresistable and irrepressable.
The influence and power of the ancient Yoruba empire and people stretches from South America, the Carribean, West Africa, various parts of western Europe and other parts of the world till today.

We come from an ancient lineage of empire and tradition which is thousands of years old and which pre-dates Christianity and Islam. We are well-educated, focused and strong.
We have never been conquered in battle and we have never lost a war to a foreign aggressor or usurper. We are slow to anger but irresistable in battle.

We are a proud and noble race from an illustrious and royal heritage: se bow to no other. That is who and what we are.
If Nigeria remaining one means that we must live as slaves and serfs whilst the north laud it over us and insult us every day then we say let her break and let us go our separate ways before we kill each other.

It is only in this country that those with a blood-lust, the perverted, the depraved, the lazy, the parasitic, the barren, the poor and the dieseased insist on leading and ruling over the peace-loving, the sane, the wholesome, the righteous, the generous, the kind, the accomodating, the hard-working, the productive, the prosperous and the healthy.

In view of these racist, divisive and provocative rantings and sentiments from the northern youths (which in my view have the tacit support and backing of their traditional rulers, political elite, trusted leaders and reverred elders) those of us from other parts of the country must wake up, smell the coffee, get our act together and rise up to the challenge and to the occassion.

This is the time for men and women of valour and strength to step up to the plate and redeem the honor of their kith and kin. This is the time to say “enough is enough!” (TO BE CONTINUED).

'Man Utd can win Premier League if draws become wins'

 Jose Mourinho will win the Premier League title with Manchester United if the Red Devils convert 90 per cent of their home draws into victories next season, says Phil Neville. 

United registered just eight league wins at Old Trafford en route to a sixth-place finish last term, with Mourinho's men frustrated by a return of 10 draws.
Mourinho did lift the EFL Cup and Europa League trophies, though, and Neville – who came through the youth ranks at Old Trafford before leaving for Everton in 2005 – is convinced the Portuguese will lead the club to greater honours.  

"If you look at the drawn games at Old Trafford last season and convert maybe 90 per cent of those into wins, then United would have been challenging for the title," he told MUTV.
"If they can do that this year, then I think the title will come back to Manchester.

"United are heading in the right direction and the confidence the manager and his squad got from winning the EFL Cup and Europa League can be taken into the Champions League and the league next year. "
Neville, who made over 350 appearances for United, also believes it is crucial United make shrewd signings during the transfer window.
"It’s going to be a difficult season, as everyone else is spending money and improving," Neville added.

"United are going to have to improve as well because they didn’t finish in the top four last season.
"Now, every time I pick up a paper, another player is linked with United but I'm sure Jose will bring success, like he did last season, and ultimately, hopefully, bring the title back to Manchester." - Goal.com

Chelsea rivalled by Man City for Kingsley Coman

Chelsea want to add another winger to their squad this summer and are being linked with a £43m move for Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman.

Coman has bounced around a lot of top clubs so early in his career, making his name at PSG before moving to Juventus and after a successful loan spell with Bayern he completed a permanent transfer to the Allianz Arena earlier this summer.
Borussia Dortmund star Ousmane Dembele was Chelsea’s preferred target but a deal to sign him is considered unlikely and they could make a move for Coman, but face competition from another Premier League side.

French source RMC claim that Manchester City are interested in signing the France international forward this summer.
Brazilian winger Douglas Costa is set to leave Bayern with Juventus leading the race to sign him, making it unlikely that Bayern would let Coman leave during the same window.

Antonio Conte wants to add another dynamic forward to his ranks and Coman is one of his top targets but he’ll have to fend off Manchester City for his signature.

Corruption kingdom : EFCC Arrests NABDA Director General For N23m Scam

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested a serving Director General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) Mrs. Lucy Jumeyi Ogbadu, for her alleged involvement in criminal conspiracy and diversion of public funds to the tune of N23,000,000.00.

Ogbadu was arrested on Wednesday, June 28 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following her alleged linkage with the Bayelsa State Director of Bioresources Development Centre, Mr. Josiah Habu, who is being investigated by the EFCC in a case of fraudulent diversion of the sum of N75,0000,000.00. Investigations by the EFCC showed that Ogbadu allegedly received the sum of N23m through a bank account belonging to the wife of Habu, Mrs. Esther Habu and admitted same in a voluntary statement made to the EFCC.

