Here’s a rewritten news story in a professional sports-news style:
Declan Rice has been confirmed as England’s vice-captain for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with manager Thomas Tuchel entrusting the Arsenal midfielder with a key leadership role ahead of the tournament.
Rice, who has earned 72 caps for the Three Lions, is among the most experienced players in Tuchel’s squad. The 27-year-old arrives at the World Cup on the back of a successful season with Arsenal, helping the club secure its first Premier League title since the 2003-04 campaign and reach the UEFA Champions League final.
Tuchel revealed Rice’s leadership status following England’s friendly victory over New Zealand, explaining that the midfielder had previously captained the side in Harry Kane’s absence during a friendly against Wales.
“I would say Declan is my vice-captain,” Tuchel said. “We had that conversation when Harry was not with the squad, and Declan wore the captain’s armband.”
Rice has since linked up with fellow Arsenal stars Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze at England’s training camp in Florida as preparations continue for the World Cup.
England will face Costa Rica in their final warm-up match before heading to Kansas City for the tournament. The Three Lions begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17 and will also take on Ghana and Panama in G
The Rivers State House of Assembly has passed the state’s ₦1.8 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill.
Daily Voice reports that the bill was unanimously passed by 26 lawmakers during the Assembly’s resumed sitting in Port Harcourt.
Once assented to by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the budget will provide basis for the state government’s expenditure and implementation of programmes and projects.
More to come…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has widened its lead over the Accord Party in a fresh results update released by the APC Social Media and Situation Room Team during the ongoing Osun State governorship election.
The update, released at 3:40 p.m., showed below.
According to the update, the figures were compiled from 508 polling units so far.
The latest figures put the APC ahead of Accord by 1,320 votes, representing a notable increase from the earlier margin reported by the party’s situation room.
The figures indicate a closely fought contest between the APC and Accord, with the two leading parties separated by just over 1,000 votes based on the results presented.
The APC Situation Room described the figures as “real-time updates”, suggesting that additional results are still expected from other polling units across the state.
However, the figures have not been independently verified and should not be regarded as the official result of the election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) remains responsible for the verification, collation and declaration of the final governorship election results.
With results from only 508 polling units reflected in the latest update, the overall outcome remains uncertain, particularly as more results are expected from across Osun’s local government areas.
The narrowing or widening of the margin in subsequent updates could significantly shape expectations about the eventual winner.
Note: The figures reported above are based solely on the APC Social Media and Situation Room Team’s update shown in the supplied image and remain subject to official verification by INEC.
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has sued President Bola Tinubu over the alleged forgery of his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.
In a suit filed at the federal high court in Abuja on Friday, Atiku is seeking Tinubu’s disqualification from the 2027 presidential election.
More to follow…
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