Gov Adeleke approves N25k wage award for Osun workers, pensioners (Channels)
As part of measures to cushion the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal, the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has approved a sum of N15,000 wage award per worker in the state.
The governor also approved a sum of N10,000 for each pensioner in the state in the same regard.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in a circular by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Human Resources and Capacity Building, Olugbenga Fadele, saying that the wage award would run for six months, beginning in December. Read more
Lagos enlists Arewa’s help to end street begging (Punch)
The Lagos State Government and the Arewa community in the state are partnering to end the menace of street begging in the state.
This was as the state’s Ministry of Youth and Social Development held a one-day stakeholders’ meeting with representatives of the Arewa community on Tuesday in Alausa in a bid to find an enduring solution to the menace.
A statement on Wednesday said the Lagos State Government and the Arewa community reached a consensus at the meeting that street begging must not be allowed anywhere in the state. Read more
Idiroko Customs burst ammunition concealed in local rice (Vanguard)
The Nigeria Customs Service Ogun 1 Area Command has intercepted 975 rounds of live ammunition concealed inside five bags of locally produced rice at Imeko Afon in Ogun State.
Briefing newsmen in Idiroko, the Acting Customs Area Controller, Deputy Comptroller Ahmadu Shuaibu said the interception was made possible through the ingenuity of officers and men of the command.
He said the command will spare no effort in tracking down the perpetrators with the aim of bringing them to justice. Read more
Rotary, Lagos promote basic education (Nation)
Six clubs in Rotary International District 9110, in conjunction with the Lagos State Government, have stressed the need to hone the skills of pupils through quiz competitions.
They are the Rotary Clubs of Gbagada, Gbagada South, Ikorodu Metropolitan, Maryland, Ikeja, Onigbongbo and Akute. They sponsored the grand finale of the competition with the state government at the Rotary Centre, Ikeja.
Ten schools in the state Education District Two made it to the finals of the competition, which started at the zones in September. They were Government Senior Model College, Evans Adelaja Girls Secondary School, Oworonsoki, Ajegunle Senior High School, Ogudu Senior High School, Ipakodo Senior High School, Lanre Awolokun High School, Gbagada, Community Senior High School, Wasinmi, Jagunola Girls Senior High School, Kosofe Senior College and Ojota Senior High School. Read more
Robbers kill Ogun governor’s accounting officer, cart away undisclosed sum (Leadership)
Gunmen suspected to be armed robbers on Wednesday afternoon shot dead the Director of Finance and Account attached to the Ogun State Governor’s office, Mr.Taiwo Oyekanmi.
Oyekanmi was gunned down at the height of the fly-over bridge by the NNPC Junction along the IBB Boulevard in the Oke – Mosan axis of Abeokuta metropolis while returning from the bank, where he had gone to make withdrawals in preparation for the Thursday’s budget presentation by the state governor, Abiodun.
Eyewitness told LEADERSHIP that Oyekanmi was rushed to the state hospital in Ijaiye, Abeokuta where he was pronounced dead. Read more
Appeal Court sacks last Plateau PDP Assembly lawmaker (DailyTrust)
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Wednesday sacked Cornelius Doeyok, representing Quaan Pan South constituency in the Plateau state assembly on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Doeyok, the only remaining PDP member in the assembly, was sacked on the ground that his party lacked the structure to sponsor any candidate in an election just as the other 15 lawmakers of the party that have now lost their seats to their opponents of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
The court in a unanimous decision led by Abdu-azeez Wazi, declared Professor Theodore Bala Maiyaki, of APC, as the winner of the Mach 18 election into the seat of the state constituency. Read more
Gov Lawal vows to end banditry in Zamfara, visits guards training camp (Channels)
Zamfara is one of the states in the North-West affected by the activities of bandits. Other states include Kaduna, Sokoto, Katsina and Kebbi.
The governor made the pledge on Wednesday while visiting the Community Protection Guards (CPG) training camp, an initiative of his administration to combat banditry in the state.
