Epe residents in Lagos State send SOS to government over kidnappings (Guardian)
Residents of Eredo, Ejirin and Epe communities on Sunday charged the Lagos State Government for protection against kidnappers.
The residents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, in Epe, noted that kidnapping of residents and indigenes of Epe Division of Lagos State was on the increase.
This, they stressed called for urgent government attention.
Epe residents said that they were having sleepless nights over activities of kidnappers. Read more
Council, LAWMA drag firm, residents to court over refuse bill (Guardian)
The Alimosho Local Council and Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) have dragged a firm and residents before the Alimosho Customary Court for non-payment for refuse package services rendered to the community.
The Alimosho Council filed a suit against Gracious Faith Plaza, in charge no ACC/020/CR/PSP/2021, claiming that the defendant was owing N218, 000, before being summoned by the court on April 1, 2021.
The prosecutor, Mr Kehinde Igesu, told the court that the defendant appeared before the court after the occupier of the plaza was served with the court processes. The plaza is situated along Akonwonjo Road.
Igesu’s position was corroborated by the representative of LAWMA’s Private Sector Participants (PSP) waste operators, who said the defendant started paying after receiving the court summon. Read more
Edo police rescue 2 children kidnapped in Lagos (DailyTrust)
Two children kidnapped in Lagos have been rescued in Benin City on August 23, police in Edo say.
The police also arrested three suspects, Precious Mmaduike 21, Jane Osas 35 and John Obasu 45 in connection with the abduction in Benin.
The children, David Ibe 4, and Chizaram Ibe 2, were abducted by their family’s housemaid, Precious Mmaduike, from their Surulere residence.
Their father, Phenasus Ibe, was said to have reported the matter to the police that his children were given N500 by their mother to buy biscuit outside the compound in the company of their housemaid but didn’t return, and that her phone was switched off. Read more
Actors’ Guild of Nigeria pays tribute to late movie veterans (Independent)
The Actors’ Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has paid tribute to movie veterans, who recently passed on.Mr Emeka Rollas, President of the Guild, in a statement on Saturday, said that the entire members of the guild were saddened by the loss of veteran actors: Ifeanyi Dike, Victor Olaotan and Doris Chima.
“The news of the death of our dear Actor’s Guild of Nigeria BOT Chairman, Prince Ifeanyi Dike comes as a rude shock and my heart is heavy. I am saddened by this latest development and in rude shock.” While the entire body of actors in Nigeria were barely recovering from the death of veteran actress Racheal Oniga, shortly after came the news of the passing on of Doris Chima, a Vice Chairman emeritus, Lagos state chapter of the AGN.
”Then came that of Victor Olaotan, and a few hours later, our very own Chairman, AGN Board of Trustees, joins the ones who have already been called home,” he said.Rollas urged the whole body of actors in Nigeria to take heart, and have faith in God at these trying times.” May the souls of all who have departed rest in peace,” he said. Read more
NDLEA arrests man with 87 wraps of cocaine (Punch)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted a drug kingpin, Mr Ibeh Ejike, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for ingesting 87 wraps of cocaine.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said the 41-year-old suspect was arrested on Wednesday, August 25, upon his arrival on board an Ethiopian Airline flight 911 from Kigali via Addis Ababa.
He said the suspect was taken in for secondary check during which it was discovered that he had ingested illicit substance. Read more
Dubai: Emirates extends suspension of flights from Nigeria till September 5 (Punch)
Emirates Airlines has extended the suspension of flights from Lagos State and Abuja airports to Dubai till September 5, 2021.
The Dubai-based carrier had earlier announced that it would suspend flights from Nigeria to Dubai till August 28.
Emirates said passengers who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days will not be permitted on any of its flights bound for Dubai.
Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates on Sunday announced the extension of suspension of Nigeria flights until September 5. Read more
FG postpones Nigeria @60 Awards (DailyTrust)
The federal government has postponed the Nigeria @60 Jubilee Special Award ceremony, scheduled earlier to hold on September 3.
Chief Adeniyi Adebayo, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, made this known in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Ifedayo Sayo, on Sunday in Abuja.
Amaechi: If Buhari has done nothing, he has improved the value of land in your village
Edo police rescue 2 children kidnapped in Lagos
Adebayo said that the Nigeria @60 Award ceremony was planned as part of the Jubilee celebrations of Nigeria’s Independence to honour 60 notable Nigerians who had made immense contributions to the nation’s growth.
The minister regretted any inconveniences the postponement might have caused stakeholders and the general public.
Adebayo, however, said that a new date would be communicated in due course. Read more
Fans react as Kanye finally drops “Donda” (NME)
Fans around the world have been reacting as Kanye West finally dropped his long-awaited Donda album today (August 29).
