Ayra Starr wants you to expect greatness from her new album (Elle)
It first occurred to Ayra Starr that she might have “made it” on her 21st birthday last summer. While taking her first break from recording and touring in a year, she became speechless as she realised that she was celebrating poolside in Barbados surrounded by family and friends.
The joy she felt in that moment, only experienced one other time—when she met Rihanna, of course—inspired her upcoming album, The Year I Turned 21.
The sophomore record comes three years after her debut 19 & Dangerous, whose viral hits “Bloody Samaritan” and “Rush,” (a favorite of former president Barack Obama) introduced the world to the singer. It cemented Starr as one of the musicians ushering in a new era of Afrobeats and one of several young women at the fore of the genre, responsible for expanding the world’s view of what music from Africa sounds like. Read more
Tinubu departs Lagos for Abuja (ThisDay)
President Bola Tinubu Tuesday morning departed Lagos for Abuja where he is scheduled to inaugurate some projects executed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
The president, who left the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at 11:25 am, was seen off by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila; and some top government officials.
While in Lagos, President Tinubu performed the official flag-off of the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway from the Victoria Island end of the 700-kilometre project, hailed as an economic and rural communities development game changer. Read more
Labour dumps FG’s fresh ₦60k wage offer, shifts to ₦494k (Channels)
The Organised Labour has again rejected a fresh minimum wage proposal by the Federal Government.
This time, the Organised Labour comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), rejected the offer of the Federal Government to pay ₦60,000 as new minimum wage for workers.
The Organised Labour also shifted ground from its ₦497,000 stance last week to ₦494,000. Read more
Seme Customs intercepts 8 tanker loads of petrol, 428 wild animals, rakes in N2.634bn revenue (Sun)
The Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday said that it intercepted eight tanker loads of petroleum, 428 wild animals, 10 trailer Loads of rice, and other contraband and generated over N2.634 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2024.
However, the Command also arrested a notorious smuggler whose reign of terror in the area has come to an end and will be made to face the full wrath of the law while it also arrested another 18 suspects.
The Customs Area Controller, Seme Kraken Joint Border Post, Comptroller Timi Bomodi stated this during a press briefing held at the Command, said the command’s anti-smuggling translated into 474 interception of various contraband items within the period under review. Read more
Insecurity: Zamfara group Chairman tackles impostor over false claims (Leadership)
The chairman of the Concerned Youths of Kaura Namoda and Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, Zahraddeen Dahiru Usman, has asserted his position as the legitimate leader of the group.
This comes in the wake of the group’s recent letter to President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, and security agencies over the escalating insecurity in their constituency.
Recall that one Zahraddeen Dahiru Nakazalle had posted a video on social media on Monday, denying authorship of the letters and disputing the leadership of the group. Read more
Senate passes bill to restore old national anthem (DailyTrust)
The Senate has passed the National Anthem Bill, 2024, which seeks to restore the old national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” adopted by Nigeria at independence in 1960.
This is coming less than a week after the House of Representatives’ passed the same bill last Thursday.
The old anthem was replaced in 1978 with the current one, “Arise O Compatriots.” Read more
4416 killed, 4334 abducted under Tinubu — CSOs (Tribune)
As the present administration led by President Bola Tinubu marks its first year in office, about 82 local and international Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have said that at least 4416 persons were killed in the past one year, while 4334 persons were abducted in incidents of mass atrocities across the country.
The CSOs said that these numbers do not account for the regular crimes of armed robbery and other forms of crimes within that range and it has reduced the citizens’ right to life and dignity guaranteed under Sections 33 and 34 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) to a mere inscription.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday in Abuja as part of the activities to mark the National Day of Mourning (NDOM), the CSOs the intractable insecurity in Nigeria has earned it a place as one of the most insecure countries in the world as the country ranked 144th out of 163 countries on the Global Peace Index in 2024. Read more
Yahaya Bello: Allow justice system to run its course, CSOs warn (Vanguard)
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Kogi Youths under the aegis of Kogi Youth Renaissance Movement (KYRM) have expressed concerns over the ongoing case against Yahaya Bello, the immediate past governor of Kogi.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja the Convener Coalition of Civil Society Group, Ayanwale Idris, and the National Coordinator, Kogi Youth Renaissance Movement (KYRM), Dr. Ben Uguche, urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure a fair and impartial investigation and to avoid media trials and propaganda.
The groups emphasised the importance of upholding the rule of law and respecting the legal process. Read more
Yung Miami once again proves she’s the twerking queen (Hnhh)
Fans can’t help but crack their jokes in the comments.
Yung Miami’s fans are used to her going viral for a myriad of reasons. This year that’s frequently been through her ties to Diddy, who has had a pretty rough year by just about any standards. Miami has found herself trending multiple times for Diddy related stories that don’t have anything to do with her. Most recently that came with the release of video that shows the rap mogul allegedly assaulting Cassie, which caused people to bring up Miami online. That sparked fan debate over whether people were more mad at Miami than at Diddy himself.
Of course another reason people talk about Yung Miami is for her looks. She’s no stranger to sharing thirst traps, or more specifically, twerking videos. She declared herself one of rap predominate twerk artists on a few different occasions and has some proof to back it up. The newest is a video recorded of her in a club showing off her moves. But even there some of the most upvoted comments are cracking jokes about Diddy. Read more
Molly Ringwald says she was ‘taken advantage of’ by ‘predators’ as a young actress in Hollywood (People)
Molly Ringwald faced challenges as a young actress in the ’80s.
Speaking with host Marc Maron on the latest episode of his WTF with Marc Maron podcast, the Breakfast Club star, now 56, said she was “taken advantage of” even despite her “shy, introverted” nature and preference for staying home rather than going out.
