Leo Messi: “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo, and for the career he’s had and continues to have. He is still competing at the highest level.  “The competition with him was on the pitch… Each of us wanted to do the best for our team. Everything stayed on the pitch.  “Off the pitch, we are two normal guys. We’re not friends because we don’t spend time together, but we’ve always treated each other with a lot of respect”. Credit: X|@FabrizioRomano

As the countdown to the July 12 local government elections intensifies, the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched an ambitious reconciliation and unity campaign—led by none other than former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode report by The Nation Newspaper reports. At the heart of this effort is a bold new slogan: “One APC, One Lagos.” The initiative, which marks Ambode’s first major political assignment since he left office in 2019, signals a fresh chapter for the ruling party as it seeks to heal deep internal wounds inflicted by the controversial May 11 party primaries. The exercise, which...

Israeli Air Force: “As part of the air defense effort, hundreds of drones launched and approaching the territory of the State of Israel have so far been intercepted by the Air Force and Navy. “So far, over 95% of the targets that posed a threat and approached the country’s territory have been successfully intercepted.”

The BBC is threatening to take legal action against an artificial intelligence (AI) firm whose chatbot the corporation says is reproducing BBC content “verbatim” without its permission. The BBC has written to Perplexity, which is based in the US, demanding it immediately stops using BBC content, deletes any it holds, and proposes financial compensation for the material it has already used. It is the first time that the BBC – one of the world’s largest news organisations – has taken such action against an AI company. Perplexity has been approached for comment. The BBC’s legal threat has been made in...

A training camp for the Senegalese women’s basketball team in the US has been scrapped, with the West African nation’s prime minister saying he cancelled it because some of the squad were denied US visas. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said the team would now train in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, “in a sovereign and conducive setting”. It comes amid reports that the US plans to impose fresh travel restrictions on 25 more African countries, including Senegal. Earlier this month the US announced a ban on citizens from 12 countries, including seven from Africa. There were also partial travel restrictions on nationals from a...