West released his long-awaited and repeatedly delayed 10th album Donda on streaming services this afternoon.
Fans have been reacting to the album’s long awaited arrival, as well as its running time, which comes in at a lengthy 1 hour 48 minutes in total.
Fans have also reacted joyfully with news that second track ‘Jail’ does indeed feature a guest verse from Jay-Z after earlier reports that it wouldn’t remain on the album.
Other early reaction has seen fans reacting to Kid Cudi’s guest appearance and the fact the album seemingly contains no swearing. Read more
Who is Spencer Elden — the baby on Nirvana’s iconic “Nevermind” album cover suing Kurt Cobain’s estate (Amomama)
Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana enjoyed an incredible breakthrough following the release of its album, “Nevermind,” which had a child as its cover. 30 years later, the child is a grown man seeking compensation.
Elden Spencer was only a few months old when the world had a glimpse of him submerged in water as the cover of Kurt Cobain’s album “Nevermind,” which was a huge success at the time.
Now, Elden is a grown man suing Cobain’s estate for using his pictures, claiming Nirvana engaged in child pornography by doing so. The picture in question was taken in 1991 and had the little Elden naked in the pool, chasing a dollar bill.
The picture alongside the quality of music in the “Nevermind” album helped shoot Cobain’s band to unprecedented success, bringing in riches and fame for the group. Now the grown Elden wants a share of it. Read more
Don’t want to get vaccinated? It could cost you (Slate)
Delta is increasing health insurance premiums for employees who are unvaccinated by $200 per month to cover higher costs of Covid-related care. Mario Tama/Getty Images
Refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 was already a reckless health decision. Lately, it’s been turning into an expensive one, too.
Take the price of insurance. On Wednesday, Delta Airlines announced that it would charge unvaccinated employees an extra $200 per month for their health coverage and require that they be tested for the coronavirus weekly. At least part of the airline’s motivation was financial. Like many major corporations, the airline is self-insured, meaning that it pays the medical claims of its own workers, and in an open memo to staff, CEO Ed Bastian noted that the average hospital stay for COVID had cost it $50,000. While 75 percent of its workforce is vaccinated, Delta wants to push the number higher.
It wouldn’t be surprising if other big companies followed suit. A number of employers, from hospital networks to Disney, have decided to simply require that their workers get vaccinated or submit to testing. But for various reasons, others worry that mandates will seem too overbearing—Delta, for instance, might be concerned about blowback from Republican politicians in its home state of Georgia—and may prefer to prod their employees with insurance surcharges. One corporate consultant told the New York Times that about 50 companies had spoken with him about imposing these sorts of penalties. Read more
New COVID variant detected in South Africa, most mutated variant so far (JPost)
A new coronavirus variant, C.1.2, has been detected in South Africa and a number of other countries, with concerns that it could be more infectious and evade vaccines, according to a new preprint study by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform. The study is awaiting peer review.
Scientists first detected C.1.2 in May 2021, finding that it was descended from C.1, which scientists found surprising as C.1 had last been detected in January. The new variant has “mutated substantially” compared to C.1 and is more mutations away from the original virus detected in Wuhan than any other Variant of Concern (VOC) or Variant of Interest (VOI) detected so far worldwide.
While first detected in South Africa, C.1.2 has since been found in England, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland. Read more
Gabe Kubanda drops hard hitting new single “Back on Track” (Earmilk)
The pandemic has been a tough time for us all. With quarantines and COVID seeming to affect every part of daily life, it’s been a challenging time; however, Gabe Kubanda has been making the best of the last year. With performances on Vans Warped Tour and Summerfest, Gabe has been channeling his internal struggles into beautiful music. He just came out with a new single “Back On Track” in which he speaks on honoring family and keeping loved ones close in trying times.
Recorded and self-producing music in his home throughout the pandemic, Gabe comes back t0 us with a wildly unique production bringing in influences of pop, rock, and dance music. One thing that Gabe clearly knows how to do well is keeping the listener on their toes. Overtop of a looping drum baseline, Gabe intersperses these smooth synths and guitar riffs that have the listener waiting to see what comes next in the song. In addition to the great production, the lyrics are incredibly raw and to the time. Exploring themes of family, loss, and more listeners will come away with a greater appreciation for all those around them. Read more
BookTok’s novel approach to books is helping Canadian authors, retailers attract new audiences (CBC)
After writing novels for more than 15 years, Maggie Ray was ready to launch her first self-published book, Citizen.
