Police arraign Seun Kuti for assault (Channels)
The Lagos State Police Command has arraigned Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti for assault.
Channels Television gathered that Seun was arraigned before Magistrate Adeola Olatunbosun of a Magistrate’s Court in the Yaba area of Lagos State on Tuesday.
The defendant was charged with assault on a police officer, an offence contrary to Section 356 of the Criminal Code Act of Nigeria. Read more
Resident doctors begin nationwide 5 days warning strike (Vanguard)
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, on Tuesday formerly served notice of strike to the Federal government through the Minister of Health, warning that, it cannot guarantee further industrial harmony should Government fails to address the issues raised before May 29th, 2023.
In the letter tagged: “Notice of Strike Action”, jointly signed by the President of NARD, Dr Innocent Orji and Secretary-General, Dr Chikezie Kelechi, the duo, recalled that NARD had issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve issues as contained in the ultimatum before its expiration on the 13th of May 2023.
The letter reads: “Regrettably sir, these issues have remained unresolved despite several attempts by NARD to get Government to resolve them. Rising from her Extra-Ordinary National Executive Council Meeting on Monday, 15th May 2023, NARD NEC resolved to embark on a Five – Day warning Strike commencing by 8:00 am on Wednesday, 17th May 2023, hoping that Government would see the need to resolve these issues urgently to avoid a further crisis in the health sector. Read more
Gridlock : Commuters groan on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (Punch)
Motorists and commuters were again stranded for hours on Monday in the gridlock recorded on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
PUNCH Metro gathered that both lanes of the expressway were affected by the traffic that started late on Sunday after a downpour was recorded in the area.
Eyewitnesses said the downpour, coupled with ongoing construction works and an early morning multiple accidents recorded at the Magboro end of the road worsened the traffic situation. Read more
Bode George vows not to congratulate Tinubu, says ‘‘he can’t control me’’ (DailyTrust)
Former Deputy National Chairman (South-West) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has said he will never congratulate President-elect Bola Tinubu, over his victory at the February 25 poll.
George said this during an interview with ARISE Television, adding that he bears no grudges against the former Lagos governor.
The PDP chieftain said this against the backdrop of the Tinubu’s camp that paid him a visit on Saturday. Read more
Take advantage of ‘I Am Alive’ confirmation, PTAD urges (DailyTrust)
Pensioners have been urged to take advantage of the ongoing ‘I Am Alive’ online confirmation exercise under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) aimed at confirming the aliveness of pensioners.
The charge was given by the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr Chioma Ejikeme, during the North-west stakeholder’s engagement in Kaduna yesterday.
She noted that PTAD has successfully tested the application on 50,000 randomly selected pensioners from four operational departments in the six geo-political zones in the pilot stage. Read more
Hilda Baci receives N3.5m land gift in Akwa Ibom (NewTelegraph)
A real estate company, In-Motions Business Limited, has handed well-known Nigerian chef, Hilda Baci, a plot of land located in Wana Court Green Estate, Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State barely 24 hours after she broke the Guinness World Record for the longest hours of cooking.
The firm’s Managing Director, Mr Gideon Ekanem, made the announcement on Monday evening in a statement issued on his verified Twitter account.
According to him, the now-famous Nigerian chef is deserving of the land gift because she has helped to bring Nigerians together. Read more
Alleged Drug Deal: Court bars lawyers, journalists from covering Abba Kyari’s trial (Guardian)
Journalists covering the ongoing trial of the suspended DCP Abba Kyari and others were, on Tuesday, restrained from coming into Court 10 of the Federal High Court, Abuja, venue of the proceeding.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order following an application to the effect by Mr Sunday Joseph, counsel for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Joseph, a director of Legal and Prosecution Department of the NDLEA, had applied for the protection of the next witness listed to give evidence in the trial. Read more
Okonjo-Iweala warns incoming Governors against debt acquisition (Tribune)
Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala on Monday warned incoming State Governors against acquisition of debt.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala gave the charge in Abuja during the opening of the 2023 induction for Re-elected and elected Governors with the theme: ‘Governing for Impact (Building Sub-national Governance), organised by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).
