CNN has suspended anchor Chris Cuomo indefinitely after new documents revealed the extent to which he aided his brother, former New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, amid allegations of sexual harassment.
The cable network said it was not previously privy to documents released by New York Attorney General Letitia James including text messages between Chris Cuomo and Melissa DeRosa, a top aide to his brother where he gave advise on how his brother could tackle the allegations and also tried digging up dirt on his brother’s accusers to discredit them.
“When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly,” a CNN spokesperson said on Tuesday night, November 30.
“But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second. However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew.”
“As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation,” the spokesperson added.
CNN said a second hour of Anderson Cooper 360 will air in place of Cuomo’s 9 p.m. program Tuesday night.
The messages between Chris and Andrew Cuomo released on Monday, imply Chris Cuomo played a key role in working to form a defense against the allegations, using his role within the media to prepare his brother’s team as accusers came forward.
According to the documents, he texted a senior aide of his brother’s to “let me help with the prep” and agreed to a request by DeRosa to check his “sources” to confirm whether Politico planned to publish an article including additional accusations.
“I would — when asked, I would reach out to sources, other journalists, to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out,” Chris Cuomo said in testimony released by the attorney general’s office.
Andrew Cuomo resigned in August after a state investigation found he sexually harassed 11 women and was charged last month with a misdemeanor sex crime for allegedly groping a woman at the Executive Mansion in 2020.
The United Nations has said it will implement a program to pay $300 million a year in cash to Afghan families with children, elderly or people with disabilities in Afghanistan, calling it the best way to target increasing poverty.
Speaking on Wednesday, December 1, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja described an “alarming” socio-economic outlook for Afghanistan for the next 13 months, saying the agency will also push for a $100 million “cash for work” project to boost employment and $90 million in small business payments.
“This will be probably the best shot at halting this massive collapse into near universal poverty,” UNDP’s Kanni Wignaraja, told Reuters.
The U.N. World Food Programme has said 22.8 million people are facing acute food insecurity as Afghanistan struggles with a sharp drop in international development aid after the Taliban seized power in mid-August.
The economy and banking system in Afghanistan is on the brink of collapse, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic and severe drought.
All this factors have made UNDP to project that poverty may affect more than 90 percent of the country’s 39 million people by mid 2022 .
UNDP set up a special trust fund in October, with a 50 million euros ($58 million) pledge from Germany, to provide urgently needed cash directly to Afghans. So far, the fund has received pledges for $170 million.
The UNDP report makes the case for boosting a cash payment program, known as ABADEI, which was launched in October. Since then UNDP said it has made $100,000 in “cash for work” payments, creating jobs for 2,300 people in Mazar, Kunduz and Herat, and is being expanded to other provinces.
The report also warned that Afghanistan’s economic growth will not turn positive in the near term unless restrictions on women working are lifted, $250 million a year in aid to combat COVID-19 continues and sanctions are eased to allow for humanitarian assistance.
It estimates that restricting female employment could cause an immediate economic loss of between $600 million and $1 billion – 3 to 5 percent of gross domestic product.
The wife of Mexican drug boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been sentenced to three years in prison and four years of supervised release.
Emma Coronel Aispuro pleaded guilty earlier this year to assisting her husband’s cartel, the Sinaloa cartel, in its drug distribution process while her husband was imprisoned, according to court documents.
“The defendant’s actual role was a minimal one,” prosecutor Anthony Nardozzi said.
“The defendant acted primarily in support of her husband. The defendant acted upon his orders, which, in turn, furthered the interests of the criminal cartel. The defendant was not an organizer, leader, boss or other type of manager. Rather, she was a cog in a very large wheel of a criminal organization.”
Because Coronel, a 32-year-old former beauty queen, has no prior criminal convictions, she was able to avoid a minimum 10-year sentence for her crimes.
The three-year sentencing is a year less than the federal government’s recommendation of four years, which the defense called “inappropriate” during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.
D.C. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras noted that the conditions of the prison in which Coronel was held during the COVID-19 pandemic prior to her sentencing were “harsher than they would have been” in pre-pandemic times “and will continue to be harsh for the foreseeable future.”
Coronel, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Mexico, and Guzman got married in 2007, when she was 18. The couple has two twin daughters together.
She pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana illegally imported into the United States; conspiring to launder drug money from the cartel; engaging in financial dealings with the cartel.
Coronel is also facing supervision after her release for four years on count one and three years on counts two and three.
The Sinaloa cartel, one of the world’s largest drug-trafficking organizations under Guzman’s leadership, was responsible for multiple murders and smuggling mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States during the drug kingpin’s 25-year reign, prosecutors previously said in court papers.
Guzman was convicted in New York on Feb. 12, 2019, of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation. He was sentenced to life in prison in July of that year.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai celebrated her graduation from Oxford University.
A year and a half after officially earning the degree, Yousafzai was able to walk at the graduation ceremony that had been delayed by the pandemic.
In photos posted to Instagram and Twitter, Yousafzai posed in her cap and gown on the Oxford campus with the caption, “Some Latin was said and apparently I have a degree”.
Malala’s husband and her parents were present at the graduation ceremony.
Rwanda has become the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to impose a ban on inbound and outbound flights to southern African countries in the wake of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron.
The new variant was first reported in South Africa last week, with cases subsequently detected in several countries, and many governments have moved swiftly to reimpose flight restrictions.
In a press statement, the country’s prime minister, Dr. Édouard Ngirente, said that after an extraordinary Cabinet meeting, it was resolved that “direct flights between Rwanda and southern Africa are temporarily suspended”.
The countries affected by the ban are Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Monday that the new variant poses a “very high” risk globally.
Even if the new strain proves to be less deadly than previous ones, it could put more pressure on hospitals if it spreads more easily, it said.
“If another major surge of Covid-19 takes place driven by Omicron, consequences may be severe,” WHO said in a technical note, adding that “to date, no deaths linked to Omicron variant have been reported.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday protested the “unjustified” travel bans and called for their immediate reversal.
“We call upon all those countries that have imposed travel bans on our country and our southern African sister countries to immediately and urgently reverse their decisions,” Ramaphosa said.
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera on his part accused Western countries of “Afrophobia” for shutting their borders.
The head of the WHO in Africa also cautioned against border closures.
“With the Omicron variant now detected in several regions of the world, putting in place travel bans that target Africa attacks global solidarity,” WHO regional director general Matshidiso Moeti said in a statement.
Four persons, including a Nigerian national and his girlfriend, have been arrested in India for allegedly duping people after befriending them on social networking sites, Faridabad police said on Monday, November 29.
Police said that the suspects who were arrested on Saturday, have been active in Delhi-NCR for the last one year and at least 50 cases were registered against the gang.
The suspects were identified as Chinonso Roy Akata, who lived in Delhi’s Tuglakabad, his girlfriend Sangeeta, Ajay Kumar of Bihar who lived in Delhi’s Jasola on rent, and Atif Ali of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, also a resident of Delhi.
Akata who is in his late thirties and Sangeeta were in a live-in relationship.
The passport of Akata who came to India on a student visa had expired six months ago and he was staying in India illegally, police added.
The suspects would befriend people on Facebook and then convince them to transfer money on the pretext of sending them costly gifts and foreign currency, said police, adding that all the suspects were arrested from Delhi.
According to the Faridabad police, they received a complaint from a 28-year-old engineer working at a private company in the city alleging that he was duped of ?5.78 lakh by a woman who befriended him online in October.
Narender Kadiyan, deputy commissioner of police (crime), Faridabad, said that the Nigerian national with the help of a Delhi woman formed a gang and started duping people after creating fake profiles.
“Akata and Sangeeta created fake social media profiles and befriended people by posing as women. They would tell the victims that they are visiting India along with their siblings to meet them to finalise the wedding. Later, the victims used to receive calls from a man posing as customs officer who would inform them that the duo are caught with valuables worth several lakhs of rupees and they have to pay custom duty for their release,” he said.
Police said that Akata’s bank account had transactions worth ?65 lakh in the past two months.
Basant Kumar, station house officer of Faridabad cyber police station, said that the suspects used to tell victims that they would get precious gifts as a token of friendship or would propose them for marriage.
The SHO said that Ajay would provide Sangeeta and Akata SIM cards to make calls to dupe people, and Ali opened accounts for them to transfer money. “All the suspects were taken on seven-day police remand on Sunday after being produced before the court,” he said.
After an investigation by the cyber cell, an FIR was registered on Sunday at Faridabad cyber police station.
“Our cyber police team put the suspects’ numbers on surveillance and their locations were traced, following which they were arrested,” said SHO Kumar.
Operatives of the Lagos Command of the EFCC have arrested 60 suspected internet fraudsters during an awards ceremony at the Conference Hotel in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Investigations by the EFCC revealed that the event tagged “Peer Youths Awards”, was organized to reward high-level internet fraudsters.
Items recovered from the suspects at the point of arrest include exotic cars, electronic devices, laptop computers, and mobile phones.
US President, Joe Biden has called the Omicron Covid variant a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic” saying the US doesn’t need to have lockdowns over it.
Two days after the variant was detected in North America, Biden said he saw no need for a lockdown “for now”, adding, “if people are vaccinated and wear their masks”.
Cases have been found in Canada, and the US has imposed travel bans on eight African countries including South Africa.
Despite the production of vaccines and Biden’s election vow to “shut down” the virus, more Americans died this year from Covid than last year when Donald Trump was president.
At the White House on Monday, November 29, the president called it “almost inevitable” that the Omicron strain, will be found in the US “at some point”.
He added that vaccine companies are creating “contingency plans” for new vaccines “if needed”.
Canada, the US neighbour to the north, said on Sunday that the Omicron strain had been discovered in two patients who had recently travelled to Nigeria.
Also, the World Health Organization called Omicron a “variant of concern”, but says it is still not clear whether it is associated with more transmission or more risk of evading vaccines.
Following Biden’s ban of travel from Southern Africa, his critics attacked him saying he accused former President Donald Trump of “hysterical xenophobia” after he limited travel from China in January 2020 as the coronavirus spread in the US.
Catriona Laing, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, has sent out a message of hope and optimism that Nigeria will overcome its current economic and security challenges.
Laing gave the assurance on Monday November 29, while speaking at a state dinner in Benin organised in her honour.
