On Monday, there was still no electricity supply and no water in many villages in the flooded regions of central Greece.

In the port city of Volos, with its 150,000 inhabitants, the water supply network is still so badly damaged that the districts are only supplied in alternation, the news channel ERTnews reported on Monday.

It noted that the water supplied was not potable.

According to the fire brigade, almost 4,500 people have been rescued so far, but the rescue work by the fire brigade and the military is continuing.

People are still missing, and the fire brigade said the death toll from the flood was 15 on Monday.

The extent of the damage cannot yet be estimated because the water is still far from receding in large parts of the affected areas.

From Monday to Thursday last week, a heavy storm depression settled over central Greece.

Heavy rain flooded villages and towns.

Rainfall reached unprecedented levels of more than 700 millimetres in less than 24 hours.

India formally handed over the G20 presidency to Brazil at the closing ceremony of the group’s annual summit held in New Delhi this weekend.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed the transition by handing over the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

India has had the presidency of the G20 since December 1, when it took over from Indonesia, and will continue to hold the position until November 30.

During the two-day summit, the bloc adopted a consensus declaration that made commitments on several issues, including food and energy security, climate change, and global debt vulnerabilities.

Mr Modi, on Sunday, also proposed a “virtual summit” of the grouping at the end of November to assess the status of the suggestions and proposals put forth by members and determine “how their progress can be accelerated.”

“In that session, we can review the topics decided during this summit,” Mr Modi said, adding that details would be shared with members.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that he would invite his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, respectively, to the next G20 summit, which will take place in Brazil in 2024.

In the aftermath of the G20 summit in the Indian capital of New Delhi, the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, transferred the G20 presidency to da Silva.

The forum’s next gathering will be November 18-19, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro.

“I will invite them (Xi and Putin) and hope that they will come to Brazil and participate in the summit,” India’s Ani news agency quoted the president as saying at a news conference.

Mr Da Silva added that he was unaware of why the Russian and Chinese leaders did not attend the summit in New Delhi.

He also hoped the Ukraine war would end when the 2024 summit in Brazil opens, and everything “will be back to normal.”

The president outlined topics that will be discussed during the G20 gathering in Brazil, adding that its organisation is a great responsibility for the country.

“We will put inequality at the top: inequality of gender, race, education, health, poverty, and hunger. The world needs balance,” Mr da Silva said, saying that he plans to discuss energy transition, reform of multilateral institutions, and the possibility of granting Brazil a permanent membership in the UN Security Council.

The top-level G20 summit in New Delhi, which took place from Saturday to Sunday last week, gathered the 20 member states and nine other nations, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Spain, Mauritius, Nigeria, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Singapore.

Under-fire president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, resigned Sunday over his controversial kissing of Jennifer Hermoso during the celebration of the Spain Women’s World Cup win over England last month.

“After the rapid suspension carried out by FIFA, plus the rest of proceedings open against me, it is evident that I will not be able to return to my position,” the former player said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.

This development followed weeks after the 46-year-old had refused to resign from his position despite huge pressure from the public over his conduct during the final of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

During the trophy presentation, Mr Rubiales kissed Ms Hermoso, a member of the Spain women’s national team, on the lips, which the player said was not “consensual” and was also accused of grabbing his scrotum in the VIP section of Stadium Australia where other dignitaries were seated.

After he refused to relinquish his position, FIFA provisionally suspended Mr Rubiales for 90 days and subsequently opened disciplinary proceedings against him. Also, the men’s national team condemned his actions.

“My daughters, my family and the people who love me have suffered the effects of persecution excessively, as well as many falsehoods, but it is also true that in the street, the truth is prevailing more every day,” stated Mr Rubiales.

In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan on Sunday, Mr Rubiales said he decided to resign after consulting with family and friends.

“They say to me, ‘Luis, now you have to focus on your dignity and to continue your life, because if not, probably, you are going to damage people you love,” said Mr Rubiales.

