Police parade 202 suspected cultists in Ikorodu (Nation)
The police in Lagos on Monday paraded 202 suspected cultists said to have been terrorising the city in recent times. It was gathered that the suspects were arrested between February and last weekend, and a handful of them had earlier been charged to court. Police Commissioner Zubairu Muazu, who paraded the suspects, also launched an operation to flush out cultists and gangsters from the district. Read more
Result shows 17 PDP lawmakers supported Lawan (Punch)
The result of the Senate Presidency election shows that at least 17 Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers voted for Senate President Ahmed Lawan in disregard of the directive of the PDP leadership that Ali Ndume should be elected as Senate President. The All Progressives Congress has 62 lawmakers while the opposition PDP has 44 and Young Democratic Party has one. Read more
Zamfara lawmakers elect Magarya as Speaker (Punch)
Members of Zamfara State House of Assembly have unanimously elected Nasiru Mu’azu Magarya from Zurmi Local Government Area as the Speaker. Also elected was the deputy speaker of the assembly in the person of Musa Bawa Musa from Tsafe East constituency. The election which took place on Tuesday in the chamber of the State House of Assembly was witnessed by Governor Bello Mutawalle, the Deputy Governor, Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, the state Peoples Democratic Party chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Mallaha, the immediate past Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Wakkala and other prominent politicians. Read more
NDLEA takes 3 truck-load of cannabis to court as exhibit (Guardian)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Tuesday, took two Hilux truck and a Toyota Hiace bus loaded with 201 sacks of cannabis sativa as exhibits to the Federal High Court Abuja. The 201 sacks of cannabis were brought before Justice Evelyn Maha by the NDLEA as exhibits in a count charge filed against one Michael Monday and Abdullahi Iliyasu. Monday,33, and Iliyasu, 25, both male with no skill or handiwork, are being prosecuted by the NDLEA for aiding in the transportation of cannabis sativa, an illicit drug weighing 2,058.7 kg. Read more
Presidential panel refers Senator Nwaoboshi to Justice Ministry for prosecution (Punch)
The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has referred Senator representing Delta North, Peter Nwaoboshi, to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Etsu Umar, for prosecution. In its letter signed on behalf of the chairman of the panel, Okoi Obono-Obla, by Dr. Celsus Ukpong, urged the DPP to prosecute the senator on charges bordering on his failure to declare his assets before the panel in violation of section 3(i)(a) of the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act 2004. Read more
JAMB releases 2019 admission cut-off mark (Guardian)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Tuesday approved 160 as the minimum cut off mark for 2019 admission into public universities. The decision was reached at the 19th policy meeting on admissions to tertiary institutions, which held at the Bola Babalakin Auditorium, Gbongan, Osun State. The board also approved 140 as minimum UTME score for admission into private universities while 120 was set for public polytechnic and 110 scores were approved as the least score for admission into private polytechnic. Read more
Man to hang for killing girlfriend in Yobe (Punch)
A Yobe State High Court on Tuesday sentenced an applicant, Muhammed Adamu, to death by hanging for killing his girlfriend, Hauwa Muhammad, 24. Delivering judgment, Justice A. Jauro, held that he found him guilty of murder under Section 221 of the Penal Code. Jauro held that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that Hauwa was intentionally killed by the convict. Read more
Morocco adopts law confirming Berber as official language (Guardian)
Moroccan lawmakers have unanimously approved a bill that confirms the Berber language’s official status, eight years after it was preliminarily recognised in a new constitution. The new law is designed to cement use of Berber — alongside Arabic — by government administration, local authorities, public services, schools and in cultural life. Berber, or Amazigh, was initially recognised as an official language in 2011, after a decades-long battle by activists. Read more
Ivan Golunov, accused Russian reporter, to go free after outcry (BBC)
All charges against Russian reporter Ivan Golunov have been dropped, after a huge public outcry. Mr Golunov, an investigative journalist, had been accused of drug dealing – but his lawyers said the drugs were planted by authorities. Russian newspapers rallied around him in a rare public show of support. Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said Mr Golunov’s guilt “has not been proven” – and that two police officers had been suspended. Read more
Ukraine’s Zelensky defends parliament dissolution in court (Guardian)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday defended his position at the Constitutional Court, which is set to rule on the legality of his decision to dissolve parliament and call for early elections. Zelensky was elected on a wave of popular support amid disillusionment with predecessor Petro Poroshenko. But the former comedian and political novice has struggled to work with lawmakers largely hostile to him. He announced his intention to dissolve parliament in his inaugural speech on May 21 and signed a decree to this effect shortly afterwards. Read more
Chemical castration brought in for some paedophiles in Alabama (BBC)
Alabama has signed into law a bill that requires some convicted paedophiles to undergo chemical castration. Under the law, those found guilty of a sex offence against a minor under the age of 13 will have to start medication a month before release on parole. A court will decide when it is no longer necessary. Read more
Sri Lanka MPs defy president to resume Easter attack probe (Guardian)
Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday defied President Maithripala Sirisena and resumed an investigation into security lapses surrounding the Easter suicide bombings that killed 258 people, officials said. The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) began hearing testimony from Muslim leaders who claimed they repeatedly alerted the authorities to dangerous radicalisation, a parliamentary official said. President Sirisena last week asked his coalition cabinet to halt the hearings, which have already revealed senior police and security officials directly under him had ignored repeated intelligence warnings. Read more
