$100 million? The brains of yahoo boys contain some very faulty wiring.
The annoying thing is that one day this crook will probably return to Nigeria and be reincarnated as a successful politician. Why won't he do that when several others have set the example for him like Buruji Kashamu, James Ibori, a reigning president etc?
President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the Federal Government’s 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan, involving $20.52bn and €1.05bn, to finance infrastructure and development projects across the country.
The request, which was transmitted to the National Assembly, was read by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, during Tuesday’s plenary.
In the letter, Tinubu urged the lawmakers to give the borrowing plan early consideration and approval, saying the funds would support critical projects and programmes in infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security, employment generation and financial management reforms.
The proposed borrowing amounts to $20,517,755,901 and €1,045,083,643, respectively.
The President said the external financing was necessary to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and bridge the funding gap hampering the implementation of development projects.
He wrote, “I submit the attached Federal Government 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan for consideration and early approval of the National Assembly to ensure prompt implementation of our projects.”
Tinubu explained that the projects and programmes included in the plan had been selected following technical and economic evaluations, with emphasis on their expected contributions to the country’s socioeconomic development.
He said the initiatives were also intended to create jobs, promote skills acquisition and entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and strengthen food security.
“These initiatives aim to generate employment, promote skill acquisition, foster entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and enhance food security, all of which improve the livelihood of the Nigerian child,” he said.
According to the President, most of the projects would be implemented across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, underscoring the nationwide scope of the proposed investments.
He argued that the scale of Nigeria’s infrastructure needs made additional financing necessary, while maintaining that external borrowing would help close the funding shortfall.
“In light of the need for significant infrastructure investment in the country and the vast financial resources needed to address this gap, it has become essential to pursue prudent external borrowings to close the financing shortfall,” Tinubu stated.
He added that the funds would primarily be channelled into critical infrastructure, particularly in the power, transportation and healthcare sectors.
The President urged the Senate leadership and the wider National Assembly to approve the plan promptly, arguing that timely approval would facilitate disbursements and accelerate project implementation.
However, the request is expected to undergo scrutiny by the relevant Senate committees, particularly against the backdrop of the government’s existing borrowing arrangements and the need to establish the precise scope of the proposed financing.
Reacting after the letter was read, Akpabio said the borrowing plan had featured in previous government borrowing and budgetary arrangements, although he expressed uncertainty about the exact period covered by the earlier approval.
“The borrowing plan is attached, but of course, this was even earlier approved in our budget, and also the external borrowing plan was approved as far back as 2025 to 2027, I think to 2028 or thereabout,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President said the new request would be referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for consideration, with possible input from the Committees on Appropriations and Finance.
“However, this request will be looked at by the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, probably in collaboration with Appropriations and Finance, but mainly by the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts,” he stated.
Akpabio also referenced Senator Haruna Manu in connection with the committee’s leadership.
The committee’s review is expected to examine the details of the proposed borrowing plan and its relationship with previously approved financing arrangements before the Senate determines the next legislative steps.
The request comes as the Federal Government seeks additional resources to finance infrastructure development and other programmes aimed at supporting economic growth and addressing longstanding deficits in public services.
The Senate’s consideration will be a key step in determining whether the proposed external financing receives the necessary legislative approval.
The police showed and scolded the person who called them, then they expressed their desire to watch the kid play. What is sick about that?
Daataane: The people that called police are sick, police also are sick Even the white can't withstand the success of Africans that they promised heaven . LOL ;
ginggerxy: There is only one thing i see that is wrong with that kid in the eye of the white supermacist, i hate to sound this way but i cant just help but wonder why adults will be calling police on a 3 years old, a f*cking 3 years old, because the kid beating every other kids there wwasnt theirs ?they better take that kid to la maisia
They told the busybody that no crime had been committed and scolded the person for wasting police time then they expressed their admiration for the child and said they wanted to watch. What is not admirable about that?
goslowgoslow: What did they handled with maturity?.Was there any problem in the first instance?
Ghana is spearheading an effort to stop Russia’s illegal recruitment of young people to fight in its war with Ukraine. Independent tracking agencies estimate 37 African countries have been affected by widespread and coordinated schemes to deceive desperate youth in search of employment.
At least 272 Ghanaians have fought for Russia. That is the third-highest number of recruits among African nations. Egypt recorded the highest number, 361, while 335 Cameroonians were recruited, according to the INPACT research group. Fighters are also heavily recruited from Algeria, The Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria and South Africa.
As the number of Ghanaians who have died while fighting for Russia reached 62 in mid-August, Ghanaian Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow and urged Russia to “stop the illegal recruitment of these Ghanaians.”
“As a responsible government, we cannot turn a blind eye to these shocking statistics,” Ablakwa said in an INPACT report. “This is not our war, and we cannot allow our young people to become human shields for others.”
