Tension rises as 8 soldiers, cops feared killed in Imo (Punch)
The Imo State Police Command has vowed to fish out the killers of the security operatives who were on Tuesday murdered in Umualumaku, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state.
Gunmen on Tuesday unleashed mayhem in Umualumaku community, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, killing about eight security operatives comprising soldiers, policemen and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The incident which happened at about 9.30am caused panic among residents of the area. Read more
Tinubu warns of ‘‘dark channel of inhumane commerce’’ in fight against extremists (Channels)
President Bola Tinubu has ruined the impacts of illegal migration, saying the West African region is facing a “dark channel of inhumane commerce” due to it.
He said this in New York, the US during his maiden address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“Our entire region is locked in a protracted battle against violent extremists. In the turmoil, a dark channel of inhumane commerce has formed. Along the route, everything is for sale. Men, women, and children are seen as chattel,” he told the gathering. Read more
Boy with missing intestine dies at LASUTH (Vanguard)
Adebola Akin-Bright, the 12-year-old boy with a missing intestine in Lagos State, is dead.
The mother, Abiodun Deborah, disclosed this in a phone conversation with Vanguard, yesterday.
It was gathered that Adebola died at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH. Read more
Blackout as grid collapses again (DailyTrust)
Nigeria’s electrical supply has again collapsed, with power output falling from a peak of 3,594.60 megawatts (MW) at midnight to a mere 42.7MW.
Only the Delta Power plant had 41.00 MW of operational power on the grid at noon on Tuesday, while Afam had 1.7 MW.
This comes barely five days after the grid collapsed twice within a space of more than 12 hours, plunging the nation into darkness. Read more
Group condemns humiliation of Edo deputy gov (Guardian)
Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED) has condemned the humiliation and denigration of the Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, through actions, which are antithetical to the rule of law, natural justice and tenets of democratic governance.
In a statement by the CHRISCED Executive Director, Dr, Ibrahim ZIkirullah, the group said that from a recent viral video, which showed how the deputy governor was locked out of the Government House, preventing him from accessing his office, it is clear that the face off he is having with his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki, is being taken to a ridiculous level by the governor’s camp.
ZIkirullah said: “While political disagreements and face-offs are common in a democracy, which gives room for plurality of perspectives, what is not acceptable is the denigration and reduction of the importance of an office, which is a creation of the Constitution. Illegal and extra-judicial actions like preventing an elected official from accessing his office undermine the Constitution, the rule of law and the principles of natural justice.” Read more
Mohbad: Management announces candlelight, tribute concert Thursday (Tribune)
The management of late Nigerian music singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad, has announced a candlelight procession and tribute night for the late artiste.
Mohbad, a former signee of Naira Marley at Marlian Records, died last Tuesday at the age of 27.
Since Mohbad’s death, his music fans and sympathisers have called for a proper investigation to know the cause of his death. Read more
Police kill 4, arrest 3 in effort to recover slain Rivers DPO’s corpse (Leadership)
In an effort to recover the corpse of the slain Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in-charge of Ahoada Police Division, Bako Angbashim, operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have killed four suspected cultists during a raid at the camp of the hoodlums at Odiemude community in Ahoada-East local government area of Rivers State.
The command also arrested seven policemen for involvement in alleged arrest and extortion of a social media influencer in Port Harcourt.
Addressing journalists at the Police headquarters in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the Commissioner of Police, Nwonyi Polycarp Emeka, said three suspected cultists were arrested during the raid. Read more
Impeached Ogun council boss lied against me – Abiodun (Nation)
Governor Dapo Abiodun has declared the impeached chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, Wale Adedayo, lied against him in respect of the alleged diversion of the council’s funds.
Abiodun, who emphasised the need to instill party discipline within the All Progressives Congress (APC) so members are accountable for their actions, said he would defend himself against Adedayo’s allegation.
The Governor made this known during a meeting with leaders of the APC in Ijebu East Local Government led by a former House of Representatives member for Ijebu North, Ijebu-East and Ogun Waterside between 2007 and 2011 Chief Segun Osibote. Read more
Megan Thee Stallion speaks out after her viral VMAs moment with Justin Timberlake (MusicNews)
Megan Thee Stallion has spoken out after her viral VMAs moment with Justin Timberlake.
Following rumours the two musicians had a heated exchange at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, Megan has clarified that they were not arguing.
“We got to go bring sexy back, so I’m excited,” the 28-year-old recently told Us Weekly. “I definitely want to do a song with him.” Read more
Lily Gladstone will campaign for lead actress for ‘‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’’ and could make history as 1st Native American nominee (Variety)
Oscar season is always full of twists and turns, and the biggest one yet just dropped with “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Variety has learned exclusively that Lily Gladstone’s work as Mollie Burkhart, an Indigenous woman at the center of a sinister plot in Martin Scorsese’s crime epic, will be campaigned for the Oscars in best actress, instead of supporting where many pundits had speculated. She will campaign alongside her Oscar-winning co-star and executive producer, Leonardo DiCaprio.
Based on David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” the film tells the tragic true story of members of the Osage tribe who were murdered under suspicious circumstances during the 1920s. Read more
Nia DaCosta says she confided in her fellow Marvel director when stressed while filming ‘‘The Marvels’’ (THR)
Nia DaCosta is opening up about her time directing the upcoming superhero film “The Marvels”.
The writer-director spoke with Vanity Fair ahead of the Nov. 10 release date of the Captain Marvel sequel, starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani. In the conversation, she revealed she turned to one of her fellow Marvel directors in particular during production when she was overwhelmed and stressed.
