Author: David Great

Japan scored two second-half goals to overturn Alvaro Morata’s first-half header for Spain and win the group as Germany crash out of the World Cup at the first hurdle. Morata’s header gave Spain a 1-0 halftime lead over Japan in their final World Cup Group F game on Thursday, a scoreline that would see the Spaniards advance as pool winners. With Germany and Costa Rica meeting in the other group game and all four sides still in with a chance of making the last 16, Japan and Spain made five changes. Junya Ito missed an early chance for Japan and…

The Ogun state chapter of Labour Party (LP) has expelled Doyin Okupe, the Director-General of Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council and 11 others for violating the party’s constitution. The Ogun State chairman Michael Ashade and the party’s secretary Feyisola Michael told journalists on Thursday that Okupe and others have not paid their membership dues in the last six months, despite numerous notice. Chronicle NG reports that Okupe joined Labour Party from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in May 2022 after Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate also dumped PDP. The chairman said others expelled along with Okupe are Abayomi…

Belgium were knocked out of the World Cup at the group stage as Croatia progressed at their expense with a goalless draw in Qatar. Roberto Martinez’s side, who finished third in Russia four years ago and are ranked second in the world, have had a disappointing tournament with just one win in three matches. They produced another lacklustre display against Croatia despite knowing a win was necessary to progress to the last 16. Substitute Romelu Lukaku had numerous chances in the second half but failed to convert any of them. Lukaku, still searching for sharpness following injury, poked an effort…

Morocco beat Canada 2-1 in their World Cup Group F game at a rocking Al Thumama Stadium on Thursday to top their group and progress to the last 16. Morocco were gifted a goal in the fourth minute after Milan Borjan came out to clear the ball only to put it right onto the foot of Hakim Ziyech who coolly lobbed it over the stranded Canadian into a gaping net. Youssef En-Nesyri doubled the lead in the 23rd minute when he ran onto a long ball from Achraf Hakimi and hammered a low drive into the corner. Canada, who have…

The Independent Corrupt, Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has declared three persons wanted for employment racketeering and fraud. In an alert tagged ‘WANTED’, the anti-graft agency urged citizens to watch out for the trio and report them. https://twitter.com/icpcnigeria/status/1597951299185954819?s=20&t=gOE3XfIkf9WlJyg0c6RY9g “The persons whose pictures appear here, Solomon Ogodo, Olojede Kolawole and Ogunniyi Bukola Jide are hereby declared WANTED by the Independent Corrupt, Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in connection with issues bordering on employment racketeering and obtaining money by false pretence. The anti-graft agency then gave brief descriptions of the wanted persons. “Solomon Ogodo, a serving staff of…

China is set to announce in the coming days an easing of its COVID-19 quarantine protocols and a reduction in mass testing, sources told Reuters, a marked shift in policy after anger over the world’s toughest curbs fuelled widespread protests. Cases nationwide remain near record highs but the changes come as some cities have been lifting their lockdowns in recent days, and a top official said the ability of the virus to cause disease was weakening. Health authorities announcing the easing in their areas have not mentioned the protests – the biggest show of civil disobedience in China for years…

Three migrants who arrived in the Canary Islands from Nigeria after enduring 11 days on a tanker rudder have asked for asylum in Spain, local authorities said on Wednesday. The three Nigerian men were hospitalized upon reaching the port of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria on Monday night, where they were spotted by coastguards. Two of the three had been returned to the vessel for deportation on Tuesday but on Wednesday a local spokesperson for the Spanish government said all three had asked for asylum. The third person, who suffered hypothermia and dehydration during the voyage, has not yet been…

Manchester United are in contact with the agents of 23-year-old PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo over a January move. (Fabrizio Romano) Manchester United will exercise a clause in 25-year-old England forward Marcus Rashford’s contract to extend it by another 12 months and stop him talking to other clubs. (Mirror) Real Madrid are monitoring Manchester United and Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, 28, at the World Cup. (Record – in Portuguese) Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, has received an offer from Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr FC worth £150m a season following his exit from Manchester United. (Telegraph – subscription)…

The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) says it plans to increase its power supply to 5, 500 Megawatts (MW) in 2023 to boost electricity in the country. The Managing Director (MD) of NBET, Mr. Nnaemeka Ewelukwa said this on Wednesday in Lagos at the 2nd capacity workshop for power correspondents, civil society, and other stakeholders. Ewelukwa said that NBET’s board headed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed has endorsed the repositioning of the company. According to him, the repositioning is to make NBET become a market enabler/facilitator to allow it expedite market growth…

The Nigerian government has approved a new National Language Policy which makes the mother tongue a compulsory language to be taught at public primary schools across the country. Communicating the new language policy, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on November 30, while briefing journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja said it was important for preservation of local languages. The minister revealed that the mother tongue will be used exclusively for the first six years of education, while it will be combined with English Language from Junior…