The tissue used by Lionel Messi to wipe his tears during his farewell press conference is reportedly being sold for $1 million.
Earlier this month, Messi parted ways with Barcelona after spending almost two decades at the Spanish club.
At a press conference to bid farewell to the Catalans, the Argentina captain was reduced to tears as he said his final goodbyes. According to a report by TMZ Sports, the tissue used by the 34-year-old to wipe his tears has gone on sale for a staggering $1 million.
The report suggests the tissue has been posted on an auction site, with the seller claiming it contains Messi’s “genetic material”.
The seller also insists the tissue could potentially be used to someday clone the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. It is unknown whether any buyer would be willing to spend such a huge fortune on the tissue, especially with Messi moving to PSG.
Meanwhile, Messi has started training with the Ligue 1 side and has already set his sights on helping them win the UEFA Champions League. “I believe PSG are prepared to fight once again having come very close in recent years. I have the same dream and desire to win another Champions League,” he told beIN Sports.
“Hopefully I can do whatever is necessary so that we can achieve that goal which is something that would mean a lot to the club, to me personally and to the fans.” Messi will be playing alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in what is certainly the deadliest attacking trio in world football.
Tiffany Haddish, in full Tiffany Sarac Haddish, (born December 3, 1979, Los Angeles, California, U.S.), American comedian who was known for her unflinching candour and disarming authenticity. She shot to stardom with her no-holds-barred performance as Dina in the raunchy comedy Girls Trip (2017).
Haddish’s father, who was Eritrean, left the family when she was still a toddler. After her mother suffered brain damage in a car accident, Haddish spent several years in foster care before going to live with her grandmother as a teenager. Her penchant for making her classmates laugh led her social worker to point her toward the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp, a free summer program offered by the comedy club chain Laugh Factory to teach underprivileged children how to perform stand-up comedy. The camp proved to be a transformative experience for Haddish.
After graduating from high school, Haddish focused on forging a career in comedy, using her life as source material. Although she made headway, she earned so little money that at times she was forced to live in her car. Her first big break came in 2006 when she was a contestant on the television comedy competition show Who’s Got Jokes? Two years later she appeared on Def Comedy Jam and the reality-show spoof Reality Bites Back. During this time, Haddish began to be cast in a number of sitcoms, and she also acted in such films as the comedies Meet the Spartans (2008) and The Janky Promoters (2009), which was written by and starred rapper and actor Ice Cube.
Tiffany Haddish
Haddish’s credits from 2019 included the comedy special Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History, the animated feature The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, and the mob drama The Kitchen. That year she emceed the comedy special Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready; was cast as the host of the updated TV show Kids Say the Darndest Things; and did the stand-up comedy special Black Mitzvah, which was subsequently adapted into a Grammy Award-winning comedy album. In 2020 Haddish starred in the movie Like a Boss, a comedy about two friends who create a cosmetics company, and appeared in the Netflix miniseries Self Made, which was inspired by the life of pioneering businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker (played by Octavia Spencer). Her films from 2021 included the comedy Bad Trip and Billy Crystal’s Here Today, in which she played a singer who forms a friendship with a comedy writer in the early stages of dementia.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has reacted to the killing of four oil workers of Lee Engineering Company by gunmen in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State on Monday.
The group stated that it was not responsible for the attack, insisting that some enemies were trying to dent the image of the group.
It was learnt that the oil workers were going to their oil plant in Assa community when the attackers shot them.
SaharaReporters published that the four persons died instantly while many others sustained injuries.
Confirming the incident, the national president of Congress of Ohaji Youths, Emmanuel Ugorji, said some community leaders and security agents, including himself, had visited the scene.
He aslo called on the government to beef up security in the area, adding that gunmen were terrorising the area in recent times.
The enraged youth leader said, “The first attack by this group was an attack on Oil Serve company and the second one was the kidnapping of the Cluster Development Board Chairman, Godswill Uzomba, whose whereabouts have remained unknown for three months now and followed by burning of ZEROC equipment at Watersmith industrial park by a known criminal gang.”
But in a statement by IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful on Thursday, the group said, “The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been drawn to the fabricated falsehood being peddled by our enemies that IPOB killed oil workers in Etekuru community and Asa in Ohaji council of Imo State.
