1 die, many injured in Customs, smugglers face-off (DailyTrust)
One person died while many others were injured on Tuesday in Ogun State as Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) officials engaged some suspected smugglers in a face-off.
The deceased, according to the Public Relations Officer, Ogun 1 Area Command of the NCS, Hammed Oloyede, fell from his motorcycle and hit his head on the road.
Oloyede, in a statement yesterday, said the patrol team, attached to the NCS Ogun I Command on patrol on the Sele/Owode Ketu road, Yewa North Local Government, Ogun State, had intercepted a motorcycle loaded with 50kg bags of foreign rice on August 11, 2020 at about 2.30pm.
The spokesman stated that the NCS men were taking the rice and the motorcycle to their patrol base, leaving some officers behind on surveillance, when they sighted some suspected smugglers on motorcycles laden with 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice. Read more
SARS arrested boy on errand, demanded N500,000 – Mother (Punch)
A Lagos petty trader, Regina Stanley, has accused the police Special Anti-Robbery Squad of illegally detaining her son, Sunday Stanley, over her inability to pay N500,000 demanded for his release.
In a suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos, Regina said her son was running an errand for her in the morning of March 28, 2020 in the Morogbo area of Lagos State when he was picked up by SARS operatives raiding the area. I went to my place of trade together with my son who assists me in my trade.
“At about 11.30am, I sent my son on an errand only to be informed by my fellow traders that my son had been arrested and locked up inside the Black Maria by armed agents of the 3rd respondent. Read more
UNILAG council divided on sack of Vice Chancellor (Guardian)
The crisis rocking the University of Lagos (UNILAG) climaxed yesterday with the purported sack of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Pounding.
In another twist, however, the embattled Ogundipe insisted he remained the vice chancellor of the institution.
The institution had announced the sack of Ogundipe during a meeting of the council, which held yesterday at the headquarters of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja. Read more
Lagos organises agric summer school for sss 2 students, teachers (DailyTrust)
The Lagos State government is organising an Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-YES) Summer School Programme from Monday August 17 to Saturday August 29, 2020 as part of efforts to encourage senior secondary students to embrace agriculture as a life-long career.
The two-week programme will be for students of public Senior Secondary Schools across the six education districts in the state.
The Lagos State acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said in a statement yesterday that the annual Agric-YES Summer School Programme usually holds during the long vacation for SSS 2 Agricultural Science students and teachers. Read more
Man bags 25 years imprisonment for raping 11-yr-old girl in Ogun (Vanguard)
An Abeokuta High Court on Wednesday sentenced a 36-year-old man, Ugochukwu Obiakor, to 25 years imprisonment for raping an 11-year- old girl
Obiakor, who had pleaded not guilty to a one-count charge, was convicted for forcefully having sexual intercourse with the 11-year-old.
Delivering her judgment, the Chief Judge of Ogun, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, held that all evidence presented before the court by the prosecution was tenable and found the convict guilty as charged.
Dipeolu consequently sentenced Obiakor to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour. Read more
Kano Shariah court orders 60-year-old rapist stoned to death (Punch)
An Upper Shariah Court in Kano on Wednesday sentenced a 60-year-old man, Mati Abdu, to death by stoning for defiling a minor.
Abdu, who hails from Farsa village in Tsanyawa Local Government area of Kano State was said to have allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl under a tree in a broad daylight at Farsa village in 2019.
The presiding judge of the Shariah court sitting in Kofar Kudu, near the Emir’s palace, Khadi Ibrahim Sarki-Yola, gave the judgment after finding Abdu guilty of the offence. Read more
Military airstrike destroys terrorists’ logistics, eliminates scores in Borno (Vanguard)
The Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole has destroyed a Boko Haram terrorists’ logistics storage facility.
It also neutralised several of their fighters at Yamud, along the Gulumba Gana-Kumshe axis of Borno.
The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen. John Enenche disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Enenche said that the operation was executed on Aug. 11, following credible intelligence reports. Read more
Sanusi bags Oxford University Fellowship (DailyTrust)
Former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has been offered a fellowship programme at the Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
This followed the approval granted by the Management Committee of the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford.