“I never really felt like I was part of a community when I was in Hollywood, just because I was so young, really,” Ringwald said. “I wasn’t into going out to clubs. I feel like I’m more social now than I was then. I was just too young.” Read more
Over 130 killed in 2 weeks as fighting intensifies in major Sudanese city, aid group says (ABC)
At least 134 people have been killed and another 979 have been wounded since May 10 as fighting intensifies between Sudan’s military and a powerful Sudanese paramilitary force in a major city of the country’s northwestern Darfur region, according to an international aid group.
Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, said Sunday that the casualties were all recorded at a single hospital in el-Fasher, the provincial capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state. South Hospital is currently the last functioning medical center in North Darfur and only has around 10 days of supplies left, according to the aid group.
MSF said one of its staff members was among those killed when shelling hit his home near el-Fasher’s main marketplace. Read more
Spain, Norway, Ireland formally recognise Palestine statehood (UPI)
The governments of Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized Palestine as a state, angering Israel.
Spain’s President Pedro Sanchez made the announcement on Tuesday in a recorded statement. Speaking in English, he described the move as “historic” with the single goal of “achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
“The recognition of the State of Palestine is not only a matter of historical justice with the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people: it is also an urgent need,” he said. Read more
Pope Francis apologises after outcry over homophobic slur (Independent)
Pope Francis has apologised after an outcry erupted over his use of a deeply offensive slur to describe the LGBTQ+ community during a closed-door discussion with bishops.
The Vatican issued a statement on Tuesday acknowledging the media storm sparked by Francis’ widely reported homophobic remark, which he was quoted as making to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests.
“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. Read more
Model killed after being sucked in by moving train as she posed for photos (Mirror)
Cinthya Nayeli Higareda Bermejo, 30, tragically passed away after her clothes became trapped with a moving train which sped past her in the town of Zacoalco, Mexico
A model was killed as she posed for a photoshoot close to a moving train in a freak accident.
Cinthya Nayeli Higareda Bermejo, 30, was sucked into the train’s path by a strong “force” which caused her clothes to tangle and get caught with the vehicle in Mexico. She was hoping to have the fast-moving train in the background of her picture, but it went horrifically wrong. Read more
Tropical storms, heatwave as extreme weather lashes South Asia (AfricaNews)
Tropical storm Remal flooded dozens of coastal villages and left nearly 30 million people without power Monday in southern Bangladesh and eastern India. At least 10 people died in Bangladesh.
About 3.7 million people along the coast were affected, said Bangladesh’s junior minister for disaster management and relief, Mohibbur Rahman. More than 35,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 115,000 were damaged. Nearly 800,000 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas on Sunday.
Bangladesh, a delta nation of nearly 170 million people, has a history of violent storms. Disaster preparedness programs have upgraded the capacity to tackle natural disasters, resulting in fewer casualties. Changing climate patterns have increased storms’ intensity, making preparations more urgent. Read more
Oshoala wins Women’s UCL best goal award (Punch)
Nigerian striker Asisat Oshoala has won the best goal for the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2023/24 season, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Oshoala netted a stunning bicycle kick in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Benfica in their opening group game en route to the Catalans claiming the Champions League for the second consecutive season.
With the Blaugrana already 4-0 up, Jonatan Giráldez sent the reigning Women’s African Footballer of The Year and she wasted no time in making her mark in the game, scoring the last goal of the encounter in style – her only goal of the competition. Read more
Amputee football match descends into huge brawl as crutches are used as weapons (DailyStar)
The Amputee African Cup of Nations final descended into chaos as irate players swung crutches like weapons in a jaw-dropping melee.
Chaos erupted moments after the final whistle blew, with Ghana clinching victory over Morocco to snatch the coveted cup. A spat between two players seemed to light the fuse for the mayhem, prompting a flurry of others to join the fracas.
Even team officials got stuck in, with some players opting to wield their crutches as makeshift clubs. The event’s organisers steered clear of the ruckus, instead focusing on setting up the stage for the impending trophy presentation. Read more
‘He got robbed’ – Deontay Wilder gives verdict on Tyson Fury loss to Oleksandr Usyk (Metro)
Deontay Wilder believes Oleksandr Usyk was ‘robbed’ of a knockout victory against Tyson Fury.
Usyk beat Fury via split decision in Saudi Arabia earlier this month to be crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Fury was ahead on two of the judges’ scorecards after eight rounds but was rocked by an overhand left from Usyk in the ninth and was unable to answer a flurry of heavy shots from the Ukrainian. Read more
Enzo Maresca: Chelsea given permission by Leicester to speak to Italian over head coach role (SkySports)
Chelsea are “progressing well” in talks with Enzo Maresca as they look to make the Leicester boss their new head coach.
Chelsea co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are in Marbella for face-to-face talks with Maresca.
Maresca is excited about the prospect of becoming Chelsea head coach, but wants to make sure everything is done in the right way and Leicester City receive the respect they deserve. Read more
Lookman to receive Bergamo’s highest honour after Europa League final heroics (CompleteSports)
Ademola Lookman and his Napoli teammates will be awarded the City of Bergamo’s highest honour for the winning the UEFA Europa League.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final of the competition last week Wednesday.
It was La Dea’s first major title in 61 years and the first time they will be winning an European trophy. Read more
Ruud moves into French Open second round (BBC)
Two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud moved into the second round of the 2024 tournament with a routine 6-3 6-4 6-3 win over Brazil’s Felipe Meligeni Alves.
Norwegian Ruud, 25, lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 final at Roland Garros and Novak Djokovic in the 2023 showpiece.
The match took place under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier on a day when wet weather in Paris meant no play on any of the outside courts until late afternoon. Read more