Petrol pump price may jump to N750/litre — IPMAN (Tribune)
The pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) may yet increase to about N750 per litre, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has hinted.
This is even as the association urged the government to initiate policies that would save the naira from further depreciation.
The association’s national spokesperson, Mr. Chinedu Ukadike gave the hint while speaking to Tribune Online on Thursday in Abuja.
Although, he said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), being the major importer of petroleum products, has yet to change its ex-depot price from N587.7, noting that once this is done other marketers will do the same. Read more
Defiant Niger forms new govt as ECOWAS’ standby force ready for deployment (Guardian)
Four days after expiration of the ultimatum it issued at its last extraordinary summit held on July 30, the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) Heads of State yesterday, vowed to do all, including the use of force, to dislodge the junta in Niger Republic if it remains recalcitrant.
The West African leaders arrived at the resolution at their meeting in Abuja yesterday, after reviewing happenings since Sunday when the one-week ultimatum they issued to the junta for the restoration of constitutional order lapsed.
According to the communiqué read by ECOWAS President, Omar Touray, the leaders noted: “All diplomatic efforts made by ECOWAS in resolving the crisis have been defiantly repelled by the military leadership of Niger.” Read more
Nigerian lawyer wins $75,000 Waislitz Global Citizens’ Choice Award (Nation)
A Nigerian human rights lawyer, Oluwafunke Adeoye, has won the Waislitz Global Citizens’ Choice Award 2023 prize of $75,000.
The Waislitz Global Citizen Awards is an annual cash prize totaling $250,000 that recognises the excellence of individuals in their work to end extreme poverty.
The grand prize consists of $100,000 with two additional prizes at $75,000 each, for a total of three prizes. Read more
Why naira continues to fall – CBN (DailyTrust)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Thursday, attributed continuous fall of Naira against dollars to present unofficial diaspora remittances.
The acting governor of the apex bank, Folashodun Shonubi, stated this at National Institute for Security Studies, Abuja where he delivered Distinguished Personality lecture titled: “Diaspora Remittances and Nigeria Economic Development” for members of Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 16.
Daily Trust had reported that the naira plunged to a record low of N925/$1 on the parallel market on Wednesday as demand for foreign currency outstripped supply. Read more
Completion of Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia Roads excites motorists (Leadership)
Nigerians have expressed delight at the completion of the dualization and expansion of the Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia Expressway by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). This is part of the larger dualisation process that covers three states namely Abuja- Keffi- Akwanga- Lafia- Makurdi expressway, which is about 220 km.
Residents of Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital and neighbouring Keffi also in the state told LEADERSHIP Friday that the completion of this phase of the road has indeed put the company at the forefront to boost infrastructure development in Nigeria as part of the move to deepen the ties between China and Nigeria under the Belt and Roads Initiative.
Driving through the road network, the entire stretch delighted the residents, who lauded the company and the Nigerian government for the continuous efforts to build and rehabilitate roads across the nation even as they requested for more funding for the company to complete the remaining projects to add value to the people and boost the economy. Read more
S-East govs, Reps, Army move against insecurity (Vanguard)
The governors of the southeast, the House of Representatives ad hoc committee, and security agencies including the Chief of Army Staff, yesterday, met at Enugu and Abuja respectively over the biting insecurity in the southeast.
The Reps ad-hoc Committee in their meeting with the Chief of Army Staff complained that violent crimes by gunmen and other criminal elements linked to IPOB and ESN are threatening the existence of the South-East region.
Obi Agocha, the committee chair, stated this in Abuja while interfacing with security agencies to reduce banditry, assassination, kidnapping, and other crimes in Abia. Read more
INEC still open to future collaboration with EU –Yakubu (Sun)
Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has said the commission is still open to future collaboration with the European Union (EU) despite the complaints that trailed the unfavourable report from the subnational union against the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
He stated this at the handover of the innovation technology tools facilitated by Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) in Abuja, yesterday.
Yakubu said the commission would closely examine the tools with a view to adopting or tweaking them to meet the immediate and emergent challenges in the conduct of elections. Read more
Flood hits Edo, Adamawa, Ekiti, 17 others (Punch)
The Federal Government has says the 2023 flood situation across the country is worsening as 20 states, and 46 Local Government Areas have been hit by different degrees of flooding.
