Residents decry onslaught of traffic robbers, cultists, urge governor to swing into action (Guardian)
Olamide Iwayemi is still very shaken and in disbelief, a week after he, along with his wife were attacked and robbed in front of their estate in Lagos.
He told The Guardian that they were coming from church around 8 pm and just dropped off by a church member at the estate gate off Okota road, waiting to cross the busy road when a commercial motorcycle parked beside him.
“I thought the passenger(s) wanted to disembark, but to our shock, the two of them got down and showed us a cutlass and a gun, telling me to bring my phone and my wife’s bag.
“I tried to fight them and was already succeeding when the other person faced my wife, hitting her hand with the cutlass. I had to plead with them to take the bag and just go before they killed her, which they could easily have done. Nobody came to our aid, despite how loudly we were screaming. Read more
5 killed as hoodlums clash over election banner in Lagos (Punch)
Five persons have been reported killed in a clash involving factional members of the All Progressives Congress in Oko-Baba, in the Lagos Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State.
During the clash, which started around 11am on Wednesday, residents scampered for safety as the hoodlums fought with different weapons, including guns, sticks and machetes.
When our correspondent visited the area on Wednesday, he observed heavy presence of policemen in the community.
A Black Maria was also stationed at the roundabout, where a burnt car was still smouldering. Read more
Late army boss, 6 others to be buried in Abuja today (Guardian)
The burial proceedings of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and six other senior officers who lost their lives in an air mishap in Kaduna on Friday will be held on Saturday in Abuja.
Army’s Director of Public Relations Brig. Gen Mohammed Yerima said the burial will commence at the National Mosque and National Christian Centre, Abuja by 10am.
The interment for the late COAS and 6 other senior officers will take place at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja by 1 pm.
The army officers were killed on May 21, 2021 when their plane crashed in near the Kaduna International Airport, an air force spokesman said. Read more
Attahiru’s death: ‘I’m deeply shaken with a sense of great personal loss — El-Rufai (Vanguard)
Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of Kaduna state has said that the news of General Attahiru’s death has left him deeply shaken, with a sense of great personal loss, coming so soon after his appointment had brought immense pride and a sense of hope to the people of Kaduna State.
Samuel Aruwan, Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, said in a statement on Friday night that the Kaduna State Government received with immense sadness news of the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and other senior military officers in a plane crash which occurred in Kaduna on Friday evening.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai eulogized Lt. Gen. Attahiru as a shining star whose sudden death has robbed Nigeria of an officer striving to bring the new drive to secure the country against terrorists and other threats to national security. Read more
Friends mourn as newly married NAF pilot dies in Kaduna crash (Punch)
Friends, family members and associates of a Nigerian Air Force pilot, Flt Lt Alfred Ayodeji Olufade, are inconsolable at the moment as the young officer, who recently got married, died when a Beachcraft 350 aircraft crashed at the Kaduna International Airport on Friday.
Olufade and the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, as well as nine other military personnel were onboard the jet when it crashed around 6pm on Friday. The 11 souls died in the tragic incident.
Friends and associates of Olufade have since taken to the social media to express raw grief over the sad demise of the officer. Read more
Nigeria to keep petrol price at N162/Litre in June (Guardian)
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, has assured that the Federal Government would retain the current pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, at N162 per litre next month.
This is coming days after the 36 state governors agreed to the total removal of subsidy and mulled a pump price of N385 per litre.
The minister said in Abuja, yesterday, that despite the huge burden of under-recovery, the Federal Government was not in a hurry to increase the price of petrol.
The Guardian had last month reported that the Federal Government would retain subsidy on petrol for the next six months, with the deferment estimated to cost the country a whopping N720billion. Read more
Shock as about-to-wed NAF pilot dies in Kaduna crash (Punch)
Friends and family members of a Nigerian Air Force pilot, Flt Lt Taiwo Olufemi Asaniyi, are grief-stricken at the moment as the young officer, who was about to wed, died when a Beachcraft 350 aircraft crashed at the Kaduna International Airport on Friday.
Asaniyi was the pilot of the ill-fated jet which also claimed the lives of his co-pilot, Flt Lt Alfred Ayodeji Olufade, newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and eight others.
Friends and associates of Asaniyi have since taken to the social media to mourn the youth.
A tweep, @_victor_kings, wrote, “Flight lieutenant T.O Asaniyi. He flew the plane, we had his introduction in March. I was going to be his best man.” Read more
Hospitality industry recovering from COVID-19 effects – Lai Mohammed (Vanguard)
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed says the nation’s hospitality industry is beginning to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the world.
The minister who said this at the commissioning of Marriot Hotel in Lagos, noted that the creative and hospitality industry was the worst hit by the pandemic.
He said the commissioning of the hotel, located in the heart of Lagos, was a beacon of hope that the Nigerian hospitality industry was re-emerging from the pandemic.
The minister recalled that the hospitality industry in Nigeria and Africa as a whole had grown rapidly in the last 30 years and witnessed dynamism over time. Read more
Einstein handwritten letter with E=mc2 equation auctioned (BBC)
A letter written by Albert Einstein containing his most famous equation, E=mc2, has sold at auction in the US for more than $1.2m (£850,000) – three times more than had been expected.
Experts say there are only three other known examples of the equation in the physicist’s handwriting.
The equation was first published in a scientific paper by Einstein in 1905.
It explains the interchangeability of energy and mass when a body moves at the speed of light. Read more
Quincy Jones wouldn’t work with Elvis because he felt he was racist (PageSix)
Quincy Jones refused to work with Elvis Presley because he felt that the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was racist.
“I was writing for [bandleader] Tommy Dorsey, oh God, back then in the ’50s. And Elvis came in, and Tommy said, ‘I don’t want to play with him.’ He was a racist motherf—er. I’m going to shut up now,” the music legend told the Hollywood Reporter for “THR Icons” series.