Rescue teams from Spain, Britain and Qatar began supporting Moroccan rescuers in areas affected by the powerful earthquake that struck the North African country, Moroccan news agency MAP reported on Monday.

Britain sent 60 search and rescue experts, equipment, and four search dogs to support the Moroccan-led operations, British Ambassador Simon Martin said in a post published early Monday.

Mr Martin stated this on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Morocco on Sunday said it responded to support offers made by Spain, Qatar, Britain and the UAE, which had proposed mobilising a group of research and rescue teams.

Rabat said it could later accept support offers made by other countries.Some 2,122 people have been killed since the 6.8-magnitude quake rattled several parts of the country on Friday.

This triggered rock slides, blocking roads and making it hard for rescue teams to reach the large, affected mountainous areas.

Rescuers have been racing against time, searching for potential survivors in a challenging mission.

Witnesses said until Sunday, some affected areas were still isolated because roads were blocked by landslides.

Some survivors said the smell of bodies was beginning to come out from under the rubble.

A student of the Rivers State University, RSU, Port Harcourt, has died during a Jeans Carnival held to mark the Students Week. 

It was gathered that the incident happened on Thursday, September 7, 2023. The student was said to be sitting on the side of the vehicle when he lost his balance and fell. 

The student whose identity is yet to be ascertained was rushed to the hospital but d!ed from his injuries.

Following the incident, the registrar of the university, Dr. Sydney Enyindah, in a memo, announced the suspension of other activities marking the students week.

“Following the unfortunate and sad incident which occurred during the “Jeans Carnival” on Tuesday 5th September, 2023, resulting in the death of a student, the Management of the University has directed the immediate suspension of the remaining activities of the Student Union Week,” the memo reads.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has uncovered illicit drugs concealed in tins of tomato paste.

The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Sharing videos and photos of the discovery, Babafemi wrote, “Narco-trend update: This is yet another reason why we tell you some human minds are so flagitious as this video shows the moment #ndlea_nigeria officers discovered tins of tomato paste used to conceal illicit drugs.

“Shine your eyes 👀and be careful with what you pick up from people.”

A Nigerian man, John Obot, is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for ‘The Longest Marathon Reading Aloud,’ by an individual.

Obot, a member of the Uyo Book Club, started the marathon on Saturday at the City View Hall, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The marathon is to last 145 hours.

The book enthusiast at the time of this report, has read for 16 hours, Comfort 95.1 FM, Uyo, reports on Sunday.

Turkey’s Rysbai Isakov is the current holder of this record.

He achieved this feat in 2022, reading for 124 hours and 15 minutes.

The troops of the Joint Task Force Northwest Operation HADARIN DAJI have rescued over 18 kidnapped victims in its areas of responsibilities covering Zamfara other states in the North West.

This was disclosed in a statement on the force’s official X, formerly Twitter, handle on Sunday.

The statement signed by the Force’s Information Officer, Yahaya Ibrahim, said that these successes were achieved recently when the troops deployed to different local governments in Zamfara state successfully rescued the kidnapped victims.

The statement added that some of the victims have been immediately taken for medical attention and “all rescued victims were handed over to the appropriate authority to reunite them with their families.”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Pestana CR7 in Marrakech, Morocco has become a refuge site for victims of Friday’s earthquake, reports Spanish newspaper, Marca.

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous High Atlas region of the North African nation leaving at least 1,305 people dead and several wounded according to multiple reports.

Amidst the tragedy, a number of Marrakech-based organisations and businesses have offered assistance to those affected by the quake.

One of them is, a hotel owned by Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Reports suggest that the luxury hotel is providing shelter to those who have lost their homes.

Graded at four stars, just below luxury, the hotel includes an outdoor pool, fitness centre, restaurant, and terrace.

“The hotels are the same. We had to come to the new area of Marrakech, where there are more luxury hotels, so to speak,

“Now we have managed to get Cristiano Ronaldo’s hotel, which is on the outskirts, to give us a room.

