Why Seme border was partially closed – Buhari (Guardian)
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has said the partial closure of Nigeria’s border with Benin Republic was because of the massive smuggling activities, especially of rice, taking place on that corridor. Buhari discussed this at the ongoing Seventh Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD7), in Yokohama, Japan. Until Buhari’s comment in Tokyo, there was no official statement announcing the closure but travellers have reported restrictions since August 20. Read more
Katsina attacks: Masari dialogues with bandits, says enough is enough (Nation)
Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina state, Thursday engaged representatives of bandits terrorizing the 8 frontline local government areas in the state aimed at finding a permanent solution to the incessant attacks and kidnappings that has gripped the state for some time now. Read more
Workplace hazard: FG urges adherence to Factory Act (Punch)
The Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Senator Donald Alasoadura, has called for strict adherence to guidelines of the Factories Act to reduce risks and disasters in the workplace. Alasoadura made this call at a One-day National Stakeholders Awareness and Sensitisation Workshop on ‘The Lifting and Allied Work Equipment Safety Regulations 2018’ in Abuja on Thursday. Read more
Japanese PM pledges $412,740 for Nigeria’s defence college, healthcare (Guardian)
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to support the Nigerian government with $412,740 for Nigeria’s Defence College and the country’s public healthcare sector. Abe promised the grants after Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari sought the Japanese government’s help in combating piracy and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea during a bilateral meeting between the Nigerian delegation and Japanese officials on the margins of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) in Yokohama, Japan. Read more
Wike seeks creation of state police (Nation)
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has called for the establishment of state police to fight insecurity in the country. Wike spoke on Wednesday when the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Ms. Agnes Callamard, visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt. Read more
We’ll peg secondary school leaving age at 18 —Osun Speaker (Punch)
Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye, has said the parliament would soon come up with a law that would peg secondary school leaving age at 18. A statement signed by the lawmaker, copy of which was obtained by our Correspondent on Thursday, said Owoeye disclosed this in his goodwill message to the Osun Youth Agenda High-Level Stakeholder’s Policy Dialogue, held in Osogbo. Read more
Oyo pensioners hail Gov Makinde over prompt payment of allowance (Guardian)
The Oyo State Chapter of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), on Thursday, commended Gov. Seyi Makinde, over the prompt payment of Pensioners’ monthly allowance. Chairman of the chapter, Mr Olusegun Abatan, who spoke in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Thursday, described the governor “as God-sent”. “I want to sincerely and most honestly tell you that we are indeed lucky to have Makinde as our governor. Read more
SEC engages Armed Forces, Police, others on investment initiatives (Nation)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in its bid to ensure the proliferation of financial literacy and investors education, has reached out to officers in the Armed Forces, Police, and other Para-military and other agencies on the investment initiatives in the Capital Market, and how to protect their sundry investments. Read more
EU signs €50 million MOU with Nigeria (Guardian)
The European Union Thursday signed €50 million Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigeria to assist most vulnerable communities in northeast Nigeria. EU Commissioner for International Development, Neven Mimica and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama signed the MOU in the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari who is in Japan to take part in the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), holding in Yokohama. Read more
$9.6bn UK judgement: I didn’t see contract papers, says Ex-AGF Aondoaka (Nation)
Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Chief Michael Aondoakaa said he is in total support of efforts by President Muhammadu Buhari and Justice Minister Malami Abubarka Malami to probe the $9.6B United Kingdom (UK) judgement debt against the country. Read more
Customs impound N501.6m worth of contraband (Nation)
The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone C of the Nigeria Customs Service has impounded 16 exotic vehicles including an Armoured Landcruiser, 4338 bags of foreign rice and fake drugs with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N501, 650,065.00. The Zonal Controller, Comptroller. Olusemire Kayode, said that the seizure was between June and August this year. Read more
Reham Saeed: TV host suspended over obesity comments (BBC)
