Lagos officials to civil servants: be proactive (Nation)
Officials of Lagos Local Government Service Commission, Mr Babs Akinyanmi, and Mr Ladi Ajomale have urged civil servants to be proactive as the nation gradually returns to life after COVID-19.
The duo made this appeal when they visited Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
Ajomale said, “All has to adhere strictly to the guidelines given by the government at all levels. As they say say, prevention is better than cure. We must give kudos to Lagos State government for ensuring that workers are paid even at this critical time.” Read more
Hours after calling him ‘a bastard’ Daddy Freeze sends message to Pastor Ibiyeomie (Vanguard)
Ifedayo Olarinde, aka, Daddy Freeze, has reacted to the statement credited to the Founder and General Overseer of Salvation Ministries, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, wherein he described Freeze as a half-caste and ‘a bastard son of a Somalian’.
The Nigerian-Romanian broadcaster and radio talk show host, in a new video, drew the attention of the general public and of course the Nigeria Police force, saying that Pastor David Ibiyeomie should be held responsible if anything happens to him.
He wondered why the Pastor has not been arrested by security officers for allegedly threatening his life.
The outspoken Freeze described Pastor David’s statement as ‘Hate Speech’, demanding apology from him for demeaning ‘broadcasting profession’. “You must apologize to all journalists for demeaning the profession”, he said. Read more
Court remands seven suspects over abduction of Oyo cleric’s twins (Punch)
A Chief Magistrates Court sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, has remanded seven persons in police custody for their alleged involvement in the kidnap of the twins of an Ibadan-based Islamic cleric, Alhaji Taofeek Akewugbagold.
The suspected kidnappers are Mohammed Bashir, 33; Oyeleye Opeyemi, 25; Olumide Ajala, 36; Taiwo Ridwan, 30; Rafiu Mutiu, 35; Fatai Akanji, 49; and Modinat Rafiu, 29.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Emmanuel Idowu, ordered that the suspects should be remanded at the custody of the State Anti Robbery Squad in Ibadan pending legal advice by the state Directorate of Public Prosecution. Read more
Where does Nigeria’s petrol price rank in the world? (Guardian)
When the Nigerian government last week increased the price of the Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS) from N138 to N151, many of the citizens felt hard-done-by at a time of economic hardship imposed by the coronavirus lockdown.
“Please be informed that a new product price adjustment has been effected on our payment platform,” Nigeria’s Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) said in a memo to industry stakeholders.
“To this end, the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) is now one hundred and fifty-one naira, fifty-six kobo (N151.56) per litre.” But the market price in different parts of the country ranges from N159 to N160. Read more
Strike continues until judiciary workers’ demands are met – JUSUN (Punch)
The leadership of the Judiciary Staff of Nigeria has said its members in Ebonyi State will continue their strike until their demands are met.
JUSUN members in Ebonyi are demanding implementation of the Consolidated Judiciary Salary Structure and alleged the government of refusing to pay them their annual leave allowances and non-authorisation of their promotions since 2015.
The National Vice President (South-East Zone) of JUSUN, Comrade Ifezue Mark, stated this during a telephone chat with our correspondent, on Monday. Read more
Kaduna spends N400,00 to treat each COVID-19 patient – El-Rufai (Guardian)
Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai on Monday said the government spends N400,000 to treat each COVID-19 patient.
El-Rufai made the disclosure at an executive meeting with traditional rulers in Kaduna.
“It costs about N400,000 to treat one coronavirus patient. They have to be isolated and fed. The cost of medicine has increased, even the personal protective equipment that the doctors treating them have to wear,” El-Rufai said. Read more
Parents, well-wishers barred as call-to-bar ceremony holds Sept 15 (Punch)
The Body of Benchers has barred parents, guardians and well-wishers from attending the call-to-bar ceremony scheduled to hold in Abuja on September 15.
Those to be called to bar are the successful candidates who sat the January 2020 Bar final examination of the Nigerian Law School.
