Lagos breaks Guinness world record with largest cupcakes mosaic (Nation)
Lagos has put Nigeria on Guinness book of world record by celebrating the 60th Independence anniversary with 60,000 cupcakes to produce the largest anniversary logo in the world, made with cupcakes mosaic.
With the initiative by Lagos State Government in conjunction with Fly Africa, Nigeria becomes holder of the world’s largest anniversary logo made with cupcakes mosaic in the world.
Speaking at the historic event at Teslim Balogun, Surulere, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the state has sent a message to the world that Lagos is a land of creativity and innovations.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by wife of his Deputy, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat, disclosed the last largest cupcakes in the world was a 30,400 cupcakes made in Singapore in 2015. Read more
Lawmakers wade into 1004 estate crisis (Guardian)
The crisis that recently rocked the 41-year-old 1004 Housing Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, with respect to management of the place may not abate soon as duty tour by members of the Lagos State House of Assembly on oversight assignment has revealed an abuse of power by some leaders among members of the 1004 Estate Home Owners & Residents Association (HORA).
Members of the assembly Committee on Housing, led by Abdulrahman Yusuf, whose visit took residents by surprise, were shocked with serious lapses associated with the general maintenance of elite estate.
Some residents, during their interaction with the lawmakers, complained of arbitrary increase in annual service charge without commensurate service delivery or accountability to residents. The estate currently has 1,744 apartments with each paying annual service charge of about N650,000. Read more
FG will complete $1.6bn Lagos-Ibadan railway December – Amaechi (Punch)
The $1.6bn Lagos-Ibadan railway project will be completed in December this year or early January 2021, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, announced on Thursday.
Amaechi, who disclosed this during a live television programme that also had the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, in attendance virtually, said he would work with Fashola and the Lagos State Government to move heavy duty trucks away from roads.
During the programme, which was monitored by our correspondent in Abuja, Fashola, while responding to a question, insisted that Nigerian roads would not last without the construction and usage of functional rail lines.
“I am his biggest champion when he (Amaechi) is presenting his request in the cabinet for the rails because I know that without the rail the roads will not last,” Fashola said. Read more
Ikeja, Enugu, Abuja DisCos suspend tariff hike (Nation)
IKEJA Electric (IE), Enugu Electricity Distribution Plc (EEDC) and Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) said they have fully complied with the order from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to suspend the new Service Reflective Tariff (SRT) for the next two weeks.
IE confirmed the development in a public notice to its customers posted on its official Twitter account yesterday.
The DisCo said: “Dear Esteemed customers, this is to inform you that we have fully complied with the Order from the NERC to suspend the new Service Reflective Tariff (SRT) for the next two weeks. Read more
Discos obey NERC, begin 14-day tariff hike suspension (Punch)
Some power distribution companies are beginning to comply with the order of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission by suspending the September 1, 2020 tariff increase.
On Tuesday night, NERC issued an order suspending the hike in electricity tariffs for 14 days.
Labour unions and the Federal Government had reached a truce on Sunday night to reverse the hike in electricity tariffs for 14 days, a development that prompted the halt of a nationwide strike by labour. Read more
Why we are extending rail construction to Niger Republic – FG (Guardian)
The Federal Government says it approves the extension of rail construction from Lagos-Kano-Katsina to Marradi in the Niger Republic for economic and commercial benefits.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave the explanation on Friday when he featured on Nigeria Television. Authority (NTA) live programme, “Good Morning Nigeria”.
The programme which focussed on “Nigeria at 60: Matters Arising” was monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. Read more
Ondo: Don’t post results on social media, NYSC DG warns corps members (Punch)
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, has warned corps members who will be participating in the October 10 governorship election in Ondo State, not to be involved in any act that could make them run foul of electoral laws.
Ibrahim also specifically warned them not to post results of the election on social media while urging them to build on the performance of their counterparts in Edo State as part of the process to free and fair elections.
The DG made this known on Friday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, during his official visit to the state ahead of the forthcoming governorship poll. Read more
Appeal court nullifies sacking of Bayelsa governor Diri (Guardian)
A five-man panel of the court of appeal has overturned a ruling which nullified the election of Douye Diri as governor of Bayelsa State on Friday.
The court held that the Bayelsa Election Petition Tribunal acted outside its jurisdiction by nullifying the election of Diri’s election.
In a unanimous judgment, the five-man panel of the court said the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party failed to show that it had a valid candidature that was unlawfully excluded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Read more
Buhari wishes US President, Trump, wife quick recovery (Vanguard)
President Muhammadu Buhari has joined all citizens of the United States of America (USA) in prayers for a quick and full recovery of President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania after they were reported to have tested positive for COVID-19.
President Buhari in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu in Abuja, noted, with sympathy, that the incident of COVID-19 in the White House manifests the challenge posed by the pandemic across the world, and difficulty in containing the spread. Read more
WhatsApp will finally let you mute chats forever (Metro)
WhatsApp will soon let you mute a contact or a group chat for eternity, taking over the option to shut them up for a year.
At the moment, users are only able to mute someone for eight hours, one week or one year. But according to prolific WhatsApp-watching blog WABetaInfo, the app is working on an indefinite mute option.
According to the site, the option to mute contacts forever (instead of a year) is available in version 2.20.201.10 of the app.
Initially, only those signed up to the beta program will be able to take advantage. But this is a sure sign the option will eventually roll out to WhatsApp’s 2+ billion users. Read more
France’s Macron vows to fight ‘Islamist separatism’ (BBC)
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans for tougher laws to tackle what he called “Islamist separatism” and defend secular values.
In a keenly awaited speech, Mr Macron said a minority of France’s estimated six million Muslims were in danger of forming a “counter-society”.
