Losing A Loved One Is Never Easy – TB Joshua’s Widow (DailyTrust)
Evelyn Joshua, widow of the late founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), has broken her silence on the death of her husband.
Aged 57, TB Joshua died after preaching at the church on Saturday night.
His death has sent a wave of shock across the world as tributes have been pouring in from different corners.
In a tweet on Sunday evening, Evelyn said she was heart-broken.
“Losing a loved one is never easy; whether sudden or foreseen. It is always heart-breaking. Grief can wreak havoc on our overall well-being. Read more
NDLEA intercepts 37.3kg drugs at Lagos airport, arrests 7 (DailyTrust)
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted cocaine, heroin and cannabis weighing 37.3kg and arrested seven suspects.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday in Abuja that the first attempt to bring into Nigeria 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.150kg by Agudozie Peter Ihie on 25 May, 2021, failed as he was arrested during inward security clearance of passengers on Qatar airlines from Kenya, at the E-arrival hall of Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
He said 36 pellets of cocaine were concealed in Ihie’s pants.
“While under observation, he excreted additional 40 pellets. During preliminary interrogation, he confessed to have swallowed the drugs in Nairobi but became pressed during the transit period in Doha and excreted some wraps onboard the aircraft en route Lagos,” Babafemi said. Read more
Igangan: Local self-help prevented more casualties – Council boss (Nation)
More indigenes of Igangan in Ibarapa North local government of Oyo State would have died on Sunday when suspected herdsmen attacked the town, council chairman Mr Lateef Akorede has stated.
He said the timely intervention of men of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) stopped the rampaging herdsmen in the killing spree.
His position tallied with that of Convener, Igangan Development Advocate, Mr Oladokun Oladiran, who said the prompt intervention of locals reduced the casualty figures.
Over 20 indigenes of the town were feared killed during the attack on Sunday morning. Read more
76,855 pupils sit for 2021 entrance exams into Unity Schools (Guardian)
Seventy-six thousand, eight hundred and fifty-five (76,855) pupils, yesterday, sat for the 2021 National Common Entrance Examination for admission into the 110 federal government colleges, also known as Unity Schools.
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Arc Sonny Echono, the Acting Registrar and Chief Executive of National Examination Council (NECO), Mr. Ebikibina John Ogborodi and some top ministry officials accompanied Echono on the monitoring of the exercise by NECO in Abuja.
The exercise was generally said to be hitch-free nationwide, while the minister’s monitoring team was at Federal Science and Technical College, Orozo, Government Secondary School, Karu, and Federal Government Boys College, Apo, Abuja.
Adamu, in his remark, noted that the government has planned to increase the carrying capacity of the Unity Schools to 30,000 to accommodate more pupils, who are desirous of attending the colleges. Read more
Road crash leaves many dead on Zaria-Kano Road (Guardian)
The Kaduna State Government on Sunday said that a road crash which occurred on the Zaria-Kano Road left many dead.
The Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr Samuel Aruwan, made the disclosure in a statement he issued in Kaduna.
Aruwan said, “Security agencies have reported that several persons lost their lives in a ghastly road crash on Kauran Wali axis of the Zaria-Kano Road.
According to him, the fatal crash occurred in the afternoon of Saturday, June 5 and involved a Hummer bus, belonging to Kano Line and a private Toyota Rav4 SUV. Read more
‘Our kids behaving strangely’ (Nation)
Parents of the 37 released students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, have demanded compensation from the Federal Government for the ordeal their children passed through in the den of kidnappers.
Although they did not state how much they needed from the government, they said the compensation would help them treat the abnormal psychological behaviour being exhibited by the children.
The parents under the aegis of Forum of the Afaka Students’ Parents, however, threatened to sue the Ministry of Environment and the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), which supervise the college, if their request is not granted.
Thirty-nine students were abducted when bandits invaded their College close to Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) on the night of March 11, 2021. Read more
Onion traders threaten to cut supply to Southern Nigeria Monday (DailyTrust)
The Onion Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (OPMAN) has said it will cut off supply to entire southern Nigeria beginning from Monday if the government fails to respond to the association’s demands.
Daily Trust gathered that one of OPMAN’s demands is that its members who had suffered losses as a result of ethno-religious crises in the South must be duly compensated.
Others include restoration of law and order in those areas as well as a thorough investigation to uncover the remote causes of those attacks on their members.
OPMAN also called on the host communities to respect the constitutional rights of northern traders in their respective states.
Addressing journalists after the association’s meeting in Sokoto at the weekend, OPMAN’s President, Aliyu Isa, noted that members of the association lost onions and property worth N4.5 billion in various attacks in the south. Read more
Adeboye, YCE seek new constitution, not amendment (Guardian)
The General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) World-wide, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, has implored the Federal Government to stop shying away from the reality and yield to people’s demand for a brand new constitution devoid of controversial clauses as contained in the current one that would bring peaceful co-existence.
