20 inmates to write 2021 UTME at Ikoyi Custodial centre (Vanguard)
No fewer than 20 inmates have indicated interest to write the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Lagos State Command, Mr Rotimi Oladokun, disclosed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.
The UTME, being conducted annually by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), will begin on June 5.
Oladokun said that the inmates would be adequately prepared for the examination, despite the attempted jailbreak on the facility in 2020. Read more
SON seizes N600m worth of substandard tyres (DailyTrust)
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on Friday seized N600 million worth of substandard tyres at an enforcement exercise along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Farouk Salim, Director-General, SON, at the enforcement exercise, said the seizure was part of SON’s efforts and commitment to safeguarding lives and properties of unsuspecting consumers.
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Salim bemoaned the absence of the standards body at the nation’s port, noting that the fight against substandard goods was best tackled at the point of entry.
According to him, the enforcement exercise was to ensure that the tyres do not find their way into the nation’s markets. Read more
Council polls: Lagos APC inaugurates task c’ttee (Vanguard)
The Lagos State chapter of All Progressives Congress, on Friday, inaugurated a committee to work out the modalities and preparation of guidelines for the smooth conduct of forthcoming local government elections in the state.
The 15 member committee is chaired by the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat and Mr Lanre Ogunyemi, Secretary, who is also the serobe of the state chapter of APC.
Recall that Chairman of Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC,
Justice Ayotunde Phillips (retd), had on Wednesday, released the Statutory Notice of the commencement of political activities kicking off on Friday, April 30, by political parties, while primaries take place on Monday, May 3, 2021, among other activities. Read more
Netflix Features Ikorodu Bois on Oscar Weekend Campaign (ThisDay)
Ikorodu Bois, a group of brothers and a cousin from Lagos, Nigeria, are getting the spotlight in the Netflix Oscar weekend brand campaign. The campaign, which celebrates fans of movies, showcases the ingenuity of the group that gained popularity from their remakes of favourite trailers of Hollywood movies.
Netflix’s VP of Brand, Eric Pallotta, called their style charming and inimitable in a blog post. He wrote that the group employs “a mix of ingenious DIY and child-like whimsy to recreate mega-budget films on a shoestring”.
The streamer first noticed the young filmmakers when they reenacted the trailer of the Netflix film Extraction last June. Impressed by their creativity, Netflix sent them a package of professional filmmaking gear last August.
Netflix’s wide reach has woken up a new generation of global film fans, allowing them to discover more diverse perspectives, see themselves reflected and inspiring new forms of movie love. Read more
Boko Haram attacks Giedam, home town of IGP (Nation)
Boko Haram insurgents have attacked Geidam town, the country home of Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali.
The Nation gathered the attackers are currently at the heart of the town, burning shops and shooting sporadically in a gun battle with troops.
Details of the attack are sketchy but The Nation learnt all residents have run away for safety.
Yobe Police Public Relation Officer, ASP Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed the attack. Read more
EFCC arrests Bitcoin vendor, 4 others in Ibadan (Vanguard)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibadan Zonal Office has arrested a Bitcoin trader for his alleged involvement in cybercrime.
Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC’s spokesperson, said this in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bitcoin trader was arrested alongside four others.
The EFCC spokesperson said the suspects were picked up from two locations at Elebu area in Ibadan. Read more
Okonjo-Iweala to deliver keynote lecture as NIM clocks 60 (Guardian)
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), is expected to deliver the keynote lecture at the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM)(Chartered) diamond jubilee celebration.
Mr Tony Fadaka, Registrar, NIM, made the disclosure in a statement on Friday in Lagos.
Fadaka said the WTO DG would deliver a lecture with the theme: “Celebrating 60 Years of Management Excellence: Poised for More”.
The Registrar said the choice of Okonjo-Iweala as guest speaker was in consonance with what the institute represented, and in recognition of her wealth of experience and achievements nationally and globally. Read more
Ahmed Musa donates N2m to Kano school (Leadership)
Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, has donated N2 million for the construction of a mosque at the premises of Army Day Secondary School, Bukavu Barracks in Kano, Kano State.
Musa, who made a sensational return to Kano Pillars FC after signing a deal until the end of the 2020/21 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season, made the donation when he visited the school on Thursday after a training session with his new club, Kano Pillars.
