Lagos concert: Attendees lament Burna Boy’s late entry (Punch)
Fans of music star, Burna Boy, lamented on the singer’s late entry to his Lagos concert on Sunday night.
Angry attendees took to Twitter to call out the singer for starting his performance late at the event themed ‘Love Damini Concert’.
According to attendees, the show started at 9pm and Burna Boy didn’t show up on stage till about 3am.
Entertainment commentator, Joey Akan, tweeted, “You queue for six hours for fuel;still stand six hours for Burna Boy. Life tough!”
Sharing a video from the event, @ade_adeayo tweeted, “The situation on ground. Almost 2am and Burna Boy’s concert is basically yet to start. Read more
How peacemaker ended with amputated arm in Kano (DailyTrust)
Salisu Hussaini had no idea that being a peacemaker and separating a fight between two of his neighbours in Kano would alter the course of his life in a way he never imagined.
The incident which happened in Fagge area of the Kano metropolis led Hussaini, a 21-year-old tailor, to lose his arm after he was stabbed by a notorious criminal, Abubakar Ayuba, also known as Namama in the area.
City & Crime gathered that Namama and one Abdullahi Muhammad, known as Alhaji Ozil, were engaged in a fight on March 30, which was degenerating into a brutal one when Hussaini decided to intervene and broker peace but ended up being stabbed with a knife which led to an infection.
Narrating the incident on his sickbed where his right arm was amputated, Hussaini called on authorities to fight for his right as he could not imagine life without an arm. Read more
Nigeria regrets travel restrictions to curb Omicron variant, says it disrupted business (Guardian)
The Nigerian government said the travel restrictions enforced to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had no health benefit.
The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Ifedayo Adetifa stated that the restrictions impacted negatively on individuals and businesses.
“Recent experience in Nigeria with the arrival of omicron showed travel restrictions did not have any public health benefits but were disruptive for persons and businesses. COVID-19 has and continues to follow a different course (epidemiology in Nigeria and most of Africa),” Adetifa tweeted.
Following a meeting of the NCDC COVID-19 National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) held on Saturday, Adetifa said the EOC would continue to review the ongoing COVID-19 situation in the coming week. Read more
Human rights abuses won’t be tolerated, LASG warns (Punch)
The Lagos State Government on Monday warned that human rights abuses will not be tolerated in the state, adding that the present administration will bring the full weight of the law on any perpetrator.
According to a statement posted on the government’s Facebook page on Monday morning, the Director, Citizens Rights Directorate, Ministry of Justice, Ms. Adetutu Oshinusi, made this known at an event organised by the directorate, which was held at Ketu Market Lagos.
Oshinusi said that the state government would safeguard the rights of its citizens and prosecute human right offenders to the full extent of the law.
She added that the directorate could and would attend to all forms of abuses, saying it is capable of handling all abuse cases with the aim of curbing them. Read more
Traders lament poor Christmas’ sales (Independent)
Contrary to the notion that traders usually record high sales of products ahead of Christmas and the New Year, thus compelling most traders to stock their shops with items that are considered to be relevant for the celebration of the once-in-a-year Christian festivity, the sales recorded by most traders engaged by Daily Independent in staggered parleys few days to 2022 Christmas proved otherwise as not a few business owners and traders in Lagos complained of poor sales.
Many traders in markets across Ogba in Ikeja, Ojota, Lagos Island, and other parts of Lagos and its suburbs have been complaining of poor sales.
It would be recalled that as Nigerians prepared for the end-of-year celebrations, almost everybody complained about a lack of money to buy things, particularly Christmas items for their family members. Read more
Police begin investigation into couple’s death in Ogun (Nation)
The police command in Ogun has begun investigating the death of a couple, Mr Kehinde and Mrs Bukola Fatinoye, at Ibara GRA in Abẹokuta, on New Year’s Day.
SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the state Police Public Relations Officer, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abeokuta.
NAN reports that Kehinde and Bukola were burnt to death when suspected arsonists set their house ablaze on Jan. 1.
One of their children and their housekeeper were also alleged to have been kidnapped by those behind the suspected arson. Read more
It’s an insult to say I am marginalising any ethnic group ― Zulum (Tribune)
Governor Babagana Zulum has stated that it is an insult to say his administration is marginalizing minority tribes especially Bura in the southern part of Borno State.
Zulum stated this at Marama town in Hawul Local Government Area on Monday, while reacting to an allegation by Prof. Hassan BDliya who accused the state government of marginalizing Bura communities in the southern part of the state.
According to him, “for somebody like me, I think it is an insult to me for somebody to talk about marginalization, looking at the numbers of mega projects that we have initiated to this very important Local Government Area.
Zulum noted that, even though he is Kanuri by tribe, he is fair to all minority tribes and he would not marginalize any section of the state. Read more
JAMB directs candidates with biometric issues to write UTME in Abuja (Guardian)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has directed candidates with biometric challenges during registration for the 2023 UTME to proceed to its headquarters in Abuja.
JAMB gave the directive in the latest edition of its bulletin released on Monday.