He also expressed confidence in the fight against insecurity, emphasising the need for collective responsibility to ensure peace. Read more
Dakota Johnson reveals moment Chris Martin lifted her spirits as she battled depression (Mirror)
Actress Dakota Johnson recently gave a rare inside look into her sweet relationship with partner Chris Martin and the heartwarming way he lifts her spirits when struggling with depression.
Chris and Dakota continue to raise the bar for all Hollywood couples as they share a glimpse inside their supportive relationship with the world. The Fifty Shades of Grey actress, who is known for keeping her love life very private, recently opened up about her six-year relationship with the Coldplay singer during a guest appearance at the Hope for Depression Research Foundation’s (HDRF) 17th annual luncheon. Read more
Asylum seekers: Home Office says more than 17,000 are missing (AfricaNews)
Over 17,000 asylum seekers, whose claims have been discontinued, are currently unaccounted for, according to the UK Home Office. The admission came during discussions in Parliament regarding Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s ambitious goal to eliminate the asylum backlog by year-end.
The Home Office clarified that the withdrawal of asylum applications is a result of claimants failing to respond to interview requests or questionnaires. Senior officials, appearing before the home affairs select committee, conceded uncertainty about the whereabouts of these individuals, with a senior civil servant stating, “I don’t think we know where all these people are.”
When questioned about the possibility of some returning to their home countries, the Home Office official, Simon Ridley, admitted to lacking information on such cases. Notably, 17,316 applications have been withdrawn since December last year due to claimants’ non-responsiveness. Read more
Sebastian Stan to star in new film ‘‘The Apprentice’’ reportedly about Donald Trump (CNN)
Sebastian Stan is… hired.
Stan is set to star in an upcoming film titled “The Apprentice,” alongside Maria Bakalova and Jeremy Strong, CNN confirmed Wednesday via representatives for the film.
The Pam & Tommy star is reportedly set to play a young Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” according to Variety and IMDb. Variety also reports that Bakalova will appear as the late Ivana Trump, a business woman who partnered with then-husband Donald Trump on some of his most prominent real estate projects. The two divorced in 1992, and Ivana Trump died last year. Read more
Scott Kempner, ‘‘The Dictators’’ guitarist and songwriter, dies at 69 (Variety)
Scott “Top Ten” Kempner (pictured at left), founding member of bands The Dictators and The Del Lords, guitarist and songwriter, died Wednesday of complications from early onset dementia. He was 69.
Kempner, who died at a nursing home in Connecticut, was born in the Bronx, N.Y. In college, he began playing music with Andy Shernoff and Ross “The Boss” Friedman, and they formed the rock band The Dictators in 1974. Their debut album, “The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!,” is now considered by many to be the precursor to the punk rock genre, with Kempner an early punk pioneer.
The Dictators recorded three albums together before splitting up (aside from the occasional reunion). They officially re-formed in 2019 until Kempner’s dementia diagnosis. Read more
Vanilla Ice salutes ‘‘total legend’’ MC Hammer as he snuffs out ‘‘broke’’ perception (HipHopDX)
Vanilla Ice had nothing but great things to say about MC Hammer as he discussed his own personal journey with money.
There are longstanding references to Hammer’s previous financial troubles, with Jay-Z even once infamously rapping on Kanye West‘s “So Appalled” in 2010: “And Hammer went broke so you know I’m more focused/ I lost 30 mil so I spent another 30/ ‘Cause unlike Hammer, 30 million can’t hurt me.”
While it was later proved that Hammer in fact made good decisions and is nowhere near broke, it still became a point of reference for other former stars’ financial status from the era. In an interview with Vlad TV published on Wednesday (November 29), Ice explained how he’s managed to keep making money as he noted the Hammer comparisons he’s yielded. Read more
Argentina’s president-elect announces choice for economy minister (IrishExaminer)
Argentina’s president-elect Javier Milei has announced Luis Caputo, a former finance minister and Central Bank chief known as an expert in markets, to lead the economy ministry when the right-wing leader takes office on December 10.
The choice confirms that Mr Milei, a libertarian outsider, is building a more orthodox team to manage Argentina’s economy, which is suffering from red-hot inflation running at an annual rate of 143%.
