SARS officials to face murder charge over Lagos killings (Guardian)
Four police officers arrested by the command ‘decoy’ operatives for alleged extra-judicial killing are to face murder charges in court. Lagos State police spokesman, Bala Elkana, who confirmed the arrest of the ‘trigger-happy’ officers noted that the attention of Lagos State Police Command was drawn to a video on social media showing some Police Officers shooting two unarmed suspects who were arrested and already in their custody against the code of professional conduct and laws guiding how suspects in Police custody should be treated. The policemen were identified as Inspector Fabiyi Omomayara, Sergeant Olaniyi Solomon, Sergeant Solomon Sunday and Corporal Aliyu Mukaila attached to Iba Division Patrol team. Read more
APC to new Ministers: take Nigerians out of poverty (Nation)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has told the newly inaugurated Ministers there was an urgent task ahead of them to lift Nigerians out of poverty, secure lives and property as well as grow the economy. The party also said that Nigerians are also waiting for them to build infrastructure, bring back discipline to private and public conducts and mobilise Nigerians through personal examples towards evolving a Nigeria we all can be proud of. In a congratulatory message to Ministers by the National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC said the Ministers should settle down quickly and hit the ground running and consolidate on the progress that have been made in the various sectors. Read more
Atiku’s petition is ‘worthless’ – INEC (Guardian)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during its final submissions before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) said Atiku Abubakar and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the petition that it transmitted results electronically and abandoned its pleadings by not calling any witnesses is “worthless.” “This is a worthless petition. INEC did not abandon its pleadings. It only extracted salient evidence from their (petitioners) witnesses,” INEC’s lawyer, Yunus Usman (SAN) said on Wednesday. “We urge the court to dismiss this petition, which was meant to test the water with two legs, and they are now falling.” Read more
Tribunal reserves judgement after Buhari’s petition defence (Guardian)
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has reserved judgment in the suit filed by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party challenging the election of President Muhammadu Buhari. A five-man panel of the tribunal headed by Justice Mohammed Garba reserved its judgment to a date to be communicated to all the parties involved in the petition. One of PDP and Atiku’s petition against the Nigeria president’s second term election was based on Buhari’s academic qualification. Read more
Malami resumes as AGF (Punch)
The new Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), resumed office at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja on Wednesday. He resumed office at about 2.40pm about one hour after he and 42 other ministers were sworn in and assigned portfolios by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday. He arrived in a convoy with some aides and political associates. Read more
Helicopter dropped weapons for my boss inside forest —Suspected bandit (Punch)
A 20-year old suspected bandit, Aliu Musa, revealed on Wednesday that he once watched a helicopter drop weapons for his boss inside Dinya Forest in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State. Musa, along with another suspected bandit, Salmanu Isa, 18, were among other suspects paraded for various offences at Katsina Police Command headquarters. Musa told journalists in an interview that the weapons were dropped in broad daylight for his boss inside the forest. Read more
Enugu Airport closure will affect economy of South East, says Nnaji (Nation)
The Chairman of House Committee on Aviation Hon. Nnolim Nnaji has expressed concern over the planned closure of Enugu Airport noting that it would have adverse effect on the socio economy of the South East. He regretted that the closure was coming at a time travelling by road in south East zone has become a nightmare due to the prevailing security challenges. He however, stressed that his committee would work assiduously with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure that the repair works are completed within the stipulated time. Read more
Niger SDP gov candidate regains freedom after N4m ransom (Punch)
The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2019 election in Niger State, Mahmood Sani, has regained his freedom after six days in the den of kidnappers. His freedom came after his relatives paid N4m as ransom to his abductors. Sani was kidnapped on the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway while he was on his way to Zamfara State. Read more
Kebbi police rescue three-year-old girl from kidnappers (Punch)
The Police in Kebbi State have rescued a three-year-old girl, Haruna, from the hands of some female kidnappers. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Garba Danjuma told newsmen in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday that the little girl was abducted since June 28 in Jega local government area of the state. Danjuma said that two women had been arrested while their accomplices were being tracked. Read more
Flood takes over residential areas in Maiduguri (Punch)
Flood has taken over residential quarters and major roads in Maiduguri following heavy rainfall in the past two days in the metropolis. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the rain which lasted for many hours on Monday and Tuesday resulted in flooding in residential areas and other strategic locations in the metropolis. Some of the affected areas include Polo, Gomari major roads and Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons camp. Read more
