Pastor kills self after lover jilted him (Punch)
A pastor of a Pentecostal Church (name withheld) in Nnewi, Anambra State, identified as Pastor Prosper Igboke, has committed suicide after he jumped down from a two-storey building in Nnewi.
Sources in the area said Igboke jumped down from the two-storey building and died instantly after he was jilted by his lover, whom he had spent so much on.
A relative of the deceased who spoke to journalists on Saturday, said the 30-year-old man from Leru community in Umunneochi Local Government Area, Abia State, had trained his lover in the university, after which she declined his marriage proposal. Read more
Burna Boy’s Album ‘‘I Told Them’’ hits number 2 on US Apple Music Chart (Leadership)
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, Damini Ogulu, known as Burna Boy, has equalled Davido’s record of highest peaking African album on the Apple Music United States chart.
Davido set the record with his fourth studio album, ‘‘Timeless,’’ which peaked at Number 2 earlier this year.
Burna Boy’s new album, ‘‘I Told Them,’’ hit Number 2 on the US Apple Music chart on Saturday, tieing Davido’s ‘‘Timeless’’ as the highest-peaking African project in the history of the chart. Read more
APC Organising Secretary abducted in Kaduna (DailyTrust)
Bandits have abducted the Organizing Secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Hon. Kawu Ibrahim Yakasai, from his residence in Yakasai village in Kaduna State.
The abduction took place at around 10:00 pm on Friday when the bandits invaded Yakasai village in Soba LGA.
They specifically targeted Yakasai’s residence and forcibly took him, sources revealed.
Hon. Kawu Ibrahim Yakasai, a former Chairman of Soba Local Government, was seized by the assailants and subsequently transported to an undisclosed location. Read more
Rights Group writes Tinubu on pipeline surveillance contract, warns on syndicates (Independent)
Centre for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade (CHURAC), a Niger Delta rights group, has written to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the subsisting oil pipeline contracts, alerting him on the existence of oil syndicates that want to cause crises in the region.
In the letter signed by Barrister Alaowei Ebikonbowei Cleric, its chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), CHURAC, commending former President Muhammadu Buhari for awarding contracts to private security companies to guide and protect oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region.
It noted that through the initiative, especially the Tantita Security Services Limited by the NNPC Limited, the region had almost been rid of crude oil theft. Read more
Gunmen kill police inspector, cart way gun, beret in Rivers (Vanguard)
Gunmen have killed an inspector in the Nigeria Police Force and carted away his rifle, and beret in Rivers State.
It was gathered that the incident happened around the Oroworukwo-Olu Obasanjo area of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Friday night.
A source in the area, who preferred anonymity, disclosed that the said killers were driving in a grey colour 2005 Toyota Corolla and had stopped when they sighted the armed policemen attacking him. Read more
Lagos residents worry over ocean surge (Punch)
The Director-General of the Nigeria Conservation Foundation, Joseph Onoja, has warned that if measures are not quickly put in place, the Atlantic Ocean will soon affect the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
Onoja gave the warning on Thursday at a meeting on ocean encroachment between Lekki Estates Residents and Stakeholders Association, Senator Wasiu Eshilokun, who represents Lagos Central Senatorial District; NCF, and the Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Authority.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the meeting was held to find solutions to the ocean surge rapidly destroying communities in the Eti-Osa/Lekki corridor. Read more
Tinubu appoints Dekalu-Thomas as NELMCO MD (Vanguard)
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mrs Mojoyinoluwa Dekalu-Thomas as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO).
A statement by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Friday in Abuja, said the appointment was for a term of four years.
Dekalu-Thomas has served as the acting MD/CEO of NELMCO since the tenure of pioneer NELMCO MD/CEO, Mr Adebayo Fagbemi, ended on May 8. Read more
Army vows to fish out perpetrators of attack on military vehicle in Benin (Channels)
The Nigerian Army says it is in consonance with other security agencies to track down an armed gang who attacked a military Hilux vehicle in Benin City, the Edo State capital on Wednesday.
Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, Yemi Sokoya, who disclosed this in a statement, also gave details of the incident.
“The attention of the Nigerian Army (NA) has been drawn to a series of inaccurate narratives in the media space in respect to the attack on a military Hilux vehicle at Akpakpava road in Benin City Edo State by some armed gunmen on Wednesday 23 August 2023,” the statement read. Read more
Miley Cyrus’ Mickey Mouse shirt pays tribute to her Disney past in emotional “Used to Be Young” video (People)
Miley Cyrus is paying tribute to her past in order to look forward to her future.
In the music video for her latest single, “Used to Be Young,” the Disney Channel alum, 30, sings about personal development while wearing a white Mickey Mouse shirt underneath a sparkling, bright red corset.
“This song is about honoring who we’ve been, loving who we are & celebrating who we will become. I feel proud when reflecting on my past and joyful when thinking about the future,” wrote Cyrus on Twitter, now known as X, while announcing its premiere on Friday. “I am grateful to my loyal fans who make my dreams a reality daily. I am sincerely thankful for the stability of your steadfast support. This song is for you. Truly, Miley.” Read more
Gabon’s president aims for third term in poll (BBC)
Voting is under way in the oil-rich central African nation of Gabon where President Ali Bongo – who came to power when his father Omar died in 2009 – is hoping to win a third term.
He faces competition from 13 people.
“Gabon is not the property of the Bongos,” says rival candidate Albert Ondo Ossa, who hopes he can lead the Alternance 2023 coalition to victory despite only being appointed last week.
As in previous general elections, there are serious concerns about the process. Read more
Ed Sheeran announces new album “Autumn Variations” (MusicNews)
Ed Sheeran has announced that he will be releasing a new album, Autumn Variations.