He also promised to provide furniture to some classes to help address the challenges faced by the school.
Addressing the students of the school, the former CSKA Moscow and Leicester of England striker charged them to remain focused in their studies to be able to succeed in life. Read more
Sardauna’s daughter Aishat dies at 76 (Punch)
The second daughter of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto, Aisha has died at the age of 76.
Efforts to contact his son, Alhaji Hassan Danbaba, who is the Magajin Sokoto, was not successful.
However, a family source confirmed her death to our correspondent.
The family source said, “She died in the early hours of Friday (today), at a private hospital in Dubai after a protracted illness. Read more
Caitlyn Jenner announces bid for California governor (BBC)
Caitlyn Jenner has announced she has filed the paperwork to run for California governor.
The former Olympic athlete and reality TV star confirmed the news on her Twitter account earlier on Friday.
A recall election in the state could be confirmed this month after a petition against current governor Gavin Newsom reached the number required to trigger a vote.
Voters would be asked if they want Mr Newsom to stay or another candidate. Read more
Astronauts including France’s Thomas Pesquet blast off for ISS aboard SpaceX capsule (France24)
A SpaceX mission blasted off for the International Space Station Friday morning from Cape Canaveral in Florida, with an international crew including astronauts from the United States, Japan and France. The first European to travel into space with SpaceX, Frenchman Thomas Pesquet will also become the first European to command the ISS, orbiting 400km above the Earth’s surface, during part of the six-month mission.
Originally slated for Thursday, lift-off was postponed to Friday due to unfavourable weather conditions on the Atlantic Coast. The launch took place at 5:49am local time (9:49 GMT, 11:49am in Paris).
An international team of four astronauts took their places inside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on Friday morning, bound for a six-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS): Americans Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide and, representing the European Space Agency, France’s Thomas Pesquet. The Dragon is slated to dock at the ISS on Saturday after a journey of nearly 24 hours. Read more
Japan to hold 1st large-scale military drills with US and France (RT)
The exercise will start in the south of Japan from May 11, marking the first time the three nations will have held a drill with ground troops, as tensions simmer with Beijing over activity in the East and South China Seas.
The announcement of the joint exercise was made by the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and the defense minister on Friday, as the nation aims to strengthen its military cooperation with allies in the region.
“By strengthening cooperation between Japan, the United States and France, we’d like to further improve the tactics and skills of the Self-Defense Forces in defending remote island territories,” Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said, in an apparent jab at China’s claim over islands in the East and South China Seas. Read more
East Jerusalem clashes leave over 100 injured (BBC)
Scores of people have been injured in clashes in East Jerusalem between far-right Jewish activists, Palestinians and Israeli police.
The violence erupted as police tried to keep Palestinians and ultra-nationalist Jewish protesters apart.
It follows nights of confrontations in the Israeli-occupied sector amid rising nationalist and religious tensions.
East Jerusalem has long been a flashpoint, with an uneasy coexistence there between Jews and Arabs. Read more
Bitcoin leads massive cryptocurrency market sell-off (RT)
The cryptocurrency market fell sharply on Friday amid concerns over new taxes that could be unveiled by US President Joe Biden, and after one of Turkey’s largest crypto exchanges went bust.
The most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, fell below its key psychological threshold of $50,000 on Friday morning. As of 07:05 GMT bitcoin was down nearly 10% percent to trade at around $48,800, according to CoinDesk data. The drop has stalled bitcoin’s enormous rally, and it’s currently heading for the biggest weekly drop since February.
The slide also sees bitcoin losing its market dominance. According to the data from price-tracking website CoinGecko, the ratio of bitcoin’s value to the overall crypto market cap has fallen below 50%. Read more
Putin opponent Navalny ends hunger strike in Russian jail (BBC)
Russia’s main opposition figure Alexei Navalny has announced he is ending his hunger strike after 24 days of refusing food in jail.
Hours earlier his private doctors had appealed to him to take food to preserve his life and health.
Navalny began refusing food on 31 March to demand better medical care.
