Hoshoryu defeated fellow yokozuna Onosato in the final bout of the five-day exhibition Grand Sumo Tournament at London’s Royal Albert Hall to claim the champion’s trophy on Sunday.
The Japan Sumo Association’s first overseas tournament in 20 years proved to be a big hit in the British capital, with roughly 27,000 fans attending over the five sold-out days at the renowned concert venue.
British news outlets and social media were abuzz with images of the giant wrestlers sightseeing around London, where they mingled with local fans and onlookers.
Both grand champions entered the final bout unbeaten in a two-way tie for the lead, meaning the winner would walk away with the title.
Mongolian-born Hoshoryu, 26, used a strong belt grip to spin the 25-year-old Onosato around and usher him out of the ring from behind.
Rank-and-file wrestler Tobizaru started the day with a share of the lead but was knocked out of the race as he lost to komusubi Takayasu. The No. 15 maegashira, whose name translates to “flying monkey,” became a fan favorite in London as the underdog title challenger.
Onosato, who beat Hoshoryu to win the September grand tournament in Tokyo, delivered a brief farewell message in English at a closing ceremony for the first sumo tour to London since 1991.
“Hello everyone. London is great. Thank you and see you again. Goodbye,” said Onosato, keeping his address short and sweet.
Sumo association chief Hakkaku expressed his satisfaction with the tour, hailing it as a huge success.
“It was even better than I expected,” said Hakkaku, formerly yokozuna Hokutoumi. “I’m overwhelmed with emotion. It feels like sumo has been broadcast to the world.”
The London tournament featured wrestlers from the elite makuuchi division and was the sumo association’s 14th overseas tour. The first was to Moscow and Khabarovsk in what was then the Soviet Union in 1965, while the most recent was to Las Vegas in 2005. (JapanToday)
President Bola Tinubu has extended his condolences to the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, following the tragic deaths of his son, Victor Moro, and grandson, Abba Moro Jr.
In a Tuesday statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, the President described the losses as heartbreaking and urged the family to find comfort in the short but meaningful lives of the departed.
Tinubu commiserated with the Senator’s family, friends, and associates, particularly those from the Benue South Senatorial District, which Moro represents in the National Assembly.
“The President urges the family to find solace in the impactful lives of the children, whose time on earth, though short, is truly a blessing to the many lives they touched and those who came in contact with them,” the statement read in part.
He prayed for divine strength and consolation for the bereaved family, asking God Almighty to “receive the souls of the departed children and comfort the family.”
Senator Moro, a former Minister of Interior, has represented Benue South since 2019 and currently leads the opposition caucus in the 10th Senate.
Moro’s son died in a car crash on the Mararaba axis of Nasarawa State soon after returning from studies abroad.
Multiple outlets said the accident happened a day after the family buried the senator’s grandson, Abba Moro Jr.
The grandson’s death reportedly occurred earlier and he was laid to rest shortly before the crash that killed Victor; however, the cause of the child’s death has not been publicly disclosed. (Punch)
Super Eaglesgoalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has posted a cryptic message on Instagram days after tense on-field clashes with teammates during Nigeria’s 4-0 win over Benin Republic as Maduka Okoye returns from his two-month suspension, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Chippa United stopper wrote on his Instagram story on Friday, “I never fake care anyone. What I give, I give from my heart. Choose a good heart. People change so fast…King VO9.”
The post comes just days after Nwabali was involved in flash incidents with his own teammates during the World Cup qualifier in Uyo.
First, he pushed Wilfred Ndidi, who tried to calm him down after he confronted a Benin player. At half-time, as the players trudged off the pitch, he was seen arguing with Calvin Bassey.
Victor Osimhen scored a hat-trick as the three-time African champions secured their place in the continental playoffs, but there were criticisms aimed at Nwabali and some of his antics, especially after his mistakes in a 2-1 win over Lesotho last week.
While a lot of observers called for Nwabali to be dropped, head coach Eric Chelle kept faith with him for the Benin game.
The goalkeeper’s cryptic message has sparked speculation about possible tensions within the squad, though the reference to “King VO9” suggests the post may have been supportive of Osimhen rather than critical.
