Military authorities have confirmed that over 50 members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist group were killed while launching anattack on Damboa Local Government Area of Borno state.
Army spokesman, Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima said the terrorists were battled by troops of Operation Hadin Kai in conjunction with Air Component of the Operation.
Yerima said the suicide bombers had to abandon their vehicles primed with explosives as they could not withstand the overwhelming firepower from the highly motivated troops
The statement read;
“The terrorists attacked the town in multiple waves with Armoured Personnel Carriers and 12 Gun Trucks all mounted with Anti-Aircraft Guns, as well as Locally Fabricated Armoured-plated Vehicles loaded with explosives and motorcycles.
“The gallant troops successfully defeated the attack, destroyed the locally fabricated armoured-plated vehicles and neutralised over 50 ISWAP terrorists forcing the survivors to run in disarray under heavy gunfire from the resilient troops and Nigerian Air Force attack platforms.
“The so-called suicide bombers had to abandon their vehicles primed with explosives as they could not withstand the overwhelming firepower from the highly motivated troops. Several weapons and ammunition were recovered from the depleted terrorists.”
Bournemouth midfielder, Jefferson Lerma has been banned for six matches after allegedly biting Sheffield Wednesday’s Josh Windass.
The Colombian footballer was accused of biting Windass in the 83rd minute of the Cherries’ 1-0 defeat by the Owls in November, but the 26-year-old strenuously denied the allegation.
The FA confirmed Lerma’s punishment for the alleged offence on Wednesday June 2, and also confirmed he had been fined £40,000. Bournemouth said they were ‘surprised and disappointed’ at the outcome.
Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Josh Windass.
A statement from the FA read: ‘Jefferson Lerma has been suspended for six matches and fined £40,000 following a breach of FA Rule E3 that occurred during an EFL Championship match against Sheffield Wednesday FC on 03/11/20.
‘The midfielder denied that his behaviour in or around the 83rd minute of the match constituted violent conduct.
‘An independent Regulatory Commission found the breach of FA Rule E3 proven after considering evidence during a hearing.’
But Bournemouth believe there is a lack of ‘clear and compelling’ evidence of the alleged incident.
In a statement, the club said: ‘Since the start of this unnecessarily long process, Jefferson has strenuously denied the charge and has been fully supported by the club in doing so. Both the club and player have fully cooperated with the FA throughout.
‘As stated in the commission’s written reasons, the video footage of the incident between the players was ‘not conclusive’. In addition, there was no photographic evidence of any bite mark and Mr Windass – who is described as an ‘unappealing witness’ who ‘gave every impression of simply not caring’ – did not seek or receive any medical attention or treatment.
‘Expert evidence was also presented to the commission suggesting that Jefferson was most unlikely to have intentionally bitten Mr Windass, but this appears to have been rejected without due consideration.
‘The club believes there was a lack of clear and compelling evidence in finding the charge against Jefferson proven, and the player is currently considering his options regarding an appeal.’
An eight-man shortlist for the 2020/21 season Premier League Player of the Season award has been revealed.
Manchester City stars Kevin De Bruyne and Ruben Dias are two of the eight stars nominated for the Premier League Player of the Season Award.
England trio Harry Kane of Tottenham, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Chelsea star Mason Mount have also been listed along with Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek.
Manchester City defender, Ruben Dias is favourite to win the award after an outstanding season for his club.
The Portugal internation won the Football Writers’ Association award in May, beating his City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne – who won the Premier League Player of the Season award last season – and Tottenham striker Harry Kane to the honour.
A bride in India died at the venue of her wedding and the ceremony continued with the groom marrying the dead bride’s younger sister.
The bride, who has been identified as Surabhi, died of a heart attack during her wedding ceremony in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Following her sudden death in the presence of family and wedding guests, the families laid her body in the room next door as her groom worked on his backup plan.
According to eyewitnesses, groom, Manjesh Kumar was in the middle of exchanging vows with his fiancee, Surabhi, when she died in front of him.
Doctors rushed to her side but despite their best efforts, she was pronounced dead of cardiac arrest moments later, local media reports.
However, Surabhi’s uncle Ajab Singh told news agency IANS that the families made the decision to have Kumar wed her younger sister, Nisha, instead, which he claims was a “tough call” for them.
He said: “One daughter lay dead in one room and the wedding of another daughter was being solemnised in the other room. We have never witnessed such mixed emotions.
“The grief over her death and the happiness of the wedding have yet to sink in.”
Surabhi’s brother, Saurabh, added that they did not know what to do in the situation at first.
He said: “Both the families sat together and someone suggested that my younger sister Nisha should be married to the groom. The families discussed the matter and both agreed.”
