Ladipo auto spare parts market risks closure over environmental issues (Guardian)
There are indications that the Lagos State Government may be constrained to close the multi-billion naira Ladipo International Spare Parts Market in Mushin over alleged environmental infractions.
The market, a major contributor to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has been shut in the recent past for various environmental reasons.
Some of the reasons included hooliganism, lack of toilet facilities, degradation of the environment with diesel and fuel products, and illegal structures.
However, such actions often lead to a public outcry because of their impact on the citizenry who depend directly or indirectly on the market for their daily needs. Read more
How truck crushed tricycle, killed three occupants in Lagos (Punch)
A commuter, Adebayo Olanrewaju, has narrated the moment a truck at Okegbegun, along Sagamu Road, Ikorodu, Lagos, lost control and climbed over a tricycle conveying four passengers.
Olanrewaju, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, told City Round that the incident occurred around 3pm on Thursday when he was on a bus en route to Ogijo.
He said the truck was ascending a steep portion of the road when it suddenly descended due to brake failure and climbed over the tricycle behind it.
OIanrewaju said “The bus I boarded was about to reach the spot when the accident happened. The truck was heading towards LASPOTECH (Lagos State Polytechnic) and the tricycle was behind it. The road is bad. There were five people in the tricycle: three passengers at the back, and one in the front with the rider. Read more
Declare state of emergency on insecurity, Archbishop Martins tells Buhari (Guardian)
Worried by the incessant cases of kidnappings, killings and arson in the country, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, has urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity.
According to him, such a move has become very necessary to save the country from the looming anarchy that has been staring Nigerians in the face.
This is as the Joint Action Civil Society Coalition, yesterday, barricaded the office of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly over government’s failure to arrest and prosecute those responsible for the killing of over 7000 Nigerians within three years. Read more
Sit-At-Home Order: Imo shut schools as residents rush to stockpile foodstuffs (DailyTrust)
Schools in Imo State have shut their doors following a sit-at-home order by the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
IPOB had declared Friday as a day to celebrate the burial of one of their commanders, Ikonso, who was recently killed by security operatives. The outlawed group also declared May 30 to celebrate Biafran Day.
However, since May 30 falls on Sunday, the group shifted the Biafran Day to Monday, May 31.
Schools have asked students to stay at home for the period to avoid any casualty.
For instance, a message from schools run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri asked parents to keep their children at home from Thursday, May 27, to Tuesday, June 1. Read more
EFCC arrests alleged Ponzi scheme operator over N128m scam (Punch)
The Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested one Amos Olaniyan for allegedly defrauding people of over N128m through an investment scheme.
A statement by the anti-graft agency’s Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, indicated that the 43-year-old was arrested based on a series of petitions by his victims.
The petitioners alleged that Olaniyan through his company, DHIL Nigeria Limited popularly known as Crime Alert Security Network Investment, persuaded them to invest in a network scheme which offered monthly 30 per cent returns on investment.
The statement read in part, “According to some of the victims, they were persuaded to invest after listening to the suspect’s weekly radio programme. However, after investing their monies they neither received the promised interest nor got a refund of their capital since 2020. Read more
Colleagues, associates battle to save journalist from cancer (DailyTrust)
Colleagues and associates of an Abuja-based journalist, Ronald Mutum, are battling to save him from cancer.
Life seemed normal for Mutum until two years ago, when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and his world came crashing down.
Despite his struggles with the ailment, he lost his job and started battling with medical bills.
This is in addition to his responsibilities to his wife Angel and three children: Caroline 5, Ronald Jnr 3 and Nathan 2 Read more
Ilorin residents make brisk business from blood, semen/eggs sale (Guardian)
Human blood transfusion and ‘donations’ of semen and ovaries have become big business at many hospitals and IVF centres in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
Those involved are mostly students of higher institutions and some middle-aged men who cited lack of jobs. The development is such that many blood banks are daily besieged by commercial ‘donors’ especially those with blood group ‘O’ Negative, said to be scarce and thus attracts the highest cost, between N10, 000 to 14,000. The risk factor is that many of the donors are said to be unfit for donations due to the level of frequency with which they donate.
Consultant haematologist at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) who pled anonymity said, “One must wait 56 days between whole blood donations, at least seven days after donating blood before you can donate platelets but after an automated double red cell collection, you must wait 112 days before donating again.” Read more
Lagos-Ibadan Rail: CCECC pressured to finish 7 stations over June timeline (DailyTrust)
The China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC), the contractor handling the Lagos-Ibadan rail project, is in a race to meet the June commissioning deadline by finishing at least seven stations, Daily Trust reports.
