Kevin De Bruyne has joked that his Belgium team-mate, Eden Hazard, is already in Madrid, with Chelsea set to confirm his departure.
Real Madrid have finally agreed an initial €100million (£88.5m) fee for Hazard, while Chelsea could reportedly receive up to £130m once add-ons are included.
Both clubs have not yet confirmed the transfer, but an announcement is imminent.
And De Bruyne has suggested that Hazard will not be changing his mind, with a joke during an Instagram live video with Belgium’s national team.
When asked by one fan on Hazard’s whereabouts, De Bruyne replied: “In Madrid, for sure.”
He said: “I’m really happy to be back in the team and I’m happy with the progress made so far. I fitted in seamlessly because it was not a problem given my understanding of the team and coach.
“I needed rest because I was struggling with injuries but now I’m ready to lead the team again.
The best team will win the AFCON and we are up for it as we are training twice a day.”
England striker, Harry Kane, has said fine margins did not go their way, as they lost 3-1 to Netherlands in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League on Thursday night.
John Stones and Ross Barkley made costly errors, as two extra-time goals earned Ronald Koeman’s men a place in Sunday’s final against Portugal.
England had led through Marcus Rashford’s first-half penalty, only for Matthijs de Ligt to head home an equaliser.
The Three Lions thought they had scored a late winner through Jesse Lingard but VAR ruled the strike as an offside.
“We came out a bit slow in the second half but we managed to step it up again, moved it better and scored a goal we thought was the winner.
“But there are fine margins in big games like this and it didn’t go our way. Mistakes were made but we learn as a team and that’s the way we want to play,” Kane said.
England also fell at the semifinal stage at the World Cup last year, losing to Croatia Kane accepted England did not cope well with Netherlands’ pressure.
“We made some sloppy mistakes in giving the ball away too easily, they got pressure on us quite high but we have to deal with that.
“When you come up against good teams, like Croatia at the World Cup, this is what they do and you have to get used to that.
“Holland is a fantastic team, as were Croatia, and fine margins have decided it again, whether it’s offside or goals from set-pieces.
“It is what it is, we’re disappointed but we have to learn from it,” Kane added.
Russia and China have expressed opposition to any military intervention in Venezuela, calling for “inclusive political dialog” between conflicting parties and their adherence to the principles of international law to resolve the political crisis in the Latin American country.
The expression of stance came in a joint statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, after the conclusion of their talks in Moscow recently.
Moscow and Beijing aim “to monitor the development of the situation in Venezuela, to call all sides to adhere to the UN Charter, the norms of international law and inter-governmental relations, to respect the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, to aid a peaceful solution of the country’s issues by means of inclusive political dialog and to stand against a military intervention in Venezuela,” the statement said.
Venezuela has been in political chaos in recent months. Things took a turn for the worse when the United States-backed opposition figure Juan Guaido unilaterally declared himself the “interim president” of the country in January.
Russia and China, among other countries, back Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his democratically-elected government.
The US has been propping up Guaido, has recognized his self-proclamation encouraged his attempts to topple Maduro — including through a recent abortive coup — and has repeatedly refused to rule out military action against the Venezuelan government.
Representatives of the Venezuelan government and opposition have, meanwhile, been attempting to negotiate a peaceful end to their differences in Norway.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 2019 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the indefinite shutting down of DAAR Communications outfits, AIT and Ray power FM by the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC.
The shutting down of AIT and Ray power FM indicated that Nigeria was now under a dictatorship, Atiku said.
In a tweet, Atiku wrote: “If, at this time, we stand by as the Press loses its independence, there will be little to differentiate us from a dictatorship. This should not happen. -AA.”
NBC DG, Modibbo Kawu announced the suspension DAAR Communications Plc on Thursday evening to journalists in Abuja.
Kawu had accused AIT and Ray Power airing a Presidential election documentary, a matter pending before a tribunal.
He also explained that the inability of the company to pay its fees among others was responsible to the ban.
Kawu insisted that the suspension followed the persistent violation of 2004 broadcasting Code.
The Kano State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of 10 suspects in connection with the death of an unknown person during Wednesday’s durbar held at the palace of the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.
The spokesman for the command, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed this while briefing newsmen in Kano on Thursday.
