Lagos Task Force demolishes 1,700 shanties, containerised shops (Nation)
Operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce) over the weekend demolished over 1,700 illegal shanties and containerised shops around Fagba Railway lines, Agege.
Speaking during the demolition exercise, chairman of the Agency, Olayinka Egbeyemi, a Chief Superintendent of Police disclosed that owners/occupants of the illegal shanties and containerised shops had already been served a seven-day ‘Removal Order’ by the government based on series of complaints about criminal activities around Fagba, Agege.
Lagos Task Force demolishes shanties
He said after the expiration of the ‘Removal Order’, the government gave them additional 21days to remove their belongings and vacate the entire area before embarking on the demolition exercise. Read more
Police arrest 5 for robbing church, kidnapping member in Ogun (Vanguard)
Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested five members of a robbery syndicate who robbed members of Christ Apostolic Church, situated at Gudugbe Alagbon area of Wasimi in Ewekoro local government area of the state.
A statement by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the suspects were arrested on Thursday, 26th November 2020.
Oyeyemi, said, the suspects, Abubakar Ibrahim, 38, Sulaiman Yusuf 32, Ismail Yusuf 20, Umar Aliu 26,hgi and Yinusa Musa were arrested following a distress call made by one Obisesan Seye, the shepherd in charge of the church. Read more
Blackout as power grid collapses (Punch)
The nation’s power grid has collapsed again, plunging parts of the country into a total blackout for hours on Sunday.
Two of the power distribution companies in the country, Kaduna Electric and Eko Electricity Distribution Company, announced the national grid collapse on Sunday afternoon.
Kaduna Electric, in a message to its customers via its Twitter handle, said, “We regret to inform you that the loss of power supply in our franchise – Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states – is as a result of the collapse of the national grid. The collapse occurred at about 11:26 am this morning. Read more
Southern Kaduna: Gunmen kill 7, burn houses, kidnap children in fresh attacks (Sun)
Security agencies have reported that no fewer than seven persons have been killed by gunmen in fresh attacks in southern Kaduna State.
Six persons are said to have been killed on Sunday in Ungwan Bido village, and another on Saturday in Ungwan Pah village, all in Jema’a Local Government Area of the State.
The gunmen are said to have injured four others, kidnapping two children and setting four houses on fire during the attacks.
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-rufai has called for an immediately ordered investigation into the killings. Read more
FRSC to introduce NIN information for vehicle registration, licence (Guardian)
Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), says that the corps will introduce the National Identity Number (NIN) information by first quarter of 2021 for vehicles registration.
Oyeyemi revealed this when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Friday.
The corps marshall said that the essence of the NIN was to enhance road safety through the use of technology. Read more
Over 6,000 FCT IDPs face eviction in January 2021 by landowners (Vanguard)
The Vice Chairman of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camp in New Kuchingoro in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Usman Adamu, weekend, cried out that over 6, 000 IDPs will be evicted from the land they currently occupy in January 2021 by landowners.
Adamu disclosed this during an interview with journalists while receiving items donated by Founder, Mallpai Foundation, Wife of Kebbi State Governor, Hajiya Aisha Bagudu, where he said they are in jeopardy.
According to him they were given the notice since August 2020, and have approached the National Commission for Refugees, NCR, which promised to look into the issue, and since then they have been waiting for the Commission’s feedback. Read more
Gbajabiamila condemns killing of rice farmers in Borno (Thisday)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has condemned in the strongest terms, the killing of about 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari, Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents.
The Speaker, in a statement issued Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Lanre Lasisi, said it was unfortunate that at a time the country was focusing on self-sufficiency in rice farming, about 43 of the farmers were killed in a most gruesome manner
Gbajabiamila, who expressed sadness over the killings of the innocent rice farmers, noted that the incident has once again brought to the fore the need for more military action against the terrorists. Read more
Farm workers killed in ‘insane’ Nigeria attack (BBC)
At least 43 people have been killed in what the Nigerian president has described as an “insane” attack in north-east Nigeria on Saturday.
