1381 Peasants’ Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath
1830 Beginning of the French colonization of Algeria: 34,000 French soldiers land 27 kilometers west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch
1864 The Battle of Trevilian Station, the bloodiest and largest all-cavalry battle of the American Civil War in Louisa County ends with Confederate tactical victory and Union successful retreat
1931 Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition and perjury
1942 Anne Frank gets her diary as a birthday present in Amsterdam
1964 Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison in South Africa
1971 David Defiagbon, Nigerian-Canadian boxer (Olympic silver 1996), born in Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria (d. 2018)
1994 Moshood Abiola declares himself lawful President of Nigeria
2018 Singapore summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump – first time a North Korean leader and an incumbent US President have ever met
Historical Events Today Events in 2023
Today in Film & TV
1981 “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (the first Indiana Jones film) directed by Stephen Spielberg, starring Harrison Ford, with story by George Lucas premieres
Today in Music
1990 “Mariah Carey” debut album by Mariah Carey is released
Today in Sport
1880 Worcester Ruby Legs pitcher Lee Richmond throws first perfect game in MLB history in 1-0 win over Cleveland Blues at the Agricultural County Fair Grounds, Worcester
2010 “Toy Story 3”, directed by Lee Unkrich, starring Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, premieres at the Taormina Film Fest in Italy – 1st animated film to earn 1 billion
2015 Zimbabwe discards its own currency, offering an exchange of $1 for 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars
Famous Weddings
1733 King of Prussia Frederick the Great (21) weds duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (18) at Schloss Salzdahlum in Wolfenbüttel, Germany
1927 Inventor and electrical engineer Guglielmo Marconi (53) weds Maria Cristina Bezzi-Scali
1949 Religious leader Jim Jones (18) weds nurse Marceline Baldwin
Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment on this day and sent to Robben Island, seven miles off Cape Town. It caused international outrage – June 12, 1964
The Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, (RUGIPO) lecturers under the auspices of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) have threatened a showdown with the management and state government over their 13 months of unpaid salaries.
The lecturers who threatened not to be part of the first-semester examination of the institution which starts June 13, lamented that some members of the union have been living from hand to mouth and could not afford to take proper care of their families due to the unpaid salaries.
The lecturers also threatened to embark on industrial action to pursue their demands for payment of the outstanding 13 months salary, if the state government fais to pay their salary before next week.
In a communique signed by the Union’s Chairman, Arikawe Ade and Secretary, Fapetu Damilola at the end of the congress said there is no going back on the industrial strike.
The union, before arriving at the decision said that the hardship and challenges of the current price of fuel on their members and attendance to their official duties is making it extremely difficult.
After being pinned to the ground for several minutes by Swiss police, a Nigerian man’s death has led to the prosecution of six Swiss police officers.
After being pinned to the ground for several minutes by Swiss police, a Nigerian man’s death has led to the prosecution of six Swiss police officers.
The officers have been dragged before the courts for allegedly killing a 39-year-old man of Nigerian descent, Mike Ben Peter in 2018.
The court case was scheduled to open today, Monday following the death from an alleged heart attack after he was pinned, face-down, for several minutes during his arrest five years ago.
The officers, whose names were held to Swiss privacy laws, would face charges of “homicide by neglect” before a Lausanne criminal court.
According to their lawyers, they will ensure the officers seek their acquittals.
After being pinned to the ground for several minutes by Swiss police, a Nigerian man’s death has led to the prosecution of six Swiss police officers.
The officers have been dragged before the courts for allegedly killing a 39-year-old man of Nigerian descent, Mike Ben Peter in 2018.
The court case was scheduled to open today, Monday following the death from an alleged heart attack after he was pinned, face-down, for several minutes during his arrest five years ago.
The officers, whose names were held to Swiss privacy laws, would face charges of “homicide by neglect” before a Lausanne criminal court.
According to their lawyers, they will ensure the officers seek their acquittals.
The case, which bears some similarities to George Floyd’s death in the United States in May 2020, is one of four in which Black people have died following police interventions in Vaud canton since 2016. They have sparked protests and calls for reform.
However, unlike in Floyd’s case, where officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in 2021 based in part on cellphone footage of him kneeling on the victim’s neck, there is no footage of the act that allegedly lead to Ben Peter’s death.
