FG gives N5b to each state as palliatives (DailyTrust)
The federal government has announced a N5billion palliative to each state of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to cushion the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State announced this during an interactive session with State House correspondents in Abuja on Thursday after the statutory meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Vice-President Kashim Shettima on Thursday.
Membership of NEC includes the governors of the 36 states of the federation, Ministers of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Finance, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) among others. Read more
Naira Marley visits NDLEA, urges Nigerian youths to stop doing drugs (Guardian)
Nigerian singer and songwriter, Azeez Adeshina Fashola, known as Naira Marley has joined the campaign against drug abuse in the country.
The spokesperson for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Babafemi said that Naira Marley was well received by the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) when the artiste paid a visit to the National Headquarters of the Agency. Read more
Emefiele charged with fraud, abuse of office, others in Abuja (Nation)
The Federal Government has filed a 20-count charge bordering on procurement fraud, abuse of office and conferring corrupt advantage on a junior colleague against suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele.
The charge was filed at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja where Emefiele’s arraignment was stalled yesterday.
Also yesterday, the Federal High Court in Lagos struck out the illegal firearm possession case against him. Read more
Niger Coup: ECOWAS activates standby forces (Sun)
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff, yesterday, began talks in Accra, Ghana, to address the political situation in the Republic of Niger with a resolve to activate its standby force to intervene militarily should diplomatic efforts fail.
All member states except those under military rule and Cape Verde pledged to participate in the standby force.
Niger junta have defied calls from the United Nations, ECOWAS, and Western powers to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum. Read more
Family faults release of Lagos chief’s suspected killer (Punch)
Family members of the Baale of Lotu Town, in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State, Fatai Jubril, who was alleged to have been shot dead over a land dispute in the area on July 15, 2023, have raised concerns over the release of the prime suspect by the Zone 2 Police Command.
The prime suspect was said to have shot the deceased Lagos chief to death in the presence of his teenage daughter and wife.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident in an interview with PUNCH Metro, adding that the police had launched a manhunt for the suspected killers. Read more
Land grabbing: Our lives are in danger, land owners in Badagry cry out (Vanguard)
Landowners in Badagry area of Lagos State are living in fear, following incessant attacks and threats by a suspected land grabbers and their thugs.
The threats are such that the landowners alleged police connivance, noting that the leader of the deadly gang has continued to make their lives very difficult.
One of the victims, Mr. Dosu Isaac Dosu of Agekho, Tohun Badagry, who spoke on behalf of his family lamented that they saw hell in the hands of the notorious land grabbers and their thugs after they attacked him in his farm land, claiming that their ancestral land, which they sold two years ago, was sold to him by one non-existent person. Read more
NSCDC arrests 4 suspects for rail track vandalism in Nasarawa (Tribune)
The operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have intercepted an articulated DAF truck conveying large quantities of vandalized rail track iron concealed in iron scraps and arrested four suspects.
National Public Relations Officer of the Corps, Mr Babawale Afolabi who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said the suspects were arrested by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CG’s SIS) of the NSCDC.
According to him, the four suspects have been taken into custody for further investigations and action, adding that the truck and the four suspects were intercepted along Lafia-Akwanga–Abuja expressway, Sabon Pagi, Lafia Nasarawa State on Monday. Read more
2023 Christian Pilgrimage: NCPC boss brainstorms with state pilgrimage leaders (Independent)
Towards making preparation for the 2023 General Pilgrimage exercise, the Executive Secretary Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission, NCPC Rev. Dr. Yakubu Pam has carried out a brainstorming meeting with the state Pilgrimage Leaders and Managers of the various States Christian Pilgrim’s Welfare Boards on how to make the exercise hitch-free.
The meeting was held at the Conference hall of the Corporate Headquarters of NCPC in Abuja. Rev Pam took his exhortation from the book of Psalms, chapter 66 verses 12, where the Lord allowed his people to go through all sorts of tribulations but at the end he was able to deliver them from their travails.