Egyptian TV host Reham Saeed has been suspended from appearing in the media over controversial remarks made about obese people. The country’s media regulator said Saeed used words and phrases that were clearly offensive to women in Egypt. On her show, Saeed said overweight people are “a burden on their families and the state”. Read more
Student sues Ugandan president, spokesman for blocking him on Twitter (Punch)
A Havard student, Hillary Innocent Seguya Taylor, has dragged the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, government spokesman, Ofwono Opondo and the Police Chief, Asan Kasingye, to court for blocking him on Twitter. According to East African, Taylor filed the lawsuit at the High Court in Uganda’s capital Kampala. In the lawsuit, Taylor stated that he is a Ugandan citizen pursuing a Masters’ degree in International Relations in Havard. Read more
Brexit: Next week ‘only opportunity’ to act on no deal (BBC)
Next week could be MPs’ “only opportunity” to challenge a no-deal Brexit, ex-minister David Gauke has said. This follows the prime minister’s decision to suspend Parliament in September and October. The move sparked criticism from those who argue Boris Johnson is trying to prevent MPs from blocking a no-deal Brexit. Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg said their outrage was “phoney”. Read more
US ready to fight Amazon fires only in cooperation with Brazil (Guardian)
The US is ready and willing to help Brazil fight forest fires in the Amazon, an aide to President Donald Trump said Wednesday, but only if it involves working with the Brazilian government. On Monday the countries of the G7 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — pledged $20 million (18 million euros) to tackle blazes engulfing parts of the world’s largest rainforest that is crucial for maintaining a stable global climate. Read more
FBI’s James Comey broke rules with Trump memo, says watchdog (BBC)
Former FBI Director James Comey has been criticised in a Department of Justice report for the leak of memos on his interactions with President Trump. An internal watchdog said Mr Comey had failed to “live up” to his duty to safeguard sensitive information. The watchdog said Mr Comey broke FBI rules by giving a memo to a friend who shared its contents with a reporter. Read more
Ukraine parliament approves 35-year-old lawyer as PM (Punch)
Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday approved President Volodymyr Zelensky’s candidate for prime minister — a 35-year-old lawyer who works for his administration called Oleksiy Goncharuk. A majority of deputies voted to back Goncharuk, who has just three months of government experience and promised to “put an end” to corruption during a speech in parliament. Read more
Erdogan says Turkey won’t allow US to delay Syria ‘safe zone’ (Guardian)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Turkey would not allow the US to delay the establishment of a ‘safe zone’ in northern Syria, in comments published on Thursday. Ankara and Washington earlier this month agreed after difficult talks to set up a buffer zone between the Turkish border and Syrian areas controlled by the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia. The NATO allies agreed to set up a joint operations centre which Turkey said at the weekend was at full capacity. Read more
Hurricane Dorian: ‘Extremely dangerous’ storm bears down on Florida (BBC)
Hurricane Dorian is expected to strengthen into an “extremely dangerous” storm as it heads towards the US mainland, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned. Dorian is currently a category one hurricane, but could be at least category three by the time it reaches the mainland, news agency AP reports. The storm is expected to hit somewhere between Florida and southern Georgia. Read more
Two arrested after man, 39, stabbed to death in south London (Metro)
A man has been stabbed to death in south west London – becoming the fifth knife crime victim to die in the capital in just over two weeks. A murder probe has been launched after the victim, aged 39, was found suffering stab injuries on Thursday afternoon. Emergency services were alerted to the incident at 12.07pm at Brixton Hill, in Lambeth. Read more
Colombia ex-Farc rebel Iván Márquez issues call to arms (BBC)
A former commander in the Farc rebel group in Colombia, Iván Márquez, has called on his followers to take up arms less than three years after the rebels signed a peace agreement with the government. Iván Márquez appeared in a video in military fatigues and carrying a gun. He announced that a “new phase of the armed struggle” was beginning. Read more
Anti-groping stamp lets victims mark assailants (BBC)
An anti-groping device aimed at tackling sexual harassment on public transport has been launched in Japan. It allows victims to mark their assailants with an invisible ink stamp in the shape of a hand. People can then use the device’s black light to identify those who have been marked. Read more
Bodybuilder delivers swift justice to ‘thief who tried to rob him twice’ (Metro)
