Naira Redesign: Dollar scarcity hits BDCs, sells at N818/$ (DailyTrust)
The naira fell to N818/$1 at the parallel market on Monday in Abuja and N815 in Lagos as it continued to lose its value.
Investigations by Daily Trust revealed that the naira is currently under high selling pressure in the black market following CBN’s announcement that the newly redesigned naira notes would start circulating in the economy from December 15, 2022.
Since the apex bank made this announcement last week, the naira has fallen from its initial record low of N765/$1, losing over N53 in five days, further piling pressure on the local currency.
One of our correspondents who visited the popular Bureau De Change hub at Wuse Zone 4, Abuja reports that several customers came looking for dollars but had difficulty accessing it.
Some of the offices visited included AA Funtua BDC, Mourison BDC, Wireless Resources BDC, Bani Mbaka BDC, Amfani Girma BDC and others. Read more
Bamise’s murder: Court rejects trial within trial application (Guardian)
A Lagos High Court sitting in Tafawa Balewa (TBS), yesterday, refused a trial within the trial application by the defendant’s counsel, Mr. Abayomi Omotubora in the murder trial of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) driver, Andrew Ominikoron, accused of killing Oluwabamise Ayanwole.
Justice Sherifat Sonaike had, prior to the ruling, on the application frowned on the conduct of the council.
The judge warned defence counsel to stop putting the court’s integrity into disrepute.
The court had at the last adjourned date, fixed yesterday for trial within trial.
However, earlier in the proceeding, Justice Sonaike asked counsel in the suit to address the court, giving the reason for trial within the trial. Read more
Commuters stranded as Lagos danfo drivers down tools (Guardian)
Business and human activities were paralysed yesterday as commercial bus drivers in Lagos State, under the aegis of the Joint Drivers’ Welfare Association of Nigeria, JDWAN, commenced a seven-day strike, after its meeting with Lagos State government ended in a deadlock.
Consequently, schoolchildren, civil servants, business owners and other commuters trekked for several hours to get to their destinations.
Also, other transporters, commercial tricycles, known as Keke Marwa and minibuses called Korope, took advantage of the strike and hiked transport fares by 100 per cent.
JDWAN had directed other bodies, such as Ibile Drivers Stakeholders Association of Nigeria, DSWAN; Mega City Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria, MCDWA; Federal Assisted Mass Transit Incorporation, FAMTI; Owners, Drivers and Conductors Association, ODCA; Commercial Bus Drivers and Owners Operators of Lagos, CBDOP and Mini Bus Drivers Welfare Association, MNDWA, to comply with the strike. Read more
Bus drivers not attacked, says MC Oluomo (Punch)
The Chairman, Lagos State Parks and Garages Management, Musiliu Akinsanya, known better as MC Oluomo, has debunked claims that bus drivers in the state are attacked.
This is as he also called on the aggrieved commercial bus drivers to channel their grievances to the appropriate quarters.
The PUNCH reports that the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria said its strike action continues till November 6, 2022.
The drivers in Lagos State embarked on a boycott on Monday, October 31, 2022, over extortions on the roads allegedly by the motor parks and garages management in the state. Read more
NBA President commissions Ikeja Lawyers Lounge (ThisDay)
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, has called on all Lawyers to always stay in court even if their matters are delayed, because they may pick up one or two tips that will help them along the way.
The NBA President was speaking at the commissioning of the Kemi Pinheiro Lounge constructed by the Ikeja Branch of the NBA in honour of Mr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN and his contributions to the development of the Ikeja Branch.
He backed up his point with a personal experience of how while waiting at the Court of Appeal, Abuja for his matter; the judgement of a different matter in court assisted him in solving a very pressing matter.
While commissioning and dedicating the Lounge, Mr Maikyau, SAN congratulated the Ikeja Branch for coming up with such a wonderful and visionary idea, which according to him, will further improve the welfare of its members. He maintained that the Lounge will indeed, serve all Lawyers who are either waiting to have their time in court, looking for a place to have a small group meeting, or just to unwind after a hard day’s work. Read more
How Davido’s son, Ifeanyi died (Sun)
Son of popular Nigerian singer, David Adeleke and his partner, Chioma is reportedly dead.
An Instagram post by ace comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY confirmed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
According to information gathered, the young lad who just celebrated his third birthday was said to have drowned in a swimming pool on Monday night.
Ifeanyi was pronounced dead at the Lagoon Hospital in Ikoyi upon arrival. Read more
NUPENG tells FG to arrest persons behind oil theft, calls for end to casualisation in oil sector (Tribune)
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has charged the Federal Government to take action and ensure that persons behind the massive oil theft in the country are arrested and brought to book.
Comrade Williams Eniredonana Akporeha, NUPENG President, in an interview with journalists, said, “Nigeria is currently faced with an unprecedented level of crude oil theft which is Nigeria’s major source of foreign earnings.”