South African court restricts display of apartheid-era flag (Guardian)
In a landmark ruling, a Johannesburg court on Wednesday barred the unjustified display of South Africa’s apartheid-era national flag, saying such gestures amounted to “hate speech” and “harassment”. Judge Phineas Mojapelo said in Johannesburg that any gratuitous display of the old flag was “racist and discriminatory”. “It demonstrates a clear intention to be hurtful, to be harmful and incite harm and it in fact promotes and propagates hatred against black people… it constitutes hate speech”. Read more
Trump’s Denmark snub over Greenland sale ‘annoys’ PM (BBC)
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says she is “annoyed” at Donald Trump’s decision to cancel his visit after being told Greenland was not for sale. “Our preparations were well under way,” she said, adding she had been looking forward to meeting the US president. Ms Frederiksen reiterated that the island of Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, could not be bought. Read more
Man wanted over rape of woman, 27, in Newcastle five years ago (Metro)
Police are still looking for a man wanted in connection with a sexual assault in 2014. They have just reissued two photos of the person to try to identify him. The victim was raped in Newcastle after she met a man when out with friends and then went back to his home on Stamfordham Road. She said she was attacked in the early hours of June 29. Read more
US moves to abolish child migrant custody limits (BBC)
Migrant families who cross the southern border of the US illegally could be detained indefinitely under a new regulation announced by the Trump administration. It replaces an agreement that set a limit on how long the government could hold migrant children in custody. The move was announced by Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and is due to come into effect in 60 days. Read more
Iran tanker breaks down in Red Sea: ministry (Guardian)
An Iranian oil tanker has broken down in the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia but its crew are safe and carrying out repairs, the oil ministry’s website said on Wednesday. The HELM suffered a “technical fault” about 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of the Saudi port of Yanbu on Tuesday, the ministry’s website said, citing the National Iranian Tanker Company. Read more
Baffled student tells Twitter: ‘I’m not a Chinese agent’ (BBC)
Twitter announced on Monday it had removed 936 accounts it said belonged to a state-backed Chinese effort to sow discord and undermine protests in Hong Kong. The accounts taken down represented “the most active portions of this campaign”, the company said. That was news to Luka Ivezic, a 24-year-old student at Kings College London, whose account – @TechPoliticist – had been suspended, and appeared on the list of those said to be run by, and out of, China. Read more
Woman raped child relative then murdered her aunt with a meat cleaver (Metro)
A woman who raped an underage male relative before hacking her aunt to death with a meat cleaver has been jailed for 23 years. Elizabeth Sanchez, 32, was jailed on Tuesday for the manslaughter of Maria Palaguachi, 50, at Palaguachi’s home in Queens, New York, during June 2017. Palaguachi, who was killed with blows to the head, back and shoulder, had taken Sanchez in to her home when she had nowhere else to stay. Read more
Papua prison break: Hunt for 250 inmates who escaped torched prison (BBC)
Indonesian authorities are hunting for more than 250 inmates who escaped from a prison in the province of West Papua. The prison break happened Monday as protesters took to the streets in several cities blocking roads, and torching buildings including the jail. The unrest was triggered by the detention of Papuan students in the city of Surabaya over accusations they had disrespected the Indonesian flag. Read more
Cambodian PM sues political foe in French courts (Guardian)
Cambodia’s leader issuing a longtime political opponent in a French court for defamation, the lawyer who filed the complaint said Wednesday. Opposition figure Sam Rainsy, a French citizen, accused prime minister Hun Sen of plotting the 2008 death of the police commissioner in a helicopter crash, according to the lawsuit which will be heard in France. The lawsuit is a rare legal challenge outside of Cambodia, where rights groups say the courts are controlled by the ruling party. Read more
Everest region bans single-use plastic (Guardian)
Single-use plastics have been banned in the Everest region to reduce the vast amounts of the waste left by trekkers and mountaineers, Nepali authorities said Thursday. In addition to seeing a record number of climbers this year, a government-led cleaning initiative on Everest — the world’s highest mountain — also collected over 10 tonnes of trash. Read more
Man punched pregnant girlfriend’s stomach in hypothetical row over who would get custody (Metro)
A dad-to-be repeatedly punched his pregnant girlfriend’s stomach and pulled out chunks of her hair after a hypothetical discussion about who might get custody of their unborn child. Mark Cottrell, 32, savagely beat his girlfriend Hayley Dearden and threatened to stab her three-year-old daughter while she was in the house during a fit of rage. Read more
Man accused of upskirting over 550 women in Madrid (BBC)
A man has been arrested in Madrid on suspicion of taking upskirt videos of more than 550 women and posting much of the content online. The 53-year-old Colombian man allegedly filmed the videos on a mobile phone hidden in a backpack. Police say he then uploaded at least 283 videos to pornographic websites, racking up millions of views. Read more
