Septuagenarian guard dies after attack by Lagos driver (Punch)
The family of a security guard, James Emmanuel, has been thrown into mourning after he died from injuries he sustained when a cab driver, Habeeb Quadri, allegedly brutalised him while he was settling a dispute in the Bode Thomas area of Surulere, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the 77-year-old James, a security guard at the Eko Club, stepped out of his duty post to get something to eat when the events that led to his death occurred around 9pm.
While the septuagenarian was on his way, it was learnt that he saw Habeeb allegedly assaulting two women, including a yet-to-be-identified co-worker, who were said to have boarded his cab from Orile to the Eko Club. Read more
Lagos to strengthen economy with right policies (Nation)
The Lagos State government is determined to strengthen the state’s economy with right policies for accelerated growth and prosperity.
The state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) valued at $130 billion and over three million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), makes the state the fourth wealthiest city in Africa.
Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who gave this assurance during his meeting with captains of industry, manufacturers, and members of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in Lagos, also assured of government’s continual support in providing a more conducive environment for businesses to thrive. Read more
Police arrest 4 over kidnapping, rustling (DailyTrust)
Operatives of the FCT Police Command have arrested four suspects for alleged kidnapping and cattle rustling in Zuba and Gwagwalada areas of the FCT.
According to a statement by the spokesman of the FCT Police Command, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, the suspects were arrested around Ketti. DSP Manzah gave the names of the suspects as Jibrin Muazu, Abdullahi Mohammed, Adamu Musa and Babuga Ardo, saying seven rounds of live ammunition, one knife and two long sticks were recovered from them. Read more
COVID-19: Declining cases not curve flattening – NCDC (Independent)
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday corrected speculations that Nigeria has started flattening the curve of COVID-19, noting that the country has not yet attained that milestone.
According to the update released by the NCDC, Nigeria recorded further decline with a total of 304 new confirmed cases as at August 4, 2020. However, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director-General of the NCDC, while briefing journalists said the reduction in new infections being witnessed currently was a result of the decline in the number of samples collected across the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Read more
COVID-19: SGF submits new recommendations to Buhari, says states not enforcing regulations (DailyTrust)
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, has identified non enforcement of regulations by States as one of the key challenges facing the efforts being made to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus disease in the country.
Mustapha disclosed on Wednesday while fielding questions from State House reporters after submitting new recommendations for the second extension of the second phase of gradual and eased lockdown to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He was accompanied to the State House by members of the PTF, including the Minister of Health; Dr Osagie Ehanire; the National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr Sani Aliyu; and the Director-General of the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu. Read more
Female soldier raped by bandits appeals dismissal (Punch)
The Nigerian Army has dismissed a soldier for getting pregnant after she was raped by suspected bandits while travelling to Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
The rape victim was charged with one count of ‘conduct prejudicial to service discipline,’ found guilty and dismissed from the regiment.
She, however, declined to speak on her ordeal when contacted on the phone on Wednesday, saying, “I have not asked you to publish anything, but we are working on the appeal.” Read more
FUTA suspends final year student for hacking into newspaper’s website (Guardian)
The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) has slammed an indefinite suspension on a final-year student of the institution who hacked into the website of an online news publication, the Premium Times.
According to the institution, the student, Afolabi Emmanuel of the Department of Food Science and Technology, was suspended on Wednesday.
In a statement signed by the university’s Deputy Director, Corporate Communications, Adegbenro Adebanjo, the act by the student constituted misconduct and misuse of the university’s IT infrastructure. Read more
No repentant Boko Haram absorbed into military – Presidency (Tribune)
The Presidency has denied that repentant Boko Haram members who have completed a de-radicalisation programme are being absorbed into the nation’s military.
In a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) in Abuja on Wednesday night, it assured that the administration is conscious of its duties to society and the victims of terrorism.
The statement posited that there is no plan to recruit them into the military, noting that the de-radicalized former Boko Haram fighters went through a programme with an established example from countries with similar experiences. Read more
Burna Boy has the whole world listening (NewYorkTimes)
Burna Boy — the Nigerian songwriter, singer and rapper who was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu — once thought he’d be content writing the sleek, self-assured party tunes that first drew fans to his mixtapes in the early 2010s. But as his popularity spread worldwide, the spirits who guide his songwriting had other plans for him. Soon, he was taking up broader, more consequential ideas.
“Music is a spiritual thing,” he said in an interview via video call from his studio in Lagos. Wearing a white Uber jersey and puffing a hand-rolled smoke, with jeweled rings glittering on his fingers, Burna Boy spoke about his fifth album, “Twice as Tall,” which was still getting some finishing touches ahead of its Aug. 13 release date.
“I’ve never picked up a pen and paper and written down a song in my life,” he said. Read more
Record gold rally triples South African miner’s profits (RT)
South African mining company Gold Fields said on Wednesday that surging gold prices could catapult its half-year profits by more than 300 percent, triggering a ten percent rally in its shares.
The company, which earlier predicted that the coronavirus pandemic would have a limited negative impact on its performance, now says it could reap hefty gains due to rising gold prices.
Headline earnings (the main profit measure in South Africa) for the first half of the year are expected to be $19.5- $20.5 per share, or between 290 percent and 310 percent higher than the $0.05 per share reported last year. Read more
Coronavirus: France records two-month high in cases (BBC)
France has recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus infections in more than two months.
Figures released on Wednesday showed 1,695 new cases within 24 hours.
