Liverpool earned a hard-fought 0-1 win over Sunderland in a demanding clash. Van Dijk’s header from a corner made the difference in a match the Reds largely controlled, though they had to withstand late pressure from the hosts.
After a clear late chance for Liverpool, the match comes to an end. The Reds secure a 0-1 away win in a tough and hard-fought contest. Three crucial points in their push for consolidation, against a determined Sunderland side that never stopped fighting.
The defender scored the only goal of the day off of a corner from Mohamed Salah, with both players breaking records in the process. Van Dijk officially became the defender with the most goals in the Premier League for Liverpool, surpassing Sami Hyppia’s tally of 22. Salah himself tied Steven Gerrard’s record of most assists in the Premier League for Liverpool, with 92 moments of setting up goals for the Reds. Not a bad day out for our leadership, despite Salah being unable to find a goal himself.
The win will take a little bit of pressure off the coach, but Liverpool are still in 6th and behind historic rivals Manchester United. There have been just two wins in the last ten Premier League matches, too, which isn’t a great record to think of it. Regardless of where we land in the battle for the Champions League places, we should be doing whatever we can to not finish behind our neighbors. We will surely hear about the pressure for the next few days until the coach is tested again on Saturday.
Lebanon’s government will decide next week how to move to the second phase of a plan to extend its authority and place all arms under state control in areas north of the Litani River, its information minister said on Wednesday.
The decision will be based on a presentation by the army outlining its needs and capabilities, the minister, Paul Morcos, told reporters during a visit to Kuwait, where he was attending an Arab meeting.
The Lebanese army said in January that it had taken operational control in the area between the Litani River and the border with Israel. The cabinet asked the army to brief it in early February on how to pursue disarmament in other parts of the country.
“We have completed the first phase, south of the Litani River. Next week the government will take a decision regarding the second phase considering what the army commander sets out in terms of needs and capabilities, so that we can decide accordingly, based on that explanation,” Morcos said.
Lebanon has been seeking to place all arms under state control, in line with a November 2024 U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended a war between Israel and the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah.
Morcos ruled out the possibility of any confrontation between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah, saying the objective was “to extend state authority and achieve stability, and insofar as these goals can be achieved together, we will proceed”.
Israel has carried out regular strikes in Lebanon since the end of the war with Hezbollah, killing around 400 people since the ceasefire, according to a toll from Lebanese security sources.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of seeking to rearm in violation of the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon. Hezbollah says it has respected the ceasefire in southern Lebanon.
Report and free match highlights as Manchester City closed the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to three points by thumping Fulham; all three goals were scored in the first half; Antoine Semenyo netted an easy opener; Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland were also on target
Pep Guardiola, who has never lost to opposite number Marco Silva, promised improvement pre-match after accepting City rarely deliver complete performances – his side responded by racing into a 3-0 lead before half-time.
Antoine Semenyo was gifted an easy opener, his fifth since his January move from Bournemouth, and the hosts never looked back. Nico O’Reilly scored a well-taken second six minutes later before Phil Foden teed up Erling Haaland, who was withdrawn at half-time, to put the result well beyond Fulham in the miserable Manchester rain. A rather fitting reflection of Fulham’s dismal display.
The visitors picked up the pace after the break and at least battled in the head-to-head duels, but were no match for City’s immense finishing power. Guardiola’s side are intent on making it as difficult as possible for Arsenal to lay claim to their first league honours for over 20 years, despite the Spaniard insisting his only interest is to “grow the team”.
The Gunners have the chance to respond at Brentford on Thursday night, but for now, the gap has been reduced to just three. And with the top two still to play each other at the Etihad in April, this title race looks far from a forgone conclusion.
Erling Haaland scored his first non-penalty goal since December 20 to end an eight-game run. The strike was superbly taken, too, an instinctive snapshot from the edge of the area. If that moment sparks a scoring run at this decisive time in the campaign, it might just be the difference. But, if City are forced to cope without him, that could equally prove an important turning point.
The No 9 did not re-emerge for the second half, a decision Pep called “common sense” against the backdrop of a 3-0 scoreline. Haaland has played 2,148 minutes in the Premier League so far this term, on top of European demands and cup commitments. He’s clearly fatigued, which accounts for his drop-off in effectiveness from open play. There was no mention of an injury, though, which should put minds at rest.
It’s likely he would have been used in reserve for this weekend’s FA Cup game anyway, and the pause will do him good. If City are going to rival Arsenal for major honours come May, they must not only have Haaland fit, they must have him fully firing.
