Lagos threatens to deactivate absconded travellers’ passports for one year (Guardian)
Lagos State Government has said that all travellers that have been confirmed as absconders will have their passports deactivated for a minimum of one year if Nigerians and if foreigners, will have their resident permits cancelled and deported as stated by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19.
It said that all the absconders would also face the penalties of the Coronavirus Pandemic Law 2021 of Lagos State, including one-year imprisonment and an N500,000 fine.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, stated this, at the weekend, during a briefing on an update on the COVID-19 vaccine and response.
Abayomi said that since the commencement of the new guidelines and the ban on non-Nigerians travelling from three countries (India, Brazil and Turkey) into Nigeria, Lagos State had recorded 568 in-bound passengers, who have been permitted to enter Nigeria from these three countries. Read more
Violence, manipulations mar APC LG primaries in Lagos (Vanguard)
The All Progressives Congress [APC)’s primaries were truncated in many parts of Lagos on Saturday by hoodlums and party officials allegedly favouring particular candidates ahead of the July 24 local government elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that hundreds of aggrieved APC members on Saturday kept vigil at the party’s state secretariat in Lagos to ventilate their anger about alleged lack of fairness in the exercise.
NAN reports that armed security operatives had mounted heavy presence at the secretariat and barricaded access roads leading into the premises of the party secretariat.
In Badagry for instance, voting did not take place in all the 10 wards as there were disruptions and harassment over wrong voters register. Read more
Millions lost in Ladipo spare parts market inferno (Guardian)
It was a pitiable sight yesterday at the Alapeju section of the multi-billion naira Ladipo International Spare Parts Market, Mushin, in Lagos, as residents and traders struggled to rescue their goods following an inferno that engulfed a section of the market and nearby residential building at dawn.
For the timely intervention of men of the Lagos State Fire Service, who were able to put out the inferno on time, it would have spread to other buildings and other sections of the market.
Apart from the fire service, other responders at the scene included the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Federal Fire Service.
Although the actual cause of the fire is still unknown, President-General, Ladipo Central Executive Auto Dealers Association (LCEADA), Jude Nwankwo, told The Guardian that the fire started from a shop ostensibly as a result of electrical problems and escalated to the residential building housing shops. Read more
119 passengers from high-risk countries refuse isolation – Lagos (Punch)
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has raised the alarm that 119 passengers from high-risk countries have refused to be isolated after coming back into the country.
Abayomi, in a statement on Sunday appealed to the families of those who refused to be isolated to return them for testing.
He said, “Since the commencement of the new guidelines and the ban on non-Nigerians travelling from three countries (India, Brazil and Turkey) into Nigeria, Lagos State has recorded 568 in-bound passengers, who have been permitted to enter Nigeria from these three countries. We have isolated 433 passengers in our various accredited hotels and facilities; 262 are in isolation and 154 passengers have been discharged with a negative COVID-19 test. Nine have tested positive to COVID-19 and successfully isolated to prevent community transmission. Of the remaining 135 passengers, 119 have refused isolation and 16 are unaccounted for. Read more
Police arrest suspected killers of Gulak, kill 3 in gun battle (Vanguard)
Police Commissioner in Imo, Abutu Yaro, says operatives of the command have arrested suspected killers of Mr Ahmed Gulak, former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, in the state on Sunday.
The CP confirmed this in a press statement issued to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday and signed on his behalf by the command’s spokesman, SP Bala Alkana.
He said the command acted on credible information before rounding up the assailants in Afor Enyiogugu Mbaise.
“Following a distress call received by the command on the gruesome murder of Ahmed Gulak, Police Special Forces made up of Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Tactical Units from the command were deployed to the scene. Read more
FG to privatise 12 highways tomorrow (Guardian)
The Federal Government is to officially open a bid for value-added concession under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) on 12 highways tomorrow.
The affected roads for privatisation consist of Benin-Asaba; Abuja-Lokoja; Kaduna-Kano; Onitsha-Owerri-Aba; Saagamu-Benin and Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga.
The rest are Lokoja-Benin; Enugu-Port Harcourt; Ilorin-Jebba; Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta; Lagos-Badagry and Kano-Shuari-Portiskum-Damaturu.
A statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Boade Akinola, indicated that the exercise would be witnessed by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and relevant partners and stakeholders. Read more
Man, 60, entices nine-year-old girl with N50, defiles victim (Punch)
The parents of a nine-year-old girl in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State allegedly caught a 60-year-old man, Jeremiah Oyedokun, in the act of defiling their daughter.
Oyedokun of Ileloja Compound, Kaiama, was on Friday around 5.30pm, caught having carnal knowledge of the minor, who he allegedly enticed with N50.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, which confirmed the incident, said its operatives arrested the suspect.
The Public Relations Officer, NSCDC, Kwara State Command, Babawale Afolabi, said in a statement, “Despite the campaign against rape and enlightenment by the corps, another case was reported to our divisional headquarters in Kaiama on Friday, May 28, 2021. Read more
NGO says hate speech, corruption fuel insecurity (DailyTrust)
The Centre for Information Technology And Development (CITAD), has said hate speech and corruption are fuelling the insecurity in Nigeria.
