Lagos orders reopening of religious centres (Guardian)
Lagos State Government on Thursday approved Friday and Sunday worship services for Muslims and Christians in the state.
“All religious centres (churches and mosques) must be 40% of the venue’s capacity. No hugging, handshakes, serving of food e.g. the holy communion etc in any religious centre,” Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, spokesman Gboyega Akosile quoted the governor saying.
“Muslim services to resume on 19th June while Christian worship begins on the 21st of June, 2020. Children below age 15 not allowed. Read more
928 COVID-19 patients discharged in Lagos (DailyTrust)
The Lagos State Ministry of Health says 928 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from all isolation centres in the state as of June 3. Lagos remains the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria since the 27th of February, 2020 when the virus found its way into the country. Nigeria’s Covid-19 total tops 11,000 with 348 new cases 83-yr-old COVID-19 patient dies in Lagos The state has so far recorded 5,440 cases with 67 deaths. Giving an update about the recovery rate, the State Ministry of Health via its official Twitter handle said the patients who have recovered from COVID-19 infection have so far been reunited with their families and the society at large. Read more
Family demands justice over radio presenter’s death in church during childbirth (Punch)
The family of Seun Olorunto, whose remains were recovered from a Cherubim and Seraphim Church located at No. 3B Bayo Ajao Street, Aboru, Lagos State, has demanded justice for her death.
PUNCH Metro had reported that a prophetess in the church, Evelyn Owoleke (real name Tawakalitu Okedunmola), was arrested in connection with the radio presenter’s death during childbirth on the church’s premises.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, had said in a statement that Olorunto was found in a pool of her own blood when detectives visited the church, adding that the corpse was deposited in a mortuary for autopsy and the baby was taken to hospital for treatment. Read more
Sanwo-olu to reclaim land for Lekki regional road (Nation)
The Lagos State Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning Dr.Idris Salako has announced a directive by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to reclaim the encroached alignments of the Lekki Regional Road.
The State Government has also revoked the land titles and planning approval on sections of Elegushi Royal Family land.
According to Salako, the affected sections of the land fall within the designated Right-of-Way (RoW) of the road which is about to be constructed and the revocation is intended to remove all impediments to the ongoing construction. Read more
Reps reject castration as punishment for rapists (Punch)
The House of Representatives has voted against a prayer seeking to recommend castration for rapists.
The House, at the plenary on Thursday, considered and adopted a motion on the rising cases of sexual violence in Nigeria.
A member, Mr James Faleke, had recommended that persons found guilty of rape should be castrated.
Just before the prayer was subjected to a voice vote, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, however, asked what would happen to an older female who rapes a younger male. Read more
Obaseki’s information commissioner resigns (Nation)
Edo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Paul Ohonbamu, has resigned from Godwin Obaseki’s administration.
Ohonbamu, in his resignation letter, which was addressed to Obaseki, thanked him for the opportunity to serve the state.
He said: “I hereby tender my letter of resignation as a commissioner in Edo State to His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, this 4th day of June, 2020. Read more
COVID-19: Patient absconds from Jos Isolation Centre – WHO (Independent)
A male COVID-19 patient has absconded from a Plateau isolation centre, the Coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO), Mr Williams Bassi, has said.
Bassi made the disclosure during a courtesy visit to the palace of the Gbong Gwom Jos, Jacob Buba, on Thursday.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the officials of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), WHO and the state Ministry of Information, had paid a courtesy visit to the royal father to begin the campaign on COVID-19 in Jos North. Read more
Former Ondo gov, Olumilua, is dead (Punch)
Elder statesman and former governor of old Ondo State (comprising Ondo and Ekiti States), Bamidele Olumilua, is dead.
Olumilua, a diplomat, who was born in 1940, died in the early hours of Thursday in his Ikere Ekiti hometown, Ekiti State.
The PUNCH reports that the former governor died after a brief illness.
He was governor of the old Ondo State during the Third Republic between January 1992 and November 1993 on the platform of the Social Democratic Party. Read more
Kenyan capital’s water shortage raises COVID-19 risk (VOA)
Some parts of Kenya’s capital have been without running water for weeks, after a landslide destroyed a water pipe, making frequent hand washing for coronavirus prevention a challenge. Water distribution points have been set up to help tens of thousands of Kenyans cope.
For more than two months, Maureen Mkala has taken a narrow alley in Mathare slum in Nairobi to get water for her family, including three children.
She ends up at a crowded water point and it takes her an hour to get 20 liters of water.
“I look for water to clean my hands so that I don’t get the virus. We have a water problem and you are forced to go to the crowded water points to get water,” she said. Read more
Senegal to ease virus curfew after angry protests (Guardian)
Senegal said Thursday it would ease an anti-coronavirus curfew and lift restrictions on inter-city travel following two nights of protests that were marked by violence.
Interior Minister Aly Ngouille Ndiaye said the start of the 9:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew would be pushed back by two hours, to 11:00 pm.
“From today, transport restrictions across the country are being lifted, with the curfew being maintained from 11 pm to 5 am,” he said on state television. Read more
Naked man runs wild in New York (NYPost)
This certainly was a “bare” knuckle brawl.
Startling video posted Wednesday on Twitter shows a naked man attacking bystanders in the Bronx, and then getting pummeled to the pavement.
The undated graphic footage shows the naked man, wearing only a pair of white socks, streaking across East Fordham Road near Morris Avenue in the middle of the day and charging a man in a face mask.