It has been eight years of a head-spinning, high-profile political career, the bulk of it spent close to the side of an enigmatic opposition leader, the late Raila Odinga. For Edwin Sifuna, the end could not have been more predictable.
Like a pre-determined eventuality, Sifuna fell on Wednesday, a victim of an inevitable fallout that followed the demise of Raila.
Sifuna was captured crying on the India flight that was dispatched to pick Raila’s body, sorrow and pain written on his face. Raila’s sudden death spelt many things to many around him, and Sifuna, the fiery Secretary General of Raila’s party, became a dead man walking.
Born in Kakamega County, Edwin Watenya Sifuna has had a meteoric rise in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, where he has served for 10 years, first as acting Secretary General and eight years later as the substantive Secretary General.
It began with a dramatic event in June 2016, when Sifuna stormed the ODM party offices in Nairobi, declaring himself the Secretary General of the party, against the then Secretary General Ababu Namwamba.
“We are taking a position that has been vacant. That is why we are here today. From today, I am the Secretary General of ODM,” said Sifuna at the time.
“There’s something called absence without leave, even in military parlance. A junior officer has the right to relieve his commander of his command, even a general, if he deserts his post.”
In 2017, Sifuna unsuccessfully ran for the ODM party ticket in the Kanduyi Parliamentary by-election, before shifting his sights to Nairobi city politics, where he also lost to Johnson Sakaja in the Nairobi Senatorial race the same year.
A confidant, straight shooter and trusted foot soldier of the former ODM party leader, the late Raila, Sifuna would then be elected substantive ODM Secretary General in 2018 during the party’s National Delegates Convention (NDC) at the Kasarani Gymnasium in Nairobi.
Sifuna has since held the position of ODM Secretary General for close to eight years before his removal.
Five years after his failed stab at the Senate, Sifuna clinched the Nairobi Senator position with a resounding win in the 2022 General Election. He also serves as the Deputy Minority Whip of the Senate.
The fall
However, the 44-year-old firebrand legislator’s dwindling fortunes in the 20-year-old party came after the handshake between President William Ruto and the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in 2024 at the height of the Gen Z-led protests, which saw five ODM stalwarts appointed to Cabinet.
Sifuna would half-heartedly attend the signing of the ODM-UDA deal in March last year on the implementation of the NADCO and the agreed 10-point agenda.
And before the ink could dry on the agreement, Sifuna denounced the document as an act of political conmanship.
“I don’t recognise this thing called broad-based,” he said at the time.
His then party leader, Raila Odinga, would occasionally defend him, emphasising the need for democracy in ODM when calls for his removal grew louder.
“Sifuna is the mouthpiece of the party. Kila mtu aongee,” Odinga said in July 25, 2025 in Kakamega when calls for his removal grew louder.
Things have, however, been more complicated for the Nairobi Senator after the death of Raila in October last year, with the line drawn in the sand between him and the government-backed proponents of the broad-based government. The differences played out during Raila’s burial in Bondo, Siaya County.
“Baba left us in broad-based,” said ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga then.
Sifuna, on his part, said: “Raila’s last instruction was for us to be in ODM.”
The latest battlefront between Sifuna and his party leadership was embodied in the Linda Ground rallies captained by Oburu and the Linda Mwananchi one launched by the rebel youthful team within the party.
Remarks by the former ODM chairperson, now Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi last week calling for Sifuna’s immediate removal were the clearest indication yet that his die was cast.
“If someone does not want to agree with ODM policies, that person should be left to go so that we know how many people he is leaving with,” Mbadi said.
The sentiments culminated with events in Mombasa on Wednesday, which saw Sifuna kicked out and replaced by Busia Woman Representative Catherine Omanyo.
Sifuna is yet to comment formally about his removal but has left a cryptic message on his social media platforms hinting at an upcoming Linda Mwananchi rally in Kitengela, Kajiado County.
“It is not anybody’s birthright to be an SG in ODM. It is okay I will still be a member of ODM,” stated Sifuna previously.
BBC -A British woman who was shot dead by her father while visiting his home in Texas was unlawfully killed, a coroner has ruled.
Lucy Harrison, from Warrington in Cheshire, was shot in the chest on 10 January 2025 in Prosper, near Dallas.
Police in the town investigated the 23-year-old’s death as possible manslaughter but no criminal case was brought against Kris Harrison after a grand jury in Collin County declined to indict him.