The groom with Nisha taking their vows after the death of the original bride
The story has since gone viral on social media, with an image of sisters Surabhi and Nisha on the day of the wedding emerging.
Sisters, Surabhi and Nisha (circled) on the wedding day before tragedy occurred and the younger sister had to marry the groom
News of the wedding has been viewed more than 260 million times on Weibo.
Deontay Wilder has vowed to “decapitate” Tyson Fury when they fight for the third time.
The Gypsy King was set to take on Anthony Joshua in their undisputed heavyweight title fight on August 14 in Saudi Arabia, before an arbitration case by Wilder ordered a trilogy between himself and Tyson Fury.
A judge ruled that Fury must go through with his contracted trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder by September 2021.
Recall Fury and Wilder signed a two-fight deal to meet again twice in 2020 after their first fight in 2018, which ended in a draw. The Brit defeated the American to take his WBC heavyweight title in February 2020 and Wilder then activated his clause to force a trilogy contest.
The trilogy fight has now been set for July 24.
Bronze Bomber’ said he is aiming to make no mistake this time around.
Speaking to 78 Sports TV, Wilder issued a chilling threat to Fury and warned he will “decapitate” him.
“Y’all don’t wanna miss this one. My mindset is just so different right now,” he said. “Even right now, I don’t even feel like I’m here.
“My mentality is – you’ve been contemplating about hurting a person so bad, to the point you wanna disfigure him so his mother wouldn’t even know who he was.
“When you’ve had your mind on that, like you wanna decapitate him in every f*****g way possible, it’s like that premeditated stuff.
“When I do see him, I’m gonna love to see what I feel and what I’m thinking, how my senses change when he’s in my environment. I’ve been contemplating, premeditating whooping this man.
“Now that we have a date, like training has been even more intense.
“Those other camps, although they were intense, we had no guidance, no ETA, we just knew we wanted to stay in shape… Now it means something now. It’s for certain now.
“There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, you got to go through me. The hardest puncher in the heavyweight division, probably in history, and I’m going to continue to do that.”
Former US president, Donald Trump has shut down his newly launched site where he posts statements just 29 days after it was launched.
The website ”From the Desk of Donald J. Trump’ has been scrubbed from the former president’s website and instead the URL redirects users to a page to sign up for his email and text alerts.
Trump’s team did not give a reason for closing the website but Senior Trump aide Jason Miller told CNBC that the site ‘will not be returning.’
‘It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on,’ he added.
The site was set up by Trump after the former president was banned from social media sites like Twitter and Facebook following the January 6 Capitol riot.
Trump promised after being banned from his social media accounts that he would set up his own social media site, which he insists is different from the ‘desk’ blog.
Miller claimed he is ‘hoping to have more information on the broader efforts soon’ regarding the new social media site.
‘I do not have a precise awareness of timing,’ he said.
Police in Nansana municipality, Uganda have arrested 44 people for organizing and attending a same sex traditional marriage.
Spokesperson for the Kampala Metropolitan Police, Luke Owoyesigyire, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, May 31, said police received a tip off about a group of men suspected to be homosexuals conducting a wedding in 780 zone, Ochen ward in Nansana municipality.
“At the same functions gifts were recovered, these included suitcases, a tv, assorted gifts like sugar, salt, pineapples and many other gifts normally given at traditional functions.” he added.
The Kampala police spokesperson said that used and unused condoms were recovered at the scene whereas the suspects were not observing Covid SOPs like social distancing and wearing of masks.
He noted that they were arrested and detained at police.
The Criminal Investigations Divisions spokesperson, Charles Twine later said the group would be charged for doing a ‘negligent act likely to spread an infectious disease.’
See more photos and video from their arrest below…
Gunmen attacked a car carrying Ugandan Minister of Works and Transport, General Katumba Wamala, in an attempted assassination, killing his daughter and driver.
It was gathered that four attackers on motorcycles opened fire at a vehicle carrying the former army commander, in the Kampala suburb of Kiasasi, on Tuesday morning, June 1.
According to reports, the assailants trailed Gen. Katumba’s vehicle with reg number H4DF 2138 before opening fire on them.
General Wamala survived with bullet wounds in his left arm and chest and was rushed to Malcom Clinic and later Nakasero. Unfortunately, his daughter Brenda Nantongo Wahala and driver Haruna Kayondo died on the spot.
The former commander was reportedly on his way to attend a vigil for his mother-in-law at the time of the shooting.
Images circulating on social media showed Wamala with his mouth open, in apparent distress beside the car and his light-colored trousers splattered with blood. Images also showed bullet holes in a car window and casings on the ground.
“There was a shooting involving him … he is hurt and he’s been taken to the hospital, his driver was killed,” said Army spokeswoman Brigadier Flavia Byekwaso.
