2 docked over alleged theft of goods worth N119,000 (Guardian)
Two men- Mayowa Ayoola and Raphael Ojo, were on Friday docked before an Ikeja Magistrates’ over alleged theft of aluminium profile, valued at N119,000.
Ayoola, 20, a casual worker and Ojo, 29, a businessman, was accused of receiving stolen goods.
They were arraigned on charges bordering on conspiracy, stealing and receiving stolen goods, offences they denied committing.
According to the prosecutor, Insp. Adegoke Philip, the defendants committed the alleged offences in November 2019 at Agege, Lagos. Read more
FG demolishes illegal structures under Lagos bridges (Punch)
The Federal Government on Friday began demolition of illegal structures under some bridges in Lagos State.
A NAN correspondent, who monitored the exercise, reports that the demolition exercise began with a fence built under the Apongbon Bridge on the CMS-bound carriageway on Lagos Island.
The fence, which was still under construction, had been raised by seven to eight coaches on various sections.
A senior engineer in the Federal Ministry of Works, Mrs Musiliat Aloba, who led a team of engineers and security operatives on the exercise, said she was acting on instruction.
“I am not directed to speak to anyone. Please come to the Federal Ministry of Works,’’ she said. Read more
FG denies diplomatic row with Ghana over embassy building (Vanguard)
The Federal Government has described a purported diplomatic row with the republic of Ghana over its mission’s property in Accra circulating on social media as untrue.
Cleric advises Nigerians to utilise advantages of border closure.
The government denied reports that its officials were evicted from the said property.
A statement by Ferdinand Nwonye, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja said that the ministry wishes to clarify that the property at No. 10 Barnes Road, Accra, Ghana was in use by the Federal Ministry of Finance, since 1957, on leasehold and was later bequeathed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read more
Mum had both breasts removed after being wrongly diagnosed with cancer (Metro)
A mum-of-two underwent a double mastectomy and months of chemotherapy before finding out she had been misdiagnosed with breast cancer. Sarah Boyle, 28, was told she had triple negative breast cancer in 2016, after doctors at Royal Stoke Hospital misread her biopsy. She then endured months of ‘horrific treatment’, including having both her breasts removed, before her surgeon informed her of the mistake in June 2017. Ironically she was then also told reconstructive surgery could increase the risk of her developing breast cancer in the future. Read more
Man, 40, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for burglary (DailyTrust)
An Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday sentenced a 40-year-old man, Akeem Bakare, to 10 years imprisonment for burglary. Justice Lekan Ogunmoye held that the prosecution had proven the case of burglary preferred against Bakare beyond reasonable doubt. Justice Ogunmoye, who didn’t offer the convict any option of fine, said he was being lenient with the sentence as the accused person was a first-time offender. Read more
Hackers claim they’ve figured out a way of filming people as they watch online porn (Metro)
Hackers have launched a new ‘sextortion’ scam in which they terrify victims by claiming to have recorded them watching porn. The racket involves sending people an email which says malware has been installed on their computer, allowing cyber-crooks to capture footage of their intimate solo moments. Victims are then asked to hand over cash in order to prevent the criminals releasing a video of the smutty scene to all their friends and family members. This scam is known as sextortion and is designed to fleece people out of money. Read more
Australia fires: Navy rescues people from fire-hit Mallacoota (BBC)
The Australian navy has evacuated around 1,000 tourists and residents who were trapped in the fire-ravaged town of Mallacoota on the Victoria coast.
Throughout Friday, landing vessels took people to two ships – MV Sycamore and the much larger HMAS Choules.
A local MP, Darren Chester, called it an “unprecedented mass relocation of civilians”.
Some 4,000 residents and tourists fled to the beach on Monday night, when racing bushfires encircled the town. Read more
EU to ban Menthol cigarettes, flavoured rolling baccie and ‘skinny’ fags this year (Metro)
A ban is set to come into force this year affecting a number of cigarette products. Menthol and so-called skinny cigarettes will be outlawed along with rolling tobacco in May in a bid to deter young people from smoking. Experts have said that menthol cigarettes make the habit more appealing, removing the severity of the smoke by relaxing the airways. The plans were announced in May 2016 and is part of an EU directive, but still applies to the UK despite Brexit. Read more
Paris stabbing: Man ‘neutralised’ by police in Villejuif (BBC)
A man stabbed a number of passers-by in a park near Paris before being shot dead by police, local media report.
The knife attack happened in the town of Villejuif, 7km (4 miles) south of the French capital.
Four people are believed to have been stabbed including two who are reported to have died.
The attacker was chased by police and then shot nearby. Some reports suggest he was wearing an explosive vest although this has not been confirmed. Read more
Donald Trump taunts Iran after killing top general Qasem Soleimani in drone strike (Metro)
Donald Trump has taunted Iran after ordering the killing of the country’s top general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike. The president tweeted Friday: ‘Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!’ He issued the taunt hours after Major General Solemani, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, was blown up by a missile fired from a US Reaper drone as his car left Baghdad Airport in Iraq, amid growing tensions over an attack on the US Embassy in the Iraqi city earlier this week. Solemani’s body was so badly mangled by the attack he had to be identified by a large ring worn on one of his fingers. Read more
Coachella 2020: Rage Against The Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean headline (BBC)
Rage Against The Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean will headline Coachella festival this year.
It’s the first time since 2016 without a female headliner – Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Ariana Grande have each had a slot in the past three years.
The Californian festival is held over two weekends each April with the same line-up appearing over both of them.