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate and prosecute all those found to be involved in what he described as “criminal economic sabotage against the nation and her people.”
Akporeha said the large scale of oil theft has consequences on the economy and could lead to massive job losses in the sector. 6Read more
Police begin manhunt for driver over €20k (DailyTrust)
The police in Edo State have begun a manhunt for a driver, Happy Eweresa, who disappeared with €20,000 from the residence of his female employer.
City & Crime learnt that the manhunt followed a petition to the Commissioner of Police (CP) on October 5, by the brother of the female employer of the driver, Arhumwunda Osabuohien.
The petition reads in part: “On September 24, I gave the house keys to our driver, Happy Eweresa, to go and put off the borehole because I forgot to put it off in the morning before rushing for work, but on September 26, at about 5am, I was surprised to discover that money valued at €20,000 given to me by my sister to keep in the house was stolen.
“And the person suspected to have stolen the money is the driver, Happy Eweresa.” Read more
Jennifer Garner shares viral TikTok pumpkin hack for Halloween (NME)
Jennifer Garner tried her hand at a viral TikTok hack to carve a Halloween pumpkin – check it out below.
The actor took to social media to try carving out the inside of a pumpkin with a hand mixer, posting a video on her Instagram account.
“Spoiler alert: the hand mixer hack works!” Garner captioned the post, which sees her use a hand mixer in a sped-up clip to take out the seeds and pulp before carving the pumpkin.
In other Halloween news, Domino’s launched a Pokémon-themed pizza for the holiday, across branches in South Korea. Read more
George Strait, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Wynonna Judd and more bow to Queen Loretta Lynn at moving tribute (People)
Loretta Lynn herself made several appearances — in video footage and recordings — at her own public memorial service on Sunday night in Nashville. During one of those moments, the country icon, who died at age 90 on Oct. 4, reflected with her trademark humility on what she hoped her legacy would be.
“I would like to be remembered,” she said, “just as a good person.”
Oh, Loretta Lynn. You will be remembered for so very much more — and your fellow legends, musical descendants, friends and family all testified to that during “Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life & Music of Loretta Lynn,” a 90-minute tribute in spoken words and song that aired live on CMT.
The event was held, fittingly, at the Grand Ole Opry House: Host Jenna Bush Hager noted that Lynn once said becoming an Opry member was “the greatest moment of my life.” Read more
J.I.D, Tems and more to perform at American Music Awards in November (HipHopDX)
J.I.D and Tems have been announced alongside a slew of other performers who will take the stage at the 2022 American Music Awards in November.
The 2022 American Music Awards announced on Monday (October 31) that Wizkid and D-Nice will also make an appearance on a stacked pop-heavy roster that includes P!NK and Carrie Underwood.
Hosted by Wayne Brady, the 2022 American Music Awards will air from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater on Sunday, November 20 at 8:00 p.m. EST/PST on ABC. The show will stream the very next day on Hulu, and additional performers plan to be announced in the coming weeks.
Woman alleges Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 1991 and did it again in 2008 (IrishIndependent)
A woman testified yesterday that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a hotel room during the Toronto Film Festival in 1991, then did it again when she went to confront him in the same hotel during the same festival 17 years later.
On the witness stand at Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial, she said she was a 24-year-old aspiring actor at the 1991 festival and did not know who Weinstein was before she met him at a party.
She said her friends there were abuzz about the man whose company Miramax had surged to the forefront of independent film and was making its mark at the Oscars.
She said she was charmed by Weinstein at first as they discussed books and films. Read more
New potentially hazardous asteroid discovered (RFI)
An international team of astronomers on Monday announced the discovery of a large asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Earth, creating a small chance far in the future of a catastrophic collision.
The 1.5 kilometer- (0.9 mile-) wide asteroid, named 2022 AP7, was discovered in an area notoriously difficult to spot objects due to the glare from the Sun.
It was found along with two other near-Earth asteroids using a high-tech instrument on the Victor M. Blanco telescope in Chile that was originally developed to study dark matter.
“2022 AP7 crosses Earth’s orbit, which makes it a potentially hazardous asteroid, but it currently does not now or anytime in the future have a trajectory that will have it collide with the Earth,” said lead author of the findings, astronomer Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science.Read more
Anna star Sasha Luss set to lead Red Sea Media’s gamer-action thriller Latency (Deadline)
Russian model and actor Sasha Luss has signed on to star in Latency, a gamer-action thriller written and directed by James Croke.
The film is set to begin production on November 21 in Bangkok, Thailand, with international sales handled by Red Sea Media at the upcoming American Film Market.
The flick follows Hana, a professional gamer who suffers from acute agoraphobia. When Hana receives a new device to enhance her game by interpreting her brain activity, she begins to wonder if the device is reading her mind or now actually controlling it. Alexis Ren is also set to star.
