SS3 student shot dead in clash with rice smugglers in Badagry (Guardian)
An SS3 student was shot dead during a clash between security operatives of the Joint Border Patrol Team (JBPT) and suspected rice smugglers at Irosu village near Badagry on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that Alade Oba (18), was hit by stray bullet and died on the spot during the clash with JBPT comprising Customs, Army and Immigration.
NAN reports that the JBPT, which was established in the aftermath of the border closure of August 2019, is yet to be disbanded.
It was gathered that the JBPT were on routine patrol at Irosu community near Sawa check point around Owode-Apa border post in search of smuggled foreign rice, following a tip off. Read more
Nigerians deserve current predicaments, says Bishop Wale Oke (Nation)
National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Wale Oke, has argued Nigeria is going through turbulent times because of multiple sins.
The Founder of The Sword of The Spirit Ministries International spoke at a fundraising dinner of N200 million for renovation and development of the PFN Lagos State Secretariat on Saturday.
He highlighted idolatry, corruption and adultery as some of the reasons for the turmoil in the country.
“We deserve what we are going through but God of mercy will deliver us.
“I want to assure you that it shall be well with Nigeria,” Oke said. Read more
Designer of1004 Flats Housing Estate in Lagos, Fola Alade, is dead (Guardian)
One of Nigeria’s first four Architecture graduates, Fola Alade, is dead.
Alade died on Saturday at the age of 87, family sources in Aramoko-Ekiti said.
Architectural masterpieces bearing his insignia are the 1004 Housing Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, defunct Federal Secretariat building, Ikoyi, Lagos and the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
Others are the Remembrance Arcade, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, Satellite Town, Lagos, Nigerian Air Force Base, Ikeja and the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies building, Kuru, near Jos. Read more
Edo’ll appoint commissioners soon, deputy gov assures (Punch)
The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu, has said that the state cabinet will be formed in few days by Governor Godwin Obaseki, saying the delay was to ensure that the people who voted in the government are part of picking the commissioners.
Shaibu stated this on Sunday while speaking to journalists shortly after the Fathers Day ceremony at St Paul Catholic Church, Benin City where he also served as a chief mass servant during the service.
He said, “We will get a cabinet very soon. The process of getting the names started from the grassroots. This governor will not appoint people all by himself. He prefers that the people should nominate those that they feel should run the affairs of the state.
“I am sure the best hand will be nominated by the people to serve their interest in the belief that together we will take Edo State to a great height,” he added.
He said serving as a chief mass servant, which he said is the fourth time he is doing so, reminded him of his days as an altar boy in Barnawa, Kaduna State. Read more
El-Rufai warns against blocking of roads (Vanguard)
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has paid a confidence-building visit to communities affected by bandit attacks around the Kaduna-Abuja Road in Chikun LGA.
The Governor who was accompanied by the Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, was at Sabon Gayan and Kakkau areas where he interacted with citizens.
The Governor was received at the Kaduna-Abuja Road by the Force Commander (Operation Thunder Strike), Lt. Col. MH Abdullahi, who briefed the Governor on the security situation in the general area, and specifically on the barricading of the road by citizens following the bandit attacks.
After ensuring accelerated flow of traffic, the Governor held a meeting at Kakkau community which was attended by the village head, Mr. Iliya Garba Zarmai and members of the community. Read more
NDLEA arrests officer, 6 others for dealing in cocaine (Guardian)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested serving officer of a law enforcement agency for selling assorted illicit drugs to students of a federal university and cultists in Ogun state.
Its Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said that the drug dealer who served in the Lagos state Command of the security agency was arrested on Wednesday, June 15.
This, he said, was after days of surveillance on his wife’s shop used as his sales point in Camp area of Abeokuta. Read more
My career was never built on winning awards, Grammy’s –Femi Kuti (Vanguard)
Afrobeats superstar, Femi Kuti has been nominated for a Grammy award four times but he has never won. In a radio chat with Beat FM 99.9 the “Stop The Hate” star explains his music and the importance of Grammy to it, citing what is more important to him than winning awards or the Grammy’s.
“My career was never built on winning awards,” he said. “ It was based on talking about social and political issues. If my career were built on winning the Grammy’s, I would probably not be based in Nigeria. I would set up somewhere in America and be lobbying for it. It’s really political, you must be there, they must see you and you must be fighting for it. I would be working with the best musicians to put a big image of my people out there.”
“If I use big American artistes to distribute my music it is already a Grammy nominated album. The Grammy already knows who I am. Most important for me and my career, is, if I can wake up and have electricity forever, if we have good salaries for everybody, pensions are paid, the roads are good, and Africa is a big party where I can drive my car from Lagos to Nairobi, Johannesburg and the place is booming with love, no award can bring me such satisfaction,” he added. Read more
Police arrest 20-year-old for alleged murder (Guardian)
Operatives of FCT Police Command have arrested one Danladi Abubakar, 20, for culpable homicide along Kasuwa-Dere, Gwagwalada axis of Abuja.
