Lagos evicts Alaba Rago traders, says market now criminal den (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has given the occupants and traders of Alaba Rago a 14-day ultimatum to vacate the market.
The government gave the eviction notice through a joint team of Rapid Response Squad and Lagos Taskforce.
In a statement on Thursday, the government said the decision was reached after several months of negotiation with representatives of the occupiers of Alaba Rago over the modernisation of the market.
The statement was titled, ‘Alaba Rago: Lagos serves eviction notices’. Read more
Cancel gospel crusade in Abia — IPOB warns Kumuyi (Vanguard)
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has asked the General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, to take note of the ugly security in the South East zone and cancel the crusade he has scheduled to hold in Aba, Abia State.
Pastor Kumuyi is slated to hold a gospel crusade in Aba, from 24th to 29th May, 2022.
IPOB stated that it will not allow anybody to die because of this crusade as there are high chances of criminals operating as unknown gunmen to infiltrate the crusade and blame it on IPOB.
In a statement signed by the Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB urged the cleric to pray for an end to the insecurity in Biafra land and tasked Christians to engage God in fervent prayers to expose all those behind the insecurity in the land. Read more
Child abuse: Jubilation as court releases Lagos teacher, accuser kicks (Punch)
There was jubilation on Thursday at the Ogba Magistrates’ Court, Lagos State, over the release of a schoolteacher, Adewale Bakare, who was accused of child abuse.
The PUNCH gathered that the teacher had been remanded in Kirikiri Prison since May 4 before his bail application was granted.
However, his accuser, Mr Adebisi Arewa, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, faulted Bakare’s release on bail.
Teachers, parents, students and former students stormed the court premises as early as 7.30 am on Thursday, The PUNCH was told. Read more
Many reportedly injured as Police, Okada riders clash in Lagos over ban (Tribune)
Many people have been reportedly injured as commercial motorcyclists on Thursday clashed with the police in the Ojo area of Lagos State.
The commercial motorcyclists were reportedly resisting the enforcement of the ban on their operation by the Lagos State government.
It was gathered that policemen from the Onireke police station, Ojo, impounded some motorcycles early Wednesday and took them to their station.
The motorcyclists reportedly mobilized themselves and stoned the police station in an attempt to release the impounded motorcycles and attacked the police station. Read more
Buhari leaves Abuja for Abu Dhabi, to meet new UAE president (Guardian)
President Muhammadu Buhari will meet the new President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to convey his condolences on the passing of the former president and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, His Highness, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Buhari, who will depart Abuja on Thursday, will also extend his congratulations to the new president, renewing bonds of the longstanding friendship between Nigeria and the UAE.
The President, in an earlier congratulatory message to the new UAE leader, had reaffirmed Nigeria’s cordial relationship with the country, noting that the cooperation between both governments have helped Nigeria in tracking down illegal assets and tracing terrorist funds.
Under the new leadership, President Buhari looks forward to a bigger and stronger partnership for peace, stability and prosperity of both countries. Read more
Proprietor of Ajoke Group of Schools’ daughter holds Nikkah (Sun)
Recently, Tollgate community, in Badagry, Lagos, came alive as several people from far and near converged on the community to felicitate with Alhaji Agbaje Oloruninshola and his wife as their daughter, Lateefat Abisola, married in Islamic matrimony, Nikkah, to Shamsudeen Akinwale.
The ceremony was preceded by Islamic lectures, as clerics mounted the stage to groom the couple, Mr and Mrs Shamsudeen on how they can enjoy a happy married life.
On hand to grace the occasion were Onu Ogala Iba LCDA, HRH Zakariya Attah Odoma, Onu Iba Ojo HRH-D-King Job Adiku and other dignitaries.
In his remarks, Alhaji Oloruninshola thanked the guests for attending the occasion and wished the couples well. Read more
Nigerian Idol 7 winner to get N100m (Nation)
Winner of the seventh edition of the Nigerian Idol will go home with a N100m grand prize.
The battle is between Zadok and Progress.
The finale will take place on Sunday May 22, 2022 with the show’s host, IK Osakioduwa, announcing the winner.
After weeks of watching the top 12 contestants sing their hearts out on the live shows to earn fan votes, the competition is down to two finalists –Progress and Zadok – vying for the title of ‘Nigerian Idol’.
The winner will go home with a cash prize of N30 million, a brand new SUV, a Bigi branded refrigerator and a year’s supply of Bigi drinks. Read more
Stakeholders laud corps member for donating working tools to ex-convicts (Independent)
It was encomium galore for Anuoluwa Elizabeth Balogun, a female corps member serving in Ekiti State as she donated working tools to selected ex-convicts as a way of giving them a new lease of life.
