Air Peace suspends Dubai flights over visa ban on Nigerians (DailyTrust)
Air Peace has suspended flights to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), over the non-issuance of visas to Nigerians.
Daily Trust had reported how the UAE authorities placed a visa ban on Nigerians three weeks ago.
Emirates, the UAE carrier, had earlier suspended its flights, citing the inability to repatriate ticket funds in addition to the reduced passengers on the route.
Nigeria’s indigenous carrier, Air Peace, however said it would be suspending operations with effect from Tuesday, November 22, 2022, “till further notice.” Read more
Wike invites Buhari, Peter Obi, Oshiomole to commission projects in Rivers (Vanguard)
Governor Nyesom Wike of River State has invited President Muhammadu Buhari and former Governor Adams Oshiomole, among others for projects commissioning in Rivers state.
The commissioning has been scheduled as a week-long programme commencing today Monday, November 14, and expected to end on Friday, November 18, 2022.
Wike also invited prominent members of opposition political parties including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP) to the programme, tagged, “Fourth Quarter 2022 Project Commissioning.”
Buhari is expected to commission the Nabo Graham Douglas Campus, Nigerian Law School, in Obio/Akpor on Friday. Read more
Half Salary: ASUU declares lecture-free day in protest of ‘no-work, no-pay’ policy (Tribune)
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is set to embark on a one-day nationwide protest rally over the implementation by the Federal Government of a “no-work, no-pay” policy for lecturers in the country.
The protest will be organised at the branch level of the union across public university campuses nationwide and it will take place as a free-lecture day for all lecturers who are members.
The chairman of ASUU, University of Lagos (UNILAG) branch, Dr. Dele Ashiru, confirmed this to Nigerian Tribune, on Sunday.
According to him, every university where ASUU has members has been directed to choose a day within the week to hold a special congress and also go on protest rally within their campuses.
He said UNILAG-ASUU had fixed Tuesday, November 15, for its own rally. Read more
‘‘I hear voices in prison asking me to kill somebody’’ says man who killed mum (Punch)
A 41-year-old man, Nurudeen Bakare, standing trial for the murder of his mother, has told a Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square that he has been hearing voices asking him to kill somebody in prison.
Nurudeen, who lived abroad for 12 years, is standing trial before Justice Modupe Nico-Clay.
The defendant was 37-year-old when he allegedly killed his mother, Abosede, 65, by stabbing her with a kitchen knife.
When the case came up before the court for the commencement of trial on Thursday, the defendant, who was brought from the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, said he was a psychiatric patient. Read more
2022 Lagos Digital Summit convener promises entrepreneurs top-level tech skills to scale up businesses (Independent)
Convener of Lagos Digital Summit (LDS), Adewale Adetona, fondly known as iSlimfit, and co-organiser, Expoze Nigeria, a leading digital media firm in the country, has vowed to leave attendees of the 2022 edition of the event with the much-needed tech skills to sustain and widen their businesses.
The 6th edition of the highly anticipated summit themed ‘Scaling Businesses Leveraging Digital Technology’, has been slated to hold on Friday, 25th November, 2022, at The Zone Tech Park, Gbagada Lagos by 10:00 am.
Businesses in Nigeria are currently grappling with several challenges stemming from the global economic outlook and home-made difficulties, which include unfriendly policies towards start-ups and small scale enterprises, limiting their chances to explore opportunities.
However, the Lagos Digital Summit, which was conceived by Adewale Adetona in 2017, has been bridging the gap by exposing entrepreneurs in Nigeria to how they can boost their businesses with relevant tech skills and maximise commercial activities. Read more
Military places N5m each on 19 wanted terrorists (Leadership)
The Nigerian Military authorities has declared 19 Terrorists wanted and placed N5m bounty on each of them for anyone with information leading to their arrest.
According to a banner placed along strategic locations across the country, a N5m reward awaits anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of any of the terrorists.
The banner, which gave the origins of the Terrorists communicated in both English and Hausa languages, with a dedicated phone number for the report.
Those on the list include in no particular order; Sani Dangote, Dogo Nahali, Ali Kachala, Mamudu Tainange, Bello Turji Gudda Isiya Kwashen Garwa, Baleri, Sani Gurgu, Alhaji Ado Aliero, Gwaska Dankarami, Nagona and Umaru Dan Nigeria. Read more
Court adjourns Nnamdi Kanu’s terrorism trial indefinitely (Guardian)
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday adjourned indefinitely the trial of the Biafra nation agitator, Nnamdi Kanu in the terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
Justice Binta Nyako put off the trial sine die at the instance of Kanu pending the resolution of the Federal Government’s appeal against the October 13 judgment of the Court of Appeal that discharged him from the terrorism charges.
