Author: Opalim Lifted

A consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is close to agreeing a deal to acquire a stake of about one-third in Premier League club Liverpool, multiple media outlets reported on Monday. The investor group also includes Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder, the reports said. Sky News reported that the consortium is being led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and a former shareholder in English Championship club Queens Park Rangers. Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group could announce a deal as early as this week, the report said. “An investment consortium led, managed and represented by Amit…

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck Colombia, killing at least 18 people and leaving buildings collapsed across parts of the country. The early-morning Colombia earthquake struck on Monday, with the epicentre located in Chocó province in western Colombia at a depth of about 100 kilometres. At least 18 people were confirmed dead in the city of Pereira, Mayor Mauricio Salazar told Caracol Radio, describing the situation as “critical”. Emergency teams were deployed to search for survivors and assist victims trapped in collapsed buildings, while officials assessed the scale of the destruction. The governor of Chocó said there was serious damage…

UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, which governs football in the Caribbean, North America and Central America, issued an open letter on Monday attacking FIFA President Gianni Infantino over his conduct during the proposed sale of a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup. The statement, which stopped short of openly calling for new leadership, said Infantino had broken trust “through deception” with the now-abandoned proposal, had “placed himself above the collective”, and that the three confederations called for a fully independent review of what had happened. “Football’s strength has always been its unity,” their open…

Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has described comments by Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahya Jingir in support of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2027 as “highly provocative”, warning that such rhetoric could deepen religious divisions in the country. Jingir had, in a video circulating on social media, called on Muslims to support the continued adoption of Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections. The cleric made the remarks at an event attended by some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, including Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf and Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi. Jingir praised President Bola Tinubu for…

The long-awaited trial over the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur begins Monday in Las Vegas, nearly 30 years after the hip-hop icon was killed in a drive-by shooting. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, is accused of ordering the killing and providing the gun used in the attack. He faces life in prison without parole if convicted. Shakur, widely known as 2Pac, was shot on September 7, 1996, while travelling through Las Vegas after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand casino. He died six days later at…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has urged Americans to prepare for the August 12 total solar eclipse, one of the major astronomical events expected in 2026. While the path of totality will cross Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain and a small part of Portugal, millions of people across parts of the United States will be able to see a partial eclipse. According to NASA, the partial eclipse will be visible across parts of northern US states, from Alaska to North Carolina, as well as much of Canada, Europe and north-western Africa. Partial eclipse visible across…

Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahya Jingir has urged Muslims in Kano State to support Muslim-Muslim political tickets and obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of future elections. Jingir spoke at a campaign event for Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf tagged “Abba Go Again”. Governor Yusuf was also present at the event. In a speech delivered in Hausa, the cleric praised President Bola Tinubu for promoting a Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying he remained a strong advocate of the arrangement. “Special thanks to my (political) hero, Bola Tinubu who raised the flag of this political ideology, describing it as a purely Muslim-Muslim coalition,”…

A US-based clothing company, HercLeon, has unveiled a T-shirt it says can remain fresh and odour-free for up to 30 days without washing. The company’s latest product, the HercShirt V5.0, is the fifth version of its specialised T-shirt and follows HercLeon’s earlier launch of self-cleaning underwear. According to the company, the shirt is designed to stay fresh for more than a month, even when worn heavily. The claim has attracted attention because people typically sweat more during hot weather, making frequent washing of clothes necessary. HercLeon says the HercShirt V5.0 achieves its odour-resistant properties through seven special ingredients woven directly…

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Tinubu administration over its handling of Nigeria’s worsening security situation, saying the reported killing of 5,091 Nigerians in three months exposes a major failure in the government’s responsibility to protect lives. Atiku’s position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. The former vice president said the reported casualty figure should not be treated as another security statistic, arguing that each death represents a family thrown into mourning and another failure by the state to…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to upload the names of their governorship and State House of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections. The commission moved the deadline from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11, 2026. INEC announced the extension in a statement issued on Sunday by the Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna. According to the commission, the decision followed appeals from political parties for additional time to complete the submission process. “The submission window, which, according to the revised timetable and schedule of activities for…