DITECH PLANET

  Reinier Jesus Real Madrid have released Brazilian midfielder Reinier Jesus on loan to Borussia Dortmund. The Spanish champions announced today that an agreement has been reached with Dortmund over the loan deal. The 18 year-old Jesus will spend the next two seasons, until 30 June 2022 at the German club. Reinier was born on 19 January in Brasília.He is the son of former futsal player Mauro Brasília. Reinier was playing for Flamengo, when Real Madrid bought him for €30million in January this year. He has a contract until June 2026 with Madrid.

  Foreign Affairs Minister of Norway Ine Eriksen Soreide: Russian diplomat expelled Norway’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said it had decided to expel a Russian diplomat following the recent arrest in Oslo of a Norwegian citizen suspected of espionage. Norwegian police on Monday said the Norwegian man was suspected of illegally handing information to a Russian intelligence officer. The diplomat, who was not named, worked at the trade section of the Russian embassy in Oslo, Norwegian foreign ministry spokeswoman Trude Maaseide told reporters. “He has engaged in actions that are incompatible with his role and status as a diplomat,” Maaseide said.Risk management and quality assurance consultancy DNV GL late on Tuesday said the Norwegian suspect worked at its oil and gas unit, specialising in 3D printing and materials technology.

  Ronald Koeman: new Barcelona coach Barcelona announced on Wednesday that Ronald Koeman is the club’s new manager. Koeman, who takes over from Quique Setien who was fired at the start of the week, signed a two-year contract at Camp Nou till 30 June 2022.” A statement from Barcelona read: “FC Barcelona and Ronald Koeman have reached an agreement for the Dutchman to take over as the first-team coach until 30 June 2022.”The Dutchman, who left his job with the Netherlands national team, will be officially unveiled this evening at 6 pm. The 57-year-old is the latest change in a busy week for Barca. The club also announced on Wednesday that Ramon Planes is the club’s new technical director. Planes takes over from Eric Abidal who followed Setien out of the exit door.

  The Mali military junta promises a transition programme and elections in a reasonable time. Colonel Ismael Wague, centre, announces By Abankula The junta who ousted Mali’s elected president and government in a military coup promised on Wednesday to restore stability and oversee a transition to elections within a “reasonable” time. It also announced the closure of Mali’s air and land borders and imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. until further notice. At gunpoint, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned and dissolved parliament late on Tuesday hours after the mutineers detained him, plunging a country already facing a jihadist insurgency and mass protests deeper into crisis.It was still not clear early on Wednesday who was leading the revolt and who will become the head of state. Several colonels have been mentioned as  coup leaders . But a spokesman for the mutineers, calling themselves patriotic forces of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, said they acted

  President Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari is presiding over the 13th weekly virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja. The meeting, which took off at exactly 10 am with the entrance of the President into the Executive Council Chambers, is also being attended b Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Six Ministers are physically present, including Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Abubakar Malami; the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fasola; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello.

Abdulrahman Bashir Abdulrahman Bashir, the Chief Executive Officer of Rahamaniyya Oil and Gas Limited has been jailed in the United Kingdom. Justice Butcher of England and Wales High Court sentenced the Nigerian oil mogul after he was found guilty of breaching multiple orders of the court in a pending suit instituted by Sahara Energy Resources Ltd. Bashir who was handed a 10 months jail sentence, had been ordered to comply with requests for the release of 6,400.69 metric tonnes gas oil to Sahara Energy Resource Ltd or its agent from Rahamaniyya Oil and Gas Ltd, Jetty 6.436181, Ibafon, Kirikiri Waterfront, of Aero Maritime Street, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria (“the Terminal”). This was in line with the deal Ultimate Oil and Gas, the trading arm of Rahamaniyya Oil in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), entered into a deal with Sahara Energy in 2018.In the signed contract, Ultimate agreed to buy, and Sahara agreed to sell 15,000 metric tonnes in the Vacuum of Gas Oil. A Collateral Managem

