Lagos APC primary: 36 lawmakers back Sanwo-Olu (Punch)
Ahead of tomorrow’s governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos, 36 of the 40 members of the state House of Assembly have resolved to support the governorship ambition of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Sanwo-Olu is contesting the governorship ticket of the party with the incumbent governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode. Read more
2019: Aisha Alhassan quits as minister, exits APC (Punch)
Nigeria’s women’s affairs minister on Saturday handed in her resignation to President Muhammadu Buhari in the latest setback for his party before presidential polls in February. Aisha Alhassan is the second minister to quit this month. Kemi Adeosun stepped down as finance minister over the alleged forgery of a document exempting her from compulsory national service. Read more
Six die as Boko Haram attacks Lake Chad (Punch)
Six people, including two soldiers, died in an overnight Boko Haram attacks near Lake Chad, security and army sources said on Saturday, saying Chadian troops had killed 17 assailants in a counter-offensive. Three forestry officials and a customs officer and two soldiers were killed in attacks on Moussarom and Ngueleya located in the Lake Chad region, south of Baga Sola, a security source told AFP. Read more
Jang laments incessant killings on the Plateau (Nation)
Ex-governor of Plateau state and Senator representing Plateau North Senatorial zone Jonah Jang has expressed sadness over continuous killings in his zone, saying the situation is becoming worrisome. Senator Jang who was responding to Thursday night killings of 15 people in Jos in a statement signed by his media consultant Garba Clinton said, “The Senator representing Plateau North Senatorial District Dr. Jonah David Jang with a heavy heart and deep sense of grief wishes to hereby condemn in the strongest possible terms, the invasion of Rukuba Road, Jos North Plateau State… Read more
Envoy scores China, Nigeria relations high (Vanguard)
Chinese Consul General in Lagos, Ambassador Chao Xiaoliang has expressed satisfaction at the enhanced bilateral relations between Nigeria and China since two years he assumed office as Consul General of the Peoples’ Republic of China to Nigeria, saying that more and more Chinese citizens and enterprises are springing up almost on a daily basis in Nigeria. Read more
Court sentences Egypt activist who slammed sexual harassment (Guardian)
An Egyptian court Saturday handed a two-year suspended jail sentence to a woman human rights activist arrested in May after posting a video criticising sexual harassment in Egypt, her lawyer said. Amal Fathi, 33, was convicted of spreading fake news and fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($560 dollars), her lawyer Doaa Mustafa told AFP. Read more
Blast injures election candidate in Ukraine’s rebel east (Guardian)
Three people were injured in an explosion in Ukraine’s rebel stronghold Donetsk on Saturday, including a candidate for the post of the self-proclaimed republic’s leader. The incident took place just four weeks after the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko was killed in a bombing at a cafe in broad daylight. Read more
China HIV/AIDS cases surge by 14% (Vanguard)
The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in China has surged by 14 percent, with most cases transmitted through sex rather than blood transfusions, state media said Saturday. More than 820,000 people had AIDS or were HIV-positive at the end of June, up by 100,000 year-on-year, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing national health officials at an HIV/AIDS conference. Read more
Sri Lanka restricts car imports as currency crashes (Guardian)
Sri Lanka announced a raft of restrictions Saturday in a bid to slow down imports of cars and luxury goods as the country faces a foreign exchange shortage. The finance ministry banned the import of vehicles for all state institutions for one year and said public servants will not be allowed to import cars at concessionary duty rates for six months. Read more
California governor signs gun control bills into law (Vanguard)
California Governor Jerry Brown signed several gun control bills into law the Media reports on Saturday. The bills included one measure that raises minimum age for buying rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21. The new laws come seven months after a gunman opened fire with a semiautomatic assault-style rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Read more
Ted Turner, CNN founder, battling brain disease (ThisDay)
The cable news network founder Ted Turner, in a yet-to-be-aired interview with CBS, revealed that he was suffering from a brain disease known as Lewy body dementia. “It’s a mild case of what people have as Alzheimer’s. It’s similar to that. But not nearly as bad. Alzheimer’s is fatal,” Turner told CBS. “Thank goodness I don’t have that. But, I also have got, let’s – the one that’s – I can’t remember the name of it,” he paused. “Dementia. I can’t remember what my disease is.” Read more
Decision on Cameroon hosting AFCON 2019 postponed (Punch)
A decision on whether Cameroon can go ahead with hosting next year’s Africa Cup of Nations has been postponed until the end of November, the Confederation of African Football said on Saturday. Cameroon’s hosting of African football’s showpiece event has been in jeopardy for months since the decision to increase the tournament from 16 to 24 teams. Read more
Manchester United’s loss to West Ham deepens Mourinho’s woes (Punch)
Manchester United’s dire week ended in a damaging 3-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham on Saturday as Jose Mourinho failed to arrest a growing sense of crisis surrounding the club. United, who kicked off eight points behind leaders Liverpool, already look out of the Premier League title race and a rift between the manager and Paul Pogba is overshadowing events on the pitch. Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo raped me, paid me to keep quiet, American girl claims (Independent)
An American girl has accused former Manchester United, Real Madrid and current Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo for raping her back in 2009, according to Calciomercato.com reports. IlBiancoNero story on Der Spiegel is expected to be out in the newstands tomorrow which has an American girl called Kathryn Mayorga claiming that Ronaldo raped her in 2009, days after he had left Manchester United to join Real Madrid. Read more
Court sends 16yr-old boy to 4yrs imprisonment for kissing 13yr-old girl (Independent)
A court in the southern province of Antalya, in Turkey has handed down a prison sentence of four years and six months to a 16-year-old boy for kissing 13-year-old girl at school, according to Hurriyetdailynews.com reports. “The expert report about the high schooler [with the initials] A.K. has emphasized that he had undertaken this action with the impulse of puberty and there was no need about punishment, but the prosecutor and judge did not take this into account. Read more