According to her, “I am very confident that Nigeria will get through this difficult period, the economy is going through a challenging period of insecurity.
“I am a Nigeria optimist and I think Edo will lead the way in taking Nigeria through to where it should be. You have a governor that makes stuff happens and I am very impressive.
“I like the way he put education together and Information and Communications Technology, honestly you have incredible talents in Edo,” she said.
In his remarks, Governor Godwin Obaseki thanked the British High Commissioner to Nigeria for the enormous support the state has enjoyed in the last few years.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has disclosed that it will suspend its agitation if the federal government sets a date to hold a referendum on the secession of the south-east region.
Recall stakeholders have been clamoring for the restructuring of the country in a bid to calm the tension in the country.
Reacting to the calls for restructuring, IPOB in a statement on Monday, said it is not against restructuring, but that “restoration of Biafra state” is the demand of the group.
The secessionist group said those benefiting from the country’s “lopsidedness” are “unlikely” to heed the clamour for restructuring.
“Nigerian government must bear one thing in mind; IPOB is not fighting restructuring. We are not against restructuring but our demand is not restructuring,” the statement reads.
“Our demand is restoration of Biafra State. All we need is a date for REFERENDUM to decide whether or not we want to continue with this forced marriage.
“Those who think Nigeria is ready for restructuring may have to think again. Those benefiting from the current lopsidedness have made restructuring impossible. They are unlikely to heed the clamour for restructuring.
“But for us, the only thing that can make us slow down a little is the government giving us a date for the referendum.
“Restoration of the sovereign State of Biafra is a divine mandate. Our eternal leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu told them to restructure Nigeria they said no and killed millions of Biafrans in the war.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB did not come on board to demand restructuring; we are for total freedom and independence.”
IPOB reiterated that the sit-at-home order has been suspended while warning those attacking residents of the southeast in the name of “unknown gunmen” to desist.
Media company, CNN has said it would review newly released records that show TV host Chris Cuomo (top right) coaching his elder brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (top left), on how to respond to allegations of sexual harassment.
The records, which were released Monday, November 29, by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James from an investigation conducted into allegations of sexual harassment against Andrew Cuomo, include text messages sent by Chris Cuomo to one of his brother’s top aides and a transcript of an interview with Chris Cuomo conducted by investigators working for Ms. James.
The records show that Chris Cuomo gave detailed feedback on his brother’s statements to the press and gathered information about upcoming stories involving his brother’s accusers.
In a statement, CNN, a company under WarnerMedia, said that “thousands of pages of additional transcripts and exhibits” released by Ms. James’s office “deserve a thorough review and consideration.”
“We will be having conversations and seeking additional clarity about their significance as they relate to CNN over the next several days,” the CNN statement said.
Andrew Cuomo stepped down as governor of New York earlier this year after Ms. James’s office released its report, though he said that some of the allegations against him were not factual and we’re politically motivated.
A spokesman for Andrew Cuomo said that aspects of Ms. James’s investigation into the former governor were politically motivated.
“Today’s manipulated release of hand picked witness testimony with selective redactions is typical,” the statement said.
Back in May, CNN President Jeff Zucker said in an employee meeting that Chris Cuomo had “made a mistake” by participating in strategy sessions with his brother, but said he didn’t see a point in suspending Chris Cuomo, adding that taking him off the air would amount to “punishment for the sake of punishing.”
Also in September, Chris Cuomo himself was accused of groping a veteran TV journalist at a party in 2005 when they were co-workers at Walt Disney Co. ’s ABC News. Chris Cuomo responded by saying he regretted the incident, which he said wasn’t sexual in nature.
The records also say CNN anchor reached out to sources—including other journalists—to figure out whether additional complaints of sexual misconduct against his brother might surface.
Andrew Cuomo has been accused by several women, including some that worked for him, of sexual misconduct that included inappropriate touching and lewd remarks. Ms. James’s report, which was released over the summer, said that Andrew Cuomo grabbed the breast of an executive assistant; caressed the neck, back and belly of a state trooper; squeezed the rear end of another employee; inappropriately touched two other women, and over the years, made a habit of hugging and kissing staff members to their discomfort.
Tiger Woods has spoken on his future as a golf player, for the first time since his car crash earlier this year.
In an exclusive interview with Golf Digest, Tiger Woods revealed he won’t be playing golf full time anymore.
“I think something that is realistic is playing the tour one day, never full time, ever again, but pick and choose, just like Mr. (Ben) Hogan did,” Woods told interviewer Henni Koyack.
“Pick and choose a few events a year and you play around that. You practice around that, and you gear yourself up for that. And you play. I think that’s how I’m going to have to play it from now on.
“It’s an unfortunate reality, but it’s my reality. And I understand it, and I accept it.”
Before the interview in his South Florida home, Woods walked into the room with what he called a slight “hitch” in his walking step, evidence of the serious leg injuries suffered in a car crash near Los Angeles in February.
Woods says during his strenous rehabilitation, things as simple as watching his son play or listening to birds sing have taken on greater meaning.
“I have so far to go. … I’m not even at the halfway point. I have so much more muscle development and nerve development that I have to do in my leg. At the same time, as you know, I’ve had five back operations. So I’m having to deal with that. So as the leg gets stronger, sometimes the back may act up. … It’s a tough road.
“I’m just happy to be able to go out there and watch Charlie play, or go in the backyard and have an hour or two by myself with no one talking, no music, no nothing. I just hear the birds chirping. That part I’ve sorely missed.”
Popular Nollywood Thespian, Clem Ohameze was on Sunday left in uncontrollable tears as he was gifted the sum of N8 million from prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin.
The money was meant to sort the medical bills of the popular actor, who has been down with an undisclosed illness.
Ohameze has been confined to a sick bed for almost two years after he was involved in an auto accident.
The accident was said to have damaged his lower and upper limbs making him unable to fend for himself
He has since resorted to soliciting help on social media.
In a viral video on social media, the veteran actor was assisted into the Warri-based church limping with the help of two men.
Fufeyin, the founder of Christ Mercy Land Church located, called the ailing actor out of many providing him with a Bible and N8 million.
The actor was seen crying uncontrollably after receiving the fund, Fufeyin said: “When I look at the situation of the man I was weeping inwardly. People said he needs prayer. We all need to pray for him.”
Fufeyin stated that he first saw the man on the internet requesting prayer over his predicament before he was informed that the actor had come to his church for assistance.
“I know he was a strong man,” Fufeyin said while stressing that Ohameze needed help and support.
The veteran actor had told the church that a series of scans were done on him after the accident with medical treatments.
Weeping profusely, Ohameze said the doctor had told him surgery remained the only leeway after a series of further tests.
But that he had been praying, promising to return to the doctor after a scary picture of the surgery process was painted to him.
“My doctor kept calling. He said the more I stay, the worst the situation. So I have no choice but to make up my mind to go for the surgery.
“So I called that I was ready and they booked me for the first week of December. I recorded the video asking for prayers because I know there’s nothing God can not do. Let the church pray for me,” Ohameze said.
In response, Fufeyin did not only pray for him alongside his congratulations but supported the actor with N8 million and a Bible.
Jack Dorsey has confirmed that he will be resigning as Twitter’s chief executive after a share price spike followed reports of the move.
He said in a statement: “I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders.”
Parag Agrawal has been announced as the new CEO and a member of the board, with immediate effect.
Shares in the social media platform rose 9% on market opening on Monday morning following a report that Mr Dorsey, 45, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, was to leave his role.
He will remain the chief executive of financial payments company Square, which has a market capitalisation of over $98bn (£73bn) compared to Twitter’s $38bn (£28bn).
Flamboyant Kenyan pastor, Lucy Natasha has announced her engagement to fellow preacher, Prophet Stanley Carmel.
The founder of Empowerment Christian Church (ECC) said ‘yes’ to Prophet Carmel during an event that took place at a five star hotel in Nairobi on Saturday, November 27.
The stylish preacher later took to her official social media accounts to share photos from the engagement ceremony.
“I Said Yes” she captioned photos of Prophet Carmel down on one knee proposing to her.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11” she added.
“My Love Carmel may the rest of our life’s journey together will be filled with God’s grace, blessings, provisions, protection and guidance,” she captioned other photos.
Kim Kardashian reportedly ‘gave no indication’ she wanted to work things out with estranged husband Kanye West, who is hoping they would get back together.
The Billionaire rapper, 44, recently insisted that the former couple, who share four children together – will fix their relationship. He also admitted to making mistakes during their seven-year marriage.
A source now claims that Kim is adamant about the divorce she filed for in February.
“Make no mistake about it, Kim is not getting back together with Kanye,” the insider told HollywoodLife.
“Kim has not given Kanye any indication whatsoever that she wants to work it out.” the source added
Kim has been making headlines after going on endless dates with Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson. They first met during her stint on the late-night comedy show, where she kissed Pete during a skit.
Meanwhile, over the Thanksgiving holiday, Kanye claimed God will bring him and Kim back together.
The rapper discussed a possible reconciliation with the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star while visiting a homeless shelter in Los Angeles last week.
“The narrative God wants is to see that we can be redeemed in all these relationships. We’ve made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve publicly done things that were not acceptable as a husband,” he says in a video shared by PageSix.
“But right now today, for whatever reason, I didn’t know I was going to be standing right here. I didn’t know I was gonna be in front of this mic, but I’m here to change the narrative.”
Kanye then continued by expressing that he wasn’t going to let E!, Hulu and Disney, networks that work with the Kardashians on their reality shows, “write the narrative of his family. I am the priest of my own home.”
“I have to be next to my children as much as possible. So, when I’m out the house, I’ve got a house right next to the house. I’m doing everything to be right next to the situation, But I need to be back home.” he said
“If the enemy can separate Kimye, there’s going to be millions of families that feel like that separation is OK… but when God brings Kimye together, there’s going to be millions of families that are going to be influenced to see that they can overcome the work of the separation,” he continued. “Of trauma the devil has used to capitalize to keep people in misery while people step over homeless people to go to the Gucci store.”
Kanye and Kim share four children together; North, 8, Saint, 5, Chicago, 3, and Psalm, 2. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star filed for divorce from the rapper in February, after seven years of marriage.
A married couple who tested positive for COVID-19 have been arrested after fleeing a quarantine hotel in the Netherlands before attempting to leave the country.
