BREAKING NEWS

Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa says the the team is ready to battle the Pharaohs of Egypt in Group D opening game of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon on January 11. Speaking in an interview with the Super Eagles Media Officer after the team’s training session on Saturday at the VSTS-Annex OF Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Musa said the team was in high spirits. Musa scored a goal in Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Cotonsports on Friday in a practice match to help the players tune up as Augustine Eguavoen prepares to take the team to AFCON glory. “It was good as you can see. Yesterday we had training and today, we had another training. All I can say is that we are ready for the first game against Egypt. Thank God the other players we are expecting is in camp this morning and we are still expecting Collins." “Definitely I talk to the players because we know what is important. This tournament we know if we can win it, it’s going to be a big impact to our own country and family too.

A researcher in Cyprus has discovered a strain of the coronavirus that combines the delta and omicron variants.   Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology, called the strain “deltacron,” because of its omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes. Kostrikis and his team said they have found 25 cases of the virus, according to Bloomberg News. It’s still too early to tell whether there are more cases of the strain.   “We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail” against the two dominant strains, delta and omicron, Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV Friday. He believes omicron will also overtake deltacron, he added.   The researchers sent their findings this week to GISAID, an international database that tracks viruses, according to Bloomberg. The deltacron variant comes as omicron continues its rapid s

  Former Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has said that he visited leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in the custody of the Department of State Services.  Though he did not specify the date and time of his visit to Kanu, he said his visit was in line of seeking political solution for the release of the IPOB leader. Ekweremadu said he went in company with some Igbo leaders like Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe; Secretary-General, Okey Emuchay; and Archbishop of Methodist Church of Nigeria and Co-Chair Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace, Bishop Sunday Onuoha. He also reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s remarks on Channels Television interview on Wednesday where he said Kanu should defend himself in court.  Speaking via his verified Facebook page on Saturday, Ekweremadu said, "Political solution in the Nnamdi Kanu's matter is still very feasible. I also watched the Channels Television interview and I don'

Even to a casual observer, 2021 was a massive year for the African tech ecosystem. It was the year when there were more disclosed funding rounds than we could keep up with. Data from various sources show that startups on the continent received over $4 billion from investors in 2021. That represents more than double the investments gotten in 2020. Numbers, they say, don’t lie, and with help from Briter Bridges’ Africa Investment Report 2021 and data from Africa: The Big Deal, we’ll be extracting some insights. Funding for women-led startups needs to be better Much has been written about the near absence of financing for women-led startups. While startup funding continues to grow, it is still disproportionately skewed towards startups led by men or at least one man on the founding team. The Big Deal reports that only 0.95% of the funding raised by African startups went to startups founded or led by a woman. While this percentage is less than that of 2020 (2%), it is partly explained by t

  Paul Pogba has dismissed reports that he has been offered a new deal by Manchester United.   Reports  by The Sun on Friday January 7, stated that Pogba was offered fresh terms worth £500,000-per-week last summer that would have made him the highest paid player in the English premier league But a spokesman for Pogba has issued a statement to deny suggestions of a recently extended contract offer from United. The Frenchman is currently focusing on returning to action from injury and has entered the final six months of his contract. ''To clarify media reports, Paul has not been offered a new contract in recent months. Paul is fully focused on his recovery from injury with the aim of helping the team as soon as possible.'' a statement from Pogba's spokesman to Sportsmail read. Pogba is in the final year of his contract and is free to speak to foreign clubs over a pre-contract agreement this month.  If Manchester United and Pogba are unable to come to terms on a new de

  Sylvester Oromoni, the father of Dowen College student, late Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, has vowed not to bury his son even if takes him 30 years until his son gets justice.   Oromoni said this while reacting to the statement from the Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, that the autopsies carried out on late Oromoni Jnr's body in Warri and Lagos showed he died a natural death. Read  here.   While speaking to Punch, Mr. Oromoni said   “The family does not have power. We only rely on God. If they insist that the school will reopen, there is no problem. If God keeps me for 20 or 30 years, I will follow up this case. Government will come, the government will go. I am not bothered. The soul of that boy is crying round. God is alive; He cannot be bribed. My son will never be buried. If it takes me 30 years to get justice, he would remain there (in the mortuary). He is my son; I won’t bury him. Nigerians should look beyond what they are saying.'' he said   Asked if he

  Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah, and Robert Lewandowski have been announced as the final three nominees for the FIFA Best Awards men’s player of the year. The award is voted for by a jury made up of current men's national team coaches and captains, one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team, and fans registered on FIFA.com. Paris St Germain's superstar, Lionel Messi finally ended his wait for major international silverware in 2021 as he helped Argentina to win the Copa America.  Liverpool striker, Salah is the Premier League's top goalscorer so far this season, with 16 to his name, and is arguably in the best form of his life. Bayern Munich striker, Lewandowski enjoyed another spectacular year at club level for Bayern, scoring a Bundesliga record 41 goals in the 2020-21 season to eclipse the previous best total set by Gerd Muller in the 1971-72 campaign. The award winners will be announced in a virtual ceremony on January 17.