The Body of Benchers which regulates the admission of successful law students into the legal profession, until this time, used to give each aspiring lawyers the privilege of inviting two persons to attend the call to bar ceremony. Read more
NAFDAC wants herbal medicines practitioners to collaborate with researchers on acceptable products (Guardian)
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has urged herbal medicine practitioners to collaborate with researchers to make herbal products internationally acceptable after clinical trials.
Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of the agency, made the plea on Tuesday.
Adeyeye said in a statement that the African Traditional Medicines Day that holds every Aug. 31 should be a daily reflection of who we are as Africans. Read more
Kidnappings: Female lawyers, health workers, others protest in Calabar (Punch)
The Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Cross River Chapter, International Federation of Women Lawyers, Holy Child Old Girls Association, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, Presbyterian Women, and others on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest against kidnappings in Calabar.
During the protest organised by the Medical Women Association in the state, the women went around major streets in Calabar.
Speaking, President of MWAN in the state, Dr Bassey Nakanda, said the protest was organised to draw the attention of the state government, security agencies, and relevant stakeholders to the need to rise up and end cases of kidnapping in the state. Read more
Sudan floods: Nile water level threatens ancient pyramids (BBC)
The authorities in Sudan are trying to protect the country’s ancient pyramids from flooding as heavy rains have caused the nearby River Nile to reach record-breaking levels.
They have built sandbag walls and are pumping out water, archaeologist Marc Maillot is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
The site is home to a host of ruins more than 2,300 years old.
Countrywide, floods have killed nearly 100 people and made thousands homeless. Read more
Black woman praises Delta for stance on racism after incident on flight (NYPost)
A black nursery school teacher from Minneapolis is praising Delta Air Lines for standing up to racism after she was harassed by a white woman during a flight to Washington, DC, to take part in a civil rights rally.
Demetria Poe, 25, was flying to the capital to attend the “Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks” on Aug. 28 when the woman, whom she had helped with her bags, swapped out her mask for one that read “Blue Lives Matter.”
“I support blue lives because I support our officers,” the woman said, according to Poe, who wrote in a lengthy post on Facebook about the incident. Read more
Belarus protests: Kolesnikova ‘resists expulsion’ on Ukraine border (BBC)
A day after a Belarus opposition leader was seen being bundled into a van by masked men, she has been involved in dramatic scenes at the border.
Belarus says Maria Kolesnikova was detained while trying to cross into Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday.
But Ukraine says Belarusian officials tried to expel her, amid reports that she tore up her passport to stop them.
She is one of three women who joined forces to challenge President Alexander Lukashenko in August’s election. Read more
Engineer plays Doom on a pregnancy test (Metro)
Last week, a bit of a palaver ensued online after an engineer and self-confessed tinkerer got started with an electronic pregnancy test. Foone Turing took apart the digital product to find out what materials were inside and what they were capable of. But apparently, he didn’t stop there. It’s well-known in programming circles that if there’s electronic circuitry hooked up to a display, somebody is going to try and run the seminal 1993 video game Doom on it. And that’s exactly what happened here. On a pregnancy testing kit. Read more
V-shaped jet prototype that seats passengers in wings makes successful test flight (NYPost)
A scale model of a futuristic V-shaped plane that could one day carry passengers in its wings has completed its first test flight.
The Dutch-built jet, called the Flying-V, houses the cargo hold, fuel tanks and passenger cabin in the wings to cut fuel consumption.
Its quirky design is said to lower fuel usage by up to 20 per cent compared to conventional aircraft.
Researchers tested an uncrewed, 3-meter (10-foot) scale model of the airplane earlier this summer at a guarded airbase in Germany. Read more
Sushant Singh Rajput: Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty arrested (BBC)
Chakraborty and Sushant Singh Rajput were in a relationship
Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty has been arrested by India’s narcotics control authority in a drugs case related to the death of her actor-boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput.
Rajput, 34, was found dead in his flat in Mumbai on 14 June. Police said he had killed himself.
