Destitute, hoodlums turn Pen Cinema Bridge into abode (Punch)
Two months after the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, inaugurated the Pen Cinema Bridge, homeless people, including beggars and hoodlums, have occupied the facility and are allegedly using the opportunity to dispossess unsuspecting members of the public of their valuables.
During a visit to assess the situation on Tuesday, PUNCH Metro observed that the bridge, which was constructed to ease mobility of road users and members of the public, had become a shelter as people were seen taking refuge under and around it.
However, passers-by, motorists and business owners lamented the growing insecurity occasioned by the activities of people living around the bridge, adding that the area around the bridge was polluted by waste. Read more
Lagos Assembly proposes bill to strengthen mortgage process (Guardian)
The Lagos House of Assembly has proposed a new amendment for the Lagos State Mortgage and Property (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
The amendment was aimed to strengthen the process of mortgage and encourage people to go into property transactions.
Majority Leader, Mr. Sanai Agunbiade, at the plenary, said the Bill had six amendments, five of which are insertion of new section while the other amends the interpretation section.
Meanwhile, the Speaker, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, passed the bill to the House Standing Committee on Housing, with directives to report back in three weeks. Read more
CSOs tackle Sawo-Olu over Lagos anti-corruption law (DailyTrust)
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), has opposed the establishment of the Lagos State Public Complaint Anti-Corruption Commission Law by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
The CSOs said the law, if allowed, poses danger to the national anti-corruption fight as it would whittle down the power of the country’s anti-corruption agencies: EFCC and ICPC amongst other things.
The CSOs under the umbrella of ‘Speak Out Africa Initiative’ made their position known in a letter dated May 4 and signed by its legal adviser, Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, SAN.
The letter was directed to the President, the Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum, the National Assembly and the 36 state Assemblies, among others. Read more
26-year-old man arrested for cloning EFCC emails to defraud victims (Punch)
Twenty-six-year-old Udochukwu Simeon has been arrested for allegedly cloning the email addresses of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and using the same to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
According to the EFCC, the suspect created an Outlook email account of the anti-graft agency, efccnigeria.org.ng@outlook.com and webmail, info@efcc-nigeria.org.ng, which he used to impersonate the commission.
The Head of Media and Publicity of the agency, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement on Wednesday, said an investigation by the cybercrime unit of the commission indicated that the suspect also used the two fake e-mail accounts to send messages to his victims, while posing as an officer of the commission trying to help the victims recover their stolen funds. Read more
#EndSARS: Lagos revives 10,000 businesses with N939m (Vanguard)
Lagos State government, yesterday, said that 10,000 business owners affected by the wanton destruction of properties during the #EndSARS protest were given N939.98 million support fund to recover their losses.
This came on a day Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu inaugurated a 9-member committee on film production empowerment, an intervention project to revitalise the entertainment and tourism sectors in the state.
Speaking during the ministerial press briefing to commemorate the second anniversary of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration in office, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke, said: “The MSME Recovery Fund was set up to support businesses in Lagos State whose properties and assets were vandalized post #EndSARS protests that rocked the nation in October 2020. With funding from the Lagos State Government, corporate organizations and private individuals, businesses were supported with grant sums ranging from N50,000 to N5,000,000, to beneficiaries to rebuild their businesses. Read more
Telcos begin SIM activation as more lines get NIN linkage (Guardian)
Two weeks after the federal government lifted the ban on registration and activation of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards, telecoms operators have commenced sale of new and reactivation of old lines.
The Guardian had, last week, reported the challenges customers were encountering following the telcos’ wait on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for new guidelines on the SIM project.
Checks yesterday showed that operators had commenced registration of new SIMs and reactivation of old ones, albeit slowly.
A visit to MTN office at Fatai Atere, Oshodi, 9mobile office, Cele Express and Globacom office, Airport Road, Ikeja confirmed the development. Read more
Man kills mother-in-law in Ogun (Guardian)
A 28-year-old man, Opeyemi Adeola Ganiyu, has allegedly killed his mother-in-law, Mrs Abosede Oyewole, in Atan-Ota area of Ogun State.
The suspect, who has since been arrested by operatives of Ogun State Police Command following a report lodged by one Odunayo Mathew at the Atan-Ota Police Divisional headquarters, was fond of beating his wife on slight provocation.
