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Naomi Osaka thrashes tearful Williams to clinch New York Crown
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japanese star naomi osaka trounced her idol serena williams to lift her first grand slam in new york winning 6-2 6-41 her victory the second over williams denied the american her dreamrecord-equalling 24th grand slam that would have put her on the same pedestal with australian margaret court1 the match was marred by rantings by serena after the umpire carlos ramos warned her about a non verbal message passed to her by her french coach patrick mouratoglou. he also warned her about her misbehaviour smashing her racket1 but serena was unhinged thereafter shouting expletives on the umpire who imposed the sanction of awarding one game penalty to her opponent. this took naomi 5-3 in the second set1 the sanction brought out tearful emotions from serena. us open officials could not help her and after gathering herself serena held her game to reduce the score to 5-41 thereafter she sank on her seat crying during the short break before naomi served for the match to win her firstrecord grand slam as a japanese player1 she also picked the 3.8 million winners cheque1 osaka and williams had played against each other once before at miami in march and it was the japanese upstart who used her formidable power to topple her idol in straight sets1 she repeated the same feat on saturday night. but more important for her was that she had lived a dream1 even when i was a little kid i always dreamed that i would play serena in a final of a grand slam. just the fact that its happening im very happy about it osaka said after her semi-final win over 2017 runner-up madison keys1 -
Jack Ma says not quitting yet only unveiling succession plan
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his own worth has soared along with that of the company which has added cloud computing films and e-payments to its growing portfolio and was valued at 420.8 billion when the stock market closed on friday1 alibaba co-founder and chairman jack ma will not step aside on monday as widely reported he will only unveil a succession plan the south china morning post reported sunday1 the new york times ran an article on friday based on an interview with ma saying the former teacher turned billionaire planned to use his birthday to announce his retirement as chairman of alibaba to focus on philanthropy1 the paper quoted ma as saying the decision was the beginning of an era1 but an alibaba spokesman told the scmp that the new york times story was taken out of context and factually wrong1 an alibaba spokesman said ma remains the companys executive chairman and will provide transition plans over a significant period of time the scmp wrote1 the paper added that the monday succession strategy was part of a plan for grooming a generation of younger executives to take over the reins of the company1 eileen murphy a spokesperson for the new york times said the newspaper stood by its story1 ma was an english teacher before starting alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus becoming one of the worlds richest men and a revered figure in his homeland1 the scmp which is owned by alibaba said chinas most famous tech billionaire will unveil a succession strategy on monday his 54th birthday but remain the companys executive chairman for the foreseeable future1 the new york times report surprised many in the global business community because of mas comparative youth especially in china where it is not unusual for tycoons to remain in place into their eighties1 alibaba did not return requests for comment on saturday after the story ran1 ma gave up the title of alibaba ceo in 2013 but remains a pivotal figure within the company as well as its most recognisable face1 in an interview with bloomberg tv released on friday ma hinted at his retirement plans saying he wanted to follow in the footsteps of microsoft founder bill gates one of the worlds most prolific philanthropists1 theres a lot of things i can learn from bill gates. i can never be as rich but one thing i can do better is to retire earlier he said1 the scmp report ran quotes from ma himself but they did not address when exactly he would retire. ma said he met with company executives 10 years ago to work out what alibaba would do without me1 anybody who knows me knows i embrace the future. this is not about retiring stepping away or backing off. this is a systematic plan the paper quoted ma as saying1 the scmp said ma would be in russia next week for alibaba business meetings as well as an upcoming trip to south africa and a planned speech at the companys investor day in mid-september1 -
Atiku woos another presidential aspirant
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alhaji atiku abubakar one of the numerous presidential aspirants of the peoples democratic party pdp has taken his campaign to another aspirant sen. ahmad makarki1 abubakar was nigerias former vice president on the platform of pdp from 1999-2007 and makarfi a former governor of kaduna state was also the immediate past national chairman of pdp1 abubakar on saturday visited makarfi at his residence in kaduna to seek blessings of the pdp chieftain ahead of the partys presidential primary for the 2019 general elections1 atiku said the visit was aimed at seeking the support of makarfi who is also a presidential aspirant as the party struggles to wrest power from the all progressives congress apc1 he described the apc government as a total failure and therefore said the party must not be allowed to continue in office in 20191 atiku said he was willing to support