South Africa coach tips Nigeria for glory in table tennis (Nation)
Despite the cocky posture of Egypt in the table tennis event of the 12th Africa Games, South Africa coach, Ashley Wagner believes Nigeria is a team to beat in Morocco. Nigeria and Egypt are top seeds in men and women events with winners in each event qualifying for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. But the South Africa tactician said tactically Nigeria has an edge over every team in the competition based on the quality of its players. Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo admits he could retire from football next year (Metro)
Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he could retire from football as early as next year but insists he’s ‘happy’ at Juventus for the time being. The 34-year-old forward is widely regarded to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game after lifting five Ballon d’Ors and multiple trophies across Europe. Last season, Ronaldo added two more pieces of silverware to his ever-expanding cabinet after completing a move from Real Madrid to Juventus, winning the Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italia. Read more
Twitter agree to meet with Manchester United over Pogba abuse (Guardian)
Twitter has reacted to calls for more to be done in preventing racist abuse of footballers on social media platforms by agreeing to meet with representatives of Manchester United they announced on Wednesday. United executives were keen for a meeting with Twitter after their French World Cup-winning midfielder Paul Pogba was the victim of abuse following his penalty miss in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Read more
Daniel Sturridge: Ex-Liverpool striker joins Turkish side Trabzonspor (BBC)
Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has joined Turkish top-flight side Trabzonspor on a three-year deal. The 29-year-old was released by the Reds in the summer after a six-year stay during which he scored 67 goals in 160 appearances. The former England forward began his career at Manchester City before joining Chelsea in 2009. Six-time Turkish champions Trabzonspor finished fourth in the league last season. Read more
Ribery arrives Tuscany ahead of Fiorentina move (Punch)
French winger Franck Ribery arrived in Italy on Wednesday to complete a medical ahead of signing a two-year contract with Serie A club Fiorentina. “Welcome legend,” the Tuscany club wrote on Twitter with a photo of the 36-year-old wearing the club’s purple colours and holding a Fiorentina scarf. The former French international has left Bayern Munich as a free agent after 12 seasons with the German giants during which he won 23 trophies. Read more
Joe Willock reavels how Dani Ceballos has impressed Arsenal squad in training (Metro)
Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock admits Dani Ceballos’ Man of the Match display against Burnley came as no surprise to his team-mates – because he’s a top performer in training. The Spaniard put in an impressive display on his full debut for the Gunners and provided two assists in Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Burnley. Read more
Tottenham Hotspur to refinance stadium debt (Punch)
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club plans to refinance about 400 million pounds ($485 million) of its stadium debt through bonds issued via a private placement arranged by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, according to a source familiar with the matter. The holding company of the English soccer club originally took out a 400-million-pound five-year loan from BAML, Goldman Sachs and HSBC in 2017 to finance the construction of its new 62,062-seat stadium. Read more
‘Not easy’ – Rummenigge suggests Sanches and Boateng could leave Bayern (Guardian)
Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has suggested that Renato Sanches and Jerome Boateng may be heading for the exit door at Bayern Munich, telling Sky Germany that both players will find it difficult to break into the first team this season. Portuguese midfielder Sanches and German defender Boateng have both pushed for a move away from Bayern in recent months. Both have dropped down the pecking order in their positions. Read more
Women to get gender-neutral rugby World Cup from 2021 (Guardian)
The Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017 will be the last to bear that title with World Rugby announcing on Wednesday they are adopting a policy of gender neutrality for their tournaments. In what they say is “a first for a major sporting federation” the 2021 edition of the women’s event in New Zealand will be known simply as Rugby World Cup 2021, with ‘Women’s’ dropped from the title. Read more
Tyson Fury mocks ‘147-year-old’ Luis Ortiz and makes Deontay Wilder fight prediction (Metro)
Tyson Fury does not anticipate Deontay Wilder being caused any problems in his rematch with Luis Ortiz and played down the chances of another Andy Ruiz Jr-style upset. Though a fight between WBC heavyweight champion Wilder and Cuban veteran Ortiz was announced some time ago, a date has yet to be confirmed – though it will likely need to happen before the end of November. Read more
Anthony Yarde v Sergey Kovalev: Experience ‘won’t count’ in world title bout (BBC)
Undefeated Briton Anthony Yarde says Sergey Kovalev’s experience will count for little when he faces the WBO light-heavyweight champion on Saturday. Yarde will challenge for his first world title in Kovalev’s home town of Chelyabinsk, Russia. The Russian, 36, has contested a world title in each of his last 15 fights. Read more