Landlord sets tenant ablaze over N11k rent (Punch)
A landlord, David Ntiero Okon, has been arrested for allegedly setting his tenant ablaze in Calabar, Cross River State, over her failure to pay N11, 000 house rent.
The incident happened on Wednesday at No 9, Ansa Ewa Street, Cobham Town in the Bayside area of Calabar South.
The landlord allegedly poured fuel on Mrs Mary Samuel’s room and ignited a fire that engulfed the one-room apartment.
An eyewitness and security guard who is a tenant in the house identified only as Obongette stated that Mary, who lived in the house for over seven years, owed the landlord N11, 000 after her fish business dwindled because of frequent attacks by militants in the Calabar Water Channel. Read more
Residents, motorists bemoan lack of drainage, bad roads in Ijagemo (Guardian)
Residents and motorists in Ijagemo community in Ojo Council of Lagos State have lamented the deplorable state of roads in the area and its attendant hardship on the people.
When The Guardian visited the area recently, from Ijegun Bus Stop down to Ijagemo community, the roads were dotted with wide and deep potholes.
The state of the roads has become a serious challenge for motorists, motorcyclists and residents. Anytime it rains, the road is usually flooded, making them difficult for cars, buses and motorcycles to ply. Read more
Music promoter, estate at war over electricity bill (Punch)
Concert promoter and Chief Executive Officer of Upfront and Personal Global Management, Paul Okoye, has been accused by the management of the 1004 Homeowners and Residents Association, Victoria Island, Lagos, of bypassing the electricity meter connected to his home and vandalising the apartment of the acting chairperson of the association, Lara Ademola.
According to a statement by the estate management, Okoye threatened to vandalise as many facilities as possible in the estate. The statement read in part, “Mr Paul Okoye’s apartment had been previously disconnected and flagged for having no vending history since 2017 despite visibly having power, and being occupied. Read more
Save us from DPO’s alleged abetting of criminals, 1004 Estate residents beg FG (Guardian)
The 1004 Homeowners and Residents Association (1004HORA), Lagos, on Friday appealed to President Mohammadu Buhari to deliver them from the hands criminals terrorising the estate and allegedly abetted by the police.
The estate’s Acting Chairperson, Mrs Lola Ademola, told a news conference that the call had become expedient as their efforts to stem criminality in the 41-year-old estate were frustrated and had not yielded the desired result.
According to her, the DPO in charge of the Divisional Police Officer of Bar Beach Police Station, CSP Isa Lawal, allegedly abets the perpetrators of crime who have now turned the estate into a safe haven for criminals, especially electricity thieves and other law breakers. Read more
FG establishes COVID-19 vaccine company (Thisday)
The federal government yesterday said it has established a vaccine company that will help in the procurement and possibly manufacturing of vaccines for the treatment of COVID-19 in the country.
Making the disclosure yesterday while speaking at a media briefing by Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 in Abuja, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said Nigeria is ready to grab the opportunity to collaborate with any country that shows genuine promise of developing reliable vaccine for COVID-19.
He said: “We are in conversation with Russia, and our strategy is to look at countries that have vaccines that proved to be reliable, and then seek ways of collaborating with them, obtain vaccines from them or manufacture them under licence where possible. Read more
2 pastors arrested for raping corps member (Punch)
The Police in Rivers State have arrested two pastors for allegedly raping a 27-year old member of the National Youths Service Corps.
The corps member is observing her primary assignment at the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
The pastors, identified as Austin Emmanuel and Peter Davies, are currently being detained at the State Criminal and Investigation and Intelligence Department, Port Harcourt.
Emmanuel reportedly invited the victim to his house for an indoor birthday party and in the course of the celebration, he was later joined by Davies.Read more
Ijaw elders task Diri on good governance (Guardian)
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has been urged to leave politics behind and face the onerous task of providing good governance to the people who elected him into the office.
The advice was contained in a congratulatory message sent to the governor by the Ijaw Elders Forum (IEF), Lagos State chapter.