The pair were arrested on an airplane that was about to take off at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on Sunday evening, according to Dutch police.
Officers did not release the names and nationalities of those detained, but the city’s Het Parool newspaper reported that they were a Spanish man and Portuguese woman who were trying to fly to Spain.
Their arrest was made “without violence”, the newspaper added.
The couple had been staying at a quarantined hotel in the Kennmerland region, where travellers from South Africa who have tested positive for COVID-19 are self-isolating.
Among more than 600 passengers on two flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg, 61 have tested positive for COVID-19 – and 13 of them were infected with the Omicron variant.
Private security guards at the hotel make sure guests remain in isolation, while police outside ensures no one enters the premises if they do not need to be there.
A Twitter user has taken to his handle to draw the attention of the authorities to a crack he spotted on one of the pillars at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos state.
Posting a photo showing the crack, he wrote;
”This is MM2’s parking lot. Given the rate of building collapses in Lagos, can someone alert the right people so we don’t have another disaster on our hands?
So many bad engineers commenting on this tweet. I have two engineering degrees. (I switched careers 12 years ago).
What we’re looking at is two cracked pillar on an expansion joint. There’s a difference. The pillar aren’t meant to split like that.
Virgil Abloh, the artistic director for Louis Vuitton and the founder of Off-White, has died after battling cancer privately for years.
Louis’ parent company, LVMH, announced his passing on Sunday, Nov. 28.
The statement posted on Twitter reads: “LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off White are devastated to announce the passing of Virgil Abloh, on Sunday, November 28th, of cancer, which he had been battling privately for several years.”
Their CEO Bernard Arnault adds, “We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom. The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother or their friend.”
A statement was also released via Virgil’s private Instagram account.
Virgil was the first black man to be tapped to take charge at LV with its look and vision in early 2018. He was also good friends with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
He is survived by his parents, wife, and two children.
Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said that Twitter, the social media platform banned by the Federal Government of Nigerian in June 2021, has agreed to conditions laid out by the government to lift the ban.
Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, Nov. 28, Keyamo said the committee set up by the Federal Government to review the operations of Twitter has made significant progress.
Keyamo, who is also a member of the committee, said: “The reason the president took that step is to recalibrate our relationship with Twitter and not to drive them away from our country.
“That recalibration, we have started it and the President graciously added me to the committee.
“We also set up a technical committee to interface with Twitter and come up with a lot of conditions for them to fulfill for us to lift the suspension.
“It was Twitter that reached out to the Federal Government to say they want to know what and what they can do to straighten up the relationship with the Federal Government and so, we have gone far but I may not, at this forum, let out a lot but we gave them a lot of conditions and they have agreed to all the conditions.”
Ralf Rangnick has been confirmed as Manchester United’s interim manager until the end of the season.
The 63-year-old German left his role as director of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at United on a six-month contract until the end of May.
Rangnick will stay on at Old Trafford in a consultancy role for a further two years. It’s also possible that he could land the manager’s job on a permanent basis if he is able to turn things around at the club.
United announced the news on Monday, saying: ‘Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager until the end of the season, subject to work visa requirements. Following this period, Ralf and the club have agreed that he will continue in a consultancy role for a further two years.
‘Michael Carrick will remain in charge of the first team until Ralf’s work visa is finalised. The club wishes to place on record its thanks to Lokomotiv Moscow for their co-operation in the process of bringing Ralf to Manchester United.’
Rangnick spoke for the first time about his move to Old Trafford, saying: ‘I am excited to be joining Manchester United and focused on making this a successful season for the club. The squad is full of talent and has a great balance of youth and experience.
‘All my efforts for the next six months will be on helping these players fulfil their potential, both individually and, most importantly, as a team. Beyond that I look forward to supporting the club’s longer-term goals on a consultancy basis.’
United’s football director John Murtough added: ‘Ralf is one of the most respected coaches and innovators in European football. He was our number one candidate for Interim Manager, reflecting the invaluable leadership and technical skills he will bring from almost four decades of experience in management and coaching.
‘Everyone at the club is looking forward to working with him during the season ahead, and then for a further two years in his advisory role.’
A businesswoman heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja for ingesting 80 pellets of cocaine.
A statement released by NDLEA spokesperson, Babafemi Femi, says the 46-year-old Mrs. Adisa Afusat Olayinka who lives in Ibafo, Ogun state hails from Ilorin, in Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara state. She was arrested on Wednesday 24th November at the boarding screening area of the airport during an outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight 1418. She was subsequently taken into custody where she excreted 80 pellets of the illicit drug between Wednesday and Saturday, 27th Nov.
”She claimed during interviews that she saved N2.5million over a period of one year to buy the drugs in bits from six different people at Akala, Mushin area of Lagos. The suspect further said she was trading in clothes but had to borrow N1million from three persons to make up the money used to buy the drugs, adding that she spent another N1million to renew her passport, visa and buy return flight tickets.
She said she was encouraged to traffic the drugs by a woman she met during her last Umrah trip to Saudi Arabia in 2019. She added that she needed to raise N7million for In Vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment due to pressure from people because shes been married for 28 years without a child due to fertility challenges.”Babafemi said
In a related development, another trafficker, Inusa Abdulrazaki, was arrested with 101 wraps of Heroin weighing 1.3 kilograms on Friday 19th Nov. at Gate C -Departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos on his way to Italy via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. The drugs were concealed inside cassava flour popularly called gariri. The following day, Saturday 20th Nov, NDLEA operatives at the airport during a routine cargo search at NAHCO export shed intercepted an abandoned consignment of khat 17.90kg.
While commending the officers and men of the NAIA and MMIA commands for their vigilance and steadfastness, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa urged them to always stay two steps ahead of the drug cartels.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s greatest ambition is to retire having won the Ballon d’Or more times than his long-time rival Lionel Messi, according to the chief of the award Pascal Ferre, who hands out the trophy every year.
Ronaldo is a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and has been nominated the most with a record 17 times but remains one behind Messi, who has won six times.
The Argentine is tipped to be the frontrunner for this year’s award, which would take his tally to seven, but Ferre revealed Ronaldo is desperate to top his arch-rival, Messi.
‘Ronaldo has only one ambition and that is to retire with more Ballon d’Or than Messi and I know because he told me,’ Ferre said, via Marca.
Ahead of the ceremony next Monday, this year’s winner was reportedly leaked earlier this week with Messi scooping up the coveted accolade once again, via talkSPORT.
Karim Benzema, who was found guilty in his sex-tape blackmail case this week, has reportedly come in second, while Robert Lewandowski finished third.
Messi won the award at the last ceremony in 2019, while Ronaldo has not secured the prize since 2016. The PSG forward was preceded by Luka Modric, who, according to Ferre, ‘cried like a child’ when he called to tell the Croatian he had won.
The French journalist believes revealing the winner at the gala is part of the magic of the award which is why their identity must be kept secret until the deal day.
‘We are very careful. The winner of the Ballon d’Or is a big secret. I don’t think there is a comparable situation in sport,’ he said.
Ronaldo was in the running this year, making the 11-man shortlist, but is not considered a favourite after his poor performance last year.
Some homeowners in Festac Phase 2 woke up to their houses being demolished on Sunday morning, Nov. 28.
This comes one day after an article announced that the Federal Housing Authority will soon begin mass demolition of buildings without approval in Festac Town.
Facebook user, Angel Nkiru took to her page to share photos of houses that have been brought down.
She wrote: “Got a bad news this morning.
“I am there and I’m crying because I have friends who have houses there.
“Festac phase 2 abulado estate under Amuwo odofin local government under demolition by the FHA.
“They started since 5 am.. See beautiful igbo people’s houses.. FHA said the land is not approved. I am watching people’s houses being destroyed and it’s painful.
“Ego umu igbo agwugo.. This first yellow building belongs to my oga at aspamda. Make i no mention name because he’s popular.”
Canada has confirmed the detection of two cases of Omicron, a highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus, health officials said in a statement.
The two cases have been traced to two people who travelled to Nigeria.
“Today, the province of Ontario has confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Ottawa, both of which were reported in individuals with recent travel from Nigeria. Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation,” a statement by the Ontario government said.
This comes two days after Canada rushed to seal its borders for foreign travellers from seven Southern African nations in an attempt to prevent the spread of the newly identified Covid-19 variant, also known as B.1.1.529 variant. These seven nations are South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Namibia.
The ban of entry of travellers into Canada will be in place till 31 January 2022.
Labelled as a “Variant of Concern” by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Omicron has sent health experts, scientists, and governments scrambling to figure out the threat posed by Omicron, and whether it will surpass that of its dominant predecessor Delta, which was highly transmissible and responsible for deadly waves in many parts of the world.
But WHO also noted that it is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible than other variants, or if it can cause more severe disease.
“In recent weeks, infections have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection of B.1.1.529 variant. The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9 November 2021,” the WHO said in its statement confirming the detection of the variant.
Cases of the Omicron variant have now been detected in 13 nations; Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Canada, and South Africa.
Napoli and Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen’s eye reportedly ‘came out of its socket’ after his horrifying facial injury during Napoli’s 3-2 defeat to Inter Milan last week.
The Nigerian sustained fractures to his cheekbone and eye socket after colliding with Inter defender Milan Skriniar and faces a three-month spell on the sideline.
Osimhen’s eye came out of its socket and his face looked as if it had ‘ended up under a press’, according to Gianpaolo Tartaro, the surgeon who treated the 22-year-old on Tuesday.
‘He had a series of fractures, it was as if his head had ended up under a press,’ Tartaro told Corriere dello Sport earlier this week.
‘The eye came out of its socket. It is not simple at all, in fact it is very delicate due to the crushing of the socket, due to the curving of the malar bone [which is] practically destroyed.
‘The various fractures, not only the cheekbone, obviously brought complications and six plates and 18 screws had to be inserted.’
Tartaro explained the extent of the injury made the surgery far from straightforward, adding the Nigerian will in all likelihood have to wear a special face-covering once he returns to action.
‘[Surgery] took three hours, we had to cut him in three places on his face,’ he continued.
‘We have to now look at a special mask for his case. It is not something banal, there is a nerve there, it is all very difficult. We will see how his situation evolves.’