On the fateful day, the suspect, as usual, beat up his wife and inflicted injuries on her, which forced the deceased to confront him in his apartment to warn him to desist from beating her daughter. Read more
Bandits kill two Kaduna volunteers, abduct scores, raze church (Punch)
Some bandits have invaded Mahu village in Gwagwada ward of the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing two and kidnapping scores of the people of the area.
The bandits also attacked and razed the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church in the area
The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr Samuel Aruwan, in a statement said said13 of those kidnapped were rescued by the troops of Operation Thunder Strike.
He gave the identity of those killed as Ezekiel Iliya and Nasara Yohanna, whom he claimed were volunteers, adding, “After the operations, the troops discovered that the bandits had shot two volunteers before their arrival.” Read more
US birth rate falls 4% to its lowest point ever (BBC)
The American birth rate fell for the sixth consecutive year in 2020, with the lowest number of babies born since 1979, according to a new report.
Some 3.6 million babies were born in the US in 2020 – marking a 4% decline from the year before, found the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics.
The slump was seen across all recorded ethnicities and origins, according to the findings.
The national picture mirrors a decline in births seen worldwide, a trend some experts say has been accelerated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Read more
First trailer for JoJo Moyes adaptation “The Last Letter From Your Lover” drops (Metro)
The first trailer has just dropped for new JoJo Moyes adaptation The Last Letter From Your Lover, and colour us excited. First of all, we need to talk about the cast – Oscar nominee Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies), Joe Alwyn (The Favourite), Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) and Nabhaan Rizwan, a relative newcomer who seems to have cropped up in everything this year, from Mogul Mowgli to Industry. That is some serious heft. Adapted from Moyes’ best-selling novel, The Last Letter From Your Lover is a passionate dual-narrative love story set in the French Riviera and London during the 1960s and present day. Read more
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more months over Tiananmen vigil (France24)
Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong will face an additional 10 months in jail for participating in an unauthorised assembly on June 4 last year to commemorate the 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
It was the first time the vigil was banned in the global financial hub, with police citing coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings, as it did for all demonstrations last year. It is expected to face a similar fate this year.
Still, tens of thousands of people lit candles across the city in what was largely a peaceful event last June, bar a brief skirmish with riot police in one neighbourhood.
Commemorations of the Tiananmen crackdown are banned in mainland China, but Hong Kong traditionally held the largest vigils globally every year, having been promised certain freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, including rights of expression and assembly. Read more
SpaceX Starship prototype makes clean landing (BBC)
Step by step, the SpaceX company is progressing the development of its novel Starship rocket.
The latest prototype, Serial Number 15 (SN15), has just completed a successful high-altitude ascent and landing.
The four previous test artefacts all ran into trouble as they went through their touchdown manoeuvres, ultimately destroying themselves in the process.
But SN15 had no such difficulty, making a tidy, controlled return to the ground at SpaceX’s R&D facility in Texas. Read more
2 American tourists who killed Italian policeman found guilty and sentenced to LIFE in prison (RT)
An Italian court has convicted two US tourists for fatally stabbing a Carabinieri officer during a botched drug buy on their Roman holiday. One of them admitted to the act but claimed self-defense. Both received a life sentence.
Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, 20, were convicted and sentenced on Wednesday for the 2019 murder of Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega. Judge Marina Finiti read out the verdict in a packed court, siding with the prosecutors who sought life in prison for both men.
The two San Franciscans were in Italy for different reasons – Natale-Hjorth said he was visiting his Italian grandparents, and Elder was traveling through Europe – when they met up in Rome in July 2019. They tried to buy cocaine in the Trastevere nightlife district, but grabbed the dealer’s backpack when he sold them pills instead. Read more
Noel Clarke ‘dropped from London Comic Con meet and greet’ amid sexual misconduct allegations (Metro)
Noel Clarke has reportedly been dropped from this year’s line up at the London Comic Con. The actor was in the line-up of celebrities that fans could get an autograph from for £20, or have their photo taken with him at the event, slated to take place in July, for the same price. Fans could have also had a snap taken with him and his Bulletproof co-star Ashley Walters for £40. However The Sun reports his name has been removed from the line up. Additionally, if you visit his ‘guest’ page on the event’s official website you are met with a notice saying the page is ‘not found’. Read more
Broadway tickets to go on sale for September reopening (BBC)
Tickets for Broadway will go on sale this week, although shows will not restart until 14 September.
