COVID-19: Lagos govt launches register-to-open initiative of the economy (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Safety Commission on Wednesday said that all was now ready for religious and social centres, social clubs, event centres, restaurants, bars, night clubs, spas, cinemas and gyms to start their registration following Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s directive.
The governor had on May 17, 2020, announced the decision of the state government to gradually open the economy in the midst of the pandemic through a Register-to-Open Initiative.
He had said, “In the coming days, we will be starting what we call Register-to-Open, which means all players in the restaurant business, event centres, entertainment, malls and cinemas will go through a form of re-registration and space management. Read more
Lagos begins symbolic pupils’ enrollment for 2020/2021 session (Tribune)
The Lagos State government has begun symbolic enrollment of pupils into early childhood care and development class in public schools in the state.
Chairman of the state’s Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr Wahab Alawiye-King, performed the symbolic registration as part of activities to mark this year’s Children’s Day celebrated globally last week.
He enrolled Master Erioluwa Makinde and some others ahead of the 2020/2021 academic session.
Alawiye-King at the event charged parents to invest well in their children’s education and spiritual rebirth, saying these would greatly aid their success in life. Read more
Catholic Archbishop says no to continued restriction on religious gatherings (Vanguard)
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev Alfred Adewale Martins on Wednesday called on the Lagos State Government to ease the restriction on religious gatherings in the state, arguing that churches are better placed to maintain discipline among their faithful than most other institutions.
Reacting to the news making the rounds that the Lagos State Government through its Commissioner for Home Affairs, Mr Anofiu Elegushi, is insisting on continued restriction on religious gatherings, Archbishop Martins wondered why it would seem that there is a conclusion that it is when people gather to worship that coronavirus can be spread while the spread of the virus is suspended when they cluster and huddle together in markets, motor parks and banks. Read more
Lagos task force recovers stolen goats from abandoned vehicle (Guardian)
The operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit popularly called taskforce yesterday recovered four suspected stolen goats inside a vehicle abandoned by its occupants for contravening the Lagos traffic law at Ikorodu.
According to the Enforcement Team leader, DSP Anthony Abutu, who recovered the goats, the team was on a security monitoring operation in Ikorodu when they intercepted a blue Toyota Camry (AAA 743 EZ) driving on the BRT corridor. He added that the driver and his colleague immediately abandoned the vehicle on the road and ran away. Read more
COVID-19 threatening our means of livelihood – School owners (Vanguard)
Private school owners, under the auspices of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, have cried out that the coronavirus pandemic is threatening their means of livelihood and have, therefore, called on the government to come to their aid.
The Lagos State President of NAPPS, Chief Amusa Olawale, who spoke on behalf of members in a chat with Vanguard in Lagos, also called on the government to extend a lifeline to his members, saying they deserved to benefit from the dividends of democracy.
Olawale noted that school owners could no longer make money as schools are shut down, adding that most of his members have huge sums of money being owed them by parents and guardians of pupils and students in their schools. Read more
Suspected ritualists murder 78-year-old widow in Ekiti, remove vital organs (Guardian)
There was tension in Ikere-Ekiti, headquarters of Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State following the gruesome murder of a 78-year-old widow by suspected ritualists. It was learnt that the victim, Mrs. Sabianah Aranilewa, was slaughtered before her blood and vital organs were drained and removed respectively for ritual purposes by the suspect.
The deceased’s son, Mr. Eyitope Aranilewa, told reporters that his mother got missing on Friday, May 29 at about 6:45a.m. while washing clothes in front of her residence at the popular Moshood road, Odo-Oja area of Ikere-Ekiti.
He said his mother’s friend, simply identified as Mrs. Ojolo, raised the alarm and organised a search party but efforts to find her proved abortive until 4:00p.m. when her body was found inside a shallow flowing stream with her throat slit and vital organs harvested. Read more
There’s fake COVID-19 drugs, say WHO, NAFDAC (Nation)
As the world anxiously await a cure for COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Wednesday raised the alarm over the rising number of adulterated medical products in the markets.
They specifically mentioned Chloroquine as one of such products that have been faked and bandied by unscrupulous manufacturers as Coronavirus drug.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye and WHO Resident Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Tayo Hamzat, spoke of the adulterated products during a webinar organised by Bloom Public Health in Lagos on Wednesday. Read more
Lai Mohammed, others mourn Majek Fashek (Guardian)
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the death of international reggae star, Majekodunmi Fasheke, popularly called Majek Fashek, as a huge loss to the Creative Industry, especially coming at a time the industry has taken a hit from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement in Abuja yesterday, the minister said Majek Fashek was the archetypal musician, as he was not just a singer, but also a songwriter and a guitarist.
He, therefore, expressed his condolences to the family, friends and fans of the late musician, as well as to the entire Creative Industry, and prayed to God to grant repose to his soul and comfort his family. Read more
George Floyd death: New charges for all four sacked officers (BBC)
New charges have been announced against all of the sacked police officers present at the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The charge against Derek Chauvin has been elevated to second-degree murder, court documents show.
The other three officers, previously uncharged, face counts of aiding and abetting murder.
Floyd’s death has sparked huge protests across the US against racism and the police killings of black Americans. Read more
Russia to build elevators greeting passengers with voice of first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (RT)
A Russian factory is to start producing elevators equipped with the voice of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. The elevators will greet those entering with the astronaut’s most famous phrase: “Poekhali!” (“Let’s go!”)
