S pain has formally apologised to France after remarks by former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy about the diversity of the French World Cup squad triggered anger in both countries. The issue came up ahead of Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final between France and Spain. According to Reuters, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called his French counterpart to say Rajoy’s comments were “intolerable” and did not reflect what most Spaniards believe. “It is very serious to use skin colour to decide who is a citizen and who is not,” Albares said. He described the comments as carrying “the poison of racism and xenophobia.” The problem started after Rajoy wrote in Spanish news site El Debate that France had “a squad of the very highest calibre”, but added that there were “no French players in it.”  The comment appeared to target the African and Afro-Caribbean background of several players in the current French team, including captain Kylian Mbappé. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro ...

P residential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has said age and Nigeria’s zoning arrangement may prevent him from contesting again after the 2027 election. In a recent interview with media personality Rufai Oseni on Monday, Obi admitted that running in 2031 looks unlikely for him.  “It depends on what happens,” Obi said. “I don’t want to say it now because people may think I’m saying it because of some people.” The former Anambra State governor said the question first came up when a secondary school student asked him if he would try again after 2027. That question, he said, got him thinking about time and politics. Obi explained how Nigeria’s informal zoning system works against a long political career. Under the arrangement, power rotates between the North and South every eight years. “If I don’t contest now and power goes to the North in 2031, then by the time it returns to the South, I will be 78,” he said. “At that age, I don’t think I will still be...