Theatres will then be allowed to fill 100% of capacity, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced.
Thousands lost work when Broadway theatres closed in March 2020 due to the pandemic.
“Broadway is a major part of our state’s identity and economy, and we are thrilled that the curtains will rise again,” Mr Cuomo said on Twitter. Read more
Chelsea subdue Real Madrid to set up all-English Champions League final (BBC)
Chelsea will face Manchester City in the Champions League final in Istanbul after convincingly overcoming a fading Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge.
On a night of high tension, even behind closed doors, Chelsea fully deserved a victory that sets up an all-English final against Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders on 29 May.
Thomas Tuchel’s hosts were grateful to goalkeeper Edouard Mendy for two fine first-half saves from Karim Benzema but they were able to build on the 1-1 draw they achieved in Madrid when Timo Werner headed in from almost on the goal-line in the 28th minute after Kai Havertz had lofted a finish on to the bar.
It set the platform for a second half of total Chelsea domination that was nevertheless laced with anxiety as the hosts missed chance after chance to put the game to bed. Read more
UFC standout Usman warns YouTuber Jake Paul as vicious war of words escalates (RT)
UFC superstar Kamaru Usman has fired a warning to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, saying that Paul could “truly get hurt” if he keeps pushing forward with his desire to box the UFC welterweight champion.
Internet prankster Paul took aim at Usman after Paul’s heated confrontation with former UFC champion Daniel Cormier at the recent UFC 261 event in Jacksonville after Usman defeated rival fighter – and occasional Jake Paul confidante – Jorge Masvidal.
Following the event, Usman stated that he would be happy to teach Paul a lesson in the boxing ring, given that he says he has “lapped” the rest of the competition in the UFC’s 170lbs fold after already holding wins against top contenders Masvidal (twice), Colby Covington and Leon Edwards. Read more
Romain Grosjean to make demo run in Mercedes following F1 career-ending crash at Bahrain last year(BBC)
Romain Grosjean is to drive a Mercedes on a one-off return to Formula 1 following his fiery accident at last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Grosjean will do a demonstration run in Lewis Hamilton’s 2020 W10 at the French Grand Prix on 27 June, and a test at the same track two days later.
The Frenchman said getting back in an F1 car was “a special opportunity”.
The move honours a pledge made by team boss Toto Wolff as it became clear the crash would end Grosjean’s F1 career. Read more
Arsene Wenger makes prediction for Arsenal’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Villarreal (Metro)
Arsene Wenger says his former club Arsenal have the ‘offensive potential’ to overturn their deficit against Villarreal and reach the Europa League final. Arsenal’s Europa League hopes are hanging by a thread after Mikel Arteta’s side suffered a 2-1 defeat to ex-manager Unai Emery’s Villarreal in Spain last week. The Gunners have endured a difficult season – sitting just ninth in the Premier League with four matches remaining – but Wenger has backed the team to produce the good at the Emirates on Thursday night. If Arsenal progress to the Europa League final, they will likely meet Premier League rivals Manchester United following their first-leg thrashing over Roma. Read more
Manchester United v Liverpool: Premier League game rearranged for Thursday, 13 May (BBC)
Manchester United’s postponed home Premier League match with Liverpool has been rearranged for Thursday, 13 May (20:15 BST).
The decision means United must play two games in the space of 50 hours as their home game against Leicester has been moved forward a day to Tuesday, 11 May.
Liverpool’s game at West Brom, which was thought might be moved to accommodate the fixture, will remain as scheduled on Sunday, 16 May.
Thousands of United supporters demonstrated against the Glazer family’s ownership at Old Trafford and the team hotel prior to the Liverpool game on Sunday, forcing its abandonment. Read more
Oshie scores hat trick as Capitals beat Rangers in fight-filled contest (France24)
An emotional TJ Oshie, scored a hat trick Wednesday as the Washington Capitals defeated the New York Rangers 4-2 in a fight-filled clash that featured fireworks from the opening faceoff.
The two East Division rivals combined for a total of 141 penalty minutes in the their second game in just three nights as there were six fights in the first 4:14 of play, including three off the opening faceoff.
Immediately after the win, Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom embraced teammate Oshie, who was playing his first game since the death of his father.”I felt like he needed a hug,” Backstrom said. “I told him ‘You are the strongest person I know.’ First of all it is impressive that he actually played today.” Read more