The spokesperson of the command, ASP Yusuf Mariam who made the disclosure noted that acting on credible intelligence, the suspect one Abubakar, was arrested by police detectives from Gwagwalada Division for the gruesome murder of a yet to be identified, middle-aged woman.
“The suspect who was identified by another victim confessed to being a member of a notorious phone snatching syndicates operating along Gwagwalada axis.
“Exhibits recovered are one sharp knife used for stabbing the deceased and one techno phone belonging to the late woman”. Read more
2021 UTME: JAMB blacklists Oduduwa University, 24 other CBT centres over sharp practices (Vanguard)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has delisted a total of 25 Computer Based Test, CBT centres across the country.
The board explained in a statement, Sunday, by its Head, Media, and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin, that the action was taken after assessment of their performances which showed they fell below the tolerable limit set by JAMB during the conduct of the 2021 UTME on Saturday.
“The following centres whose performance fell below the tolerable limit of the JAMB during the conduct of the 2021 UTME on Saturday, June 19, 2021 are hereby delisted. Read more
Nicolas Cage’s mum, former dancer Joy Vogelsang, dead at 85 (PageSix)
Joy Vogelsang, the mother of actor Nicolas Cage, has died.
Cage’s brother, Christopher Coppola, announced the news on his Facebook page at the time, revealing that 85-year-old Vogelsang died on May 26.
“I was with her all day but left for a couple hours and missed her passing by a couple hours so wasn’t able to hold her hand to give her my love and affection before her journey to peace land,” he wrote, alongside a photo of his mom in her younger days.
Christopher went on to detail the life lessons bestowed upon him by the former professional dancer, even while enduring a “very hard life with mental health issues.”
“In all of that painful emotional chaos she still managed to teach me something super important,” he wrote. “My mama lioness told me, her middle son cub, that I was affectionate. I was very embarrassed by the term affection. I thought it was a bad thing, a something to laugh at thing.” Read more
Covid: Brazil hits 500,000 deaths amid ‘critical’ situation (BBC)
The number of deaths related to Covid-19 has passed 500,000 in Brazil, the second-highest in the world, as experts say the outbreak could worsen amid slow vaccination and the start of winter.
The virus continues to spread as President Jair Bolsonaro refuses to back measures like social distancing.
The health institute Fiocruz says the situation is “critical”. Only 15% of adults are fully vaccinated.
Congress is investigating the government’s handling of the pandemic. Read more
Astronauts Pesquet, Kimbrough tackle ISS solar panel work in new spacewalk (France24)
Astronauts ventured out on their second spacewalk in less than a week on Sunday to install powerful new solar panels outside the International Space Station.
France’s Thomas Pesquet and NASA’s Shane Kimbrough picked up where they left off on Wednesday, when spacesuit issues and other problems prevented them from unrolling the first in a series of high-tech solar panels. American Kimbrough wore a different suit to avoid the trouble he encountered last time.
“Remember: You are butterflies with biceps today,” astronaut Megan McArthur radioed from inside.
The spacewalkers managed to bolt down the first solar wing last week, but had to delay making the electrical connections and unfurling the panel to its full 19 metres in length. That topped Sunday’s to-do list. Read more
1 in 100 deaths is by suicide -WHO (Vanguard)
The World Health Organisation (WHO), weekend said suicide remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide and responsible for 1 in 100 deaths globally.
In its latest estimates entitled: “Suicide worldwide in 2019”, WHO noted that every year, more people die as a result of suicide than HIV, malaria or breast cancer or war and homicide.
The latest estimates noted that in 2019, more than 700 000 people died by suicide: one in every 100 deaths, prompting the WHO to produce new guidance to help countries improve suicide prevention and care. Read more
Britain’s longest-hospitalized COVID patient dies (NYPost)
Britain’s longest COVID-19 patient has died, after spending more than a year in hospital.
Jason Kelk, 49, who suffered from asthma and diabetes, died at hospice in Leeds, surrounded by family after deciding he could not “live like this anymore.” He had asked his doctors to cease all treatment after spending more than 14 months in a hospital.
Kelk was admitted to St. James Hospital March 31, 2020, and was hooked up to a ventilator and transferred to an intensive care unit soon after he arrived.
The virus ravaged his lungs and kidneys, according to a report. Kelk also developed acute stomach ailments and had to be fed intravenously. Read more
Thelma & Louise stars recall male backlash to film 30 years on (BBC)
Some 30 years ago, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were propelled to new heights of stardom for their leading roles in crime drama Thelma & Louise.
In the 1991 film, the American actors played two women whose characters’ journey challenged traditional notions of femininity.