The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, had last Saturday inspected the project where he frowned at the slow pace of work at some of the 10 stations on the route.
He then insisted that the project was slated for commissioning by June, 2021. He also held a meeting with CCECC and the project consultants, where he insisted on the June timeline.
He said, “I hope the office of the president will approve the commissioning of this project in June. We will communicate the actual date in the next one or two weeks, but certainly, I think it is in June. Read more
Naira Devaluation: BDCs get dollars at N393, sells for N494 (Punch)
Bureau De Change operators got the United States dollar from the Central Bank of Nigeria at N393 but sold it for N494 on Friday, an investigation by our correspondent has revealed.
Sources from some commercial banks told our correspondent that the banks were asked to fund the BDCs at the rate of N393/$ as of Friday.
A bank official, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said, “We are still giving them $10,000 per BDC twice in a week. As at today, we are giving them at the rate of N393/$.
“The CBN funds the BDCs through the commercial banks. They go to their banks to collect it. The CBN has been funding them through commercial banks to make the process seamless. Read more
Erdogan inaugurates controversial Taksim Square mosque in Istanbul (BBC)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has inaugurated a mosque in Taksim Square, Istanbul – the plans for which sparked a wave of protests in 2013.
Thousands attended the ceremony, with some praying in the square itself because the mosque was full.
The mosque features prominently next to a public space traditionally seen as a symbol of the secular Turkish republic.
It also dwarfs a monument to the republic, and its founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Read more
French police officer seriously wounded in knife attack by radicalised ex-prisoner (France24)
A radicalised French ex-prisoner on a watch list of potential terrorist threats stabbed a policewoman inside her station in western France on Friday and died following a shoot-out with police, a government minister said.
The victim was seriously wounded but expected to survive, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said.
The assailant had been released from prison in March following an eight-year sentence for violent crime and was on a security services register for individuals who might pose a terrorism risk.
“He was flagged in 2016 for a strict practice of Islam, for radicalisation,” Darmanin told reporters after visiting the police station in Chapelle-sur-Erdre, near Nantes, where the attack occurred.
The attack bore chilling echoes to the fatal stabbing of a female police administrative worker near Paris a month ago. Read more
Boeing ordered to pay £12,000,000 fine over problems with 737 Max planes (Metro)
US regulators have slapped Boeing with a $17 million (£12m) fine over problems with hundreds of its 737 Max planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration found the company installed equipment containing unnaproved sensors on 759 Boeing 737 Max and Next Generation planes.
It also installed potentially faulty wing parts on 178 Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
The penalty comes more than a year after the FAA first reported the issues. Read more
Biden budget: President sets out $6tn spending plan (BBC)
US President Joe Biden has released his first annual budget – a $6tn (£4.2tn) spending plan that includes steep tax increases for wealthier Americans.
The bumper proposal would include huge new social programmes and investment in the fight against climate change.
But it needs approval from Congress, where Republican Senator Lindsey Graham condemned it as “insanely expensive”.
Under the plan, debt would reach 117% of GDP by 2031, surpassing levels during World War Two. Read more
Tourists scarce as travel bubbles fail to inflate (France24)
Quarantine-free travel bubbles were hailed as tourism’s “godsend” earlier this year, but cancellations and suspensions have deflated hopes they will herald a return to pre-pandemic normality.
Perhaps the world’s most high-profile bubble opened between Australia and New Zealand on April 19, leading to emotional scenes as families split when borders closed almost 400 days earlier were reunited.
Since then, New Zealand has ordered partial shutdowns on four occasions due to virus scares in Australian states, the most serious of which forced Melbourne into a snap lockdown this week.
A spike of Covid-19 cases in Taiwan burst its bubble with the tiny Pacific nation of Palau last week, while Hong Kong and Singapore have been struggling to stand up a quarantine-free travel arrangement for six months. Read more
James Bond universe ‘could be expanded’ as Amazon takes over MGM (Metro)
The James Bond universe could be set to get a whole lot bigger, after Amazon’s acquisition of MGM.
The company has taken over the film studio, which is home to franchises including Bond, Rocky, Legally Blonde and Robocop for a whopping $8.4billion (£5.9bn).
Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, hinted that there are plans to revisit older films, explaining: ‘The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of Intellectual Property in the deep catalogue that we plan to re-imagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team.’