On April 12, 1961, Gagarin became the first man to journey into outer space, completing one orbit of the Earth. As his spacecraft was about to be launched, he announced, “Let’s go!”, which subsequently became a popular expression throughout the Soviet Union, and is still the phrase most associated with space flight in Russia today. Read more
Earthquake jolts California, shakes buildings in LA (WashingtonTimes)
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake has jolted the region of California desert where a powerful quake last summer was followed by thousands of aftershocks.
The U.S. Geological Survey says Wednesday’s quake hit at 6:32 p.m. and was centered 13.6 miles (22 kilometers) north of the small city of Ridgecrest.
A dispatcher with the Ridgecrest Police Department said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.
The quake was felt as a bump and rolling motion in a high-rise building in downtown Las Vegas. Local television news broadcasts stopped as anchors reported seeing lights sway in their studios. Read more
Former Conservative cabinet minister under fire for denying existence of systemic racism in Canada (CBC)
Former Conservative cabinet minister Stockwell Day has stepped down from his role as a commentator on CBC News Network’s Power & Politics — and has left senior positions at two major companies — after making comments on Tuesday’s show about racism in Canada he later admitted were “insensitive and hurtful”.
“I ask forgiveness for wrongly equating my experiences to theirs. I commit to them my unending efforts to fight racism in all its forms,” Day said in a tweet earlier today.
Day also notified CBC he was stepping away from his role as a commentator for the program. Read more
‘Very destructive’ second wave of COVID-19 may come as countries lift restrictions, WHO warns (RT)
There is a “definite threat” of a repeat COVID-19 outbreak if nations emerging from their first wave aren’t vigilant, a senior official at the UN’s health watchdog has warned the Russian diaspora, as countries ease restrictions.
Hans Kluge, the European director for the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday reiterated the body’s message: even though the coronavirus pandemic has apparently been brought under control, its threat remains as persistent as it was when the infection first emerged in China last year. Read more
Dream Street’s Chris Trousdale dead at 34 from COVID-19 (TMZ)
Former Dream Street singer Chris Trousdale has died after contracting coronavirus … TMZ has confirmed.
The ex-boy band pop star passed away Tuesday night at a hospital in Burbank, CA due to complications from COVID-19 — this according to a family member.
Chris joined the band in 1999 along with Jesse McCartney, Greg Raposo, Matt Ballinger and Frankie Galasso — several of whom were scouted from the NYC acting and Broadway scene, including Chris. He was no more than 14 years old at the time he was brought in.
The group lasted only a few years before disbanding in 2002 due to legal issues between the boys’ parents and management. Still, in that short amount of time … they were able to build a fan base and crank out a few hits along the way, accompanied by two albums. Read more
Ighalo, Greenwood, Sancho may end Man United’s search for striker (Guardian)
Manchester United may not look for a new striker if they succeed in adding Borussia Dortmund’s Jordan Sancho to their squad, reports dailystar.co.uk.
The Red Devils are believed to be keen on sealing a deal for Borussia Dortmund winger Sancho this summer after the 20-year-old registered another brilliant season in the Bundesliga.
United are thought to be looking to improve their attack in general over the next few months, with a new striker also understood to be on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s wish list. But the Evening Standard suggests that the Norwegian might instead take a different approach to bolstering his forward men. Read more
CAF eyeing Champions League return in July or September (BBC)
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has proposed two different dates to resume the closing stages of both the 2019-20 African Champions League and Confederation Cup.
A leaked document has revealed that Caf is targeting two scenarios, with the return to action either starting in late July/early August or in September.
Both competitions should have been finished in May but the semi-final stages were postponed in April as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more
Rohr wants Osimhen in Liverpool (Sun)
Nigeria manager, Gernot Rohr has spoken about the future of Lille’s forward and rumoured Liverpool transfer target, Victor Osimhen.
The 21-year-old has shone in Ligue 1 and could soon earn himself a big move to a major European side, if recent transfer gossip is anything to go by.
Le 10 Sport have claimed Osimhen is a target for Liverpool, and Rohr believes it would be a boost for both the player and the Nigerian national team if he were to move to a big club in the Premier League or the Champions League.
Liverpool ticks both those boxes, so would undoubtedly be an ideal destination for Osimhen to further his career, and it seems the transfer would have the approval of Rohr. Read more
Wizards part of 22-team NBA return that could be finalized Thursday (WashingtonTimes)
It’s the promise basketball fans around the world have been waiting to hear:
The NBA is back.
The NBA’s Board of Governors will hold a call Thursday afternoon and vote on a 22-team format to resume the season in Florida this summer after it was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The team owners have “the intention of approving the league’s plan,” ESPN reported.
The 22 teams heading to the ESPN Wide World Of Sports complex on the Disney campus near Orlando would play eight regular-season games to determine playoff seeding starting around July 31, reports said. The traditional 16-team playoffs would follow, beginning sometime in August. Read more
Vertonghen could miss end of season at Spurs as ‘he wants to leave’ (Vanguard)
Jan Vertonghen could miss the end of the Premier League season with the Spurs defender unlikely to accept a contract extension, according to reports.
The 33-year-old defender’s current deal expires in the summer, though there is still doubt about what will happen with the Premier League season set to extend beyond June 30.
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho was keen for Vertonghen to stay, but suggested the defender’s agent was playing hardball over a fresh contract. Read more
Why fans are obsessed with ‘freak show’ fights (RT)
Sports fans have long held a morbid fascination with the idea of “freak show” fights, with boxing matches featuring YouTubers often outselling their highly-skilled counterparts – but is there a place for them in combat sports?
Only the most ardent fans of the pair would argue the point that last year’s Eddie Hearn-promoted KSI vs. Logan Paul boxing match had any competitive merit whatsoever – but it was never really meant to. Read more