Ambode swears in Muri-Okunola as HOS (Punch)
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Monday swore in Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola as the 21st Head of Service. Ambode in his remarks at the ceremony held at the Lagos House, Alausa, described the appointment as a new chapter with a high expectation to inject youthful vibrancy in the state’s civil service. He tasked the new HOS to adopt creative thinking and growth mindset in the discharge of his new role. Ambode expressed strong optimism in the ability of Muri-Okunola to effectively take charge on account of his capacity, knowledge, exposure, experience and youthful energy. Read more
Thousands of Nigerians to miss visa appointments as US embassy closes indefinitely (Punch)
Thousands of Nigerians will miss their visa appointments as the United States embassy in Abuja and its consulate in Lagos have shutdown indefinitely. This implies that persons who have applied for tourist, study, business visas, immigrant visas or any other travel document will have to cancel their plans. The US embassy in Nigeria said in a Facebook post that the development was caused by the government shutdown in the US. The statement read, “Due to the current US government shutdown, the American centres located in the embassy, Abuja and Consulate-General, Lagos are unfortunately closed. They will re-open once the US government shutdown is resolved. Sorry for any inconvenience to our valued patrons.” Read more
Buhari hailed for withholding assent to NBC Bill (Nation)
Communication experts at the weekend commended President Muhammadu Buhari for refusing to sign the National Broadcasting Commission Bill 2018 (Amendment) into law. They said the president’s action demonstrated his resolute commitment to national interest, over the primordial vested interest of a few powerful persons or a group of establishments. The experts, Engineer Yusuf Ahmadu and Barbara Ekprikpo, conveyed their commendation in a statement issued in Abuja, the nation’s capital. “The President’s decline to sign the bill was again communicated to the Senate President with reasons, which are mostly in alignment with the views of industry experts,” they stated. Read more
2019 shall be a better year for Nigerians- CAN (Vanguard)
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has prophesied in its New Year message to Nigerians that the dry bone of the nation shall rise again. The president, CAN, Rev Samson Ayokunle, said this in his New Year message to Nigerians, signed by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant, Media &Communications to the CAN President on Monday in Abuja. Ayokunle again prophesied that 2019 would be a year of peace, prosperity, rest of mind and a year when the Almighty God would miraculously intervene in the affairs of the nation. Read more
Nigeria to expect 25,685 new babies Tuesday – UNICEF (Nation)
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF ) says an estimated 25,685 babies will be born in Nigeria on New Year Day. According to a statement issued on Monday by UNICEF Nigeria Communications Specialist, Eva Hinds, Nigerian babies make up 6.5 per cent of the estimated 395,072 babies born on New Year Day globally. “Within Africa, Nigerian babies will account for almost 40 per cent of all those born in West and Central Africa, and more than 23 per cent of those born in sub-Saharan Africa. “Globally, over half of the world’s births are estimated to take place in just eight countries, including Nigeria. “At current life expectancy rates, a child born in Nigeria today is likely to live only to the year 2074, which is 55 years of age. Read more
Egypt woman loses appeal over ‘fake news’ (BBC)
An Egyptian appeals court has imposed a two-year prison sentence against the women’s rights activist Amal Fathy, who criticised the authorities for failing to tackle sexual harassment. Fathy was charged with “spreading fake news” in May after posting a video in which she recounted her experiences. She was handed a two-year jail term by a lower court in September, but it was suspended pending an appeal. The appeal ruling came days after she was freed on bail over a separate case. Her husband Mohamed Lotfy, head of the independent Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, said she could be taken back into detention at “any time”. Read more
Airline fires pilots with fake school degrees (Punch)
