Bamise: Tears as family buries slain BRT passenger (Punch)
The remains of Bamise Ayanwola, who was found dead after boarding a bus belonging to the Bus Rapid Transport scheme, in February, have been buried.
She was buried at Atan Cemetery, Yaba, in Lagos on Friday.
Ayanwola went missing after boarding a bus at the Chevron area of Lekki on her way to Oshodi. Her body was found days later.
A BRT driver, Andrew Ominnikoron, is facing counts of conspiracy, rape and murder over Ayanwola’s death. Read more
Singer Asake speaks out after crush at his Brixton gig left four in critical condition (Metro)
Afrobeats performer Asake has shared a statement following an incident on Thursday night which left four people in critical condition after a crush at Brixton O2 academy.
Police were called to reports of a number of people trying to get in without a ticket at around 9.30pm.
The show was stopped halfway through and fans were reportedly told that ‘3,000 people had breached the door’.
Eight people were taken to hospital and four remain in a critical condition. Read more
“I’m ready for you’’: OAP, Do2dtun faults Dbanj, family as wife files for divorce (Vanguard)
On-air-personality, Kayode Ojuolape Oladotun popularly known as Do2dtun on Friday faulted musician, Oladapo Oyebanji, famously known as D’banj for allegedly distorting truths in an ongoing legal feud with his (Do2dtun) wife, Omotayo.
The drama started after the media was awash with a report that Do2dtun’s wife (Dbanj’s biological sister) filed for separation from the Cool FM’s host over forced abortion, domestic violence and emotional abuse.
The duo got married in 2013 and the marriage produced two children.
According to court documents signed by Omotayo’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, the Managing Partner of Abuja-based law firm, Law Corridor, It was alleged that the OAP forced his wife to abort her third pregnancy as a married woman. The court subsequently granted the divided custody of the children which Omotayo did not oppose pending the final determination of the suit in court. Read more
Concerns as traders turn Agege motor road to dumpsite (Guardian)
There is concern over indiscriminate dumping of refuse in Agege motor road by Oshodi market men and women, who have turned the road into a dumpsite, despite the presence of large waste bins provided by Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).
Commuters and motorists are worried that the attitude has continued, thereby resulting in traffic, which makes it difficult for pedestrians to walk by the roadside.
The deplorable sight, they said has also defaced the multi-billion naira Oshodi interchange, as dirt encircles it, thereby giving it unpleasant look and smell.
The Guardian learnt that whenever it rains, the road always gets flooded and waste floats on water, making it almost difficult for motorists and pedestrians to ply.
A commuter, Philip Okoye, said: “Traders and cart pushers are spoiling the road by dumping refuse indiscriminately. Notwithstanding the fact that refuse bins are kept by the roadside for their use, they still dump refuse on the road. This makes the road impassable and smelly for pedestrians.” Read more
Sanwo-Olu hails Buhari at 80 (Vanguard)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has described President Muhammadu Buhari as an epitome of service to the nation, a courageous and passionate leader, whose commitment to the growth and development of Nigeria is worthy of emulation.
Sanwo-Olu, made the remark on Friday, through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, in a congratulatory message on Buhari’s 80th birthday.
The governor noted that Buhari’s unblemished service in public office had made him a role model to many Nigerians.
He said Buhari has provided honest and transparent leadership in the country, adding that since he assumed office on May 29, 2015, he has demonstrated unparalleled patriotism, integrity, honesty and courage in the task of steering the ship of Nigeria in the right direction. Read more
Germany’s Baerbock to return Benin Bronzes to Nigeria (Channels)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will hand back 20 stolen Benin bronzes when she travels to Nigeria next week, her spokesman said Friday, as part of Berlin’s efforts to reckon with its colonial past.
Germany signed an agreement in July to gradually begin returning hundreds of looted Benin bronzes from German museums.
That this batch of Benin bronzes can be returned before the end of the year “shows how serious Germany is about facing up to its colonial past”, said foreign ministry spokesman Christofer Burger.
Baerbock is due to travel to Abuja from December 18-20, accompanied by Culture Minister Claudia Roth and the directors of five German museums that together house the largest collections of Benin artworks, he added. Read more
Presidential Air Fleet under funded says Commander (Guardian)
The Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) says its budgetary allocation in the past years is insufficient to fund the operations fleet.
The Commander of the fleet, AVM Abubakar Abdullahi told members of the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence during an oversight visit in Abuja.
Represented by Fleet Operations Officer, Mr Ahmed Dari, Abdulahi said that the quality of aircraft maintenance conducted is directly proportional to flight safety and it is critical to the importance of safe operations in the fleet.
“It is important for this committee to note that for successive years, the fleet has been grossly underfunded which has made it difficult to operate. From the fleet records, debts from preceding years are usually carried over to the following year and this has become the tradition. Read more
Navy promotes 55 senior officers (Nation)
The Navy on Friday announced the promotion of 55 senior officers.
