FG lists Adadevoh, Kudirat Abiola, others for Hall of Fame (Punch)
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs through the National Centre for Women Development, Abuja, has listed 22 women to be inducted into the Nigerian Women Hall of Fame, including the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and the late Dr Stella Adadevoh. The NCWD said the women, who would be inducted by June 10, two days to the Democracy Day, were selected for their iconic contributions to national development. The induction is themed, “Celebrating Nigerian Women Icons of Hope.” Read more
IBB confident Nigeria will overcome security challenges soon (Guardian)
Former military President Ibrahim Babangida has expressed confidence that Nigeria would soon overcome its security challenges. Babangida, who spoke with newsmen on Tuesday in Minna, expressed optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would tackle and end the skirmishes in some parts of the country “very soon”. “What is required now is for Nigerians to rally round the President to enable him to provide adequate security and good leadership. Read more
Speak against corruption in Nigeria, Akeredolu tells bishops (Punch)
The Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, on Tuesday called on the Christian clerics in the country to always speak against corruption in its entirety. The governor said there was a need for clerics to always live above board so as to earn the respect of the people, noting that the clergy stood in the place of nobility and truth for the people. Akeredolu stated this at the official opening ceremony of the Methodist Church of Nigeria’s 37th Council of Bishops and the Wesley University, Ondo 10th Founder’s Day Celebration, held on the main campus of the university in Ondo town. Read more
Fayemi signs eight bills, pledges implementation (Punch)
The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday signed eight bills into laws with a pledge that his government would continue to demonstrate strong political will in the implementation of the existing laws in the state. Fayemi said that the laws would be implemented for the overall development of the state. The new laws are Ekiti State Development and Investment Promotion Agency Law 2019; Ekiti State Administration of Civil Justice Law 2019; College of Agriculture and Technology Reenactment Law 2019; and Ekiti State Logo Reenactment Law 2019. Read more
I will involve security agencies in probing past leaders —Ihedioha (Punch)
Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, on Tuesday said that said he would employ the services of security agencies in making sure that the financial dealings of the state in the last eight years were accounted for. The governor who spoke while declaring open the ongoing retreat for the state lawmakers-elect in the Oguta Local Government Area of the state stated that those who looted the state “must be criminalised.” He said, “I will have to involve the services of security agencies in making sure that those who served the state must account for it. I will criminalise those who loot our treasury. Nothing was handed over to me. We must make them accountable.” Read more
Anambra: Why doctors are on warning strike – MDCAN (Guardian)
The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH) branch, says doctors embarked on a warning strike to demand improved working condition. Dr Chukwudi Okani, Chairman of MDCAN, COOUTH, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Tuesday that the industrial action would last for seven days. Read more
Nigeria’s Muhammad-Bande elected UNGA President (Punch)
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, has emerged President of the 74th UN General Assembly. Muhammad-Bande, the sole candidate for the position, was elected through acclamation at the 87th plenary meeting of the Assembly in New York on Tuesday. He is the second Nigerian to hold the office after Joseph Garba, a retired military officer and diplomat, who led the organ between 1989 and 1990. Read more
Osinbajo asks us to withdraw suit —Aggrieved Ondo APC aspirants (Punch)
The aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State have called on the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to fulfil the promise he made to them before the general elections. The 206 members of the APC under the auspices of the Ondo APC Aggrieved Aspirants, were aspirants in the House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections in 2018. They were allegedly denied party tickets following the alleged imposition of candidates by the National Working Committee of the party. Read more
Ethiopia religious anger over US gay tour plan (BBC)
Ethiopian church groups have called on the government to block a planned visit to the country by a US-based company that organises tours for gay people. The groups were particularly angry that the itinerary published by the Toto Tours company includes religious sites. Many Ethiopians are deeply religious and disapprove of homosexuality, which is also prohibited under the law. Read more
Zambia president vows to wind up copper giant KCM (Guardian)
Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Tuesday pledged to dissolve KCM, the country’s largest copper producer, in a deepening dispute with foreign mining companies over tax and employment. KCM is owned by London-based Vedanta Resources, with the state-owned ZCCM-IH as a minority shareholder. Lungu has targeted the mining sector to generate tax revenue as Zambia struggles with growing debt, and has told international mining companies to leave the copper-rich country if they opposed the new tax regime. Read more
Darwin shooting: Four killed in northern Australia (BBC)
A gunman shot dead four people and injured another at five different locations in the northern Australian city of Darwin, officials said. The 45-year-old suspect, who was known to the police, was arrested an hour after the first shots were reported at about 18:00 local time (08:30 GMT). Police said they believed the man had acted alone. The crime scenes reportedly included a motel and a bar. Read more
Israel’s first lady Nechama Rivlin dies after lung transplant (Punch)
Israel’s first lady, Nechama Rivlin, 73, died on Tuesday morning after battling with respiratory disease for years, the Presidential Residence announced. She died at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva. Three months ago, Rivlin underwent a lung transplant. Rivlin suffered from pulmonary fibrosis and required the constant use of a portable oxygen tank, which was attached to her even during official ceremonies she attended with her husband. Read more
Mexico leader says will hold tariff talks with Trump ‘if necessary’ (Guardian)
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday he would hold talks with Donald Trump “if necessary” on the US president’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexico’s exports. “If necessary, we would do it,” he answered when asked at a news conference if he would meet with Trump personally to seek an agreement to avoid the American leader’s threatened tariffs. Read more
