UEFA have officially unveiled the trophy and branding for the Europa Conference League, which begins next season.
The trophy, which stands 57.5cm tall and weighing 11kg, consists of 32 hexagonal spines one for each team in the group stage of the competition, twisting and curving from the trophy base.
Clubs will qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. It will be the third tier of European club football, after the Champions League and the Europa League.
“We want to make our competitions more inclusive – to give clubs and fans the chance to dream and compete for European honours,” said UEFA President Aleksander ?eferin.
“This is why we created the UEFA Europa Conference League. We have 55 national associations who make up UEFA, and it is important to give clubs from as many federations as possible, the chance to prolong their European campaigns for as long as possible.”
Tottenham will be England’s first representative in the new tournament after they finished 7th in the Premier League table. They will go straight into the play-off round, which will be played on August 19 and 26, just five days after the 2021-22 Premier League season begins on August 14.
Ex-England and Liverpool striker, Daniel Sturridge is being sued by a man who found his stolen dog in Los Angeles two years ago.
At that time, Sturridge made a plea on social media after his beloved Pomeranian dog named Lucci, who is worth £4,000, was stolen after his house was burgled in July 2019, with bags also stolen.
The footballer promised a reward of £26,000 ($30,000) to whoever found the pet but Foster Washington, the man claiming to have found the dog, is now filing a new lawsuit stating Sturridge still owes him the reward money, as per a report by TMZ Sports.
The report details that Washington says he found Lucci on the street after the burglary in July 2019 before reaching out to Sturridge, expecting the reward in return for finding his dog.
But Washington insists Sturridge has not paid him anything at all, so he’s now suing over claims that Sturridge breached a contract by not living up to the reward offer.
While Police took fingerprints from a broken door, the footballer took matters into his own hands by pleading for help on social media.
The loss of the favourite pet Lucci was what he was most upset about and Sturridge insisted the ‘dognappers’ should come back ‘if they wanted to make money.’
In an angry tirade online, Sturridge said: ‘Listen, somebody’s broken into the house in LA, took my dog from the house. Listen, whoever knows who broke into my crib, I’ll pay you anything.
‘I’m dead serious. I want to know what’s gone on, I want to know why they’ve took my dog, I want to know why they’ve taken bags from upstairs. I want to know what the f*** has gone on, I’m dead serious.
‘How can you break into a house in LA and take somebody’s dog, are you crazy? You’ve come into a house to take a dog?
‘Yo, somebody please find my dog. I will pay anything I’m dead serious, I want my dog back.’
The man who found the dog later called out sturridge for not fulfilling his promise.
An Italian mafia boss and notorious drug smuggler dubbed the “king of cocaine” has been arrested in Brazil two years after breaking out of prison in Uruguay and going on the run.
Rocco Morabito, a fugitive drug lord with ties to the powerful ‘Ndrangheta criminal gang, was arrested in a hotel room in the city of Joao Pessoa on Monday May 24, Brazil’s justice ministry said.
He broke out of prison in June 2019 by escaping through the roof with three other inmates in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo, the country’s authorities said at the time.
Morabito, Italy’s second most wanted criminal, had been wanted for 23 years for convictions including Mafia association and drug trafficking before his previous arrest in September 2017.
Then, he was found using a fake name and false Brazilian passport, and living in a luxury villa with its own swimming pool in the seaside resort of Punta del Este in Uruguay.
Morabito was convicted in 1994 after doing a £6.2m drug deal to import almost a tonne of cocaine into Italy, but fled the country before he could be jailed.
He was awaiting extradition to Italy when he escaped jail in Uruguay.
He was detained along with two other foreigners. One of the foreigners was another Italian fugitive.
In a statement, the Brazilian federal police said that Morabito, 54, had been involved in the trafficking of drugs between Brazil and Italy since the 1990s.
He was the subject of an Interpol red notice for his role between 1988 to 1994 in international drug trafficking, including an attempt to import over 1,000 kilos of cocaine between 1992 and 1993.
The Federal Police said that Italian police traveled to Brazil for the arrest and were involved in the operation.
“(Morabito) was considered the second most wanted criminal in Italy and accused of involvement with the ‘Ndrangheta, considered one of the largest and most powerful criminal organizations in the world,” the Justice Ministry said.
Liverpool midfielder, Georginio Wijnaldum has agreed to join Barcelona on a three- year deal after rejecting a switch to Bayern Munich.
Football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano confirmed the news on Twitter, stating that the Dutch star will sign the deal until 2024 “in the next few days” after an emotional goodbye at Anfield last week.
He also said Barcelona and Wijnaldum’s representatives are working on “reducing” his salary. The 30-year-old was on around £90,000 a week with the Reds.
He wrote: “Gini Wijnaldum to Barcelona, confirmed and here we go! #FCB The verbal agreement has been reached, Wijnaldum is joining Barça until June 2024. He’s expected to sign his contract in the next few days – work in progress to complete the deal reducing Gini’s salary. “
Wijnaldum, who joined Liverpool in 2016, will be best remembered for his Champions League semi-final brace against Barcelona as Liverpool staged a remarkable comeback in that memorable clash at Anfield
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has disclosed that a total of 4,683 people have received the second dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr Faisal Shuaib made the disclosure at a press conference to update Nigerians on the status of the vaccination exercise in Abuja on Tuesday May 25.
Revealing that the agency has almost completed administering all first doses as of Monday May 24, Shuaib also disclosed that 1,929,237 Nigerians have been captured so far, representing 96 per cent of the targeted population.
He said;
“We are advising that all Nigerians who have received their first dose should check their vaccination cards for the date of their second dose, and ensure that they receive the second dose to gain full protection against COVID-19.
“As we transition to administering second doses, our teams have assessed the communication and mobilisation activities that have been undertaken thus far to create awareness for the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage uptake.
“We will be building on the work we have already done in these areas to ensure that Nigerians can easily access accurate information about COVID-19 vaccination.”
The NPHCDA boss gave the assurance that the agency would continue engagement and communication with communities across the country, noting that the success recorded with the first dose was the collective efforts of all stakeholders.
Acknowledging the challenges of vaccine supply in the global community, he also hinted that Nigeria might receive the next consignment of vaccines by end of July or August.
Shuaib added;
“When we are able to, we will provide an update regarding timelines and details of the next shipment. At present, we do not have that information available due to the wider context we are in. However, we can update you on some positive developments.
“Pfizer and BioNTech pledged on Friday of last week to provide one billion doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to low-and-middle-income countries by the end of 2021, and another one billion doses in 2022.”
Kim Kardashian looked stunning as she stepped out for the party of London billionaire, Jamie Reuben in Beverly Hills this week.
The newly single reality star, 40, who filed for divorce from Kanye West in February after nearly seven years of marriage, rocked a tiny crop top with a slashed skirt and was joined by her pal Fai Khadra to the party at Reuben’s home.
Jamie, who is friends with the likes of Princess Beatrice and Scooter Braun, stands to inherit a $26 billion fortune.
The handsome billionaire was dubbed ‘one of London’s most mysterious bachelors’ by Tatler magazine. Jamie in his 30s and single.
He is the son of Mumbai-born property magnate Simon, one half of the wealthy Reuben brothers. His father Simon and his uncle David built their fortune by buying up large parts of London’s Mayfair, including the 200 year-old Burlington Arcade.
UEFA have banned families from visiting England players at St George’s Park during the European Championship.
Gareth Southgate was hoping to give family members access to the team’s Burton base but the England boss has now revealed UEFA is against the decision.
He said: ‘We’re not going to be able to let people in. There’s a clear edict from UEFA on what the bubbles need to look like to be as secure as we can make them.
‘It’s never going to be 100 per cent failsafe but we’ve got to comply with as much as we can.’
However, the England boss fears that may not even be possible, adding: ‘It’d be a preference for us if we can, but that’s constantly being assessed.
We’ve got to monitor not only our own situation but where we are as a country, what are the variants, what the Government guidelines are.
‘So we hope to do that and we’re working towards that, but it is going to be limited access, which we have to accept is going to be harder for some players to cope with than for others.
‘You know everybody’s going to react to that and respond to that differently.’
Rapper, Metro Marrs has been arrested and detained by police for ‘making it rain’ at his own graduation.
The rapper who graduated from Langston Hughes High School in Atlanta on Friday last week, celebrated by pulling out $10,000 in cash and throwing it all over the stage.
His fellow graduating classmates went wild and cheered him as a wild money picking frenzy occured but school management was not pleased with the action.
Police handcuffed the 18-year-old and escorted him out of the commencement ceremony. He was detained for attempting to ‘start a riot and disorderly conduct’, and ticketed for the offense.
Marrs was reportedly detained for several hours. It’s unclear if he is facing any charges related to the incident.
Video of his stunt when viral on social media where fans shared their support and praise for the “Bye Felicia” hitmaker.
“I wonder if his major was marketing…Either way this was genius!” a fan wrote.
Speaking with gossip site, TSR l, Metro explained that he hadn’t seen his fellow classmates in person all year due to the pandemic and this was his way of giving back to some of them who may not have received money for their graduation.
“I was creating a moment that would be memorable,” said Metro, who waited until every student walked before throwing the money.
“I had to do that for the last time. Everybody was lit! We graduating high school!”
Metro Marrs is in the same record label as rap group, Migos.
Manchester United footballer, Marcus Rashford is building a five-bedroom home fitted with its own golf course.
According to the Sun UK, Rashford bought the unused golf club in Cheshire, Manchester last May and has started building an eco-friendly house on the site with the nine-hole private golf course to play with friends.
The UK government granted planning permission to his company MUCS Properties back in February this year.
The new home will boasts a basement with wine cellar, gym, indoor swimming pool, plant room, games room and chill-out area.
The ground floor will have a den, study, lounge, dining room, open-plan kitchen and breakfast room while the first floor will have a master bedroom with en suite and walk-in dresser, four other bedrooms three of which are also en suite and a family bathroom.
