Dewi Lake insists his team will “never give up fighting” despite the turmoil surrounding the domestic game in Wales.
Lake captains his country into the 2026 Six Nations on the back of major upheaval around regional rugby.
The squad begin preparations for their opening game against England days after news that the owners of Lake’s Ospreys side are bidding to take over Cardiff with one Welsh region to be culled by the WRU.
As the league’s final round of the season approaches this week, clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Liverpool are all vying for direct passage to the Champions League’s last 16.
With all 18 games beginning on Wednesday, 15 teams have already secured their places in the knockout rounds, with 17 more vying for the top spots.
Although PSG demonstrated last year that there is no stopping PSG from lifting the trophy, the top eight receive a bye into the last 16 while the next 16 teams will enter Friday’s play-off draw.
What’s at stake on matchday eight is examined by AFP Sport:
Bayern Munich and Arsenal, who have won seven of their seven matches, are the only two teams who are already guaranteed a spot in the last 16. Since the league phase was introduced last year, the Gunners could become the first team to win all eight games. They play Kairat Almaty, who has just one point and is at the bottom of the table.
In November, Bayern suffered only one defeat in Europe at Arsenal. In their final match, Van Kompany’s men travel to PSV Eindhoven.
Real Madrid, a record 15-time champions, will defeat Benfica to seal a place in the last 16 with a victory. If Qarabag is defeated at Anfield, Liverpool will follow them, and Tottenham knows that despite their domestic struggles, they can avoid the play-offs if they defeat them at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Eight teams, including those who finished sixth and thirteenth, are tied for 13 points when PSG hosts Newcastle at Parc des Princes. Chelsea are currently in the top eight, but former Blues boss Antonio Conte is tasked with a challenging task at Napoli.
Manchester City and Barcelona rank ninth and eleventh, respectively. If any of the teams in the upper eight fall short, they could easily snag a spot in the top eight. At the very least PSG or Newcastle will lose points, if not both.
Inter, who have lost three games in a row, and Juventus are also included, while Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, and Sporting Lisbon are also included. Regardless of the results on Wednesday, all of those clubs will exit the league.
Borussia Dortmund and Galatasaray will almost certainly advance. After a last-gasp victory over Eintracht last week, Qarabag from Azerbaijan are now on a roll to knockout status.
The top 24 currently includes Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco, PSV, Athletic Bilbao, and Olympiacos, but there are seven other clubs that could resurrect them.
The most notable team in danger of missing out on the knockout phase is Italian champion Napoli. Due to fewer goals scored, they are 25th overall, behind Olympiacos.
After winning their final game, FC Copenhagen travels to Barcelona with eight points. Former European champions Benfica and Ajax must win in order to qualify. Club Brugge, Bodo/Glimt, Pafos, and Union Saint-Gilloise all have similar policies.
As the league’s final round of the season approaches this week, clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Liverpool are all vying for direct passage to the Champions League’s last 16.
With all 18 games beginning on Wednesday, 15 teams have already secured their places in the knockout rounds, with 17 more vying for the top spots.
Although PSG demonstrated last year that there is no stopping PSG from lifting the trophy, the top eight receive a bye into the last 16 while the next 16 teams will enter Friday’s play-off draw.
What’s at stake on matchday eight is examined by AFP Sport:
Bayern Munich and Arsenal, who have won seven of their seven matches, are the only two teams who are already guaranteed a spot in the last 16. Since the league phase was introduced last year, the Gunners could become the first team to win all eight games. They play Kairat Almaty, who has just one point and is at the bottom of the table.
In November, Bayern suffered only one defeat in Europe at Arsenal. In their final match, Van Kompany’s men travel to PSV Eindhoven.
Real Madrid, a record 15-time champions, will defeat Benfica to seal a place in the last 16 with a victory. If Qarabag is defeated at Anfield, Liverpool will follow them, and Tottenham knows that despite their domestic struggles, they can avoid the play-offs if they defeat them at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Eight teams, including those who finished sixth and thirteenth, are tied for 13 points when PSG hosts Newcastle at Parc des Princes. Chelsea are currently in the top eight, but former Blues boss Antonio Conte is tasked with a challenging task at Napoli.
Manchester City and Barcelona rank ninth and eleventh, respectively. If any of the teams in the upper eight fall short, they could easily snag a spot in the top eight. At the very least PSG or Newcastle will lose points, if not both.
Inter, who have lost three games in a row, and Juventus are also included, while Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, and Sporting Lisbon are also included. Regardless of the results on Wednesday, all of those clubs will exit the league.
Borussia Dortmund and Galatasaray will almost certainly advance. After a last-gasp victory over Eintracht last week, Qarabag from Azerbaijan are now on a roll to knockout status.
The top 24 currently includes Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco, PSV, Athletic Bilbao, and Olympiacos, but there are seven other clubs that could resurrect them.
The most notable team in danger of missing out on the knockout phase is Italian champion Napoli. Due to fewer goals scored, they are 25th overall, behind Olympiacos.
After winning their final game, FC Copenhagen travels to Barcelona with eight points. Former European champions Benfica and Ajax must win in order to qualify. Club Brugge, Bodo/Glimt, Pafos, and Union Saint-Gilloise all have similar policies.
