Ummita: Chinese lover denies killing Kano girlfriend (DailyTrust)
The Chinese national, Geng Quangrong, accused of killing his Nigerian lover, Ummukulsum Sani Buhari, has denied charges levelled against him before a Kano High Court along Miller Road, presided over by Justice Sunusi Ado Ma’aji.
Daily Trust reported that the case was not heard due to the absence of an interpreter as the accused person claimed not to understand the English language.
At the resumed hearing, the state counsel led by the Kano State Attorney General, Musa Abdullahi Lawal, presented the court with an interpreter courtesy of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, Mr Guo Cumru.
He said sequel to the adjournment of the trial over the absence of an interpreter, the ministry wrote to the embassy and they availed them with one. Read more
Lagos to fund 2023 budget with N350b loan (Guardian)
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has revealed that the state would borrow N350b to finance the state 2023 budget of N1.692trn.
The governor, who presented the budget to the state assembly, said the state government is expecting a N1.342b revenue to fund the budget.
According to Sanwo-Olu, about N759b would be for recurrent expenditure while N932b would be for capital expenditure.
The governor before giving details of the 2023 budget took time to provide details of projects and programme executed by his administration in the past three years. Read more
2 professors, 21 poly chief lecturers, others apply for YABATECH rector position (Sun)
No fewer than 30 applicants have indicated interest to occupy the position of rector in Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in January 2023.
At the end of the deadline for the submission of applications, two professors, 21 chief lecturers from various polytechnics and eight other senior lecturers from the university applied for the plum job.
Daily Sun gathered that out of the 30 applicants, 13 are from YABATECH, nine chief lecturers from other polytechnics while nine are from the university.
The Selection Committee is expected to shortlist the applicants for interview, which would hold on a later date. Read more
Illicit substances impede economic growth – NDLEA (Punch)
The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), on Thursday said illicit substances are a hindrance to the economic growth of the country
This was as he warned citizens against the use of a new psychoactive substance called Akuskura.
According to him, the trend has negatively impacted on the national development of a developing country like Nigeria.
The chairman who was speaking at the 40th Olumide Memorial Lecture organised by the Nigerian institution of surveyors titled ‘Dangers of illicit substances to national development’ decried calls by some activists and politicians that economic growth could be achieved by cashing in on the global cannabis market which is projected to be worth $103.9 billion by 2024. Read more
FG plans to stop smuggling of food out of Nigeria- Minister (Guardian)
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, says the Federal Government is working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies to stop the smuggling of food out of Nigeria.
Abubakar made this known during a working visit to the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan in Oyo State.
According to him, the country has food security, hence, the need to curtail the smuggling of food out of the country.
“One of the things we are doing is dry season farming, which is beginning next month, and we will intensify that.
“We also make sure that all the agencies that we are working with, the customs, for example, do not allow smuggling of food out of this country. Read more
Nigeria launches National Policy on Waste Battery Management (VON)
The Nigerian government has launched the National Policy on Waste Battery Management as part of activities of the European Union Climate Diplomacy week 2022.
The National Policy on waste Battery Management was approved in February 2022, and seeks to provide specific direction on Environmental Sound Management, ESM of waste batteries.
The Minister of Environment, Mr Mohammed Abdullahi stated this at the launch of the National Policy and Review of National Guidelines/Standard Operations Procedure on Waste Battery Management in Nigeria in Abuja, the Nation’s capital.
Mr Abdullahi said that “the Policy is geared towards setting the right incentives to attract investments in the sector, with socio-economic benefits for the country. Read more
APC drowning, staging fake decampees rally to deceive Lagosians – Jandor (Independent)
The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Dr Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (Jandor) has described as delusional the claim by the Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that 5,000 of his supporters are joining their fold.
In a statement signed by Gbenga Ogunleye, Head, Media & Communications JANDOR4Governor Campaign Organization, Jandor said it is surprising how the same Lagos APC which earlier claimed he is an apprentice politician with no followership is now talking about receiving 5,000 supporters into its party.
Describing APC’s claim as false, Jandor said the party’s aim is to rent faceless and unknown people and then present them to the public as his supporters.
He also added that the APC has been in disarray since January when over 150,000 of its members led by Jandor defected to the PDP. Read more
Ayade, Umahi visit Wike in Rivers (NewTelegraph)
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike on Wednesday night played host to his counterparts from Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade and Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi.
The two governors met Wike in his country home in Rumueprikon, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
Umahi and Ayade are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while Wike is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain.
Details of the meeting could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report. Read more
NAF probes ‘‘accidental air strikes on civilians’’ (Channels)
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has instituted a committee of officers to compile all allegations of accidental air strikes on civilians as well as review the circumstances leading to such strikes.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao stated this on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Air Operations Seminar in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
He said the committee will come up with far-reaching measures to mitigate future incidences of collateral damages on civilians during NAF operations.
