Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been charged with multiple sexual offences, including five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The charges, which involve three women and span alleged incidents between 2021 and 2022, were confirmed by the Metropolitan Police on Thursday. Partey, 32, who until recently played for Premier League side Arsenal, has denied all the allegations through his lawyer and said he looks forward to…

Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams has ended months of speculation surrounding his future by signing a new 10-year contract with the Basque club. The 22-year-old, who played a key role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, has extended his stay at San Mamés until June 2035, effectively ruling out a summer move to Barcelona or Bayern Munich. Williams had been heavily linked with a switch to La Liga rivals Barcelona, with…

The football world continues to mourn the tragic loss of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota, whose sudden death in a car accident on Thursday sent shockwaves across the global sporting community — including among Nigerian footballers at home and abroad. Jota, 28, and his brother André Silva died in the early hours of Thursday morning following a high-speed crash on the A-52 highway near Palacios de Sanabria in Spain’s…

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will, on Thursday, unveil Labour’s 10-year health plan, pledging to create a six-day a week neighbourhood health service in what he describes as one of the most radical reforms in NHS history. The new plan aims to shift routine healthcare out of hospitals and into local one-stop centres, offering care from GPs, nurses, dentists, and other professionals under one roof. These neighbourhood clinics would operate…

Former Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has re-entered frontline politics after being appointed vice-chairman of Reform UK. Nuttall, who led Ukip briefly between 2016 and 2017, has largely stayed out of the public eye in recent years but is now taking on an internal role within Nigel Farage’s successor party. According to a Reform UK source, Nuttall’s responsibilities will focus on election strategy and party growth rather than media appearances. “It’s…

Sir Keir Starmer’s welfare bill has passed through the House of Commons, but only after a major U-turn on key proposals in an effort to calm a growing rebellion within the Labour Party. The government dropped controversial plans to change how people qualify for Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which had sparked anger among Labour MPs. Originally, the Bill proposed stricter criteria that would have made it harder for some disabled…

Sir Keir Starmer has decided not to punish the 49 Labour MPs who defied him by voting against the government’s welfare reforms, despite being forced into a major climbdown in the Commons. The MPs will keep the Labour whip, and insiders say there are no plans to impose any further disciplinary action following the biggest rebellion of Starmer’s leadership so far. The revolt came after the Prime Minister was forced…

Smell detectors capable of identifying illegal drugs such as spice and fentanyl could soon be installed in the homes of criminals and prison cells as part of a radical shake-up of how offenders are monitored. The high-tech sensors designed using synthetic brain cells and artificial intelligence to mimic the human sense of smell are among a wave of new technologies being considered by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to tackle…

Sir Keir Starmer has abandoned plans to ban alcohol advertising following pressure from US trade officials and warnings from the British drinks industry about potential economic fallout. The proposed restrictions originally set to be part of the government’s upcoming 10-year NHS plan were quietly removed after US drinks companies raised concerns that such a move would amount to a non-tariff trade barrier. American producers argued that the policy would unfairly…

Migrants who cross the English Channel in small boats could be barred from claiming asylum in the UK under new plans being developed as part of a returns agreement with France. The proposed one-in, one-out deal would see the UK return illegal Channel crossers to France, in exchange for accepting a similar number of pre-approved asylum seekers from French territory. The aim is to undercut people smuggling networks by removing…

A former British neonatal nurse, Lucy Letby, may be charged in connection with further baby deaths after police submitted new evidence to prosecutors. Cheshire Constabulary confirmed on Tuesday that it had handed over a full file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which will now decide whether to authorise additional charges against the former neonatal nurse. Letby, 35, from Herefordshire, was convicted of the murders of seven infants and attempted…

By Alade Adisa The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has now become the special purpose vehicle that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President, David Mark, former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola and others have adopted for achieving their political ambition of unseating President Bola Tinubu in 2027. The decision was taken late on Tuesday night during a meeting of the anti-Tinubu group in Abuja. The ADC’s National Chairman, Ralph…