Unlike most of MGM’s films, Bond is an ongoing franchise, and Shawn Robbins, Chief Analyst at Boxoffice Pro, has suggested that it could be expanded – so could we see a Bond spin-off in the future? Read more
Comedy of errors in Argentine TV Shakespeare mix-up (BBC)
One man in his time really does play many parts, it seems, according to an Argentine newsreader who mixed up the author William Shakespeare with the first man to receive a Pfizer jab.
Canal 26 presenter Noelia Novillo announced that “one of the most important writers in the English language – for me the master” had died.
In fact it was his namesake, William “Bill” Shakespeare, 81, who died in a hospital in England earlier this week.
Shakespeare “The Bard” died in 1616. Read more
D’Tigress beat Puerto Rico 89-63 in pre-Olympics friendly (Punch)
African champions D’Tigress defeated Puerto Rico 89-63 in a pre-Olympics friendly game played at the Lange Munte Arena in Kortrijk, Belgium on Friday, Saturday PUNCH reports.
The reigning African champions won all quarters (17-13, 31-16, 24-19, 17-15) in the encounter.
Adaora Elonu, Amy Okonkwo and Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah were D’Tigress top scorers with 14 points each in the game.
Atonye Nyingifa also bagged 10 points as well .
The Olympics-bound Nigerians face Serbia on Saturday (today) before their final game against Belgium at the Lange Munte Arena in Kortrijk, on Sunday. Read more
Aston Villa star Jack Grealish fuels Manchester United transfer speculation (Metro)
Jack Grealish has fuelled rumours he could be set to join Manchester United, ‘liking’ a fan’s desperate plea on Twitter for him to complete a move to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window.
The Aston Villa captain has long been linked with United and is understood to be on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s shortlist of big-name transfer targets, with the Norwegian in the market for attacking reinforcements after yet another year without silverware in the north west.
Reports this week suggest several members of United’s dressing room have been blown away by Grealish’s performances in the Premier League this season and view the gifted 25-year-old as an ‘appealing signing’.
However, the Red Devils will have to beat off strong competition from ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City to get their man, who are prepared to make the midfielder the first ever £100million player in English football. Read more
‘Chuck the belt and fight AJ’ – Fury’s father wants him to fight Joshua not Wilder (BBC)
Tyson Fury should give up his WBC belt to avoid fighting Deontay Wilder and face Anthony Joshua instead, his father John says.
A unification fight with Joshua was set to happen on 14 August in Saudi Arabia.
But it fell through when Deontay Wilder’s team won an arbitration hearing stating the American had a right to a third fight with Fury.
“I’ve told him, in a phone conversation, to chuck the belt in the bin,” John Fury told BT Sport. Read more
Man City and Chelsea set for Champions League final showdown in Porto (France24)
A season marked by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the shockwaves of the failed attempt to create a breakaway Super League reaches its climax on Saturday, when Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea clash in an-all English Champions League final in Porto.
The finalists were among the group of 12 clubs that announced their breakaway project in April but were also among the first to withdraw in the face of fan anger — those supporters are now hoping to be celebrating European glory in Portugal this weekend.
It is the third final of Europe’s elite club competition to be played between two Premier League sides, and the second in just three seasons, such is the financial might of the modern English game. Read more
Diamond League: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce surges to 100m win in Doha (BBC)
Jamaica’s two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce underlined her credentials for the 100m crown in Tokyo with an impressive win in Doha.
The 34-year-old, who won gold ahead of Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith at the same venue at the 2019 World Championships, came home in 10.84 seconds.
The time makes her the third fastest woman in the world this year.
Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare was second in 10.90, but American Sha’Carri Richardson withdrew before the start.
World leader Richardson was suffering with cramps in the wake of her second-placed finish behind Asher-Smith at a wet and windy Gateshead on Sunday. Read more
Nordqvist topples top-ranked Ko to reach LPGA Match-Play knockout (France24)
Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist beat world number one Ko Jin-young 5 & 3 in round robin play, then topped the South Korean star in a playoff to reach the LPGA Match Play round of 16.
Nordqvist had to beat Ko — who came into the third and final day of round robin play with two wins under her belt — to give herself a playoff shot.
With her back to the wall, the Swede didn’t disappoint.”She is a world No. 1 so I knew she was going to be really tough match,” Nordqvist said. “Part of me felt like I didn’t have anything to lose because I knew I had to get my point to have a chance at a potential playoff, so just very proud of myself.” Read more