Amao noted that the investigation aims at promoting accountability, allowing NAF to learn valuable lessons in order to avoid or mitigate similar cases in the future as well as take extra measures to minimize civilians harm and casualties in conflict areas. Read more
California’s cannabis-growing nuns pray for profits (BBC)
Merced County sits in the middle of California’s Central Valley.
For as far as the eye can see, there are identical rows of crops, with the occasional farmhouse or family home.
One of these homes looks unassuming from the outside.
There’s nothing unusual about the building or the land around it, except that there’s a small group of women, wearing pristine white habits, burning incense, and singing hymns as they walk in step blessing their cannabis plants.
These women are the “Sisters of the Valley,” better known as the Weed Nuns. Read more
Billie Eilish surprised her music was labelled ”depressing” (MusicNews)
Billie Eilish was surprised to find out that people thought her music was “depressing”.
The 20-year-old pop star had never considered her songs to have that vibe, and she thinks musically she has more in common with The Beatles than “dark” music made by other artists.
Speaking on new Audible series Origins, she said: “It was so weird to me when I was first coming up and, and the thing everybody said was, like, ‘Billie Eilish’s music is so depressing, and it’s so sad, and it’s too dark.’
“I was like, ‘What are you talking about? Have you listened to The Beatles and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and ‘Yesterday’, and Lana Del Rey? Like, what the hell?’” Read more
Paul Mescal to lead spy thriller A Spy By Nature — AFM (Deadline)
HanWay Films is launching worldwide sales on A Spy By Nature, a thriller starring Paul Mescal (Normal People) at AFM next month. CAA is co-repping domestic rights.
The film is directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Mauritanian) and is an adaptation of the first novel in Charles Cumming’s bestselling Alec Milius spy series adapted for the screen by John Hodge (Trainspotting), with the most recent draft by Joseph Charlton (Industry).
The pic follows Alec Milius, a disillusioned twenty-something whose gift for deception catches the eye of MI6. Caught up in the thrusts of a geopolitical war on commodities involving the British and the Americans, at home he struggles to preserve his relationship with his girlfriend and build a future together. As his web of lies grows, Alec is forced to confront his own nature – whether he can be a good man as well as a good spy.
The film is produced by Chris Clark (All the Money in the World, Calvary, Legend) and Quentin Curtis (All the Money in the World, Legend). Executive producers are HanWay Films and Ingenious Media who developed the project together with the producers. Read more
Amazon Prime Video sets 18 new local productions in the Nordics (Variety)
Amazon Prime Video has unveiled 18 new local productions in the Nordics as well as a multi-territory Nordisk Film movie deal.
The news was announced at a Prime Video Presents event today (Oct. 27) in Stockholm attended by Prime Video’s head of Nordic originals, Karin Lindström, head of Nordic content, Andreas Hjertø and an array of talent from some of the upcoming productions.
Among the new unscripted shows announced were “LOL: Last One Laughing,” a competitive game show with comedians (pictured above) hosted by Eva Röse, “Pranked,” a hidden-camera, practical-joke celebrity series, dating show “Sweethearts” and “Good Luck Guys,” which takes a bunch of influencers and reality stars out to see how they survive in rural Thailand.
The event in Stockholm also offered the audience a sneak peek at scripted comedy series “Toppen” and iconic reality competition “The Bridge.” Read more
SZA confirms new single ‘‘Shirt’’ is coming this week (NME)
SZA has confirmed that her new single ‘Shirt’ is arriving tomorrow (October 28).
During her show at Austin City Limits earlier this month, the singer revealed that an official video for the long-awaited single, which she debuted during a livestream show last year, was also ready to go and would be released soon.
SZA has now confirmed on Instagram that the song will be released at 9pm PST today (Friday 5am BST) while also sharing a teaser of the accompanying short film, directed by Dave Meyers and starring Sorry to Bother You and Atlanta actor LaKeith Stanfield.
In the clip, SZA sits opposite the actor and tells him “energy is everything”, before she pulls a gun out on another diner at their table. Read more
Kanye West responds to Ari Emanuel’s op-ed on rapper’s anti-Semitic comments (PageSix)
Kanye West says he’s still got “love” for Ari Emanuel – even after the high-power media executive wrote an op-ed about why businesses should cut ties with the rapper over his anti-Semitic comments.
“Ari Emmanuel I lost 2 billion dollars in one day and I’m still alive,” West, 45, wrote in a post captioned “LOVE SPEECH” and shared via Instagram on Thursday.
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”This is love speech I still love you God still loves you,” he added. “The money is not who I am the people is who I am.”