Osimhen will miss the African Cup of Nations in January and may well have to undergo surgery again, Tartaro warned.
‘Victor has to be very careful because if there is a problem he must return to the operating room,’ he said.
Osimhen has scored nine goals in 14 appearances for Napoli this season, and his injury is a potentially devastating blow for Luciano Spalletti’s men, who are top of Serie A ahead of AC Milan on goal difference after 13 games.
According to family sources, Mrs Maduka died after suffering a stroke in Nnewi, Anambra state on Sunday afternoon, November 28.
Until her death, she was the Vice-president of the Coscharis Group since its inception and the co-owner of the company.
Her namesake and daughter, Charity, confirmed the death of her mother to The PUNCH on Sunday evening.
“I can confirm that she passed away yesterday (Saturday) evening,” a grieving Charity said amid muttered sobs in a phone conversation with our correspondent.
According to a profile on Coscharis Group’s website, Mrs Maduka was a co-owner of the company founded by her husband.
“In her capacity, she was once the Executive Director supervising the Administrative, Legal, Works / Maintenance, Export, Technologies teams of the organization from 1984 – 2003. Under her tutelage, she was able to grow the business by creating value via the various strategic departments she supervised within the organization.
“As a board member of the group, in the year 2005, she later became the Executive Chairman / COO of two of the subsidiaries of the Coscharis Group namely Coscharis Beverages Limited and Coscharis Properties Limited respectively,” the profile read in part.
A video showing how a woman died at Obi Cuban’s Hustle & Bustle club has been released.
In the video, the lady, in a red dress, is seen leaving the club with two male friends.
They appear to be in good spirits and are seen playing around before the lady runs forward, trips, falls, then loses consciousness.
One of her male friends walks up to her and tries to help her up but notices she’s unconscious.
He then raises alarm and people gather.
A hefty hotel bouncer is also seen running towards the woman to save her.
Unfortunately, the woman, identified as Susan Oleghe, didn’t survive.
Hustle & Bustle has also released a statement to clear the air and dispute the false reports making the rounds that she was electrocuted inside the club.
A new coronavirus variant that has been branded the “worst ever” mutation of the disease has already reached Europe, a virologist said today.
A patient in Belgium fell ill with the B.1.1.529 variant of the virus, which was first detected in South Africa.
Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said: “We have one case of this variant that is confirmed. It’s someone who came from abroad.”
It was disclosed that the patient has no known links with South Africa and had travelled to Belgium from Egypt.
Marc Van Ranst, whose laboratory works closely with Belgium’s public health body Sciensano, said the person first developed symptoms on November 22.
The new variant is set to be given the official name of “Nu” by the World Health Organisation as that is the next available letter in the Greek alphabet.
The Greek naming system for Covid-19 variants of interest and concern was introduced by the WHO at the end of May to make new strains of the virus easier to remember.
The labels such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta do not replace the scientific names for the variants – for example, the scientific name of the Nu variant is B.1.1.529.
The UK’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there was “huge international concern” over the new strain.
He told the House of Commons that experience has shown “we must move quickly and at the earliest possible moment”.
He added there were concerns the variant may be more transmissible, make vaccines less effective, and may affect one of the UK’s Covid treatments, Ronapreve.
He told MPs it was “highly likely” the B.1.1.529 variant had already spread from Africa to other countries.
The Government added South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia to the UK’s travel red list on Thursday evening.
Passengers arriving in the UK from these countries from 4am on Sunday will be required to book and pay for a Government-approved hotel quarantine for 10 days.
Downing Street urged anyone who has arrived from these countries recently to get tested.
Other countries including Germany, Italy, France, Israel and Singapore have also restricted travel over the variant, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has proposed stopping air travel from the southern African region.
However, South Africa’s foreign minister Naledi Pandor said on Friday that the UK’s decision to ban flights “seems to have been rushed”.
Professor Ravi Gupta, a professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, said: “B.1.1.529 has signatures of cumulative mutation indicating that it emerged in a chronic infection.
“B.1.1.529 does certainly look of significant concern based on mutations present.
“Many have been shown to impact binding by neutralising antibodies, and some are known to increase the ability of virus to enter cells or to make them fuse together to allow cell-cell spread.”
At least 19 people have died and 32 more injured after a bus carrying Catholic pilgrims to a religious site in Central Mexico crashed on Friday, November 26.
Authorities said the bus lost its brakes and slammed into a building in the State of Mexico.
Six of the victims suffered injuries so severe they were flown to a hospital in Toluca, the state capital.
Ricardo de la Cruz, the assistant state interior secretary, said the accident occurred in the township of Joquicingo, southwest of Mexico City.
The bus was heading from the western state of Michoacan to Chalma, a town that has been visited by Roman Catholic pilgrims for centuries, when the accident occurred.
Former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, and widow to the late Odumegwu Jim Ojukwu, Mrs Bianca Ojukwu, has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Speaking at the 10th memorial anniversary of late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu on Friday, November 26 in Owerri, Bianca Ojukwu urged the President to consider the plea made by some Igbo leaders during their recent visit to the State House, Abuja, asking for Kanu’s release.
“Please release Nnamdi Kanu’ “Kanu’s release will further buttress President Buhari’s commitment to healing the wounds inflicted by the sense of marginalisation felt by the Igbo nation,” she said.
Founder of the Movement for the Actualization of a Sovereign State Of Biafra, Ralph Uwazuruike, also said that Ndigbo were grateful to Ojukwu for fighting for the Igbo people.
He said, “This year’s memorial is a further reminder of who Ikemba Odimegwu Ojukwu was. Ojukwu was an great man who fought for the liberation of Ndigbo.”
The court of appeal, Lagos division has dismissed an appeal filed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, challenging the forfeiture of her $40million worth of jewellery to the federal government.
The jewellery, categorised into 33 sets which include “419 expensive bangles, 315 expensive rings, 304 expensive earrings, 267 expensive necklaces, 189 expensive wristwatches, 174 expensive necklaces and earrings, 78 expensive bracelets, 77 expensive brooches, and 74 expensive pendants”, were seized from the former minister’s residence at No. 10 Fredrick Chiluba Close, Asokoro, Abuja.
The court had on July 5, 2019, ordered the interim forfeiture of the assets following an ex- parte application filed by Rotimi Oyedepo, the counsel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Then Justice Nicholas Oweibo on September 19, 2019, ordered the permanent forfeiture of $40 million worth of jewellery seized from Alison-Madueke.
The high court judge held that the former minister failed to show cause why the jewellery should not be permanently forfeited to the government. Dissatisfied, the former minister in appeal No: CA/L/1263/19 asked the appellate court to upturn the decision of the high court.
Delivery judgement in the appeal today, the appellate court held that there was no substance in the former Minister’s appeal to overturn the lower court’s order. Consequently, the appellate court affirmed the 2019 verdict of the federal high court.
Billionaire rapper and businessman, Kanye West has says his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian ‘didn’t like’ when he wore the Donald Trump affiliated ‘MAGA’ cap and that he had ’embarrassed’ her with his failed presidential bid in 2020.
In a ‘Thanksgiving prayer’ shared on his Instagram page, the rapper, 44, said that Kardashian, 41, was particularly angered by his South Carolina campaign event where he claimed they both considered aborting their now eight-year-old daughter North. He also talked about being self righteous after accepting Jesus Christ and battling alcoholism but that he is willing to make things right.
‘Let’s go with politics here. Good Lord, my wife did not like me wearing the red hat. Being a good wife, [Kim] wanted to protect me and our family,’ said West.
West continued: ‘I made me and our family a target by not aligning with Hollywood’s political stance and that was hard for our marriage.
‘Then I ran for president without proper preparation and no allies on either side.
‘I embarrassed my wife in the way that I presented information about our family during the one and only, thank God, press conference,’ he said.
‘All my dad had to say afterwards was, ”write your speech next time son.”
Kanye famously wore the ‘Make American Great Again’ cap, and had been an open supporter of Donald Trump, who adopted the slogan for his 2016 Presidential campaign and even visited the White House in 2018.
The slogan became a hugely divisive phrase in the US, used by Trump on his way to the White House in 2016.
Some Americans have linked the hat to racially-charged tensions.
On July 4 2020, he announced that he no longer supported Trump as he launched his own presidential bid. ‘I am taking the red hat off, with this interview,’ he told Forbes
Continuing on with his prayer, West appeared to address the reported $14.4 million he lost during his failed Kanye 2020 campaign by admitting to his listeners that he ‘spent money like crazy.
‘It’s the craziest thing I’ve done and I’ve done a lot of crazy things,’ said the star, who then labeled himself ‘the priest of my home’ and vowed to ‘watch my own money and secure our finances’ going forward.
He described his son, Saint as ‘a mix of two of my favorite things: me and my wife’s face.’
Kanye told his listeners that ‘all I think about everyday is how I get my family back together and how I can heal the pain that I’ve caused.
‘I take accountability for my actions. The one thing that all my successes and failures have in common is me.’
He then went on to list his alcohol use, irregularly medicated manic episodes, inflated ego, short temper, and ‘self righteous’ Christian behavior as reasons for his personal downfall, as well as the destruction of his family.
West said he ‘would drink to take the stress away to knock the edge off,’ but drinking eventually ‘affected my health and the health of people around me because I already had a hair trigger temper and this just heightened it.’
Kanye then revealed that he ‘went into a manic episode in 2016 and was placed under heavy medication’ – something that has affected him till this day.
‘Since then I went on and off the medication which left me susceptible to other episodes which my wife and family and fans have had to endure.
‘My ego has a tendency to go past the threshold of being motivating and entertaining to just being overbearing. There are ways to show confidence without arrogance.
Kanye revealed that he has a tendency to ‘scream’ at others and that ‘screaming might have helped me tell off everyone who doubted me in music but that screaming did not help me keep my family together’
West then said he previously exhibited ‘self righteous Christian behavior’ that fueled his arrogance.
‘When I got saved it did not immediately make me a better person, it made me a self righteous Christian.
‘Mix that with being rich, famous, and very very very very very very attractive and you got a molotov cocktail ready to be thrown through the window of anyone who ever disagreed with me
‘I was arrogant with my Jesus like I just got some Jesus at the Gucci story with a stimulus check.’
He concluded the lengthy prayer by reinforcing the need for personal ‘accountability’ and by expressing his gratitude towards Kim for their family.