Family members were in tears during the hearing at Cheshire Coroner’s Court as Coroner Jacqueline Devonish announced that she found Lucy Harrison died due to unlawful killing on the grounds of gross negligence manslaughter.
The coroner said: “To shoot her through the chest whilst she was standing would have required him to have been pointing the gun at his daughter, without checking for bullets, and pulling the trigger.
“I find these actions to be reckless.”
‘Deep shock’
Speaking after the hearing, Lucy Harrison’s mother Jane Coates said: “Today’s outcome has finally given Lucy her voice back after what has been an unrelenting year of deep shock, grief and fight – fight with quiet focus and steely determination to allow Lucy to speak her truth with the only voice she has now.
“While we recognise an unlawful killing outcome has been decided in a coroner’s court and not a criminal court, we welcome the coroner’s conclusion and thank her for exploring all the evidence fairly and as fully as she could and fearlessly for Lucy.”
The inquest heard the father, described by the coroner as a functioning alcoholic, claimed the gun had gone off accidentally.
Lucy Harrison’s boyfriend Sam Littler, who had travelled with her to the US, had earlier told the hearing she had become upset after she and her father argued about Donald Trump, who was due to be inaugurated as president later that month.
Littler said about half an hour before they were expected to leave for the airport Kris Harrison took his daughter by the hand and led her from the kitchen to his ground floor bedroom, where he kept a Glock semi-automatic handgun in his bedside cabinet.
The father did not attend the two-day hearing but in a statement said he had bought the weapon to give his family a “sense of security” and, as it was for home defence, Texas laws meant he did not need a licence.
He claimed he had a conversation about guns with his daughter and she asked to see the gun, having never discussed his gun ownership with him before.
But the inquest heard evidence from others that Lucy Harrison, a fashion buyer for the Boohoo clothes retailer, knew her father had a weapon in the home and disagreed with it.
In the statement, Kris Harrison, who admitted drinking wine earlier in the day, said: “As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell.”
He told police who attended the scene: “We got it out to have a look and just as I picked it up it just went off.”
The inquest heard a grand jury in the US had determined there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone in connection with Lucy Harrison’s death.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) decision to remove Edwin Sifuna as Secretary General, saying the former party official “spoke his mind” contrary to agreed party positions.
Speaking on one of the local TV on Wednesday night, Mbadi said Sifuna’s removal was not about personal differences but about adherence to party resolutions.
“Sifuna is supposed to be the spokesperson of the party. When you are the spokesperson of a political party, you don’t speak your mind to the public contrary to what the party has resolved. What you speak is what the party has resolved. Your mind, you express in the meeting,” Mbadi said.
He added: “Once a decision has been taken at the Central Committee or the National Executive Committee, that decision binds. If you do not want to communicate that position, the best thing — the most honourable thing — to do is to quit that position.”
Mbadi who served as the party’s chairperson for more than 10 years, maintained that the party followed due process in effecting the changes, clarifying that Sifuna had not been removed but only recommended for removal.
“And to me, they have acted within the law, within the constitution of the party. The National Executive Committee has only recommended. Sifuna has been recommended for removal,” he said.
“Once you recommend, you put in place an acting official until the decision is ratified. First, it goes to the National Governing Council, then to the National Delegates Council.”
The CS who warned that the party may take a similar action to other members, including Siaya Governor James Orengo and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, argued that Sifuna’s political trajectory made his continued stay in the party untenable.
“The direction Sifuna had taken, any senior party official in this country, and history is full of examples, who has taken such a trajectory, has never remained in that political party,” Mbadi stated.
“So it was actually a waste of time expecting a miracle — to imagine that Sifuna would still remain in ODM.”
He added, “There are people who do not hold substantive positions in the party. If they do hold substantive positions and their sentiments or remarks are causing disharmony, then of course they should follow. But remember, Sifuna was not just any other member — he is the Secretary General of the party.”
ODM removed Sifuna from office on Wednesday following a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Mombasa on Wednesday.
The meeting, chaired by party leader Dr Oburu Oginga, resolved that Sifuna be relieved of his duties in line with the party constitution and applicable laws over what the committee termed as concerns about discipline within the party’s senior leadership.
ODM Deputy Secretary General and Busia Woman Representative Catherine Omanyo will serve as acting Secretary General until a substantive office holder is elected.
The NEC also adopted resolutions earlier passed by the party’s Central Committee, including formally mandating Oburu to spearhead negotiations on ODM’s pre-election coalition arrangements with other political parties.
