Excitement as Sanwo-Olu, AbdulRazaq open Ikeja overpass bridge (Nation)
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu commissioned the Ikeja overpass bridge situated in Ikeja area of the state.
The Ikeja Overpass Bridge is the fourth to be commissioned by the Lagos state government within the last two months.
The governor of Kwara state and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, joined Sanwo-Olu in unveiling the project on Tuesday, December 19. Read more
Same-sex Marriage: Nigerian priest defends Pope Francis (Punch)
A Nigerian Catholic priest identified as Father Ugochukwu Ugwoke has defended Pope Francis after the Catholic Church head gave permission to blessing same-sex marriage.
Punch Metro reported on Monday that Pope Francis officially granted priests permission to bless same-sex and “irregular” couples, under certain circumstances.
However, the Vatican said blessings should not be part of regular Church rituals or related to civil unions or weddings. Read more
Makinde presents staff of office to new Soun of Ogbomoso (Independent)
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has officially presented the staff of Office to the 21st Soun of Ogbomoso, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, Orumogege III.
The official coronation and presentation of Staff of the Office were held at the Soun of Ogbomoso Township Stadium, Ogbomoso today, December 19.
Oba Ghandi, in his brief titled “My dream and my Reality”, after receiving the instrument and staff of Office from Governor Makinde, expressed gratitude to God and all who have made the day a reality. Read more
African trade unions petition Tinubu over labour rights (Vanguard)
African trade unions under umbrella of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC-Africa, have petitioned President Bola Tinubu over worsening labour rights in Nigeria.
Particularly of concern to ITUC-Africa is the recent attack on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero and the lack of progress towards redress and fair closure.
ITUC-Africa is made up 101 affiliates across 52 African nations, including the NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC, of Nigeria. Read more
Over 1,000 Nigerians stranded in UK due to fake jobs – IOM (Sun)
More than 1,000 Nigerians are reportedly stranded in the UK after falling for fraudulent job scams, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
IOM’s chief of mission to Nigeria, Laurent De Boeck, disclosed this to Journalists at a press conference on Monday in Abuja.
He added that the majority of these scam victims have lost almost $10,000 each, and many of them have chosen not to go back home out of fear of being stigmatised. Read more
Insecurity: Nollywood actors, musicians sign up for peace in south-east (Leadership)
Nollywood actors, musical artistes and other performers in the entertainment industry, mainly from the South-East extraction of the country, have signed up to a new initiative to totally restore peace in the region.
Regretting the unfortunate air of insecurity and violence that had hitherto prevailed in the zone and its attendant effects on the economy, education of the youths and social life, the creatives, however, said that such was alien to the people of the zone.
They described the situation as an ill-wind that blows no good to anyone. Read more
Traditional ruler, pregnant wife, 15 others abducted in Taraba (DailyTrust)
A second-class chief in Pupule, Taraba State, Chief Alhaji Umaru Abubakar Nyala, his pregnant wife and 15 others were on Monday night abducted by suspected kidnappers at Pupule town in Yorro Local Government Area of the state.
The gunmen, numbering over 20, invaded the palace of the Chief of Kwaji at Pupule in the midnight and abducted Nyala, his pregnant wife and son.
The gunmen also abducted the orderly of the monarch and 12 people inside the town. Read more
Kaduna Bombing: Don’t demoralise our troops, defence chief tells Nigerians (Channels)
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa has called on Nigerians to support the country’s troops, saying they should not be demoralised owing to the accidental military bombing in Kaduna State.
About eighty-five persons died in the air strike in Igabi Local Government Area with many wounded, leading to condemnation from several quarters.
But the defence chief who admitted that the troops can make mistakes, called for more support in the face of the growing criticisms against them over the military accident. Read more
Taraji P. Henson says she’s passing the “Color Purple” baton to a new generation (NPR)
Empire star Taraji P. Henson was a 15-year-old high school student in Washington, D.C., when she first saw The Color Purple, Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Immediately she knew she wanted to be an actor.
“Seeing all of those Black people on the screen … they just inspired me to make my dreams come true. To get out of my zip code,” she says, “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I really want to do that.’ “
The Color Purple tells the story of Celie Harris, the traumas she endures as a Black woman living in the South during the early 1900s — and the sisterhood that helps sustain her. In director Blitz Bazawule’s new version, Henson plays Shug Avery, a jazz singer who becomes Celie’s confidante. It’s a role that Henson was offered — and declined to take — during the Broadway run of The Color Purple. Read more
Blueface investigated by police over concert beatdown of female fan (HipHopDx)
Blueface is being investigated by the police following an alleged fight at a concert which involved a female fan.
Earlier this week, a video began circulating online from Saturday (December 16) of the controversial rapper ordering security to beat up a woman after she was accused of throwing ice at his fiancée Jaidyn Alexis.
The incident, which occurred at Blueface’s show at Gem Nightclub in downtown Salt Lake City, is now being looked into by the police. Read more
Jonathan Majors: Marvel actor guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend (BBC)
US actor Jonathan Majors has been found guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend after a trial in New York.
The jury found Majors, known for playing Kang in the Marvel films, attacked British choreographer Grace Jabbari during an altercation in March.
She told the court she was left with a fractured finger, bruising, a cut behind her ear and “excruciating” pain.