A ‘thief’ ended up in a bloody mess on the floor after his alleged victim tracked him down. Bodybuilder Max Barnett, from Grimsby, claimed a man tried to use his bank cards after initially robbing his car a fortnight ago. Mr Barnett’s footage showed a shoeless man lying on the ground with blood streaming from a head wound. Read more
Mars mission readies tiny chopper for Red Planet flight (BBC)
Engineers preparing the next American Mars rover have installed one of its most exciting experiments – a chopper. The mini-helicopter is regarded as a bonus on the 2020 mission. It will be the first such aircraft deployed on another world. If it works, it’ll be amazing, but if it doesn’t it won’t detract from the overall goals. Read more
Justin Bieber cries as he performs at his church for the first time (Metro)
Justin Bieber broke down in tears as he performed in front of his church congregation for the first time. Leading the service at Hillsong Church in Los Angeles, the Sorry singer spoke about his journey to find God and the difficult couple of years he has had, crying as he did so. He then led the congregation in song, performing with the church band while wearing a white t-shirt, beanie hat and baggy shorts from his Drew clothing line. Read more
Josh Maja: Nigeria chase England-born forward (BBC)
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr says he is keen on having England-born striker Josh Maja play for the Super Eagles next month. Maja, born in London to Nigerian parents, scored 16 goals in 30 appearances for Sunderland last season before switching to French club Bordeaux in January. Uncapped by England at any level, Maja has scored twice in 10 appearances in Ligue 1 for Bordeaux. Read more
FIFA set deadline for Cardiff, Nantes over Sala dispute (Punch)
FIFA have given French club Nantes and Cardiff City 10 days to reach a settlement in the dispute overpayment of the transfer fee following the death of Emiliano Sala. According to a letter sent to both clubs, if they miss the deadline FIFA will issue its own ruling, which is subject to appeal. Read more
Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Manchester United is a ‘no-brainer’ for two reasons, claims Paul Ince (Metro)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic could bring two key things into the Manchester United dressing room – goals and experience – and that’s why Paul Ince thinks they should snap him up if the chance arises. United are on the brink of sending a second forward of the window to Inter Milan with Alexis Sanchez having followed Romelu Lukaku to Serie A. Read more
Kroos back in Germany squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers (Punch)
Midfielder Toni Kroos was named in the Germany squad on Thursday for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland, with Emre, Can and goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen also making a return to the national team. Kroos had missed their most recent internationals in June with a muscle injury while fellow midfielder Can last made the squad in October 2018 while Ter Stegen had been nursing a knee injury. Read more
Aaron Wan-Bissaka & Tyrone Mings earn England call-ups for Euro 2020 qualifiers (BBC)
Manchester United full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Aston Villa centre-back Tyrone Mings have won their first call-ups to the England senior squad. Wan-Bissaka, who moved to Old Trafford from Crystal Palace this summer, was part of the Under-21 squad in June’s age-grade European Championships. Mings, 26, has made an assured start to his career at Villa since joining, initially on loan, in January. Read more
Lewandowski extends Bayern contract until 2023 (Punch)
Striker Robert Lewandowski has extended his contract at Bayern Munich until 2023, the defending Bundesliga champions announced on Thursday. “FC Bayern is one of the three largest clubs in the world and we have an outstanding team. I am proud to be part of this club,” said the 31-year-old, who has scored 207 Bundesliga goals in 292 appearances for Bayern and former club Dortmund. Read more
Matteo Darmian: Manchester United defender poised for Old Trafford exit (BBC)
Matteo Darmian may leave Manchester United in the coming days with the club likely to offload a defender before Monday’s European transfer deadline. United have received an inquiry from an unnamed club for the 29-year-old, who arrived from Torino for £12.7m in 2015. Darmian has played only 13 times since December 2017 and his contract is due to expire next year. Read more
Valtteri Bottas will remain at Mercedes for 2020 Formula 1 season (BBC)
Valtteri Bottas will remain at world champions Mercedes for the 2020 Formula 1 season. Mercedes exercised an option to extend his contract after team boss Toto Wolff decided to retain the Finn rather than promote reserve driver Esteban Ocon. Ocon has joined Renault for 2020 after a year on the sidelines. Read more
Formula 1 to have record 22 grands prix in 2020 season (BBC)
Formula 1 will have a record 22-race season in 2020. The sport’s calendar, announced on Thursday before the resumption of the current season in Belgium, features two new races in the Netherlands and Vietnam. Only Germany has been lost from this year’s 21-race schedule. Read more
