Jewish Agency chairman, Isaac Herzog has been elected as the11th president of the State of Israel after receiving 87 votes from parliamentary members in a secret ballot vote in the Knesset plenum.
60-year-old Herzog’s opponent, Israel Prize-winning educator Miriam Peretz received 27 votes and three Members abstained. Had she been elected, Peretz would have become Israel’s first woman president.
It was the largest victory in any presidential election in Israel’s history. Herzog will take over from President Reuven Rivlin when his term ends on July 9. Wednesday’s presidential vote came as Israeli politicians from across the spectrum were holding 11th-hour negotiations to cobble together a new administration aimed at ending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s 12 straight years in office.
The Israeli presidency exerts little power, primarily meeting with party leaders after legislative elections and tasking candidates with forming governments. It is the country’s prime minister who wields actual executive authority.
The president however has the ability to grant pardons, a potentially important function as Netanyahu faces trial for alleged fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
A veteran politician, Herzog is a former head of the Labor Party, a former opposition leader, a former welfare and diaspora minister and is the son of Chaim Herzog, who served as Israel’s president from 1983 to 1993.
A former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell (L), and a former Director with Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Prof. Robert Rotberg (R), have said it is time for the United States to acknowledge that Nigeria is a failed state.
Campbell and Rotberg said this is in light of the many security threats plaguing the country.
This was made known in an article titled, “The Giant of Africa is Failing” which was published in the May/June edition of Foreign Affairs magazine.
Both men stated that every part of Nigeria now faces insecurity which threatens the nation’s corporate existence.
The article read in part, “Nigeria’s worldwide companions, particularly the USA, should acknowledge that Nigeria is now a failed state. In recognition of that truth, they need to deepen their engagement with the nation and search to carry the present administration accountable for its failures, while additionally working with it to supply safety and proper financial system.”
Campbell and Rotberg noted that the security agents have been unable to curb crime due to the sophisticated weapons that the criminals in the country have known their possession.
They also spoke about the Buhari Administration, stating that the country had moved from being a weak one to a failed one.
“Underneath the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, a number of overlapping safety crises has remodelled Nigeria from a weak state right into a failed one. Buhari’s authorities has struggled to quell numerous Jihadi insurgencies, together with the one waged by the militant group Boko Haram,” the article read.
The duo alleged the Federal Government seemed to have given up in some areas and non-state actors had taken over while quasi-police organisations and militias controlled by state governments have become more common.
The authors stated that due to kidnappings and other crimes, several schools had been forced to shut down.
The article reads: “Regional quasi-police forces and militias—generally related to state governments however not often formally sanctioned—train de facto authority in some areas. However in lots of others, the federal authorities have successfully ceded management to militants and criminals.”
Campbell and Rotberg said that most failed states in Africa such as the Central African Republic, Somalia, and South Sudan are small or marginal but Nigeria, in contrast, boasts rising inhabitants of over 200 million people and could be the third-largest country on earth by 2050.
Campbell and Rotberg said happenings in Nigeria also affect other areas of Africa.
The article adds that Nigeria depends too much on oil and is regularly faced with economic disasters.
The authors wrote: “However the Nigerian state has long failed to supply its residents with social companies and Nigerian politics is basically an elite sport disassociated from governance.
“The Federal Government doesn’t or cannot tax the true wealth of the nation, stays too depending on income from oil and gasoline, and lurches from one fiscal disaster to a different. Corruption is structural, too, casting almost everybody as each perpetrator and sufferer.”
The authors recommended that through conferences, technical recommendations, and different instruments of “comfortable diplomacy,” the US ought to help civil society and Nigerian non-governmental organisations in their efforts to strengthen the nation’s democracy.
The Delta State Police Command has arrested 12 members of a drug syndicate that allegedly supply criminals in Sapele illicit drugs.
Spokesperson of the command, DSP Bright Edafe, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday June 1, said police acted on a tip-off and raided the hideout of the syndicate.
“Acting on Credible intelligence that a cartel suspected to be dealing in cocaine are domiciled in Sapele, police operatives attached to SACU went on a discreet operation to investigate and fish out these elements who supplies criminals in Sapele with cocaine, Indian hemps and other illicit drugs, which they depend on before going for their criminal activities,” Edafe stated.
“On 29th may 2021, SACU Operatives stormed their hide out, where over 50 suspects were sighted, they immediately took to their heels, the police went after them, and arrested Eric Atijegbe ‘m’ 35years, Adams Esubi ‘m’ age 46years, Joshau Oda ‘m’ age 18years and nine others all of Okpe Delta State, exhibit recovered includes cocaine, refnol, Indian hemp, cracks and other illicit drugs. Case is currently under investigation.” he added.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state has described the killing of former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, as politically motivated.
Gulak was murdered while on his way to the airport in Owerri, the Imo state capital on Sunday, May 30.
Speaking at a press conference today May 31, Governor Uzodimma said he was shocked by the murder of the politician.
“I was shocked to my marrows when the sad news of his callous murder was broken to me. I was getting ready to go to church when the sad news came and I could not attend the service again. It was simply one of the most devastating news I have had in my life and I am yet to recover from the shock.
Alhaji Ahmed Gulak was in Imo State for a national assignment. He came to Owerri with the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendment. Being a humble man, he chose to travel incognito according to his friend who was with him.
Someone must have trailed him from the hotel to the airport. That is exactly why his gruesome murder appears to be a clear case of political assassination.
According to reports by the police, he was shot in cold blood and the assailants did not remove a pin from him. It is most benumbing that people chose to waste such innocent blood in such a dastardly and cowardly manner.
Let me make it very clear that everything will be done by security agencies to find those who murdered Gulak and their sponsors. They will not by the grace of God escape their deserved punishment.
This is not in our character as Ibos, not in our tradition nor in our culture. We must condemn this callous act.”he said
Argentina has been axed as Copa America host just 13 days before the tournament’s first game following a rise in Covid-19 infection rate.
The tournament, featuring 10 South American nations, had been due to be held in Argentina and Colombia between June 13 and July 10, the first time in its 105-year history with joint hosts.
However, Colombia was removed as co-host on May 20 after a wave of protests demanding social and economic change spread across the country and Argentina has now followed due to what CONMEBOL said was the ‘present circumstances’.
CONMEBOL did not disclose the nature of the circumstances that led to the decision but Argentina is currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
‘CONMEBOL is analysing offers from other countries that have shown interest in hosting the continental tournament,’ it said in a short statement. ‘Updates will be announced soon.’
Officials from the organisation will meet on Monday to decide on the next steps for the tournament, which was held over from 2020 due to the pandemic.
Argentina saw COVID-19 cases grow quickly in May and prompted the government to mandate a strict new lockdown.
Members of the Eastern Security Network, the paramilitary organization of the Indigenous People of Biafra have been accused of burning a man’s mansion and fleet of cars over claims of him planting cameras to monitor them.
Facebook user, Ugo Egbujo identified the victim as Chief O.K Ugba and also disclosed that the incident occurred in Amangwu Ohafia community of Abia state.
Egbujo disclosed that the man’s brother said he installed solar lights in the village, but ESN members misjudged him and claimed that he installed cameras to monitor their activities.
It was alleged that they looted and burnt down his mansion. They also burned his G-Wagon. BMW X6, Range Rover Sports and other cars.
Egbujo wrote;
Chief O.K Ugba
Ishi bu MBA.
The head that carries the burden of the town .
That’s his house.
Razed by unknown arsonists.
His brother said the man installed solar lights in the village. The ESN misjudged him..they said he installed cameras to monitor their activities.
That’s their story.
The man’s mansion has been burnt down,.
His fleet of cars. G wagon. BMW X6. Range Rover Sports etc., all burnt.
His entire house looted and razed.
His sin was that he installed solar lights in Amangwu Ohafia.
This is that last thing a republican and capitalist society that encourages being brothers keepers needs
A culture of arson and assassinations will make Igbo land desolate.
Once violence sets in it spreads like a wild weed.
My sympathy is not for the rich like Isi bu Mba
It is for the poorest of the poor . They will suffer the most .
A man on trial was filmed slitting his own throat in horrific scenes that played out in court.
In the video, filmed in a courtroom in Minsk, Belarus, the man, an opposition activist named Stepan Latypov, is seen behind a caged dock as he stands trial for organising opposition to the Belarusian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.
In the middle of the court proceedings, Latypov is seen rising from the dock, picking up a sharp object – believed to be a pen – and plunging it into his throat.
In the moments before he made an attempt on his life, Latypov had shouted to his father in the courtroom, saying he had been warned that his family and neighbours would be persecuted if he didn’t plead guilty.
