Amidst rumours that actor Orlando Bloom may be cheating on her with singer, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry yesterday posted an image of the Pirates Of The Caribbean star on her Instagram page for the first time. The picture itself is not one of those wherein there is an evident display of affection or romance. Rather, it is one which shows the couple in their dressing gowns, lying comically on steps leading up to a building which looks like a hotel. The ‘Roar’ singer captioned the picture ‘we cannes’t’ and has been interpreted as her way of letting the public know…
Author: David Folami
Sevilla had got off lightly when Liverpool twice saw penalty appeals waved away – defender Daniel Carrico handling twice in the area – but the Spaniards were a different team after the interval. Gameiro had come close with a speculative overhead kick in the opening half and he made no mistake with an easy tap-in after right-back Mariano Ferreiro pounced on a poor clearance from Liverpool left-back Alberto Moreno seconds after the restart to power unchallenged down the right. It brought an expletive-tainted reaction on Twitter from retired Liverpool great Jamie Carragher, who said: “Jurgen, transfer committee, anyone sign a…
Superior technique honed by playing in the “best league in the world” was key to Sevilla’s record-setting Europa League triumph over Liverpool on Wednesday, said the club’s French central defender Timothee Kolodziejczak. Five-time European champions Liverpool travelled to St Jakob-Park in Basle confident of a first Europa League trophy since 2001. But Jurgen Klopp’s men failed to build on Daniel Sturridge’s superb 35th-minute opener When Kevin Gameiro caught Liverpool napping to equalise seconds after halftime, it opened the floodgates with Spanish midfielder Coke scoring twice in six minutes to give Unai Emery’s men a 3-1 lead by the 70th minute.…
Real Madrid’s attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema need to score twice in the Champions League final on May 28 against Atletico Madrid to hit the century mark for goals this season for the first time. The previous combined best for the trio, who are known as the BBC (Bale, Benzema and Cristiano) was 97 in the 2014-15 campaign. For a sixth consecutive year, Ronaldo found the back of the net more than 50 times in all competitions with his two goals against Deportivo La Coruna last weekend increasing his season tally to 51. Frenchman Benzema…
Midfielder Koke issued a rallying cry to his Atletico Madrid teammates on Saturday ahead of next week’s Champions League final against Real Madrid. The midfielder told a news conference that the players have to face the final in Milan on May 28 as if it were the last they would ever play in. “You are not more nervous, you play like all your teammates,” Koke said. “You have to take on the final as if it was the last one you’ll play, you never know,” he added. “If you win you have this feeling that you’ve nourished since you were…
Barcelona players should not be too disheartened about missing out on the Champions League final as Spain’s domination of European club football shows the highly-competitive level of the Spanish game, Barcelona striker Neymar said. Sevilla rammed home Spain’s stranglehold in Europe on Wednesday when they won the Europa League for the third time in a row, with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool. Meanwhile, two Madrid teams — Real and Atletico — are set to contest the Champions League final in Milan on May 28. “The presence of two Spanish teams in that game illustrates just how well Barcelona have done…
David Beckham believes Real Madrid should give his former teammate at the club, Zinedine Zidane, time to succeed even if the French great fails to inspire them to victory in the Champions League final later this month. Zidane fell just short of steering the club to La Liga glory, with Real finishing one point behind Barcelona, but can claim his first title since replacing Rafa Benitez earlier this year in the May 28 Champions League final against city rivals Atletico in Milan. “Madrid needs stability and continuity,” Beckham said in an interview with Spanish magazine Semanal XL. “It would be…
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew said he felt the “weight of history” on his shoulders as he tries to lead the south London side to the first major trophy in their 111-year existence. Palace have the chance to claim that long-awaited piece of silverware when they face Manchester United in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley. The match is a repeat of the 1990 final when a Palace side featuring then central defender Pardew were beaten by United in a replay after the first match finished 3-3 following extra-time. “I feel the weight of the history of not winning something,”…
Jose Mourinho is a proven winner who is the perfect choice as Manchester United manager, the club’s former defender Phil Neville said on Sunday. British media reported that the 53-year-old Portuguese will be handed the job next week, ending Dutchman Louis van Gaal’s two-year reign at Old Trafford after he led his team to victory in the FA Cup final on Saturday. “Mourinho is a proven winner. United fans want a team challenging for the league title, they don’t want a team finishing in seventh or fifth,” Neville told the BBC. Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea in December, seven months…
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane will miss the Champions League final after suffering a hamstring injury in training, Spanish media reported on Sunday. The centre back could be out of action for three weeks, making him doubtful for France’s first game at Euro 2016, against Romania on June 10. Varane was unlikely to start against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28 in Milan with Sergio Ramos and Pepe coach Zinedine Zidane’s usual first-choice defensive pairing. Real have not specified the time he will be out for but have confirmed the player is injured. “After tests carried…