The two exchange punches on the Fordham Heights sidewalk before other bystanders jump into the fray, as horrified witnesses scream, “No, no, no, no!” Read more
Former MI6 chief claims coronavirus was released from Chinese lab by ‘accident’ (RT)
A new peer-reviewed study shows that the Covid-19 outbreak started as a faulty experiment in China, the ex-head of MI6 says. The paper he cited was reportedly “watered down” to remove accusations against Beijing.
“I do think that this started as an accident,” Sir Richard Dearlove, who led Britain’s top spy agency, MI6, from 1999 until 2004, told the Telegraph’s Planet Normal podcast.
Dearlove suggested that the virus was not released deliberately, but rather accidentally leaked when Chinese scientists were experimenting on bat coronaviruses. To back up his claims, he cited a recently-published peer-reviewed study by a British-Norwegian team which claimed to have found “inserted sections placed on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike surface” that allow the virus to come into contact with human cells. Read more
Friends and A Cinderella Story star Mary Pat Gleason dies aged 70 (Metro)
Mary Pat Gleason, best known for her roles in Friends, Mom and A Cinderella Story, has died aged 70. The prolific star, who has more than 100 acting credits to her name, died on 2 June after a battle with uterine cancer. According to ET, Gleason is survived by a ‘large, loving extended family’, with her nephew John Brostrom saying that the actress had originally beat the disease in 2015. However it recently came back, and she spent a month in the hospital – taken to rehab for therapy around the time of the coronavirus outbreak. Read more
Fans remind Lucasfilm John Boyega was minimised on Star Wars poster (Metro)
Star Wars fans have reminded Lucasfilm of the times they apparently ‘didn’t stand’ with John Boyega, following his powerful speech in Hyde Park on Wednesday. The actor inspired many with his impassioned message, as he addressed demonstrators supporting the Black Lives Matter movement following the horrific death of George Floyd in the US – an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck. Boyega’s appearance was met with praise around the world, with many of his Star Wars comrades sharing public posts backing the actor who suggested his career might be over after speaking out. Read more
Rafael Nadal on racism, coronavirus and tennis restarting (Metro)
In a parallel universe, Rafael Nadal would be in Paris, competing for a 13th French Open title. Instead, on Thursday morning the world No. 2 from Spain is sat in his Mallorca home – speaking to the international tennis media over Zoom – discussing racism and the Covid-19 crisis. It’s clear tennis is low down on his list of priorities right now. Wimbledon has already been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but two of the Grand Slams, the US Open and French Open, are still scheduled to go ahead, starting in August and September respectively. Read more
Premier League-linked Osimhen close to 5-yr-deal with Napoli (DailyTrust)
Barring any last-minute changes, Super Eagles Striker, Victor Osimhen, will be making a switch from Ligue 1 side Lille to Italy’s Napoli on a five-year deal. Several media reports say the move, which is believed to be in the region of 60 million euros, will see Osimhen becoming Nigeria’s most expensive player when completed. Osimhen wins Lille Player of the Season award Lille have ‘multiple offers’ for premier League-linked Osimhen Osimhen will be overtaking Alex Iwobi, who was signed from Arsenal to Everton for €43million. The 21-year-old striker, who recently lost his dad, was voted Lille’s player of the year after scoring 13 goals in 25 league games. Read more
Diego Costa fined but avoids jail in tax fraud case (Guardian)
Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa has been ordered to pay a fine of 543,000 euros ($608,000) after admitting to defrauding Spanish tax authorities of more than a million euros, judicial sources said Thursday.
Costa, 31, was sentenced to six months in jail, but instead agreed to pay an additional fine of 36,000 euros on top of his initial fine to avoid serving time, as is customary in Spain for prison terms of under two years for non-violent crimes. Read more
Ex-Playboy stunner turned super-agent buys Romanian football team (RT)
Power broker and former nude model Anamaria Prodan has made good on her promise to purchase a football club by becoming owner of Transylvanian side FC Hermannstadt of the Romanian Liga I.
After posing naked for Romanian Playboy, the entrepreneur is used to grand reveals but that phrase took on a new meaning on Wednesday as she was presented as Hermannstadt’s new head honcho at the Transylvanian team’s Municipal stadium.
This time Prodan was fully clothed as she was announced as owner of the Romanian top flight outfit, and her own outfit didn’t disappoint either; known for her fiery fashion taste, Prodan donned a sharp pinstripe suit adorned with roses. Read more
Freddie Roach claims Manny Pacquiao is aiming for Gennady Golovkin fight (Metro)
Freddie Roach has revealed that Manny Pacquiao is targeting a fight against Gennady Golovkin. The 41-year-old hasn’t fought since beating Keith Thurman last July but had been targeting a return to the ring in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic halted the boxing calendar. Terence Crawford, the undefeated WBO welterweight champion, has claimed that talks have begun over a potential fight with Pacquiao. But Pacquiao’s long-time trainer Roach believes a mega-fight against GGG could be on the cards. Read more
Kieran Tierney could be set for Arsenal exit after just one injury-ravaged season (Sun)
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers reportedly wants to lure Kieran Tierney away from Arsenal after just one season.
The defender has been limited to just five Premier League appearances since his arrival from Celtic due to injuries.
Kieran Tierney has failed to live up to expectations with the Gunners
Kieran Tierney has failed to live up to expectations with the GunnersCredit: Reuters
According to The Transfer Window Podcast, Leicester City have set their sights on signing the 22-year-old.
Former Liverpool manager Rodgers is said to be a huge fan of Tierney following their time together at Celtic. Read more