“We are waiting. We have slept all night on the street and at seven in the morning they told us that yes, we could approach.

“We are in a lobby a lot of people of different nationalities, waiting to see if we can get a room, but we have all slept on the street,” Marca quoted a Spanish national, Irene Seixas.

Manchester United on Sunday delayed forward Antony’s return to the club following sexual accusations levelled against him by his ex-girlfriend, Gabriel Cavallin.

The English club in a statement acknowledged the allegations made against the Brazillian international.

The statement read, “Players who have not participated in international matches are due back in training on Monday.

“However, it has been agreed with Antony that he will delay his return until further notice in order to address the allegations.

“As a club, we condemn acts of violence and abuse. We recognise the importance of safeguarding all those involved in this situation and acknowledge the impact these allegations have on survivors of abuse.

Recall that the Brazilian has already denied accusations that he assaulted his ex-girlfriend on two separate occasions.

Antony was subsequently left out of Brazil’s most recent batch of international fixtures, as Greater Manchester and Sao Paulo Police conducted an investigation.

Meanwhile, another woman, Ingrid Lana, has accused him of assault.Speaking to Brazilian news outlet Record TV, the lady accused Antony of attempting to pressure her into having sexual intercourse.

However, Antony has strongly denied the new claims, which are alleged to have taken place during a trip to England in 2022.

Ingrid Lana says she was in the country on a business trip when she was invited to the player’s house.

“He tried to have a relationship with me and I didn’t want to. He pushed me against the wall, and I hit my head,” she said during an interview which will air in full on September 10.

“My purpose was just business. Arriving there at his invitation, I realised that he had ulterior motives. I’ve never been anyone’s lover.”

The fresh accusations come after his ex-partner Gabriel Cavallin alleged that Antony had headbutted and punched her in a hotel room on January 14, the day after a Premier League game against Manchester City.

She claims to have suffered a cut to her head and a damaged breast implant.

Antony, who joined United in 2022 from Dutch club Ajax in an £86million transfer, has denied the allegations on social media and stated that he’s co-operated with the police. He has claimed that he has been “falsely accused of assault”.

Spain on Sunday sent a plane with 56 rescuers and four search dogs to quake-hit Morocco after it received a formal request for help from Rabat, the defence ministry said.

An A400 military plane took off from a base in the northeastern city of Zaragoza with the team bound for Marrakesh to “help in the search and rescue of survivors of the devastating earthquake suffered in our neighbouring country,” the ministry said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter.

The rescuers belong to Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME), a body of the armed forces that was created to intervene quickly in emergency situations such as forest fires, floods and earthquakes.

A UME unit was sent to Turkey in February following a devastating earthquake and helped rescue six people, including a mother and two children, according to Spain’s defence ministry.

The strongest-ever quake to hit Morocco has killed at least 2,012 people and injured over 2,000, many of them critically, according to the latest official figures.

“It will be as much aid as Morocco needs, at first what we are setting in motion are search and rescue teams because it is urgent to try to find the greatest number of people alive to save them. When it is time for reconstruction, Spanish aid will also be present.”

Other countries, including the United States and France, have also pledged humanitarian aid but Morocco would first need to formally request assistance, a step required before foreign crews can deploy.

“It will be as much aid as Morocco needs, at first what we are setting in motion are search and rescue teams because it is urgent to try to find the greatest number of people alive to save them. When it is time for reconstruction, Spanish aid will also be present.”

Other countries, including the United States and France, have also pledged humanitarian aid but Morocco would first need to formally request assistance, a step required before foreign crews can deploy.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Government will digitalise the healthcare system for better health outcomes.

Alausa said this on Saturday at a press briefing on the ministry’s agenda for the health sector.

He also said the government will increase funding for research and digitalising the health system will help to facilitate accurate data to improve the sector in line with the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Bola Tinubu.