Wayne Rooney admitted Manchester United have fallen short of expectations despite winning the FA Cup as rumours swirled that Louis van Gaal is set to be replaced by Jose Mourinho. United manager Van Gaal was in defiant mood on Saturday as he celebrated United’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace by parading the FA Cup in front of the media while refusing to discuss the growing possibility he will be sacked in the next few days. Just minutes after the final whistle at Wembley signalled United’s first trophy in Van Gaal’s two-year reign, reports emerged that former Chelsea boss Mourinho was…
Kaduna State Senator, Shehu Sani has said that the threat to expel him for criticizing President Muhammadu Buhari came from Governor Nasir El-Rufai and not the All Progressives Congress (APC). Sani made the remark in a statement released by his Special Adviser on Politics and Ideology, Suleiman Ahmed today, May 20, 2016. The statement reads: The press conference and threat of expulsion made by one Tanko Wusono of Kaduna APC against comrade Senator Shehu Sani for objecting to the increase in pump price of petroleum products stands unambiguously condemned. Kaduna APC as it exists today is simply an extension of…
The South East caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the rescue of Amina Ali Nkeki, one of the abducted Chibok school girls, has put former President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Patience and Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose to shame. The comment was made by caucus spokesperson, Osita Okechukwu, on Thursday, May 19, 2016. “Indeed the rescue of Amina Ali has put to shame people like the former First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan and Governor of Ekiti, His Excellency, Ayo Fayose, who up to date thought the abduction of the girls was a scam, meant to demonise Jonathan…
The Africa Arise for Change Network has urged former president, Goodluck Jonathan and Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose to apologize for unsavoury comments made about the abducted Chibok girls. The demand was made by the group’s National Coordinator, Nkechi Odoma while speaking to journalists in Abuja, Vanguard reports. “In 2014, when over 200 girls were abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State, the wife of the then President, Dame Patience Jonathan released that blockbuster of “Na only you waka come? Diaris Guuuud o”. We recall this unfortunate episode, because, funny as it was then, it typified the mind-set of…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that it will not recognise any election that produces Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the party’s convention on Saturday, May 21, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had last week issued a restraining order, asking the party not to conduct elections into office of national chairman, national auditor and secretary. The court, presided over by Justice Hussein Buba, also restrained INEC from monitoring the conduct of any election into the affected offices. Plaintiffs in the case…
Oyo state Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, has appointed Dr Gbade Ojo and Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin as his Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff respectively, NAN reports. This is contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the governor on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka, on Friday, May 20, in Ibadan, the state capital. According to the statement, Ojo is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Ilorin and former Special Adviser on Political Matters to Ajimobi during his first term. While Gbadegesin is a Neuroscientist and a former Commissioner for Health. Also appointed…
Mr Samuel Nwanosike, a member of the Security Committee of the PDP National Convention, says the convention will elect new leaders who will take the party to greater heights. Nwanosike, the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers, said this while speaking with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the convention in Port Harcourt on Saturday. “Rivers people are happy to host the national convention. We are hopeful that the convention will lay the foundation for a new leadership of our great party. “We are also optimistic that the leaders will win the 2019 election for…
Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers says the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Convention will hold on Saturday as scheduled by its National Executive Committee. Wike, Chairman of the party`s National Convention Committee, said at a news conference in Port Harcourt on Friday that all organs of the party approved the convention. He said that all the organs of the party recognised by its constitution met and approved the convention. “As I speak to you, the governors of the PDP in the 12 states we control, Deputy Senator President, party’s minority leader in the Senate, House of Representatives and every organ of…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers has urged Gov. Nyesom Wike to explain his role in the alleged N700 million poll bribery scam in which his name is mentioned. This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Chris Finebone, APC Publicity Secretary in Port Harcourt on Saturday. The APC alleged that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) grilled, Mr Johnson Okpoko, the state PDP Secretary, for collecting N700 million from the controversial $115 million lodged with Fidelity Bank. It alleged that the money was lodged by the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke,…
Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has announced the suspension of its National Convention, citing numerous court cases as the reason the decision. Sheriff, who announced this at a news conference in Port Harcourt on Saturday, said as a law abiding party it suspended the convention until all court cases were resolved. “Members of the National Working Committee and I have been working since morning. We are confronted with a lot of challenges. “The challenges are court cases and taking into account the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to…