West’s message came after Emanuel penned a piece for the Financial Times, arguing that the rapper’s mental illness does not excuse his controversial behavior. Read more
Ukraine seeks to re-take Kherson, Russia threatens Western commercial satellites used by military (PBS)
Moscow-appointed authorities have fled the capital of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region along with tens of thousands of residents as Ukrainian forces attacked Russia’s hold on the city Thursday while fighting also intensified in the country’s east.
Amid the battles, a senior Russian official warned that Western commercial satellites used for military purposes in support of Ukraine were a “legitimate target for a retaliatory strike.”
Ukraine has pushed ahead with an offensive to reclaim the Kherson region and its capital of the same name, which Russian forces captured during the first days of a war now in its ninth month.
More than 70,000 residents from the Kherson city area have evacuated in recent days, the region’s Kremlin-installed governor, Vladimir Saldo, said Thursday. Read more
NFF president lauds Flamingoes despite defeat to Colombia (Vanguard)
The president of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau has praised the Flamingoes despite the team’s defeat to Colombia on Wednesday.
The team failed to clinch a spot in the final at the ongoing World Cup in India losing 6-5 on penalty shootout to the South Americans.
The game, in regular time, had ended in a stalemate as both teams made efforts at breaking through their defenses and getting a goal to no avail.
Gusau, who had traveled to Goa to support the girls, took to his Twitter account to laud the ladies for what he described as an ‘amazing performance’. Read more
Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool boss fined £30k by FA for red card against Manchester City (BBC)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been fined £30,000 by the Football Association following his sending off during his side’s 1-0 win against Manchester City on 16 October.
Klopp was dismissed after berating a referee’s assistant when a foul was not given for a challenge on Mohamed Salah.
The German apologised for his reaction in his post-match comments.
“Something snapped in that situation, I’m not proud of that. I deserved a red card,” he admitted. Read more
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch says he’s ”angry, tired” with side’s struggles (ESPN)
Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has said he is “angry” and “tired” as his side continue to struggle in the Premier League.
Marsch’s team have lost their last four games and have not won their last eight matches in the Premier League stretching back to August.
Leeds fans showed their frustration with their American manager by booing him after their 3-2 defeat to Fulham last weekend. Speaking ahead of their clash with Liverpool on Saturday, Marsch said he shared that anger.
“I am angry,” Marsch said. “I’m tired of tight matches where we are in the match, and in many cases better than the opponent, and walking away with nothing. Read more
Lewis Hamilton admits he’s haunted by Max Verstappen after ”fresh kick” from Red Bull (Express)
Lewis Hamilton has admitted that the ongoing saga involving Red Bull’s budget cap breach in 2021 has brought back painful memories of that year’s controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen gifted his maiden Drivers’ Championship title at the eleventh hour. Hamilton looked set to wrap up a record-breaking eighth title until a late safety car period saw his efforts go up in smoke thanks to a hugely divisive and incorrect call from then-race director Michael Masi.
Masi decided to ignore the standard restart procedure in order to clear the way for Verstappen by ordering the five lapped drivers between the two leaders to overtake the safety car late on, which allowed the Dutchman to pass Hamilton on much fresher tyres when the green flags were waved on the final lap. It has since been found by the FIA that Red Bull were guilty of breaching last year’s budget limit, with the media fanfare around the situation having brought up plenty of difficult feelings for Hamilton over the last few weeks.
“That, for sure, brings up a little bit of emotion because you kind of buried it and moved on,” Hamilton told BBC Sport. “Then it comes back up and it’s like another bit of a kick and, yeah, that just bought it all kind of fresh again. So then [it was a case of] just getting back into the phase of just suppressing it and moving forwards.” Read more
Emma Raducanu’s former coach Dmitry Tursunov says he left because of ‘‘red flags’’ (CNN)
Dmitry Tursunov says he decided to stop coaching Emma Raducanu at the end of his trial period with the tennis star because of “red flags” that he could not ignore.
The Russian had been working with the 19-year-old after she split with full-time coach Torben Beltz in April but has since said the pair could not agree on terms.
Tursunov is now working with Olympic champion Belinda Bencic but says that was not the reason he left Raducanu.
“I was walking away from Emma regardless of whether there was another [player] available or not,” he told tennismajors.com, in an interview published on Wednesday. Read more
No plans to sign Ronaldo in January – Napoli (DailyTrust)
Napoli have dismissed the idea they could offer Cristiano Ronaldo refuge in January as the Italian Serie A leaders insist they “don’t have to fix anything.”
Sporting director, Cristiano Giuntoli, indicated the prospect of any major incomings or outgoings was remote, given Napoli are confident they have a strong group with the right balance.
He added that to “fly with the fantasy” would not be Napoli’s style this season, as they seek a first Scudetto since the 1989/1990 season.
That season included when Diego Maradona was at the club.
Ronaldo could leave Manchester United in mid-season if a deal can be found that suits all parties. Read more