10 suspected Yahoo boys held in Lagos (Nation)
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Office, have arrested 10 persons for alleged involvement in internet-related fraud.
The suspects are: Jonathan Daniel Adebayo, Lawal Waidi Seun, Adeosun Joseph, Taiwo Gbemileke, Oseni Omotayo, Emmanuel Fakiyesi, Rasheed Ogunlana, Oladunni Segun, Sowunmi Rotimi and Efetobore Prince Wilfred.
A statement by the Head of Communication of the agency, Wilson Uwujaren said on Monday that the suspects were arrested on Saturday during an early morning operation in the Alagbado area of Lagos. Read more
4 Nigerians named among 100 global outstanding nurses, midwives (Vanguard)
Four Nigerians have been named among 100 outstanding women nurses and midwives’ leaders by Women in Global Health (WGH), as part of activities to mark the 2020 International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
WGH in a statement on its website, yesterday, said the 100 women were chosen for heroism and service amidst global health challenges.
The Nigerian women listed are Mary Agholor, Edidiong Asanga, Emmanualla Inah and Onyinyechi Madu.
WGH said Agholor, born and bred in Ile-Ife, Osun State by Delta State parents, was the first Nigerian nurse to become a broadcaster as she founded the Nightingale Radio as a platform for nurses to speak out and express themselves, and to also serve as an information hub for nurses and nursing body, the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM). Read more
Nigeria now has second highest COVID-19 cases in Africa, says PTF (Tribune)
Nigeria now ranks second highest in Africa in terms of the number of new cases of confirmed COVID-19, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the coronavirus pandemic has affirmed.
The Chairman of the task force and Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, who disclosed this during its weekly briefing, in Abuja, on Monday, pointed out that the country has crossed the 100,000 mark.
He noted that the number could be more because many people with the infection may have been missed. Read more
Test your heart health by climbing stairs, scientists advise (Punch)
According to research presented at the scientific congress of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging held recently, climbing four flights of stairs in less than a minute indicates good heart health.
As reported by sciencedaily.com, the study included 165 symptomatic patients referred for exercise testing because of known or suspected coronary artery disease.
“Participants walked or ran on a treadmill, gradually increasing the intensity, and continuing until exhaustion. Exercise capacity was measured as metabolic equivalents (METs)
“After resting for 15 to 20 minutes, patients were asked to climb four flights of stairs at a fast pace without stopping, but also without running, and the time was recorded,” the scientists wrote. Read more
DisCos install only 525,000 meters in 2 years (DailyTrust)
The 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have installed only 525,120 meters in the last two years, just as about six million power consumers languish under estimated billing as of 2020.
The low installation figure is 7.5 per cent of the DisCos’ contracted supply of 7.6m meters between 2019 and November 2020.
According to a statistics report on the metering status from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the meters were installed under the Meter Asset Providers (MAP) regulation which began in 2019, and the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) initiated in October 2020.
The breakdown of the statistics shows that under MAP, the 10 DisCos (without Yola) targeted installing 6,588,971 meters but just 508,812 units were installed from 2019 to November 2020. Read more
Taraba begins move to explore untapped resources, set to spend over 82bn for 2021 (Tribune)
Taraba State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Solomon Elisha, on Monday, disclosed that the state government has begun the process to explore the untapped mineral resources to boost the state IGR.
Elisha made this known while addressing journalists in Jalingo, explaining that the untapped resources in the state were capable of turning Taraba into an economic hub of Nigeria.
He noted that the state government has planned to spend N82,242,640,650.90 as recurrent expenditure in the 2021 budget while the balance of N59,382,795,310.90 has been transferred to capital development. Read more
Police probe 47 armed Fulani men arrested in Oyo (Punch)
Forty-seven Fulani men armed with guns and other weapons have been arrested in Igangan, Oyo State, by men of Operation Burst, which is a joint security team of soldiers and policemen.
Our correspondent gathered that the suspects were arrested in the early hours of Sunday by the Ofiki River along the Tapa/Igangan Road in the Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state.
