‘‘Pregnant’’ woman falls off commercial bus fleeing from LASTMA (DailyTrust)
A yet-to-be identified “pregnant” woman has narrowly escaped death after falling off a moving commercial bus fleeing from officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).
The incident which occurred on Tuesday along Kodesho Street, Ikeja created mild tension in the area as thugs popularly known as ‘area boys’ went after the state government officials.
Sources said on sighting the LASTMA officials, the driver of the mini-bus popularly called “Korope” drove dangerously and the victim who sat close to the door fell from the moving vehicle. Read more
Subsidy Cut Windfall: Govt saves N1.83tr in two months (Nation)
The Federal Government has saved N1.83 trillion less than three months after it stopped the payment of subsidy on petrol, The Nation has learnt.
The savings were made from revenue that accrued into the federation account in June and July.
A source within the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) confirmed to our reporter that the amount was saved in the federation account “first as a fall back (augmentation) for a rainy day”. Read more
BBNaija All Stars: I’m tired of being head of house, Doyin cries out (Leadership)
The reigning Head of House (HoH) in the ongoing Big Brother Naija All-Stars reality TV show, Doyin, has cried out over her status in the House, saying she was tired of being the HoH.
LEADERSHIP recalls that Doyin won the Head of House game on Monday and is consequently immune from eviction in the next Sunday live eviction show.
But, few hours later when Biggie called Doyin for a battery change on Monday, she lamented that she was tired of the role as she only wanted the immunity. Read more
Police arraign suspected gangster for attack on Kaduna JTF member (Guardian)
The police in Kaduna have arraigned an alleged member of a criminal gang before a Magistrate’s court in the state for a bloody attack on a Civilians Joint Task Force (JTF) member in the state.
The Guardian learnt that the fleeing suspect, identified as Sanni, was caught in Abuja, and brought back to Kaduna. During the attack at Kinkinu area of Ugwam Muazu, Kaduna town, the victim, Muhammed Saidu, was reportedly dealt machete cuts, and left with serious injury on the left side of his face.
The Guardian gathered that Saidu and other members of the JTF team were on routine patrol of black spots in the area, popularly known as “terrorists’ den”, when the incident happened. Read more
Navy hands over suspect, seized drugs to NDLEA in Badagry (Nation)
The Forward Operating Base of Nigerian Navy, Badagry, on Tuesday handed over 13 sacks of cannabis sativa worth N5.5 million and one suspect to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Badagry.
Navy Capt. Adams-Aliu, the Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base, Badagry, said the items were seized on Aug.24 and 27 at different places.
“On Aug.24, at about 10.00.p.m, the Base quick response team, acting on intelligence reports, raided some hideouts at Ashipa, at the Seme border. Read more
FG will complete Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by mid-September, says Umahi (Channels)
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, says the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is scheduled for mid-September, years after reconstruction commenced on the ever-busy route.
The minister made the statement on Tuesday during a visit to the sites of completed and ongoing Federal Government projects in Lagos State.
Construction work is ongoing on the last stretch of both sides of the expressway after several missed deadlines. Read more
NNPP Crisis: Kwankwaso-led group expels BoT Chairman, Boniface Aniebonam, others (Vanguard)
Crisis rocking the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP has deepened following the immediate suspension of the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), of the party, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, and some members led by the faction loyal to the 2023 Presidential candidate of the party, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Also expelled was the National Publicity Secretary, Agbo Major and Tope Aluko as they were accused of anti-party activities.
Addressing the National Executive Committee, NEC yesterday in Abuja, the National Secretary, Olayoku Dipo who noted that the party was in the process of setting up a properly constituted BoT in line with its constitution, disclosed that there were plans by the leadership to change NNPP’s logo as the opposition party’s fortune at the February election was affected by the current logo. Read more
Bayelsa Gov: Controversy surrounds Wike’s membership of APC campaign council (Punch)
Controversy has trailed the alleged inclusion of the name of the new Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike as a member of the All Progressives Congress governorship election campaign council for Bayelsa State.