The 32-year-old singer-songwriter has revealed that he will be releasing a new album less than four months after the release of his sixth studio album, Subtract.
The upcoming 14-track album, titled Autumn Variations, will be produced by Aaron Dessner and released via his own Gingerbread Man Records on 29 September, one week after the final date of the U.S. leg of his Mathematics World Tour. Read more
Liam Payne postpones South American tour due to “serious” kidney infection (CBS)
Former One Direction star Liam Payne announced “with a heavy heart” on Instagram Friday that he is postponing his South American tour due to a serious kidney infection.
Payne posted a video about his condition, explaining that he has been unwell recently and was in the hospital over the past week.
“This really is the last news I want to be telling you,” the 29-year-old singer said. “We started rehearsals and I’ve just been advised that now is really not the right time to be out on the road trying to recover from this.” Read more
AMPTP brings DC Crisis PR firm on board as studios seek to reset strike messaging (Deadline)
Coming out of the public relation week from Hell, the studios and streamers are looking for the firm that fought off Pizzagate to help them in the war of words against the striking Writers Guild.
After literally and figuratively misreading the room with the release earlier this week of their August 11 proposal to the WGA and the subsequent blowback on August 22 and August 24, the AMPTP have hired crisis management specialists the Levinson Group, a source close to events told Deadline.
“The studios need better coordination, better messaging in response to the writers and the media,” an industry vet noted of the companies that literally own large swaths of the mainstream media. Contacted by Deadline, Levinson declined to comment on her firm’s new role with the AMPTP. Read more
SpaceX rocket blasts off to International Space Station (Telegraph)
Nasa and SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has blasted off carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station.
The Crew-7 mission is commanded by American Jasmin Moghbeli and includes Andreas Mogensen of Denmark, Satoshi Furukawa of Japan and Konstantin Borisov of Russia.
The Dragon spacecraft carried by a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, in front of around 10,000 people. Read more
Heineken sells its Russia operations for 1 euro (CBS)
Heineken has sold its business in Russia for one euro more than a year after it vowed to pull out of the country in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Dutch brewer is taking a €300 million loss, or roughly $325 million, by selling its business to Russian manufacturer Arnest Group, making Heineken one of the latest companies to pull out of Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Heineken had faced criticism for the slow pace of its exit, which CEO Dolf van den Brink attributed to the company’s efforts to protect its Russian employees during the sale process. Read more
Enoh charges Amusan, Brume, others to recover from Budapest flop (DailyTrust)
The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has encouraged Tobi Amusan, Ese Brume and other Nigerian athletes at the 2023 World Athletics Championship not to be discouraged but immediately recover from their disappointing outing at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The minister gave the charge shortly after Tobi Amusan finished sixth in a time of 12.56 seconds to surrender her world 100m hurdles title to Jamaica’s Danielle Williams who first emerged world champion in 2015.
Before Thursday night’s disappointment, last year’s bronze medalist in long jump, Ese Brume, had failed to appear on the podium in Budapest. Read more
Awoniyi equals Salah, Adebayor’s Premier League scoring run (Guardian)
Taiwo Awoniyi has equalled the record of Mohamed Salah and Emmanuel Adebayor as the African footballers with the longest scoring run in the English Premier League.
Awoniyi achieved this feat after scoring as early as the second minute to put Nottingham Forest 1-0 ahead against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Super Eagles striker has now scored in seven consecutive Premier League matches for Forest, same as Salah and Adebayor did with Liverpool and Arsenal respectively. Read more
Ten Hag slams Man Utd stars for failing to run in Spurs loss (France24)
Erik ten Hag has warned Manchester United’s stars to take responsibility after slamming them for failing to run enough in their dismal defeat at Tottenham.
Ten Hag was furious with the way his side allowed themselves to be swept away by Tottenham’s high-tempo performance in the second half of last weekend’s 2-0 loss.
It was a second successive lacklustre display from United after a barely-deserved 1-0 win against Wolves in their Premier League season opener. Read more
Luis Rubiales: FIFA suspends embattled Spanish football chief amid World Cup kiss row (Sky)
Embattled Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales has been provisionally suspended by FIFA for 90 days in the wake of the World Cup kissing row.
The 46-year-old has refused to step down despite mounting pressure from within Spanish football and the government.
He grabbed player Jenni Hermoso and kissed her on the lips during the awards ceremony following Spain’s 1-0 victory over England last Sunday in Sydney, Australia. Read more
Shock retirement from Swedish tennis star facing lengthy ban for missing drug tests (Tennis365)
It has been a story that has been rumbling under the surface of the mainstream news in tennis throughout this summer and now it is set to explode in dramatic fashion.
Swedish player Mikael Ymer was banned from tennis for 18 months for an anti-doping violation in July after missing three drug tests.
He has offered a passionate defence of his position and insisted the third missed test was due to a miscommunication with his agent after he booked an alternative hotel. Read more
Bray Wyatt, Terry Funk get emotional tribute at WWE ‘‘SmackDown’’ (NYPost)
WWE aired tributes to recently passed legends Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt on Friday evening’s episode of “SmackDown.”
Funk passed away at 79 years old on Wednesday at a hospital near Phoenix and Wyatt — born Windham Rotunda and son of wrestler Mike Rotunda — died unexpectedly at 36 on Thursday from a heart attack after initially making progress toward a recovery while battling heart issues, the site Fightful reported.
To begin “SmackDown,” WWE performed a 10-bell salute with all wrestlers and staff from the roster standing on stage as a form of respect, a sight often seen in pro wrestling when someone passes away. Read more