“This is a complete falsehood to tarnish our global reputation. We have no hand in such barbarity. We are not bandits or terrorists that spill blood; IPOB is a non-violent and peaceful movement whose agenda is the restoration of Biafra. Killing or maiming of innocent lives is not part of our mandate.i
“This won’t be the first time enemies of the struggle will be linking us with such atrocity in their desperate but futile attempt to blackmail us but we are innocent of it all. We, therefore, urge members of the public to disregard this unfounded propaganda which is the antics of our enemies.”
While the separatist group stated that suspended sit-at-home order on Monday exonerated its members from such a callous act, it also called on the affected company to probe the incident.
“A further proof that this allegation does not hold water is the fact that even before the purported killings, IPOB had in well-circulated publications at two different times, announced the cancellation of sit-at-home orders on Mondays. So, on what basis will IPOB still go and enforce the same order it had suspended?
“We suspended the sit-at-home order and anybody enforcing sit at home on the day we suspended must have been sponsored by Nigerian government and her security agencies to blackmail IPOB. We have no business with oil companies and their workers in Ohaji or any other place. The oil companies should investigate this attack thoroughly and know who was involved in this act,” Powerful added in the statement.
Comrade Danlad Sunday Oladele, the pioneer president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has died just two weeks after winning a battle to get YABATECH to release his certificate.
According to Senator Dino Melaye, Oladele’s certificate was withheld by the management of YabaTech as a punitive measure over his activism during his days in the college.
Oladele, alongside a few others, had in 1980 led the rebirth of the students’ movement from the proscribed National Union of Nigerian Students after the military government of Olusegun Obasanjo had, during the “Ali Must Go struggle” led by Olusegun Okeowo, banned student unionism, which was firmly organised under NUNS.
Oladele was said to have led others, and they regrouped, wrote a new constitution and in 1980, founded NANS. But his actions “later earned him and most of his colleagues varying consequences such as expulsion, rustication and withholding of their certificates,” Melaye said.
Oladele fought YABATECH for decades to get his certificate and, with the intervention of the Senate Committee, the management of YABATECH agreed to present him with his certificate at their next convocation but unfortunately, he died two weeks after.
Olalekan, the son of the deceased, told newsmen that his father was in high spirits and was looking forward to the convocation ceremony but died before then. He added that his father died doing what he loved best, which is fighting for the masses, and he had no regrets. Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has vowed to retrieve the certificate of its pioneer president.
Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola was born on November 11, 1992. Florence is professionally known as DJ Cuppy or Cuppy, she is a Nigerian disc jockey and producer. She is the daughter of Nigerian billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola.
Cuppy lived in Ilupeju for six years before moving to Ikeja where she attended Grange School, Ikeja. She then relocated to London for her GCSEs and A-Levels. She graduated from King’s College London in July 2014, with a degree in Business and Economics. She also earned a master’s degree in music business from New York University in 2015.
In 2014, Cuppy was the resident DJ at the MTV Africa Music Awards in Durban. She then played at the Tatler and Christie’s Art Ball in London and at the Financial Times Luxury Summit in Mexico City.
In July 2014, she released House of Cuppy as her first compilation mix in London and Lagos, before launching it in New York on September 2, 2014. With House of Cuppy, she produced EDM-esque remixes of songs by leading afropop artists. That same year, Cuppy also launched the London-based music management and content production business, Red Velvet Music Group.
CUPPY
In January 2015, Cuppy was featured on the cover of the Guardian Life magazine. The cover celebrated a new generation of African women. In March 2015, Cuppy was named the official DJ for the 2015 Oil Barons Charity in Dubai, and became the first African act to perform at the event. She was featured in the 2015 April/May issue of Forbes Woman Africa.
In June 2015, Cuppy released House of Cuppy II. In August 2015, Cuppy set off on her first DJ tour to 8 countries in Africa, titled “Cuppy Takes Africa”.
She then visited Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania,Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa. The “Cuppy Takes Africa” tour included performances, major artist collaborations, and charitable engagements supported by GTB Bank and the Dangote Foundation. Later that year, she interned at Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.