While Russia vowed to stop recruiting Ghanaians, the practice has continued.
This raises “questions about how effectively agreements reached between governments are being enforced on the ground,” Kenyan newspaper The Star wrote in an editorial.
Richmond Acheampong, editor-in-chief of Ghanaian digital news platform The International Lens, questioned whether or not Russia did enough to prevent, investigate or punish deceptive recruitment practices.
“That distinction is crucial,” Acheampong wrote for the Modern Ghana news website. “A credible partner does not merely deny an allegation; it helps establish the facts. It identifies recruitment networks, cooperates with investigations, accounts for foreign nationals serving in its military and provides transparent information to the governments whose citizens are involved.”
Recent research by iLAB, the technical investigations team of Code for Africa, found that the Kremlin is using digital tools — including websites, fake domains and social media profiles — to trick Africans into fighting for Russia. These recruitment campaigns originated in Russia and Belarus and used false advertising, forged endorsements and offered promises of generous benefits.
The iLAB investigation found that many African nationals were tricked into joining the Russian military after responding to ads for construction work, visa assistance or even film roles. Many of the sites shared common IP addresses and are based on websites that are “disposable,” a strategy investigators characterized as “burn and replace.”
Analysts say it is time for Ghana and other countries to reassess their relationship with Russia, which seeks to expand its influence on the continent through military partnerships, resource extraction and infrastructure projects. European Union Ambassador to Ghana Rune Skinnebach said in a September report by Ghanaian newspaper The Diplomatic Times that Russia was “neither a credible nor reliable partner” for Ghana.
Skinnebach cited several commitments that have not been delivered, including a nuclear power project, a $1 billion Russia Export Centre facility and a $12.5 billion railway project linking Accra to Paga.
Acheampong agreed with Skinnebach.
“A diplomatic partnership is not measured by handshakes, communiqués or the number of agreements signed,” Acheampong wrote for the Modern Ghana news website. “It is measured by trust, delivery and responsibility. On that test, Moscow has yet to demonstrate that it is a credible and reliable strategic partner for Ghana."
Acheampong acknowledged that Russia portraying itself as an alternative partner to African nations can seem attractive but argued that its commitments must be carefully analyzed.
“If Western governments announce projects and fail to deliver, Ghana should scrutinize them. If China signs infrastructure agreements that stall, Ghana should ask why,” Acheampong wrote. “Russia should receive precisely the same treatment. … That is not hostility toward Russia. It is normal statecraft.”
A Florida youth soccer organizer called police this past weekend to remove the family of a 3-year-old boy who the organizer said was pushing other players. But in body camera footage of the police response released Monday, the child's parents are seen telling officers that the boy was kicked out of the league because he's too good at soccer.
The child's parents, who have since publicly identified themselves as Martasia Griffin and Don Pierre, posted video on several social media channels of their son playing soccer against children before the police interaction. In the viral video, the boy, Nevada, can be seen dribbling past other children on his way to scoring several goals, then looking on in confusion as Winter Park Police officers ask his family to leave the public park. The parents told officers the league cost them nearly $300.
In the body camera footage, an organizer for the nationwide youth sports organization i9 Sports tells officers the boy's parents created a disturbance at the park.
"The kid is good. He's great. Really good," the organizer tells responding officers. "He's very advanced compared to the other ones, so he's scoring a lot of goals. But he's pushing the kids. ... So, I try to tell him, don't push; we want to play without pushing, right?"
The video posted by the boy's parents does not depict physical contact between their son and other players. Representatives for i9 Sports did not respond to requests from ESPN for comment.
The organizer explained to police that the parents became argumentative when their son was benched.
"I just want him out. Immediately," the organizer told police. "Just give me their names so I can give them their refund."
When police approached a woman who identified herself as Nevada's mother, she explained that parents were upset that Nevada was too advanced for the league.
"They're mad at my son because he actually plays soccer. They're literally kicking him out of this place because he's good at soccer," she said. "First, they said he's not passing, but nobody's catching the ball when he's passing."
Officers did not cite the family for trespassing or eject them from the park, explaining to the organizer they did not have the authority to do so. In a statement posted to its website, the Winter Park Police Department said the league offered a refund to the parents, who were not named in the report.
"The family stated the game was over and they were leaving. The family was cooperative with the officers," the department wrote. "No one was arrested, trespassed, or forced to leave the park."
As one officer told another at the end of the interaction, "I kind of want to see him play. I bet he's good."
Look at this packaged stupidity. What does Christianity have to do with this? The person who posted is Dr Maalouf and he is an ex Muslim atheist.
In Christianity Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit told husbands to love their wives sacrificially in the same way that Christ loved the Church which means that a Christian husband should be willing to lay down his life in the same way that Christ laid down His life for the Church.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Stop lying to yourselves that we worship the same "god" you worship.
