Abia: Police arrest Chinese expatriate over alleged murder of female crane operator (Vanguard)
The Police in Abia State, have confirmed the arrest of a Chinese expatriate at the Inner Galaxy Steel, Umuahala Asa, Ukwa West council area, Mr. GZ Zhen, for allegedly killing a female crane operator, identified as Ocheze Ogbonna.
Zhen was alleged to have attacked the female crane operator during a night shift duty at the company after she rejected his sexual advances. The female operator sustained injuries which led to her death.
The incident caused tension in the area as youths protested the death of the crane operator who also hails from the host community. Read more
Lagos announces traffic diversion on key expressway (Channels)
Traffic will be diverted along
Gbagada-Oworonshoki Expressway, from Alapere-Ogudu-Car Wash and Iyana Oworo inward Anthony/Oshodi, the Lagos State Government said on Saturday.
The diversion, according to a Saturday statement by the Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of Transportation, Bolanle Ogunlola, is due to exigent repairs.
“Motorists will be denied access from Ram Seller area beside Gbagada General Hospital and will be diverted into Diya Street through New Garage by Jolad Hospital to access Gbagada Phase 2 via Pedro Road, to link Ikorodu Road for their desired destinations,” she said. Read more
CBN sacks another batch of 200 staff (NewTelegraph)
The sack gale at the nation’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued over the weekend, with over 200 staff laid off; a move the leadership ascribed to restructuring continuation.
The latest mass purge, which cuts across various departments, cadres was described as a nationwide exercise that happened at close hours on Friday.
Though the exact figure of the affected can’t be immediately verified, a source confirmed it spread beyond CBN’s Abuja headquarters to other branches. Read more
Lightning strike kills 2 women in Lagos – Police (Vanguard)
Two women have lost their lives after being struck by lightning during the rain in the FESTAC area of Lagos State.
Police spokesman in the state, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, made this known in a post he shared on his X handle – @benHundeyin, on Saturday.
Hundeyin said that the incident happened during the rain on Friday. Read more
Ulamas ask Tinubu to intervene in Kano Emirate stalemate (Nation)
The Ulama (Islamic scholars) in Kano State on Saturday expressed fears that the happenings in the Emirate could escalate and degenerate into chaos if not carefully handled.
Worried by the conundrum involving the dethronement of Aminu Bayero and subsequent reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido as the 16th emir by Governor Abba Yusuf, the scholars called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene to avoid breakdown of law and order.
A statement by over ten Ulamas, including Shaykh Abdullahi Limanci, Shaykh Ibrahim Khalil, Shaykh Abdulwahab Abdallah and Professor Babangida Muhammad asked President Bola Tinubu to take all necessary steps to maintain peace in the State. Read more
How we were tortured, forced to pay N31m ransom by Fulani gunmen — Oyo kidnap victims (Tribune)
Two farmers, Mr Emmanuel Olalere and Mr Gbenga Idowu, were kidnapped on Sunday, May 12, at Longe Village along Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road in Oyo State by armed men suspected to be Fulani gunmen. They were held hostage for two nights before regaining freedom. The two victims have narrated their experiences in the hands of their captors, saying that they would not have believed such a thing would happen to them if it was predicted.
The third farmer, Mr Segun Afolabi, was not even available where the two others were being attended to by their families. Afolabi could not cope with the very harsh treatment he was subjected to, as he landed in hospital the very night they were released on May 14, at about 8 p.m. Read more
Home delivery of passports to start in June-Minister (Punch)
Nigerians no longer have to travel to the immigration office to obtain their passports, as home delivery of passports is set to begin in June.
This development was announced by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Friday when he inspected the electronic gates at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport’s new terminal in Abuja.
Tunji-Ojo said the delivery will not include every location to avoid overloading and damaging the system. Read more
Nestlé Nigeria revalues Assets to N305b (Sun)
Nestlé Nigeria Plc (Nestle) has revalued its property, plant, and equipment (PPE) to N305.4 billion as of March 16, 2024, up from the previous carrying value of N88.3 billion under the historical cost model as of December 31, 2023.
