Author: Opalim Lifted

Manchester United have announced plans to build the biggest stadium in the UK – an “iconic” new £2bn 100,000-seater ground close to Old Trafford. Once construction is complete, the club’s existing home is likely to be demolished. Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he wanted to build the “world’s greatest football stadium”, which the club hopes could be finished in five years. United’s announcement comes after an extensive consultation process around whether to develop the existing stadium or build a new one. Old Trafford has been Manchester United’s home since 1910. The club would continue to play at Old Trafford until…

Argentina will begin a trial this week into the medical team of late football icon Diego Maradona over homicide by negligence, a case that has charged up emotions in the country where the World Cup winner still commands almost god-like reverence. The trial, expected to last for months, starts on Tuesday, over four years after Maradona’s death in November 2020 from heart failure at age 60 after undergoing brain surgery days earlier. His medical team generally rejects the charges. A court in San Isidro, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, will listen to nearly 120 testimonies. The defendants are charged…

Newcastle prepared for the Carabao Cup final with a victory at West Ham that moved them up to sixth in the Premier League. Eddie Howe’s side will look to end a 70-year wait for a major trophy on Sunday when they take on Premier League leaders Liverpool at Wembley. They went into Monday’s fixture at London Stadium desperate for a win to ensure they face the Reds with momentum, and they got it thanks to Bruno Guimaraes’ second-half strike. Moments after Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola made a brilliant save to prevent Max Kilman scoring an own goal, Newcastle struck when…

Natasha Osawaru, the Edo state lawmaker, has responded to claims that she spiritually fortified the beads she gave to singer 2Baba.  The allegations surfaced in February after Rose Idibia, 2Baba’s mother, publicly pleaded with Natasha to leave her son alone. She also asked her to “remove the beads you placed on his hands and neck”, arguing that the singer was not in his right senses. In a recent interview, the lawmaker denied claims that the beads were “diabolical,” stating that they were symbols of her family’s royalty. She explained that the hand bracelets represented her family’s royal heritage, while the…

Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former senator said Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s good looks may well be working against her in the senate (upper legislative) chamber. Ogunlewe represented Lagos east in the senate from 1999 to 2003. He was minister of works in the Olusegun Obasanjo administration from 2003 to 2006. Natasha Akpoti, senator representing Kogi central, had accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of making sexual advances towards her. The allegation was preceded by Natasha Akpoti’s outburst against Akpabio over seating arrangement. The female lawmaker was suspended on March 6 over the seat reallocation altercation. Speaking on Arise TV on Monday, Ogunlewe said Akpoti-Udughan’s…

A federal high court in Abuja has adjourned a suit filed by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, to March 25. Natasha had approached the court seeking an order restraining the senate committee on ethics and privileges from investigating her. On march 5, the court issued an order ex parte restraining the committee from conducting disciplinary proceedings against Natasha. However, the senate proceeded to suspend the senator for six months for allegedly violating its rules. At the court session on Monday, counsel for the first, second, and third defendants told the court that they had not been served with processes.…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has denied terminating its naira-for-crude sale deal with Dangote Refinery The company said negotiation is ongoing for a new naira-for-crude deal with Dangote Petroleum Refinery. NNPC announced in a statement on Monday after earlier reports that the government-owned oil company had reportedly suspended the naira-for-crude deal until 2030, as it has forward-sold all its crude oil. The discontinuation will force refiners to rely on international suppliers for crude oil, gulping huge costs in dollars and triggering an uptick in the pump price of petrol. However, Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of…

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said 2,030,627 candidates registered for its 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The board bulletin reports that this is the highest number of applications the board has received in its history of conducting the UTME. For context, over 1.9 million candidates applied for the UTME in 2024. Registration for 2025 UTME began on February 3 and closed as scheduled on March 8 across accredited CBT centres. JAMB said the quoted figure of 2,030,627 excludes the candidates who registered to sit for the examination at foreign centres. It said 200,115 candidates expressed interest in…

Some indigenes of Benue state on Monday staged a protest in front of the headquarters of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja. They protested the relocation of the state’s local government election petition tribunal to the nation’s capital. Speaking to reporters, Audu Gbaja, national coordinator of the Coalition of Civil Society for Transparency in Governance, said Abuja is outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction. “The electoral act states that for one to be qualified to petition an election at the tribunal, the person must have participated in the election,” Gbaja said. “In the case of Benue state local government petition tribunal,…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed a new case of Lassa fever in a 31-year-old physician who had recently travelled to the United Kingdom. NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this in an interview with NAN on Sunday in Abuja. Idris stated that the patient, who was diagnosed in Ondo State, unfortunately succumbed to the disease before the test results confirming the infection were available. Idris raised an alert on the situation, stressing the need for heightened surveillance and precautionary measures. He emphasised that the latest case highlighted the persistent threat of Lassa fever in…