Migrant crisis: Children among seven killed as boat sinks in Greece (BBC)
At least seven people have been killed and 57 others rescued after a boat carrying migrants overturned near the Greek island of Lesbos, officials say. The bodies of two children, four women and a man were recovered on Tuesday morning off the port of Mytilene. While no official information has been provided on their nationalities, local media say they are of African descent. Read more
Six dead in fire at Ukraine psychiatric hospital (Punch)
Six people died when fire swept through a psychiatric hospital for war veterans in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, authorities said Tuesday. The fire erupted late Monday evening in the one-storey building, Ukraine’s emergency services said in a statement. “Six people died and four have been hospitalised,” the statement said. Nine other people escaped unharmed. Read more
China rains: Thousands stranded after record downpour (BBC)
At least five people have been killed and thousands more have been left stranded after record rainfall hit southern China, officials say. Hundreds of homes and thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed by the downpours, which are expected to continue for several days. More than two million people have been affected and roads and bridges have been badly damaged, state media report. Read more
Oxfam criticised over Haiti sex claims (BBC)
Oxfam has been severely criticised by the Charity Commission for the way it dealt with claims of serious sexual misconduct by its staff in Haiti. The commission said there was a “culture of poor behaviour” at the charity, and issued it with an official warning over its “mismanagement”. Last year Oxfam was accused of covering up claims staff sexually exploited victims of the 2010 earthquake. Read more
133m bees escape as truck overturns in US (Punch)
A truck overturned and its cargo of an estimated 133 million bees escaped in the US state of Montana, local media reported on Tuesday. “Fuel was leaking from the truck, mandating a quick response by rescue workers, who used self-contained breathing apparatus packs to minimise and reduce the risk of being stung,’’ assistant fire chief Brian Nickolay told broadcaster KBZK. NBC news said local officials put out warnings amid concerns for people with bee allergies. Read more
The internet wants Jackie Chan to fight Justin Bieber as he challenges Tom Cruise (Metro)
So today Jackie Chan is trending, as punters flocked online to chat about the martial arts film hero. While so many people were left wondering why Jackie was trending and even more fearing the worst following the sudden surge of interest on social media, it seems the internet is merely keen on the idea of Justin Bieber fighting the very, very talented artist. Random, non? Read more
Elton John film Rocketman banned in Samoa over gay scenes (BBC)
Samoa has banned the Sir Elton John biopic Rocketman because of the film’s depiction of gay sex. Under Samoa’s laws, sodomy is illegal and punishable by up to seven years in prison. The country’s principal censor told local media that the film did not “go well with cultural and Christian beliefs here”. It comes after Sir Elton criticised a Russian distributor’s decision to cut sex scenes from the film. Read more
Rihanna felt like she ‘disappointed God’ while recording Anti album (Metro)
Rihanna has revealed that she felt as if she had ‘disappointed God’ whilst recording for her last studio album. The singer revealed in an interview with her Ocean’s 8 co-star Sarah Paulson, published by Interview magazine, that she had put her faith to the test in the midst of recording her eighth studio album Anti, which was released in 2016. She says: ‘I have been in a place where I felt like maybe I had disappointed God so much that we weren’t as close. Actually, that happened to me while I was making Anti. That was a really hard time, but, thank God, I got through it. Read more
NZ 0-1 Netherlands – European champions snatch late winner (BBC)
European champions the Netherlands scored an injury-time winner to break New Zealand’s resistance in their opening Women’s World Cup match in Le Havre. Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema could have had a hat-trick as the Dutch dominated possession in front of their noisy fans, who made up the majority of the 10,654 crowd. But it was New Zealand, seeking a first World Cup win in their fifth tournament appearance, who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Olivia Chance struck the bar early in the first half. Read more
15 Serie A clubs against proposed UEFA Champions League reform (Guardian)
Fifteen of Serie A’s 20 clubs have voted against a proposal to create a semi-closed UEFA Champions League from 2024 onwards, according to a statement released in Rome. The clubs backed a resolution which said qualification for UEFA club competitions such as the Champions League should be based exclusively on performances in domestic leagues, as happens at present. Juventus were the only club to vote against the resolution while Inter Milan, AC Milan, AS Roma and Fiorentina all abstained. Read more
Tottenham target Draxler sees future at PSG (Punch)
Germany midfielder Julian Draxler has played down rumours linking him to Tottenham Hotspur and said he wants to stay at Paris Saint-Germain. “I feel very happy here, I am playing for a great coach at a great club,” Draxler, 25, told Kicker magazine on Tuesday. Draxler, who earned his 50th cap in Germany’s 2-0 win over Belarus last Saturday, has been in and out of the PSG first eleven since joining the club in 2017. Read more
Sharapova confirms return from injury in Mallorca (Guardian)
Former world number one Maria Sharapova confirmed on Monday she will play at next week’s Mallorca Open after more than three months out through injury. Sharapova, 32, a five-time Grand Slam champion, has been sidelined since February after having surgery on a shoulder problem which has troubled her since 2008. “I’m so happy to be able to announce that I’m going to accept a wildcard into the Mallorca Open,” Sharapova said in a statement. Read more
Tennis: Thiem offers Serena doubles match after Roland-Garros row (Punch)
Austrian tennis ace Dominic Thiem on Tuesday offered Serena Williams a mixed doubles jaunt in an attempt to put their French Open press room dispute behind them. Thiem reacted with disbelief when officials asked him, mid-post match interview, to leave the main interview room at Roland Garros so that the American superstar, who had just been knocked out, would not be kept waiting. Read more