VC raises the alarm as new students test positive for drugs (Tribune)
VICE Chancellor of Nigeria’s first Islamic faith-based university, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Professor Noah Yusuf, has advised the nation’s university vice-chancellors to screen prospective students on drug use before they mix and influence innocent ones.
In his speech at the 12th convocation ceremony of the university in Ilorin on Saturday, Professor Yusuf said that some fresh school leavers, who recently got admission into AlHikmah University, Ilorin tested positive for drugs.
“It was painful to the management to discover that students who just left secondary school a few months ago and sat for university qualifying examination, got duly admitted, only to test positive for drugs two weeks during registration procedure.
“The irony of it all is that the parents admitted that the children are under their care and tutelage. If such a fresher who tested positive for drugs was not discovered through the rigorous admission screening at the onset, the multiplier effects in four or five years of his stay in the university would spell great disaster. Read more
Women more inclined towards presidency of Peter Obi – Oby Ezekwesili (Vanguard)
Former Minister of Education, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, said women are more inclined towards the presidency of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
Ezekwesili stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme on Sunday.
Read also: My incantations in movies affected me in real life – Babalawo character, Alebiosu
According to her, the women and youthful segment of the country’s population are moving towards a direction of change in Nigeria.
Ezekwesili, who noted that women make up about 51 per cent of the voting population, said Obi’s prospect cannot be dismissed taking into the perspective various zones of the country and the appetite they have for an inclusive approach to governance. Read more
Alleged N89.1t stamp duty collection: Presidency defends Emefiele, says Kazaure’s cttee illegal (Guardian)
The Presidency has dismissed as fake and untrue that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, could not account for about N89.1 trillion the CBN collected as Stamp Duty charges.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a member of the House of Representatives from Jigawa, Gudaji Kazaure, in a viral video, had allegedly accused the CBN governor of attempts to cover-up facts surrounding the collection of the controversial amount.
He also alleged that he was deliberately being denied access to present a preliminary report of a committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to look into the alleged stamp duty funds being withheld by the CBN.
Also in the viral video, Kazaure urged the president to either allow him to present his report to him or immediately order a thorough investigation of the alleged stamp duty funds. Read more
NDLEA intercepts Brazil returnee with cocaine, others (Nation)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted parcels of cocaine allegedly concealed in a travel bag brought into Nigeria by a Brazil returnee, Nwadinobi Charles Uchemadu at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The suspect came in from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, announced this in a statement on Sunday.
Babafemi said Uchemadu was arrested on Monday 5th December at the Lagos airport during inward clearance of passengers on the Qatar airways flight following the discovery of three parcels of cocaine weighing 2.70 kilograms factory-sealed in parts of his travel bag. Read more
LASTMA trains students in traffic signs for safety (Punch)
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority on Sunday charged youths to act as change agents for their parents/guardians in order to ensure orderliness and safety while using different roads in the state.
The agency’s General Manager, Bolaji Oreagba, made the statement while addressing pupils and students of the Kole-Best International School, Oshodi, during a visit to the agency on the occasion of their ‘Year 2022 Career Day Celebrations’.
According to Oreagba, students numbering over 80 were educated on various traffic signs which include prohibitory and warning signs which must be obeyed by motorists on our roads.
The agency’s Director of Public Affairs Department, Taofiq Adebayo, while quoting the general manager who was represented by the Assistant Comptroller, Lagos East II, in a statement, said students were enlightened on the negative impacts of traffic congestion on human life and the need to regularly ensure free flow of traffic on roads. Read more
I never made money from investment in my private university – Atiku (DailyTrust)
Founder of the American University of Nigeria Schools and presidential candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, says he has never made money from his investment in the AUN Schools system.
He said, instead, he always requested that any surplus funds be reinvested in the expansion and improvement of the schools to maintain their world-class status.
Atiku Abubakar stated this at the weekend during a School Improvement Project presentation and Alumni fund dinner hosted by the American University of Nigeria Academy in Abuja as part of activities marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Schools.
The AUN Schools presently comprise the Academy (Nigerian and British track), the Charter School (American track), and the Elementary and Early Learning Center (pre-school cadres).
Tension, as residents discover woman’s corpse at Jos car wash (Vanguard)
The corpse of a young woman found around a car wash in the Farin Gada area of Jos North local government area of Plateau State sparked fresh tension in the area on Sunday morning, setting residents on edge.
It was gathered from some yet-to-be-confirmed sources on social media platforms that “The corpse of a young girl identified as Ruth was discovered this morning at a car wash after Hariz Filing station near Farin Gada bridge in Jos. The lady’s underwear was hanging on her legs an indication that she was raped. Her legs were dusty, an indication that there was a struggle, or probably, she was raped somewhere and her corpse dumped there. She was also stabbed.
“Ruth who lives in the Zaruma area, reports say got work in Rayfield about a week ago and it was when she closed in the evening that she met her untimely death in the hands of these unscrupulous elements. She was found with machete cuts on the body at the car wash.” Read more
Residents killed as armed hoodlums attack Ondo communities (Channels)
Some armed hoodlums on Saturday invaded Kajola and Kuseru communities in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, killing residents and destroying properties and farmlands.