any other candidate of the party that emerged through a credible process if he loses in the presidential primary1 on his part makarfi said both himself and atiku abubakar were eminently qualified for the countrys number one seat adding that his presidential ambition was not a do or die affair1 in attendance at the meeting was the director general of the atiku campaign organization and former ogun state governor otunba gbenga daniel as well as close associates of senator makarfi1 other aspirants that abubakar would have to contend with on the platform of pdp are the senate president bukola saraki his predecessor david mark governor of sokoto state aminu tambuwal governor of gombe state ibrahim dankwambo a former governor of kano state rabiu kwankwaso a former governor of jigawa state sule lamido1 others are a former governor of sokoto state attahiru bafarawa a former governor of plateau state david jang a former minister of special duties tanimu turaki a former kaduna north senator datti baba-ahmed and former senate president david mark the latest to join the race1 -
Mo Farah wins 5th consecutive Great North Run
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mo farah delivered a dominant performance to claim a record fifth victory in the great north run on sunday in the latest step in his bid to win a major marathon1 the british runner led from the front to cross the line in 59min 26sec just four seconds short of the personal best he set in winning his second title in 20151 it was also his fifth consecutive win in the race1 farah shrugged off new zealands jake robertson in the final section of the race in newcastle as he set himself up in style for his attempt to win his first major marathon crown in chicago next month1 trainings different now as im not in the track season. ive been doing a lot more long runs and in terms of endurance im definitely fitter four-time olympic champion farah told the bbc1 just coming into that headwind it was so tough i wasnt going smooth i was going up and down. i honestly thought i could beat my personal best today but those last two miles really hurt1 favourite vivian cheruiyot saw off fellow kenyan brigid kosgei to win her second womens title in 67431 -
Phone addiction causes poor performance
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another parent mrs maimuna bala also expressed dismay over phone addition and cautioned that it caused serious distraction1 the addiction to mobile phone from early age could lead to poor academic performance skiving of class sleep disturbances and mental problems in more serious cases a medical doctor in kano state dr tijjani haruna has said1 he said that schools and the family have an important role to play in checking the ugly trend by preventing children from using mobile phones from childhood before they become addicted to it1 some parents in kano have also expressed concern over the addiction of youths in the use of smart phones describing the menace as disturbing and dangerous to their health1 malam ali sadiq a parent lamented that most of the youths who are in the age bracket of 18 to 35 years are addicted to smart phones while few of them who are outside of this age bracket are also in the habit of using mobile phones anywhere they find themselves1 sadiq appealed to parents and other stakeholders in the state to educate their children on the dangers associated with persistent use of cell phones1 haruna who is working with the mohammed abdullahi wase specialist hospital kano told the news agency of nigeria nan in kano on sunday that the trend could make users prone to obesity lack of concentration and other diseases1 many parents are out of touch with the dangers faced by their children on tablets and smart phones she said1 mr gabriel adekoya another parent also said our youths nowadays are always glued to their phones tapping away on whatsapp posting selfies or scrolling youtube for the latest videos some of them hardly relate directly with real people around them because of addiction1 mr abass yusuf an electronics engineer in the city said that one could hardly see young people without smart phones1 the most annoying thing is people over concentrate by surfing through their smart phones while at places of work eateries or places of worship yusuf said1 however dr arikawe adeolu a medical practitioner federal medical centre jabi abuja advised nigerians to develop good phone hygiene as the device had the capacity to hold millions of micro-organism. nan1 -
Air passengers hit 3.7m in 2Q
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the bureau said there was a significant year-on-year decline in air cargo traffic via lagos for both the first quarter 49.8 per cent and second quarter 65.4 per cent1 the national bureau of statistics nbs has said that 3.65 million air passengers traveled through nigerian airports in the second quarter of 2018 as against 3.84 million recorded in the first quarter1 the bureau said the figure declined by 33.51 per cent year-on-year and increased by 15.24 per cent quarter-on-quarter1 the report said there was a consequent 4.9 per cent decline in passengers for the second quarter when compared to the preceding quarter1 the report said the total aircraft traffic declined year-on-year for both the first quarter 1.48per cent and second quarter 10.17per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter in 20171 in the first half of 2018 aircraft traffic totaled 96659 a 5.9 per cent decline from total aircraft recorded in the same period last year it stated1 the nbs disclosed this in its air transport data q1 and q2 2018 report posted in its website1 this the nbs said led to an overall year-on-year decline of 37.8 per cent for the first half of the year1 it said that a growth of 25.6 per cent was however recorded between the second quarter and the preceding quarter1 according to the bureau a 34.2 per cent increase in total mail traffic was recorded in the first half of the year when compared to the same period in 20171 total mail traffic for the first half of 2018 increased from 14779558 kg in half year 2017 to 19831650 kg in half year 2018 a 34.2per cent growth between the stated periods1 total mail for first quarter was recorded at 8313112 kg and grew by 38.56 per cent to 11518538 kg in the second quarter.nan1 -
