Court lifts order restraining MTN, ATC from constructing base stations (ThisDay)
The coast has been cleared for the construction of new Base Transceiver Stations across Nigeria, following the lifting of an order of court restraining MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and ATC Nigeria Wireless Infrastructure Limited, from proceeding with the project.
Justice Yellim Bogoro of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, had on November 21, 2023, while ruling in an exparte application, halted MTN and ATC from going ahead with the planned construction of new Base Transceiver Stations.
The temporary order was pending the hearing and determination of a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of HEDA Resource Centre. Read more
Police arrest armed robber dressed like lunatic to kidnap, rob victims (Nation)
The Nigeria Police Force Lagos State Command has arrested one Olaseinde Ojo, a suspected armed robber and kidnapper at Post Officer Isokoko who disguised as a lunatic to get close to his victims and rob or kidnap them.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi who disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday also said another arrest was made along Dolphin Bridge when police operatives patrolling that axis intercepted a dispatch rider identified as Samson Shina ‘m’ in possession of a locally made pistol and some charms.
The statement reads in part: “The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in their quest to tackle crimes and criminality across the country have once again recorded milestone achievements in various areas. Read more
Olubadan joins ancestors at 81 (Vanguard)
The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun, has joined his ancestors after a brief illness.
He joined his ancestors at the age of 81.
It was gathered that the late monarch was taken to the hospital Wednesday morning having stayed indoor throughout Tuesday on account of slight malaria fever, though, he was hail and hearty on Monday during which he personally received few guests that paid him congratulatory visits on his second year anniversary on that day. Read more
287 Kaduna students: Abductors demand N1bn, vow to kill victims in 20 days (Vanguard)
The bandits who abducted 287 school children at Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State have demanded a N1billion ransom to set their captives free.
They also threatened to kill the victims if the ransom was not paid in 20 days.
But the military vowed yesterday to rescue the school children to their parents unhurt, explaining bandits now embark on mass abduction to use their victims as human shields, in view of the clearance operations by its officers and men. Read more
Lagos Free Zone gets recognition (Punch)
The Lagos Free Zone has emerged the best free trade zone in West Africa at the just concluded West African Brands Excellence Awards held in Lagos.
Announcing this in a statement on Wednesday, the free trade zone said that the award was conferred on LFZ during an event organised by the Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria.
It added that the event was organised to recognise extraordinary achievements by businesses in the year under review across the sub-region. Read more
Tinubu tips Abuja as headquarter of Africa Centres for Disease Control (Independent)
President Bola Tinubu has picked Abuja, Nigeria as base for the establishment of Regional Coordinating Centre (RCC) of the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa-CDC).
President Tinubu is the African Union (AU) Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership.
A statement by the Presidential Media Aide, Ajuri Ngelale on Thursday, noted that the President’s approval of the siting of the Centre in Abuja is part of his larger effort to convey Nigeria’s commitment to regional and global health security, while promoting local economic opportunities in the health care delivery value chain.
19 Northern Govs, NSA, Security Chiefs brainstorm to tackle insecurity (Leadership)
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, 19 governors of the Northern States and Service Chiefs, on Thursday, held a marathon meeting in the Office of the NSA (ONSA), to review security situation in Northern Nigeria and possibly proffer lasting solution.
The meeting, which was held behind closed-door, started at about 1:30 pm and ended at about 6pm.
LEADERSHIP reports that terrorists had on March 7, 2024, abducted about 287 students and teachers from the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State. Read more
Oyo demolishes scores of houses in Ibadan (Punch)
Oyo State Government, on Wednesday, demolished scores of structures in Ibadan, the state capital.
The demolition, which began at Fashade community, on Tuesday, along Circular Road will affect about 12 villages in the Ona-Ara Local Government Area of the state.
A community leader in one of the affected areas, Abdulfatal Amubikan, told our correspondent, who visited the area, on Wednesday, that “about 500 houses have been demolished.” Read more
Xavier Wulf accused of sexual assault, domestic violence & animal abuse by ex-girlfriend (HipHopDx)
Xavier Wulf has been accused of several crimes by a woman who claims to have dated him a little over five years ago.
In a since-deleted Reddit post shared on Tuesday (March 12), a user named Gianyasami went into detail about being in an alleged abusive relationship with the Memphis rapper back in 2018 and how their time together was plagued with drug use, sexual assault, domestic violence and animal abuse, among other things.
“He would force me to do drugs with him & sometimes force me to do things sexually with him when I didn’t want too,” she claimed in the lengthy post. “When I didn’t want to do drugs with him or have sex with him or give him head he would force me. Read more
Pierce Brosnan ends up in hot water for straying off the beaten track in Yellowstone National Park (IrishIndependent)
Irish actor Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty yesterday to stepping off a trail in a thermal area during a November visit to Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
The Meath-native James Bond star, who called in to the court hearing, was fined $500 and ordered to make a $1,000 donation to Yellowstone Forever – a non-profit organisation that supports the park – by April 1.
A second petty offence, for violating closures and use limits, was dismissed by the judge. Read more
Netflix confirms Black Mirror season 7 release window in new teaser (DigitalSpy)
Black Mirror season 7 will launch on Netflix in 2025, it’s been announced.
A social media teaser clip confirmed today (March 14) that six new episodes of Charlie Brooker’s techno-doom thriller are officially on the way, following last year’s sixth season starring the likes of Aaron Paul, Salma Hayek, Josh Hartnett and Zazie Beetz.
