Liverpool have always been a side that needs “tough love”, says Gerard Houllier, with Jurgen Klopp proving to be the perfect coach to deliver “vision” and long-term success at Anfield. Those on the red half of Merseyside are currently basking in the warm glow of a first title triumph in 30 years. Since last getting their hands on the English top-flight crown in 1990, many managers have tried and failed to get Liverpool back on the loftiest of perches. Houllier spent six years at the helm between 1998 and 2004, delivering domestic cup success and a UEFA Cup win. He also carried the Reds close to a long-awaited title, as did Rafa Benitez and Brendan Rodgers. Klopp has been the man to get Liverpool over the line, while also claiming Champions League and Club World Cup honours, with the German...
China on Monday accused the U.S. of flexing its military muscles in the South China Sea by conducting joint exercises with two U.S. aircraft carrier groups in the strategic waterway. Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the exercises were performed “totally out of ulterior motives” and undermined stability in the area. “Against such a backdrop, the U.S. deliberately dispatched massive forces to conduct large-scale military exercises in the relevant waters of the South China Sea to flex its military muscle,” Zhao said at a daily briefing. The U.S. Navy said over the weekend that the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan along with their accompanying vessels and aircraft conducted exercises “designed to maximize air defense capabilities, and extend the reach of long-range precision ...
Paul Weller shouts to the top of the U.K. midweek chart with On Sunset (Polydor), his fifteenth solo album. The former Style Council and The Jam frontman takes the lead on the Official Chart Update, with a 11,000 chart sales advantage over its nearest competitor, Pop Smoke’s posthumous debut Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon (Republic Records). If On Sunset holds its position when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published this Friday (July 10), it’ll be Weller’s first leader since Sonik Kicks opened at the summit, eight years ago. On Sunset will be the veteran British artist’s 20th solo Top 10 album, and it’s the best-seller across physical albums and downloads in the first half of the chart cycle. Pop Smoke’s debut comes in at No. 2 on the midweek albums chart, and three songs ...
With three nominations, Tones And I has a fine chance of taking home silverware at the 2020 AIR Awards, to be held Oct. 1 in Adelaide. Tones’ global hit “Dance Monkey” is up for independent song of the year, her debut EP The Kids are Coming is in the running for independent pop album or EP and she’s nominated for breakthrough independent artist of the year. The former busker is coming off the type of year most artists can only dream of. “Dance Monkey” led the ARIA Singles Chart for a whopping 24-weeks, easily an all-time record. And in the U.K., the song led the national singles tally for 11 weeks, the longest streak ever by a solo female artist. The track has now raced past seven billion streams across all platforms. In May of this year, Tones snagged two APRA Music Awards — includi...
Sec. of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. would “certainly look at” banning Chinese social media apps including short-form video app TikTok over national security and privacy concerns. “With respect to Chinese apps on people’s cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too,” Pompeo said in an interview on Monday’s episode of Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle. “I don’t want to get out in front of the president, but it’s something we’re looking at.” Pompeo added that people should only download TikTok “if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.” The news comes as TikTok increasingly looks to distance itself from its parent company Beijing-based...
Super Eagles technical adviser, Gernot Rohr has predicted that 2022 will be tough for Nigeria’s senior national football team because of the loaded qualifiers his team would have to negotiate to qualify for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup. The Eagles handler is however confident of his team’s chances of picking the two important tickets as a result of the quality of the team which according to him is loaded with ambitious and talented very young players that are desperate to make the Nation proud and also make name for themselves. “The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is postponed. It is the same for everybody so it is not a disadvantage. We have more time to prepare so also other countries too. “We can continue the qualifiers and start at the same time the World Cup qua...
Donald Trump’s niece will release her unflattering book on the US president on July 14, her publisher announced Monday, after a judge lifted a temporary ban on publication. Simon & Schuster has brought forward the release of the memoir by two weeks, according to an update on its website. In her 240-page book, Mary Trump dubs America’s leader “the world’s most dangerous man.” It is set to be the latest bombshell book to dish dirt on Trump after former aide John Bolton’s tome, which describes Trump as corrupt and incompetent, hit shelves last month. Last Wednesday, an appeals court judge in New York ruled that Simon & Schuster is allowed to release Mary Trump’s book “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.” The president’s brother Robert Trump...
Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, says that Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, are ready for recommencement of domestic flights. The minister said during the daily Presidential Task Force briefing on Monday in Abuja that Lagos, Abuja and Kano airports would recommence domestic flights on Wednesday. He urged all passengers and crews to obey the COVID-19 protocols to ensure safety of the airports and airplanes against the virus. Sirika said that five countries in Africa and over one hundred countries across the globe have already started domestic air service. On the preparation on the airplanes, the minister stated that the last row of the aircraf...
The National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP) in Ondo State has directed its members to withdraw their services from the state’s Infectious Disease Centre with immediate effect. The association said the directive became imperative due to government’s failure to meet their demands. The union had last month withdrawn the services of its members working in the employ of the state government following government failure to accede to their demands. The NAGGMDP Secretary in the state, Dr Olasakinju TJ, said government’s intervention has so far lacked a ‘human face’. ‘We had through the congress directed that our members who are the COVID-19 specialists in the Infectious Disease Hospital, Akure, to continue to work till Thursday morning, 2nd July 2020 i...
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State says there is no division within its fold. The party’s Chairman, Chief Akin Oke, said this in a statement issued on Monday in Ibadan. Recall that some members of the party had been parading themselves as a faction of the APC in the state. The APC in the state, which was recently thrown into mourning following the death of its leader, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, had in 2018 witnessed internal wrangling. This had resulted in the floating of a splinter group, ‘Unity Forum,’ through which virtually all the aggrieved members left the party to join opposition parties in the build up to the 2019 general elections. Oke, however, warned those peddling rumours indicating existence of factions or warring groups in the party to desist from such acts. “These gr...