Marseille hold talks with Celtic about Dembele transfer

Marseille have held talks with Celtic about the potential transfer of striker Moussa Dembele. Sky Sports reports discussion took place in Glasgow on Saturday when Marseille played Rangers in a pre-season friendly, with Celtic asking for a fee in the region of £20m. But it is believed Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers would not be prepared to sell Dembele until after their final Champions League qualifying game in August. The 21-year-old signed for the Hoops last summer after Celtic paid a £500,000 development fee following the expiration of his Fulham contract.…

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Hunt for HIV cure turns to cancer drugs

The outstanding progress in boosting the immune system to treat cancer may help unlock a cure for HIV, according to scientists meeting in Paris. The body’s normal defences struggle to clear the body of HIV and cancer. But the rapidly emerging field of immunotherapy has seen some patients with terminal cancer go into complete remission. The hope is that a similar approach could clear someone of HIV, although some experts have urged caution. HIV treatment requires daily antiretroviral drugs to kill any active virus. Left unchecked, HIV can destroy the…

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Usain Bolt urges Mourinho on re-sign Ibrahimovic

World number one sprinter Usain Bolt has advised Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho to re-sign striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The 30-year-old Jamaican spoke to reporters after he clocked an impressive 9.95 seconds to win gold at the Diamond League in Monaco. He was asked whether Manchester United should sign him, as an aspiring footballer himself, or Ibrahimovic. And he replied, “For me, I will go with Zlatan. “For me he really did great for United last season so if we get a chance to sign him back I would go with…

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OPEC pledges support for Nigerian oil output recovery

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Monday that OPEC 10 other major oil producers remained supportive of conflict-torn Libya and Nigeria as they attempt to recover and increase crude production. OPEC and some non-OPEC states including Russia agreed in 2016 to cut production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in a deal that has been extended to March 2018. Al-Falih at the opening of the fourth Joint OPEC-non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) in St. Petersburg said: “Libya and Nigeria, are exempt from our agreement [on oil output cuts]. “Of…

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Chelsea sign Morata in club-record deal

Chelsea have completed the signing of Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, two days after announcing that an agreement had been reached with the La Liga Champions for his transfer. The Spanish striker, who returned to Real Madrid last season after spending two seasons at Juventus, joins Chelsea on a five-year deal, the Premier League Champions said in a statement on Friday. “I am so happy to be here. It’s an incredible emotion to be part of this big club. I am looking to work hard, score as many goals as…

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Reps meet with Magu over Ikoyi funds

The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence, has met with the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu over the cash recovered in an apartment in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State, months ago. The committee said although there may have been silence over the huge cash haul uncovered in Osborne Towers, the matter is by no means forgotten. Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Sani Jaji, told Channels Television that the meeting was part of the investigation into the more than 43 million…

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Microsoft using lawyers to tackle top Russian hacking group

US Tech giant Microsoft is going after a Russian hacking group believed to be connected to the country’s intelligence agency GRU and behind several high-profile cyber attacks including on the NATO and the Hillary Clinton campaign. According to a report in The Daily Beast late on Friday, Microsoft was using lawyers to take on the hacker group known as Fancy Bear — accusing it of computer intrusion, cybersquatting and infringing on Microsoft’s trademarks. “The action, though, is not about dragging the hackers into court. The lawsuit is a tool for Microsoft to…

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Former Nigerian leader, Obasanjo mocks Americans for choosing Trump

For the majority of Americans to have voted for Donald John Trump to become their president, it means that they are as humans as Africans are, that is the position of former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo. ‘‘The fact that America can produce a Trump in this day and age, it means Americans are as human as we are,’‘ he is quoted to have said. The octogenarian who ruled Africa’s most populous nation – first as a military ruler and then a civilian leader, said he was happy about the turn…

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President Buhari and the descendants of Shimei

There is nothing new under the sun, goes a popular saying. In fact, the more things seem to change, the more they appear the same. From time immemorial, some people have spoken evil of leadership, cast aspersions on them, and generally portrayed themselves as scum of the earth. No matter how a country loves its leader, there will naturally be those that the Good Book calls “filthy dreamers” who “despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” That is why as spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, I never respond to such…

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WHO lists dangers of HIV drug resistance

The World Health Organiation (WHO) has warned that the spread of an HIV strain resistant to some of the most widely used medicines could undermine global progress in treating and preventing HIV infection if early and effective action is not taken. The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, stated this in the ‘WHO HIV Drug Resistance Report 2017’. “Antimicrobial drug resistance is a growing challenge to global health and sustainable development. “We need to proactively address the rising levels of resistance to HIV drugs if we are to achieve the global…

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