Abuja man beats lover to death over phone charger (Punch)
A man, identified as Hasan Taiwo, allegedly beat his live-in lover, Chibuzor Aloh, a mother of four, to death for allegedly using his phone charger without permission.
The incident happened in the Lugbe area of the Federal Capital Territory. News of the woman’s death filtered into the community on Sunday.
The deceased was said to have taken the phone charger of her lover without his permission, a situation which angered him and he pounced on her and allegedly beat her severely.
Aloh was said to have fainted but was revived by neighbours who were alerted by the children. Read more
Baba Ijesha: 2 others also sexually molested minor -Defence (Guardian)
The defence team of Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James alias Baba Ijesha has alleged that the underage daughter of actress and comedienne Damilola Adekoya alias Princess was sexually molested by two other persons.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lead defence counsel, Mr Babatunde Ogala (SAN), made the allegations on Tuesday during the trial of Baba Ijesha over six counts of defilement at an Ikeja Special Offences Court.
While cross-examining Princess, Ogala said that the 14-year-old minor was molested by Mr Damola Adekola, Princess’s neighbour and Okele, Princess’s security guard.
When asked who Adekola was, Princess described him as her neighbour who she also regarded as a brother. She said that they also ran a haulage business together. Read more
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway undergoes 72-hour traffic diversion (Punch)
The Federal Government on Tuesday said traffic will be diverted on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway around Makun section for 72 hours to enable the contractor install a bridge beam.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, said this during the inspection of ongoing reconstruction/rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project.
He appealed for understanding and urged the public to disregard rumours that the road will be closed.
Popoola said traffic would be diverted on a stretch of just 400 meters around the construction zone where beams are to be laid on the flyover under construction at Makun near Sagamu Interchange. Read more
Freed Bethel students to write ongoing NECO examination, says commissioner (Guardian)
The Kaduna State Government says it will ensure that the freed students of the Bethel Baptist High School write the ongoing NECO examination.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Education, Dr Shehu Muhammad, on Tuesday.
He said that the state government was working with the council toward this.
Muhammad said that this was to celebrate the release of the students. Read more
CBN stops forex sales to Bureau De Change operators, retains lending rate (Punch)
The Central Bank of Nigeria has stopped the sales of forex to the Bureau De Change operators in the country with immediate effect.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this after the Monetary Policy Committee two-day meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
The MPC also retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 11.5 per cent at the end of the meeting.
It also retained the Cash Reserve Ratio and Liquidity Ratio at 27.5 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Read more
Sunday Igboho remanded in custody in Benin (Guardian)
A Nigerian separatist wanted in his country was remanded in custody on Tuesday in Benin, where he was arrested at the airport last week, judicial sources told AFP.
Sunday Igboho, who advocates for independence for the southwestern Yoruba people, is accused of “criminal association,” according to a judicial source in Benin’s commercial capital Cotonou.
“The judge placed him under a warrant of detention,” said one of Igboho’s lawyers, Toide Behanzin.
“He is being accused of crimes against people and properties in Benin. The case is totally baseless.”
In early July, Nigerian security officials raided Igboho’s home in the city of Ibadan, later saying he had escaped after they found military equipment and other weapons. Read more
Presidency administers secrecy oath on 42 staff (DailyTrust)
The Presidency has warned State House staff against the disclosure of classified information to the public.
The Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijjani Umar, gave the warning when 42 staff of the presidency were administered with oath of secrecy.
Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court administered the oath at the State House Auditorium, Abuja, on Tuesday.
Umar, who warned that the presidency would not tolerate any act of truancy and breach of oath of secrecy, said leaking of classified information without authorisation was a grievous offence that attracted penalties under the public service rules.
“This exercise is the beginning of doing what is right in various offices. The rules must be enforced and any breach carries a consequence. Read more
Vatican’s Cardinal Becciu on trial in $412m fraud case (BBC)
A Roman Catholic cardinal who was once a close ally of Pope Francis has gone on trial in the Vatican, accused of misusing Church funds in a ruinous London property venture.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 73, is the most senior cleric in modern times to face trial for alleged financial crimes.
He is charged with spending €350m (£299m; $412m) of church money on a botched deal to buy a property in Chelsea that incurred huge losses.
He denies wrongdoing. Read more
Paris Hilton is pregnant, expecting first child with fiancé Carter Reum (PageSix)
Paris Hilton is pregnant and expecting her first child with her fiancé, Carter Reum, Page Six has exclusively learned.
The pair have been open about wanting to start a family together, with Hilton, 40, revealing in January that she had been undergoing IVF treatments.
“He’s just my dream guy. … [Carter is] 100 per cent [the one],” she said on the “Trend Reporter” podcast at the time. “We talk about [planning a wedding] all the time and planning our baby’s names and all of that.”
Hilton’s rep declined to comment. A rep for Reum didn’t return Page Six’s request for comment.
Hilton and the venture capitalist, also 40, got engaged in February after dating for a year. Read more
WHO sounds the alarm on ‘harmful’ e-cigarettes (Guardian)
Electronic cigarettes and similar devices are dangerous to health and must be regulated to curb the tobacco industry’s tactics to get young people hooked on nicotine, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday.
“Nicotine is highly addictive. Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are harmful, and must be better regulated,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2021, which focused on new and emerging products, was published on Tuesday and said ENDS should be tightly regulated for maximum public health protection.