‘I’ve had to learn that I had to take accountability. We always judge and tell other people what they should do but we can only take accountability for ourselves and our children.
‘This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for the family that my wife has given me. I’m thankful for the life that God has given me. And I’m thankful for your time, attention, and patience. In Jesus name, amen.’
The prayer by Kanye comes just one day after he professed that God would reunite him and Kim Kardashian as he admitted he’d made ‘mistakes’ in his marriage.
A woman welcomed a child for the first time at the age of 50 after years of battling infertility.
Susie Troxler, a psychologist in High Point, North Carolina, gave birth to their daughter, Lily Antonia Troxler, on Sept. 29, 2021, after over 10 years of trying to get pregnant.
She and her husband, Tony Troxler, 61, will celebrate their first Thanksgiving this year as parents.
“It’s really, really, really surreal,” Susie said of welcoming a daughter at age 50. “I’d been unmarried, I’d been a wife and now the idea of being a mommy, it still hasn’t sunk in I don’t think.”
The Troxlers had tried to have a baby since marrying 13 years ago, but were never able to naturally conceive.
Susie Troxler said that for both she and her husband, seeking fertility help was not something they considered, simply because they did not know what options existed.
She said: “When we got married, we just assumed we’d get pregnant, and then it didn’t happen.
“But we’re both very old-school, and when we grew up, nobody even talked about or discussed IVF [in-vitro fertilization]. It wasn’t even a thing.”
That changed around three years ago, when Susie Troxler went in for her annual exam with her new OBGYN at Cone Health, a North Carolina-based health care network where Tony had recently been hired in the security department.
Susie Troxler recalled: “At the end of the appointment, she asked me a question nobody else had ever asked me: ‘Is there anything else, any concerns or questions?
“Because she asked it, I mentioned that we hadn’t gotten pregnant, and she said, ‘OK, we can work on that.'”
The OBGYN, Dr. Carolyn Harraway-Smith, Cone Health’s chief medical officer for women’s health, referred her immediately to a fertility specialist.
“Typically, if someone was younger and had a longer period of time to conceive, I would start the work-up for infertility,” said Harraway-Smith. “Because of her age, I knew we had a short window, so I referred her to a reproductive endocrinologist.”
The reproductive endocrinologist diagnosed Susie Troxler with fibroids.
Susie Troxler underwent surgery in January 2019 to remove the fibroids, but was told she and her husband would still not be able to get pregnant naturally, both because of her age and because of health complications on her husband’s side.
The Troxlers underwent several rounds of IVF, but after not being able to produce a viable embryo, they turned to egg donation.
Susie Troxler underwent the first embryo transfer in late 2019, but it did not take. Several months later, in spring 2020, the coronavirus pandemic emerged in the United States and put their plans for a family on hold for nearly one year due to pandemic restrictions.
In February, the Troxlers decided to try their last viable embryo, a frozen embryo, which they considered to be their last chance.
Several weeks later, they learned Susie Troxler was pregnant.
“I don’t even have words for it,” she said of her reaction to the pregnancy.
“It was amazing and surreal,” Tony Troxler said of learning he would be a first-time dad.
Susie Troxler had what she described as a “pretty uneventful” pregnancy with mild pregnancy symptoms and no major medical complications.
She underwent a planned C-section on Sept. 29, that was led by Harraway-Smith, whom the Troxlers credit with starting the process that led them to becoming parents.
A Brazil based drug dealer, Okafor Okwudili Moses has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA over a 2.55 kilograms of cocaine recovered from a toilet at the E-Arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos.
Director, Media & Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the drug was discovered in the toilet of the airport on Friday 12th November after it was dumped there by a trafficker who was obviously scared of being caught by narcotic officers positioned at the airport.
“The following day, Saturday 13th November, the actual owner of the consignment, Okafor arrived the airport from Brazil via an Ethiopian Airline flight and was promptly arrested. While being interviewed in custody, he confirmed he is the owner of the seized illicit drug,” the statement reads.
In other interdiction operations across the country, over 6,043.857 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs were recovered in five states of Adamawa, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Ebonyi with more than two hectares of cannabis farms destroyed.
A suspected fake security agent, Abdullahi Mohammed, who claimed to be serving in one of the security formations in Mubi, Adamawa state was arrested with four blocks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 4kg along Bazza- Michika road.
In the same vein, four other suspects were arrested at different locations in Jimeta, Yola North LGA, with assorted substances such as Cannabis, Diazepam, Exol- 5 and Tramadol tablets.
In Ondo state, three persons: Alabi Idowu; Oluwatomipe Olorundare and Finity Sunday were arrested on Monday 15th November and a total of 2,771kgs of Cannabis recovered from them at Oke Ogun camp, Ipele, Owo LGA, while 59-year-old Mrs. Joy Peter was nabbed with over 39kg cannabis and Tramadol tablets on Wednesday 17th Nov.
In the same vein, over 2, 832kg of drugs were seized and more than two hectares of cannabis farms destroyed in parts of Ekiti state. While 2,582kg of Cannabis was recovered on Tuesday 16th November from Itapaji forest, Ipao, Ikole LGA, 250kg was seized from Ise forest, Ise-Orun LGA where the cannabis farm was also destroyed on Thursday 18th Nov.
In Ebonyi, 29-year-old Ivoh Chukwuemeka accompanied by his girlfriend Ogbonna Peace, 18, was intercepted along Enugu-Abakaliki expressway with 20.357kg cannabis on Friday 19th Nov.
Similarly, 377.5kg cannabis was seized from at least two suspects: Lucky Okhian and Aaron Monday in Owan West LGA as well as Okpokhumi forest in Owan East LGA of Edo state.
Reacting to the arrest of Okafor and other suspects as well as the seizures from the states, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men involved in the operations across the commands for sustaining the heat on drug cartels in the country.
“We are proving to the bad guys and merchants of death that well not stay a step ahead of them but two steps in this game, and this we must sustain as we prepare to go into the new year,” he charged.
The Enugu State Police Command has dismissed Inspector Edem Ebong, pictured above, who was hitherto attached to Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 9 Umuahia, for the offence of murder.
The approval is sequel to the Command’s conclusion of the disciplinary trial and thorough investigation launched into the case of alleged shooting and killing of five persons, as well as the injury of four others for no justifiable reasons, by the Police Inspector, at Golf Estate Enugu, on June 20, 2021.
The police officer had stormed the estate and began shooting sporadically, killing five persons.
Confirming the dismissal, the spokesperson of the state police command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Abubakar Lawal, while appreciating the general public, particularly residents of the State, for the level of patience and understanding shown while the disciplinary trial and investigation into the case lasted, reiterated commitment to always deal decisively with Police Officers of the Command, found culpable in disciplinary offences against extant codes of conduct, rules of engagement and standard operating procedures of the Nigeria Police Force, especially as it concerns respect for fundamental human rights of citizens.
Ndukwe said the CP Lawal has therefore called on residents of the State to remain law-abiding and promptly report erring Police Officers to the nearest Police Station; or by calling the Command’s hotlines on 08032003702, 08086671202, 08075390883 or 08098880172. Or alternatively, send e-mails to [email protected]. He assured residents that such reports shall be accorded the necessary confidentiality and action.
The Queen has reportedly told the Royal Family she is now “far better” and will able to host the traditional Christmas at Sandringham following her health scare.
Her Majesty, 95, has moved to reassure her family she is on the mend and “looking forward” to the festive family gathering at her Norfolk estate.
Fears over the Queen’s health were sparked in recent weeks after the monarch was forced to pull out of a number of engagements due to a back sprain. On the advice of her doctors, she has been resting at Windsor Castle after becoming injured almost two weeks ago.
Last month she spent a night in hospital for an unspecified condition.
This Christmas will be the first for The Queen after she lost her husband, Prince Philip in April. They had been married for 73 years before his death.
It is thought The Queen will travel to Sandringham around December 17.
Royal sources told The Mirror it was likely she would make a 50-minute helicopter journey from Windsor but added the traditional journey by train from London to Kings Lynn had not yet been ruled out.
Guests at Sandringham will include her son Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children.
Prince Edward has also confirmed his attendance, along with his wife Sophie and their children, Louise and James.
Also expected to attend, is Princess Anne and her children Peter Philips and Zara Tindall.
An invitation is also said to have been given to Princess Beatrice, her husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi, and their newborn daughter Sienna, and to Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank, and their baby son August.
Sources also suggested Prince Andrew had “obviously” been invited.
It is thought to be “highly unlikely” Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle will fly from California with their two children to attend although it is said they have been invited.
Last year, The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh spent Christmas alone in Windsor Castle due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A source told The Mirror: “The Queen has told everyone she is feeling far better of late and is very much looking forward to welcoming them for Christmas.
“Like many other families, this will be the first time Her Majesty can gather with her extended family after being kept apart for so long due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Royal fans will be eager to catch a glimpse of the royals all together at the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene, a 16th-century church on the Sandringham property.
The Queen is reportedly “determined” to attend the service, along with the rest of the family, but will be driven to the church to save her walking the short distance.
The Queen has already carried out some light duties and yesterday held two virtual audiences via videolink, welcoming the High Commissioner for Nigeria, Sarafa Tunji Isola, and then the Ambassador of Malaysia, Zakri Jaafar.
Buckingham Palace said the Christmas plans were “a private affair”.
Controversial activist, Kenechukwu Okeke, who sued multiple Nigerian celebrities for promoting the End SARS campaign, has been murdered in Anambra State.
In November 2020, Kenechukwu Okeke a staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari, sued Pastor Sam Adeyemi, Tuface Idibia, Kanu Nwankwo, Davido, Falz, Burna Boy, Yemi Alade, and other popular Nigerians for lending their voice to the End SARS movement.
He also sued CNN for defaming President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration with their report.
Unfortunately, Okeke was macheted by 7 men in Nkpor, near Onitsha, Anambra state.
He was killed in the presence of his wife Mrs Blessing Odinakachi Okeke and their daughter.
Okeke’s widow alleged that her husband was killed by his tenant named Chiadiobi.
She said: “Chiadiobi was living in our house, but when he packed out without our knowledge and asked to be given two months of his rent that he left, we told him he should have notified us that he was packing out.
“My husband was not around the day he came but I told him he packed out of the house without our knowledge and should not be given back any money.