Further investigations have also shown that, Mrs. Habu is one of the contractors with Bioresources Development Centre, Odi, Bayelsa State and a total sum of N603,000,000.00 (Six Hundred and Three Million Naira only) has been traced to her, in different deals involving over 20 Directors of Bioresources Development Centres across the country. Ogbadu's linkage with all these scams is being investigated. She has been duly served with bail conditions while investigations continue.

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
29th June, 2017

Billionaire kidnapper: How drug I concealed in my stomach gave me colon cancer – Evans

The much talked about Anambra-born kidnap kingpin, Chukwudubem Owuamadike, a.k.a Evans has revealed how colon cancer came to grow in his body due to the drug he concealed in his stomach.

The chief criminal suspect said he had been moving drugs in his stomach from one country to another.

Evans revealed that in one of his movements, the drugs digested in his stomach, which and had led to the cancer he suffers now.

He told Tribune, “Yes, and I suspect it was when the drug I ingested burst in my stomach.
“I was going to Holland then, but I used Guyana passport. The country is in South America. That was a long time ago.

“I took it from Suriname to Holland. It was just one kilogramme. I was taking it for sale in Holland. However, I took some medications.
“It was a little leakage. I suspect that was how I got colon cancer. It is still in stage one, but I have not been taking my drugs.” 

Pupil, 12, ‘caught poisoning’ classmate for beating him to first position

A junior secondary school pupil 1 of Lekki British International School, Lagos, allegedly made an attempt to poison his 11-year-old female classmate, for beating him to the first position.

The 12-year-old reportedly sneaked into the school’s laboratory, stole sulphuric acid and ethanol, which he poured in the water bottle of his classmate.
The incident was said to have taken place on June 14, when the school was planning for the third term examinations.

He was caught by two students, who reported him to the school management.
When questioned, he admitted committing the offence, adding that he was envious of the girl for beating him to the first position in the first and second terms.
Meanwhile, conflicting reports have trailed the response of the school management to the issue, with some saying the boy has been expelled while others say he was pardoned.

“The boy has been expelled with immediate effect. The girl is in school and she is fine. We have zero tolerance for such misbehaviour,” an official of the school told PUNCH.
However, a member of the victim’s family said on Wednesday that despite the boy’s confession, the school allowed him to sit for the third term examination.

Abimbola Ololade Oligbinde, in a Facebook post, said that the aunt of the victim alleged that the boy was still in school.

According to Oligbinde, “the school is protecting the potential murderer and threatening the victim”.
In the post, she included a statement purportedly written by the victim’s aunt.
It read: “It will amaze you that the school in question still has the boy in school…no mental case assessment, he was allowed to write the very same exams he had tactfully planned on executing his classmate for so that she doesn’t take the first position again.

“One would think that the school authorities will be very concerned about what is going on in the mind of this child and immediately remand him to psychological and psychiatric help!
“But alas the parent of the victim is being accused by the school management of wanting to destroy the life of the boy by asking that he be expelled and made to write an apology. An apology came after one week of the incidence after it was vehemently demanded [for].

“I am appalled at the rot and decay of any form of value system that has exhumed from one of Nigeria’s supposed best schools..Lekki British International School.”
When TheCable contacted the school management, the receiver said the administrator was not available to speak on the issue, as he had travelled for a training.

She also refused to disclose any information, insisting that only the administrator was in a position to do so. - Cable Nigeria

Tottenham join Crystal Palace in race to sign defender

Frank de Boer is interested in signing Ajax defender Joel Veltman, but he’ll face a battle with Tottenham to get the centre-back to Selhurst Park.

As reported by Matt Law of the Telegraph, the 25-year-old is on Palace’s list of potential new centre-backs as they feel like they will be unable to get Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool with the Reds asking for around £30million for him.

Veltman is about to enter the final year of his contract with the Amsterdam-based side so Palace will hope to get him for a reduced fee.

Tottenham are also looking at Veltman as a backup option to Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen with current deputy Kevin Wimmer being linked with a move away.

However, Palace will hope that a better chance of regular first-team football could be enough to persuade the Dutch international to move to Selhurst Park rather than Whie Hart Lane/Wembley as in a World Cup year, he’ll need to be playing more often than not.