“Where they are not banned, governments should adopt appropriate policies to protect their populations from the harms of ENDS, and to prevent their uptake by children, adolescents and other vulnerable groups,” Tedros said. Read more
Britney Spears officially requests new conservator to replace her father (BBC)
Britney Spears has officially asked for her father to be replaced as her conservator, 13 years after he assumed control of her life and finances.
The star’s new lawyer petitioned the court on Monday, a month after Spears broke her public silence on the arrangement, calling it “abusive”.
In court papers, Mathew S. Rosengart described the conservatorship as a “Kafkaesque nightmare”.
He asked for accountant Jason Rubin to be named conservator of Spears’ estate. Read more
Cape Town reports increase in burials amid COVID-19 third wave
Agency Report (Punch)
South Africa’s legislative capital Cape Town on Tuesday said there was an increase in burials week-on-week due to the third wave of COVID-19.
In the last seven-day reporting period, a total of 638 burials were completed at Cape Town’s cemeteries up from 488 the week before, the city said in a media release.
Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Zahid Badroodien, said in the statement that official figures showed that the number was over 300 toward the end of June.
“What we are experiencing now is similar to the previous two waves of COVID-19 infections, when fatalities increased sharply.’’ Read more
Leverkusen blast: German chemical plant explosion leaves one dead (BBC)
At least one person has been killed and four remain missing after an explosion at a chemical plant in Germany.
Officials in the city of Leverkusen say 16 people were injured in the blast, which happened at 09:40 local time (07:40 GMT).
The explosion triggered a fire that took several hours to put out. Plumes of black smoke were seen in the area.
Police have told local residents to stay inside and close windows and doors. Read more
CAF slams one-year doping ban on Enyimba captain, Augustine Oladapo (Vanguard)
Oladapo Augustine, captain of Enyimba football club has been banned for a year by the Confederation of African Football, CAF, over a doping violation.
The midfielder tested positive for the banned substance “Prednisolone/Prednisone” after his urine sample was taken in the aftermath of the CAF Confederations Cup tie against Pyramids FC of Egypt on the 16th of May, 2021.
According to medical experts, Prednisone is a steriod that serves as an anti-inflammation, and immunosuppressant medication used to treat allergic disorders, skin conditions, ulcerative colitis, arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, or breathing disorders.
The ban according to CAF commenced from 4th July 2021, the date of notification of the provisional suspension. Read more
Tokyo Olympics: Simone Biles out of women’s team final as Russian Olympic Committee win gold (BBC)
Simone Biles pulled out of the gymnastics women’s team final at Tokyo 2020 with what was later described as a “medical issue” before the United States went on to claim silver.
Biles left the arena after the vault and was replaced by Jordan Chiles, but returned to support her team-mates.
The 24-year-old said: “I’m just dealing with things internally that will get fixed in the next couple of days.”
The Russian Olympic Committee team won gold, with Great Britain taking bronze.
Biles withdrew having only competed in the first rotation, where she scored 13.766 on the vault – her lowest score on that apparatus ever at the Olympics. Read more
Tokyo Olympics: Boxer Youness Baalla attempts bite on opponent during last-16 fight (BBC)
Morocco’s Youness Baalla brought back memories of Mike Tyson’s infamous ear bite on Evander Holyfield 24 years ago by attempting something similar during a boxing match at the Tokyo Olympics.
Losing in the third and final round of his last-16 heavyweight clash with New Zealand’s David Nyika, Baalla moved with his mouth open to his opponent’s ear and appeared to attempt to bite it.
The incident was not spotted by the referee but Nyika went on to seal a 5-0 win to progress.
“He didn’t get a full mouthful,” Nyika said. “Luckily he had his mouthguard in and I was a bit sweaty.
“I don’t remember what I said to him but I gave him a little bit of cheek. Read more
Sergio Ramos misses PSG debut with calf injury (Guardian)
Sergio Ramos will be unable to make his debut for Paris Saint-Germain in the French season curtain raiser due to a calf injury, the club announced Tuesday.
PSG, the French Cup winners, face Ligue 1 champions Lille in Sunday’s Champions Trophy being played this year in Tel Aviv.
Ramos, 35, signed a two-year contract with PSG earlier this month after a storied career with Real Madrid where he won the Champions League four times. Read more
Philippines win first Olympic gold after almost 100-year attempt (Punch)
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, on Monday, won The Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The Olympic gold medal has eluded the Southeast Asian country since it made its debut at the 1924 Paris Olympics.
Diaz won gold in the 55-kilogram category of women’s weightlifting. She also set an Olympic record with her combined weight total of 224 kilograms across two successful lifts.
The gold medal brawl came down to Diaz’s last lift, where she slugged it out with China’s Liao Qiuyun, the world record-holder in the event. Read more
Tokyo Olympics: Naomi Osaka loses to Marketa Vondrousova in women’s singles tennis (BBC)
Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka suffered a surprise exit in her home Olympics as Czech Marketa Vondrousova earned a straight-set win in Tokyo.
Osaka, 23, has been one of the faces of the Games in the Japanese capital and had the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron in last week’s opening ceremony.
But the four-time Grand Slam champion could not back that up by winning a medal, losing 6-1 6-4 to the world number 42 in the third round.” I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this,” said the world number two. Read more