NDLEA intercepts 35 wraps of cocaine, drugs en route Italy, Turkey (Guardian)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says it has recovered 35 wraps of cocaine from a lady passenger at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
Mr Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said that the suspect, Okafor Ebere Edith was arrested on July 31, during the outward clearance of passengers on Air Cotevoire bound to Monrovia, Liberia.
He said the suspect, who tucked pellet of cocaine in her underwear to beat security checks at the airport, was however picked up for search.
This, he said, included questioning during which the wraps of the illicit drug were found on her. Read more
Apapa gridlock my greatest headache –NPA director (Punch)
The agonising traffic gridlock on the Apapa road leading to the port has constituted a major headache to the Nigeria Ports Authority, its acting Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Bello-Koko, has said.
Bello-Koko told newsmen on Sunday in Lagos that the traffic congestion problem had defied solutions “for more than 10 years now”.
With lots of trucks and other articulated vehicles always queueing to enter or come out of the Apapa port, the route is persistently chaotic with the heavy gridlock spanning several kilometres across Lagos.
“At NPA, we believe that priority needs to be given to our export cargo, but the major challenge for me is how to solve the gridlock in Apapa. Read more
Every marriage has its own challenges – Benita Onyiuke (Vanguard)
Benita Onyiuke Ugochukwu, a married mother of three seems to be enjoying the best of two worlds; a career in Nollywood and marriage. The Anambra State indigene from Enugwu Ukwu however agrees there is no such thing as a perfect marriage even though she wouldn’t trade her marriage for anything in the world.
She said, “: No marriage is perfect. Every marriage has its own challenges but being rooted in God and being with someone who understands and makes you happy is the real deal. What obtains in a marriage is different from person to person. What may be good for someone may be bad for another.
In the case of a cheating spouse, my take is that everyone knows what their deal breaker is. You can’t tell an adult how to live their lives. So if cheating is a deal-breaker for you, good! Do what you know is best for your emotional and mental health.” Read more
Ward Congress: Lagos APC expresses delight over absence of violence (Guardian)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State on Saturday said that it was delighted its ward congress was devoid of violence and ugly incidents across the state.
The APC Lagos State Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo, who commended the peaceful conduct of members in a statement on Saturday said that the exercise would help repositioning the party.
Oladejo said: “We want to congratulate our members for success of the long awaited ward congress of our party.
“We are delighted that it was devoid of any ugly incident.
“The success of the congress will no doubt reposition our party and promote unity of purpose as we look forward to the State Congresses and the National Convention,” it said. Read more
Lagos school secretary arraigned for alleged diversion of N6m school fees (Punch)
The secretary of a private primary school in Ifako, Lagos State, Oluwabusola Oluwatosin, has been brought before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ogba over alleged diversion of N6m belonging to the school.
The money was said to be school fees allegedly received in cash by Oluwatosin – contrary to the standing rule – but not remitted to the school’s bank account.
It was gathered that the secretary was mandated to collect only bank tellers for school fees payment from parents.
The management reportedly discovered the alleged fraud on May 21, 2021 after auditing the school’s financial records. Read more
Pray for peaceful unification of North, South Korea, Patience Jonathan urges women (Punch)
Former Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, on Sunday called on women to deploy their God-given talents and endowments to promote peace in North and South Korea.
Mrs. Jonathan spoke at virtual International Leadership Conference tagged, ‘Toward a Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula,’ organised by the Universal Peace Federation, monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa.
She also counselled world leaders to intensify efforts toward encouraging the leadership of North and South Korea to see the need to embrace peace in the Korean Peninsula.
“I , therefore, call on women organisations to intensify their efforts by deploying our God-given talents on the leadership of North and South Korea to see the need to embrace peace,” Jonathan said. Read more
Falana, Okiro, Owan Eno, others rally Old Seminarians for national unity (Vanguaed)
A former Inspector -General of Police ,Sir Mike Okiro, the renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), and APC chieftain and Governorship candidate in 2019 election in Cross-Rivers State, Senator John Owan -Enoh are expected to play key roles at the official inauguration of Old Seminarians Association of Nigeria, OSAN in Abuja.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Falana is expected to serve as Chairman of the occasion, while the erudite Jurist, Centus Nweze of the Supreme Court is slated as one of those to deliver the keynote speech which will center on the unity of Nigeria and discipline among the citizenry .