According to Debt Management Office (DMO) in its Q4 report of 2022 fiscal year, Nigeria’s total domestic debt stock was N27.55 trillion, while external debt stock was N18.70 trillion (US$41.69 billion). Read more
Cynthia Erivo to star in “Prima Facie” film adaptation (FilmNews)
Cynthia Erivo is to star in a film adaptation of ”Prima Facie”.
The 36-year-old actress has been cast as Tessa in the big-screen adaptation of Suzie Miller’s one-woman play.
Jodie Comer won an Olivier Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Tessa in London’s West End and is currently starring in the production on Broadway.
”Prima Facie” tells the story of Tessa – a confident young lawyer who prides herself in successfully defending individuals who have been accused of sexual assault. Read more
Anna Nicole Smith’s tragic cause of death explained ahead of Netflix documentary (Mirror)
Anna Nicole Smith is set to be at the centre of a new Netflix documentary this week, which promises to be “an unflinching and humanizing examination of the life, death and secrets” of the late mum-of-two.
The special entitled “Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me” will follow the journey of the famed Playboy magazine centrefold in the early 90s, who died of a combined drug intoxication at the age of 39 in February 2007.
Anna’s personal events leading up to her passing were particularly tragic, as three days after her daughter Dannielynn was born in September 2006, her 20-year-old son, Daniel, suddenly passed away in her hospital room following an accidental overdose of methadone and antidepressants. Read more
Mick Jagger discusses his performance with Taylor Swift ( FarOut)
In a somewhat unlikely pair-up, The Rolling Stones frontman and rock legend Mick Jagger stood side-by-side with pop superstar Taylor Swift. Despite the nearly five-decade age difference, the duo don’t exactly have much in common besides a glittery fashion sense and a command of stadium audiences. As it turned out, that was all that they needed to share.
During her September 26th stop in Nashville on the ‘1989 World Tour’ in 2015, Swift invited Jagger on stage for a rendition of The Rolling Stones’ iconic first number one hit, ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’. Surely famous people all have similar contacts, especially if they’re as big as Swift and Jagger are, but Swift originally heard that Jagger was in town second-hand.
“My dad called me up and said a friend of his was in Nashville and saw Mick Jagger,” Swift said during an interview for her Australian leg of the tour. Read more
Sylvester Stallone puts his weight behind writer’s strike as Tulsa King comes to a standstill (MovieWeb)
Sylvester Stallone has never been afraid of airing his opinions in public and his latest interview has seen the veteran actor throwing his weight behind the WGA writer’s strike. Stallone is currently appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on the big screen as well as his own reality TV show and in his first major TV role in Tulsa King on Paramount+. The latter of these had felt the impact of the strike action. However, Stallone believes that there is certainly a justified reason for the action being taken, as he feels writers are very “underappreciated” in the industry.
Speaking with Newsweek, Stallone, who has writing many screenplays over the last five decades, was asked whether the strike action is impacting his work right now. He responded: Read more
Cannes Juror Brie Larson unsure she’ll see Johnny Depp movie (Variety)
Brie Larson had few words about the decision to open this year’s Cannes Film Festival with “Jeanne du Barry,” a historical drama starring Johnny Depp. It’s the embattled actor’s first leading role in three years, following highly publicized legal battles with his ex-wife Amber Heard.
She mostly evaded the question when asked whether she’d attend the world premiere, which she isn’t required to do since it’s not playing in competition. “You’re asking me that?” she responded during a jury press conference on Tuesday. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand the correlation or why me specifically.”
When pressed, she added, “You’ll see, I guess, if I will see it. And I don’t know how I’ll feel about it if I do.” Read more
Billy Corgan says AI will change music forever (FarOut)
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has claimed that “AI will change music forever” in recent comments about technology’s impact on the future of music.
