Author: Vincent Osuwo

Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said on Friday that he was “confident” that Kylian Mbappe would be available to face Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. “He’s getting better day by day,” Arbeloa said at a press conference. “He won’t be there tomorrow (Saturday, in La Liga against Elche), but I’m confident he’ll be on the trip to Manchester.” With Mbappe sidelined by a knee injury and several other key players missing, Real Madrd thrashed City 3–0 in the first leg at the Bernabéu on Wednesday, thanks to a hat-trick from Federico Valverde.…

Rena Wakama, the head coach of Nigeria’s D’Tigress basketball team, has asked her players to immediately move on from their loss to South Korea. D’Tigress fell 77-60 to the Asian side on Thursday, marking the first time Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team has been defeated by South Korea. Nigeria kept the contest close in the first two quarters, trailing narrowly 36–32, but failed to maintain momentum in the third and fourth quarters as the game slipped away. Victoria Macaulay led Nigeria’s effort, scoring 22 points and grabbing six rebounds after her Most Valuable Player performance in the opening game against…

South Korea ended Nigeria’s eight-game competitive winning streak on Thursday, defeating the African champions 77-60 in their second game of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Villeurbanne, France. The defeat was D’Tigress’ first competitive loss since losing to the United States at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and it halted the momentum built during an unbroken streak that culminated in their victory at the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket. It was also a hard test for coach Rena Wakama’s team, which had only 24 hours earlier defeated Colombia 70-37. South Korea rebounded from a 76-49 loss to Germany in…

Turkey’s defense ministry said on Friday that NATO forces shot down an Iranian ballistic missile in Turkish airspace, the third such occurrence in the Middle East war. “A ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was neutralized by NATO air and missile defense assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean,” claimed a statement from the ministry. Hours earlier, sirens blasted at Turkey’s southern Incirlik airbase, a crucial NATO facility where US forces are stationed, according to the state news agency Anadolu. Local media reported sirens in Batman, 600 kilometers (370 miles) to the east. NATO air defenses intercepted Iran’s…

Former Manchester United winger Michael Owen stated he cannot understand why there are doubts about Michael Carrick becoming the permanent manager of Manchester United. Carrick, 44, was named interim head coach in January following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal. Since taking over, the former United midfielder has led an excellent run of results, winning six of his eight games. The impressive run has enabled United to move up from sixth to third place in the Premier League table. Speaking during the BBC podcast The Wayne Rooney Show on Friday, Owen said he believes Carrick has restored calm at Old Trafford and deserves…

China announced on Friday that it will donate $200,000 to the parents of pupils killed in an “indiscriminate” missile strike on a school in Iran early in the Middle East conflict. Tehran has accused the US and Israel of carrying out the deadly missile attack on the school in Iran’s south on the first day of the conflict. According to Iranian media accounts, funeral services were held for at least 165 persons killed in the strike, including children. The toll was not independently verified. A US military inquiry into the strike is currently ongoing. Beijing’s foreign ministry said the Chinese…

President Donald Trump believes current Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father was slain on the first day of the US-Israel assault on Iran, is still alive but “damaged.” Iranians haven’t seen Khamenei since his selection by a clerical assembly on Sunday. His first comments were read out by a television presenter on Thursday. “I think he’s still alive.” In an interview with Fox News’ “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” Trump stated that while he believes he is injured, he is likely still alive in some manner. In his initial remarks, Khamenei promised to maintain the Strait of Hormuz closed and…

Troops from the Nigerian Army’s 13th Brigade prevented an ambush by criminals while reacting to a communal conflict in Odonget Community, Obubra Local Government Area, Cross River State. Lt. Yemi Sokoya, major assistant director, Army Public Relations, Headquarters 13 Brigade Nigerian Army, made the announcement in a statement issued on Thursday. According to the statement, the event occurred on March 12, 2026, when forces stationed in Ochon and Alesi received credible intelligence about escalating tensions caused by a community quarrel in the Odonget community. Sokoya stated that the troops mobilized quickly to maintain law and order in the community, conducting…

Popular comedian, skit maker, and social media influencer Samuel Perry, popularly known as Broda Shaggy, has been hospitalized after he was allegedly shot in the Sango-Ota area of Ogun State. According to reports, the incident occurred under the Sango-Ota bridge on Sunday afternoon. Although the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear, a police source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the content creator sustained the gunshot injury while filming a comedy skit at the location. According to the police source, Broda Shaggy was immediately rushed to Blooming Care Hospital in the Alakuko area of Lagos State, where he received…

Nine senators from different political parties formally announced their defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Thursday. The senators who defected to the party include the lawmaker representing Sokoto South, Aminu Tambuwal; his Abia South counterpart, Enyinnaya Abaribe; Binos Yaroe (Adamawa South); Victor Umeh (Anambra Central); Tony Nwoye (Anambra North); Lawal Usman (Kaduna Central); Ogoshi Onawo (Nasarawa South); Austin Akobundu (Abia Central); and Ireti Kingibe (Federal Capital Territory). Their defection letters were read on the floor of the Senate during Thursday’s plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. In his letter, Nwoye blamed internal crises within the Labour Party…