Policemen shoot fun-seeker dead in Lagos club (Punch)
Five policemen attached to the Akinpelu Police Division, have been detained for the murder of a 27-year-old fun-seeker, Maliki Mohammed, at a club on Balogun Street, Oshodi, Lagos.
The cops are Inspectors Orubu Olusola, Apalowo Ola, Kasai Sule and Sergeants Momoh Ogwuche and Adoga Collins.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that the police team had gone to the club on Friday over a complaint lodged by one Abibat Makinde who claimed she was assaulted at the facility.
In an attempt to effect arrest, some hoodlums reportedly confronted the men who resorted to the use of firearms, killing Mohammed and injuring two others in the process. Read more
Sanwo-Olu, Sen Okonkwo, Jack-Rich, Others to be honoured at 2019 Nigeria Entrepreneurs Award (Vanguard)
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Sen Okonkwo, will today be honoured at the 2019 Nigeria Entrepreneurs Award.
The Sixth Nigeria Entrepreneurs Award will take place at the Ball Room of the Oriental, Lagos.
Others also to be honoured are Sen Annie Okonkwo, Dr Godwin Maduka, Dr Elizabeth Jack-Rich Tein Jnr, Covenant University, Bosak Microfinance Bank, AGL Consulting, Greenville, Richway Microfinance Bank, Ogechukwu, Alexis Obah, Seahorse Lubricant Ltd, Fidelity Bank, Transcrop Plc, VIP Express Tourism Ltd, Eagle Flight Microfinance Bank, Odibola Properties, Ibile Microfinance Bank amongst others. Read more
FG begins four months Lagos-Ibadan free train ride (Punch)
…to open Kara Bridge on Sunday
Okechukwu Nnodim and Maureen Ihua-Maduenyi
The Federal Government on Saturday announced the commencement of free train rides on the over $1.5bn new Lagos-Ibadan railway service.
It said the free rides would last for four months and urged commuters to use the train service during the festive season.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who announced this via his official Twitter handle, noted that the standard gauge rail line was ready for use. Read more
How to enjoy free Lagos-Ibadan train ride (DailyTrust)
Workers from the China and Civil Engineering Construction Corporation repair rail tracks at Agege in Lagos. Ahead of the Christmas and New Year festivities, the Federal Government yesterday declared free train ride from Lagos to Ibadan. This followed the test-run of the section of the 157-kilometer project from Fagba in Lagos to Ibadan where the standard gauge train terminates.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi who flagged off the train service from Lagos Saturday said the free ride which would commence on Monday would last till March 2020. Read more
Kogi West Senatorial rerun: Adeyemi ousts Melaye (Nation)
Following the conclusion of the Court of Appeal ordered rerun of the Kogi West Senatorial District rerun election, Senator Smart Adeyemi of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared winner.
Adeyemi defeated the incumbent, Senator Dino Melaye of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who represented the Kogi West district in the seventh Assembly and the ongoing 8th assembly by a margin of over 20,000 votes.
Read Also: Dino Melaye joins Nollywood hours after losing in court
He was defeated after the result of the supplementary poll, which held on Saturday, Adeyemi, a two-term senator who represented the district in the fourth and fifth assembly. Read more
$40m seed funding boosts fintech operations in Nigeria (Guardian)
Nigeria’s Financial Technology (Fintech) community has received a boost of $40m seed fund.
PalmPay, the latest fintech startup to receive seed funding has already said it is working on partnerships in the areas of payment systems integrations, e-commerce, lending and communications.
Africa’s Fintech space has witnessed an influx of startups looking to offer scalable solutions for the continent’s financial needs.
According to statistics provided by WeeTracker, Fintech now receives the bulk of Venture Capital and deal-flow to African startups. Read more
World AIDS Day: Despite efforts, challenges persist (DailyTrust)
Since the first two cases of AIDS, which sent panic, doubt and disbelief to the nation, was diagnosed in Nigeria in 1985 and reported in 1986 in Lagos, the fight by both the Federal Government and donor agencies to bring an end to the epidemic has been intensified, but achievement is still dragging in some aspect. Thirty years after, challenges such as stigmatization, lack of fund, access to drugs and others have not been fully tackled.
