Costain bridge to be completed in September, says Hamzat (Guardian)
The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, on Sunday said that the construction of the Costain bridge would be completed by September. Hamzat made this known during an inspection tour of the project in Lagos. He explained that the existing bridge at Costain would give way to a new higher bridge which would serve as a flyover above the new Lagos/Ibadan Standard Rail line Project. Read more
FG set to improve nation’s security architecture – Osinbajo (Nation)
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Sunday said that the Federal Government was doing everything possible to improve the nation’s security architecture to ensure the protection of lives and property. Osinbajo said this in Akure when he visited Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Afenifere’s leader, to sympathise with him over the death of his daughter, Mrs Funke Olakunrin. “We are looking at the whole security architecture and trying to scale up and ensure that we are able to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians. Read more
‘Plant a tree to celebrate memorable events’, Sanwo-Olu urges residents (Guardian)
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Sunday urged residents to plant trees to celebrate memorable events to ensure safer, greener environments and to save the planet from further destruction. Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, made the call at the 2019 Tree Planting campaign, organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Environment in Iganmu, Lagos. Read more
Appeal Court judges cancel vacation over election petitions (Punch)
The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, has cancelled this year’s edition of the court’s judges’ annual vacation which usually lasts about two months. The Media Officer, Sa’adatu Musa-Kachalla, said in a statement on Sunday that this was due to “the enormous (election) petitions the court is faced with.” She explained that since election petitions were time-bound, there would be the need for a timely determination of the appeals arising from them by the Court of Appeal. Read more
Custom, police, army parade 24 suspected rice smugglers (Nation)
A combined team of men of the Nigeria Navy, Police and Customs at the weekend paraded 24 persons in connection with alleged smuggling of bags of rice from Benin Republic to Nigeria. The security agents also paraded 850 bags of50 kilograms of rice allegedly smuggled into the country by the suspects. Parading the suspects in Ilorin, the state capital, state commissioner of police, Kayode Egbetokun, said that 15 of the suspects were arrested in Offa by the officers of the Navy School of Health Sciences, who he said also impounded the rice. Read more
Kidnapped Adamawa perm sec regains freedom (Nation)
The Permanent Secretary of the Adamawa State Ministry of Mineral Resources, Mr. Emmanuel Piridimso, who was kidnapped last Wednesday, has regained freedom. His abductors freed him after receiving yet to be ascertained amount of money as ransom, and gave him N1,000 as transport money back home. A source who made this disclosure on Sunday, said the permanent secretary had to trek long distances to reconnect with his family. Read more
Hajj: 1,529 pilgrims depart Kano, Lagos, Kaduna for Saudi Arabia (Guardian)
A total of 1,529 Muslim pilgrims have so far been airlifted from Kano, Lagos and Kaduna airports for this year’s Hajj to Saudi Arabia. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) disclosed this on Saturday through its tweeter handle in Abuja. The information contained in the tweet explained that the Kaduna pilgrims were airlifted through Kaduna Airport in Medview airline number VM3047 at 20:02 hours carrying 542 passengers on board to Madinah. Read more
Ijaw youths threaten to cripple telecom operations in Bayelsa (Nation)
Ijaw youths in Bayelsa State at the weekend threatened to shutdown operations of telecommunication companies following unresolved issues bordering on diesel supply to their various power plants in the state. The youths were said to be angry that indigenes of the state had been shut out of the companies’ multi-million Naira diesel supply chain to generators that power telecommunication masts in the state. Read more
Over one million people get sexually transmitted infections daily —WHO (Punch)
Every day, there are more than one million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections among people aged 15-49 years, according to data released by the World Health Organisation. This amounts to more than 376 million new cases annually of four infections — chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and syphilis. “We’re seeing a concerning lack of progress in stopping the spread of sexually transmitted infections worldwide,” said Dr. Peter Salama, Executive Director for Universal Health Coverage and the Life-Course at WHO. Read more
Katsina State Govt. donates 60 bed dormitory to Police School (Nation)
The Katsina state Government on Sunday, donated a 60 bed dormitory complete with 4 sets of bathroom and toilet worth N16.8m to the Police Boy’s Secondary School, Mani, during their passing out parade and graduation ceremony The Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Education, Hajia Halima Othman, who was represented at the ceremony by the Director Works of the Ministry, Alhaji Nakano Idris Lawal, said the donation is the fallout of a request from the Police high command routed through the state commissioner of Police, CP Sanusi Buba to the Governor, requesting for hostel accommodation. Read more
Burundi’s Imbonerakure leader named head of RTNB (BBC)
The head of a Burundian militia accused of atrocities has been named to lead the state broadcaster, RTNB, sparking condemnation by human rights groups. Human Rights Watch said the appointment of Eric Nshimirimana was “a blow to all victims of abuse perpetrated by the Imbonerakure, as well as freedom of the press in Burundi”. The Imbonerakure has allegedly killed, raped and robbed opposition activists. Read more
Algeria army arrests five on suspicion of planning ‘attacks’ (Guardian)
The Algerian army has arrested five suspects for planning “attacks” against anti-government demonstrations that have swept the North African country since February 22, the defense ministry said on Sunday. The suspects “planned attacks against peaceful protests across different parts of the country”, it said in a statement, adding they were arrested in “anti-terrorist” raids last week in the Batna region southeast of the capital Algiers. Read more
Monsoon kills dozens in Nepal, India and Bangladesh (BBC)