The NCPC boss charged the State Pilgrimage Leaders and Managers to be strong and be ready to face challenges because at the end of the day, they would be able to weather the storms. According to him, “for us to reach where we are as pilgrimage leaders and managers it is not easy.” Read more
Selena Gomez to release new single (MusicNews)
Selena Gomez has announced she will be releasing a “fun little song” ahead of her album release.
The 31-year-old hitmaker took to Instagram on Thursday to announce that she will be dropping new music later this month.
“Ya’ll have been asking for new music for a while,” the Calm Down singer teased on Instagram alongside a photo of the Single Soon cover, featuring Selena in a chic fur jacket, as well as several other snaps.
“Since I’m not quite done with SG3, I wanted to put out a fun little song I wrote a while back that’s perfect for the end of summer. SINGLE SOON. August 25th. Presave it now,” the Who Says hitmaker added. Read more
Miley Cyrus announces new single ‘‘Used to Be Young’’ (Billboard)
As “Flowers” continues to hang around the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 half a year after its initial release, Miley Cyrus is readying a brand new single to continue her “endless summer vacation.” On Thursday (Aug. 17), Cyrus announced that her latest single, “Used to Be Young,” is set for an Aug. 25 release.
The “Wrecking Ball” singer shared the news via Instagram, where she also revealed some more exciting plans with her 213 million followers. “In celebration of my new single release Endless Summer Vacation (backyard sessions) continues. Aug 24 @ 10pm EDT on ABC,” she wrote in a caption for a mysterious promotional clip. “This time with a retrospective interview sharing stories about the first 30 years of my life in honor of [“Used To Be Young”]. This song is dedicated to my loyal fans. I love YOU for loving every version of ME.” Read more
Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Tiffany Chen and more gather to celebrate Robert De Niro’s 80th birthday (People)
Robert De Niro is celebrating another year of life and some of the biggest names in Hollywood came out for the milestone!
On Thursday, the Casino actor turned 80 and his family and close friends descended upon New York to enjoy a special dinner in his honor. De Niro’s girlfriend Tiffany Chen also supported her beau on his big day.
Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell made De Niro’s dinner a date night as they were seen heading into the restaurant. Famed film director Francis Ford Coppola was also at the NYC hotspot to wish The Godfather alum a happy birthday. Read more
WGA and AMPTP meet again; CEOs to talk Friday about path to ending strike (Variety)
The Writers Guild of America met again with representatives of the major studios on Thursday, as negotiators continued to search for a path toward resolving the 108-day writers strike.
The CEOs of the major studios — including Ted Sarandos of Netflix and David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery — are also expected to hold a joint call on Friday to discuss the next move in the talks. Donna Langley of NBCUniversal and Dana Walden and Alan Bergman of Disney are also expected to participate.
A resolution has remained elusive, after the WGA delivered its response to the latest proposal from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Tuesday. The two sides remain far apart on several items, including a staffing minimum in TV and a viewership-based streaming residual. Read more
129 Muslims arrested in Pakistan following mob attacks on churches, homes of minority Christians (Fox)
Police in eastern Pakistan arrested 129 Muslims overnight after a Muslim mob angered over an alleged desecration of the Quran attacked churches and homes of minority Christians, prompting authorities to summon soldiers to restore order, officials said Thursday.
The Christians living in the city of Jaranwala in the Faisalabad district quickly moved to safer places as the mob rampaged Wednesday, and there were no casualties from what was one of the country’s most destructive attacks against Christians.
They slowly returned home to see the destruction Thursday. At least one church was burned, four were damaged and two dozen homes were torched or badly damaged. Read more
Trump calls for election interference trial to start in 2026, after next polls (National)
Lawyers for Donald Trump on Thursday requested an April 2026 trial date for the federal charges that he conspired to overturn the 2020 election – long after next year’s presidential vote.
