NEWS RELODED

European Union officials have called for the UK to start the exit process as quickly as possible after Britons voted to leave the 28-member bloc, prompting the resignation of David Cameron, the prime minister, and dealing the biggest blow to European efforts at greater unity since the second world war. The outcome of Thursday’s EU referendum – a 52 to 48 split in favour of Britain’s exit – caused financial markets to fall sharply and brought the British pound down to a 31-year low, its biggest fall in history. There are now fears the vote could set off a chain reaction of further breakaway bids by other EU members battling hostility to Brussels. There are also fears the outcome could lead to the break-up of the UK itself after Scotland raised the prospect of another independence vote. After meeting in Brussels, EU chiefs issued a joint statement said negotiations over the so-called Brexit should begin immediately. “We now expect the United Kingdom government to give effe...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Britain’s planned departure from the European Union signalled the “beginning of a new era” and warned the bloc could face new breakups. “I see this decision made by the people of Britain as the beginning of a new era for Britain and the EU,” Erdogan said during a fast-breaking dinner late on Friday, in his first comments on the shock referendum result. “Like the entire world, we expected a ‘yes’ result in the referendum but it turned out like that,” he said. Voters in Britain decided Thursday to leave the EU, raising questions over the future of the bloc. London has traditionally been a strong supporter of Ankara’s long-stalled bid to join the bloc, but the issue turned into a key theme of Britain’s referendum campaign, which was largely focused on immigration. Erdogan said the problem today “is not Turkey but the EU itself.” He warned that new breakups would be “inevitable” unless the EU renewed its policies toward migra...

The UK has had its credit rating outlook downgraded to “negative” by the ratings agency Moody’s after the country voted to leave the EU. Moody’s said the result would herald “a prolonged period of uncertainty”. Meanwhile, PM David Cameron is under pressure to speed up “divorce” talks with the EU after Brussels said exit negotiations should start immediately. EU head Jean-Claude Juncker said it was “not an amicable divorce”, but it was “not a tight love affair anyway”. Moody’s said the referendum result would have “negative implications for the country’s medium-term growth outlook”, and it lowered the UK’s long term issuer and debt ratings to “negative” from “stable”. It added: “In Moody’s view, the negative effect from lower economic growth will outweigh the fiscal savings from the UK no longer having to contribute to the EU budget.” It also said the UK had one of the largest budget deficits among advanced economies. The financial assessment came after the UK voted t...

The political ramifications of Britain’s historic decision to leave the European Union began early. Not long after polls confirmed that the British people had endorsed a Brexit vote by 52 to 48 percent, United Kingdom Conservative Party Prime Minister David Cameron, who led the Remain campaign, announced his resignation outside his official residence at10 Downing Street. He declared his intention to stand down by October. As the pound plummeted and the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, sought to calm financial markets in the referendum’s aftermath, many eyes looked towards the two nations of the UK that voted to remain in the EU: Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland, which registered a 62 percent Remain vote, and which saw its capital city, Edinburgh, vote to retain the UK’s EU status by 74 percent, immediately fell under the political spotlight as observers speculated on the prospect of a second Scottish independence referendum almost two years after the firs...

Gareth Bale’s status at Real Madrid could be under threat because of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, according to a sports lawyer. Teams in Spain are among those subject to a cap on non-EU players, something Wales international Bale would become when the UK’s separation is made official. Technically Real would now be over the limit of three because of the presence of James Rodriguez, Danilo, Casemiro and Bale, but reports suggest it could take anywhere between two and seven years for the withdrawal to be ratified. Sports lawyer Carol Couse of Mills & Reeve told AS: “From a football perspective I guess we have the likes of Gareth Bale and when we’re talking of those sorts of players, yes, in theory there may be constraints on their employment elsewhere. “The likes of Italy and Spain have caps on non-EU players so down the line Gareth Bale may be considered a non-EU player and subject to this cap. “But I think those players of the very highes...

Kelechi Iheanacho will not compete in the Olympics – despite Nigeria announcing that he is part of their provisional squad. Manchester City have already informed the Nigerian Football Federation that their teenage striker will not be allowed to compete in Rio – and have even had a letter acknowledging their decision. Despite that, the NFF still named the 19-year-old in their 35-man squad for the Games. It is understood City have no intention of going back on their initial decision, which was exclusively revealed by MEN Sport this week. They are under no obligation to make Iheanacho available and have already spoken to him about the issue. City want the striker to be available for incoming manager Pep Guardiola’s first pre-season at the club. Iheanacho enjoyed an outstanding breakthrough season at the Etihad and is set to be handed more first team opportunities under the new manager. With Wilfried Bony expected to leave the club, he looks set to be elevated to Sergio Ague...

Controller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali, retd, yesterday, said Nigeria lost a total of 138.9 billion, representing 35.5% in income generation expected from the agency between January and May, 2016. The development came as the Senate Committee on Finance directed all the revenue generating agencies in the country to henceforth prepare and submit reports of their performances on quarterly basis to the committee for assessment. But he said the agency generated the sum total of N312. 9bn for the country within the period under review. The amount generated, according to him, was from the Valued Added Tax, VAT and the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate, NDCC. Ali, who spoke while briefing the Senator John Enoh-led Senate Committee on Finance, on the performance of his organization, also disclosed that within the period, the Nigeria Customs Service lost a total of N138.9bn out of the N390.6bn it was expected to generate within the period. He further dis...

