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  Spain’s players celebrate after winning the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women’s World Cup final football match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on August 20, 2023.    Spain’s world champions and their Swedish opponents on Friday held up a banner with the slogan “It’s over” in protest over the sexism scandal which has engulfed the Spanish football federation. Spain won the Nations League clash in Gothenburg 3-2 when Mariona Caldentey converted a penalty six minutes into added time. The pre-match protest came as the Spain team returned to action for the first time since lifting the World Cup where former federation chief Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips. The 22 players held up the banner bearing the Spanish phrase “Se Acabo” (“It’s over”) adding that the struggle of the players against chauvinism and sexual assault was “the global fight” for equality between men and women. Just before kick-off in Friday’s Nations League game...

    In this file photo, Tottenham Hotspur’s Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur runs with the ball during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium in London on October 1, 2022.  Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou said Sunday’s north London derby at Arsenal will be a “great test” of his side’s flying start to the season. Postecoglou’s unbeaten team sit second in the Premier League, two places above Arsenal, after winning four of their first five games. Tottenham’s campaign opened with low expectations following Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich and concerns that former Celtic manager Postecoglou would struggle to adapt to the Premier League. But the Australian has defied those fears so far, producing a free-scoring team, with 13 goals in five league games, that serves as a welcome tonic to the dour reign of predecessor Antonio Conte. A first league victory at Arsenal since 2010 would serve as another significa...

  The organisers of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), on Thursday, announced the nominees for the 19th edition of the continental awards ceremony. AMAA Awards 2023 The 2023 Awards will feature 26 categories, including that of the Best Nigerian Film, where top movies like Gangs of Lagos, Brotherhood, Anikulapo, Mami Wata, 4-4-44 (Four Four Forty-Four), L.I.F.E and The Trade have been nominated. AMAA 2023 Nomination List 1. Efere Ozako Award for Best Short Film • Lions – Ethiopia • Riel – Namibia • Enmity Djin – Mauritania 2. Jubril Malaifia Award for Best Animation • Lost – Uganda • Azania Rises – South Africa • Jabari – Ghana • Bashorum Gaa – Nigeria 3. Best Documentary • Africa Cradle of Humanity and Modern CivilizaHon – Senegal/Canada • Nightlife in Lasgidi – Nigeria • Maayo Wonaa Keerol – The River is not a Border – Senegal • Ifine (Beauty) – Sierra Leone • LeSpectre de Boko Haram – Cameron 4. Ousmane Sembene Award for Best Film in an African Language • Pusha Pressa Phanda...

Liverpool fell behind for the fourth time in five matches this season but fought back to beat LASK 3-1 in Linz in the Europa League on Thursday. Elsewhere in the early matches in the first round of the group stage of the second-tier European competition, Romelu Lukaku earned last year’s beaten finalists Roma a 2-1 victory at Sheriff. Bayer Leverkusen crushed Swedes Hacken 4-0, Rennes cruised past Maccabi Haifa 3-0 in France, Spaniards Villarreal lost 2-0 to Panathinakos in Greece. Liverpool, playing in the Europa League for the first time since finishing runners up in 2016, changed their entire starting 11 away to LASK and quickly fell behind. In the 14th minute, Sascha Horvath lobbed a corner to Florian Flecker just outside the Liverpool box. The Austrian midfielder controlled the dropping ball before smashing a rocket shot past Caoimhin Kelleher in the Liverpool goal. Darwin Nunez levelled with a 55th-minute penalty kick after Luis Diaz was brought down. After 61 minutes, Liverpool c...

  Burna Boy has become the first international Afrobeats artist to secure a number one album in Britain with “I Told Them…”, the UK’s Official Charts Company said on Friday. Photo of Burna Boy  The 32-year-old also known as Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, shot straight to the top spot in the British charts with his fifth full-length release. He had come close to earning the accolade with last year’s “Love, Damini”, which climbed to second in the UK album rankings. Homegrown British talents making Afrobeats music, such as J Hus, have enjoyed chart-topping success but Burna Boy is the first foreign artist to do so. The feat marks the continued rise of the Afrobeats genre in Britain and around the world, as artists like Wizkid and Davido also enjoy mainstream success and increasingly shape segments of popular culture. Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, paid tribute to Burna Boy for “blazing the trail” and landing a “fantastic achievement”. “British music fans ...

