Macron welcomes Tinubu on state visit to France (Channels)
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday began a two-day visit to France, with both sides seeking increased economic cooperation and Paris looking to boost ties in English-speaking Africa following a series of setbacks with former allies on the continent.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron greeted his counterpart at the historic Invalides memorial complex, with the first official state visit by a Nigerian leader in more than two decades.
The two national anthems rang out in the courtyard of one of Paris’s landmarks, kicking off a visit focused on encouraging economic partnerships between France and Africa’s most populous country. Read more
House of Rep confirms Oluyede as Chief of Army Staff (VON)
The House of Representatives has confirmed the Chief of Army Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
The confirmation followed the presentation of his screening report by the Chairman House committee on Army, Mr. Babajimi Benson, saying that the COAS was found worthy of the office in character and academics.
“On the 26th of November 2024, Parliament graciously appointed us to screen the Acting Service Chief. We carried out this task yesterday, reviewed his CV, and asked him questions on various issues, including inter-agency synergy and civilian-military relations. Our observation, Sir, is that General Olatumboso is qualified and suitable for the position. He provided a commendable account of himself. In conclusion, Sir, we urge this House to approve his appointment as the new Chief of Army Staff. I so move, Mr. Speaker.” Mr. Benson said. Read more
Finnish court sets May 2025 deadline for Simon Ekpa’s trial (Vanguard)
Pro-Biafran separatist leader Simon Ekpa is set to stand trial in Finland by May 2025, Finnish authorities have announced.
Ekpa, who was arrested alongside four others on suspicion of terrorism-related activities, remains in custody at the Päijät-Häme District Court.
Senior Detective Superintendent Mikko Laaksonen of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation confirmed the trial timeline. Read more
Kidnappers demand N300m ransom for toddler, siblings abducted in Kaduna (DailyTrust)
Kidnappers of four children in Kaduna have contacted the victims’ father, demanding N300 million ransom for their release.
Daily Trust gathered that the abductors have threatened to kill the youngest child because of his cries.
The kidnappers reportedly told Adamu to pay the ransom or the children would be killed.
Adamu, who lives in Keke A, Chikun Local Government Area (LGA) under Kaduna Millennium City, told Daily Trust on Thursday that the bandits even beat the children because he pleaded with them over the ransom demand. Read more
Osinbajo calls for responsible use of social media (NewTelegraph)
On Thursday, Nigeria’s former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo said the role of technology in empowering citizens to make demands for accountability from governments cannot be overemphasisled.
According to the former leader who call for responsible use of social media said technology has equipped citizens with the power to drive change and challenge traditional power structures.
Osinbajo stated this while delivering a keynote address at an event themed, ‘Technology as a Catalyst for Political Action in Africa’ Conference, hosted by Enough is Enough (EiE) & BudgIT.’ Read more
It’s difficult not to cheat in marriage – Mr Macaroni (Nation)
Comedian and actor Mr Macaroni has shared his perspective on the complexities of remaining faithful in marriages and relationships.
Speaking on the Diary Of A Naija Girl podcast, Mr Macaroni described faithfulness as “difficult but possible.”
He acknowledged that while it’s easy to offer advice about relationships, practising those principles in one’s own life can be much more challenging. Read more
Tax reform bills pass 2nd reading at Senate (ThisDay)
The Senate at plenary on Thursday, passed the four tax reform bills for second reading.
The bills are: the Nigeria Tax Bill; the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill; the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
The red chamber had earlier held a one-hour closed session where the federal lawmakers agreed to debate the general principles of the bills. Read more
Nigeria’s census will be conducted in 2025 — NPC (Tribune)
The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra, has announced that Nigeria’s long-overdue national census will finally be conducted in 2025.
Kwarra made this disclosure on Thursday in Abuja at the 2024 Anniversary of the Nairobi Summit on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
He emphasized that the delay in conducting the census has hindered Nigeria’s ability to effectively assess population needs and allocate resources, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Read more
Wendy Williams’ guardian says she is “cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated” (HipHopWired)
Sad news is coming out of Wendy Williams’ camp as it seems that the mental health and well-being of the iconic talk show host has declined significantly since we’ve last heard from her.
According to Page Six, the attorney for Wendy Williams’ guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, wrote a memo to the judge overseeing their lawsuit against A+E Networks to inform him that Williams’ battle with dementia hasn’t only gotten worse but has left her “cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.” The revelation comes as Morrissey continues to battle the network for getting Wendy Williams to do their four-part series Where Is Wendy Williams? for which she was only paid a paltry $82,000 while the network raked in a fortune.
Morrissey states that she wasn’t aware that A+E and Williams were filming the show until several months into the process and that the network exploited Williams for their own gain as she was clearly struggling with her mental health at the time of filming. A+E Networks for their part denied any such wrong doing and tried to shift the blame on Morrissey instead. Read more
Zoe Ball opens up on painful hidden health battle as she quits BBC Radio 2 show (DailyStar)
Zoe Ball has shared her experiences on dealing with a painful health condition.
The BBC Radio 2 favourite, 54, has been at the centre of headlines after announcing she would be stepping down from her breakfast show after six years at the helm. Her final show is scheduled just before Christmas, but until then she is continuing her run on the airwaves before she is replaced by Scott Mills.