Nwabali has faced scrutiny in recent months, with his form becoming increasingly erratic. Flashes of his AFCON-era composure have been replaced by inconsistency and avoidable confrontations.
His judgment in high-pressure moments has often been questioned, and several on-field outbursts have only added to concerns about his temperament, though referees’ leniency has spared him disciplinary action.
The 28-year-old tragically lost both parents within a two-month span earlier this year, and he may still be dealing with the emotional toll of those losses.
Meanwhile, Okoye is poised to make his long-awaited return to the Udinese squad after serving a two-month suspension for betting-related offences.
The Düsseldorf-born goalkeeper, who had established himself as a reliable figure in Friuli before his ban, is now being backed to bounce back stronger as the Serie A side resume domestic duties.
Okoye’s return to club action inevitably raises questions about Nigeria’s goalkeeping situation ahead of the crucial World Cup playoff matches in November.
The 25-year-old could offer a calming presence that the Super Eagles have lacked in recent outings. His display against Russia in June, in what was a very intimidating atmosphere inside the Luzhniki Stadium, was a testament to his ability under pressure.
However, Nigeria can ill afford disruption ahead of November’s World Cup playoff semi-final against Gabon. Any shift in the goalkeeping hierarchy would risk unsettling a squad already chasing stability.
The more logical window for such a reassessment would be December’s pre-AFCON camp, when Chelle and his staff will have ample time to evaluate both men closely before making a definitive call. (Punch)
Novak Djokovic is withdrawing from next week’s Paris Masters, he announced on social media on Tuesday, just days after he stopped playing in an exhibition event because of a leg injury.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has competed infrequently this season, appearing in only eight ATP Tour events outside of the four majors.
Djokovic, who is 38, reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open this season. From late May to late September, the only tournaments he entered were those last three Slams.
At his most recent official tournament, the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic was slowed by a sore hip during a semifinal exit.
He was one of the half-dozen men invited to the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia last week. After an opening bye, Djokovic lost to Jannik Sinner, then faced Taylor Fritz to determine the third-place finisher but stopped playing after one set.
The ATP Finals, which Djokovic qualified for but skipped in 2024, are Nov 9-16 in Turin, Italy. (JapanToday)
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his astonishing goalscoring form on Saturday, netting his 949th career goal as Al Nassr cruised to a 5–1 victory over Al Fateh in the Saudi Pro League.
The Portuguese scored a stunner in the 60th minute, less than a minute after losing a spot kick.
Joao Felix also bagged another hat-trick as Kingsley Coman scored in the second half to take the table-toppers four points clear on the Saudi Pro League summit.
PUNCH Online had reported that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is on the verge of achieving a milestone no male footballer has ever reached: 1,000 career goals.Al Nassr’s next game is on Wednesday against Goa in the AFC Cup. (Punch)
Japan’s Diet elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first female prime minister Tuesday, a day after her struggling party struck a coalition deal with a new partner expected to pull her governing bloc further to the right.
Takaichi replaces Shigeru Ishiba, ending a three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the Liberal Democratic Party’s disastrous election loss in July.
Ishiba, who lasted only one year as prime minister, resigned with his cabinet earlier in the day, paving the way for his successor.
Takaichi won 237 votes — four more than a majority — compared to 149 won by Yoshikoko Noda, head of the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, in the lower house, which elects the prime minister. As the results were announced, Takaichi stood up and bowed deeply.
The LDP’s alliance with the Osaka-based rightwing Japan Innovation Party, or Ishin no Kai, ensured her premiership because the opposition is not united. Takaichi’s untested alliance is still short of a majority in both houses of parliament and will need to court other opposition groups to pass any legislation — a risk that could make her government unstable and short-lived.
The two parties signed a coalition agreement on policies underscoring Takaichi’s hawkish and nationalistic views.
Their last-minute deal came after the Liberal Democrats lost its longtime partner, the Buddhist-backed Komeito, which has a more dovish and centrist stance. The breakup threatened a change of power for the LDP, which has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for decades.
Tackling rising prices and other economic measures is the top priority for the Takaichi government, LDP Secretary General Shunichi Suzuki told NHK public television as he apologized over the delay because of the party’s internal power struggle since the July election. He said the new coalition will cooperate with other opposition parties to quickly tackle rising prices to “live up to the expectations of the people.”
