Author: Opalim Lifted

Savinho and Erling Haaland scored to give Manchester City, Man City a much-needed 2-0 victory, in manager Pep Guardiola’s 500th game in charge, over Leicester City at King Power Stadium on Sunday, the champions’ first win in five Premier League games. Man City’s second win in 14 games across all competitions meant they climbed two spots to fifth place in the standings with 31 points, 11 behind leaders Liverpool who have two games in hand. Leicester remain in the danger zone in 18th place. Savinho netted his first goal for City in the 21st minute when he pounced on a…

We do not mourn when a season of joy is stripped to its carcass. The word humors the loss, but few Nigerians find any humor in this Christmas of 2024. Christmas, a season defined by the rich aroma of rice and the satisfying crunch of perfectly fried chicken, has now faded into a ghost of its former glory, overshadowed by the harsh realities of hyperinflation and the daily fight for survival in Nigeria. In markets across Lagos, a 50kg bag of rice has become a vestige of unreachable luxury. In Abuja, the cost sits at a staggering N100,000 — an…

Flights have been cancelled and delayed at UK’s busiest airports due to heavy fog. Flights at Stansted Airport were reportedly affected by the weather conditions on Saturday and Sunday. There were also delays at Heathrow, Luton and Manchester Airports. A spokesperson at Nats, the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said temporary air restrictions will continue on Sunday as fog envelopes airfields. “While the weather conditions have improved, fog continues to affect some airports in London today,” the spokesperson said. “Temporary air traffic restrictions are therefore in place at airfields with low visibility to maintain safety. “Our teams are working…

A shark has attacked and killed a 40-year-old pastor who was fishing with his family in the waters of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, officials said. The predator bit him on the neck on Saturday afternoon off Humpy Island on the country’s east coast, emergency services said. “The man was fishing with family members when he was bitten by a shark,” Queensland state police said in a statement. He sustained “life-threatening injuries” and died about an hour-and-a-half later, police said, adding that a report would be prepared for the coroner. A Queensland ambulance spokeswoman told AFP on Sunday that he died…

Croats are voting to elect a new president on Sunday in a race that incumbent President Zoran Milanovic is leading in the polls. Around 3.8 million Croats are eligible to cast votes for one of eight candidates, three of whom are women, ranging from the left to the right of the political spectrum. The post of president is mostly ceremonial. Polling stations close at 1800 GMT and exit polls are expected minutes later. Preliminary results will be known around 1900 GMT. Milanovic, the opposition Socialist Democrats’ candidate, is running for a second term. His main challenger is Dragan Primorac, a…

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu “to request the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to publish your assets and encourage your Vice-President Kashim Shettima, ministers, and the leadership of the National Assembly, state governors, as well as the chairmen of Nigeria’s 774 local governments to also request the CCB to publish their assets.” The president had during his first Presidential Media Chat last Monday reportedly said, “I will consider asking the CCB to release my assets.” In the letter dated 28 December 2024 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “We…

An Air Canada passenger plane narrowly avoided disaster on Saturday night after its wing caught fire during a landing at Halifax airport. The Halifax airport was temporarily closed after a plane arriving from St. John’s experienced a problem landing, which saw the plane skid down the runway and part of it catch fire. According to passenger Nikki Valentine, one of the plane’s tires did not deploy properly upon landing. “The plane started to sit at about a 20-degree angle to the left and, as that happened, we heard a pretty loud — what almost sounded like a crash sound —…

No doubt, 2024, has been a daunting year for many Nigerians. An average Nigerian will not forget the kind of hardship it was subjected to in the year, especially as memories of the stampedes that resulted in the death of innocent Nigerians at the Islamic High School, Ibadan, the one in Okija, Anambra State and another in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, when they were trying to scramble for rice and other food items. How about the hike in fuel pump prices, rising cost of transportation, house rent, high cost of food items, and insecurity, among others? However, as…

President Bola Tinubu unfurled a raft of directives with far-reaching implications in 2024. From the launch of the compressed natural gas (CNG) initiative to the re-adoption of the old national anthem; from the rejig of his cabinet to the controversial tax bills before the national assembly; 2024 was the year Tinubu attempted to steady a Nigerian ship still rocking from a slew of hastily dispatched reforms in the preceding year. Tinubu suspension, fires Betta Edu The president inaugurated his cabinet on August 21, 2023. On January 8, 2024, Tinubu suspended Betta Edu as minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation.…

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command has said it is not investigating the claim by online personality, Vincent Martins Otse aka VeryDarkMan’s (VDM) that N180 million meant for his non-governmental organisation, NGO, has gone missing. Chronicle reported that VDM had alleged that over N180 million was stolen from his NGO’s account after it was hacked. In October, Otse launched the Martins Vincent Osei Initiative, raising over N35 million in donations within hours. Shortly after, he announced receiving a N100 million contribution from music producer Michael Collins Ajereh, popularly known as Don Jazzy. Otse further explained that he had to…