Meanwhile, Jones said he also suffered through a racist experience with Truman Capote while producing the score for the movie adaptation of Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”
“[Capote] called [director] Richard Brooks up, he said, ‘Richard, I can’t understand you using a Negro to write music to a film with no people of color in it’,” Jones alleged. Read more
Violence erupts at flashpoint mosque on day one of Israel-Hamas ceasefire (Metro)
The first day of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire ended in violence after Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque shortly after prayers. Officers were seen attacking Muslim worshippers on Friday at the holy site in East Jerusalem’s Old City, which was a flashpoint for the recent 11-day conflict. Palestinians flocked to the mosque earlier today to celebrate the end to the fighting, before deciding to march to the centre of the Old City. But their plans were thwarted when Israeli police employed stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowds. Read more
Prison guards spared jail time in Epstein suicide plea deal (BBC)
Two prison guards have admitted falsifying records on the night disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in August 2019.
But in a plea deal with federal prosecutors, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas would be spared jail time.
The pair fabricated log entries to make it seem like they had conducted required half-hourly checks on Epstein.
But the court heard they were actually snoozing or surfing the web instead of making their rounds. Read more
Why do we have sex dreams and what do they mean? (Metro)
Sex dreams happen, and when they do, they’re often quite strange. Why am I dreaming about that person I have no romantic interest in? Why do I keep having slumber visions of myself having sex in public, when that seems terrifying in waking life? What does it all mean? Most of the time, sex dreams are really nothing to ponder too deeply – they don’t necessarily reveal some bigger hidden truth about your sexuality, and you shouldn’t panic if your dream self has dream sex with someone you IRL hate. Read more
Whipsnade Zoo: Brown bears shot dead after enclosure escape (BBC)
Two brown bears have been shot and killed after escaping from a zoo enclosure.
Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable said the animals were euthanised by zookeepers on Friday, after using a fallen tree to get into a neighbouring enclosure.
The zoo’s chief curator, Malcolm Fitzpatrick, said the two female bears, named Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, had attacked a male boar.
He said it had been “an incredibly upsetting and difficult day”. Read more
Waldrum snubs Oparanozie again, invites 10 NWFL stars for US tourney (Punch)
Super Falcons head coach, Randy Waldrum, overlooked striker Desire Oparanozie for the upcoming Summer Series tour of the United States of America scheduled to hold from June 10 to 16.
The 27-year-old Oparanozie, who has four goals for French side Dijon, last played for the Falcons at the 2019 women World Cup in France and has been excluded from the national side after a fallout with officials over players allowances.
But American Waldrum named 10 Nigeria Women’s Professional Football League players in the provisional list of 25 players for the tournament.
According to the coach, two players would be dropped from the provisional squad before the team depart for the US. Read more
World Cup: FIFA to consider holding men’s and women’s events every two years (BBC)
Football’s world governing body Fifa is to launch a feasibility study into holding the men’s and women’s World Cups every two years instead of four.
The proposal, by Saudi Arabia’s football federation (SAFF), received backing at Fifa’s annual congress.
The study will also look at the qualifying competitions for these tournaments.
“We believe the future of football is at a critical juncture,” said SAFF president Yasser Al-Misehal. Read more
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms Hannibal Mejbri will make Manchester United debut against Wolves on Sunday (Metro)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed Hannibal Mejrbi will make his Manchester United debut against Wolves on Sunday. United head into the final day of the Premier League season with nothing to play for, having already wrapped up second place behind champions Manchester City. But with the Europa League final against Villarreal on 26 May looming, Solskjaer is expected to make widespread changes to his starting XI with plenty of youngsters expected to be given game time. Amad Diallo and Anthony Elanga were handed starts in the recent defeat to Leicester City with Solskjaer revealing at a press conference on Friday Shola Shoretire will also be given some minutes, having made his senior debut earlier this season against Newcastle United. Read more
European Aquatics Championships: Kathleen Dawson wins gold in 100m backstroke (BBC)
Britain’s Kathleen Dawson claimed a sensational European 100m backstroke title despite having to swim the final twice during controversial evening of swimming in Budapest.
Dawson won the initial final in 58.18 seconds before it was discovered a faulty speaker had prevented Sweden’s Louise Hansson from hearing the starting buzzer.
The result was annulled after appeal.
And two hours later Dawson return to claim victory in 58.49.
“I’m so proud of myself,” Dawson said. Read more
Thomas Tuchel speaks out on Harry Kane with Chelsea in race to sign Tottenham star (Metro)
Thomas Tuchel insists there is not a manager in the world who would not want to work with Harry Kane with Chelsea in the race to sign the wantaway Tottenham striker. The England captain indicated this week that he is looking to leave Tottenham at the end of the season in order to enhance his career. Manchester United are understood to have made an approach to Spurs while Kane himself has also suggested he is keen on a move to Manchester City, recently revealing he would relish the chance to line up in the same side as Kevin de Bruyne. Read more
Clutch Gleyber Torres, triple play propel Yankees past White Sox (NYPost)
The Yankees arrived home Friday and put their recent surge to the test by welcoming the American League’s top team to The Bronx.
While the Yankees’ dominant starting pitching held up, their bats faced an equally daunting task before delivering just in time.
In a game that featured 26 total strikeouts and a timely triple play, it seemed only fitting that it ended in a walk-off as Gleyber Torres came through in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Yankees to their fourth straight win, 2-1 over the White Sox at Yankee Stadium.Torres, who had homered two innings earlier to break a scoreless tie, roped a single to score Aaron Judge from second base and send the season-high crowd of 14,011 into a roar. Read more