He also claimed authorities had placed him in a punishment cell for the past seven weeks.
When he started stabbing himself, officers ran to him in an effort to save his life. As he was in a caged dock, prison officers seemed to be unable to get access to the cage, and while they went off looking for keys, Mr Latypov continued to hurt himself, losing consciousness in the process.
The judge ordered the courtroom to be emptied as chaos broke out.
The Independent reports the activist is believed to have been put in an induced coma at Minsk’s Semashko hospital as doctors battle to save his life.
Mr Latypov was arrested back in September while trying to protect a pro-opposition mural in the city.
Authorities in the communist dictatorship later claimed they had found evidence he was trying to poison police officers. Latypov, a tree surgeon, often trades poisonous chemicals as part of his work.
President Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 27 years, has faced increased opposition in the past year and has responded with state violence.
The official backlash to protests has already claimed a number of lives.
Last week, 17-year-old Dmitry Stakhovsky committed suicide while under pressure from prosecutors.
The World Health Organization has come out to remind everyone that the world is not yet out of the Coronavirus pandemic yet, despite declining coronavirus infection levels and increasing vaccine rates.
The mood may be lightening up in the U.S. and elsewhere as people get their shots, and infections and deaths decline, but COVID-19 is still a very real and present danger, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said.
The world has seen 170.5 million documented cases of the novel coronavirus, with 3.5 million dead, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 2 billion vaccines have been administered.
Speaking at the 74th World Health Assembly on Monday night, May 31, Tedros called on the world’s nations to work together to end this pandemic and prepare for the next one, proposing a treaty on pandemic preparedness and response.
“The reality is, we still have a lot of work to do to end this pandemic,” Tedros said in his closing remarks.
“It’ll be a monumental error to treat it as over at this stage”
“We’re very encouraged that cases and deaths are continuing to decline globally, but it would be a monumental error for any country to think the danger has passed.”
He urged member states to aim to vaccinate at least 10% of the population of all countries by the end of September, and at least 30% by the end of the year.
“One day – hopefully soon – the pandemic will be behind us, but the psychological scars will remain for those who have lost loved ones, health workers who have been stretched beyond breaking point, and the millions of people of all ages confronted with months of loneliness and isolation,” Tedros said.
“We will still face the same vulnerabilities that allowed a small outbreak to become a global pandemic,” he pointed out.
“The questions the pandemic is asking us cannot simply be answered with new institutions, mechanisms, facilities or processes. The challenges we face are profound, and so must be the solutions we design.”
“The one recommendation I believe will do the most to strengthen WHO and global health security is the recommendation of a treaty on pandemic preparedness and response which could also strengthen relations between member states and foster cooperation,” Tedros said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has deployed 19 warships with accompanying fighter jets from 11 of it’s member nations in war games off Portugal as they practise deploying to the Black Sea.
Britain’s state of the art Navy carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth led other Warships from the US, Germany, France, Canada, Turkey, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands in a display of maritime strength just days ahead of Russian president, Vladimir Putin’s meeting with US president, Joe Biden.
HMS Queen Elizabeth, costing £3 billion, led the other battleships in the war game titled ‘operation Steadfast Defender’, which started off the coast of Portugal over the weekend and will conclude with ground exercises in the Black Sea region later this month.
The armada included submarines, destroyers and frigates, with aerial support from the Royal AirForce’s brand new F-35B Lightning stealth fighters, Portuguese F-16 Fighting Falcons and Spanish F-18 Hornets, as well as the US anti-submarine Poseidon and Orion warplanes.
Nato chiefs insist the military exercises, involving 9,000 troops, are not aimed at Russia specifically, but they focus on the Black Sea region where Moscow deployed thousands of troops ahead of military drills throughout mid-April.
Gareth Southgate has just confirmed his final 26-man England squad for the Euros.
Before now, there was debate over which right-back the Three Lions would be heading into the tournament with; but the manager decided to choose all four of them, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Kieran Trippier, and Kyle Walker making the cut.
Jesse Lingard misses out despite his impressive half-season on loan at West Ham, while James Ward-Prowse, Ollie Watkins, Mason Greenwood, Ben Godfrey, Ben White, and Aaron Ramsdale were also dropped.
Here is the England squad in full.
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker
The World Health Organisation has renamed the Indian variant, also known as B.1.617.2, the Delta variant.
Under WHO’s new plans, the UK’s Kent strain will also be known as ‘Covid Alpha’ while South Africa’s variant will become ‘Covid Beta’, with the Brazilian variant to be known as ‘Covid Gamma’.
WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said the change ‘is aimed to help in public discussion’.
She said: ‘No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting variants.
‘The labels are simple, easy to say and remember and are based on the Greek alphabet, a system that was chosen following wide consultation & a review of several potential systems.
‘They will not replace existing scientific names.’
It comes as the WHO, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, and World Trade Organisation urged richer countries to give more jabs to poorer nations or risk new variants emerging and forcing future lockdowns.
The heads of the organisations warned a ‘dangerous gap’ is emerging between richer and poorer nations in the availability of coronavirus vaccines and risks creating a ‘two-track’ pandemic.
Writing in the Telegraph, they said: ‘Increasingly, a two-track pandemic is developing. Inequitable vaccine distribution is not only leaving untold millions of people vulnerable to the virus, it is also allowing deadly variants to emerge and ricochet back across the world.
‘Even countries with advanced vaccination programmes have been forced to reimpose stricter public health measures. It need not be this way.’
China has reported the first case of human infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu from the country’s eastern Jiangsu province, China’s National Health Commission said on Tuesday June 1.
The man, a 41-year-old resident of the city of Zhenjiang, was hospitalised on April 28 after developing a fever and other symptoms, the NHC said in a statement.
The patient was diagnosed as having the H10N3 avian influenza virus on May 28, National Health Commission said in a statement without elaborating on how the man had got infected with the virus.
The man was stable and ready to be discharged from hospital. Medical observation of his close contacts had not found any other cases.
No other cases of human infection with H10N3 have previously been reported globally, it said.
H10N3 is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe, strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale was very low, the NHC added.
The strain is “not a very common virus,” said Filip Claes, regional laboratory coordinator of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases at the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
Only around 160 isolates of the virus were reported in the 40 years to 2018, mostly in wild birds or waterfowl in Asia and some limited parts of North America, and none had been detected in chickens so far, he added. Analysing the genetic data of the virus will be necessary to determine whether it resembles older viruses or if it is a novel mix of different viruses, Claes said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), has punished Belarus for its president’s decision last week to order a military jet to hijack a RyanAir flight heading to Lithuania so it can arrest political dissident and journalist, Roman Protasevich.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that personnel at Belarus’ diplomatic mission to NATO will have their access restricted at the alliance’s headquarters.
Belarus is not a member of NATO but has had ties with the military alliance since 1992 following the fall of the Soviet Union.
Since then Belarus has maintained a diplomatic mission to NATO since 1998.
Belarusian personnel can attend seminars and meetings at NATO and in NATO countries as part of a cooperation partnership that tackles issues such as arms control and military education.
But that access has now been halted by NATO following the RyanAir hijacking.
“We have decided to restrict the access of Belarusian personnel to the NATO headquarters,” Stoltenberg told a news conference on Monday, May 31, ahead of meetings of NATO defence and foreign ministers on Tuesday.
NATO also plans to give more sanctions to Belarus.
Protasevich has been a critic of Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko (pictured below).
When asked about new Russian military formations and units, intended to be deployed close to the alliance’s borders, Stoltenberg said NATO would continue to seek dialogue with Moscow, while also exercising troops for defensive purposes.
“It is important to manage difficult relationship with Russia with transparency on military activities, risk reduction and also for instance related issues like arms control,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
Inter Milan midfielder, Arturo Vidal has been hospitalised for severe tonsillitis and Covid-19 after testing positive while on international duty with Chile.
The 34-year-old, who was vaccinated against the virus on Friday, has been isolated from his Chile team-mates for 72 hours after initially being taken into hospital with the throat infection.
The national team confirmed he had later tested positive for coronavirus but that no other players in the squad had been infected.
“The medical team of the Chilean national team emphasizes that at the request of the player Arturo Vidal, it is announced that he has been diagnosed positive for Covid,” the national team said on its official website.
The midfielder will now miss Chile’s World Cup qualifier with Argentina on Thursday.
Infection rates in Chile remain high with over 6,000 daily cases reported.
Vidal posted a picture of him receiving the vaccine on Instagram on Friday alongside the caption: ‘Happy with the vaccine !!!
‘Now we are better for the next challenges with @laroja.