Saturnalia: The wife too shouldn’t have been so disrespectful to the Husband.
Afterall, even in Christianity, Paul the Apostle admonished Women never to climb the Pulpit or engage in public teachings.
He also said Women must always submit to their Husbands as to the Lord.
He also said Women must not wear trousers. Oh, sorry. This was written in Deuteronomy. But the point is we are still saying the same thing.
In summary, both the adherents of Islam and Christianity are worshipping the same spirit under the same umbrella, albeit demarcated umbrella, therefore ALLAHU AKUBARU!
●Jordan is a predominantly Muslim country with approximately 97% of the population identifying as Sunni Muslims;
●Article 2 of the country's Constitution makes Islam the state religion and the legal system is based on Shariah law;
●Christians are a minority and make up about 2.2% of the country's population;
●The Christians who were attacked belong to the Halasah Family (آل هلسة). This is a highly prominent, historic Jordanian Christian tribe deeply rooted in the city of Al-Karak, Jordan. They are well-known in Jordanian society, politics, history and have a reputation for academic excellence;
●Three of the Christians who were murdered were medical doctors;
●This is the deadliest attack on Jordanian Christian since the 1950s;
Video footage of the attack:
Surveillance camera footage shows gunmen carrying out an attack targeting a church in Jordan’s Al-Karak. pic.twitter.com/6kpB31d7RF
The attack took place during a funeral Friday, and security authorities are continuing their investigation and search for the perpetrators.
The death toll from the armed attack on St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Hamoud, in southern Jordan’s Karak governorate, has risen to nine, with others wounded. The attack took place during a funeral Friday, and security authorities are continuing their investigation and search for the perpetrators.
According to authorities, three gunmen arrived at the church in a blue pickup truck. One wore a mask and carried a Kalashnikov rifle, while the other two had their faces uncovered and carried handguns. The shooting began near the church’s main entrance, where mourners had gathered.
Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language website reported that the attackers carried substantial quantities of ammunition and changed their weapons’ magazines several times during the assault. They also fired again at some people after they had fallen to the ground. According to the same report, all those killed were near the church entrance when the shooting began.
Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya described the assault as a terrorist attack carried out by an extremist group. Public Security Director Maj. Gen. Obeidallah al-Maaytah said authorities were continuing to gather information and investigate to identify the perpetrators, arrest them, and bring them to justice.
As of Saturday morning, Jordanian authorities had not officially linked the attackers to a specific organization or announced any arrests. Media reports, citing Jordanian government and security sources, said the perpetrators espoused a takfiri ideology, an extremist outlook that declares other Muslims to be unbelievers.
A public prosecutor ordered a ban on publishing details of the investigation as authorities continued their search.
King Abdullah II pledged that the perpetrators would face the harshest penalties.
“Those who imagined that treacherous bullets could divide Jordanians have been thwarted by our resilience and unity,” he said, emphasizing Jordanians’ shared homeland and solidarity.
In their response, the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem described the targeting of mourners at prayer as “a grave crime against God and humanity.” They expressed solidarity with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Jordan, and the victims’ families.
They called on all churches in the region to ring their bells at noon Saturday Jordanian time and to pray for the victims and the recovery of the wounded. They stressed that the attack would not succeed in undermining the unity and cohesion of Jordanian society.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the attack violated the sanctity of places of worship and the right to life and to worship freely and with dignity. It described Jordan’s national unity as “a safeguard against terrorism and extremism,” emphasizing that the country’s Muslims and Christians form one family bound by a shared history and destiny.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, under whose jurisdiction the targeted church falls, affirmed that the attack would not undermine the Christian presence or Christians’ ties to their homeland.
“We are the children of this land, its living roots, and partners in its history, present, and future. We will remain here as witnesses to the faith, however great the challenges,” the patriarchate said.
The Jordan Council of Churches said the attack on the church and the mourners targeted social peace and coexistence. It emphasized solidarity among all communities in Jordan and rejected attempts to sow religious division.
The statements from Jordan were accompanied by condemnations from churches across the region, including the Middle East Council of Churches and several churches and patriarchates. Their responses emphasized the protection of places of worship, the need to confront extremist rhetoric and hate speech, and the fact that Christians are an integral part of the region’s societies, with deep roots in their homelands.
Church bells rang across Jordan and Palestine at noon Saturday in remembrance of those killed and in solidarity with their families and the wounded, answering the appeal of the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem.
And here is the brains behind this engineering feat.
As expected, it is always whites or coloreds or Indians.
Meanwhile the "natives" are dividing their time between Sangomas, shebeens and protesting against black foreigners while the ANC has been running down SA since 1994.
Wasn't it Tinubu glasses your husband was wearing when he stumbled and fell yakata in front of the whole world?