The Executive Director, Yunusa Zakari Ya’u, stated this during the presentation of two books published by CITAD entitled, ‘The Compromised State: How Corruption Sustains Insecurity in Nigeria’ and ‘Context and Content In Hate Speech: Discourse In Nigeria’.
Yau explained that the books were meant to highlight the challenges of insecurity, corruption and the negative effect of hate speech in the nation, adding that the three issues were the major constraints facing the country. He noted that they seem to defy government’s efforts for workable solutions to the menace. Read more
APC appoints Yahaya Bello, Sule, others to reconcile aggrieved FCT members (Vanguard)
As part of its troubleshooting measures ahead of the Area Council primaries in the Federal Capital Territory FCT, the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC has appointed Kogi state governor Yahaya Bello as chairman of a seven-man committee to reconcile all the aggrieved parties and individuals.
In the letter of appointment issued Sunday in Abuja by the National Secretary, CECPC, Sen. John J. Akpan Udoedehe, the party also named the Nasarawa state governor Engr. Abdullahi Sule as member, while Hon. Olaide Akinremi will serve as secretary.
Other members of the committee include; Sen. Ahmed Yusuf Yusuf, Dr. James Lalu, Hon. Cletus Dick and Hon. Uche Ogah.
The Governor Yahaya Bello-led committee is expected to reconcile aggrieved members of the party in the FCT in line with the provisions of APC constitution and template for the reconciliation/mobilization committee. Read more
Highly transmissible Vietnam variant is a mix of Indian and UK strains (Independent)
Vietnam’s health ministry announced yesterday it had detected a highly transmissible new variant of the coronavirus that has helped fuel a recent wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.
Genetic sequencing indicated the new variant was a mix of the coronavirus strains first detected in the UK and India, said health minister Nguyen Thanh Long.
He said the new variant was particularly contagious via air, and viral cultures have revealed it replicates extremely quickly.
“The new variant is very dangerous,” Mr Long said in a statement.
Scientists said further study was needed to determine the effect of a variant in “real-world settings”. Read more
“A Quiet Place II” opens in US cinemas to record-breaking box office numbers (Metro)
Great news for the recovering cinema business this weekend as A Quiet Place Part II netted $19.3million (£13.6m) at the US box office on Friday alone, the highest recorded numbers since the Covid-19 pandemic began last March.
With cinemas now starting to re-open worldwide, news of the horror film’s success at the box office on its opening day gives a boost to hopes for a healthy recovery for cinemas across the globe.
The sequel to John Krasinski’s hit 2018 movie, which stars his wife Emily Blunt, opened in the US on Friday and was screened at 3,752 theatres.
With its near $20m (£14m) haul after only one day in cinemas, A Quiet Place Part II is set to comfortably pass expectations as it had been predicted to pull in a maximum of about $30m (£21m). Read more
Plane carrying Christian diet guru, six others crashes in Tennessee lake (NYPost)
A Christian diet guru, her husband and five other people are presumed dead after their small plane crashed into a Tennessee lake on Saturday, authorities said.
The Cessna C501 slammed into Percy Priest Lake outside Nashville at around 11 a.m., officials said, according to News Channel 5 Nashville.
The aircraft belonged to 66-year-old Gwen Shamblin Lara, founder of the controversial Remnant Fellowship Church and author of “The Weigh Down Workshop,” and her husband Joe Lara.
The Brentwood-based couple had registered the plane through their company, JL&GL Productions LP, the report said. Read more
Ed Sheeran: Daughter ‘not my biggest fan’, star says (BBC)
Ed Sheeran has admitted his eight-month-old daughter “just cries” when he sings his new songs to her.
The singer-songwriter and his wife Cherry, who live in Suffolk, confirmed the birth of their first child in September.
He said Lyra was “not my biggest fan”, although she does like the odd song.
“She really likes Shape Of You, the marimba sound is good, but she doesn’t like anything loud or anything belty,” he said. Read more
Paris holds indoor ‘test’ concert amid improved Covid-19 situation (France24)
A so-called “test concert” was held in Paris for French new wave band Indochine on Saturday evening in an experiment to see how much France can return to normal amid an improving coronavirus situation. Although attendees had to wear a mask and give proof of a negative Covid-19 test, they did not have to socially distance.
While the 5,000 people enjoyed the gig at Paris’s Bercy arena, 2,500 other volunteers stayed at home to act as the control group to see if Covid-19 spreads among the concert-goers.
The event started at 5 pm in order to finish ahead of France’s 9 pm curfew to contain the virus’s spread. Read more
Eminem squashes Snoop Dogg beef in new song (Metro)
Eminem is ‘all cool’ with Snoop Dogg now, according to his latest song.
Having squabbled in public over the past year, it seems the two rappers are finally burying the hatchet and returning to a friendly relationship.