‘To take care of each other and to get vaccinated.’
The chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Buba Marwa, has revealed that the NDLEA is currently investigating N30bn slush funds believed to be proceeds of drugs.
He disclosed this in Abuja on Monday, May 31, while giving commendation letters to 45 outstanding officers as well as the best performing commands award for the months of March and April 2021.
Marwa said the agency’s offensive action would not stop until the nation’s streets, communities, towns, and cities had been cleaned up of any remnant of illicit drugs.
He said: “While we keep up the offensive in the field, the leadership of the agency will daily continue to work out effective strategies and tactics to sustain the momentum.
“That is why we’ve strengthened our Directorate of Assets and Financial Investigations to go after all assets or funds linked to drug trafficking which had led to interim and final forfeiture orders on assets and funds worth billions of naira linked to drug traffickers and barons.”
According to Marwa, the agency has made a seizure of 2,050,766.33kg of assorted illicit drugs and cash worth over N90bn as well as the arrest of 2,175 drug traffickers.
He stressed the need to deny criminal elements all benefits of their proceeds of crime in addition to sending them to jail.
Actor, Blair Underwood, and his wife, Desiree DaCosta, have split after 27 years of marriage.
The “Quantico” actor and his spouse, who tied the knot in 1994, announced they’ve parted ways and will remain “the best of friends and co-parents” to daughter Brielle, 22, and sons Blake, 19, and Paris, 24.
The couple wrote on Instagram: “After a tremendous amount of thought, prayer & work on ourselves individually & collectively, we have come to the conclusion to end our marriage that began 27 years ago. It has truly been a beautiful journey. Our proudest achievements are our three incredible children. Three souls to which God entrusted us. We continue to be awed & humbled by the blessings of parenting. We have always put their best interests first & will continue to do so. We will continue to be the best of friends and co-parents and have the utmost respect for one another as we embark upon this new chapter of our lives, separately.
“We thank you all for all your support throughout the years & we humbly ask for privacy & understanding during this new season of change. Blair & Desiree Underwood.”
Four-time Grand Slam champion, Naomi Osaka has decided to withdraw from the French Open following the bitter fallout from her decision to boycott all media activity.
In an announcement made on Twitter, Naomi said she intends to “take some time away from the court” rather than continue to be a distraction for her stance against speaking to the press.
Last week, on the eve of the tournament, Naomi she would not face the press during the 2021 French Open, citing mental health reasons.
She said at the time: “I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one.”
True to her word, following her win over Patricia Tig in the first round on Sunday, May 30, Osaka failed to attend the post-match press conference.
Afterward, she was threatened with expulsion over her press boycott. On Sunday, the former world number one was warned she could be thrown out of the French Open if she continues to boycott post-match news conferences at the tournament.
She was also fined $15,000 by Grand Slam organisers for failing to attend a news conference following her first-round win.
French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton described her vow of silence as “a phenomenal error”.
Naomi has now decided to drop out of the tournament so “everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris.”
She says she never intended to ignite a controversy when she cited mental health for skipping media conferences a few days ago, but she believes the best thing for her to do now is quit the tournament.
Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku has been named as the best overall MVP of Serie A after he helped Inter Milan win the league title for the first time in 11 years.
The Belgium international, 28, scored 30 goals across Serie A, the UEFA Champions League, and the Coppa Italia with 11 more assists as Antonio Conte’s men ended Juventus’ stranglehold on the domestic scene.
He also came second after Cristiano Ronaldo as the best forward in the Italian top flight.
AC goalkeeper. Gianluigi Donnarumma was crowned best goalkeeper after he kept 14 clean sheets for his, while the top defender award went to Atalanta’s Cristian Romero.
Nicolo Barella picked up the best midfielder award to join Inter teammate Lukaku on the honours list.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been awarded the award of best striker for the 2020-21 Serie A campaign.
The 36-year-old striker won the Serie A Best Striker award after a season in which he finished top scorer with 29 goals in 33 appearances for Juventus.
The Portugal international beat out the likes of Romelu Lukaku, who was second in the scoring standings with 24, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who found the net 15 times in the Italian top flight to scoop the award.
Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry will rejoin Belgium’s coaching staff for their Euro 2020 campaign.
The Former France international served as the second assistant to manager Roberto Martinez during Belgium’s run to the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup.
Henry, Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer, was then promoted to Martinez’s No 2 before he became the manager of Monaco in October of the same year.
The Belgium national team tweeted: “Unfinished business. We welcome back Thierry Henry in the staff for #EURO2020!”
Henry most recently served as the manager of MLS side Montreal Impact before quitting his post in February.
The 43-year-old, who also played for Barcelona and Monaco, was due to be part of the BBC’s punditry team for this summer’s tournament.
But the broadcaster announced he will no longer be involved.
“It is with much sadness that I can no longer be with all my friends and the wonderful team at the BBC during the European Championships this summer,” said Henry in a BBC statement.
“When I was asked to rejoin the Belgium National team staff, it was an opportunity that was impossible to turn down.
“I’m deeply thankful for the understanding that the BBC have shown in allowing me to take this opportunity.”
Belgium, who are considered among the favourites to win the tournament, have been paired with Russia, Finland and Denmark in Group B.
Former boxing champion, Mile Tyson revealed that he slept with a prison counselor in order to reduce his prison sentence.
In the prime of his career, Tyson was arrested for raping an 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant. Although he maintains his innocence, Tyson was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to six years in prison.
However, he spent less than 3 years at the Indiana Youth Centre before being released in 1995. He had also gotten a fourth year added to it because of his bad behavior while locked up
Speaking about his life in prison, he said he was supposed to spend 4 years and needed to pass the GED (General Educational Development) in order to reduce the term, so he helped himself by dating the counselor.
He said; “I got in trouble like the first six months and stuff, cursing, getting written up. And then by that time, I got the hang of the place. ‘Hey, I know how to do this.’ Next thing you know, I’m dating one of the counsel workers now, she’s letting me have sex with her now.”
According to Tyson, he got another year tacked onto his sentence because he was so hard to deal with initially.
“So I’m going good. But the first six months I was getting write-ups, I have to pay that year back. … I’m like a star pupil prisoner. Trusty, everything. Then, ‘Hey Mike, remember the first six months you were a prick?’ Boom. They gave me another year.”
Desperate to shave the year off of his sentence, Tyson found out that he could reduce his time if he got his GED. The high school dropout began courting a prison counselor in order to get her to pass him.
“So by passing the GED they took that year away,” Tyson said, adding, “So I flunked the f*cking GED … and got mad, and so I had to start dating this counselor and stuff, giving her money and doing really some nasty stuff to her, and she let me pass this test.”
As he expected, the prison took the year off of Tyson’s sentence and he was able to go home in three years.
Looking back on the incident, Tyson admitted that he should’ve been in prison for a lot longer. He was initially slapped with over 50 years.
“I came in with 50-something [years] … They cut it all the way down to three years,” Tyson concluded. “I was doing 69 at first—they gave me 63, no. Then they took 10 off, then it was 53. And then they gave me 10, I had to do three, I got seven on parole, I guess, yeah.”
A royal expert has claimed that Kate Middleton wants to make peace with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the sake of Archie’s relationship with his cousins.
Royal commentator Camilla Tominey said Kate Middleton “remained keen to bury the hatchet” with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex despite their controversial Oprah Winfrey interview, Daily Express reports.
Highlighting how close Kate is with her sister Pippa and brother James, Ms Tominey added that the Duchess of Cambridge appears to want to patch things up with Harry and Meghan for the sake of young Archie’s relationship with his cousins.
Writing in the Telegraph, the royal expert said: “Having grown up being close to her own siblings, Pippa, 37, and James, 34, the Duchess remained keen to bury the hatchet even after the interview aired to a global audience of millions, seemingly for the sake of two-year-old Archie’s relationship with his cousins.”
A source told Telegraph: “Her natural instinct is to try to smooth things over.”
When Prince Harry returned to the UK for the first time since Megxit for Prince Philip’s funeral last month, Kate was widely praised for appearing to act as a peacemaker between Harry and William.
The Duchess was seen chatting with Harry as the royals walked back to Windsor Castle after the service. Kate then subtly moved away, allowing the brothers to continue on their own.
France President, Emmanuel Macron has warned that France would withdraw troops from West African nation, Mali, following the country’s second military coup in just nine months.
France has 5,100 troops in the Sahel region and has helped in the war against Islamist militancy but Macron has warned of the risk of Mali “moving towards” greater Islamist influence if there is no democratic government in place.