The revalued properties include its Agbara Factory, Flowergate Factory, Sagamu, Abaji Factory in Abuja and its Agbara and Ota Distribution Centres. According to Nestle, this revaluation, conducted by M/s Niyi Fatokun, certified by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, aims to more accurately reflect the company’s market value amid ongoing economic challenges.
At its Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in Lagos recently, the company’s Board presented a detailed Explanatory Note to shareholders, stating that the negative net assets reported at the end of 2023 were driven by the revaluation of foreign currency obligations. However, the revaluation of PPE is a strategic move to provide a clearer picture of the company’s financial standing. Read more
Lady Gaga reveals she played 5 shows with COVID (NME)
Lady Gaga has revealed that she came down with COVID during five shows on her ‘‘Chromatica Ball’’ tour in 2022.
The singer-songwriter, who attended the fan premiere of her upcoming concert film Gaga Chromatica Ball in Los Angeles last night (May 23), said she was ill on the tour during a Q&A with Access Hollywood‘s Scott Evans ahead of the screening.
She said: “I shared it with everyone on my team. I said, ‘I don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable at work and you don’t have to perform and you don’t have to work that day, but I’m going to do the show’ because I just didn’t want to let all the fans down. And the way that I saw it also is like the fans were all putting themselves in harm’s way every day coming to the show.” Read more
Judge makes pivotal decision in Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt legal case (FarOut)
The Los Angeles superior court has granted Brad Pitt’s request for Angelina Jolie to reveal full details of her non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) as they continue to fight over the ownership of a French winery.
The decision was made on May 22nd, and Jolie now has a 60 day period to reveal the details of the NDAs that she signed following their marriage. The actor must also make a document of the agreements which she believes are protected from being disclosed due to legal privilege.
The dispute relates to the Château Miraval property in Provence they purchased in 2008.Pitt previously accused Jolie of attempting to sell her portion of shares to a Russian billionaire without his consent through her company Nouvel. Read more
J.K. Simmons squealed “like a 4-year-old” after failing a “smooth” move when he met wife Michelle (People)
J.K. Simmons was smitten when he first met wife Michelle Schumacher — so smitten, in fact, that he injured himself because he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings.
It was 1991, and the future Whiplash Oscar winner was in a touring production of the musical “Peter Pan”. He was playing Captain Hook; Schumacher had joined the show as a dancer, and he spotted her outside of a Florida theater where they were performing.
“As was my wont back then, I rented a car. I don’t know where I was going but I was just leaving the parking lot, and I saw our dance captain walking with this beautiful, petite blonde,” recalls the former star of HBO’s Oz and TNT’s The Closer. Read more
Alec Baldwin request to drop ‘Rust’ manslaughter case denied (BBC)
A US judge has denied a motion by Alec Baldwin to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge over a deadly film set shooting in 2021.
Halyna Hutchins, 42, was shot with a gun Mr Baldwin was using during a rehearsal on the set of Rust, a Western being filmed in New Mexico.
Director Joel Souza was also wounded in the incident. Read more
Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford announce shock divorce after 14 years of marriage (Hello!)
Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford have announced they are in the process of getting a divorce after 14 years of marriage.
On Saturday, a spokeswoman told HELLO!: “Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes have confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing.”
The news will come as a shock to fans of the on and off-screen couple who presented ITV’s This Morning between 2006 and 2021. Read more
Millions vote amid heatwave alert in Phase 6 of India’s staggered election (IrishExaminer)
Millions of Indians have voted in the penultimate round of a gruelling national election, with a combined opposition trying to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi from winning a rare third consecutive term.
Many people lined polling stations before the start of voting at 7am (01:30 GMT) on Saturday to avoid the blazing sun later in the day at the peak of summer.
The temperature soared to 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the afternoon in capital New Delhi. India’s weather bureau this week issued a heatwave “red alert” for the city and surrounding states where tens of millions of people cast their ballots. Read more
G7 ministers close in on Russian assets deal for Ukraine (DW)
The G7 group of wealthy democracies will look at ways of using the future interest from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine as it continues to battle invading Russian forces, finance ministers from the group said on Saturday.