Rashford is also building a two-storey apartment for guests, linked to the house by a passageway at the site in Cheshire according to the report.
The grounds, including the golf course, cover 80 acres. Rashford earns £200,000 per week at United.
UK Police are hunting for four black men over the shooting of Black Lives Matter activist, Sasha Johnson.
The 27-year-old mother of three was shot in the head after the four-strong gang stormed into a garden party in Consort Road, Peckham, south London, and opened fire in the early hours of Sunday, May 23.
But Scotland Yard today said it does not believe the self-styled ‘Black Panther of Oxford’ who is fighting for her life in hospital was the intended target.
Commander Alison Heydari said: “From our enquiries so far, we have established that Sasha had been at a party at a house on Consort Road in Peckham early on Sunday morning.
“Around 3am a group of four black males dressed in dark coloured clothing entered the garden of the property and discharged a firearm. They had left the scene before officers arrived. Sasha Johnson???
“We are aware of Sasha’s involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK and I understand the concern this will cause to some communities – however I wish to stress that at this time there is nothing to suggest Sasha was the victim of a targeted attack.
“We are also not aware of any reports of threats made against her prior to this incident.”
She went on to call the incident “shocking”, adding that the force’s “thoughts are with the family”.
Ms Heydari said the suspects are black men who were dressed in dark clothing and “there is no suggestion they knew Sasha”.
“There is someone out there who knows who carried out this attack and these people do not deserve their protection,” she added.
Forensic experts have been at the Consort Road area looking for evidence with Police been securing CCTV from the area, as well as footage from devices that may have recorded people in and around the home where the gathering was taking place.
However, Ms. Johnson’s Taking the Initiative Party criticised the Met’s statement for dismissing claims of alleged death threats sent to the activist prior to the incident
In their own statement, released online, they objected to the characterization of the attack on Johnson.
“Whilst we are overwhelmed by the love and the support for Sasha, we are also deeply saddened and disgusted by the negative press that has infested from this act of hate,” the statement said, adding that the party had been receiving hate mail celebrating Johnson’s shooting.
“The irony, is in the fact that the police have stated that there is no clear evidence that Sasha was the target of the attack, and that there are no credible death threats made towards her; however, how have the police come to this conclusion without being able to speak with Sasha regarding the death threats and investigate? Do the police know who the target of the attack was, in order to conclude that Sasha wasn’t? How does one manage to shoot someone in the head accidentally? Surely, to end up in hospital having sustained a bullet shot to the head, makes a death threat more credible …
“We are disgusted by the way that this narrative has been portrayed as a ‘black-on-black crime’ and a ‘gang crime’, not acknowledging that this is a hate crime or a targeted attack at worst.”
Former Nigeria under-23 striker Ibezito Ogbonna was hospitalized after his house in Ashdod, Israel, was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza last week.
The 38-year-old, who won the Israeli Cup with Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2006 and 2007, was at home with his wife and two young daughters when the building was hit by a rocket.
His wife and children were unharmed but Ibezito was injured.
Footage from the scene shows Ibezito Ogbonna being taken to the hospital after his apartment was hit by a rocket.
He was in the hospital for a few hours where he was treated and had different tests done before being released.
His apartment was also destroyed and with no home to return to, Ogbonna, who has Israeli citizenship, and his family, are now staying at a hotel.
A young Nigerian who claims to be an “investment expert” has been arrested for allegedly diverting investors’ funds worth over N2 billion.
21-year-old Dominic Ngene Joshua, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Brisk Capital Limited, was arrested by the Special Fraud Unit, Lagos.
Dominic was arrested following petitions to the unit by several investors.
Joshua, who is from Ebonyi State but operates from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, reportedly lures his victims via social media platforms and newspaper publications, by claiming to be a financial investor who manages funds for individuals and companies.
He deceived victims to invest money in Bitcoin, FOREX trading, real estate and oil and gas, with a promise of 60% Return On Investment per month on every fund invested.
However, funds belonging to over 500 investors were diverted to sponsor Joshua’s extravagant lifestyle, exotic cars, luxury watches, real estates in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
According to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), the suspect has confessed to the crime, but pleaded to be given time to return the funds.
The SFU said some of the properties and items purchased with the diverted funds have been recovered from him, and he will be charged at the Federal High Court soon.
Only months ago, Dominic Ngene Joshua, was featured in a business publication and a glowing piece was written about him. He was referred to as a “disruptor in the investment banking industry”.
The article has now been taken down following his arrest.
The European Union has announced it will sanction Belarus and call on its airlines to avoid it’s airspace, after a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to land in the country on Sunday May 23, and a political activist/dissident journalist on board was arrested.
Ryanair (RYAAY) flight 4978 was ordered to divert to Minsk by Belarusian air traffic control on Sunday over a supposed security alert. The Ryanair flight was about to begin its descent to Vilnius in Lithuania when it suddenly changed direction, turning sharply east and descending towards the Belarusian capital.
One of the passengers on the aircraft was Belarusian journalist and opposition activist Roman Protasevich, who was arrested as soon as the plane landed, according to the Belarus Interior Ministry.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary on Monday accused Belarus of “state-sponsored hijacking, state-sponsored piracy.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is “closing our airspace to planes from Belarus” and calling on EU airlines not to fly over the country.
She added that “further economic sanctions will be presented soon.”
“This is an attack on freedom of expression and this is an attack on European sovereignty,” she said in a news conference.
“This outrageous behavior needs a strong answer, therefore the European Council decided that there will be additional sanctions on individuals that are involved in the hijacking but this time also on businesses and economic entities that are financing this [Belarusian] regime.”
The announcement comes after some international airlines announced on Monday, May 24 that they would avoid flying over Belarus following the incident.
Germany’s Lufthansa (DLAKY) said:. “Due to the current dynamic situation, we are suspending the operation in Belarusian airspace for the time being,” a company spokesperson told CNN Business.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) said in a statement on Monday that it will reroute its twice weekly flights between Oslo and Kiev, the capitals of Norway and Ukraine, in line with instructions from the Swedish Transport Agency.
“Safety is always our highest priority. We follow the development closely and are in close contact with Scandinavian and European aviation authorities and follow their instructions,” SAS added.
Earlier on Monday, Latvia’s carrier AirBaltic said it had “decided to avoid entering Belarus airspace until the situation becomes clearer or a decision is issued by the authorities.”
Cyprus’ Avia Solutions Group also said its airlines based in the Baltic region will not be using Belarusian airspace and Hungarian carrier Wizz Air (WZZAF) said it had rerouted a flight between Ukraine and Estonia on Monday, adding in a statement: “We are continuously monitoring and evaluating the situation.”
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Twitter that he has instructed the UK Civil Aviation Authority to request airlines “avoid Belarusian airspace in order to keep passengers safe.”
He also added that he has also suspended Belarus’ flag carrier Belavia’s operating permit.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday that the US government was assessing whether American airlines were safe flying over Belarus airspace. “We, both in terms of the international bodies we’re part of and as an administration with the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] are looking at that,”
A chief in Zimbabwe has ordered the exhumation and reburial of Robert Mugabe’s remains at the national heroes’ shrine in Harare after accusing the late leader’s wife of breaking local custom by burying him at his rural home in 2019.
Mugabe, who was ousted in a coup that brought Emmerson Mnangagwa to power in November 2017, was buried at his village of Kutama after weeks of dispute with Mnangagwa’s government over the place where he’ll be buried.
A traditional chief in Zvimba district, which includes Kutama, said he had received a complaint from a Mugabe clan member over the manner of his burial.
After presiding over a village court last Thursday, Chief Zvimba, issued a ruling that found Mugabe’s wife, Grace, guilty of breaking traditional norms by burying her husband in the courtyard of his home.
Grace who did not attend the hearing, was fined five cows and a goat.
On Monday, May 24, the chief ruled that Mugabe’s body be exhumed and reburied at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
“I give powers to those who are permitted by law to exhume the late Robert Mugabe’s remains from Kutama and rebury them at the National Heroes Acre in Harare,” said a copy of the ruling in the local Shona language.
Leo Mugabe, spokesman for the Mugabe family rejected the ruling.
“He (chief) has no jurisdiction over Kutama. And even if the correct chief had made that ruling we would have appealed to the court,” Leo Mugabe told Reuters.
Accordding to traditional law , fhiefs in Zimbabwe have jurisdiction over their local subjects but it is rare for them to order families to exhume bodies for reburial.
President Mnangagwa had pushed for Mugabe to be buried at the monument for liberation war heroes, but the family refused, saying before his death, Mugabe had expressed fears to close family members that some of the people who ousted him would seek to conduct traditional rituals with some of his body parts.
Sasha Johnson, a prominent British Black Lives Matter activist is in critical condition in hospital after being shot in the head in London, her political party says.
The 27-year-old is in intensive care after being “brutally attacked and sustained a gunshot wound to her head” in the early hours of Sunday, May 23, according to Taking The Initiative party.
In a statement on the group’s Facebook page, the party said that the incident happened in the early hours of Sunday and followed “numerous death threats”.
The statement said: “It is with great sadness that we inform you that our own Sasha Johnson has sustained a gunshot wound to her head. She is currently hospitalised and in critical condition. The incident happened in the early hours of this morning, following numerous death threats.
“Sasha has always been actively fighting for black people and the injustices that surround the black community, as well as being both a member of BLM and a member of Taking the Initiative Party’s Executive Leadership Committee. Sasha is also a mother of 3 and a strong, powerful voice for our people and our community.”
Johnson was a prominent member of TTIP, which has been described as “Britain’s first Black-led political party”. She rose to prominence after last year’s BLM protests spread around the country.
The mother of three also worked in activism and community support and achieved a first-class degree in social care at Oxford Brookes University.
London’s Metropolitan Police released a statement saying the shooting occurred near a house in Southwark, in the city’s south-east, where a party was taking place.
