Author: Opalim Lifted

Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny retired from professional football on Tuesday, two weeks after he left Juventus. The 34-year-old Szczesny, who started his professional career at Arsenal, made 84 appearances for Poland with the last two at this summer’s European Championship. “I played the game at the highest level with the best players in history without ever feeling inferior,” he said on Instagram. “Everything that I have and everything that I am I owe to the beautiful game of football.” Wojciech Szczesny joined Arsenal’s academy from Legia Warsaw in 2006 as a teenager and was on loan at Brentford (2009-10) before…

Arsenal have completed the signing of Spain midfielder Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad for a fee that could reach £31.6m. The 28-year-old moves to north London on a four-year contract with the option of a further 12 months after the Gunners agreed to pay an initial £27.4m plus £4.2m in add-ons. “Mikel is a player who will bring us huge quality with his experience and versatility,” said manager Mikel Arteta. Merino was part of the Spain squad who won Euro 2024, featuring in all seven matches in the tournament and scoring a late winner in extra time against Germany in…

The United States of America on Tuesday donated 10,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to Nigeria for use in mpox cases. Jynneos is a vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of smallpox and mpox in adults aged 18 years and older who are at risk of mpox infection. Speaking during the official handover of the mpox vaccine to Nigeria in Abuja, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, thanked the US government for the donation and stated that the Federal Government is committed to improving the well-being of Nigerians. Pate, represented…

Contaminated water from a gold mine in Ivory Coast that leaked into a river from a cracked valve “slightly poisoned” 185 people, a local official told AFP Tuesday. The Cavally River, an important resource for drinking water and fish for the region’s inhabitants, runs for several hundred kilometres (miles) along the west of the country. Local official Moussa Dao told AFP that at the end of June, “a rupture in one of the mine’s pipes” allowed “some of the water to flow” into the river. “The alert was given directly to the local population by Endeavour Mining,” said Dao, adding…

Mariah Carey’s mother Patricia and sister Alison died on the same day over the weekend, the US singer has said in a statement. “My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend,” Mariah Carey said on Monday. “Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.” The Grammy-winning singer said she felt blessed to have spent time with her mother in the week before her death and asked for privacy. Mariah Carey gave no further details about the cause of death. Patricia, 87, was a former opera singer and vocal…

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced that German tactician, Bruno Labbadia will now take charge of the Super Eagles. Chronicle NG reports that the Secretary General of the NFF, Mohammed Sanusi made the announcement on Tuesday morning. Bruno Labbadia profile as new Super Eagles boss. Birth Place and Nationality  The German was born 8 February, 1966, in Darmstadt, West Germany. He is 1.78 m (5 ft 10 inches) tall. Labbadia’s parents are Italians with his family roots going back to Lenola, a town in the Lazio region. His Italian parents relocated to Germany as Gastarbeiter and settled in Schneppenhausen…

Brighton have signed midfielder Matt O’Riley from Scottish champions Celtic for a fee of £25m. The London-born Denmark international has signed a five-year contract until June 2029. O’Riley, 23, scored 27 goals in 124 appearances for Celtic, winning six trophies including three Scottish Premiership titles. “I’m very, very happy,” he said in an interview on Brighton’s website. “It got a little bit stressful over the last couple of weeks, if I’m being honest, because I think the talks were ongoing for a good couple of months but I’m just really happy to be here now.” The deal matches the Scottish…

Prof. Tahir Mamman, Nigeria’s Minister of Education, has faced criticism for imposing an age limit on prospective higher education students who wish to take tests administered by the National Examinations Council (NECO), the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and Joint Admission Matriculation (JAMB). Mamman disclosed that JAMB is going to insist that anybody applying to go to university in Nigeria meets the 18-year-old requirement. Mamman said, “It is 18 years. What we did at the meeting that we had with JAMB (in July) was to allow this year and for it to serve as a kind of notice for parents…

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has died at the age of 76. Eriksson, the first non-British manager of the England team, led the Three Lions to the quarter-finals at three major tournaments during his five-year spell in charge between 2001 and 2006. In January Eriksson said he had “at best” a year to live after being diagnosed with cancer. His family said on Monday: “Sven-Goran Eriksson has passed away. After a long illness, SGE died during the morning at home surrounded by family.” The Swede managed 12 clubs, including Manchester City, Leicester, Roma and Lazio, winning 18 trophies. Eriksson also…

Russian strikes across Ukraine on Monday killed at least three people, wounded several and damaged energy infrastructure. Journalists in the capital heard explosions ring out early on Monday, likely from air defence systems, while residents rushed to take shelter in metro stations, AFP reported. An AFP photographer also saw black smoke rising over Kyiv. Authorities in at least six regions of the country said blasts had been heard in their territories. The governor of the central Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergiy Lysak, said Russian forces had attacked “en masse.” Volcano erupts in Russia after a powerful 7.0 earthquake “There is one dead,…