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Spain’s Rafael Nadal. Rafael Nadal goes for a 10th French Open title on Sunday when he faces Stan Wawrinka in the final at Roland Garros. AFP Sport looks back at the Spaniard’s nine finals in Paris: 2005: bt Mariano Puerta (ARG) 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 — At just 19, Nadal became the youngest winner of a Grand Slam title since Michael Chang won at Roland Garros in 1989 at 17. He was the first man since Mats Wilander in 1982 to win the French Open on his debut. Puerta was to later fail a drugs test and handed an eight-year ban, eventually reduced to two years. 2006: bt Roger Federer (SUI) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 — Nadal became the first man to beat Federer in a Slam final, ending the Swiss star’s hopes of holding all four majors at the same time. It was Nadal’s 60th win in a row on clay. 2007: bt Roger Federer (SUI) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 — The 21-year-old Nadal became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to wi...

  Traders work on the trading floor of ETX Capital in London on June 9, 2017, as markets open the day after Britain held a general election, in which the ruling Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority. With Brexit talks due to begin in just over a week, Britain’s shock election results may soften the government’s strategy — if there is even a government formed to negotiate in Brussels by then. The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader will be unable to form a government and could even be forced out of office after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two terror attacks The pound plunged two percent Friday as Prime Minister Theresa May lost her majority in Britain’s general election, fuelling political uncertainty just days before the start of Brexit talks. May had called the snap vote in a bid to boost her party’s hold over Westminster and give her a stronger hand in talks with EU leaders over the country’s detachment from the bloc. ...

Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko celebrates with her trophy after winning her final tennis match against Romania’s Simona Halep at the Roland Garros 2017 French Open on June 10, 2017 in Paris. Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko stunned third seed Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to win her maiden Grand Slam title and become the lowest-ranked champion in French Open history. Ostapenko, 20, is the first unseeded player to lift the Roland Garros title in the Open era and the first Latvian major champion in history. She is the youngest French Open winner since Iva Majoli in 1997 and the first player to win a debut tour-level title at a Slam since Gustavo Kuerten in Paris that same year. For Halep, bidding to join compatriots Ilie Nastase and Virginia Ruzici as major winners, it was a second final defeat in four years at Roland Garros. The 25-year-old would have replaced Angelique Kerber as world number one with victory, but Halep was overpowered as Ostapenko blasted 54 ...

The killings have bred fierce mistrust between local and foreign forces even as the rate of such incidents has dropped in recent years. An Afghan commando Saturday killed two American soldiers and wounded two others during a joint operation in eastern Nangarhar province, a stronghold of Islamic State militants, an official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the insider attack in the volatile district of Achin, saying it was carried out by an infiltrator. “Today around noon an Afghan commando opened fire on US troops in Achin district, killing two American soldiers,” provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP. “The (Afghan) soldier was also killed in the return fire.” NATO forces in Kabul declined to immediately comment on the killings. “We are aware of an incident in eastern Afghanistan,” the US-led military coalition said in a brief statement. “We will release more information when appropriate.” So-called “green-on-blue” attacks — when A...

US President Donald Trump (C-L) and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. Saudi Arabia and its allies Saturday welcomed an accusation by President Donald Trump that Qatar was bankrolling extremism but ignored a separate US call for them to ease their economic blockade. Trump’s comments came as Washington joins intensifying international efforts to heal the worsening rift between the key Western Gulf allies, which has escalated into the region’s worst diplomatic crisis in years. Qatar denies the allegations and has sent its top diplomat on a tour of European capitals in a bid to drum up support. But its neighbours seized on Trump’s remarks as vindication of their position and of the crippling sanctions they imposed on Monday. The United Arab Emirates welcomed “President Trump’s leadership in challenging Qatar’s troubling support for extremism”. “The next step is for Qatar to acknowledge these concerns and commit to reexamine its regional policies...

n Iraqi man prints a flag of Kurdistan, in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on June 8, 2017. Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region will hold a historic referendum on statehood in September, despite opposition to independence from Baghdad and possibly beyond. A Iran voiced its opposition on Saturday to an announcement by Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region that it will organise a vote on independence later this year. “Iran’s principal position is to support the territorial integrity of Iraq,” foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said. “The Kurdistan region is part of the Iraqi republic and unilateral decisions outside the national and legal framework, especially the Iraqi constitution… can only lead to new problems.” Iraqi Kurdish leaders announced on Wednesday that they will organise an independence referendum on September 25, not only in their three-province autono...