The examination body said candidates who encounter biometric troubles during their registration process will complete the process at its headquarters in Abuja where they will also write their exam.
JAMB insisted on its “no biometrics, no exam” stance for all candidates taking the 2023 UTME. Read more
Will.i.am responds to critics after Black Eyed Peas wear rainbow armbands during Polish gig (MusicNews)
Will.i.am responded to an anti-LGBTQ+ activist on Twitter after he criticised the Black Eyed Peas for wearing rainbow armbands during a performance in Poland over the weekend.
The Where Is The Love? group, also featuring J. Rey Soul, Apl.de.ap and Taboo, wore the armbands to show support for the LGBTQ+ community during their appearance on the Polish public broadcaster TVP’s New Year’s Eve show over the weekend.
The act of solidarity outraged Polish anti-LGBTQ+ activist Marcin Warchol, a member of Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS), who tweeted, “LGBT promotion in TVP2. DISGRACE! It’s not a New Year’s Eve of Dreams but a New Year’s Eve of Deviance.”
The Voice U.K. judge quoted the tweet and wrote, “WHEREStheLOVE??? Unity, tolerance, understanding, oneness, respect, diversity & inclusion…THATS LOVE…people are people & we should all practice to honor & love all the different types of people on earth & learn from them…I LOVE YOU your country…(sic).” Read more
Paramount Network announces when Yellowstone season 5 will return following midseason finale (People)
Fans will have some time to wait for the conclusion of Yellowstone season 5.
During the midseason finale on Sunday, Paramount Network revealed that the hit series is slated to return with new episodes in summer 2023.
To hold fans over until then, the network shared a short teaser trailer, which includes shots of Kevin Costner in character as the Dutton family patriarch, John Dutton.
Yellowstone, which also stars Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley and Cole Hauser, first premiered in June 2018 and has received widespread critical acclaim since, including nominations at the Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes. Read more
Avatar: The Way Of Water passes $400m mark at domestic box office, 4-day now at $82m+ (Deadline)
While New Year’s Eve is typically a better moviegoing day than Christmas Eve, business was still down yesterday at -27% from Friday for all movies. That’s a similar decline to last weekend’s Friday-to-Christmas Eve (-26%). However, New Year’s Eve made more than Christmas Eve, $27.9M to $22.2M. Moviegoing is expected to be +19% on New Year’s Day today, and there will be an extra cushion in Monday, Jan. 2, as many typically have off in honor of the Sunday holiday. Per our sources, weather wasn’t an issue this weekend.
Disney/20th/Lightstorm’s Avatar: The Way of Water did $18M yesterday, taking its running total to $400M. Revised 3-day is $63.4M (+2% from last weekend, great), and 4-day is $82.4M, for a new domestic cume by EOD Monday of $440.5M. If those Disney estimates stick, Avatar 2 will be $400K shy of Rogue One‘s running total through its first 18 days. It took Rogue One another two weeks before it crossed the half billion mark stateside, the pic’s final total being $532.1M.
Through the end of Sunday, Disney is reporting a $1.37 billion running global total for Avatar 2. Also by Monday, the 3D spectacle will pass the running domestic box office of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($439.6M). By hitting $400M yesterday, Avatar 2 officially becomes the third Disney title to cross that threshold after Black Panther 2 and Doctor Strange 2 for 2022. Read more
Elton John wishes fans a Happy New Year from Hayman Island ahead of his final tour of Australia (DailyMail)
Sir Elton John has shared a heartfelt video wishing his fans a Happy New Year from Hayman Island, off the coast of Queensland.
The legendary singer, 75, also thanked his fans for an ‘amazing’ 2022 ahead of his upcoming Australian concerts dates.
‘I wanted to take this chance early into 2023 to thank you for 2022. You’ve been amazing, I will be seeing you in Newcastle in Australia on the 8th of January,’ he said in an Instagram Story on Monday.
‘Let’s hope 2023 is going to be just as good’ he added, before saying he was excited about completing his Farewell Yellow Brick Road World Tour in Stockholm in July. Read more
France Box Office sees strong recovery in 2022 with admissions up 59% over previous year (Deadline)
French cinemas amassed nearly 152 million admissions in 2022, new data from the National Cinema Center (CNC) shows. That’s an estimated 26.9% off the pre-pandemic three-year average (2017-2019), and an estimated 59.2% hike in 2021 which endured 138 days of movie theater closures. France reports its box office in terms of admissions, however, the total for the year is expected to exceed $1 billion.
While the market has recovered better than many others, France suffered in the early part of the year with proof of vaccination required and concessions sales kiboshed for several weeks. All sanitary restrictions were lifted on March 14.
Things got progressively better at turnstiles from March through July, aided by the success of Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion and Minions: The Rise of Gru. The annual reduced price ticket scheme, the Fête du Cinéma, saw 3.2 million admissions in July, to top pre-pandemic levels. Read more
Failure to Change: 2 reports examine Hollywood’s lack of progress improving diversity on movie sets (Variety)
Hollywood employed fewer female filmmakers and directors from underrepresented communities to make its biggest films in 2022, according to a new study by USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative.