And wasn’t it Tinubu glasses that made you see frying akara and puff puff as a way of lifting Nigerian women out of poverty?
Maybe if we wear jigi tinubu, we will see 200 naira per litre of petrol in filling stations instead of the N1,400 that we currently see. Abi una put jazz for the glasses?
E be like say you and your husband have already de-marketed the jigi tinubu that you're desperate to sell to us.
First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has said Nigerians who fail to recognise the progress made under President Bola Tinubu’s administration need what she described as “Bola Tinubu eyeglasses”.
She made the remark on Friday while inaugurating the Abuja headquarters of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, a grassroots group mobilising support for the president’s re-election bid in 2027.
Mrs Tinubu pointed to changes at Nigerian airports as one of the signs of progress, saying she expected further improvements that would make travelling more convenient.
“So things are happening in Nigeria, except, you know, those who don’t see; maybe we’ll give them some, you know, Bola Tinubu eyeglasses. We are doing that, JigiBola,” she said.
The First Lady’s reference to Jigi-Bola was linked to an eye-care programme introduced by her husband in 2001 when he was governor of Lagos State. The initiative provided services such as free eye screening, eyeglasses and surgery before being relaunched by the Lagos State Government in 2021.
She also highlighted changes at the country’s airports, expressing her desire for faster travel.
“I want to get to the airport. I want to travel, you know, so quickly. And you can see our airports too are changing,” she said.
Mrs Tinubu further expressed hope that Nigeria would be in a better condition by the time she leaves the Presidential Villa in 2031, when she expects to be in her 70s.
“I want to leave Aso Rock, in 2031, by the grace of God, and enter a Nigeria that me as a 70-something-year-old woman will enjoy,” she said.
At the event, the First Lady formally commissioned the movement’s Abuja headquarters and declared support for President Tinubu’s re-election campaign ahead of the 2027 general election.
“So to the glory of God, and for the victory of Mr President come 2027, I hereby formally commission the PBAT door-to-door movement campaign headquarters Abuja,” she said.
A driver who police believe was looking up pornography prior to causing a three-vehicle crash that killed a Utah man has been charged.
Christine Chao, 44, of Rosemead, California, was charged Tuesday in Utah’s 4th District Court with automobile homicide, a second-degree felony.
On June 12, on northbound I-15 near Levan, emergency crews responded to a crash near a construction zone.
“Traffic had been slowed due to ongoing construction. Two vehicles were traveling at a slower speed when a vehicle driven by the defendant, Christine Chao, struck the rearmost vehicle, causing it to crash into the vehicle ahead of it,” charging documents state. “Officers did not observe any brake marks on the road to indicate the defendant slowed before the crash.”
A passenger in the back seat of one of the vehicles, 66-year-old Scott LaVar Lichfield of Fillmore, suffered a head injury and later died from their injuries, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
The charges state that Chao “told officers she was at fault.” Investigators seized her phone and obtained a warrant to search it.
“An examination of the phone pursuant to the warrant showed that (Chao) had accessed the website xvideos.com less than two minutes before the crash occurred. This website is commonly used to view pornographic videos,” charging documents state.
According to his obituary, Lichfield had just celebrated his 39th wedding anniversary with his wife the day before. He is survived by five children.
“The very best thing he loved was just being with his children and grandchildren. He would see a grandchild and say to them, ‘Come give me a hug.’ He loved them so very much. He read to them, watched movies with them, played chess, and built legos. They all loved their Papa/Pop Pop,” the obituary stated.
“He loved and adored playing Santa Claus. He even looked like him. He had so many little kids over the years come up to him wherever we were at and smile shyly or ask him if he was Santa. One time a little boy came up to him at a hotel and said to him, ‘Santa, are you on vacation?’ Oh, he loved that. He even had a red winter jacket to keep the magic alive all winter.”
The Federal Government has raised the alarm that some companies in Lagos State are stealing as much as 150 megawatts of electricity daily by connecting their factories directly to the national grid without the consent of the distribution companies in their area, threatening to recover charges from the companies.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the government was going after the unnamed companies as part of efforts to reduce technical losses in the grid and improve electricity supply.
Speaking recently at an energy forum in Lagos, Tegbe disclosed that the high-profile energy theft was discovered while the government was making efforts to fix the electricity challenges along the Lagos corridor.
“I need to fix Lagos. In the middle of trying to fix Lagos, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, do you know there are some people that are also directly connecting factories to the grid, taking as much as 150 megawatts every day? That’s energy theft. And I’m not talking about individual houses; I’m talking about companies.
“We’re going after those companies. We’ll collect back charges from them, and we’ll make sure that the technical loss factor in the grid is reduced,” Tegbe said.
The minister also disclosed that development finance institutions had committed about $18bn to Nigeria’s power sector, but faulted the prioritisation of investments, saying some projects had been implemented based on political patronage.
