The President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE),  Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, has died at the age of 73,

This was announced by the UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs, stating that the country will observe 40 days of mourning.

“The Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced that there will be 40 days of official mourning with flags at half-mast and three days closure of ministries and official entities at the federal and local levels and the private sector,” the agency disclosed.

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Sheikh Khalifa had suffered a stroke in 2014 and has not really been active since then.

His brother, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (known as MBZ), had taken to Twitter to express his grief.

“We belong to God and to Him we shall return. MBZ wrote.

“The Emirates lost its righteous son, the leader of the “empowerment stage” and the trustee of its blessed journey.

“His stances, achievements, wisdom, giving, and initiatives in every corner of the country. Khalifa bin Zayed, my brother, my mentor, and my teacher, may God have mercy on you with his vast mercy and enter you into his good pleasure and paradise.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is the Vice-President and Prime Minister, would act as president until the federal council meets within 30 days to elect a new president.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has announced the adoption of the “Swiss system” for European club competitions, increasing team participation from 32 to 36.

The Europe football administrative body disclosed this in a statement released on its website, stating that the new system will commence in the 2024/25 season.

The Swiss system will also see clubs play league phase instead of the conventional group stage, as the matches will be increased to 8 games per club.

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Below is a summary of the new swiss system format, according to the UEFA statement;

“Taking the total number of teams from 32 to 36 in the UEFA Champions League, the biggest change will see a transformation from the traditional group stage to a single league phase including all participating teams.

“Every club will now be guaranteed a minimum of 8 league stage games against 8 different opponents (four home games, four away) rather than the previous six matches against three teams, played on a home-and-away basis.

“The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout stage, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition.

“Similar format changes will also be applied to the UEFA Europa League (8 matches in the league stage) and UEFA Europa Conference League (6 matches in the league stage) and both will also include 36 teams in the league phase.”

The President of UEFA, Aleksander Čeferin, speaking on the development, stated that the football body is fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions

“We are convinced that the format chosen strikes the right balance and that it will improve the competitive balance and generate solid revenues that can be distributed to clubs, leagues, and into grassroots football across our continent while increasing the appeal and popularity of our club competitions,” Čeferin said.

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that an individual diagnosed with Monkeypox had a travel history from Nigeria.

The agency said the patient was admitted at the expert infectious disease unit of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, where he was being treated.

The Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections, UKHSA Dr. Colin Brown disclosed this in a statement on the agency’s website on Sunday.

The statement read, “UKHSA can confirm an individual has been diagnosed with monkeypox in England.

“The patient has recent travel history from Nigeria, which is where they are believed to have contracted the infection, before travelling to the UK.

“The patient is receiving care at the expert infectious disease unit at the Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London.”

Brown, however, said measures had been put in place to contain the spread of the disease in the country.

“As a precautionary measure, UKHSA experts are working closely with NHS colleagues and will be contacting people who might have been in close contact with the individual to provide information and health advice.

“This includes contacting a number of passengers who travelled in close proximity to the patient on the same flight to the UK.

“People without symptoms are not considered infectious, but, as a precaution, those who have been in close proximity are being contacted to ensure that if they do become unwell, they can be treated quickly.

“If passengers are not contacted, then there is no action they should take.“