It further resolved to initiate the formal process of withdrawing from the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition, citing what it described as sustained breaches of the coalition’s Deed of Agreement by some partners.
According to the statement, the move is aimed at safeguarding ODM’s autonomy, integrity and strategic direction, signalling a broader restructuring within the party as it repositions itself ahead of future political negotiations and alliances.
The Council of Governors (CoG) has escalated its standoff with the Senate, publicly naming four senators it accuses of orchestrating harassment, intimidation, and extortion of governors during appearances before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC).
In a resolution addressed to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, the governors singled out Moses Kajwang (Homabay), Johnes Mwaruma (Tana River), Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), and Samson Cherargei (Nandi) for their alleged abusive oversight practices.
The document, signed by CoG Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi and 39 other governors, signals one of the most confrontations between county leaders and the Senate since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling affirming the Senate’s powers to summon governors.
“Particularly note with grave concern the persistent reports and experiences of extortion, political witch-hunt, intimidation, and harassment of governors during appearances before CPAC,” the Council stated.
While the governors acknowledged the Senate’s constitutional mandate under Article 96, they argued that the conduct of certain members undermines cooperation and mutual respect envisioned in Articles 6(2), 174, and 189 of the Constitution.
The Council is also demanding the removal of the four senators from the affected committees as a prerequisite to restoring confidence and integrity in the oversight process.
In its letter to Speaker Kingi, the CoG requested an urgent engagement with Senate leadership to agree on what it termed clear, transparent and respectful modalities for appearances by governors and to put in place safeguards against harassment and political persecution.
The move comes despite the Supreme Court’s October 7, 2022 judgment in Senate vs Council of County Governors & 6 others, which affirmed the Senate’s authority to summon governors in exercising oversight over county revenue.
However, the governors maintain that oversight must be conducted lawfully, ethically and without abuse of office.
“We reiterate our commitment to protecting and defending devolution and good governance as espoused in our avowed Constitution,” Abdullahi wrote.
Yesterday, Senate had rejected claims by the Council of Governors (CoG) that its watchdog committees are engaging in political witch-hunts, harassment, and intimidation, insisting that its oversight role over county governments is firmly anchored in the Constitution.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi expressed concern over allegations attributed to the CoG regarding the conduct of the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) and the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee (CPIC). Governors have reportedly called for the reconstitution of CPAC, citing alleged misconduct by four unnamed members.
The Senate further raised alarm over the CoG’s decision to suspend appearances before CPAC pending structured engagement with Senate leadership, and to limit appearances before CPIC to once per audit cycle.
Speaker Kingi warned that such actions risk undermining constitutional accountability mechanisms, noting that Senate oversight of county governments is not optional but a constitutional obligation.
“The oversight role of the Senate over county governments is firmly anchored in the Constitution,” Kingi said.
He cited Article 96(3) of the Constitution, which mandates the Senate to oversee national revenue allocated to counties, and Article 96(1), which tasks the House with protecting the interests of counties and their governments.
The Senate also referenced Article 229, which requires Parliament to consider and dispose of audit reports from the Auditor-General within three months of receipt, by March 31 each year. According to the Senate, any delays in audit processes directly undermine accountability and the prudent use of public resources.
“Compliance with this constitutional timeline is not optional, and any actions that impede the audit process undermine accountability and prudent use of public resources,” Kingi said.
Three people sustained gunshot wounds on Wednesday in Nairobi’s Huruma area following a day-long tension pitting the police and the residents.
The three sustained the injuries following a chaotic situation that arose when the youth planned to block the Outer Ring Road to protest the fatal shooting of Cheryl Adhiambo, a 21-year-old KMTC student, on Saturday evening.
Amid the melee, a female officer is said to have fired her weapon, injuring the trio on the thighs and lower limbs.
Moments later, the police managed to de-escalate the situation and the three victims were rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital for medical attention.
This came after the 21-year-old student was shot and killed in unclear circumstances in Huruma area, Nairobi.
Locals said the woman identified as Sheryl Adhiambo was shot dead Saturday night, allegedly by police in Huruma Ngei I, Nairobi.
She was hit by a stray bullet as police pursued a suspected thug in the area.
Her killing has sparked protests where local residents engaged police in running battles overnight up to Sunday morning.
At least three cars were burnt and the local police station was vandalised in the chaos.
Sheryl was a first-year student at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), locals said.
She had just finished her exams and was home to help her mum at a fish kiosk when the incident happened. Police said they were investigating the shooting.
Activities came to a halt on Saturday night and Sunday morning as residents protested the shooting of the woman.