Bishop Uzuokwu. Bishop Martins Uzoukwu of the Catholic Diocese of Minna, on Saturday lauded the Federal Government’s decision to promptly release funds for its whistle-blower policy. Uzoukwu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna that financial gratification to those who offered information that led to the recovery of stolen funds would encourage Nigerians to embrace the programme. He said that the gesture would also add value to the ongoing fight against corruption in the country. “Nigerians should complement the effort of the Federal Government by coming out with the required intelligence information that can lead to the recovery of stolen public funds,” Uzoukwu said. The cleric called on Nigerians to fully embrace the whistle-blower policy to expose corrupt public officers who looted the nation’s treasury. “Nigerians should see the fight against corruption as a national sacrifice. “God will reward any person or group of people who offer info...

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. President Robert Mugabe has fired Zimbabwe’s top prosecutor, who now faces a misconduct trial, state media reported Saturday, the latest twist in a dispute dating back more than a year. “Suspended prosecutor general Mr Johannes Tomana was yesterday (Friday) fired for misconduct and incompetence after a tribunal set by President Mugabe to probe him recommended dismissal,” The Herald newspaper reported. Tomana faced charges of “criminal abuse of office” and was awaiting trial, the paper added, without giving further details. He was suspended in February 2016 after dropping charges against two men accused of plotting to bomb a dairy plant that belonged to the president’s wife, Grace Mugabe. A year earlier he was convicted of abuse of power after initially refusing to prosecute a legislator with Mugabe’s ZANU PF Party accused of raping a minor. Tomana, once seen as a Mugabe loyalist, was threatened with 30 days in jail f...

Shoemakers in Ariaria Market, Aba, have expressed concern that invitation of a Chinese investor may stifle local entrepreneurs. The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that the Abia Government in April 2017, announced that it had secured a loan of $1.5 billion for a Chinese entrepreneur to set up a shoe industry in Aba. Some shoemakers in separate interviews with NAN on Saturday in Aba, said the arrangement would not work in their favour, as they lacked the capacity to compete with the well established shoe manufacturing company. Mr Ikedi Ohaeto, one of the local entrepreneurs, said it was not proper for Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu who is championing made-in-Aba products to shop for an investor from abroad. He stressed that what the governor ought to do, is to empower local entrepreneurs to acquire machines. “If the Chinese arrives with his machines and coupled with cheap labour, how can we compete with him producing with bare hands? “I am not too sure that Aba shoem...

NSCDC The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Niger Command, on Saturday, warned residents against unlawful assembly. Mr Phillip Ayuba, the NSCDC Commandant in the state, gave this warning while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna. Ayuba said that organisers of any assembly meeting must seek permission from security agencies to provide security before and during the meeting. He explained that any person or group of people, who flouted this order would be arrested and prosecuted accordingly. The commandant warned that the command would not tolerate any act capable of undermining the peaceful coexistence of residents in the state. Ayuba disclosed that the command and other security agencies had already taken concrete working measures that would address or tackle any form of security threats or breaches in the state. “We have put in place sensitive security measures that will enable residents do their legitimate business w...

Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba A newsreader for Gabon state television has been taken off the air after mistakenly announcing the death of President Ali Bongo, the channel said on Saturday. Journalist Wivine Ovandong made the error during a Gabon Television news bulletin on Thursday when she read from notes saying that Bongo had died in Barcelona. In fact, Thursday was the eighth anniversary of the death of Bongo’s father and predecessor, Omar, who did die in Barcelona on June 8, 2009, after more than four decades in power. Current president Ali Bongo is alive and well. Gabon Television director general Mathieu Koumba told AFP that Ovandong had been suspended as “a precautionary measure”. “We need to protect her, too, because social media has had a field day,” he added. Koumba appeared on the channel on Friday and said it had apologised to Bongo and his family for the “blunder”. “It can happen to anyone. But this was a bit much because it was con...

Lagos School The Nigerian Law School has released summary of the final examination results conducted from April 22 to 28. The Director-General, Nigerian Law School, Mr Olarewaju Onadeko, (SAN), made this known in a statement on Saturday in Bwari, FCT. He said that 2, 125 students participated at the examinations while 1,393 were successful. According to him, candidates with conditional Pass are 196 while 596 failed. A further breakdown of the results showed that candidates with Pass accounted for 65.6 per cent, those with conditional Pass represented 6. 4 per cent, while those who failed were 28 per cent. Onadeko said that the ‘Call to the Bar’ ceremony for the successful candidates will hold on July 13 in Abuja.