Ray, 27, previously published novels and novellas on sites such as Wattpad, a website and app where writers can publish stories online, and further promoted them on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Her stories gained some attention, and she made connections with readers online, but she says it was difficult to maintain a consistent readership.
That was until Ray ventured onto TikTok last fall.
“I’ve gotten comments [from] people saying, ‘I’m seeing your book all over BookTok,’ which kind of baffles me,” said Ray, who lives in Moncton, N.B.
“My book has been published now for like seven, eight [months], and it’s still trending. I’m selling copies of the book every day.” Read more
Tokyo Paralympics: Omolayo wins gold for Nigeria in powerlifting (Punch)
Bose Omolayo’s best lift of 141 kg on Sunday was good enough to win gold medal for Nigeria in the women’s powerlifting -79kg in the ongoing 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Omolayo recorded the best lift of 141 kg to take the first position in her category.
Nataliia Oliinyk from Ukraine placed second with a lift of 133 kg, while Vera Muratova from Russian Federation lifted 132 Kg to win bronze. Read more
Onyeka tests positive to COVID-!9, doubtful for World Cup qualifiers (Nation)
Brentford confirmed that Frank Onyeka has tested positive for coronavirus ahead of their Premier League outing against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The 23-year-old, who joined Thomas Frank’s side on a five-year deal from FC Midtjylland in July, started their first two league fixtures against Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
Earlier this week, he was introduced as a second-half substitute in Brentford’s 3-1 victory over Forest Green Rovers in the League Cup.
Due to his health status, Onyeka was replaced in the starting XI by Iran star Saman Ghoddos while DR Congo forward Yoane Wissa was also on the bench. Read more
Arts and culture commission to host sports festival in Bauchi (Leadership)
The Bauchi zonal office of the National Arts and Culture Commission says it has started consultation across the 20 local government areas of the state to perfect plans to host a traditional sports festival, aimed at promoting cultural activities.
Mr Mohammed Bello, the executive officer in the commission, who spoke yesterday in Bauchi, said the proposed cultural festival would hold after the 2021 farming season.
He said the choice of timing of the festival was to enable mass participation in the event.
Bello said the commission had engaged stakeholders across all the 20 local government areas on the programme. Read more
Formula 1 world rages over crash ‘disgrace’ (Yahoo)
Sebastian Vettel was among those to condemn F1 officials on Saturday after Lando Norris was involved in a huge crash at a rain-soaked Spa-Francorchamps track in qualifying.
The 21-year-old slammed into the barriers during the final pole-position shootout phase of the hour-long session after McLaren snapped out of control through the uphill sweep of the fast Eau Rouge corner.
He was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks before being given the all-clear and will be fit to race in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
However the crash caused outrage in the F1 world, with officials under fire for letting the qualifying session go ahead in treacherous conditions.
Four-time champion Vettel, also out on track in his Aston Martin, had radioed his team calling for the session to be halted.
“Well what the f*** did I say? What did I say!? Red flag! Unnecessary,” an agitated Vettel, who pulled up alongside Norris’ stricken McLaren to check if he was okay, said on the team radio. Read more
CFN takes delivery of equipment From byke division tour operator (DailyTrust)
Italian group, Byke Division Tour Operator, has bequeathed cycling equipment worth millions of naira to the Cycling Federation of Nigeria (CFN) which is aimed towards developing sports in the country.
The Italian group’s gesture was made possible through the former Italian cyclist and road bicycle racer for UCI professional team, Andrea Tonti, who during his professional cycling career championed the group course through advocating support grassroots development of cycling across the world.
The Items donated are bicycle spare parts, tubes, tires, riding vest, tracksuit, wheel disk, skinsuit, riding shoes, gloves, hand band and helmet.
While receiving the equipment, the CFN President Giandomenico Massari commended the Tonti led group for their support and stated that the equipment would further assist the federation in developing the sports at the grassroots. Read more
Gerrard-less Rangers strike first blood against new-look Celtic (Guardian)
Rangers survived the absence of manager Steven Gerrard and several players due to a coronavirus outbreak to beat Celtic 1-0 at Ibrox in the first Old Firm derby of the season on Sunday.
Swedish defender Filip Helander scored the only goal of a tight contest to condemn Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou to defeat in the Australian’s first taste of the Glasgow derby.
Celtic were left to rue a huge missed opportunity by Odsonne Edouard in the first-half and Rangers took control after the break and got their deserved goal when Helander powered home Borna Barisic’s corner 24 minutes from time.
A difficult week for Rangers ended on a high despite the absence of their manager, both first-choice goalkeepers Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin plus captain James Tavernier, Scott Wright and Calvin Bassey. Read more