LASU student bags 21 years’ imprisonment for raping fellow students (Nation)
An Ikeja Special Offences Court on Tuesday sentenced a student of Lagos State University (LASU), Afeez Ogunbowale, to 21 years imprisonment for involvement in armed robbery and rape of two fellow LASU students.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo sentenced Ogunbowale after finding him guilty of five counts bordering on conspiracy, rape and armed robbery.
Taiwo said that the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
She held that the testimony of the victims were compelling, adding that they were able to positively identify Ogunbowale as one of the culprits. Read more
Iyabo Ojo bags 2 award nominations amid TAMPAN fallout (Punch)
Nollywood actress, Iyabo Ojo, has bagged two nominations for the Yoruba Music and Films Awards amid her fallout with Theatre Arts & Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria.
The actress on Tuesday shared her nomination e-flier on Instagram with the caption, “2 categories! Whoever wins, we’re all winners.”
Her nominations were in the ‘Best Actress 2020/2021’ and ‘World Most Relentless Influential Act 2020/2021’ categories.
Other nominees for the Best Actress category are Toyin Abraham, Wunmi Toriola, Jumoke Odetola, Eniola Ajao, Mide Martins, and Bukunmi Oluwashina. Read more
Woman drags 5 friends to court for calling her witch (Vanguard)
A housewife Maryam Musa on Tuesday dragged five of her friends before a Shari’a court sitting in Rigasa, Kaduna for allegedly calling her a witch.
They are Saratu Ayuba,Bilkisu Musa, Jummai Abdullahi, Firdausi Ayuba and Adama Musa.
The prosecution counsel, Insp Sambo Maigari, said Musa, reported the matter at the Rigasa police division on June 25.
July 26 for resumption of trial
He added that the five friends are charged with criminal conspiracy and defamation of character which contravened the provisions of sections 117 and 232 of the Shari’a Criminal Procedure Code (SCPC).
The defendants pleaded not guilty. Read more
Employment Scam: Beware of fraudsters, NDLEA warns Nigerians (Leadership)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has urged Nigerians to beware of fraudsters, who have been scamming applicants and promising them jobs.
The spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said the NDLEA is presently investigating at least three telephone/bank account numbers linked to members of the job scam syndicate, as intelligence gathered by the agency showed that some criminal elements at the receiving end of the ongoing offensive action by the NDLEA are in the process of using the activities of the job scam syndicate as an instrument of blackmail against the agency and/or its officials using pliable online platforms.
He said the agency was alerting the public on the activities of some scammers taking advantage of the recent employment screening exercise to demand payments from shortlisted candidates for narcotic officers and narcotic assistants before they could be employed.
According to him, “For the umpteenth time, we will like to reiterate that the agency is not recruiting into any cadre of its workforce. We have just recently concluded the screening exercise for those whose employment process started in 2019. Read more
Malami: How we arrested Nnamdi Kanu (DailyTrust)
Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of Federation (AGF), has said Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested through collaborative efforts.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Malami, who did not go into details of the operation that led to the arrest of the fugitive IPOB leader, said Nigerian intelligence and security services worked together.
“Self-aclaimed leader of the proscribed secessionist Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has been arrested through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and security services.”
“He has been brought back to Nigeria in order to continue facing trial after disappearing while on bail regarding 11 count charge against him.
“Recent steps taken by the Federal Government saw to the interception of the fugitive Kanu on Sunday the 27th day of June, 2021.
“Nwannekaenyi Nnamdi Ngozichukwu Okwu-Kanu, born 25th day of September, 1967 at Afaraukwu, Abia State is a holder of Nigerian Passport No. A05136827 first issued 17th October 2013 at FESTAC, Lagos.
“It is recalled that Kanu was arrested on 14th October, 2015 on 11 count charge bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, managing an unlawful society, publication of defamatory matter, illegal possession of firearms and improper importation of goods, among others. Read more
Don’t manhandle our son, Kanu’s family tells FG (Vanguard)
The family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has asked the Federal Government not to manhandle their son and the Leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, who is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS.
