Author: David Great

A Palestinian from Jerusalem, Sally Azar, has become the first woman pastor at an event at the Lutheran church in the heart of the Holy Land, attended by hundreds of international well-wishers. In many parts of the Christian world, female church leaders are no longer unusual. But until now, the Holy Land – where events in the Bible are set – had not seen a local woman ordained. “I got more excited seeing the excitement of other people,” Reverend Azar told me. “It’s an indescribable feeling to take this step with the support of the church.” “I hope that many…

Arsenal retained control of the Premier League title race after Eddie Nketiah’s 90th-minute winner gave them a dramatic victory over Manchester United in a thriller at Emirates Stadium. Manchester City’s earlier win over Wolverhampton Wanderers applied pressure on the Gunners but they responded with character and quality, even after going behind, to secure a five-point advantage at the top with a game in hand. United’s man of the moment Marcus Rashford fired home a superb right-foot strike from 25 yards to give them a 17th-minute lead. Arsenal responded fiercely and were level seven minutes later when Granit Xhaka’s cross created…

Erling Haaland scored his fourth Manchester City hat-trick and took his Premier League goal tally this season to 25 as Wolves were swept aside by Pep Guardiola’s men. By his own incredibly high standards, Haaland had been going through a barren spell. But after ending a three-game drought against Tottenham on Thursday, the Norwegian demolished Wolves in a 12-minute spell either side of half-time. Haaland initially rose to head home Kevin de Bruyne’s cross to put the hosts ahead at the break. He then drove home a penalty after Ilkay Gundogan had been fouled by Wolves skipper Ruben Neves, before…

Chelsea are set to increase their offer for Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo closer to the £65m that might tempt Brighton to sell the 21-year-old. (Mirror) Chelsea would also be willing to swap Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech, 29, for Barcelona’s Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie, 26. (Sport – in Spanish) Manchester United want Argentine forward Alejandro Garnacho to sign an eight-year contract but the 18-year-old’s camp do not want him to sign a deal running for more than four years. (Mirror) England midfielder Jude Bellingham is expected to reject a new contract offer from Borussia Dortmund, with Manchester City feeling they are leading the chase to sign the 19-year-old. (Star) Manchester United have…

Najatu Mohammed, the director of the Civil Society to Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate has resigned from her position weeks to the general elections. In a letter communicated to the national chairman of APC, Abdullahi Adamu, Mohammed the developments in Nigeria’s politics are te reasons why she is pulling out. Mohammed, who is also a national commissioner at the Police Service Commission, PSC, said that her dream for a better Nigeria is a bigger motivating factor than party politics. In her resignation letter, she said it has been a “great honour” working for the party and nation building. “Letter…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sensitised members of the Lagos Central Mosque at Balogun Market on the redesigned (N200, N500, N1,000) naira notes. Deputy Director at CBN, Mohammed’Jamiu Solaja, who spoke before the commencement of Friday prayers, explained to the Muslim faithful the major reasons for redesigning the naira. He urged them to deposit their old notes to beat the deadline and embrace the new notes due to its inherent benefits. “The Central Bank’s reason for coming here is to get Muslim brothers and sisters in the Lagos Central Mosque acquainted with the newly redesigned naira notes and…

Mykhailo Mudryk debuted for Chelsea as they drew at Liverpool in the Premier League as the struggles of both teams continued this season. The two giants, who have been in constant pursuit of major prizes in recent seasons, are currently locked well outside the top four – and how it showed in a dismal game almost devoid of entertainment and quality. Chelsea had an early Kai Havertz strike ruled out for offside by VAR and there was also a lively debut as a second-half substitute for £89m new boy Mykhailo Mudryk, while Liverpool keeper Alisson saved well from another new…

Stakeholders and the people of Enugu East Senatorial Zone in Enugu State have adopted Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as their preferred governorship candidate ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial elections. They openly ditched the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP) and other minority political parties. They stated this during a well-attended rally of dignitaries and supporters across various political parties held in Enugu on Friday, tagged “Enugu East Senatorial District Endorsement Rally for Dr Peter Ndubuishi Mbah: Our Choice for Gubernatorial Election,” The spokespersons of the various professional bodies and…

Thomas Tuchel is unlikely to take the job at Tottenham if it became available as the German is aiming for Barcelona or Real Madrid as his next step. (Florian Plettenberg) Arsenal are interested in a surprise loan deal for Real Madrid and France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, 20, to boost their squad for the rest of the season. (Evening Standard) Manchester United are interested in bringing Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane, 29, to Old Trafford this summer. (Mail)  Chelsea are stepping up attempts to agree a new contract with England midfielder Mason Mount in the face of the growing prospect of Liverpool trying to buy the 24-year-old this summer. (Guardian) Liverpool are still in talks with Roberto Firmino over…

Chelsea have unveiled England Under-21s winger Noni Madueke signed for around £30.7m from PSV Eindhoven. The 20-year-old joins on a seven-and-a-half-year contract, with the option to extend for a further year. Madueke is the club’s second signing in five days, following Mykhailo Mudryk’s arrival in an £89m deal. Let’s chat, Noni! ???? pic.twitter.com/ANu9U6whG0 — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 20, 2023 “I’m really pleased to sign with one of the best clubs in the world,” Madueke told the club’s website. The Blues have also signed David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos and Benoit Badiashile, plus Joao Felix on loan, during the January…