UNILAG researchers unravel novel Parkinson’s genetic risk factor in Africans (Guardian)
Researchers from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have uncovered a genetic variant that increases the risk of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in Africans and African admixed populations, as part of key collaborators in the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2).
The research finding was the result of teamwork by an international team, including the Nigeria Parkinson Disease Research (NPDR) network, the International Parkinson’s Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC)-Africa, University College London, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States, and 23andMe.
The study was funded by the Michael J Fix foundation for Parkinson’s research and GP2.
The NPDR network and UNILAG team are led by a Professor of Neurology in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, UNILAG, Prof. Njideka Okubadejo, who acknowledges the crucial role that the supportive research environment at the university and the commitment of the national and international partners played in the success of the team. Read more
Man dies as soldiers, residents clash in Lagos (Punch)
A yet-to-be-identified man was reportedly gunned down by soldiers in the Otto area of Lagos mainland following a clash with some yet-to-be-identified soldiers.
The PUNCH learned that the soldiers were deployed to secure some Chinese workers carrying out maintenance construction along the railway tracks but some boys in the area had been at loggerheads with the construction workers.
A source in the area said the boys, some of them called ‘Omo onile’, were always having issues with the construction workers. Read more
Hannatu Musawa: No law says a corps member can’t be minister (DailyTrust)
Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture & Creative Economy, has broken her silence on the controversy of retaining office while serving as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Although the issue of her NYSC status has been in the news for years, it regained prominence after the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) raised the alarm that one of the ministers of President Bola Tinubu was a serving corps member.
Subsequently, Eddy Megwa, Director of Public Relations of the scheme, said Musawa was occupying the ministerial position in breach of the NYSC Act. Read more
Lagos celebrates children with disabilities (Nation)
Lagos State Office of Disability Affairs (LASODA) has celebrated over 200 physically-challenged children to mark the day of special needs children.
General Manager of LASODA, Oluwadamilare Ogundairo, said the occasion was to give more credence to the government’s policy of inclusiveness.
He said: “This is a testimony of the government’s commitment to the THEMES+ Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s, where no one is left behind. Every year, we gather them to celebrate them. It is important to give them a sense of belonging. Read more
Edo govt attacks Tinubu’s Information Minister over Obaseki’s comments (Tribune)
The Edo State Government, on Sunday, took a swipe at the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, over his statement on Governor Godwin Obaseki’s comments regarding the Federal Government’s handling of the resultant effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.
A statement signed by Mr. Chris Osa Nehikhare, Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, stated that the reactions of the minister to the comments made by Governor Godwin Obaseki regarding the federal government’s handling of effects of the sudden removal of fuel subsidy was reminiscent of how the federal government reacted in 2022 when Governor Obaseki raised the alarm over the indiscriminate ways the government was printing the currency to shut up allocations to the three tiers of government.
The statement advised that at these hard times for Nigerians, occasioned by the policies of the federal government which appointed Idris as minister, the minister was expected to be reconciliatory and sought ways through which Nigeria could navigate through the hard times by concerted efforts. Read more
NDLEA nabs South African with Methamphetamine at Abuja airport
(Vanguard)
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have thwarted an attempt by a 29-year-old South African, Erasmus Jean-Pierre, to export 2.6 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in his luggage to the Middle East through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
He was arrested on August 23, 2023 and the illicit drug recovered from him.
NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement, yesterday, said: “The suspect was intercepted by NDLEA operatives during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 404 from Abuja to the Middle East via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Read more
You’re the only African leader Biden has requested to meet, US envoy tells Tinubu (Channels)
The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, has extended an invitation for discussion to President Bola Tinubu.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the US Presidential Envoy & Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, disclosed this when he visited the Nigerian leader on Saturday.
Phee was quoted to have told President Tinubu that President Biden has requested to meet him on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advance discussions further in late September. Read more
Ohanaeze asks Tinubu to free Kanu (Sun)
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has for the umpteenth time called on President Bola Tinubu to unconditionally release leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation at the weekend declared its readiness to sign an indemnity agreement for the Federal Government to free the detained self-determination agitator.
