Europe
Lucas Moura: Tottenham squad united behind Jose Mourinho
Lucas Moura has insisted that the whole Tottenham squad are united behind under-fire boss Jose Mourinho amid the club’s turbulent 2020-21 campaign. Mourinho’s position in the Spurs dugout has been called into question in the wake of a nightmare week which saw the team follow up a north London derby defeat to Arsenal by exiting the Europa League in shocking fashion at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb. Spurs were thrashed 3-0 in the second leg of that last-16 tie in Croatia, but responded by beating Aston Villa 2-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, with Moura issuing a rallying cry in his post-match interview. “It’s been a very bad week for us, the feeling was very bad,” the Spurs winger told the Evening Standard : “Last night, we showed our nature, we showed attitude. “The good thing about footbal...
Champions League: Jurgen Klopp backed by Rafa Benitez to repeat Liverpool’s ‘Miracle of Istanbul’
Jurgen Klopp has been backed by Rafa Benitez to repeat his feat from 2004-05 and win the Champions League despite a disappointing Premier League campaign. Liverpool, who sit five points outside the top four with nine games to play, face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and could play Chelsea, their semi-final opponents in 2005, in the following round. With the final set to be played at Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium, the venue for Benitez’s side’s miracle comeback against AC Milan, there is plenty of talk of destiny for Liverpool. Asked if Liverpool could go all the way again in Europe, Benitez told the Daily Mail: “For sure. Liverpool has the potential and the manager, it’s not a problem. “People talk about Istanbul like we were lucky. But we were not lucky to win the Champions League becaus...
AstraZeneca: ‘No evidence’ of higher blood clots risk from coronavirus vaccine
UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca insisted on Friday its coronavirus vaccine was safe after some countries suspended its use in response to concerns about a potential link to blood clots. “An analysis of our safety data of more than 10 million records has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country” from the jab, a company spokesperson said. “In fact, the observed number of these types of events are significantly lower in those vaccinated than would be expected among the general population.” The AstraZeneca jab, developed with Oxford University, forms the mainstay of Britain’s vaccination programme, and of many developing economies. It is relatively cheap and easier to st...
Brazil hospitals pushed to limit as coronavirus death toll soars
Hospitals in Brazil’s main cities are reaching capacity, health officials have warned, as the country recorded the world’s highest COVID-19 death toll over the past week, triggering tighter restrictions on Thursday in its most populous state. Intensive care wards for treating COVID-19 patients have reached critical occupancy levels over 90% in 15 of 27 state capitals, according to biomedical center Fiocruz. In Porto Alegre, the largest city in southern Brazil, there are no free intensive care units (ICUs), and occupancy has also hit 100% in two other state capitals, Fiocruz reported. The Health Ministry on Wednesday reported a record 2,286 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, as new infections rose by 79,876. With more than 270,000 deaths, Brazil’s pandemic death toll over the past y...
Highlander Adventure treks: 15 unique trails to explore
The collection of Highlander Adventure treks has been expanded for 2021. We take a look at the exciting new trails on offer In 2020, I joined my first Highlander Adventure trek in Croatia and was thoroughly won over by the semi-solo style of trekking. This year, I was pleased to see the collection expand from five treks to 15 and am planning (hoping?) to join two more – in Spain and North Macedonia. Below, I take a look at every trek on this year’s calendar, from the original Highlander Velebit in Croatia to the new trails currently being mapped in the Middle East and North Africa. What is the Highlander Adventure? The Highlander Adventure is a collection of organised five-day treks through some of Europe’s premier hiking regions, home to magnificent expanses of wilderness. Initi...
Kylian Mbappe wants 700,000 euros a week
Kylian Mbappe has said he will only renew if big money is involved. He has yet to make a firm decision on his future, but he is clear that he wants a pay rise if he is to extend his contract. He wants 36 million euros a year, like Neymar. PSG are going to be involved in tough negotiations to keep hold of Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman is studying his options before deciding on his future, but he is clear what his transfer demands are if he is to form part of a new peoject. And his salary is the main issue. Mbappe wants to be seen as one of the best footballers in Europe and he wants that to be reflected in his salary. According to ‘The Athletic’, Man City have pulled out of the race to get the French striker after finding out about his transfer demands. Kylian, therefore, wants to earn sligh...