Due to technical and legal issues, Diezani Alison-Madueke’s trial in London’s corruption case began on Monday, according to lawyers.
Also read: Ex-Minister Diezani Reappears In London Court for “£100, 000 Bribery” Trial.
The 65-year-old, who became the first woman to lead OPEC between 2010 and 2015, when Goodluck Jonathan was the country’s president, is accused of accepting five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiring to commit bribery.
According to lawyers, the trial may not begin until Tuesday because both the prosecution and defense teams need to come to terms with specific evidence that may or may not be examined during the proceedings and decide who the jurors will be.
Between 2011 and 2015, Alison-Madueke is accused of accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals connected to the SPOG Petrochemical and Atlantic Energy companies.
These included £100, 000 ($137, 000) in cash, staff costs at several London properties, furniture, chauffeur-driven cars, and a private jet flight to Nigeria.
Other allegations include receiving bribes, including school expenses for her son, Louis Vuitton and other high-end products from Harrods and other outlets.
According to the indictment, accepting these bribes constituted “improper performance” of her duties as oil minister.
Before the trial, which is scheduled to last 10 to 12 weeks, she made an appearance in a London court last week for preliminary proceedings, including jury selection and technical matters.
On bribery-related bribery-related charges, two others, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also facing charges.
“Power Abuse”
Since her initial arrest in London in October 2015, Alison-Madueke has been on bail.
She has denied the accusations leveled at her.
According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), she was formally charged with accepting bribes in 2023.
Diezani Alison-Madueke allegedly misused her position in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for signing multi-million-pound deals, according to the NCA at the time.
The NCA, which targets organized crime and serious international crime, announced earlier in 2023 that it had provided evidence to US prosecutors allowing them to recover assets worth $53.1 million related to Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption.
According to the US Department of Justice, the documents included a 65-meter (213-foot) superyacht, the Galactica Star, as well as expensive real estate in California and New York, as well as.
Alison-Madueke studied architecture in the oil city of Port Harcourt in 1960 before working for Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary. She was born to a wealthy family in Port Harcourt.
She served three significant political positions, first as Minister of Mines and Steel Development and then as Minister of Mines and Steel Development in 2007.
In April 2010, Jonathan appointed her Minister of Petroleum Resources after Yar’Adua passed away.
She became the first woman to lead OPEC in 2014, a position she held for about a year.
A request to stop Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) employees from continuing their ongoing strike has been delayed until January 27th, according to the National Industrial Court in Abuja.
After hearing the counsel’s opinions of both parties, Justice Emmanuel Subilim adjourned the case for decision.
The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, who is suing the court to compel the stricken FCTA workers to resign from their jobs, filed the lawsuit.
The workers started the strike because of allegedly unresolved welfare issues, including unpaid pay for five months, long-standing promotions, and unfavorable working conditions.
READ ALSO: FCTA, FCDA Workers Start Strike Over “Unmet Demands,” Shut Down Operations.
The FCT Minister and the FCTA are named as defendants in the lawsuit, while Rifkatu Iortyer, the JUAC’s president and secretary, and Abdullahi Saleh are named as defendants.
Maxwell Okpara, the defendants’ attorney, urged the court to join the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as respondents, contending that their inclusion would impose any ruling of the court on them.
However, James Onoja, SAN, the FCT Minister’s attorney, refrained from submitting the request, arguing only that the two defendants’ suits were legitimately brought against them. He also noted that they are not registered under the Trade Union Act.
Onoja argued that the Federal Capital Territory’s essential services have been undermined by the industrial action and demanded that the court grant the request and order the striking workers to go back to work.
Justice Subilim ruled in his decision regarding the joinder application that the court couldn’t compel the defendants to add more defendants because the claimants had chosen to sue only the two defendants.
A request to stop Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) employees from continuing their ongoing strike has been delayed until January 27th, according to the National Industrial Court in Abuja.
After hearing the counsel’s opinions of both parties, Justice Emmanuel Subilim adjourned the case for decision.
The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, who is suing the court to compel the stricken FCTA workers to resign from their jobs, filed the lawsuit.
The workers started the strike because of allegedly unresolved welfare issues, including unpaid pay for five months, long-standing promotions, and unfavorable working conditions.
READ ALSO: FCTA, FCDA Workers Start Strike Over “Unmet Demands,” Shut Down Operations.
The FCT Minister and the FCTA are named as defendants in the lawsuit, while Rifkatu Iortyer, the JUAC’s president and secretary, and Abdullahi Saleh are named as defendants.
Maxwell Okpara, the defendants’ attorney, urged the court to join the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as respondents, contending that their inclusion would impose any ruling of the court on them.
However, James Onoja, SAN, the FCT Minister’s attorney, refrained from submitting the request, arguing only that the two defendants’ suits were legitimately brought against them. He also noted that they are not registered under the Trade Union Act.
Onoja argued that the Federal Capital Territory’s essential services have been undermined by the industrial action and demanded that the court grant the request and order the striking workers to go back to work.
Justice Subilim ruled in his decision regarding the joinder application that the court couldn’t compel the defendants to add more defendants because the claimants had chosen to sue only the two defendants.