It said this had resulted in the demise of about five people.
It disclosed this at the National Emergency Coordination Forum, organised by the National Emergency Management Agency in Abuja.
In his address at the forum, the Director-General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, Clement Nze, noted that in February 2023, NIHSA presented the 2023 Annual Flood Outlook to the public. Read more
The one thing Stevie Nicks regrets more than her cocaine addiction (FarOut)
At the age of 27, Stevie Nicks ascended to the role of the definitive figure in the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, earning her the title of the ‘Queen Bee’.
Before this juncture, her creative endeavours revolved around songwriting and harmonising alongside her enduring partner, Lindsey Buckingham. During this period, she had refrained from indulging in drugs; however, the course of her life was on the cusp of a dramatic shift.
Swiftly, she found herself ensnared in the depths of drug dependency, succumbing to the allure of cocaine, alcohol, Quaaludes for sleep, and cigarettes. These substances initiated a cascade of detrimental effects, causing her health to deteriorate. Nosebleeds, on-stage falls, blackouts, and perilous semi-overdoses plagued her existence. The intoxicating descent had begun. Read more
Virgin Galactic: First space tourism mission after decades of promises (BBC)
Virgin Galactic has taken a former Olympian, a University of Aberdeen student and her mother to the edge of space on its first flight for tourists.
Ana Mayers, 18, and her mother Keisha Schahaff, 46, both from Antigua, won their tickets in a competition.
They became the first mother-daughter duo to fly to space together. Jon Goodwin, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, became the second person with Parkinson’s disease to go to space, a trip he called “completely surreal”. Read more
Big Brother USA removes contestant for using N-word (MediaMole)
Luke Valentine has been removed from the Big Brother USA house after using the N-word.
The incident was caught on the show’s live feeds on Tuesday night and the clip subsequently went viral, with many fans calling on producers to kick him out.
In a conversation with three other HouseGuests, the 30-year-old remarked: “We were in the cheese room, n*****!” Read more
Tory Lanez breaks silence after being sentenced in Megan Thee Stallion shooting (HipHopDX)
Tory Lanez has spoken out for the first time since being sentenced to 10 years for the shooting of his former friend, Megan Thee Stallion.
The convicted rapper took to Instagram on Thursday (August 10) to address his fans, whom he calls the “Umbrellas,” and promised to see them all soon despite his lengthy sentence. He also continued to deny any wrongdoing in the matter, and insisted on his innocence.
“I have never let a hard time intimidate me,” he began. “I will never never let no jail time eliminate me. Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will. This week in court I took responsibility for all verbal and intimate moments that I shared with the parties involved. That’s it.” Read more
“It’s all gone”: Officials brief of devastation caused by Hawaii blaze as death toll climbs (UPI)
The death toll from ongoing wildfires that have devastated the Hawaii island of Maui is expected to further climb as officials comb through the ashes of what was the historic city of Lahaina.
Fifty-three people are confirmed dead, but officials repeatedly asked the public during a press conference Thursday for patience as they search through Lahaina for remains. The number of missing was also unknown.
The city, located along the western shore of Maui, is a burnt husk of its former self. Gov. Josh Green said it looked like a bomb had gone off. And when stock is taken it will likely be consider the worst natural disaster in the state’s history, he said. Read more
Seized Russian weapons strengthen Ukraine’s fight (DW)
“Russia is competing with Western countries to supply weapons to Ukraine,” joked Colonel Oleksandr Saruba, of the center within the Ukrainian armed forces that investigates the weapons captured during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine since February 2022.
More specifically, Saruba is referring to Russian armaments and equipment seized by the Ukrainian military which are now being used by Kyiv in its counteroffensive against Moscow. Ukraine now has more than 800 former Russia-owned artillery systems, tanks, armored personnel carriers, along with a number of other vehicles, in its possession. The haul even includes a mobile sauna.
The captured weapons also consist of related equipment used in combat operations, for example, electronic warfare and air defense. “Small” weapons, such as machine guns and grenade launchers numbering in their thousands, have also been collected. Read more
Report: Secret documents reveal US instigated Imran Khan’s removal from power (MEMO)
The US encouraged the Pakistani government to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a classified Pakistani government document obtained by the Intercept.
