Fallen containers: FRSC impounds 208 trucks in Lagos (Punch)
Lagos State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps, Olusegun Ogungbemide, has said the command made 368 arrests over trucks with unlatched containers in the last two weeks.
Ogungbemide told the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday during his visit to the Badagry Unit of FRSC.
He said that the command had set up three different enforcement interventions to curb the menace of unlatched container truckers on the road.
“Operation Scorpion was set up to check the menace of the unlatched container trucks that are falling in Lagos metropolis. Read more
Lagos East bye-election: Voting in progress as Gbadamosi, Oyefusi, others battle for PDP ticket (Tribune)
Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegates are currently voting in the primary exercise to pick the party’s candidate for the Lagos East senatorial bye-election holding on October 31, 2020.
Four aspirants are jostling for the seat, including Mr Babatunde Olalere Gbadamosi, Princess Abiodun Oyefusi, Princess Saidat Odofin Fafowora and Olanrewaju Moshood Babatunde.
The seat became vacant following the death of Senator Sikiru Bayo Osinusi, who passed on on June 15, 2020. Read more
International flights resume as Middle East Airlines plane lands at Lagos airport (Punch)
After a five-month closure of the Nigerian airspace to scheduled international flights due to lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, foreign travel resumed in the country on Saturday when an aircraft operated by Middle East Airlines touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The plane which took off from Beirut, Lebanon, landed at the airport at exactly 02:27 pm, The PUNCH can confirm.
Two other airlines including Delta and British Airways are also expected to begin flight operations at the airport today. The Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, is also expected to reopen for international flights. Read more
Emirates resumes Lagos, Abuja flights Sept. 7, 9 (DailyTrust)
As Nigeria reopens the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Saturday, Emirates said it will resume passenger services to Lagos September 7 and Abuja September 9.
The resumption of flights to both Nigerian cities takes Emirates’ African network to 13 destinations, as the airline works to help its customers travel safely and confidently, implementing industry-leading health and safety measures at all points of the travel journey.
Flights to Lagos will operate four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, the airline said in a statement.
Flights to/from Abuja will operate three times weekly on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, it said. Read more
Prioritise poverty alleviation, Kaigama tells Buhari (ThisDay)
Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius. Kaigama, has asked the federal government to give more attention to policies and programmes that would reduce poverty and hardship in the land.
Also the Archbishop Emeritus of the Abuja Archdiocese, Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan has advised that Christian and Muslim leaders need to join hands in seeking for the disputed portions of the new law on Corporate Affairs Commission, CAMA Act to be corrected and expunged.
Onaiyekan said that he had taken the advice by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo that anyone aggrieved by the content of the CAMA law should approach the National Assembly for amendment as valid and wise. Read more
Flood kills four, destroys 5,200 houses in Kano (Punch)
The Kano State Emergency Management Agency has confirmed four persons killed and over 5,200 houses destroyed due to flooding in Rogo and Danbatta Local Government Areas of the state.
Mr Sale Jili, Executive Secretary of the Agency, confirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Kano.
NAN reports that the Nigeria Meteorological Agency has predicted flooding occasioned by heavy rainfall in 20 Local Government Areas of the state. Read more
Delta police nab Nollywood actor, gateman over woman’s death (ThisDay)
The police in Delta State have arrested a security man and an artiste believed to be a Nollywood personality in connection with the murder of a 35-year-old Asaba-based businesswoman.
The two suspects allegedly conspired to murder the woman, identified as Miss Joy Obiageli Onekansi, alias Ada Jesus, who was a co-tenant with the artiste at 4, Anene Basua See, opposite the Cenotaph GRA in Asaba.
The duo allegedly buried the deceased face-down in a shallow pit inside the compound about two weeks ago. Read more
Residents count losses as flood ravages Kaduna communities (Independent)
Residents in some Kaduna communities have continued to count their losses as their homes were overtaken on Saturday over by flood.
The constant rainfalls have made several communities in Kaduna metropolis and environs suffer damages following a heavy downpour that resulted in flooding which submerged some houses, farmlands and destroyed properties.
Some of the affected communities include Abubakar Kigo road, Barnawa, Kudenda, Ungwar Dosa, Angwar Rimi, Malali areas among others. Read more
Niger mass graves: Army accused of executing over 70 civilians (BBC)
Niger’s national human rights commission has accused the army of executing dozens of civilians during counterinsurgency operations.
It said it had discovered more than 70 bodies in six mass graves in Tillaberi in the north-west of the country, an area affected by jihadist violence.
The killings allegedly happened earlier this year.
One of the investigators said the civilians had been killed with bladed weapons and small arms.
International rights groups have accused the armies of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso of carrying out dozens of extrajudicial executions during campaigns against jihadists and other armed groups in the Sahel region. Read more
Gas pipeline blast kills 13 worshippers in Bangladesh mosque (CBC)
Relatives of victims mourn at a hospital, after a gas pipeline blast at a mosque in Narayanganj, near Dhaka, Bangladesh on Saturday. (Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters)
A gas pipeline explosion near a mosque in Bangladesh killed 13 people and injured 30 as worshippers were about to end their prayers, officials said on Saturday.
The explosion, which fire service officials suspect was caused by leakage from the pipeline, occurred on Friday night at a mosque in Narayanganj district, just outside the capital Dhaka.
Dozens were rushed to Dhaka’s state-run specialized burn and plastic-surgery hospital, most of them with severe burns. Read more
Taliban team returns to Doha for intra-Afghan peace talks (Aljazeera)
A Taliban delegation has returned to Qatar, paving the way for the start of peace talks with the Afghan government that are expected to take place in the Gulf state.
