Author: Alade Adisa

A referee has reportedly been banned for six months after asking Lionel Messi for his autograph at the end of an Inter Miami game. WHAT HAPPENED? Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava approached Messi at the final whistle of Miami’s CONCACAF Champions Cup win over Kansas City last week and asked for his autograph to give to a family member with special needs. North America’s controlling football body (CONCACAF) opened disciplinary action against the 36-year-old. According to ESPN, Ortiz Nava has been ‘banned from officiating in CONCACAF competitions for six months’. THE BIGGER PICTURE This is not a good look…

Cristiano Ronaldo, Mane on target as Al Nassr bounce back Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane’s second half strikes secured crucial three points for title aspirants Al-Nassr against Al-Wehda in Saudi Pro League. The match started an hour after the scheduled kick-off time as Al-Nassr’s team bus broke down en route to The King Abdulaziz Sports City. The visitors started the game without two star players Marcelo Brozovic and Jhon Duran who missed due to suspension. To make matters worse, star defender Aymeric Laporte was forced to leave the pitch with an injury in the 12th minute of the match as…

President Donald Trump publicly backed efforts by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash government spending and cut the federal workforce on Wednesday, with the president downplaying potential conflicts between Musk and members of his Cabinet. Trump opened his first Cabinet meeting shortly before noon at the White House, with Secretary of State, Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth seated beside him. For more than an hour, Trump weighed in a wide range of topics, fielding questions from reporters on Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan, the House Republicans’ budget plan and more. But first, the president allowed…

Forty-six people were killed when a Sudanese military transport plane crashed into a residential neighbourhood on the outskirts of Khartoum, the regional government said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement said the Antonov aircraft went down on Tuesday night near Wadi Seidna air base, one of the army’s largest military hubs in Omdurman, northwest of the capital. The army, which has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, said the plane crashed during takeoff, killing and injuring both military personnel and civilians. “After a final tally, the number of martyrs reached 46, with…

In what turns out to be a piece of positive news, Nigeria’s foreign reserves have surpassed the $40 billion mark for the first time in three years, marking a significant milestone in economic recovery efforts. The governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, who disclosed during a meeting with the Assistant Governor for Monetary Affairs at the Saudi Arabian Central Bank (SAMA), Talal Al-Humond, on the sidelines of the inaugural Conference on Emerging Market Economies in Riyadh, attributed the rise to key reforms. A statement by CBN said the reserves were at their highest in nearly three years.…

The spokesperson for former President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu has explained the reason the erstwhile leader was absent from the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday. The meeting, which was presided over by President Bola Tinubu, had in attendance top APC figures, including Vice President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, governors, members of the National Working Committee (NWC), and other key stakeholders. However, notable figures such as Buhari, former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi were absent. Speaking to BBC Hausa, Garba…

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a N65 reduction in the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, lowering it from N890 to N825 per litre. The new price takes effect from February 27, 2025. According to the refinery, the price cut is aimed at providing relief to Nigerians ahead of the Ramadan season while also supporting President Bola Tinubu’s economic recovery efforts by easing financial pressures on citizens. This marks the second price reduction in February 2025, following an earlier N60 decrease at the beginning of the month. Similarly, in December 2024, the refinery slashed…

…But Zelenskyy wants security guarantees Ukraine and the U.S. have outlined an agreement in which they would jointly fund Ukraine’s future security and reconstruction using an investment fund powered by the country’s rare earth minerals, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday. However Zelenskyy said the deal would fail if it did not adequately provide for Ukraine’s future security against Russia — and only looked after American interests. “If I see and hear a broader vision from him [President Donald Trump] — one that aligns with our concept of a just peace for Ukraine — then this agreement can be part of…

Special adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has admonished former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai to stop acting like a “crying child” and move on from the ministerial snub episode. President Tinubu sent the list of ministerial nominees, including el-Rufai, to the senate for screening and confirmation in July 2023. The senate withheld el-Rufai’s confirmation over petitions filed against him on security grounds. The former FCT minister, speaking in an interview on Monday, said Nigerians should not believe the narrative that the national assembly rejected him as a ministerial nominee. “The National Assembly had…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has come under fire for allegedly frustrating a Senate investigation into the N30 trillion facility provided to the last administration from 2015 to 2023. The Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating Ways and Means has condemned the apex bank for frustrating the probe. Chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Senator Jibrin Isah Echoch, made the accusation after receiving an interim report from consultants commissioned to investigate the matter. He said the committee was mandated to investigate how the Ways and Means facility was utilized by the past administration, particularly as it affects the government’s cover for budget…