Nigerian And World News

Saturday, July 11

Serena Williams Wins 6th Wimbledon, 21st Grand Slam Title

Wow! Serena Williams is the 2015 Wimbledon Champion! She beat Garbine Muguruza to claim the Wimbledon crown. This means 4 slams in a row for the #1 female tennis star and her 21st Grand Slam title in total. What an achievement!

Boko Haram Militants Seize Damaturu Maiduguri Road, A Report

Reports reaching PREMIUM TIMES say Boko Haram militants have taken over the highway linking Maiduguri and Damaturu, capitals of Borno and Yobe states respectively.

A police officer stationed in one of the villages along the highway, told PREMIUM TIMES that travellers are being asked to return as the terrorists have taken over the road between Benisheik (a town 85km away from Maiduguri) and Ngamdu (35km away from Damaturu).

The officer, who asked that his identity be protected for security reasons, said the terrorists had
attacked Ngamdu village and killed 10 persons there.

"As I am talking to you now, soldiers are moving towards Benisheik, while we are here asking motorists to return to Maiduguri until the road is cleared," he said.

There is no security checkpoint between Benisheik and Ngamdu, which is about 25km stretch of road.

My Last Relationship Ended Two Years Ago, But I'm Too Busy To Date Now Says DJ Cuppy

Billionaire Femi Otedola's daughter, DJ Cuppy has said she is not in any relationship and the last relationship she had ended two years ago. The Dj also emphasised that the last thing she wants to do now is get into a relationship because she is very busy with her Cuppy brand. She also spoke on the rumours making the rounds that she is in a relationship with Asa Asika, saying he is only a friend and they have known each other for the past 10 years.

Hear her; "My last relationship ended two years ago. I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing well and in order to achieve a lot with my Cuppy brand, I have to put 101 per cent into it. I don't have a lover and with my tour coming up, I don't have time to get into anything serious. Maybe I would find someone around Africa," she said. Continue;

On dating Asa Asika she said;

"Asa and I have known each other for about 10 years even before I became a DJ. He is such an inspirational person, if you look at his story and the way he rose in the industry. I would not be able to do this tour without him. He is a manager that knows his onions and he is very ambitious. When I was putting my team together, I considered a lot of people but I believe in this generation. Asa and I are alike because we are both fighters. Working together can be a good or bad thing but what I know is that we would put together a great show. I think it is fantastic to have a friend on board. We are not dating and we have never dated each other before," she told Saturday Beats.

Actress Yvonne Jegede Stuns In New Photos

The actress and movie producer (she just produced her first movie titled - 3 is Company) just released these stunning new photos. See more photos below;

Beyonce's Mum, Tina Knowles Stuns In Red As She Steps Out With New Husband

Beyonce's mum Tina Knowles-Lawson looked stunning in red as she celebrated the release of her Ebony magazine cover with a party in LA yesterday. Her husband - Richard Lawson and friends were there but her children couldn't make it. More photos below;

Governor Fayose Pictured Drinking Palmwine With Ekiti Residents At A Local Joint

Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, photographed drinking palmwine with other residents at a palmwine joint in the state capital, Ado Ekiti this afternoon. He shared the photos on his twitter handle and wrote "At home with my people at a Palm Wine Joint at Omisanjana area of Ado Ekiti today. Works and no play". More photos below;

This Lady Fell To Her Death After Fiance Cancelled Their Wedding

Shakara and David

A world championship dancer plunged to her death from the balcony of a luxury Caribbean hotel after her fiance told her he wanted to call off their wedding plans, an inquest has heard.

Shakara Taylor, 31, was 'distraught' after David Ravenscroft, her partner of nearly four years, called off their planned nuptials, saying he wanted to 'wait and see where we are in six months time.'

Despite the set-back, according to DailyMail, the couple remained living together in Georgetown on the Cayman Islands, and after dropping him off at a spa, Miss Taylor took a lift to the seventh floor of the Caribbean Club hotel.

Just minutes later, she was found sprawled across the courtyard outside the hotel's main reception,
where she was pronounced dead, the inquest heard.

A Blackpool coroner has now recorded an open verdict, saying he was unable to conclusively state if she had ended her own life.

In a statement read out to Blackpool Coroners' Court today, her fiance Mr. Ravenscroft said he and Shakara had set July 6, 2013, as the date for their wedding. But in March 2013 he said he wanted to postpone the marriage which had left her 'down in the dumps'.

Just weeks later she dropped him off at a health club and gave him a hug and kiss goodbye before promising to pick him up later. But when he later texted her he received no reply and got a taxi home, where police informed him of Miss Taylor's death.

Miss Taylor, formerly of Blackpool, Lancashire, was seen on CCTV heading to the seventh floor of the Caribbean Club hotel - the only floor that could be accessed without a membership or guest pass - before she was spotted on cameras lying on the ground outside the resort.

Her cause of death was recorded as multiple injuries to the chest, head and abdomen as a consequence of a fall from height. She was also found to have fractures to her skull and lacerations to her ribs, left lung, spleen, left kidney and liver.
Mr. Ravenscroft said he did not know why she was at the Caribbean Club as she had no friends staying there.

In his statement read out to the court, he said:

'She seemed to be down in the dumps and struggling to deal with it. I didn't feel like I wanted to marry although we were still together and I said we should wait and see where we were in six months' time. It didn't feel right in my gut instinct that it was the right time to get married. When I told her she was distraught but she didn't seem that way on the morning.'