With more than 30,000 deaths, France has the third-highest death toll in Europe, behind the UK and Italy. Read more
Google will axe Play Music service in October (Metro)
Google has outlined plans to terminate the Google Play Music app in October. The app, which launched in 2011, allows users to upload their own songs and access them online wherever they are. It will be replaced by YouTube Music, which Google hopes to turn into a rival for Spotify and Apple Music. YouTube Music will have a catalogue of 60 million songs to stream but won’t offer users the option to purchase and download music. Thankfully, music collections from Google Play Music can be transferred over to YouTube Music. While the Google Play Music app will stop functioning in October, users will have until December to transfer their songs across. Read more
Beirut explosion: Port officials under house arrest as rescue efforts continue (BBC)
A number of Beirut port officials are being placed under house arrest pending an investigation into Tuesday’s huge explosion, Lebanon’s government says.
The blast killed at least 135 people and injured more than 4,000 others. A two-week state of emergency has begun.
President Michel Aoun said the blast was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a warehouse. Read more
Beirut death toll passes 135 as world pays tribute to explosion victims (Metro)
Countries across the globe have held vigils and shared tributes to the 135 people killed in the Beirut explosion on Tuesday.
The death toll has risen again as rescue teams continue to search for missing people among the rubble of the Lebanese capital.
More than 5,000 people were injured in the blast, while 300,000 are believed to have been made homeless. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared a day of mourning for the nation on Wednesday, with other countries also paying their respects to the victims of the explosion. Read more
Facebook and Twitter target Trump over virus claim (BBC)
Facebook and Twitter have penalised US President Donald Trump and his campaign for posts in which he claimed children are “almost immune” to coronavirus.
Facebook deleted the post – a clip from an interview he gave to Fox News – saying it contained “harmful Covid misinformation”.
Twitter followed up by saying it had frozen a Trump campaign account until it removed a tweet of the same clip. Read more
Tom Hanks in line to star as Geppetto in Disney’s Pinocchio live-action remake (Metro)
Tom Hanks might be set for one of his most heartwarming roles to date with reports the actor is in talks to star in Disney’s Pinocchio.
It’s reported that the Toy Story actor could be set to play the loveable Geppetto in Disney’s live-action remake of their classic tale. According to Deadline,
Tom was actually the one to reach out to director Robert Zemeckis about a role in the anticipated animation.
Disney have had a long run of successful live-action remakes in recent years, including The Lion King, The Jungle Book, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Read more
Man Utd complete emphatic aggregate win over LASK to reach Europa League last eight (BBC)
Manchester United came from behind to beat Austrian side LASK at Old Trafford, advancing to the quarter-finals of the Europa League 7-1 on aggregate.
Anthony Martial came off the bench to score the winner four minutes from time, collecting Juan Mata’s precise through ball before finishing off his 23rd goal of the season from 10 yards.
Earlier, Mata also provided the assist for Jesse Lingard to score for the second consecutive game. Read more
Jack Grealish offered new £100,000-a-week Aston Villa deal to snub Manchester United (Metro)
Aston Villa have offered Jack Grealish a new £100,000-a-week deal in a bid to get the midfielder to reject a move to Manchester United.
The 24-year-old was Villa’s player of the season as Dean Smith’s side survived Premier League relegation on the final day of the campaign.
United have tracked Grealish for the last 18 months and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been impressed by the manner in which the midfielder took the burden of keeping hos boyhood club in the league last term. Read more
Real Madrid leave Bale off Champions League squad against Man City (Guardian)
Welsh forward Gareth Bale, was left off Real Madrid’s team sheet for their Champion’s League match against Manchester City tomorrow. Despite facing a 2-1 deficit against Pep Guardiola’s team, manager Zinedine Zidane has once again decided not to make room for the forward in his 24-man squad, reports cbssports.com.
Bale has been snubbed from the squad for quite some time, particularly down the stretch of the club’s bid to win La Liga. He has not been seen in a game for Los Blancos since June 24, in a 2-0 victory against Mallorca.
As Madrid kept pushing for its latest Spanish league title, Bale made headlines for his antics on his bench while game after game passed him by with him not seeing any playing time. In one game, he was seen making a binoculars gesture, and in another, he was seen pretending to be asleep with his facemask over his eyes and his feet on the seat in front of him. Read more
Jakobsen in coma after Tour of Poland crash (BBC)
Dutch rider Fabio Jakobsen is in a coma in hospital after a high-speed crash on stage one of the Tour of Poland.
Dylan Groenewegen drifted across the road in the downhill sprint and he and compatriot Jakobsen collided just before the finish line in Katowice.
Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Jakobsen, 23, hit the barriers before striking an official stood by the line.
“His condition is very severe. There is a danger to his life,” said race doctor Barbara Jerschina. Read more
Roy Jones Jr plans to insure his ears ahead of Mike Tyson exhibition fight (RT)
Roy Jones Jr.’s ears must be burning, as his manager has announced he is taking out an insurance policy before the fighter’s bout against ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson on September 12 to prevent exactly that happening.
Jones Jr.’s Russian manager Zsolt Barna is anticipating a repeat of Tyson’s ill-tempered and ill-fated 1997 rematch against all-time great Evander Holyfield in which the ‘baddest man on the planet’ bit chunks from each of Holyfield’s ears.
In a statement, Barna says he deems it necessary to insure against a “possible extraordinary case” of Tyson damaging Jones Jr.’s lugholes by means outside the Marquess of Queensberry rules of boxing in their upcoming matchup. Read more
Inter Milan set to complete Sanchez signing from Manchester United (BBC)
Inter Milan are set to complete the permanent signing of Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez in the next 24 hours.
The Chile international, 31, joined the Serie A side on a season-long loan in August 2019.
He scored four goals in 29 appearances in all competitions.
Inter expect to have him available for the Europa League ‘final eight’ in Germany after beating Getafe on Wednesday night.
“We have agreed [the deal],” United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told BT Sport after his side also reached the quarter-finals with a win over LASK. Read more