Ground rent: 34 embassies risk closure Tuesday (Punch)
Thirty-four embassies in Abuja risk being closed down by the Federal Capital Territory Administration over unpaid ground rents spanning 11 years, The PUNCH reports.
The PUNCH, however, learnt that the opposition Peoples Democratic, Federal Inland Revenue Service and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, who were also listed as defaulters, had settled their ground rent with the FCTA.
A publication by the FCTA revealed that many foreign missions had not paid their ground rents since 2014, with the affected diplomatic missions collectively owing N3,662,196. Read more
Tinubu to Sanwo-Olu: Your sins are forgiven (Vanguard)
Following a perceived frosty relationship between President Bola Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, the president, yesterday, declared that his relationship with Sanwo-Olu remains cordial, adding that “it’s all over now. All is forgiven,”
Recall there have been reports of a cold war between Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu which have been awash in social media recently.
In May, President Tinubu had snubbed Sanwo-Olu during the inauguration of Phase 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Lagos. Read more
Troops of 6 Division arrest 43 oil thieves (VON)
Troops of 6 Division, Nigerian Army (NA) have arrested 43 suspected oil thieves, uncovered 27 illegal bunkering sites and recovered over 161,000 litres of stolen products across the Niger Delta Region (NDR).
A statement by the Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations 6 Division Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah said the latest crackdown operations were conducted in synergy with other security agencies between 26 May – 8 June 2025.
In Bayelsa State, along Zarama-Joinkrama 4, troops discovered an illegal connection point at Wellhead 10 connected to an illegal refining site. In follow up operations conducted, five cooking ovens, five reservoirs, five dugout pits, a generator and over 30,000 litres of stolen crude were recovered. While, at Biseni Community, Adibawa in Yenagoa LGA, two illegal connection points connected to the pipeline, linked to an illegal refining site were discovered. Read more
Crisis: Only August convention can save PDP (Sun)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is demoralised and feels helpless on how to resolve its festering crisis. Reliable sources within the party who spoke to Daily Sun said PDP leaders feel impotent in taking any action against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, due to fears of retaliation.
“If we sack Wike from the PDP, we are the ones who will suffer. Are you not seeing what the minister is doing to us? He will go and seal our office and revoke our certificate of occupancy because of N7 million. It is these kinds of things that are demoralising us. It is very clear that the All Progressives Congress does not want the opposition parties to function, so this is just part of the plan to snuff the life out of us. See what is happening in the Labour Party where they have three factions. Also, see what is happening in the New Nigeria Peoples Party. Can’t you see that it is following the same pattern?” one party insider lamented.
“People keep asking why we have not sacked Wike? Is it easy to sack him while he is the minister of the FCT? If we sack him, we won’t even be able to hold any meeting in Abuja. If we go to Legacy House, he will send people to send us out of there,” an insider added. Read more
Sanwo-Olu unveils new train coaches for Lagos Blue Line (NewTelegraph)
Lagos State achieved another major milestone on Sunday as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu unveiled three brand-new train sets for the Lagos Blue Line Rail corridor.
Each train comprises four coaches, designed to significantly enhance the state’s evolving mass transit infrastructure.
The unveiling ceremony took place at the Iganmu Train Station, where Governor Sanwo-Olu officially handed over the new trains to the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). Read more
Tinubu addresses NASS joint session on Democracy Day (Nation)
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is to address a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday, June 12 as part of activities marking the 2025 Democracy Day.
In an internal memo to members, Clerk to the House of Representatives, Yahaya Danzaria said the President is expected to arrive the National Assembly around12.00 noon.
A statement by the spokesman of the House, Akintunde Rotimi on the President’s engagement reads: “The leadership and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives will participate in a special joint sitting of the National Assembly on Thursday, June 12, 2025, to commemorate this year’s Democracy Day celebration. Read more
FG declares June 12 public holiday to mark democracy (Tribune)
The federal government has declared Thursday, 12th June, 2025, as a public holiday to commemorate this year’s Democracy Day celebration.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, in a statement on Sunday by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Magdalene Ajani.
He congratulated Nigerians on 26 years of uninterrupted civil rule in the country. Read more
How to avoid crying while cutting onions, according to physics (PopularScience)
Suggestions to avoid the dreaded onion-induced tears in the kitchen run the gamut of ideas—from freezing them, to cutting them underwater, to sporting special goggles, to even stuffing some bread in your mouth beforehand. But what’s the actual science say about how to escape your next onion encounter unscathed? According to a team of physicists at Cornell University, it’s all about the sharpness of your weapon of choice and your speed of approach. Their findings are laid out in a preprint study—and it even involves a tiny onion guillotine.
Onions have been an agricultural staple as far back as at least 3000 BCE. Ancient Egyptians actually revered them as representations of eternity due to their concentric inner layers, and would place the vegetables in the tombs of pharaohs. Apart from their spiritual use, onions also have very clear health and medicinal benefits, particularly when it comes to their nutritional, antioxidant content, and antibacterial properties. Read more
How LA erupted over rumours of immigration raid at a hardware store (BBC)
The National Guard clashed with people protesting against immigration raids in Los Angeles.
Juan and several friends huddled in the car park of a hardware store near Los Angeles, where protests have erupted against US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Typically, their gatherings include dozens of day labourers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, seeking work from shoppers or contractors.