Shark fin activists protest outside Maxim’s flag ship restaurant ‘Maxim’s Palace’, the largest Chinese restaurant group, for selling threatened and endangered shark species in Hong Kong on June 10, 2017. Dozens of activists dressed in bloody shark costumes laid in front of the entrance of one of Hong Kong’s most popular restaurants to protest against the finning of the marine predators. Dozens of activists Saturday dressed in bloody costumes sprawled outside one of Hong Kong’s most popular restaurants linked to the sale of shark fin soup to protest against the killing of the marine predators. The southern Chinese city is one of the world’s biggest markets for shark fin, which is viewed by many Asians as a delicacy, often served as a soup at expensive Chinese banquets. Saturday’s demonstration included about 30 protesters wearing finless shark costumes splattered with red paint, chanting “when the buying stops, the killing can too”. The activists, many of...

Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State The Kwara Government says it requires N2.1billion monthly for the payment of salary of workers and pension of retirees of the 16 local government councils. Dr Muideen Akorede, the Senior Special Assistant (Media), to Gov Abdulfatah Ahmed, via a statement issued on Saturday in Ilorin, said the figure was released at the monthly meeting of the State Joint Accounts Allocation Committee. Akorede added that during the meeting, it was revealed that Kwara local governments’ allocations have dropped from an average of N2.7billion monthly to N1.6billion in May. He said that the state government was also faced with paucity of fund due to drop in federal allocation from N3.4billion on the average to N2.4billion in May. He stressed that the state government was not in the sound financial position to assist the councils, adding that only the Federal Government can bailout the local governments. Akorede said that for the local go...

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has endorsed Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue for a second term. Obasanjo spoke on Saturday in Makurdi after commissioning the Schools of Nursing and Midwifery. He said that he was impressed with what he saw at the two schools, which lost official recognition for the past three years, but with the help of the governor they regained accreditation. He said that all the facilities that were lacking, have been provided by the governor, adding that it was not a mean feat. The elder statesman said that with what he had seen so far, Ortom was doing well and needed to be given more time to consolidate on his achievements. He also urged people in privilege positions to indulge in things that could usher development. He also stressed the need them for them to work for the unity of the country, and stop finding faults on everything rather they should strive to correct imperfections anytime they notice ...

L-R Daniel Akpeyi ,Ahmed Musa ,Kelechi Iheanacho , Kenneth Omeruo of Nigeria during International Friendly match between Nigeria against Senegal at The Hive, Barnet FC on 23rd March 2017 At last, a truly new national football team of Nigeria is emerging from this weekend’s encounter between Nigeria and South Africa. A new Super Eagles has sprouted in this enchanting, beautiful laid back city in the mangrove swamps and dense vegetation of the deep south of Nigeria for all to see. For the first time in a long while, not by any deliberate act or design, there is no Mikel Obi, no Victor Moses, no Vincent Enyeama or his replacement, Carl Ikpeme, in the camp of the Eagles. And no one appears to be missing them. Instead, the camp is bubbling with new players, a new spirit and an infectious confidence. The average age of the new team must be around 22 or 23, if not lower. A new ethic is being gradually engrained in the team by German coach, Gernot Rohr, who has be...

Young professionals and entrepreneurs from Rwanda and abroad will discuss the country’s development goals, business environment and opportunities available for those wanting to be part of a country on the move. This Saturday 10 June 2017, Rwandans from across Europe and different corners of the world gather in Ghent, Belgium to interact and discuss on Rwanda’s progress and solutions to challenges ahead. President Paul Kagame will be the Guest of Honour and is scheduled to give a keynote address and participate in an interactive session with participants. Commenting on the event, Rwanda’s Ambassador to Belgium, Olivier Nduhungirehe pointed out that the gathering serves as a time to reconnect with Rwanda’s history, learn about the Rwanda of today and be an integral part of defining the country’s future. “As Rwandans gather in Belgium, from near and far, we recognise the progress made; but most importantly, we gather to renew our commitment and redouble our ef...

US President Donald Trump punched back Friday against James Comey, accusing the ousted FBI director of lying about their private conversations -- and saying he is "100 percent" willing to testify under oath. Comey delivered scathing testimony a day earlier in a highly anticipated Senate hearing, saying Trump sought to derail a probe into onetime national security advisor Michael Flynn -- at best, a political miscalculation, and at worst a criminal obstruction of justice. Trump was addressing reporters at the White House for the first time since Comey's explosive appearance, in which he branded the president a liar and said he believed he was fired over his handling of the FBI probe into Russian election meddling. "Yesterday showed no collusion, no obstruction," Trump said in reference to the twin controversies dogging his administration -- accusations his aides colluded with th...