Tiananmen 30th anniversary: Thousands hold huge vigil in Hong Kong (BBC)
Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Hong Kong to mark the 30th anniversary of the crackdown on protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Hong Kong and Macau are the only places in China where people can commemorate the activists killed in 1989. China has never given an official figure for how many people died, but estimates begin in the hundreds. Organisers say 180,000 people took part in a vigil, centred in the city’s Victoria Park. Read more
Last known survivor of Sobibor Nazi death camp dies (Guardian)
Semion Rosenfeld, the “last known survivor” of the Nazi death camp Sobibor, has died aged 96, the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency said Monday. The head of the Jewish Agency, Isaac Herzog, said he was “very sad” about the death of Rosenfeld, who he described as a “true hero”. “Semion fought the Nazis as part of the Red Army and was then sent to the Sobibor death camp as a prisoner of war, where he encountered death every day until the famous rebellion,” Herzog said in a statement. Read more
‘Drunk Ukraine police’ accused of killing boy, five (BBC)
Two Ukrainian policemen have appeared in court accused of murdering a five-year-old boy. Investigators say Ivan Pryhodko and Volodymyr Petrovets were drinking while off duty and shooting at cans when a stray bullet hit the boy. The suspects made no comments during the court hearing, their lawyers say. The death has focused attention on Ukraine’s much criticised police after initial police statements said the boy had died after falling on a rock. Read more
Chris Hemsworth to put down Thor hammer to take a year off work after Avengers: Endgame and Men In Black (Metro)
You’re going to see a whole lot less of Chris Hemsworth pretty soon, because he’s taking a year off. The Avengers: Endgame star has revealed he’s taking a sabbatical after a hectic period with his career so he now wants to spend several months back home in Australia with his wife Elsa Pataky and their three children, India, seven, and five-year-old twins Sasha and Tristan. Read more
Flying Eagles didn’t make good impression, says Akanni (Guardian)
Ex-international Wahidi Akanni on Tuesday said that the performance of the U-20 Flying Eagles at the ongoing World Cup in Poland was not impressive. He made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. NAN reports that the U-20 squad crashed out in the round of 16, having lost to Senegal, a fellow African country 1-2. Read more
Agencies limit coverage over FIFA copyright claim (Guardian)
News agencies including Agence France-Presse are reducing coverage of the inaugural FIFA women’s football convention beginning Thursday because the football body insists it owns the copyright to content produced by the agencies. The News Media Coalition said AFP, Thomson Reuters, Associated Press, Britain’s Press Association, Spanish agency EFE and others will not cover the conference in Paris in the video. Read more
Jose Antonio Reyes: Former Arsenal winger’s car travelling at 135mph before crash (BBC)
Former Arsenal winger Jose Antonio Reyes was driving at more than 135mph (220kmph) when he died in a car crash on Saturday, Spanish police have said. The Guardia Civil’s investigation is ongoing and although the car exceeded Spain’s speed limit (75mph/120kmph), it is not clear yet if that was the “final cause” of the incident. Reyes’ funeral was held in his hometown of Utrera, Seville on Monday. Read more
Jurgen Klopp pays tribute to ‘Liverpool great’ Daniel Sturridge following the striker’s release (Metro)
Jurgen Klopp has paid a glowing tribute to Daniel Sturridge by describing the striker as a ‘modern-day Liverpool great’ after the club announced that he would be leaving this summer. The 29-year-old is out-of-contract at the end of June and Liverpool have decided against handing him a new deal. Left-back Alberto Moreno will also be released later this month. Klopp’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers signed Sturridge from Chelsea in January 2013 and he struck up an excellent partnership with Luis Suarez during his first 18-months at Anfield. Read more
Neymar’s mother urges son to ‘forgive’ rape accuser (Punch)
Neymar’s mother has urged her Brazilian football star son to “forgive” the woman who accused him of rape and “return to Jesus,” in a message published Tuesday on Instagram. Nadine Goncalves’ plea, which featured a photo of herself with Neymar and his sister Rafaela, comes after lawyers for the accuser reportedly stopped representing her because of contradictions in her story. Neymar has vehemently denied the allegations and his father has claimed the Saint-Germain player was the victim of a blackmail attempt. Read more
Anthony Joshua to fight Andy Ruiz in November or December, announces Eddie Hearn (Metro)
Anthony Joshua will fight Andy Ruiz at the end of the year after activating a rematch clause to take on the new champion, Eddie Hearn has confirmed. The Matchroom boss made the fight announcement just days after Joshua suffered a humiliating defeat to Ruiz at Madison Square Garden last Saturday. Joshua was stripped of his three world titles and his unbeaten record by Ruiz, but Hearn said after the fight there would be an immediate rematch. Read more
Real Madrid snap up Serb starlet Jovic in transfer coup (Guardian)
Real Madrid said Tuesday they have signed 21-year-old Serbia striker Luka Jovic from German side Eintracht Frankfurt on a six-year deal for an undisclosed fee. “Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt have agreed on the transfer of Luka Jovic, subject to a medical,” Real said in a statement. “The player will be tied to the club for the next six seasons, until the 30th of June 2025,” it added. Read more
UEFA delays introduction of new laws until June 25 (Guardian)
New rules concerning penalty-taking, free-kicks and accidental handballs will not be used for this week’s Nations League finals in Portugal, UEFA said on Tuesday. Football’s lawmakers (IFAB) approved several rules changes in March that came into effect at the start of this month, but they will not be applied to UEFA competitions until June 25. The next two rounds of Euro 2020 qualifying — to be played between June 7 and 11 — are also exempt from the new regulations, which include the biggest change to the handball law for decades. Read more
Roger Federer sets up Rafael Nadal clash at the French Open (Metro)
Roger Federer will take on Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the French Open after the pair took out Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori on Tuesday night in Paris. The pair have won 37 Grand Slams between them and will do battle for the 39th time in Friday’s encounter. They were due to meet earlier this year at the same stage in Indian Wells but a knee problem forced Nadal to withdraw before a ball was struck. Read more