“He threatened to deal with us, saying he will teach my husband a lesson. I called my husband and told him what the boy said and that he should not come to confront him, since they say he is a bad boy.
“My husband later reported the matter to the DSS and to the police, and he was made to write an undertaking, but he was still coming to terrorize us. Sometimes he will come to our house and break open the gate and come in and pick whatever he wants to pick.
“One day, he came to our house and my husband confronted him, without knowing that he had many boys with him downstairs, and before my husband could do anything, they macheted him, and the fuel we wanted to pour into our gen, they poured it on him and lit him up, and that was how my husband died.”
Actress Joke Silva has spoken publicly for the first time on her husband, actor Olu Jacobs’ health.
The actress revealed during an interview with Chude Jidonwo that Olu Jacobs has dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).
She added that “it’s been going on for a couple of years” and this is the first time she’s saying it publicly.
She said: “He is dealing with issues and it is been going on for a couple of years. It is known as dementia with lewy body.
“It is a degenerative disease that affects the brain and it is almost like a Parkinson type of disease, it affects the brain and affects the person.
She added: “First time i’m saying this publicly… that is what we have been dealing…but the thing is, it is hard on him because he doesn’t understand what is going on and it is hard on us family members as well.
“We have gone through it over the past couple of years but we thank God.”
She continued: “We have gone through some times and situations recently that I wish I had the old you here so I don’t battle these times on my own but we are grateful for the moment of clarity. I miss the times we work together.”
She also spoke about discovering at the age of 10 that she was adopted when she was 9 months old. She said she discovered on her own that she was adopted when she rummaged through her mother’s document, adding that it wasn’t something her mother was comfortable talking to her about.
The actress, who turned 60 this year and also celebrated 40 years in the entertainment industry, previously spoke about her adoption and how she found out.
She said at the time: “It’s something like where one is just getting to share it in the public. It is something that I found out when I was much younger. Mine was a secret adoption. It was not something that my parents discussed.
“My mum’s elder sister wanted me to travel with her to Kenya and my mother was not around. She asked if I knew where my passport was and I was like yes yes yes. I know where mum keeps all the important documents.
“Then I go to the important suitcase that has all the important documents, where I found my passport but also found my adoption certificate. It was like ‘I beg your pardon’. I was 10-11 at the time. It was a bit shattering.
“It was tough. You know how you’re very sensitive as a child. There was just something in it letting you know they would have discussed it with you if it was something they wanted to discuss.
“But I got to a point when I was able to discuss it, myself and my mum. What was interesting is that she found it easier to discuss it with my older son than she did with me. My mum wasn’t comfortable discussing it.”
Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal high court in Abuja has declared the activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda bandit groups as acts of terrorism.
The presiding judge gave the order on an ex parte motion filed by the federal government.
The director of public prosecution (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Abubakar, who filed the motion ex-parte, said President Buhari gave approval for the proscription of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other terrorist groups in the country.
In its supporting affidavits, the Federal government said security reports have confirmed that the bandit groups were responsible for the killings, abductions, rapes, kidnappings and related acts of criminality in the northeast, north-central and other parts of the country.
It alleged that the group is responsible for the growing cases of “banditry, incessant kidnappings for ransom, kidnapping for marriage, mass abductions of school children and other citizens, cattle rustling, enslavement, imprisonment, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, other forms of sexual violence, attacks and killings in communities and commuters and wanton destruction of lives and properties in Nigeria, particularly in the Northwest and Northcentral states in Nigeria are being carried out by Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other groups associated with or engaged in the same or similar activities as Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups in Nigeria.”
“The activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other similar groups constitute acts of terrorism that can lead to a breakdown of public order and safety and is a threat to national security and the corporate existence of Nigeria,” the government added in the ex parte motion
Delivering ruling on Thursday November 25, Justice Taiwo specifically declared the activities of the “Yan Bindiga group” and the “Yan Ta’adda group” and other similar groups in any part of the country, especially in the north-west and the north-central as “acts of terrorism and illegality”.
The judge went ahead to proscribe the activities of the group as well as other similar groups in any part of Nigeria, “either in groups or as individuals by whatever names they are called”.
The judge also made an order restraining “any person or group of persons from participating in any manner whatsoever, in any form of activities involving or concerning the prosecution of the collective intention or otherwise of the Yan Bindiga group and the Yan Ta’adda group under any other name or platform however called or described”.
The court asked the federal government to publish the proscription order in the official gazette and two national dailies.
An elderly man has been accused of having “unnatural” sex with a goat.
60-year-old widower Shaari Hasan, from near Rawang in Malaysia, allegedly committed the act on July 27, 2021.
According to local media reports, he was caught in the act when the goat’s owner, a 45-year-old woman, heard the animal making strange sounds from the back of her house.
Police say that she then rushed towards the female goat to find a half-naked man standing next to it.
After noticing the woman he ran away.
The owner was devastated to find her goat dead after the incident.
Hassan has been charged to court. Under Section 377 of Malaysia’s Penal Code, he is facing up to 20 years in prison as well as either a hefty fine or brutal whipping.
At court yesterday, Nov. 25, Hasan eventually pleaded not guilty, having initially pleaded guilty when the charge was read out.
The turnaround occurred after judge Nurul Mardhiah Mohammed Redza presented a t-shirt and trousers to the court, allegedly taken from Hasan during the arrest.
The judge asked the accused: “Do the shirt and trousers belong to you?”
Hasan replied: “No.”
The judge then explained that Hasan’s initial guilty plea could not be accepted if he did not concede that the clothes were his.
Consequently, the charge was read out once more and the elderly man pleaded not guilty.
Hasan’s lawyers asked the court for bail, which deputy public prosecutor Siti Khadijah Amir Hamdzah argued against.
The court sided with the prosecutor and no bail was offered to the accused.
Hasan will return to court for mention on December 24.
Chinenye Egbo holds the record for the youngest lecturer at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, (ESUT). She is currently 24 and an indigene of Enugu State. She is not your regular 24-year-old as she is instinctively brilliant and endearing.
Becoming a lecturer has always been the aspiration of Chinenye right from childhood. She tells BBC News Igbo in an interview yesterday, that she developed the passion of being a teacher when she was five. Her father had wanted her to become an engineer but she insisted on being a teacher. Her mother supported her ambition and encouraged her to aim for it.
Chinenye is the youngest lecturer in ESUT where she teaches and probably the whole of Nigeria. She bagged first class in Guidance and Counselling after which she proceeded to attain her Masters in the same field. It was after her Masters that she started applying for jobs and was employed by the Enugu State University of Science and Technology.
She is currently pursuing her doctorate and hopes to attain professorship in no distant time. Chinenye doesn’t only teach in the University. She also volunteers to teach in Primary and Secondary Schools pro bono, free of charge.
On student-lecturer relationship, Chinenye says she has a cordial relationship with her students. Some of the students are her age mates but they still respect and seek counsel from her. She discloses that the students confide in her and seek help from her in difficult aspects of their studies.
Although most of the students are always surprised meeting her as their lecturer for the first time, Chinenye maintains that she still humbles herself and teaches them accordingly. Aside what is in the curriculum, she also inculcates morals and spirit of hard work in them from time to time.
The erudite scholar mentions that before she began teaching in the University, she was into interior decoration. Lecturing doesn’t stop he her interior decoration job as she has many dedicated workers that carry on the work in her absence. She only supervises. As such most of her students see her as their role model and aspire to be like her. She also encourages them and wishes them the very best in life.
Also speaking to BBC News Igbo is Professor Charles Eze, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology. He attests to the brilliance, sheer hard work and emulating qualities of Chinenye who distinguished herself in her field of study by becoming the overall best student of her set. This according to him made the University to absorb Chinenye and goes further in sponsoring her towards attaining her Ph.D.
Chinenye is an acclaimed international journal writer with lots of published articles to her credits. These critically acclaimed articles and book reviews will smoothen her journey into attaining her professorship which she prays and believes God for at a young age.Chinenye Egbo
A 40-year-old man was found alive after being wrongly declared dead by doctors.
Sreekesh Kumar was critically injured by a speeding motorcycle, was mistakenly declared dead, and was stored in a mortuary freezer for seven hours.
Medical staff were stunned when he showed signs of life as police arrived to identify the body and arrange an autopsy with his relatives.
The electrician’s family rushed him to hospital on Thursday, Nov. 18, after he was involved in an accident in the Indian city of Morabadad, Uttar Pradesh.
He was declared dead shortly after arriving, but when police visited the following morning, relatives noticed signs of movement and alerted doctors.
Recording the discovery, Mr Kuma’s sister-in-law Madhu Bala shouted: “He’s not dead, in fact far from it. How did this happen? Look, he wants to say something, he is breathing.”
Moradabad’s chief medical superintendent, Dr Shiv Singh, described the incident as the “rarest of rare cases”.
Dr Shiv Singh told the Times of India: “The emergency medical officer had seen the patient at around 3am and there was no heartbeat. He told me he had examined the man multiple times.
“Therefore he was declared dead. In the morning, a police team and his family found him alive.”
Rajendra Kumar, the hospital’s medical superintendent described the situation as “nothing short of a miracle.”
After the shocking discovery, Mr Kumar was taken back to hospital and was put on a ventilator as he remained in a coma.
Unfortunately, he eventually died on Tuesday, Nov. 23, as doctors were reportedly unable to operate on him because of a bleeding disorder.
Mr Kumar’s family said he had a clot in his brain and have since vowed to take legal action against all those responsible for his death.
Dr Singh said the district’s health department is now investigating the matter.
Football icon, Ronaldinho has been warned he could be sent back to jail over a maintenance payment dispute with a former girlfriend.
Reports in Brazil say the former Barcelona and AC Milan star has been ordered to settle his debt with Priscilla Coelho by December 1 to avoid the seizure of his assets and possible prison.
She’s understood to have been awarded around £13,500 in maintenance a month after arbitration as the Brazil legend’s ‘common-law wife’
Priscilla’s lawyer Bruno Medrado told Brazilian newspaper Extra: ‘Right now he has to pay up.’
Officials are said to have handed Ronaldinho a court summons so he could be formally notified about the maintenance payment deadline on November 11 after several failed attempts to track him down.
The former footballer is currently believed to be in Dubai.
