3 policemen, suspect, die in Ondo road accident (Punch)
No fewer than three policemen and one suspect were killed in a fatal road accident that reportedly occurred on the Benin-Ore-Ijebu Ode Expressway in Ore, the headquarters of Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
It was gathered that the deceased officers were part of the monitoring units of the state police command that left Akure to arrest the suspects when the incident occurred.
A source explained that the crash happened when a truck lost control while descending the ore bridge and rammed into the police vehicle, killing the victims inside their vehicle. Read more
Speaker Abbas mourns victims Of Ibadan funfair stampede (Channels)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has expressed sadness over the death of children due to a stampede at a funfair in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
In a condolence message on Friday, the Speaker described the incident as unfortunate.
The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed 35 children dead and six others sustaining varying degrees of injuries, following the pandemonium. Read more
Nigeria, US to boost collaboration on defence health initiatives (VON)
The Nigerian government and the United States seek to strengthen their partnership by enhancing collaboration in defence health, building on the establishment of advanced laboratories in Nigeria.
The move is to bolster Defence Health Services and strengthen the partnership between the United States and Nigeria, as the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Muhammad Bello Matawalle met with a U.S. delegation led by Dr. David Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Health.
A statement by the Director of Information and Public Relations Ministry of Defence, Henshaw Ogubike said the Minister commended the U.S. for their efforts and called for the expansion of these medical facilities beyond Abuja and Lagos to reach more deserved regions. Read more
Nigeria loses $19m annually to motorcycle spare parts importation — Report (Tribune)
The Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr Joseph Osanipin, says Nigeria spends approximately 19 million dollars annually on the importation of motorcycle spare parts.
Osanipin said this at NADDC’s 2024 end-of-year media briefing on Friday in Abuja.
He emphasised the urgent need to reduce the country’s dependence on imported parts by bolstering local manufacturing. Read more
Osun Monarch: Arimoro’s candidate calls for due process, warns against imposition (ThisDay)
As the race for the prestigious stool of Owa-Obokun gradually gains momentum, Prince Kayode Michael Adewale Arimoro yesterday declared that the stool of Owa- Obokun should not be allowed for sale, urging kingmakers to follow due process for selection.
Speaking yesterday when he declared his formal intention to contest for the esteemed throne of the Owa-Obokun Adimula of Ijeshaland, Arimoro also warned against imposition of Owa-Obokun for Ijesha land because it would not be in the interest of the Ijesha tradition.
He said as a warrior with a vision rooted in tradition, driven by progress, and committed to the sustainable growth and prosperity of all Ijesha people, he said his coming on board is to fight for the vulnerable and maximise the God-given potential of Ijeshaland and its people. Read more
Why we stopped FG’s construction of Methanol plant in Enugu – Mbah (Vanguard)
The Lawmaker representing Nkanu East State constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Okechukwu Mbah has disclosed the reasons why the Enugu State government went and stopped work at the ongoing construction of Biomass Based Methanol Plant by the Energy commission of Nigeria in the state.
According to Mbah, the Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, tried to use the siting of the project as a Camouflage for land grab which the Amanguze community in Nkanu East local government area resisted.
The lawmaker stated that the Minister had initially used a disguise in accessing the land, by buying a closer parcel of land to the site, which he used for personal business before arriving with a federal government project to take over the land, he said has been on dispute between Amagunze community in Nkanu East LGA and Akpugo community in Nkanu West LGA. Read more
Sanwo-Olu hails Oando’s contributions to Nigeria’s energy sector (Nation)
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has commended Oando Plc for its pivotal role in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry as the company marks its 30th anniversary.
The theme of the celebration was “Symphony of Success.”
Speaking via a tweet on his X account, Sanwo-Olu highlighted the organization’s three decades of innovation, resilience, and commitment to excellence. Read more
CNG rejects NBS crime report (DailyTrust)
The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has condemned the recent data revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
On December 17, the NBS disclosed that Nigerians paid a total of N2.23tn as ransom over the 12 months between May 2023 and April 2024.
NBS also released its latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, revealing that an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents occurred across Nigerian households during the reference period. Read more
Lady Gaga says new album will be full of “different genres, different styles, different dreams” (NME)
Lady Gaga has revealed new details about her upcoming seventh album – see what she had to say below.
In October, the ‘Born This Way’ singer shared dramatic new pop single ‘Disease’ – which served as the lead single of her new album. Little is known about the record yet, although it has been dubbed as ‘LG7’ by fans and is expected to arrive next February.
The track saw Lady Gaga make her return to pop, and was preceded by the Bruno Mars collaborative power ballad ‘Die With A Smile’ in August. Read more
Rwanda declares end of Marburg virus after no new cases reported (AfricaNews)
The outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease was declared over today by the Government of Rwanda with no new cases reported over the last 42 days after the last patient tested negative for the virus twice, as per the usual protocol for ending these types of outbreaks.
The outbreak, confirmed on 27 September 2024, was the first Marburg Virus Disease outbreak Rwanda has experienced. A total of 66 confirmed cases and 15 deaths were recorded. Almost 80% of the cases were among health workers who were infected while providing clinical care to their colleagues and other patients.
To halt the spread of the virus and save lives, Rwandan health authorities, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, mounted a comprehensive response, with a large range of measures from disease surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, to clinical care and public awareness. These actions helped to curb the spread of the outbreak, with cases halved between weeks two and three after detection and declining by around 90% thereafter. Read more
Rapper Gaboro shot dead in car park – with execution recorded by his killer in horrifying footage (Mirror)
A rapper has been shot dead in a car park, with horrifying footage of the killing recorded by the gunman
A rapper has been shot dead in a horrifying execution in a car park.