Sources told our correspondent that the Fulani were allegedly invited to strike by their kinsmen following the raid carried out by the men of the Oyo State Security Network Agency otherwise known as Operation Amotekun in the area on Saturday. Read more
Jihadists kill 13 soldiers in northeast Nigeria (Guardian)
Thirteen soldiers have died in an ambush by jihadist fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group in volatile northeastern Nigeria, two army sources told AFP on Monday.
Heavy gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades hit a military convoy in Gazagana village, 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Yobe state capital Damaturu on Saturday.
“We lost 13 soldiers in this ambush and several were injured,” an officer said. Read more
Brexit: UK driver has ham sandwiches confiscated at Dutch border (BBC)
A Dutch TV network has filmed border officials confiscating ham sandwiches and other foods from drivers arriving in the Netherlands from the UK, under post-Brexit rules.
The officials were shown explaining import regulations imposed since the UK formalised its separation from the EU.
Under EU rules, travellers from outside the bloc are banned from bringing in meat and dairy products.
The rules appeared to bemuse one driver. Read more
Parler sues Amazon Web Services after being forced offline (NYPost)
Parler sued Amazon’s cloud-computing business Monday after the tech titan forced the controversial social network to go dark.
The 18-page complaint filed in Seattle federal court claims Amazon Web Services’ decision to stop hosting Parler was a politically motivated scheme to protect Twitter — another Amazon client — from competition.
“AWS’s decision to effectively terminate Parler’s account is apparently motivated by political animus,” the lawsuit reads. “It is also apparently designed to reduce competition in the microblogging services market to the benefit of Twitter.” Read more
NFL coach Bill Belichick
turns down Presidential Medal of Freedom (BBC)
Top NFL coach Bill Belichick says he will not accept President Donald Trump’s offer of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, citing the US Capitol riot.
Belichick, of the New England Patriots, said he was flattered when he was first offered the medal – the top award given to civilians in the US.
But he said he changed his mind after a mob of Trump supporters stormed Congress last week. Five people died.
The celebrated coach had previously spoken of his friendship with Mr Trump. Read more
Leonardo DiCaprio surrounded by flames as he films riot scenes for Don’t Look Up (Metro)
Leonardo DiCaprio looked to be feeling the heat during an intense Don’t Look Up shoot in Boston over the weekend. The Hollywood star was spotted in a sharp grey suit and glasses as he sported a goatee and windswept hair with a fire raging behind him. Leo is in Boston working on Netflix’s upcoming political satire disaster movie, and filming has continued despite the coronavirus pandemic. Pictures taken on Saturday show the 45-year-old actor with flames blazing in the background with riot police and firefighters responding to the scene as people run rampant through the streets. Read more
Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in talks for Lucille Ball biopic (NYPost)
Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are in talks to play Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in a biopic.
Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are in talks to play Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in a biopic. Getty Images; Everett
The long-awaited Lucille Ball biopic might have a new Lucy and Desi Arnaz.
Variety reports that Nicole Kidman, 53, and Javier Bardem, 51, are in talks to play the married couple, who starred on “I Love Lucy” and were also powerful Hollywood producers, in an upcoming movie.
Aaron Sorkin will direct the film, called “Being the Ricardos,” which he also wrote.
Cate Blanchett was originally attached to the project, as recently as 2017 when Amazon acquired it. Ball has been played on TV and stage before by Gillian Anderson and Sarah Drew. Read more
Cuba back on US terrorism sponsor list (BBC)
The US has placed Cuba back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism, citing the communist country’s backing of Venezuela.
President Donald Trump’s administration made the announcement just days before he leaves the White House.
President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on 20 January, has previously said he wants to improve US-Cuban relations.
Cuba called the move “political opportunism”. Read more
Sarah Jessica Parker and co-stars ‘to earn $1m per episode’ for Sex and the City revival series (Metro)
Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis are reportedly set to earn $1 million(£739,850) per episode for the newly-announced Sex And The City revival series. Yep, the ladies – who play Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes, and Charlotte York – are due to make very impressive earnings as they bring their famous characters back to the small screen in new show, And Just Like That. According to Variety, multiple sources claimed all three actresses will earn one million each for the 10 episode series on HBO Max. The trio will also serve as executive producers on the highly-anticipated show, as the series moves forward with Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones. Read more
Pinnick, others dragged before FIFA (Nation)
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick’s bid to become a FIFA Council member and any other candidate vying for various positions in March’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) elections in Morocco will be subjected to FIFA’s ratification.