Last year, a panel of United Nations experts stated that Switzerland had systemic racism problems in a study that expressed severe concerns about “excessive use of force and the expectation of impunity by police” and mentioned this instance. A government-mandated assessment issued since acknowledged the problem was fundamental and that current efforts were insufficient.
The family’s lawyer, Simon Ntah, said he was not optimistic about the situation, who face a maximum jail sentence of three years. “As long as there isn’t a mechanism for independent investigations against the police, we’re stuck with the same problems,” he told reporters referring to the fact that the same public prosecutor who works with police on other criminal cases is assigned to cases like this one.
The indictment showed that Ben Peter drew the attention of officers during a Lausanne drug patrol after he collected a bag later shown to contain marijuana.
He refused to cooperate with police orders, and it was revealed that policemen used pepper spray and knee kicks to the ribs and groin to handcuff him on the ground. He struggled for 3 minutes while being held face-down by three cops, according to the report, until they observed he seemed unconscious.
According to the indictment, Ben Peter died of a heart attack caused by a combination of factors, including being placed on his stomach and subjected to stress, as well as his weight
The case, which bears some similarities to George Floyd’s death in the United States in May 2020, is one of four in which Black people have died following police interventions in Vaud canton since 2016. They have sparked protests and calls for reform.
However, unlike in Floyd’s case, where officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in 2021 based in part on cellphone footage of him kneeling on the victim’s neck, there is no footage of the act that allegedly lead to Ben Peter’s death.
Last year, a panel of United Nations experts stated that Switzerland had systemic racism problems in a study that expressed severe concerns about “excessive use of force and the expectation of impunity by police” and mentioned this instance. A government-mandated assessment was issued since acknowledged the problem was fundamental and that current efforts were insufficient.
The family’s lawyer, Simon Ntah, said he was not optimistic about the situation, who face a maximum jail sentence of three years. “As long as there isn’t a mechanism for independent investigations against the police, we’re stuck with the same problems,” he told reporters referring to the fact that the same public prosecutor who works with police on other criminal cases is assigned to cases like this one.
The indictment showed that Ben Peter drew the attention of officers during a Lausanne drug patrol after he collected a bag later shown to contain marijuana.
He refused to cooperate with police orders, and it was revealed that policemen used pepper spray and knee kicks to the ribs and groin to handcuff him on the ground. He struggled for 3 minutes while being held face-down by three cops, according to the report, until they observed he seemed unconscious.
According to the indictment, Ben Peter died of a heart attack caused by a combination of factors, including being placed on his stomach and subjected to stress, as well as his weight
Belgium’s Africa Museum used to showcase statues of Congolese people, regarded as racist, that were once part of the permanent exhibition.
Pieces like the Leopard Man, men with spears and women almost naked were on permanent display at the Africa Museum in Tervuren for schoolchildren on educational tours to look at
After facing years of heavy criticism nationally and internationally, the museum just outside Brussels allegedly worked with a group of experts from the African diaspora in Belgium to rethink the controversial statues on display.
The museum traces its origins back to when King Leopold II set up the International Exposition of 1897. As part of that, 267 Congolese men, women and children were taken by force to Belgium and exhibited to the public in fenced fake villages on the site where the museum now stands.
When Belgium gained independence from the Netherlands in the 19th Century, the Western nations’ “scramble for Africa” was in full throttle. King Leopold II wanted his own slice of the continent, but without government backing, he had to win over investors and the public.
The “human zoo” was a tool to convince visitors that Belgium had a duty to bring civilization to the African country. The exposition was a huge success and so began Belgium’s long and violent history in the Congo.
The museum is now marking its 125th year. It is also five years since it underwent a massive renovation, where it removed problematic statues and changed the labelling around objects that created a negative stereotype about Africa.
Guido Gryseels the director of the museum until his retirement at the age of 70, and is said to be largely responsible for ushering in change.
Visitor numbers have improved since the revamp, but some of the African diaspora believe more can be done and that the statues should be removed completely. Others say the museum just should not exist anymore given its historical displays representing African people as primitive.
The museum says it cannot change the past but is committed to doing its part towards building a better future.
Gryseels said, “We realized that most children had their first encounter with Africa through a visit to this museum, either when they came with the school or with their parent.”
“For 100 years that impression was basically one of stereotypes that Africa was good for providing nature and we were good for providing culture. From stereotypes you get pre-judgements and from pre-judgements you get a certain amount of racism.”
