Beyonce and Jay Z dedicated their OTR II show in Detroit last night to Aretha Franklin.
Bey - who has clashed with the Queen of Soul in the past - made the tribute before performing her opening song at Ford Field stadium.
"This show is dedicated to Aretha Franklin," she said. She then added, "We love you," according to the Detroit Free Press and thanked the legendary singer for the "beautiful music."
Aretha Franklin's family has been warned that the 'gravely ill' star could die at any minute, according to a long-time friend.
Chelsea winger, Victor Moses, has announced his retirement from international football. Moses who switched allegiance to play for Nigeria after initially featuring for the English Youth teams, said on Thursday that he would like to focus on his club career now and his young family.
In a statement on his official twitter handle, Moses admitted that he enjoyed wearing the Green and White jersey of Nigeria but he was quick to add that he would want to bow out to see the new generation take over.
A woman crashed a brand new BMW into a car dealership after she hit the accelerator by mistake in south China.
The female driver, reportedly in her 30s, was taking the £45,000 BMW X1 for a free test drive when the accident happened on Saturday in Guangzhou city.
Two employees of the dealership suffered minor injuries in the accident. The driver and the salesperson in the passenger seat were unhurt, according to reports.
Video footage of the incident in Guangdong province shows the navy SUV smashing the glass door and windows of the storefront before ramming it into the wall of the showroom at about 4:25pm.
Staff workers and customers were seen running for their lives as the vehicle sped towards them.
Glass, debris and construction material were seen scattered inside the dealership. The bumper and the bonnet of the car appeared to be damaged.
The woman was trying to park the SUV outside of the shop after returning from the drive, according to Guangdong Public Channel.
However, the bungling driver hit the accelerator instead of the brake and lost control, plunging straight into the dealership.
The dealership's insurance company is currently estimating the damages and the woman has agreed to accept full responsibility for the accident, according to the report.
The two employees who suffered minor injuries were treated in hospital.
The plug-in hybrid version of the BMW X1 costs about 400,000 yuan (£45,000) for the basic model, according to BMW China.
She's a billion dollar beauty mogul. And on Tuesday, Kylie Jenner looked nothing short of picture perfect as she donned a blonde wig for a series of Instagram snaps.
The 21-year-old reality star sizzled in a white, cutout bodysuit that she paired with sneakers and a butterfly choker.
Jenner, who posed in front of her garage door, captioned one of her photos: 'La Ferrari...to Jamba Juice.'
Along with her choker, the KUWTK star accessorized with a gold watch and a tiny Louis Vuitton purse.
Her glam included a bold brow and a glossy, nude lip.
Jazz singer and actress Morgana King has died aged 87. The star passed away after a battle with cancer in March, but her death was only revealed on Tuesday, when a friend paid tribute to her on Facebook.
The New York native was best known for playing Carmela Corleone - the wife of Marlon Brando's character Don Vito - in the first two Godfather films.
According to the Washington Post, Morgana passed away in Palm Springs, California on March 22.
The cause of death was confirmed by the coroner's office for Riverside County, California as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - a cancer of the lymphatic and immune systems.
Morgana's tragic passing remained unreported until Tuesday, when her friend John Hoglund penned an emotional tribute to her on social media.
The heads of Kenya's state railway and the agency that manages public land have been charged with fraud.
They are accused of paying out more than $2m (£1.5m) in compensation for land which already belonged to the government.
The individuals who allegedly received the illegal payments have also been charged.
All of the accused have pleaded not guilty.
The land was acquired for a $3bn Chinese-funded railway that links the capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has said he is willing to lose friends in order to end impunity in Kenya.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Chike Oti, has released a statement explaining how a man (still on the run) Richard Samuel Gbenga asked his Facebook friend out for dinner, only to ask his friend, Ayo Salau Yusuf (pictured above) to join him in the treat knowing they only wanted to rape and dispose her of her cash.
They succeeded and the Police were only able to nab Ayo. Gbenga is still being looked for. The police press statement below…
Sometime in the month of July, 2018, a young woman ( name withheld ) became friends with one Richard Samuel Gbenga on Facebook unknown to her that he is a rapist and an armed robber.