A statement issued by the Association, signed by the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Publicity Committee Mr. Vincent Egunyanga and Comrade Johnbosco Agbakwuru, respectively, stated that the body was formed to propagate national integration and cultural cohesion. Read more
Nigeria receives 4m COVID-19 vaccine doses from US (Punch)
Nigeria received four million doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine from the United States on Sunday as the West African nation steps up efforts to battle a third wave of infections.
The doses, which came on two planes, were received by officials from the UN children agency UNICEF on behalf of Nigeria at the airport in the capital Abuja, an AFP video reporter at the scene said.
It was the second batch of vaccines to arrive in Africa’s most populous nation after four million doses were delivered in March under the Covax scheme.
Covax was set up to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines, particularly to low-income countries, and has already delivered more than 80 million doses to 129 territories. Read more
Kanye West plans another Donda listening party after missing release date (Metro)
Kanye West is holding another listening party ahead of the release of his new album Donda.
The rapper, 44, took to the stage at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta last Thursday to promote his new offering.
However, while the musical collection sold out after the bash and was live streamed for fans at the time, Kanye missed his own release date, and is now planning yet another listening party after living in the stadium while adding the finishing touches to the album.
A follow-up celebration is scheduled for August 5, the night before the official release, according to TMZ, with tickets costing between $30 (£22) and $75 (£54). Read more
Sky News Australia barred for week by YouTube over Covid misinformation (BBC)
YouTube has barred Sky News Australia from uploading new content for a week, saying it had breached rules on spreading Covid-19 misinformation.
It issued a “strike” under its three-strike policy, the last of which means permanent removal.
YouTube did not point to specific items but said it opposed material that “could cause real-world harm”.
The TV channel’s digital editor said the decision was a disturbing attack on the ability to think freely. Read more
Gerard Butler sues producers of 2013 film “Olympus Has Fallen” for $10m (NYPost)
Gerard Butler is suing the producers — including parent companies Nu Image and Millennium Films — of his 2013 film “Olympus Has Fallen.”
Butler, 51, filed a lawsuit Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that he is owed at least $10 million in backend compensation from the action film’s profits. According to Variety, the lawsuit alleges that the producers had undervalued domestic and foreign receipts by tens of millions of dollars. The Scottish actor claims in the suit that they also did not report $8 million that went to its own studio executives.
The suit then cited that there was fraud, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith, and fair dealing and intentional interference with contractual relations and accounting with the film.
In “Olympus Has Fallen,” Butler starred as Mike Banning, a Secret Service agent who must save the president when terrorists take over the White House. The film spawned two sequels, “London Has Fallen” and “Angel Has Fallen.” Read more
Matt Damon ‘overwhelmed’ with emotion at “Stillwater” premiere as cinemas reopen (Metro)
Matt Damon has admitted he was ‘overwhelmed’ with emotion at the premiere of his new film Stillwater, as cinemas reopened following lockdowns across the world amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The actor was thrilled to be back in a cinema, sitting down at Cannes Film Festival to watch a preview of the upcoming drama.
He and his co-stars received a standing ovation, with Matt visibly emotional.
Asked what made him cry, he told Variety: ‘The feeling of being in a movie theatre again and how much I missed that, and why we do that’. Read more
Anti-eviction lawmaker camps overnight on US Capitol steps (BBC)
Congresswoman Cori Bush has spent a night on the steps of the US Capitol to protest against the end of a Covid-related moratorium on evictions.
The House Democrat said shortly before the freeze expired at midnight Saturday that seven million people would be “at risk for evictions” over unpaid rent.
The freeze was imposed 11 months ago in part to halt the spread of infections through crowding in shelters.
Ms Bush, who was once homeless, wants the measure to be extended. Read more
Sir Elton John postpones first two weeks of farewell tour shows to 2023 (Metro)
Sir Elton John has postponed the first two weeks of his farewell tour shows until 2023, due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions in Germany.
