NEWS RELODED

Michael Gove, who sensationally turned on his long-time ally Boris Johnson to upend the race to be Britain’s next premier, said Friday his record as a leader of the pro-Brexit campaign made him the best candidate. Setting out his platform to succeed Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, the bespectacled justice minister admitted he was not charismatic, but vowed to be the standard-bearer for change after Britain’s historic vote to leave the European Union. Eurosceptic Gove also insisted that if he wins the keys to 10 Downing Street he would not activate the trigger to start negotiations on Britain’s divorce from the EU until at least next year. “Whatever charisma is, I don’t have it,” Gove told reporters, but added: “The country voted for no more politics as usual, no more business as usual, and that is why I’m standing, as the candidate for change.” Gove, who worked closely with former London mayor and “Leave” campaign figurehead Johnson ahead of last week’s referen...

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Friday she will abide by decisions of the FBI and prosecutors on whether to bring charges over presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s use of personal email while at the State Department. “The recommendations will be reviewed by career supervisors and by the FBI director, and they will present it to me and I fully expect to accept the recommendations,” Lynch said at a conference in Aspen, Colorado. The announcement by Lynch was pushed to the fore after her impromptu meeting with former president Bill Clinton at the Phoenix, Arizona airport this week touched off a political firestorm, with Republicans arguing that the encounter compromised the integrity of the investigation. Lynch said it was “important to make it clear that that meeting with president Clinton does not have a bearing on how this matter will be reviewed, resolved, and accepted by me.” But she swiftly acknowledged the poor optics of the meeting, which presumptive Republi...

US President Barack Obama urged Congress Friday to advance $1.9 billion in emergency funds to fight the Zika virus, saying Republicans should set aside politics to tackle the fast-moving disease. “This is not the time to play politics,” Obama said in remarks delivered in the White House Oval Office following a meeting with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Anthony Fauci and other officials. “Congress should not leave, should not adjourn, until they get this done,” he added ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend. There is no vaccine to prevent Zika, which is actively spreading in about 50 countries and territories, including Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and American Samoa. Experts have warned the continental United States will likely see mosquito-borne transmission this summer. “The good news is we feel fairly confident that we can develop an effective vaccine for Zika,” Obama added. The Zika virus can cause microcephaly and other...

Capital inflows into frontier markets, including Nigeria, may slow as investor confidence has been severely undermined by the uncertainty created by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. The Sub-Saharan Africa Economist, Renaissance Capital, Yvonne Mhango, stated this in an emailed note on the potential effect of Brexit on the region. According to her, the region tends to be affected by global events via the financial and trade channels. The Central Bank of Nigeria had recently liberalised the foreign exchange market, with many analysts saying the move would help in luring back investors who were spooked by monetary controls introduced initially by the bank including a 16-month currency peg of N197-N199 to a dollar. But the Brexit vote may have dampen the appetite of investors looking to bring back capital into Nigeria. “In brief, of the bigger SSA economies, Kenya is one of the countries most exposed to a Brexit (relatively), via the tourism, trade and financial c...

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, was our guest at the PUNCH FORUM, where he entertained questions on a variety of issues, including the ongoing anti-corruption fight of President Muhammadu Buhari and the need to heed clamour for the restructuring of the country. Dayo Oketola, Tobi Aworinde and Toluwani Eniola present the excerpts During the Abacha era, you wrote a book, “The open sore of a continent: A personal narrative of the Nigerian crisis.” To quote one of the many statements you made there, “We may actually be witnessing a nation on the verge of extinction. We must also not neglect to decide the precise nature of the problematic. That is, are we trying to keep Nigeria as a nation, or are we trying to make it one? The difference is crucial.” Is Nigeria dying as a country? I distinguish between what I call an organically evolved human entity and one which is arbitrarily imposed; in other words, which is created and constructed outside the will, the volition of the peopl...

Rihanna has once again fueled dating rumours after she was pictured last night entering the hotel room of off and on boyfriend Drake after their performance in Manchester last night as part of her ANTI- World tour. The duo were spotted returning to the same hotel following a visit to the Chiltern Firehouse, a day after he reportedly told a Manchester crowd at Old Trafford stadium:  'Shout out to the most beautiful, talented woman I've ever seen. She goes by the name of Rihanna ... I'm getting my heart broken.' More photos after the cut.

Jose Mourinho's son, Jose Mourinho Jr. took to his Twitter handle to announce he has signed a two year deal with Fulham FC. He plays as a goalkeeper.