For decades France has provided military support to its former colonies in Africa, but has told regional leaders that France had no intention of keeping its troops in Africa forever.
Macron is also annoyed by a lack of commitment from other European countries to fight the multiple militant Islamist groups in the region as Europe could be affected by possible jihadist attacks on the continent and illegal migration.
On Tuesday last week France and the European Union denounced an “unacceptable coup d’etat” after Mali’s interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were detained and stripped of their power.
Coup leader Colonel Assimi Goïta was then named transitional president by the constitutional court on Friday.
Macron speaking to Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper said;
“Radical Islamism in Mali with our soldiers there? Never,”
“There is this temptation today in Mali. But if it goes in that direction, I will withdraw,” he warned in comments made during a trip to Rwanda and South Africa. Macron flew home to Paris on Saturday.
The French president added that he had given a message to West African leaders that they could not back a country “where there is no longer democratic legitimacy or transition”.
Macron, in his comments published Sunday, May 30, warned that if Africa’s development fails then Europe “will pay dearly in terms of migration”.
He stressed the need to “invest massively” adding that the international community must also erase some of the continent’s debt burden “to help Africans build their future”.
China has scrapped its controversial ‘two child’ policy and will now allow couples to have three kids.
According to Chinese state media, the move was approved by President Xi Jinping in order to aid the country’s ageing population.
This comes after Beijing abolished its infamous ‘one child’ policy in 2016 which had been in place since the late-1970s.
The government believed that the high cost of raising kids in Chinese cities deterred many couples from starting families so the two children policy wasn’t helping with population growth .
“To further optimise the birth policy, (China) will implement a one-married-couple-can-have-three-children policy,” state news agency Xinhua said in a report on Monday, 31.
The policy change will come with “supportive measures, which will be conducive to improving our country’s population structure, fulfilling the country’s strategy of actively coping with an ageing population and maintaining the advantage, endowment of human resources”, the report continues.
Early in May, a once-in-a-decade census showed that China’s population grew at its slowest rate during the last decade since the 1950s, to 1.41 billion.
Data also showed a fertility rate of just 1.3 children per woman for 2020 alone, on a par with ageing societies like Japan and Italy.
Tennis star, Naomi Osaka fired back Sunday after she was fined $15,000 for skipping a mandatory press conference following her first-round victory at the French Open.
Tournament organizers said Osaka was fined for failing to “honor her contractual media obligations.”
Osaka announced that she would not participate in any media events in a post last week. The 23-year-old cited mental health concerns as the reason for her decision.
Osaka acknowledged the likelihood of a fine in her initial post, expressing hope that “the considerable amount that I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity.”
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam tournament winner, addressed the fine in a tweet after her 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over 63rd-ranked Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday, May 30.
“Anger is a lack of understanding,” Osaka tweeted. “Change makes people uncomfortable.”
In a lengthy statement addressing the fine, the organizers of the French Open said they had urged Osaka to reconsider her decision ahead of the tournament.
The officials warned that Osaka could face additional penalties, including disqualification from tournaments, if she continued to skip press conferences.
“We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences,” the officials said.
The organizers said the mental health of competitors was “of the utmost importance to the Grand Slams,” adding the disciplinary action was meant to ensure fairness.
“We want to underline that rules are in place to ensure all players are treated exactly the same, no matter their stature, beliefs or achievement,” the statement said. “As a sport there is nothing more important than ensuring no player has an unfair advantage over another, which unfortunately is the case in this situation if one player refuses to dedicate time to participate in media commitments while the others all honour their commitments.”
Some Catholics have questioned why the twice-divorced British prime minister was allowed to remarry in a Catholic church.
Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds got married at a private ceremony on Saturday, May 29, in front of a handful of family and friends at Catholic Westminster Cathedral.
But some have demanded to know why the PM, who was previously married to Allegra Mostyn-Owen for six years followed by a 27-year marriage to Marina Wheeler, was able to remarry in the church.
Catholic canon law does not allow a divorcee to remarry in the church if their former spouse is still alive.
Catholic priest Father Mark Drew, who said he’s had to deny his own divorced congregants the opportunity to remarry in church, questioned why Boris Johnson was allowed to wed in the Catholic church.
He wrote: ‘Can anyone explain to me how “Boris” Johnson, who left the Catholic Church while at Eaton and is twice divorced, can be married at Westminster Cathedral, while I have to tell practicing Catholics in good faith who want a second marriage in Church that it’s not possible?’
However, some say neither of Boris Johnson’s last weddings were Catholic ceremonies and could be seen as invalid in the eyes of the church, meaning his recent marriage is technically his first.
A couple smashed through their balcony railings and fell 25ft to the pavement below while having an argument.
Footage shows Olga Volkova and Yevgeny Karlagin, both 35, struggling on the balcony of their second-floor home in St Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday morning, May 29.
While the pair were arguing, they smashed into the balcony railings which suddenly broke and caused the couple to fall onto the concrete below.
Ms Volkova was wearing underwear with a robe or blanket wrapped around her when they fell, while Mr Karlagin was fully dressed.
The pair were rushed to hospital with “serious” injuries, reported local media.
Both are said to have suffered broken limbs but they are not in a critical condition.
Eyewitnesses said they saw the pair, who have a young son, arguing at around 10am before they fell from the balcony.
Someone with medical experience was nearby and said they had both survived after checking their pulses. An ambulance was then called.
Chelsea’s victorious players have returned to Cobham in England with the Champions League trophy after winning their second European title on Saturday May 29.
The Blues overcame Manchester City 1-0 at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto on Saturday night thanks to Kai Havertz’ calmly taken first-half goal.
Chelsea captain, Azpilicueta said after the match: ‘That’s done, we are very happy, we will celebrate, we are champions of Europe again after nine years, second time in our history.
‘I’m pleased that I could get my hands on the trophy that I missed before. But that’s gone, we are part of the history of Chelsea and then we will go for the next challenge. ‘I was proud to lead the team out but I wanted to be prouder.
‘Of course to lift the trophy, to lead the team, this club, it’s amazing after nine years to get this chance and thank you to my whole team mates, for the staff, to make this moment possible is incredible. It was very emotional and of course I’m very happy.’
Super Falcons captain, Asisat Oshoala has won the treble with Barcelona after defeating Levante 4-2 in Sunday’s Copa de la Reina final.
This season, the Blaugranes have won the Uefa Women’s Champions league, the Primera Division (for a record sixth time) and now the Copa de la Reina.
On Sunday, May 30, Lluis Cortes’ women playing at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque rampaged their opponents defence scoring as early as the fifth minute through Patricia Guijarro gave Barcelona a fifth-minute lead after heading.
Cortes’ doubled their lead in the 20th minute as Alexia Putellas flicked the ball past onrushing Lopez.
Nine minutes later Barca scored again.
In the second half, Levante scored one goal a minute to the hour mark as Alba Redondo rolled the ball inside the net after a mix-up between goalkeeper Catalina Lluch and one of her defenders.
In the 67th minute Argentine midfielder Estefania Banini drilled home a cool strike to make the scoreline 3-2. But six minutes later, Putellas completed her brace to put the game beyond Levante’s reach.
Reigning African Women’s Player of the Year Oshoala was an unused substitute in the encounter.
Streets in many parts of the SouthEast states are currently deserted following the sit-at-home order issued by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra IPOB. The order is to mark two days of Remembrance for Biafra Day.
Many state governments and security agents last week asked residents of the state to ignore the order and go about their lawful businesses. The residents however ignored the assurance of both the government and the security agents and decided to stay in their homes.
Markets, banks, motor parks, and other commercial places, including schools and government offices, are under lock and key.
The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Mohammed Ndatsu Aliyu, psc, has ordered the launch of a full-scale manhunt of yet-to-be idenitifed armed assailants alleged to have trailed and shot dead an unidentified man driving in a Mercedes Benz Jeep, which they carted away, along Ebeano Tunnel, Enugu on Sunday, May 30, at about 5pm.
A statement released by the spokesperson of the state police command, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, said the victim, whose true identify is yet to be known, was rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead by doctors on duty and deposited in the mortuary for autopsy.
A video circulating online shows the armed men pulling the man from his SUV nd then shooting him dead, leaving him on the road and carting away with his ride.
Ndukwe said the state Commissioner of police has vowed that no stone would be left unturned in fishing out perpetrators of the heinous crime. The police boss has also called on residents of the State to remain law-abiding, vigilant and assist the Police with useful information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of the assailants.
Justice Stanley Nnaji has been identified as the man shot dead on Sunday evening in Enugu State.
