Author: David Great

English singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran, has bought a minority stake in newly promoted Premier League club Ipswich Town. Ed Sheeran, a longstanding Tractor Boys supporter, has acquired a 1.4% share in the club. Ipswich said Sheeran will enjoy long-term use of an executive box at their Portman Road home, but he will not join the club’s board because his investment is “passive and minority”. Ed Sheeran, who has been Town’s official shirt sponsor since 2021, also created the club’s Suffolk-inspired third kit. “It’s any football fan’s dream to be an owner of the club they support, and I feel so grateful…

The World Health Organisation on Thursday said it had confirmed the first case of the viral infection mpox in Sweden which is connected to an outbreak in Africa. The case is the first sign of the disease spreading beyond Africa one day after the WHO declared it a worldwide public health emergency. At a news conference, Swedish health experts stated that the individual became infected with the clade Ib mpox virus while in Africa. The unnamed individual is receiving treatment. Both US and Canadian officials have stated that they have not identified any cases of mpox. The WHO declared the African outbreak a public health emergency on Wednesday…

No fewer than 37,000 women across Nigeria are set to receive financial support through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), spearheaded by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. During an event on Thursday in Benue State, where food items were symbolically presented to Internally Displaced Persons, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, Tinubu announced the initiative. The First Lady was represented by Mrs. Nana Shettima, the wife of the Vice President. Under the RHI economic empowerment program, 1,000 women from each state and the Federal Capital Territory will receive a re-capitalisation grant of ₦50,000. The initiative aims to empower women…

German attacking midfielder Marco Reus has signed for LA Galaxy on a two-and-a-half-year deal, the Major League Soccer (MLS) club said on Thursday. Reus left Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season after 12 years with the Bundesliga club, and joins the American side as a free agent. His final game for the German club was in their Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in June. “For Marco, a two-time Bundesliga Footballer of the Year, to join the Galaxy after playing his entire career in Germany is a testament to the project we are continuing to build at…

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has expressed grave concern over the worsening mpox situation across Africa. In light of the declarations by the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) of a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security and a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, respectively, Gavi in a press statement sent to Chronicle NG has outlined a comprehensive plan to address the crisis. One of the key measures approved by Gavi’s Board is the creation of a global stockpile of mpox vaccines during its upcoming five-year strategic period starting in 2026.…

Thousands of women marched through the night in cities across India, to protest the brutal rape and murder of a young female doctor in a hospital that has fueled anger over a lack of safety for women despite tough new laws. A 31-year old trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside the medical college in Kolkata where she worked on Friday, triggering nationwide protests among doctors and drawing parallels to the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in 2012. “We have come here to demand justice because even I have…

Nigeria’s inflation rate declined in July for the first time in more than a year, to 33.40% month-on-month, from 34.19% in June, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, on Thursday. The NBS noted that Nigeria’s food inflation rate stood at 39.53%. Analysts predicted that June’s number would represent the pinnacle in inflation as the impacts of currency devalution began to diminish. The slowdown in July will provide some respite to dissatisfied Nigerians, who protested from August 1 over rising living costs, poverty, insecurity and governance spending. President Bola Tinubu’s decision to end decades-long fuel subsidies, devalue…

The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command said it intercepted a total of 12 containers of expired and controlled pharmaceutical products worth N1.8bn. In a statement on Thursday, the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this while displaying some of the seized contraband at the command in Apapa, Lagos. Adeniyi stated that if the drugs were allowed to exit the ports, it would undermine the security of the nation by influencing the behavior of individuals involved in criminal activities often fueled by illicit drugs such as tramadol. “I am here to present seizures made by our officers at the…

Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barcelona and Spain star winger Lamine Yamal, is in a “serious but stable” condition after being stabbed late on Wednesday in a car park in the northeastern Spanish town of Mataro, Spanish national TV broadcaster TVe reported. The regional police force Mossos d’Esquadra confirmed the report and told Reuters three people had been arrested for attempted murder. Yamal, a footballing wonderkid who grew up in coastal Mataro — a working-class, multi-ethnic suburb of Barcelona — became the breakout star of the recent Euro 2024 held in Germany, helping Spain to win the tournament and scoring…

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is expected to sign for newly promoted Ipswich Town on loan for the rest of the season. He has failed to get regular playing time at City side since joining the Premier League champions from Leeds United two years ago for £45m. Phillips joined West Ham on loan for the second half of last season in an effort to secure an England spot for Euro 2024 but a combination of poor form and injury wrecked his chances of making Gareth Southgate’s squad. The loan deal does not include a sale option. Although City manager Pep…