Orode Uduaghan Orode Uduaghan Orode Uduaghan Having lost some of her loved ones to cancer, Orode knew there was a strong purpose she needed to fulfil. Today, this entrepreneur is making it her duty to help as many women fight against breast and cervical cancer. In this interview, she tells us how she’s able to integrate her work and philanthropic acts into motherhood. She also shares how she’s able to stay focused on her journey of being a serial entrepreneur. We hope this interview inspires you! Who is Orode Uduaghan, and what does she do? I am an entrepreneur/philanthropist. I currently run a few businesses that can be identified as lifestyle brands. From your description it seems you wear many hats, would you describe yourself as a serial entrepreneur? Yes, I would What spurred your journey to becoming an entrepreneur, how did it all begin? I never planned to be an entrepreneur in the business sense, I had always done socia...

CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 09: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors attempts a shot defended by LeBron James #23 and Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 9, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Jason Miller/Getty Images/AFP Jason Miller / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP Kyrie Irving and LeBron James unleashed a historic scoring spectacle Friday to power defending champion Cleveland over Golden State 137-116 in the NBA Finals, ending the Warriors’ bid for a perfect playoff run. Irving scored 40 points, hitting 15-of-27 shots from the floor and 7-of-12 3-pointers, while James added 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to pull the Cavaliers within 3-1 in the best-of-seven championship series. “The magnitude of the g...

Last year, just 81 unprovoked shark attacks were reported worldwide, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF). More than 40 years ago, Americans were afraid to go into the water as “Jaws” scared the daylights out of a generation of ocean swimmers. Hollywood is hoping for a repeat this summer with the movie “47 Meters Down.” There have been more than 50 shark movies since Steven Spielberg made cinematic history with “Jaws” in 1975. This year’s shark movie, which will open in the US on June 16, takes place almost entirely under water. Sisters Lisa and Kate — played by Mandy Moore and Claire Holt — are on vacation in the Gulf of California, and it becomes clear that they should avoid climbing aboard a flimsy boat belonging to Taylor (Matthew Modine). They also probably should not get inside Taylor’s rusty shark cage to plunge into the water and observe the predators up close. Modine’s character attracts the sharks by pouring blood into the water ...

Police face protesters during a demonstration against corruption, repression and unemployment in Al Hoseima, Morocco, June 10, 2017. The neglected Rif region has been rocked by social unrest since the death in October of a fishmonger. Mouhcine Fikri, 31, was crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season and his death has sparked fury and triggered nationwide protests. The demonstrations have snowballed, giving way to a wider protest movement. Protesters clashed with security forces in Morocco’s Al-Hoceima early on Saturday, an AFP correspondent reported, after more than a week of protests in the northern province. The violence broke out in the town of Imzouren after police tried to stop demonstrators from gathering, activists said. Dozens of youths wearing balaclavas threw stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas, the...

Tambuwal Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has urged Nigerians to avoid inflammatory remarks that can bring disunity among the people. He made the plea on Friday evening when he invited the members of the resident communities in the state to break fasting with him. He spoke against the backdrop of the ultimatum given to the Igbo to leave the northern part of the country by some youths in Kaduna. The governor said Nigerians must feel free to stay in any part of the country without fear of molestation. In a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to the governor, Malam Imam Imam after the event, he assured the citizens of his readiness to provide adequate security for them. “I align myself fully with the position of the Northern Governors as enunciated by our chairman, Gov. Kashim Shattima of Borno. “We have enjoyed a robust relationship with all members of the resident communities; you have no reason to fear. Soko...

Panic has gripped the Igbo community in Kaduna and the Northern communities over the October 1 ultimatum given them by the Northern youths to vacate the north, as the Igbo leaders have called for calm and restraint in fleeing from the region. • SOKAPU Condemns Declaration Against Easterners Panic has gripped the Igbo community in Kaduna and the Northern communities over the October 1 ultimatum given them by the Northern youths to vacate the north, as the Igbo leaders have called for calm and restraint in fleeing from the region. Many Igbos resident in Kaduna are under panic situation as they are equally undecided whether to start moving their families back to the eastern States on the strength of the threat by Northern youths that all the Ibos should leave the region. President General of Igbo Community Welfare Association, Kaduna, Chief Chris Nnoli, has, however, urged all Igbos res...