According to local media, General Wamala has enjoyed a distinguished career. Before appointment as works minister by President Yoweri Museveni in December 2019, Wamala had served as the Chief of Defence Forces (2013-2017) in the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF).
Meanwhile,his daughter, Brenda had recently returned from the United States of America.
“Brenda had just returned from the US. She only started working recently,” said Joyce Ssentongo, an in-law to Gen. Wamala.
Ssentongo described the slain daughter as a humble girl who had a whole bright future ahead of her.
A number of Belgium players have reportedly turned down the chance to receive a Covid-19 vaccination ahead of Euro 2020 over fears the side effects could wreck their hopes at the tournament.
The country’s government had given the green light for players to receive the jab, with the Belgian FA insisting it was a ‘very important’ move as they bid to win their first-ever trophy as a nation.
A handful of stars including Toby Alderweireld, Timothy Castagne, Thibaut Courtois, and Thomas Vermaelen are all said to have received their jabs.
But with the team seen as one of the favourites to win the competition, some of the players refused to take the Pfizer jab in case it hinders their performance, according to Belgian outlet HLN.
The side effects of the vaccine include tiredness, headaches, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, and fever – which can affect more than one in ten people.
Professor Dirk Ramaekers, who heads Belgium’s Task Force COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy, allayed fears about the refusals to be vaccinated.
He said a number of players had already received their jabs, while some would prefer to receive theirs after Euro 2020 has ended
‘A number of Red Devils had already been vaccinated abroad, a number of them have recently experienced Covid,’ he said.
‘The latter have antibodies and prefer to be vaccinated after the tournament. Of those who were not vaccinated, the vast majority had themselves vaccinated upon arrival in our country.
Ramaekers said the squad and coach Roberto Martinez were ‘very pro-vaccination’ and that only ‘one or two’ players do not wish to receive their jabs.
‘I look at it positively and notice that the players – with guys like Mertens, Lukaku and Hazard in the lead – just like the association and the coach are very pro-vaccination,’ he added.
‘Within the group, the majority is protected. The group protection is great because those boys will live in a highly isolated environment for the coming weeks. On the field, all participating teams will protect their players as much as possible with vaccination and testing.’
Belgium, who are ranked as the number one international team in world football are set to begin their Euro campaign against Russia in St Petersburg on June 12.
Barcelona have made their third signing of the week with Brazil defender Emerson Royal joining from Real Betis after Argentina striker Sergio Aguero and Spain center-back Eric Garcia joined.
The 22-year-old right-back initially joined Barcelona from Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro in January 2019 in a three-way deal also involving Betis, which saw the full-back join the Andalusian club on loan.
Barca have now exercised their option to bring Emerson back to the Nou Camp.
Officially announcing the switch on Wednesday, a Barca statement read: “FC Barcelona have informed Real Betis Balompie that they are exercising their right to bring back Emerson Royal from July 1 after two seasons on loan at the Andalusian club.
“Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 14 January 1999, Emerson Aparecido Leite de Souza Junior, better known as Emerson Royal, is an attacking right-back who will be involved in the upcoming Copa America with the Brazilian national team.
“The defender will bring pace and an attacking dimension to the right wing as the Brazilian has scored five goals and created 10 assists with Betis, the club at which he has played since a three-way agreement was reached involving Atletico Mineiro in January 2019.”
A mum left a suicide note for her husband then hanged her 14-year-old daughter before killing herself.
Mariolina Nigrelli, 40, and her daughter Alessandra Mollica were found dead on May 31 in their country home in Sicily, southern Italy, by the teens’ father.
The mum also left a note on the kitchen table which read: “I’m taking Alessandra away with me, I’m sorry I ask for forgiveness.”
According to local media, when the father, Maurizio Mollica, had last spoken to his wife a day before, they had disputes over their daughter’s education.
Mariolina Nigrelli, 40, Alessandra Mollica, 14, and her father Maurizio Mollica also 40
He told La Republicca: “Yesterday afternoon, shortly after seven, my wife did not answer the phone. I was worried.
“I looked for them everywhere in the village, then I went to our country house. And there I found myself in front of the tragedy.”
The well-known blacksmith had found his wife and teenage daughter’s lifeless bodies and immediately called the authorities.
He cried as he told investigators that the marriage was strained and the arguments in their relationship had made it very tense.
Maurizio also claims that his daughter, Alessandra, had problems with other kids at school and her mum had become increasingly concerned about her welfare. As a result, Mariolina would sometimes get into arguments with other parents at the school.
An autopsy is still to be carried out on the bodies however investigators believe the cause of death was murder-suicide but the investigation is still ongoing.
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.
Sisters, Surabhi and Nisha (circled) on the wedding day before tragedy occurred and the younger sister had to marry the groom
