Author: Chief Editor

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema is to face trial for complicity in an attempt to blackmail in a case linked to a sex tape featuring his former France teammate Mathieu Valbuena, French prosecutors said Thursday. Benzema, 33, made 81 international appearances but has not been selected for his country since the affair came to light in 2015. He is accused of involvement in a plot to extort money from Valbuena by threatening to make the video public. Four other men will also stand trial. Benzema argues that a police officer used dishonest methods to draw him into the affair. Valbuena,…

• UNTH, LUTH grapple with the shortage • Virus more vicious than ever, LUTH warns • We’re running out of resources, Bode cries out • All patients now oxygen-dependent As the second wave of COVID-19 takes foothold on Africa through its newly mutated form, the Federal Government has been warned of the need to address the shortage of oxygen in public hospitals. Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Prof. Chris Bode, in an emergency press conference yesterday, warned of dire consequences, as “the mutated form is deadlier and more easily transmitted.” The warning came as Nigeria’s…

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team-mates may be surprised to learn the video and data analysis their coaches use was devised by scientists who used it to track the behaviour of mice, monkeys and human eye movements. Ruben Saavedra, the Spanish CEO of Metrica Sports, says it is not a stretch to transfer the use of data to track the behaviour of mice and rats to the task of tracking “movement of players on the pitch”. Saavedra and Argentinian co-founder Bruno Dagnino — who studied the eye movements of monkeys and humans — found they shared more than an interest…

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he is open to Mesut Ozil leaving the Gunners this month after freezing the German playmaker out of his squad this season. Despite reportedly being the highest earner at the club, Ozil has not featured since a 1-0 win over West Ham on March 7. The 32-year-old has only six months left on his contract and is now free to talk to other clubs over a pre-contract agreement for next season. However, he could bring to an end his eight-year stay in London in the coming weeks, with reports in Turkey saying Ozil is close…

Chelsea’s new recruits need time to develop an understanding with the rest of their teammates and a congested fixture list amid the COVID-19 pandemic has not helped the process, striker Tammy Abraham said. Chelsea spent heavily in the close season to bring in the likes of midfielder Kai Havertz, forward Timo Werner, defender Ben Chilwell and winger Hakim Ziyech but the London club sit ninth in the Premier League with 26 points from 17 games. Germany international Werner is among those who have come in for sharp criticism due to a dip in form after failing to score in his…

Manchester City reached their fourth straight League Cup final as second-half goals from John Stones and Fernandinho gave Pep Guardiola’s side a 2-0 win over Manchester United in Wednesday’s semi-final at Old Trafford. City will meet Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley in the April 25 final as they seek their fourth League Cup triumph in a row. In a frantic opening to the game, both teams had efforts ruled out for offside with Stones turning the ball into his own net but being saved by the flag and Ilkay Gundogan converting a low ball in from Phil Foden but,…

aadelakun@punchng.com Last week, the death of Nigeria’s first professor of criminology, Femi Odekunle, was announced. Odekunle was also a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption. At first, his demise was slung on complications from the COVID-19 disease until a more detailed report narrated that he actually died from a lack of oxygen in the hospital facility – University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada – where he was admitted. Just a few weeks before he passed on, consultant neurosurgeon, Prof. Matthias Nnadi of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, also died of what was described as an acute exacerbation of asthma.…

Kenny Folarin The world is changing at a much faster pace than before. Whereas before, one could be content with finding a winning formula and stretching it out for decades while making a nice profit, in today’s world, many tried and tested formulae are swiftly becoming outdated. As the world evolves, trends will change, people will adopt new ideologies, demands will change, and society will continue to adapt to a changing world. Today’s transformational leaders must continually plan for the future as best as they can, needs to be aware of the challenges their organization and workforce will face now,…

The Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi Once again, Nigerian professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 are emigrating abroad. Those who are married go with their families. Economic upheaval at home and an almost out of hand national security challenge explain why these young citizens choose to vote with their passports. But this is also a global phenomenon. Whether in Africa, Asia or the Americas, we are dealing with what Patrick Gilligan has described as the ‘No Nation’ Generation whose members “are breaking ties with their birth countries and seeking a more affordable and better standard of living overseas.” The…

Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, has that there should be a sense of urgency in trying to salvage the country from the present critical state. The fiery priest said the levels of frustration in the country are rising by the day, adding that this could seen in the rise in domestic violence and inter-communal conflicts. In his sermon at the Wake keep Mass for His Grace, Archbishop Peter Yariyock Jatau at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral, Kaduna on Tuesday, Kukah rebuked corrupt politicians, accusing them of adopting contractocracy as a governance mechanism. He said: “Today,…