Jannik Sinner downed defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win his first Wimbledon title, gaining sweet revenge for his painful defeat in the French Open final.
The world number one is the first Italian to win at the All England Club and now has four Grand Slams to his name at the age of 23.
Sinner stayed ice cool after losing the first set, with the momentum quickly shifting, and he was not broken once in the final three sets.
He squandered three championship points in the final at Roland Garros last month but this time made no mistake as he served out for victory.
Sinner said he was “living his dream”, prompting an eruption of cheers from the Centre Court crowd.
“An amazing tournament, thank you for the player you are,” he said to world number two Alcaraz. “It is so difficult to play against you.
“I am going to keep hold of this (trophy), you have two already!”
The tennis world has been captivated by the emergence of the new rivalry between the players to follow the storied “Big Three” era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Sinner and two-time defending Wimbledon champion Alcaraz have now shared the past seven Grand Slam titles between them, with the Italian winning four of those.
Defeat in Paris last month was a bitter blow for Sinner, who led by two sets and had a clutch of championship points.
Prior to Sunday’s victory, he had lost five consecutive times against Alcaraz, including the final of the Italian Open in the first tournament he played after returning from a three-month doping ban.
But this time he turned the tables in impressive fashion.
Both players were solid on serve until the fifth game, when Alcaraz sprayed a forehand long to hand Sinner the first break of the match.
But the Spaniard levelled at 4-4 to the delight of the Centre Court crowd, which included Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Sinner double-faulted to hand Alcaraz a second set point.
The Italian laced a searing forehand down the line but Alcaraz produced a magical backhand winner, pointing his finger to his ear as the crowd rose to their feet. (Punch)
Justice Olugboyega Ogunfowora of Ogun State High Court, Abeokuta, on Friday sentenced the duo of Mustakeem Balogun and Soliudeen Majekodunmi to death by hanging.
At the same time, Lukmon Abdulgafar bagged life imprisonment over the murder of 16-year-old Sofia Okeowo at Kugba area, Abeokuta, on January 28, 2022.
The state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr Oluwasina Ogungbade, disclosed this in a statement sent to journalists on Friday.
Recall that Sofia had gone to visit her boyfriend, Mustakeem, who had sexual intercourse with her, after which he was said to have viciously attacked and strangled the deceased with the support of Soliudeen and then beheaded her.
They subsequently cut parts of Sofia’s thighs and stuffed her headless body into a sack, after which the deceased’s head was taken to Lukmon’s house to be burnt with a local burner.
In a viral video that surfaced on the internet in January 2022, the trio were caught by community guards with Sofia’s head burning in the local burner.
They were also seen reciting incantations over her corpse.
The commissioner’s statement read, “Today, July 11, 2025, the trio of Mustakeem Balogun, Soliudeen Majekodunmi, and Lukmon Abdulgafar faces the full wrath of the law over the gruesome killing of Sofia Okeowo.
“The dastardly act which occurred on January 28th 2022, around Kugba, Abeokuta saw Mustakeem Balogun lure 16-year-old Sofia to have canal knowledge of her and later kill her in preparation for a premeditated money ritual charms.
“The two other culprits are Soliudeen Majekodunmi and Lukman Abdulgafar.
“Justice Olugboyega Ogunfowora of the Ogun State High Court has, however, found the trio guilty of the crime committed and has therefore sentenced Mustakeem Balogun and Soliudeen Majekodunmi to death by hanging while Lukman Abdulgafar received a life sentence.”
The commissioner further stated that the present administration does not allow crime to thrive, prompting the state to secure the conviction of the three criminals, which will serve as a deterrent to other ritualists. (Punch)
The Interim National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Senator David Mark, has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Nigeria’s immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement released through his media aide, Paul Mumeh, Mark noted that Buhari died at a crucial moment when his fatherly guidance was greatly needed to help steer the nation through its challenging leadership landscape.
President Bola Tinubu, through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and former presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu, announced the death of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday.
The former President reportedly died in London at about 4:30 p.m. after battling a prolonged, undisclosed illness.
Buhari served as Nigeria’s President from 2015 to 2023 and was also the country’s military Head of State between January 1984 and August 1985.
