Police arrest 3 suspected cultists (Punch)
The Police Command in Lagos State says its operatives have arrested three suspected cultists in the Ishashi area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday.
The Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Mr Adegoke Fayoade, had promised to rid the state of criminals. Read more
Lagos bans single-use plastics with ‘‘immediate effect’’ (Channels)
Lagos State Government on Sunday announced a ban on the usage and distribution of Styrofoam and other single use plastics in the state with immediate effect.
This was announced by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, in a statement he personally signed.
According to Wahab, the decision was reached following the menace which the single use plastics, especially the non-biogradeable Styrofoam, was causing on the environment. Read more
Police arrest 3 for stealing vehicle during church crusade (Punch)
Men of the Edo State Police Command have arrested three suspects for allegedly stealing two vehicles during a church crusade in the state.
The suspects are Augustine Ikponmwoba 62, Roland Ibizugbe 63 and Blessing Joseph 36.
Parading the suspects alongside other suspected criminals at the weekend, the state Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adeboye, said the suspects were arrested after tracking the phone that was stolen alongside the vehicles which one of the suspects gave to his female friend as a gift. Read more
Sanwo-Olu sues for calm over Mandilas fire (Vanguard)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the fire outbreak at Mandilas Building, Broad Street, Lagos Island, did not result in any casualties.
Sanwo-Olu stated this while reacting to the inferno, which he said originated on the 1st floor and got to the 4th floor of the building.
According to the governor, the cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be determined, adding that investigations are underway. Read more
How challenges nearly stopped my World Record attempt — Nigerian crocheter (Leadership)
Okafor Chidinma Modupe, an English Education graduate of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in Enugu State, who recently completed a 72-hour crocheting marathon aiming for the Guinness World Records, has stated that the task was difficult for her to accomplish due to numerous factors that could have truncated the dream.
Speaking with journalists about her quest to attain the Guinness World Records in Crocheting, she disclosed there were a lot of hurdles on her way while embarking on the 72-hour crocheting marathon held from December 24 to 27, 2023 in Lagos State.
While elucidating on the challenges, she said, “I had a lot of challenges like convincing people to believe in you. Most people today, before they can render help to an individual, believe you should have been a celebrity, you should be well-known, you should have a name, or a status.” Read more
80-year-old woman burnt to death as fire razes 50 houses (DailyTrust)
An 80-year-old woman has been burnt to death in a fire incident which reportedly razed 50 houses in Tse-Agubor Gyaruwa of Tsambee-Mbesev Council Ward in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State.
The head of the affected village, Chief Ayatse Agubor, told journalists in Makurdi that the fire started at about 10am on Sunday when the villagers were already on their various farms.
He said his octogenarian mother who was killed in the fire could not get anyone to help her out of the sickbed because people were not at home. Read more
Senator Natasha hails security operatives for rescuing Bwari kidnap victims (Tribune)
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central has lauded the swift move by men of the Nigerian Police Force and Nigerian Army in the rescue operation of the victims of kidnapping incidents in Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Recall a joint team of policemen and soldiers of the Nigerian Army on Saturday, January 20, had rescued the kidnap victims in Kaduna.
The victims were said to have been kidnapped in the Zuma 1 area of Kawu, in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja on January 2, 2024. Read more
Governor Oborevwori felicitates Ex-minister Bozimo at 85 (Guardian)
Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta on Sunday felicitated elder statesman and former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, as he clocks 85.
The governor’s felicitation is contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, in Asaba.He lauded the renowned lawyer and political leader for his contributions to the development and growth of Delta.
He said that Bozimo has continued to play significant roles in the development of the state as a member of the State’s Advisory and Peace Building Council. Read more
Sofia Vergara wanted to “disappear” in new Netflix role after Modern Family (DigitalSpy)
Griselda star Sofia Vergara has revealed she wanted to “disappear” in her new role, following her 11-year stint on Modern Family.
The actress, who is best known for playing Gloria Pritchett on the hit ABC sitcom, portrays Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco in the upcoming Netflix drama.
Speaking to Digital Spy and other press ahead of the show’s launch, Vergara admitted that it was “hard, but super fun” becoming the notorious criminal. Read more
Emma Stone gave Jesse Eisenberg scene idea for Sundance film (UPI)
Writer/director Jesse Eisenberg said producer Emma Stone gave him an idea for a scene in his movie A Real Pain, which premiered Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival. Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play cousins on a tour of Poland.
At one point, Benji (Culkin) and Dave (Eisenberg) fall asleep on a train and miss their stop. They have to sneak onto the train going back to catch up with their tour group.
“Emma Stone, whose idea it was to have the characters sleep on the train and then have to take the other train, she’s a genius, as we know,” Eisenberg said after the screening. Read more
Gifted Abu Dhabi teenager wins place at Berklee College of Music (National)
A gifted Abu Dhabi teenager is aiming to score international success after earning a prestigious place at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Diwen Xu, a year 13 pupil at Brighton College Abu Dhabi, has his sights set on a career as a film composer after being inspired by a Hollywood hit.
