Author: Chief Editor

John Stones has signed a four-year contract extension that will keep him tied to Manchester City till 2026, the Premier League champions announced on Tuesday. The new deal rewards Stones, who joined the club from Everton in a £47.5million ($66 million) deal in 2016, for a past year in which he has rejuvenated his career for club and country. The 27-year-old formed a formidable partnership with Ruben Dias as Pep Guardiola’s men cruised to a third league title in four years and reached the Champions League final last season and Stones also started all of England’s matches at Euro 2020…

Lionel Messi arrived at Barcelona airport on Tuesday, set to board a flight to the French capital as Paris Saint-Germain look to complete the signing of the Argentinian superstar. The 34-year-old was accompanied by his wife and three children as he entered El Prat airport just before 1:30 pm (1130 GMT). His father Jorge, who is also his representative, arrived a short while earlier. PSG have spent the last few days trying to finalise an agreement to sign Messi following his departure from Barcelona, the club he has represented for the entirety of his 17-year professional career so far. The…

Guinea confirmed a case of Marburg disease, the World Health Organization said on Monday, the first recorded in West Africa of the lethal virus that’s related to Ebola and, like Covid-19, passed from animal hosts to humans. The virus, which is carried by bats and has a fatality rate of up to 88 percent, was found in samples taken from a patient who died on August 2 in southern Gueckedou prefecture, the WHO said. “The potential for the Marburg virus to spread far and wide means we need to stop it in its tracks,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional…

Ivory Coast ex-president Laurent Gbagbo on Monday proposed setting up a new political party, his deeply divided Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) announced. At a crunch meeting of party leaders, Gbagbo lashed out at his former prime minister, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, the FPI’s president, and proposed “creating a new instrument of struggle in line with our ideology and ambitions”, the FPI said. A congress to set it up could take place in October, it said. In a statement to AFP, Affi N’Guessan slammed the move as being “dictated essentially by a thirst for power and the desire for revenge”. Gbagbo, 76,…

Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has summoned the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria over the alleged assault of a Nigerian Diplomatic Agent in Jarkarta, Indonesia, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported. Onyeama, in a statement in Abuja, said that the unfortunate incident is against international law and the Vienna Conventions governing diplomatic and consular relations between states. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in receipt of a report and has seen a video in circulation regarding an unacceptable incident in Jakarta, Indonesia. “Concerning the manhandling and arrest of a Nigerian Diplomatic Agent in front of his official quarters on 7…

Paris Saint-Germain was hoping to finalise a deal to bring Lionel Messi to the French capital on Tuesday, with their supporters waiting impatiently for the Argentinian superstar to sign following his departure from Barcelona. The football world has been holding its breath since Barcelona announced on Thursday that they could not afford to keep the 34-year-old and PSG quickly emerged as his only likely next destination. On Monday, members of the PSG faithful assembled outside the club’s Parc des Princes home and at Le Bourget airport to the north of the city hoping to catch a glimpse of Messi. He…

Liverpool will be without Andy Robertson for the opening weeks of the Premier League season, but manager Jurgen Klopp believes the Scotland captain “got lucky” after initial fears his ankle injury could have been much worse. Robertson had to be helped off the pitch in Sunday’s friendly against Athletic Bilbao after his ankle twisted as he blocked across. “I think we got lucky with Andy, it could have been much worse,” said Klopp. “The footage didn’t look too well but we got lucky and it will not be too long. Before the international break (in early September), after the international…

The Premier League has announced fans will be subject to random spot-checks of their Covid-19 status in the opening weeks of the new season. “Initially, in the first few matchdays of the season, supporters can expect the introduction of random spot-checks for ticket holders at some grounds as we establish the required processes so clubs and fans are prepared for all match attenders to have their Covid-19 status checked upon arrival, should it become mandatory,” the Premier League statement added. Fans must also comply with a supporter code of conduct, which stresses the importance of wearing masks in indoor areas,…

All the 13 governors of the Peoples Democratic (PDP) rose from a six-hours meeting on Monday without categorical pronouncement on the resolution of the crisis in the party. Sokoto State governor and chairman of the PDP governors forum, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, managed to declared that the meetings would continue today (Tuesday) with other stakeholders like the Board of Trustees and National Assembly caucus. The decision to meet with the Board of Trustees and others was to carry them along to avoid what might be termed arbitrary decision, it was learnt. The governors forum subjected the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus,…

Meghan Markle’s half-brother, Thomas, says he tried to warn the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, against marrying his half-sister. He made this known in a trailer that revealed his participation in the Australian Celebrity Big Brother show, Sky News reported. In the trailer, Thomas, who shares the same father as Meghan said, “I told Prince Harry, ‘I think she’s going to ruin your life’.” While referring to himself as the “biggest brother of all times”, he also described Meghan as being “very shallow.” During the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Thomas was absent as it was reported…