“Now, have we been spending money? Yes, we’ve been spending money. It will interest the audience here that we have about $18bn commitment in the power sector today from DFIs. But we’ve not been prioritising what we’re doing. We’ve been implementing projects based on political patronage. Now we’re taking a second look at it,” he said.
Earlier, the minister had stated that the government had commenced a nationwide technical audit to identify specific faults in the electricity infrastructure and ensure that interventions addressed the actual problems.
He attributed some of the sector’s challenges to ageing transmission infrastructure, saying parts of the network had been in place for about 50 years.
The minister said the government is also building a new National Control Centre to replace the existing facility in Osogbo, which he said was constructed in 1962.
Tegbe said efforts to isolate Lagos and Abuja from disturbances elsewhere on the grid had contributed to improved stability, adding that the government was working to prevent problems in one location from affecting another.
On funding and investment in the sector, he said the government was working on two companies, the Grid Asset Management Company and the Renewable Asset Management Company, to consolidate infrastructure assets and use their balance sheets to raise funds.
“The third pillar of what we’re doing, and things that need to change with coordinated planning, is liquidity, market liquidity, and credit. The reality today is that no investor will come with the kind of antecedents that we have. So, what are we doing? Clear that legacy debt. But then, create two companies: one is Grid Asset Management Company, and one is Renewable Asset Management Company.
“For the first time, we are collating and consolidating the assets we have in the grid assets and the renewable assets so that we can have an entity that can leverage the balance sheet of those assets and use that balance sheet to actually raise funds, rather than going to bond or trying to raise debt,” he said.
Tegbe maintained that the President had approved the RAMCO while work was ongoing on the framework for the GAMCO.
●Manchester City’s punishment would result in a large points deduction which would automatically relegate them to the Championship (Division 2) plus a massive fine;
●Once they have been relegated to the Championship, they will receive a further points deduction which will either keep them in the Championship for another season or further relegate them to League One (Division 3) after which they will be allowed to rebuild;
●The Premiership is pushing for the punishment to be announced before conclusion of City’s appeal early next year;
●Further punishment might include forcing current owners the Abu Dhabi United Group to sell the club with proceeds from the sale going towards community youth development projects
Several times over the weekend, the same refrain escaped from the lips of various football broadcasters and analysts, who suggested that the struggle for the Premier League title this season has already become a ‘two-horse race’.
The comfort of denial, especially in a multi-billion-pound industry, is a powerful coping mechanism. Maybe those broadcasters were talking about Arsenal and Brighton as the leading contenders for honours and, if that is the case, I apologise for my mistaken assumptions. Because if there is going to be a two-horse race for the title, neither of those horses should be carrying the colours of Manchester City.
City have indeed started the season in stunning form. Even by their own exalted recent standards, winning their opening seven league games, with Pep Guardiola gone and a new manager in Enzo Maresca at the helm, is an impressive feat. But it does not remove the shadow that hangs over the club. If anything, it lengthens it.
Perhaps it has been obscured by the wall of whataboutery, obfuscation and risible petro-state propaganda about a ‘red cartel’, but late last month, City were found guilty by an independent commission of the vast majority of 115 charges of financial wrongdoing levelled against them by the Premier League.
In any vaguely functional sports league, that would remove City from consideration for challenging for the title this season. Their punishment should have been handed down already and, given the scale of their cheating, that punishment would inevitably have taken them out of the race for the title.
The timeline of the case against City has been so tortuous and protracted that there is already uncertainty and pessimism about quite how long the rest of football will have to wait for the decision about what sanctions City will face and how long it will take to reach a judgment on the appeal they have launched.
It is unlikely, sources close to the process have told me, that City will face a doomsday scenario of being expelled from the Premier League and forced to start again in League Two at the beginning of next season.
Expulsion would plunge both the Premier League and the EFL into an unprecedented kind of chaos. It would be self-defeating.
It is thought that the Premier League are pressing for City’s punishment to be announced before the result of their appeal, which is unlikely to be decided before the end of January.
Soundings from insiders suggest the most likely punishment is a swingeing points deduction which will ensure City’s relegation to the Championship, plus a huge fine.
It is also possible that the punishment would include a further points deduction that would effectively confine City to the Championship for at least one more season. The EFL would not be obliged to accept that sanction for one of their clubs but it is probable that they would.
From there, City should be allowed to rebuild. The intransigence and arrogance of City’s owners have hardened opinion against them but they are already facing the kind of ignominy that will stain them for many years to come.
It is time for those imposing the punishment to try to find a solution that represents middle ground.
There is very little point in pursuing a Treaty of Versailles-type punishment.
The desire to humiliate the defeated might satisfy a base instinct but it does very little for the future well-being of the body politic. City must be punished, of course, but they must also be given a pathway towards rehabilitation.
