Policemen, thugs, forcefully eject Ikeja residents (Vanguard)
Blood bath was narrowly averted, early this morning, when land speculators in company of thugs and armed policemen invaded Kudeti street in the highbrow Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos, forcefully ejecting residents of the area.
The thugs who were wielding dangerous weapons and equipped with painting materials were going from house to house armed with a court order and forcing people out of their respective homes with their property in the full glare of gun- toting policemen numbering about 30.
Eyewitness account said the infuriated residents and landlords trooped out enmasse and confronted the Invaders alleging that they were flaunting fake court judgement with a view to forcefully dispossess their hard- earned properties from them.
One of the residents who identified himself as a customs officer said he had been living in the estate for over twenty years. He recalled that in 1986, the same people invaded the estate with same fake court judgement and embarked on massive destruction of properties including forcing residents out of their homes. Read more
Lagos commuters stranded as drivers protest alleged ‘extortion’ (Nation)
Commuters along Ikorodu road on Monday were stranded as commercial drivers parked their buses along the Onipanu/Palm groove axis over alleged extortion by men of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force) and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).
Several commuters heading to Jibowu, Maryland, Ikeja, axis had to trek long distances in the early hours of Monday.
The Nation gathered the bus drivers withdrew their buses, forcing commuters to resort to trekking while recalcitrant drivers were prevented from operating by transport union members.
A Commercial bus (Danfo) driver, who spoke with The Nation under anonymity, said they were protesting daily seizure of their buses and extortion by officials of Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force) and LASTMA over frivolous traffic rules violation. Read more
I returned to school because my children laughed at me – 65-year-old farmer (Punch)
A 65-year-old man, Joseph Ugbene, a native of Egede, in the Udi council area of Enugu State, has said he returned to school to acquire secondary education because his children laughed at him when he spoke English and mixed up his tenses.
Ugbene, who said he dropped out of school after the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War that ended in 1970, stated this during the graduation of the Adult Education Programme, Egede, which marked the completion of his Junior Secondary School education on Sunday.
The farmer noted that his dream to acquire basic education was shattered by the civil war.
He said, “I was in class one in secondary school when the civil war broke out and after the war, things changed. I had no means of going back to school because my father died. Read more
Woman bites neighbour’s scrotum in Osun (Nation)
A 28-year-old woman, Nifemi Ajayi, has landed in trouble in Ile-Ife of Osun State for allegedly biting her neighbour’s scrotum.
The police on Monday dragged Nifemi before an Ile-Ife Magistrates’ Court on one count of assault.
The prosecutor, Inspector Sunday Osanyintuyi alleged: “On Aug 24, 2021, around 8:00 pm at No 21, Oke-Soda, Ile-Ife, Nifemi bite one Olayera Boluwaji on his scrotum and left side stomach, which caused him bodily harm.”
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He noted that the offence committed is contrary to and punishable under section 355 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Osun, 2002. Read more
JAMB, tertiary institutions decide fate of 1.4 million candidates Tuesday (Sun)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and heads of tertiary institutions in Nigeria will be meeting Tuesday to deliberate on the 2021 admissions exercise.
The crucial meeting will decide the fate of 1.4 million candidates who wrote the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) nationwide and in three foreign countries.
The admission policy meeting will also attract key stakeholders such as vice chancellors, rectors and provosts from private and public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Also expected are the Executive Secretaries of National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), heads of West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO), Director General, National Youths Corps Members (NYSC) and other relevant agencies involved in admissions.
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, will declare the policy meeting on admissions open as well as release the ministerial guidelines for the 2021 admissions exercise. Read more
Ezekwesili becomes Yale University’s senior fellow (Guardian)
Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs has awarded Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili and five other global figures as senior fellows. Ezekwesili, a former Presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections, is to teach democracy and economy in the institution.
Receiving the new fellows, the President of Yale University, Peter Salovey, used the opportunity to welcome its 19 returning fellows, even as he listed this year’s senior fellows include, Obiageli Ezekwesili(Nigeria), Staffan de Mistura, Jessica Faieta(Ecuador), Anne W. Patterson, David Brooks, and Jessica Seddon(United States).
In a statement signed by Salovey, the institution explained that Jackson’s senior fellows are leading practitioners in various fields of international affairs, and will spend a year or semester at Yale teaching post-graduate courses and mentoring students.
“Ezekwesili will teach two post-graduate courses on Democracy and Africa’s Economic Philosophy, respectively, during the 2021 fall semester. Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs applies evidence-based scholarship to challenges of maximum global importance, such as climate change, war and peace, ethnic conflict, inequality, and migration,” the statement noted. Read more
FG implements cooking gas imports tax, price jumps by 100% (Punch)
The Federal Government has implemented a 7.5 per cent tax on imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, as the cost of the commodity leap by over 100 per cent within a period of eight months.
It was gathered on Sunday that the government implemented the VAT on LPG imports about three weeks ago and some dealers were also mandated to pay the tax for commodities imported several months ago.
Operators told our correspondent that Nigeria imports about 70 per cent of the commodity, while the rest was mainly supplied by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company.
