Man allegedly abducts, rapes neighbour’s teenage girl (Nation)
Operatives of the Lagos Police Command have arrested a 26-year-old man Benjamin Omade for alleged abduction and defilement of a teenage girl.
The victim (names withheld) was said to be the daughter of his next door neighbour at Bariga.
It was gathered that Omade allegedly eloped with the underage girl since May 17 with no one knowing their whereabouts.
He was said to have taken her to 61, Odunsi Street, Bariga where the police tracked him to and arrested him on Sunday evening. Read more
3-storey building collapses in Lagos, says LASEMA (Guardian)
Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), on Monday confirmed the partial collapse of a three-storey building situated at No.6 Olonode Str., Ebute Metta in Lagos.
Oke-Osanyintolu told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that after evacuating all the residents, a preliminary report on the collapsed building showed that it had been “severely distressed with the reinforcement’’.
He said that the building having corroded had visible cracks on the walls and pillars due to lack of maintenance. Read more
Suspected Aiye kingpin, ‘Obasanjo’, two others killed in Lagos (Vanguard)
The suspected leader of the Aiye confraternity, Waidi, popularly known as ‘Obasanjo’ was weekend, shot dead by members of a rival cult group, in the Oworoshoki area of Lagos.
Two other persons, one of them a nursing mother was also shot dead.
The deceased was reportedly driving home at about 8.30 pm, Sunday, when members of a rival cult group who were trailing him, fired a shot at his car.
He was said to have alighted to inspect the level of damage on his car, on reaching the boundary between Oworoshoki and Ifako, only to sight the armed rival members approaching. Read more
50 trafficked ladies arrive in Nigeria from Lebanon (Punch)
The Federal Government has said 69 stranded persons including 50 trafficked Nigerian ladies arrived in the country from Lebanon on Sunday.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, disclosed this via his Twitter handle while appreciating the Lebanese Government and the Lebanese community in Nigeria for their support in the evacuation process.
“With the financial and logistic support of the Lebanese Government and Lebanese community in Nigeria, 50 trafficked Nigerian girls and 19 stranded Nigerians were successfully evacuated from Lebanon and arrived in Nigeria today (Sunday). Read more
Benue communities resume hostility, burn houses (DailyTrust)
Two communities in Ikpayongo of Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State, on Monday, resumed fighting and burning of houses in their rural environment. Our correspondent reports that the renewed hostility among the Mbaivar and Mbasombo villagers was coming exactly one week after Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State announced the suspension of five traditional rulers from the Tiv area of the state for their alleged complicity in land-related disputes in their domains. The governor had, three weeks earlier, suspended three other traditional heads in two local government areas of the state, including the areas currently in dispute. Read more
Anambra cuts 2020 budget by 16% (DailyTrust)
Anambra State Government has cut its 2020 budget from N137.1 billion to N112.8 billion, representing a 16 percent reduction. The State’s Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners, Mr Mark Okoye, made this announcement on Monday. According to the commissioner, the revised total revenue would represent a drop of 29 percent from the projected N158.6 billion to N112.8 billion, outlining factors that necessitated the review to include a fall in crude oil prices and low internal revenue. Read more
Police arrest EX-IBC DG who stabbed wife to death in Imo (Vanguard)
The Imo state police command yesterday said that it has arrested, the Ex-Director General, DG, of the Imo State Broadcasting Corporation, IBC, Theophilus Okere, 82-year-old, who stabbed the wife to death, at Ngor Okpala local government area in Imo state, on Saturday.
The Police State Public Relations Officer, Orlando Ikeokwu, who confirmed this in Owerri, also said that investigation has commenced as the man is now in police custody.
At the moment, no reason has been given even from the police that led to the stabbing to death incident. Just as many people have said it could be a result of “marital misunderstanding”. Read more
Indigenous carriers to undergo recertification (Nation)
Airlines operating scheduled commercial flights are to undergo recertification by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), it was learnt at the weekend.
According to experts, carriers are expected to comply with new operational guidelines and protocols rolled out by the NCAA during the COVID-19 pandemic, the major plank of which will focus on the state of airworthiness of aircraft and health protocol of airlines’ crew.
It was gathered that airlines would have to scale fresh hurdles for their aircraft, which must meet post COVID-19 guidelines in terms of maintenance validity and the recurrence of its operating crew concerning licensing currency and type rating. Read more
Burundi expected to announce Ndayishimiye next president (Guardian)
Burundi’s election commission is expected Monday to declare Evariste Ndayishimiye the country’s next president, with all signs showing the ruling party’s candidate on track for victory following last week’s poll.
The National Independent Electoral Commission will unveil the outcome of the presidential and legislative races at 1200 GMT.
Local government results are also expected Monday. Read more
Social-distancing cafe uses robots to make and serve the coffee (Metro)
The new robot barista at the cafe in Daejeon, South Korea, is courteous and swift as it seamlessly makes its way towards customers.
‘Here is your Rooibos almonds tea latte, please enjoy. It’s even better if you stir it,’ it says, as a customer reaches for her drink on a tray installed within the large, gleaming white capsule-shaped computer.
After managing to contain an outbreak of the new coronavirus which infected more than 11,000 people and killed 267, South Korea is slowly transitioning from intensive social distancing rules towards what the government calls ‘distancing in daily life’. Read more
Elon Musk and Grimes change baby name to comply with California law (RT)
Never far from the headlines, Elon Musk and his partner, Grimes, have acquiesced to California law and renamed their newborn baby boy – though they budged by only the slightest of margins.