The Federal Government’s appeal seeking a reversal of the Court of Appeal judgment is pending before the Supreme Court.
Two other cases billed for hearing before the court were also put off indefinitely for the same reason. Read more
Court nullifies A’Ibom APC Gov primary (Nation)
A Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State has annulled the gubernatorial primary of the All Progressive Congress (APC) held in the State on May 26, 2022.
In a suit number FHC/UY/144/2022, a former aide to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang, had gone to court claiming the APC primary was characterised by several illegalities.
Enang, in one of his claims, said that Akan Udofia was not a member of the APC in the State.
But Udofia argued the APC had given him a waiver that qualified him to contest the primary. Read more
Nicki Minaj teases World Cup song with Maluma and Myriam Fares with cryptic post (Metro)
Nicki Minaj has fans wondering about a possible World Cup anthem after teasing a collaboration with Maluma and Myriam Fares.
The Super Freaky Girl rapper added a cryptic slide to the end of her latest reel on Instagram that thanked fans following her wins at the MTV EMAs.
Sharing a series of coloured football boots featuring numbers seemingly spelling out a date written on the side – this Friday, November 18 – the hitmaker alluded to new music relating to the upcoming football World Cup.
Alongside the numbers, Maluma and Myriam Fares’ names were printed on the boots along with Nicki’s. Read more
Dolly Parton awarded $100m by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (Standard)
Country music legend Dolly Parton has received a $100m (£85m) award from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
This was awarded as part of multi-billionaire Bezos’s annual Courage and Civility Award, which recognises leaders who “pursue solutions with courage and civility”.
The award started in 2021, with prizes going to activist Van Jones and chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, who established World Central Kitchen, which provides food in disaster-stricken areas worldwide.
Parton was given the money to honour her contribution to “kids, literacy and so many other things”. She is expected to give the cash to charities of her choice. Read more
Family say jailed British-Egyptian activist is alive (BBC)
The family of jailed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is on hunger strike, say they have received proof he is alive.
A letter to his mother written two days ago says he is “drinking water again” and “receiving medical attention”.
“I can sleep today without nightmares,” his sister said in response.
His family had not heard from him since he started refusing water on 6 November to coincide with the start of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Last Thursday, his mother said she had been told by officials at Wadi al-Natroun prison, north-west of Cairo, that he had undergone an unspecified “medical intervention with the knowledge of a judicial authority”. Read more
Lewis Capaldi overtakes Ed Sheeran with UK’s most streamed song as singles chart celebrates 70th anniversary (NME)
Lewis Capaldi’s 2018 song ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed Ed Sheeran as the UK’s most streamed song of all time.
The Scottish singer-songwriter has been crowned the new “king of streaming”, overtaking Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’, according to Official Charts data.
“I’m the streaming king! In the UK! On this particular song! I feel huge, I feel massive, I feel my loins expanding as I become more and more aware of the reality of my coronation as the king of music. Thank you,” Capaldi told Official Charts. “A very large accolade that I will now shoulder for the rest of my life, or until Ed Sheeran releases his next album…”
He added: “Listen…The Beatles, Drake, Metallica, The Eagles, Michael Jackson, don’t worry guys, no hard feelings, I just had to take this one. Take a step back and let Daddy steer the ship now, ok?” Read more
Gomorrah writer Roberto Saviano to face trial over defamation charges brought by Italian far-right leader (THR)
Roberto Saviano, the Italian writer and journalist behind the Gomorrah film and series, will go to court this week charged with criminal defamation by Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new far-right Prime Minister.
The charges relate to an incident that took place before Meloni was elected. Saviano, speaking on Italian current affairs show Piazzapulita in December 2020, called Meloni, leader of the neofascist Brother of Italy party, a “bastard” for her anti-immigrant policies.
The context was the death of a six-month-old baby from Guinea who drowned in the Mediterranean en route to Italy. The child was among six people who perished that night in a year; an estimated 1,881 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean along various routes, according to figures from the refugee agency UNHCR. In the months leading up to this event, Meloni, then leader of the opposition, attacked rescue ships that were patrolling to save migrants in distress. Describing the ships carrying immigrants as “migrant taxis,” she called on them to be sequestered and sunk. Read more
Lionsgate offers Starz discount, movie tickets, a ‘‘Twilight’’ stock certificate in push to attract retail investors (Deadline)
Lionsgate has partnered with Tiicker, a pioneering platform for cultivating shareholder loyalty, to offer retail investors discounts and gifts around the studio’s film and TV brands. The goal is to turn individual fans of its franchises into stockholders.
The studio is the first Hollywood partner of the Detroit-based firm that has programs with Amazon, Carnival, Ford, GM, Whirlpool and others.