But on Sunday, only two small pickups advertised that they could help with roofing, repairs or paint jobs outside this branch of Home Depot in the suburb of Paramount, whose population is more than 82% Hispanic. Read more
Wu-Tang Clan mark return to video games after 25 years with (EW)
Wu-Tang Clan are making their long-awaited return to video games.
The iconic hip-hop collective that introduced the world to visionaries like RZA, Method Man, and Ghostface Killah are known for songs like “Protect Ya Neck,” albums like Wu-Tang Forever, films like Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan, and, recently, the two-season Hulu drama series Wu-Tang: An American Saga. The group also ventured into the world of video games with 1999’s Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style.
Now they’re back with Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver, the central project in Ghostface Killah’s Angel of Dust franchise. Read more
BFI outlines 9 recommendations for UK screen sector in era of AI (Screen daily)
The BFI has outlined nine key recommendations for the UK screen sector in the face of rapidly evolving AI technology, in a report published today (June 9).
The aim of the report, titled ’AI in the screen sector: perspectives and paths forward’, is to outline how the UK creative sectors can thrive in the age of AI, and make sure the UK is a global leader in creative technology.
Recommendations include developing a robust licensing framework to address copyright concerns surrounding generative AI; future-proofing the creative workforce with more formal AI training; providing transparent disclosures to audiences when AI has been used in screen content; offering targeted financial support for the UK’s creative technology sector; and investing in accessible tools, training, and funding for independent creators, through the development of ethical AI products. Read more
Hamas documents reportedly show deep ties, coordination between Qatar, terror group (TimesofIsrael)
Documents seized in Gaza over the course of the war against Hamas and published by an Israeli TV channel Sunday night purport to shine a light on Qatar’s intensive collaboration with the terror group spanning a number of years, including attempts to thwart regional peace efforts by the US, marginalize Egyptian influence on Gaza, and bolster the roles of Turkey and Iran.
The documents appear to contradict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent characterization of Qatar as a “complicated state, but not an enemy state,” and his attempts to downplay years of Qatari cash infusions of millions of dollars a month to Hamas in Gaza, which he recently claimed didn’t play a significant role in allowing the terror group to prepare for, and execute, its ongoing war against the Jewish state, which erupted with the October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in southern Israel. Read more
Sudan faces rapidly-spreading cholera outbreak, 1000 daily cases in capital (AfricaNews)
A fast-spreading cholera outbreak has hit Sudan with officials reporting more than 1,000 cases a day in the capital of the war-torn country.
The outbreak is centred around the capital, Khartoum, and has spread as many Sudanese who had fled the country’s war return home. Residents are often only able to find unclean water – which is a dangerous conduit for the disease – as much of the sanitation system has collapsed amid the civil war.
According to Nicolas Jean, the head of Doctors Without Borders mission in Sudan, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF, Khartoum is now getting above 1,000 cases a day. Read more
Amusan clocks 100m season’s best in Jamaica (Punch)
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan recorded her fastest 100m time of the season with an 11.18s (1.8m/s) finish at the Racers Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, in Kingston, Jamaica, in the early hours of Sunday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Amusan placed fourth in the highly competitive women’s sprint final in front of 15,000 spectators that saw the top four athletes set season-best marks, with the top two also meeting the qualification standard for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
Running in lane two and representing Racers Track Club, Amusan reacted to the gun in 0.198s and crossed the line behind three Jamaicans and an American, but showed marked improvement from her previous outings this year. Read more
Osimhen rejects Al Hilal’s blockbuster deal for the 5th time (ThisDay)
After Saudi Pro League club, Al Hilal, had agreed to pay the €75 million asking fee by Napoli as well as reach a salary of €35 million a year and a contract that will run until 2029, the Super Eagles striker turned down the deal yesterday.
According to top transfer expert, Fabrizio Ramono,
It was the fifth time that Osimhen would turn his back on offers from the Saudi club. Osimhen whose season-long loan deal at Galatasaray will run out end of this month, is believed to be waiting for decent offer from any of the big clubs for his to stay back in Italy or at best Europe. Read more
Alcaraz stuns Sinner in extraordinary French Open final (BBC)
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz recovered from two sets down – saving three championship points on the way – to beat Jannik Sinner in an incredible French Open men’s singles final.
Alcaraz’s reign on the Roland Garros clay looked to be over when world number one Sinner closed in on victory at 5-3 in the fourth set.
But the 22-year-old Spaniard showed extraordinary fight to win 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-2) after five hours and 29 minutes – the longest French Open final in history. Read more
1st black Premier League referee Rennie dies aged 65 (Vanguard)
Uriah Rennie, the first Black referee in the Premier League and a trailblazer in English football, has died at the age of 65.
Rennie officiated more than 300 professional matches between 1997 and 2008, including 175 Premier League fixtures. His death has sparked an outpouring of tributes from across the football community, recognising his pioneering role in the sport and his lasting impact off the pitch.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former chair and trailblazing referee, Uriah Rennie,” the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association said in a statement. Read more
Pete Sampras spotted in LA during rare public appearance after retirement over 2 decades ago (People)
Pete Sampras was seen out and about during a rare public appearance.
The former tennis star, 53, was spotted making a coffee run in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday, June 3.Sampras wore a dark gray Nike T-shirt and gray shorts while he carried two drinks in a beverage holder in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. Read more