Their spat began last summer after Snoop failed to include Eminem in his top 10 list of rappers, claiming on The Breakfast Club that although Eminem might be a great lyricist, a lot of his success should be attributed to the platform Dr Dre gave him at the beginning of his career.
Slim Shady came back at Snoop for ‘doggin’’ him on his track Zeus, rapping: ‘As far as squashing beef I’m used to people knocking me/But just not in my camp/And diplomatic as I’m tryin’ to be/Last thing I need is Snoop doggin’ me/Man, Dogg, you was like a damn god to me/Meh, not really (haha)/I had dog backwards.’ Read more
COVID lockdowns have made young Germans more lonely – report (DW)
A new study has shown that young women have fared worse than other demographics, after drastically cutting down on the time they spent hanging out with friends.
The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to an increase in loneliness among Germany’s young people, according to a study published Sunday in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
A total of 56% of people aged between 16 and 29 years who took part in a survey reported that they have “frequently” felt lonely since the onset of the pandemic.
Since March 2020, Germany has implemented far-reaching restrictions on private and public life in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, which have included curfews and forbidding gatherings, although there have been periods where these have been loosened. Read more
Joshua may vacate his WBO title, says Hearn (Guardian)
Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua won’t be told what to do by the governing bodies in being ordered to fight particular fighters such as Oleksander Usyk, reports boxingnews24.com.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn says Joshua may take the fight with Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), but he also may vacate the WBO belt if it doesn’t make “business sense” for them.
Hearn has a couple of other options that he’s looking at for Joshua’s next fight.
Presumably, those are bigger money fights than what Usyk brings to the table. Usyk isn’t someone who will attract a lot of excitement from the fans, as he’s not done anything at heavyweight to make a name for himself. Read more
Cameroon Friendly: Collins set to join Super Eagles camp Monday (Nation)
Jamilu Collins was among the six defenders picked in the latest Nigeria squad list for their friendly against Cameroon on June 4.
According to German regional newspaper Neue Westfälische, Collins is due to report for Super Eagles duty on Monday, May 31 in Austria, venue of the friendly against the Indomitable Lions.
The 26-year-old stands a good chance of being named in the starting lineup against the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations hosts as he is the only out-and-out left-back selected by manager Gernot Rohr.
Collins’ main rival for a starting shirt Zaidu Sanusi was forced to withdraw from the Super Eagles squad on account of injury. Read more
How Thomas Tuchel transformed Chelsea into Champions League winners (DW)
Chelsea looked down and out in the middle of the 2020/21 season, but the appointment of Thomas Tuchel turned the Premier League club into Champions League winners.
On January 25, Chelsea sacked head coach Frank Lampard. Four months and four days later, they were crowned Champions League winners after beating Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. How did they go from being an unstructured and unbalanced team to beating one of the best coaches in modern football three times on the way to becoming Tuchel’s immediate impact
At times under Lampard, Chelsea looked unable to defend right after losing the ball (known as counter-pressing). This indicated a lack of structure when having the ball. For example, if you lose possession while being too wide the opposition can quickly get away from you because there’s too much distance to recover.
That would have also contributed to problems creating high-quality chances. If you’re too wide or too narrow, it’s harder to progress the ball. Added to this, Lampard couldn’t figure out what roles to give his players, specifically Kai Havertz who was tried as an 8, 9, 10 and a winger. Read more
French Open: Thiem suffers first-round loss to Andujar (Punch)
Fourth seed Dominic Thiem blew a two-set lead and slipped to a “very tough” first-round loss at the French Open against Spanish veteran Pablo Andujar on Sunday.
The 35-year-old Andujar staged a remarkable comeback to defeat the two-time Roland Garros runner-up 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 after almost four-and-a-half hours on Court Philippe Chatrier.
It is Thiem’s first opening-round exit at Roland Garros and the first time he has failed to reach at least the quarter-finals of the tournament since 2015. Read more
French Open returns with usual suspects, coronavirus restrictions and ructions (RFI)
Just over seven months since the end of Roland Garros 2020, voila Roland Garros 2021.
Last year’s tournament was pushed back from its traditional May time slot to late September due to the impact of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
And with the disease still ravaging the world, there will be the 2020 competition protocols such as limited numbers of fans, regular PCR tests for everyone attending the competition and players staying in specially-commissioned hotels.
Last year’s switch to the autumn provoked an intriguing debate about how the heavier conditions might stop Rafael Nadal from unleashing the vicious, high-bouncing top spin that has numbed arms and minds since the first of his 12 titles in 2005. Read more
Pre-Olympics friendly: D’Tigress lose 79-47 to Belgium (Punch)
African champions D’Tigress were outclassed by world No.6 Belgium in their pre-Olympics friendly game, losing 79-47 at the Lange Munte Arena in Kortrijk, Belgium on Sunday, The PUNCH reports.
The defeat was their first in over a year.
D’Tigress had earlier defeated Puerto Rico (89-63) and Serbia (59-56) in their first two games played at the same venue.Belgium’s Antonia Delaere was her team’s most influential player after posting 13 points, four assists and two steals. Read more