Later in the day, Takaichi, 64, will present a cabinet with a number of allies of LDP’s most powerful kingmaker, Taro Aso, and others who backed her in the party leadership vote.
JIP will not hold ministerial posts in Takaichi’s cabinet until his party is confident about its partnership with the LDP, Yoshimura said.
Takaichi is running on a deadline, as she prepares for a major policy speech later this week, talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and regional summits. She needs to quickly tackle rising prices and compile economy-boosting measures by late December to address public frustration.
While she is the first woman serving as Japan’s prime minister, she is in no rush to promote gender equality or diversity.
Takaichi is among Japanese politicians who have stonewalled measures for women’s advancement. Takaichi supports the imperial family’s male-only succession and opposes same-sex marriage and allowing separate surnames for married couples.
A protege of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is expected to emulate his policies including a stronger military and economy, as well as revising Japan’s pacifist constitution. With her potentially weak grip on power, it’s unknown how much Takaichi will be able to achieve.
Also an admirer of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi was first elected to parliament in 1993 and has served in a number of senior party and government posts, including as ministers of economic security and internal affairs, but her diplomatic background is thin.
When Komeito left the governing coalition, it cited the LDP’s lax response to slush fund scandals that led to their consecutive election defeats.
The centrist party also raised concern about Takaichi’s revisionist view of Japan’s wartime past and her regular prayers at Yasukuni Shrine despite protests from Beijing and Seoul that see the visits as lack of remorse about Japanese aggression, as well as her recent xenophobic remarks.
Takaichi has toned down her hawkish rhetoric. On Friday, she sent a religious ornament instead of going to Yasukuni. (JapanToday)
Paris Saint-Germain scored seven and both Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven hit six in big victories while Arsenal crushed Atletico Madrid 4-0 on a prolific night of Champions League action on Tuesday.
Erling Haaland was among the scorers in Manchester City’s 2-0 win at Villarreal as a total of 43 goals rained down across nine games.
However, it was champions PSG who stole the show with their 7-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.
Desire Doue scored twice in between goals by Willian Pacho and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for PSG in a first half which saw Alejandro Grimaldo miss a penalty and Aleix Garcia net from the spot for Leverkusen.
Both sides had a man sent off in the opening period, with Robert Andrich seeing red for Leverkusen and Illia Zabarnyi walking for the visitors.
Nuno Mendes got the French side’s fifth goal shortly after the break and Garcia pulled it back to 5-2.
Ousmane Dembele, on his return from injury and first appearance since winning the Ballon d’Or, got PSG’s sixth and Vitinha completed the scoring at the death.
“I am not yet at 100 percent. I wanted to play at the weekend and the coach told me to wait a bit, but I felt great,” Dembele told broadcaster Canal Plus.
It is the first time PSG have scored seven goals away from home in a Champions League game, and they are top of the standings after three outings in the league phase, with a maximum nine points and the best goal difference.
Inter Milan and Arsenal are the other teams with a 100 percent record after three outings, with the Italians easing to a 4-0 victory at Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels.
Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martinez both netted late in the first half before Hakan Calhanoglu added a penalty soon after the restart and Pio Esposito completed the scoring.
Meanwhile Premier League leaders Arsenal hammered Atletico at the Emirates Stadium, as Mikel Arteta’s side made it three straight wins all with clean sheets in Europe this season.
All the goals came in the second half, with Gabriel putting them ahead and Gabriel Martinelli getting the second before Viktor Gyokeres struck twice to end a run of seven club appearances without finding the net.
“Hopefully it’s the start of some beautiful sequence now,” said Arteta of the Sweden striker.
Haaland put City ahead against Villarreal in Spain and Bernardo Silva got their second goal before half-time as Pep Guardiola’s team moved on to seven points from three outings.
Norway superstar Haaland kept up his remarkable record in front of goal this season and he has now found the net 15 times in 11 appearances for City in all competitions.
“I see that things are looking good, we are playing a little bit better day after day and that’s a good sign,” Guardiola told broadcaster Movistar.
Felix Nmecha hit a brace as Borussia Dortmund won 4-2 away to FC Copenhagen, with Ramy Bensebaini converting a penalty and Fabio Silva also scoring.