In a short statement released Tuesday night titled: Re: National Campaign Council Lists for Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi Governorship Elections signed by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Barr. Felix Morka, the party said earlier reports that former governor Wike was a member of the Bayelsa campaign council should be disregarded.
The statement said,” The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to National Campaign Council Lists for the 11th November 2023 Governorship Elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States in circulation in sections of the media. The lists are not official documents of the Party and should be disregarded.” Read more
Travis Scott reveals “Circus Maximus” tour dates in North America (Variety)
Travis Scott has revealed the dates and venues for his North American trek in support of his latest chart-topping album “Utopia.”
Dubbed the “Circus Maximus” tour, Scott will play his first show in Charlotte on Oct. 11 and will continue through North America, ending with a Dec. 29 stop in Toronto. The tour will also include Scott’s largest headline show to date in Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.
This will be his first official tour since the “Astroworld: Wish You Were Here Tour” in 2018. See the complete lineup of dates below. Read more
Taylor Swift becomes 1st female artiste to reach 100m monthly listeners on Spotify (AmericanSongwriter)
Taylor Swift has broken yet another record after becoming the first female artist to hit 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify. The streaming giant turned to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the exciting news, which became official on August 29.
“Queen behavior” is how Spotify characterized the achievement in the social media post. The artist who currently holds the record for the most listeners ever on Spotify is The Weeknd with 110 million in total. But from the look of her numbers, Swift isn’t far behind.
Swift’s Eras Tour is expected to pull in $2.2 billion, according to CNN Business. This would make it the highest-grossing tour of all time. Swift also held the attendance record at Seattle’s Lumen Field with an audience of 72,171 set during her show earlier this year. But Ed Sheeran recently ascended to the top with 77,286 in attendance at his recent show on August 26. Read more
Blanket Jackson makes rare appearance on what would have been Michael Jackson’s 65th birthday (People)
Bigi Jackson and Prince Jackson are remembering their father Michael Jackson on what would have been his 65th birthday.
On Tuesday, Bigi (formerly known as Blanket), 21, was joined by his brother Prince, 26, as the two made a rare appearance in Las Vegas to honor their late father. The siblings were spotted at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino where Cirque du Soleil has its ongoing Michael Jackson ONE show taking place.
PEOPLE confirmed that the famous siblings greeted fans inside of the casino. One MJ supporter also gave the sons a picture of Michael with an angel on it as they shared their favorite memories of the global superstar. Read more
Jay-Z returns to Instagram to promote new movie ‘‘The Book of Clarence’’ (HipHopDX)
JAY-Z has made his long-awaited return to Instagram to promote his upcoming film, “The Book of Clarence”, which is set to arrive early next year.
On Tuesday (August 29), Hov relaunched his IG account and posted the trailer to the Jeymes Samuel-directed blockbuster hitting theaters nationwide on January 12, 2024.
Executive produced by the Brooklyn mogul, LaKeith Stanfield leads the cast in the biblical film as a messiah inspired by Jesus with co-stars such as rapper Teyana Taylor, J Cyler, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, Anna Diop and more. Read more
Christopher Nolan cut Oppenheimer filming to 57 days to recreate Los Alamos (Deadline)
Christopher Nolan gave up filming time for Oppenheimer in order to increase the budget for the production designer and recreate Los Alamos.
The Cillian Murphy-starring film was originally planned to be filmed for 85 days but instead, it wrapped up in 57 days.
During an appearance on the Team Deakins podcast, Oppenheimer production designer Ruth De Jong opened up about how Nolan opened up the budget so Los Alamos could come alive. Read more
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin buried at St Petersburg cemetery (AlJazeera)
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group chief who died in a plane crash last week, has been buried at a cemetery on the outskirts of St Petersburg.
The funeral took place on Tuesday, away from the glare of the media and in stark contrast to the brazen, self-publicising style with which Prigozhin had fanned his reputation far beyond Russia for ruthlessness and ambition.