They interacted a couple of times, getting to know each other. However on August 4, 2018, the said Richard Samuel Gbenga invited the young woman for a dinner and she accepted. She further told him where they would meet before taking off for the dinner.
The suspect arrived at the agreed take off point in a Toyota Camry saloon car registration number JJJ 406 DL driven by one Ayo Salau (pictured above), a member of his robbery gang.
On their way to Lekki, they pulled over at a lonely spot, armed with cutlasses, they ordered her to take off clothes or be killed. Seeing she was naked, they took turns to rape her after which they robbed her of her wristwatch and cash.
The moment the hoodlums left, the victim raised alarm and gave description of their car. Police operatives attached to Maroko Division were alerted and immediately they laid ambush for the fleeing criminals.
As soon as the police operatives stopped their vehicle, the criminals took to their heels. The officers chased them and arrested Ayo Salau while his partner in crime, Richard Samuel Gbenga escaped.
The suspect had since been identified by the victim and he confessed to have committed the crime. He added that his fleeing partner recruited him for the job.
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Edgal Imohimi cautions the youths especially young women to beware of people who may use the social media to take advantage of them. He assures that the long arm of the law will surely catch up with the fleeing suspect.
CSP Chike Oti
Police Public Relations Officer,
Lagos State.
Policemen today dispersed protesting students of the College of Education Ilorin, Kwara state with tear gas after the students took to the street to protest not starting their exams today.
The students, who alleged that their lecturers were being owed six months pay by the Kwara State Government said the situation had denied them the opportunity to commence their semester examination, hence the strike.
They carried placards such as ‘pay our lecturers’ and were heading to the Government House to lodge their complaints before their path was blocked by policemen at Unity Roundabout. Police shot tear gas to disperse them as the students ran for their dear lives. Business shops along the road were hurriedly locked up to avoid police harassment
According to the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Mr Terver Akase,
the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has unfrozen the state's bank accounts.
Akase confirmed this in an interview today.
A man identified to be mentally deranged, Lekan Adediran, has reportedly stabbed his octogenarian father, Pa Lawrence Adediran, to death in Efon Alaye in Efon Local government Area of Ekiti State.
After killing his 80-year-old father, Lekan, 32, was said to have killed himself using the same broken bottle with which he stabbed his father to death.
The suspect’s elder brother, Ojo Adediran, who reported the case at the Efon Divisional Police Station, said his brother was mentally infirmed and that he committed the offence at about 9:45pm on Monday.
Briefing newsmen in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ekiti Command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, said the corpses of the two victims had been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital at Efon Alaaye.
Ikechukwu revealed that the brother of the deceased-cum-suspect told the police that his late brother had a mental challenge, which he said the family had been battling to resolve.
He said: “Lekan’s brother personally approached the police station in Efon to report how his brother killed their 80-year old father with a broken bottle and also killed himself after succeeding in his devilish act.
“Their corpses are presently at Efon General hospital for autopsy. However, the police had been able to maintain peace and orderliness in the town.
“We are not resting on the accounts rendered to the police by the victim’s brother alone. We are still going to conduct investigations to ascertain the veracity of the claim and the reason behind the killing and the subsequent suicide option taken by Lekan”, the PPRO stated
The Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo has dismissed the alleged forgery case against the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the coming governorship election, Senator Ademola Adeleke.
The presiding judge, Justice David Oladimeji, dismissed the case on Wednesday for lack of merit, as the plaintiffs failed to prove their allegations against him.
Justice Oladimeji held that although the document submitted by the lawmaker has some irregularities, the court cannot stop him from contesting the election.
On July 3, the plaintiffs, Mr Rasheed Olatunji and Mr Idowu Oluwaseun, approached the court contending that the PDP candidate was not eligible to participate in the primary election of the party.
According to them, Senator Adeleke did not possess the minimum educational qualification required.
The plaintiffs, however, prayed the court to set the result of the PDP primary election aside.
Argentina's former Vice-President Amado Boudou has been sentenced to five years and 10 months in jail for corruption.
The charges related to his attempt to buy a money-printing company through a front business. Boudou was in power during the administration of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
The ex-president herself has been summoned to give evidence in another wide-ranging corruption investigation next week.
