Lawrence Okolie has revealed that he provoked cruiserweight rival Richard Riakporhe at last week’s Creed III premiere in London.Reigning WBO cruiserweight champion Okolie 18-0 (14 KOs), makes a third defence of his belt against New Zealander David Light on March 25 in Manchester, with Riakporhe in line to get a shot at his domestic rival should he come through next month’s bout. Riakporhe 16-0 (12 KOs) defeated Krzysztof Glowacki in the fourth round of their contest on the Eubank Jr-Smith undercard in Manchester last month.Okolie and Riakporhe were filmed being pulled apart by bystanders after trying to get to one…
Author: National Tone
For Nneka Ekpenisi, a physics teacher in Nigeria’s southern Delta state, remaining committed to the country’s public education system can be difficult, especially as skilled professionals continue to leave the country in high numbers. It does not help that teachers earn meagre salaries, sometimes as low as 30,000 ($65) naira monthly. A lack of basic resources also “makes it hard to create a proper environment for learning,” Ekpenisi, who is in her early thirties, told Al Jazeera. “Without access to standard lab equipment, my students sometimes struggle to focus.” Despite the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s recommendation…
As I enter Ukraine, the streets are dark. It’s taken a day to get here and it feels surreal to finally be standing in a country at war. Ten hours earlier I boarded a plane from London to Kraków in Poland. From there, it’s a three hour drive to the Ukraine border. I’m here with a team of journalists from Newsround to find out how children are doing, a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As we start our journey towards the border, it begins to snow. Crossing into Ukraine is surprisingly straightforward. Our vehicle is parked up next to…
The number of babies expected per woman in South Korea dropped to 0.78 last year, down from 0.81 a year earlier.South Korea has smashed its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate again, according to official data. The average number of expected babies per South Korean woman over her reproductive life fell to 0.78 in 2022, down from 0.81 a year earlier, according to data published by Statistics Korea on Wednesday. The figure is the lowest among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which had an average rate of 1.59 in 2020, and far below…
Some of these old-timers might be past their best but they still look set to throw up an excellent race at Doncaster in the Virgin Bet Veterans’ Handicap Chase on Wednesday. 3.00 Doncaster – Fidux bids to defy top weight for King teamThe Virgin Bet Veterans’ Handicap Chase (3:00) has a whole host of runners who look like they have been given their best chance for some time to land a victory at Doncaster. Faithful will attempt to shoulder top weight for the Alan King and Tom Cannon combo, although will surely need to improve on some recent disappointing runs.The…
Beijing and Tokyo square off over military buildup, Russia and spy balloons in first security dialogue in four years.China and Japan have kicked off their first formal security talks in four years, with Chinese officials expressing concern over Tokyo’s military buildup and Japanese diplomats taking aim at Beijing’s close ties with Russia and its suspected use of surveillance balloons. The talks, aimed at easing tensions, began in the Japanese capital on Wednesday. They come amid Japan’s worries that China may resort to force to take control of Taiwan in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine – a move that…
More Australians are targets of spying ‘than at any time in Australia’s history’, says the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO).The Indo-Pacific region is witnessing “great power competition” between China and the United States, while a “thirst” for covert information has driven espionage and foreign interference operations targeting Australia, the country’s intelligence chief has warned. Australia now faces unprecedented threats with more Australians being targeted by foreign agents than ever before, Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) said late on Tuesday. “With the power of the United States, our primary ally, contested by…
Connor McDavid continues to make his mark on the NHL record book. The Edmonton Oilers captain hit the 800-point mark for his career with an assist in the third period on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. The assist gave him 103 points on the season. McDavid didn’t stay at 800 for long, however, as not long after his assist, he scored his 43rd goal of the season to put the Oilers up 3-2 late in the third period. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; McDavid reached 800 points in just 545 games making him the fifth-fastest player to reach…
Top diplomat Wang Yi, who is currently in Moscow, has said ties between the two countries are ‘rock solid’.Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming months, according to the Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the plan, the newspaper said on Tuesday that the Xi-Putin summit was part of a Chinese effort to play a more active role in bringing the year-old war to an end and part of a push for multi-party peace talks. China will also use the summit to reiterate calls that nuclear…
The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson on injured reserve, general manager Patrik Allvin announced Tuesday. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; Ekman-Larsson has been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered last Wednesday in a 6-4 loss to New York Rangers. The defenceman injured his ankle on an attempted hit of Rangers forward Vladimir Tarasenko. On Saturday, head coach Rick Tocchet announced Ekman-Larsson would be out “some weeks” with the injury. The 31-year-old Swede has struggled this season, registering two goals and 20 assists in 54 games. You can catch the Canucks take on the Nashville Predators…