Billionaire kidnapper: I am not a billionaire, only got N20k in my account - Evans

Notorious kidnap kingpin, Evans, has said he is not a billionaire as reported in the media.

He also reveals how much he has in his bank account, while claiming that he does not make use of his domiciliary account.

Speaking with Tribune, the suspected kidnapper, noted that it would be foolishness to carry such monies he collected from his victims to the bank and further revealed that he used his share of the money to buy houses in Nigeria and in Ghana.
“I am not a billionaire.”
“I don’t have money in my bank accounts.
I may have like N20,000 in some, but the kind of money you are expecting to hear are not in the accounts.

“I have [domiciliary account] but I don’t have money in it. It is only somebody who is a fool that would take such huge amount I collect to the bank.
“I don’t have any property in FESTAC. I only have the two Magodo properties in Lagos, and then another two in Accra.
“These are just the properties I have. However, some people have been saying I have houses all over the world. Some said I have house in South Africa, but I don’t.

“It was not only me who took all the money. I had people working for me and I gave them their shares.
“Instead of keeping the money in bank or somewhere else, I used it to buy houses. I have told the police how much I bought the houses.
“I have told them how much I spent in building the one in Ghana.”

Evans files second suit, seeks payment of N300m in damages

Suspected kidnapping kingpin , Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike( a.k.a. Evans), has again dragged the Inspector General of Police, and three others before a Federal High Court in Lagos over his alleged illegal detention.

In the new suit filed on Thursday, Evans is claiming N300 million as general and exemplary damages against the police for alleged illegal detention and unconstitutional media trial.
Joined as respondents in his new originating motion are the Nigeria Police Force, the  Commissioner of Police Lagos State and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos State Police Command.
Evans had on June 28  filed an ex parte application with  reference number FHC/L/CS/1012/2017, before the same court, seeking an order directing the respondents to charge him to court.

He had also in the alternative, sought an order directing the respondents to release him unconditionally where no charge is preferred against him.
In an affidavit deposed to by his father, Mr Stephen Onwuamadike, it was averred that the applicant has been subjected to media trial without any court  order by the respondents.

Onwuamadike further averred that the media trial and news orchestrated by the respondents have continued to generate reactions in both print and electronic media without his son being afforded fair hearing before a court of law.
Evans contended that his continued detention by the respondents since June 10, without a charge, or release on bail , is an infringement on his fundamental rights.

In his new suit also marked FHC/L/CS/1012/ 2017 and  with the same persons as respondents, the applicant is seeking a declaration that his continued detention since June 10 without arraignment, violates his fundamental rights as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution.
He is also seeking a declaration that his parade on June 11 before journalists in Lagos, at the Lagos Police Command Headquarters in Ikeja, without any court order, is unconstitutional and illegal .

He is consequently, seeking an order, compelling the respondents to immediately arraign him before a law court, or release him from custody forthwith.
‘Evans’’ is also seeking an order, compelling the respondents to jointly and severally, pay him the sum of N300 million as exemplary damages for illegal detention and alleged harm caused by the alleged  media trial.

The suspect is also  seeking  an order of perpetual injunction, restraining the respondents from further arresting, detaining, harassing, investigating or inviting him in relation to the facts of his case.

He is also  seeking  further orders as the court may deem fit, to make in the circumstances.
No  date has  been fixed for hearing in  his latest suit.- (NAN)

Jermain Defoe joins Bournemouth on three-year deal after leaving Sunderland

Jermain Defoe has completed a move to Bournemouth on a three-year deal. The 34-year-old striker exercised a relegation release clause in his Sunderland contract and returns to the club where he had a successful loan spell early in his career.

Defoe scored 18 times on loan at Bournemouth from West Ham in 2000-01, finding the net in 10 successive matches. The former Tottenham and Portsmouth player got 15 Premier League goals last season and forced his way back into the England squad.

Bournemouth are set to make a further signing in Nathan Ake, who is on the verge of joining in a club-record £20m transfer from Chelsea.
The south-coast club are not interested in bringing in John Terry, who will be a free agent on Saturday, when the summer transfer window opens. - Press Association/The Guardian 

Cristiano Ronaldo welcomes twin boys into the world

Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed he's become a father to twin boys.

The 32-year-old Portuguese soccer ace announced the news in a Facebook post, in which he also revealed he will be stepping away from the Confederations Cup earlier than planned after the arrival of his sons so he can spend more time with them.