Both say they are victims of political persecution by the current President, Mauricio Macri.
Boudou was accused of lifting a bankruptcy declaration against currency company Ciccone Calcográfica in return for an equity stake when he was economy minister in 2010, before becoming vice-president.
The court in Buenos Aires found him guilty of committing passive bribery and conducting business "incompatible with public office".
He has been banned for life from holding public office, and is expected to appeal against the conviction.
The company's former owner Nicolás Ciccone was also given a four-and-a-half-year sentence
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday froze “all bank accounts” owned by Akwa Ibom State, the state information commissioner has told Premium Times.
Charles Udoh said state authorities only learnt of the development today, and there were no prior indications from the anti-graft agency.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the arrest of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, for failing to appear in court.
Justice Stephen Pam issued the warrant of arrest today after Mahmood’s absent in court for the third time.
The judge asked the police to effect the arrest immediately.
Justice Pam had on July 5 ordered Yakubu to appear before him to show cause why he should not be sent to prison for contempt of court.
The residents of Morounfolu Street in the Ogba area of Lagos State have expressed shock over the death of a generator repairer, Olatunji Opadiran, who committed suicide after hanging out with friends.
Punch Metro learnt that Opadiran on Monday committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope tied to the hook of a ceiling fan in his apartment.
It was gathered that Opadiran had earlier gone out with his friends before coming back to his room around 6pm to carry out the act.
One of the residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Punch Metro that Opadiran never showed any sign that he was going to commit suicide.
He noted that his (Opadiran) friends thought he wanted to go and sleep at home.
He said, “He had earlier gone out with three of his friends and while coming back, he saw one of his friends and stayed with him for a while but all of a sudden, he said that he was hungry and his friend got him food to eat.
“After eating, he left for his house but the friend later went to look for him there, thinking he went to sleep like he used to do when he is tired.
“After knocking and calling out his name without any response, the door to his room was broken and he was found dead dangling from a rope.”
The source noted that Opadiran’s death was still a surprise to the residents of the street.
He added that the deceased’s father, who had earlier gone out, was not allowed to see the corpse when he came back.
“We heard that some atonement rites will be performed before he can be buried,” he said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, confirmed the incident and said the body had been deposited in the morgue of the Ifako General Hospital.
He said, “We received the information around 6pm through a phone call that one Olatunji Opadiran commited suicide by hanging himself and the detectives swung into action.”
Ex-Beauty Queen, Anna Banner and singer Flavour are celebrating the birthday of their little girl Sophie today. Sophie turns 3 and Flavour celebrated her by posting a photo of him backing her. He wrote;
‘’ Cos it’s ur birthday 🎁 I ll go the xtra mile oo🎵.HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY QUEEN 👸 I LOVE U’’
Her mom also wrote;
‘’Happy 3rd birthday to my best friend forever ❤️❤️ I love you so much my darling Sofia Okoli💕
You bring so much peace, joy, happiness, laughter and love to my soul every second of the day.
I love you my princess ❤️
#sofiais3’’
The youths of Apata community in the Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State have accused the community chairman, Rufus Jagun, of trying to cover up the defilement of a three-year-old in the community.
Punch Metro learnt that a resident of the community, 23-year-old Christopher Arigidi, last Wednesday allegedly raped the three-year-old.
It was gathered that Arigidi, who attended a naming ceremony in the community, took the victim to his house and allegedly defiled her.
Punch correspondent learnt that Arigidi rubbed some engine oil on the victim’s private parts before committing the act.
One of the youths, Oshodi Ibeji, said Arigidi took the victim away under the guise of playing with her.
He said, “The suspect and some people were sitting together at the function; all of a sudden, the guy stood up and said he wanted to go and change his cloth at home.
“As he was going, he took the girl along with him; the mother of the victim saw him when he was going.
“When the mother went back home, she did not see her daughter so she went to Argigidi’s house and found out that the girl had been defiled.
“After discovering what happened, she reported to the youths who went to the man’s house to beat him up. He was later taken to the community chairman. He initially denied it but later confessed that he did it.”
Ibeji, however, said the youths were not happy with the way the community chairman was handling the case.
He noted that Arigidi’s family came to beg the chairman and he had released the suspect to them.