The former Enugu State High Court judge was shot multiple times beside the Enugu Diagnostics Centre, by Ebeano Tunnel, after he was dragged out of his Mercedes Benz Jeep. The shooters then drove off in Nnaji’s car.
The shooting was captured in a now-viral video.
A statement by the spokesperson of the Enugu State Police Command, Daniel Ndukwe, stated that the victim was rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead by doctors on duty and deposited in the mortuary for autopsy.
The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, Mohammed Ndatsu Aliyu, has ordered a full-scale manhunt for the gunmen.
Leaders of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have suspended Mali from their regional bloc in response to last week’s coup, the second coup in nine months by the poor Sahel country’s military.
The group which stopped short of imposing new sanctions like those it imposed after the coup last August which saw members temporarily close their borders with landlocked Mali and halt financial transactions, took the decision at an emergency summit in Ghana’s capital, Accra on Sunday May 30.
In a communique after the summit, ECOWAS said Mali’s membership in the bloc was suspended with immediate effect. Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said after the meeting;
“The suspension from ECOWAS takes immediate effect until the deadline of the end of February 2022 when they are supposed to hand over to a democratically elected government.”
The final declaration called for the immediate appointment of a new civilian prime minister and the formation of an “inclusive” government.
Mali’s new president Colonel Assimi Goita had arrived in the Ghanaian capital Accra on Saturday for preliminary talks. Goita led the young army officers who overthrew Mali’s elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last August over perceived corruption and his failure to quell a bloody jihadist insurgency.
Simon Cowell has canceled his scheduled appearance as a judge on the upcoming season of “X Factor Israel.”
The veteran producer and reality TV judge, had signed a deal to serve as one of the judges on next season of the Israeli musical reality show which is slated to begin filming this summer.
Over the weekend, Reshet, the Israeli company that produces X Factor locally confirmed Cowell canceled without elaborating on the reasons for his decision. A Reshet representative however told Variety that members of Cowell’s staff had reached out with “legitimate concerns” over his participation in the show after the recent violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but that at the time he had made no final decision.
Rumors of Cowell pulling out of the show began last week in the wake of renewed violence in the region between Israel and Hamas, and with reports of confrontations between Jewish and Arab Israelis in the streets of the country’s cities.
Jewish News, Britain’s largest Jewish newspaper cited an unnamed source close to the media mogul that claimed Cowell could not take part in the show for “a number of reasons” and was “bitterly disappointed.”
Cowell who created the original version of The X Factor in Britain, announced in December that he would appear as a judge on the fourth season of X Factor Israel. At the time, Cowell said he could “barely wait to see what the Israelis have to offer.”
Cowell’s team also helped the local show select judges for the new season, including Israeli singer and former Eurovision Song Contest winner Netta Barzilai, alongside Israeli singers Aviv Geffen, Ran Danker, Miri Mesika, and Margalit Tzanani.
An Indian police constable has been injured in an attack while he was arresting two Nigerian nationals based on a tip-off that they were drug peddlers.
Officials said the incident occurred at Major Deepak Tyagi Marg in the Janakpuri area of West Delhi, on Sunday morning, May 30.
One of the accused Nigerians was arrested while his accomplice identified as Joseph managed to escape from the spot.
It was gathered that on Saturday, police were tipped off that one African would show up with heroin at Major Deepak Tyagi Marg, Janakpuri around 3 am to 4 am on Sunday.
A police team reached the spot. Around 3.45 am, the two Nigerians came on a scooter and were waiting for someone. When they tried to leave, constable Rakesh pounced on them and caught one of them, Joseph, a senior police officer said.
“The accomplice of Joseph stabbed Rakesh to help him break free from the constable’s hold. Rakesh, however, did not allow Joseph to escape,” the officer said.
The accused, who stabbed Rakesh, managed to escape from the spot. A total of 280 grams heroin was recovered from the possession of Joseph. A search for the absconding accused is underway.
Meanwhile, Constable Rakesh is undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital while further investigation is in progress.
Reacting to the incident, Delhi Police Commisioner, SN Shrivastava described the injured officer as a brave man.
“West Delhi Police team was sent as decoy to nab two foreigners learnt selling heroin. While nabbing one Const Rakesh was stabbed on back by other. Yet, displaying exemplary courage kept holding him till remaining arrived. Kudos to the brave man recovering in hospital,” he tweeted.
Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has written an open letter explaining why he decided to step down as the club’s manager.
Zidane has delivered three Champions League cups and two La Liga titles across two separate spells at Santiago Bernabeu, but decided to resign at the end of this season following the club’s first trophyless campaign since 2009-10.
Zidane has now come out to explain the main reasons behind his departure while blasting club president Florentino Perez claiming “I’m leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me I need”.
Spanish publication AS have published Zidane’s open letter to supporters.
The letter reads: “Dear Real Madrid fans, for more than 20 years, from the first day I arrived in Madrid and wore the white shirt, you’ve shown me your love. I wanted to write this letter, to say goodbye to you and explain my decision to leave the coaching job.
“I’m going, but I’m not jumping overboard, nor am I tired of coaching. In May 2018 I left because after two and a half years, with so many victories and so many trophies, I felt the team needed a new approach to stay at the very highest level. Right now, things are different. I’m leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me I need, nor the support to build something in the medium or long term.
“I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know when you don’t win, you have to leave. But with this a very important thing has been forgotten, everything I built day-to-day has been forgotten, what I brought to my relationships with the players, with the 150 people who work with and around the team.
“I’m a natural-born winner and I was here to win trophies, but even more important than this are the people, their feelings, life itself and I have the sensation these things have not been taken into account, that there has been a failure to understand that these things also keep the dynamics of a great club going. To some extent I have even been rebuked for it.
“I want there to be respect for what we have achieved together. I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president over the past few months to have been a little different to that of other coaches. I wasn’t asking for privileges, of course not, just a little more recollection.
“These days the life of a coach in the dugout at a big club is two seasons, little more. For it to last longer the human relationships are essential, they are more important than money, more important than fame, more important than everything. They need to be nurtured.
“That’s why it hurt me so much when I read in the press, after a defeat, that I would be sacked if I didn’t win the next game. It hurt me and the whole team because these deliberately leaked messages to the media negatively influenced the squad, they created doubts and misunderstandings.
“Luckily I had these amazing lads who were with me to the death. When things turned ugly they saved me with magnificent victories. Because they believed in me and knew I believed in them.”
Zidane went on to directly address the media to do more to preserve the sanctity of the game and protect the players.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to send a message to the journalists,” he added.
“I’ve given hundreds of press conferences and unfortunately we have spoken very little of football, though I know that you love football, this sport that brings us together.
“However, and without any desire to criticise or lecture, I would have liked the questions not to have always been about controversy, that we might have talked more often about the game and above all the players, who are and always will be the most important thing in this sport. Let’s not forget about football, let’s care for it.”
Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, has provided a response to claims the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will leave Juventus this summer.
The 36 Juventus striker is fast approaching the final 12 months of his contract with the Turin giants, and there are rumours he’s to depart Italy for Portugal.
The Portugal international has been linked with his other former clubs Real Madrid and Sporting Lisbon, while Paris Saint-Germain harbor long-term interest.
But Rodriguez has poured cold water on claims her long-term boyfriend could leave the Allianz Stadium.
According to Spanish outlet Marca, the model was quizzed on Ronaldo’s future while in the north-eastern city of Jaca over the weekend, and responded: “He is staying.”
Rodriguez’s comments come after Juventus vice-chairman Pavel Nedved and managing director Fabio Paratici said Cristiano Ronaldo was staying put.
“We’ve decided to keep Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s the best player in the world and we are holding on tight,” said Paratici in March.
“We have a project that we started from last season, one game will not change our views or our strategy.
“This line continues and we are very happy with what we’ve done, so we’ll continue working to improve.”
Earlier this month, Nedved said: “Pirlo and Ronaldo will stay at Juventus,” although the club subsequently backtracked on half of that declaration by sacking the latter.
Sergio Aguero has completed a move to Barcelona after his exit from Manchester City, the Spanish club have announced.
The Argentina International left Manchester City following the expiry of his contract at the end of the season and has joined Ronald Koeman’s side on a deal until the end of the 2022-23 season.
The 32-year-old striker will be presented at the Nou Camp with club president Joan Laporta on Monday evening, May 31, and will officially join on July 1. He will have a release clause of €100 million.
Barca have said in a statement on their official website: “FC Barcelona and Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero have reached an agreement for the player to join the Club from 1 July when his contract with Manchester City expires.
“The player will sign a contract until the end of the 2022-23 season and his buy out clause is set at 100 million euros.”