He said he had twice been seen by civilian doctors and “given the progress and circumstances, I am ending my hunger strike”. Read more
A symphony in yellow, red and blue: Kandinsky’s iconic canvas goes online (France24)
Twelve years ago, Vassily Kandinsky’s paintings were centre stage at Paris’s Pompidou Centre, as it held an important retrospective of the artist’s body of work. Today, the museum’s galleries remain closed due to Covid-19, but Kandinsky’s vibrant, abstract canvases are now just a click away. We take a closer look at one of these iconic pieces.
Also, contemporary art comes direct to your door, as we look at a project that lends pieces to art lovers for short periods, free of charge.
Plus, Michelin-starred chefs take to the road to distribute their dishes and we meet an opera singer-turned-delivery driver due to the pandemic. Read more
Kentucky basketball star & NBA prospect Terrence Clarke dies aged 19 in LA car crash (RT)
Kentucky Wildcats freshman guard Terrence Clarke, who was headed for the 2021 NBA draft, has died at the age of 19 after sustaining fatal injuries in a car accident in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. John Matassa said that Clarke was alone in his Hyundai Genesis which he ran “at a very high rate of speed.”
The player reportedly collided with another vehicle while not wearing his seat belt properly.
“The incident was captured on surveillance video. He collided with another vehicle that was preparing to make a left-hand turn. He struck the vehicle, hit a street light pole and ultimately hit a block wall,” Matassa said. Read more
Klopp, Guardiola criticise UEFA over expanded Champions League (France24)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola criticised UEFA on Friday over a revamped Champions League format they fear will push their players to breaking point.
Both clubs are members of the Premier League’s “big six”, all of whom signed up to a breakaway European Super League, which collapsed this week after a furious backlash from fans.
With the ESL a non-starter in its proposed format, Klopp and Guardiola — who both condemned the proposed tournament before its collapse — turned their guns on UEFA.
From 2024, the number of teams participating in the group stage of the Champions League will increase from 32 to 36, it was confirmed earlier this week. Read more
Tour of The Alps: Simon Yates wins first event of season (BBC)
Britain’s Simon Yates won his first event of the season with victory at the Tour of the Alps.
The 28-year-old Team Bike Exchange rider had led the race since winning Tuesday’s second stage.
He finished 58 seconds ahead of Spaniard Pello Bilbao with Russian Aleksandr Vlasov in third.
German Felix Grossschartner won Friday’s fifth and final 121km stage between Valle del Chiese and Riva del Garda after a solo attack. Read more
Barcelona ‘preparing 3-year deal’ to entice Messi to stay – but club legend must take paycut on $90m salary (RT)
Barcelona will offer star player Lionel Messi a three-year deal in the coming weeks in a desperate bid to persuade the Argentine to remain at the club, according to reports.
Messi’s current contract expires on June 30, and after deciding not to drag his boyhood club through the courts last summer and force a move to Manchester City, the Argentine ace is finally free to go to a club of his choosing.
Given that then-president Josep Bartomeu resigned in October and has been replaced by Joan Laporta, however, the chances of Messi staying on have vastly improved since one of football’s biggest transfer sagas unfolded.
Increased success on-pitch has helped too. Read more
Tokyo 2020: Benoit Paire barred from representing France over ‘deeply inappropriate behaviour’ (BBC)
Benoit Paire has been barred from representing France at the Tokyo Olympics in July because of his “deeply inappropriate behaviour”.
As the French number four and world number 35, Paire would have been able to qualify to represent his country.
He has been criticised for his on-court behaviour, most recently for spitting at the Argentina Open in March.
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) said Paire’s behaviour was “totally incompatible with the Olympic spirit”.
Paire has lost nine of his 10 singles matches this season and has made repeated social media posts about how “boring” he finds the tour. Read more
UFC returns for full house for first time since pandemic struck (RT)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has welcomed UFC 261 fans to an “oasis of freedom” as the MMA organization’s supremo Dana White also remarked on holding a capacity crowd event during the pandemic.
Comments were made by the pair at the last pre-fight press conference on Thursday, ahead of the stacked card’s realization at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville where facemasks will be optional.On Saturday evening, 15,000 punters will enjoy a championship triple-header headlined by local favorite Jorge Masvidal taking on welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, in what is being touted as a crowning achievement for White. Read more
