One of Nigeria’s and Africa’s most celebrated disc jockeys, DJ Neptune, says there is a need for African creatives to own their own streaming platforms.
“We, as African creatives, need to start thinking towards the direction of owning our own streaming platforms because we have the numbers,” the 35-year-old, whose real name is Imohiosen Patrick, said when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Rubbin Minds on Sunday.
“All DJ Neptune needs to sustain me for the rest of my career is probably just four to five per cent of that population constantly streaming my music, coming to my shows.
“I’m made for life, you know,” he said while speaking on the strength of Nigeria’s over 200 million population.
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DJ Neptune belives that if creatives understand the power they have, they can do so much.
“We need to come together as one,” he said.
“But you need to understand that collaboration right now is the new gold. When we go into the room as one voice, it makes the conversation more interesting and more beneficial to the creatives,” he added.
Speaking about his passion for what he does, DJ Neptune said, “I’m still as hungry as when I started on the very first day, you know, and the goal is to be celebrated as a global DJ from Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, to be precise.”
Duncan James, 47, said his new partner, Alexander Roque, has already met his mum and the other Blue members – and they have all given him their seal of approval
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Duncan James has confirmed his new romance(Image: Getty Images)
Duncan James has confirmed his romance with stripper Alexander Roque after splitting from his long-term boyfriend, Rodrigo Reis.
The Blue singer and his ex went their separate ways after dating for six years – but weeks later it emerged that Duncan, 47, had moved on with Alexander, who is currently performing on stage at the strip show Forbidden Nights and once appeared on Britain’s Got Talent. Last month, a source said the pair’s romance was still in its “early days” but things were going well between them.
Now, Duncan himself has opened up about his new partner, describing Alexander as a “love bug” and “real sweetheart” who has already got the seal of approval from his mum and bandmates. While attending the Children with Cancer UK Gala at The Peninsula in London last night, the actor and TV presenter praised Alexander, describing him as “really considerate, respectful and kind”.
READ MORE: Duncan James in ‘early days of romance’ with stripper after split from ex of six years
Duncan told the Daily Mail: “He is a very handsome boy. It’s new and it’s exciting. He’s a real sweetheart. He’s a bit of a love bug, which is sweet. And he’s showering me lots of love.
“And he’s like a big gentle giant. So it’s just really, he’s really kind, really considerate. And it’s just been fun.” He said Alexander has already his mother, Fiona Inglis, and the other Blue members – Simon Webbe, Antony Costa, and Lee Ryan – and they all like him.
He added that Alexander understands the public interest in their relationship – however, he was keen to stress that he is not just a stripper, but also an actor. Rumours of a relationship started spreading after Duncan attended the Hollyoaks party with Alexander and then shared a photo featuring the model, drag queen Danny Beard and Ruby O’Donnell.
When he was still dating Rodrigo, Duncan revealed how he met his ex while in Belgium for a gig with Blue. Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, he said, “We met a couple of years ago in Belgium. I was doing a gig with the boys and I met Rodrigo at the after-party. I saw him across the bar and […] he was very much my type. I was like: ‘He’s hot.'”
However, the pair split over the summer, with the boyband star confessing to starting a “new chapter” as he wrote on social media: “Summer 2025 – a season of sea, sun, and soul-soothing magic. Grateful for family, friends, and adventures that filled my heart. From quiet healing to laughter under golden skies, and neon lights … this chapter was one of growth, love, magic and light. Here’s to carrying the glow into every season ahead.”
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A source told The Sun at the time: “Duncan and Rodrigo have gone their separate ways after six years. A break-up is never easy but Duncan has been throwing himself into the band and keeping his mind occupied with music.”
Duncan has previously admitted that he struggled with coming out as gay while being a boyband star was extremely difficult. Recalling the intense scrutiny during his time with Blue, he said, “I remember when I was in Blue the first time around, there were all these rumours I was dating my friends Geri, Martine and Tara [Palmer- Tomkinson] and I used to feel relieved.”
Lewis Hamilton said his first season at Ferrari had been “a nightmare” after he retired from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion was hit by the Williams of Carlos Sainz on the first lap, before misjudging an attempted overtake on Alpine’s Franco Colapinto at the start of lap two.
That resulted in front wing damage which was quickly replaced during a pit stop, but he was left lacking pace with a damaged floor.
Hamilton was given a five-second penalty for the incident with Colapinto and eventually retired from last position on lap 39.
Briton Hamilton is yet to finish on the podium for Ferrari, although he had a dominant victory in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix in March. He is sixth in the drivers’ championship.
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It completed a miserable day for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc retiring earlier in the race after a collision with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli broke his front suspension. The Italian rookie had been knocked into Leclerc’s path by the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
In a separate interview with Viaplay, Hamilton was more optimistic about the Ferrari and what he might be able to achieve in the future.
“It would be wrong to say that there are no positives at all,” he said.
“If you look at Charles’ performance in qualifying, it shows that the car does have some pace in it.