He said, “We need to begin to make sure that the data we collect are accurate, and they are validated, they can be trusted, internationally and locally. And those data will be used to deliver care to our people. And then once you have validated data that you can trust, you can begin to see the indices where you’re getting better, where you’re doing well, and where you’re not doing well. Then you can recheck your interventions to improve those outcomes.

“As part of our digitalisation of the healthcare system, we’re going to roll out a national electronic medical record where our primary care centres, politicians, and hospitals will come on the same platform. Then as we move into the future, we will encourage each state government to use the same platform.”

Alausa said the unified electromedical platform will aid easy access to data, medical history, continuity of care and reduce cost of care.

He said the sector will be more accountable and well-regulated, and the government will fund research in the country.

“We have a lot of research institutions. Everybody is working independently. We will rejig our research institutions, make them work collaboratively and get them to do what they are meant to do. We have a lot of professors in academia who are struggling, they are just by themselves, no resources to support their research projects.

“As a professor, less than 50 per cent of your work should just be teaching students in classrooms; it’s a lifelong dedication to research. We will unleash our clinical research, translational research, and basic research because we will put more money into research.

“Because as we do more research, we will begin to be self-dependent on our pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and even on the way we put policy and standard procedure together because these are now homegrown.

“We’ve done trials on Nigerians, and we know how the drug will work better, and which one will not work better. So we will be really moving our research system into a more robust, focused, and directional platform.”

Some gunmen killed a housewife and wounded her husband in Jalingo, Taraba State capital, on Sunday.

The spokesman of the state Police Command, SP Usman Abdullahi, disclosed the unfortunate incident to Daily Trust in a telephone interview.

The incident occurred at the Mile 6 area of Jalingo metropolis of the state.

Abdullahi mentioned that the attackers entered the house of one Mr. Balanko Gamalia and shot him and his wife in an attempt to abduct them.

The wife was reported to have died on the spot while the injured husband is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Jalingo.

He added that two persons, including a woman, were abducted in the house.

Abdullahi noted that the police are on the trail of the kidnappers.

The police spokesman urged members of the public to provide information to the police to enable them to track down criminal elements in society.

On May 7, gunmen attacked the Care Taker Committee chairman of Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State, Mr. Boyi Manja, and killed his Orderly before taking him to an unknown location.

Maja was released by his kidnappers on Thursday, May 11, 2023.

The Fountain of Life Church has begun the burial rites of its founder, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya.

The funeral service started 11am on Saturday at the church’s headquarters in Ilupeju, Lagos State.

Odukoya died on August 7, 2023, in the United States of America. He was 67.

Lamine Yamal became Spain’s youngest ever player and goalscorer as La Roja thrashed Georgia 7-1 on Friday to get their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign back on track.

Defeat by leaders Scotland in their second game left Spain fourth in Group A but they climbed up to second with a big win in Tbilisi, inspired by an Alvaro Morata hat-trick.

However, despite the Atletico Madrid forward’s treble, the game will be remembered for Yamal’s superb first appearance for his country at 16 years and 57 days old.

The Barcelona teenager came on from the bench with Nico Williams after 43 minutes to replace Marco Asensio and Dani Olmo, who had both suffered knocks, with Spain 4-0 up and cruising.

Yamal finished lethally in the 74th minute to send Spain 7-1 up after Williams found him with a cut-back.

Spain face Cyprus in Granada on Tuesday in another Euro 2024 qualifier.

A man identified simply as Ikechi has allegedly killed his father with a pestle in Rumuaghaolu, in the Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Our correspondent learnt that the suspect asked his father for an undisclosed amount of money, but became angry when the deceased turned down his request.

An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident happened around 2.45pm on Thursday.

The source said, “He was enraged over the deceased’s refusal to give him money yesterday (Thursday).

“The boy was suspected to be on drugs. He carried a pestle and hit his father.”He said the suspect, on realising what he had done, tried to flee the scene, but was held by some residents after a neighbour raised the alarm.

The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident.