Carlo Ancelotti: Everton not at Chelsea level
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted his side had been second best all night during their defeat at Chelsea stating the Meyserside club are not at the same level with the Blues. An own goal by Ben Godfrey and a second half penalty from Jorginho consigned Everton to a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, leaving them four points adrift of Chelsea in fourth but with a match in hand still. Chelsea dominated the fixture and could have won by a bigger margin, with Kai Havertz also having a goal ruled out in the second half for handball. And Ancelotti claimed that his side have plenty of work to do before now and the end of the season if they want to somehow battle it out right to the very end with the likes of Chelsea for a Champions League spot. “They played better than us,’ Ancelotti told BT Sp...
Ivory Coast names interim prime minister
Patrick Achi, secretary general to the presidency of the Ivory Coast, was appointed Monday interim prime minister while the country’s premier, Hamed Bakayoko, is in Europe receiving medical treatment, the president’s office said. “State minister Patrick Achi will take over the functions of prime minister and head of government in an interim capacity,” the presidency said in a statement. Tene Birahima Ouattara, presidential affairs minister and the younger brother of President Alassane Ouattara, was appointed interim defence minister, also replacing Bakayoko in that position. Bakayoko, 56, travelled to France on February 18 for health reasons and has just been transferred to a hospital in Germany, a source close to the presidency told AFP, without specifying exactly when. The nature of Baka...
ECOWAS suggests compensation for coronavirus vaccine adverse reactions
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Vaccine Taskforce has recommended compensation for citizens who suffer side effects or injury from the COVID-19 vaccination. Professor Stanley Okolo, the Director-General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), disclosed this at the 5th Regional Steering Committee meeting of the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) project on Saturday in Abuja. Okolo said that the recommendation was one of the resolutions adopted by the taskforce and presented to the ECOWAS Ministerial Coordinating Committee to encourage citizens to receive the vaccine. He explained during the REDISSE virtual meeting that the issue of indemnity was being taken up by the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, the global initiative aimed at equit...
WHO: End to pandemic not likely in 2021
The World Health Organisation (WHO) believes it is unlikely the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19）will come to an end by the end of 2021. “I think it will be very premature and unrealistic to think that we are going to finish with this virus by the end of the year,” Michael Ryan, director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, said at a briefing on Tuesday. “What we can, if we are smart, finish with is the hospitalisations and the deaths and the tragedy associated with this pandemic,” Ryan added. The WHO’s focus at present was to keep transmissions as low as possible and vaccinate more and more people. The situation regarding the delivery of vaccine doses had already improved compared to 10 weeks ago, Ryan said, although there were “huge challenges” in distributing them and the virus stil...
UNIABUJA appoints DVC academic, administration
The Governing Council of the University of Abuja has approved the appointment of Prof. Clement Alawa and Prof. Abubakar Abba as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), respectively. Their appointment was disclosed in a statement issued by Dr Habib Yakoob, the Head, Information and Public Relations of the university on Tuesday. Yakoob said the council’s approval followed the endorsement of the vice-chancellor’s request by the institution’s senate. He said Alawa was re-appointed for another two years after a successful first tenure as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic). He said that the appointments were confirmed at the 89th regular meeting of the Governing Council on Monday. The statement said: “Alawa, a Professor of Animal Production was born on J...
Victor Osimhen likens his unconscious 30 minutes to a brain reset
Super Eagles and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has said his 30 minutes of unconsciousness Sunday, ‘felt like a brain reset’ Osimhen was discharged to return to Naples on Monday after spending the night under observation at a hospital in Bergamo following an alarming collapse towards the end of the club’s 4-2 Serie A defeat by Atalanta on Sunday. Osimhen was knocked unconscious in a scary incident during the final minutes of the game after a challenge with Cristian Romero; he was stretchered off the pitch and taken directly to hospital. A close adviser to the player told ESPN that a disoriented Osimhen was shocked when he saw the video of the incident. “He could not believe it when they showed him the video from the incident,” the adviser said. “He said it felt like a brain reset.” Multiple...