The spread of the infection over the past years has a great impact on health, welfare, employment and the criminal justice sectors; affecting all social and ethnic groups throughout the world, as the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s recent epidemiological data indicate that HIV remains a public health issue that persistently drains our economic sector having claimed more than 25 million lives over the last three decades. Read more
China due to introduce face scans for mobile users (BBC)
People in China are now required to have their faces scanned when registering new mobile phone services, as the authorities seek to verify the identities of the country’s hundreds of millions of internet users.
The regulation, announced in September, was due to come into effect Sunday.
The government says it wants to “protect the legitimate rights and interest of citizens in cyberspace”.
China already uses facial recognition technology to survey its population.
It is a world leader in such technologies but its intensifying use across the country in recent years has sparked debate. Read more
Sex assaults on cruises up a whopping 67 percent this summer (NYPost)
It’s hell on the high seas.
Cruise liners experienced an unprecedented crime wave this summer, with 35 sex assaults, two disappearances and five thefts of $10,000-plus reported to the FBI during the third quarter of this year.
The agency fielded more complaints of serious crimes on cruises from July through September than during any other three-month period since at least 2016, the most recent year for which data is publicly available, according to the US Department of Transportation’s most recent Cruise Line Incident Report published last week.
Sex assaults were by far the most frequently reported crime.
Of the 35 reported sexual assaults, 27 involved passengers; five involved crew members and three cases involved “others” — though the FBI would not specify whether that breakdown addressed victims or perpetrators. Read more
Jay-Z suing Australian children’s bookstore for using his image and lyrics (Page6)
“You some type of lawyer or something? Somebody important or something?”
Jay-Z is suing a small web-based shop in Sydney, Australia, called The Little Homie, according to the New York Times. The item that sparked the lawsuit is a book called “A B to Jay-Z” which repurposes a line from the rapper’s famous song “99 Problems” as “If you’re having alphabet problems I feel bad for your son, I got 99 problems but my ABCs ain’t one.”
The book features Jay’s likeness, as well as those of other rappers like Biggie Smalls and Eminem. It was released two years ago and Little Homie — which said it was hoping to inspire “the next generation of hood rats” — says it sold out within days, according to the Times. Other titles offered by Little Homie include “First 50 Words With 50 Cent” and “1 2 3 With the Notorious B.I.G.” Read more
Whale found dead on bank of River Thames (BBC)
A dead whale has washed up in the River Thames for the second time in two months.
The mammal, believed to be a minke whale which can grow up to 33ft (10m) long, was found motionless on the river banks under Battersea Bridge late on Friday.
The Port of London Authority (PLA) said it will “endeavour to get the whale recovered safely” over the weekend. Read more
Ahmedu banks on early preparations for Tokyo 2020 ticket (Sun)
Assistant National Women’s team Coach, Peter Ahmedu has said that D’ Tigress are good enough to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic ticket but says he believes the dream will turn into reality if the team have early preparations.
“The Draw that has pitched us in Group A alongside USA, Serbia and Mozambique is surely a tough one but there is a possibility that Nigeria can pick one of the tickets available in the group.
While he is not undermining fellow African side Mozambique, he points out that Nigeria will not take any team for granted. “All the teams in our group are tough opponents but I have confidence that the Nigeria Basketball Federation will do the needful to enable the technical crew.” Read more
Man City do not need to change approach – Pep Guardiola (BBC)
Pep Guardiola might well be facing the toughest challenge of his managerial career.
In the top-flight seasons in which Guardiola has won titles across Europe’s major leagues, he has never had to overcome a gap as large as 11 points – the current margin between leaders Liverpool and his Manchester City side, the defending champions.
City twice led at Newcastle before being forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in the early kick-off, before Liverpool overcame a nervy finish – which included a red card to goalkeeper Alisson for handball – to edge past mid-table Brighton on a dramatic day of action. Read more
Liverpool go 11 points clear with win despite keeper Alisson’s red card (BBC)
Liverpool keeper Alisson was sent off for a blatant handball outside his penalty area as the Reds moved 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League with victory over Brighton.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were coasting to victory after two Virgil van Dijk headers from Trent Alexander-Arnold assists in the space of six first-half minutes.