In October 2016, the “Cuppy Takes Africa” tour aired on Fox Life Africa as an 8-episode documentary series. In 2016, Cuppy was the resident DJ for MTV2’s Uncommon Sense with Charlamagne Tha God. She produced two songs, “Vibe” and “The way I am”, which appeared on the “Afrobeats” EP by Young Paris which as released on March 24, 2017.
On October 13, 2017, she released “Green Light”, her first official single. The song features guest vocals from Nigerian singer and producer Tekno. On March 30, 2018, she released “Vybe”, her second official single. The song features guest vocals from Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie.
On August 24, 2018, she released Currency, her third official single featuring L.A.X. On October 5, 2018, she released Werk, her fourth single featuring Skuki. On April 19, 2019, she collaborated with Kwesi Arthurfor her fifth single “Abena” . On August 16, 2019, she released Gelato, her sixth single featuring Zlatan.
In 2020, Cuppy was inducted into the Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 class. On May 28, 2020, she became the host of ‘Africa Now Radio’ on Apple Music Beats 1. On July 16, 2020, she released “Jollof On The Jet”, her seventh single featuring Rema & Rayvanny. On August 24, 2020, she unveiled her debut album “Original Copy”. In February 2021, she partnered with Apple Music to launch the first radio show in Africa.
President Muhammadu Buhari has announced a steering committee that will work out measures for implementation of the newly signed Petroleum Industry Act (PwIA). The committee headed by the Honourable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has 12 months to submit its report.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Group Managing Director, NNPC, Executive Chairman, FIRS, Representative of the Ministry of Justice, Representative of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Natural Resources, Barrister Olufemi Lijadu as External Legal Adviser are members of the committee.
The Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, will serve as Head of the Coordinating Secretariat and the Implementation Working Group. The primary responsibility of the steering committee shall be to guide the effective and timely implementation of the PIA in the course of transition to the petroleum industry envisaged in the reform program and ensure that the new institutions created have the full capability to deliver on their mandate under the new legislation.
About 1,000 police personnel has been deployed to ensure watertight security before, during, and after the coronation of Omoba Tsola Emiko as the 21st Olu of Warri, Kingdom. The coronation is scheduled for Saturday, at Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri), the ancestral home of the Itsekiris, in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State. The State Commissioner of Police, CP Ari Muhammed Ali, announced on Wednesday that the measure was part of the Command’s usual proactive ways to ensure hitch-free security at the ceremony. According to the CP, two bomb squad has been deployed to report 48 hours before the coronation day to ensure it is safe. While warning mischief-makers to steer clear of the event, the CP stated that “the Command is more than ready to deal decisively with anybody who tries to disrupt or cause any form of mischief during the coronation. “All that needs to be done to ensure that the event is hitch-free and devoid of any form of violence has been put in place.” While wishing the people of Warri and Deltans a peaceful and hitch-free Coronation ceremony, the CP directed the Area Commander Warri, Divisional Police Officers, Tactical Operations Officers of the Command to leave no stone unturned towards ensuring thorough supervision of personnel deployed for the actualisation of peace and tranquility during and after the coronation ceremony.
Uwangue, the traditional crowning family, backs Prince Tsola Emiko as Olu–designate Meanwhile, the Uwangue Family of Jakpa which is responsible for the crowning of the Warri monarch has formally backed the emergence of Prince Tsola Emiko as the Olu-designate of Warri Kingdom. This was contained in a statement signed by six principal members of the traditional family, copies of which were made available to journalists in Warri, amidst arrangements for Saturday’s coronation. The signatories comprising Messrs G.O. Yashobo, Napoleon Edah, A.O. Omagbemi, Mr. Sam Omajuwa, Deacon Ogbemi Edah Akinsan and Mr. S.O. Memuduaghan respectively maintained that since the selection and confirmation of the Olu-designate have been concluded, they have no option than to support his candidature. The Uwangue family, a lineage of the Ologbotsere Eyinmisan descendants, clarified their position on the Olu of Warri stool, saying, “we do not have any position known as spokesman of the Ologbotsere Eyinmisan Descendants Worldwide, as no decision to create such office was never reached at any meetings of the families.” “Whatever statement that is credited to a so-called ‘spokesman Worldwide’ is a figment of his distorted imagination and “personal outburst which we taken exception to,” the signatories further said. The signatories affirmed Chief Gabriel Awala as the sole authority to authorise any public statement after due consultations with the Uwangue Council of Elders and other relevant authorities of the family.
