Author: Opalim Lifted

There was a mild drama yesterday when some residents of Awkuzu Community, in Oyi Local Council of Anambra State, engaged the state’s firefighters in a scuffle. The firefighters, they suspected, were coming to prevent them from scooping fuel from a fuel-laden truck that fell in the area. The residents, including women and youths, stormed the scene to scoop up the fuel. Immediately, the truck fell, spilling its contents along the drainage, but upon sighting officials of the state fire service, they started pelting them with stones and other dangerous weapons. While condemning the act, the state fire service boss, Martins…

The late American singer, songwriter, and dancer, Michael Jackson, has topped Forbes’ list of the 13 highest-paid dead celebrities with an estimated $115 million in earnings. This was revealed in the 2023 annual ranking of the highest-paid dead celebrities, which was made available by Forbes on Tuesday, October 31. According to Forbes, the 13 deceased musicians, authors, and other A-listers on Forbes’ annual ranking of the highest-paid dead celebrities earned $470 million during the past 12 months, a 70% decrease from the record-breaking $1.6 billion grossed in 2022. Michael Jackson returned to the No. 1 spot for the first time…

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is confident his team is moving in the right direction, despite Sunday’s humiliating home defeat by Manchester City. They face Newcastle in round four of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, a repeat of last season’s EFL Cup final, which the Red Devils won 2-0. The game comes three days after the sobering 3-0 home loss to City. “There is no point in feeling sorry for ourselves,” said Ten Hag. “I continue to believe in these players.” Ten Hag praises Maguire, Onana after first UCL win Sunday’s loss against neighbouring City was their fifth Premier…

Liverpool are “praying for a good situation” as the search for Luis Diaz’s kidnapped father continues in Colombia, says assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders. Colombian authorities are searching for Luis Manuel Diaz after armed men abducted him and his wife. Diaz’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was found in Barrancas on Saturday. Forward Diaz was absent from the Liverpool side that beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Sunday. “We have to try to support him as much as we can; a lot of things are out of our hands,” said Lijnders. Liverpool fans chant Diaz’s name “We hope the authorities can find his dad;…

The Super Falcons of Nigeria defeated Ethiopia 4-0 (5-1 on aggregate) to advance to the third qualifying round for the 2024 Women’s Football Olympic Games, set to take place in Paris. Atletico Madrid star Rasheedat Ajibade scored a superb long-range strike to rescue a 1-1 draw for the Super Falcons of Nigeria in the 1st leg of the 2024 Olympic qualifier in Ethiopia last Wednesday. Nigeria took the lead late on in the first half, as striker Uchenna Kanu calmly slotted the ball past the Ethiopian goalkeeper to give Nigeria the lead. Captain Rasheedat Ajibade continued her goal-scoring form. The…

Five Islamist prisoners convicted of killing two secular politicians and policemen escaped from a Tunisian jail on Tuesday, in a rare security breach for the North African country. Security sources said the men were “very dangerous terrorists”. The interior ministry published the names and photos of the escaped convicts and urged citizens to contact the police if they saw them. The five men included Ahmed Malki, known as “the Somali”, who had been serving a 24-year sentence for the assassination of secular politicians Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in 2013. A Tunisian court earlier this year sentenced Rayd Touati, one…

Saudi Arabia is set to host the men’s 2034 World Cup after Australia decided against bidding to stage the tournament. Football Australia confirmed its decision only hours before Fifa’s deadline for declarations of interest on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia is the only other nation to bid. “We have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” read a statement from Football Australia. Australia’s governing body says it intends to focus its efforts on hosting the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and the Club World Cup in 2029. The 2026 World Cup will take place in the US,…

Singer Mercy Isoyip, AKA Descushiel, has apologized to Nigerians and the Nigeria Police Force after reciting the national anthem wrongly during a conference for senior police officers in Imo State. The singer, who donned the police uniform during the conference, went viral on Monday after she recited the national anthem at the event and missed the lyrics. This led to knocks from Nigerians as they trolled the singer, who was presumed to be a policewoman because of her outfit. In a video on her Instagram page on Tuesday, Descushiel apologized for her errors. The video was captioned, “I sincerely apologize…

Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has won the Men’s Ballon d’Or for the eighth time. The 36-year-old was recognized at the ceremony in Paris after helping his country win the World Cup in Qatar last year. England and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy for the world’s best player aged under 21. Messi won his record-extending Ballon d’Or award ahead of Manchester City forward Erling Haaland. “It’s nice to be here once more to enjoy this moment,” Messi said. “To be able to win the World Cup and achieve my dream.” Messi wins record seventh…

The presidency has berated Atiku Abubakar over his Monday press conference for constituting himself into a demagogue and anarchist to delegitimize all the institutions of the state. President Bola Tinubu’s aide also advised the 2023 PDP presidential candidate to end his three decades of elusive bid for the Presidency of Nigeria. Chronicle NG reports that the former Vice President expressed his displeasure with the Supreme Court judgement for upholding President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said this in a statement on Monday. “Former…