Pastors sacked by Winners’ Chapel ‘unfruitful, blatant failure,’ says Oyedepo (Punch)
Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church International aka Winners’ Chapel has said the pastors recently sacked by the church were unfruitful.
One Pastor Peter Godwin had claimed that the church sacked the pastors in Ekiti State for having a church growth index that falls below expectations.
The pastor had said, “I was told by the management that the church doesn’t operate at a loss.
“They also told me that the total income that is being generated from my station should be able to cater for my welfare and accommodation, so as a result of low income, I’m hereby dismissed.” Read more
2 employees arraigned for allegedly stealing employer’s N574k (Guardian)
Two employees, Clement Nbani, 44, and Solomon Ajayi, 33, charged with stealing their employer’s N574,000 were on Thursday in Lagos brought before an Ikeja Magistrates’ court.
The duo, who reside in Agege, Lagos State, pleaded innocent to the charges of conspiracy and stealing levelled against them.
The Prosecution Counsel, ASP. Bisi Ogunleye, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on June 22 at Dopemu, Lagos State.
Ogunleye said the defendants stole the money belonging to Jaykay Zenith Ltd. Read more
Generator fumes kill 4 Lagos-based family members in Kwara (Punch)
Fumes from a generator which was left overnight have left four members of a family dead in Sanmora, in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
Sources said the victims, who are from Ojomu family compound, included a man, his wife, another woman and a friend of one of the children of the family.
They were said to have come from Lagos to celebrate the Sallah in their town where the incident happened.
Two other victims, said to be unconscious when residents went into their apartment on Wednesday, have been admitted at the General Hospital, Offa. Read more
Igboho, wife look pale in Cotonou court –Eyewitness (Vanguard)
Self-styled Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho and his wife, Rope are before the Court D’Apeal of Cotonou following the international arrest warrant issued against the former.
Vanguard learnt many of the supporters, who did not know when the Yoruba rights activist arrived in court, trooped into the courtroom to see him.
According to eyewitness account, Igboho and his wife, Ropo looked pale as they await hearing.
The court is expected to debate on the international arrest warrant issued against him. Read more
ABSUTH sacks 6 medical doctors for allegedly abandoning work (Guardian)
The Chief Medical Director, Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Dr Shedrack Offiah, said the management had sacked six doctors for abandoning their jobs after collecting their salaries.
Offiah disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while showcasing steps taken to deter ABSUTH doctors who use government time to work in their private hospitals.
He said he sacked the six doctors recently to discourage absentee staff members who do not work but collect salaries, adding that such were ghost workers and should be treated as such.
He said that some doctors who had left the institution still come to the school to collect salaries, noting that he would not allow such to happen again. Read more
2023 Presidency: No Pact Between Buhari And Tinubu – Okechukwu (DailyTrust)
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, has said President Muhammadu Buhari did not reach any succession agreement with the party’s national leader, Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
The founder and pioneer national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Senator Rufai Hanga, said recently that there was “implied agreement” President Buhari would hand over power to Tinubu in 2023.
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Hanga, who chaired one of the parties which collapsed to form the APC in 2014, said the agreement was the reason Tinubu remained in the APC after Buhari’s first term.
But Okechukwu told newsmen on Thursday in Abuja that there was no such agreement, adding that Buhari rarely goes into an agreement with people. Read more
PDP congratulates Jonathan on appointment as ISCP-Africa Chair (Vanguard)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Thursday, congratulated former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan on his appointment as Chairman of the International Summit Council for Peace, ISCP-Africa.
Former President Jonathan’s appointment as ISCP-Africa, an association of incumbent and former heads of state and their deputies, established in 2019 by the Universal Peace Federation UPF, an organization in general consultative status with the United Nations (UN), the party said in a congratulatory message “is in recognition of his leadership qualities as a democrat as well as his resounding success in peacekeeping efforts across the world.”
The statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesman of the PDP read, “our party is assured that former President Jonathan, will deploy his wealth of experience strengthened by the democratic tenets and principles of our great party, in his new mandate of providing direction for the essentials of peace, security, and development in Africa. Read more
Abuse of paracetamol damages liver –Physician (Punch)
A medical expert, Dr. Fred Unuigbokha, says that the abuse of paracetamol can damage the liver and lead to hepatitis, a condition that has to do with the inflammation of the liver.
The resident medical practitioner said this on Thursday while speaking on Nigerian Info 99.3 FM Morning Crossfire show, monitored by The PUNCH.