The group stated that good governance had remained elusive to the state over the years, saying the administration should give immediate priority to security, youth unemployment, education, power supply, agro-allied industry, coastal zone and gas infrastructure development, among others. Read more
Anxiety as candidates struggle in last minute mobilization of voters, supporters (Vanguard)
After almost three months of campaigns by the 14 political parties that presented candidates for today’s governorship election, voters in Edo State would decide who would be their governor for the next four years.
Though there are 14 political parties and candidates, the contest is fiercely between the incumbent governor and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governor Godwin Obaseki and the All Progressives Congress, APC and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Interestingly, the two men were the major contenders four year ago but then they were in the opposite political parties: Ize-Iyamu was flying the flag of PDP while Obaseki flew the flag of APC. Read more
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies aged 87 (Aljazeera)
United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of women’s rights and the court’s leading liberal voice, has died at the age of 87.
Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreas cancer at her home in Washington, DC, surrounded by her family, the court said in a statement on Friday evening.
“Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in the statement.
“We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her – a tireless and resolute champion of justice.” Read more
Brexit: Amal Clooney quits government envoy role over law break plan (BBC)
Amal Clooney has quit her role as the UK’s envoy on press freedom “in dismay” at the government’s willingness to break international law over Brexit.
The human rights lawyer said it was “lamentable” for Boris Johnson to be contemplating overriding the Brexit agreement he signed last year.
She could not tell others to honour legal obligations when the UK “declares it does not intend to do so itself”.
The PM says he does not want to use the powers in the Internal Market Bill. Read more
“Cordelia”, the ‘sexy period drama’ everyone is horny for, is actually a psychological thriller (Metro)
You should never judge a book by its cover – or, apparently, a movie by its poster. Film fans, or more specifically, dominant woman fans, have been left disappointed after realising what they thought was a sexy historical drama couldn’t be further from it. The upcoming movie Cordelia blew up on Twitter this week, thanks to a steamy poster that seemingly flipped a heterosexual sex scene stereotype on its head. The poster showed Antonia Campbell-Hughes’ character Cordelia pressing Johnny Flynn’s character Frank up against a wall while kissing his neck, with Frank’s eyes closed. Read more
Indian army admits wrongdoing in killing three Kashmiris (Aljazeera)
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir – The Indian army says its soldiers exceeded powers under the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the killing of three local civilians in southern Indian-administered Kashmir earlier this year.
On July 18, Indian armed forces said they killed three unidentified “rebels” in Amshipora village in Shopian.
An Indian army spokesperson on Friday said the victims were now identified as residents of Rajouri district whose families had filed a complaint accusing soldiers of killing them in a staged gun battle. Read more
From lab-grown meat to robot baristas, how Covid is changing the future of our food (Metro)
From seasonal vegetables in vending machines, to robo-barristas and thermo-scanners, Covid-19 is changing the future of our food – and it’s not all bad. Gareth May tucks into the tech fuelling the rise of conscientious grub. Challenging people’s bad dietary habits and consumption choices may be one of the sole good things to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic. While a lean towards bulk-friendly storable items, such as beans and rice, and a surge in vintage cookery skills, like making pasta and pickling, are understandable fads of the Covid Era, there’s also evidence of a real shift in consumer behaviour regarding how a lot of us regard our food. Read more
Coronavirus in South Africa: Relief, pride and the ‘new normal’ (BBC)
It was hardly a “mission accomplished” moment.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa looked appropriately dour, and sounded appropriately cautious, as he appeared on national television this week to warn of the dangers of a second wave of infections and to urge the public against relaxing their guard against the virus.
And yet the president’s key message was a simple, optimistic and impressive truth.
“We have succeeded in overcoming the worst phase of this epidemic,” he declared. Read more
What is the Ig Nobel Prize and who won it this year? (Metro)
Last night, ten more scientific studies received an Ig Nobel Prize, in categories such as Psychology and Acoustics. The winning studies included a knife made from human faeces and a theory about narcissist’s eyebrows. The Ig prize, also known as the Improbable Research prize, honours achievements that ‘make people laugh, and then think’. The lucky winners, including Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, received a paper cube and a £10 trillion dollar bill from Zimbabwe. Advertisement What is the Ig Nobel Prize? The Ig Nobel Prize is a satiric prize awarded annually since 1991. The Prize celebrates 10 weird achievements in scientific research. The winning criteria is: ‘achievements that cannot or should not be reproduced. Read more
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Milwaukee Bucks star wins MVP award for 2019-20 (BBC)
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second successive season.
