A message from the Sports Minister to Alex Iwobi I vehemently denounce the cyberbullying of Alex Iwobi and all other athletes. They sacrifice much, if not all of themselves, to represent our country; the least we can do is show our support for them by speaking and acting with kindness and grace.

To Alex Iwobi, Be strong. You were a member of the squad that competed in AFCON 2023 and won a silver medal. We last took home a silver medal in AFCON 2000, which was twenty-three years ago. Cyberbullies have no power to dictate what the nation's leaders, or the rest of Nigerians, myself included, think of you. For the sake of the country, you contributed more than four days of your finest effort. We're proud of you. You have our admiration; keep on rising.

The late Herbert Wigwe, the global chief executive officer (GCEO) of Access Holdings Plc, had his parents visited by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the former group managing director of Access Bank. Prominent Nigerians who also paid a visit to the grieving parents in Abuja on Monday included Pat Utomi, the leader of the Labour Party (LP), Atedo Peterside, the founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Dapo Abiodun, the governor of Ogun, and Aliko Dangote, the chairman of the Dangote Group.

Involved in a helicopter crash in the United States on Saturday were Wigwe, his wife, son, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group). Though no survivors have been located to far, there were six people on board.

Minister Kemi Badenoch of the UK travels to Nigeria to establish commercial relations Kemi Badenoch Kemi Badenoch, the minister of business and trade for the United Kingdom (UK), is in Nigeria on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries. This was revealed in a statement released on Sunday by the UK Mission in Nigeria. Following the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Talks last week and the former Foreign Secretary's August 2023 visit to Nigeria, Minister Badenoch is anticipated to carry up existing efforts by both nations to strengthen economic relations and open up new business opportunities.

The Federal Government, State Governors, as well as investors and business executives from both Nigeria and Britain, will be met by Kemi Badenoch, a Nigerian-born man, and Helen Grant, the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Nigeria, during their visit. The statement claims that during the discussions, the minister would look at both existing and prospective trade and investment opportunities, ranging from energy and infrastructure projects to education, with the potential to generate thousands of employment. Minister Badenoch aims to enhance the cooperation between the United Kingdom and Nigeria, eliminate trade and investment obstacles, expand commerce between the two nations, and guarantee that Nigeria has more access to the City of London's facilitative role for global business.

"Nigeria is one of the UK's most important partners in Africa," stated Dr. Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, during her visit. We are dedicated to assisting Nigeria in opening up new investment possibilities, encouraging increased UK and foreign investment through the City of London, and ultimately generating employment in both of our nations. International investors are feeling more optimistic about Nigeria and its prospects for growth as a result of recent significant and daring changes implemented by the Central Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria. On February 7, 2023, the Rt. Hon. Kemi Badenoch MP was named Secretary of State for the Department of Business and Trade.

She continues to serve as the Minister for Women and Equalities for the Equality Hub, a position she was assigned to on October 25, 2022, as well as the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade, positions she was appointed to on September 6, 2022.

Two individuals close to Herbert Wigwe's team confirmed his death to Semafor Africa on Friday night in a California helicopter crash. Wigwe was the chief executive of Access Holdings, a Nigerian company that owns Access Bank, one of the biggest banking companies in Africa. Along with two other victims of the crash were his wife, kid, and a former group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange, which runs the nation's primary stock exchange. Not a single person survived.

The New York Times said today that the helicopter, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States recognized as a Eurocopter EC130, went down close to the California–Nevada border. According to the Times, the incident is being looked at by the FAA and the US transportation safety body. The collision happened around sixty miles from Las Vegas. He was due to attend this weekend's Super Bowl American football game, which is taking place in Las Vegas on Sunday, according to a source close to the Wigwe team.

There are concerns that the price of a chocolate bar may increase as cocoa prices have reached a record high. This widely used commodity's price has increased by more than 40% in the past month alone, from £3,443 on January 9 to £4,909 per metric tonne on Friday. The price on London's ICE market surged by over 5% on Friday alone. Prices for cocoa were around £1,904 a year ago. Cadbury's issued a warning last month that it would need to implement "carefully considered price increases". They stated: "Making changes to the price of our products is always a last resort, however, costs across our supply chain have risen steeply."

The company stated: "Core ingredients we heavily rely on, like cocoa and sugar are a lot more expensive, while the cost of energy, packaging, and transport also remain high." They went on to say: "As a result, we are having to make some carefully considered price increases across our range so we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love without compromising on taste or quality." In other developments, Nestle declared earlier this week that declining sales had forced it to stop producing Yorkie and Breakaway biscuit bars. US manufacturer Hershey's announced on Thursday that it would need to make cost reductions of $300 million (£238 million) and issued a warning that it would not meet market expectations.

