Four die, four injured in Lagos-Ibadan expressway accident (Guardian)
No fewer than four persons were confirmed dead while four others sustained injuries in a lone accident around Pipeline Junction, Ogere, Ogun, on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, the Spokesperson for Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abeokuta on Thursday.
Akinbiyi noted that the accident occurred in early hours of Thursday at 4:30 a.m. and it involved a Man Diesel truck marked TKP 653 XA conveying people and also loaded with tubers of Yam. Read more
Father of two dies during sex competition with commercial sex worker (Vanguard)
A 34-year-old father of four, Hygenus Achaeme, died during a sex competition with a commercial sex worker in a brothel in Ejigbo area of Lagos.
A version of the report at Vanguard’s disposal claimed that the deceased checked into Graceland Brothel located at 21 Moshalasi Street, Ejigbo Lagos, Sunday, after having a bet of N50,000 with one of the commercial sex workers, Amaka, on who would surrender first in the sex competition.
A friend of the deceased who spoke on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that trouble started after the deceased had boasted among his friends that he could spend two hours on a lady without getting tired. He added that while the conversation was on, one of them dared him to challenge Amaka, the commercial sex worker, who was described as a champion in the game. Read more
Lagos community fumes over abandoned road project (Punch)
Residents of the the Soluyi II area of the Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State, have accused the government of causing them untold hardship.
This follows the abandonment of the construction of the Aderemi Akeju Street, linking Yetunde Brown Street.
When PUNCH Metro visited the area, it was observed that weeds had taken over a portion of Aderemi Akeju Street and earthmoving equipment was on the site.
Landlords, residents and business owners lamented that the abandoned project had negatively impacted commercial activities in the area and called for it to be completed by the state government. Read more
Terrorists holding Nigeria to ransom — Archbishop (DailyTrust)
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Rev. Alfred Martins The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Rev. Alfred Martins, on Wednesday lamented that jihadist groups, Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terror gangs were holding Nigeria to ransom. He appealed to the Federal Government to intensify its counter-offensive to crush the groups and restore normalcy to end fear among citizens. ADVERTISEMENT Martins was speaking at the celebration of the 53rd World Day of Peace at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos. Read more
Customers decry banks’ non-compliance with CBN’s new guidelines on ATM, other charges (Nation)
Some bank customers have frowned at their banks’ for not complying with the new guidelines for charges on Automated Teller Machine (ATM), released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Some of the customers who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja, regretted that banks had now devised a means of deducting ATM charges without sending the alert to their customers.
NAN reports that CBN had on Dec. 22, 2019, released new guidelines for banks, other financial and non-bank financial institutions, to take effect from Jan. 1. Read more
Aliko Dangote’s fortune increased by $4.3bn in 2019 (Vanguard)
African richest man Aliko Dangote has significantly moved up in the World billionaires’ list as he emerged 96th richest person in the world, with an estimated worth of $14.8 billion, as against his previous ranking of 103rd in the world.
Dangote, who remains the richest man in Africa for the 8th year running, was the only Nigerian on the list of the top 100 billionaires, as released last week by Bloomberg in its yearly billionaires list.
Jeff Bezos remains the richest in the world with $115 billion in his kitty while Bill Gates and Bernard Arnault followed as 2nd and 3rd respectively with $11.3 billion and $105 billion. Warren Buffett was the fourth with $89.3 billion on the world billionaires chart. Read more
Tension as Kwara government demolishes Saraki’s house (Nation)
There was palpable tension in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital in the early hours of Thursday as the state government made good its intention to take over an expanse of land said to have been illegally acquired
by the late Dr Olusola Saraki.
The disputed plots of land had been a source disagreement between the state government and former Senate President Bukola Saraki since the former announced its resolve to revoke the land Friday last week.
The state government was said to have moved in its heavy-duty equipment and demolished some structures (otherwise referred to as Ile-Arugbo) erected on part of the disputed land by the late politician.
The demolition exercise, it gathered, was carried out at the wee hours of Thursday amidst tight security. Read more
Kenya bus attack: Three killed in Lamu county (BBC)
Three people have been killed after a bus was attacked in Kenya close to the Somali border, local officials say.
Two others were injured and are being treated at local clinics.
The bus was travelling from Mombasa and was targeted in Lamu county when heavily armed men stopped it and sprayed it with bullets.
