Reactions as Lagos socialite attempts to dive into lagoon over crashed marriage (DailyTrust)
Farida Abdulkabir, popular Lagos State socialite and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of House of Phreedah, has blamed failed marriage for her suicide attempt on Thursday night.
Abdulkabir was rescued after she attempted to jump into a lagoon
In a viral video, the socialite, who wore black attire, sobbed as she was held by some individuals who prevented her from jumping into the lagoon on the Third Mainland Bridge.
However, in a viral voice note on social media, she blamed her action on depression, saying her N100 million marriage with fellow Lagos socialite, Demola Okulaja, crashed after two months. Read more
BBNaija All Stars: It’s my time to win – CeeC (Leadership)
Big Brother Naija All-Stars housemate, Cynthia Nwadiora, a.k.a. CeeC, has declared that she would emerge the winner of the reality TV show.
CeeC, who was the runner-up of the “See Gobe” edition of BBNiaja in 2018, declared that this season was her time to win the N120m grand prize.
She said that a male housemate cannot win the current season 8 of the show.
“Nobody can stop an idea whose time has come. It is my time to win. If a man wins, my name is not CeeC,” she announced to the housemates on Thursday night.
Adekunle inferred: “Oya nau!” Read more
Niger Coup: Nigerians can’t be sacrificed; embrace dialogue, Catholic bishops tell Tinubu (Vanguard)
Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province have called on President Bola Tinubu to avoid involving Nigerians in the armed conflict in Niger Republic.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the two-day meeting of the Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province held in Ado-Ekiti and signed by the President, Most Rev. Gabriel Abegunrin and Secretary, Most Rev. John Oyejola.
The Catholic Bishops, comprising Ibadan Archdiocese, Ilorin, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and Osogbo Dioceses said Nigeria have more than enough challenges to tackle than involving in any kind of war. Read more
Cleric praises God for gift of child to Journalist after 11 years of marriage (Sun)
The minister in charge of Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Solid Rock Parish Umuahia Abia State, Rev. Ezera Ume has praised God for giving an Umuahia-based Journalist, Ifeanyi Okali child, 11 years after their marriage.
Okali, the Director of ABN TV had been in marriage for 11 years without a child, however, in May, his wife gave birth to a baby girl.
In his sermon during the dedication of the baby girl, titled, “Laughter Of Fulfillment” which was drawn from the book of Genesis 17:17-18, the cleric said though Abraham believed God is capable of doing all things, when he was told his wife, Sarah was going to conceive even after is has ceased being unto her the custom of women, he laughed a laughter of disbelief. Read more
Institute condemns fracas between Soldier, LASTMA officer (Nation)
The President of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration (CIOTA), Segun Obayendo, has expressed concerns over the recent incident involving a Soldier and an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).
Obayendo said the incident has brought public ridicule to both organizations.
He said the confrontation highlights the need for a renewed commitment for all stakeholders in the industry to advocate professionalism, cooperation, and respect among all sectors of law enforcement and public service. Read more
Travel agents in court for alleged visa fraud (Guardian)
The Police on Friday arraigned two travel agents in Lagos for allegedly obtaining N1, 050, 000 from a woman under false pretences of securing a South African visa for her clients.
The defendants are Yusuf Salami, 44, and Nureni Akerele, 47.
Both are residents of Iyana Ipaja, Lagos State.
They are charged with conspiracy, stealing and obtaining by false pretences, before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court. Read more
Kogi Guber: Appeal Court dismisses Adeyemi, Achimugu’s appeals seeking Ododo’s disqualification (Tribune)
The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division on Friday, dismissed appeals filed by a former Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Smart Adeyemi and another governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, Mr. Abubakar Achimugu, seeking to nullify the governorship primary election of the party which produced Ahmed Usman Ododo as the party’s standard-bearer for the APC in the forthcoming November 11 poll.
The court held in a unanimous judgement that the two appeals challenging the judgement of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja lacked merit and accordingly dismissed them. Read more
Ibom Air becomes full member of IATA (Independent)
Ibom Air has announced that it has become a full member of the International Air Transport Association.