Now Hollywood royalty, the pair attended a special screening to mark the film’s 30th anniversary on Friday.
At the event in Los Angeles, Davis and Sarandon considered the film’s impact. Read more
Young Afghan writer and refugee seeks to break down walls, borders (France24)
Afghan refugee Parwana Amiri, 17, wrote her first book, “My pen won’t break but borders will”, about her experience of the Moria reception centre on the Greek island of Lesbos that was destroyed by fire in 2020. Now living in a different centre in Greece, she continues to write about the rights of refugees.
Amiri lives with her parents and sisters in a small cabin in the Ritsona reception centre near Athens, where authorities are erecting concrete walls to better control entries and exits.
But Amiri doesn’t see the construction in a positive light.
‘It is a violence against freedom,’ the Afghan teenager told FRANCE 24. ‘When you see that the camp is … located far from the town, so what does it mean to have walls around you? How are you going to find (a) job in the city?” Read more
Max Verstappen wins intense French Grand Prix battle with Lewis Hamilton (BBC)
Max Verstappen fought back to pass Lewis Hamilton and take a brilliant win in the French Grand Prix to extend his championship lead.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team gambled on an extra pit stop, sacrificing the lead to come back at Hamilton on fresher tyres to pass the Mercedes with two laps to go.
And Mercedes were ruing a strategic blunder in which they left Hamilton out one lap too long and lost the lead.
That came after Verstappen had himself gifted Hamilton first place with a mistake at the first corner of the race. Read more
Humbert upsets Rublev to win Halle final (France24)
Halle Westfalen (Germany) (AFP)
France’s Ugo Humbert pulled off an upset win over fourth seed Andrey Rublev Sunday to claim the biggest title of his career in the final of the Halle grass court tournament.
Humbert, ranked 31 in the world, earned a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) victory over world number seven Russia’s Rublev in one hour, 24 minutes.
Having won two ATP 250 titles in his career, this was the first tournament win at 500 level for the 22-year-old, who has won all three finals he has reached on the tour.
After breaking Rublev to go 5-3 up in the opening set, in which he powered down five aces, Humbert converted his fourth set point in a hard fought game. Read more
Ryan Lochte feels like he ‘let everyone down’ with Olympic dream shattered (NYPost)
Ryan Lochte wanted so badly to return to the Olympics this year, wanted to leave a different lasting impression after his scandalous 2016 Games in Brazil.
But his Olympic dream fell short Friday night. In his final chance, the 36-year-old finished seventh in the 200-meter individual medley at the US Olympic trials in Omaha, missing out on a fifth Olympics appearance at this summer’s games in Tokyo.
“I wanted to prove so much to everyone,” an emotional Lochte told reporters afterward, using a tissue at one point to wipe away tears.
During the 2016 Games in Rio, Lochte and three other US swimmers were found to have vandalized a gas station bathroom after they lied about being held up in a robbery. Lochte was suspended by USA Swimming and the US Olympic Committee for 10 months after the incident. He also received a 14-month suspension in 2018 for using an IV to get vitamins. Read more
Tokyo Olympics: Ugandan tests positive for Covid in Japan (BBC)
A member of Uganda’s Olympic squad has become the first to test positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Japan for the competition due to start on 23 July.
The event was postponed last year, but is now going ahead despite a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases in Japan.
Uganda is also experiencing a surge in cases, which forced the government to tighten lockdown measures on Friday.
The unnamed Ugandan was part of a nine-member squad who had all been fully vaccinated, reports said. Read more
Berrettini emulates Becker in winning Queen’s crown (France24)
Top seed Matteo Berrettini became the first debutant since Boris Becker in 1985 to win the Queen’s tournament, beating Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Italian may have dropped his first set of the week but his booming serve held up with 19 aces bombarding Norrie as he secured his fifth ATP title.
Becker went on to win his first Wimbledon title aged just 17 weeks later but Berrettini, 25, was happy solely to focus on Sunday’s victory.
“This is the nicest trophy for sure with all due respect to the others I have won,” said Berrettini, who won 45 successive service games after being broken twice in the first round. Read more
Kevin Durant’s legend grew even in defeat (NYPost)
Kevin Durant threw up a Hail Mary pass. That’s what it looked like in the air, anyway. A heave. A spin and a prayer. A turnaround shot for the ages.
A Game 7 shot maybe no other player on the planet could have made.
Running on fumes after again playing the full 48 minutes, Durant needed every last ounce of energy and every inch of his 7-foot-5 wingspan to get the damn thing off as he faded away, 24 feet from the basket, falling toward the sideline as the pit bull defending him, P.J. Tucker, looked on. The Nets were down two when the ball left Durant’s hands, and they were tied when the ball fell through the net with 1 second left in regulation.If you were inside Barclays Center, you will never forget the sound the crowd made when it realized the season wasn’t over after all. Madison Square Garden was never louder. Read more