Majors, 34, faces up to a year in jail, and has been dropped from starring roles in forthcoming Marvel movies. Read more
UN Rights Chief: ‘Extensive failure’ by Russia to protect Ukraine civilians (AlJazeera)
The United Nations human rights chief has said there had been an “extensive failure” by Russia to take adequate measures to protect civilians in Ukraine and that there were indications that Russian forces had committed war crimes.
Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said on Tuesday that his office’s monitoring indicated “gross violations of international human rights law, serious violations of international humanitarian law, and war crimes, primarily by the forces of the Russian Federation”.
These included 142 cases of summary execution of civilians since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, as well as enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, including through sexual violence. Read more
Alec Baldwin escorted by police after heated confrontation at pro-Palestinian rally in NYC (NBC)
Actor Alec Baldwin appeared at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York City on Monday where he was filmed getting into a heated clash with a protester that culminated with the star being escorted away by police.
It’s not clear what exactly led up to the confrontation at the Manhattan rally.
Video footage of the incident shows the 65-year-old speaking to two or three protesters with a serious look on his face. Read more
Ally Brooke is engaged to longtime boyfriend Will Bracey: ‘the best day of my life’ (People)
Ally Brooke is engaged!
On Monday night, the Fifth Harmony alum’s longtime boyfriend, music industry executive Will Bracey, popped the question while visiting a private art gallery in Manhattan.
“It is the best day of my life. It’s wonderful, truly wonderful,” the pop star, 30, told PEOPLE in an emotional interview just minutes after Bracey, 36, proposed. “I had no idea. No idea. When he did it, I was just in pure shock.” Read more
Lava eruption on Reykjanes peninsula could go on for months — experts (Independent)
Experts have warned that the volcanic eruption in southwest Iceland could go on “for months” as lava continues to spill from the 3.5km site.
A volcano in the Reykjanes peninsula finally erupted after weeks of uncertainty on Monday night following a swarm of seismic activity in the area.
“It could potentially go on for several months, it could also just stop later today or tomorrow,” said Halldor Geirson, an associate professor at Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland. Read more
Osimhen belongs to class of elite superstars, says Laurent Blanc (Guardian)
World Cup winner and former France international, Laurent Blanc, believes Nigeria and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen belongs to the category of elite superstars.
Osimhen returned to scoring form for Napoli as he netted in back-to-back games for the Serie A champions.
The CAF Player of the Year scored one of Napoli’s goals in the 2-0 win against Braga in the Champions League. Read more
Akwa Ibom FA sues NFF for N20m, demands reinstatement of sacked executive (Leadership)
The crisis within the Akwa Ibom State Football Association (AKSFA) has escalated into a legal battle as some members of the association have turned to the High Court in Uyo, the state capital, seeking redress against the nullification of the May 22nd election of the new Executive by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
LEADERSHIP gathered that following the replacement of the elected executive with a Football Association Normalisation Committee (FANC) headed by Prince Boniface Nyong, tensions rose among stakeholders who vehemently contested the NFF’s unilateral actions, describing them as illegal, unlawful, and a usurpation of powers in contravention of relevant sections of the NFF statutes. Read more
Tottenham told £75m transfer target has been ‘absolutely outstanding’ this season (HitC)
Tottenham Hotspur target Jarrad Branthwaite has been sensational for Everton this season and it’s no surprise he’s starting to attract interest from other teams.
Everton are proving plenty of people wrong under Sean Dyche this season and are motoring away from the bottom three after their ten-point deduction.
Speaking on TalkSPORT (19/12 8:54am), Alan Stubbs was raving about the young centre-back. Read more
Nick Kyrgios hammers Boris Becker over time in jail as tennis feud erupts again (DailyStar)
Nick Kyrgios’ bitter feud with disgraced tennis legend Boris Becker has erupted again.
The pair have taken shots at each other since 2020, when Becker called Kyrgios a “rat” over his comments about fellow tennis star Alex Zverev. Kyrgios, 28, then called the German a “doughnut” among other jibes, before his 56-year-old adversary questioned whether he had been telling the truth about the knee injury that ruined his 2023 Australian Open.
But the Australian bad boy hit back again recently by stating Becker and other former tennis greats would not have cut it in the modern game. Kyrgios highlighted the difference in the pace of the game and called any comparisons “absurd”. Read more
Sainz reveals contrast between Silverstone and Singapore F1 wins (F1i)
Carlos Sainz will stand out in 2023 as the only driver to defeat Red Bull in a race this season, but his triumph with Ferrari in Singapore yielded a very different feeling compared to his maiden F1 win with the Scuderia at Silverstone in 2022.
Sainz’s victory at the Marina Bay venue deprived the mighty Red Bull team of a historic clean sweep.
But the lights-to-flag performance was first and foremost a testament to the Spaniard’s driving prowess around the challenging street circuit and to Ferrari’s impeccable execution. Read more
Olympics 2024: Josh Kerr ready to win 1500m gold in Paris (BBC)
World 1500m champion Josh Kerr says he has been preparing for the Paris Games for 14 years and is “ready to be an Olympic champion” next summer.
The Briton won the world title in Budapest this summer after claiming bronze at the delayed Tokyo Olympics.
But the 26-year-old feels no added pressure to deliver Olympic gold. Read more