“Yes, the economy minister is Luis Caputo,” Mr Milei said in a radio interview shortly after landing from a two-day trip to the United States, where he met with officials from the Biden administration. Read more
Israeli military says 10 Israelis, 4 Thai nationals, have been released by Hamas (PBS)
Hamas released 16 hostages late Wednesday in the last swap for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel under the current Gaza truce, as international mediators raced to seal another extension to allow further exchanges and prolong the halt of Israel’s air and ground offensive.
The Israeli military said a group of 10 Israeli women and children and four Thai nationals had been freed by Hamas and exited Gaza. Earlier, two Russian-Israeli women were freed by Hamas in a separate release. Israel was set to free 30 Palestinian prisoners in return. Read more
Peseiro to NFF: Pay me, don’t teach me my job (Punch)
Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, told the Nigeria Football Federation Technical Committee not to teach him his job but rather pay him and his team their outstanding allowances, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Peseiro allegedly said this while reacting to the NFF Technical Committee Chairman, Shariff Ahlan’s comment in the wake of his future as Eagles coach, stating that the Eagles job is bigger than the Portuguese.
Ahlan told Peseiro in a meeting in Lisbon, Portugal in October that the Eagles had been struggling due to his poor technical abilities. Read more
Man Utd on brink of Champions League exit after 3-3 draw at Galatasaray (SuperSport)
Manchester United are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League after twice blowing a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at Galatasaray on Wednesday.
A point leaves the Red Devils still bottom of Group A and needing to beat Bayern Munich in their final match at Old Trafford to have any chance of qualifying.
Even victory over the German champions will not be enough if Galatasaray beat FC Copenhagen in two weeks’ time or the Danish champions take at least four points from their final two matches. Read more
Mikel Arteta delighted with Arsenal’s ‘‘beautiful’’ 6-0 CL win amid their ‘‘crazy’’ fixture schedule (Football365)
Head coach Mikel Arteta was delighted after Arsenal booked their place in the Champions League knockout stages in a “beautiful way”.
After PSV Eindhoven battled back from behind to beat Sevilla 3-2 in the early kick-off on Wednesday, Arsenal only needed a draw against RC Lens to qualify for the knockout stages.
After losing 2-1 to the Ligue Un side last month, the Gunners smashed six goals past their opponents in the reverse fixture at the Emirates to qualify for the last-16 and win Group B with a game to spare. Read more
MLS suspends Cincinnati’s Miazga 3 games for “misconduct’’ (ESPN)
The MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended FC Cincinnati defender Matt Miazga for three matches and issued an undisclosed fine for “misconduct” following his team’s playoff win over the New York Red Bulls on Nov. 4.
A source with knowledge of the league’s investigation into the incident said that Miazga was suspended for gaining unauthorized access to an area reserved for match referees.
When reached by ESPN by telephone, Peter Manikowski — president of the Professional Soccer Referees Association, the union that represents MLS referees — referenced the referees’ match report from that night, which said that about an hour after the match Miazga entered the referees’ locker room uninvited, used foul language and acted in an aggressive manner. Read more
Warriors’ Gary Payton to miss extended time due to torn calf muscle (NBC)
The Golden State Warriors lost more than a game and a chance at the In Season Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Gary Payton II, who limped off the court and to the locker room during the third quarter in Sacramento, will be out for an extended period of time with a torn right calf, a story first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Payton has impacted the defensive end for the Warriors this season, their defense has been 8.9 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the court. He is averaging 5.9 points a game for the season, playing 17 minutes a night. Read more
Mercedes name 2 Lewis Hamilton concerns as F1 team given extra work for 2024 (Mirror)
Mercedes will address brake reliability concerns on their 2024 car after Lewis Hamilton ran the risk of failing to finish the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It was not a particularly triumphant end to the season for the seven-time world champion. Ninth place marked his worst result of the year, other than his DNF in Qatar and disqualification two weeks after that at the United States Grand Prix.
But those two points were earned by gritting his teeth through two threats that threatened to make his evening even worse. Mercedes head of race strategy Rosie Wait confirmed as much in a debrief video released by the team. Read more
