Lagos PDP mourns women leader (Guardian)
The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has described the demise of its Women Leader, Mrs Shola Oladehinbo, as devastating.
The Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Mr Taofik Gani, in a statement on Saturday said the party was deeply shocked over her death.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oladehinbo died on Friday in Lagos, after a brief illness. Read more
Tears, emotions as Ibidunni Ighodalo laid to rest (Punch)
Tears and emotions flowed as Ibidunni, the late wife of Lagos-based preacher and founder of Trinity House, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, was buried on Saturday afternoon.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the remains of Ibidunni will be laid to rest today at a private residence.
At the Funeral Service aired live via the church’s social media platforms and monitored by The PUNCH was Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, who represented Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State.
Also present was Pastor Idowu Oluyomade, Personal Assistant to the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye. Read more
Landgrabbing: Lagos refutes ex-NBA Vice President’s claims (Nation)
The Lagos State Special Taskforce on Land Grabbers has faulted claims that its performances have fallen short of expectations since May 2019.
It described the suggestions, allegedly made by a former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) 2nd Vice President, Mr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, as “unsubstantiated comparisons”.
In a statement, the Taskforce said Ubani did not consider that between June 2018 to May 2019, it handled 767 cases, out of which 314 were resolved and 76 charged to court, while from June 2019 till date, 1,012 cases were handled, with 503 resolved and 85 under prosecution.
The statement referenced a 17 June, 2020, publication wherein Ubani was said to have tasked Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the resurgence of Land Grabbers in Lagos State. Read more
Operation Safe Haven: Troops eliminate kidnappers, rescue victims in Plateau – DHQ (Guardian)
The Defence Headquarters says the troops of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), on Friday, June 19 neutralised three kidnappers during a commando operation at Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau state.
The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.
Enenche said that the operation was in continuation of intensive clearance operations under Operation Accord aimed at curtailing the activities of bandits and other criminals in the North West and North Central region. Read more
Police launch manhunt for killer gunmen in Abuja (Nation)
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has launched a manhunt for gunmen who shot and killed a man, Sunday Ike, in Abuja.
Ike was killed on Friday in Gwarinpa in Abuja and his vehicle stolen by the gunmen.
He was shot in the head.
A statement by the Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, on Saturday read, “The FCT Police Command has launched a massive manhunt to arrest the unidentified gunmen who shot one Sunday Ike ‘m’ on the head and robbed him of his light blue Toyota Camry car with registration number BS 286 KWL in Gwarinpa. Read more
Abuja-Lokoja expressway at 95% completion, to be delivered soon – Minister (Guardian)
The Minister of State for Works and Housing, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, says the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja expressway will soon be concluded and delivered for use.
Aliyu, who said this during the inspection of the dualisation of Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road section 1 on Saturday in Abuja, noted that the construction had reached over 95 per cent completion.
According to Aliyu, President Muhammadu Buhari at the inception of his administration in 2015, had mandated that all inherited projects be completed and delivered before new ones are embarked upon. Read more
Bandits attack Katsina communities again, kill seven (Punch)
Bandits have allegedly killed seven persons in another round of attacks in Kasai and Nahuta villages in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Residents said the attacks were carried out Friday night when people in the two communities were about observing prayers.
A resident of a nearby community, Kurmiyal who identified himself as Sama’ila Lihidda, said the suspected bandits stormed the two communities on motorcycles, armed with weapons. Read more
Military retires 342 soldiers (Nation)
The Nigerian military on Friday retired 342 Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) from service after equipping them with skills for self reliance.
The retirees comprising 243 from the Army, 100 Navy and 16 Air Force personnel were disengaged at the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Oshodi, Lagos, where they were camped for six-months reintegration as well as business and craftsmanship trainings to ease their life outside the uniform.
Speaking at the ceremony, NAFRC Commandant, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Kingsley Lar said they were the first batch to be retired this year, adding that the second set would include 100 paramilitary and civil servants from key ministries who are due for retirement. Read more
Pandemic pushes World Refugee Day observances online (VOA)
Ekhlas Ahmed is a high school teacher in Portland, Maine, coping with the new reality of virtual classrooms. She is also a former Sudanese refugee and is one of many people working on the frontlines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 28-year-old has been shopping for groceries for her neighbours, hosting monthly calls to communicate critical information about the pandemic to community members, and offering a space for others to share their pandemic experiences.
“I dedicated my life to being a community organiser. I do whatever it takes to make my community better,” Ahmed said, “We have a monthly conference call for people who are dealing with mental health or just want to talk.” Read more
The Great British Bake Off ‘bans senior contestants’ from new series due to coronavirus fears (Metro)
The Great British Bake Off will apparently ban its more senior contestants from taking part in the new series due to coronavirus fears. Bosses are reportedly lining up a younger batch of contestants for this year’s instalment of the baking staple, over fears that older competitors are more susceptible to the virus and may cause production to halt. According to The Sun, there is a real sense of ‘urgency’ to put plans in place for the filming of the new series, which was due to start later this summer. Read more
5G to provide high-speed cell phone connectivity to 65% of global population by 2025 – Ericsson (RT)
A total of 190 million 5G subscriptions globally are expected by the end of this year, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report. The figure will surge to 2.8 billion in just the next five years, it has projected.