Yes, there is a blood lust among some for City to be cast into the outer reaches of the football pyramid – Steven Gerrard, the former Liverpool captain, was candid in his hope that City be made to ‘suffer’ for what they have taken away from other teams and their supporters – but if that were done mid-season, it would effectively void this campaign.
If City were expelled from the Premier League, where would they play for the rest of the season? Would the club just be put into hibernation for six months? All their results preceding their expulsion would have to be made null and void. It would satisfy a desire for vengeance but at the cost of the wider health of the league.
It would also punish City’s supporters a disproportionate amount. This should not be about punishing City’s fans. It is about punishing the club’s ownership, which, the independent commission decided, was the author of the sustained period of cheating that gave City an unfair advantage over its rivals.
It is in that realm – and not in relegation to the Championship – that the most serious threat to the future of the club exists. Because, if City’s appeal fails, it is hard to see how a regime found guilty of such egregious deception could possibly be allowed to remain as custodians of the club.
If they did remain, it would fatally undermine the authority and purpose of the Independent Football Regulator. There is already some scepticism about quite how much power the regulator really wields.
If Sheikh Mansour and his cronies were allowed to continue, the credibility of its chairman, David Kogan, would be shot to pieces.
But then how do City survive without the Abu Dhabi United Group? How do they survive without the hundreds of millions in revenue that City now insist came directly from the Abu Dhabi government? Would another buyer step forward to rescue a club whose image has been so badly tainted?
The only clear answer to that is that the longer it takes to punish City, and the longer it takes for the result of their appeal to be decided, the more damage it does to a league paralysed by uncertainty and denial.
Thank you for your honesty. You're the first paid APC data boy I know who has publicly rejected the Giant of Africa nonsense.
You're absolutely right. All Sub Saharan African countries, including Africa's "giant" are underdeveloped and economically challenged 3rd world countries. They are all more or less on the same footing with the possible exception of South Africa.
But be that as it may, that still doesn't explain the sheer numbers when it comes to Nigerians living without electricity.
Nigeria with a population of 250 million has more people living without electricity than China and India.
Also, Singapore got it's independence in 1965. It has almost zero natural resources yet it has a higher GDP than Nigeria and has given 100% access to electricity for its population.
If you're honest, this should be a source of concern for you.
rossipki: It doesn't actually matter, because even if 80% of Nigerians have access to electricity, and you USE THAT DISHONEST OP's FORMAT of posting raw numbers instead of percentage access, we could still be "the worst" because the remaining 20% could be over 50 million people!
AT 62%, NIGERIA SUPPLIES ELECTRICITY TO MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY COUNTRY IN AFRICA, AT 150 MILLION AND RISING.
GO AND ASK BURUNDI WITH 14 MILLION PEOPLE WHY THEIR ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IS 11%.
GO AND ASK MALAWI WITH 22 MILLION PEOPLE WHY THEIR ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IS 15%.
GO AND ASK SOUTH SUDAN WITH 13 MILLION PEOPLE WHY THEIR ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IS 5%.
GO AND ASK SIERRA LEONE WITH 9 MILLION PEOPLE WHY THEIR ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IS 35%.
GO AND ASK D.R. CONGO WITH 117 MILLION PEOPLE WHY THEIR ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IS 22%.
GO AND ASK CHAD WITH 21 MILLION PEOPLE WHY THEIR ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IS 12%.
THOSE ARE THE REAL FAILING COUNTRIES. NOT NIGERIA.
NIGERIA IS DOING FAR BETTER THAN THEM, AND MANY OTHERS, BY PROVIDING POWER TO 62% OF ITS 250 MILLION PEOPLE.
AFTERALL WE ARE ALL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES THAT GAINED INDEPENDENCE IN THE 1960s.
IT IS DISHONEST AND DECEPTIVE TO USE OUR HIGH POPULATION TO MAKE OUT THAT WE ARE "THE WORST", SIMPLY BY POSTING RAW NUMBERS INSTEAD OF PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION WITH ACCESS.
BECAUSE THAT IGNORES THE PROGRESS MADE BY EACH COUNTRY IN COVERING THEIR POPULATION, WHILE ALLOWING THE FAILING COUNTRIES TO EVADE SCRUTINY, SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT AS POPULATED AS NIGERIA.
YOU CAN EQUALLY USE OUR PROVIDING POWER TO 150 MILLION PEOPLE AS EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE "THE BEST".
ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY PERCENTAGE FOR NIGERIA SITS AT EXACTLY 62%
If only 62% of a population of 250 million has access to electricity, then that means only 150 million Nigerians have access to electricity while 100 million do not.
So according to the World Atlas figures you cited, Nigeria's situation is even worse than the World Bank figures posted here.