The meeting of the G7 ministers in the northern Italian city of Stresa has been focused mainly on the question of how to find more funds for Ukraine as Russia presses on with a new offensive in the Kharkiv region in the third year of its unprovoked invasion.
The G7 and its allies froze some $300 billion (€276 billion) of Russian assets shortly after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. Read more
Erik ten Hag masterminds stunning FA Cup final upset over Manchester City in his last Manchester United game (Metro)
A spirited Manchester United sealed their 13th FA Cup after holding off a late Manchester City fightback to win 2-1 at Wembley, in what was likely Erik ten Hag’s final game as manager.
Speculation over Ten Hag’s future dominated the build-up to the 143rd cup final, a repeat of last year’s all-Manchester affair, and United’s players looked to be fighting for their manager in a superb first-half display, 12 months on from that painful 2-1 defeat.
Alejandro Garnacho capitalised on a defensive mix-up between Stefan Ortega and Josko Gvardiol to stun the 2023 winners on the half-hour mark before Kobbie Mainoo latched onto a spellbinding Bruno Fernandes assist to double United’s advantage. Read more
Ladipo credits wife for ‘‘Thunder’’ Balogun’s success (Punch)
The President-General, Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, says the roles played by the wife of Nigeria’s football icon, Mulikat Balogun, in making her husband, Teslimi ‘Thunder’ Balogun, one of the greatest of Nigeria’s football greats, remains unforgettable.
Ladipo stated this in Lagos on Friday as the family celebrates the 26th year memorial of the demise of their mother, Mulikat Balogun, on Saturday (today).
He noted that Mulikat was directly and indirectly responsible for the great contributions her husband made to the future of Nigerian football. Read more
Xavi Hernandez confirms he will forego salary owed to him by Barcelona (FootballEspana)
Xavi Hernandez has been speaking for the first time since it became official that he would be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season. Sunday’s trip to Sevilla will be the final match of his 2.5-year spell in charge of the Catalan giants.
Despite the nature of his dismissal, which has come about just weeks after he was begged to stay by Joan Laporta and co, Xavi remained classy about the Barcelona hierarchy when speaking to the media for one of his final times as manager. He only had good words for Laporta, Deco and the rest – quotes via MD.
“I’m grateful to the president and I haven’t had any problems with the leaders. I’m a club man and I’ve adapted to the circumstances. The president gave me his reasons and I have no choice but to accept his decision.” Read more
Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane agree on Erik ten Hag Manchester United decision amid sack threat (MEN)
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes Erik ten Hag’s future should be resolved quickly.
The Dutchman has been under scrutiny throughout the campaign after steering the club to their worst top-flight season for 30 years. United were dumped out of the Champions League in the group stage and failed to qualify in the European positions in the Premier League, but Saturday’s FA Cup final provided a chance for Ten Hag to end the season on a high. Read more
Boris Becker’s warning for Alexander Zverev ahead of French Open showdown with Rafael Nadal (Tennis365)
German tennis legend Boris Becker has warned compatriot Alexander Zverev that he needs to avoid being intimidated by Rafael Nadal’s French Open legend when he steps on court with the 14-time champion for their eagerly anticipated first round clash in Paris.
In what is likely to be Nadal’s final French Open appearance, a showdown with in-form world No 4 Zverev is not what the Spanish icon would have wanted in the first round.
Nadal is set to play at the tournament he has won on a record 14 occasions for the final time, and he has his work cut out if he is to make it beyond the opening round. Read more
Christian Horner responds to Lando Norris’ brutal Sergio Perez dig at Monaco GP (Mirror)
Christian Horner snapped back Lando Norris after the McLaren driver claimed Red Bull don’t have two drivers capable of consistent performance.
Red Bull have been the undisputed kings of F1 in recent times. Last year alone, Max Verstappen smashed a swathe of single-season records as he produced the most dominant campaign in the sport’s history.
Red Bull began the current season much in the same fashion but things have changed in recent weeks. McLaren made a big performance step ahead of the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month and have been snapping at their rivals’ heels ever since. Read more