Serena Williams, husband welcome second child

 Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian have announced the arrival of  a second child. 

Her husband announced on Tuesday, adding that both were “happy & healthy” after the difficult birth of the tennis star’s first child left her fighting for her life.

“I’m grateful to report that our house is teaming with love: a happy & healthy newborn girl and happy & healthy mama,” her husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, posted on Instagram alongside a photograph of himself with a beaming Williams hugging both her daughters.

Addressing his 41-year-old wife, he told her she had “given me another incomparable gift  you’re the GMOAT,” a new maternal twist on the sporting accolade Greatest Of All Time.

In 2017 Williams, one of the greatest players in history, won the Australian Open  one of her many Grand Slam titles while she was pregnant with the couple’s first child, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

But months later she nearly died after she developed a blood clot in her lung after giving birth to Olympia via emergency C-section.

She spent six weeks bedridden after the pulmonary embolism, but battled back to make her return to competition just five months later in Fed Cup doubles alongside her sister, Venus.

Williams retired from tennis last year after becoming a superstar for a generation.

I’m ready to be a mom and explore a different version of myself,” she said after her final match last year.

Why I auditioned for Big Brother Naija 5 Times-Hilda Bacci Reveals

Famous chef, Hilda Effiong Bassey, better known as Hilda Baci, has explained why she auditioned for the Big Brother Naija reality show five times.

She said she planned to go on the reality show and become famous before staging her cooking challenge.

The Guinness World Record holder disclosed this while appearing on Cool FM Nigeria’s programme, The Big Friday Show, hosted by reality star, Tacha.

She said, “I tried to get on Big Brother [Naija] for a while. I think I auditioned about four or five times.

“The plan for the cook-a-thorn was still in the pipeline, so my goal was to go to Big Brother and then come out and do the cook-a-thorn.”

Newsmen recalls that Guinness World Records certified Hilda Baci as the new record holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

Fans commiserate with Wizkid as singer loses mother

Fans of popular Nigerian singer Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun better known as Wizkid have continued to commiserate with him as he lost his mother.

Confirming the unfortunate incident to newsmen yesterday, the singer’s manager, Sunday Are, said, “Yes, she died this (Friday) morning at about 1.30 am.”

Before his mum’s passing, Wizkid often spoke glowingly about the support she gave him as an artiste. He also often gushed of his love for her. To underscore his love for her, the singer dedicated a song, ‘Mummy Mi’, to her. This was even as he talked about her in some other songs, including ‘Joy’ and ‘Jaiye Jaiye’. He also stated that a tattoo on his hand, which reads ‘Morayo’, was dedicated to her.

On her birthday in July 2019, Wizkid had taken to his Instagram page to celebrate her. The singer, who does not usually felicitate people on social media, posted a picture of her and wrote, “My backbone, prayer warrior, my life! I love you. I’ll do anything for you. I will do everything for you. (I wish you)

On her part, the artiste’s late mum also often spoke of her love for the ‘Essence’ singer. In an interview with Daily Post in April 2014, she had said, “I am so glad that he is my son and I’m his mother. I give God all the glory. God has kept him for us and He will continue to (do so).”

Remi Tinubu receives Super Falcons in Abuja

 The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu on Monday received members of the Nigerian female football team, the Super Falcons, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Super Falcons crashed out of the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, having lost through penalties to the English team, the Lionesses last Monday, August 7.

The First Lady last week held a similar meeting with the Nigeria female basketball team, D’Tigresses.

Details later…

'The whole economy is crumbling'- Nigerians react as naira tumbles to N950/$ at parallel market

Nigerians have continued to express their views on social media as the naira fell to an all-time low of N950 to a single dollar at the parallel market on Thursday, August 10 2023.

The figure represents N53 or 5.9 percent depreciation compared to the N897 it traded earlier this week.

Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in Lagos said that there is high demand for foreign currency in the street market.

The street traders, popularly known as ‘abokis’ put the buying price of the dollar at N935 and the selling price at N950, leaving a profit margin of N15.

 Meanwhile, currency traders in the Agbara area of Ogun state said they are currently buying the local currency at N920/$ and selling it for N940 per dollar...

The report has continued to generate reactions online.

Read some of the reactions:

Might hit 1k by end of tomorrow ? We are finished!!!! Giant of Africa turn Zimbabwe 💀@ayinnu 

This @officialABAT will only hasten #RevolutionNow in Nigeria in how many months. The whole economy is crumbling.@Royalk_01 

Nigerians, please focus on online jobs that ay in dollars, content creation, tech, and other kinds of freelancing as a side hustle.

The Naira is falling and may not recover untill we have a government that knows what it's doing.

For now, be wise!!! @AdebayoGlover

Osinbajo Mourns Passing of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya

Nigeria’s Former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has described the sudden death of the founder of Fountain of Life Church, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya as devastating.

Osinbajo in a statement shared on his official Twitter handle on Thursday, described Odukoya’s death as devastating, noting that the firmness of his faith and the soundness of his scriptural expositions will be missed.

He wrote: “Dolly, I and our children are devastated by the news of the passing of our dear friend and brother, Pastor Taiwo. Our hearts and prayers are with Tolu, Jimi, Tobi, Timilehin and Jomiloju

"We will miss the firmness of his faith in the most difficult times, the soundness of his exposition of the scriptures, his fidelity to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, his childlike love of God translated so easily to worship, his transparency, his servant leadership, the affection and the love he showed so easily, his honesty, forthrightness and humility at all times.

He inspired a whole generation of (then) very young men and women, many of whom are now grandparents and still in Christ and will by His grace be until we meet him again at the resurrection. Amen.”

Divergent Responses as NLC Protesters Pull Down National Assembly Gate in Abuja (Read Reactions)

Mixed reactions have continued to trail the action of the protesters at the main gate of the National Assembly today, August 2 2023.

 Multiple reports revealed that the protest is led by the leaders of organised Labour, Joe Ajaero of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Festus Osifo of the Trade Union Congress 

asked security operatives stationed at the legislative building to open the gates to allow the angry workers to express their displeasure.

The President of NLC Joe Ajaero and TUC President Comrade Festus Osifo addressed the protesters at the Federal Ministry of Justice, calling on the Nigerian government to address the suffering being faced by the masses arising from the subsidy removal.

 

After an altercation between the protesters and security agents, the protesters pulled down the main gate of the complex. The security agents were overpowered by the surging crowd.

The protesters are currently heading to the second gate of the building and have vowed to also pull it down.

 

Recall that members of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other aggrieved Nigerians on Wednesday trooped to the streets of Abuja, the nation’s capital to protest against the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

 

The protest kicked off from the popular Unity Fountain with members of organized labour displaying placards and banners.

The protesters expressed dissatisfaction with the hikes in fuel prices and the failure of the Tinubu administration to reverse “unfriendly policies targeted against the poor”.

Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: #BringBackOurRefineries; #LetThePoorBreathe; and #ALUTACONTINUA.

The action has stirred reactions on social media as Nigerians share divergent reactions to the action of the protesters.

Read some of the reactions:

@boodabmc

They will be repairing this with 200Million 🤦‍♂️

@IanKonrade

They pulled down the gate of the most useless institution in Nigeria. Watch them use billions to fix that gate

@Akinjoshua

I pray our government doesn't turn it into a bloodbath ceremony...