The items were donated to the beneficiaries during a one-day sensitisation programme tagged “Sensitisation of the Public Against Stigmatisation of the Ex-Convicts,” in Ado-Ekiti, on Wednesday organised by the corps member.
The programme, which is Balogun’s Personal Community Development Service (CDS) a project in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was graced by critical stakeholders in the social reform sectors in the State.
Amongst the items donated included, Plumbing tools, Painting tools and Barbing tools. Read more
Police arrest ‘suspected IPOB/ESN’ members in Imo, recover Live Python (Channels)
The police in Imo on Thursday said they have arrested seven members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, Eastern Security Network (ESN).
According to a statement signed by police spokesperson Micheal Abattam, the suspects, in the course of interrogation, confessed to have murdered Inspector Felicia Nwagbara who was the second wife to one of the suspects – Casmire Mgbugba.
They further stated that they are the manufacturers of the locally made guns recovered from them apart from using in perpetrating crimes they sell to robbers and kidnappers.
The police recovered several items from the suspected criminals, including a live python. Read more
Viola Davis reveals a director called her by his maid’s name, speaks out on Hollywood’s low race progress (Variety)
Viola Davis joined Variety and Kering at the Cannes Film Festival for a powerful Women In Motion conversation in which she revealed a director once called her by his maid’s name. The Oscar and Emmy-winning actor was talking about Hollywood’s perception of Black actors and how the amount of roles she can play remains limited due to her skin color, even at her A-list stature.
“I had a director who did that to me. He said, ‘Louise!’ I knew him for 10 years and he called me Louise and I found out that it’s because his maid’s name is Louise,” Davis said. “I was maybe around 30 at the time, so it was a while ago. But what you have to realize is that those micro-aggressions happen all the time.”
Davis won an Emmy for her leading role in “How to Get Away With Murder,” which was one of the only series fronted by a dark-skinned Black woman on television during its six-season run. “How to Get Away With Murder” from Shonda Rhimes broke down barriers for representation on network TV, but Davis admitted the show didn’t necessarily open the door for more TV opportunities for women who look like her.
I know that when I left ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ that I don’t see a lot of dark skin women in lead roles on TV and not even in streaming services,” Davis said, in conversation at Cannes with Variety‘s chief correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister. “And that ties into ideology and ethos and mentality, and that’s speaking in the abstract. Why aren’t you hiring a dark skin woman when she walks in the room and you say she blows you away? Create space and storytelling for her so when she thrives she’s not thriving despite her circumstance but thriving because of her circumstance.”
Davis stressed that opportunities in Hollywood are still limited. Through her production company JuVee Productions, which she founded with her husband Julius Tennon, Davis is trying to expand the scope of the stories being told in Hollywood (see her upcoming warrior epic “The Woman King” as an example). Read more
“Stranger Things”‘ Maya Hawke teams up with mum Uma Thurman for new movie (DigitalSpy)
Maya Hawke will appear opposite real-life mother Uma Thurman in a new movie, it has been confirmed.
The Stranger Things actress is set to star in comedic thriller The Kill Room, joining a star-studded line-up that also includes Thurman’s fellow Pulp Fiction star Samuel L Jackson and Justice League’s Joe Manganiello.
While Hawke’s role is unclear, she has joined the cast alongside Debi Mazar (Goodfellas) and Larry Pine (Succession), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Kill Room centres on a hitman (played by Manganiello), his boss (Jackson) and an art dealer (Thurman) in the aftermath of a money-laundering scheme that goes wrong as the hitman becomes an overnight sensation. Read more
Designer of Marilyn Monroe’s birthday dress says it was a “big mistake” for Kim Kardashian to wear it (TheSource)
Marilyn Monroe’s estate may be happy that Kim Kardashian wore the iconic “Birthday Dress” to the Met Gala, but the designer of the dress, Bob Mackie, is not.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Mackie called wearing the dress “a big mistake.”
“[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her,” Mackie stated. “Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”
Mackie drew the design for Jean Louis in 1962, who would fashion Monroe for the president of John F. Kennedy. Monroe would die three months later. Read more
Imax signs documentary deal with Dolphin Entertainment, starting with ‘Blue Angels’ (THR)
Imax Corp. has signed a multi-year deal with Dolphin Entertainment to co-finance, develop and produce a slate of feature-length documentaries in the wide-screen cinema format.