An eyewitness account disclosed that the hoodlums came from the Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.
The Public Relations Officer of Ondo State Police Command, SP Funmilayo Omisanya in a statement made available to newsmen confirmed the incident, noting that it was a reprisal attack by hoodlums from Aiyetoro community.
She disclosed that the previous day, one Juliana Abejoye had been attacked by two masked men on her farm at Ogbontiba near Kuseru community but she escaped with injuries and she’s now hospitalized. Read more
Dame Emma Thompson recalls how she truly related to *that* Love (Metro)
Dame Emma Thompson admitted she channelled real life heartbreak she suffered at the hands of ex-husband Sir Kenneth Branagh while acting out her famous Love Actually scene.
The Matilda actress revealed she still had strong emotions towards the movie moment that showed her character’s discovery of her husband’s infidelity.
Gearing up to celebrate its 20th anniversary, in the 2003 film Dame Emma took on the role of wife to the late Alan Rickman’s character who realises he is cheating after finding jewellery bought for another woman in her room.
The 63-year-old mentioned she can vividly remember the way she felt at that time following her own revelation in her eight-year marriage to Sir Kenneth. Read more
Selena Gomez crashes Steve Martin and Martin Short’s ”SNL” opening monologue (People)
Live from Studio 8H — it’s Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez!
Martin, 77, and Short, 72, hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend — Martin’s sixteenth time and Short’s third time — where they were joined by Brandi Carlile, who served as the evening’s musical guest.
During the pair’s opening monologue, the comedians delivered eulogies, where they playfully teased what they would say at each other’s funerals. “Wow! Not much of a turnout,” Martin joked in his.
As the duo continued their comedic back and forth with one another, Martin then quipped, “Now that Marty is gone, who will I ever work with?” which prompted Gomez, 30, to walk on stage. Read more
In a world of e-payments, Italians defiantly cling to cash (CBC)
Buskers on the cobblestones of Naples belt out a postwar Neapolitan classic, Tu vuo’ fa’ l’americo, a teasing song about a local who wants to seem like a trendy American, drinking “whisky and soda” and dancing “rock and roll.”
Almost 70 years later, the song still captures a certain cultural resistance to modernity in this country, expressed most recently in Italians’ sluggish transition to electronic payment from cash.
In other major economies, dropping coins into the hats of street performers would be one of just a handful of cash-only situations — but not in Italy.
The country ranks near the bottom in Europe in digital payment adoption, and is among the 30 most “cash dependent” major economies in the world, in the Cash Intensity Index (ICC). Read more
Taskmaster’s Rhod Gilbert shares “optimistic” health update amid cancer battle (DigitalSpy)
Earlier this year, comedian Rhod Gilbert announced that he was undergoing medical treatment after being diagnosed with cancer.
While at the time he said he would take some time away from social media to focus on his recovery, he has now shared an update with fans.
The Taskmaster star spoke with BBC Radio Wales and shared his health journey, alongside a positive outlook for his recovery.
Rhod shared his early experiences pre-diagnosis, saying (via Metro): “I had a terribly sore throat, tightness through my neck. I was having to cancel shows because I couldn’t breathe. I was having all sorts of problems and we couldn’t get to the bottom of it.” Read more
Prince Harry ”delighted” by Netflix series despite backlash (LBC)
Prince Harry is “delighted” at his and Meghan’s Netflix documentary and has “absolutely no regrets” despite a fierce backlash in Britain.
The controversial series was eviscerated in many parts of the media for the claims they made about their time in the public eye.
Critics pointed to how they had apparently changed their story about events like how they first met, its portrayal of “racist” art that could lead viewers to think it was displayed in Buckingham Palace, and their claims about how an engagement interview had been staged – something denied by the journalist who carried it out.
William was also said to be angered by the use of the Princess Diana interview with Martin Bashir on Panorama, which was obtained through deceit. Read more
Sean ”Diddy” Combs welcomes 7th child (MusicNews)
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a new dad.
The rapper/music executive took to Twitter on Saturday to announce the birth of his seventh child, Love Sean Combs.
“I’m so blessed to welcome my baby girl Love Sean Combs to the world,” the 53-year-old tweeted. “Mama Combs, Quincy, Justin, Christian, Chance, D’Lila, Jessie, and myself all love you so much! God is the Greatest!”
Diddy, who started going by the name ‘Love’ in 2017, has been dating Yung Miami since earlier this year – but it’s unclear whether the City Girls rapper is baby Love’s mother. Read more
Rescuers searching explosion scene in Jersey ‘‘expect to find more’’ bodies (Standard)
Rescuers searching the scene of an explosion in Jersey in which three people have been confirmed dead said they “expect to find more” bodies, with around 12 residents still missing.
Robin Smith, chief of Jersey Police, said specialist teams will continue their “meticulous and painstaking search” of the area in St Helier and warned it is likely to be “weeks” before investigations are completed.
The force earlier said the mission is now a “recovery operation” for “around a dozen” missing people and they no longer expect to find anyone alive.