Speaking on the Zach Sang Show, Corgan, who has been an active musician since 1985, explained: “Once a young artist figures out that they can use AI to gain the system and write them a better song, they are not going to spend 10,000 hours in a basement like I did. They’re just not.”
When asked about whether this will still result in “art”, the 56-year-old musician mused: “Ultimately, art is about discernment. Somebody was telling me the other day about how a famous rap artist would work. They would bring in all these different people and they would sort of pick the beat that they were most attracted to.” Read more
Ukraine detains Supreme Court chief in high-level corruption case (JerusalemPost)
Anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine said on Tuesday they had detained the head of the country’s Supreme Court in an investigation they cast as an important step in Kyiv’s fight against high-level graft.
Kyiv has redoubled efforts to clamp down on corruption despite Russia’s invasion, and doing so is vital to meet the conditions for joining the European Union.
Oleksandr Omelchenko, a prosecutor at the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), said the Supreme Court’s top judge had been detained as part of a suspected bribery scheme and was awaiting a formal “notice of suspicion.” Read more
Huge blow for England, Nigeria as Folarin Balogun switches allegiance to USA (Guardian)
Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun has chosen to represent the United States national team after rejecting a future with England and Nigeria.
FIFA confirmed on Tuesday it has approved a request by the US Soccer Federation to change Balogun’s national eligibility from England, the country he has represented at youth level.
Balogun, born in Brooklyn, New York to UK-based Nigerian parents who were holidaying in the United States at the time of his birth, has been in demand after a breakout season in France on loan to Reims from Arsenal. He has so far scored 19 goals in the French Ligue 1. Read more
Moses Simon Boys beaten in local league final (DailyTrust)
The Football Academy of Super Eagles Assistant Captain, Simon Moses, Simoiben Academy, has lost a local football competition final in Kaduna.
The academy, which played against Kubarachi FC, lost by a lone goal.
The match was played at the popular Engineer field at Ribadu Cantonment of Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna.
Among the players Simoiben Academy paraded was a former Eagles player, Joshua Obaje. Read more
Arsenal soccer star Folarin Balogun flips from England to U.S. national team (UPI)
Arsenal soccer star Folarin Balogun, who is on loan at Reims, is eligible to play for the United States Men’s National Team after FIFA approved his eligibility transfer from England.
FIFA confirmed the move to The Athletic, CBS and ESPN on Tuesday morning. The soccer governing body approved a request by the United States Soccer Federation to change Balogun’s eligibility.
Balogun, 21, also maintained Nigerian national team eligibility. The New York native was born to Nigerian parents, who live in London. FIFA allows players to change national team eligibility before they appear in games at the senior level. Read more
Marcelo Bielsa: Ex-Leeds manager named Uruguay head coach (BBC)
Former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has been named head coach of the Uruguay national team.
The 67-year-old Argentine has been out of a job since he was sacked by the Elland Road club in February 2022.
He held talks with both Bournemouth and Everton in recent months over their then-vacant managerial positions. Read more
Swiatek breezes past Vekic into quarter-finals to set up Rybakina clash (Eurosport)
Iga Swiatek has set up a quarter-final clash with Elena Rybakina after a comfortable 6-3 6-4 win over Donna Vekic.
Swiatek was hardly troubled by her Croatian opponent and extended her head-to-head record to 4-0 in a straightforward win for the Pole.
The two-time French Open champion will face a tough test in the quarter-finals. Wimbledon champion Rybakina has beaten Swiatek the last two times they have met. Read more
McIlroy ”close” to top form at PGA after deflating Masters (France24)
Rory McIlroy says he is near the form he needs to win his first major title since 2014 after a mental health break to cope with a deflating Masters result.
The four-time major winner also said Tuesday at the PGA Championship that avoiding talk about the LIV Golf League will be part of how he moves forward after previously being one of most vocal PGA Tour supporters.
McIlroy missed the cut last month at the Masters as he tried again to complete a career Grand Slam. The 34-year-old from Northern Ireland’s only event since was at Quail Hollow, where he shared 47th two weeks ago. Read more