Speaker lampoons Niger Delta legislators
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we have no road connecting southern ijaw to other places in the state no power supply we are not connected to the national grid we have no good hospital1 the speaker bayelsa state house of assembly mr konbowei benson has lampooned legislators from niger delta and described them as ineffective1 benson a two-term speaker in the state assembly said on sunday when he spoke with newsmen at the peoples democratic party pdp secretariat in yenagoa1 the speaker had on thursday picked a nomination form to vie for the house of representatives seat for southern ijaw federal constituency1 he noted that southern ijaw despite being one of the top most local governments producing wealth for the country has yet to have access road electricity hospital and other basic amenities1 the speaker added that these were reasons he was aspiring to the national assembly to attract federal government presence to the area1 as at now there are many things we are still lacking despite our contributions to economic development of nigeria1 he said that the neglect of the niger delta region by successive administrations was due to the ineffective representation by legislators from the region1 nothing to write home about and those are the things that moved me to aspire to represent the area in the house of representatives1 so i will use my experience in legislation which span more than 12 years to attract development to my area he said1 he decried the continued neglect of southern ijaw and other niger delta communities which he said had nothing to show for producing most of the wealth for the nation1 benson said that with good representatives at the national assembly they can attract federal government presence to the area1 how can we produce so much but have nothing to show its pathetic a big oil producing local government like southern ijaw cannot boast of a road even functional hospitals1 someone will spend four or five hours in the water before getting to yenagoa by the grace of god when we get there we will be able to argue our way out1 niger delta and southern ijaw have to be carried along our people have been neglected for long that is why we need quality people at the national assembly people who will bring development to the deprived areas the speaker said. nan1 -
MASSOB tips Ojukwus Bianca for senate
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although bianca said that her visit to the project site had no significance to her political ambition she however described her visit as home coming1 the identity of late dim chukwuemeka ojukwu to the igbo people has propelled the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra massob to endorse mrs bianca ojukwus bid to contest the anambra south senatorial election in 20191 he said that he supports bianca because her late husband meant everything to the identity of the igbo people and was his bosom friend and mentor who struggled for the emancipation of ndigbo1 uwazuruike who also doubles as the leader of biafra independence movement said that though he was not from anambra senatorial district but that he would deplore tools available to him to ensure bianca emerged victorious1 bianca already has the backing of more than 15 igbo billionaires for her 2019 senatorial project and i make bold to say that she has my full support and we call on anambra people to look back on our history and support her uwazuruike appealed1 mrs ojukwu had recently declared to vie for the senatorial seat on the platform of the all progressives grand alliance apga a party which her late husband founded in 20031 mrs ojukwu told the news agency of nigeria nan that she commended uwazuruikes zeal and interest in engraving the name of her husband and ndigbo in the sands of time1 when uwazuruike started this ojukwu memorial library project after the death of my husband it was like a bourgeois dream but the project today is almost completed she said1 chief ralph uwazuruike leader of massob made the endorsement when bianca wife of late dim ojukwu and dr godwin maduka billionaire us-based nigerian surgeon visited ojukwu memorial library owerri on sunday1 nan reports that the ojukwu memorial library complex has 2000 capacity auditorium and e-library which on completion would serve as meeting place for discussion on igbo historical heritage and issues affecting them1 also maduka who described the auditorium as magnificent expressed delight on the thoughtfulness of uwazuruike on the library and conference centre1 i am indeed happy to see this kind of magnificent structure that could be likened to aesthetic buildings in the netherlands i will certainly identify with the initiator of this project in seeing to its completion1 i must add that doing this is to demonstrate that i am a core igbo man and i feel any privileged son or daughter of igbo nation should show interest in this project that represents our history and unity he said1 maduka the chief executive officer and medical director of las vegas pain institute and medical centre nevada u.s. criticised what he called the continued marginalisation of a section of the country in favour of others1 he said that the beauty of nigeria was the unity of all segments and urged the leaders to kick against tribalism and nepotism to take the country to the next level1 nan also reports that maduka who recently commenced construction of police academy at his umuchukwu country home had completed a 16-storey skyscraper medical research centre at umuchukwu community in orumba south local government anambra state1 he equally built and handed over high court and magistrates court complex as well as involved in litany of developmental projects in a bid to turn his obscure community to a centre of medical destination in nigeria and entire african continent. nan1 -
