Drama as trader allegedly finds male’s private part inside food (Vanguard)
There was a mild drama at the popular Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday, following the strange discovery of a human private part by a hungry customer, who patronised a food vendor inside the market.
The shocking sight of the human part in her plate of soup, at GBO Plaza, in the market, resulted in pandamonium, as anxious traders and customers thronged the plaza to behold the strange alacarte garnished with protruding human part and its accompanying delicacies steaming hot from a plate of soup.
The middle-aged woman, simply identified as Ebere, reportedly found strange meat inside the plate of food she bought from a food vendor. Read more
Tinubu asks Senate to confirm NEDC board rejected by Buhari (DailyTrust)
President Bola Tinubu has sought confirmation of Senate for appointments of members and Executive Management of governing board of the North East Development Commission(NEDC), which was rejected by his predecessor.
The board had served out its first term, but President Muhammadu Buhari refused to renew their tenure.
However, Sa’diya Farouk Umar, former Minister of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, appointed a different board, with the son of Abu Hashidu, late Gombe governor, as Managing Director, but the Senate refused to confirm the board. Read more
Petrol price reflection of current economic realities – Oil marketers
Petrol price (Nation)
Amid the increase in petrol pump price, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has said the international price of crude oil and exchange rate constitute largest the components of cost build-up for the commodity, accounting for over 80 percent.
The remaining 20 percent, it noted, includes statutory dues, distribution costs, and margins.
MOMAN, while reiterating its support for the deregulation, said the policy promises a transparent and level playing field where cost-reflective prices are evident at fuel stations. Read more
Fake teachers’ recruitment advert not from us, Lagos govt warns (Tribune)
The Lagos State government has dismissed the claim that its Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) is currently recruiting teachers for post-primary schools in the state, labelling the vacancy advertorial as fake.
Mrs Olubusola Abidakun, the Permanent Secretary of TESCOM, refuted the claim in a statement released by Mr Kayode Sutton, Head of the Public Affairs unit, on Wednesday.
The Permanent Secretary urged job seekers and the public to disregard the advertorial circulating on social media, emphasizing that TESCOM is not conducting any recruitment as suggested by the fake directive. Read more
Negative sentiments in Geregu, 26 stocks drag indices by N5b (Guardian)
Bear resurfaced on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), as heavy price depreciation in Geregu and 26 stocks dragged market capitalisation by N5 billion.
Yesterday, market capitalisation of listed equities declined by N5 billion, representing 0.01 per cent to N34.716 trillion from N34.721 trillion reported the previous day. The NGX All Share Index, which measures the performance of quoted companies also depreciated by 9.49 basis points to 63757.23 points from 63766.72 points, reported the previous day.
Volume of shares traded also declined by 335.310 million as investors traded 473.492 million shares valued at N10.081 billion in 7403 deals against 868.802 million shares worth N42.806 billion in 8970 deals. Read more
Lagos Free Zone hosts Netherlands Consul General, woos Dutch investors (ThisDay)
Lagos Free Zone, a subsidiary of Tolaram and the first privately owned free zone in Nigeria, recently hosted a delegation of the Consulate of the Kingdom of Netherlands led by the Consul General, Michel Deleen, as part of the drive to woo Dutch investors to the Zone.
Welcoming the delegation to the zone on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, the Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Free Zone, Dineshi Rathi, who was represented by the General Manager, Power and Gas, Lagos Free Zone, Prem Krishna, described the zone as the preferred investment destination in Nigeria, urging Dutch investors to take advantage of the unique opportunities and incentives available.
He explained further that the Zone, which covers an area of 850 hectares of land, has a self-sustainable business ecosystem that includes warehouses, standard factories, a logistics hub, a fire station, broadband network connectivity, residential developments, a medical facility, solid waste management, and an independent natural gas-based power source. Read more
First Lady to female NASS members: work together as a team (Nation)
The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has charged female members of the National Assembly to work together as a team, irrespective of differences in party affiliation, saying the nation’s success depends on this.