The gunmen have not been identified, but the Somalia-based al-Shabab militant group has carried out a number of attacks in the country. Read more
World’s oldest living person celebrates 117th birthday (Metro)
AThe oldest person alive is celebrating her 117th birthday today by tucking into a bowl of strawberries and cream. Kane Tanaka, from Japan, was born prematurely on January 2 1903 – the same year the Wright brothers first achieved powered flight. She was confirmed as the oldest person on the planet last year by the Guinness World Records. Mrs Tanaka is still five years shy of the record for oldest person ever but is in good health and still regularly beats her care home staff at board games. Read more
Julian Castro: Only Latino candidate drops out of 2020 election race (Independent)
Julian Castro, the former housing secretary, has announced that he is dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination for this year’s presidential election.
Mr Castro, the only Latino in the contest, tweeted: “It’s with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today.
“I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished together. I’m going to keep fighting for an America where everyone counts – I hope you’ll join me in that fight.” Read more
Nearly 500,000,000 animals have been killed in Australia’s wildfires (Metro)
Almost half a billion animals have been killed in Australia’s raging wildfires with fears entire species may have been wiped out. Ecologists from the University of Sydney now estimate 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have been lost since September with the figure likely to continue to soar. Devastating fires have ripped through the states of Victoria and New South Wales in the past couple of days alone, leaving several people dead or missing. Scores of homes along Australia’s east coast have been razed to the ground leaving thousands of residents stranded and many forced to take shelter in the only safe place left available to them, the ocean. Read more
UK economy starting 2020 in ‘stagnation’ and uncertainty, British Chambers of Commerce warn (Independent)
The UK has entered 2020 with its economy in “stagnation”, amid long-term uncertainty and rising business costs, according to a new report.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its research suggested “protracted weakness” across the economy, affecting firms in manufacturing and services.
And the group warned that Boris Johnson’s government must move quickly to ensure that its Brexit plan delivers “a clear future trading relationship” with the EU in order to strengthen the prospects of restored business investment and growth. Read more
Dracula: Critics applaud ‘energetic and fun’ revival of vampire classic (BBC)
The BBC’s new take on Dracula is a hit with critics, one of whom says it is “the meatiest, goriest, most energetic and fun version” she has ever seen.
“Previous versions now look anaemic,” writes The Times’ Carol Midgley.
The Mail’s reviewer hailed “a Dracula to delight horror movie fans of all stripes” in his five-star write-up.
The Telegraph’s reviewer, meanwhile, praised Danish actor Claes Bang for his “witty, outrageous and thrilling” portrayal of Bram Stoker’s vampire. Read more
Aubameyang breaks silence on his Arsenal future (Metro)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang insists he remains committed to Arsenal and will not seek to quit the club in the January transfer window. The 30-year-old has just under 18 months remaining on his current contract and is reportedly reluctant to sign a new deal with the Gunners facing an uphill battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Despite an encouraging start to new manager Mikel Arteta’s reign, Aubameyang is said to have told Unai Emery’s successor that he has no intention of committing his long-term future to Arsenal. The former Borussia Dortmund striker, who has scored 15 goals in all competitions this term in spite of Arsenal’s woeful form, starred in last night’s 2-0 win over Manchester United and afterwards hit out at speculation he is ready to quit the north London club. Read more
Madu eyes three points against Heartland (Nation)
After earning a goalless draw against FC Nouadhibou in Nouachott, Mauritania, Rangers International midfielder Chiamaka Madu says the team’s focus is now on getting all the three points when they take on neighbours, Heartland FC in a match day 11, NPFL fixture in Okigwe.
Madu made this known on Wednesday in Enugu as the seven time Nigeria league champions continue preparations for the ‘Oriental Derby’ scheduled for Sunday at Okigwe Township Stadium.
“Surely, we are worried by our current position in the league and we have vowed to turn around the bad patch. It started with the result we got in Nouachott and we are taking that form to Okigwe for all three points at stake,” stated the all action midfielder. Read more
Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrives for AC Milan medical (Punch)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arrived in Italy for a medical ahead of rejoining AC Milan.
Ibrahimovic has penned a six-month contract with the Serie A side and has an option to sign on with the club for a further year.