This is as the group plans to honour some Igbo heroes and special allies of Ndigbo at the 2023 Igbo Day celebration in Enugu in September. Read more
Taylor Swift Praises Selena Gomez’s New Song: “When Your Bestie Is the Bestest” (People)
Taylor Swift is showing her love for her BFF Selena Gomez, who just released her first single in nearly a year.
“Single Soon,” a sultry, upbeat dance track, dropped on Friday, and Gomez wasn’t only feeling the support from her fans after the release — her best friend joined in, too.
“When your bestie is the bestest,” Swift, 33, wrote on her Instagram Story Saturday as she reshared a reel originally posted by Gomez, 31, featuring several clips from the song’s music video. Read more
Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk was almost cut from Across the Spider-Verse (Variety)
Miles Morales encounters an array of new Spider-People in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, including Daniel Kaluuya’s Hobart “Hobie” Brown (aka Spider-Punk). While Spider-Punk plays an integral part in the sequel, as well as became a fan-favorite due to his carefree attitude and spiky mohawk, writer-producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller revealed in an interview with EW that the anarchic superhero was nearly cut from the film.
“He was in and out of the picture for a little while because we weren’t sure which elements we were going to stick in this part and which were going to migrate to the next movie,” Lord said.
However, when the writer-producers met Kaluuya, they “realized that he had to be Hobie Brown, no matter the cost.” Read more
Rock legend Alice Cooper loses cosmetics deal after blasting transgenderism as a “fad” (Fox)
Vampyre Cosmetics has decided to cut ties with shock rock legend Alice Cooper after his comments blasting transgenderism as a “fad” went public in an interview published by Stereogum journalist Rachel Brodsky last week.
“In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration. We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded,” the company wrote in a statement posted to social media on Friday.
All cosmetics associated with the partnership were also scrubbed from Vampyre’s website. Read more
France to ban Muslim abaya dresses in schools (DW)
France will ban school pupils attending state-run facilities from wearing the abaya, a loose-fitting, full length dress some Muslim women wear.
Education Minister Gabriel Attal, who was only promoted to his role earlier in the summer, made the announcement late on Sunday in an interview with French television channel TF1.
“When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them,” he said. Read more
Mark Hamill, James Gunn and more pay tribute to original Harley Quinn actress Arleen Sorkin, who has died (NME)
Arleen Sorkin, the original voice actress of Batman villain Harley Quinn, has died at the age of 67.
The news was announced last night (August 26) via voice actor Neil Kaplan on X/Twitter. “It broke my heart to hear… the original voice of Harley Quinn, [Arleen] Sorkin has passed away. I adored her work as HQ & as Calliope in Days of Our Lives,” Kaplan wrote.
A cause of death has yet to be revealed.
Sorkin is best known for voicing the original iteration of Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series, which ran from 1992 until 1995. Besides voicing the now iconic villain – whose real name was Harleen Quinzel – Sorkin also famously inspired the character’s creation. Read more
Box Office: Gran Turismo and Barbie lead unusual weekend as Sunday ticket prices slashed to $4 (THR)
Start your engines.
Hollywood’s latest go at an auto racing movie — Sony’s Gran Turismo — expanded into thousands of theaters on Friday after hosting two full weekends of sneak previews and several fan events.
Directed by Neill Blomkamp, Gran Turismo had been set to launch on Aug. 11 but switched up its release plans because of the actors strike and the resulting prohibition on the cast — led by Orlando Bloom and David Harbour — doing any press in recent weeks. The studio instead used the sneaks to build buzz before opening the movie everywhere on Aug. 25. Read more
Gunman kills 3 black people in Florida hate crime (AlJazeera)
A masked white man has shot dead three Black people in a shop in Florida, in the southern United States, in a racially-motivated attack, according to local authorities.
According to the sheriff’s office in Jacksonville, the man, who was in his 20s but has not yet been named, was wearing body armour when he entered the Dollar General outlet armed with an assault-style rifle and a handgun.