But Alisson’s red card – for handling as Brighton substitute Leandro Trossard bore down on goal – gifted the visitors a lifeline. Read more
Ex-Super Eagles goalkeeper Ikeme eyes Wolves return (Independent)
Former Nigeria international Carl Ikeme has revealed his desire to return to Wolverhampton Wanderers in a coaching or mentoring capacity, according to Goal.com reports.
The goalkeeper, who spent his entire career with Wolves since joining the side at the age of 14, was forced to an early retirement last year due to his battle with leukaemia.
However, after intense treatment, the ex-Super Eagles star was told he is in ‘complete remission’ from the disease and has spoken of his desire to return to his childhood club soon. Read more
Mourinho invites ball-boy to Tottenham’s pre-match meal (Vanguard)
New Tottenham coach. Jose Mourinho in an expression of his delight at the win against Olympiacos in the Champions League invited his favourite ball-boy into Tottenham’s inner sanctum on Saturday as a reward for his quick reactions during the match.
Callum Hynes met Kane and the Spurs squad and joined them for their pre-match meal at the stadium as they prepared to take on Bournemouth in the Premier League before taking up his usual place on the touchline.
The 15-year-old, a long-serving ball-boy at White Hart Lane, earned his place in Mourinho’s affections when he threw a ball quickly for Serge Aurier to launch the attack which led to an equaliser as they fought back from two down to beat Olympiacos 4-2.
Victory against the Greeks secured a place in the last 16 of the Champions League for Spurs and ensured the new boss sent the fans home happy after his first home game in charge. Read more
Lewis Hamilton ends pole drought for F1 finale (Vanguard)
Lewis Hamilton, a six-time champion ended his nine-race pole drought to ensure he will start from the head of grid for Sunday’s 2019 Abu Dhabi GP finale.
Hamilton’s four-month wait for just the fifth pole position of his dominant title-winning year is over after a brilliant performance saw him outpace Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.2 seconds with a Yas Marina track record 1:34.779.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third but is promoted to the front row next to Hamilton, with Bottas to drop to 20th and last owing to a double engine change. Read more
Lyon fight back to continue resurgence under Garcia (Guardian)
Rudi Garcia’s Lyon battled back to claim a fourth Ligue 1 win in five games with a 2-1 victory at Strasbourg on Saturday, moving to fourth in the table.
Lyon were only a point above the relegation zone when Sylvinho was sacked and replaced by former Marseille coach Garcia last month, but are now just two points adrift of Angers in the third and final Champions League place.
Midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide scored the winner as Lyon bounced back from the midweek defeat at Zenit Saint Petersburg which left them third in their Champions League group.
Youssouf Fofana drilled in the opening goal to put Strasbourg ahead midway through the first half, but Maxwel Cornet’s fine left-footed finish five minutes before the break drew the visitors level. Read more
Patrick Vieira ‘right man’ to succeed Emery, says David Seaman (Nation)
Patrick Vieira is the “right man” to become Arsenal boss, according to former Gunners goalkeeper David Seaman.
Arsenal are starting their search for a new manager for only the second time in 23 years after sacking Unai Emery.
And ex-Gunners captain Vieira, now manager of Nice, could be a candidate.
“I am sure Arsenal fans would love Patrick to come back to the club. Knowing Patrick, I think he would be the right man,” Seaman told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily Podcast. Read more
Euro 2020 draw: England to face Croatia, Wales in group with Italy (NewTelegraph)
England have been drawn against Croatia and Czech Republic in Group D at UEFA EURO 2020, with Wales alongside Italy, Switzerland and Turkey in Group A.
Germany will face world champions France and reigning European champions Portugal in Group F.
The winners of Scotland’s play-off path, which includes Norway, Serbia and Israel, will join England’s group. Read more
Serie A: Pasalic double gets Atalanta back to winning ways at Brescia (Punch)
Mario Pasalic scored twice to get Atalanta back to winning ways with a 3-0 Serie A victory in a Lombardy derby at Mario Balotelli’s struggling Brescia on Saturday.
Pasalic nodded in the opener on 26 minutes, before grabbing a second after an hour with Josip Illicic firing in a late third to end Atalanta’s four-match winless run in the league.
The Bergamo side, boosted by claiming their first ever Champions League win against Dinamo Zagreb in midweek, are now level on points with fourth-placed Cagliari and Roma, who play later this weekend.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side had not won in Serie A since their 7-1 victory over Udinese a month ago. Read more