After Portugal failed to beat Chile in the semi-finals of the tournament, he wrote: "I was in the service of the national team, as always, body and soul, even though my two sons were born.
"Unfortunately, we have not been able to achieve the main sporting objective that we wanted, but I am sure we will continue to give joy to the Portuguese.

"The President of the Portuguese Football Federation and the national picker have today had an attitude that has touched me and I will not forget.
"I'm very happy to finally be with my children for the first time."

The twins are believed to have been born via a surrogate mother in the US.
The Real Madrid star already has a seven-year-old son called Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, whose mother has never been identified.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese Football Federation also released a statement confirming Ronaldo's early departure from the cup to focus on his family.

It read: "The President of the FPF and the National Team were informed before the Confederations Cup by the National Team captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, that he had been a father.
"The athlete, despite the birth of his children, made a point of being in the service of the National Team, in a gesture that we must underline and praise.

"The President of the FPF and the National Selector understand that if it is impossible to reach the goal of winning the Confederations Cup, they must release the athlete so that he can finally get to know his children."

Obama in Indonesia: wife, kids and 650 soldiers

Barack Obama has ended a five-day family holiday to Indonesia by visiting Yogyakarta, an ancient and artsy city around which his anthropologist mother spent years doing research into village life.

The former US president – who lived in Indonesia during his childhood – his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha, had spent three days in the resort island of Bali, where they were photographed river rafting.

The former first family arrived by private jet on Wednesday to a military airport in Yogyakarta, where authorities said about 650 Indonesian security forces were deployed to protect them.

First on their itinerary for the two-day visit was Borobudur, a ninth-century Buddhist temple complex

They are also expected to visit the Hindu temple of Prambanan.

Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, meet the future president’s father at the University of Hawaii but later remarried an Indonesian man and the family moved to Jakarta in 1967 when Obama was six.
When that marriage also broke up, Dunham moved to Yogyakarta to study indigenous craft industries and Obama returned to Hawaii aged 10 to live with his grandparents.


Acquiring grants from international foundations, Dunham worked in development, helping villagers to get loans to launch small businesses.
The region was the subject of her PhD thesis, Peasant blacksmithing in Indonesia: surviving and thriving against all odds, which details life in a village an hour’s drive along a dirt road south of Yogyakarta. Dunham described local customs, eating habits and how women ran agriculture. 

Indonesia’s president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, suggested the trip to Obama, who is also scheduled to speak at an Indonesian diaspora congress in Jakarta on Saturday. - AP/The Guardian 

Deposed Saudi crown prince confined to palace

The deposed Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, has been confined to his palace in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, as his young successor seeks to consolidate his newfound power, two sources close to the royal family have confirmed.

The movements of the former heir to the throne have been restricted since Mohammed bin Salman, 31, replaced his uncle as crown prince last week, ensuring that he, instead of the 57-year-old security tsar whom he ousted, would eventually succeed his father as ruler.

Senior Saudi officials denied Nayef was under house arrest, with one describing the claim – first reported in the New York Times – as “not true at all”. Another official, however, said: “It’s just in the changeover period. MBS [bin Salman] does not want to take any risks. It is not house arrest. Nothing like that at all.”

Bin Nayef had been the kingdom’s most influential security official over the past 15 years. He had maintained close intelligence connections with the US and UK and was seen by Saudi allies as an assured and trusted hand.

His ties to Saudi allies are far more extensive than those of his successor, a possible factor in the decision to keep him isolated while the power transition takes effect. The House of Saud had been determined to convey the image of a seamless handover, with a government video showing Bin Salman bowing and kissing the hand of his uncle after being named crown prince.

In the lead up to the change, however, a mutual rivalry has eroded trust. “It was never daggers drawn,” said the Saudi official. “It was that a younger man wanted the job and the older man didn’t like it. Things never broke down, but it became clear that the king’s son had the profile and status that the crown prince should have had. Everyone could see that.”

The New York Times reported that guards loyal to Bin Salman had replaced those of his predecessor outside the Jeddah palace to where the ousted royal had returned. It is understood that Bin Nayef and his close family members have been prevented from leaving the kingdom.

