2022: Adeboye, Olukoya release New Year prophecies for Nigeria (Punch)
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; as well as the General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Dr. Daniel Olukoya; were amongst the first set of clerics to release New Year prophecies for Nigeria on Saturday.
The clerics, in separate announcements, made their prophecies for Nigeria known during their respective Crossover Services to usher in the Year 2022.
Adeboye grouped his prophecies for the New Year into three categories: personal, Nigeria, and intercontinental.
For personal, the 79-year-old preacher said, “More than 80% of projects starting in 2022 will succeed. Read more
3-Storey building on fire in Surulere, Lagos (Vanguard)
A three-storey building has gone up in flames on New year’s day after suspected electrical appliances exploded shortly after power supply was restored to the building.
As of the time of filing this report, there were no casualties figures reported yet but property worth millions of naira have been lost to the sudden inferno.
A three-storey building has gone up in flames on New year’s day after suspected electrical appliances exploded shortly after power supply was restored to the building.
As of the time of filing this report, there were no casualties figures reported yet but property worth millions of naira have been lost to the sudden inferno. Read more
Dowen: Autopsy reveals ‘chemical intoxication’ caused Oromoni’s death (Punch)
An autopsy has revealed that a student of Dowen College, Sylvester Oromoni, died of “acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication in a background of blunt force trauma.”
A copy of the autopsy carried out by a consultant pathologist at the Central Hospital Warri, Clement Vhriterhire, was sighted by our correspondent on Saturday.
A medical expert, John Soper, said chemical intoxication or poisoning refers to a multitude of illnesses caused by the absorption of toxic chemical agents.
“Poisonings may be acute, subacute, or chronic and may be the result of accidental or intentional administration. Toxic chemicals may be absorbed by ingestion, injection, inhalation, or direct contact with the skin,” the expert said in a research work titled, ‘Principles of Medical Therapy in Pregnancy. Read more
Tinubu urges Nigerians to navigate the future with lessons from the past (ThisDay)
The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has urged Nigerians to envisage a positive 2022 “with hope and with the unyielding determination that our hope and collective toil will succeed in bringing forth a more prosperous and just nation. Hope that things will be better.”
Asiwaju Tinubu stated this in his New Year message, he personally signed, saying that “Each new year is like a door, a portal that opens to a beckoning future. But also one that closes upon what has passed. Upon reaching this door, we all must be cognizant and attentive to the lessons of what has already come so that we better navigate that which is yet to come. This New Year is no different.”
He thanked God that “we have reached this moment. The outgoing year had its blessings but for many of us it was a hard and difficult one of serious challenges and struggle. The entire world continued to be troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant social and economic woes. Nigeria fought wisely and bravely to prevent the worst of the pandemic from visiting us. We succeeded in great part but we still felt and feel the effects of this unprecedented public health challenge.” Read more
Emirs attacked, houses burnt by rampaging youths in Bauchi (Tribune)
HOUSES and other properties worth millions of naira were burnt down on Friday by irate youths in Bogoro, headquarters of Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi State, during the 21st anniversary of the death of the leader of the Sayawa Nation, Baba Peter Gonto.
The youths also stormed venue of the main event at Government Day Secondary School, Bogoro, where the set the stage and other things used for the programme on fire after the programme ended.
The arsonists, in their numbers, had earlier waylaid the convoys of the Emirs of Bauchi and Dass on the way to Bogoro and damaged the official car of the Emir of Dass as well as other cars in the convoy, forcing them to make a sudden U-turn.
The state governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, who was expected to be the special guest of honour at the event, did not show up for security reasons. Read more
Alhaji Auta, Zamfara banditry kingpin, bombed to death (DailyTrust)
A notorious bandit operating in Birnin Magaji area of Zamfara State, Alhaji Auta, has been killed in an air strike by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
Many of his gang members were also eliminated during the operation around his camp located at Jama’are Bayan Dutchi, in Nasarawa Mailayi District of Zamfara, on Saturday.
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Multiple sources confirmed Auta’s death to Daily Trust but said the casualty figure from the operation was unknown. Read more
Wike declares war against artisanal oil refiners (ThisDay)
Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has declared war against artisanal crude oil refiners in the state.
According to the governor, the action was based on tackling the environmental menace occasioned by black soot in parts of the state.
He directed the chairmen of councils, particularly Port Harcourt Local Government Area to go after all the illegal crude oil refining sites and shut them down with immediate effect.
Governor Wike also directed all council chairmen and community leaders to locate, identify and report to his office all those behind illegal bunkering and crude oil refining sites in their localities for prosecution. Read more
Nigeria on the path of solution to its challenges – Bishop Kukah (Vanguard)
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has said that Nigeria is on the path of solutions to its problems.
Bishop Kukah who recently marked his 45th birthday expressed hope that soon the country will be out of its socio economic and security problems.
The catholic priest made the remark at St Bakhita Catholic secretariat in Sokoto, Thursday while in a chat with Journalists in Sokoto to mark the end of the year 2021.
