THE Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a 30-year-old man, Vincent Jeffrey Ehizojie, to death by hanging for killing his employer, Olusola Olusoga, the owner of Etashol Hotel and Suites and the manager of the hotel, Tunji Omikunle. Justice Oyindamola Ogala, condemned Ehizojie to death after she held that the prosecution had proven the ingredients of the charge beyond all reasonable doubt. The condemned convict, who at the time of the crime was working as a supervisor in the hotel, was arraigned before the court on a two-count charge bordering on murder. The state had told…
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SPORTING a pair of sunglasses, Asisat Oshoala celebrated Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League triumph with her teammates in early June, but Nigeria was already on her mind. Standing on the balcony of the historic palace in Placa de Sant Jaume in the city’s Gothic neighbourhood before several thousand jubilant fans, Oshoala was handed the microphone. “Visca Barca and Visca Nigeria,” the 28-year-old forward said, swapping in her homeland for “Catalunya”, as the refrain usually goes. Ruled out with a hamstring injury, Oshoala could not play any part in Barcelona’s rollercoaster 3-2 win over Wolfsburg that saw them clinch their second Champions…
CHELSEA have revealed their home kit for the 2023-24 season without a front-of-shirt sponsor. A shirt deal with telecommunications company Three was not renewed when it expired at the end of last season. The Premier League blocked a deal with streaming service Paramount+, because of concerns about upsetting its broadcast rights holders. Chelsea decided against a shirt sponsorship agreement with an online gambling company. The club’s supporters’ trust had spoken out against such a partnership, although it is understood Chelsea had already ruled out a deal before that. In April, the Premier League announced that gambling sponsors would be withdrawn…
THREADS is looking into adding an alternative home feed, of only posts, in chronological order, from the people each individual user follows, according to Instagram boss Adam Mosseri. It currently shows a mix of recommended content and posts from those followed. Threads was billed as an “initial version” at launch and the company has signalled more features are to come. But a planned system to make Threads compatible with some other apps, such as Mastodon, has met with resistance. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, built the Threads app. Mr Mosseri posted the alternative home feed for Threads was “on…
EYEWITNESSES and the family of a 16-year-old Palestinian shot dead during Israel’s military assault in Jenin have told the BBC he was unarmed and killed “for no reason”, after videos emerged of the moment of his death. Twelve Palestinians, including four teenage children, and one Israeli soldier were killed during the two-day incursion in the occupied West Bank last week. Israel said all the Palestinians who were killed were combatants. But the videos show Abdul Rahman Hassan Ahmad Hardan, 16, was unarmed when he was shot. The teenager was shot in the head outside al-Amal hospital on the second day…
GABON’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba has announced that he will seek a third term in office in presidential elections planned for August. The Bongo family has already ruled Gabon for 55 years. Ali Bongo took over in 2009 from his father Omar Bongo, who had himself been in power for more than 40 years. The last elections held in 2016 were marred by claims of fraud. Mr Bongo defeated opposition candidate Jean Ping by less than 6,000 votes. Mr Ping declared himself the winner and contested those results. His passport was later confiscated and he was only allowed to leave…
JOHANNESBURG has seen its first snowfall since 2012, as cold weather is sweeping across much of the country. Residents are being advised to take extra precautions to stay warm and farmers to provide shelter for livestock. South Africa’s weather service said snow has also been reported in Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga. “The public is advised to keep warm during these conditions,” said the South African Weather Service (Saws) in a statement. Weather experts have also advised initiation schools in the Eastern Cape to be extra vigilant over the next week as they keep watch over hundreds of teenage boys undergoing…
FRANCE striker Kylian Mbappe has called his club side Paris St-Germain “divisive” as doubts intensify over his future at the French champions. The 24-year-old, whose contract at PSG expires in 2024, made the comments to France Football magazine. PSG’s all-time leading scorer has told the club he will not sign a new deal. “I think that playing for PSG doesn’t help much because it’s a divisive team, a divisive club,” Mbappe is reported as saying. Paris St-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said he would not allow Mbappe to leave on a free transfer when his contract expires next summer. Mbappe, who…
PARIS St-Germain have signed 27-year-old defender Lucas Hernandez from Bayern Munich for a reported £34m. A 2018 World Cup winner with France, Hernandez won a treble with Bayern in 2019-20 – his first season at the club. After winning the domestic league and cup double, Hernandez helped Hansi Flick’s team defeat PSG to win the Champions League. Hernandez, who played 107 times for the Bundesliga champions and scored twice, has signed a five-year deal. “I’m really excited,” Hernandez said. “I’ve been waiting to join PSG for a long time, and it’s finally happened. It’s a very special day for me…
SIX people have been killed and one injured in a kindergarten stabbing in China’s south-eastern Guangdong province, police tell the BBC. Police said they have arrested a 25-year-old man with the surname Wu. The victims include one teacher, two parents and three students, AFP reported, quoting a spokeswoman for the city government. The attack happened on Monday at 07:40 local time (23:40 Sunday GMT), and the man was arrested at 08:00. Police have called this a case of “intentional assault”. Violent crime is relatively rare in China, but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years,…