Waldemar Anton’s own goal had brought the Danes back level at one point in the first half, while Viktor Dadason got their other goal late on. They are yet to win in the league phase.
Beaten at home by PSG last time out, Barcelona bounced back to thump Olympiacos 6-1 at Montjuic as Fermin Lopez starred with a hat-trick.
Lamine Yamal got his name on the scoresheet with a penalty and Marcus Rashford scored twice, with Ayoub El Kaabi’s spot-kick scant consolation for the Greeks.
Newcastle United got their second straight win in the competition by easing to a 3-0 victory against Benfica at St James’ Park.
Anthony Gordon got the opener and Harvey Barnes emerged from the bench to score twice in the second half, leaving Jose Mourinho’s Benfica as the only team to have no points having played three games.
PSV claimed a stunning 6-2 home win against Italian champions Napoli, despite Scott McTominay giving the visitors the lead in the first half.
An Alessandro Buongiorno own goal restored parity and Ismael Saibari put PSV ahead before Dennis Man scored twice and both Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech also found the net.
McTominay pulled another one back for Napoli, who had Lorenzo Lucca sent off.
The night’s other game ended in a 0-0 draw between rank outsiders Kairat Almaty and Pafos of Cyprus in Kazakhstan. (JapanToday)
A British court has sentenced a transgender woman, Ciara Watkin, to 21 months in prison for deceiving a man into sexual activity by falsely claiming to be a biological female.
According to a BBC report on Friday, the victim told Durham Crown Court he would not have consented to the sexual encounter had he known Watkin was biologically male.
The court heard that Watkin, 21, from Thornaby in Stockton-on-Tees, was found guilty of sexual assault after jurors rejected her claim that the man “would have realised” her gender identity.
Recorder Peter Makepeace KC said he was “certain” the victim “fully believed from start to finish” that Watkin was a woman due to her “lies and deception.”
Watkin, who was born male and had used the name Ciara since childhood, had not undergone any medical transition or surgery, the BBC reported.
Both Watkin and the victim were 18 when they met on Snapchat, where she used a female cartoon character as her profile picture. They later met in person, leading to sexual contact. Prosecutor Paul Reid told the court that Watkin even claimed to be menstruating to stop the man from touching her below the waist.
When Watkin later confessed to being biologically male, the man said he was “physically sick” and immediately reported the matter to the police.
Transgender woman jailed for deceiving man about gender in UK
A British court has sentenced a transgender woman, Ciara Watkin, to 21 months in prison for deceiving a man into sexual activity by falsely claiming to be a biological female.
According to a BBC report on Friday, the victim told Durham Crown Court he would not have consented to the sexual encounter had he known Watkin was biologically male.
The court heard that Watkin, 21, from Thornaby in Stockton-on-Tees, was found guilty of sexual assault after jurors rejected her claim that the man “would have realised” her gender identity.
Recorder Peter Makepeace KC said he was “certain” the victim “fully believed from start to finish” that Watkin was a woman due to her “lies and deception.”
Watkin, who was born male and had used the name Ciara since childhood, had not undergone any medical transition or surgery, the BBC reported.
Both Watkin and the victim were 18 when they met on Snapchat, where she used a female cartoon character as her profile picture. They later met in person, leading to sexual contact. Prosecutor Paul Reid told the court that Watkin even claimed to be menstruating to stop the man from touching her below the waist.
When Watkin later confessed to being biologically male, the man said he was “physically sick” and immediately reported the matter to the police.
“He said he was shocked and upset about being deceived, adding that he felt ashamed, embarrassed, and had been ridiculed online due to Watkin’s actions and deception,” the report stated.
The victim, who described himself as heterosexual, told the court he felt “part of his masculinity was taken away.”
Defence counsel Victoria Lamballe argued that Watkin’s actions were not “predatory or sadistic” but stemmed from “shame and a deep sense of discomfort” with her own body.
She said Watkin, who has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, identified as female from primary school and had endured years of bullying.
“It is hardly surprising that Watkin built up a façade and presented almost as a caricature of herself to mask the inner turmoil she feels at having been born into the wrong body,” Lamballe said, adding that Watkin “simply wanted to be loved.”