In response to his passing, President Tinubu directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to travel to the UK to bring Buhari’s remains back for burial. He also ordered all national flags to be flown at half-staff as a mark of respect.
Mark, who served as the military governor of Niger State from 1984 to 1986 during Buhari’s tenure as Military Head of State, described the former President’s love for Nigeria as unmatched.
The ADC chieftain stated, “Nigeria has lost a hero, an uncommon patriot and a selfless leader who gave his all for the good of our nation.
“The greatest sacrifice which would be difficult to fault was his love for this country, particularly, her unity”.
“It is sad that President Buhari transitioned to the great beyond at this time but we are consoled that his legacy of keeping the nation united will endure.” (Punch)
Fuel to the engines of the Air India plane that crashed last month appears to have cut off shortly after take-off, a preliminary report has found.
According to the report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), switches in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s cockpit that controlled fuel moved to a “CUTOFF” position.
It said: “Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of one second.
“The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off.”
There was then confusion in the cockpit. In the voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he “cut off”. The other pilot responds that he did not do so.
The 15-page report did not identify which comments were made by the flight’s captain and which were made by the first officer. One of the pilots made a “mayday, mayday, mayday” call just before the crash.
Both pilots were experienced, with around 19,000 flying hours between them, including more than 9,000 on the 787.
Flipping to cutoff almost immediately cuts the engines, and is most often used to turn the engines off once a plane has arrived at its airport gate and in certain emergency situations, such as an engine fire – though both switches together are rarely used simultaneously.
The report does not indicate there was any emergency requiring an engine cutoff. It also does not give a conclusion as to how the switches moved.
However, aviation expert David Learmount told Sky News “it sounds deliberate”, but also noted “there are cases of pilots carrying out an incorrect action instead of what they should be doing”.
Mr Learmount said the only action the pilots needed to conduct at the time was retracting the plane’s undercarriage, but this was not done.
He added: “Was that it? These switches are nowhere near the undercarriage lever and look totally different. The fuel switches cannot be turned on or off by mistake. They have to be pulled out before selecting up (run) or down (cut off).”
Similarly, Tim Atkinson, a pilot and aviation consultant, told Sky News’ Gillian Joseph “there are very few situations or circumstances which would explain this”.
He explained: “One would be an utterly extraordinary human error, an unintentional act, and the other – I’m very sorry to say – would be an intentional act. And that’s not a suggestion or allegation, it’s simply an analysis of the small amount of information that we have at hand at this moment.”
One of the engines was able to be restarted, but could not reverse the plane’s deceleration, the report found.
India’s AAIB said in its report: “At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers.”
No significant bird activity was observed in the vicinity of the plane’s flight path, the report said. The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall, it added.
The plane plummeted into a busy area, killing 241 passengers and 19 others on the ground while incinerating everything around it.
The only surviving passenger was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was sitting next to an emergency exit and, according to police, “managed to escape by jumping out the emergency door”.
The plane crashed and struck a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad, with the report stating: “The aircraft was destroyed due to impact with the buildings on the ground and subsequent fire.”
The plane’s two black boxes, which combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders, were recovered in the days after the crash.
They provide vital data such as altitude, airspeed and final pilot conversations, which can help narrow down the possible causes behind a crash.
The AAIB’s report is based on the initial findings of the probe, marking 30 days since the crash. It said the investigation is continuing. A final report is expected within a year. (SkyNews)
President Bola Tinubu has announced the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari, describing the development as a national loss.
This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced the passing of his predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“President Buhari died today in London at about 4.30 pm, following a prolonged illness”, the statement partly read.
Onanuga added that Tinubu has since reached out to the bereaved family.
“President Tinubu has spoken with Mrs Aishat Buhari, the former President’s widow and offered his deep condolences”, he stated.
To facilitate preparations and arrangements for the return of the late president’s remains, Onanuga revealed that the President has directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to travel immediately.
“President Tinubu has also ordered Vice President Kashim Shettima to proceed to the United Kingdom to accompany President Muhammadu Buhari’s body back to Nigeria,” he added.