Speaking on the rate of hepatitis in Nigeria, the doctor said that acetaminophen, popularly known as paracetamol, can be dangerous to the liver when it is used “beyond a certain dose.”
Unuigbokha warned that chronic use of the painkiller can lead to the untoward outcome. Read more
Chief of Army Staff donates vehicles to sergeant majors (Guardian)
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya has empowered Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSM) of the Nigerian Army with vehicles to enhance their functionality in the war against terrorism.
General Yahaya handed over keys and official documents of a brand new Toyota Hilux to the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of Headquarters 7 Division, Master Warrant Officer Mohammed Babayo, during an operational visit to the Division on Wednesday, July 21, 2021.
The COAS stated that the move was aimed at restoring the prestige associated with the office of an RSM, whom he described as the custodian of Nigerian Army customs, ethics and traditions.
He also said RSMs in the Nigerian Army and the military globally, play a pivotal role in refining, grooming, and putting the regimental lives of young officers and soldiers in check when freshly deployed to the unit, on passing-out from their respective training institutions. Read more
Michael Jackson super fan among those sanctioned by UK (BBC)
A vice-president of Equatorial Guinea who is said to have spent £199,000 ($275,000) on a glove worn by Michael Jackson is among five people to receive new UK “anti-corruption” sanctions.
Teodoro Obiang Mangue is also accused of buying luxury mansions and cars.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the new sanctions targeted “individuals who have lined their own pockets at the expense of their citizens”.
The four other targets were from Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Iraq. Read more
Chimps seen killing gorillas for first time as they fight over food (Metro)
Chimpanzees have been seen ganging up and killing gorillas for the first time ever in the wild as climate change and diminished food supplies threaten their habitat in the Loango National Park in the west African country of Gabon.
Researchers say it is the first time lethal chimpanzee attacks on gorillas have been recorded (Picture: Loango Chimpanzee Project/Lara M. Southern)
Chimpanzees have been seen ganging up and killing gorillas for the first time ever in the wild as climate change and diminished food supplies threaten their habitat.
Researchers working in the Loango National Park in the west African country of Gabon, witnessed two lethal encounters between the two great ape species in what are considered to be a scientific first.
The team, who published their findings in the journal Nature, said gorillas and chimpanzees usually have a peaceful coexistence – but recently, they have witnessed violent encounters.
Chimpanzees formed ‘coalitions’ to attack the gorillas, said researchers, before killing their infants when they tried to flee. Read more
French ex-spy jailed for selling police data on darknet (Guardian)
A French court on Thursday sentenced a former French intelligence agent to five years in prison for selling confidential information from police files in hidden corners of the internet.
The 35-year-old former police officer, who worked for the DGSI domestic spy agency, sold fake ID cards, driver’s licences and birth certificates on the so-called darknet, which offers users total anonymity.
The agent, who called himself “Haurus” online, also sold bank documents, phone records and GPS coordinates for tracking specific individuals for between 100 and 300 euros, paid in bitcoin.
One of his clients was a member of the Marseille underworld who used the information to trace individuals, some of whom were later found dead. Read more
China rejects second probe into coronavirus origin (VOA)
China has rejected the World Health Organization’s proposal for a second phase of its investigation into the origin of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Zeng Yixin, the vice minister of the Chinese National Health Commission, told reporters in Beijing Thursday that he was extremely surprised when he read the proposal offered by the U.N. health agency includes audits of laboratories in the city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected in late 2019 that led to more than 192 million infections around the globe, including 4.1 million deaths.
Zeng said the WHO’s origin-tracing proposal lacks “common sense” and displays a disrespect toward science that makes it “impossible” for Beijing to accept. Read more
Chicago shootings leave 14-year-old dead, 9 other victims wounded (NYPost)
A 14-year-old boy was killed and nine other people were wounded — including five other teenagers — in a pair of nearby shootings just 10 minutes apart in Chicago on Wednesday night, a report said.
Five of the victims, including the teen who died, were hit in the first shooting at about 6 p.m. in the city’s North Lawndale neighborhood, NBC Chicago reported.
The other victims in the initial shooting included a 16-year-old boy, who was shot in the head, and three men, two of whom are 24 and a 22-year-old, the report said.
The 16-year-old was hospitalized in critical condition and the three men were listed in stable condition.
Three blocks away, multiple gunmen opened fire about 10 minutes later, striking four teenage boys and a 22-year-old man. Read more
Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet go to war in epic new Dune trailer (Metro)
A new intense trailer for upcoming sci-fi Dune has been released and fans are completely hyped.