His younger brother, Emmanuel Kanu, who spoke in Umuahia, said Nnamdi stood on the part of the truth and committed no crime to deserve any persecution.
According to him, Nnamdi was only asking for the freedom of Biafrans which is their fundamental human rights. Hence, his right should be respected.
He said the whole world is watching on how the Federal Government would handle him. Read more
Nnamdi Kanu: Stop pampering bandits, terrorists, HURIWA tells FG (Punch)
Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, on Tuesday, urged the Federal Government to stop “pampering” bandits and terrorists in the country.
The group was reacting to the reported re-arrest and re-arraignment of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the group’s Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, made this known in a statement titled, ‘If You Can Successfully Arrest Nnamdi Kanu, Then Arrest The Terrorists Killing Nigerians In North East And North West – HURIWA’.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, announced the arrest of the IPOB leader on Tuesday afternoon. Read more
2021 UTME: We did not set questions outside syllabus,says JAMB (Vanguard)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has said contrary to claims in some quarters that the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) questions were set outside the recommended syllabus, nothing as such happened.
The board, in a statement by its Head of Media and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin, Tuesday, insisted that “all Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME)questions are based on texts prescribed for the UTME in its syllabus.”
It said its clarification was in response to what it described as “half-truth being peddled by some disgruntled candidates, who were ill-prepared for the examination and who, true to all expectations, performed below the expectations of their guardians, that the Board had based its questions on the wrong syllabus.” Read more
Air Peace acquisition of new planes creates 20,000 aviation jobs – Onyema (Leadership)
Air Peace Airline said its acquisition of brand new planes would create 20, 000 jobs for Nigerians working in the aviation sector.
Speaking at the delivery ceremony for its third E195-E2 aircraft in Lagos, the chairman, Air Peace, Allen Onyema, explained that the acquisition of the 30 new planes, when fully operational, would create 17, 000 jobs for technical personnel in the country, in addition to the over 3,000 direct and indirect employment.
Onyema further commended the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, for engendering tremendous changes in the sector, while adding that the industry has experienced exponential transformation since he assumed office.
Onyema said, “By next year, we hope to receive all the 13 planes we made firm orders for and by the end of 2023, we intend to activate payment for another 10 of the aircraft brand, which will bring the total to 23. We have new routes that we want to deploy the aircraft to. We have new routes that we have just opened, and more routes will still be explored in the coming months,” he revealed. Read more
Sharon Stone poses pantsless in “Basic Instinct” T-shirt (PageSix)
Sharon Stone wearing a “Basic Instinct” T-shirt.
Sharon Stone modeled her “Basic Instinct” T-shirt sans pants.Instagram
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
Sharon Stone celebrated the scandalous “Basic Instinct” scene that made her a sex symbol, posing on Instagram Monday in a T-shirt printed with her infamous leg-crossing moment.
“Been there, done that; got the T-Shirt,” Stone, 63, captioned her cheeky pantsless photo.
“FABULOUS,” Lisa Rinna commented. “You’re so iconic,” added Demi Lovato.
Vera Wang and Andie MacDowell also dropped approving comments, while Debra Messing wrote, “I want your thighs. And 100 other things.”
Despite her post, Stone has a complicated history with the 1992 movie; for years, she’s said she was exploited during the film’s production, writing in her memoir that she was told the crotch shot wouldn’t be quite so revealing. Read more
Sea Breeze: Ukraine, US Black Sea drills raise tensions with Russia (DW)
A military incident off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula caused quite a stir last week. The British warship HMS Defender was en route from the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa to Georgia when it encountered Russian forces, who issued warning shots.
The incident sparked tensions between Moscow and London and came just days ahead of multinational naval maneuvers led by Ukraine and the United States in the Black Sea, known as Sea Breeze.
