I was married to 8 terrorists, says pregnant Chibok Girl with 2 kids (DailyTrust)
Ihyi Abdul, the most recently released victim of the April 2014 abduction in Chibok, Borno State, says she was married to eight men while in Boko Haram captivity.
Daily Trust had reported how the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, handed over the rescued Chibok girl and 332 other individuals to the Borno State government for rehabilitation.
The 332 individuals, including 110 women and 220 children, were rescued from the Bama-Pulka axis during a clearance operation in Sambisa Forest. Read more
Hardship: Tinubu’s supporters among anti-govt protest organisers – Atiku (NewTelegraph)
The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has advised the Federal Government against attempt to arrest those behind planned nationwide protest against bad governance in the country, saying even supporters of President Bola Tinubu are among the organisers.
Atiku in a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, said it amounts to chasing shadow trying to arrest those behind the planned #EndBadGovernance protest from August 1.
He also said the right of the citizens to protest is enshrined in the constitution. Read more
Dangote Refinery saga dangerous for Nigeria, says Falana (Channels)
Femi Falana is worried about the negative impacts of the Dangote Refinery spat, saying the saga sends a dangerous signal to investors about Nigeria.
“Well, I’ve enjoyed the inter-class feud or what you might call a dog-eat-dog affair. But it’s at the expense of the country and we cannot continue like this,” Falana said on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“The government cannot go around the world asking for foreign investment only to be accused of destroying local investment. It is very dangerous for the country.” Read more
Task force arrests 40 roadside traders (Punch)
The Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit has arrested 40 persons for allegedly trading on the street at night and causing heavy traffic in Ikeja.
The agency’s spokesperson, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, confirmed the arrests to the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday.
In a statement sent to The PUNCH, Abdulraheem also noted that the suspects had been operating illegal night street trading and restaurants at Alade Avenue, Orishe and Johnson Streets, all off Obafemi Awolowo Way in Ikeja. Read more
Lagos fishing community tasked on solar-powered cold room (Vanguard)
The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, has tasked Sagbokoji fishing community, Lagos on the importance of maintenance and training for ensuring sustainability of solar-powered cold rooms.
The National Coordinator, GEF-SGP UNDP, Mrs. Ibironke Olubamise, gave the advice, yesterday, when the NGO organised a visit of 10 other NGOs from across Nigeria to the community to sensitise residents on the solar-powered cold room donated to them.
According to her, the project mainly was to support women who formerly used charcoal and firewood to preserve their fishing produce in Sagbokoji community, an Island comprising over 30,000 people in Apapa Local Government, opposite Tin-Can Island. Read more
After public backlash, Akpabio apologies to female Kogi Senator over ‘‘nightclub’’ slur (Leadership)
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has issued a public apology to Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, for the comment he made at the Senate plenary last week, suggesting that the latter was speaking “like she was in a nightclub.”
The incident occurred when Akpoti-Uduaghan spoke without being recognised by the Senate President.
Speaking on the floor of the red chamber on Tuesday following a backlash, Akpabio expressed regret for his remark and emphasised his respect for women. “I will not intentionally denigrate any woman and I always pray that God will uplift women,” he stated. Akpabio noted that both his phone and his wife’s phone had been inundated with calls and text messages, many of which were insulting. Read more
Ebonyi boat mishap:1 dead, goods destroyed (Sun)
One person has been confirmed dead in a boat mishap that occurred in a river along Itigidi axis, Cross River State.
Also,goods worth millions of naira were destroyed in the disaster.
Leader of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Hon. Kingsley Ikoro, who confirmed the incident, said a boat capsized following the turbulence that occured along the Itigidi axis of a river which caused the disaster. Read more
Believe in yourselves, be positively focused, First Lady urges youths (Nation)
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has called on youths to be focused positively and set their minds on creative things.
She spoke when she visited the Yunus Emre Institute in Maitama, Abuja, on invitation of First Lady of the Republic of Turkey, Mrs. Emine Erdogan.
According to a statement by her Senior Special Assistant on Media, Busola Kukoyi, Mrs. Tinubu urged young artists to believe in themselves and dream big. Read more
Céline Dion spotted in Paris amid reports she’s performing at Olympics opening ceremony (CBC)
Céline Dion was spotted leaving a hotel in the French capital on Tuesday amid reports that the Canadian pop icon was set to perform at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
The My Heart Will Go On singer was pictured signing autographs and taking selfies with fans outside the Royal Monceau hotel before entering a car.
Entertainment publication TMZ reported that Dion was to perform at the event on Friday, citing unnamed sources. Read more
More than 200 dead in southern Ethiopia landslides (CNN)
The death toll from two landslides in a remote region of southern Ethiopia on Monday has risen to 229, according to local authorities.
The communication affairs department of Gofa Zone said Tuesday that 148 males and 81 females had been killed.
A local official, Habtamu Fetena, had earlier told state-run broadcaster, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) that children were among the dead and the death toll was likely to increase. Read more
Snoop Dogg to carry Olympic flame on part of final journey to opening ceremony (CBS)
The Olympic flame will make the final leg of its long journey on Friday to the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine river in the heart of the City of Light. A star-studded cast of torch bearers has been drafted to usher the torch – including rapper Snoop Dogg.
The 52-year-old American pop culture icon will carry the Olympic flame through the suburb of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, which is home to the Stade de France Olympic stadium and the Olympic Village.
While he may be best known for his music, Snoop is no stranger to the world of sports. He founded the Snoop Youth Football League almost 20 years ago to help give inner city children an opportunity to play the game. Read more
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds share “beautiful country tune” ‘‘Long Dark Night’’ (NME)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have shared ‘‘Long Dark Night’’, the third single from their upcoming album ‘‘Wild God”.
