Japan’s Princess Mako, the emperor’s niece, has married her commoner college sweetheart on Tuesday and left the royal family after a years-long engagement beset by scrutiny that has left the princess with post-traumatic stress disorder. This has generated a lot of comments from social media users.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday signed into law a bill banning transgender girls from participating in female sports at public schools, joining a wave of similar measures emerging from Republican-controlled statehouses across the country, Premium Times reports.
According to the report, supporters of the
bill, due to take effect on Jan. 18, say it is aimed at protecting fairness in
school sports by eliminating what they see as an inherent physical competitive
advantage of transgender athletes playing on female teams.
Equal rights advocates decry such
restrictions as discriminatory, “hate”-based measures whose real purpose is to
energize hard-core social conservatives, with little or no evidence that trans
women or girls are dominating sports, the report stated further.
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| Greg Abbott, Texas Governor |
SEB gathers that seven other states have passed similar laws this year, part of a Republican-led national campaign since Idaho in March 2020 barred athletes who were assigned a male gender at birth from competing on sports teams against those assigned as female in public schools or colleges.
Japanese Princess Mako quietly married a commoner, Kei Komuro, costing Mako her royal status. She has taken her husband's surname — the first time she has had a family name, according to media reports.
According to USA Today, Mako, 30, said the marriage — delayed three years and called unfit by some — "was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.”
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(L-R) Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, Angelina
Jolie and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt attend the red carpet of the movie
"Eternals" during the 16th Rome Film Festival. Photo Credit: Getty / AFP |
Angelina Jolie proudly showed off two of her daughters on the red carpet for the Rome Film Fest premiere of Marvel’s "Eternals" on Sunday. It was Shiloh Jolie-Pitt's wild red carpet sneakers that stole the show, USA TODAY reports.
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| Cover Page of The Sokoto Caliphate |
Murray Last, author of The Sokoto Caliphate, was a graduate student at the prestigious Yale University when he first heard about the ‘Fulani Empire’ in northern Nigeria.
That was in 1959, the year Northern Region – the jurisdiction that succeeded the ‘Empire’ – became self-governing under the rules created by colonial British government.
The young Mr Last’s African History professor, Harry Rudin, a Cameroonian, also introduced him to the Qadiriyya movement in West Africa.
FROM THE IG DESK OF RENO OMOKRI
Do you know butterflies never see their
own wings. Yet, they fly. You dont have to see God. You just have to have faith
in Him and you will fly high. Seeing is not believing. You haven’t seen wind,
electricity and the Internet. But you believe in them. Believe in God! And
don’t just believe in God. Also, believe Him. Stop believing the chatter in
your head. Instead, start seeing yourself the way God sees you and talking to
yourself that way. When you meditate on God’s Words, God’s Words will elevate
you.
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President Muhammadu Buhari has officially launched e–Naira, the Nigerian digital currency in Abuja. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bashir Ahmad] |
At the launch of the eNaira Monday, Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari said his approval was “underpinned by the fact that the CBN has been a leading innovator in the form of money they produce, and in the payment services they deploy for efficient transactions.”
The president praises the Central Bank of Nigeria for creating eNaira which is Africa’s first Central Bank Digital Currency, adding that the country will reap many benefits from the initiative.
“They have invested heavily in creating a Payment System that is ranked in the top ten in the world and certainly the best in Africa,” the president said at the event in Abuja.
Watch the cutest dancing duo do their thing in this video, curtsey of Instagram | buzzfeed:
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| La Palma Volcano: Eruption |
In a story filled by Alexander Lerche for Aljazeera, on the devastating effect of the volcanic eruption on La Palma, it’s noted that the natural disaster has severely disrupted normal life on the idyllic Spanish Island.
According to the report, authorities have evacuated nearly 8,000 people, placing them inside hotels and empty apartment buildings, and warn many more may be displaced in the coming weeks.
In the five weeks since the eruption began, lava flowing from Cumbre Vieja has reached more than 850 hectares (2,100 acres) of farmland and residential areas, the report stated further, adding that more than 2,100 homes and farms have been affected or destroyed and vital irrigation systems cut off.
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| Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State |
Broadcast by His Excellency Seyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, After the Jail Break at Abolongo Correctional Centre, Oyo Town on Saturday, October 23, 2021
My Good People of Oyo State,
I am addressing you today to update you about recent happenings affecting the security of our state.
Last night, security operatives responded to a distress call about a jailbreak in the Abolongo Correctional Centre, Oyo Town. The correctional facility had been attacked with explosives, and some inmates were set free. Our security men were ambushed. As a result, we lost two of our security agents – A corporal of the Nigerian Army attached to Operation Burst, and an Operative of the Oyo State Amotekun Corps, Tijani Sadiq Babatunde.
Nigeria’s oldest and most reputable beauty pageant, Miss Nigeria is back this year for its 44th edition. Organized by Folio Group, the pageant has served as a great platform for empowering thousands of girls across the country since its inception in 1957.
This year’s winner will not only gain notable reputation worldwide, she will also receive a whopping sum of 10 million Naira, 1-year residence in a luxury apartment, a brand-new car, and lucrative ambassadorship deals with prestigious brands.
“This is not just a pageant. We emerged in response to the realization that given the right platform, young Nigerian women can drive positive change and inspire other young women across the continent. We remain committed to those values as we head into the 2021 pageant,” explained Chairman, Board of Directors at Folio Group, Fidelis Anosike.
The World Bank has blacklisted 18 Nigerian individuals and firms for engaging in corrupt practices, fraud and collusive practices in its 2021 fiscal year 2021, a new report has revealed.
A list of debarred individuals and firms was presented in a new annual report titled World Bank Group Sanctions System FY21.
The debarments were made by the World Bank Sanctions Board, World Bank Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer and the African Development Bank.
On Catch-Up this week we have our spotlight on the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), a pride of many when educational institutions are mentioned across the globe.
The spotlight is designed to feature the Institution’s history and of course, its mission and vision statements.
The greatness and popularity of the Obafemi Awolowo University is by no means an accident. Founded in 1962 as the University of Ife but rechristened by the Federal Military Government as the Obafemi Awolowo University on May 12, 1987, in honour of one of its most distinguished founding fathers and eminent nationalist, politician, lawyer, stateman and former chancellor, Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo.
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife is one of three Universities established in Nigeria between 1961 and 1962 as a result of the report submitted to the Federal Government in September, 1960, by a Commission it appointed in April 1959 under the Chairmanship of Sir Eric Ashby, Master of Clare College, Cambridge, to survey the needs of post-secondary and higher education in Nigeria over the next twenty years. On 8th June, 1961 the Law providing for the establishment of the Provisional Council of the University was formally inaugurated under the Chairmanship of Chief Rotimi Williams.
