Mourinho says he has no idea when Pogba will be fit

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said he has “no idea’’ when record signing Paul Pogba will be fit again after the French midfielder suffered a hamstring injury.

The France player had sustained the injury in a UEFA Champions League tie against Basel early in September.

The 24-year-old, who cost 89 million pounds last year —- a world record at the time —- played only a handful of games this season before being sidelined.

“Paul is not here, I don’t know when he comes back, when he’s available, I’ve no idea,” Mourinho told a news conference ahead of his team’s Saturday’s visit to Huddersfield Town.

He hopes Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return by the end of the year, however.

The Portuguese also has better news of Marcus Rashford, who is fit in spite of coming off during the midweek Champions League win over Benfica with a knee injury.

United will be looking to make history by keeping an eighth clean sheet in the opening nine league games of the season.

No other team has achieved that in the top division of English football.

Mourinho was criticised for a defensive approach in last weekend’s dull goalless draw at Liverpool.

Stoke City are the only side to score, in a 2-2 draw, against Mourinho’s team in eight Premier League games.

Earlier in the season, United appeared to be recapturing the adventurous style historically associated with the club.They won 4-0 four times against lowly opposition but have since been outscored by neighbours Manchester City, who now lead them by two points at the top of the table.

The game at Huddersfield is the first meeting between the clubs since 1972 and the Yorkshire side have not won one since 20 years before that, in March 1952.

After a good start, Huddersfield have not won a Premier League game for two months, but Mourinho insisted that his team will know what to expect from a newly promoted club.

“We are silly if we don’t know what is waiting for us,” he said.

“Everybody knows the Premier League and knows what it means to play against newly promoted teams.

“Every team in the Premier League is good and thinks they can win every match against every opponent.

“The players will be buzzing and the supporters will be happy to have a big club playing in their stadium.”(Reuters/NAN)

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North Korea’s nuclear weapons aimed only at U.S – diplomat

A high-ranking North Korean diplomat told a non-proliferation conference in Moscow on Friday that the country’s nuclear weapons were aimed at the U.S. and at no one else.

“We believe that the U.S., but not any other country, may mount a nuclear attack,” Choe Hui, the Head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s Department on North American Affairs said.

“Our nuclear programme and weapons are aimed at the U.S.,’’ the diplomat said in comments carried by Russian state news agency TASS.

“Our nuclear response will aim at the U.S., but not any other third country.”
Russia and China have the closest diplomatic relations with the insular communist state of North Korea.

The U.S. and its allies South Korea and Japan have been increasingly alarmed in recent months about the potential for a nuclear war with North Korea. (dpa/NAN)

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Why Tagbo ’s killer may be a woman

As late Davido’s friend, Tagbo Umeike, is being buried in his Anambra State home today (friday), indications emerged yesterday, that the deceased might have been murdered, and by a female.

The new development surfaced when an Instagram user, @digwe, made a claim, suggesting that the spirit of Tagbo appeared to her in the early hours of Thursday, asking her to deliver a message to his (Tagbo)’s killer.

@digwe noted that it felt strange to her, as she never met Tagbo in his life time, wondering why his ghost chose her for the errand.

The IG user who would not disclose details of her purported encounter with Tagbo’s ghost made insinuations of a killer with diabolic powers.

She gave an inkling of the killer’s sex in her post, adding that the ghost even provided her with the killer’s phone contact.

 She wrote in barely tidy abbreviations: “Rip tagbo i dunno y u chose to come to me? Wen u kill sumone n u follow d pesin to d spiritual realm to shut him up totally… i dnt no tagbo i v neva seen or spoken to him or know sumone dat knows him.. i av given ur msg to d pesin u wanted me to giv it to but m sorry i cnt share on my page for security reasons.. it was hell gettin ha number but u made it available to me…u r such a sweet n gentle spirit.. pls rest in peace n let God fight for u..? bye

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Obasanjo bags AFRIMMA’s Leadership Award

Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo has been honoured with the Leadership in Africa Award by organisers of the African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA).

The retired Army General was given the diadem on the occasion of the 4th AFRIMMA Awards and Festival which held on October 8, at the House of Blues, Dallas, Texas, United States.

Tauted as the biggest African music awards in Diaspora, this year’s AFRIMMA was attended by Nigerian celebrities such as Tiwa Savage, Falz, Basketmouth, Emma Nyra, and Kaffy  among others, who joined in the colourful celebration of African music on the world stage.

Founder of the show and CEO of Big A Entertainment, Anderson Obiagwu, said AFRIMMA Leadership in Africa Award is dedicated to African who have served with distinction in various leadership capacities in Africa and internationally.

He said: “Obasanjo, it would be recalled, is the first Nigerian to serve as Military Head of State as well as Civillian President.

“Some of his major achievements and accomplishments include being the first Military Head of State to successfully hand over power to an elected civillian President and also played a crucial role in wrestling back power from the Military in 1999, culminating in him being elected President.

“Obasanjo is also a designated UN envoy who has overseen various democratic elections across the continent. He is particularly renowned for his activities in the peace process of West African countries; Liberia and Sierra Leone. He famously resolved along with President Biya of Cameroon the protracted Bakassi Peninsula issue by signing the ‘Greentree Agreement’.

“The amiable leader established the Presidential Library which is one of the biggest educational tourism institutions in Africa . It would be recalled also that it was during his tenure as President that GSM mobile technology was introduced to Nigeria while counterparts Benin, Togo and Ghana were all already on the GSM technology.

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way and Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Mathew Obasanjo has been a tenacious leader who has left an imprint on African leadership history,” he said.

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