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Helen Paul: I was told to create scandals if I wanted to be popular
Nigerian comedienne and actress, Helen Paul, has stated that she was once told to indulge herself in scandals so that she would get a huge fanbase on social media. The entertainer disclosed this in a recent Instagram live session with Doyin Hassan, Movie Director and actor. Helen stated that during the early days of her career, she had met a talent manager and subsequently indicated her interest to work with him. The 38-year-old actress said the talent manager, however, refused her request, saying that she would have to indulge herself in one or two scandals to garner more popularity before the pair could work together. She narrated: “I once told someone that I really loved his work and that I would like to work with him. I had seen him manage two female artistes successfully. However, his...
George Floyd murder: Minneapolis police to face US federal probe
A US federal investigation has been launched into policing practices in the city of Minneapolis, a day after one of its former officers was convicted of the murder of George Floyd. The justice department will look at whether there has been a pattern “of unconstitutional or unlawful policing”, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. It follows national outrage over the killing of Floyd by Derek Chauvin. The former officer was convicted of all charges against him on Tuesday. Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd, an unarmed African American, was pronounced dead an hour later. His death sparked protests across the US and worldwide, and calls for police reform. Tuesday’s verdict has been widely welcomed in a country where poli...
Chelsea squeeze through to UCL semis after late Porto scare
Chelsea booked their spot in the Champions League semi-finals despite a late goal from Mehdi Taremi for Porto on Tuesday night. The Portuguese outfit tried to set a fast tempo from the off but struggled to break down Chelsea in a first period where neither side had a shot on target. The pattern continued after the interval and it wasn’t until the 65th minute that Edouard Mendy was forced to make a save when he easily kept out substitute Mehdi Taremi’s header. The Blues had the better of the half chances through Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic but seemed content with a stalemate that was broken four minutes into added time when Taremi struck to give Cheslea a late scare. Chelsea, who will meet either Liverpool or Real Madrid in the last four, will now shift focus to the FA Cup semi final ...
Imo attack: Inmates who voluntarily return to get amnesty – minister
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has urged all escaped inmates from Owerri Custodial Centre on Monday to voluntarily return to custody and be given amnesty against the possible consequences of escaping from lawful custody. The Minister, who disclosed this when he visited the Owerri Custodial Centre on Tuesday, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s stand to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice, adding that additional security would be provided for all custodial centres for the safety of personnel and inmates as well as the security of the facilities. In a statement by the ministry’s director of press, A.B. Lere-Adams, Aregbesola bemoaned the pattern of syndicated attacks on custodial centres in Nigeria, noting that full investigation would commence immediately to unrav...
Manchester City close in on Premier League title with Leicester win
Manchester City took another significant step towards the Premier League title with a 2-0 victory at Leicester City. The visitors dominated from the off and thought they were ahead on five minutes. Fernandinho rifled a 35-yard strike into the bottom corner, but Sergio Aguero – who was appearing for the first time since his impending summer departure from City was announced – was deemed to be offside. Kevin de Bruyne then hit the crossbar with a stunning free kick before Leicester’s best moment saw Jamie Vardy’s strike ruled out for offside on the stroke of half time. The pattern of Man City dominance continued after the break and they deservedly took the lead on 58 minutes when Benjamin Mendy showed great composure to cut inside and place a low shot into the far corner. Gabriel Jesus made ...
Expert: Corporal punishment impedes autistic child’s development
Baerbel Jaja, Head, Government Special School, Lafia, Nasarawa State, says corporal and psychological punishments should not be meted to special needs persons. Jaja told newsmen in Lafia on Friday that corporal and psychological punishments hamper the overall functionality and the development of such persons. She said: “If you flog an autistic child, that’s the end of the development for that child. “You have killed his spirit. “Even for a normal child, if you keep flogging him, you have actually killed the spirit of that child and that will make him not to function well. “If an autistic child does not function the way you want, you have to be patient with him. “You cannot use force on any of this special need kids because it doesn’t work; it will rather close up the little you have achiev...
PIB: Rivers governor supports allocation of 10 per cent oil revenue to host communities
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has advocated not less than 10 percent fund allocation to host communities in the Petroleum Industry Bill that is still before the National Assembly. Governor Wike said it is also necessary that the bill state in clear terms what specific development projects that the allocated fund should be spent on, so that development of host communities can be truly actualised. The governor gave the charge when the members of the National Assembly Committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill, visited him at Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday. Governor Wike stated that oil bearing communities have suffered the loss of their livelihood, good drinking water and their socio-cultural life disrupted because of the insensitivity of the International Oil compan...
Chinese embassy says Australia ‘misread’ offending social media post
China’s embassy in Australia said politicians there had “misread” a tweet showing a digitally-altered image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child, and were trying to stoke nationalism. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday called the tweet posted by China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, “truly repugnant”, and called for an apology. On Tuesday the tweet was pinned to the top of Zhao’s social media account, and China’s Global Times newspaper, known for nationalistic views, interviewed the Chinese artist who created the image. “The rage and roar of some Australian politicians and media is nothing but misreading of and overreaction to Mr Zhao’s tweet,” the Chinese embassy in Canberra said in a statement on Tuesday. Australia...
IGP: Video in circulation of maltreatment of man not Nigerian
The Inspector General of Police (I-G), Mohammed Adamu, says a video in circulation, credited to “NigeriaDream”, showing a security officer meting inhuman treatment on a man, did not happen in Nigeria. The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr Frank Mba, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja. He said the maltreatment meted on the man in the video was in clear violation of his rights, dignity and freedom. According to him, in the video, the security officer was seen stamping his feet on the neck and head of a man lying helplessly on the floor. Adamu added that the force had fact-checked and discovered that the incident did not take place anywhere or at any time in Nigeria. “A critical look at the video indicates that the vehicles on the scene are neither common vehicles used i...
Guatemalan president says graft fighter biased, ahead of Harris visit
Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei criticized the country’s best-known graft prosecutor for what he said was a left-wing politicization of the fight against corruption, a view at odds with strong U.S. backing for his work. Speaking in an interview with Reuters late on Tuesday, Giammattei nonetheless expressed hope that a visit to Guatemala next week by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will produce shared strategies to create prosperity in rural areas prone to emigration. Harris, a Democrat, is in charge of Washington efforts to tackle the causes of mass migration from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, collectively dubbed the Northern Triangle, including a focus on corruption and poor governance that she says limit opportunities. There is a $4 billion U.S. aid package to the reg...