Lana Del Rey and Megan Thee Stallion and Summer Walker are among the female performers. Read more
Spurs boss Mourinho expecting ‘bad news’ on Kane injury (Guardian)
Jose Mourinho said on Friday he was expecting “bad news” on Harry Kane’s hamstring injury after the England captain limped out of the 1-0 defeat at Southampton on New Year’s Day.
The Tottenham boss said the full extent of the problem would soon become apparent.
Kane pulled up as he slotted home Christian Eriksen’s free-kick 15 minutes from time on Wednesday but was flagged offside.
“I don’t know yet, I think maybe later today we have news,” Mourinho said. “But if you ask me just my feeling, good news or bad news, I am more bad news than good news, what the player felt, Harry Kane leaving a match the way he did. Read more
Rio Ferdinand names the three players he’d like Man Utd to sign in the January transfer window (Metro)
Rio Ferdinand has named the two players he would love to see Manchester United sign in the January transfer window. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have struggled for consistency over the last six weeks with encouraging victories against Tottenham and Manchester United undermined by convincing defeats on the road against Watford and Arsenal.
Paul Pogba’s latest setback, which is likely to rule him out of action for another month, has exacerbated the need for midfield reinforcements, especially given Scott McTominay is out until late February with a knee injury. Meanwhile, despite spending a British record £80million on Harry Maguire in the summer, United have kept just three clean sheets in the Premier League all season. Read more
Ghana’s FA ousts national team coaches at all levels (BBC)
Ghana’s Football Association (GFA) has removed all its national team coaches, at all levels of the game.
The announcement was made late on Thursday evening and sees the end of Kwesi Appiah’s second stint in charge of the senior men’s national team.
But the changes go far beyond the Black Stars.
The GFA statement confirmed it had “dissolved the technical teams of all national teams with immediate effect”. Read more
Mikel Arteta asked Arsenal stars to help him convince Granit Xhaka to snub Hertha Berlin transfer (Metro)
Mikel Arteta revealed he enlisted the help of senior Arsenal players in an attempt to convince Granit Xhaka to snub a move to Hertha Berlin. The Switzerland international had been furious with the way Unai Emery dealt with the fallout of his row with Arsenal fans during October’s stormy 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Emirates. Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy and missed five matches in all competitions before he was restored to the team, shortly before Emery was sacked at the start of December. Hertha Berlin are confident of signing the former Borussia Monchengladbach star this month with Xhaka’s agent revealing recently that a deal had already been agreed in principle. Read more
AC Milan: Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he did not rejoin Serie A side ‘to be a mascot’ (BBC)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he “never lost his passion” for AC Milan and did not rejoin to the club “to be a Rossoneri mascot”.
The 38-year-old has signed a six-month deal with the Serie A side, with the option for another season.
The former Sweden and Manchester United striker scored 42 goals in 61 league games in his previous stint at the club from 2010 to 2012.
“I know what I have to do. Zlatan is still here,” he said on Friday. Read more
Pep Guardiola issues blunt response when asked if he is missing Mikel Arteta (Metro)
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City have already moved on from Mikel Arteta and denied the Premier League champions are missing the presence of his former No.2. Arteta has made a positive impact since his appointment as Arsenal’s new head coach and celebrated his first win at the helm after masterminding a convincing 2-0 win over Manchester United on Monday. Guardiola had been keen for Arteta to remain at City until the end of the season but sympathised with the dilemma the 37-year-old faced when Arsenal came calling following their decision to sack Unai Emery. Read more
Ancelotti aiming to upset Liverpool once again (DailyTrust)
When Carlo Ancelotti took over at Everton last month, the Italian already had an eye on Sunday’s FA Cup third round Merseyside derby against runaway English Premier League (EPL) leaders Liverpool. Ancelotti, at his previous club Napoli, managed to do what no other manager in England has achieved this season – beat Juergen Klopp’s side. Liverpool lost 2-0 in Naples in the UEFA Champions League in September and followed that up with a 1-1 draw in the return game at Anfield. Read more
Chris Smalling agrees to join Roma on a permanent basis from Manchester United (Metro)
Chris Smalling has reportedly agreed to join Roma permanently from Manchester United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer felt Smalling was surplus to requirements at United last summer and the 30-year-old completed a season-long loan move to the Stadio Olimpico with a view to reviving his stuttering career. The defender has surpassed expectations at the back for Roma and has even worn the captain’s armband this term, so it’s perhaps no surprise that he wants to stay on in the Italian capital. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Smalling has informed Roma that he wants to make his move permanent and the Serie A outfit are also keen to tie down the England centre-back for next season. Read more
Tournament of Champions: Jon Rahm leads European challenge in Hawaii (BBC)
Spain’s Jon Rahm is three shots off the lead after the first round of the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
The world number three, who ended last year as the European Tour’s top golfer, is joint fifth at the event for players who won on the PGA Tour in 2019.
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann shot a seven-under 66 to lead American Justin Thomas by one, with compatriots Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler at five under.
Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell and England’s Paul Casey are both one over. Read more
Valejo to rejoin Real Madrid after Wolves loan spell (Punch)
Jesus Vallejo will return to Real Madrid this month with Wolves due to cut short his loan.
The defender has played just seven times this season and boss Nuno Espirito Santo has confirmed he will leave Molineux.
Vallejo has not featured since October and Nuno admitted it is time both parties cut their losses, according to Daily Mail.
He said, “Jesus is probably going because he wants to play, he is a young and talented player we brought with high expectations but it didn’t work out. Read more