Diplomatic cable, marked as “Secret”, exposed the pressure applied by the US on Pakistan officials in a 7 March 2022 meeting, to push for Khan’s removal, offering improved relations as an incentive while hinting at potential isolation if he remained in power.
The document, referred to internally as a “cypher”, details the closed-door discussion between US State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and Asad Majeed Khan, who was Pakistan’s ambassador to the US at the time. Read more
World Championships: Tobi Amusan in provisional list amid AIU defence (Vanguard)
Ahead of the 2023 World Athletics Championships, World Women’s 100m hurdles champion and record holder Tobi Amusan has been included in the official provisional list released by the World Athletics body, pending the result of her AIU defense.
The 2023 World Athletics Championships is set to hold from August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
Amusan’s participation at the championship has been faced with uncertainty after she was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for missing three drug tests this season, a month before the championships.
Her name was also conspicuously missing from Team Nigeria’s list of 26 athletes which was released by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria as she awaits the decision of the AIU. Read more
Spain beat Dutch to reach first World Cup semi (BBC)
Teenage winger Salma Paralluelo came off the bench to score a 111th-minute winner as Spain beat the Netherlands to reach the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup for the first time.
Mariona Caldentey had appeared to give Spain the win in normal time when she slammed home an 80th-minute penalty via the post after Stefanie van der Gragt handled in the box.
Van der Gragt went from villain to hero by smashing home a stoppage-time equaliser – but Paralluelo found space in the area in extra time to put Spain into their first major semi-final for 26 years. Read more
Wozniacki comes out of retirement, wins 1st-round match in straight sets at National Bank Open (USAToday)
Caroline Wozniacki made a triumphant return to tennis, defeating Kimberly Birrell in straight sets at the National Bank Open on Tuesday.
Wozniacki dominated from the start, securing a 6-2, 6-2 victory while pushing her Australian opponent across the court during rallies. The Dane will face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, who beat Mayar Sherif of Egypt 6-4, 6-2.
“It’s like riding a bike basically,” Wozniacki told reporters after the match. “You never forget it once you’re in there.” Read more
Burnley dare Man City as Premier League, LaLiga kick off today (Guardian)
Another action-packed season will begin today in the English Premier League and Spanish LaLiga, with intriguing fixtures spread across the weekend.
Premier League and European champions, Manchester City, will kick off the new Premier League season today, when they visit Turf Moor to take on newly promoted side, Burnley.
Having lost the Community Shield to Arsenal, coached by his former assistant, Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola will face another of his stalwarts, Vincent Kompany, who is in charge at Burnley. Kompany captained Guardiola’s City team to two Premier League titles and has successfully coached Burnley back into the Premier League in his first full season with the club. He is set to become the first Belgian to coach a team in the Premier League. Read more
NFF to appear before House Committee on Sports over Super Falcons pay row (Sun)
The House Committee on Sports has invited the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to come and explain to the Federal House of Representative members why Nigeria name is being mentioned for the wrong reasons at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, BSN sports.com.ng reports.
Super Falcons put up a spectacular performance at the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup which earned the team receiving plaudits across the world. The nine times African champions were eliminated at the Round of 16 by the Three Lionesses of England (4-2) via penalties.
The team has however had backlogs of unpaid bonuses and allowances issues before the commencement of the mundial but swept it aside to allow them concentrate on the world cup assignment.The social media was agog with different football stakeholders urging the NFF to pay the Super Falcons players their entitlements. This dragged the federation and Nigeria names in the mud. Read more
Tyson Fury makes new retirement claim ahead of Francis Ngannou fight (Mirror)
Tyson Fury has admitted he could retire from boxing after his crossover fight against Francis Ngannou.
Fury is set for a unique challenge in his next fight as he faces UFC champion Ngannou on October 29 in Saudi Arabia. The Brit’s heavyweight title won’t be on the line in his fight as Ngannou, who makes his professional boxing debut on the night, is not ranked by the WBC.
‘The Gypsy King’ hung up his gloves after winning the unified heavyweight titles against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 with his second retirement coming last April after he knocked out Dillian Whyte. A third retirement could soon be on the cards for Fury as he said on Heart Breakfast: “Who knows how long I’ve got left. Maybe not long, maybe a year, maybe two years, maybe one fight who knows. Read more