  Josep Maria Bartomeu Barcelona president, Josep Bartomeu, has named the players that the club looks to rebuild its squad. The LaLiga giants are ready to offload a number of senior players, following a dismal season that culminated in 8-2 thrashing against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. However, in a lengthy interview with Barcelona TV, the under-pressure Bartomeu listed squad members like Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, and Antoine Griezmann. Bartomeu, who has refused to resign from his position, said: “Messi is untouchable and non-transferable. He knows it, we all know it.“But there are various non-transferable players like (Marc Andre) Ter Stegen, (Clement) Lenglet, (Nelson) Semedo, (Frenkie) De Jong, (Antoine) Griezmann, (Ousmane) Dembele. Players we are counting on in the future.” He also named Ansu Fati, 17, as another who will be part of the future at Barca. “We have had (offers) for Ansu Fati, for example. But Barca does not want to sell players,

  Thiago Silva Thiago Silva has confirmed that the Champions League Final on Sunday will be his last match for Paris Saint-Germain. Silva stated this while speaking to RMC, following their 3-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night. Marquinhos, Angel Di Maria and Bernat all scored, as the Ligue 1 champions qualified for their first-ever final. When asked about the match against Leipzig and his plan to exit PSG, Thiago Silva said; “There were difficult moments. But today we have deserved to reach the final. “It’s historic but it’s not finished. For now, yes Sunday is my last match. It’s very important. PSG are now set to face the winner of the encounter between Bayern Munich or Lyon. Pm news

  Oshiomhole and buhari The recent visit to the Presidential Villa by the immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was to ask President Muhammadu Buhari for the presence of federal might in Edo State during the September 19 governorship election. Olusegun Bamgbose, Esq., National Coordinator, Concerned Advocates for Good Governance, CAGG, stated this on Tuesday in a chat with Daily Post. According to Bamgbose, Oshiohmole is on a do or die mission in the election scheduled for September 19 in Edo. Adams Oshiomhole who met Muhammadu Buhari on Monday had said he went to brief the president on what is happening in Edo state. Oshiomhole said: “I briefed him on what is happening. You know his attitude is always clear about the Nigerian electorate, that their rights must always be respected. “Anybody using unlawful weapons, violence to intimidate the electorate, the president will never support such causes. And on that, we are together.” Oshiomhole added that he

  President Trump U.S. President Donald Trump will use the White House to deliver a partisan political speech to the Republican National Convention next week. Trump will be formally nominated by the party next week and is due to give his acceptance speech at the end of the four-day convention, which is taking place mostly online due to the coronavirus pandemic. During a visit to Arizona, Trump confirmed he will make the speech from the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday. He also pledged to give the speech live, mocking Michelle Obama, the former first lady, who reportedly had pre-recorded her speech well in advance of its broadcast on Monday to the Democratic convention.The move to hold the speech from the White House is unconventional and does not have a precedent in the television era. White House legal advisers have approved the speech, noting the laws that prohibit politics in the executive branch do not generally apply to the president himself. Trump has been using official

  Joe Biden: accepts Democratic nomination for president Joe Biden has accepted the Democratic nomination as their presidential candidate in the November election. Biden’s nomination came on the second night of the party’s virtual National Convention under the theme, “Leadership Matters”. His emergence followed the announcement of votes by party delegates from across the country via video messages. The candidate immediately took to Twitter to accept his nomination, saying “It is the honor of my life to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States of America.”Former President Barack Obama responded to the tweet with a congratulatory message. “I’m proud of you,’’ wrote Obama, under whom Biden served as Vice President between 2009 and 2017. In a keynote address that wrapped up the night, Biden’s wife, Jill, underscored her husband’s humanity, love, understanding and character. Speaking from Delaware, Biden’s home state, Jill said his purpose had always prope

  File Photo: Members of Civil Protection check an apartment building damaged by an earthquake An earthquake measuring 6.8 magnitudes rocked Indonesia’s western Bengkulu province on Wednesday. However, no damages or casualty was reported, a disaster agency official said. The quake struck at 5.29 a.m. Jakarta time with the epicenter at 78 kilometers southwest of Bangkulu Utara district and a depth of 11 kilometers under the sea bed, the country’s meteorology and geophysics agency (BMKG) said. The intensity of the quake was felt at IV MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) in Kepahiyang district of the province, II MMI in Liwa, the capital of West Lampung district of Lampung province, II MMI in Padang, the provincial capital of West Sumatra, Painan town and Mentawai islands district of the province.The meteorology and geophysics agency did not issue a warning for tsunami. In the hardest-hit district of Kepahiyang, the tremors did not trigger damages or panic among the residents, Head of Emerg