The World Bank says 88 million Nigerians lack access to electricity; while according to you, it is closer to 100 million.
rossipki: THIS IS A HIGHLY DECEPTIVE, NONSENSICAL, SMEAR LIST.
THIS IS NOT HOW YOU MEASURE ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY PER COUNTRY.
YOU MEASURE IT BY PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION WITH ACCESS, NOT BY RAW POPULATION NUMBERS.
ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY PERCENTAGE FOR NIGERIA SITS AT EXACTLY 62%.
MEANING THAT ROUGHLY 160 MILLION NIGERIANS HAVE ELECTRICITY AND ARE CONNECTED TO THE GRID.
THE COUNTRIES WITH THE LOWEST ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY ARE COUNTRIES LIKE MALAWI, MALI, SUDAN, SIERRA LEONE, CONGO, SOMALIA, NIGER REPUBLIC, SOUTH SUDAN ETC, WITH ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY PERCENTAGE OF 9%, 11% , 12%, 14%, 25% ETC, ETC.
DESPITE BEING SMALL POPULATIONS OF 10 MILLION TO 35 MILLION ETC.
THESE ARE COUNTRIES WHERE YOU GO TO, AND THE ONLY PLACE YOU SEE LIGHT IS IN THEIR CAPITAL.
WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE GAIN FROM MANIPULATING FACTS TO SMEAR YOUR COUNTRY?
NOW SOMEBODY FROM SOUTH SUDAN OR MALAWI WITH ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY OF 11% WILL MOCK YOU AND SAY "YOU HAVE NO ELECTRICITY IN NIGERIA" DESPITE THE FACT THAT NIGERIA SUPPLIES ELECTRICITY TO 160 MILLION PEOPLE WHILE THEIR OWN COUNTRY SUPPLIES ELECTRICITY TO 11% OF THEIR 20 MILLION POPULATION.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY DESPICABLE.
Here's the Official list of Countries by Access to Electricity.
●While polygamy in the UK itself is illegal and punishable as a criminal offence, British law still recognises the validity of polygamous marriages celebrated in other jurisdictions where they are regarded as lawful;
●The new law would close a loophole affecting a handful of polygamous households which allows them to receive welfare benefits and also clarify the rules on overseas marriages between close relatives;
●Critics claim that the new law could disproportionately impact Muslim migrant communities who come from countries where polygamous marriages and marriages between first cousins are regarded as legitimate and lawful
Kemi Badenoch has backed a bill banning benefits payments for claimants in incestuous or polygamous marriages.
The draft legislation will be put in front of the Commons on Tuesday to close a loophole in the law that means extra spouses and married relatives can still claim some older benefits.
Extra spouses are not eligible to claim newer benefits such as universal credit, Britain’s main means-tested benefit, but they can still claim a select few so-called legacy benefits.
The rules allow an additional spouse to receive an extra £125.25 per week if they are claiming pension credit or housing benefit, based on Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rates. These rules are for families that started claiming the benefit before 1988, the year polygamy was no longer recognised by the benefits system. The Times understands that there are six polygamous households on these benefits.
Analysis by the Conservatives found that a household of one husband and four wives — three “additional” spouses — could claim a combined total of up to £1,504.40 a week by claiming the additional rate of both housing benefit and pension credit.
Kemi Badenoch supports plans to close the loophole
Draft legislation will be put before MPs in the form of a private member’s bill tabled by Richard Holden, the shadow transport secretary and MP for Basildon & Billericay.
It will also explicitly ban benefits payments for marriages between close relatives, such as an uncle and a niece or cousins. The Ministry of Justice has said only that these marriages are “unlikely to be recognised” but has not gone so far as to ban them entirely.
Holden said that families feeling the pinch of the cost of living should not be footing the bill for men with multiple wives. “It is outrageous and undermines people’s faith that the laws we pass are abided by,” he said. “My bill would end those additional-spouse provisions and put beyond doubt that overseas incestuous marriages, including uncle–niece and aunt–nephew marriages, have no place in our welfare system or society. Contracting a marriage abroad should never be a bypass route around the standards we uphold in Britain.”
Holden also urged Labour MPs to back his bill “or explain to hardworking taxpayers why they refuse to”.
The bill has already been backed by other Conservative frontbenchers, including Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, who announced her commitment to the policy in May.
The DWP said: “There are robust rules in place which means there is no financial benefit for polygamous households, to ensure fairness across our benefit system. Our immigration rules have generally prevented the formation of polygamous households in this country since 1988, and benefit support is only available where the marriage took place in a country where it is legal.
“We believe very few, if any, polygamous households claim pension credit, housing benefit or any benefit support.”