Aguero made his final appearance for City as a substitute during their 1-0 Champions League final loss against Chelsea on Saturday in Porto.
He will now travel to Argentina to join his national side for their World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia.
Another office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have been set ablaze in Imo State.
The INEC office at Okwudor in Njaba Local Government Area of the state was burnt down on Sunday morning, May 30, less than 24 hours after Atta police station, customary and high courts were burnt down in the same local council.
INEC Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Emmanuella Opara has already confirmed the incident.
WhatsApp has said it won’t delete accounts of users that do not accept its new privacy policy after May 15. The company said this on Monday.
In January, the company rolled out a new privacy policy, which dealt mainly with businesses using WhatsApp to send and store consumer text.
However, poor communication regarding what the update entailed prompted backlash, as most people thought the company wanted to share their personal data with parent company, Facebook. WhatsApp later delayed this update until the May 15.
A statement on the company’s FAQ said, “For the last several weeks, we’ve displayed a notification in WhatsApp providing more information about the update. “After giving everyone time to review, we’re continuing to remind those who haven’t had the chance to do so to review and accept. After a period of several weeks, the reminder people receive will eventually become persistent.”
The company has said that users will encounter limited functionality on the app until they accept the privacy update after May 15.
Users won’t have access to their chat lists, but will be able to answer incoming phone and video calls. If notification is enabled, users will be able to tap on them to read or respond to a message or call back a missed voice or video call.
After a few weeks of limited functionality, users won’t be able to receive incoming calls or notifications and WhatsApp would stop sending messages and calls to the phone.
Italian Catholic priest, Father Adolf Poll has received plaudits from far and wide while leaving Kenya with only two bags, 53 years after he was posted to the East African country.
The celebrated priest is famously known as Father Alleluia Omogoka -a nickname he earned while serving at the Catholic Diocese of Kisii.
On Tuesday, May 25, the humble father flew back to Italy after spending almost his entire life on missionary work in Kenya.
Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, Malindi wished him well in a statement released before his departure. The commission stated that “Fr Adolf, 80, packed all his personal belongings acquired during his more than five decades of Priestly Ministry in Kenya, fitting in just two small bags, and started his journey back home in Italy for retirement.”
Fr. Adolf was ordained as a priest in his home Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen, Northern Italy in 1966. He then left his hometown, South Tyrol at the border of Italy and Austria in December 1968 to serve as a missionary priest in Kenya, East Africa.
He was first posted at the Catholic Diocese of Kisii where he served for 31 years, from 1969 to 2000 and became a favourite among the locals. On Pentecost Sunday 2001, Fr. Adolf was transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Malindi where he served for 20 years until his departure.
The priest celebrated his farewell mass at Witu-Kipini Parish in the Central Deanery of Malindi Diocese on (Pentecost) Sunday, May 23. Fr. Adolf will celebrate his 81st birthday in early June 2021.
“May you never miss heaven Padre in Jesus name. Almighty Father, May he be with you at the end of his journey on earth. Remember all his good deeds and forgive all his shortcomings through Christ Our Lord Amen,” Rachel Ogbu prayed.
“A good priest. He is still remembered in Kisii Diocese specifically Nyamagwa Parish for his selfless service. Mungu ambariki.,” Stephen Okibo added.
“This is the very Father who assisted me in 1992 during tribal clashes when he was at Nyamagwa, Kisii. I wish I could meet him before he left for his home,” Gichana Rowlands remembered. Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, Malindi quoted Luke 9:3-6 as a testament to his exemplary dedication to teaching, preaching and serving in Kenya.
He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.
Barcelona football club’s presidential hopeful, Joan Laporta has lined up Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta as replacement for Ronald Koeman, according to RAC1.
Presidential favourite Laporta had publicly backed the current manager to remain at Camp Nou.
But should Koeman leave either by sack or mutual consent, Laporta has identified current Arsenal boss as the one to take over at Camp Nou.
Recall that Laporta had recently officially announced the individuals he will work with should he win the elections that will take place later this month.
Laporta, a former President of the club, along with his running mate Rafael Yuste, announced that former Barca goalkeeper, Victor Valdes and Mateu Alemany would work with them if they emerge winners.
Laporta, a former President of the club, is the favourite to win the elections.
John Shiklam in Kaduna, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), yesterday, in a strongly worded statement, concluded that the federal government was no longer able to protect her citizens against the marauding criminals in different parts of the country.
The prominent northern group, however, called on the Nigerian citizens to organise themselves better and raise their level of vigilance against the criminals, even as it worried that the current level of insecurity in the region might affect its already poor education especially, for the girl-child.
Against this backdrop, the NEF has called on the governors particularly, those from its region, to explore avenues that could give them more powers to be able to secure citizens within the confines of the constitution of the land.
Relatedly, the Kano State government has directed the immediate closure of some tertiary institutions in the state in view of the current security situation in the state. Condemning the recent abduction of 317 school children in Zamfara State, NEF in a statement in Kaduna by its Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said, Nigerians had “lost faith that government will reverse the successes of criminals against defenceless citizens.”
According to NEF, “It has become painfully obvious that the federal government is unable to muster the will or the capacity to limit exposure of Nigerians to violent criminals.” It noted that the “Northern Elders Forum shares the profound shock and outrage of Nigerians at the spate of kidnappings of boarding school children in different parts of the North.
“Apart from the likelihood of similar abductions re-occurring as bandits engage in copy cat crimes in a region that is basically unprotected, these abductions will severely damage the poor state of education in the North, particularly girl-child education.” Urging the citizens to organise themselves and raise their levels of vigilance, NEF pleaded with them to resist the temptation to take laws into their hands but improve the manner they work with security agencies. Unfortunately, NEF held the view that the development had left the governors to quarrel over causes and strategies to adopt in tackling the bandits, claiming that many of them were “taking steps that have dubious legal foundations, most of which merely compound the security situation.
“In spite of assurances from the federal government that it will end banditry and kidnappings, the life of the Nigerian is becoming more endangered by the day, and citizens have lost faith that governments will reverse the successes of the criminal against defenceless citizens. “The forum advises particularly Northern governors to explore all lawful avenues to improve the security of citizens. While they should improve their support to the military, the police and security agencies, they should also explore avenues, which give them more powers to secure citizens within the confines of the constitution, which gives states powers to establish policing structures, including those with specialisation such as forest rangers should now be pursued as a matter of national priority.”
Specifically, NEF called on the governors to explore issues that aid the spread of banditry at local and community levels and resolve them, urging them to also “intensify multi-pronged approaches to ending banditry and kidnappings, including measures, which prevent the continuation of these criminal activities by those who show a genuine willingness to stop.” However, NEF maintained that, “Bandits, who refuse to submit to mediation and cessation of criminal activities should be treated in accordance with the laws of the country.” It also appealed to parents not be discouraged from sending children to school, even as it called on governments at all levels to take firmer measures in securing schools.
Speaking on the closure of some tertiary institutions in Kano State, Commissioner for Higher Education, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure, listed the schools to include PMK College of Advance and Remedial Studies Tudun Wada, School of Environmental Studies Gwarzo, School of Rural Technology and Entrepreneurship Development (SORTED) Rano and Audu Bako College of Agriculture Development (ABCOAD), Dambatta. According to the statement reads, “With this instruction, all students of the affected schools are advised to vacate the campuses as soon as possible”.
The state government had on Friday ordered the closure of 12 boarding secondary schools on the outskirts of the metropolis over increasing abduction of students in some parts of the northern states by bandits. Mr. Muhammad Sunusi Kiru disclosed this in a short audio message announced on radio stations in the state, saying the closure became necessary due to the rising number of abduction of school children in neighboring states. The closed schools are located in Ajingi, Sumaila, Jogana, Kafin Maiyaki and Gaya, among others.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA have launched fresh raids on online drug traffickers in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, during which a young lady and her boyfriend as well as eight others were arrested and assorted drugs recovered from them.
Femi Babafemi, the Director, Media & Advocacy of the anti-narcotics agency, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, May 30, said the first suspect, 28-year-old Ese Patrick who sells her illicit substances through Instagram account; Ese’sOvenSecret, was tracked and arrested with some pieces of brownies ordered online by NDLEA undercover agents, on 21st May, 2021 and delivered by herself and her boyfriend in a Mercedes Benz car.
A follow up operation at her residence led to the seizure of 400 grams of Arizona weed, which she uses in baking the brownies.
Further investigation led to the arrest of one Iyama Patrick, with 450 grams of Arizona weed. He supplies Ese the cannabis she uses.