Chaos as lawyer appears in Court in traditional dress
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a mentally sick lawyer ibrahim waley on thursday caused a stir during sitting at a yola high court when he joined his colleagues lawyers at the front row while clad in traditional dress as against the formal gown and wig2 a news agency of nigeria nan correspondent at the court reports that waley who arrived the jam-packed court hall while judgement was being delivered took his seat at the wrong place to the surprise of those in court2 as at the time of his arrival judgement was being delivered on a suit filed by some aggrieved all progressives congress apc members seeking the nullification of the recent congresses conducted by the party in the state2 looking confident that he was in the midst of his colleagues waley rebuffedentreaties by a journalist who offered him alternative seat insisting that as a lawyer he must sit in the front row like other lawyers2 attracted by his noise a court staff approach and pleaded with him to accept the offer of the journalist but he declined2 attempt to convince ibrahim to sit on other alternative seats or move out of court room since all the front seats were occupied by lawyers resulted in a heated argument making justice abdul-azeez waziri to suspend reading his judgement briefly calling for order2 after being forced out of the court ibrahim continued to protest what he described as an infringement on his right to sit in the front row2 a judicial staff who spoke on condition of anonymity told nan that waley was before his mental problem a known lawyer and politician2 -
FCT authorities confirm earth tremor
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the emergency management agency of nigerias federal capital of abuja has confirmed reports of earth tremor reported by residents1 in tweets on friday residents reported experiencing the shaking effects of tremor in their homes at dawn today. the agency said it could have come from the movement of the earth or it could be by the blasting of rocks or mining in the area1 some residents of maitama and utako said they felt the tremor. but there was no such report from apo and other areas of the city1 the emergency agency said the residents of mbappe also felt it1 the agency has urged residents to stay calm and hide under tables if inside the house or stay away from buildings if outdoor1 tremors are very rare in nigeria. in 1984 a huge tremor was felt in the country with many towns from lagos ijebu-ode ibadan reporting the experience1 kaduna also recently reported earth tremor1 seismologists said a small fault line from the atlantic inwards exists making nigeria prone to tremors but not earthquake1 -
Don backs Buhari on non-assent to Electoral Act amendment
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i think that the president is doing the right thing because it is one thing for a bill to be passed by national assembly and it is another thing for the president to assent to it1 a teacher at university of ibadan prof. jacob ayantayo has expressed support to president muhammadu buhari for declining assent to electoral act amendment bill 20181 buhari had declined assent to the bill due to some drafting issues that remain unaddressed following the prior revisions to the bill1 the senior special assistant to the president on national assembly matters senate sen. ita enang announced this on monday1 the aide said that the president had communicated his position on the bill to the senate and the house of representatives on aug. 301 the development had generated heated debate across the country in view of the 2019 general elections1 ayantayo argued that since the constitution allowed the president to have a review of a bill before signing. it pre-suposses that buhari is doing the right thing1 ayantayo who is a professor of religion ethics inter-religious conflict prevention management resolution and peace-building in the department of religious studies made his position known in an interview with news agency of nigeria nan in abuja1 this means that the fact that he has the final assent and the constitution allows him to have a review and look at it thoroughly1 perhaps because we are coming from a background in which we think that when a bill is passed it must get presidential assent at all cost that is why it is so surprising to us that he delays in assenting it1 i think it is part of the process it needs to pass through to grow our nascent democracy he said1 on the implication the delay may have on the 2019 election the don said there was an element of exaggeration in such insinuation1 i believe that the president too is equally conscious of the implication of this1 all we need to do is to be patient with him or perhaps come up with stronger argument for him to see reason why the bill must be signed he remarked1