Cristiano Ronaldo scored an excellent equaliser to spare Manchester United a third successive English Premier League defeat as they drew 1-1 at home with Chelsea on Thursday. Ralf Rangnick’s side lost their previous two games to Liverpool and Arsenal by an aggregate score of 7-1. But while the performance on their return to Old Trafford was by no means impressive, they at least avoided another loss. In spite of a dismal first-half showing in which...
LONDON — Ben White, Ben Godfrey and Aaron Ramsdale received their first England call-ups as Gareth Southgate selected Trent Alexander-Arnold among four right-backs in his provisional European Championship squad. With England dealing with issues such as injuries and European final absentees, the Football Association (FA) confirmed a larger provisional squad would be announced on Tuesday rather than the definitive group. Southgate has named a 33-man party that will be trimmed down to 26 players on June...
The Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria, Ambassador Ketil Karlsen says the Union will release $14. 5 million out of the €50 million promised to the Federal Government to assist in the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine this week. Karlsen, who addressed newsmen yesterday in Abuja, revealed that already €9 million grant had been released to boost the prevention and response to Coronavirus in Nigeria. “The EU is taking the lead in supporting partner...
LONDON — Leicester City closed in on a UEFA Champions League return after red-hot Kelechi Iheanacho struck again to beat Crystal Palace. The forward’s late winner —— his 14th goal in 14 games —-clinched a 2-1 victory to leave the Foxes three wins away from booking a top-four spot. Timothy Castagne had earlier cancelled out Wilfried Zaha’s opener as the Foxes, who sit third in the English Premier League (EPL), were forced to dig deep....
BERLIN — A controversial new law in Germany that imposes uniform Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions on areas where infections are rapidly spreading went into effect on Saturday. The “emergency brake” kicks in when the infection rate in a given district, as measured by the number of cases during the past week per 100,000 people, reaches more than 100 for three consecutive days. Wide swathes of Germany exceed the limit, from rural communities to big cities like Berlin,...
BRUSSELS — The European Commission is weighing legal action against pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca, to ensure delivery of sufficient COVID-19 vaccines, according to multiple diplomatic sources. The EU executive who negotiated contracts with vaccine producers on behalf of the European Union’s member-states could seek an injunction because the company had not yet made a formal commitment on planned deliveries, one EU diplomat told dpa. This would take place in Belgian courts, another diplomatic source said. After...
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has overturned a decision on extra coronavirus measures to be imposed over Easter after widespread criticism, participants in a meeting of federal and state leaders say. Merkel told participants that an agreement hammered out in overnight talks earlier this week stipulating that most shops will be shut and gatherings will be more limited from April 1-5 would not be implemented. Criticism of the agreement had centred on the fact...
WARSAW — Poland reported 29,978 new daily coronavirus (COVID-19) infections on Wednesday, higher than at any time during the pandemic, data from the Health Ministry showed. Another 575 people died of COVID-19, bringing the overall death toll to 50,340. The situation in Poland is worse than during the previous peak of the pandemic in autumn, as more people need to be admitted to hospital despite a comparable number of new cases, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski,...
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s commissioner for jobs and social rights, Nicolas Schmit, has warned of a potential social crisis after the coronavirus pandemic. Although there has been no dramatic increase in unemployment figures so far, the prospects for young people, in particular, are not rosy, Schmit pointed out in an interview with dpa. He noted that a policy was needed to ensure that the people do not slide into a new social crisis after...
Leicester City beat Southampton 2-0 on Saturday to go second in the ongoing 2020/2021 English Premier League (EPL). James Maddison and Harvey Barnes scored the goals to lift Leicester City to within one point of Manchester United, who play at third-placed Liverpool on Sunday. Brighton and West Brom both picked up vital wins in their fight for survival Saturday while Chelsea and West Ham moved up the table with wins in the day’s other matches....