In May 2018 Ronaldinho was forced to deny claims he was marrying Priscilla and another woman, named as Beatriz Sousa, at the same time.
He spoke out after a Brazilian newspaper said he would tie the knot with the stunning pair at a private ceremony at the upmarket Barra da Tijuca district in Rio de Janeiro where he owns a home.
The two-time World Player of the Year said at the time: ‘It’s a huge lie. Everyone’s talking about this but it’s not true. I’m not going to get married.’
Around a year later it emerged Priscilla, said to have started dating Ronaldinho when he played for Belo Horizonte club Atletico Mineiro, was demanding money from her multi-millionaire ex.
It was reported that she was awarded around £13,500 in maintenance a month following arbitration as the retired footballer’s former ‘common-law wife’ in a provisional decision which can be appealed while the first payments are made.
A common law marriage is one in which the couple lives together for a period of time and holds themselves out to friends, family, and the community as “being married,” but without ever going through a formal ceremony or getting a marriage license.
A woman has been found dead in her garden with a puncture wound in her neck.
Tiffany L. Frangione, 48, from Houston, Texas, USA, tried to intervene in a fight between her two dogs and the neighbour’s dogs, but her pets turned against her, according to the Daily Mail.
The medical examiner determined her death to have been accidental and caused by “blunt force trauma of her neck with penetrating injuries and mechanical asphyxia”.
Her dogs are a three-year-old female Alaskan husky mix named Masha and a three-year-old male Cane Corso mix named Rachirius Maximus.
Frangione had owned both dogs since they were puppies.
Houston’s BARC Animal Shelter confirmed to KHOU11.com that Frangione’s husband has turned the dogs over to the shelter.
They were reportedly scheduled to be euthanised on Monday.
Frangione loved her dogs and had posted numerous pictures of them on social media. She had even created Instagram accounts for both of them.
Police in Vietnam’s southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province have arrested a Nigerian man, Uzor Emmanuel and four other alleged members of a transnational scam ring accused of duping a local firm of US$110,000.
Provincial police on Friday, November 19, announced the arrest of 37-year-old Uzor and four Vietnamese, including two women, Nguyen Thi Hanh and Nguyen Thi Vinh, and two men, Pham Thanh Dung and Vu Thanh Trung.
According to initial information about the case, at the end of October 2021, P.C., a company based in the province’s Phu My District, reported to local police that it had been cheated of nearly US$110,000.
Earlier on October 18, P.C. was informed by its business partner, J.W., that the latter had made a payment of some US$110,000 to the former through a bank account of Samar For Import Co., Ltd (called in short as Samar).
J.W. explained that it on October 14 received from P.C. an email requesting J.W. to pay the amount to the account of Samar that was stated in the email as the recipient of the payment.
After investigation, police found out that the email address from which J.W. received the said request was not the genuine email address of P.C.
The false email address was very similar to the real one, police said.
Police immediately blocked the bank account of Samar to prevent the offenders from withdrawing the money.
Knowing their trick had failed, the five members of the ring attempted to flee abroad but were eventually arrested in Ho Chi Minh City.
Samar, located in the city’s Go Vap District and headed by Vu Thanh Trung as director, was a bogus company set up as a tool of the swindling ring, police said.
Further investigation showed that Uzoh Emmanuel got acquainted with Hanh in 2017 via social media and the two later lived as a couple at a luxury apartment in Ho Chi Minh City.
In August 2021, the Nigerian man asked Hanh to hire some Vietnamese to establish bogus companies to serve his fraudulent schemes.
The foreigner promised to pay Hanh and her team 10 percent of every amount he could earn from swindles.
Hanh asked Vinh to take steps to set up shell enterprises following Emmanuel’s instructions.
Vinh later colluded with Dung and Trung to establish 11 bogus businesses whose directors were the two men.
In order to carry out cheating schemes, Emmanuel and his overseas accomplices hacked the internal computer systems of a number of enterprises to collect their business information.
They went on to create email addresses similar to those of some companies, then used such fake emails to ask partners of such companies to transfer payments to the bank accounts designated by them.
With such a trick, before committing to the above-mentioned swindle, the ring successfully cheated a Europe-based enterprise of more than VND6 billion ($264,700) in late August.
After paying VND260 million ($11,470) to Hanh and VND366 million ($16,140) to Vinh and Dung, Emmanuel transferred the remaining amount abroad.
The provincial police are deepening investigation into the transnational swindling ring.
n Italian doctor has resigned after he was caught half-naked in a hotel room offering to cure a woman’s illness by having sex with her.
Dr. Giovanni Miniello, 60, a gynaecologist in Bari, also known by the nickname ‘Dr. Magic Flute,’ was the target of an undercover TV investigation and told an actress who was posing as a patient that she had human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer, despite a negative test.
Miniello reportedly told the female ‘patient’ that he could give her immunity for the virus by having sex with her because he was vaccinated.
The Italian doctor was uncovered as a fraud by the investigative news programme ‘Le Lene’ after a 33-year-old woman complained that he was offering to cure his patients with sex.
The woman, identified as Anna Maria, said she had consulted Miniello about being unable to get pregnant, and he told the woman she had signs of HPV, despite a negative Pap smear test.
‘I have saved many women from cancer. All those I have had contact with were negative afterwards,’ he reportedly told her.
But Anna Maria decided to contact the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, alleging that Miniello had touched her breasts inappropriately and told her he liked women with small breasts.
When she contacted him for the results of the test, she said she was shocked when he proposed having sex with her to cure her.
The woman then reached out to the investigative news program ‘Le lene,’ which hired an actress to portray a patient.
Minello told her that she had ‘white spots’ on her cervix, which indicated the presence of HPV. He then offered to have sex with him.
Minello also claimed that having sex with somebody like him who had been vaccinated would give her immunity, and he offered to see if he could immunize her by having sex with her.
The undercover actress then agreed to meet him in a hotel, where he again assured her as he undressed that afterward she would be free from the virus.
While there, when she asked about protection, he told her that it was pointless as she would not then get the benefit of the antibodies if he had a condom on.
But before he thought he was about to have sex with her, a journalist came into the room and surprised the half-naked doctor, who reportedly said: ‘I’m doing this for my studies and for the other people that I have saved.’
Through his lawyer, Miniello said: ‘I, who have successfully treated hundreds of women for over 40 years … only proposed an alternative treatment that has yielded results,’ adding that he never forced women to have sex with him.
As a result of the TV investigation, 15 other women have come forward and claimed they were also victims of the doctor and his miracle sex cure.
Marika Massara, the coordinator for the Anti-Violence Centre in Bari, said: ‘We have received several reports in the last few days, dozens. Women who have come together and gone through a similar situation.
‘Some consider reporting it, others are afraid, also because the level of secondary victimisation we are witnessing is very high.’
The public prosecutor in Bari has meanwhile opened an investigation, which is currently in a preliminary phase to establish the facts.
North Korea has reportedly banned people from wearing leather trench coats because dictatorial ruler Kim Jong-un doesn’t want his citizen dressing up like him.
First worn by Kim in 2019, the coat became popular among the North Korean elite who were keen to show their loyalty to the Supreme Leader and who could afford real leather.
But due to imitations of leather trench coats, fashion police have reportedly been deployed to shut down merchants selling them and take them off people amid fears it cheapens Kim’s look and undermines his authority.
‘[Police] say that wearing clothes designed to look like the Highest Dignity’s is an ‘impure trend to challenge the authority of the Highest Dignity,’ a source told Radio Free Asia, using a common honorific to refer to Kim.
‘They instructed the public not to wear leather coats, because it is part of the party’s directive to decide who can wear them.’
The outlet said knock-off versions of the coat first began appearing in September this year when unofficial trade between China and North Korea was reopened following a shut-down during the Covid pandemic.
That allowed traders to start acquiring synthetic leather to make the coats from.
Radio Free Asia claimed to have seen an import document from recent months that showed dozens of metres of the material being imported.
Kim first appeared in a leather coat in December 2019, around the time he was negotiating with Donald Trump over North Korea’s nuclear stockpile.
The styling was noted by South Korean media, which suggested it was indicative of Kim’s desire to break with tradition and forge his own identity. He had largely styled himself after his father and grandfather, the founder of North Korea by wearing Mao-style jackets and horn-rimmed glasses.
Rapper, Cardi B‘s STD (sexually transmitted disease) test results have been requested by a federal judge in her defamation lawsuit against youtuber Tasha K.
Cardi B accused the YouTuber of spreading false rumors that she has herpes. The judge has now requested she proves the allegations were false.
According to Billboard, Judge William M. Ray II directed the Center for Women’s Pelvic Health at UCLA on Monday (November 22) to disclose “any and all medical records within your possession related solely to the testing for Herpes and HPV [human papillomavirus] for Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar,” referring to Cardi B by her real name.
The herpes test results will play a big role in determining the outcome of the lawsuit as a negative test would support Cardi B’s case that Tasha K’s STD accusations were false, which must be proven to win a defamation lawsuit.
The herpes test results were sought by Tasha K’s attorneys. However, Cardi B’s attorney claimed the same tests had already been voluntarily submitted as evidence in favor of the Bronx rapper’s case.
“The medical records concerning the HPV and herpes tests were previously produced subject to a protective order and in support of my client’s claims,” Lisa F. Moore of Moore Pequignot LLC told Billboard on Tuesday (November 23).
Cardi B and Tasha K (real names Latasha Kebe) have been entangled in a messy legal battle for over two years. The rapper sued Kebe for $75,000 in 2019 over scandalous allegations involving drug abuse, prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases in a series of YouTube vlogs.
Tasha K even suggested Cardi B’s daughter, Kulture (who was unborn at the time), may have intellectual disabilities due to Cardi’s alleged drug habit. Cardi B denied all allegations and claims she gave Tasha K the opportunity to retract her inflammatory remarks, which was rejected.
Tasha K countersued Cardi B for $3 million, claiming she had sent cultists known as the ‘Blood gang’ to threaten her. But Judge Ray sided with Cardi and tossed out the lawsuit after ruling there was “no evidence” she brought Tasha any distress.
Cardi B and Tasha K were scheduled to appear in court on November 9, but the rapper asked the date to be pushed back due to an unspecified family emergency. The trial has since been moved to January 5, 2022.