However, Recorder Makepeace ruled that the victim was “totally deceived,” saying Watkin had lied to “get away” with her deception and was aware the man would not have consented if he knew her biological sex.
The judge also criticised Watkin’s attitude during the trial, describing her as “flippant, disinterested, and bored,” showing “not a shred of remorse.” (Punch)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that the war in Gaza wouldn’t be over until Hamas was disarmed and the Palestinian territory demilitarised.
His declaration came as Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said it would hand over the remains of two further hostages on Saturday night.
The Israeli military said a Red Cross team was en route to receive “several” bodies just before 11:00pm (2000 GMT).
The issue of the dead hostages still in Gaza has become a sticking point in the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire, with Israel linking the reopening of the key Rafah crossing between the territory and Egypt to the issue.
Netanyahu cautioned, however, that completing the ceasefire’s second phase was essential to ending the war, saying late on Saturday that “Phase B also involves the disarming of Hamas — or more precisely, the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, following the stripping of Hamas of its weapons”.
“When that is successfully completed — hopefully in an easy way, but if not, in a hard way — then the war will end,” he added in an appearance on right-wing Israeli Channel 14.
The group has so far resisted the idea and since the pause in fighting has moved to reassert its control over the Gaza Strip.
Under the ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has so far released all 20 living hostages, along with the remains of nine Israelis and one Nepalese.
The most recent handover was on Friday night, that of the body identified by Israel as Eliyahu Margalit, who died aged 75 in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and 135 other bodies of Palestinians since the truce came into effect on October 10.
Hamas has said it needs time and technical assistance to recover the remaining bodies, which it says are buried under Gaza’s rubble.
The two bodies to be returned on Saturday “were recovered earlier today” the al-Qassam Brigades said on Telegram.
Netanyahu on Saturday linked the reopening of the vital Rafah crossing to Egypt with Hamas returning all the bodies of hostages still in Gaza.
The Palestinian mission in Cairo announced that the crossing could open as early as Monday, though only for Gazans living in Egypt who wished to return to the territory.
Shortly after, however, Netanyahu’s office said he had “directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice”.
“Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its part in returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and in implementing the agreed-upon framework,” it said, referring to the week-old ceasefire deal.
Further delays to the reopening could complicate the task facing Tom Fletcher, the UN head of humanitarian relief, who was in northern Gaza on Saturday.
“I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing and, to see the devastation — this is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland — and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he told AFP.
Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a “massive, massive job”.
He said he had met residents returning to destroyed homes who were trying to dig latrines in the ruins.
“They’re telling me most of all they want dignity,” he said.
“We have a massive 60-day plan now to surge in food, get a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school.”
While the Rafah crossing has yet to reopen, just over a week since the brokering of the truce, hundreds of trucks are rolling in each day via Israeli checkpoints and aid is being distributed.
According to figures supplied to mediators by the Israeli military’s civil affairs agency and released by the UN humanitarian office, on Thursday some 950 trucks carrying aid and commercial supplies crossed into Gaza from Israel.
Some violence has persisted despite the ceasefire.
Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said on Saturday that it had recovered the bodies of nine Palestinians — two men, three women and four children — from the Shaaban family after Israeli troops fired two tank shells at a bus. (Punch)
NFF president Ibrahim Gusau has expressed confidence Nigeria will qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the Playoffs, while also backing Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle.
On Tuesday, the Super Eagles kept World Cup hopes alive when they qualified for the continental Playoffs next month in Morocco, where they will battle Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon for a ticket to next year’s Intercontinental Playoffs in Mexico to produce two more qualifiers for the Mundial.
“We have started preparations (World Cup Playoffs), but the most important thing is the commitment and zeal of the players,” Gusau said while expressing his confidence in Nigeria featuring at next year’s World Cup.
“They have now realised that going to the World Cup is important to their careers, more than even how Nigerians look at it.
“We are getting all the cooperation we need for the government to ensure we are ready for the Playoffs and I know we will move on to the Intercontinental Playoffs.”
He said coach Eric Chelle has justified his appointment as Super Eagles coach by winning four of six World Cup qualifiers.
“Had we had a little resemblance of that record, we would not have been where we are today,” he said. (Nation)
English