He said, “The youths are not happy with the action of the chairman, they want him to punish the suspect.”
The victim’s mother, Pouma Ologun, said when she saw Arigidi taking her daughter away, she thought nothing of it.
Pouma said, “When I saw my daughter with Christopher (Arigidi), I asked him where he was going to and he said he wanted to buy something, so I left him alone.
“Later, I went to Christopher’s house to call my daughter, and as she was coming out, she was looking at her clothes. I drew her nearer and I saw oil on her laps, I asked her where she got oil from but she was just looking at me.
“When we got home, I removed her clothes and I saw oil in her private parts too, I called one of my friends who later told me that my daughter had been raped.
“When I asked my daughter who touched her, she mentioned Christopher’s name.”
Pouma said she wanted justice for her daughter, adding that she wanted the community to deal with
Arigidi.
When contacted, the community chairman, Jagun, denied releasing Christopher to his family.
He said, “I was not around when it happened but when I got back, I was told what happened. I told some people to lock him up in a room since we don’t have a police station in our community.
“The decision to take him to a police station lies in the hand of the victim’s father because the nearest police station to our community is very far.”
Wizkid has bagged an endorsement deal with Ciroc. The singer made the announcement in a series of tweets. Other Nigerian celebrities who are also brand ambassadors are Tekno, Toke Makinwa, Banky W and D’banj.
A couple in Saudi Arabia have been arrested after the man kissed the woman then posted footage of it on social media. It was captioned ‘teaching her how to drive’ then posted on Snapchat, but the incident has landed them in trouble.
Saudi Arabia has only just started allowing women to drive with the first group only receiving their licences in June this year.
The move was seen as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s far-reaching liberalisation drive as he seeks to modernise the conservative state.
However, following the kiss in the car, this couple now face jail in the ultra-conservative country.
The French parliament has approved a far-reaching ban on mobile phones in schools, radio broadcaster Franceinfo reported on Monday following the result of the vote in the National Assembly.
The law fundamentally bans the use of mobile phones in all preschools and primary schools, as well as middle school. The move had been a campaign demand by centrist President Emmanuel Macron.
French students are already not allowed to use their mobile phones during class, and each school can decide individually to implement rules that go even further.
With the new law, that position will be reversed: The use of mobile phones is generally banned in the entire school, with each one deciding to make exceptions to that rule.
This is the moment a reptile handler was attacked by a crocodile in front of horrified spectators after he put his arm inside the creature’s mouth.
The handler, a 45-year-old named Tao, was performing the stunt at the Phokkathara zoo in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, in front of around 100 people on Sunday afternoon.
As he reached inside the crocodile's jaws while another keeper looked on, Tao looked at the audience and told the announcer to stop the music.
Then, the reptile suddenly clamped down around Tao's forearm before shaking him violently from side to side.
The keeper was heard letting out an agonising scream before managing to free himself and staggering away with blood dripping on the wet tiles.
The incident was captured on camera by Khun Phusawit, 35, who was visiting the Phokkathara Crocodile Farm and zoo with his wife Nok and their two children.
'The show was very good until that happened. I hope that the man is OK and he gets better soon,’ he said.
'Everybody was shocked when it happened. The kids were a little bit scared.’
He added: 'I've watched the clip back many times to see how it happened and the crocodile seems to not like having the hand in his mouth.'
Dong Wittawat, the owner of the crocodile park, said on Monday that the trainer who had been bitten was treated at the farm and is ‘fine.’
'He was was treated at the farm with bandaging,’ Mr Wittawat said.
‘He loves crocodiles and he will be working again soon in the next two weeks. It is very rare for this to happen.'
The Phokkathara Crocodile Farm houses dozens of different types of animals and offers a live show for visitors.
An Abuja High Court has fixed 8th August, 2018 for Runtown to appear before it and give reasons why he went against a court injunction made on 10th May, 2018.
A statement by Eric Many reads;
‘’Recall that we served a Contempt Warning from Court on Runtown on 4th July, 2018 after he defied Court Order and released a song.
Rather than heed the Contempt Warning and retrace his steps, he issued a Press Release in which he argued that the Injunction had expired.