Pinnick is looking to replace Guinea’s Almamy Kabele Camara at the 37-member FIFA Council which is the main decision-making body of the world football body that sets the vision for FIFA and global football.
But CAF said in a release on Sunday that “At the request of the Interim President of CAF, Mr. Constant Omari, a virtual meeting of the CAF Emergency Committee was held on Saturday with the committee deciding that the Governance Committee of CAF together with the FIFA Review Committee must determine as soon as possible a date for formalizing the final list of all the candidates for all the elections, namely: members of the CAF Executive Committee, FIFA Council members and CAF President. Read more
Cardiff City defender Sol Bamba being treated for cancer (BBC)
Cardiff City defender Sol Bamba is being treated for cancer, the Championship club has announced.
The 35-year-old Ivory Coast international has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is undergoing chemotherapy.
“Sol has begun his battle in typically positive spirits and will continue to be an integral part of the Bluebirds family,” said the Bluebirds.
Bamba joined Cardiff in October 2016 under former manager Neil Warnock.
The National Health Service Wales describes the illness as “a type of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, a network of vessels and glands spread throughout your body.
“The lymphatic system is part of your immune system”. Read more
FA Cup draw: Manchester United take on arch-rivals Liverpool in fourth round (Metro)
Manchester United will play host to bitter rivals Liverpool in what promises to be an enthralling FA Cup fourth round clash between the Premier League’s top two teams at Old Trafford. The draws for the fourth and fifth rounds took place prior to West Ham’s 1-0 win over Stockport County on Monday evening and teams up and down English football’s pyramid will have been on tenterhooks as they learned their fate for the next stage. Current holders Arsenal – the most successful team in the history of the competition – will travel to either Southampton or Shrewsbury Town, while Chelsea entertain Championship club Luton and Tottenham have a trip to Wycombe Wanderers to look forward to in two weeks’ time. Read more
Osimhen will learn from COVID-19 mistake – Rohr (Punch)
Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, says Napoli forward Victor Osimhen will learn from his mistake after he appeared to break the COVID-19 protocols.
The Nigeria international tested positive for coronavirus on his return to Italy, after celebrating his 22nd birthday in Nigeria in December and was fined two weeks wages by his club for failing to adhere to COVID-19 protocols during his birthday celebration.
Videos online showed the striker without protective masks in a crowded environment during the celebration. Read more
Amad Diallo: Why Man Utd signing bears comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo transfer (BBC)
A relatively unknown 18-year-old right winger of remarkable technical ability, apparently lacking the physical attributes to succeed in the Premier League but signed for big money by Manchester United.
Sound familiar?
In many ways, Amad Diallo’s arrival at Old Trafford from Atalanta for £19m – a fee that could rise to £37.2m – is reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer from Sporting Lisbon in 2003.
There are a lot of differences too, though.
Whereas the Portuguese was signed, for £12.24m, after an impressive full debut season in the Primeira Liga, the Ivorian prodigy has only played four times for Atalanta in Serie A – none of them as a starter. Read more
Mesut Ozil fuels Fenerbahce transfer rumours (Metro)
Mesut Ozil has fuelled speculation that he could be set to join Fenerbahce this month by comparing the club to former side Real Madrid and underlining his desire to play in Turkey before he hangs up his boots. Ozil last featured for the Gunners way back in March and looks certain to have played his final game for the north London giants after being axed from Mikel Arteta’s Premier League and Europa League squads, with his contract up next summer. MLS outfit DC United are firmly in the race to sign Ozil but reports coming out of Turkey suggest the 32-year-old is on the verge of agreeing a three-and-a-half year deal with Fenerbahce, the team he’s supported since he was a boy. Arsenal v Crystal Palace: Mikel Arteta press conference Play Video Loaded: 0%Progress: 0% PlayMute Current Time 0:00 / Duration Time 15:09 Fullscreen Ozil’s brother, Mutlu, even hinted at a possible switch to Istanbul at the weekend as he shared a picture of Fenerbahce’s badge on Instagram, along with a cheeky ‘winking face’ emoji. Read more