Author: starconnect
By Our Man in Seattle MAURICIO POCHETTINO’S tactical masterclass has sent the United States into absolute dreamland. In front of a raucous, star-studded crowd of sixty-six thousand, nine hundred and twenty-five fanatical spectators at the roaring Seattle Stadium, the tournament co-hosts put on a clinic, securing a dazzling two-nil victory over a fiercely brave but ultimately outclassed Australia. Even without their talismanic talisman Christian Pulisic watching anxiously from the sidelines, the Americans proved they have plenty of Hollywood star power left in the tank. This wasn’t just a football match; it was a statement of intent wrapped in the…
By Kola Odepeju I Saturday, June 19.2026 IRAGBIJI, Osun – Of all those running for governorship in Osun and whose parties will appear on the ballot on August 15th this year, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO, stands out as a serious candidate and the one who’s mostly ready and focused to change the fortune of the state for better, if given the opportunity to lead the state in the coming gubernatorial election. Without mincing words, AMBO has endeared himself to the people with the manifesto he presented to the Osun electorate. He has moved…
PrePBy abiodun KOMOLAFE I Saturday, June 19, 2026 IJEBU-JESA, Osun – When dispassionate commentaries are made by independent analysts in the fullness of time about the Tinubu presidency, a striking reality will emerge: he infused the political economy with fresh thinking. Let us be clear: it is not just about a birth date. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has infused the polity with a new age predicated on fresh thinking, sweeping away the cobweb of stale ideas which had hitherto acted as a brake upon national progress As former Governor and Minister Babatunde Raji Fashola has often indicated, leadership is…
By Our Special Correspondent at Lincoln The Samba beat is officially back, and it arrived with a devastating, glittering crunch in the City of Brotherly Love. After a listless opening stalemate that had the critics sharpening their knives, Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil rediscovered their golden groove. In front of a raucous, yellow-clad crowd of sixty-eight thousand, three hundred and twenty-four fans, the five-time world champions dismantled a courageous but heavily outclassed Haiti side to march to the summit of Group C. It was a night where the global icons stood tallest. With the iconic Neymar still watching from the stands…
Admin I Saturday, June 20, 2026 AWKA, Anambra – The Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka on Friday granted bail to a Nnewi-based native doctor, Ikechukwu Ezenagu, popularly known as “Mmuo Mmili Afuluanya,” in the sum of N50 million. The Homeland Security Special Court, presided over by Justice Jude Obiora, granted the defendant bail with one surety in like sum and ordered him to deposit the title documents of his residence with the court as part of the bail conditions. The court further ruled that the property would be forfeited to the Anambra State Government should the defendant abscond…
By Our Reporter PORT HARCOURT — The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has declared that the ongoing global shift from traditional fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources presents an unprecedented window of economic opportunities for the Niger Delta region. Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Initiative, Mr. Ed Ubong, at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Dr. Ogbuku emphasized that the Commission is aggressively harnessing the region’s abundant natural resources to drive sustainable development and industrial growth. According to him, the NDDC has consciously…
Admin I Friday, June 19, 2026 ABUJA, Nigeria – The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa has called on retired military officers to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and support his return to power in the 2027 election. According to him, President Tinubu has done well for the country and deserves a second term for him to complete his mandate. Musa stated these in Abuja when he received a delegation of Military Veterans and Comrades championing his reelection in 2027 led by its National Coordinator, Elder Kenneth Siza, and members of its National…
By SCM Correspondent A HEARTLESS Ukrainian dad who stuffed more than 2lbs of high-purity cocaine inside his young daughter’s snack packets has been jailed for nine years. The callous drug runner used his own flesh and blood as an innocent shield to smuggle the massive haul of Class A drugs, callously stashing the contraband right alongside her favorite corn treats. But his cold-hearted plot unraveled when law enforcement officials intercepted the child’s backpack, discovering over a kilogram of cocaine tightly wrapped and hidden inside the food packaging. Throughout a dramatic courtroom trial, the brazen smuggler stubbornly refused to admit…
By SCM Correspondent JERUSALEM — In a sharp escalation of rhetoric that threatens to derail fragile international peace efforts, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called on Friday for an unrestrained military campaign against Lebanon, declaring that the country “must burn” following the combat deaths of four Israeli soldiers. Mr. Ben-Gvir’s remarks, published on the social media platform X, openly rejected calls for diplomatic restraint from the United States and directly challenged the wisdom of a heavily negotiated framework intended to halt a spiraling regional war. The statement exposed the intense, volatile pressures operating inside Prime Minister Benjamin…
KeirBy A SCM REPORTER I 19 June 2026 TWO reckless arsonists who targeted properties and a vehicle connected to Prime Minister Keir Starmer have been locked up after a terrifying plot orchestrated by a mysterious online handler known only as ‘El Money’. The Old Bailey heard how Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, acting as a “useful idiot,” and Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were recruited via the Telegram messaging app to carry out a series of targeted firebombings in North London. The duo’s week-long campaign of terror in May 2025 sent shockwaves through Whitehall, sparking a frantic, high-stakes manhunt by…