The First Lady gave the charge on Wednesday when she received female Senators and Members of the House of Representatives who paid her a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Senator Oluremi, while expressing her delight at the visit, especially as she had served at the Senate in the last twelve years, advised the female National Assembly members that they should remain faithful to their constituents. Read more
FG receives Canada’s $9.2m COVID-19 grant (Punch)
The Federal Government, on Wednesday, received a $9,261,920 grant from the Canadian government to support the scale-up of COVID-19 vaccine service among high-priority risk groups and to strengthen the health system in Nigeria.
Speaking at the launch of the Canada Global Initiative for Vaccine grant in Abuja, the High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Jamie Christoff, said the project was another example of Canada’s historical institutional relationship with the WHO to support Nigeria in the critical work for preventing disease and protecting those most at risk.
Christoff said though COVID-19 was no longer a global emergency, it was still important to reinforce public health systems as part of an inclusive and sustainable recovery. Read more
Chrissy Teigen urged by doctors to have colonoscopy to check for colon cancer (Metro)
Chrissy Teigen revealed she booked in a colonoscopy after being warned by her doctors to start having early checks for colon cancer.
The 37-year-old model admitted she decided to undergo the medical procedure which involves examining the large bowel and the distal part of the small bowel with a camera, after her doctor warned her that the colon cancer diagnosis age was lowering.
Speaking in an Instagram Stories video amid preparations for the procedure, she said: ‘Soon there’s going to be a very large jump in people my age and even a little younger getting colon cancer because we don’t get checked. Read more
Keanu Reeves to release 1st album with band Dogstar in more than 20 years (BelfastTelegraph)
Keanu Reeves will release his first Dogstar album in more than 20 years, the band announced.
The Los Angeles-formed three-piece, featuring The Matrix star Reeves on bass guitar, Bret Domrose on lead vocals and actor and musician Rob Mailhouse on drums, gave their first live performances for more than two decades in May.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Dogstar’s account said: “We are so excited to announce our new album Somewhere Between The Power Lines And Palm Trees out on October 6th on our label Dillon Street Records. Read more
Bron Studios, financier behind Joker, The Idol and 65, files for bankruptcy (Variety)
Bron Studios, the Canadian finance and production company that emerged as a media force in 2017 and has backed awards favorites like Joker, Judas and the Black Messiah and Licorice Pizza and commercial plays like Ghostbusters: Afterlife, The Mule and 65, has filed for bankruptcy.
Co-founder and CEO Aaron L. Gilbert disclosed the news in a statement on Wednesday, penning a letter to the banner’s “friends, partners, team members and backers.”
“Having explored many options for many months, BRON had no choice but to take this step in light of its financial circumstances. The last few years have been incredibly difficult for BRON, and things have only gotten more complicated over these past months,” Gilbert shared, citing the COVID pandemic and both the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes as insurmountable headwinds for the company’s continued operations. The exec also stated that the company would not be doing press. Read more
Danny Elfman settled $830k sexual harassment claim in 2018 (THR)
Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman settled a previously unknown sexual harassment claim brought in 2018 by a former friend and fellow composer. Eflman and composer Nomi Abadi agreed to an $830,000 settlement paid in installments over five years.
Details of that settlement have been revealed in a Rolling Stone article, as well as new court documents filed by Abadi. In documents filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Abadi claims that Elfman has not paid the settlement in full, and is suing for $85,000 she says is still owed. According to the court documents, the $85,000 were part of charitable payments to be made by Elfman, rather than personal payments to Abadi.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to reps for Elfman and to Abadi’s attorney. Read more
Rock band Queen receive Brit Billion Award to mark streaming milestone (Standard)
Queen have been recognised with a Brit Billion Award for achieving the milestone of being streamed more than one billion times in the UK.
The British rock band, which consisted of lead singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Sir Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor, have been presented with the prize by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the record industry’s trade association, following analysis by the Official Charts Company.
Classic songs including Another One Bites The Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Killer Queen are among the band’s hits which have contributed to the staggering total, the BPI has said. Read more
Prigozhin in video tells Wagner troops to prepare ‘‘for Africa’’ (AlJazeera)
A new video appears to show the head of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, welcoming his fighters to Belarus, telling them they would take no further part in the Ukraine war for now but to prepare for “a new journey to Africa“.