The agreement will kick off with The Blue Angels, the documentary from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Zipper Bros Films on the legendary U.S. Navy and Marine Corp. aerial demonstration squadron. The project, directed by Paul Crowder, is currently being shot and is expected to hit Imax screens next year. The film centers on the latest class of pilots entering the Blue Angels program, as well as “sharing the emotional stories of the veterans on the team who, this year, will take their final flights. It will mark the first time the iconic blue and yellow F/A-18 Super Hornets will be featured in Imax,” the companies said in a statement.
Imax unveiled the deal in Cannes, where it has just opened a wide-screen theater outside the city in the recently-completed Cineum complex, the first-ever multiplex in the legendary French cinema town. The company kicked off the festival with an official festival screening of Top Gun: Maverick, which was shot on Imax cameras. The Tom Cruise actioner had a spectacular red carpet premiere in Cannes on Wednesday, which even featured a fly-by from a squadron of French fighter jets.
It is still unclear whether Top Gun will get a release in China, the country with the largest number of Imax cinemas, but, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Imax CEO Richard Gelfond was bullish about the company’s prospects, noting that the company’s last quarter “was the most successful in our history” despite the Chinese market being largely shut down due to COVID, as major Hollywood tentpoles including The Batman and Spider-Man: No Way Home increasingly use the giant-screen format to eventize blockbusters and amid a greater move towards “the premium market” in Europe. Read more
Wynonna says The Judds’ tour will ‘go on’ with Faith Hill, more female country superstars (USAToday)
Wynonna Judd is keeping The Judds’ tour going after the sudden passing of her mom Naomi Judd – with a little help from some friends.
Wynonna announced to a live Ryman Auditorium crowd and a worldwide CMT audience Sunday that she was continuing the previously-scheduled 11-date nationwide tour being promoted for her and her now tragically deceased mother.
Naomi Judd, 76, died on April 30, just a day before The Judds — the iconic duo comprised of her and daughter Wynonna — was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…the show must go on, as hard as it may be,” Wynonna stated. Read more
Bob Neuwirth, Folk singer-songwriter who had profound impact on Bob Dylan, dead at 82 (RollingStone)
Bob Neuwirth, the folk singer-songwriter known for his long and influential association with Bob Dylan, has died at the age of 82.
Neuwirth’s wife Paula Baston confirmed her husband’s death to Rolling Stone, adding he died Wednesday, May 18, in Santa Monica.
A veteran of the early Sixties Cambridge, Massachusetts folk scene before aligning with Dylan, Neuwirth had a profound impact on the rock legend beginning in the mid-Sixties.
As a singer who played with Dylan told Rolling Stone in 1972, “Neuwirth was a scene maker, a very strong cat. When he got to New York in 1964, he started hanging around Dylan. And Dylan started to change at that time. Part of it was Neuwirth, he was a real strong influence on Dylan. Neuwirth had a negative attitude, stressing pride and ego, sort of saying, ‘Hold your head high, man, don’t take shit, just take over the scene.’ He was the kind of cat who could influence others, work on their egos and support those egos. His whole negative attitude fell in perfectly with what Dylan was feeling.” Read more
Russia’s laser weapon claim derided as propaganda (BBC)
Russia claims to have used laser weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine, although the US says it has seen no evidence of this and Ukraine has derided it as propaganda. What are laser weapons and how effective could they be in the conflict?
Yury Borisov, the deputy prime minister in charge of military development, told Russian TV that a laser prototype called Zadira was being deployed in Ukraine and had burned up a Ukrainian drone within five seconds at a distance of 5km (three miles).
This was in addition to a previous laser system called Peresvet – named after a medieval Orthodox warrior monk – which could be used to dazzle satellites orbiting high above Earth and prevent them from gathering information.
“If Peresvet blinds, then the new generation of laser weapons lead to the physical destruction of the target – thermal destruction, they burn up,” Mr Borisov said. Read more
I’ll give my best to make Super Eagles great –Finidi (Independent)
Enyimba of Aba manager, Finidi George, has promised to bring his best to the table having been appointed the first assistant coach of the three times African champions, the Super Eagles.
The former Super Eagles winger in a chat with our correspondent said he would give his best in order to make sure the national team regains its glory after failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
“I am happy that I was appointed to be part of the coaches of the Super Eagles; it is one appointment that I relish so much,” the UEFA Champions League winner with Ajax said.