She stated, “Yes, I can confirm the incident. The boy has been arrested and the matter transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department. Investigation is still ongoing. If there are further developments I will let you know. For now, the boy is with us.”

The manufacturer of a widely used abortion pill asked the US Supreme Court on Friday to toss out a lower court ruling that would restrict access to the drug.

A US federal appeals court imposed restrictions last month on mifepristone but the ruling was put on hold pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Danco Laboratories, which markets mifepristone under the brand name Mifeprex, formally asked the nation’s highest court on Friday to take up the case.

The Justice Department is expected to file a brief supporting Danco’s request for the Supreme Court to review the ruling by the lower court.

Last month’s ruling by a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals would limit the use of mifepristone to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, instead of the current 10, and block it from being distributed by mail.

It would also require the abortion pill, which accounts for more than half of the abortions in the United States, to be prescribed by a doctor.

Anti-abortion groups are seeking to have mifepristone banned, claiming despite its long track record that it is unsafe. The case is the latest skirmish in the battle over reproductive rights in the United States.

The appeals court panel said the Food and Drug Administration, which approved the abortion pill in 2000 and made it more readily available in 2016, “failed to address several important concerns about whether the drug would be safe for the women who use it.”

At a hearing in May, the judges pushed back against government arguments that the decision on whether to allow the use of mifepristone should be left to the FDA.

In its brief to the Supreme Court, Danco said the 5th Circuit ruling “upends FDA-approved conditions of use for Danco’s drug Mifeprex.

“It does so at the request of a group of plaintiffs who do not prescribe or use the drug and whose real disagreement with FDA is that they oppose all forms of abortion,” Danco said.

The case stems from an earlier ruling by a conservative US District Court judge in Texas that would have banned mifepristone.

The 5th Circuit blocked a ban on the abortion pill but imposed restrictions on access.

Conservatives wield a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion in a landmark ruling in June of last year.

Since then, some 20 states, mostly in the South and the Midwest, have prohibited abortion outright or restricted access while others, mainly on the coasts, have moved to protect it.

The FDA estimates that 5.6 million Americans have used mifepristone to terminate pregnancies since it was approved in 2000.

President Bola Tinubu arrived the International Media Centre, Bharat Mandapam in India for the 2023 G-20 summit on Saturday, September 9, where he plans to attract global capital and promote increased foreign direct investments in Nigeria’s economy.

Tinubu is in New Delhi, the capital of India, for a six-day official visit, during which he will attend the G-20 Leaders’ Summit amongst other engagements.

The summit in India will hold on September 9 and 10, and the President is expected return to Nigeria immediately following the conclusion of the Summit.

The Council of State, France’s top court for handling complaints against the government, has upheld a policy banning school students from wearing abayas — a long, overflowing garment worn by mostly Muslim women.

Muslim advocates had petitioned the top court to rescind the government’s ban on abaya, claiming it was discriminatory.

However, on Thursday, the court ruled in favour of the restriction, adducing their ruling to a French law that “prohibits the wearing by pupils of signs or clothing ostensibly expressing religious affiliation, either in and of themselves, or because of the pupil’s behaviour.”

“This ban does not seriously violate and is not manifestly illegal to the right to respect for private life, the freedom of religion, the right to education … or the principle of non-discrimination,” the court held, opposing claims that the ban violates “several fundamental freedoms.”

The Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM) had filed a motion for an injunction to prevent President Emmanuel Macron from imposing the ban on the abaya.

The ban was announced last month on the basis that it violates the freedom and rights of its wearers.

ADM’s attorney, Vincent Brengarth, claimed that Mr Macron used the ban to score cheap political points. Sihem Zine, the association’s president, called the new ban “sexist” because it only applied to women, particularly those of Arab descent.

But the French education ministry countered the argument, saying the abaya made its wearers “immediately recognisable as belonging to the Muslim religion”.

According to Gabriel Attal, France’s education minister, at least 67 of 300 schoolgirls were sent home on Monday after they bluntly refused to take off their abayas.