“The farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich took place in a closed format. Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Pokrovskoye cemetery,” his press service said in a short post on Telegram. Read more
Bodies of 3 US Marines killed in Australia retrieved from crash site (NBC)
The bodies of three U.S. Marines killed in a tiltrotor aircraft crash during a training exercise in Australia were retrieved from the crash scene while another Marine remained in critical condition, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.
Those killed were from Illinois, Virginia and Colorado.
The Marine V-22B Osprey with 23 Marines on board crashed Sunday in a tropical forest on Melville Island while taking part in Exercise Predators Run, a drill that includes the militaries of Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor. Read more
Team Nigeria gears up for Africa Para Games (Sun)
As the day for the commencement of the maiden edition of Africa Paralympics Games draw nearer Team Nigeria is fully prepared to storm the games.
The Games which hold from 3rd -12th September in Accra, Ghana will serve as prelude the main All Africa Games scheduled to hold in Ghana next year.
According to the president, Paralympic Committee Nigeria (PCN) Sunday Odebode, the athletes have been training hard for the Games and they are fully ready for the podium to make the country proud. Read more
It’s Enyimba versus Insurance as NPFL kicks off September 9 (Guardian)
Defending champions, Enyimba of Aba, will begin their quest for another title in the 2023/24 Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) with a home game against one of the country’s two remaining teams in the continent, Bendel Insurance, on September 9.
Bendel Insurance just returned from their heartwarming defeat of Algeria’s Aso Chlef in the CAF Confederation Cup and would be in top shape for the clash with Enyimba, which fell off the continent following a 3-4 aggregate loss to Libya’s Al Ahly Benghazi at the weekend.
The draws conducted in Abuja, yesterday, after the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) board’s inaugural yearly general meeting, produced some interesting Week One clashes, including Rivers United’s home game against Remo Stars and the Owerri clash between Heartland and Lobi Stars. Read more
Erling Haaland: Manchester City forward wins PFA men’s Player of the Year award (BBC)
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has won the PFA men’s Players’ Player of the Year award, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka named Young Player of the Year.
Norway forward Haaland, 23, scored 52 goals in all competitions in his debut season with Pep Guardiola’s side.
Haaland beat team-mates Kevin de Bruyne and John Stones, Arsenal’s Saka and Martin Odegaard and Tottenham’s Harry Kane, now at Bayern Munich. Read more
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told he deserves 4-game ban for Newcastle red card (DailyStar)
Virgil van Dijk should see his ban extended after he was shown a straight red card against Newcastle United, according to a former Premier League referee.
The Liverpool skipper was sent off just before the half-hour mark for bringing down Alexander Isak on the edge of the Reds box as the last man.
Van Dijk was left incensed by the decision and berated and swore at referee John Brooks, seemingly calling the referee a f***ing joke,” before he was eventually shown on his way after VAR concluded there was no clear and obvious error to overturn the decision. Read more
Former champion Venus Williams suffers early US Open exit (StraitsTimes)
Two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams suffered her most lopsided loss in 24 appearances at the Grand Slam tournament with a 6-1 6-1 defeat at the hands of qualifier Greet Minnen in the first round on Tuesday.
The German smacked 24 winners and saved all six breakpoints she faced to dispatch the veteran American, who she reveres.
“In 1997, Venus already played a final here and I was just born, so for me it was incredible to play a legend like her,” the 26-year-old Minnen said in an on-court interview. Read more
USA captain Zach Johnson defends Ryder Cup wild card pick for ‘emotional leader’ Justin Thomas (IrishIndependent)
US Ryder Cup skipper Zach Johnson vigorously defended his decision to give struggling Justin Thomas a Ryder Cup wild card, insisting the two-time PGA champion was his team’s “emotional leader”.
The American also picked PGA champion Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler and World Match Play champion Sam Burns to join world number one Scottie Scheffler, US Open winner Wyndham Clark, Open champion Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele on the team for Rome.
While he has four rookies in Burns, Harman, Homa and Clark, Johnson believes experience and team spirit will be key to ending a 30-year wait for a win on European soil, making Thomas an obvious pick even if he did fail to make the FedEx Cup play-offs and missed the cut in three of the four Majors. Read more