Sanusi, who is also a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had requested for a Visiting Fellowship (Academic Visitor) at the Centre for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Daily Trust gathered that the St Antony’s College, in the same Oxford University, also accepted him.
The programme will commence from October this year. Read more
Take over political positions from older generation, Obasanjo tells youths (Vanguard)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on African youths to take active part in political activities in their various countries, so as to flush out older generation from office.
Obasanjo, who made the call while delivering a keynote address at an interactive session held virtually to mark this year’s International Youth Day, organized by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, enjoined them to take over leadership positions by “squeezing older generation out of office.”
He asked them to demand affirmative action enshrined in the constitution of political parties, as part of a gradual process to phase out the old generation of leaders in the continent. Read more
Prosecutors charge three with threatening women in R Kelly case (Aljazeera)
Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against three men accused of threatening and intimidating women who have accused R&B singer R Kelly of abuse, including one man suspected of setting fire to a vehicle in Florida.
A longtime friend of the indicted singer allegedly offered to pay a victim $500,000 to keep her from cooperating in Kelly’s prosecution, authorities said, while a manager and adviser of Kelly threatened to release sexually explicit photographs of a woman who sued Kelly.
A Kelly defence lawyer said he had “no involvement whatsoever” in any attempt to silence witnesses.
“He hasn’t attempted to intimidate anyone, or encouraged anyone else to do so,” lawyer Steve Greenberg said on Twitter. Read more
Alicia Keys is producing new Netflix romantic comedy starring Christina Milian (Metro)
Alicia Keys is to produce a new Netflix romantic comedy movie – and it’ll star none other than fellow 00s music star Christina Milian! Also cast in the untitled project are actor Sinqua Walls and Saturday Night Live alumni Jay Pharaoh. Grammy-winner Alicia will work alongside director Steven Tsuchida, who has directed episodes of Dear White People and Younger.
Written by Dana Schmalenberg and Rheeqrheeq Chainey, the film involves a pop star entering career crisis when she ends up as the entertainer at her ex-fiance’s luxury island resort wedding.
What an absolutely implausible concept. We love it. And we’re guessing old feelings die hard. Read more
3 family members drown at popular waterfall in central Alberta (CBC)
Three adults from one family drowned Tuesday while swimming at the bottom of Crescent Falls on the Bighorn River in west-central Alberta.
Search and rescue teams from Rocky Mountain House and Nordegg were called just before 8 p.m. to the incident at the falls, about 26 kilometres from Nordegg, Alta.
The three adults were swimming when one of them got swept under the falls. Read more
Second Belarus protester dies as UN sounds alarm (BBC)
A protester has died in Belarus in police custody, the second death since clashes with police erupted on Sunday over a disputed presidential election.
Officials say the cause of death of the 25-year-old man in Gomel is unclear. His mother says he had heart problems and was kept for hours in a police van.
In Brest, police said they used live bullets when they came under attack.
The UN has condemned the use of violence by authorities, as protests continued for a fourth night. Read more
Biden introduces Harris as ‘smart’ and ‘tough’ in their 1st appearance together as Democratic running mates (CBC)
Presumptive Democratic nominees Joe Biden and Kamala Harris delivered an aggressive one-two attack on the character and performance of US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, as they made their election case for the first time as running mates.
Biden, a 77-year-old white man, embraced the significance of naming the first woman of colour to a major party’s presidential ticket, but he focused on other attributes Harris brings to the ticket.
He hailed the California senator, a 55-year-old former prosecutor who a year ago excoriated Biden on a primary debate stage, as the right woman to help him defeat Trump and then lead a nation facing crises in triplicate: a pandemic, wounded economy and long-simmering reckoning with systemic racism. Read more
Terrified teachers are writing wills over fears coronavirus will kill them when they return to school (Metro)
Teachers have revealed how they are so terrified of catching coronavirus and dying after returning to school that they’ve written their wills. High school teacher, Ava Butzu, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, has said she and her teacher colleagues are petrified they could die of Covid-19 if they catch the bug in class as they prepare to return to face-to-face teaching for the first time since March. Ava, 50, who suffers with underlying health problems, said she fears for her own life. She also hit out at Donald Trump’s ‘failure’ to offer an adequate level of protection for teachers against coronavirus transmission in class. The president has insisted classes must resume, but said anyone vulnerable should continue to shelter at home. Ava, who will go back to front-line teaching on August 24, is adamant it’s not safe for schools to re-open yet and worries many of her students will heighten the risk of Covid-19 by failing to socially distance or wear masks. Read more
Microsoft launching a giant, foldable phone that will cost $1,400 (NYPost)
Microsoft plans to re-enter the smartphone market next month with a giant, foldable phone that’s priced at $1,400.