A blast destroyed the three-storey Haut du Mont block in Pier Road in the Channel Island’s capital at about 4am on Saturday. Read more
Crystal Palace heaps praise on Osimhen (Sun)
As part of their preparations for the Premier League restart, Crystal Palace will lock horns with Napoli in a mid-season friendly on Sunday, December 11.
Victor Osimhen, Eberechi Eze, Malcolm Ebiowei, Tayo Adaramola and Michael Olise are the young stars of Nigerian descent in contention to feature in the friendly in Turkey.
In their first friendly in Turkey, the Eagles recovered twice from a goal down to earn a 2-2 draw with Turkish champions Trabzonspor, while Napoli defeated Antalyaspor 3-2, with the aforementioned players getting minutes for their teams.
Previewing the upcoming friendly against the Serie A table toppers, Crystal Palace’s official website wrote on Napoli : “Inspired by one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers and a winger drawing comparisons with the game’s greatest. Read more
I’m ‘psychologically destroyed’ by World Cup exit —Neymar (Punch)
Neymar said Saturday he was “psychologically destroyed” by Brazil’s elimination from the World Cup in a penalty shootout defeat to Croatia and admitted it hurt more than any other loss in his career.
The 30-year-old scored a superb individual effort to equal Pele’s record goalscoring haul of 77 goals for the Selecao in Friday’s match that finished 1-1 after extra time.But he never got to take a spot kick in the shootout that Croatia won 4-2 to move into the semi-finals.
Pre-tournament favourites Brazil must now wait at least another four years to win their sixth World Cup — their last dates back to 2002.
“I am psychologically destroyed. It is definitely the defeat which has hurt me the most, which left me paralysed for ten minutes after the match, after which I burst into tears without being able to stop,” Neymar said in an Instagram message. Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo breaks silence and Balotelli shows support (FootballItalia)
Former Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has broken his silence after Portugal’s World Cup elimination and received support from Mario Balotelli. ‘The dream is over. Time will allow everyone to draw their own conclusions.’
Coach Fernando Santos was bitterly criticised for his decisions in the tournament, especially leaving both Cristiano Ronaldo and Milan winger Rafael Leao on the bench for the knockout fixtures.
Although it worked wonders when thrashing Switzerland 6-1, they were beaten 1-0 by Morocco in the quarter-final.
“Winning a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career,” wrote Ronaldo on Instagram. Read more
Gareth Southgate ”needed to be braver” in England loss to France says Jamie Carragher (DailyStar)
Jamie Carragher reckons Gareth Southgate should’ve been braver in England’s agonising World Cup quarter-final defeat to France last night.
The nation’s dreams of ending all those years of hurt were dashed by a late Olivier Giroud winner, minutes before Harry Kane’s penalty clanger, and although Southgate’s side can be proud of the way they played, Carragher thinks the Three Lions boss was too cautious with his subs.
“[England] were beaten because they were unable to take advantage when they were the better team. That was the big disappointment of the evening,” the ex-Liverpool man wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“There was a moment when it felt like England had control and needed to decide whether to roll the dice and push on. When Kane equalised with his first penalty, it felt like there was only going to be one winner. Read more
Naomi Osaka comes back to talk about her mental health issue (TennisWorld)
Naomi Osaka, at the 2021 edition of the Roland Garros, decided to not attend the press conference due to her mental health due to her not having a good time and therefore she was not ready to face questions from reporters “The organizers ignore the mental health of the athletes,” she had declared in an interview before the tournament to justify her decision.
After this period, the Japanese had decided to take a break to recharge the batteries due to the fact that she had suffered from depression and panic attacks after winning her first slam. Her 2022 was therefore far from interviews and spotlights with the tennis player who partially climbed the slope of the ranking to 42nd position.
Naomi, after a long time, came back to speak and she did so on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: “I felt it was necessary, but at that moment I felt a bit embarrassed because as an athlete they tell you to be strong and to overcome everything, but I think I’ve learned that it is better to regroup and adapt the feelings you have in that moment so that you can come back stronger. Read more
Tiger Woods makes tough golf confession about son Charlie which gets fans talking (Express)
Charlie Woods – the son of golf legend Tiger – has now hit a longer drive than him. The startling admission from the 15-time major winner came during Capital One’s The Match, an event that saw Woods and Rory McIlroy team up to face Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth under the lights in a 12-hole competition.
The players were mic’d up during the contest and the commentators proceeded to ask the 46-year-old if his teenage son and promising golfer could hit further than him, which prompted a reluctant admission. “I hate to say it but I’m going to admit it, that he finally did it,” Woods said. “A few weeks ago, I spun one, he tomahawked one and got me.”
Fans reacted to the admission and the response was rather mixed, with this user claiming it did not bode well for the remainder of the American’s illustrious career. “If Charlie is outdriving Tiger, it doesn’t make me optimistic that Tiger will win again on the PGA Tour,” their tweet read.
Woods last won a PGA Tour title in 2019 capturing the Zozo Championship in Tokyo. He needs just one more title to break the record – he currently shares it with Sam Snead on 82 – for the player with the most PGA Tour trophies of all time. Read more