President Muhammadu Buhari has announced a steering committee that will work out measures for implementation of the newly signed Petroleum Industry Act (PwIA). The committee headed by the Honourable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has 12 months to submit its report.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Group Managing Director, NNPC, Executive Chairman, FIRS, Representative of the Ministry of Justice, Representative of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Natural Resources, Barrister Olufemi Lijadu as External Legal Adviser are members of the committee.
The Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, will serve as Head of the Coordinating Secretariat and the Implementation Working Group. The primary responsibility of the steering committee shall be to guide the effective and timely implementation of the PIA in the course of transition to the petroleum industry envisaged in the reform program and ensure that the new institutions created have the full capability to deliver on their mandate under the new legislation.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has announced a nationwide lockdown after the country confirmed one coronavirus case, the first locally transmitted Covid-19 case since February.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Ardern said the country’s authorities were assuming that the case was the “deadly and contagious Delta variant, although genome sequencing is still underway.”
The identified victim was an unvaccinated 58-year-old man in the country’s largest city, Auckland, who tested positive for the virus, prompting the lockdown.
The man was said to have traveled to other parts of the country, and had obvious links to the border, Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield also said at a separate conference.
According to Ardern, New Zealand will be under the strictest lockdown level for the next three days starting from 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, local time.
Under this level four lockdown, everyone must stay home and businesses are closed aside for essential services such as supermarkets and pharmacies,” she announced.
New Zealand was last under its most serious lockdown level a year ago, and this time, Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, an area of the country’s North Island where the patient traveled, are likely to be under the level four lockdown for a week.
“We are one of the last countries in the world to have the Delta variant in our community.
“We’re in the position to learn from experience overseas, and what actions work, and what actions don’t work.
“Delta has been called a gamechanger — and it is. It means we need to again go hard and early to stop the spread.
“We have seen what can happen elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance,” Ardern said.
The development comes after an emergency meeting between school authorities and the Anglican Church was held in Asante Mampong after a viral video.
The Anglican Church of Ghana has sacked one of its priests, Balthazar Obeng Larbi, who was captured kissing female students of the St Monica’s College of Education in Asante Mampong. The development comes after an emergency meeting between school authorities and the Anglican Church was held in Asante Mampong after a viral video. The resolution was to relieve Larbi of his duties as a priest and also as a lawyer for the Ghana Education Service in the Ashanti region. Larbi was sacked indefinitely as the church assured members of the public that the three girls involved would undergo counselling sessions. Rev. Father Balthazar Obeng Larbi “is relieved of his duties as Chaplain of the College and all other official duties pending investigations and recommendations from the committee”, the church said, in a letter to the priest. The Anglican Church of Ghana had earlier condemned the act and promised an internal investigation on the priest. A statement which was signed by the church on August 17 indicated that “the said Priest will be dealt with in accordance with the norms and values of the Anglican Communion where morality is extremely revered in the Church.” “The church is saddened by the news and wish to state expressly that, a thorough investigation has immediately been instituted into the matter and the action of the said priest will be dealt with in accordance with the norms and values of the Anglican Communion where morality is extremely revered in the church,” the statement undersigned by Venerable Dr George Dawson-Ahmoah, Executive Director to the Metropolitan Archbishop of Ghana added. In a viral video, Obeng Larbi was seen kissing female students from the St Monica’s College of Education in Asante Mampong. One of the girls was uncomfortable and tried to resist but the school Chaplain literally forced the kiss on her while other students watched in excitement.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has excluded Nigeria from a list of countries whose citizens are eligible to apply for visa-on-arrival.
Etihad Airways released a list of countries whose travellers landing at Abu Dhabi airport can receive visas from its immigration desks.
Countries such as the U.S., China, Maldives, France, and Russia top the list. African countries like Seychelles and Mauritius are included, but Nigeria is excluded. Also, visitors who had been in Nigeria or South Africa in the preceding 14 days before travel will not be allowed to enter the UAE.