It was also gathered that the cost of a 12.5kg of cooking gas that sold for about N3,500 in December 2020 had jumped to as high as N6,800 in parts of Abuja. Read more
Jos residents troop to markets, banks after relaxation of curfew (DailyTrust)
Residents of Jos metropolis have rushed to markets to buy essential commodities after the Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong, relaxed the 24 hours curfew in Jos North Local Government Area of the State on Monday morning.
He said in a state broadcast that the curfew would now be enforced from 6pm to 6am until further notice.
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Our correspondents report that customers have also rushed to some of the banks that operated for bank transactions.
Daily Trust correspondent, who went around, reports that shop owners and other business centres were operating.
Major and smaller motor parks have also started operating. Read more
Slipknot’s Corey Taylor thinks a “selfish” concertgoer likely gave him COVID-19 (Consequence)
Slipknot singer Corey Taylor, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, believes he likely caught the virus from a “selfish” concertgoer at one of of his summer solo shows.
The metal vocalist had revealed on August 20th that he contracted COVID-19 despite being vaccinated. He then quarantined himself in a Denver hotel, where he tested negative after a week or so of fighting off the virus. At one point he said it was the worst he’d ever been sick in his life.
His wife, Alicia Dove, reported late last week, “Corey has been testing negative for two days. Had he not been vaxxed, this would have lasted much longer and been exponentially worse. I know this won’t change all minds, but if you’re on the fence, do it. Now it’s time to snag my man and drive home! I have missed him so much!”
In a new video interview with a fan as part of the GalaxyCon event, Taylor also confirmed that he has now tested negative, while also discussing how he may have contracted COVID-19. Read more
VW customers will soon have a choice for in-car 4G connectivity (Engadget)
Volkswagen has unveiled a new feature for its Car-Net connected vehicle service that lets you get 4G data from two major US telecoms. Called “Carrier of Choice,” it offers the option of Verizon or T-Mobile, making it relatively easy to add your vehicle to an existing mobile plan.
Starting in September, VW owners in the US will be able to access the subscription plan options on VW’s dedicated website or via its mobile app. From there, you can add an account to your existing mobile wireless provider (assuming it’s Verizon or T-Mobile) and pair it with your existing Volkswagen Car-Net subscription. It will then appear as a new line-item on your existing bill. If you’re not already with those carriers, you can get unlimited 4G data for $20 per month.
Car-Net offers connected car features like remote start, locking and unlocking the vehicle, maintenance, status, teen driver alerts (curfew, boundary, speed) and more. Those features can be accessed remotely from both iPhone and Android smartphones using VW’s updated mobile app. It also offers a WiFi hotspot with “unlimited” 4G connectivity for up to four devices. Read more
“Ang Ano”: Duterte’s latest rambling inspires new avant-garde “poetry” (Interaksyon)
Filipino literary personalities created another poem out of President Rodrigo Duterte‘s rambling during his taped pandemic task force meeting on August 26.
It was similar to previous poems titled “The Kit” and “The Pill” some writers circulated last year.
They also formed this poem-like structure with words and remarks taken from parts of the chief executive’s national addresses.
This time, Duterte made some incoherent and incomplete phrases about him and presidential spokesperson Harry Roque making a visit via a helicopter. Read more
US airstrike on ISIS kills civilians; report says 10 members of one family died (USAToday)
A US airstrike targeting Islamic extremists may have also killed civilians in Kabul, the Pentagon acknowledged.
“We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties,” said Navy Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, on Sunday. “It is unclear what may have happened, and we are investigating further.”
On Monday, neighbors told the Washington Post the deadly strikes killed at least 10 of their family members, among them children. All of the dead were from the same extended family, killed while in their driveway when a drone struck a nearby vehicle.
The military noted after the strike that it was aware of civilian casualties and “would be deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life.” Read more
Chinese Poet Hu Xudong passes away at age 47 (ChinaDaily)
On Thursday, four days after the Chinese poet Hu Xudong died due to illness at the age of 47, a farewell ceremony for him was held in Beijing. People from all walks of life mourned his passing.
Hu was acknowledged in China as a representative poet of those born in the 1970s and named among the Top Ten New Poets of China. He was the recipient of the Liu Li’an Poetry Award (1998) and Rougang Poetry Award (2003).
Based in Beijing, Hu published a series of books of poetry in Chinese, including From Water’s Edge, The Strength of the Calendar, The Eternal Inside Man, Travel/Poems, and Poems of Diapers. He also published books of prose in Chinese, such as Random Words of A Random Life, Go to Brazil, and Eat/Think. Hu’s work has been translated into English, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Japanese. Read more
Making 1 simple substitution for table salt could save millions of lives, study shows (ScienceAlert)
In the kitchen, salt almost feels like cheating. Adding just the right dash of salt instantly enhances the flavor of almost any savory dish – but there’s a definite downside to this cheap and plentiful ingredient.
Put simply, too much salt is bad for you. More specifically, too much sodium is bad for you, and sodium is one of the two primary elements that make up salt (aka the chemical compound sodium chloride).
