Nigerian student shines in Scotland, emerges best graduating student (Sun)
A young Nigerian digital marketing maverick, Emanaobong Antia, has emerged as a shining example of academic excellence and determination in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing.
A recent graduate from the prestigious Robert Gordon University in Scotland, Antia has not only made his homeland proud, but also set an inspiring benchmark for aspiring digital marketers worldwide.
With a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Digital Marketing, awarded with distinction, and the prestigious title of “Best Overall Student,” Antia has become a beacon of success and inspiration for the digital marketing community. Read more
Kabaka’s Abialam tops Apple Music (Guardian)
In a groundbreaking moment for African highlife music, Kabaka and His Oriental International Brothers’ newest album, “Abialam,” has topped the Apple Music Top 100 chart worldwide at the number 50 position, less than 24 hours and 27th position 48 hours after its release.
The album has gone one to occupy spot 19 on the chart as at Monday, September 18.
This monumental achievement makes “Abialam” the first highlife music album from Africa to ever reach this global milestone. Read more
Suspect arrested for injecting MohBad not nurse- Lagos NANNM (Punch)
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Lagos State Council, on Saturday, said the individual reportedly arrested for injecting the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as MohBad is not a registered nurse.
The association disclosed this in a press statement signed by the State Secretary, Toba Odumosu.
The association also urged the media to verify the qualifications and professional status of individuals before labelling them as healthcare professionals. Read more
FG to begin barge movement of containers to hinterlands (Vanguard)
The Federal Government, FG, has disclosed plans to encourage barge movement of containers from the Onne port and other Eastern ports to the hinterlands.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation/ Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, disclosed this recently during an assessment visit to the Onne port in Rivers State, which is currently being managed by the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT).
Speaking during the visit, Ajani pointed out the need for the National Inland Waterways Authority and the Nigerian Ports Authority to collaborate with Boat and Barge Operators Association to synchronize and develop a methodology that will result in the movement of containers in barges from its current location to the hinterlands.
The Permanent Secretary, who commended the immense efforts of WACT to provide within the port a beautiful work environment that meets international best practices, said “They are doing a great job”. Read more
WAEC to introduce CBT for WASSCE — HNO (Nation)
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says plans to introduce the Computer Based Test (CBT) mode in the administration of its examinations are at an advanced stage.
The Head of National Office (HNO), Mr Patrick Areghan, gave the hint in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.
Areghan was speaking against the backdrop of notable achievements and advancements of the council under his watch, as he prepared to bow out of office on Oct. 1. Read more
TUC threatens strike in Lagos over RTEAN ban (Channels)
Members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), are threatening to embark on an indefinite industrial action in Lagos state over the continuous suspension of the activities of one of its affiliates, the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
The TUC president, Festus Osifo told journalists in Abuja that the union will begin with a mass protest in the state on Monday.
According to him, the Lagos state government had technically proscribed RTEAN in the state which led to taking over the motor parks and locked the office. Read more
FG decries slow pace of work on Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway by CCECC (Vanguard)
The Minister of Transportation, Sen. Saidu Alkali, has expressed disappointment over the slow pace of work on the reconstruction of the Eastern Railway Corridor by the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) Ltd.
The minister made his feelings known on Friday when he inspected the progress of work done on the reconstruction of the Eastern railway corridor to Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
Alkali expressed sadness that between Port-Harcourt and Aba Section, only 47 percent completion stage had been achieved, instead of achieving 47 percent completion of the entire stretch from Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri. Read more
1 dies as farmers, herders clash in Nasarawa (DailyTrust)
An argument between locals and herders has reportedly claimed the life of one person while a pastor in charge of a Baptist Church has been badly injured in Nasarawa state.
An investigation by our correspondent shows that the unfortunate incident occurred on Monday morning at Boher village, under the Ningo/Boher electoral ward of Akwanga Local Government Area of the state.
The account of an eyewitness revealed that the incident was due to an argument over the herders passing through the Ningo community square with their cows and the youths accosted them. Due to that, a fight ensued between the locals and herders. Read more
Greta Gerwig could “not stop laughing” at deleted Barbie scene with Michael Cera (NME)
Greta Gerwig could “not stop laughing” at a deleted scene from Barbie with Michael Cera.
The film’s cinematographer, Rodrigo Prieto, said he shot “many scenes” for the film that “didn’t end up in the movie”, including one that was inspired by Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. The scene was so funny that Gerwig, who directed the film, “could not stop laughing” at the scene that involved Cera, who played Ken’s friend Allan in the film.
Speaking to Variety, Prieto said: “We did this shot on Allan that emulated Jaws. He’s terrified [when] Ken hits a wave and then flies in the air. There’s a moment where the police officer sees someone being eaten in the water.” Read more
Sudan army chief claims he’s ready for peace talks (BBC)
The head of Sudan’s army has told the BBC he is willing to talk to the commander of rebel forces whom he is battling for control of the country.
Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said he was ready in principle to sit down with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The two men have been fighting a brutal internal war since April, which the UN says has left more 5,000 people dead.
It says that more than five million people have been displaced. Read more
Landslide causes motorway to collapse in Sweden (CNN)
A large chunk of a motorway in southwest Sweden collapsed overnight, causing three people to be taken to hospital with light injuries, police said on Saturday.
The landslide damaged the motorway between Sweden’s second-biggest city Gothenburg and Norway’s capital Oslo, near the small town of Stenungsund, around 50 km north of Gothenburg on Sweden’s west coast.
“The hardest hit parts of the landslide area measure around 150 x 100 meters. In total, however, the landslide has affected an area of around 700 x 200 meters,” the Gothenburg Rescue Services said in a statement. Read more
Villagers in central Malawi face attacks from elephants (VOA)
Residents in areas surrounding Malawi’s Kasungu National Park are criticizing two wildlife organizations for allegedly enabling deadly elephant incursions.