Mr Diwen, now 18, took up the piano when he was six years old and has since taught himself to play the flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone and guitar. Read more
Congo Brazzaville: Thousands in need of assistance after floods wreak havoc (AfricaNews)
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), today (19 Jan) told reporters in Geneva that in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), the United Nations was responding to a flood disaster, “unprecedented in scale for six decades,” and with hundreds of thousands of people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Extreme rainfall since October 2023 had led the banks around the Ubangi River – a tributary to the Congo river – to burst. A flood emergency had been officially declared by the Government on 29 December. Some three weeks later, nine out of the country’s 12 departments remained under water and a total of 1.8 million people were affected.
Laerke specified that more than 350,000 people urgently needed humanitarian assistance, but said, access was a challenge as “many villages could only be reached by boat or canoe.” Read more
Jacob Elordi talks raunchy Saltburn grave scene during Saturday Night Live hosting debut (People)
Jacob Elordi is making a sizzling Saturday Night Live debut.
The Saltburn actor, 26, hosted this weekend’s episode of the comedy sketch show, the first of 2024, which opened with a monologue where Elordi discussed his hit movie Saltburn and even gave the audiences a taste of a particularly raunchy scene from the movie.
Beginning his monologue by saying how “exciting” it was to be at SNL and describing himself as “hosting the first, and so far best, show of 2024,” Elordi then discussed the hit movie, in which he played the character of Felix Catton. Read more
Hamas says October 7 attack was a ‘necessary step’, admits to ‘some faults’ (AlJazeera)
The Palestinian group Hamas has said there were “faults” in the October 7 attack it led on southern Israel, but claimed its fighters only targeted Israeli soldiers and people carrying weapons.
In a 16-page report titled “Our Narrative” and published on Sunday, Hamas, which governs Gaza, said it wanted to “clarify” the background and dynamics of the surprise attack it calls Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
In its first public report since the attack, Hamas said it was “a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people”. Read more
Ukraine drones hit St Petersburg gas terminal in Russia (BBC)
An explosion at a major gas export terminal near the city of St Petersburg in Russia was carried out by Ukrainian drones, BBC News has been told.
The blast caused a large fire at the Ust-Luga terminal, but no injuries, Russian officials said.
An official source in Kyiv said the “special operation” of the SBU security service masterminded the attack, with drones that worked “on target”.
Both Russia and Ukraine have used drones in the current conflict. Read more
This is best Nigeria team I’ve played in – Super Eagles captain Troost-Ekong (DailyTrust)
Born in the Netherlands and educated in England, Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has not looked back at the international level since opting to represent Nigeria.
Part of the team that lost to Lionel Messi and Argentina at the 2018 World Cup, Troost-Ekong is currently taking part in his third Africa Cup of Nations and he kept a remarkably cool head to score the decisive penalty in the 1-0 win over hosts Ivory Coast on Thursday.
That result left the three-time continental champions primed to clinch a spot in the last 16 when they play Guinea-Bissau in their last group game in Abidjan on Monday. Read more
McIlroy wins 4th Dubai Desert Classic title (France24)
Rory McIlroy won a record fourth Dubai Desert Classic title on Sunday by one shot after storming back from a 10-shot deficit going into the weekend at the Emirates Golf Club.
McIlroy made two massive birdie putts towards the end of the front nine – a 31-footer on the par-4 eighth, followed by a 16-footer on the ninth – to move to 15-under par and lead by three shots.
At the same time his playing partner and overnight leader American Cameron Young struggled and made the turn at two-over with two bogeys. Read more
AFCON Round-Up: Angola beat Mauritania in 5-goal thriller, Tunisia and Mali share the spoils (Eurosport)
Gelson Dala’s brace helped secure Angola a memorable 3-2 win over Mauritania at the Stade de la Paix in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Dala broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with an audacious scissor-kick, but Mauritania hit back in some style shortly before half-time.
Sidi Bouna Amar scored a stunning individual goal with a mazy run past a string of Angolan defenders before smashing a ferocious finish past Neblu. Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo claims Ballon d’Or is ‘‘losing credibility’’ after Lionel Messi victory (Mirror)
Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted the Ballon d’Or and FIFA The Best awards are ‘losing credibility’ due to Lionel Messi’s recent wins.
Messi has won the Ballon d’Or a record eight times, including last year’s award. He was also recently named the Fifa Best Male Player of 2023, surprisingly beating out Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to pick up his third win in that award.
Ronaldo was not even shortlisted for the latter and also failed to make the top 30 of the Ballon d’Or, having finished only 20th in 2022. The superstar attacker was left annoyed by his exclusion, having scored 54 goals for Al-Nassr in the last calendar year. Read more
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic thumps Adrian Mannarino to reach 58th grand slam quarter-final (Standard)
Novak Djokovic equalled Roger Federer’s record by reaching a 58th grand slam quarter-final in style at the Australian Open.
It appeared the world number one might do so by becoming the first player to claim a ‘triple bagel’ victory at the tournament when he won the first 13 games against Adrian Mannarino.
The Frenchman looked hugely relieved when he finally got on the board in the second game of the third set but Djokovic, playing in his 73rd major tournament, eased to a 6-0 6-0 6-3 victory. Read more
AFCON 2023: DR Congo force Morocco to 1-1 draw (CompleteSports)
Morocco missed the opportunity to seal qualification to the round of 16 following a 1-1 draw with DR Congo in Group A of the AFCON 2023.
Silas Katompa Mvumpa came off the bench to help DR Congo earn a share of the spoils.
It was the Moroccans who took the lead when Achraf Hakimi headed home from the Hakim Ziyech corner on six minutes. Read more