The Tiny Dancer hitmaker has taken the decision to move some Germany dates of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour that were meant to take place this September to 2023.
The 74-year-old’s tour began in 2018 and was meant to restart this year with gigs in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg.
However, Elton isn’t able to have 100% capacity shows yet in the country due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and wants to wait until he can have a full crowd back. Read more
Belarus Olympian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya refusing to fly home (BBC)
A Belarusian Olympic athlete has been taken to the airport in Tokyo to fly home after publicly complaining about the national team.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was due to compete in the women’s 200m event on Monday.
But she has told Reuters news agency that on Sunday her coaching staff came to her room and told her to pack, before she was taken to the airport.
“I will not return to Belarus,” Ms Tsimanouskaya told Reuters news agency. Read more
French boxer Mourad Aliev stages wild Olympics protest after headbutting disqualification (NYPost)
A French super heavyweight boxer sat on the Olympic ring apron in protest for about an hour after he was disqualified from his quarterfinal bout because of an intentional head butt.
Mourad Aliev reacted with outrage when referee Andy Mustacchio disqualified him with four seconds left in the second round Sunday. The referee determined Aliev had intentionally used his head to clash with British opponent Frazer Clarke, who had significant cuts near both of his eyes.
After the verdict was announced, Aliev sat down on the canvas just outside the ropes and above the steps leading down to the arena floor. He remained there unmoving, and French team officials came up to speak with him and brought him water.
“This was my way of showing that the decision was so unfair,” Aliev said through a translator. “I wanted to fight against all that injustice, and honestly today, also my teammates had unfair results. I trained my whole life for this, and I came into here, and because of one referee’s decision, I lost. It’s over.” Read more
Koeman hails Depay, Griezman connection (Vanguard)
Ronald Koeman was delighted with the connection between Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann during Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Stuttgart on Saturday.
Barca maintained their perfect pre-season record, making it three wins from three at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Depay, who joined the La Liga giants on a free transfer in June after his departure from Lyon, opened the scoring against the Bundesliga outfit in emphatic fashion after 21 minutes. Read more
Olympic Games: Injury ends Adegoke’s podium dream, as Italy’s Jacobs wins 100m final (Guardian)
Enoch Adegoke’s dream of becoming the first Nigerian man to win a 100 metres Olympic medal came to an end on Sunday as he pulled up midway into the final of the blue riband event that was won by Italian sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs.
Fred Kerley of the United States won the silver while Andre de Grasse of Canada took the bronze.
After Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes was disqualified for a false start, the 100m final, the last event of a drama-filled Sunday at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, the race finally got underway with Adegoke, in lane 8, neck-to-neck with De Grasse, in lane 9, before he pulled up at the 60-metre mark.
It was a sad end to a glorious campaign for the Nigerian sprint champion who ran a lifetime best of 9.98s in the heats. He also equalled his former previous personal best of 10.00s during Tokyo 2020. Read more
Tokyo Olympics: Emma McKeon & Caeleb Dressel win more golds (BBC)
Australia’s Emma McKeon became the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single Olympics with two more golds on Sunday.
She outsprinted the field to win the 50m freestyle before helping Australia win the women’s 4x100m medley relay on the final day of the swimming competition in Tokyo.
American Caeleb Dressel, meanwhile, powered to victory in the 50m freestyle and swam an inspired butterfly leg in the men’s medley relay to finish with five gold medals.
Compatriot Robert Finke completed the distance double, mustering a late surge to win the 1,500m freestyle to add to his 800m gold. Read more
Real Madrid’s Odriozola tests positive for COVID-19 (Vanguard)
Alvaro Odriozola has become the latest Real Madrid player to test positive for coronavirus.
The 25-year-old is the third member of the Madrid squad to contract the illness in the past eight days after Karim Benzema and new signing David Alaba also returned positive tests.Odriozola played the full 90 minutes of Los Blancos’ 2-1 friendly defeat to Rangers in Glasgow last week but will now self-isolate. Read more