The attackers tied up agricultural labourers working in rice fields and slit their throats near Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, reports say.
This is one of the worst attacks in recent months in a region where the Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa insurgent groups are active.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility.
“I condemn the killing of our hard-working farmers by terrorists in Borno state. The entire country is hurt by these senseless killings. My thoughts are with their families in this time of grief. Read more
Police arrest suspects as explosion rocks Wike father’s church (Punch)
The police in Rivers State have arrested three suspects who allegedly detonated explosives at a Pentecostal church, Christain Universal Church International, located at Mile 3, Diobu area of Port Harcourt.
The church is said to be owned by the father of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
It was learnt that the suspects numbering about five attacked the church around 8 pm on Saturday.
It was gathered that the gunmen’s escape plan was blocked after men of a local security outfit in the area noticed strange movements and swooped in. Read more
More than half of UK adults say Black Lives Matter movement increased racial tensions- poll (RT)
The majority of UK adults believe that recent anti-racism Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests actually deepened the nation’s racial divisions and increased tensions, a newly released poll has revealed.
Some 55 percent of Britons think that the BLM wave of anti-racist demonstrations backfired and exacerbated racial tensions, a newly released poll conducted in October by Opinium found, based on a survey of more than 2,000 people.
Views on the controversial movement appear to also be split within ethnic minority groups, with 44 percent of people in those communities blaming BLM for intensifying the racial divide. Read more
Rockets hit Eritrea capital after Ethiopia declares victory (AlJazeera)
Rockets launched from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region again hit the capital of Eritrea, diplomats said on Sunday, as the US embassy in Asmara reported “six explosions” in the city.
The blasts – which the embassy said occurred about 10pm Saturday night (19:00 GMT) – came hours after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory in his military campaign against Tigray’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The attack marked the third time Asmara has come under fire from Tigray since military operations began there on November 4. Read more
Canada bans mass exports of prescription drugs (BBC)
Canada has banned the export of some prescription medicines in order to prevent a shortage in the country.
The decision is in response to a US plan that would allow for drugs to be imported from Canada to make them cheaper for Americans.
Although prescription drug prices in Canada are higher than some nations, they are cheaper than the US.
A number of Canada’s drug suppliers had warned that the plan, implemented by President Trump, would cause shortages. Read more
Japan spacecraft carrying asteroid soil samples nears home (NYPost)
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft above the asteroid Ryugu.
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft above the asteroid Ryugu.AP
TOKYO — A Japanese spacecraft is nearing Earth after a yearlong journey home from a distant asteroid with soil samples and data that could provide clues to the origins of the solar system, a space agency official said Friday.
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft left the asteroid Ryugu, about 180 million miles from Earth, a year ago and is expected to reach Earth and drop a capsule containing the precious samples in southern Australia on Dec. 6. Read more
Darth Vader actor Dave Prowse dies aged 85 (BBC)
Dave Prowse, the Bristolian former bodybuilder best known for playing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, has died aged 85.
Prowse was cast as Vader for his imposing physique, even though the role was voiced by James Earl Jones.
But the weightlifter-turned-actor was most proud of playing the Green Cross Code Man. The role, promoting road safety in the UK, earned him an MBE.
“May the force be with him, always!” said his agent Thomas Bowington. Read more
Lindsay Lohan debuts new jewellery collaboration (PageSix)
Lindsay Lohan is finally making good on a promise she made three years ago.
The actress, 34, announced the launch of her new jewelry line, a collaboration with Lily Baker, on Friday.
The 40-piece collection includes an array of rainbow-colored designs, like a tennis bracelet ($160), dangling necklace ($167) and baguette bracelet ($254). Evil eyes feature throughout, including on a bracelet ($120), necklace ($173), ring ($100) and more.