The USC Annenberg report found that of the 111 directors hired to make the 100 top-grossing movies last year, just 9% were women. That was down from 12.7% in 2021. At the same time, the number of Black, Asian, Hispanic/Latino and multi-racial and multi-ethnic moviemakers also fell from 27.3% in 2021 to 20.7% in 2022. Women of color accounted for a mere 2.7% of directors of the top 100 movies last year. The declines come as the movie business, and particularly the major studios that call the shots, have been under pressure to provide more opportunities to female artists and people of color in the wake of social justice and advocacy movements such as #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite.
Female employment in the film business was also the focus of a second study, dubbed “Celluloid Ceiling,” which was conducted by Dr. Martha Lauzen, founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. That report did not simply focus on directors, but widened its lens to include other key roles such as cinematographers, editors and producers. Read more
Party promoter arrested after 10 die in Uganda NYE stampede, as police probe incident (AlArabiya)
Ugandan police said on Monday they had arrested a concert promoter after a stampede at a New Year’s Eve party in the capital Kampala that left 10 people dead, including children.
The party-goers were killed at Freedom City mall in Kampala as revellers thronged a single exit to watch a midnight fireworks show.
Police spokesman Fred Enanga said four other exits had been ordered shut by the promoters and investigators were looking at whether “negligence” was to blame for the loss of life.
“We have so far arrested the promoter of that New Year concert. We are also actively searching for other organizers and promoters,” Enanga told reporters on Monday. Read more
Flying Eagles hit overseas camp January ending (Sun)
The Flying Eagles will train overseas from the end of January ahead of the 2023 U20 AFCON, according to coach Ladan Bosso.
The NFF are considering setting up a training camp for the Flying Eagles in either Spain or Morocco.
“We will leave Nigeria by the end of January for our training camp,” disclosed Bosso.
The overseas camp is crucial because the team will hope to acclimatise outside the country as it will be freezing cold in Egypt during the U20 AFCON. Read more
Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla returns to bench after eye injury (ESPN)
Boston Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla returned to the bench Sunday after missing two games with an eye injury sustained in a pickup game.
Mazzulla said he is part of regular, late-afternoon games at Boston’s TD Garden and got hit in the face Tuesday before the Celtics faced the Houston Rockets. He met the media a short time later with his eyes red and irritated, but ended up not coaching Boston’s victory against the Rockets.
The 34-year-old was diagnosed with corneal abrasions in both eyes. Assistant coach Damon Stoudamire replaced him and went 2-0.
“It just didn’t get much better. I think in a situation like that I thought it was a good opportunity to trust and empower the staff and the guys,” Mazzulla said before the Celtics began a four-game trip against the West-leading Denver Nuggets. “I didn’t feel like I was at my best and I didn’t want to be a distraction.” Read more
Brazil bids farewell to Pele with 24-hour wake (DW)
The coffin of the three-time World Cup winner has been placed in the center circle of the Santos stadium. Thousands of fans are expected to walk past and show their respect.
Even as early as late on Monday night, fans began to queue to see Pele’s coffin inside the Santos stadium.
Outside the Vila Belmiro stadium, home of Santos football club where Pele played most of his career, Pele jerseys are on sale.
At the club where Pele played over 600 games and scored more than 600 goals stands a statue of Pele’s famous Santos jersey. The Brazilian flag flew at half-staff. Read more
Ten Hag confident Shaw can thrive as Man Utd centre-back (France24)
Erik ten Hag is confident Luke Shaw can thrive at centre-back if the Manchester United left-back is asked to play out of position again.
Shaw helped United to wins against Nottingham Forest and Wolves over the festive period after Ten Hag opted to deploy the England international in the centre of his defence.
The 27-year-old could again start alongside Raphael Varane at centre-back when United face Bournemouth at Old Trafford in their first match of 2023 on Tuesday.
Argentina World Cup winner Lisandro Martinez has resumed training and may be available but if the centre-back needs more time to rest, Ten Hag has no hesitation about calling on Shaw again. Read more
Wimbledon icon Martina Navratilova diagnosed with throat and breast cancer (Sun)
Tennis icon Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with two forms of cancer.
The 66-year-old confirmed she discovered an enlarged lymph node in her neck back in November.
And tests subsequently led to a suspicious form being found in her breast.
It comes 13 years after the Czech-American underwent radiation therapy for breast cancer and was given the all-clear. Read more
Barry Lane, European golf veteran, dead at 62 after short illness (NYPost)
Former Ryder Cup player and five-times European Tour winner Barry Lane has died at the age of 62 after a short illness, the DP World Tour said in a statement on Sunday.
Lane made 693 starts on the European Tour, which is now known as the DP World Tour, and is fourth on the Tour’s all-time appearance list.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Barry Lane,” European Tour CEO Keith Pelley said.
“To have seen such a level of success across both the European Tour and the now Legends Tour shows his dedication to the game of golf and he was a much-loved figure on both tours. The renaming of the Legends Tour’s Rookie of the Year trophy in his honor is a fitting tribute, and I’m delighted he had the opportunity to present it in December.” Read more