In June 2022, the African Parks Organization and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) funded the relocation of 250 elephants to restock the partly-fenced park despite protests. The lack of fencing has allowed the elephants to roam outside the park, causing mayhem and civilian deaths.
Villagers in the areas of Nthunduwala and Chulu say the elephants have destroyed hundreds of hectares of crops and killed six people, the most recent death on September 16. Read more
Russell Brand breaks silence, begs for ‘‘support’’ amid rape accusations (NYPost)
Russell Brand made his return on Friday to Instagram, where he begged his fans for their support after being accused of raping and sexually assaulting four women, including a 16-year-old.
“So…,” he captioned the short video clip in hopes of getting viewers’ attention.
“Hello there, you awakening wonders,” Brand, 48, begins. Read more
Jake Gyllenhaal was almost ‘‘Batman’’ for director Christopher Nolan (Deadline)
Screenwriter David S. Goyer dropped some insider information on a new episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
Goyer revealed that he vouched for Jake Gyllenhaal as the actor to play Batman in Christopher Nolan’s 2005 film, Batman Begins. The role ultimately went to Christian Bale, who kept the role for three films.
“We would chat about all sorts of things. There were a number of people who had screen-tested, and I had advocated for Gyllenhaal,” said Goyer. “I mean, Gyllenhaal is amazing, Christian Bale is amazing, so who knows what.” Read more
‘‘Smile 2’’ set for 2024, ‘‘Mean Girls’’ movie shifts from streaming to theaters (Variety)
Paramount has announced a sequel to the hit horror film “Smile,” as well as a platform shift for the upcoming “Mean Girls” musical movie.
“Mean Girls,” which is based on the Tony-nominated Broadway musical adapted from the iconic 2004 movie (which made $130 million at the box office) was planned to debut on Paramount+, but will now get a wide theatrical release on Jan. 12, 2024. “Bob Marley: One Love,” which stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as the late reggae legend, was scheduled to hit theaters on that date, but now moves to a wide release on Feb. 14, 2024. Read more
ITTF: Quadri moves to 16th spot, Mati drops (Punch)
Africa’s top-ranked table tennis star, Aruna Quadri, moved up two spots from 18th to 16th in the latest International Table Tennis Federation World Rankings for men’s singles, Saturday PUNCH reports.
This comes after he successfully retained his ITTF Africa Senior Championships title – his eighth African table tennis title in dominant style overcoming Ahmed Saleh of Egypt in the men’s singles final in Tunisia last Sunday.
The Nigerian top seed retained his men’s singles title with a convincing 4-0 (11-2, 12-10, 11-6, 11-6) amid missing a direct qualifying spot for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Despite the setback, the 33-year-old earned a total of 500 ranking points for a total of 1260. Read more
Obi rolls out plans for NWFL (Nation)
Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) Chairman, Nkechi Obi, has stated that the women’s league would enjoy a renaissance under her reign, adding her immediate target is to get a working league that can consolidate on the impressive performance of the Super Falcons at the recently held 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Obi said as much during a courtesy call to the Imo State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Honourable Emeka Okoronkwo in Owerri as she rolled out a detailed and well articulated development plan ahead of the new season which she said, would become official at the NWFL 2023 Annual General Assembly (AGA) billed for October 5th in Lagos.
She revealed that her visit to Imo State was to solicit the support of Imo Government for Heartland Queens ahead of the new season and to encourage the club’s sponsor to key into the development plans of the league board in order to make Heartland Queens a better team. Read more
Celtic overcome Hart dismissal to see off Livingston (IrishExaminer)
Reo Hatate’s penalty and second-half goals from Matt O’Riley and Daizen Maeda helped Celtic to a 3-0 win at Livingston despite losing Joe Hart to a first-half red card.
The former England goalkeeper fouled Mo Sangare just outside of the penalty box and was sent off by referee John Beaton.
That left Brendan Rodgers’ side to play the final hour with just 10 men but they never looked in any real danger as Livingston failed to take advantage of their numerical supremacy. Read more
Hailstorm delays Milan’s clash with Verona (France24)
AC Milan’s match with Verona was delayed by 25 minutes on Saturday after a sudden hailstorm briefly left the pitch unplayable.
Stefano Pioli’s Milan were due to open this weekend’s round of matches in Italy’s top flight at 1300 GMT but kick-off was pushed back until 1325 GMT.
Fourth in Serie A, Milan are three points behind league leaders Inter Milan after being thumped 5-1 by their local rivals last weekend. Read more
Maria Sharapova announces her return to the court (Tennis365)
Former World No 1 Maria Sharapova has revealed that she will be back on a court in Miami in 2024.
She won’t be competing in the Miami Open but February will see her pick up a paddle and take part in the second Pickleball Slam.
Sharapova took to social media to announce that she will partner John McEnroe at Pickleball Slam 2 in Miami in February 2024. Read more
Emily K. Pedersen’s ace rallies Europe in Solheim Cup (ESPN)
After getting thumped 4-0 by the United States team in Friday morning’s opening session of the 18th Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin, European captain Suzann Pettersen was looking for something to spark her squad in the afternoon.
Denmark’s Emily K. Pedersen delivered that moment when she made the second hole-in-one in Solheim Cup history on the par-3 12th hole. Pedersen’s ace seemed to rally the European team, which couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start.
After the European team dropped each of the four foursome (alternate shot) matches to the U.S. for the first time, the four four-ball (best ball) matches were far more competitive. The Europeans won two and tied two to cut the Americans’ lead to 5-3 heading into Saturday. Read more