The statement concluded that as part of the nation’s mourning, Tinubu ordered a symbolic tribute, stating, “President Tinubu has ordered flags at half-staff as a mark of respect for the departed leader.” (Punch)
Donald Trump announced on Saturday that goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% US tariff rate starting 1 August, in letters posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The tariff assault on the EU came as a shock to European capitals as the European Commission and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer had spent months hammering out a deal they believed was acceptable to both sides.
The agreement in principle put on Trump’s table last Wednesday involved a 10% tariff, five times the pre-Trump tariff, which the bloc already described as “pain”.
EU trade ministers will meet on Monday for a pre-arranged summit and will be under pressure from some countries to show a tough reaction by implementing €21bn ($24.6bn) in retaliatory measures, which they had paused until midnight the same day.
In his letter to Mexico’s leader, Trump acknowledged that the country had been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants and fentanyl into the United States.
But, he said, the country had not done enough to stop North America from turning into a “Narco-Trafficking Playground”.
“We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote in the letter to the EU. “Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”
Claudia Sheinbaum said on Saturday she is sure an agreement can be reached before Trump’s threatened tariffs take effect on 1 August.
Speaking during an event in the Mexican state of Sonora, the Mexican president added that Mexico’s sovereignty is never negotiable.
The higher-than-expected rate has dealt a blow to the EU’s hopes of de-escalation and a trade deal and could risk a trade war with goods of low margins including Belgian chocolate, Irish butter and Italian olive oil.
The EU was informed of the tariff hike before Trump’s declaration on social media.
In a letter to the EU, Trump warned that the EU would pay a price if they retaliated: “If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs and retaliate, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 30% that we charge.”
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the 30% rate would “disrupt transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic”.
She said the bloc was one of the more open trading places in the world, and still hoped to persuade Trump to climb down.
“We remain ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required,” she said.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called on the bloc to “resolutely defend European interests”. Expressing Paris’s “very strong disapproval” of Trump’s announcement, Macron urged the EU to “step up the preparation of credible countermeasures by mobilising all instruments at its disposal” if the two sides failed to reach agreement by 1 August.
Germany’s economy minister, Katherina Reiche, called on the EU to “negotiate in a pragmatic manner”, while the Federation of German Industries (BDI) warned that a trade conflict between the two partners “harms economic recovery, innovation strength, and ultimately confidence in international cooperation.”
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called for “goodwill … to reach a fair agreement that can strengthen the west as a whole. It would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic.” She added that both sides should avoid “polarisation”.
The decision to hike the tariffs will also be another test of Trump’s ability to act in good faith in negotiations.
Brussels will view the latest threat as a maneuver by Trump to extract more concessions from the EU, which he once described as “nastier” than China when it came to trade.
Bernd Lange, head of the European Parliament’s trade committee, said on Saturday that Brussels should react immediately with countermeasures against Trump’s “outrageous” threat to hike tariffs on imports from the European Union.
The EU had been negotiating intensively with Washington for more than three weeks and had made concessions, said Lange.
“It is brazen and disrespectful to increase the tariffs on European goods announced on April 2 from 20% to 30%,” Lange told Reuters.
“This is a slap in the face for the negotiations. This is no way to deal with a key trading partner.”
While Trump indicated earlier this week that his new rates, also levelled against big economies including Japan, South Korea and Brazil, will not apply until 1 August, his latest tactic will create much distrust.
Europe should make it clear that these “unfair trade practices” were unacceptable, Lange said. (Guardian)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has described Saturday’s local government election in Lagos State as peaceful and orderly.
The Acting Zonal Director of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, ACE I Ahmed Ghali, gave the assessment while monitoring the election process across various polling units in the state.
He said, “From the report and information we have gathered; because our people are everywhere monitoring the situation; everything is going peacefully, and you can see the area is so calm.
“There is no incident report yet, and we are happy with that development.”
He acknowledged minor delays in some areas due to the movement of election materials but described them as understandable.
Ghali also commended the conduct of voters, electoral officials, and security personnel, noting that no signs of malpractice had been observed.
“Everyone is conducting very well. People are coming and going. I have not seen any sign of malpractice and you can see the conduct of the officials is also professional. The security men are alert and doing their job,” he said.
The anti-graft agency said it will continue to observe the election process until voting is concluded. (Punch)
Polish star Iga Swiatek took another stride towards tennis greatness by ruthlessly tearing apart American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0, lifting her first Wimbledon trophy on Saturday.