The Pentagon is set to lift its ban on transgender troops within the coming weeks, US media reported Friday. The move would be another major milestone for America’s vast military, which up until five years ago still banned gay troops from openly discussing their sexuality under a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. USA Today said the transgender announcement is expected July 1 and the plan would require each branch of the military to phase in the new policy over a 12-month period. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook declined to confirm reports, but said a decision was due “soon.” Currently, Pentagon rules allow transgender troops to be discharged from the military. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter last year ordered all military roles — including combat positions — to be opened to women. Maryland Democratic Congressman Steny Hoyer welcomed the news. “The reversal of the ban is a major step forward in the effort to secure the full rights and equality of LGBT people in our...

On this day in 1987, a young boy was born in Rosario, Argentina in a poor family. He was always smaller than the other boys around him. He started playing for a local club team where his grandmother took him everyday, His family was told that this boy had great potential so they took him to Rosario's big club , Newell old boys. In his years there he turned into a young star astonishing many coaches. At a young age he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency disorder which was fatal for his career. Being from a poor family he had no means to pay for the treatment, his club paid for sometime then they couldn't afford it too but they arranged for his trials to European big guns like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. His parents spoke Spanish so they decided to go to a Spanish club only. Luckily the club destined for him was FC Barcelona. On his trials there the manager was too impressed but he wanted to consult the board but Leo's dad gave the club ultimatum to sign a ...

Google’s Brand Activation Lead in Sub-Saharan Africa, Lanre Aina, has revealed that more Nigerians visit Chelsea Football club website than the British. Speaking at the just concluded social media jury conference, organized by authorities in the field of ICT, Social Media and Entertainment, which took place at the Goethe Institute, Lagos, to deliberate on ways of moving the Country economy forward, Aina said going by research conducted in Google’s search, Nigeria use sports media channels effectively to get information on their various clubs. He noted that Nigeria would continue to develop in the area of ICT if the social media platforms were used effectively to gather information in sports and other social issues that will assist improve the economy of the nation. Also speaking at the event, award winning publicist and convener of the Social Media Jury, Tonia Odili, said the theme for the Jury ’’Social Media; “”the New Global Currency’’ was carefully selected to discuss way...

I am watching the ongoing European Championship 2016 with a lot of interest. I am paying particular attention to what makes the championship different from its African counterpart, AFCON. Why is the European Championship such a massive television spectacle? The difference is clear. The presentation on television, the coverage with an unbelievable number of cameras showing every conceivable angle, the application of the latest technology, the perfect-finish grass pitches, the extremely high technical standard of the matches, the phenomenal skills of the players, the ease of reading and interpreting team strategies and tactics even by the ordinary person, all are little details that add up to make the championship only second to the world Cup in global followership, tourism and business. It is obvious there is a huge gulf between the European championship and Afcon with Africa still having a long way to go to catch up in terms of all ramifications. What creates the biggest gulf...

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has stated that the Port Harcourt Pleasure Park would transform the economy of the state, as it will be a major revenue earner when completed. Governor Wike also announced that the Igwuruta-Chokocho road leading to the Food Basket of Rivers State would be completed and commissioned by September this year. Addressing journalists yesterday after inspecting ongoing construction work at the project site, Wike said the park would attract tourists from all over. He said: “I am impressed by the progress of work at the site. We are determined to construct a park of international standard because it will help us conserve foreign exchange, as people will visit the park instead of traveling overseas.” By December this year, this park will be completed and put to use”. Commenting on the Igwuruta-Chokocho road, Governor Wike expressed happiness with the pace of work, adding that expansion works would require some demolitions but the ow...

• Pledges to end counter-insurgency operation in North-East soon In an obvious step to put to check the rumoured coup threat, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai yesterday summoned all Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) and General Officers Commanding (GOCs) of the Nigerian Army to an emergency meeting. The meeting was called to strategise towards preventing any such incidence and other security challenges in the country. Buratai briefed his officers in a close door session at the Army Headquarters in Abuja after informing the press of the importance of the emergency meeting, saying, “this is an impromptu meeting in view of the security challenges and we have to come together to rub minds on how we can handle the situation.” At the close of the in-house meeting, the GOC 1 Division, Nigerian Army Kaduna, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, in company of the GOC 82 Division Enugu, Major-General, Ibrahim Attahiru, and GOC 7 Division, Maiduguri, Brigadier General Vict...

Magazine covers are released every month, from all over the world but only a few of those covers can be really categorized as iconic. Thus here five male celebrities who went nude for a magazine. Magazine   covers are released every month, from all over the world but only a few of those covers can be really categorized as iconic. Thus here five male celebrities who went  nude for a magazine. More frequently, we see nude  Magazine  covers with some of our gorgeous female celebrities, from the  iconic Demi Moore Vanity Fair cover to the Rolling Stone Janet Jackson cover . However, we rarely see male stars strip down for a   Magazine  cover. For these five male stars, they defied the odds and went bold, as they striped down for a magazine, either for a good cause or just to show off all that hard work at the gym. Either way here are the top five male nude magazine covers we love: Dwayne Wade: play NBA Star is naked for ESPN  (ES...

British Prime Minister David Cameron is to step down by October after the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union yesterday. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, he said “fresh leadership” was needed. The PM had urged the country to vote Remain but was defeated by 52% to 48% despite London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backing staying in. UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it as the UK’s “independence day”, while the Ex- London mayor Boris Johnson said the result would not mean “pulling up the drawbridge”. The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC) reported that Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was “absolutely determined” to keep Scotland in the EU so a second Scottish independence referendum was now “highly likely”. German chancellor Angela Merkel expressed “great regret” at the outcome, and EU chiefs said they expected the UK to begin negotiations to leave “as soon as possible, however painful that process may be”. But Boris Johnson, and p...