Family of police inspector killed by soldiers demands justice (Guardian)
Family of one the police officers, who were murdered by soldiers of the 93 Battalion in Taraba State, has demanded justice over the gruesome murder of their son, Inspector Mark Edaile. The immediate elderly brother of the slain officer, Andrew Edaile, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, also called for an independent enquiry by local and international bodies to unravel the death of the officer who has served the nation for 16years. He warned that if the Nigerian government fails to carry out a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice, the family would resolve that the murder of the late police officer was an act of conspiracy. Read more
Isheri killing: Police counter army, say soldiers stabbed patient in doctor’s presence (Punch)
The Ogun State Police Command has said soldiers from the 81 division were involved in the killing of some residents of Isheri Olofin, a boundary community between Lagos and Ogun States. The police spokesperson, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said statements from eyewitnesses revealed that the soldiers dragged a resident from the hospital where he was being treated and stabbed him to death with a bayonet. Our correspondent had earlier reported that during the celebration of the Isheri Day Festival on Monday, a disagreement broke out among some residents. Read more
Boko Haram: Intensity of attacks ginger us up —Gov Zulum (Punch)
Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum has said the intensity of Boko Haram attacks has gingered his people to fight back rather than chicken out. He said the recent upsurge of Boko Haram attacks on Gajiram, Gajigana, Dalori and Gubio will never deter the people of the state but rather bring out the best of resistance in them. He said his government is more committed than ever before to take on the insurgents and ensure victory and the return of peace and development. Read more
Nigerian Prisons Service changes name to correctional service (Punch)
President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Nigerian Correctional Service Bill into law. The Act repeals the Nigerian Prisons Service Act. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, disclosed this to State House correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday. Read more
Nigeria reaffirms commitment to OPEC production agreement (Guardian)
Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to production adjustments agreement under the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC). The agreement was reached between member countries of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Non-OPEC Countries. Nigeria’s Representatives on the OPEC Economic Commission Board and Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Malam Mele Kyari, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday. Read more
Another pastor kidnapped in Kaduna (Punch)
Gunmen on Wednesday reportedly abducted another pastor in Kaduna State. The pastor was said to be in charge of the Nagarta Baptist Church Ungwan Makiri, close to Udawa in Chikun Local Government Area of the state. The pastor was said to have been abducted by heavily armed men numbering over 20. The armed men reportedly invaded his residence and forcefully took him and his son away in the early hours of Wednesday. Read more
Catholic priest leads protest over bad roads in Anambra (Punch)
The Priest in charge of St Joseph Catholic Church, Rev Fr. Vincent Nwokoye, in Achine, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State led residents on Wednesday to protest the deplorable condition of roads in the area. Nwokoye said if nothing was done urgently the area would be eaten up by erosion. He said Achina, Onneh, Agbudu, Umuomaku, Ogboji and Enugwu-Umuonyia communities were on the verge of being submerged. Read more
Leave our graffiti on the walls, say Sudan protesters (Guardian)
The graffiti that symbolised Sudan’s uprising is being painted over across the capital Khartoum, protest leaders complained Wednesday, urging the military authorities to stop their whitewashing. The Alliance for Freedom and Change that led the months-long protest movement that brought down longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir said the “enemies of the revolution” had been systematically erasing murals. “We see this as an ugly act and a pathetic attempt to suppress the beauty, the letter and the spirit of the revolution,” it said a statement. Read more
Malawi court sentences three to death over albino killing (Guardian)
A Malawi court has convicted and sentenced two men and a woman to death for killing a person with albinism, a judiciary official said on Wednesday. Malawi has since late 2014 seen a surge in attacks on people with albinism, whose body parts are often used in witchcraft rituals to bring wealth and luck. The court found Douglas Mwale, Fontino Folosani and Sophie Jere guilty of murdering Priscott Pepuzani in 2015 using a metal bar and a hoe handle. Read more
Shah Faesal: India detains Kashmir politician at airport (BBC)
A well-known bureaucrat-turned-politician from Indian-administered Kashmir has been arrested in Delhi and sent back to the region, reports say. Shah Faesal was one of the few Kashmiri politicians who was not detained ahead of India’s controversial decision to revoke the region’s special status. He was arrested at Delhi airport on Wednesday morning. Read more
Kameel Ahmady: British-Iranian academic ‘arrested in Iran’ (BBC)
A British-Iranian dual national has been arrested in western Iran, according to his family. The wife of Kameel Ahmady, a social anthropologist, said he was taken into custody on Sunday from their home without a reason being given. Mr Ahmady has researched female genital mutilation and child marriage in Iran, among other subjects. Read more