On another warm afternoon on Centre Court, Swiatek got off to a scorching start by breaking a nervous Anisimova three times en route to winning the first set of a match with a score of 6-0, prompting some spectators to get behind the shell-shocked American.
A frustrated Anisimova looked to her team in the stands for any kind of guidance after conceding yet another break point early in the second set and it was not long before her machine-like opponent pulled away further.
Anisimova continued to disappointingly crack under pressure, before Swiatek completed the brutal mauling in 57 minutes with a backhand winner on her second match point to become the first Wimbledon champion from Poland.
“It’s something that is just surreal. I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself,”Swiatek told reporters after hoisting the gilded Venus Rosewater Dish.
“I’m really happy with the whole process, how it looked like from the first day we stepped on a grasscourt. Yeah, I feel like we did everything for it to go in that direction without expecting it, just working really hard.”
“It means a lot, and it gives me a lot of experience. Yeah, I don’t even know. I’m just happy,” she added.
Swiatek’s triumph ended a barren 13-month run for the Polish 24-year-old, who served a short suspension late last year after an inadvertent doping violation linked to contaminated sleep medication melatonin.
“I want to thank my coach (Wim Fissette). With the ups and downs now, we showed everybody it’s working,” Swiatek said
Already a US Open champion and a four-time French Open winner, Swiatek’s demolition job at the All England Club meant that she became the youngest woman since a 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to lift major titles on all three surfaces.
Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, celebrated with a picture of himself watching a post-match interview, while President Andrzej Duda was effusive in his praise.
“Iga! Today, on the grasscourts of Wimbledon, you wrote history – not only for Polish sport, but also for Polish pride. On behalf of the Republic of Poland – thank you,”Duda wrote. (VON)
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.” (SkyNews)
Liverpool are to retire the number 20 shirt in honour of forward Diogo Jota, who tragically died in a car crash along with his brother Andre Silva.
The Reds took the decision after consulting with Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso and his family which means the Portugal international “will forever be Liverpool’s number 20”.
A Liverpool statement, external said the number “will be retired in honour and memory of Diogo across all levels”, including the women’s team and throughout the academy.
They added: “The move is recognition of not only the immeasurable contribution our lad from Portugal made to the Reds’ on-pitch successes over the last five years, but also the profound personal impact he had on his team-mates, colleagues and supporters and the everlasting connections he built with them.”
Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020 and scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for the club.
He also helped them win the FA Cup and League Cup in 2022 – also winning the latter in 2024 – and the Premier League title last season.
It was Liverpool’s 20th top-flight crown and the Reds posted a video on social media, external with the message ‘forever our number 20’ at 20:20 BST on Friday.
“As a club, we were all acutely aware of the sentiment of our supporters – and we felt exactly the same way,” said Fenway Sports Group chief executive of football Michael Edwards.
“It was vitally important to us to involve Diogo’s wife, Rute, and his family in the decision and to ensure they were the first to know of our intention.
“I believe this is the first time in Liverpool’s history that such an honour has been bestowed upon an individual. Therefore, we can say this is a unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person.
“By retiring this squad number, we are making it eternal – and therefore never to be forgotten.”
Jota and his brother died after their car, a Lamborghini, left the road because of a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle at about 00:30 local time on Thursday, 3 July.
Jota was on his way back to Liverpool for pre-season and, as doctors had advised him against flying because he had undergone minor surgery, he was making the trip by car and ferry.
The funeral of the brothers took place in their hometown of Gondomar last Saturday when a large Liverpool delegation were in attendance.
Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso, members of the brothers’ family and Liverpool’s squad all visited Anfield on Friday to pay their respects.
Cardoso had three children with the Portugal international and the pair had married only 11 days prior to his accident.
She was seen carrying flowers at Anfield as she viewed the wealth of tributes that have been left outside the stadium in honour of Jota and his brother.
Liverpool players and staff have paid personal tributes in the week but the squad went as one with manager Arne Slot along with Cardoso on Friday.
Liverpool will play their first game since Jota’s death when they face Preston North End at Deepdale in a pre-season friendly on Sunday.
Jota and Silva will be commemorated with a number of tributes and there will be a minute’s silence at the game. (BBC)
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