The Surface Duo — which features two 5.6-inch OLED displays connected by a hinge in the middle — is the thinnest folding phone in the world, Microsoft claims.
Following nearly a year of teases since the initial design of the device was revealed in October 2019, Microsoft has made its first smartphone since 2017 available for preorder.
Unlike Samsung’s first attempt at a folding smartphone, which was plagued by issues with its folding display, Microsoft has no flexible elements in its screen. The two displays are designed to work independently from one another, rather than serving as two halves of the same screen. When the phone is folded, it is only 0.05 inches thicker than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Read more
31st contest between Serena, Venus Williams marks tennis’ return (CBC)
Well, this sure is a fine way for tennis to herald its return after the pandemic-caused hiatus: Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams.
The siblings meet each other for the 31st time when they take the court at a WTA tournament in Kentucky on Thursday.
“It’s so special,” Venus said. “Here we go again.”
It’s a chance for the two former No. 1-ranked women and owners of 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them (23 for Serena; seven for her older sister) to gauge where their games are following about six months away from the sport — and a chance for tennis fans to remember what they’ve been missing while the tours were suspended because of the coronavirus. Read more
Drogba gets green light to contest Ivory Coast FA elections (Vanguard)
Didier Drogba has been given the green light to contest at the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) elections on September 5 after his candidacy was approved by the electoral committee of the federation on Monday.
The former Chelsea striker and celebrated African legend is contesting against Sory Diabate, a member of the outgoing FIF Executive Committee and Idris Diallo, former vice-president of FIF.
The 42-year-old had submitted his candidacy bid on August 1 in front of a large gathering at the FIF headquarters in Abidjan. Despite his popularity, there was doubt Drogba could meet the election requirements after the Ivory Coast Footballers Association (AFI) failed to endorse his candidacy. Read more
PSG in Champions League semi-finals after late goals shatter Atalanta (BBC)
Paris St-Germain scored two late goals in a sensational comeback against Atalanta to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 25 years.
A night of frustration for PSG forward Neymar looked set to ensure more continental disappointment for the French champions as unfancied Atalanta led through Mario Pasalic.
But the Brazil forward then laid on a 90th-minute equaliser for Marquinhos and substitute Kylian Mbappe teed up former Stoke striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to slide in the winner. Read more
Top seed Simona Halep makes 2nd round of Prague Open (CBC)
Top-seeded Simona Halep had to fight hard to advance to the second round of the Prague Open in beating unseeded Polana Hercog 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday.
It was the first competitive match for Halep since she won the Dubai Championships in February for her 20th career WTA title. Before the Wimbledon champion recovered from a foot injury she sustained in Dubai, the coronavirus pandemic forced a five-month break.
The Romanian dropped her serve six times and double-faulted eight times before prevailing in a tiebreaker on her seventh match point. Read more
Vakoun Issouf Bayo: Celtic forward moves to Toulouse on loan (BBC)
Celtic striker Vakoun Issouf Bayo has joined Toulouse on loan for the season.
The 23-year-old Ivorian has struggled to make an impact at the Scottish champions, scoring twice in 17 appearances, including two starts.
Bayo cost around £2m when he moved to Celtic on a four-year deal in January 2019 from Dunajska Streda of Slovakia. Read more
Real Madrid reject Arsenal’s new offer to sign Dani Ceballos (Metro)
Real Madrid have rejected Arsenal’s latest offer to loan Dani Ceballos for another season, according to reports in Spain.
The Spaniard formed a solid partnership alongside Granit Xhaka during the Premier League run-in and ended his season-long stint at Arsenal by helping the club beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Mikel Arteta has made it clear that he wants Ceballos to remain at the club for another season and Arsenal had been confident about reaching a new agreement with Real Madrid. Read more