The special occasion is an annual event conducted by the Bishop with working journalists in the state at the end of every blessed year. Read more
2022 Guber Contests: APC, PDP Flex Muscles In Osun, Ekiti (Tribune)
THE ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the major opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have boasted of victory during the June 18 and July 16, 2022 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, respectively.
In Ekiti State, the Publicity Secretary of the APC, Segun Dipe, in a chat with Saturday Tribune, said with the ruling party under the leadership of Governor Kayode Fayemi having performed creditably, the election would be an easy ride for it.
Dipe added that only the APC had recognised structures across the 177 political wards in the state, which he said would help the party in achieving victory at the poll.
He said: “Definitely, we are the party to beat and, of course, we are the only party with structures across the state. In fact, we are the living party because others are either dead or dying. We will only advise the other parties to move into the APC. The more the merrier.
“The party is as good as winning the June 18, 2022 election. It is just the manifestation that we are waiting for.” Read more
Porn king’s daughter remembers seeing woman breastfeed a cat at party (HotLifestyle)
Romola Hodas is the first to admit her childhood was dysfunctional — and sometimes downright weird.
The daughter of NYC porn king Marty Hodas told Page Six she remembers seeing a topless waitress breastfeeding a kitten while parading around a sex party at her parents’ home.
“That’s what I used to scream at them about,” Romola, 64, said in a recent interview. “I told them, ‘You’re adults. You can do what you want. Why don’t you send us kids to our friends? Why don’t you send us to a hotel? I was the oldest and trying to keep my siblings from not seeing that. I didn’t do too well.
“I asked my sister Risa, ‘Do you remember Mommy and Daddy having one of those parties and a topless waitress breastfeeding a kitten?’ She said, ‘Yeah, it was black.’ She was 12.”
2022 will be the biggest year for the metaverse so far (CNBC)
2022 is poised to be the biggest year yet for “the metaverse,” as Facebook parent Meta, Apple, Microsoft and Google gear up to release new hardware products and software services in what so far has been a niche market for early adopters.
The “metaverse” describes software and hardware that allow users to play or work in virtual 3-D spaces, or pull in information from the internet and integrate it with the real world in real time. For now, the metaverse might be accessed through a smartphone, but eventually, it will be experienced through advanced virtual reality or augmented reality headsets, backers say.
Big Tech companies are betting that gadgets that transport their users into enhanced or imaginary worlds will open up the biggest new market in software since Apple introduced the touchscreen smartphone in 2007. If the metaverse takes off, then perhaps everyone who has a smartphone today will also have a pair of computer glasses or a VR headset in a few years.
“Large tech platforms (which benefited from the rise of mobile computing apps) now look toward augmented reality as the next computing platform shift,” Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan wrote in a December note. Read more
Jan. 6 was just ‘dress rehearsal’ for Trump’s 2024 comeback: investigative journalist (RawStory)
Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks on democracy in America are receiving attention all the way in Australia as the defeated former president continues his “Big Lie” of election fraud.
Farrah Tomazin, an investigative journalist and the North America correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald, warned the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was just a “dress rehearsal” for Republicans’ next attempt to steal an election.
“One year after thousands of his supporters stormed the US Capitol, Donald Trump plans to mark the anniversary on January 6 with a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It will be no mea culpa,” Tomazin wrote in a New Year’s Day analysis. “The insurgency left several people dead, about 150 police officers injured and a nation shocked and divided. But there is every reason to think that the January 6 attack was just the beginning for Donald Trump and his allies – and this time, they’re much better organised.”
Even on the other side of Earth there are concerns about Republican attacks on democracy as Trump gears up to mount a comeback in 2024. Read more
It’s A Wonderful Life star Jeanine Ann Roose ‘dies aged 84’ (Metro)
It’s A Wonderful Life star Jeanine Ann Roose has reportedly died at the age of 84.
The former child actress played Little Violet Bick in the iconic holiday movie, released in 1946, which also starred James Stewart as George Bailey.
TMZ reports that she died at her home in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve after battling an infection in her abdomen for a few months.
Roose’s first acting role was in The Jack Benny Program when she was eight. Read more
Betty White on why she wasn’t afraid of dying (PageSix)
Nine years before her death, Betty White shared that she wasn’t “at all” afraid of passing on.
“My mother had the most wonderful outlook on death,” the trailblazing TV star, who died Friday morning at age 99, told Katie Couric on “CBS Sunday Morning” in 2012.
“She would always say, ‘Nobody knows. People think they do — you can believe whatever you want to believe what happens at that last moment — but nobody ever knows until it happens.’”
White noted that her mom, Tess, always described death and what may come after it as a “secret.” Read more
Orient Express returns to Italy after nearly 50 years (CNN)
Come on, 2022, give us your best shot. We’re bruised and we’re battered, but we’re looking to brighter days ahead…
Renderings of the new Orient Express La Dolce Vita have been revealed and, as you’d expect from the world’s most glamorous train company, they are exquisite.
The Orient Express last rode through Italy in 1977, when the Paris-Istanbul service ended, but from 2023, a deluxe set of new 11-carriage trains will glide through 14 of the country’s regions and 131 of its cities, as well as to countries beyond.