He becomes only the third player, after Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, to earn the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season.
Antetokounmpo, 25, received 85 of the 101 first-place votes and earned 962 points in the voting.
Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James was second on 753 points.
Houston Rockets star James Harden was in third with 367 points.
“Michael Jordan, one of the best players who’s ever done it, if not the best,” said Antetokounmpo, speaking from Greece. Read more
Johanna Konta splits with coach Thomas Hogstedt (Metro)
Johanna Konta has split with coach Thomas Hogstedt after deciding to end their association after the US Open. Konta teamed up with Hogstedt – who has worked with an impressive list of top-level players including Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep – in July after splitting with Dimitri Zavialoff. But after crashing out in the second round of the US Open, the British No. 1 decided to end the working relationship – which was only initially on a trial basis – after less than two months. Read more
Manchester City: Sergio Aguero could be out for two months, says Pep Guardiola (BBC)
Sergio Aguero has missed 12 games since he injured his knee against Burnley on 22 June
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola fears striker Sergio Aguero could miss the first two months of the Premier League season.
Aguero suffered a knee injury against Burnley on 22 June.
It kept the Argentine out of the final 10 games of City’s domestic campaign as well their two Champions League matches in August.
Guardiola says he is now uncertain whether City’s 32-year-old record goalscorer will be fit until November. Read more
Liverpool: Thiago Alcantara says goodbye to Bayern Munich (BBC)
Thiago Alcantara, who has agreed a deal to sign for Liverpool, says leaving Bayern Munich was the “most difficult decision” of his career.
The Spain midfielder’s arrival has not been officially announced by Liverpool, but Thiago, 29, has said goodbye to Bayern in an open letter.
He is signing for least £20m, plus £5m in add-ons, on a four-year contract.
“I decided to close this chapter in this marvellous club,” Thiago wrote.
“The club where I grew and developed myself as a player during the last seven years.
“Victories, success, joy moments and some hard times as well. Read more
BeIN Sports walks away from renewal talks with Bundesliga (Aljazeera)
The Middle East broadcaster of German top-flight soccer walked away from contract renewal talks hours before the new season kicks off.
Qatar-based BeIN Sports told the Bundesliga Friday it was pulling out of the negotiations on a new five-year deal, blaming piracy as the primary factor.
“Our business plan is clear. We will only bid for rights at levels that make economic sense and have a value proposition,” Richard Verow, chief sports officer at BeIN, said in a statement. “Piracy has crippled the market so we have made the decision not to renew with Bundesliga there.” Read more
Gnabry hits hat-trick as Bayern run riot in historic Bundesliga opener (Guardian)
Serge Gnabry hit a hat-trick as holders Bayern Munich romped to an historic 8-0 rout of Schalke on Friday in the opening game of the 2020/21 Bundesliga season behind closed doors.
The jaw-dropping result is the highest win in an opening game of a new Bundesliga season – five weeks to the day after their 8-2 thrashing of Barcelona in the Champions League.
Germany winger Leroy Sane marked his Bayern debut by creating two goals for Gnabry, then added one of his own in the goalfest at the Allianz Arena. Read more
US Open 2020: Patrick Reed leads by one shot at Winged Foot (BBC)
Patrick Reed holds a one-shot lead heading into the weekend at the US Open after a chaotic second round in windy conditions at a tricky Winged Foot.
Bryson DeChambeau eagled his final hole to set the target at three under par early on and then watched as many of his challengers crumbled in New York.
But fellow American Reed birdied the last as he scrambled to four under par.
Overnight leader Justin Thomas fell back with a three-over 73, while Rory McIlroy is seven adrift after a 76. Read more