The police said the force’s Specialist Crime Command was investigating the incident and that early information showed the shooting to be random.
“While the investigation is at an early stage, there is nothing to suggest that the woman who was shot was the subject of a targeted attack or that she had received any credible threats against her prior to this incident,” the statement said.
Detective Chief Inspector Jimi Tele asked people not to speculate about the motive behind the incident.
“This was a shocking incident that has left a young woman with very serious injuries. Our thoughts are with her family who are being provided with support at this terribly difficult time.
“A dedicated team of detectives is working tirelessly to identify the person or persons responsible for this shooting. They are making good progress but they need the public’s help.” he said
No arrests have so far been made.
BLM UK tweeted in solidarity with the activist yesterday and said they would be holding a vigil outside the hospital in south London on Monday at 3pm.
The former Tottenham midfielder, who joined in 2012, has enjoyed a successful nine seasons in the Spanish capital, winning 12 major honours for Los Blancos including four Champions Leagues.
The Croatia International, 35, has played 48 times for Zinedine Zidane’s side this season and featured in all four of Real’s Champions League quarter-final and semi-final ties against Liverpool and Chelsea.
The club confirmed the news in an official statement on Tuesday May 25, which read: “Real Madrid CF and Luka Modri? have agreed to extend the player’s contract, which remains with the club until June 30, 2022.”
He said: “I’m 35 but I feel like I’m only 27. I feel great.”
“You shouldn’t look at the age, it’s all about how we perform on the pitch, regardless of age. I’m still hungry for more, to continue playing at the highest level and I feel great.”
One of the billionaire co-founders of TikTok is stepping down as CEO of ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok.
Zhang Yiming, 38, said Thursday, May 20, that he will leave the role because he lacks managerial skills. He added that he preferred “reading and daydreaming” to running the tech giant.
According to Bloomberg, he resigns with a net worth of $44.5billion, making him 31st on a list of the world’s richest people.
On Monday, May 24, Zhang announced his resignation in an official letter to his employees. he reiterated that he lacked some skills that’d make him an ideal manager.
“The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager. Similarly, I’m not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and daydreaming about what may be possible,” he said.
Zhang Yiming will step down at the end of the year to focus on long-term strategy.
Juno star, Elliot page has shared a shirtless photo on social media, 5 months after coming out as transgender.
The actress, now living as a man, revealed in March that he underwent a procedure to remove breast tissue and reconstruct the remaining chest tissue and skin.
What Elliot Page looked like
He told Time magazine the surgery made it possible to finally recognize himself when he looks in the mirror, providing catharsis he’s been waiting for since the “total hell” of puberty.
Taking to Instagram on Monday May 24, Elliot flaunted his physique in the new photo he shared.
“Trans bb’s first swim trunks,” he captioned the shot of him in a pair of red shorts, adding the hashtags “#transjoy” and “#transisbeautiful.”
A bill seeking to scrap National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme has reached its second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill titled Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Alteration Bill, 2020, is sponsored by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker from Rivers state, Awaji-Inombek Abiante.
In the explanatory memorandum of the proposal, Abiante listed the various reasons why the NYSC should be scrapped. He maintained that the NYSC has failed to address the essence of its establishment, while several reform efforts have also not yielded desired results.
He said;
“For children of the rich, how many of them would want to go to Sokoto or Yobe? It is still the children of the poor that are sent to those places (where) they are butchered.
“Incessant killing of innocent corps members in some parts of the country due to banditry, religious extremism and ethnic violence; incessant kidnapping of innocent corps members across the country at their places of primary assignment and in transit.
“Public and private agencies and departments are no longer recruiting able and qualified Nigerian youths, thus relying heavily on the availability of corps members who are not being well remunerated and get discarded with impunity at the end of their service year without any hope of being gainfully employed.”
Governor Samuel Ortom has told residents of Benue state to defend themselves with dane guns and other weapons not prohibited by the law, when attacked by gunmen.
Ortom gave the directive at an inter-denominational church service held at the government house in Makurdi, Benue capital on Sunday May 23.
He further disclosed that the licence to own a dane gun could be obtained at local government secretariats in the state.
The Governor said;
“I will no longer announce the deaths of those killed by Fulani herdsmen, rise up and defend yourselves with weapons not prohibited by law, bows and arrows, spears and knives.
“Get a licence for dane guns from local government chairmen and use them to defend yourselves.
“God assured me some time back that as long as I lived within the circle of his presence, no weapon fashioned against me shall prosper.”
PSG boss, Mauricio Pochettino could make a stunning return to Tottenham, according to a new report.
The Argentine was sacked by Spurs in November 2019 after the team’s dramatic decline following their Champions League final defeat by Liverpool, with chairman Daniel Levy forced to swing the axe after a string of miserable results.
Jose Mourinho replaced him but failed to deliver on the promise of silverware as players and fans quickly grew tired of his negative approach – with Spurs slipping away from the top four and failing to qualify for European football.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is considering trying to persuade their ex-boss to leave Paris Saint-Germain and he has revealed to his close associates that sacking Pochettino is the greatest mistake he’s made in his career.
Reports by SunSport say that Pochettino is seriously considering a switch back to the club as he is unhappy in Paris and would love a second chance at White Hart Lane.
Pochettino, who failed to land the Ligue 1 title for PSG and lost in the Champions League semi-finals to Manchester City, is struggling at PSG where he starred as a player.
The former Southampton boss feels he has unfinished business at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a return would be incredibly popular among the fans.
At Spurs, he transformed an underachieving side into title contenders and regulars in the top four, forging a close relationship with supporters.
He has already told close friends he would be prepared to rejoin Spurs, the report continues, with Levy now looking to find a way to bring him back.
Levy – who built up a close relationship with the 49-year-old during their five-and-a-half years together in N17 – has secretly admitted that sacking Pochettino was ‘the worst mistake of his career’, the Sun claims.
The move could be Tottenham’s ‘ace card’ to keep Harry Kane it says, with the striker already informing the club of his desire to be sold this summer. Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are believed to be among the interested parties for the £150million-rated star.
Since Mourinho’s sacking, Ryan Mason has taken charge on an interim basis – overseeing four wins and three defeats during his stint in charge, including a Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City.
The team finished seventh under his leadership – meaning they will play in the UEFA Conference League next season.
The prize money all clubs in the premier league got in the 2020-2021 season has been revealed.
Manchester City clinched this season’s Premier League title, with weeks to spare.
But despite their success this season, it has been revealed their prize money actually went down this year compared to what Liverpool got last year for winning the premier league.
According to The Times, City netted £163million for their efforts this campaign- made up of their £123m ‘equal share’ payment given to every club in this season’s Premier League -and then a further £40m for winning the title.
Runners-up Manchester United pocketed £38m, meaning their overall total was £161m.
However, last season’s champions Liverpool received £177m for winning the 2019-20 title – £14m more than City earned this year.
And even City themselves were awarded more last year despite only coming second, pocketing £175m in 2019-20.
Last season there was a £79m gap between the £177m handed to champions Liverpool and bottom-placed Norwich’s £98m.
This year, that gap reduced to £38m, with bottom side Sheffield United earning £125m compared to City’s £163m.
French fashion tycoon, Bernard Arnault is now the world’s richest man after his net worth climbed to $186.3billion.
The chief executive of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) saw his luxury goods firm stock increase by 0.4 per cent during the first hours of trading on Monday, May 24.
The rise pushed Arnault’s personal stake up by more than $600million and placed LVMH’s market cap at $320billion, according to Forbes.
Arnault’s overall net worth jumped to $186.3billion, edging past Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who is worth $186billion, by ‘only’ $300million in the world’s rich list.
It comes just days after Arnault pushed Elon Musk, worth $147.3billion, out of his spot as the world’s second-richest man afterTesla’s share price sank.
Musk dropped out of his spot as the world’s second-richest man after his fortune sank by $3.16billion last week, to $160.6billion.
Arnault, 72, has seen his fortune jump more than $110million in the past 14 months thanks to his French luxury goods firm LVMH, which owns the likes of Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Christian Dior, and Givenchy in its portfolio of 70+ luxury brands.
Cristiano Ronaldo has fuelled speculations regarding his Juventus career by issuing a lengthy cryptic post on social media.
This comes weeks after the 36-year-old striker had each of his luxury supercars transported to Portugal from his mansion.
The Portuguese striker, who was left out of Juve’s 4-1 win over Bologna on Sunday May 23, because he was “tired,” took to Instagram on Monday night to reflect on the club’s failed title bid as well as his personal goals, which he couldn’t achieve this season.
In the cryptic 373-word address, Ronaldo wrote: ‘The life and career of any top player are made of ups and downs.
‘Year after year, we face fantastic teams, with extraordinary players and ambitious goals, so we always have to give our best to keep ourselves at excellence levels.
The Italian Super Cup, the Italian Cup and the Serie A Top Scorer trophy fill me with happiness, mainly due to the difficulty they carry with them, in a country where nothing is easy to win.
‘With these achievements, I reached a goal that I had set myself since the first day I arrived in Italy: to win the Championship, the Cup and the Super Cup, and also to be Best Player and Top Scorer in this great football country filled with tremendous players, giant clubs and a very own football culture
‘This year we couldn’t win Serie A, congratulations to Inter for the well-deserved title. However, I have to value everything that we achieved this season at Juventus, both in collective and individual terms.
‘I’ve already said that I don’t chase records, records chase me. For those who don’t understand what I mean by this, it’s very simple: football is a collective game, but it is through individual overcoming that we help our teams achieve their goals.
‘It is always looking for more and more on the field, working more and more off the field, that records eventually emerge and collective titles become inevitable, some being the natural consequence of the other.
‘So, I’m very proud with this fact that has been widely replicated in recent days: Champion in England, Spain and Italy; Cup winner in England, Spain and Italy; Super Cup winner in England, Spain, and Italy; Best Player in England, Spain and Italy; Best Scorer in England, Spain and Italy; Over 100 goals for a club in England, Spain and Italy.