Five of the episodes remain a mystery for now, however, a sequel to season four favourite “USS Callister” is included. Read more
David Foster explains why he stopped producing music – and the lucky new song that helped change his mind (People)
David Foster is back to the business of producing.
The pianist and musical mastermind behind timeless hits from stars like Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, recently helped Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti create his new offering. Unlike Foster’s previous work on pop and R&B projects, this album is all about that jazz.
“I think Chris is the greatest jazz trumpeter alive. His shows are like a religious experience,” says Foster of what drew him to sign on to produce Botti’s new project titled Chris Botti Vol. 1, out now. “Thankfully he talked me into it, and I got to sit there for a week or two and enjoy these brilliant musicians led by Chris, while giving a nod of approval or saying ‘Hey, why don’t you try this?’” Read more
Coldplay’s Glastonbury 2024 headline slot will come ahead of their final album next year (NME)
With Coldplay announced to headline Glastonbury 2024, fans are uncertain as to the band’s future after Chris Martin previously revealed that the band would stop making music in 2025.
The pop icons were announced as headliners for this year’s instalment of Glastonbury earlier this morning (March 14), alongside SZA, Dua Lipa and Shania Twain. However, following previous comments by the frontman, fans are questioning what the slot may mean for the band’s future.
It comes as, back in 2021, Martin revealed that Coldplay were coming to the end of their time writing new material, and had plans to stop writing music as a band by 2025. Read more
Kremlin claims Putin made ‘no threats about the use of nuclear weapons’ in interview (Fox)
The Kremlin is now claiming Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made “no threats about the use of nuclear weapons” in an interview this week despite him saying that his country is “ready” for a nuclear war.
“From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” Putin told state media Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA after he was asked Wednesday about a potential nuclear war.
The Russian president said he knows the U.S. is aware that deploying troops to Ukraine or on Russian territory would be viewed by Moscow as intervening in the war. Putin added that “I don’t think that everything here is rushing to it [nuclear confrontation], but we are ready for this.” Read more
Top US Democrat Schumer calls for new elections in Israel (IrishExaminer)
US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer called on Israel to hold new elections, saying he believes Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Mr Schumer, the first Jewish majority leader in the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, strongly criticised Mr Netanyahu in a lengthy speech on the Senate floor.
Mr. Schumer said the prime minister had put himself in a coalition of far-right extremists and “as a result, he has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows”. Read more
Amuneke tipped to emerge as new Super Eagles head coach (ThisDay)
Former Nigerian international, Emmanuel Amuneke, has been tipped to step into the Super Eagles job vacated by Portuguese gaffer Jose Peseiro.
The former FC Barcelona winger is believed to top the list of coaches the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) examined their resumes during their meeting in Abuja yesterday.
Although the committee’s duty ends at recommending to the executive committee of the federation, the Ibrahim Gusau led board has the final say on who takes over the Super Eagles top position. Read more
Unai Emery plays down injury fears for Villa forward Ollie Watkins (SportsMole)
Head coach Unai Emery has dismissed fears that Ollie Watkins may have suffered a serious knee injury during Aston Villa’s fixture with Ajax.
The West Midlands outfit were able to come through by a 4-0 scoreline on Thursday night as they comfortably booked a spot in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals.
Watkins opened the scoring at Villa Park before Leon Bailey, Jhon Duran and Moussa Diaby all netted in the second half as their Dutch opponents offered minimal threat. Read more
Nuno says poor decisions are affecting Forest relegation fight (Telegraph)
Nuno Espirito Santo has warned that referees have to “improve fast” after launching another withering attack on the standard of officiating.
The Nottingham Forest head coach insists the current crop of top-flight officials are too inexperienced and that poor decisions are impacting his squad’s relegation battle.
Forest have suffered a number of controversial calls this season and have already written three letters of complaint to the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), the body that organises referees and Var in the Premier League and Football League. Read more
WBC President votes for 6 Judges for Fury-Usyk clash in May (BoxingScene)
If World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman has his way, there will be six judges scoring the May 18 undisputed heavyweight title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.
“What we saw last week in Saudi Arabia was another example of how fragile officiating worldwide continues to be,” Sulaiman told BoxingScene Thursday.
Sulaiman was referring mostly to his organization’s featherweight champion Rey Vargas retaining his belt over Nick Ball by split draw despite Ball scoring knockdowns in the eighth and 11th rounds. Read more
Chiefs to sign “Hollywood” Brown to 1-year deal, sources say (ABC)
Former Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is expected to sign a one-year deal worth up to $11 million with the Kansas City Chiefs, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
Brown, who was traded to the Cardinals by the Ravens in 2022, did not get the long-term deal he was seeking leading into the 2023 campaign and was hampered by a heel injury last season.
Injuries have become a recent factor for Brown, who hasn’t played a full season since 2020. Read more
Josh Cavallo: Adelaide United midfielder announces engagement (BBC)
Trailblazing footballer Josh Cavallo says “it felt right to share this special moment on the pitch” after he proposed to his partner at Adelaide United’s Coopers Stadium.
Cavallo came out in 2021 and at the time was the world’s only top-flight openly gay male professional player.
The Australian midfielder, 24, thanked the A-League club for their help after getting engaged to Leighton Morrell.
He said the club had provided “a safe space in football” for him. Read more