The footage, published by Prigozhin’s press service on Telegram on Wednesday, is the first video evidence of his whereabouts since Wagner’s failed mutiny last month against Russia’s top military brass.
“Welcome lads … Welcome to Belarusian soil,” Prigozhin said.
“We fought honourably,” he added. “You have done a great deal for Russia. What is going on at the front is a disgrace that we do not need to get involved in.” Read more
Kenya rocked by nationwide anti-government protests over finance bill raising gas tax (ABC)
Kenya is bracing for three days of anti-government protests led by the government’s political opposition over a contentious new finance bill and the rising cost of living
The protests, which began on Wednesday, have been called by opposition leader Raila Odinga. The unrest was set to take place despite Kenya’s President William Ruto vowing no protests would take place in the East African Nation.
“We are here, first and foremost, to confirm that the peaceful protests planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week are on as earlier declared by our leadership,” read a statement by Odinga’s party, Azimio La Umoja, sent to ABC News. Read more
World Cup: Go girls, Awoniyi charges Falcons (Punch)
Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has sent the Super Falcons a goodwill message ahead of the start of the 2023 World Cup, Soccernet reports.
Coach Randy Waldrum would be looking to lead his Super Falcons to glory when they file out in Australia/New Zealand for the Mundial.
Despite their dominance on the continent, winning nine Women’s Africa Cup of Nations titles, Nigeria have never gone past the quarterfinals of the competition. In fact, their best finish was in 1999, when they reached the quarterfinal. Read more
Amusan vows to fight anti-doping ‘‘missed test’’ charge (Sun)
World record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan, has vowed to fight the anti-doping “missed test” charge slammed at her by the Athletics Integrity Unit in the early hours of yesterday.
Tobi, 26 years old, called herself a “clean athlete” in reaction to the charge in a post on her official Instagram handle after the AIU found her non-compliant with the basic requirements for passing a whereabouts test.
The Athletics Integrity Unit’s Registered Testing Pool (RTP) subsection 5 states that; “The whereabouts of an Athlete will be recorded as ‘failure’ under the World Athletics RTP when; the Athlete has filed whereabouts information but is not available for testing at the location corresponding to your 60-minute time slot.” Read more
Tennis star leaves court in tears amid Amarissa Toth cheating scandal (CNN)
Chinese tennis player Zhang Shuai retried from a match in tears on Tuesday after her opponent Amarissa Toth was embroiled in a cheating scandal.
The incident occurred during the pair’s round-of-32 match at the Budapest Grand Prix on the WTA Tour – with several players condemning Toth for her behaviour.
At 5-5 in a close-fought first set, Shuai challenged a call from the line judge that one of her shots had landed out. Read more
Gunman in New Zealand kills 2 people ahead of Women’s World Cup (CBS)
A gunman killed two people at a downtown construction site in New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland on Thursday, as the nation prepared to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament. Authorities said the shooter was also dead.
Police said six other people, including at least one officer, were injured during the shooting, which took place near hotels where Team Norway and other soccer teams have been staying.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the tournament would go ahead as planned. Read more
Manchester City agree £30m fee with Al-Ahli for Riyad Mahrez (Eurosport)
Al-Ahli have agreed a £30 million fee with Manchester City for winger Riyad Mahrez, according to reports.
The deal could be worth around £33m with add-ons, with the 32-year-old winger due to undergo a medical on Thursday with the Saudi Pro League outfit.
The Algerian is due to sign a three-year deal with the option of another year, and has been left out of City’s pre-season tour to Japan. Read more
Zheng beats Parry in 3 sets to reach Palermo Open quarterfinals (ESPN)
Second-seeded Zheng Qinwen beat Diane Parry on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Palermo Open.
Zheng found it tougher than her 6-0, 6-0 victory over Sara Errani in the opening round but eventually prevailed 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. She will next face seventh-seeded Emma Navarro after the American had a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Camilla Rosatello.
Sara Sorribes Tormo recorded a second straight victory over an Italian player on the red clay courts of the Country Time Club as she defeated Nuria Brancaccio 6-3, 6-2. Read more