He shot dead three Black customers – two men and one woman. After a standoff with police, he shot himself. Read more
Remo Stars, Enyimba out of CAF Champions League (Guardian)
Former champions, Enyimba Football Club (FC) of Aba, and Remo Stars were, yesterday, kicked out of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League by Libya’s Al Ahly Benghazi and Medeama FC of Ghana respectively in the first round of the competition’s qualifying series.
The two Nigerian teams in Africa’s elite club competition were tipped to make the second round following their impressive narrow defeats in the first legs of the play-offs a week ago.
The Libyans needed a last-minute goal to beat Enyimba 4-3 in Benghazi, while Remo Stars created chances in Ghana, but failed to get the goal that would have made the game, which they lost 0-1, a draw. But they got the scripts wrong in the decisive home legs. Read more
Perfect Napoli see off Sassuolo, Juve survive penalty controversy (France24)
Napoli continued a perfect start to their Serie A title defence with Sunday’s 2-0 win over 10-man Sassuolo, while Juventus survived penalty controversy in a 1-1 draw with furious Bologna.
Victor Osimhen netted his third goal of the season from the penalty spot 15 minutes into Napoli’s first home match since lifting the league title in front of their fans for the third time back in June.
And captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo made sure Napoli would make it six points from six in the 64th minute, not long after Maxime Lopez was sent off and Giacomo Raspadori — who had hit the post seconds after kick-off — blasted a penalty into the stands. Read more
Soccer world rallies behind Jenni Hermoso to leave Luis Rubiales looking increasingly isolated (CNN)
Spain’s Women’s World Cup-winning coach Jorge Vilda on Saturday criticised the “inappropriate” behaviour of suspended football federation president Luis Rubiales, whose forced kiss to player Jennifer Hermoso at the World Cup final last Sunday caused a wave of indignation in world football.
“I am deeply sorry that the victory of Spanish women’s football has been harmed by the inappropriate behavior that our until now top leader, Luis Rubiales, has carried out and that he himself has recognized,” Vilda said on Saturday in a statement widely shared by Spanish media.
It was a week ago that the incident – seen by millions of viewers around the world – happened, when Hermoso had collected her medal after winning the Women’s World Cup. Read more
Jude Bellingham scores again but Real Madrid suffer Vinicius Junior injury blow (National)
Jude Bellingham continued his “insane” start to life at Real Madrid by grabbing the only goal of the game at Celta Vigo on Friday.
But Real’s third win out of three La Liga games so far this season came with a scare when attacker Vinicius Junior limped off with a leg-muscle problem after just 18 minutes.
That took the shine off what had been another Bellingham masterclass with the England midfielder scoring his fourth goal in three games since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund. Read more
Novak Djokovic makes “disrespectful” comment when asked about Carlos Alcaraz US Open tie (Express)
Novak Djokovic says it would be disrespectful to his first-round opponent to already start thinking about a potential US Open final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz. The duo have put on two epic matches over the last couple of months, at Wimbledon and Cincinnati.
Djokovic takes on world No 84 Alexandre Muller in his opening match at Flushing Meadows on Monday. And he is fully focussed on his first ever meeting with the Frenchman.
He said: “Tennis is such a sport where, for example, in a tournament like Cincinnati [Open], you play five matches in five days. You can’t really be thinking about what happens in three or four days. You’re just thinking about the next day, your next opponent. Read more
Sargeant crashes out of crazy opening to Dutch GP (RN365)
Logan Sargeant became the first driver to crash out of the Dutch Grand Prix as wet weather wreaked havoc at Zandvoort.
Rain began to fall just as drivers were completing their first racing lap at the coastal circuit, with the likes of Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc diving immediately for the pits to switch to Intermediates.
Race leader Max Verstappen tried to brave the conditions out as Fernando Alonso passed Lando Norris in the treacherous conditions for second, but eventually was forced to pit for Inters, emerging 14 seconds behind Perez who vaulted to the lead. Read more