The delegation’s arrival early on Saturday was announced by Taliban officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The negotiations are part of a peace deal the United States signed with the Taliban in February in Doha.
Washington has ramped up pressure on Afghans on both sides of the conflict to get started with their negotiations to decide what a post-war Afghanistan might look like. Read more
Portland police make multiple arrests as city nears 100 days of protests (CBC)
Portland Police made multiple arrests overnight on Friday as the Oregon city nears 100 days of demonstrations against racism and police brutality, which at times have turned violent.
“Yes, we have made multiple arrests tonight,” a Portland Police spokesman told Reuters in an emailed statement after police had declared a gathering as “unlawful.” The statement did not give a specific number.
“Officers will continue to make targeted arrests of those who fail to adhere to this order. The gathering at N Lombard St and N Campbell Ave has been declared an unlawful assembly,” police said. Read more
Hotel Rwanda hero denied access to lawyer, allege supporters (Aljazeera)
Supporters of Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager portrayed in Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda, say the Rwandan authorities have denied him access to a lawyer, a week after he was paraded in handcuffs and accused of “terrorism”.
In a statement on Saturday, the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation said Rusesabagina, a United States permanent resident and Belgian citizen, has had no consular visits.
The foundation also rejected the Rwandan government’s claim that the outspoken government critic had talked to his sons about a potential visit as “not true”.
“Paul’s wife has called the jail and has not been allowed to talk to him,” it added. Read more
Mexican construction site may be world’s biggest mammoth graveyard (CBC)
The number of mammoth skeletons recovered at an airport construction site north of Mexico City has risen to at least 200, with a large number still to be excavated, experts said Thursday.
Archaeologists hope the site that has become “mammoth central” — the shores of an ancient lakebed that both attracted and trapped mammoths in its marshy soil — may help solve the riddle of their extinction.
Experts said finds are still being made at the site, including signs that humans may have made tools from the bones of the lumbering animals that died somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. Read more
India coronavirus cases top 4 million (Aljazeera)
India became the third country to cross four million coronavirus cases on Saturday, also setting a new global record for a daily surge in infections and closing in on Brazil’s total as the second-highest in the world.
The 86,432 cases added in the past 24 hours pushed India’s total to 4,023,179.
Brazil has confirmed 4,091,801 infections while the United States has 6,200,186 people infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.
India’s health ministry on Saturday also reported 1,089 deaths for a total of 69,561. Read more
Osimhen scores consecutive hat-trick in Napoli friendly win (Nation)
Victor Osimhen scored another hat-trick for Napoli in their 4-0 win over Serie C club Teramo in a pre-season friendly match.
Osimhen played a starring role in Friday’s encounter as the Serie A outfit ended their pre-season training camp in Castel di Sangro on a flying note.
Last Friday, the Super Eagles striker kicked off his career in Gennaro Gattuso’s team with an eight-minute hat-trick against L’Aquila – an encounter that ended 11-0.
He continued from where he left off with the opening goal for the Partenopei in the fourth minute. Read more
Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir breaks women’s half marathon world record (BBC)
Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir has set a new world record for a women-only half marathon.
The 26-year-old ran a time of one hour five minutes 34 seconds in Prague to take 37 seconds off the time set by Ethiopia’s Netsanet Gudeta in 2018.
Jepchirchir covered the first 10 kilometres of the 16-and-a-half-lap Letna Park course in 30:32. Read more
US Open: Djokovic eases into last 16 (Punch)
World number one Novak Djokovic eased into the last 16 at the US Open on Friday, cruising to a straight sets victory over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
Djokovic, chasing an 18th Grand Slam singles title, was always in control against his 28th-seeded opponent, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in 1hr 42mins.
The Serbian top seed will now play Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta for a place in the quarter-finals. Read more
Everton sign Brazilian Allan for £21m (BBC)
Everton have signed Brazilian midfielder Allan from Napoli on a three-year contract for a fee believed to be around £21.7m.
Allan is Everton’s first signing of the summer and the move reunites him with former Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti.
“It is a real pleasure to sign for Everton. I am immensely happy to be here,” said the 29-year-old.
Everton are also closing on deals for Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez from Real Madrid. Read more
Osaka regains composure, overcomes Kostyuk en route to next round of US Open (CBC)
Naomi Osaka spiked her racket after one errant forehand late in the second set at the U.S. Open, then flung it the length of the baseline after a missed backhand return ceded that tiebreaker.
Sometimes, that’s the sort of reaction it takes to right things for Osaka. And, perhaps surprisingly, she needed whatever push she could get in Friday’s third-round match.
Facing an opponent competing in just her second major tournament, two-time Grand Slam champion Osaka eventually figured out a way to turn a tight one into a runaway and beat 18-year-old Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 by claiming the final five games at Flushing Meadows. Read more
Mo Farah breaks one-hour world record at Brussels Diamond League (BBC)
Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah broke the one-hour world record on his return to the track at Friday’s Diamond League meeting in Brussels.
Farah ran 21,330m, bettering the record of 21,285m set by Haile Gebrselassie in 2007.
It is the 37-year-old Briton’s first world record outdoors.
“It isn’t supposed to be easy to break a world record, but I can tell you that it was really hard. The record stood for a very long time,” said Farah.
“So that says a lot. I was very excited to be back on the track. My first meet back on the track was what was driving me.” Read more