‘Nothing compares to the feeling of knowing that I’ve left my mark in the countries where I’ve played, and that I gave joy to the fans of the clubs I represented. This is what I work for, this is what moves me and this is what I’ll always keep chasing for until the last day.’
It was the final sign-off of the post, however, which saw many people left with lingering questions, as Ronaldo issued an open thanks to all those who had been part of the ‘journey’, suggesting something was perhaps coming to an end.
He added: ‘Thanks to everyone who took part in this journey! We stand together!’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds will be holding their wedding in July 2022.
The Sun reported that the couple have sent save-the-date cards to family and friends for an event on Saturday July 30 of next year.
Though the paper said details of where they will marry remained a secret, the prime minister’s Buckinghamshire residence, Chequers, is tipped to host the wedding. Another possible venue is said to be the Port Lympne safari park in Kent, as Symonds works for the conservation charity.
Johnson, 55, and Symonds, 33, were the first unmarried couple to live in Downing Street, moving there in July 2019, and he reportedly proposed on holiday on the Caribbean Island of Mustique.
If the wedding goes on as planned, Johnson will be the second British prime minister ever to marry while in office, following Robert Jenkinson in 1822.
The couple have lately been hit by a scandal over the costly redecoration of their Downing Street flat, which is being probed over allegations that contributions by a Tory party donor were not declared fully.
Johnson has been married twice before. He had four children with his previous wife, lawyer Marina Wheeler, before they split in 2018. The couple only finalised their divorce last November. The Prime Minister also reportedly has a daughter born as the result of an affair.
American actor and Empire star, Bryshere Gray, has been sentenced to 10 days in jail after pleading guilty to felony aggravated assault for choking his wife until she passed out.
Gray, 27, who played Hakeem Lyon on the Fox TV series, entered a guilty plea in his domestic violence case, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
Gray was arrested on domestic violence charges in July last year after a woman said her husband had assaulted her for ‘several hours’.
When cops got to their home in Goodyear, Arizona, Gray refused to come outside and barricaded himself inside the house overnight.
Police said the woman had multiple visible injuries on her body and that she said Gray strangled her at one point until she passed out. Her injuries were non-life-threatening but she was taken to the hospital where she was treated for her injuries and released, police said, adding that detectives and a Victim’s Advocate “continued to assist her after her discharge from the hospital.”
The actor has been sentenced to 10 days in a county jail and three years probation as part of his plea agreement.
He will reportedly not be allowed to consume illegal drugs and will have to submit to drugs and alcohol testing during his probation. He must also pay restitution to his victim.
Gray appeared in all 102 episodes of Empire, which wrapped its six-year run on Fox in April. His credits also include the indie features Sprinter, Canal Street and Honey: Rise Up and Dance.
Napoli coach, Gennaro Gattuso has been sacked by the club after they failed to qualify for Champions League following their fifth-place Serie A finish.
Gattuso’s side dropped out of the Champions League places on the final day of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to mid-table Hellas Verona, while Juventus cruised to a 4-1 victory to leapfrog Napoli in the Serie A table.
The result means Napoli will be playing Europa League football next season.
Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed Gattuso’s departure on Twitter, as he posted: “Dear Rino, I am happy to have spent the last two seasons with you.
“Thanking you for the work done, I wish you success wherever you may go.
“I also send a hug to your wife and children. Aurelio De Laurentiis.”
This was then re-tweeted by Napoli’s official account with a simple statement that said: ‘Thank you, boss!’ alongside a picture of Gattuso.
The announcement confirmed long-running media speculation that the former AC Milan manager would depart Naples when his contract expires in June.
Gattuso succeeded Carlo Ancelotti as Napoli coach in December 2019 and led them to Coppa Italia glory in June 2020.
Former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson once gave the wives of his football players a team talk before a cup final to warn them not to take their hubbies shopping, it has been revealed.
Gordon Strachan, who played under the iconic manager at Aberdeen and Manchester United revealed that Ferguson told the women how to keep their men focused on their jobs ahead of the game when he was at Aberdeen.
He warned players’ wives not to give the players junk food and to make sure they weren’t dragged around shops because they had to rest before the match.
Strachan also said Ferguson would select babysitters for his first-team stars who could report back about what they were doing away from the training ground.
He said: “He used to control your life and your family life. He even had a team talk with the wives before a cup final once.
“He said ‘Do not take him shopping, he’s resting and don’t give him what he wants eating wise’. There would be all hell breaking loose now with that one, there would be all sorts of screaming and shouting.
“He just said to them ‘You have to look after the players, make sure they don’t do too much and if they are getting stressed out you have to deal with their stress’.”
Strachan, 64, said Bryan Gunn and Eric Black, who were then youth team players at Aberdeen, were chosen by Fergie, 79, to babysit his kids on a Saturday night.
He added: “He even used to control the babysitters that we used to have at Aberdeen.
“My babysitters were Eric Black and Bryan Gunn, they used to look after my kids Gavin and Craig.
“On a Monday he would get all the babysitters together and say ‘What time did Strachan come in on Saturday night? Did he have a curry?’
“He covered all things like that.
“We didn’t like it at the time but when you look back now I really did like it because it controlled my life and disciplined my life.
Fashion designer, Tinuade Soile has narrated all she overcame to welcome her first child after 9 years of waiting.
The new mum said she had to undergo 9 IVFs and suffered 3 miscarriages while trying to become a mum. She also had a fibroid surgery.
While pregnant with her son, she had to undergo a cervical stitch, which is a treatment for cervical weakness, when the cervix starts to shorten and open too early during a pregnancy causing either a late miscarriage or preterm birth.
She was also placed on 5 months of bed rest until the stitch was removed a week to the birth of her son.
On May 13, she welcomed her first child and he has been named Asher Modadeola Oluwaseun Soile.
“The Lord remembered Tinuade Soile. My God is indeed faithful, ” she wrote.
Drake shared a proud moment with his son at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards.
The 34-year-old Canadian rapper accepted the Artist of the Decade Award at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night, and he took to the stage with his family members including his three-year-old son, Adonis, 3, who he shares with French artist and former adult film star, Sophie Brussaux.
According to a rep for the show, the people who accompanied Drake and Adonis onstage were his father and mother Dennis and Sandi Graham; managers Future and Oliver El-Khatib; and friends/ business associates Nessell Beezer (security), Mark Robinson, Alonzo Thornhill (trainer), Christopher Gibson, Noel Casastre (recording engineer), Matte Babel, Raynford Humphrey, Travis Savoury and Nicholas Carino.
Wearing a red flannel and braids, Adonis held onto Drake’s BBMA trophy as his father, who rocked dapper off-white suit began his acceptance speech.
“That video was really full of a lot of confidence and bravado, but the truth is, I’m really bad at taking compliments,” he said, nodding to a shouting audience member’s unintelligible comment, “Thank you. I’ll take that one right here. I’m really self-conscious about my music, and even if I do a good job, I always wonder how I could have done it better. I rarely celebrate anything. And just for anyone watching this that’s wondering how this happened, that’s really the answer: being so unsure how you’re getting it done that you just kind of keep going in the hopes of figuring out the formula.”
“I’m feeling so lucky and blessed that the fear of losing it keeps you up at night. I didn’t really write a grandiose speech about how to make it work or what it took, because to be honest, I don’t quite understand it myself. I just know that I’ve spent an incalculable amount of hours trying to analyze all the things I did wrong, but tonight for once I’m sure as hell we did something right.”
The rapper accepted the prestigious honor, celebrating his status as the best-performing artist on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, the Billboard 200 albums chart, and more throughout the 2010s.
US Military planners pushed for the White House to prepare plans to use nuclear weapons against mainland China during the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1958, newly leaked documents have confirmed.
The documents, first reported on by the New York Times, reveal how Washington went as far as discussing about using nuclear weapons to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, despite knowing China will possibly fire retaliatory nuclear strikes on US bases.
The new information was provided to the Times by Daniel Ellsberg.
Ellsberg was the whistleblower in 1971 who leaked the Pentagon Papers that detailed the US government’s duplicity in its handling of the Vietnam War.
“US first use of nuclear weapons should not be contemplated, prepared, or threatened anywhere, under any circumstances, including the defense of Taiwan,” Ellsberg said in a post to his Twitter on Sunday.
The Taiwan leak comes from previously classified sections of a 1966 report by think tank organization, Rand Corporation on the 1958 Taiwan Straits crisis, written by M. H. Halperin for the Office of the then-Assistant Secretary of Defense.
After the Communist Party took power in mainland China in 1949, following a brutal civil war, the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan.
Beijing still views the island as part of its territory, and the two sides have clashed over the following decades.
During the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1958, the US and China almost clashed when the People’s Republic of China fired artillery at Taipei’s outlying islands as the US a Taiwan Ally feared China were preparing for invasion of Taiwan.
The artillery shelling by China was focused on the Quemoy and Matsu island groups, which lie between Taiwan and mainland China and are described by Rand Corporation as “the first line of defense” for Taipei.
Though the public already knows that then US President Eisenhower debated whether to use nuclear weapons to deter China from attacking Taiwan, the new leaked documents appear to reveal the extent of the planning for the first time.
According to the leaked documents, some US Defense and State department officials were concerned the loss of the outlying islands in 1958 could lead to a full “Chinese Communist takeover of Taiwan.”
In the event of an air and sea attack on the islands, US Air Force Gen. Nathan Twining said the US would have to use nuclear weapons against Chinese air force bases “to prevent a successful air interdiction campaign,” beginning with “low-yield ten to fifteen kiloton nuclear weapons.”
If this didn’t lead to a break in the assault from mainland China, “the United States would have no alternative but to conduct nuclear strikes deep into China as far north as Shanghai.”