He further described the current constitution as faulty, unprogressive, sectional and oppressive.
Adeboye, who spoke yesterday, through the Assistant General Overseer (Admin. & Personnel), Pastor Johnson Odesola, during the end of the month thanksgiving service at the RCCG Headquarters (Throne of Grace) in Ebute-Metta, said the problems of this country had not gone beyond God’s mercy if the leaders were ready to be obedient to God and do what is right. Read more
Bafta TV awards: Michaela Coel’s ‘I May Destroy You’ scores string of wins (TheNational)
British TV series I May Destroy You and its director Michaela Coel won a slew of awards at the annual Bafta TV Awards on Sunday for its depiction of a young black writer piecing her life back together after suffering a sexual assault.
The 12-episode series broadcast last summer on the BBC and HBO tells the story of Arabella, whose sexual assault occurs while she is celebrating at a London bar with friends.
On Sunday it was garlanded with the best mini-series and editing awards, with Coel herself taking best leading actress, director and drama writer.
Coel paid particular tribute to Ita O’Brien, the show’s “intimacy director”.
She said O’Brien was crucial to “making the space safe for creating physical, emotional, and professional boundaries so that we can make work about exploitation, loss of respect, about abuse of power, without being exploited or abused in the process”. Read more
Why Kim Jong-un is waging war on slang, jeans and foreign films (BBC)
North Korea has recently introduced a sweeping new law which seeks to stamp out any kind of foreign influence – harshly punishing anyone caught with foreign films, clothing or even using slang. But why?
Yoon Mi-so says she was 11 when she first saw a man executed for being caught with a South Korean drama.
His entire neighbourhood was ordered to watch.
“If you didn’t, it would be classed as treason,” she told the BBC from her home in Seoul.
The North Korean guards were making sure everyone knew the penalty for smuggling illicit videos was death.
“I have a strong memory of the man who was blindfolded, I can still see his tears flow down. That was traumatic for me. The blindfold was completely drenched in his tears.
“They put him on a stake and bound him, then shot him.” Read more
Egypt freezes Mohamed Ramadan’s assets (The National)
Egyptian authorities on Thursday froze the assets of actor-rapper Mohamed Ramadan as legal proceedings continue in a lawsuit filed by a recently deceased pilot whose heirs are awaiting compensation.
Ramadan, who has shown a knack for stirring controversy, posted a video on Facebook on Thursday detailing a call he received from one of the largest banks in Egypt, which told him that authorities had frozen his assets.
“My money, my homes and the meat on my bones belong to the Egyptian government and people,” he said.
Ramadan was reportedly told that the bank wanted to save him the embarrassment of trying to use a credit card only to find out he has no accessible funds.
‘Free Fire’: Mohamed Ramadan to become first Arab character in popular battle royale game
He boasts that he has as much money stashed in his home as he has in the bank. Read more
Cannes Film Festival announces selections for its 2021 competition (France 24)
The Cannes Film Festival returns this year for its 74th edition, running from July 6 to 17 after the Covid-19 pandemic deprived the world’s leading film festival of its 2020 edition.
A slew of past Palme d’Or winners and arthouse favourites are set to return to Cannes as organisers announced the official selections for the competition on Thursday.
Among the 24 directors whose films are heading to the Cote d’Azur are Sean Penn for his new film “Flag Day”, Italy’s Nanni Moretti with “Tri Piani” and France’s Jacques Audiard with “Les Oympiades”.
They join three big auteurs that had already been announced: Wes Anderson for “The French Dispatch”, Paul Verhoeven for “Benedetta” and Leos Carax for “Annette”. Read more
Taliban seizes six districts in the past week (LongWarJournal)
The Taliban has taken control of seven district centers in four different regions of Afghanistan over the past week as Afghan security forces struggle to maintain control of the security situation.
Six districts in the north, south, southeast and west have fallen under Taliban control, while another district in the south is under effective Taliban control. The disbursed location of the Taliban attacks will force the already strained Afghan military to divide its forces if it wants to retake the districts.
In the north, the Taliban seized control of Du Ab and Mandawal (Mandol) districts in the rugged mountainous province of Nuristan. Afghan officials said in both cases the Afghan military and police units stationed at the district centers retreated from the Taliban advance. Afghan officials had previously admitted in February that Mandawal was under effective Taliban control as government officials were unable to administer the district due to the strong Taliban presence. Read more
Australia expands money laundering probe into casinos (BBC)
Australia is expanding an investigation into casinos over a potential breach of money laundering laws.
Owners of the main casinos in Australia’s five biggest cities are now under formal investigation.
National Australia Bank (NAB) and casino operators Crown Resorts, Star Entertainment Group and SkyCity Entertainment Group have all been included.
The investigations are being conducted by the anti-money laundering regulator.
Crown has already been investigated for potential breaches at its Melbourne casino, but now its Perth casino will also be under scrutiny.