He said police arrested the suspects in connection with the violence that resulted in the death of the man. He also added that investigation was already in progress.
According to the police, the remains of the deceased have been deposited in the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital mortuary.
The command asked the public, whose relatives were missing, to proceed to the hospital to identify the yet unknown victim.
The emir hosted the event.
However, the Hauwan Daushe procession, which involved paying homage to the state governor, was suspended by Governor Ganduje.
A statement signed by a government official stated that the governor suspended the event due to security concerns.
The statement also said the governor could not attend the durbar at the emir’s palace due to exigencies of office.
However, the governor attended the maiden edition of the durbar in Bichi, one of the new emirates recently created.
The Acting Secretary of the Kano Emirate Council explained that the traditional Hauwan Daushe was cancelled on the governor’s directive.
Yusuf used the opportunity to appeal to Imams, Islamic clerics and other well-wishers to converge on the Kano Central Mosque for special prayers for the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, for the incumbent’s ascension to the throne and for peaceful co-existence in the state.
Investigations have revealed that the 2018 budget was grossly underfunded by N2.1trn.
FG’s inability to generate enough revenue to finance its operations resulted in a N2.18tn financing gap of the 2018 budget.
The 2018 budget, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 20 last year, had total spending of N9.1tn.
The capital expenditure was to gulp 31.5 per cent of the total expenditure at N2.87tn, while recurrent non-debt spending was put at N3.51tn in 2018.
There was also a provision of N2.01tn for debt servicing which is 21 per cent of the total budget. In addition to a provision of N177bn to retire maturing bond to local contractors was made by the government.
The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing had the highest allocation with N715bn for recurrent and capital expenditure. The Ministries of Interior and Defence were allocated N577bn and N576bn respectively.
The Ministry of Education was allocated N542bn; Health, N356bn; Transportation, N267bn; and Agriculture, N203bn.
Investigations
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that out of N9.12tn total expenditure approved for the 2018 budget, the sum of N6.94tn was released by the Ministry of Finance to Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.
This, according to findings, represents about 79 per cent of the budget performance.
It was gathered that debt service and the implementation of non-debt recurrent expenditure such as payment of workers’ salaries and pensions recorded the highest rate of funding, while capital releases commenced after the signing of the budget on June 20, 2018.
How The Budget Was Shared
It was learnt that the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing got the highest amount of N347.52bn.
This is about 42.95 per cent of the N809.05bn which was allocated to the ministry in the 2018 budget.
This is followed by defence and security, which got N205.89bn. The amount received by the sector is about 66.85 per cent of its N308bn allocation in 2018.
Also, the sum of N152.5bn was released to the agriculture and water resources sector. The amount is about 51.45 per cent of its N296.39bn allocation
Also out of the N251.42bn allocated to the transport sector in the 2018 budget, about N127.68bn, which is 50.79 percent of the sector’s budget, had been released.
For health and education sector N115.43bn had been released out of the N189.39bn allocated to the sector in the 2018 budget.
Further findings showed that N456.5bn, which is 86.07 per cent of the N530.42bn allocated for statutory transfers, had been released by the government.
The government released the sum of N254.27bn for capital supplementation.
This is about 33.54 per cent of the N758.12bn allocated for the expenditure sub-head in the 2018 budget.
However, FG couldn’t achieve its 2018 revenue target as some items listed for implementation in the fiscal year couldn’t be actualised.
Some of the one-off items are the N710bn from Oil Joint Venture Asset Restructuring and N320bn from the revision of the Oil Production Sharing Contract Legislation.
These one-off financing items, according to findings, have already been rolled over to 2019 budget.
Reno Omokri has said Pstor Kumuyi, other men of God caused the closure of AIT and Ray Power by NBC.
Reno Omokri, former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan has blamed the likes of the General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor W. F Kumuyi and men of God for the suspension of Daar Communication Plc, owners of AIT, RAY POWER license until further notice.
Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on Thursday suspended the license of Daar Communications Plc, owners of AIT, RAY POWER.
Daar Communication Plc is owned by High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The DG of NBC announced on Thursday that the action was taken for failure of the broadcasting station to abide by broadcasting codes.
The offences listed by the NBC included:
the airing of a presidential election documentary by the AIT
a matter pending before a tribunal
the inability of the company to pay its fees
the use of “divisive and inciting contents from the Social Media” among others.