Largest maneuvers in decades
A total of 32 ships, 40 aircraft and helicopters and 5,000 soldiers from 24 countries are taking part in the exercises, which last through July 10. Participating countries include the US, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, Japan, South Korea and Australia. Germany, which has been involved in the past, is not taking part this year. It’s the largest maneuvers in decades, after last year’s drills were shortened due to the pandemic. Read more
Sudden death of bitcoin billionaire Mircea Popescu leaves behind controversial crypto legacy (RT)
One of the world’s biggest individual bitcoin holders, Mircea Popescu, has reportedly died in Costa Rica at the age of 41, leading to uncertainty over the $1 billion in cryptocurrency he leaves behind.
The billionaire drowned at Playa Hermosa de Garabito, Puntarenas, in Costa Rica, according to a Spanish-language publication, Teletica.com, which described the deceased as a “41-year-old foreigner.”
Popescu, a Romanian entrepreneur and blogger, launched bitcoin securities exchange MPEx in 2012, and was something of an evangelist for cryptocurrency.
His fortune would have been worth nearly $2 billion during bitcoin’s mid-April peak this year, but has since likely decreased dramatically. He reportedly had control of more than a million coins. Read more
China pressure ‘undermining Australian universities’, report says (BBC)
Chinese pro-democracy students in Australia fear punishment for their family back home if they speak out on sensitive issues, a new report says.
Human Rights Watch found such students feel surveilled in Australia, leading many to self-censor in classrooms.
Academics teaching China courses in the country say they have also felt pressure to censor themselves.
The rights group said the perceived pressure was undermining the academic freedom of Australian universities. Read more
Russia: Police raid investigative journalists’ homes (DW)
The reporters targeted work for Proekt, one of Russia’s last remaining independent investigative outlets. The searches came ahead of a publication detailing the alleged wealth of the country’s interior minister.
Russian police on Tuesday searched the apartments of three investigative journalists working for independent investigative outlet Proekt and their relatives.
Proekt is one of the last independent media outlets focusing on in-depth investigations. The homes raided belonged to Editor-in-Chief Roman Badanin and journalist Maria Zholobova. Authorities detained Deputy Editor Mikhail Rubin before taking him to his parents’ apartment where they executed a raid.
The raids came just before Proekt planned to publish an investigation into the alleged wealth of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and his son and other relatives. The story dropped soon after the raids began. Read more
MIT and Harvard engineers design mask that detects Covid-19 within 90 minutes (RT)
A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University have designed a prototype of a mask that can detect coronavirus particles in the wearer’s breath.
The technology is modeled on paper-based diagnostics for the Ebola and Zika viruses developed by MIT engineering professor James Collins in the mid-2010s, MIT News reported.
Collins later designed a sensor system called SHERLOCK, which is used to detect nucleic acids. A team of scientists was already working on wearable sensors, such as masks, when the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, prompting them to refocus their efforts towards Covid-19. The description of the prototype of a virus-detecting mask was published in the Nature Biotechnology journal on Monday.
According to the researchers, tiny freeze-dried SHERLOCK sensors were embedded inside a paper mask, so they could spot viral particles in the wearer’s breath. Read more
Elvis Costello defends Olivia Rodrigo over Brutal plagiarism claim (BBC)
Elvis Costello has defended pop star Olivia Rodrigo after she was accused of lifting one of his guitar riffs.
Brutal, a track on Rodrigo’s number one album, is based around a punky chord sequence that also featured in Costello’s 1978 hit Pump It Up.
But when a Twitter user said Rodrigo’s song was “pretty much a direct lift”, Costello replied: “This is fine by me.
“It’s how rock & roll works,” he wrote. “You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy.”
He added: “That’s what I did.”
The veteran singer-songwriter also included hashtags referencing Bob Dylan’s 1965 classic Subterranean Homesick Blues, which inspired Pump It Up; and Chuck Berry’s 1956 single Too Much Monkey Business, which influenced the Dylan song. Read more
Mexico vs. Nigeria: Super Eagles get US visas (Nation)
The home-based Super Eagles have been granted visas by the US embassy for their high-profile friendly match against Mexico this weekend.