The company has been unable to open a newly built Sydney casino costing A$2.2bn (£1.2bn; $1.7bn) after a landmark inquiry earlier this year said the company was unfit to hold a gaming licence in New South Wales. Read more
Nigerian footballer drowns in Belarus (Nation)
A Nigerian, Kelvin Odenigbo, playing for FC Vitebsk in Belarus, has been found dead after drowning in a lake.
The Belarusian Premier League club confirmed the incident in a statement on its website.
The club said the corpse of the 20-year-old striker was found on Saturday by the lake Beloye, a tourist destination in the Vitebsk region.
“We express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the football player. The football club Vitebsk reports that on June 5, 2021, on the lake Beloye, in the area of the tourist base Verasy, OSVOD employees found the drowned Kelvin Odenigbo,” the statement reads.’ Read more
Second Cameroon match not a must-win for Nigeria – Adepoju (Independent)
Even as they lost the first of the two matches they played against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, the Super Eagles have been reminded that the second leg is not also a must-win for them.
Mutiu Adepoju, the former midfielder with the team, said this while in a chat with our correspondent on what to expect from the team ahead of the second game coming up tomorrow in Austria.
Recall that in the first of the two legs, the Indomitable Lions defeated the Super Eagles 1-0 courtesy of a 37th minute goal from Andre-Frank Anguissa and all efforts for the Nigerian side to level up proved not helpful.
Meanwhile, so many Nigerians have charged the Super Eagles to redeem image when both teams clash tomorrow but while in the chat with our correspondent, the former Real Sociedad of Spain star said it must not be a do or die match. Read more
Pillars, Akwa United battle, Enyimba, Wikki with eyes on NPFL top spot (DailyTrust)
NPFL leaders, Akwa United and Kano Pillars will battle opponents in Sunday’s week 25 matches with their eyes fixed on the top spot of the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, table.
While Akwa United are away against Wikki Tourists at the Tafawa Balewa stadium in Bauchi, Kano Pillars will play host to arch rivals Enyimba of Aba at the Ahmadu Bello stadium Kaduna.
Both Akwa United and Kano Pillars have 45 points from 24 matches but the ‘Promise Keepers’ of Uyo are leading the table on superior goal difference of plus 16 against Pillars 8.
Therefore, only victory over Enyimba FC and defeat or draw for Akwa United in Bauchi will return the ‘Masu gida’ boys of Kano to the top of the table.
Meanwhile, Akwa United who are going up against Wikki Tourists at the right time will fancy their chances of leaving Bauchi with the maximum points. Read more
Mauricio Pochettino convinces Liverpool star Gini Wijnaldum to join Paris Saint-Germain over Barcelona (Metro)
Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum is set to join Paris Saint-Germain after Mauricio Pochettino convinced the Dutchman to reject a move to Barcelona at the last minute.
The former Newcastle man looked set to move to the Camp Nou at the end of the season after failing to agree a new deal to stay with Liverpool.
Ronald Koeman has a close relationship with Wijnaldum having managed the midfielder during his time as Netherlands boss and the Catalans had been confident that the 30-year-old was set to join the club.
However, widespread reports now claim Wijnaldum is now on the cusp of joining Paris Saint-Germain after the Ligue 1 giants hijacked the move at the last minute. Read more
Perez wins as Verstappen, Hamilton KO’d by Baku (France24)
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez won a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday as both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton failed to finish.
Sebastian Vettel for Aston Martin and Pierre Gasly for Alpha Tauri completed the unexpected podium after the streets of Baku lived up to their reputation for delivering an afternoon of drama and tension.
Verstappen crashed with five laps to go and the sixth race of the season at his mercy. Hamilton then locked up at the restart when on target for second.
As the dust began to settle on the banks of the Caspian Sea, Verstappen retained his slender four point lead in the drivers standings.
His team-mate Perez gained his first win since joining Red Bull and the second of his career. Read more
Okagbare finishes second in FBK Games (Punch)
Blessing Okagbare finished second in the 100m women’s final at the FBK Games in Hengelo, Holland on Sunday, The PUNCH reports.
The seven-time Nigeria 100m champion, Okagbare, posted a time of 11.02secs failing to match her previous timing of 10.98secs set at the P-T-S athletics meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia last Wednesday.
World silver medallist Asher-Smith, 26, won the race with a season’s-best time of 10.92secs. Asher-Smith won the race with a season’s-best time of 10.92secs to book her place at the Tokyo Olympics.
Britain’s Daryll Neita, 24, third in a personal best of 11.04secs while Neita’s time is also inside the Olympic qualification mark of 11.15secs.
There was a British one-two-three in the women’s 800m, as Jemma Reekie won in a time of 2:00.77, ahead of Laura Muir (2:00.95) and Ellie Baker (2:01.02).
Jake Wightman, 26, also qualified for Tokyo as the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist pulled clear on the back straight bend to win the men’s 1500m in 3:34.67, ahead of Kenya’s Abel Kipsang (3:35.63). Read more