The song is inspired by the poem Dark Night of the Soul by Spanish 16th-century poet, St. John of the Cross, and echoes its themes of crisis, struggle and transcendence.
In the introspective ballad, Cave sings: “To tell a dream, when dreaming is all you ever do /But things were not so good, I can’t make light of it /My poor soul, it was having a dark night of it /It was a long night, a week, maybe a year.” Read more
SpongeBob SquarePants star Tom Kenny reveals his cartoon alter ego is autistic (DailyMail)
SpongeBob SquarePants star Tom Kenny revealed that his cartoon alter ego is autistic in a newly-unearthed video from his May 19th appearance at Motor City Comic Con in Novi, MI
‘SpongeBob’s kind of on the spectrum too as a character,’ the 62-year-old voiceover actor said in the video tweeted by X user @DominoDeerGirl on Tuesday.
‘This last con that I did in McAllen, TX – it was the first time I’d ever been asked this question — a person who was obviously on the spectrum came up to me and said, “I have a question for you, Tom Kenny. Is SpongeBob himself autistic?” [I replied] “Of course!” I said, “You know what? That’s his superpower, the same way that’s your superpower.”’ Read more
India’s $6b streaming sector is having transformative impact on Film, TV, Talent and Gender, says study (Variety)
Indian streaming series such as Netflix’s Heeramandi, Prime Video’s Mirzapur or Disney+ Hotstar’s Bad Cop, could soon be more influential than Bollywood.
India’s massive population and its embrace of multiple forms of video streaming are having far-reaching implications for the country’s content industries, its wider economy and the country’s position on the international stage, says an in-depth new report.
“Beyond Screens – Streaming VoD’s Impact on the Creative Economy,” was published Wednesday. It was commissioned by Prime Video India and conducted by Singapore-based Media Partners Asia. Read more
US Secret Service boss resigns over Trump shooting failures (BBC)
US Secret Service director Kim Cheatle has resigned after security failures surrounding an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“As your director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Ms Cheatle said in a resignation letter to agency staff.
She had faced calls from both Democrats and Republicans to step down after a contentious congressional hearing on Monday about the shooting. Read more
NPFL U-17 Youth League All-stars camp opens in Abuja (Nation)
A two week development camp opened in Abuja for the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Youth League All-stars.
The 30 players who arrived camp on Sunday, July 21 and are staying at the Goodluck Jonathan Athletes Performance Hostel inside the FIFA Goal Project of the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
They are made up of seven players from the NPFL Champions, Rangers International Youth Team, six from the NPFL Runners-up and Remo Stars Youth Team, five from winners of the maiden NPFL U17 Youth League, Rivers United. Read more
“Gibraltor is Spanish” chant has Euro stars in hot water (RNZ)
Uefa has opened “disciplinary proceedings” against Spain captain Alvaro Morata and team-mate Rodri after they chanted “Gibraltar is Spanish” during their Euro 2024 victory celebrations.
The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) made an official complaint about the celebrations to Uefa and European football’s governing body appointed a disciplinary inspector to “evaluate a potential violation of the Uefa disciplinary regulations”.
Morata and Rodri have now been charged with “general principles of conduct, violating the basic rules of decent conduct, using sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature, and bringing the sport of football, and Uefa in particular, into disrepute”. Read more
USWNT star Davidson says Albert’s anti-LGBTQ messages “affected her’’ (DailyMail)
United States women’s national team star Tierna Davidson said teammate Korbin Albert’s anti-LGBTQ messages ‘affected her personally’, while her Paris Olympic cohort has ‘gone through a lot of learning’.
In March, Albert came under criticism after sharing an anti-LGBTQ social-media post to her TikTok.
The 20-year-old had previously shared a Christian sermon to the account, which discussed how being gay and ‘feeling transgender’ is wrong. The posts resurfaced this week, sparking backlash led by US soccer legend Megan Rapinoe. Read more
Tiger Woods photos show gruesome extent of injuries from near-fatal crash for first time (Mirror)
The aftermath of Tiger Woods’ horrifying car crash was starkly evident when the golf legend was seen supporting his teen son at the US Junior Amateur.
Woods was present to cheer on Charlie, who hit a round of 82 at Oakland Hills on Monday, finishing on 12 over par. Though Woods seemed to enjoy the action after announcing a five-month break from the sport, all eyes were on the visible damage to his legs.
Scars were clear, with his right leg seeming to bear the brunt of injury following the nearly fatal crash he experienced in California. In February 2021, Woods suffered multiple open fractures to his tibia and fibula, coupled with nasty injuries to his foot and ankle. Read more
Ireland bow out of European Championships after defeat to Netherlands (RTE)
The Republic of Ireland Women’s Under-19s ended their 2024 UEFA Women’s Under-19 European Championships campaign with a 2-0 loss to Netherlands on Sunday.
Goals from Karlijn Woons and Mirte Van Koppen sent the Dutch through to the semi-finals ahead of Ireland, who can be proud of their performance.
In the afternoon heat in the Futbolo Stadionas Marijampolėje in Lithuania, Ireland showcased a tactical discipline for a third straight game that gave them a chance against one of the favourites to win this tournament. Read more
Jesus Sanchez hits Marlins’ fastest homer, sparks win over Orioles (UPI)
Jesus Sanchez could have blinked on Tuesday and missed watching his 12th homer of the season, which sparked a win over the Baltimore Orioles. His 429-foot blast was the fastest homer hit this year by the Miami Marlins.
Sanchez’s shot soared over the right field fence in the bottom of the second inning of the Marlins’ 6-3 triumph over the best team in the American League in Miami.
The ball traveled 114.7 mph off his bat and flew just 73 feet above the field before curling between the seats and the right field foul pole and landing in a LoanDepot Park concourse. Read more