  Joe Biden: formally nominated as Democrats presidential candidate U.S. Democrats at their virtual national convention formally nominated Joe Biden on Tuesday as their presidential candidate in the November election. Delegates from around the country cast votes remotely to confirm Biden as the nominee. Biden won over 3,000 votes, surpassing the required 2,374 delegates needed to formally become the nominee.He is expected to formally accept the nomination in a speech Thursday. The nomination came in the wake of speeches by former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, who argued that Joe Biden has the experience and integrity to restore a pandemic-devastated America, The convention’s second night, under the theme “Leadership Matters,” aimed to make the case that Biden would represent a return to normalcy after the “chaos” of Republican President Donald Trump’s administration, as Clinton put it. “At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command centre,” he said in a prer

  Coup in Mali: Boubacar Keita announces resignation on State TV President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta has resigned. He announced this in a televised address on Tuesday, as the coup in Mali unravelled. He also dissolved the parliament and the government headed by Prime Minister Boubou Cisse. The turn of events followed a mutiny on Tuesday by soldiers, who later arrested him and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, in what transformed into a coup d’etat. Bye Bye Keita says a placard in Bamako on Tuesday “I want no blood to be spilled to keep me in power,” Keita said. Keita resigned after he and Cissé were taken to Kati military camp, the staging post of the mutinous soldiers. The coup capped days of protests by Malians, dissatisfied with corruption and the Keita’s poor record in fighting Jihadists. The Keita won re-election in 2018. The opposition coalition against him was led by the conservative Imam, Mahmoud Dicko. He rejected concessions from Mr Keïta, including the formation of a unity governmen

  ASUU President Professor Biodun Ogunyemi: gives condition for resumption of talks By Gami Tadanyigbe/Abuja The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the Federal Government to pay the withheld salaries of its members to pave way for further discussions on the outstanding issues of 2019 Memorandum of Action. The President of the association, Mr Biodun Ogunyemi, made the call at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday. Ogunyemi said five months salaries of ASUU members in some universities were still withheld by the Accountant General of the Federation on account of non-registration on IPPIS.According to him, thousands of other academics across the universities are suffering the same fate which is not in the interest of the educational sector in the country. “We counsel that the government at both the Federal and state levels to meet the Taskforce specified guidelines for re-opening of educational institutions. “We insist that all the arrears of the withheld salaries o

  The Nigerian boy abused by his aunt By Okafor Ofiebor A starving eight-year-old Nigerian boy has been rescued from his aunt following serial torture, after he ate groundnuts worth N50, about $0.10 cent, without authorisation. The unidentified lady got so annoyed that she decided to scar the child’s body with a hot iron, leaving life-long scars. The incident happened at Anantigha, Calabar South, on Sunday August 16, after the woman, who serves as guardian to the boy and his two siblings returned from Sunday service, only to discover that the groundnut she left at home was gone.She reportedly confronted the boy about the missing groundnut. When the boy confirmed he ate it, she then plugged an electric iron and used it to burn the boy’s back . She also denied him food for the day. The human rights group who rescued the boy, said it also found older scars on the boy’s body and fingers, a sign that his aunty has been abusing him for a very long time. The boy and his other siblings have be

  Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has reacted to the unfolding military mutiny in Mali and called for the restoration of constitutional order and rule of law in the country. Gueterres in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr Stephane Dujarric, in New York on Tuesday, frowned at the development, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and members of his cabinet. The statement said: “The Secretary-General is following with deep concern the unfolding developments in Mali, including the military mutiny which culminated in the arrest of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and members of his Government earlier today in Bamako. “The Secretary-General strongly condemns these actions and calls for the immediate restoration of constitutional order and rule of law in Mali.“To this end, he demands the immediate and unconditional release of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and members of h