“One thing I know very well is that I will do my best within the confines of my position to help the team make an impact. Read more
Premier League has zero VARs at World Cup as FIFA announces list of officials for Qatar (ESPN)
The Premier League is the only major league in Europe without a single official selected to act as video assistant referee (VAR) at the World Cup in Qatar this year.
PGMOL, the body which oversees refereeing in the Premier League, has come in for much criticism for the way it has implemented VAR over the last three seasons. And now FIFA, which controls VAR protocol globally, has sent a clear message by snubbing the league for its flagship tournament.
FIFA had named Stuart Attwell on its long-list last year, but he was cut when the final roster of 24 video match officials was revealed on Thursday. Attwell and Chris Kavanagh represented the Premier League at Euro 2020 after being picked by UEFA.
Spain’s LaLiga has three VAR officials named, along with two each from the Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1. VARs from the Netherlands and Poland complete the 11 European officials selected by world football’s governing body. Read more
Bale deserves good Real Madrid farewell, says Ancelotti (France24)
Carlo Ancelotti said on Thursday that Gareth Bale deserves a good send-off in Real Madrid’s last home game of the season against Real Betis.
Bale will leave Real Madrid when his contract expires at the end of June, after nine years at the Spanish giants, during which he has won three La Liga titles and the Champions League four times.
But after an impressive first few years in Spain, Bale’s popularity with the Madrid fans has plummeted while the Spanish press have regularly criticised him for a perceived lack of commitment.
Real Madrid traditionally stage tributes when significant players depart, with the team playing their final La Liga game at the Santiago Bernabeu against Betis on Friday. Read more
French GP to boost fan support for Ocon and Alpine (F1i)
Esteban Ocon will have a healthy contingent of fans at next summer’s French Grand Prix thanks to an entire grandstand dedicated to the Alpine charger at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
The initiative is part of Alpine’s partnership with the promoters of the French event, the twelfth round of the F1 World Championship that will take place from July 8-10.
As part of its deal, the Renault-owned manufacturer will also have its own grandstand, doubling the opportunities for French F1 fans to support their favourite team or driver.
“What a proud day for me and my family!” said Ocon. “To have a grandstand named after you at your home race is an absolute privilege and one I never thought I would have when I started racing. Read more
Premier League plans real trophy presentation at Etihad, replica in Anfield (ThisDay)
Premier League officials have confirmed they will set up identical presentations at the Etihad Stadium and at Anfield as the title race has gone down to the wire.
It looked as though the title race was over when Southampton led Liverpool on Tuesday evening as a victory for the Saints would have handed the title to Manchester City.
However, Jurgen Klopp’s side fought back to win 2-1. Therefore, the winners of the 2021-2022 Premier League season will be decided following City’s clash with Aston Villa and Liverpool’s game against Wolves.
According to UK’s The Telegraph, the Premier League Chief Executive Officer, Richard Masters, will be at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday with the genuine trophy. Read more
De Minaur reaches semi-finals of Lyon Open (WestAustralian)
Alex de Minaur’s transformation from serial struggler on European clay courts to impressive contender has continued with Australia’s No.1 reaching the Lyon Open semi-final.
The 23-year-old’s preparations for the French Open couldn’t be going more smoothly as de Minaur enjoyed a swift passage into the last four on Thursday when his quarter-final opponent, Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki retired with a back problem after losing the first set 6-4.
It means de Minaur has now reached a second clay-court semi-final in the space of a month, following his brilliant last-four contest with Carlos Alcaraz in Barcelona where the Sydneysider was beaten after holding match point against the Spanish wonder boy.
De Minaur had been expected to account for the lucky loser, world No.263 Watanuki, an old rival from his junior days who lies 242 places below the Australian on the ATP computer. Read more
Golden Boy, DAZN finalise new multi-year agreement (BoxingScene)
Golden Boy Promotions and streaming service DAZN have announced that a deal has been reached for a new multi-year, multi-fight partnership agreement.
The new deal expands on the relationship that started in 2018 with a five-year deal. Back then, Golden Boy was the promoter of Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – which was a big part of the agreement. Golden Boy and Canelo parted ways in 2020. Canelo is still featured on the platform, but works on a fight by fight basis with promoter Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, who also have an exclusive content deal with DAZN.
Golden Boy’s new agreement will include championship fight nights alongside a new prospect development series – Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN – a monthly boxing series hosted by Beto Duran and Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins.
Additional events to follow in 2022 will include the return of undefeated Golden Boy fighters Jaime Munguia, Ryan Garcia, and Vergil Ortiz in June, July, and August, respectively. Read more