Author: David Great

When liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to join the US Supreme Court, she was expected to bring a different view on racial matters than Justice Clarence Thomas, its only other Black member and a staunch conservative. That dispute was front and center on Thursday when the two justices publicly battled in sharply worded, dueling opinions as the court, in a blockbuster decision, effectively ended affirmative action policies in which colleges and universities consider race as a factor in student admissions. Such policies have been used by many schools for decades to boost their numbers of…

Chelsea’s Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, 30, has rejected a second offer from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal – worth €45m (£39m) a year – as he only wants to leave for Inter Milan. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian) Aston Villa have agreed a £35m deal to sign Spain defender Pau Torres, 26, from Villarreal. (Guardian) Netherlands defender Jurrien Timber, 22, is set to undergo a medical with Arsenal after they agreed an initial fee of 42m euros (£36.2m) with Ajax. (De Telegraaf – in Dutch) West Ham are still waiting for Arsenal to present an acceptable payment plan for the £105m purchase of England midfielder Declan Rice,…

A Lagos Federal High Court has scheduled the trial of three merchants and a company accused of trafficking fake medicine into Nigeria for October 11 and 12, 2023. Bernard Chinweuba, Valentine Duru Ndukwe, and Duru Valentine Chinwike are the dealers to be tried before Justice Ayokunle Faji’s court, while Vanchris Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Limited is the pharmaceutical business mentioned in the alleged crime. The dealers were charged with importing bogus pharmaceuticals such as Diclofenac Tablets BP 50mg (Diclosa 50), Coldtime Anti-cold Tablets, Sonidrex Tablets, 50mg, and Collcap (Chlorpheniramine Maleate Capsules BP 4mg). The dealers from 9, Olorogun Street, Idumota, Lagos, were…

Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy raped a young woman then told her “it’s fine, I’ve had sex with 10,000 women”, a jury has heard. The 28-year-old is accused of attacking the woman, aged 24 at the time, at his £4m mansion in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire, in October 2020. He is also accused of the attempted rape of another woman, aged 29 at the time, who said he also attacked her at his home two years before. The footballer denies both charges. He is on trial at Chester Crown Court. The jury of six women and six men have been…

N’Golo Kante has purchased Belgian third-tier club Royal Excelsior Virton, a club statement said. The France midfielder, 32, will take over from Flavio Becca as chairman of the club based near the Luxembourg border on 1 July. It is the same date he will join Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al-Ittihad from Premier League Chelsea. “Flavio is obviously extremely happy to be able to hand over the keys of the club to N’Golo Kante,” Royal Excelsior Virton said in a statement. “[He is] a player of great class, not only for his footballing qualities but also and above all for…

President Emmanuel Macron convened a crisis meeting with senior ministers on Thursday after riots spread across France overnight over the deadly police shooting of a teenager of North African descent during a traffic stop. Police made 150 arrests nationwide during a second night of unrest, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said, as public anger spilled out onto the streets, notably in the ethnically diverse suburbs of France’s big cities. The epicentre of the unrest was in Nanterre, a working class town on the western outskirts of Paris where the shooting of the 17-year-old boy identified as Nahel took place. “The last…

The British government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful, London’s Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday in a judgment that gives a blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to stop migrants from arriving on small boats. Reuters reports that the three senior appeal court judges ruled, by a majority, that Rwanda could not be treated as a safe third country. 40 missing in Italy migrant boat mishap More to follow…

England midfielder Declan Rice, 24, has been given permission to undergo a medical at Arsenal as they hold talks with West Ham over how to structure a £105m deal. (Talksport) West Ham boss David Moyes is targeting Everton’s Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana, 21, Juventus’ Switzerland midfielder Denis Zakaria, 26, and Manchester United’s England defender Harry Maguire, 28. (Mirror) Man Utd are set to formally approach Brighton for Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo, 21, after making initial contact this week. (Sky Sports) The Red Devils will also hold talks with Chelsea this week to break the impasse over a deal for England midfielder Mason Mount, 24. (Telegraph – subscription required) Bayern Munich are ready to offer £80m to try and sign striker Harry…

Tottenham Hotspur have signed midfielder James Maddison from relegated Leicester City on a five-year deal, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. According to reports, the north London club paid £40 million for the 26-year-old, who scored 55 goals and provided 41 assists in 203 appearances in all competitions during five seasons with Leicester. Maddison won the FA Cup in 2021 defeating Chelsea at Wembley. He is the third signing since Ange Postecoglou was announced as Antonio Conte’s successor. Tottenham signed Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Serie A side Empoli on Tuesday and have also made Sweden midfielder Dejan Kulusevski’s…

A man tore up and burned a Koran outside Stockholm’s central mosque on Wednesday, an event that risks angering Turkey as Sweden bids to join NATO, after Swedish police granted permission for the protest to take place. Police later charged the man with agitation against an ethnic or national group. A series of demonstrations in Sweden against Islam and for Kurdish rights have offended Ankara, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Sweden sought NATO membership in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. But alliance member Turkey has held up the…