According to the documents, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs acknowledged this would “almost certainly” lead to nuclear retaliation against Taiwan and the US military base at Okinawa in Japan.
“But he stressed that if national policy is to defend the offshore islands then the consequences had to be accepted,” the document said.
Given China had yet to develop its own nuclear capabilities as at that time, any nuclear retaliation would have come from the Soviet Union at that time, sparking another world war.
The document said the US Joint Chiefs, Twining in particular, saw the use of atomic weapons as “inevitable.”
In one section of the documents, Gen. Laurence S. Kuter, the top Air Force commander for the Pacific, “flatly” states that any US air action against a Chinese attack on the outlying islands “had no chance of success unless atomic weapons were used from the outset.”
In the end, Eisenhower refused to use nuclear weapons and pushed for the US troops to stick to conventional arms.
A ceasefire was reached in the Taiwan Strait on October 6, 1958, although there have been ongoing tensions between Beijing and Taipei since then.
In January 2019 speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned he would take “all means necessary” and not “renounce the use of force” to rejoin Taiwan to the Chinese mainland.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people even though the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Kim Kardashian is not rushing into a new relationship at least for now.
The reality star is one of the world’s most eligible bachelorette who has garnered the attention of several billionaire CEOs since filing for divorce, but she is reportedly ‘not ready to date.’
Ahead of what would have been her seventh wedding anniversary with Kanye West, a source told Hollywood Life: ‘She’s still not ready to date, but she’s in a much better place than she was a year ago.’
An insider told the publication that overall ‘she’s in a good place’ and is ‘moving forward’ with her life but she is still ‘devastated’ the marriage didn’t work out.
‘[Kim] was devastated the marriage didn’t work out. Kim has always wanted a husband and family, but she knows this is for the best for all of them and it needed to happen. She will always love Kanye and it was a very real, true love.’
‘She’s in a good place and she’s happy. She’s letting the past go and throwing herself into work and the kids,’ the source said.
Ahead of what would have been her 7th wedding anniversary, it was said that she’s ‘feeling fine,’ and is ‘not expecting any sort of acknowledgement from him.’
‘She’ll think about it but she’s not expecting any sort of acknowledgement from him, especially because they really only speak when it’s needed and it’s about the kids. She’s not necessarily unfazed, but she really is moving forward with her life.’
This comes after Page Six previously reported that Kim has garnered attention from ‘royal family members, A-list actors, athletes, and billionaire CEOs,’ with some trying to contact her through mutual friends or DM.
At the time a source had said that she was ‘not looking to jump into anything’ but was ‘keeping an open mind.’
Kim filed to divorce Kanye West in February weeks after it reported that the marriage was over and that a split was ‘imminent.’
The pair, who both went public with their relationship in April 2012, got married in May 2014. They share four children together, North West, 7, Saint West, 5, Chicago West, 3, and Psalm West, 20 months.
The 2020 Billboard Music Awards took place on Sunday night, May 23, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles with 500-600 attendees following all pandemic safety protocols.
The ceremony, which celebrates chart success was hosted by Nick Jonas.
Producer DJ Khaled opened the show with singer-songwriter H.E.R. and rap group Migos, performing their collaboration We Going Crazy.
Doja Cat and SZA were also among the early performers with their song Kiss Me More.
Canadian singer, The Weeknd led the way in nominations with 16 and won seven awards, including the top male artist. The singer also won the first award handed out on the live telecast, for top Hot 100 artist.
Drake, who holds the title for most Billboard Music Award wins of all time, received the Artist of the Decade Award. He was introduced by a group of his family and friends and came out onstage with his 3-year-old son, Adonis Graham.
“That video was really full of a lot of confidence and bravado but the truth is I’m really bad at taking compliments,” he said of a video touting his accomplishment that aired before he took the stage. “Even if I do a good job I always wonder, how could I have done it better?”
He continued: “I didn’t really write a grandiose speech about how to make it work or what it took because to be really honest with you, I don’t quite understand it myself. …. I just know that I’ve spent an incalculable amount of hours trying to analyze all the things I did wrong, but tonight for once I’m sure as hell we’ve done something right.”
See the complete list of winners. Category winners are in bold.
ARTIST AWARDS
Top Artist Drake Juice WRLD Pop Smoke Taylor Swift The Weeknd
Top New Artist Gabby Barrett Doja Cat Jack Harlow Pop Smoke **WINNER** Rod Wave Top Male Artist Drake Juice WRLD Lil Baby Pop Smoke The Weeknd **WINNER**
Top Female Artist Billie Eilish Ariana Grande Dua Lipa Megan Thee Stallion Taylor Swift **WINNER**
Top Duo/Group AC/DC AJR BTS **WINNER** Dan + Shay Maroon 5
Top Billboard 200 Artist Drake Juice WRLD Pop Smoke Post Malone Taylor Swift **WINNER**
Top Hot 100 Artist DaBaby Drake Dua Lipa Pop Smoke The Weeknd **WINNER**
Top Streaming Songs Artist DaBaby Drake **WINNER** Lil Baby Pop Smoke The Weeknd
Top Song Sales Artist Justin Bieber BTS **WINNER** Megan Thee Stallion *Morgan Wallen The Weeknd
Top Radio Songs Artist Justin Bieber Lewis Capaldi Dua Lipa Harry Styles The Weeknd **WINNER**
Top Social Artist (Fan Voted) BLACKPINK BTS **WINNER** Ariana Grande SB19 Seventeen
Top R&B Artist Jhené Aiko Justin Bieber Chris Brown Doja Cat The Weeknd **WINNER**
Top R&B Male Artist Justin Bieber Chris Brown The Weeknd **WINNER**
Top R&B Female Artist Jhené Aiko Doja Cat **WINNER** SZA
Top Rap Artist DaBaby Drake Juice WRLD Lil Baby Pop Smoke **WINNER**
Top Rap Male Artist Juice WRLD Lil Baby Pop Smoke **WINNER**
Top Rap Female Artist Cardi B Megan Thee Stallion **WINNER** Saweetie
Top Country Artist Gabby Barrett Kane Brown Luke Combs Chris Stapleton *Morgan Wallen **WINNER**
Top Country Male Artist Luke Combs Chris Stapleton *Morgan Wallen **WINNER**
Top Country Female Artist Gabby Barrett **WINNER** Maren Morris Carrie Underwood
Top Country Duo/Group Dan + Shay Florida Georgia Line **WINNER** Maddie & Tae
Top Rock Artist AC/DC AJR Five Finger Death Punch **WINNER** Machine Gun Kelly twenty one pilots
Top Latin Artist Anuel AA Bad Bunny **WINNER** J Balvin Maluma Ozuna
Top Latin Male Artist Bad Bunny **WINNER** J Balvin Ozuna
Top Latin Female Artist Becky G Karol G **WINNER** Rosalía
Top Latin Duo/Group Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga Eslabón Armado **WINNER** Los Dos Carnales
Top Dance/Electronic Artist The Chainsmokers Kygo Lady Gaga **WINNER** Marshmello Surf Mesa
Top Christian Artist Casting Crowns Elevation Worship **WINNER** for KING & COUNTRY Carrie Underwood Zach Williams
Top Gospel Artist Kirk Franklin Koryn Hawthorne Tasha Cobbs Leonard Maverick City Music Kanye West **WINNER**
ALBUM AWARDS
Top Billboard 200 Album Juice WRLD, Legends Never Die Lil Baby, My Turn Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon **WINNER** Taylor Swift, folklore The Weeknd, After Hours
Top R&B Album Jhené Aiko, Chilombo Chris Brown & Young Thug, Slime & B Doja Cat, Hot Pink Kehlani, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t The Weeknd, After Hours **WINNER**
Top Rap Album DaBaby, BLAME IT ON BABY Juice WRLD, Legends Never Die Lil Baby, My Turn Lil Uzi Vert, Eternal Atake Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon **WINNER**
Top Country Album Gabby Barrett, Goldmine Sam Hunt, SOUTHSIDE Chris Stapleton, Starting Over Carrie Underwood, My Gift *Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album **WINNER**
Top Rock Album AC/DC, Power Up Miley Cyrus, Plastic Hearts Glass Animals, Dreamland Machine Gun Kelly, Tickets to My Downfall **WINNER** Bruce Springsteen, Letter to You
Top Latin Album Anuel AA, Emmanuel Bad Bunny, El Último Tour Del Mundo Bad Bunny, Las que no iban a salir Bad Bunny, YHLQMDLG **WINNER** J Balvin, Colores
Top Dance/Electronic Album DJ Snake, Carte Blanche Gryffin, Gravity Kygo, Golden Hour Lady Gaga, Chromatica **WINNER** Kylie Minogue, Disco
Top Christian Album Bethel Music, Peace Elevation Worship, Grave Into Gardens Carrie Underwood, My Gift **WINNER** We The Kingdom, Holy Water Zach Williams, Rescue Story
Top Gospel Album Koryn Hawthorne, I AM Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Royalty: Live at the Ryman Maverick City Music, Maverick City Vol. 3 Part 1 **WINNER** Maverick City Music, Maverick City Vol. 3 Part 2 Kierra Sheard, Kierra
SONG AWARDS
Top Hot 100 Song Presented by Rockstar 24kGoldn ft. iann dior “Mood” Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth “I Hope” Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy” DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch “ROCKSTAR” The Weeknd “Blinding Lights” ** WINNER**
Top Streaming Song Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion “WAP” DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch “ROCKSTAR” **WINNER** Future ft. Drake “Life Is Good” Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez, & Lil Wayne “WHATS POPPIN” The Weeknd “Blinding Lights”
Top Selling Song Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth “I Hope” BTS “Dynamite” **WINNER Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion “WAP” Megan Thee Stallion “Savage” The Weeknd “Blinding Lights”
Top Radio Song Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth “I Hope” Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy” Dua Lipa “Don’t Start Now” Harry Styles “Adore You” The Weeknd “Blinding Lights”
Top Collaboration (Fan Voted) 24kGoldn ft. iann dior “Mood” Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth “I Hope” **WINNER** Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy” DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch “ROCKSTAR” Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez, & Lil Wayne “WHATS POPPIN”
Top R&B Song Jhené Aiko ft. H.E.R. “B.S.” Justin Bieber ft. Quavo “Intentions” Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy” Doja Cat “Say So” The Weeknd “Blinding Lights” **WINNER**
Top Rap Song 24kGoldn ft. iann dior “Mood” Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion “WAP” DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch “ROCKSTAR” **WINNER** Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez, & Lil Wayne “WHATS POPPIN” Megan Thee Stallion “Savage” Top Country Song Jason Aldean “Got What I Got” Gabby Barrett “I Hope” **WINNER** Lee Brice “One of Them Girls” *Morgan Wallen “Chasin’ You” *Morgan Wallen “More Than My Hometown”
Top Rock Song AJR “Bang!” **WINNER** All Time Low ft. blackbear “Monsters” Glass Animals “Heat Waves” Machine Gun Kelly ft. blackbear “my ex’s best friend” twenty one pilots “Level of Concern”
Top Latin Song Bad Bunny “Yo Perreo Sola” Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez “Dákiti” **WINNER** Black Eyed Peas & J Balvin “RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)” Maluma & The Weeknd “Hawái” Ozuna x Karol G x Myke Towers “Caramelo”
Top Dance/Electronic Song Lady Gaga “Stupid Love” Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande “Rain on Me” SAINt JHN “Roses (Imanbek Remix)” **WINNER** Surf Mesa ft. Emilee “ily (i love you baby)” Topic & A7S “Breaking Me”
Top Christian Song Elevation Worship ft. Brandon Lake “Graves Into Gardens” **WINNER** for KING & COUNTRY, Kirk Franklin & Tori Kelly “TOGETHER” Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, & Elevation Worship “The Blessing (Live)” Tauren Wells ft. Jenn Johnson “Famous For (I Believe)” Zach Williams & Dolly Parton “There Was Jesus”
Top Gospel Song Koryn Hawthorne “Speak To Me” Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music “Movin’ On” Marvin Sapp “Thank You For It All” Tye Tribbett “We Gon’ Be Alright” Kanye West ft. Travis Scott “Wash Us In The Blood” **WINNER**
Iraqi President Barham Salih has said that an estimated $150 billion of stolen oil money has been smuggled out of Iraq in corrupt deals since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The Sunday, May 23 statement came as the Iraqi President submitted a draft Corrupt Funds Recovery Act to the Iraqi Parliament which he hopes that if passed into law would seek to recover the misappropriated funds through the cooperation of other governments and in partnership with international bodies.