Thirty Commodores were elevated to the rank of Rear Admiral while twenty five Captains were promoted to the rank of Commodores.
According to a statement by the Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore, Kayode Ayo-Vaughan, the promotion was approved by the Naval Board.
The statement reads: “The Navy Board on Thursday 15 December 2022 approved the promotions of 55 senior officers to various ranks in the Nigerian Navy. Breakdown of the promotion released showed that 25 Captains were elevated to Commodore while 30 Commodores were promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. Read more
Margot Robbie’s mum smiles with pride as she cuddles lookalike daughter at premiere of new film Babylon (Metro)
All parents are proud of their children, but Margot Robbie’s mum was absolutely radiating with pride as she accompanied her famous daughter to a premiere this week.
Margot, 33, has been working non-stop in recent months, with her latest film Amsterdam just released last month, and fans waiting with bated breath for the release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie next year.
Now the Australian actress, who kicked off her career in Neighbours before becoming one of the biggest names in Hollywood, is preparing for the release of her new film Babylon.
Which, naturally, boasts a star-studded cast. Read more
Billie Eilish joined by Dave Grohl for My Hero cover at LA gig (MusicNews)
Billie Eilish wowed fans by bringing out Dave Grohl at her Los Angeles gig.
The “bad guy” hitmaker was joined on stage at the Kia Forum on Thursday night (15.12.22) by the Foo Fighters frontman to cover the rock band’s 90s classic “My Hero” acoustically.
Fans were in for one more treat, as Phoebe Bridgers came out to duet with Billie on her song ‘‘Motion Sickness’’.
Earlier this week, Labrinth performed “I’ve Never Felt So Alone” from the “Euphoria” soundtrack with the 20-year-old Grammy winner. Read more
Warhammer to be made into film and TV show, starring Superman actor Henry Cavill (BBC)
Warhammer, the popular miniature table-top wargame, is to be made into a film and TV programme.
Henry Cavill will star in and executive produce the adaptation, which he called a “nigh-on lifelong dream come true”.
UK firm Games Workshop, which makes the game, said on Friday it has “reached an agreement in principle” for Amazon to develop its intellectual property.
The project will initially involve developing the Warhammer 40,000 universe, it confirmed. Read more
Daisy Edgar-Jones to play Carole King in new biopic (NME)
Daisy Edgar-Jones is set to play Carole King in new biopic “Beautiful”.
The Normal People star will be starring in the forthcoming film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name, a jukebox musical of King’s greatest hits.
Sony, who will be releasing the film, obtained rights to use both King’s songs and life rights for the artist and others featured in the show.
“Daisy has a spirit and energy that I recognised as myself when I was younger,” King told Variety of Edgar-Jones’ casting in “Beautiful”. “She’s a tremendous talent and I know she’s going to give a great performance.” Read more
The Weeknd releases new single Nothing is Lost from the Avatar 2 soundtrack (UPI)
The Weeknd has dropped a new single, but it’s not for one of his own albums. He released the song “Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from the Avatar: The Way of Water soundtrack.
Born Abel Tesfaye, the Canadian-born singer has sold millions of albums, won four Grammys, and headlined at the Super Bowl. He wrote the four-minute-plus song, which was produced by Swedish House Mafia and Simon Fraglen. It plays in the movie’s closing credits.
Directed by James Cameron, the blockbuster sequel to Avatar arrives in U.S. theaters today. The film has already grossed more than $ 15.8 million based on reports from 15 international territories, where it was released on Wednesday.
Cameron’s juggernaut original feature grossed $2.9 billion, making it the top-earning film of all time. Avatar: The Way of Water is set 10 years after the original. Read more
Russian missile strikes pound Ukraine, knocking out power and putting entire country under air-raid alarm (CNN)
A fresh barrage of Russian missile attacks across Ukraine on Friday morning put the entire country under air-raid alarm and sent people scrambling for shelter as explosions sounded overhead, with strikes hitting critical infrastructure and knocking out power.
“The enemy is massively attacking Ukraine. Increased danger. Stay in shelters,” Oleksiy Kuleba, the head of the Kyiv regional military administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app, asking residents not to ignore the alarm.
Russia’s persistent and pervasive attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid have, at least temporarily, left millions of civilians without electricity, heat, water and other critical services in the freezing winter months. Repeated missile and drone attacks since October, which have damaged or destroyed civilian infrastructure, are part of a strategy by the Kremlin to terrorize Ukrainians and is in violation of the laws of war, according to experts.
Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo said on Friday that more than 50% of the country’s unified energy capacity was lost due to Russian strikes on thermal and hydroelectric power plants and substations, activating “emergency mode.” Read more
US Targets Russian Oligarch in Latest Round of Sanctions (VOA)
The United States imposed new economic sanctions on Russian financial interests Thursday, targeting one of the country’s richest businessmen, Vladimir Potanin, and his family, in the latest effort to pressure Moscow over its war against Ukraine.