The list came after the UAE entered into a visa-free agreement with Ghana. In June, the UAE had suspended flights to and from Lagos and Abuja. Emirati authorities also prohibited their nationals from visiting Nigeria and some other countries as the country controls exposure to COVID-19, Gazette reported.
Since late last year, Nigeria and the UAE have been in a diplomatic spat over fraudulent activity in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. This has resulted in several flight restrictions, visa bans, and the exclusion of Nigerians from visiting Dubai.
Under President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, the value of the Nigerian passport has dropped. Analysis by Henley and Partners revealed that Nigeria’s passport ranks 101 out of 199 countries, allowing its passport holders to just 46 countries visa-free.
Travellers from the following countries will receive a visa on arrival in Abu Dhabi:
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reconstitution of the standing committee on National Honours Award for a period of four years.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mrs. Anthonia Ekpa, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said the appointments took effect from August 5.
The committee is headed by the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Muhammad (retd).
Other members of the committee are former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri (North-West), Muhammed Ja`afaru (North-West), Alhaji Sale Isa (North-East), Chief Inikio Sam-sele (South-South).
Others are – Prof. Lazarus Ekwueme (South-East), Yemisi Shyllon (South-West), Dr. Abdullahi Onyekan, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Permanent Secretary/Director, Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Governors from the 36 states in Nigeria will meet on Wednesday to deliberate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the ongoing strike by resident doctors, among others.
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the PIB on Monday.
However, several individuals and groups in the country including the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had criticized the President for signing the PIB despite outcry over the 3 percent allocation to oil-producing communities and other provisions of the document.
The resident doctors began an indefinite nationwide strike on August 2 over grievances that include the delayed payment of salaries and allowances.
The Head of Media and Media Publicity, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said the governors would also discuss the planned commencement of the second phase of the COVID- 19 vaccination, and the Water Resources Bill pending before the National Assembly among others.
The statement read: “Three pro-poor issues will feature prominently on the Nigeria Governors’ Forum’s 33rd Teleconference meeting, the 10th in 2021 which takes place on Wednesday 18th August 2021.
The Director-General of the NGF, Mr. Asishana Bayo Okauru, in the invitation to the meeting itemised the National Poverty reduction and growth strategy, the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination and other health updates, as well as the ongoing strike by the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors, and the campaign for building a new mindset for a united Nigeria as some of the crucial issues to dominate the meeting.
The meeting which promises to be very heavy on solving critical national questions will also dwell on states’ participation in Nigeria Electrification Project and Solar Power Naija, in a presentation by the nation’s Rural Electrification Agency.
“The Nigerian Security Minting and Printing Company will also address the Forum on how to leverage Modern Security Document Solutions.
“The Campaign on Building a New Mindset for a United Nigeria will be anchored by Ambassadors of Voice for Change led by Bala Ahmed and Zack Orji.
“Other items on the agenda, according to Mr. Okauru, include an update on the refund of withholding taxes (WHT) and Stamp Duties, the Nigerian Postal Service Bill, 2021 & Collection of Stamp Duties, and the recently signed Petroleum Industry Bill where the governors are expected to identify next steps among other issues.
The health update by the NGF Health Advisor, Dr. Ahmad Abdulwahab, will be followed by another update on the 2nd Phase of COVID-19 vaccination by Dr. Faisal Shuaib, while the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa Committee of the NGF will brief governors on its appraisal of the PTF thus far.
“The NGF Chairman, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi’s keynote address to the Association for General & Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMN), where he enjoined doctors to honour their Hippocratic oaths by seeking other means of pushing their demands and avoid resorting to strikes, will round up the health section of the deliberations.’’
A senior member of the Taliban on Tuesday announced a general “amnesty” for everyone in the country and urged women to join the government, days after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, claimed on Afghan state television that women in Afghanistan had no reason to be afraid.
He said: “The Islamic Emirate doesn’t want women to be victims.” He added: “The structure of government is not fully clear, but based on experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership and all sides should join.”
Samangani said that women “should be in the government structure according to Shariah law”.
Associated Press reported that this marked a departure from the last time the Taliban was in power when women were largely confined to their homes. And those who violated the Taliban’s rules faced flogging in public and execution.