While she loved filming The Marvels, she admitted there were days when she texted Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton to vent about how she was feeling. Read more
Marc Webb to direct ‘‘Bermuda’’ for Skydance (Deadline)
Skydance’s long-in-development Bermuda Triangle action-adventure pic “Bermuda” has landed a director as Marc Webb has closed a deal to helm the project.
While the studio has been working on the project for some time, this version is still in early days with no writer attached; until the WGA strike ends, that won’t change. Insiders add that once the strike ends and a writer can be attached, Webb would consult on the script but is not expected to co-write.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, except for the fact that it will be set in the mysterious patch of the Caribbean where planes and ships have gone missing over the years. Read more
Ukraine war: Russian “evil cannot be trusted”, Zelensky tells UN (BBC)
“Evil cannot be trusted,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the UN General Assembly, as he urged the world to unite to end Russian aggression against his country.
In a passionate speech in New York, Mr Zelensky said a nuclear-armed Moscow must be stopped from “pushing the world to the final war”.
He also accused Russia of weaponising everything from food to energy. Read more
Edgar Barrera and Shakira lead Latin Grammy nominations (BelfastTelegraph)
Edgar Barrera, the producer and songwriter known for his work with such artists as Madonna, Karol G and Shakira, leads the 2023 Latin Grammy nominations.
The Latin Recording Academy announced this year’s nominees in a livestream on Tuesday and Barrera is up for 13 awards.
He is nominated for best pop song, record, album, songwriter and producer of the year — and has two nominations in the song of the year category. He also has three nominations apiece in the best tropical song and best regional song categories. Read more
Roger Whittaker, folk singer, dead at 87 (FarOut)
Folk singer Roger Whittaker, best known for his hit single ‘‘Durham Town’’, has died aged 87.
While no cause of death has been given for Whittaker, his passing was confirmed on his official website. The landing page displays an image of the late musician, along with his date of birth 1936 and 2023, signifying the date of his death.
Whittaker grew up in Nairobi, Kenya to British parents, and after enrolling in the Kenyan Army during the 1950s, he moved to the homeland of his family to attend the University College of North Wales. While in Britain, Whittaker began to sing on the club circuit and eventually signed to Columbia Records in 1966. Read more
Oborududu eyes Olympic slot in Serbia (Punch)
Two-time Commonwealth champion and Olympic silver medallist, Blessing Oborududu, will be hoping to secure a Paris 2024 Olympic Games spot when she begins her campaign at the ongoing 2023 Pre Olympic Qualifiers in Belgrade, Serbia on Wednesday (today).
Her compatriot Odunayo Adekuoroye, who lost in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, will be determined to claim a bronze medal, which would seal her spot among the athletes at the Paris Olympics next year.
Her journey at the tournament began with a confident 9-7 points win over world No.4 Brazil’s Guilla Olivera in the round of 16 after she picked up the Brazilian and slammed her on the mat to win their 57kg bout at the World Wrestling Championships. Read more
Foreign scouts for SPOCS Int’l Football Tournament – Opanuga (Independent)
Nationwide Division One League (NLO) side SGFC Athletics Sports Club will take part in what seems to be one of the biggest scouting tourneys in the country, SPOCS Scouting Championship.
The tourney is expected to have 28 teams across the country on parade including Nigeria Premier League clubs like Bendel Insurance, Bayelsa Utd, Box 2 Box, the team that discovered Victor Osemeh, Shooting Stars and NNL side Beyond Limit FC. The event will be held at the Remo Stars stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State from the 2nd-9th October 2023.
The tournament is organized by SPOCS Nigeria which is an extension of the renowned sports agency SPOC Global that manages a lot of top talent worldwide with the aim to further discover and harness talent for the global football market, SPOCS International under, the auspices of Sacha Empacher with Gbenga Agbejoye a mutual representative of SPOCS Nigeria. Read more
Ronaldo helps Al Nassr to historic Asia Cup win in Iran (France24)
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a winning debut in the Asian Champions League as he helped Al Nassr to a 2-0 victory against 10-man Persepolis in Iran on Tuesday night.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has five UEFA Champions League titles to his name, captained the Saudi Arabian side to an opening three points in Group E.
The match at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran was played without fans after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) upheld a one-game ban for Persepolis supporters dating back to 2021. Read more
Manchester United boosted by return of Mason Mount and Raphael Varane (IrishIndependent)
Mason Mount and Raphael Varane trained on the eve of Manchester United’s Champions League trip to Bayern Munich.
Erik ten Hag’s men kick off their campaign away to the perennial Bundesliga champions on Wednesday.
United went through their paces at Carrington ahead of flying to Germany, with Mount and Varane both involved after injury. Read more
Davis Cup: Great Britain drawn to face Novak Djokovic’s Serbia in quarter-finals at Malaga in November (Sky)
Great Britain have been drawn to play Novak Djokovic’s Serbia in the Davis Cup quarter-finals at Malaga.
They secured their place in November’s knock-out stage by finishing top of qualifying Group B on Sunday night after their thrilling 2-1 win against France.
Defending champions Canada will face Finland, while the Czech Republic play Group B runners-up Australia and the Netherlands take on Italy. Read more
Toto Wolff says F1 risks disarray if Massa succeeds in 2008 title challenge (ESPN)
Formula One risks disarray in the unlikely event of Felipe Massa winning a threatened legal claim for the 2008 world championship, according to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
Former Ferrari driver Massa, now 42, has alleged he was denied the title by a “conspiracy” because the sport’s leaders knew the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix was manipulated but took no action until a year later.
Massa was leading that race until Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed his Renault into the wall on lap 14 of the 61-lap race. Read more