A day earlier, a motorcycle belonging to a courier company, Sky Port was abandoned by a despatch rider in Wuse zone 4 upon sighting NDLEAs outpost in the area. The motorcycle was later found to contain several pinches of crack cocaine (a.k.a Challie), and some envelopes of Arizona meant for delivery.
Another online drug trafficker, Peter Nkejika was arrested on Monday 24th May 2021 following an arrest of a despatch rider with some quantity of Loud, a highly psychoactive variant of cannabis. Each portion of loud costs N30, 000 and the rider was caught with 17 portions for delivery.
Also on Tuesday 25th May, NDLEA operatives intercepted two online drug transactions and arrested two despatch riders with some quantities of cocaine and Loud already packaged for delivery recovered from them.
In all, five despatch riders and a lady, Dolapo Benjamin who owns motorcycles involved in door to door distribution of drugs and drug based edibles; cakes and brownies were arrested while six despatch motorcycles involved in door to door drug distribution were seized.
Also seized from them were assorted drugs; Cocaine, Crack /Challie, Molly/ Ecstasy, Skunk, Brownies and Loud, which is the most expensive psychoactive variant of cannabis in town.
In a related development, on the 27th May 2021, operatives intercepted 30 compressed parcels of cannabis, heading to Ningi, Bauchi state, as well as Rohypnol and Tramadol meant for the FCT.
The drugs weighing 105.5 kilograms were seized along Gwagwalada- Abuja road, in a luxury bus. Three persons were arrested in connection with the exhibits, while two more despatch motorcycles were seized with some quantities of cocaine and cannabis on Saturday, May 29 as the raids across the FCT intensify.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) of the agency have intercepted 445 grams of Methamphetamine going to New Zealand and concealed inside USB chargers and hair attachments, with another 450 grams of cannabis sativa going to UAE and concealed inside local soap containers at a courier company in Lagos.
In the same vein, 125 grams of heroin concealed inside academic thesis books was seized at another firm while 2kg of cannabis sativa hidden inside tractors balloon was intercepted at another courier company also in Lagos.
Following the latest arrests and seizures, Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has directed the FCT Command of the Agency to immediately embark on stop and search of commercial despatch riders across the nations capital city to curb the online drug trafficking trend in the FCT.
He also commended the Commander, Mohammed Malami Sokoto, his officers and men for the recent successes and sustaining the offensive against the latest trend in illicit drug trafficking in the nations seat of power.
The NDLEA boss also commended officers and men of DOGI for their vigilance and commitment to work.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral.
Johnson, 56, and Symonds, 33, who have a child together, said their wedding vows at London’s main Roman Catholic church in central London on Saturday afternoon, May 29, in front of a small group of family and friends.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday morning, May 30: “The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds were married yesterday afternoon in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral.”
This is the first time a British leader has married in office in 199 years.
Photos of the newlyweds show them smiling at each other in the garden of 10 Downing Street. The bride wore a white dress and a floral headband and the groom wore a black suit and blue tie, with a white rose in his buttonhole.
The prime minister’s office said that the couple would celebrate with family and friends next summer.
This is Boris Johnson’s third marriage, and Carrie Symonds’s first. They announced their engagement in February 2020, the same month Johnson reached a divorce settlement with Marina Wheeler, his childhood friend with whom he has four children. They separated in 2018.
Colonel Assimi Goita, leader of the post-coup junta in Mali has been named as the country’s transitional President by the constitutional court.
The ruling issued late on Friday May 28, said Assimi Goita would “lead the transition process to its conclusion” and carry the title of “president of the transition, head of state”.
The court said Goita who led the first coup last August, which saw the elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta forced out of office, was named as the transitional President due to the “vacancy in the presidency”.
On Monday May 24, the two men tasked with steering the country back to civilian rule, interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were detained by soldiers. Col Goita said that both men had failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the country’s transition. They were released on Thursday May 27 after resigning.
Friday’s ruling raised the stakes as West African leaders prepared to meet on Sunday May 30 to decide how they would respond to the takeover, which regional and Western governments fear could exacerbate instability in northern and central Mali and undermine a regional fight against armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
Goita had originally been named vice president with other key posts given to fellow army officers. Earlier on Friday, in his first public comments since seizing power, Col Goïta defended his actions.
He said;
“We had to choose between disorder and cohesion within the defence and security forces, and we chose cohesion.”
Goita said a new prime minister would be appointed within days, and that elections would still go ahead next year as planned.
The Lagos State Government says it it is still counting its losses from the #EndSARS protest that was hijacked by hoodlums in October 2020.
The hoodlums went on rampage destroying public facilities in the state. The protest was organised by young people to call for the end of police brutality across the country.
Speaking during a press briefing to commemorate the second anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s-led administration on Tuesday, May 25, the Special Adviser to the governor on Parastatals Monitoring Office, Afolabi Ayantayo said the state suffered heavy damage to critical public property which nearly brought it to a standstill economically.
“The parastatals were not spared, their assets were either stolen or destroyed. To determine the level of the damage of the parastatals, the office carried out on-the- spot assessment of destroyed and stolen assets of parastatals.
The report of the assessment has been forwarded to Mr. Governor. It is pertinent to mention here that 20 parastatals were affected in varying degrees which include Lekki Concession Company, Motor Vehicle Administration Agency, Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Public Works Corporation, Lagos State Material Testing Laboratory, Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Lagos Bus Service Limited, Lagos Television, Lagos Internal Revenue Service, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority,, among others.
We are still assessing and compiling the data. The special committee set up by Mr. Governor to come up with total assessment of losses suffered is still working on the total estimate and is yet to submit full report,” Ayantayo said.
A delegation from the National Assembly have visited Embraer Defence Security Incorporated (EDSI), manufacturers of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) A-29 Super Tucano aircraft.
The Nigerian Air Force shared photos from the visit on Twitter. It was also gathered that the NASS team visited the company in the US to assess the progress work on the aircraft. The visiting team which also included Honourables Babajimi Benson, Shehu Koko, Abubakar Maki and Honourable Abass Adigun were received on arrival at Jacksonville, Florida by the Nigerian Defence Attaché to the USA, Air Commodore Jibrin Usman, the Lead Foreign Liaison Officer on the A-29, Air Vice Marshal Sule Lawal and senior management staff EDSI.
On arrival at EDSI yesterday, 27 May 2021, the NASS team led by Senator Michael Nnachi, were briefed on the progress of work on the NAF A-29 Super Tucano programme and the scheduled date of delivery.
Nigerian Airforce Spokesperson, Edward Gabkwet further revealed that while briefing the NASS team, Colonel Authur Ford of the United States Air Force Fighters and Advance Aircraft Directorate stated that 10 out of the 12 aircraft were ready for delivery while 2 were undergoing modification and integration to NAF specific operational configuration.
He went on to state that 6 of the aircraft are scheduled to arrive in Nigeria in July 2021 while the remaining 6 will be delivered before the end of October 2021. The NASS team was assured that the aircraft, expected to play critical roles in the fight against insurgency and criminality, would be delivered as planned.
Senator Michael Nnachi who commended EDSI for the quality of work on the NAF A-29 Super Tucano, however queried the long duration of time from the date of full payment to expected date of delivery, which he estimated to be between 3 to 4 years.
In response, the Col Ford informed the team that the long duration was due to the challenges of configuring the aircraft to fit NAF’s required specifications.
Gennaro Gattuso has been confirmed as the new head coach of Fiorentina.
Gattuso only left his role at Napoli two days ago after failing to secure Champions League qualification, with the team ending the season fifth in the standings, one point behind fourth-placed Juventus.
The 43-year-old’s last game in charge of Napoli was the 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona on Sunday.
He replaces Giuseppe Iachini, who confirmed he would leave Fiorentina at the end of the season in an open letter on March 21, ending his second spell in charge of the club.
‘Dear Rino, I am happy to have spent almost two seasons with you. Thank you for your work and I wish you success wherever you go. A hug also to your wife and children,’ De Laurentiis wrote after the match.
Gattuso’s Napoli contract was set to expire in June. Fiorentina, meanwhile, finished down in 13th position.
He will take over as Fiorentina boss from July 1, with club president Rocco Commisso confirming the news on the club’s website.
Former US President Trump has said that “absolute immunity” and the First Amendment protects him against a new civil lawsuit charging him with inciting the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol.
Hours before a mob infamously attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Trump held a rally in Washington urging his supporters to “fight like hell”.