Lead prosecutor Jack Smith is pushing for a January 2 start for the case, one of four criminal prosecutions Mr Trump is facing in the middle of his White House re-election campaign.
“The public interest lies in justice and fair trial, not a rush to judgment,” the former president’s lawyers said in their filing. Read more
Music mogul Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records, dies at 88 (Guardian)
Jerry Moss, a music industry mogul who co-founded A&M Records with Herb Alpert and rose from a Los Angeles garage to the heights of success with hits by Alpert, the Police, the Carpenters and hundreds of other performers, has died at 88.
Moss, inducted with Alpert into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, died on Wednesday at his home in Bel Air, California, according to a statement released by his family. He died of natural causes, his widow, Tina, told Associated Press.
“They truly don’t make them like him any more and we will miss conversations with him about everything under the sun,” said the statement. “The twinkle in his eyes as he approached every moment ready for the next adventure.” Read more
Tobi Amusan cleared of doping allegations, to compete in Budapest (Leadership)
World Athletics (WA) has cleared Nigerian super star athlete, Tobi Amusan, to compete at the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary, after she was found not guilty of doping offenses.
The 2023 World Athletics Championships will be held from August 19 to 27, 2023.
In a message posted on X platform (formerly Twitter), the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of WA said the reigning 100m hurdle world champion and record holder Amusan did not commit an anti-doping rule violation. Read more
Inadequate funding making KFA lose money to agents — Bako (DailyTrust)
Over 80 per cent of the transfer fee paid for players trained and groomed by Kwara Football Academy (KFA) has continued to end up in the hands of football scouts and agents.
The Director of KFA and Kwara Sports Commission (KSC), Alhaji Ibrahim Bako, disclosed this in Ilọrin during ‘Sports Hard Talk, a maiden news platform created by Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Kwara State chapter.
He attributed the unfortunate situation to inadequate funding. Read more
Messi refound “happiness” since joining Inter Miami after leaving PSG (France24)
Lionel Messi said Thursday he has refound happiness since joining Inter Miami, describing his move to Major League Soccer as the “opposite” of his transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi, who has scored nine goals in six appearances since joining Miami, joined the MLS club after two seasons in France with PSG.
Speaking to local media for the first time since arriving in Miami, a smiling and relaxed Messi talked positively of his life in South Florida and contrasted it with his time in the French capital. Read more
Real Madrid fans furious after UEFA snub (FootballEspana)
Real Madrid fans, and likely those within the club, have been left perplexed after Vinicius Junior was once again left out of the top 10 for an individual award.
UEFA announced their shortlist for the Men’s Player of the Year on Thursday, with Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne and Lionel Messi the top three. The winner will be announced at the Champions League draw on the 31st of August.
The shortlist included in order from there Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri, Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Declan Rice, Alexis Mac Allister and Jesus Navas. Notably four of the top five came from Champions League winners Manchester City. Read more
Novak Djokovic “glad to be back” in US after forced absence (National)
Novak Djokovic had a low-key return to competition in the US following a two-year absence, defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Cincinnati Open after the Spaniard retired early in the second set with a lower back injury.
Serbian great Djokovic won the first set 6-4, then two points into the second set, Davidovich Fokina hunched over in pain following his return and ended the match after 46 minutes.
“Kind of a mixed emotions tonight,” Djokovic said. “Really like Alejandro. Get along really well off the court. We train with each other while in Spain. He told me he has a lower back issue that appeared yesterday. It’s unfortunate.” Read more
Hulkenberg puts positive spin on unenviable F1 record (F1i)
Nico Hulkenberg believes that holding the record in F1 for the most race starts without achieving a podium is actually a testament to his longevity in the sport and to his perseverance.
Hulkenberg has started a record 193 Grands Prix without ever finishing in the top three, a number that far outstrips the second driver in F1 history with the most race starts under his belt and no podium to show for his efforts, Adrian Sutil with 128 races.
Hulkenberg has come close at times but has never finished higher than fourth in his career among motorsport’s elite. Read more