Swedish rapper Gaboro was slain in a car park last night in Sweden, according to reports. The brutal incident took place in the city of Norrköping and comes just six months after award-winning masked rapper C.Gambino was shot dead in Sweden. Read more
Girl, 7, killed and multiple wounded during knife rampage at school (Metro)
A seven-year-old girl has succumbed to her injuries after a knife rampage at a primary school in Croatia on the last day before the Christmas holidays.
Prečko Elementary School in the capital of Zagreb was locked down amid the attack, which has been described as a ‘bloodbath’.
One teacher and seven children have been wounded, with some in critical condition. Read more
7 inmates are dead after a prison riot in southern Mexico (ABC)
Seven inmates were killed in a prison riot in southern Mexico, when inmates resisting transfers to other jails fought police with guns and knives, authorities said late Thursday.
Four police officers and six other inmates were injured in the riot in the city of Villahermosa, the capital of the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.
State police chief Víctor Hugo Chávez said late Thursday that officers were met by gunfire early in the day when they entered the prison to transfer two dangerous inmates to a federal penitentiary. Read more
Malaysia agrees to launch new search for missing MH370 plane (UPI)
The Malaysian government on Friday authorized $70 million to begin a new search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared on March 8, 2014.
Malaysian Minister of Transport Anthony Loke announced that the country’s government inked a deal with American robotic technology company Ocean Infinity.
The search for the missing 777-200ER commercial jet will take place “in a new area estimated at 15,000 square kilometers [5,790 miles] in the southern Indian Ocean,” Loke told reporters Friday. Read more
‘Simply Scumbags’: Zelenskyy gets personal after Putin’s menacing ballistic missile threat (HuffPost)
Volodymyr Zelenskyy laid into Vladimir Putin on Thursday over his latest threat to use a new ballistic missile against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president recalled how the Russian leader had threatened to “strike somewhere in Kyiv with Oreshnik” using a new hypersonic ballistic missile developed by Moscow which can carry a nuclear warhead.
Putin claimed Western systems “stand no chance” against this new weapon, and even invited Ukraine to “install air defences and let’s see what happens.” Read more
Simon to undergo surgery again (CompleteSports)
Nantes winger Moses Simon will undergo surgery in a few days, reports Completes ports.com.
Simon sustained an injury in the Canaries 4-1 defeat to Brest last weekend.
The Nigeria international provided the assist for Nantes’ only goal of the game. Read more
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou says errors will stop them being successful after Man Utd win but defends ‘entertainers’ tag (SkySports)
Ange Postecoglou said he will not stop asking Fraser Forster to play out from the back despite the stand-in goalkeeper’s two howlers in Tottenham’s 4-3 win over Manchester United.
Forster’s errors, both with the ball at his feet, threatened to throw away all of Tottenham’s good work to give themselves a three-goal buffer in the Carabao Cup quarter-final, before Heung-Min Son’s late fourth saw them over the line to set up a semi-final clash with Liverpool.
Both mistakes were booed from the home stands with Spurs fans fearing yet another collapse this season, having already thrown away two-goal advantages against Brighton and Chelsea, and giving up leads in each of their last three home games. Read more
‘Not a mistake’: Ruben Amorim explains Marcus Rashford omission after Man Utd exit (Independent)
Ruben Amorim insisted it was not a mistake to leave Marcus Rashford out of the Manchester United squad for Thursday’s 4-3 defeat at Tottenham in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Rashford declared on Tuesday he was “ready for a new challenge” after United boss Amorim decided to omit the 27-year-old academy product from the team for the 2-1 derby win at Manchester City on Sunday.
While Rashford’s current deal at the club runs until 2028 and Amorim insisted he wanted the “big talent” to stay on Wednesday, the England international was left at home for this cup tie in the capital to spark more speculation over his future. Read more
Frenchman Hadjar gets final F1 seat for 2025 (BBC)
Frenchman Isack Hadjar has been promoted to Red Bull’s second team to race alongside Japanese Yuki Tsunoda during the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The announcement fills the final seat on the 20-car F1 grid.
Hadjar is a replacement at the team that will now be known as Racing Bulls for Liam Lawson, who has been switched to Red Bull after they dropped Sergio Perez.
Hadjar, 20, finished second in Formula 2 last season to Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, who will be racing for Audi-owned Sauber in F1 next year. Read more
Former boxing world title holder Thierry Jacob dies aged 59 (Gulf)
French former boxing world title holder Thierry Jacob has died at the age of 59, the mayor of his home city Calais announced on Friday.
Jacob took the WBC super bantamweight title in 1992, defeating Mexico’s Daniel Zaragoza in front of his local fans in Calais.
“We begin this day with sad news. Thierry Jacob died overnight, so young,” Natacha Bouchart, mayor of the northern port city, announced on Facebook. Read more
Cody Bellinger excited to join Yankees, dad’s former team (ABC)
Cody Bellinger called his dad as soon as he could after learning that he was being traded to the New York Yankees — the same team that the elder Bellinger played for.
“It is truly wild,” Cody said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. “When I got the news, I called him, and he was very excited. He plays it all cool, but I know deep down he’s really excited.
“My parents did a good job of bringing the camcorder around, and back when I was younger in high school or even before that, we would watch home videos. So that’s how I remember it a lot through the camcorder, but I still have some very solid memories of it.” Read more