The 38-year-old former Manchester United striker has been a free agent since leaving LA Galaxy in November. He scored an impressive 53 goals in 58 matches during his time with the Major League Soccer outfit. Read more
Three fans arrested for racist and homophobic abuse during Brighton vs Chelsea (Independent)
Three supporters were arrested for racist and homophobic abuse during the New Year’s Day draw between Brighton and Chelsea, the south-coast club have announced.
Brighton released a statement on Thursday which said two home fans and one visiting supporter had been ejected from the Amex and subsequently arrested by Sussex Police “for three separate incidents of unacceptable abuse”.
Paul Barber, Brighton’s chief executive and deputy chairman, called on the courts “to be given the power to hand out more severe punishments” in a bid to combat the sport’s ongoing issues with discriminatory abuse. Read more
Mikel Arteta explains his plan to get the best out of Lucas Torreira (Metro)
Mikel Arteta says he will work with Lucas Torreira to help him ‘see the bigger picture’ in Arsenal’s brand new system. The new Arsenal boss heaped praised on the hard-working Uruguyan who was pivotal in their 2-0 win over Manchester United on Wednesday night. Arteta told BT Sport: ‘He’s starting to understand the whole picture much better, that’s what I’m trying to do [with him].’ The 23-year-old is flourishing in his new role under the Spaniard, deployed as the deepest lying midfielder, rather than the advanced position he often held under previous manager Unai Emery. Read more
Man City will ‘never give up’ after win against Everton (BBC)
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will “never give up” after the champions narrowed the gap on leaders Liverpool to 11 points with a 2-1 win over Everton.
Gabriel Jesus scored twice as City survived a nervy finish to end Carlo Ancelotti’s unbeaten start as Toffees manager.
They remain third in the Premier League and one point behind second-placed Leicester, who won 3-0 at Newcastle. Liverpool meanwhile can restore their 13-point lead at the top with victory against Sheffield United on Thursday, one of two games in hand they have on their title rivals. Read more
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identifies Manchester United’s top two January transfer targets (Independent)
A lack of creativity has Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now prioritising an attacking midfielder such as Jack Grealish or James Maddison this month – but the Manchester United manager remains conscious of the difficulty of getting the right player mid-season.
The Independent has also been told that the injury to Scott McTominay and ongoing issues with Paul Pogba have influenced strategy, and that a previous willingness to wait until the summer for any signings has softened. The nature of the display against Arsenal, where United again looked so unimaginative in a 2-0 defeat, has further influenced that.
Solskjaer had wanted an attacking midfielder for the summer anyway, but there is a realisation that has become even more pressing. Aston Villa’s Grealish and Maddison of Leicester are the top choices. Read more
New year is new opportunity for Arsenal to improve, says Arteta (Guardian)
New Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the new year presents his side with a real chance to “build something important.”
Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United on New Year’s Day was their first under Arteta, who took over as manager on Dec. 20.
The win lifted Arsenal into the top half of the table and Arteta said he saw plenty to make him believe big things are possible in the future.
“I think the performances (in) the last two games were getting better, and today was perfect,’’ Arteta said. “New year, new opportunity.’’ Read more
David Stern: Former NBA commissioner dies aged 77 (BBC)
David Stern, the former commissioner of the US National Basketball Association (NBA), has died at the age of 77.
He had been in a serious condition after suffering a brain haemorrhage in December.
Stern was the NBA’s longest-serving commissioner, holding the job for 30 years until retiring in February 2014.
He is credited with massively increasing the sport’s revenues and popularity at home and abroad during his tenure. Read more
Tokyo will deliver flawless Olympics, Bach assures (Nation)
President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach has said that Tokyo will host a flawless Olympic Games next year after assessing the host level of preparedness for the game.
The IOC President stated that he has not seen never seen an Olympic host as prepared as Tokyo at this stage before the game, nothing that all the element for a successful games were already in place.
“I have never seen an Olympic host as prepared as Tokyo at this stage before the Games. All the elements for successful Olympic Games are already in place. All of Japanese society is uniting behind the Olympic Games. Read more
Tokyo 2020 celebrates start of Olympic and Paralympic year (Vanguard)
Tokyo 2020 have celebrated the start of the Olympic and Paralympic year in Japan.
With Japan entering the New Year, Tokyo 2020 tweeted an animation of the two mascots, Miraitowa and Someity, flying from space to the host country of the next Olympics.
“Tokyo 2020 is coming,” the post said, adding, “This is our year 2020. Read more