Pakistan’s national flag carrier has fired 50 staffers including three pilots for holding fake high school degrees, an airline official said Monday, in the latest embarrassing mishap to hit the troubled airline. Pakistan International Airline, which was considered a global leader in commercial aviation until the 1970s, has been plagued by myriad controversies in recent years and saddled by billions of dollars in debt. “The airline has dismissed from service its 50 staffers including three pilots for holding fake high school degrees,” PIA’s spokesman Mashood Tajwar told AFP. He said at least six additional pilots had been fired recently on the same grounds. Read more
US ambassador issues trade deal warning (BBC)
Donald Trump’s offer of a “quick, massive, bilateral trade deal” will not be possible if Theresa May’s EU withdrawal agreement is approved, the US ambassador to the UK has warned. President Trump had previously said her Brexit proposal sounded like a “great deal for the EU”. Woody Johnson told the BBC the UK was “in need of leadership” over Brexit. A Downing Street spokeswoman said Mr Johnson recently said the UK was “the perfect trading partner for the US”. Mr Johnson told Radio 4’s Today programme there was still hope for a UK-US trade deal. Read more
Hunt for survivors as Putin rushes to scene of deadly high-rise blast (Guardian)
Rescuers hunted for survivors on Monday after a gas explosion tore through a high-rise residential building in central Russia, killing at least four people and leaving several dozen unaccounted for. President Vladimir Putin rushed to the Urals city of Magnitogorsk, where the blast left hundreds of residents homeless in freezing temperatures on New Year’s Eve — the biggest holiday of the year in Russia. National television showed rescue workers combing through mangled heaps of concrete and metal in temperatures of minus 18 Celsius (minus 0.4 F). A large section of the building collapsed after the explosion around 6:00 am local time (1100 GMT) at the high-rise in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, nearly 1,700 kilometres (1,050 miles) east of Moscow in the Ural mountains. Read more
‘Special Eagles aiming to participate in Amputee Nations Cup’ (Nation)
The Special Eagles intend to participate in the fifth edition of the Cup of African Nations for Amputee Football (CANAF) tournament scheduled for Angola in 2019, an official has said. Ugochukwu Obieze, an official of the Nigeria Amputee Football Federation (NAFF), said on Monday in Lagos that the sport’s World Cup in Mexico has been an eye-opener and they wanted more. “We have broken the jinx by our participation in the World Cup held in Mexico and it was a great achievement for the team and a good exposure for us. “The Cup of Nations is the next tournament and our intention is to take part in the event, which is the fifth edition and is coming up next year,” he said. Read more
Warnock wary of diving Spurs stars for Cardiff clash (Vanguard)
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock has warned his players “not to breathe” on some of Tottenham’s stars in a New Year’s Day clash between the sides over fears of playacting. England captain Harry Kane was booked for diving in Spurs’ shock 3-1 home loss to Wolves on Saturday, while Dele Alli has been repeatedly accused of going down easily. “I say to my players about the top players ‘try not to breathe on them’,” said Warnock, whose side conceded a controversial penalty in a 5-1 home defeat by Manchester United last weekend. Read more
Mayweather beats kickboxer Nasukawa (BBC)
Floyd Mayweather knocked down Tenshin Nasukawa three times in the first round as he beat the Japanese kickboxer in an exhibition match worth a reported $9m. Former five-weight world champion Mayweather, 41, was smiling as he floored the 20-year-old with ease. The pair were set to box three rounds of three minutes in Tokyo, but Nasukawa was caught with a left hook before his team threw in the towel. Despite agreeing to the bout, Mayweather said he was “still retired”. “It was all about entertainment – we had a lot of fun,” said Mayweather, who beat UFC’s Conor McGregor in a boxing match in August 2017. “They wanted this to happen in Japan, so I said ‘why not?'” Read more
Jesse Lingard reveals how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has got the best out of Paul Pogba (Metro)