When Gryseels joined the museum in 2001, a survey showed 95% of Belgians thought colonization was a good thing. In 2022 the survey was done again and the number dropped to 35%.
Statues showcased in the museum show Belgian soldiers and people in gold while their Congolese counter parts are black an image that paints a less-than-desirable image in the minds of visitors, who are often times children.
Sam Altman, CEO of Microsoft-backed OpenAI and ChatGPT creator speaks during a talk at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI said a tour of capital cities had left him “quite optimistic” about prospects for global coordination on artificial intelligence.
OpenAI’s public face Sam Altman has been on a whirlwind tour looking to capitalize on interest in generative AI and exert influence on the regulation of the burgeoning technology.
“I came to the trip … skeptical that it was going to be possible in the short term to get global cooperation to reduce existential risk but I am now wrapping up the trip feeling quite optimistic we can get it done,” Altman told students in Tokyo.
Regulators are currently struggling to adapt existing rules and create new guidelines to govern the use of generative AI.
Capable of creating text and images, generative AI is generating palpable excitement and fear about its potential to reshape a wide range of industries.
The European Union is moving ahead with its draft AI Act, which is expected to become law this year, while the United States is leaning toward adapting existing laws for AI rather than creating new legislation.
Saying he was considering opening an office in the country, Altman visited Japan in April, meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“All of the conversations have progressed quite well,” Altman said on Monday without providing detail.
“There’s a long history of humans and machines working together here,” Altman said.
Altman is due to visit Singapore, Indonesia and Australia before returning to the U.S.
The Labor Party and its presidential candidate Peter Obi sought an order from the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja to question the Independent National Electoral Commission’s IT expert.
Among other things, the labour party and Obi, are seeking details relating to the information and communication technology experts used by INEC to conduct the last election.
The LP and Obi are challenging the declaration by INEC that Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress won the election.
In two separate motions argued by their lawyer, Patrick Ikweto (SAN), Obi posed 12 questions to be forwarded to INEC as part of efforts to support their petition which questioned the integrity of the election.
The petitioners averred that the interrogatory application if acceded to, would assist them in solidifying their claims that the conduct of the election was flawed.
However, counsel for INEC, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), objected to the move, on the grounds that the application was brought outside the time specified and allowed by law.
He contended that moving the application outside the pre-hearing session had robbed the court of jurisdiction to hear it.
Also, both the counsel for Tinubu, Akin Olujimi (SAN) and counsel for the APC, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), opposed the request.
The presiding Justice, Haruna Tsammani, reserved the ruling on the interrogatory applications by Obi and his party.
He also adjourned further hearing in the petition till Friday (today).
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, called their first subpoenaed witness at the Presidential Election Petition Court despite vehement objection by the respondents.
The witness, Friday Egwuma, who was an INEC ad hoc staff, told the court that he served as Presiding Officer at Polling Unit 17, Aba North in Abia State.
Egwuma told the court that he experienced technical glitches when uploading the captured presidential results to the INEC Results Viewing Portal.
He alleged that the results could not be electronically transmitted in real-time after capturing it on the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System.
Egwuama gave the testimony during his cross-examination by the counsel for INEC, A.B. Mahmoud (SAN).
UNICEF Commend Kano State Government For Enacting Child Protection Law
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has commended the Government and citizens of Kano State for the recent enactment of the Child Protection Law, signed into law by former Governor Umar Abdullahi Ganduje.
The UNICEF Kano Chief Field Officer, Rahama R.M.Farah, who disclosed this in a statement, revealed that the
Kano State Child Protection Law is a remarkable achievement that would be of immense benefits to children and people of Kano State.
Farah stated that the child protection law has established a legal framework to ensure the protection of children’s rights within the state, noting that is now crucial to allocate the necessary resources and establish mechanisms for its effective implementation.
With the enactment of the law, Kano State joins other states that have successfully incorporated the Nigeria Child Rights Act, originally enacted by the National Assembly in 2003, into their legal frameworks.
UNICEF therefore urge the new administration in Kano State to take the vital step and provide adequate resources to ensure the comprehensive enforcement of the law.
Recall that the child right Act is derived from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), of which Nigeria is a signatory.
The Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved the deployment of government buses to support the movement of students and workers in public tertiary institutions within Ilorin, the capital city, and its environs.
