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Russia has been stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA  with St. Petersburg replaced by Paris after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The men's final will still be held on May 28 but now at the 80,000-seat Stade de France after the decision by UEFA's executive committee. A statement confirmed: ‘The UEFA Executive Committee today held an extraordinary meeting following the grave escalation of the security situation in Europe.   ‘The UEFA Executive Committee decided to relocate the final of the 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Champions League from Saint Petersburg to Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The game will be played as initially scheduled on Saturday 28 May at 21:00 CET.   ‘UEFA wishes to express its thanks and appreciation to French Republic President Emmanuel Macron for his personal support and commitment to have European club football’s most prestigious game moved to France at a time of unparalleled crisis. ‘Together with the French government, ...

Jay-Z has recorded a big win in an ongoing court case with the perfume company Parlux as an appellate court ruled Parlux owed the rapper $4.5 million in royalties from their previous business relationship. The hip-hop mogul, 52, was initially sued for $68 million in 2016 by Parlux, who alleged that he didn't fulfill his contractual obligations set forth in 2012 to promote the fragrance, which was called Gold Jay Z, Page Six reported. The case went to trial in New York City last fall for three weeks and Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, testified for two days, according to the outlet. In the trial on Thursday, the jury said that Jay-Z, who was represented by attorney Alex Spiro, was not responsible for the $68 million, and Parlux did not owe the $4.5 million in outstanding royalties the Big Pimpin artist asked for in a counterclaim.  Justice John Higgitt of the Appellate Division, First Department said that results of an appeal determined that Jay-Z and his organ...

US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said that he's "convinced" Russian President Vladimir Putin will attempt to overthrow the Ukrainian government. Blinken made the comments during an interview on ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir on Thursday in response to a question asking if he's "convinced Putin’s going to overthrow this government." "I’m convinced he’s going to try to do that," Blinken said, adding that Putin has alienated Ukrainians from Russia. "One of the things that Vladimir Putin has done, starting back in 2014 when they first went into Ukraine, seizing Crimea, seizing a part of eastern Ukraine, is to totally alienate the Ukrainian people from Russia.  Before 2014, actually, Russia was pretty popular in Ukraine," Blinken said. "It had a 70 percent favorability rating.  Right now, it’s exactly the opposite – more than the opposite.  Ninety percent of Ukrainians now, if I can use the word, ‘detest...

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that at least 137 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 316 soldiers have been wounded since the Russian invasion began early on Thursday. Zelensky in a video message posted on his Facebook page also said other states were “afraid” to support Ukraine’s accession to NATO.  The country’s Interior Ministry of Defense also announced on Thursday that all Ukrainian men ages 18 through 60 will be barred from leaving the country. The message reads: “The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports that due to the imposition of martial law in Ukraine, the departure of a certain category of citizens from Ukraine is temporarily restricted. “In particular, male citizens of Ukraine aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine. “Such a rule will apply for the period of martial law. We ask citizens to take this information into account.” This follows the Ukrainian government’s decision to give firearms to any citizens who ...

The Swedish Football Association has said it is unfathomable to play their crucial 2022 FIFA world cup qualifier against Russia amidst the crisis between Russia and Ukraine . Even as a Russian military invasion of Ukraine is now underway, sporting activities will certainly be affected, with Russia due to take part in world cup qualification matches. But the chairman of the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) says that a clash with Russia is “almost unthinkable” at this stage, following the decision of Vladimir Putin to send troops into Ukraine. With the winner of a meeting between Russia and Poland on March 24 due to face the winners of a tie involving Sweden and the Czech Republic, the two home fixtures could take place on Russian soil. Karl-Erik Nilsson, chairman of the Swedish FA, says that his country would find it difficult to make such a trip. He told Reuters: “It's a possible scenario. Spontaneously around the feelings we have as we wake up this morning ar...

On Thursday, thousands of people protested President Vladimir Putin’s attacks on Ukraine in cities across Russia, displaying a show of anger over their country's invasion of Ukraine.   So far, more than 1,700 people were arrested in at least 47 cities across the nation, according to rights group OVD-Info. The group was declared a foreign agent last year, when Putin launched a sweeping crackdown on activists, rights groups, and opposition figures.   Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Thursday spoke out against the attacks during a court hearing, as members of the Russian political elite either remained silent or celebrated. “I have no method of communicating with the outside world,” Navalny said at the Lefortovo District Court hearing. “I ask that my appeal to the court and to the world be recorded,” he said.   “I am against this war. I believe that this war between Russia and Ukraine is being waged to cover up the robbery of Russian citizens a...

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts, who have been married for nearly two years, have made history as the first queer couple to cover Essence magazine. They graced the cover of Essence's March/April 2022 issue, officially becoming the first same-sex couple to do so.   "Making H E R S T O R Y" Nash, 52, wrote on Instagram, celebrating the historic cover. "Thank you @essence for choosing The Betts as your FIRST same sex couple to cover you [sic] magazine!"  In the new issue, which hits newsstands on March 1, Nash and Betts open up about their love story.   Niecy, who had been married twice to two men, before marrying Jessica, a woman, told Essence: "The least of my attraction is gender.   "What I was and am still attracted to is Jessica's soul. She was the most beautiful soul I had ever met in my life. Now that I've experienced it, I can't imagine going through life without it."     Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts, a singer-songwr...

Watford striker, Emmanuel Dennis is set to return to the Super Eagles ahead of Nigeria’s World Cup play-off against Ghana next month after holding clear-the-air talks with the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Anaju Pinnick. Recall Dennis did not play at the recent Africa Cup of Nations, with the NFF claiming Watford were “baring fangs” over the situation. The forward had not originally been named in Nigeria’s squad for the tournament as he was out of favour under former boss Gernot Rohr. But when Rohr was sacked before AFCON, Dennis was to join as a late call-up, but he stayed back after his club refused to let him join the Super Eagles squad. The 24-year-old, however, could return to international duty next month after holding talks with Pinnick last week, according to  Standard.co.uk. Pinnick met with a number of Nigerian players including Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho and held talks with them in London. Nigeria’s team secret...

The Fédération of International Football Association (Fifa) has suspended Kenyan and Zimbabwean football federations due to government interference. This was contained in a statement by FIFA on Thursday February 24. “Without prejudice to investigations by national authorities or other judiciary bodies, the FIFA Council has decided to suspend the Kenya Football Federation and the Zimbabwe Football Federation with immediate effect for undue influence by a third party,” part of the statement read. FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave details on the reasons for the suspensions, referring at a press conference to “government interference in the activities of the football federation”.  The world soccer body ordered Zimbabwe to reinstate its soccer officials by Jan. 3 but delayed any action, allowing Zimbabwe to compete at the men's African Cup of Nations in Cameroon in January and February. The bans on the two African nations will be lifted if their governments allow the...