Jesse Lingard has praised Manchester United’s caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for coaxing the best out of Paul Pogba during his short time in charge. After being frozen out by Jose Mourinho, Pogba has re-established himself under Solskjaer, scoring four goals and providing three assists in the Norwegian’s first three matches.. Solskjaer admitted he wants Pogba to play further forward, saying after United’s 4-1 win over Bournemouth: ‘We want him to attack those spaces because we know what a handful he is in the air.’ Pogba netted twice during Sunday’s victory against the Cherries before providing the fourth goal for Romelu Lukaku late on and Lingard believes his teammate has been liberated by playing in his favoured position. Read more
Fulham to take action over Kamara racist abuse (Vanguard)
Fulham have vowed to take the “strongest possible action” after striker Aboubakar Kamara was racially abused on social media following his penalty miss against Huddersfield on Saturday. The Frenchman was strongly criticised by his manager Claudio Ranieri for disobeying orders to hand over penalty duties to Aleksandar Mitrovic. “It is unbelievable, he did not respect me, the club, the team and crowd. I spoke with him, it is not right. I want to kill him,” said Ranieri, despite Mitrovic’s stoppage time winner in a 1-0 victory for the Premier League strugglers. Read more
Jurgen Klopp plays down Liverpool’s December lead (Guardian)
Jurgen Klopp was quick to dismiss any talk of Liverpool’s nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League being decisive after they thumped Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield on Saturday. Liverpool emphatically capitalised on Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat to Wolves as they recovered from going a goal down by cantering to victory thanks to a hat-trick from Roberto Firmino, a Sadio Mane strike and a Mohamed Salah penalty. The Reds’ advantage at the top will be cut to seven points if third-placed Manchester City win at Southampton, with the defending champions then set to host Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on January 3.And Klopp is adamant his team’s current lead means little, telling a post-match media conference: “Tomorrow it will be seven and when we play against Man City it could be four. It’s possible. Read more
US zoo intern fatally attacked by lion (BBC)
A 22-year-old zoo worker was killed in North Carolina on Sunday after being attacked by a lion at a wildlife park. Conservators Center, in Caswell County, said the attack happened when a lion escaped an enclosure during a routine cleaning. Alexandra Black, an intern who had worked there for less than two weeks, has been named as the victim. Her family have said she “loved animals” and had died following her passion. “This was her fourth internship, because she really wanted to make a career of working with animals,” her family said in a statement. Read more
Teenager, two others sell siblings for N.8m to raise WASSCE fee (Punch)
Operatives of the Imo State Police Command have arrested a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School pupil, Precious Ehiedo, and two others, Juliet Ogben and Favour Okoh, for allegedly stealing and selling two siblings between the ages of two and seven for N800, 000. The state Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi, who handed over one of the recovered children to their parents at the command’s headquarters in Owerri, said that two-year-old Chiemerem and seven-year-old Mmesoma Nwoke were stolen on November 13, 2018, by Precious at Umuezeala Ama in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State on the instruction of her parents. Read more
Man who raped 80-yr-old bags three years imprisonment (Nation)
An Osun Magistrates’ Court sitting in Modakeke on Monday sentenced one Jimoh Oyemoni, 40, to three years imprisonment for raping an 80-year-old woman. The Prosecutor, Inspector Ona Glory, had told the court that the convict committed the offence on Dec. 23 at about 2:30 pm at Onibambu Village near Modakeke. Glory said that the convict willfully and unlawfully had carnal knowledge of one Victoria Sogunlana without her consent. He added that the convict assaulted Sogunlana by attempting to strangle her in a farm. Read more
Armed man heads to church to fulfil ‘a prophecy’ (Punch)
A US man, Tony Albert, 33, was arrested, on Sunday, while he was allegedly on his way to a nearby church to fulfil “a prophecy,” police said. Albert was arrested in Seguin, Texas, about 40 miles northeast of San Antonio, at around 7 am, when a woman called to report an armed man wearing a surgical face mask and tactical-style clothing, according to the town’s police department. Responding officers said Albert was “oddly dressed” and claimed he was heading to a nearby church to carry out an undisclosed prophecy, the Seguin Police Department said. Read more