Potanin was once Russia’s deputy prime minister, and the U.S. said he has direct ties to President Vladimir Putin. Potanin, 61, controls Interros, an investment holding company the U.S. said has sweeping interests across the Russian economy, including 36% ownership of Nornickel, the world’s largest palladium and refined nickel producer.
The U.S. also blocked Potanin from use of Nirvana, the yacht worth hundreds of millions of dollars that he partially owns. Britain and Canada had previously imposed sanctions against him.
In addition, the U.S. Department of State blacklisted Rosbank, a Russia-based commercial bank it said Potanin acquired earlier this year, along with 17 subsidiaries of Russian VTB, the country’s second largest bank. Read more
Flying Eagles defeat Wikki Tourists FC 2-0 in friendly (Guardian)
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria defeated Wikki Tourists Football club of Bauchi 2-0 in a friendly match at the FIFA Goal Project, Package B of the Moshood Abiola National stadium, Abuja on Thursday night.
Lekan Adams opened scoring for the Eagles in the 40th minute through a free kick from a close range to lead 1-0 at halftime.
On resumption, Olusegun Otusanya scored the second goal in the 89th minute to seal victory for the Eagles.
Speaking after the match, Abdullahi Adamu, chief coach of Wikki Tourists FC, attributed their loss to fatigue.
“They scored us as a result of fatigue because the second goal was an error by the goalkeeper, while the first goal was through a free kick. So I believe it was fatigue that resulted to the goals,” he said. Read more
NDDC U-17 Peace Cup: Q/Final begins today (Sun)
The ongoing 2nd edition of the NDDC U-17 Peace Football Championship in Delta State has entered the quarter final stage with eight teams battling to make their way into Sunday’s grand finale.
In the quarter final pairings, Group A winners Campus FC (Imo) will face runners-up of Group C, Delta Force (Delta) in the first quarter final match, and will be followed by winner of Group C, El-Godz FC (Abia) against Carabana FC (Akwa Ibom). Group B winners, Donastars FC (Abia) will face Group D runner up, Dynamic SPMD (Akwa Ibom), as Group D winners, Future Dynamics (Bayelsa) trade tackles with Ine Stars (Edo) in the last quarter final fixture.
According to a statement by the Head of the Grassroots Sports Federation, Comrade Ekpenyong, organisers of the tournament, all the quarter final matches will be played at the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi Uku on Friday. Read more
Argentina fans protest over World Cup final tickets (RFI)
Argentina fans staged a second day of demonstrations Friday outside a Doha hotel demanding that their country’s national federation help them to get tickets for the World Cup final.
Amid a growing frenzy ahead of Sunday’s game against defending champions France, supporters said the cheapest official tickets are selling on underground markets for more than $4,000.
Scores of fans gathered outside the Doha hotel where the Argentina Football Association is based.
On Thursday night there were angry exchanges with officials outside the hotel. Some fans carried placards reading “AFA give us tickets”. Read more
FIFA launches 2 brand new competitions in major boost for the women’s game (Mirror)
FIFA has confirmed plans to introduce a FIFA Women’s Club World Cup to the football calendar.
On the same day, the governing body of international football announced plans for an expanded men’s Club World Cup, it was also confirmed a women’s tournament would be in place for 2025. The exact format is yet to be disclosed, however it will bring together top sides from across the planet, with the winners crowned world champions of the women’s club game.
FIFA also confirmed they will also establish a FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup in a social media post released on Friday morning. The news comes as president Gianni Infantino outlines his plans for the growth of the game at a news conference on the eve of the men’s World Cup final. Read more
Aston Martin 1st F1 team to reveal launch date for 2023 car (F1i)
Aston Martin F1 has become the first F1 team to announce the launch date of its 2023 contender, the AMR23.
The Silverstone-based outfit is a week away from its holiday break, but the team is already sending its invitations for the unveiling of its new car that will take place on Monday, February 13 at 7pm GMT.
The special launch event will be held at the site of Aston Martin’s all-new 37,000 square meter Silverstone campus which is expected to be completed next spring.
Aston’s new factory has been labeled as a “game changer” by the team but only time will tell if its second ground effects car will follow suit, or at least allow the team to become a consistent top-tier midfield contender. Read more
Carl Froch: Hall of Fame induction ”amazing” says four-time former world champion (BBC)
Carl Froch says he thought it was “a wind-up” when he was first told he was being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
The 45-year-old former four-time world super-middleweight champion retired in 2015 with 33 wins from 35 fights – a record that included 24 knockout wins.
Froch hung up his gloves with the WBA and IBF belts still in his possession.
“Anyone that wants to call me a has-been now has to realise that I’m a legend, a living legend,” Froch said. Read more