Following the attempted insurrection, Trump was impeached for a second time by the Democrat controlled House of Representatives but acquitted by the Republican controlled Senate.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), one of the many lawmakers who had to flee to safety while Capitol riot occurred, filed a civil lawsuit against Trump for his role in the riot but Trump’s defense lawyer has now said his speech urging his supporters to “fight like hell” is protected by the First Amendment, and the former president cannot be held legally accountable for any actions taken while he was in office.
“The claims against former President Trump directly contravene the absolute immunity conveyed on the President by the Constitution as a key principle of separation of powers,” Attorney Jesse Binnall wrote in the D.C. federal court filing.
Binnall asserted that Trump had every right to advocate for Congress to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Trump was free to advocate for the appointment and certification of electors … even though the President does not directly participate in those congressional acts,” Binnall wrote.
The court filing is Trump’s first legal response to the lawsuit .
Swalwell claims the former president, his son Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani all incited the riot and conspired to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s election win.
A Nigerian native doctor, Ossy Opara has called out his baby mama for beating his mother.
In a Facebook post addressed to his children, Ossy noted that they (children) may not get to see their grandmother again because her “health is failing her as a result of the beatings she received” from his baby mama, Blessing, while she was ill.
Promising that his children will hear about how he was a “daredevil”, the native doctor promised not to indict himself in any way.
He wrote;
Ikechukwu Opara, Chukwuemeka Opara, and Munachimso Opara. Happy children’s day to you my sons.
This is the last children’s day that you will celebrate with me by proxy in an inhumane way. It is likely that you may not meet your grandmother (my mom) alive when you come back, I tried to make you see your grandmother today (her health is failing her as a result of the beatings she received from your mother Blessing ontop her health condition). I tired so hard and made calls that I wasn’t supposed to make, all for the love of family. The internet never forgets.
I will not indict myself in anyway, but you will hear the story of how your father is a Daredevil, you will look at me and be proud to have a father, an only son that conquers multitude of brethren. Ochubara dike n’ohia, that’s what you will call me.
It is a challenge, and a promise. A mortal one, till I die.
Prior to this, Ossy had narrated how his plans of celebrating children’s day yesterday May 27, with his kids was stopped by the family of his baby mama who demanded that he comes to their family house for the visit.
He claimed that they “want to him when to talk and when to leave” and allegedly “set him up again.”
He wrote;
27th of may (Children’s day).
2 weeks ago (early notification), this father has been demanding that his children be peacefully brought out for him by those who have seized them. This father wants to celebrate children’s day with his children and return them afterwards, and must be able to be with them again whenever he wishes to. This father will not be made to do it inside that house at world bank where he was tagged a kidnapper. This father’s session with his children will not be regimented and supervised again.
Information reaching me is that the Okechukwu family wants me to come to their family house to see my children, they want to monitor my stay with my own legitimate children, they want to tell me when to talk and when to leave, they want to know what I will discuss with my children, they want to know if they will beat my children afterwards, and they want to set me up again.
IF MY DEMANDS ARE NOT MET, then this father has been DARED and PUSHED to the wall.
Newton’s 1st law states that, if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a FORCE. This postulate is known as the law of inertia.
Newton’s 3rd law states that,
for every ACTION in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, forces result from interactions.
Prostitutes in Dema Growth Point, Zimbabwe are reportedly now accepting buckets of maize and cups of beans as payment from their cash-strapped male clients.
Some of the sex workers who spoke to New Zimbabwe, appealed to the government and other organisations for low-interest loans to start income-generating projects to fend for their starving families.
One of the sex workers who only identified herself as Alice, said;
“Gone are the days when we used to charge US$5 for the whole night. These days even one dollar is accepted, so that you are able to buy vegetables and tomatoes and cook something for your starving children.”
Alice disclosed that she has three children, one of which is in Form 4. The child needs ZIMSEC (Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council) registration fees while the other kids are in Grade 7 and Grade One.
She added;
“I now even accept a bucket of maize or cups of dried beans as payment for sex services. At least I am assured that my kids will have porridge.”
Another sex worker only identified as Mavis said she could have opted to be a house helper. She however said locals don’t pay.
The sex workers who spoke to the publication, were attending a Key Affected Populations (KAP) workshop meant to find ways of reducing HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The seminar was convened by the National Aids Council (NAC) at Dema Growth Point.
Juventus defender, Matthijs De Ligt has explained why he won’t get vaccinated against Covid-19 despite contracting the disease earlier this year.
The 21-year-old Netherlands international tested positive for the virus in January and missed two Serie A games while in self-isolation before recovery.
The defender has now teamed up with Frank de Boer’s men ahead of Euro 2020 this summer after helping Juventus finish in a Champions League spot.
In an interview with ESPN.nl, he confirmed he had taken the decision not to receive a Covid-19 jab, insisting everyone should be in charge of their own bodies.
“I have not taken a vaccination, it is not mandatory. I think you should be in charge of your own body. The risk of infection is always there. I try to come into contact with as few people as possible outside the Dutch national team.”
The Dutchman, who played 36 games in all competitions for Juventus also played down rumours linking him with a move to Barcelona.
“I am very happy at Juve. I feel like a fish in water,” said De Ligt.
“I feel good on the pitch and appreciated. Would they let me go? There are plenty of clubs that have money problems, but you should ask the club.
“I don’t know. These [Barcelona rumours] make no sense now. That is not important to me and nobody has informed me about it.”
UK police seized more than £5million of criminal loot during a raid on a luxury two-bedroom flat in Britain’s biggest ever cash raid.
The huge cash seizure followed an operation launched in August 2019 by a pro-active team from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command targeting the organised crime networks, Sun UK reports.
The money launderers were jailed on Friday, May 28 for their role in moving monetary profits from drugs and guns.
The laundering network’s £3,500 luxury apartment in a swanky gated estate in Fulham, South West London, was filled with stacks of bank notes being laundered for gangsters.
Police have revealed that lots of cash were stockpiled by launderers during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 as the launderers were unable to transfer the cash out of the country.
Latvian teacher Sergejs Auzins, 46, Russian socialite and DJ, Ruslan Shamsutdinov, 36, and Iranian Serwan Ahmadi, 35, admitted conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property from the UK.
Auzins was seen meeting a cocaine baron being kept under surveillance and was followed back to the Porteus Apartments development in Britannia Road, Fulham.
Police kept watch on the flats and on 5 June 2020 Shamsutdinov was seen leaving the flats with heavy bags which he placed into a nearby car with a hiding tray under seats.
He was detained and the bags were found to be filled with £600,000 in cash.
Police then swooped on the first-floor flat he had come from and found it filled with a further £4.5million.
Ahmadi was arrested on 14 July in Edmonton, North London, in possession of £59,980 in a bag he was carrying and a further £198,665 was recovered at his nearby home.
Auzins was arrested the next day at his home in Rochester and a further £14,435 in cash was seized.
Shamsutdinov was sentenced to 45 months, while Auzins got 40 months on the basis of laundering only £2 million of the total amount discovered.
Ahmadi was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 150 hours unpaid community work.
The total amount of money seized was £5,082,026.17
Prosecutor Daniel Fugallo told Harrow Crown Court: “Inside were bundles of cash in various rooms, boxes under beds, in wardrobes, and laid out on the floor.
“It had the appearance of being very organised, with money in £5,000 or £10,000, with a number of bundles being carried together in carrier bags or boxes.
“Amounts such as 100 or 200 were found written on a number of these bags, when removed these represented a number of thousands within the bag in question.”
Met detective superintendent Jason Prins, “There was literally money everywhere in this flat.
“There was cash in cupboards, drawers and under the beds.
“By the front door there were bags of cash which looked like they were going to be away somewhere.”
Chelsea football club of England have won its second Champions League title on Saturday, May 29, 2021, beating Manchester City, 1-0, in in Porto, Portugal.
In a totally dominating display by the Blues, Chelsea showed more quality on and off the ball, showed more pace, panache and perseverance as they inflicted a third straight win this season on Pep Guardiola’s team.
A first-half goal from summer signing Kai Havertz, the most expensive player in Chelsea’s history, was enough to earn Thomas Tuchel’s side victory in front of thousands of fans at Porto’s Estadio Dragao in Portugal even though tbr thrilling final was marred by a knee injury to 36 year old Chelsea defender Thiago Silva and a head injury to City’s playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne.
Chelsea we’re so brilliant tactically that Raheem Sterling had a terrible night facing Reece James. De Bruyne lost the midfield war with Kante while Chilwell and Rudiger made Mahrez and Bernardo look like kindergarten players.
Defeat was yet another bitter disappointment for Manchester City who although won the English Premier league have spent multimillions in player and staff acquisition to clinch the champions League.
But for Chelsea it was their first win since 2012, crowning their season with the highest trophy in European club football.