Lionsgate vice chair Michael Burns says it currently has fewer than 10,000 retail shareholders owning well under 10% of the company. The shareholder base is largely institutional, as with most publicly traded companies — aside from meme stocks like AMC Entertainment where individual stockholders mostly replaced institutions. Like many stocks in the media space, Lionsgate’s could use a boost. Read more
3 dead, 2 injured in University of Virginia campus shooting (Aljazeera)
A shooting on the campus of the University of Virginia has killed three people and wounded two others, police said in a tweet.
The university police identified a student, Christopher Darnell Jones, as the suspect, and said multiple agencies were engaged in an active search.
Police also warned everyone to remain sheltered in place.
“As of this writing, I am heartbroken to report that the shooting has resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care,” university president James E Ryan wrote in a message to the community early on Monday morning. Read more
Amusan makes World Athlete Award final list (Punch)
Nigeria’s World 100m hurdles champion and record holder Tobi Amusan has made the five finalists for the Women’s World Athlete of the Year 2022 Award, according to a statement released by the World Athletics on Monday.
The names of the five finalists for Women’s World Athlete of the Year were confirmed as the countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2022 continues.
According to World Athletics, a record 1.3 million votes were registered by emails and online voting via the World Athletics social media platforms.
A three-way voting process to determine the finalists for the 2022 World Athletes of the Year was concluded on October 31 and the winner will be announced on World Athletics’ social media platforms in early December. Read more
Saudana Gamji Football Tournament: Kebbi Veterans crowned champions again in Nasarawa (Sun)
Kebbi State Veteran (All Stars) was crowned champion of the Saudana Gamji Unity football tournament held in Lafia, the Nasarawa state Capital.
Recall that Daily Sun had reported that the 9th edition of the Northern State Veterans Unity Cup tagged “Gamji Unity Cup” was hosted by Nasarawa state All stars with 15 states out of the 19 participating in the epic tournament in Lafia.
The both teams shared the spoils 1-1 after 90th minutes of play with a goal from Ismaila of the Nasarawa All stars team scoring the first goal in the 20th minutes of the first half.
Coming into the second half of the game, the Kebbi team dominated and got the much needed equalizing goal from an acrobatic kick from Rufai in the 26th minute that turned the table against the Nasarawa All Stars. Read more
Man Utd issue statement after explosive Cristiano Ronaldo interview with Piers Morgan (Mirror)
Manchester United have issued a statement after Cristiano Ronaldo’s bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
A club statement read: “Manchester United notes the media coverage regarding an interview by Cristiano Ronaldo. The club will consider its response after the full facts have been established.
“Our focus remains on preparing for the second half of the season and continuing the momentum, belief and togetherness being built among the players, manager, staff, and fans.”
Ronaldo launched a dramatic attack on his employers and their new manager in a bombshell interview with Morgan. A clip of him discussing how he felt “betrayed” by the club was published late on Sunday evening and the full interview will be released this week. Read more
Scotland: Adams, McLean and Patterson drop out of Turkey friendly (BBC)
Che Adams, Kenny McLean and Nathan Patterson have dropped out of Scotland’s squad for the friendly against Turkey.
Steve Clarke’s group are playing in Diyarbakir on Wednesday after failing to reach the World Cup in Qatar.
The Scottish FA did not indicate anyone would be brought in as replacements.
The squad had already been impacted by Celtic’s decision not to release players for friendlies during the winter break. Read more
World Athletics names Female Athlete of the Year finalists (NBC)
UFC stars pay tribute after Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson dies aged 38 (Metro)
The Mixed Martial Arts world is dealing with the tragic news that former UFC star Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson has dies at just 38 years old.
The former UFC light heavyweight title challenger was suffering with an illness, which Fox Sports reported as ‘organ failure due to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.’
Johnson signed with Bellator last year, fighitng in May 2021 when he knocked out Jose Augusto Azevedo, and the organisation reported his death on Sunday.
A Bellator statement read: ‘It is with great sadness we acknowledge the passing of Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson. Read more
Mattia Binotto on the 2 key reasons Ferrari would not swap the drivers in Brazil (PlanetF1)
The looming presence of Fernando Alonso and confusion over Yuki Tsunoda being lapped or unlapped ultimately led to Ferrari refusing Charles Leclerc’s plea to overtake Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc and Sainz were running fourth and third respectively in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Monégasque driver keen on an extra three points towards his tally in the standings as he looks to beat Sergio Perez to second.
Leclerc urged Ferrari to have Sainz move over for him, saying “please think about the championship” on team radio, but he was told it was “too risky”.
Crossing the line in fourth place, Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies told the driver: “Well done Charles, you did the best that was possible for us. There were other reasons why we couldn’t make the swap in the end.” Read more