The bus palliative for the students covering the metropolis is the second phase in the measures by the Kwara government to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.
The government had earlier reduced the workdays for civil servants from five to three every week, while bureaucrats work out other measures for workers that are exempted from the policy.
According to the press release made available to Journalists in Ilorin the State capital by the Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara state Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, some large buses will be deployed to transport students of public tertiary institutions within the metropolis, including those going to the Kwara State University campus at Malete from Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
Ajakaye Further noted that more details will be released by the coordinating Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs).
He also added that the State government will continue to offer immediate support for the Kwara public as Nigeria permanently transitions to the post-fuel subsidy regime and different steps are taken to bring more ease to the people while growing the economy in a sustainable way.
Ekiti state Governor, Biodun Oyebanji has called on the people of the state to always ensure proper maintenance of public assets to ensure their durability.
The Governor stated this in Ijero Ekiti at the commissioning of two blocks of six classrooms at CAC Secondary School and a 500-Seater Lecture Theater at the College of Health Sciences and Technology, Ijero Ekiti built and donated by a member of the House of Representatives (Ekiti Central Federal Constituency 2), Hon. Wumi Ogunlola.
Governor Oyebanji, who revealed that his administration would soon establish a department that would be saddled with the responsibility of maintaining government assets across the state, also reiterated the commitment of his administration to providing a conducive teaching and learning environment as the welfare of teachers and staff of institutions was paramount in the agenda of his government.
The Governor commended the donor for improving the quality of life of the people of her constituents, while urging other well meaning members of the society to cultivate the idea of giving back to their communities.
Governor Oyebanji with Hon. Wumi Ogunlola in Ijero Ekiti at the commissioning
This he said can be done through adoption of schools, health care centres and other projects that have direct impact on the lives of the people.
Earlier in her address, the donor of the projects, Hon. Wumi Ogunlola commended Governor Oyebanji for his efforts at developing all sectors of the economy, stressing that her activities in her constituency were just to complement government efforts in the state.
Ogunlola called on the school authority and students to ensure effective maintenance of the facilities.
Nigerian sprinters Udodi Onwuzurike and Godson Brume set new landmark records at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships in Austin, Texas over the weekend.
Onwuzurike, a 20-year-old Stanford University who won gold at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in 2021, broke the 84-year jinx for Stanford University when he clocked a time of 19.84secs to win the 200m men’s final.
The Commonwealth Games bronze medallists beat Texas Tech student Courtney Lindsey who returned in a time of 19.87secs to win the silver.
Onwuzurike also set a new school record when he sped to a new Personal Best time of 19.76secs in the 200m semifinals, the third fastest in collegiate history behind Walter Dix (19.69secs) and Divine Oduduru (19.73secs).
The NCAA champion had earlier broken the 10secs barrier in the 100m final with 9.98secs.
Also, Louisiana State University student Brume became Nigeria’s third fastest man in NCAA history after he clocked 9.90secs to win silver in the men’s 100m final at the event.
Oghenebrume: This is just the beginning
Godson Ogehenebrume, the 2023 NCAA outdoor track and field championships 100m silver medal winner says he has just started his trip to international stardom.
The 20 year old ran inside 10 seconds twice in the championships, first speeding to a lifetime best of 9.93 to secure qualification to the final before rewriting his personal best in the final with a 9.90 run.
The time catapaults him from fifth to third in the Nigerianall-time list, just behind the duo of Olusoji Fasuba (9.85) and Divine Oduduru (9.86).
Oghenebrume has had a geometrical improvement this year, improving from a 10.12 lifetime best in April this year to 9.90 this year.
The Louisiana State University student athlete showed signs of what to come during the indoor season, improving his 60m indoor best from 6.89 in February last year to 6.60 in February 2023.
Outdoors, the Nigerian became a beast on the track. He first improved his personal best to 10.04 to win his first SEC championships 100m title ahead of Favour Ashe of Auburn University at the LSU Bernie Moore Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Oghenebrume left his best for the biggest collegiate state in track and field, legally running inside 10 seconds twice to claim a silver medal. The Nigerian says he is just scratching the surface of what he can do.
‘To everyone who supported Brume…from out my heart I say Thank U …this is jus the beginning! #LSU’, wrote Ogehenebrume on twitter.
The 20 year old will now shift his focus to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary where he will be seeking to return Nigeria to the 100m final 16 years after Fasuba last did.
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