Greek
Ex-US envoy: British museum holds over 700 pieces of Benin bronzes
The British Museum, the world’s first national public museum, currently holds 700 pieces of the Benin Bronzes collection, more than any other museum and other institutions globally, a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. John Campbell has said. Campbell, however, acknowledged that the authorities of the British Museum had agreed “to return the Benin Bronzes collection once the Edo Museum of West African Art, currently under construction in Benin City is completed.” He gave this figure in a blog post titled “Germany to Return Some African Art to Nigeria” published on the website of Council for Foreign Relations (CFR), a US non-profit think-tank specialising in international affairs on Wednesday. More than a century after British soldiers looted a collection of priceless artifacts...
Novak Djokovic beats Alejandro Fokina to reach Italian Open quarter-finals
World number one Novak Djokovic swept into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday with a straight sets wins over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in front of spectators who were allowed to watch in the Foro Italico for the first time. The five-time Rome champion won through 6-2, 6-1 in 1hr 10min against the 48th-ranked Spaniard with the venue filled to 25 per cent of capacity. “It was not good, it was great. I missed the crowd,” said the 33-year-old Serb. “It was nice to see them back.” After losing his opening service game, Djokovic powered back with five breaks of serve, outclassing his rival, despite a late fightback, to seal the win on his sixth match point. “He started well, but I managed to break back straight away and establish the control and consistency. “I thought I played at lea...
Rafael Nadal beats Stefanos Tsitsipas to win 12th Barcelona title
Rafael Nadal saved a championship point to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5 on Sunday and claim a 12th Barcelona Open title in the ATP’s longest match of 2021. The Spaniard secured his first title of the year and 87th of his career, denying Tsitsipas back-to-back triumphs following his maiden Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo last week. Nadal avenged his Australian Open quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas and will return to second in the ATP rankings on Monday by climbing back above Daniil Medvedev after his marathon 3-hour 38-minute win. “It means a lot for me to play the final here and win,” said Nadal. “I improved my level during the week and this trophy means a lot.” Nadal redeemed himself after a surprise quarter-final exit in Monte Carlo, but the three sets dropped en route to...
Manchester City ease into Champions League last 16
Manchester City booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League but there were more concerns for Pep Guardiola over his side’s lack of ruthlessness in a 1-0 win at Olympiakos on Wednesday. Phil Foden’s low strike nine minutes before half-time ensured City deservedly kept up their 100 percent record in Europe this season. But a one-goal margin of victory was a scant reward for the visitors’ dominance even with a heavily-rotated side. Guardiola made five changes to the team beaten 2-0 at Tottenham on Saturday to see City off to their worst league start since the first few months of the club’s Abu Dhabi-backed ownership. Scoring goals has been City’s big problem in the Premier League, but they had scored three in each of their opening three Champions League wins over Porto, Marseill...
European Union backs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for WTO role
The European Union has endorsed former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation, Bloomberg reported. The business news outlet cited anonymous officials familiar with the matter that all the 27 EU member countries agreed on Monday in Brussels to support Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala. Bloomberg also reported that the United States has decided to back Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister, for the role. The position has been fiercely contested amongst candidates of different countries since Roberto Azevedo resigned in August. Last month, Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee were selected as the last two candidates in the contest. The EU’s endorsement is seen as a significant boost for Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, with the final winner expected...
Serena Williams wins Greek odyssey to battle into US Open quarter-finals
Serena Williams booked a place in the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday with a hard-fought, three-set win over 15th seed Maria Sakkari. Williams required 2hr 28min to defeat the 25-year-old Greek player 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 inside an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows. “I just was fighting. She was doing so well, she was being so aggressive and I knew that I needed to do the same thing,” said Williams. The match swung in different directions, with Williams saving three break points in game five of the first set before breaking Sakkari to power to a first-set win. Inset two, Sakkari took a 4-0 lead in the tie-break before Williams hauled it back to 6-6. And in the deciding set, Williams had to break Sakkari’s serve twice to come back from 2-0 down. Little separated the two p...
Porto sign Nigerian left-back on five-year deal
FC Porto have confirmed the signing of Nigerian left-back Zaidu Sanusi on a five-year deal from rivals Santa Clara. The 23-year-old defender has become the latest addition to Portuguese champions after successful medicals. Sanusi caught the eye following his impressive showing for Santa Clara after scoring one goal in 24 league appearances in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season. Porto beat off strong competition from Greek club Olympiacos to sign the left-back. “I will give everything on the field, for the fans and for everyone at the club,” Sanusi told the club’s official website. “I’m really happy to be a FC Porto player. I don’t even know how to explain it, but I’m very, very happy to be wearing this shirt. ” “I hope to do a good job and help the team. This season we will win every...
Chris Okotie: Online church service unbiblical
Pastor of the Household of God Church International Ministries in the Oregun area of Lagos State, Reverend Chris Okotie, says online church service, which has become the order of the day due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is unscriptural. He argued that Christians must physically gather together to be able to truly worship God. Okotie, in a sermon titled, ‘The COVID-19 Mystery’, maintained that the novel disease is a satanic conspiracy to challenge the power of God by keeping Christians out of the church. Okotie said, “We are dealing with one of the most sinister conspiracies in human history. What we call the online church is absolutely untrue, because for you to be in church, you have to be ecclesia, which is translated from the Greek word, ec, which is out, and the word caleo, called out. “Y...