But reacting, Omokri blamed Pastor Kumuyi for the NBC’s decision, which he described as an ‘act of aggression’.
Omokri wrote: “First they came for the Legislature (Bukola Saraki), we did nothing. Next they came for the Judiciary (CJN Walter Onnoghen), we said nothing. Now, they have come for the Press (AIT). Will you still do NOTHING?
“This act of aggression against AIT is only possible because men of God, Like Pastor Kumuyi, refuse to speak and instead ask those who will speak not to “attack” a government that attacks our liberty. That is how they kept quiet under Abacha.”
Recall that Kumuyi had recently advised Nigerians against attacking President Buhari.
Kumuyi, who gave the admonition during his sermon at the Deeper Life Bible Church, Headquarters, Gbagada, in Lagos, said that real Christians must obey constituted authorities and shun violence.
Lemons most times are a fruit ignored by many just because of its sour taste which leaves them in ignorance of their actual value to human health.
Put this zesty citrus fruit to good use with these unexpected tricks that take some of the hassle out of cooking.
You know that lemons add a delicious, citrusy kick to everything from salad dressings to cocktails. And you may have heard about their impressive health benefits — lemons contain antibacterial properties and may strengthen your immune system, says Priya Lawrence, RD, cofounder of Tried and True Nutrition in New York City. Lemons also offer a hefty dose of vitamin C and other antioxidants that can fight free radicals and may help keep you looking and feeling younger.
But lemons also have some unexpected uses, too. Here are seven ways this handy fruit can solve your trickiest kitchen dilemmas and help enhance your meals:
1. Lemon Juice Prevents Your Fruits and Vegetables From Turning Brown
A few squeezes of juice can do wonders for avocados, apples, bananas, and peeled raw potatoes, since lemon juice is just acidic enough to prevent the oxidation that turns produce brown. Try this trick the next time you’re doing meal prep ahead of time or when you set out a platter of fresh sliced fruit.
2. Lemon Juice Helps You Avoid Sticky Rice
Have a problem with clumpy rice? You’re in luck — adding a few drops of lemon juice to your cooking water helps prevent the rice from sticking together. Try this tip with our Healthy Fried Rice recipe.
3. Lemon Peel Keeps Brown Sugar Soft — and Saves You the Sifting
The juice isn’t the only useful part of the lemon; its super moist and flavorful peel can work wonders in the kitchen, too. Add a slice of the skin (with the pulp completely removed) to your box of brown sugar to keep it from clumping and hardening. This way, you won’t have to do any sifting the next time you make our Healthified Peanut Butter Cookies.
4. Lemon Juice Makes Your Lettuce Crispy All Over Again
No need to toss that limp lettuce! A little lemon juice and water can help bring your leaves back to life. To crisp up limp leaves, soak them in a bowl of cold water and ½ cup of lemon juice, then refrigerate for about an hour. The leaves will come out revived and ready for eating. See this trick in action when you make our Healthified Layered Vegetable Salad.
5. Lemon Juice Helps You Cook Perfectly Hard-Boiled Eggs
Even if you’ve mastered perfectly hard-boiled eggs, try brushing the eggshells with lemon juice before adding them to the pot for a little added insurance. The lemon juice helps keep the shells from cracking while they cook, and it also makes them easier to peel once they’re ready to eat. Try this technique before you enjoy the eggs in our Bibimbap Deviled Eggs Recipe.
6. Lemon Juice Tenderizes Meat and Makes It Even Tastier
Lemon juice is a great meat tenderizer; the acidity gently breaks down the protein fibers in meat, leaving it scrumptiously fork-tender. Taste the difference when you make our Steak With Citrus Mushroom Sauce.
7. Lemon Juice Enhances the Flavor of Your Food — No Need to Add Salt
A little bit of lemon can totally transform a meal, brightening up creamier dishes and balancing the flavor in seafood. It also provides a great sodium-free substitute for salt, says Lawrence. This is perfect for those with high blood pressure and anyone looking to cook healthier dishes without sacrificing flavor. Squeeze lemons over our Mediterranean Baked Fish or our Broiled Steak and Asparagus With Feta Cream Sauce.