“Of the close to a thousand billion dollars made from oil since 2003, an estimated $150 billion of stolen money has been smuggled out of Iraq,” Salih said in a televised speech.
“The draft law seeks to strengthen the powers of Iraqi nation in order to recover money stolen in corrupt deals, to hold corrupt people accountable and bring them to justice,” according to Salih.
He urged Iraqi lawmakers to discuss and approve the proposed legislation “to help curb this dangerous scourge that has deprived our people of enjoying the wealth of their country for many years.”
“Here I reiterate Iraq’s call, which we have previously issued at the United Nations General Assembly, for the formation of an international coalition to fight corruption along the lines of the international coalition against ISIS,” Salih said.
Salih said corruption is as dangerous as terrorism.
“Terrorism can only be eliminated by draining its sources of funding based on corruption money as a political economy of violent,” Salih added.
Iraq has a high level of government corruption, unemployment and a lack of basic services, including electricity and clean water, which has only gotten worse following decades of sanctions by the US, UN and war waged by the US in 2003.
The US currently has 2,500 troops in Iraq focused on the mission to defeat ISIS as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the global coalition to defeat the remaining ISIS caliphate that controls parts of Iraq and Syria.
Leading Belarusian opposition activist, Raman Pratasevich, has been arrested in Belarus after President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a fighter jet to escort the Ryanair plane Pratasevich was in, to Belarusian capital, Minsk.
Acccording to Pull Pervogo, Belarusian state broadcaster, Raman Pratasevich, a vocal critic of President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, was detained at Minsk airport following orders by Lukashenko (pictured below), a dictator supported and armed by the Russian government.
In a major breach of international law, the commercial plane was intercepted by a Belarusian fighter jet and escorted from international space till it landed in Minsk.
The Belarusian government claimed a bomb threat was detected in the plane and then forced to plane to go to Belarus instead of Lithuania where the flight was already close to.
Immediately the plane landed, Pratasevich was arrested. No bomb was found in the plane.
The original flight route was from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
The Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs has confirmed the incident.
Reacting, NATO said it was “closely monitoring” the situation. “This is a serious and dangerous incident, which requires international investigation,” a NATO spokesperson said.
A senior official at the German Foreign Ministry, Miguel Berger, also responded to Pratasevich’s arrest on Twitter, demanding an “immediate explanation by the Government of #Belarus on the diversion of a Ryan Air flight within the EU to Minsk and the alleged detention of a journalist.”
European Council President Charles Michel expressed concern and called on Belarus authorities to release the flight and all its passengers, adding that an investigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) “will be essential.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the incident requires a “strong and united” response from the European Union.
The US is yet to react to the development.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has demanded Belarus release Protasevich.
Nauseda called the incident “abhorrent” and an “unprecedented event” in a tweet.
He said a “civilian passenger plane flying to Vilnius was forcibly landed in Minsk.”
The Belarusian “regime is behind the abhorrent action,” he tweeted and demanded Protasevic is freed “urgently.”
A family lost their son because both parents refused to pay for the child’s medical bills. Both the husband and the wife had money in their accounts but were arguing about who exactly would go ahead and pay for the hospital bill. Eventually their disagreement went on for too long and their son unfortunately died.
The wife speaking out and trying to give her own side of the argument.
According to the story as reported by TVC, the wife said that up until the point when their son died, she had carried most of the financial burden of the household and claimed that her husband was irresponsible towards those burdens. She wanted the man to take accountability for his actions and finally provide for the health and wellness of their child and family.
She honestly thought her husband would rise to the occasion and never thought the child would eventually die. She maintained that the money in her account is her hard-earned money and that the man had no right to get angry and walk away from the marriage because she did not bring it out.
It is worthy of note to know that the medical bill in question was only N25,000.
The man eventually found out about the N3.6 million in the wife’s account when one day he went to pick up her phone to take a call and unfortunately for the woman, there on the phone was a bank alert notification that showed the amount of money in the woman’s account – over N3.6 Million.
So the child died because of N25,000 when there in the household was over N3.6 Million. Sad.
Pharaoh Okadigbo, the first son of former President of the Senate, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, has died in an accident.
The accident occurred on Saturday, May 22, in Abuja.
This comes three years after tragedy befell the family when Obiajulu Jideofor Okadigbo, one of Dr Chuba Okadigbo’s sons, died in the United States of America from a cold-related ailment. He died on May 29 at the age of 30.
President Muhammadu Buhari, whose running mate in the 2003 presidential election was Dr Chuba Okadigbo, has condoled with the Okadigbo family over the death of their son, Pharaoh Okadigbo.
Pharaoh Okadigbo and Chuba Okadigbo (Top right)
The president’s condolence message was contained in a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Sunday May 23.
Buhari said, “It is very sad to lose such a promising young man, with so much potentials and passion for youth involvement in the socio-political development of Nigeria.”
He added: “The nation will miss a firm believer in the necessity for people to work in collaboration with governments at all levels to achieve the better society we all wish for.”
A mother is facing an abuse and neglect investigation for allegedly faking her daughter’s terminal illness to “obtain funding for trips, housing, and other expenses of the last several years,” according to a complaint filed with the Stark County Family Court in Ohio.
Lindsey Abbuhl set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for her daughter, claiming she was ill, with more than $4,000 already received.
According to the complaint filed May 14, investigators with the Stark County Department of Job and Family Services did a forensic interview with the child and determined that there was “no medical evidence” to support the mother’s claim that her daughter was physically ill.
The complaint also alleges that Abbuhl had placed her daughter in counseling for the past three years “to learn how to ‘process her own death,'” telling the child’s counselor, who was going on maternity leave, that the child “may not be alive” when the counselor returned.
According to the complaint, when police went to confront Abbuhl with the allegation that she had fabricated her daughter’s medical condition, Abbuhl told them, “We did not intentionally do that.”
The child was then placed into the temporary custody of the Stark County Department of Job and Family Services, as her father, Jamie Abbuhl, is only allowed court-ordered visitations supervised by the mother, as part of a divorce process.
The complaint says Jamie Abbuhl claimed the mother did not allow him “to participate in any medical decisions” and that he “has no access to medical records.”
Lindsey Abbuhl’s attorney, Paul Kelley, reacting to the investigation said, “We are continuing to collect all of the facts on this case and my client adamantly asserts her innocence in this matter.”
“Once we’ve gathered all of the factual evidence, we will begin preparing our defense and may wish to address the media at that time,” Kelley said.
Meanwhile, GoFundMe say they have returned money to the donors as the company is aware that some people use the platform to carry out fraudulent practices.
“We are working with local law enforcement officials, and we will continue to support the investigation,” said Ese Esan, communications manager for GoFundMe.
“Fundraisers with misuse are very rare, and if a misuse of funds takes place on GoFundMe, donors are protected, and their donations are refunded.”
Lionel Messi of Barcelona takes a free kick during the UEFA Champions League Group F match between FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Spain on November 27, 2019 (Photo by Andrew Surma / SIPA USA)
Football legend, Lionel Messi may have played his last game for Barcelona after it was confirmed by the club he will miss Sunday’s clash against Eibar.
Barca will finish their campaign with a trip to Eibar and are out of the title race so have nothing to play for.