The Injunction was to stop things until the hearing of our Motion seeking to freeze activities until a decision on his status (whether he had discharged his obligations to us or not) is taken. It barred him from performing or releasing songs for the time being’.
The legal advice we received was that Runtown was wrong in his interpretation of the Rules of Court he relied on since he was already served with our Motion and was represented in Court on 31st May, 2018 when the Court adjourned to 27th September, 2018 to hear the Motion and the one filed by Runtown himself!
To turn around after that day to proceed to do what the Order barred him from doing, and what the Motion served on him (adjourned in his presence) seeks to stop, is unjustifiable under the 7-Days Rule he relied upon. That could probably apply to a person against whom an interim injunction was obtained without more’.
‘Based on this, we have done two things: One, we have obtained a ‘FORM 49’ against him to explain why he should not be sent to prison, especially when he continued to publicize fixtures for shows in Canada, Namibia, Europe etc and threaten to release more songs, both actions in defiance of the Court Order.
The application (now fixed for 8th August) has been served on him in the Punch as ordered by the Court.
Two, since we will not allow him to continue to mock the Court Order we have applied and obtained a new Injunction to stop his actions to protect the Contempt Case.
The new injunction bars him from his threatened defiant actions in Canada, Namibia, Europe etc. We believe the new Injunction has not also ‘expired’ and hope he respects the Court this time.
Please bear in mind that our main case in Court boils down to whether Runtown has discharged his monetary obligations to us and delivered one Album to us as spelt out in our Contract. He has responded, so it will be good to allow the Court to decide what each party filed.
Let both sides apply restraint. As we always say, Ericmany Limited will continue to follow the judicial process. We have confidence in the Rule of Law and will continue to patiently follow the due process until the wrong done to us by Runtown after our heavy investment on him is redressed’’, the statement ended.
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe has emerged to address the nation hours before Monday's historic election, declaring: 'I will not vote for those who have illegally taken power.'
In a slow and rambling address, his first since stepping down in November, the 94-year-old spoke to reporters about the circumstances of his removal under military pressure after a ruling party feud.
He was coy about endorsing a candidate ahead of the election in which the former deputy he fired, President Emmerson Mnangagawa, faces 40-year-old lawyer and pastor Nelson Chamisa.
'I cannot vote for those who have tormented me,' Mr Mugabe said, in a reference to Mr Mnangagwa, who took office with the military's support. 'I cannot vote for Zanu-PF,' the ruling party he long controlled.
Mr Mugabe, who has backed a new political party that is part of a coalition supporting Mr Chamisa, said: 'He seems to be doing well at his rallies.'
He added: 'Whoever wins, we wish him well. And let us accept the verdict.'
Many in Zimbabwe knew no other leader but Mr Mugabe, who led the country for 37 years and since independence from white minority rule in 1980.
What began with optimism crumbled into repression, alleged vote-rigging, intimidation of the opposition, violent land seizures from white farmers and years of international sanctions.
The country hopes a credible vote on Monday could get the sanctions lifted and bring badly needed investment for a collapsed economy.
Mr Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe confidante, has tried to recast himself as a voice for reform, inviting back dozens of election observers and pledging a free and fair vote.
'I have during all this time liked our return to conditionality, our return to legality, an environment in which our people are free,' Mr Mugabe told reporters.
But he blamed 'evil and malicious characters' for his removal from power, which was met with a joyous outpouring by thousands in the capital, Harare. He said he resigned to avoid 'bloodshed'
A man identified as Ayo Paul has been found dead in his apartment in the Aule area of Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The incident, which according to a source happened on Saturday, was said to have amazed the neighbours of the deceased as he was described as a gentlemen.
The reason for the action of the 25-old man was said to be unknown, but the source said it was the landlord of the deceased that opened his door when he did not see paul on Saturday for the monthly environmental sanitation.
The source said, “Nobody knows reason Ayo committed suicide because he was a gentleman and he never had issue with anybody.
“When he did not come out for the monthly environmental sanitation, his landlord went to look for him and on opening his room; the landlord found his lifeless body dangling. The landlord immediately raised the alarm.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident and said the command had started investigation.
He said, “We don’t know the reason why the man took such action, but we have commenced investigation into the incident.”