Dozens of people have been killed as monsoon floods rip through Nepal, Bangladesh and north-eastern India. At least 47 people have lost their lives in Nepal as torrential rains hit the region, the government said in a statement. Twenty-nine people are reported missing amid floods and landslides, while 28 have been injured. Read more
Macron showcases Europe military prowess at Paris parade (Guardian)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday sought to showcase European military cooperation in the annual Bastille Day parade at a time of growing tensions between Europe the United States. Key EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, joined Macron to watch the parade down the Champs-Elysees that marks the July 14, 1789 storming of the Bastille fortress in Paris in the French Revolution. Read more
Hunt launched for ‘rapist who lay in wait in subway to attack victim’ (Metro)
A man who allegedly lay in wait to rape a women who was walking home is being hunted by police. The victim, aged in her twenties, was attacked at around 2.40am this morning when she she was approached by a man in a subway in Chatham, Kent. Her suspected rapist pounced on her, using the cover of darkness to carry out his assault. Read more
Hong Kong protests: Tens of thousands again turn out (BBC)
Tens of thousands have again taken to the streets of Hong Kong as weeks of anti-government unrest show no sign of stopping. There were violent clashes between police and a small number of demonstrators in Sha Tin. The protests were sparked by a proposed extradition bill which would allow people to be sent to China for trial. But they now reflect broader demands for democratic reform and concerns Hong Kong’s freedoms are being eroded. Read more
British tourists’ boat sinks while they’re in shark-infested waters (Metro)
Two British tourists came close to dying after their boat sank while they were fishing on holiday. Mark Lane and Ash Paisley had been trying to haul in a 300lb black marlin when they noticed one of their crew members bailing out water. Within minutes, the back of the boat started to sink and then the rest of the boat went under too. Read more
Winning 2019 AFCON a way to repay Nigerians’ patience —Awaziem (Punch)
The injury to Shehu Abdullahi in Nigeria’s first match against Burundi after just 20 minutes offered Chidozie Awaziem a rare opportunity to shine. The 22-year-old currently playing in the Turkish top tier with Çaykur Rizespor on loan from FC Porto, naturally a right back, was thrown into the deep end to hold forte at right back. Abdullahi failed to recover in time and Awaziem has been called upon to continue in the role, and hasn’t put a foot wrong, playing in every game as Nigeria weaved through to the semi-finals of the Total Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2019. Read more
Lawan expresses confidence in Eagles, departs for Egypt (Guardian)
The President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan departed Abuja on Sunday, leading a presidential delegation to cheer Super Eagles in their match against Algeria in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt. Mr. Mohammed Isa, the Special Assistant to Lawan on Media and Publicity disclosed this in a statement in Abuja. According to the statement, Lawan who spoke before his departure said the presence of the delegation in Egypt would boost the morale of the Nigerian players and spur them to win the crucial match. Read more
Gbajabiamila optimistic of Eagles’ victory over Algeria (Nation)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has expressed optimism that the Nigerian Super Eagles would triumph over their Algerian counterparts at the semi-final of the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) holding in Egypt. In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr. Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker said his optimism was not only based on the superlative performance of the Super Eagles at the ongoing tournament but also by their records over their opponents today. Read more
Tennis: Taiwan’s Chan wins Wimbledon mixed doubles title (Punch)
Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Croatian Ivan Dodig made it back to back Grand Slam successes, clinching the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Swede Robert Lindstedt and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on Sunday. Chan and Dodig have become a powerful mixed doubles partnership in the past year have won two French Opens and now Wimbledon. The eighth seeds were always in control surging into a 5-0 lead in the first set. Read more
Stormzy thrilled to wave chequered flag as Lewis Hamilton wins record 6th British Grand Prix
UK grime star Stormzy was given the honour of waving the chequered flag on Sunday as Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line to win a record sixth British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The championship pace-setter got the better of teammate Valtteri Bottas, who started on pole, to take the lead, and has now surpassed both Jim Clark and Alain Prost. Following his victory, Gary Linekar shared praise for the 34-year-old on Twitter, writing: ‘The great @LewisHamilton wins another British Grand Prix. Read more
Neymar renews war of words with PSG, hailing Barcelona ‘remontada’ (Guardian)
Neymar fired another shot in his battle with Paris Saint-Germain after saying his favourite football memory is Barcelona’s incredible 2017 comeback win over PSG, which Neymar helped inflict on his current club. Asked by online sports channel Oh My Goal about his best changing room memory, the world’s most expensive player chose the aftermath of that win. “We all went crazy afterward. I think it was the best possible feeling for all of us,” the Brazilian star said in the interview, which was posted on Saturday. Read more
Daniel James reveals the advice he was given by Ryan Giggs after signing for Man Utd (Metro)
Daniel James has paid tribute to Ryan Giggs after the Manchester United legend gave him some key advice after joining the club from Swansea earlier this summer. The Wales international became the first signing of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era earlier this month when United agreed an initial £15million fee with Swansea. James impressed his new manager with his application and enthusiasm during his initial training sessions and caught the eye on his debut during Saturday’s 2-0 pre-season win over Perth Glory. Read more
Valencia sign Uruguay striker Maxi Gomez (Punch)
Uruguayan international Maxi Gomez has joined Valencia from Celta Vigo, the promising striker’s new La Liga club announced on Sunday. “I’m very happy to come to Valencia, it’s a very big club,” the 22-year-old told the club website. “It’s very nice to be able to play Champions League. I dreamed of that as a kid.” Valencia released a statement saying Gomez had signed a five-year contract with a 140 million euro ($158 million) release clause. Read more