23 players from Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) will part in the match at the Los Angeles Coliseum due to the unavailability of Gernot Rohr’s regular side, who are preparing for their respective clubs’ pre-season.
The team is expected to depart for the US from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja tomorrow.
Three–time African champions Nigeria will clash with the CONCACAF Gold Cup holders on 3rd July in what is part of the Mexican’s MexTour Series. Read more
Euro 2020: Southgate to use three-man defence against Germany (Punch)
England are ready to rip up their Euro 2020 winning formula on Tuesday night by deploying a three-man defence against Germany.
Gareth Southgate has used a back four in all three of England’s group matches but Sportsmail understands he is giving serious thought to switching formations.
Southgate is looking at using a 3-4-3 system at Wembley, a formation he used en route to finishing in fourth place at the last World Cup.
The fact that Germany also play with a back three is likely to have been a contributing factor behind Southgate altering his tactics. Read more
Frank de Boer: Netherlands boss leaves job after Euros exit (BBC)
Frank de Boer has left his job as manager of the Netherlands after a shock European Championship last-16 defeat by the Czech Republic.
De Boer, 51, was appointed last September to replace Ronald Koeman, who had led the side into the finals before taking charge at Barcelona.
The Dutch topped Group C by winning all three games, but their 10 men were beaten 2-0 by the Czechs on Sunday.
A statement said both parties “will separate with immediate effect”.
The Dutch football federation (KNVB) added: “Frank de Boer has announced that he does not want to continue. Read more
French shootout flop Mbappe apologises to nation for Swiss defeat as he’s consoled by Pele on Twitter (RT)
Kylian Mbappe has apologized for missing the penalty which sent tournament favorites France out of Euro 2020 at the hands of Switzerland, but there were words of consolation for the 22-year-old from Brazilian icon Pele.
Mbappe saw his decisive spot kick saved by Swiss stopper Yann Sommer in Bucharest on Monday night, after Switzerland had battled back from 3-1 down to equalize in the last minute of normal time.
After the teams remained locked at 3-3 following extra time, a rollercoaster game would be decided from the 12-yard spot as all nine players scored before PSG forward Mbappe’s effort was saved at full-stretch by Sommer to send the Swiss into the quarter-finals.
The miss from Mbappe capped a miserable tournament in personal terms in which the young star failed to score a single goal despite being tipped beforehand as a potential Golden Boot winner. Read more
MMA fighter Joe Schilling caught on video knocking man out cold in bar (NYPost)
Professional mixed martial arts fighter Joe Schilling has been filmed knocking out a man in a bar.
Bizarrely, Schilling posted footage of the incident to his own social media account, claiming the incident was an act of “self-defense” and he feared for his life.
In the video, Schilling is seen pushing past a man as he attempts walk past him in the busy pub.
He bumps into the man, who appears to take exception to the contact, and the pair exchange words.
Then Schilling suddenly lashes out and punches the man in the head in a one-two combination, knocking him out cold on the floor.
Footage emerged of former GLORY Tournament Champion & Bellator fighter Joe Schilling assaulting a man in a bar dispute. The fighter took it to social media and claims it was self-defense, during a “life-threatening experience”. Read more
Wimbledon 2021: Ashleigh Barty, Venus Williams, Karolina Pliskova win on second day (BBC)
World number one Ashleigh Barty held off a spirited Carla Suarez Navarro to reach the second round at Wimbledon.
Australia’s Barty, returning from a thigh injury, fought back from a rocky second set to win 6-1 6-7 (1-7) 6-1.
Spain’s Suarez Navarro, playing in her second match since recovering from cancer, was given a standing ovation by the Centre Court crowd as she departed.
Five-time champion Venus Williams earlier beat Mihaela Buzarnescu on her 90th Grand Slam appearance.Top seed Barty served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but Suarez Navarro, 32, found extra energy, playing a perfect tie-break to force a decider. Read more