Much prior research has investigated the links between excess levels of dietary sodium and health issues – such as increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
At the same time, other studies have plotted the health impacts of insufficient potassium in people’s diets, which also has a negative effect on blood pressure. Read more
Messi makes PSG debut in 2-0 win (BBC)
Lionel Messi made his Paris St-Germain debut as a 66th-minute substitute in a 2-0 win at Reims in Ligue 1.
The Argentine, wearing his new number 30 PSG shirt, received a standing ovation as he replaced his friend Neymar in front of a sell-out crowd.
It was the first club game of his career for a team other than Barcelona.
“He is still far away from his best form but he has been training well and he will be fit in the next two weeks,” boss Mauricio Pochettino told Amazon. Read more
WNBA players association aims to close gender pay gap through new initiative (NewsOne)
The gender pay gap is a longstanding issue that has plagued different industries and a group of women athletes is setting out on a mission to change the narrative surrounding inequities in sports. According to Insider, the WNBA Players Association recently unveiled a plan designed to address the wage gap.
When it comes to investments in women’s sports, the statistics are abysmal. For every endorsement dollar invested in men’s sports, less than half a penny goes to women. Cognizant of the disparities, WNBA stars were determined to take their tenacity and leadership beyond the court and into the arena of activism. Los Angeles Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike—who has continually used her platform to evoke social change—has teamed up with other players to lead an effort centered on leveling the playing field for women athletes.
As part of the initiative, WNBPA inked a partnership with the company Parity. Founded in 2020, the platform was created to align professional women athletes with corporate sponsorship opportunities. The company merges sports and technology in an effort to eradicate the gender pay gap issue. Parity has worked with over 600 athletes across 40 different sports and has garnered support from brands that include Morgan Stanley and Microsoft. Read more
Namibian female sprinters are victorious at World Under-20 Athletics Championship amidst bans over discriminatory tests (GlobalVoices)
The World Under-20 Athletics championships took place in Nairobi from August 17–22nd at the Kasarani Sports complex. Coming on the heels of a delayed Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo, the world athletics meet was a showcase of young talent looking to move up the age bracket to match — if not better — their older peers.
While Kenya largely dominated at this year’s World Under-20 Athletics Championships, two Namibian sprinters, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi stole the show. The duo bettered their Olympics performance achieving a 1-2 finish at the Championships in Nairobi to give Namibia a Gold and Silver in the women’s 200m sprint. Mboma won the 200m race with a new championship record of 21.84 seconds, with Masilingi second in a personal best time of 22.18 seconds.
Who’s Eligible and who is Not?
The championships in Kenya were held against a backdrop of controversy after the World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), which governs international athletics, implemented the Difference of Sex Development -DSD Eligibility Rules (DSD Regulations) published in 2018 targeting women athletes with high testosterone levels. World Athletics petitioned the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to uphold the new rules and created a set of briefing notes to support their motion. The court released the following ruling: Read more
Bayern Munich sign Marcel Sabitzer from RB Leipzig (Punch)
Australian international, Marcel Sabitzer, has been signed by Bayern Munich and will remain with the club until 2025.
The Bundesliga champions disclosed this in a statement issued on their website on Monday.
The 27-year-old attacking midfielder will wear the Number 18 shirt.
“Marcel Sabitzer offers everything that an FC Bayern player needs,” Oliver Kahn, FC Bayern CEO was quoted by the club’s website. Read more
Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Indian athletes make history (BBC)
Indian athletes have put their best-ever performance in the history of Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
They won five medals on Monday, including two golds, taking the country’s tally of medals to eight.
Their previous best performance was at the 2016 Rio Games, when the contingent won four medals – two golds, one silver and one bronze.
Shooter Avani Lekhara created sporting history after becoming the first Indian woman to win a Paralympics gold medal. Read more
Jake Paul survives vicious punch to beat Tyron Woodley (NYPost)
Jake Paul survived his toughest boxing challenge yet.
The YouTube star improved to 4-0 with a split decision win over Tyron Woodley, outboxing the former UFC welterweight champ after getting rocked by a right hand in the fourth round of their fight on Sunday night.
“I learned a lot tonight,” Paul said after the fight in his hometown of Cleveland, via ESPN.com. “First time going back past four minutes. First time in an eight-round fight. … To be honest, I won convincingly. We’re gonna go back to the drawing board. I think I proved a lot (Sunday night) and proved a lot of people wrong.”
Jake Paul was sent against the ropes by Tyrone Woodley on Aug. 29, 2021.
Jake Paul was sent against the ropes by Tyrone Woodley on Aug. 29, 2021.
Getty Images
The 24-year-old continues to frustrate detractors and now owns back-to-back boxing wins over two former UFC stars in Woodley and Ben Askren.
Paul graded himself a “C-minus” for the fight, in which he outlanded Woodley 71-52 in total punches over eight rounds, according to Compubox. The highlight of the fight was Woodley sending Paul crashing against the ropes with an overhand right. Woodley outpaced Paul on power punches, 41-35. Read more