Angry residents blocked roads, lit fires, and torched property, including buses and business stalls.
Gangs took advantage of the chaos to loot shops.
Security agencies later moved in to restore calm and shot in the air to be able to remove the body from the scene.
This was after the move removed the body from the primary scene while protesting the killing.
The police managed to remove the body to the mortuary pending an autopsy.
President William Ruto on Wednesday presided over the disbursement of Sh63 million in NYOTA Business Start-Up Capital grants to 2,520 young entrepreneurs drawn from all the 30 wards of Garissa County.
The event, held at the Garissa High School grounds, marked a significant step in the government’s push to economically empower young people under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
President William Ruto has reiterated that he will continue championing government programmes aimed at creating jobs and business opportunities for Kenya’s youth.
The President noted that projects such as the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) are changing the livelihoods of tens of thousands of young people across the country.
He castigated critics who have an issue with his close association with NYOTA, including its national roll-out, saying the move is intentional to ensure the project succeeds.
“I want to tell the people who are telling me to delegate matters to do with young people of Kenya to take their advice to somebody else. Matters of the youth of Kenya are of such importance that they deserve my personal attention,” he said on Wednesday.
The President made the remarks when he presided over the disbursement of Sh63 million NYOTA Business Start-Up Capital to 2,520 beneficiaries from Garissa County at Garissa High School grounds.
Present were Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Garissa Governor Nathif Jama, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Principal Secretaries, MPs, MCAs and other leaders.
In total, the President said the programme will disburse Sh375 million to 7,500 beneficiaries in Garissa, including 2,500 refugees living in the Dadaab Refugee Complex, alongside an extra 2,500 youth each from the host communities of Dadaab and Fafi constituencies.
He termed as visionless leaders questioning the NYOTA programme while offering no tangible solutions to problems facing the youth, saying job creation is central to his administration’s agenda.
“I have no regrets and no apologies whatsoever when I dedicate my time to engage with the youth in Kenya, whether in the NYOTA programme, labour mobility abroad, digital jobs or our housing, markets and hostels programme. They are worth my time,” he pointed out.
While noting that there have been projects similar to NYOTA before, he said they failed because they were poorly thought out and executed.
“I designed the NYOTA programme myself. Previous programmes were poorly designed, poorly delivered, and had minimal impact. The Cabinet and I took time to design NYOTA to eliminate corruption avenues, patronage, and ensure transparency and accountability,” he said.
President Ruto pointed out that after the conclusion of the national roll-out tomorrow in Wajir and Mandera, more than 123,000 young business people will have benefitted from the first phase of NYOTA, each receiving Sh50,000 grant to boost their businesses.
Through such projects, he explained, the government is onboarding the youth onto the country’s development agenda.
“Your destiny is important to me, to your parents, and to the Republic of Kenya,” he said.
A Kisumu County revenue officer is facing corruption charges after allegedly threatening a matatu businessman with fabricated charges unless he paid a bribe.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has taken swift action against the official, marking yet another battle in Kenya’s ongoing war against graft in public service.
Francis Muga Odhiambo, who serves as the Revenue Officer in charge of Kisumu Bus Park, found himself on the wrong side of the law when EACC detectives arrested him on February 9, 2026.
Within 24 hours, he was standing before the Kisumu Anti-Corruption Court to answer to serious allegations that could derail his career and land him behind bars.
According to the Commission’s investigations, Odhiambo allegedly demanded a bribe totaling Sh18,500 from a businessman who operates a matatu plying the Kisumu to Kisii route.
What Odhiambo didn’t know was that his alleged scheme was already under the watchful eye of anti-corruption investigators.
When he allegedly received Ksh10,000 as part payment of the demanded bribe, EACC officers pounced, catching him in the act.
The remaining balance of Sh8,500 would never be collected as handcuffs replaced the expected cash.
On February 10, 2026, Odhiambo appeared before the Kisumu Anti-Corruption Court where he was formally charged with soliciting and receiving a bribe of Sh10,000.
Standing before the magistrate, the accused officer entered a plea of not guilty to the corruption charges leveled against him.
The court granted him release on relatively modest terms, setting cash bail at Sh20,000 or alternatively allowing him to post a bond of Sh50,000.
These conditions allow him temporary freedom as he prepares his defense, though the shadow of the serious allegations hangs over his future in public service.
Upon completion of investigations, the EACC forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who approved criminal charges.
The case is scheduled for hearing on February 25, 2026, at the Kisumu Law Courts.
