Author: David Great

Lionel Messi’s remarkable streak of scoring multiple goals in five consecutive MLS matches came to a halt on Wednesday night as Inter Miami suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to FC Cincinnati. The 38-year-old Argentine forward had netted braces in five straight matches — a record-setting run in Major League Soccer — bringing his season tally to 16 goals. But at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium, Messi and his teammates struggled to find their rhythm, managing just two shots on target throughout the game. “We were outplayed from the start,” Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said. “It was hard to win individual…

Former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, has alleged that the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, is attempting to defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC, due to fears of losing his re-election bid. Speculations have been rife that Adeleke, who won the 2022 governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is exploring a move to the ruling APC ahead of the upcoming off-cycle governorship election scheduled for August 8, 2026. Despite consistently denying the defection rumours and pledging allegiance to the PDP, Adeleke’s moves are being closely watched amid ongoing internal crises within his party…

On Wednesday, Israel launched intense airstrikes in Syria’s capital, Damascus, hitting strategic military locations, including part of the defence ministry and an area near the presidential palace. The operation comes as Israel declares its resolve to shield the Druze minority in southern Syria, calling for the withdrawal of Syrian government forces. The strikes mark a dramatic escalation by Israel against the Islamist-led administration of interim Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, despite his recent diplomatic overtures toward the United States and developing security discussions with Israel. Describing the Syrian leadership as “barely disguised jihadists”, Israeli officials reiterated they would not allow hostile…

Farooq Kperogi, a Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at Kennesaw State University, has claimed that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife, Aisha, were no longer married before his passing. In a post shared on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday, Kperogi alleged that Aisha had dropped Buhari’s surname and reverted to he0r maiden name, Halilu. He also suggested that she was unwilling to travel to the United Kingdom to care for the former president during his illness. Reacting to a series of quotes attributed to Aisha — in which she allegedly stated that Buhari had asked…

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has announced that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will bolster its aerial combat capabilities with the acquisition of 49 new aircraft by the end of 2026. He made the disclosure on Wednesday during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Aircraft Engineering Conference held at NAF Headquarters, Abuja. The conference is themed, “Enhancing Aircraft Serviceability in the NAF through Strong Maintenance Culture and Strategic Partnerships.” According to the air chief, the incoming fleet will include a mix of transport, attack, and reconnaissance aircraft: three CASA 295 transport planes, 10 AW-109 Trekker Type…

Real Madrid star midfielder Jude Bellingham is set to miss up to 12 weeks of action following successful surgery on his left shoulder, the club announced on Wednesday. “Our player Jude Bellingham has undergone successful surgery for a recurrent left shoulder dislocation,” Real Madrid said in a statement. “Bellingham will now begin a period of rehabilitation prior to his return to recovery work.” The 22-year-old England international had been managing the injury since dislocating his shoulder during a LaLiga match in November 2023, wearing a brace under his shirt to continue playing. However, the discomfort persisted, prompting the decision to…

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate moderated to 22.22% in June 2025, down from 22.97% recorded in May, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The Bureau made this disclosure on Wednesday through its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. The year-on-year figure reflects a 0.75 percentage point decrease compared to May and a sharp 11.97 percentage point drop from June 2024, which posted a 34.19% inflation rate. The decline comes on the back of a rebased CPI index, with 2024 now serving as the new base year. However, despite the annual moderation, monthly inflation increased to 1.68%…

Crystal Palace chairman, Steve Parish, has announced that the club will appeal its demotion from the UEFA Europa League to the UEFA Conference League, following a ruling by European football’s governing body, UEFA. Palace secured their spot in the Europa League after a stunning FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, marking their first major trophy win and a historic maiden entry into European competition. However, UEFA has since ruled that Palace must be moved to the Conference League due to a conflict of interest involving former director John Textor, who also holds shares in French club Olympique…

The Lagos State Government has revealed that the state suffers an annual economic loss of approximately N1 trillion due to the severe traffic gridlock plaguing its roads. This was disclosed by Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, during the official opening of the Second Lagos Traffic Conference held on Tuesday at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island. The conference is one of the events marking the 25th anniversary of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA). According to Giwa, the loss stems from the drastic dip in productivity as commuters spend an average of…

TikTok has taken down more than 3.6 million videos in Nigeria between January and March 2025 due to violations of its Community Guidelines, marking a 50 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. This was revealed in TikTok’s Q1 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, which detailed the platform’s efforts to maintain a safe, respectful, and trustworthy digital environment. The report indicated that 98.4 percent of the videos were detected proactively—before any user flagged them—while 92.1 percent were removed within 24 hours of being posted. According to TikTok, these takedowns represented a small portion of the overall content shared by Nigerian…