A release by the General Manager of Marketing, and Communication, Ibom Airlines Limited, Aniekan Essienette and made available to newsmen in Uyo on Friday indicates that the airline was received into the body by the Director General of IATA, Mr. Willy Walsh, in a letter dated 15 August 2023.
Reacting to the development, the Chief Operating Officer of Ibom Air, Mr. George Uriesi, according to the release said, “We are delighted to have completed the administrative processes and to now become a full member of IATA. Read more
Sam Asghari ‘claims Britney cheated with house staff member’ after he issues ‘threat’ over prenup (Metro)
Sam Asghari is reportedly claiming that Britney Spears cheated on him with a member of their house staff.
This comes after they were reported to have split, and Sam was said to have ‘filed for divorce.’
The 29-year-old dancer took to social media to confirm their split last night, as he said they have ‘decided to end our journey together’ after a few days of speculation. Read more
Spector share hypnotic new single ‘‘The Notion’’ (NME)
Spector have shared their hypnotic new single ‘The Notion’ which features a guitar solo from musician Dev Hynes.
The track marks the London five-piece’s first new music in 18 months. Featuring a lively guitar solo from Hynes – also known as Blood Orange – ‘‘The Notion’’ was produced by Dimitri Tikovoi and mixed by Catherine Marks.
Speaking about the song’s creation in a press release, lead singer Fred Macpherson said: “We started The Notion on a spare day we had in Liverpool during the Now or Whenever sessions. It’s been on a real journey since, with Jed coming up with these early Four Tet style guitar loops, which have a really hypnotic feel I love.” Read more
Drake gifts fan £24k Birkin bag at Los Angeles concert (Standard)
Drake made one lucky fan’s whole year when he gifted them an expensive designer bag at one of his concerts.
The Canadian rapper, singer and songwriter, 36, walked out on stage at his show in Los Angeles, California, holding a pink leather Hermès Birkin bag and declared “Drake ain’t cheap”, earning cheers of approval from the audience.
He then selected a woman in the front row to be the lucky recipient and advised: “Make sure she has security on the way out.” Read more
Poll shows 67% of Americans surveyed support the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (Variety)
A large majority of Americans support the writers and actors strikes, and a plurality hold an unfavourable view of the Hollywood studios, according to a new poll by Data for Progress.
The poll found 67% support among likely voters for the strikes by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, while just 18% oppose them.
The poll also found that 48% have an unfavorable view of the major studios, and just 31% support the studios. The survey also found that 60% of respondents subscribe to Netflix, 41% subscribe to Hulu, and 35% subscribe to Disney+. Read more
Sir Elton John seen enjoying dinner with Kevin Spacey weeks after actor’s trial (Mirror)
Sir Elton John was seen enjoying dinner with Kevin Spacey weeks after the House Of Cards actor was found not guilty of sexually assaulting four men.
The Rocketman superstar was called as a witness for the defence in the Hollywood actor’s trial last month, along with his husband David Furnish. And now, the singer was videoed enjoying a performance of Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds by a band at a restaurant while sitting next to Kevin.
A band, called The Snugglers, shared a video of themselves performing for the two stars around a table. Kevin was seen filming the performers while Sir Elton lived in the moment and enjoyed the music. “We had the chance to perform for those absolute legends: Sir @eltonjohn & @kevinspacey! In this clip Sir Elton is singing with us,” the band captioned the post. Read more
Chris Brown promises to be more ‘‘focused’’ and concise with new album ‘‘11:11’’ (HipHopDX)
Chris Brown has a new album on the way — and this one is going to be a bit different to his usual releases.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday (August 16), Breezy announced that his aptly-titled 11th studio effort 11:11 will tentatively arrive on November 11 (11/11).
“New album name: 11:11,” he wrote. “Album release date: 11/11. This will be my 11th album and will contain 11 songs.” Read more
UK neonatal nurse Lucy Letby guilty of killing 7 babies, trying to kill others (Global)
A neonatal nurse in a British hospital was found guilty Friday of killing seven babies and trying to kill six others.