The hotel

Miss Taylor spent 15 years performing as a morris dancer with the Crusaders Morris Dancing Club and was runner up at the World Championships many years ago.
She also performed in a Spice Girls tribute act, the 'Naughty But Nice Girls'.

Alan Walsh, coroner for Blackpool and the Fylde, said no one witnessed her fall, with no evidence of anyone else present when she died.

A laptop and iPad belonging to Shakara showed no suicide note, although medical records confirmed the young woman had a history of mental illness including a period of residential psychiatric care.

The inquest also heard how heartbroken Mr. Ravenscroft only found out after her death that his fiancée was bipolar and had twice attempted suicide before.

Giving evidence today, Miss Taylor's stepfather Alan Kelly, who has known her since she was 16, said he had spoken to her just the week before her death and he had no reason to believe she would take her own life.
Mr. Kelly said:

'She was very passionate about everything in her life and she threw herself into everything. She had dealt with things in her life before and she was dealing with the wedding not going ahead. I didn't believe for a minute that she would have taken her own life for that reason.'

Recording an open verdict, the coroner said:

'We know she has fallen from height, we know it's from that hotel. What we don't know is how or why she came to fall from that height. It's not for this court to establish what someone might have wanted to take their own life but whether that was their intention. There's been nothing in the recent history to suggest this.

It's understandable to assume that this young lady had jumped to her death but when one adheres to the necessary standard of proof, I fall short of being able to reach that conclusion. I can't be sure bearing in mind all the evidence we have heard that it was her intention to jump to her death from that hotel complex on that day. I would like to pass on my sincere condolences to Miss Taylor's family.'

Following the hearing, four of Miss Taylor's friends, know as 'The Iron Ladies', said:

'We have known Shakara since school and we carried her coffin at her funeral. She was a remarkable woman and she is greatly missed by all her knew her. She's left a great hole in our lives. We miss her dearly every day.'

Sex Starved Monk Stabs Prostitute to Death For Not Satisfying Him

Police on Thursday night arrested an acquaintance of a 37-year-old woman found stabbed to death in Matsuyama City last year, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Police took Yoshinori Kurumi, a 29-year-old Buddhist monk from Tokushima City, into custody for killing nail artist Miki Kuroda insider her third-floor apartment.

The suspect is reported to have repeatedly stalked the victim before he killed her.

"She worked part-time in the fuzoku (sex-related) trade, and he was her customer; that's how they became acquainted. On several occasions, he stalked her. He posted defamatory messages on adult-service promotion sites," an investigator said.

These posts, which described the victim's 'sex' services as "bad". And surveillance camera footage eventually lead police to Kurumi. The suspect hired a private detective to do a background check on the victim to find out where she lives.

On getting to her apartment, the suspect posed as a delivery man. He attached a delivery slip to a cardboard box that concealed a survival knife, the weapon used to carry out the crime. "He said that he carried her mobile phone and the knife used to kill Kuroda from the crime scene and threw them 'into the sea,'" the investigator said.

Kurumi has admitted to killing Kuroda. "I stabbed her head with a knife," the suspect is quoted by police. On the day of the murder, her co-workers held a party in the office. When Kuroda did not arrive at the appointed time, some members visited her apartment.

It was a grisly scene: She had suffered deep wounds to her neck that extended to the carotid artery. The investigator said given all of the wounds on the body, it seems that the perpetrator must have held tremendous resentment for the victim.

Kourtney Kardashian Tosses Out Scott Disick' Belongings From Their Home

Kourtney Kardashian's ditched Scott Disick, and now she's kicking his stuff to the curb. According to TMZ, Kourtney organized the removal of the Lord's belongings - mostly his clothing - and had it all sent to the house Scott purchased recently in Beverly Hills. It's unclear if she even told Scott she was doing it.

As earlier reported, Disick bought the home - a five-bedroom, six-bath house - with the intention of flipping it, but instead it seems like he'll be hanging his hat there for the time being. Disick is still partying in Florida and scheduled to make a club appearance Friday night in Las Vegas. The removal took place while Kardashian was out at Disneyland celebrating their daughter Penelope's third birthday.

Abandoned Mother Of Triple Twins Receives Cash From Group, Who Also Offered Scholarship To One Set Of Twins

More help came for Mrs. Ruth Uche, the abandoned mother of triple set of twins, as a humanitarian organization called Voice of Divine Truth Int'l. Outreach, (aka Voice of Change Network) gave her a cash donation, and offered her 2nd set of twins scholarship from primary to university level.

This came on the heels of the Speaker's visit and the Governor's kind gesture to her. Sitting in her dimly lit one room which doubled as her bedroom and her sitting room, the President of the group, Mr. Gregory Azemobor expressed gratitude to God for the life of the children and their mother. He also stressed the fact that the children need to be given a future. He also called on well-meaning Nigerians to do what they can in supporting this woman and her six children.

Ruth who earns a paltry N10,000 monthly salary as a teacher in a daycare Centre narrated her ordeal of sending her children to school. According to her, the children's fees is N10,000 per child, but thanks to the management of the school who asked her to pay N5,000 instead. She narrated how she uses her two months' salary to pay her four children's fees. As for the books and feeding, she says she teaches an evening class of six children who pays her #1,000 each monthly, which brings in additional #6,000 for the feeding and the upkeep of the family.

The question is 'how can #6,000 cater for the needs of a growing family of seven?' Ruth is only one of such people in our society who needs to be shown love. Let's not wait for the government. You can do something no matter how little, to make life easier for someone. - Austin Edoho.