A jury delivered guilty verdicts on Wednesday November 24, on murder charges against three White men including a father and son who chased and shot Ahmaud Arbery as the 25-year-old black man jogged last yearthrough their Glynn County, Georgia, neighborhood.
The verdict was delivered by the jury, consisting of one Black man and 11 white men and women, after about a two-week trial in the coastal city of Brunswick in a case that hinged on whether the defendants had a right to confront the unarmed 25-year-old jogger last year on a hunch he was fleeing a crime.
Travis McMichael, who fired the shots, was found guilty on all nine counts, including malice murder and four counts of felony murder. He faces a minimum sentence of life in prison on the murder charges.
His father, Gregory McMichael, was found not guilty of malice murder but guilty of felony murder and all other charges. He now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, was found guilty of three counts felony murder, one count of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony. He was not convicted of malice murder, one count of felony murder, and one count of aggravated assault.
He now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cheers erupted in the courtroom as the verdicts were read, and people were crying and embracing. Deputies called for an order.
“We finally got justice,” she said as supporters embraced her.
The men were charged with murder and other crimes in the fatal shooting on Feb. 23, 2020. The men were arrested two months later, after Bryan’s cellphone video of the incident spurred nationwide outrage.
Prosecutors argued Arbery was “under attack” by white men who saw a Black man running in their small, coastal neighborhood and hopped in pickup trucks to pursue him. Arbery committed no crimes and was attempting to flee throughout the five-minute chase, they said.
Defense attorneys for the McMichaels said the father and son were attempting to detain Arbery for police because they suspected he was a burglar. Bryan’s attorney said he was a witness who documented the killing.
Race has been central to the trial from the beginning, with potential jurors being asked their thoughts on Black Lives Matter and the Confederate flag and a defense attorney attempting to bar national civil rights figures like Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson from the courtroom.
But the jury did not hear evidence the killing was racially motivated in part because prosecutors did not need to prove the defendants’ actions were racially motivated.
The verdict follows a jury’s Nov. 19 acquittal in another closely watched trial of an 18-year-old named Kyle Rittenhouse who fatally shot two men during racial justice protests in Wisconsin.
Operatives of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Akwa Ibom State Command have arrested a man for allegedly conniving with his wife to sell their two daughters aged 6 and 4 respectively.
The man, Elisha Effiong, who lives in Cameroon with his wife was arrested in Uyo on Monday, November 15, through an intelligence report while trying to sell their children, identified as Abasifreke Edet and Rachael Edet.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Umana Ukeme, in a statement on Wednesday November 23, said the suspects confessed that they made the decision to sell their children due to extreme hardship.
According to the statement, the suspect confided with a private security guard of his plans while the guard, in turn, notified the commandant of the corps Mr. Abidemi Majekodunmi who immediately ordered the arrest of the culprit.
“The suspect, Elisha Edet Effiong, ‘M’ was apprehended with his two children identified as Abasifreke Edet, 6, and Rachel Edet, 4, while attempting to sell them for M700, 000 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
“Effiong, 40 years was apprehended at FulCare Hospital along Ekpanya Street, where he notified the security guard of his intention to sell his two children to pay off his debt and meet other financial challenges.
“The security guard notified the NSCDC and immediately, Commandant Abidemi Majekodunmi detailed personnel of the anti-human trafficking unit of the corps who swung into action and apprehended the suspect alongside with his two daughters, ” the statement read in part.
According to Ukeme, preliminary investigations have been concluded while the case would be transferred to NAPTIP zonal office, Uyo for the prosecution of the suspect.
Apostle Peter Tom Udofia, the General Overseer of the Way of Salvation Church of Jesus Christ, in Calabar, has been called out after he got married to a much younger church member who is allegedly 18 years old.
The 63-year-old clergyman married Sister Blessing Jeremiah Esu in Ikot Akpang Ikpong, Abak Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State. The ceremony took place on October 18, 2021.
One month after the wedding, people began claiming the girl is just 18 and she was a chorister in his church when he married her.
This generated criticisms from people.
Others also called him out for marrying again despite having a wife.
The Federal Government on Tuesday launched a new enhanced electronic passport to improve the passport application process for Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.
Speaking during the rollout of passport at the Nigerian High Commission in London, United Kingdom, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola said it is the responsibility of the government to provide the passport without stress within a reasonable period, adding that the Nigerian passport is the highest affirmation of Nigerian citizenship.
Minister Media Adviser, Sola Fasure disclosed this on Tuesday in a statement titled, “FG launches Enhanced Passport In The UK”
It partly read, “What we have come to do here is symbolic of the core mandate of the Ministry of Interior and indeed, the Federal Government of Nigeria – affirmation of citizenship integrity.
” The Nigerian passport is the highest affirmation of Nigerian citizenship. It is therefore our responsibility to provide the passport without any stress, within a reasonable period.
“As we are all aware, there have been huge challenges to passport administration, from shortage of booklet to touting and an economy of corruption built around it.
“These challenges have persisted for too long and a lot of people have become cynical while other have taken them as normal and then roll with it. But I come from a tradition of problem solving in public administration. I do not believe that any problem is insurmountable, so we are going to solve all the problems associated with passport administration and we are already succeeding.”
Revealing the features of the new enhanced Passport, Aregbesola was quoted to have said that, it is a huge improvement from the standard Passport that was introduced back in 2007, with more sophisticated security features, making it one of the most secured passports in the world.
The statement continued, “The Enhanced e-Passport is a great improvement on the Biometric Passport technology which Nigeria adopted in 2007 as a strategic step towards curbing forgery, impersonation and other forms of frauds associated with obtaining travel document under the old Machine Readable Passport regime.
” We are aware that technology rules the world and we are keeping abreast of the latest development in the field.
“Over the years, the Nigeria Immigration Service had worked assiduously and in close synergy with Messrs Iris Smart Technologies Limited to develop and implement Passport reforms that are in tandem with international best practices, including extant International Civil Aviation Organization’s Standards and Regulations”.
A rescue mission is underway to save dozens of missing trapped coal miners after a fire broke out at a mine in Russia.
Emergency services rushed to the Listvyazhnaya coal mine in the Kemerovo region of Russia’s Siberia on Thursday November 25.
At least one miner was reported to have died in the incident while fears have been growing for the missing coal miners amid the mine evacuation.
A number of the coal miners were suffering from smoke poisoning when they were brought to the surface, authorities said.
Russian media Interfax news agency quoted a mine official saying 75 miners’ whereabouts were unaccounted for.
More than 200 people have been saved, emergency services said.
Regional Governor Sergei Tsivilev said one person had died and another 43 were injured, according to reports.
The injured coal miners have been rushed to hospital following their rescue.
Two of the 43 injured were said to be in a serious condition, according to the Regional Governor’s Telegram channel.
“According to preliminary data, a number of workers suffered from smoke poisoning. The number of victims is being specified,” the regional branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee said in an earlier statement.
A 32-year-old drug trafficker based in Liberia, Maduabuchi Chinedu, has been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, with 9.30 kilograms of cocaine worth over N2.7billion in street value.
The suspect who hails from Obaha Okigwe village, Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo state, lives in Liberia where he works as a miner. He was arrested during an inward joint search of Ethiopian Airlines flight 911 at the Abuja airport on Wednesday 24th November 2021 with 9.30kg cocaine with each pellet wrapped in candies wraps and concealed in his luggage.
During his preliminary interview, Chinedu claimed he left Nigeria in 2018 to settle in Liberia where he now has a residence permit. He however added that economic pressure and the need to raise money to treat his mother for an eye problem led him to seek help from a friend in Liberia who introduced him to another friend based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia who eventually gave him the drug to deliver in Abuja for a fee of N1million. He added that he was initially scheduled to deliver the drug in Ivory Coast but was rerouted to Nigeria at the last minute.
While commending the officers and men of the NAIA Command of the Agency for their vigilance and working in synergy with other security agencies at the airport, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them and their colleagues in other commands to always remain two steps ahead of merchants of death who are daily getting more desperate to make money at the expense of the image of the country and Nigerians’ wellbeing.
Delhi Police has arrested a 40-year-old Nigerian national involved in hacking people’s WhatsApp accounts and defrauding them.
The accused, Okwudiri Paschal, is a part of a group operating from Nigeria that hunts individuals through social media, the police said on Saturday, November 20.
The accused was arrested outside an ATM in Bengaluru’s Banaswadi area, following a complaint received by a Delhi resident who claimed that he lost money after he clicked on a link sent to him from an unknown number.
According to the complainant, he received a WhatsApp message stating that the facilities on WhatsApp are being upgraded for which system is generating a 6-digit code.
When the complainant typed his mobile number followed by the 6-digit code provided in the message, his WhatsApp account stopped functioning, intending it has got hacked.
According to Delhi Police sources, the group that is operating from Nigeria, hunts individuals through social media like Facebook before zeroing in on the individuals. They mainly target affluent people to further prey on their circle.
After selecting the targets, their contact numbers are accessed. Once an account is hacked, their WhatsApp ID is used to send messages to their contact posing any financial need.
Delhi Police has also learnt that from generating the 6-digit code to sending messages, the backend work is operated entirely from Nigeria. The police are exploring legal avenues to nab the group operating in Nigeria.
The bank account detail where money was transferred by victims was accessed from the complainant. The bank account was traced to Bengaluru.
Following this, a joint team of Delhi Police led by Inspector Vishal Chaudhary laid a trap near ATMs located in Bengaluru’s Banaswadi from where transactions in the said bank account was observed.
When the accused came to withdraw money, the police team nabbed him. Seven other ATM cards, numerous SIM cards and four mobile phones were recovered from his possession.
During interrogation, it has been learnt that the group cheated over hundreds of people throughout India.
Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Deepak Yadav said that this was the first case in which a Delhi police team laid a trap outside the Bengaluru ATM and caught the suspect red handed.
DCP Yadav said that Paschal sensed police had spotted him and tried to flee.
“While trying to flee, he collided with a scooter, which also fell down. The Delhi Police team arrested the accused from the spot. Seven other ATM cards, numerous SIM Cards, and four mobile phones were also recovered from his possession. We have brought him to Delhi on transit remand,” he added.
A city court on Friday sent Paschal to police custody for eight days.
Police said they are trying to identify the other members of Paschal’s gang.