But away from her show and speculation about why she quit, Gogglebox star Zoe has opened up about her struggles of a different kind as she revealed she was suffering from a hidden condition. The disease has left her in searing pain and can cause her to become almost incapacitated by the pain. Read more
Wicked fans left disappointed by theatre chain’s ‘‘dumb rule’’ to enter screening (Independent)
Some devoted Wicked fans who showed up to AMC screenings of the film with their entire faces painted green have apparently been asked to remove the face paint before entering the theater.
Since Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Broadway hit was released in theaters last weekend, a number of social media users have posted videos of themselves wearing green face paint to the movies to mimic Cynthia Erivo’s viridescent character Elphaba.
However, it appears several fans have since been turned away and made to wash their faces off in the bathroom before being allowed into the screenings. Read more
Box Office: Moana 2 shatters records with $13.8m in previews, biggest ever for Walt Disney Animation (THR)
Moanapocalypse has arrived.
Moana 2 amassed a record-shattering $13.8 million in Tuesday previews, the biggest preview number ever for a Walt Disney Animation title and the second-biggest for any animated film behind sister Pixar’s Incredibles 2 ($18.5 million). That’s quite a feat, considering that the Incredibles sequel opened in the summer. On Tuesday, only 48 percent of schools were out and 20 percent of colleges, per Disney.
There’s more. Moana 2 snagged the top Tuesday pre-Thanksgiving preview gross of all time. Read more
MasterChef host Gregg Wallace steps down amid historical misconduct review (DigitalSpy)
Gregg Wallace is set to step away from MasterChef while an investigation is conducted into historical misconduct allegations.
The star, who has co-judged the show since 2005 alongside spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, is subject to complaints from multiple individuals, according to production company Banijay UK.
In a statement, they said: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.” Read more
Trump names retired general Keith Kellogg as Ukraine envoy (BBC)
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Keith Kellogg, a former national security adviser and retired lieutenant general in the US military, to be special envoy to Ukraine and Russia in his second administration.
Kellogg is likely to be at the centre of negotiations to end the ongoing war in Ukraine, should Russia and Ukraine agree to take part.
Trump has promised to stop the war on his first day back in office – though he has not provided any details on how he plans to do that.
Russia expels British diplomat for alleged spying (AlJazeera)
Russia has ordered a British diplomat to leave the country for allegedly spying – a claim rejected by the UK government, which promised a response amid souring relations between the two countries.
Russia’s FSB security service said on Tuesday that the diplomat, whose photo was splashed across TV news bulletins, had intentionally provided false information when he entered the country.
“During counterintelligence work, the Russian Federal Security Service has discovered an undeclared British intelligence presence under the cover of the national embassy in Moscow,” it said. Read more
Atalanta insist on high price tag for Lookman (Leadership)
Europa League champions Atalanta BC are playing hard ball over a transfer of star forward Ademola Lookman.
This comes as the player was curiously consigned to the subs bench as Atalanta posted a comfortable win at Young Boys of Switzerland in the UEFA Champions League Tuesday night.
The Super Eagles star has continued to attract interest across Europe on the back of some superlative displays and his Italian club hope to cash in on that. Read more
Swiatek accepts one-month doping suspension (BBC)
World number two and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.
The 23-year-old reigning French Open champion tested positive for a heart medication, trimetazidine (TMZ), in an out-of-competition sample in August 2024, when she was world number one.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that it was caused by contamination of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin, manufactured and sold in Poland, which Swiatek took for jet lag and sleep issues. Read more
Liverpool and Man City fans unite in ticket price protest after Man Utd £66 hike (Football365)
This Sunday the famous four of England’s two greatest footballing cities, Manchester and Liverpool – boasting a combined 58 top-flight league titles – will clash on the pitch in two pivotal Premier League fixtures.
Manchester United host Everton at Old Trafford (1.30pm), followed by Liverpool versus Manchester City at Anfield (4pm).
While historic rivalries between the cities often dominate headlines, this weekend sees fans of all four clubs putting aside their long-standing differences to unite behind a common cause: tackling the exploitation of loyal supporters. Read more
Aston Villa’s disallowed goal would have counted in Premier League, claims Unai Emery (Independent)
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery described the decision to rule out his side’s last-gasp goal in their Champions League draw with Juventus as “very soft” and has called for consistency from European referees.
Morgan Rogers looked to have given Emery’s side another famous win when he slammed a loose ball home in stoppage time, but referee Jesus Gil Manzano ruled Diego Carlos to have fouled Juve goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio and the goal was chalked off.
Contact seemed minimal but VAR did not intervene and Villa had to settle for a point in a 0-0 draw. Read more
Former NBA, NHL exec Scott O’Neil to replace Greg Norman as LIV CEO-commissioner (USAToday)
With Greg Norman’s turbulent reign as the CEO of LIV Golf in the rearview mirror, a new report indicates that a former executive with the NHL and NBA is ready to assume the post as the league enters its fourth season.
According to a report at ESPN, Scott O’Neil has been tabbed to take over the league, which disrupted the sport as a whole, but has yet to gain major traction in the sports universe.
O’Neill served as the CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers and then added a similar role above the New Jersey Devils as part of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. Read more
FIA running out of people to do jobs, says sacked steward (BBC)
A senior steward fired by Formula 1’s governing body says the FIA is “running out of people to do those jobs”.
The comments by Tim Mayer – a senior steward for 15 years who says he was fired this week – come after BBC Sport learned that Janette Tan, the deputy Formula 2 race director, has also left the FIA.Mayer and Tan bring the number of senior figures to depart to four in just over two weeks, after the firings of the former F1 race director Niels Wittich and FIA compliance officer Paolo Basarri. Read more