North Macedonia PM under fire over gay slur (Guardian)
North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has apologised for using a gay slur while trying to defend his government against a corruption scandal that has ensnared justice officials. Zaev said Tuesday he would “not allow a few criminals, a vain journalist and — I ask the LGBT community to forgive me — one faggot, to overthrow the government”. He was referring to a gay TV channel owner, Bojan Jovanovski, at the heart of the corruption case transfixing the public. Read more
Portugal strike: Tanker drivers defy threat of arrest (BBC)
Three days into a strike, Portuguese fuel tanker drivers have rejected a new government decree requiring them to fulfil minimum services or face arrest or even jail. “No-one will respect the minimum service or civil requisition,” said union spokesman Pedro Pardal Henriques. Strikers reacted angrily after proceedings began against 14 drivers who did not comply with the decree. Read more
Four-year-old dies after accidentally pouring hot water on self (Punch)
A four-year-old girl, Amberly Yolanda Quiroz Elizalde, has died an agonizing death after pulling a huge pan of boiling water from a stove and accidentally pouring everything on herself. The kid died in Corsicana, Texas, in the early hours of Saturday, about 12 hours after the horrific accident. Police officers were called to the home that evening, with the person who dialed 911 saying that they had tried to treat Amberly themselves, only for the little girl to die due to the injuries she sustained. Read more
Greece wildfires leave blackened forests in their wake (BBC)
Fires have been raging through a “unique, untouched pine forest” on the Greek island of Evia as authorities fight to keep the flames under control. Hundreds of people were evacuated from nearby villages as the fire broke out in the early hours of Tuesday and ravaged through the dense forest. “It’s a huge ecological disaster,” acting regional governor Kostas Bakoyannis told AFP. Read more
Emiliano Sala ‘exposed to carbon monoxide in plane crash’ (BBC)
Footballer Emiliano Sala was exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide prior to a fatal plane crash in the English Channel, a report has revealed. Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson crashed on 21 January while travelling to Cardiff from Nantes in France. Toxicology tests on Sala’s body showed CO levels in his blood were so great it could have caused a seizure, unconsciousness or a heart attack. Read more
Three problems Frank Lampard must address at Chelsea to avoid another hammering against Liverpool (Metro)
It was not the start that Chelsea’s homecoming hero Frank Lampard would have wanted nor expected. Chelsea are the only club to have won more Premier League games than they’ve lost against Manchester United but Sunday saw their lead in that regard reduced to two following a harrowing 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford. The result was catastrophic but also not entirely reflective of the match. Up until Marcus Rashford rifled home a penalty on 18 minutes, Chelsea had been the far more menacing and threatening side, lashing the post through Tammy Abraham. Read more
Kovac can build an era at Bayern Munich, says Matthaeus (Punch)
Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaeus believes under-fire coach Niko Kovac can define an era at the club and walk in the footsteps of managerial greats Ottmar Hitzfeld and Jupp Heynckes. In an interview with AFP ahead of Bayern’s Bundesliga opener against Hertha Berlin on Friday, the 1990 World Cup winner said that Kovac could emulate the achievements of Bayern’s most successful coaches and lead the club to Champions League glory. Read more
Gary Neville: Former Manchester United player has no desire to return to coaching (BBC)
Former Manchester United defender and Valencia manager Gary Neville says he has no desire to return to coaching. Neville, 44, spent four months in charge of Valencia from 2015 into 2016 and was part of the England coaching set-up from 2012 to 2016. He now co-owns League Two side Salford City, works as a pundit, and runs hospitality and property businesses. “There is not one single part of me that wakes up and thinks ‘I want to be on the training field’,” Neville said. Read more
Injured del Potro officially out of US Open (Punch)
Former champion Juan Martin del Potro, who had surgery in June to repair a broken right kneecap, won’t be ready for the US Open, organizers said Tuesday. The US Tennis Association said the 2009 champion from Argentina — who was runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2018 — will miss the tournament as he continues his recovery. Del Potro shared a video of himself walking on a treadmill on July 31. Read more
Five Russian weightlifters receive suspensions over doping allegations (BBC)
Five Russian weightlifters, including an Olympic bronze medallist, have been provisionally suspended after being accused of doping by the International Weightlifting Federation. Ruslan Albegov, 31, took bronze at London 2012, while 2013 women’s world champion Tima Turieva, David Bedzhanyan, Oleg Chen and Egor Klimonov have also been suspended. The governing body said the “compelling nature of the evidence” from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) had led to the suspension. Read more
Jay-Z owned Roc Nation enters into partnership with NFL (BBC)
Last year, Jay-Z rapped “I said no to the Super Bowl, you need me, I don’t need you”. Now, he will help produce the very show he once so publicly snubbed. The change comes after Roc Nation – the entertainment company he owns – announced it would work with the NFL to “enhance live game experiences and amplify the league’s social justice efforts”. Read more