“This is mainly due to a faster uptake in China than previously expected,” the report explained, adding: “For other parts of the world, slight downward adjustments have been made due to the effects of the pandemic.”
The study found that mobile traffic could grow by 31 percent annually between 2019 and 2025. Continuing recent trends, most of this will come from video traffic. Read more
Mariana Trench: Don Walsh’s son repeats historic ocean dive (BBC)
It used to be said that more people had walked on the surface of the Moon than had dived to the deepest part of Earth’s oceans. Not anymore.
Kelly Walsh, the son of the great ocean explorer Don Walsh, has just descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, almost 11km down in the Pacific.
He made the dive 60 years after his father created history in doing so.
It means Kelly is the 12th person to visit the trench floor – the same as the number of Apollo moonwalkers. Read more
‘China does not want a Cold War with the US,’ says Chinese ambassador to France (France24)
In an interview with France 24, Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to France, discussed the current tensions between Beijing and Washington. He also talked about China charging two detained Canadians with spying, plus the situation in Hong Kong and the new outbreak of Covid-19 cases in Beijing.
“According to the information I have received, every day there are still a few dozen confirmed cases [of Covid-19], but according to epidemiologists everything is under control,” Lu said in response to questions about the new coronavirus outbreak in Beijing. “China has a lot of experience with this type of situation. And the health and prevention system has been perfected now.” Read more
Angelina Jolie opens up about her family, adoption and the ‘resilience’ of refugees (People)
Angelina Jolie is reflecting on her family life, how adoption is “an amazing journey to share” between children and their parents and how refugees should have “protection when needed.”
In a new interview with Vogue, the actress and philanthropist, 45, discussed her humanitarian work.
During the time she has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Jolie said she has witnessed “a lack of will to protect and defend basic human rights, and a lack of diplomacy and accountability. Read more
Alex Zanardi: Ex-Formula 1 driver in ‘serious but stable’ condition after handbike crash (BBC)
Former Formula 1 driver Alex Zanardi is in a “serious but stable” condition after having surgery on a head injury sustained in an accident during a handbike relay in his native Italy.
The 53-year-old was involved in a crash with a lorry in Pienza on Friday.
Zanardi was taken by helicopter to hospital in Siena, where he is on a ventilator in intensive care.
“The operation went as it should have, it was the original situation that was not good,” Zanardi’s surgeon said. Read more
EPL: Watford snatch late point as Liverpool prepare for title push (Punch)
Premier League strugglers Watford rescued a dramatic 1-1 draw against Leicester thanks to Craig Dawson’s last-gasp overhead kick at the start of a weekend which could see Liverpool move within one win of the title.
In the first full weekend of English top-flight matches since the coronavirus shutdown in March, Watford’s hopes of avoiding relegation looked set to be dented by Ben Chilwell’s superb 90th minute strike.
But in a remarkable conclusion, Hornets centre-back Dawson launched himself into an acrobatic effort moments later to claim his first goal for the club. Read more
Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski breaks Aubameyang’s Bundesliga record (Guardian)
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski on Saturday broke the record previously held by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the most goals scored by a foreigner in a Bundesliga season.
Lewandowski scored twice in the first half against Freiburg to give him 33 league goals in 30 matches this season, having netted a total of 48 times in 41 games in all competitions.
The Poland striker’s tally beats the previous record of 31 goals set by Gabon striker Aubameyang in 2016/17 for Borussia Dortmund before he moved to present club Arsenal the following season. Read more
Dutch soccer players boycott TV show over Black Pete remarks (Nation)
The Dutch men’s and women’s national football team players said on Friday they would no longer grant interviews to a popular TV show due to remarks made by a commentator mocking an anti-racism protester.
In a statement first published on Twitter by men’s team captain Virgil van Dijk, the players said they would no longer speak with the Veronica Inside programme.
This was after the host compared a prominent Dutch black activist to “Black Pete”. Read more
Federer and Djokovic ‘reaching out internally’ to challenge US Open decision to cancel wheelchair tennis (Metro)
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are ‘reaching out internally’ in a bid to support wheelchair tennis stars after it emerged the US Open had cancelled the wheelchair event. That’s according to Dylan Alcott, the 10-time Grand Slam singles champion, who also spent 30 minutes on the phone with Britain’s Andy Murray discussing the issue. US Open chiefs announced that the Grand Slam would take place in New York, starting on August 31, but while men’s and women’s singles and doubles would take place, mixed doubles, junior and wheelchair events were cancelled. Read more
Maupay rubs salt into Arsenal wounds with late Brighton winner (Guardian)
Arsenal’s challenge to return to the Champions League next season faltered once more as Neal Maupay’s 95th minute winner handed Brighton a vital 2-1 win in their battle to beat the drop.
Nicolas Pepe’s stunning strike gave the visitors a deserved lead at the Amex, but the Gunners defensive problems reared their head again as Lewis Dunk bundled home from a short corner.
Maupay had angered the Arsenal players for his part in a serious injury suffered by goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the first half. Read more