Author: damazah@gmail.com

Fifa president Gianni Infantino will stand for re-election in March, says football’s world governing body.Infantino, who has filled the role since 2016, has been under pressure following his scrapped plan to sell stakes in Fifa competitions to private investment firms.Infantino’s lucrative plan sparked a global outcry, with European football’s governing body Uefa threatening to boycott all Fifa competitions, including the World Cup.”The Fifa president announced in April that he will stand for re-election in 2027,” read a Fifa statement.”Of course, nothing has changed. Mr Infantino will be standing for re-election.”Infantino refused to answer questions about his future when asked by…

Susan Sarandon said she’s “still had movies taken away recently” over her outspoken support of Palestine. At the Venice Film Festival press conference for her new film “The Echo Chamber” on Sunday, Sarandon was asked if she thinks the narrative is changing in Hollywood when it comes to the conflict in Gaza. In 2023, the Oscar winner was dropped by her agency UTA after comments she made at a pro-Palestinian rally and said earlier this year she felt she was shunned by the industry for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. “I think that the narrative has completely changed in…

Extreme weather and other wedding-day crises can require ingenuity and sometimes the kindness of strangers.

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt  The controversy surrounding the reported deaths at Jetty Creeks in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State deepened Saturday as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) confirmed that four corpses had been sighted in connection with the incident, while Indorama Petrochemical Limited denied any link to the reported fatalities. The development came amid conflicting accounts over what caused the deaths and what the victims were doing at the time of the incident. The NSCDC Rivers State Command, in an update issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Ayodele, said its undercover team, after conducting further…

Sylvester Idowu Warri and its environs literally stood still Sunday as prominent political leaders, government officials, traditional stakeholders, friends and associates gathered to bid a final farewell to late Dr. Joseph Sisanmi Otumara. Among the dignitaries at the funeral were Delta State Governor, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, his wife, Deaconess Tobore Oborevwori, former governor of the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Emomotimi Guwor. Otumara, a renowned medical doctor, politician and administrator, died after a life of public service that saw him occupy several key positions in Delta State. The funeral service, held…

ABUJA — A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Festus Okoye, has warned that vote buying and insecurity could heavily influence the outcome of the 2027 general election. Okoye spoke on Saturday during a virtual masterclass organised by the Lagos chapter of the Society of Nigerian Broadcasters, SNB. He said vote buying had evolved from discreet cash distributions disguised as empowerment programmes to more open transactions at polling units. According to him, voters could now collect money from multiple political actors at polling locations, making the practice increasingly difficult to detect and curb. Okoye also raised…

An internal crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State has deepened, with former aspirants for governorship and legislative seats resigning from the party ahead of the 2027 general elections. The recent resignations have heightened concerns among members and supporters of a party expected to unite to challenge the ruling Allied Peoples Movement (APM). Reconciliation effort fails Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, chaired the APC state reconciliation committee in Bauchi. The committee was established after a contentious primary produced former governor Muhammed Abubakar as the governorship candidate. Mr Abubakar, who served as governor from…

Key events50 min: Apologies. Sky just binned off the game on main event so after some scrabbling around i can see it again. No goals so far in the second half thankfully.ShareI think Ruiz will be pretty satisfied with his first 45 minutes as Brighton manager. His side couldn’t do much about Baum’s goal and they didn’t fold after it happened. They grew into the game and looked like they could produce something on the counter.ShareHalf-time! Brighton 0-1 ArsenalThe teams go into the interval. Lisa Baum’s magnificent individual goal lit up an engrossing half. I’ll grab a cuppa while the…

Veteran Nollywood actor Pete Edochie has named the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as his favourite Nigerian politician, praising the former Western Region premier for his vision and developmental initiatives. Edochie made the remarks during an interview with Isbae U on the Curiosity Made Me Ask podcast, where he also spoke about his admiration for the Yoruba people and reflected on his long acting career. “I love the Yorubas a lot, one of my sons is married to a Yoruba girl,” the veteran actor said. Although he said he was not interested in politics, Edochie singled out Awolowo as the politician…

Betsy, 55 double quotation markI used to kick guys out of bed after any sexual encounters. But with Felix it was totally different from the start Felix and I have separate caring responsibilities. I look after my adult son, who has disabilities, and Felix is his elderly mother’s full-time carer. We live in separate suburbs of the same city, and see each other three set evenings a week. We often feel stressed and preoccupied, and so we have a rule: for the first hour, we do a shared trauma dump, where we talk about the sad feelings weighing on our…