FRANCE has banned the sale, possession and transport of fireworks during the July 14 national holiday weekend, following riots sparked by the police killing a teenager, the government said Sunday. Fireworks were among the weapons of choice during the unrest that exploded in France after a police officer shot dead a 17-year-old during a traffic stop on June 27 near Paris, rekindling long pent-up frustrations and accusations of systemic racism among France’s security forces. “In order to prevent the risk of serious disturbances to public order during the July 14 festivities, the sale, possession, transport and use of pyrotechnical articles…
SPANISH rescuers are searching waters off the Canary Islands for a boat carrying at least 200 African migrants who went missing more than a week ago. The aid group Walking Borders says the fishing boat sailed from Kafountine, a coastal town in southern Senegal that is roughly 1,700km (1,057 miles) from Tenerife. The group says many children are on board, Spain’s Efe news agency reports. Two similar boats carrying dozens more people are also said to be missing. The boat carrying about 200 people left Kafountine on 27 June, heading for the Canary Islands. Spain’s maritime rescue service told Efe…
A LITTLE after midnight on 6 September, 2022, Musah Mustafa emerged from his thatched-roof hut to relieve himself and saw four cars speeding towards his tiny village. Mogyigna was barely a village. With just a handful of family homes and two dozen people in total, it was more like a dot in the middle of an expanse of farmland in northern Ghana. Cars were a rare sight during the day, let alone at night. Musah hid behind a tree and watched. When he saw armed men from the cars approach the two homes, he shouted in an attempt to wake…
SUPER Eagles striker, Taiwo Awoniyi says the team is targeting the trophy at the Africa Cup of Nation’s 2023 tournament coming up in January 2024 in Ivory Coast. The Eagles disappointingly exited in the second round at the last edition in Cameroon in 2022, losing 1-0 to Tunisia after Alex Iwobi received a red card from the referee for a bad tackle. Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Friday, Awoniyi said the team having achieved qualification for the next tournament, is determined to win it this time around. “I think everyone in the squad is happy, the first…
ENGLAND won the European Under-21 Championship for the first time in nearly 40 years after a dramatic last-minute penalty save by James Trafford ensured the Young Lions held on to beat Spain. Trafford, who is set to join Burnley from Manchester City in a deal that could be worth up to £19m, kept out Abel Ruiz’s low spot-kick in the 99th minute after a lengthy VAR check. The 20-year-old then produced another brilliant stop on the follow-up before being mobbed by his team-mates. The winning goal came with virtually the last kick of the first half when a Cole Palmer…
THE Syrian government has cancelled the BBC’s media accreditation over what it called “biased and misleading reports”. Syria’s information ministry said the broadcaster failed to adhere to “professional standards”. A recent BBC story linked the trade of an amphetamine called Captagon with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s family. The BBC said it provided impartial, independent journalism. “We speak to people across the political spectrum to establish the facts,” a BBC spokesperson said. Published last month, the BBC News Arabic Investigations found links between the Captagon drug trade, leading members of the Syrian Armed Forces and Mr Assad’s family. Captagon is a…
IT is more than four years since a Boeing 737 Max airliner crashed into remote farmland outside the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. One hundred and fifty seven people were killed. On Monday, an inquest in Horsham, West Sussex will finally take place into the deaths of three of the British citizens who were on board. For relatives of those who died, it is a landmark moment. Lawyers for the families will be seeking a verdict of unlawful killing. The inquest will look into the deaths of humanitarian workers Sam Pegram and Oliver Vick, as well as sustainability campaigner Joanna Toole.…
A SUDANESE army air strike on the capital has killed at least 22 people and injured many others, eyewitnesses and an official have said. Women and children were among the victims, the eyewitnesses told the BBC. The airstrike hit the Dar es Salaam district of Omdurman, on the opposite bank of the Nile to the capital Khartoum, early on Saturday. The army and a paramilitary force have been battling for control of the capital since April. The conflict began after the head of the army, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Gen Mohamed…
RIVAL sides in politically divided Libya have agreed to set up a committee to oversee the sharing of oil revenues. Eastern military strongman Khalifa Haftar had threated to force the shut-down of oil production unless the UN-backed Tripoli-based government agreed to address the issue. Libya sits on Africa’s biggest oil reserves but friction between administrations in the east and west have severely hampered production. Crude oil provides the main source of revenue for the country, which has been plagued by unrest since a Nato-backed revolt in 2011 toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
SPANISH goalkeeper David de Gea said “it’s the right time to undertake a new challenge” as he confirmed he is leaving Manchester United. The 32-year-old was a free agent as his contract at the Old Trafford club ended last month. De Gea has been at United for 12 years and his 545 appearances and 190 clean sheets are club records for a keeper. “I just wanted to send this farewell message to all Manchester United supporters,” he wrote on social media. De Gea started his career at Atletico Madrid but joined United for £18.9m in 2011. The announcement of his…