●Polls show that 66% of Albertans plan to vote to remain as part of Canada
●Many separatist voters want to pressure Ottawa rather than pursue independent nationhood
●Three-in-five Albertans believe the separation issue is not going away
Oil-rich Alberta was holding a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, a debate many believe will not be settled by what is widely expected to be a defeat for the separatist cause. Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Alberta voters oppose splitting from Canada. Economic grievances have fueled the independence campaign in the province, which is home to 5 million people and slightly smaller than Texas but with one-sixth of the US state's population.
The Alberta separatist movement adds to the pressures on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has made defending the country's sovereignty a central mission as he confronts US tariffs and President Donald Trump's repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state.
Many Alberta separatists believe the Liberal Party-led federal government in Ottawa has constrained the Conservative-governed province's oil industry through environmental policies, and that Alberta, the country's energy heartland, contributes more to Canada's economy than it receives in return.
"Canada has an imbalanced system which feeds the central population and government at the expense of the outlying producing provinces such as Alberta," said Cory Morgan, founder of a pro-separation advertising organization called Pathway to Independence.
Carney, who grew up in Alberta, spent much of the past week campaigning for the "stay" side, urging supporters to vote and appealing to national pride.
VOTING UNDERWAY
Polls had been scheduled to close at 8 p.m. MDT on Monday (0200 GMT on Tuesday) with results published as they arrive. Elections Alberta said some polling locations did not open on time and would remain open later to compensate, adding that unofficial results would not be released until after all polls closed. One Edmonton polling station's hours were extended until 10 p.m. MDT.
An Angus Reid poll released Friday showed 66% of Albertans plan to vote to remain in Canada, but three in five believe "there will never be an end to the separatist movement" in the province.
"This issue is not going away now. Because the separatists are mobilized. They've networked. They're connected," said Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt in Calgary.
While separatist sentiment has existed in the province for decades, Premier Danielle Smith is the first Alberta leader to put the question to voters. Smith, who has urged Albertans to remain in Canada, called the referendum after months of pressure from a small but vocal flank of her governing United Conservative Party.
If a majority votes in favor, Smith has said she would seek a binding referendum on separation.
"Separating, to my point of view, is completely ridiculous," said Ross Watson of Calgary after casting his ballot in favor of "remain" in an advance poll last week.
"I think the grievances that people have are completely unfounded. But I also think these people will probably never shut up."
SENDING A MESSAGE
Monday's referendum is the first time a vote on separation from the rest of Canada has been held in a province outside majority French-speaking Quebec, where separatist sentiment derives from language and cultural differences.
In Alberta, the issue is more about dollars than identity. Carney has appealed to national pride in arguing Alberta should remain part of Canada.
"Canada is not a transaction between provinces. It's not about gross and net, gives and gets," Carney said Friday in Red Deer, Alberta.
Partly to address the grievances that have driven separatist sentiment in Alberta, Carney has overturned some environmental policies and supported a proposed oil pipeline that would increase Alberta's exports to Asia.
Among the one-third of Albertans who would vote in favor of a future binding referendum on separation, 60% told pollsters their motivation was to "send a message" to Canada's federal government.
Only 37% of respondents to the Angus Reid poll said their motivation was an independent nation.
Separatist groups have published transition plans, but key questions about how independence would work on issues such as defence, currency and border controls remain unresolved.
Bratt said the real question is where the movement goes from here.
"Do they focus on generating support for a future referendum? Or do they splinter off and create their own party — a real, powerful separatist party?" Bratt said.
A disgraced HMP Wandsworth healthcare worker faces jail after admitting an illegal prison affair with a killer who used a smuggled phone behind bars.
A nurse employed at HMP Wandsworth has admitted engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a convicted killer serving a sentence inside the Category B men's prison.
Stephanie Adair, 29, pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to a single count of misconduct in a public office following a police investigation into her contact with inmate Jakhi Crosdale.
Adair, of Southwark, South London, acknowledged that she wilfully misconducted herself by maintaining the relationship between September 2023 and November 2024, utilizing Crosdale's illicit mobile phone to communicate while working as a healthcare staff member at the South London facility.
Appearing in the dock wearing a black blazer, Adair spoke only to confirm her identity and enter her guilty plea. Her co-defendant, 28-year-old Crosdale, appeared at the same hearing via video link from HMP Manchester, where he is currently detained on recall until 2029.
Crosdale pleaded guilty to a single charge of unauthorized transmission of image or sound by electronic communication from within a prison, relating to unlawful device usage across both HMP Wandsworth and HMP Lowdham Grange between February 2024 and October 2024.
Crosdale was previously convicted of manslaughter in March 2015 following the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Charlie Burns in South London, receiving a six-year custodial sentence.
He was subsequently handed a further one-year prison term in 2018 after pleading guilty to Class A drug supply offenses.
Following the entry of their formal guilty pleas, Judge Timothy Green granted both defendants unconditional bail and adjourned proceedings to Kingston Crown Court, where both Adair and Crosdale will be sentenced on February 9 2027.
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