The CEO of the Hershey Company, Michele Buck, has issued a warning, stating that rising cocoa costs may force chocolate prices to increase. According to a Which? analysis from the previous year, the price of holiday chocolate boxes had increased by at least 50%. By the end of the previous year, chocolate was increasing in price in supermarkets almost twice as quickly as other food and beverages. In September of last year, a startling discovery surfaced: Galaxy had lowered the weight of their Smooth Milk bar from 110g to 100g, yet the cost had increased at Tesco from 99p to £1.25. On Tesco's website, a 110g Galaxy bar cost £1.35 as of Friday.

The top five players in line to get the first-ever blue card in Premier League history are these five individuals. Since the 1970 World Cup, referees have been able to issue red and yellow cards, but it appears that they may soon be able to use a new color. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has authorized the introduction of a blue card as part of a trial for sin-bins, according to The Telegraph.

Under the new policy, a player will receive a blue card and be sidelined for ten minutes if they commit a cynical foul or display disapproval towards an official. A player may be dealt a red card if they are dealt two blue cards or a combination of yellow and blue cards.

According to the Telegraph, "Top-tier competitions will be excluded from initial testing in the professional game in case the protocols require further refinement, but elite trials could still begin as soon as the summer." Aleksandr Ceferin, the outgoing head of UEFA, expressed his disapproval of sin bins to the Telegraph, stating that "football is no longer football." They won't be utilized by us in UEFA competitions."

As the Super Eagles advance to the AFCON final, Bukayo Saka, Dominic Solanke, and other players of Nigerian heritage extend their congratulations.

Bukayo Saka of Arsenal shared a photo on his Instagram account of himself supporting the Nigerian Super Eagles during the penalty shootout in their semi-final encounter against Bafana Bafana.

                                                                                                 Fikayo Tomori

Joshua Zirkzee, a striker for Bayern Munich on loan who represents the Netherlands but whose mother is from Nigeria, as well as Manuel Akanji of Manchester City, and Noni Madueke, an England U-23 international, were also supported.

Dominic Solanke, a former player for Liverpool and currently playing for Bournemouth, also took part in the festivities. Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori, two former Chelsea players, pushed the Super Eagles to defeat Ivory Coast in the championship game.

Nigeria scored four of their five spot penalties in the penalty shootout, with Stanley Nwabali emerging as the winner. After stopping two spot kicks to advance Nigeria to the championship, the Chippa United goalie made history.

Following the Super Eagles' valiant victory against South Africa in the AFCON 2023 semi-final, several footballers of Nigerian ancestry have applauded the team.

The AFCON 2023 tournament final between Nigeria and Ivory Coast will take place at the Stade Olympique Allasane Ouattara on Sunday.

William Troost-Ekong, the team captain, broke the scoreless draw in the second half. Following Teboho Mokoena's foul on Victor Osimhen, Jose Peseiro's team was awarded a penalty, which Ekong converted. Mokoena then scored at the other end following a foul by Alhassan Yusuf of Nigeria, which resulted in a penalty for Hugo Broos's team.

edWith five goals in two games, Chelsea forward Lauren James was awarded the Barclays Women's Super League Player of the Month for November, helping the team maintain its undefeated start. Thanks to a hectic fixture calendar, we completed six games in November on both the domestic and European fronts. We also won four consecutive league games, which puts us in first place with a three-point lead before we resume WSL play following the international break.

 We started the month with a brutal 6-0 road win against Aston Villa, and the next week we won 3-0 away at Everton. We defeated Liverpool 5-1 at Stamford Bridge and then defeated Leicester City 5-2 at Kingsmeadow to end the month, and the goals kept coming.

Our recipient of the accolade excelled when playing against Leicester and Liverpool. In addition to scoring her maiden WSL hat-trick against Liverpool, James set the Bridge on fire by setting up Aggie Beever-Jones' goal in front of the Shed End. One week later, she scored twice in our exciting triumph against Leicester City at Kingsmeadow. Her goal total for the month now stands at five goals in two league games. This enabled us to secure three crucial points, preserving our unblemished start to the season.

During almost two hours of oral arguments on Thursday, the US Supreme Court showed doubt about a Colorado ruling that removed Donald Trump from the state's primary ballot. It is likely to decide that Trump's eligibility to run for president is not restricted by the Constitution. The issue puts the court in the middle of a contentious election and is arguably the most significant legal disagreement to reach the court this century. The majority of justices expressed worry about the mayhem that would result if they gave states the authority to determine whether to remove candidates from the ballot, including several of the court's liberal members. What actions do you take in response to the obvious and significant ramifications of your position?

Chief Justice John Roberts questioned Colorado voter attorney Jason Murray, "If Colorado's position is upheld, surely there will be disqualification proceedings on the other side and some of those will succeed." "I anticipate that a significant portion of states will declare that the Democratic nominee is ineligible, while others will declare the Republican candidate ineligible. A small number of states will ultimately determine the outcome of the presidential election. That's an intimidating outcome, Roberts continued. Two of the court's liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, repeated Roberts' line of inquiry.