In an earlier statement, the Taliban spokesperson Sohail Shaheen said that the reports of girls being sent home from schools in some parts of the country were not true.
Fawzia Koofi, a women’s rights activist and former lawmaker was quoted by NBC as saying “women in Afghanistan are the most at danger or most at-risk population of the country.”
Another Afghan woman, Nasreen Sultani, the principal of the Sardar-e-Kabuli Girls High School in Kabul was quoted as saying: “I am very sad. When I see all these girls, I get really upset now.”
She added: “I tried, but we couldn’t manage to make sure that women get out of this miserable situation,” Ms Sultani was threatened by the Taliban in the past.
It was also not clear what the Taliban meant by “amnesty”.
Other Taliban leaders have said that they won’t seek revenge on those who worked with the Afghan government or foreign countries, but there have been reports of recriminations already taking place.
Afghanistan faces massive uncertainty with the Taliban now in control of the country. Former president Ashraf Ghani fled the country on the day the group took over the presidential palace.
There was subsequent chaos and fear among many Afghan locals. Hundreds ran towards the international airport in Kabul and several clung to the wheels of a departing US military aircraft.
One disturbing video that was circulated online showed a few men falling to their death once the aeroplane took off.
Zambia’s main opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema, has been declared winner of the country’s presidential election conducted last Thursday by the electoral commission, defeating incumbent President Edgar Lungu, by more then one million votes.
The 59-year-old Hichilema’s success after six attempts at becoming the President, was met with joy as his supporters took to the streets of the capital, Lusaka, to celebrate the unprecedented victory.
Before the announcement on Monday, Lungu had sought a cancellation of the election, alleging that it was not free and fair, but the electoral commission stood and went ahead to announce the result.
He had also alleged that election officials from his Patriotic Front Party (PFP) had been chased from polling stations, leaving votes unprotected.
In response, Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND) said the statement was the “desperate final act of an outgoing administration.”
In its final tally before announcing the result, the electoral commission said Hichilema had won 2,810,777 votes to Lungu’s 1,814,201.
The landslide win means Hichilema will not have to fight a run-off contest.
Lungu’s six-year rule was criticised for alleged human rights abuses, corruption, failing economy and massive unemployment.
Hichilema who tapped into widespread dissatisfaction among voters, is now faced with the challenge of turning around the country’s economic fortunes.
Taliban fighters have taken control of the city of Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest province, after another round of incursions into the capital, Kabul.
A member of the Afghanistan Parliament, Gul Ahmad Kamin, who confirmed this on Friday, said the insurgent group has continued its rapid advancement toward Kabul.
Kamin said he and many others had made their way to a military base close to the city’s international airport and were awaiting a flight out.
“Many government soldiers have surrendered and the rest fled,” Kamin said
In a statement by the Taliban media arm on Friday, the group said they had taken control of the governor’s office, police headquarters, as well as other key operational centers throughout the city.
Hundreds of weapons, vehicles and ammunition were seized,” the Taliban statement said.
The Taliban also released a video of their fighters celebrating after capturing the city.
Kandahar, which lies on the junction of three major highways, is of particular strategic importance and was formerly a major hub for US military operations. Its seizure marks the most significant gain yet for the Taliban, which has now taken control of 13 of the country’s 34 provincial capitals.
The vast majority of the Taliban’s territorial gains have come since the withdrawal of American forces, which began in May and is scheduled to be completed by late August.
The city of Herat, Afghanistan’s third-largest city and a major urban center in western Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban on Thursday evening, with the group taking control of the governor’s office and Herat police headquarters, according to Afghan officials.
Qala-I-Naw city, the provincial capital of the northwest Badghis province also fell to the militant group on Thursday evening, a Badghis provincial council member confirmed.
Similarly, the city of Ghazni, a key provincial capital on the road to Kabul, also fell to the militant group earlier on Thursday, after “long and intense fighting,” according to Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, head of Ghazni provincial council.
Ghazni lies around 93 miles (150 kilometers) south of Kabul, on a major highway connecting the capital with Kandahar.
With the capture of Ghazni, the Taliban is now in control of key locations both to the north and south of Kabul.
Their earlier capture of areas of the Baghlan province, which lies to the north of Kabul, raised alarms among US officials because the location is considered essential for the defense of the capital.