Messi whose contract with Barcelona expires on July 1, has been given permission by Ronald Koeman to sit out this weekend’s game.
“The Argentine Leo Messi has not trained on Friday with the coach’s permission and he will not be in the squad for the game against Eibar on Saturday,” the club confirmed on Friday, May 21.
“The striker can enjoy a rest before next month’s Copa America after a season in which he is one of the players in the squad who has played most.”
Although Messi announced last year that he wanted to leave Barca on a free transfer, Barca are hopeful of convincing him to stay and team-mate Jordi Alba has urged him to stay at the club.
Manchester City and PSG have been touted as clubs that could sign him due to their financial strength with Man City seen as stronger favorites and the presence of former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.
Messi has played 47 times in all competitions for Barcelona this season, scoring 38 goals and registering 11 assists.
Barca crashed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage, and will finish the season with one piece of silverware after winning the Copa del Rey in April.
A Brazil-based drug kingpin has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, who also intercepted 36 blocks of cocaine, weighing 27.95 kilogrammes with a street value of over N8billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.
A statement released by Femi Babafemi, spokesperson of the anti-drug agency, says the drug lord, Ejiofor Felix Enwereaku, who leads a syndicate was arrested at the airport on Friday 14th May, 2021 for importing 27.95kg of cocaine using their organised criminal gang, which specialises in tagging/planting drugs in innocent travellers’ luggage.
Based on intelligence, narcotic agents at the MMIA had on Saturday 8th May, 2021 intercepted a bag that arrived the Lagos airport from GRU, Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the Ethiopian airline with baggage tag No- ET331199 but was disclaimed by an arriving passenger on the flight. The disclaimed bag was promptly secured by NDLEA operatives for investigation.
On Sunday, 9th May, 2021, a man came to the airport to make inquiry on how to get the disclaimed bag released. He was promptly arrested for investigation.
The disclaimed bag was opened in the presence of the arriving passenger and the man who came to negotiate the release of the disputed bag. When it was opened, it was found that the bag contained 36 blocks of cocaine, weighing 27.95kg. A follow up sting operation was carried out, which led to the arrest of Ejiofor Felix Enwereaku, the prime suspect, on Friday 14th May upon his arrival from Addis Ababa onboard Ethiopian airline.
During preliminary interrogation after his arrest, he confessed to have been contracted by his Ethiopian associate who is a notorious drug baron to claim and push out the consignment in Lagos, Nigeria. He further admitted to have paid the $24,500 bribe in three tranches to compromise NDLEA officers. The first was $10,000 delivered through his representative in Lagos and another $10, 000 via his First Bank account while the third tranche of $4,500 was paid at the point of his arrest.
His group is suspected to be responsible for recruiting traffickers to move illicit drugs to various destinations using Nigeria as their transit location and also planting drugs in the luggage of innocent travellers.” the statement in part read
Impressed by the outcome of the intelligence-led operational strategies that took weeks of painstaking efforts and closely monitored by him, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the Commander, MMIA Command of the agency, Ahmadu Garba, his officers and men for their diligence and resilience in following up every lead in the case until the kingpin was successfully entrapped and arrested.
”I have warned that well henceforth not only go after the traffickers but with the same vigour target the cartels and the kingpins that operate them; the latest arrest is a clear confirmation that well match our words with action and that well come for those who will not back out of the criminal trade, wherever they are hiding pushing instruments of death through our borders to destroy the lives of our youths” Gen. Marwa stated.
A Twitter user has narrated how her neighbor’s live-in girlfriend got married without him knowing.
@Usedabackspace who disclosed that her neighbor and his girlfriend were from different ethnic group, revealed that the man told her that his live-in girlfriend planned her wedding in his house without him knowing as she was always speaking her language.
The Twitter user also revealed that the lady who claimed she was going for a cousin’s wedding, took transport fare from her boyfriend and only called him once after arriving.
The man however got to know about her marriage after visiting her parents’ house to find out if she was safe as he wasn’t been able to reach her.
The tweet read;
My neighbour and his GF have been living together like married couples since i moved in. i haven’t seen her since last week so I ask after her this morning n he told me she is married now..she got married 2 Saturdays ago to an igbo guy who is based abroad cos she is igbo.
He is yoruba.Apparently she planned her wedding from his house and he didn’t know cos she spoke in igbo majority of the time she was on call. told him she is attending a cousin’s wedding in Imo 3wks ago he gave her Tfare. She called him when she arrived and dt was d last time.
Went to her parents place on Last Sunday to find out if she was safe as he hasn’t been able to reach her only for the mother to tell him that she got married. Him don bring Smirnoff spirit and soda to mix. He said “Med dey with me” Me: I dey with u Bros mix am. Inside life!
Anthony Joshua has been ordered by the WBO to defend his heavyweight title against mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk following the collapse of his mega-fight with Tyson Fury.
The British Nigerian boxer was all set to face Fury in Saudi Arabia in August but an arbitration hearing ordered a trilogy between Wilder and Tyson Fury.
A judge ruled that Fury must go through with his contracted trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder, with the clash now set for July 24.
Now Joshua must also face another bout before a potential clash with Fury.
Joshua’s boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn requested an extension until May 24 to ‘show cause’ notice in order to ‘discuss the subject matter and other related affairs’ with Joshua, but Usyk’s team objected.
The WBO sided with the Ukrainian and the two heavyweights now have until May 31 to agree on a deal before purse bids will be called.
Usyk beat Derek Chisora in October and is undefeated in all of his 18 fights.
More than 70 officers have left the U.S. Capitol Police force in the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, according to Gus Papathanasiou, chair of the Capitol Police Labor Committee.
The police force has warned it will take years to hire and train more officers to recoup its ranks and that current officers are working longer hours to fill staffing gaps, according to a Politico report.
The Saturday, May 22 report comes after the US House pf Reps passed a $1.9 billion supplemental funding bill for the Capitol Police on Thursday.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it will need to win 60 votes before being sent to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
The bill gives the Capitol Police $43.9 million, $31.1 million of which is meant to go toward backfilling overtime until the department employs more officers.
“What keeps me awake at night is not the challenge of hiring and training more police officers, but keeping the officers we have right now,” Papathanasiou said in a statement according to Politico.
“We have many officers on the fence about whether to stay with this department.”
Papathanasiou said he is grateful for the supplemental funding but warned it doesn’t do enough to address the department’s staffing issues.
On Thursday, the House also passed a bill to set up a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission to investigate the riot.
After January 6, Trump was impeached for a second time by the House of Representatives for inciting the mob to attack the US house. He was subsequently cleared by the Senate.
Atletico Madrid are officially the champions of the 2020/21 Spanish LaLiga Santander season after a 2-1 victory away at Real Valladolid on Saturday, May 22.
On the final day of the season that an Atletico loss or draw and a Real Madrid win would have given the title to the latter, Los Colchoneros had to come from behind to secure the three points, with Angel Correa and Luis Suarez both getting on the scoresheet.
A magical story for Suarez, who was rejected by Barcelona just last season after he was told he was not in the coach’s plan, and had to reduce his salary to join Atletico.
Luis Suarez’s 21st goal of the campaign secured a 2-1 comeback success at Real Valladolid as Atletico were crowned champions ahead of city rivals Real Madrid.
It’s tough,” Suarez said to Movistar after the game, fighting back tears. “The situation I had to live through, the way I was looked down on, but Atletico opened the door for me.
“A lot of people have suffered with me – my wife, my children. Day by day, they are the ones who have suffered the most from my many years in football.”
Despite the complications, Suarez is proud of the season he and his Atletico teammates have had.
“We’ve had a great year,” Suarez added. “Despite the difficulties, we were the most consistent team and we’re the champions.
“In the first half of the season we had an efficiency that wasn’t normal.”
Concluding, Suarez said that Lionel Messi “will be happy, because we are friends”.
This is the 11th league title that Atletico have won, and the second under Diego Simeone.
Coach, Diego Simeone reacting to his club Atletico Madrid winning the title said;
“I’m happy for a lot of people,” Simeone said after the game. “It has been a very complex year, and so many people have been lost because of the virus, so for Atletico to be champions is different.
“It was a tough year, like our history; it’s one of the best years to be champions.”
Princess Latifa of Dubai appears to still be alive if new pictures released are to be believed.
New photographs uploaded to Instagram shows what looks to be Princess Latifa Al Maktoum, daughter of Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has allegedly been held captive for years against her will.
The snap shared by social media account “Shinny Bryn”, shows a photo of three women including a smiling Princess Latifa sitting around a table in public.
Keen observers also noticed that the photograph appears to have been flipped, based on the mirrored writing appearing on advertising in the background of the image.
The photo also shows face masks lying on the table, suggesting it could have been taken during the coronavirus pandemic period.
But Sky News reports say the picture is understood to be legitimate and is believed to have been taken in the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai.
The Instagram user wrote in a caption: “Lovely evening at MoE with friends” without naming or tagging Latifa.
Latifa’s disappearance from public life raised concerns over her welfare after it was claimed her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was detaining her in solitary confinement claiming she was mentally unstable.
Her friends released secretly recorded disturbing video messages earlier this year showing Latifa claiming she had been held by her father’s people against her will since 2018 when she tried to flee across the Arabian Sea to go to the UK.
The 33-year-old princess had been captured by Navy commandos as she attempted escaping the UAE claiming she wasn’t free.
Her capture came after the abduction of her elder sister Princess Shamsa, 39.
In 2000, Shamsa fled from her family’s Longcross estate in a Range Rover.
But her escape attempt was foiled when she was grabbed off the streets of Cambridge and flown back to Dubai by private jet.
David Haigh, co-founder of the Free Latifa campaign and Detained International, told Sky news: “We confirm that there have been several potentially significant and positive developments in the campaign.
“We do not intend to comment further at this stage, a further statement will be issued at the appropriate time”.