Kagan told Murray that although the constitution gives states a great deal of jurisdiction, there are some national issues for which states are not "responsible of authority." She questioned, "What business does a state have determining who other people can vote for as president? The case, Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson et al., started when six Colorado voters sued last year, claiming that Trump was not qualified to run for president due to a seldom utilized 14th Amendment clause. According to the clause, any official or member of Congress who swears allegiance to the US Constitution and then starts an insurrection is unable to continue in their position. The prohibition may only be lifted by a two-thirds majority vote.

Judge Sarah Wallace's decision, which is almost guaranteed to be challenged, dismisses a motion by a group of Colorado voters to remove Trump from office based on a seldom applied US constitutional provision that prohibits politicians who have participated in "insurrection" from holding federal office.

The judge determined that Trump could not be disqualified under the amendment since he was president and not "an officer of the United States." Trump, who is facing other similar challenges to his election, sees the ruling as a triumph. The decision is "another nail in the coffin of the un-American ballot challenges," according to a Trump spokeswoman on Friday.

Steven Cheung, the spokesperson, stated in a statement that "American voters have a Constitutional right to vote for the candidate of their choosing, with President Donald J. Trump leading by massive numbers." Trump's "conduct and words were the factual cause of and a substantial contributing factor" to the attack on the Capitol, the court decided despite this. Trump "engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, through incitement," according to her findings.

The Colorado case was the first to go to trial and was seen as a test case for the larger disqualification campaign. It was launched by a group of voters supported by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew). According to Noah Bookbinder, president of Crew, the organization will appeal the decision. Bookbinder released a statement saying, "The court's decision affirms what our clients alleged in this lawsuit: that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection based on his role on January 6."

Voter advocacy attorneys contended that after losing the 2020 presidential election, Trump instigated an uprising by disseminating fictitious allegations of massive voter fraud, calling his followers to a rally in Washington, D.C., and then pushing them to march to the US Capitol, where Congress was convening to validate the election results. Then, in an abortive attempt to block the certification, thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, attacking law enforcement and sending senators fleeing for their lives.

Trump's attorneys argued that the former president's comments before the riot were protected by his right to free expression and that he had no connection to the far-right extremist organizations that were heavily involved in the attack. Only the Colorado Republican presidential primary and general election are covered by the judgment. Nonpartisan political analysts have given the state a safe Democratic rating for the general election.

The ruling is the most recent blow to the attempt to remove Trump from office. Although attempts to remove him from the Republican primary ballot have been dismissed by courts in Minnesota and Michigan, they have not yet decided his eligibility for the general election in November 2024. The Colorado ruling may be challenged before the state supreme court and, ultimately, the US supreme court, which has three Trump appointees in its 6-3 conservative majority.

Following a close semifinal match that lasted the whole distance against South Africa, Nigeria advanced to the Africa Cup of Nations final on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, Nigeria advanced to the finals when Victor Osimhen's thrilling winner was nullified by VAR, who instead gave South Africa a penalty. Kelechi Iheanacho then maintained his composure to send the Super Eagles to the Nigeria AFCON final immediately. Africa 2023 South Africa vs Nigeria Nigeria Africa The semifinal match versus South Africa was intense and required extra time.

Nigeria's Troost-Ekong penalty gave them the lead, while Mokoena's spot-kick gave South Africa an equalizer. Iheanacho scores a crucial penalty, while Nwabali shines in goal. Victor Osimhen made a serious threat to skip Wednesday's crucial encounter, and Nigerian supporters were horrified to see him clutching his stomach so early in the game.

However, the talisman for Napoli decided he was well enough to go on and impressed in the second half. The African Player of the Year made many head-touch saves before confusing the Bafana Bafana defenders with his feet. Specifically, Osimhen was clattered by Mothobi Mvala, who was unable to keep up with his pace, which resulted in a clear penalty.

Captain William Troost-Ekong stepped up, much like he did against Ivory Coast, and slid his spot kick beneath the diving Ronwen Williams. Osimhen believed a late tap-in would cap off his excellent display, but a VAR check created unbelievable drama in Buake.

After a careless challenge by replacement Alhassan Yusuf, South Africa was given a penalty kick, negating the strike of the Napoli star. Teboho Mokoena duly despatched and set up some nerve-wracking last moments for Nigeria, who managed to hold on before the full duration of extra time. After yet another VAR check, Grant Kekana was sent off late for South Africa; penalties were eventually required to separate the two teams. Stanley Nwabali was outstanding in goal to take the Super Eagles through, while Kelechi Iheanacho was the hero.