In the meantime, Wes Anderson’s redesigned Belmond British Pullman carriage is currently chuff-chuffing its way around England’s green and pleasant land. Read more
Covid: UAE bans foreign travel for citizens without booster jab (TheNational)
The United Arab Emirates has announced that it will ban citizens who have not had three doses of a vaccine against Covid-19 from travelling abroad.
Officials said the exit ban, which comes into force on 10 January, would not apply to those who are medically exempt from receiving the vaccine.
It is the latest country to announce new curbs amid a rise in infections.
Many countries impose strict restrictions on unvaccinated people before they are allowed in. Read more
DeMar DeRozan scores buzzer-beating three-pointer as Chicago Bulls beat Indiana Pacers (BBC)
DeMar DeRozan scored a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Chicago Bulls a 108-106 win at the Indiana Pacers.
DeRozan top-scored for the Bulls with 28 points, while Coby White added 24 and Nikola Vucevic made his fourth straight double-double in a game in which the lead changed hands 12 times.
Victory extended the Eastern Conference leaders’ winning run to six games.
The Pacers, who had six players missing through Covid-19 protocols, have now lost three in a row.
LeBron James scored 43 points and added 14 rebounds the day after his 37th birthday to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 139-106 demolition of the Portland Trail Blazers. Read more
AFCON: Henry Onyekuru arrives Super Eagles camp (DailyTrust)
Olympiacos striker, Henry Onyekuru, has arrived at the Super Eagles of Nigeria’s camp in Abuja to swell the number of players in camp to nine.
Onyekuru was at the last Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Egypt but was not originally included in the 28-man list for this finals.
The Greece-based player was only added to the list of players for the Championship in Cameroon on Friday following the unavailability of Napoli hit-man, Victor Osimhen.
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Osimhen tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday ahead of his return to Italy for a medical assessment that would have determined his availability or not for the AFCON championship.
More players are expected to join from Monday as the Augustine Eguavoen’s side work on strategies ahead of the AFCON that will commence on 9th January in Cameroon. Read more
Jurgen Klopp to miss Chelsea clash after testing positive for Covid-19 (Mirror)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will miss his side’s trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday after testing positive for Covid-19.
The German – an outspoken advocate of vaccinations – has tested positive on the eve of his side’s trip to the capital.
‘Jürgen Klopp will miss Liverpool’s Premier League meeting with Chelsea on Sunday after returning a suspected positive COVID-19 test result,’ a statement on Liverpool’s website read.
‘The Reds manager, who reported mild symptoms ahead of the fixture, is now isolating. Read more
Dan Reeves, former Giants coach, dead at 77 (NYPost)
Dan Reeves, who led the Giants to the playoffs and participated in nine Super Bowls as a player and coach, died at his home in Atlanta after complications from a long illness, his family announced Saturday. Reeves was 77.
A football lifer, Reeves spent eight seasons from 1965-72 as a running back with the Cowboys, leading the league in total touchdowns rushing and receiving in 1966 and winning Super Bowl VI in 1972.
Reeves then transitioned into coaching and earned another Super Bowl ring with the Cowboys in ’78 while serving as offensive coordinator under Tom Landry. He got his first head-coaching job with Denver in 1981 and in 12 seasons led the Broncos to three Super Bowl appearances, though never a title. Read more
Gambia cancel AFCON prep games as COVID-19 hits squad (Punch)
The Gambia cancelled on Saturday their two prep matches for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations due to a surfeit of Covid-19 cases in their squad.
The decision came just hours before they were due to play Algeria in Doha — the other match was against Syria on Tuesday.
“Due to the unavailability of 16 of our 28-man squad our friendlies ahead of the Cup of Nations against Algeria and Syria have both been cancelled,” the Gambian Football Federation (GFF) said in a statement.
The team’s Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet explained via Facebook that the swathe of absences were due to “Covid, other illness, injuries and restrictions to travel.”
The Algerians were less than pleased with the late notice. Read more
Arsenal assistant Albert Stuivenberg reveals how Mikel Arteta reacted to Manchester City defeat (Metro)
Arsenal assistant manager Albert Stuivenberg admits Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was ‘frustrated’ with his team’s narrow defeat to Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Arteta missed Saturday’s clash with Man City after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier in the week, meaning his assistant Stuivenberg was instead in the home dugout.
Arsenal have enjoyed a superb run under Arteta and took the lead against the defending champions through England star Bukayo Saka.
But Arsenal saw their advantage disappear after half-time as Bernardo Silva was awarded a penalty through VAR and Riyad Mahrez beat Aaron Ramsdale from the spot. Read more
Vitaliy Mykolenko: Everton sign Ukraine left-back from Dynamo Kiev for undisclosed fee (BBC)
Everton have signed defender Vitaliy Mykolenko from Dynamo Kiev on a four-and-a-half-year contract.
The left-back has won 21 caps for Ukraine and was a key part of the side which reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 earlier this year.
The fee for the 22-year-old is undisclosed, but is understood to be up to £17m, including add-ons.
“I have always dreamed of playing in the Premier League,” Mykolenko told the club website.
“Moving to Everton is a big and important step in my life.” Read more