  Didn’t score tickets for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour? Never fear — the culturally defining juggernaut will hit movie theaters with a concert film released on October 13. “The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon,” Swift said on social media Thursday. “Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged.” The giant AMC movie chain is vowing that each of its theaters across the United States will play the film at least four times a day on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are on sale now. The company said it had upgraded its website and ticketing services to “handle more than five times the largest influx of ticket-buying traffic the Company has ever experienced before.” “But AMC is also aware that no ticketing system in history seems to have been able to accommodate the soaring demand from Taylor Swift fans,” the statement added, warning ...

Jack Sonni, known as “the other guitarist” in the British rock group Dire Straits led by Mark Knopfler, has died aged 68, the band announced. The group, famous for classic hits such as “Sultans of Swing” and “Money for Nothing,” posted the news on social media and its website. Sonni died on Wednesday at the age of 68, the band said, “and leaves behind a legacy of musical excellence.” Born John Thomas Sonni in the US state of Pennsylvania in 1954, he was working at Rudy’s Music Shop in New York when he met Knopfler and his brother David in the late 70s, just after they founded Dire Straits. Sonni joined the band in 1984, while it was recording its album “Brothers in Arms,” replacing guitarist Hal Lindes. On the hit album — which helped popularize the CD as a musical format — was the song “Money for Nothing,” which became the group’s biggest commercial success and was broadcast on loop on the MTV television station. Sonni played on Dire Strait’s subsequent world tour, as well as at the f...

  Manchester United winger Antony was dropped from Brazil’s squad for upcoming World Cup qualifying games on Monday following allegations of assault made against him by an ex-girlfriend.   The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said in a statement that Antony had been stood down in order to “preserve the alleged victim, the player, the Brazil team and the CBF.” Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus will replace Antony in the squad for the games against Bolivia on September 8 and Peru on September 12. Antony, 23, on Monday denied physically assaulting ex-girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin in a statement on Instagram, stating he was the “victim of false accusations.” “I can calmly affirm that the accusations are false, and that evidence already produced and that will be produced will show that I am innocent,” Antony said. The denial came after Brazilian press reports published WhatsApp messages reputedly between Antony and Cavallin in which the player allegedly threatens his ex-partner. I...

  The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday $4.5 billion in clean energy investments in Africa during a landmark climate summit hosted by Kenya that is aimed at attracting funding for efforts to combat global warming. “We will deploy $4.5 billion… to jumpstart a pipeline of bankable clean energy projects in this very important continent,” said Sultan Al Jaber, who heads the government-owned renewable energy firm Masdar, the UAE’s national oil company ADNOC and the COP28 climate talks. Heads of state, and government and industry leaders, are among thousands of attendees at the Nairobi summit where Africa is promoting its potential as a clean energy powerhouse. The Africa Climate Summit will be followed by the COP28 summit later this year in Dubai, which is expected to feature competing agendas for the world’s energy future. “If Africa loses, we all lose,” warned Jaber, who is also the UAE’s minister for industry and advanced technology. He said the investment aimed “to develop...

Inter Miami delivered the most  win of their Lionel Messi era, 3-1 over Major League Soccer champions Los Angeles FC on Sunday, with two assists from the Argentine boosting their playoff hopes. Goals from Argentine forward Facundo Farias, Spanish full-back Jordi Alba and substitute Leonardo Campana of Ecuador earned Miami a statement victory that moves them within nine points of the playoff places with nine games remaining. Messi’s first MLS appearance in Los Angeles, attracted a capacity crowd, swollen by a host of A-List celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Selena Gomez and Prince Harry. But the home fans left frustrated as last year’s MLS Cup winners wasted a series of chances.   French-born Gabon international Denis Bouanga had the first opportunity, bursting goalwards but with Mexican Carlos Vela unmarked to his right, unwisely chose to shoot and his effort was blocked — to the fury of his teammate. Bouanga had another great chance in the 11th minute after a fine thro...

  The National Union Of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, NUBIFIE, today, has issued a statement that says all banks will be shut down on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th September 2023. According to the statement, the notice is in line with the Nigeria Labour Congress’ resolution to a two days strike action, which was made after the National Executive council meeting (NEC) that happened on Thursday, 31 August 2023. “In line with the communique issued after the meeting of National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) held on Thursday 31 August2023 that all affiliates should direct all its members to commence two days withdrawal of services from Tuesday & Wednesday the 5 & 6 September2023 “The directive is imperative to get the needed attention of the government and warn it off its new found love of meddling in the internal affairs of unions rather than address the punishing economic circumstances we find ourselves in. “We hereby dir...