Producers include Scott Clayton, Wych Kaosayananda, Gary A. Hirsch, and Jordan Gertner, best known for producing films such as Vincent Gallo’s Buffalo 66, Larry Clark’s Bully, and Spring Breakers, directed by Harmony Korine. Read more
As the Ukraine war rages, Russia doubles down on anti-LGBT laws (Aljazeera)
Bledniy, a 37-year-old Russian blogger, knew he was gay at 12 years old.
“I was born in a small town, in the Altai territory,” he told Al Jazeera, from his home in Western Siberia.
“As a child, when I realised that I was gay, I also realised that I was the loneliest person on planet Earth, because the only gay person I knew was me.”
Now living in Moscow, Bledniy, or Pale in English, which is the name he blogs under, is more comfortable with his identity and feels lucky to have so far escaped any homophobic assaults. Read more
NFF Elections: Court adjourns suit against Dare, Pinnick till February 6 (DailyTrust)
The crisis surrounding the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) elections is yet to abate as the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has fixed February 6 for mention of a suit filed against the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare and former NFF, President Amaju Pinnick.
The motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1376/2021, Harrison Jalla, Victor Rumson Baribote, Austin Popo and the National Association of Nigerian Footballers (NANF) had sued the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Pinnick and the minister as first to third defendants, respectively.
In the motion dated and filed on September 2, the claimants sought an interim order restraining the defendants, his agent, employees, staff, officials or electoral committee from organising or conducting any election into any executive office of the NFF pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction. Read more
Qatar World Cup 2022: Ukraine FA wants Fifa to ban Iran from tournament (BBC)
Iran should be banned from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for “systematic human rights violations”, the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) says.
The UAF plans to ask world governing body Fifa to stop Iran from participating in the tournament.
It believes a crackdown on protests in the country “may violate the principles and norms” of Fifa.
The UAF also cites “the possible involvement of Iran in the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine”. Read more
Wales football team considering changing name after Qatar World Cup (Mirror)
The Wales football team will consider changing their name to ‘Cymru’ on the international stage after the World Cup.
Cymru, which is the Welsh name for Wales, is already used by the Football Association of Wales in its internal and external communications. However, the football side is known as Wales by the outside fans, and it has been the case since they started to compete in events back in 1876.
According to PA, the FAW plans to speak to various stakeholders in Welsh football about the merit of changing the country’s name in international competition to Cymru. Chief Executive Noel Mooney has explained why the name change should happen given the fact it is known as Cymru in Wales.
“The team should always be called Cymru, that’s what we call it here,” said Mooney ahead of Wales’ first World Cup since 1958. Read more
George Russell says he didn’t want to be ‘‘too aggressive’’ against Lewis Hamilton (F1News)
George Russell will have left the Mexican Grand Prix feeling like a huge opportunity was missed, after Mercedes arguably went for the wrong strategy at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
After qualifying second and having topped FP2 and FP3, Russell was one of the big favourites for victory, or was at least regarded as someone who could challenge Max Verstappen for it.
It soon became apparent that this wasn’t the case, as Russell fell to fourth after the opening sequence of corners, as a result of being stuck on the outside at Turn One, before having no room at Turns Two or Three.
Russell dropped behind both Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez, who were much more aggressive than the 24-year-old. Read more
Paris Masters: Cameron Norrie starts with a win against Miomir Kecmanovic (BBC)
British men’s number one Cameron Norrie started the final regular ATP Tour event of the season with a straight-set win at the Paris Masters.
Norrie, 27, looked sharp in a 6-2 6-4 victory against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round.
Seeded 12th, Norrie claimed his 49th match win of what has been another successful year on the ATP Tour.
The Wimbledon semi-finalist goes for a 50th victory against France’s Corentin Moutet or Croatia’s Borna Coric next. Read more
Bey, Cunningham lead Pistons past defending champ Warriors (DailyMail)
Saddiq Bey scored 28 points, Cade Cunningham was an assist short of a triple-double and the Detroit Pistons beat the defending champion Golden State Warriors 128-114 on Sunday night to end a five-game losing streak.
Cunningham had 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to help the Pistons win for the first time since their opening game. Isaiah Stewart added 24 points and 13 rebounds as Detroit’s starters scored 111 points.
Steph Curry had 32 points and Jordan Poole added 30 for Golden State, coming off a 120-113 overtime loss in Charlotte on Saturday. The Warriors played without Klay Thompson (rest).
Golden State led by 10 early in the second quarter, but the Pistons responded with a 29-9 run to take a 10-point lead of their own. Stewart had 15 points and seven rebounds in the first half, including a rare 3-pointer to put Detroit up 63-55 at halftime. Read more