Prices for the collection range from $66 to $334. Read more
Sir Sean Connery’s cause of death revealed as pneumonia and heart failure (Metro)
Sir Sean Connery died in his sleep from pneumonia, heart failure and old age. The 90-year-old died on October 31, with tributes rolling in from all over the world for the iconic James Bond actor. TMZ has acquired Sir Sean’s death certificate, and it lists his causes of death as ‘pneumonia – respiratory failure, old age, atrial fibrillation’ – the latter meaning an irregular heart rate. The certificate, which was submitted on November 12, confirmed that the actor died at 1.30am on Halloween at his home in Nassau on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. Read more
Dortmund suffer shock defeat to Cologne (Nation)
BORUSSIA Dortmund suffered a shock 2-1 loss to visitors Cologne to drop four points off the pace in the title race.
Cologne stunned Dortmund with an early goal when Ellyes Skhiri tapped in at the far post in the ninth minute.
Dortmund, who had fired five goals past Hertha Berlin last week, were lacking any punch and instead it was hard-working Cologne who scored again with Tunisia international Skhiri on the hour.
Thorgan Hazard cut the deficit with a low shot in the 74th minute but despite desperate late attacks and a golden chance missed by Erling Braut Haaland deep in stoppage time they could not get an equaliser. Read more
‘We could have helped Maradona’, says Klopp (Guardian)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Diego Maradona’s life encapsulated the highs and lows of being a world-famous footballer as he lamented that more was not done to help the late Argentine superstar.
Maradona died on Wednesday at the age of 60 after a long struggle with addiction to alcohol and drugs, sparking a huge outpouring of emotion for one of the greatest-ever players.
Klopp described his one meeting with Maradona as like “meeting the Pope”, but believes the love shown after his death could have helped prevent some of his excesses. Read more
Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr share an engaging draw in ‘exhibition’ bout (BBC)
Tyson and Jones were said to have drawn after eight, two-minute rounds
Mike Tyson said he will “continue to go further and do more” in the boxing ring after his return to the sport ended in an engaging draw with Roy Jones Jr.
The 54-year-old former world heavyweight champion ended 15 years of inactivity to take on 51-year-old Jones in a high-profile pay-per-view ‘exhibition’ – but fears the pair would serve up a some form of money-making farce were not realised as they did enough to provide entertainment.
While rap artist Snoop Dogg said it was like watching “two of my uncles fighting at a barbecue” during his stint as a ringside commentator at the spectator-less Staples Center in Los Angeles, former world champions including David Haye, Lennox Lewis and George Foreman expressed satisfaction. Read more
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explains Anthony Martial absence for Man Utd’s clash with Southampton (Metro)
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Anthony Martial became ill overnight, ruling him out of Sunday’s clash with Southampton despite travelling with the squad. The Frenchman – who is yet to net in the Premier League this season – was a surprise omission from United’s team, with Mason Greenwood brought into the starting XI to replace him. But Solskjaer has allayed fears that Martial has picked up an injury and says he has stayed at the team hotel after catching an illness, which is not believed to be coronavirus. ‘Anthony fell ill overnight,’ the United boss told MUTV. ‘So he’s in the hotel by himself, poor lad.’ Read more
YouTube celeb Jake Paul knocks out ex-NBA player Robinson in boxing exhibition (USAToday)
YouTube celebrity Jake Paul demolished retired NBA player Nate Robinson with a second-round knockout Saturday night at Staples Center.
Robinson, the three-time NBA Slam Dunk champion, fell face first on the canvas and lay motionless for about a minute after Paul connected with an overhand right with 1:35 left in the second round.
Robinson, in his first boxing match ever, came out aggressively. Leading with his left hand, Robinson rushed Paul in what was billed as the co-feature bout of the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. fight. Read more
Declan Rice admits he was surprised by Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford in England training (Metro)
West Ham midfielder Declan Rice admits he was amazed by the ability of Marcus Rashford when he first trained with the Manchester United forward with England. The 21-year-old is now a regular in Gareth Southgate’s squad after making his senior debut for the Three Lions last year. And Rice admits he was blown away by the level of the players when he joins up with England during the international breaks. But the West Ham midfielder believes Rashford and Harry Kane have been the two standout players who have impressed him the most. Read more