Lucy Letby, 33, was charged with murder in the deaths of five baby boys and two girls, and the attempted murder of five boys and five girls, when she worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between 2015 and 2016.
She was accused of deliberately harming the newborn infants in various ways, including by injecting air into their bloodstreams and administering air or milk into their stomachs via nasogastric tubes. Read more
Boxer wears Vladimir Putin t-shirt at weigh in after changing name in honour of President (Mirror)
Heavyweight boxer Kevin Vladimirovich weighed in for his latest fight by wearing a Vladimir Putin t-shirt after changing his name in honour of the Russian President.
Vladimirovich, 43, competes in his 60th professional fight tonight as he takes on unbeaten youngster Mark Petrovsky in Moscow. The bout comes just a week after the journeyman boxer, who was born in New Jersey, seemingly obtained Russian citizenship and legally changed his surname from Johnson to Vladimirovich.
“As a compliment to President Vladimir Putin, I decided to change my name. I will now be called Kevin Vladimirovich in honour of Vladimir Putin. Now I am 100 percent, no joke, 100 percent Russian,” Vladimirovich told Russian newspaper Izvestia. Vladimirovich isn’t the first American boxer to appear to become a Russian citizen. Ring icon Roy Jones Jr also did the same back in 2015 after forming a relationship with Putin. Read more
NPFL partners LaLiga to train players, inaugurates selection committee (Vanguard)
The Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, on Thursday, announced a partnership with LaLiga, the Spanish league, to train Nigerian players.
Gbenga Elegbeleye, the Chairman of the League Management Company, LMC, made the announcement at a press conference in Lagos.
Consequently, the NPFL inaugurated a Technical Committee to identify 11 All Star best league players at the end of the 2023/2024 league to train and play with the best of LaLiga teams. Read more
Guardiola fears injured De Bruyne out of action until 2024 (ESPN)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hinted that Kevin De Bruyne might not be available until well into the new year.
The City midfielder missed the Super Cup victory over Sevilla with the hamstring injury picked up during the Premier League opener against Burnley.
It is a recurrence of the problem which cut short his involvement in the Champions League final in June, and the 32-year-old will undergo surgery in Antwerp to correct the issue. Read more
Ten Hag “happy” Man Utd’s Maguire snubbed West Ham offer (France24)
Erik ten Hag insists he is “happy” that Manchester United defender Harry Maguire snubbed an offer to join West Ham.
United accepted West Ham’s £30 million ($38 million) bid for Maguire but the England international decided to pull out of the deal after failing to agree personal terms.
Maguire is likely to remain at Old Trafford once the transfer window closes, leaving him as United’s fourth choice centre-back behind Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof. Read more
Zandvoort bracing for Dutch GP blockade threat (F1i)
The municipality of Zandvoort says it is in talks with local taxi drivers who are threatening to disrupt F1’s Dutch Grand Prix weekend with a blockade protest due to restrictions imposed on their services.
According to Dutch website RacingNews365, approximately 150 taxi drivers may face restrictions in accessing the circuit, which is anticipated to welcome a daily crowd of over 100,000 fans.
A proper certification is required for taxi drivers to gain access to a designated zone outside the circuit, but only a specific quota of ‘Taxi-Pass’ authorizations has been assigned and distributed. Read more
Top seeds Alcaraz, Swiatek advance to Western & Southern quarterfinals (ESPN)
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked players in tennis, got past adverse weather conditions and challenged opponents on Thursday to reach the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals.
Alcaraz overcame two rain delays totaling 2 hours, 35 minutes and 14th-seeded American Tommy Paul, who beat him last Friday in the Canadian Open quarterfinals, for a 7-6 (6), 6-7 (0), 6-3 win in a match that lasted 3 hours, 9 minutes.
“You’ve got to stay focused,” said Alcaraz, the defending U.S. Open champion and this year’s Wimbledon titlist from Spain. “It’s not easy to play and stop and play and stop. You can’t do anything but be ready to play.” Read more