Members of the House of Representatives, on Thursday, declared that the problem of the power sector in Nigeria lies in lack of policies that would make it function better.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Magaji Aliyu, who led some committee members to the Annual General Meeting/Awards ceremony of the Association of Rural Electrification Contractors of Nigeria, said this while speaking on the side-lines of the event in Abuja.
Speaking on behalf of the team, Aliyu stated that findings by the committee had shown that many Nigerians were paying for electricity that they did not consume.
He said: “The power sector is in a big problem because of lack of efficient and dynamic policies. Let me give you an example: today, you will hear that a part of the Ministry of Power has been shifted to another organisation, which I believe is an aberration.
“I’ll give an example, at the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company there is war on where the organisation belongs; is it in power or finance ministry? There is an issue with the Hydropower Development Authority on whether it should be in the Presidency or the power ministry”.
Speaking further, Aliyu said: “I believe that there are political machinations not to allow power grow in this country. There are machinations to interfere with the power sector generally. We have multidimensional problems.”
Also, he noted that the sector was faced with power distribution, generation and transmission problems, pointing out that some organisations were created under the power ministry without the knowledge of the minister.
“In this country, we still do what they call ‘take or pay’. Nigerians are paying for the electricity they did not take. We are paying for it. This is a very serious issue.
But there must be a desired formula that the politics of it must allow the Ministry of Power to drive power process in this country. There are agencies that are supposed to be under the power ministry but they don’t report to the ministry now,” he said.
He stated that the Federal lawmakers would continue to engage the government, as many letters had been written to executive members and President Muhammadu Buhari on the need to make things work.
Aliyu spoke against claims that the lawmakers were interfering in the award of contracts for power projects, arguing that none of his team had done so.
Ayo Adesanya , born on 11th August 1969 is a Nigerian film maker, actress, director and producer. Ayo Adesanya appears in both Yoruba and English-language films.
She hails from Ijagun, Ijebu in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. Ayo Adesanya attended St Anne’s School in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State,where she completed both her primary and secondary school education and obtained both her first School Leaving Certificate and West African Senior School Certificate. She later proceeded to the University of Ibadan where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Mass communication.
Ayo Adesanya
Ayo Adesanya began her career in 1986, after she completed the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC) In 1996, Ayo Adesanya joined the Nigerianmovie industry (Nollywood) professionally and began her professional acting career and made her first appearance on television was on Tunji Bamishigbin’s soap opera titled Palace. Ayo Adesanya later joined the Yoruba-language film industry, where she has featured, produced and directed several movies.
New York City Governor, Andrew Cuomo, on Tuesday, stepped down from the position over alleged sexual harassment.
The state’s attorney general had earlier released a document detailing multiple accusations of sexual harassment against the embattled governor.
In a televised address, Cuomo said the decision to resign from the position was the right thing to do in the circumstances.
He said: “Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to the government, and therefore, that is what I’ll do, because I work for you, and doing the right thing, is doing the right thing for you.”
The governor’s resignation takes effect in 14 days.
In his absence, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat, will serve the rest of his term.
Nigerian Music Executive and former VP of A&R at RCA, Tunji Balogun has joined Def Jam Records as CEO.
According to Variety, Balogun was hired by Def Jam after the music giant named Nicki Farag, a promotion veteran, as its executive VP and general manager.
He will succeed Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s long-time manager, who joined the label in 2018 and left two years later to remain president of Shady Records, Eminem’s joint venture with UMG’s Interscope Geffen A&M.
Balogun’s exit from RCA comes on the heels of the appointment of Columbia Records’ Imran Majid and Justin Eshak as co-CEOs of UMG’s Island Records in a deal to take effect from January 2022
RCA hosts musicians of global repute like Wizkid and Chris Brown while Def Jam boasts of hitmakers such as BTS, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Kanye West.
Balogun joined RCA in 2015 after working seven-and-a-half years at Interscope. The A&R executive was involved in the signing of musicians like Khalid, Brockhampton, Normani, and Bryson Tiller.
In 2018, Balogun co-founded the label Keep Cool, a joint venture with RCA, alongside Courtney Stewart, Jon Tanners, and Jared Sherman. He was elevated to EVP that year.
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