Starring an incredible cast led by Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet, the highly-anticipated movie will adapt Frank Herbert’s legendary novel of the same name.
The epic trailer starts with Zendaya’s Chani telling us: ‘My planet Arrakas is so beautiful when the sun is low. Rolling over the sands, you can see spice in the air.’
As things turn serious, she says: ‘The outsiders ravaged our lands in front of our eyes. Their cruelty to my people is all I’ve known.’ Read more
Champagne, cigars and 50 chicken nuggets – Milwaukee Bucks celebrate NBA title (BBC)
Champagne, cigars and a 50-piece chicken nugget order: they’ve all featured amongst the Milwaukee Bucks’ title celebrations.
It’s been over 24 hours since the Milwaukee Bucks sealed their first NBA title for 50 years and we’re not sure that anyone in the city of Milwaukee has been to bed yet – not least the players.
Here are just a few of the scenes so far.
Stag party
These were the crowds who turned out to watch in the city on Tuesday night. More than 10% of the city’s population came together in the Deer District outside Fiserv Forum. There were 17,000 fans inside the Fiserv Forum and 65,000 outside.
Among the revellers inside the stadium was this guy, who has become a bit of a recurring character. Read more
Meet the strongest and sexiest athletes at Tokyo Olympics 2021 (NYPost)
Tokyo is gonna be hot this summer — and not just because of the potentially record-breaking heat wave.
However, now that the Olympics have officially been declared a frigid no-fan zone due to COVID-19 restrictions — it’s up to the globe’s most elite athletes to bring the real heat.
Competitors in the long-delayed 2020 Summer Games (yes, we still call ’em that, officially) are at the top of their respective sports thanks to muscle-shredding hard work, sweat-drenched dedication and incredible natural abilities that make jaws drop.
Sure, with all of that devotion to sport, the sheer strength of these taut talents is easy to admire. But in addition to their athletic prowess, most of these model Olympians are champions outside the arena, as well, through various causes and endorsements. In our humble opinion, that only makes them sexier. Read more
Olympics opening ceremony director sacked for Holocaust joke (BBC)
The show director of the Olympics opening ceremony has been dismissed, one day before the event is due to be held.
Footage of Kentaro Kobayashi from the 1990s recently emerged in which he appears to be making jokes about the Holocaust.
Japan’s Olympic chief Seiko Hashimoto said the video ridiculed “painful facts of history”.
The dismissal is the latest in a string of scandals to hit the Games. Read more
Guinea reverses decision to withdraw from Tokyo Olympics (Punch)
The West African state of Guinea on Thursday said it was scrapping its decision to withdraw its five-person team from the Olympics, a move that it had said was prompted by worries over coronavirus.
“The government, after receiving assurances from the health authorities, is giving its agreement for our athletes to take part,” Sports Minister Sanoussy Bantama Sow said in a statement.
The move reverses a decision on Wednesday which cancelled the country’s participation in the Tokyo Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, a source close to the government in the capital Conakry had said that the decision not to send its five-person team stemmed from financial constraints. Read more
Australia, New Zealand quit Rugby League World Cup over Covid-19 (Guardian)
The decision by Australia and New Zealand to pull out of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup over Covid-19 concerns rocked tournament organisers Thursday, who said it could have “wide-ranging implications”.
League’s top two ranked nations cited “player welfare and safety” during the coronavirus pandemic as compelling reasons to delay the tournament until next year.
They said the decision to withdraw came after considering the risk of infection in England, the worsening coronavirus environment in Australia and the time most players would be away from home under strict biosecurity conditions before the World Cup.
The joint statement took tournament organisers RLWC2021 by surprise as it came just a week after they confirmed the World Cup would go ahead as planned. Read more
Tokyo 2020 men’s football: Richarlison inspires Brazil, Spain held by Egypt, Wood makes history for NZ (BBC)
Everton striker Richarlison scored a first-half hat-trick as Brazil’s men began their Olympic campaign with a 4-2 victory over Germany.
In a repeat of the 2016 Olympic gold-medal match, the defending champions raced into a commanding lead despite Matheus Cunha having a penalty saved.
Richarlison scored on the rebound inside seven minutes, before heading home a second and curling in his third inside 30 minutes.Germany put up more of a fight after the break as goals from Nadiem Amiri and Ragnar Ache made it 3-2, making it a nervous finish for Brazil. Read more