His proposals include stricter oversight of schooling and control over foreign funding of mosques.
He had been under pressure to address radical Islam amid security fears. Read more
Amazon removes ‘distasteful’ coronavirus Halloween masks from sale (Metro)
Halloween masks made to look like the Covid-19 virus have been pulled from sale after complaints they made light of the killer disease.
The masks, in bright green and red with grinning faces, had been advertised on Amazon for £14.59. They were listed for sale from Guangdong, China, with the title ‘Corona Halloween Mask’ and ‘Corona Latex Horror Mask’. The firm selling it was listed as YTFU EU.
Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, told The Sun: ‘These masks show a terrible lapse of judgement by the manufacturers and sellers, and I hope they will be removed from sale quickly. Read more
Covid: What is the risk to Donald Trump’s health? (BBC)
We do not yet know if Donald Trump has even developed symptoms
Donald Trump has clear risk factors – including his age, weight and being male – that all raise the chances of a severe coronavirus infection.
He is 74 and has a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30, which is the clinical definition of obesity.
So now he has tested positive for the virus, what does it mean?
As this point, Mr Trump does not seem to have symptoms.
But age is a clear and strong link to developing a severe infection, leading to hospital treatment and in some cases death. Read more
BLACKPINK drop debut album featuring Cardi B collaboration (Metro)
BLACKPINK have finally dropped their highly anticipated debut album – which features a collaboration with none other than Cardi B. The K-pop girl group’s first record, The Album, comes after the members released the EPs Square Up and Kill This Love in 2018 and 2019 respectively. On the album, fans can expect to hear previously-released singles How You Like That and Ice Cream with Selena Gomez, as well as new songs such as Pretty Savage and Bet You Wanna, which Cardi has lent a rap to. Read more
Tekashi 6ix9ine reportedly hospitalised for ‘overdosing’ on diet pills (PageSix)
Tekashi 6ix9ineGetty Images
Tekashi 6ix9ine was reportedly hospitalized earlier this week in Florida after allegedly overdosing on diet pills.
According to The Shade Room, the 24-year-old rapper said he took two Hydroxycut pills and drank a McDonald’s coffee, which caused him to start sweating profusely and have an increased heart rate.
Hydroxycut, a brand of weight loss supplements, recommends that customers use one pill on the first day of use, but state that two capsules can be taken after the second day, per the company’s website. Read more
Russian editor dies after setting herself on fire – local media (BBC)
A Russian news editor has died after setting herself on fire in front of an interior ministry office in the city of Nizhniy Novgorod, local media report.
Irina Slavina earlier wrote on Facebook: “I ask you to blame the Russian Federation for my death.”
She said on Thursday police searched her flat looking for materials related to the pro-democracy group Open Russia. Computers and data files were seized.
Footage has emerged apparently showing the moment she set herself on fire. Read more
Napoli announce new COVID-19 cases (Punch)
The wave of Covid-19 cases in Serie A reached league leaders Napoli on Friday as the club said Poitr Zielinski had tested positive two days before their showdown with champions Juventus.
The Poland midfielder was one of the scorers last Sunday as Napoli thrashed Genoa who the next day announced 14 positive cases.
That total climbed to 19 on Friday including 10 who played against Napoli. Read more
Arteta’s Arsenal facing ‘crucial moment’ in transfer scramble (Guardian)
Mikel Arteta said on Friday the final few days of the transfer window could define Arsenal’s season as the Gunners try their “maximum” to strengthen the squad.
The FA Cup winners have been heavily linked with a number of midfield targets but are running out of time ahead of Monday’s international deadline.
It is understood that talks are ongoing with Lyon over a move for Houssem Aouar, but the Premier League club reportedly face a Friday deadline imposed by the French side. Read more
Ousmane Dembele keen on Manchester United transfer after Paul Pogba talks (Metro)
Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele is enthusiastic about the prospect of joining Manchester United after speaking with Paul Pogba, according to reports in France.
United are targeting a move for the 23-year-old as an alternative to Jadon Sancho as Borussia Dortmund remain unwilling to sell the England international.
Dembele had initially wanted to remain at Camp Nou for another season despite interest from both United and Liverpool.
But according to L’Equipe, Dembele has now changed his mind following a conversation with Pogba about a potential move to Old Trafford. Read more
Honda: Red Bull engine partner to leave F1 at end of 2021 (BBC)
Red Bull’s engine partner Honda is to leave Formula 1 at the end of 2021.
The move leaves Red Bull and Alpha Tauri needing to find an engine supplier and the sport with just three engine companies.
Honda said the move was a result of the transformation of the car industry away from internal combustion engines. Read more
Chris Evert ‘absolutely’ disagrees with Mats Wilander over Andy Murray wildcard attack (Metro)
Chris Evert ‘absolutely’ disagrees with Mats Wilander’s assessment that Andy Murray is ‘thinking of himself’ by taking wildcard slots off younger players. Wilander criticised Murray after his first-round French Open humbling at the hands of Stan Wawrinka, with the 33-year-old putting in a limp display as he went down 6-1 6-3 6-2 to his fellow three-time Grand Slam champion. ‘I worry about Andy Murray,’ Wilander, the seven-time major winner from Sweden, told Eurosport after the match. ‘I would love to hear him say why he is out there, giving us a false sense of hope that he going to come back one day. Read more
Rhian Brewster: Sheffield United set to sign Liverpool striker (BBC)
Liverpool forward Rhian Brewster is set to sign for Sheffield United in a club record deal worth £23.5m.
The package for the England Under-21 international includes a buy-back option for three years and the Reds will get 15% of any sell-on fee.
Brewster, 20, helped England win the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 and scored 11 goals in 22 appearances while on loan at Swansea City last season. Read more