“If he is seen as benign, this will change quite quickly,” the official said. “I suspect they don’t want him jetting off to Washington in a bad mood and telling anyone, even our allies, the state secrets.
“There is too much risk in letting a disgruntled figure talk at a time like this.”

The upheaval follows a dizzying series of moves from the usually cautious kingdom, which in recent weeks has recalibrated relations with Washington and opened a diplomatic offensive against Qatar, led by Bin Salman’s office, while pressing ahead with a war in Yemen and an ambitious economic and cultural overhaul at home.

Bin Salman has been central to the changes, which have helped his profile and powers grow rapidly under the tutelage of an 81-year-old monarch who has given him an almost free hand over most aspects of society. - The Guardian

Chelsea consider Manolas move

Chelsea have been encouraged to make a late bid to sign Roma centre-back Kostas Manolas, according to Sky sources.

Manolas was due to complete a £30m move to Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday, but he did not arrive for his planned 7am medical.
And Manolas and his advisers have asked for extra time to negotiate his personal terms.

The Greek defender has been offered a five-year deal by Zenit, who are now managed by former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini.
But Manolas has also been on a list of defensive targets Chelsea have been monitoring, as they attempt to replace John Terry.

And the news that his planned transfer to Russia may have hit a snag could tempt the Blues into making a move for the 26-year-old Greece international

Badoo kills three family members in Ikorodu

The notorious Badoo ritual gang struck again in Ikorodu, Lagos, killing three members of a family. The fourth member of the family, sources said, was seriously injured.

The gang attacked three other buildings on Aliyu Adesanya Street, Olopomeji Bus Stop, Odogunyan, Ikorodu.
The slain family members lived at house 9; occupants of houses 10, 11 and 12 were said to have fled when the gang struck around 3am.

Those killed were David Ikehi, his wife, Priscilla and son Moses. The family’s four-year-old boy Sunday is battling for his life in hospital. Its two-year-old son is reportedly missing.
The killers were said to have smashed their victims’ heads with grinding stone, splashing their blood all over the place.
It was gathered that a resident, Baba Chukwuemeka, who escaped, raised the alarm around 4am.

He was said to have told neighbours that an intruder entered his home through the window, carrying a grinding stone.
The man, residents said, claimed to have dodged being hit with the grinding stone and wrestled with his assailant. The assailant, the man claimed, fled when he could not overpower his victim, leaving the grinding stone behind.

It was gathered that Baba Chukwuemeka’s scream alerted others, who came out to secure their neighbourhood

In the ensuing melee, it was gathered that a loud cry came from house 9, prompting the crowd to rush there.
Upon getting there, they found that it was the landlord who screamed, but the door to his apartment was fastened with a wire. They were said to have rallied round to rescue him and found the Ikehis while combing the house.

The residents contacted the Shagamu Road Police Division, which evacuated the bodies and took the injured to the hospital.
In anger they stormed the palace of the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Adewale Shotobi, to protest the incessant killings.

Soldiers and the Department of State Services (DSS) operatives were deployed to assist the
 police control the crowd. The crowd pelted them with stones and other missiles

The residents took a swipe at the monarch, demanding his dethronement. They also demanded “thorough investigation” into the killings.
The Command spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) said the incident was being investigated. He however, declined to comment on steps the command is taking to prevent future attacks. - The Nation

Evans sues police, seeks unconditional release

Chukwudumeje Onwuamadike, billionaire kidnapper popularly known as Evans, has asked a federal high court in Lagos to compel the police to release him.

The plea was contained in a fundamental rights enforcement suit he filed at the court on Wednesday.
In the motion ex parte, Evans asked the court to coerce the police to either charge him to court immediately or release him from custody unconditionally.

He accused the police of infringing on his rights by detaining him since his arrest on June 10 without any court order.
Evans said he ought to have been charged to court in accordance with sections 35 and 36 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
Listed as the respondents in the suit were the inspector general of police, the Nigerian police force, the Lagos state commissioner of police and the special anti-robbery squad, Lagos command.
In an accompanying affidavit, Stephen Onwuamadike, Evan’s father, claimed he and other family members have been denied access to his son since his arrest.

He claimed his solicitor had also been denied access to Evans.
Meanwhile, the police said they had obtained a three-month remand warrant from the federal high court in Abuja to further detain the suspect.
They said the warrant is also renewable on expiration. - Cable Nigeria