Musk-ovites have been enthralled by the child’s name, X Æ A-12 (pronounced ‘Ex Ash A Twelve’), since he was born on May 4. It wasn’t until Musk’s recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that the internet was put out of its collective misery about the actual pronunciation and meaning of the name.
However, it quickly emerged that the pair would be forced to change the baby’s name to comply with California law.
‘X Æ A-12’ shall henceforth be known as… ‘X Æ A-Xii.’ Read more
Ilhan Omar says she believes Tara Reade’s sex assault claims against Biden (NYPost)
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar said she believes the sexual assault claims leveled at former Vice President Joe Biden by former Senate staffer Tara Reade.
“I do believe Reade,” Omar told the Sunday Times of London newspaper. “Justice can be delayed, but should never be denied.”
The report added that Omar said if it were up to her, Biden wouldn’t be the presidential candidate. Read more
Coronavirus: Americans flock to beaches on Memorial Day weekend (BBC)
Americans have flocked to beaches and lakes for Memorial Day weekend, often flouting restrictions imposed to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
In Florida, state police dispersed an unauthorised gathering of hundreds of people in Daytona Beach on Saturday.
In Missouri, bars at the Lake of the Ozarks were packed with revellers, who violated social-distancing rules.
US coronavirus task force chief Dr Deborah Birx said she was “very concerned” after seeing such scenes. Read more
Volkswagen loses landmark German ‘dieselgate’ case (BBC)
Germany’s highest civil court has ruled that Volkswagen must pay compensation to a motorist who had bought one of its diesel minivans fitted with emissions-cheating software.
The ruling sets a benchmark for about 60,000 other cases in Germany.
The plaintiff, Herbert Gilbert, will be partially reimbursed for his vehicle, with depreciation taken into account
VW said it would now offer affected motorists a one-off payment. The amount will depend on individual cases. Read more
Odion Ighalo set to leave Manchester United this week (ManchesterEveningNews)
Odion Ighalo looks set to leave Manchester United at the end of his loan spell this week, with parent club Shanghai Shenhua keen to have the striker back ahead of the start of the Chinese Super League season.
Ighalo has been a hit at Old Trafford since signing a loan deal on the final day of the January transfer window, scoring four times for his boyhood club.
But his loan spell looks set to end after eight appearances, with his initial deal only penned until May 31. United’s season will now extend well beyond that as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that has caused a suspension to the campaign, with United not playing since their 5-0 demolition of LASK Linz on March 12. Read more
Birmingham City: Jacques Maghoma and Jonathan Grounds to leave club (BBC)
Winger Jacques Maghoma and left-back Jonathan Grounds will leave Birmingham City when their contracts expire at the end of June.
The two 32-year-olds’ deals will not be renewed by the Championship club.
Also exiting Blues will be goalkeeper David Stockdale, 34, and left-back Cheick Keita, 24.
Blues have also confirmed they will not be extending the stay of winger Jefferson Montero, 30, who had been on loan from Swansea. Read more
Premier League plan to kick off Project Restart with Tottenham vs Manchester United (Metro)
The Premier League intend to kick off the restart of club action with Manchester United’s away clash against Tottenham. However the original restart date of June 12 is set to be scrapped after clubs insisted players needed three weeks of full contact training before playing games. Football has been on hold since the start of March due to the outbreak of coronavirus and the lockdown in the UK. ESPN claim meetings will take place this week to determine the restart date, which is likely to be Friday night. League chiefs are now targeting June 19 or June 29, as clubs are concerned about the risk of injury to their players if games resume too soon. Arsenal star Dani Ceballos had already let slip the restart date had been pushed back when he said the Gunners were expecting to return to action on June 20. Read more
Ex-Premier League striker Pavel Pogrebnyak hospitalized with coronavirus (RT)
Former English Premier League and Russian international striker Pavel Pogrebnyak has been hospitalized with bilateral pneumonia after falling ill with coronavirus over the weekend, his wife has confirmed.
The 36-year-old, who currently plays for Russian Premier League club FC Ural Yekaterinburg and previously had spells in England with Fulham and Reading, fell ill with the virus on Friday.
“My husband is still in hospital. He has a high temperature and a cough which quickly grew into bilateral pneumonia,” his wife, the style guru and reality TV star Maria, said on Instagram. Read more
Tennis star charged with assaulting ex-wife (BBC)
Georgian tennis player Nikoloz Basilashvili has been charged with assaulting his former wife.
Basilashvili, 28, is accused by Neka Dorokashvili of attacking her in front of their five-year-old son.
Basilashvili, ranked 27th in the world, denies all the allegations, saying that the truth will be proven in court.
On Sunday, he was released on a 100,000 Georgian lari ($31,300; £25,700) bail by the court in the capital Tbilisi. If guilty, he faces three years in jail. Read more
Premier League to vote on return of contact training (Guardian)
Premier League clubs will vote on proposals for a return to contact training on Wednesday as the English top-flight seeks to take another step closer to resuming the season next month.
New UK government guidelines issued on Sunday allow for the return of “close contact” training, including tackling, to help players step up their match fitness ahead of a return to competitive action.
“This type of training would start with smaller ‘clusters’ of 2-3 athletes and eventually progress to larger groups of 4-12 athletes, and ultimately full team training,” added the government advice. Read more