Rahman Malami who is one of the sons of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, got married to his fiancee, Aisha Humairah Ibrahim Umar, in Kano today May 22.
The wedding fatiha took place at the Al-Furqan mosque, Alu Avenue, Kano. Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal presented N250,000 cash as dowry for the bride, Aisha.
Presiding over the solemnization, Dr Bashir Umar, the Imam of Al-Furqan mosque, prayed for the couple wishing them conjugal bliss just as he also prayed for peace and harmony in the country.
Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege along with some Senators, Governors of Gombe, Kebbi and Zamfara were among high profile politicians at the wedding. Also in attendance were the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu, Sen. Magnus Ngei Abbe, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno state and many others.
Super Eagles striker, Kelechi Iheanacho has won the Leicester City Goal of the Season award for the 2020-21 campaign.
The Nigeria international has been in form for the Foxes, scoring 19 goals in all competitions so far this season.
His 80th-minute goal against Crystal Palace which he beat two defenders before sending a powerful curler into the net, was chosen as the best goal in 2020-2021.
The 24-year-old was presented with the award by gaffer Brendan Rodgers, in the company of the owner of the club Mr. Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha on Friday night, May 22.
American rapper/singer, Lil Nas X, suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction while performing on the latest episode of Saturday Night Live.
The “Old Town Road” rapper appeared on the long-running series to perform his new single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” last night.
During the performance, the rapper whose real name is Montero Lamar accidentally ripped his pants near his crotch area while dancing on the stripper pole on stage with several shirtless backup dancers.
The 22-year-old was forced to continue with his performance with his hand on his crotch to cover up the ripped pants.
A Ghanaian man, Anass Kassim has reportedly cancelled his wedding with wife-to-be, Alhassan Hubaiba over alleged infidelity.
Mr Kassim took to Facebook two days ago to announce that the wedding slated for June 20, 2021, has been cancelled.
“Sorry to inform everyone that our wedding has been cancelled! Thank you.” he wrote.
Shortly after the announcement, report started making the round on social media that the wedding was cancelled because he caught Hubaiba in bed with her ex-boyfriend.
However, Kassim on Saturday, May 22, debunked the report, claiming that he only ‘postponed’ the wedding. He also deleted his previous post in which he used the word “cancelled”
“Good day family. Please with due respect, I want to clear the fake news going on through media platforms with regards to the postponing of my wedding. Kindly monitor Sagani TV, Tawasul radio and Zaa radio today within the next 30mins to hear my side of the story” he wrote.
In the interview he mentioned, Kassim said the wedding was postponed for some reasons and that he and his wife-to-be are happily living with each other and have no issues asclaimed by the media.
AIB’s General Manager of Public Affairs, Tunji Oketunbi in a statement released on Saturday May 22, said the agency has been mandated by the Nigerian Air Force to “lead the Investigation into the crash” of the military aircraft on Friday May 21.
The statement read;
“The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) from the accidented Beechcraft 350 aircraft have been recovered and investigation has commenced.
“Investigators will download and analyse vital information contained in the recorders at the AIB-N’s world class Flight Safety Laboratory, in Abuja.
“The mandate given to AIB-N is based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two agencies on July 1, 2020 covering areas of mutual assistance.”
Doctors have discovered some COVID-19 patients are developing Macroglossia, a condition where someone’s tongue is inflamed and begins to swell so much they can not speak or eat.
Dr. James Melville, one of the top researchers of the condition, is aware of nine cases where a COVID-19 patient developed the condition.
‘It’s actually a relatively common condition, but not to the degree of those patients. Those are what we consider massive or giant macroglossia and those are extremely rare,’ he said.
One of the patients he treated, Anthony Jones, woke up after surviving the critical case of COVID-19 that left him on a ventilator with his tongue swollen more than its normal size.
He has finally recovered, but Dr. Melville and other doctors remain perplexed over what might cause the rare complication.
Dr. Melville treated the first two cases of COVID-related macroglossia early in the pandemic last year.
According to Daily Mail, there have been seven new cases of the condition related to COVID-19 since then, with each being the rare, massive version of the condition.
One case was that of Anthony Jones, a Houston man who developed the condition after being hospitalized with the virus.
Jones had to use a ventilator in order to handle the virus, and when he woke up after treatment, his tongue was so swollen that he could not speak or eat.
Dr. Melville had to perform surgery to reduce the massive size of Jones’s tongue and alleviate the inflammation. The operation was a success, but how Jones became inflicted with massive macroglossia is still unknown to doctors.
Dr. Melville believes the inflammation is caused for the same reasons that other organs in someone’s body may become inflamed and swell after contracting the virus.
There are reports that some have had their hearts, or other organs, enlarge after contracting the virus.
‘We were noticing similar histological features with our COVID positive patients with other organs they were doing autopsies on, so say kidneys or lungs or heart,’ he said.
‘I think the [cases] we’re finding, and histology is proving that COVID may be causing, are a more exaggerated inflammatory reaction in the tongue, which might be causing the tongue to get bigger, but that’s all the research work that I’m doing trying to prove that.’
Typical causes of macroglossia include strokes, and laying in a prone position for a long time, as Jones was when he was in the hospital.
He believed that it was possible that patients who needed a ventilator to breathe when in the hospital with COVID-19 were sometimes turned over to their stomach to help them breathe easier.
Dr. Melville is working to find what other factors contributed to causing the tongue swelling.
American actor, Danny Masterson, known for his role in That ’70s Show, must stand trial on three counts of rape, a judge said on Friday May 21.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Charlaine F. Olmedo ordered Masterson to trial on three counts of rape by force or fear, charges that could get him up to 45 years in prison.
This comes after three days of emotional testimony from three women who said the actor Danny Masterson raped them nearly 20 years ago
Judge Charlaine said she found the women’s testimony credible for the purposes of the preliminary hearing, where the bar for sufficient evidence is significantly lower than it will be at the forthcoming trial.
Masterson has pleaded not guilty with his lawyers saying they would prove his innocence.
During the hearing, they repeatedly challenged the women on discrepancies in stories. They suggested that the prosecution was tainted by anti-religious bias against the Church of Scientology.
Masterson is a prominent Scientologist, all three women are former Scientologists, and the church, as well as its teachings, reportedly came up during testimony.
The lawyers said the age of the incidents, which date from 2001 and 2003, made accurate memories impossible.
“Memories fade and memories change,” Masterson attorney Sharon Appelbaum said.
The judge said she found the women’s explanations credible that church teachings kept them from reporting their accusations to the police for years.
The 45-year-old actor has been free on bail since his June arrest. He is charged with three counts of rape by force or fear and could get up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un has reportedly banned mullet hairstyles and skinny jeans in North Korea.
The decision was made over concern that they reflect Western cultures that might influence young people in the country and impact his regime.
North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun – which is owned by the ruling Worker’s Party – wrote : ‘History teaches us a crucial lesson that a country can become vulnerable and eventually collapse like a damp wall regardless of its economic and defence power if we do not hold on to our own lifestyle.’
It went on to say: ‘We must be wary of even the slightest sign of the capitalistic lifestyle and fight to get rid of them.’
Those who repeatedly flout the strict laws on fashion – including a ban on colourfully dyed or spiked up hair and piercings will be sent to labour camps under laws put in place by Kim Jong-un.
North Koreans can only choose from between 15 approved hairstyles under the country’s laws, it has been claimed.
A 41-year-old Nigerian man has been arrested in Delhi for allegedly duping families of Covid-19 patients on the pretext of selling to them Remdesivir injections, used for the treatment of the infection.
Police arrested the accused identified as Chibuike P Daniel, from his rented apartment in the Khanpur area of South Delhi on Wednesday, May 19, and recovered Rs 50,500 in cash along with two laptops, 33 mobile phones, several SIM cards and ATM cards that were used in the offence.
According to the police, the Nigerian national allegedly put out his contact details on Facebook and other social media sites as a vendor of Remdesivir. When people called or messaged him, he promised to deliver the injections and asked for an advance payment. However, after receiving the amount, he stopped communicating with the victims.
Police said the accused was also involved in cheating over a hundred people by pretending to send them gifts and taking money from them as customs clearance fee at the airport.
Chibuike was arrested on the complaint of a victim who alleged that he did not deliver the ordered injections despite making an advance payment.
The complainant named Mosin Khan approached the police at Mohan Garden police station and said he was cheated of Rs 10,000 by the accused.
“Khan urgently needed three Remdesivir injections for his relative. He failed to get it from the hospital and nearby pharmacies. He then found a mobile number on social media and contacted the vendor. Mosin was asked to pay Rs 25,000 for each vial and make an advance payment of Rs 10,000. After he made the payment, the vendor blocked Khan’s number,” said a senior police officer.
A case was registered under sections of cheating. The Dwarka cyber cell team analysed the transaction details and call detail records of the mobile number given by Khan. On Wednesday, the police, with the help of informers, traced Daniel’s location and apprehended him from Khanpur in South Delhi.
The accused confessed to his crimes during the interrogation and told the police he was active on Facebook and cheated people there in the name of gift parcels.
Deputy Commissioner of Poilce (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena, said the team found the accused had cheated over a hundred people with the same modus operandi.
“We have found that the accused is involved in cases all over India and our team is further investigating the matter to link more cases and find other victims,” said DCP Meena.
“During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he is from Nigeria, and came to India three-four years ago on a mediacl visa. His visa has expired but he along with his other associates indulged in cheating people on the pretext of custom clearance. They made friends on Facebook and offered them costly gifts. After that, they requested them to deposit money in their account number in the name of customs clearance of those gifts,” the DCP added.
”They used many mobile phones, forged SIM cards cads and bank accounts for this purpose. During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, they also started allegedly cheating people on the pretext of providing medicines and injections required for treatment of Covid-19 patients,” the DCP said.
Efforts are being made to arrest the co-accused, police said, adding that many other victims across India have been contacted to register complaints in this regard for further probe.