His family, however, registered a police complaint against Chakraborty, accusing her of abetment to suicide.
She is yet to comment but denied any wrongdoing in earlier statements.
Authorities are yet to reveal the charges against her.
Chakraborty’s brother, Showik, and Rajput’s former house manager, Samuel Miranda, were also arrested last week in the same drugs case. But the charges against them have not been revealed either. Read more
BFI London Film Festival releases full 2020 schedule (Metro)
The BFI London Film Festival’s full schedule for 2020 has been released and includes Pixar animation Soul, Ammonite starring Kate Winslet as well as a ‘strong theme’ of social injustice. The annual event will begin on October 7 featuring a total of 58 films, including new projects from directors such as Spike Lee and Miranda July. This year, the festival will be more accessible online due to the coronavirus pandemic limiting the amount of people in cinemas. However, movie lovers will have the opportunity to watch Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan on the big screen as their anticipated period drama, Ammonite, will be released in cinemas. Read more
Anthony Joshua aims dig at Tyson Fury, says he ‘should be looking to retire soon’ (Metro)
Anthony Joshua has taken a swipe at Tyson Fury and says his heavyweight rival ‘should be looking to retire soon’. IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Joshua and WBC holder Fury have agreed financial terms for two fights in 2021.
But first Joshua, 30, must defend his belts against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev, while Fury, 32, is set to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time.
‘Fury has been professional much longer than me. He should be looking to retire soon,’ Joshua told Sky Sports. Read more
Mother’s daughter: Serena to teach Olympia tennis (Guardian)
Serena Williams issued an ominous warning to budding young tennis players on Monday — her three-year-old daughter loves the game and will soon take it up.
“She’s a fan of tennis, she loves watching, she comes out and watches me practice,” Williams said of Olympia after moving into the US Open last eight.
The toddler was seen smiling and waving at her mother during Williams’ third-round win against Sloane Stephens inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday. Read more
Mason Greenwood: England forward apologises over quarantine breach (BBC)
England forward Mason Greenwood says he “only has himself to blame” after being dropped over a breach of coronavirus quarantine guidelines in Iceland.
Manchester United’s Greenwood, 18, and Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden, 20, were told to leave Gareth Southgate’s squad on Monday.
Both players had made their senior international debuts in Saturday’s 1-0 Nations League victory in Reykyavik.
Greenwood said: “I can only apologise for the embarrassment I have caused.”
He added: “In particular, I want to apologise to Gareth Southgate, for letting him down, when he had shown great trust in me.” Read more
The men mostly likely to win US Open with Novak Djokovic out (NYPost)
The US Open carried on without fans and Novak Djokovic on Labour Day.
There will be a first-time Grand Slam men’s champion crowned Sunday with the stunning disqualification of Djokovic for accidentally hitting a female line judge with a ball Sunday.
The last 13 Grand Slams have been won by a member of the “Big 3.’’
With the prohibitive favorite out, it’s wide open with defending champion Rafael Nadal grinding on clay practice courts in Mallorca, Spain and Roger Federer rehabbing from a minor knee cleanup. Read more
US Open 2020: Second seed Sofia Kenin in tears after tournament exit (BBC)
Australian Open champion and second seed Sofia Kenin says she was in tears after losing in the last 16 of the US Open.
The 21-year-old American, the highest seed left in the women’s singles, lost 6-3 6-3 to Belgian Elise Mertens.
“I cried after already. Just trying to hold it back right now. I’m not happy about that match,” she said afterwards. Read more
Kawhi Leonard’s one-finger block on Jamal Murray amazes Clippers teammates (NYPost)
Future Hall of Famer Kawhi Leonard keeps finding way to impress the NBA world – and that is not limited just to those watching from the couch.
With less than two minutes left in Monday night’s game against the Nuggets, Denver star Jamal Murray saw an opening and drove to the basket. Leonard rejected him at the rim, but he didn’t use his arm. On replay review, the only thing that got in the way of the ball and the basket was Leonard’s middle finger. Read more