“But we are just really having to fight through those hardships at the moment. I have to believe that these hardships lead to… I believe there is something extraordinary up ahead in my life and in my destiny.
“I truly still believe in this team and what we can achieve together. I just have to keep pushing and keep giving them everything I can.”
The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has resigned after a row over the editing of a speech made by US President Donald Trump on the day of the 2021 attack on the United States Capitol.
Sunday’s joint resignations of Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness capped a turbulent week of accusations that the broadcaster edited a speech Trump made on January 6, 2021, to make it appear as if he encouraged the riots that followed his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
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Davie said he took “ultimate responsibility” for mistakes made, saying that quitting his role at the helm of the public broadcaster after five years was “entirely my decision”.
“I have been reflecting on the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times, combined with the fact that I want to give a successor time to help shape the charter plans they will be delivering,” he said.
A documentary by flagship programme Panorama aired a week before last year’s US election, splicing together clips of Trump’s speech uttered at different points.
The edit made it seem as if Trump said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”
Critics said it was misleading as it cut out a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
‘Buck stops with me’
Turness said the controversy about the Trump documentary “has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love”.
“As the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me,” she added.
Earlier on Sunday, UK Culture, Media and Sport Minister Lisa Nandy called the allegations “incredibly serious”, saying there is a “systemic bias in the way that difficult issues are reported at the BBC”.
Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands noted that the BBC has always been in a difficult position.
“It is pilloried by the right, who perceive it to be a hotbed of liberal bias. It’s pilloried by the left, who think that it kowtows to the establishment and pumps out government lines when it comes to things like Gaza, particularly, not holding the powerful to account as it should do as a broadcaster.”
Accusations of anti-Israel bias
The controversy, whipped up by UK right-wing media, reached the other side of the Atlantic with Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt describing the BBC as “100 percent fake news” and a “propaganda machine” on Friday.
The story broke on Tuesday when The Daily Telegraph cited a memo complied by Michael Prescott, a former member of the BBC’s editorial standards committee, which raised concerns over the Trump edit, as well as criticising perceived anti-Israel bias in the BBC’s Arabic service.
On Saturday, the newspaper reported right-wing lawmaker Priti Patel, of the Conservative Party, demanded the UK Foreign Office review its funding of BBC Arabic through its grant for the BBC World Service, alleging “pro-Hamas and anti-Israel bias”.
The broadcaster has also been accused of giving Israel favourable coverage in its reporting of the war on Gaza, coming under criticism from its own staff.
Davie’s resignation was celebrated by Nigel Farage, leader of the populist hard-right Reform UK party, which is soaring in opinion polls.
Carlos Alcaraz says he has entered the ATP Finals “with motivation” as he moved a step closer to the year-end world number one ranking with victory over Alex de Minaur.
The 22-year-old Spaniard won his opening Jimmy Connors Group match 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 in one hour and 40 minutes in Turin, Italy.
Alcaraz is making his third appearance at the season-ending tournament but has never reached the final before.
He withdrew injured in 2022, lost in the semi-finals on debut a year later and failed to qualify from the group last year.
Alcaraz is battling rival Jannik Sinner for the top ranking, with the Italian moving back to the top spot after his victory at the Paris Masters last week.
“I’ve been struggling in the past three years to come to the end of the year with energy and motivation. This year is a little bit different,” Alcaraz said.
“I’m really proud about the way I’ve been doing things to come here with motivation.
“I’m really excited and looking forward to playing great tennis, and giving myself a shot to try to win this tournament.”
The 28-year-old German lost only one of 17 points on serve in the first set and 10 of 54 across the match, finishing with a 81% first-serve percentage.
Australian Open finalist Zverev did not face a break point in the match but had to rally from 6-3 down in the second-set tie-break to advance.
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Alcaraz edges closer to number one spot
World number two Alcaraz provided his usual moments of shot-making brilliance against De Minaur, hitting a total of 32 winners, but he was scrappy at times in the first set.
Alcaraz raced to an early lead but missed three break points for a 5-1 advantage – and then found himself two points from losing the opener in the tie-break.
De Minaur’s trademark fight took him to the brink of winning the set but, leading 5-3 in the breaker, lost the next four points to concede it.
Set two began with three consecutive breaks of serve, two of them in favour of Alcaraz, before a run of three sensational winners in a row put Alcaraz firmly in charge.
Despite defeat for De Minaur – who has not beaten Alcaraz in five attempts – the 26-year-old Australian should take confidence from his performance against the six-time Grand Slam champion.
Alcaraz and defending champion Sinner have split the four Grand Slam titles between them this year.
They are in different groups and are widely tipped to meet in the final on Sunday, 16 November.
This is what each has to do to end 2025 as world number one:
In the doubles, British top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool – who won the Wimbledon title in July – lost 7-5 6-3 to Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
Carlos Alcaraz says he has entered the ATP Finals “with motivation” as he moved a step closer to the year-end world number one ranking with victory over Alex de Minaur.
The 22-year-old Spaniard won his opening Jimmy Connors Group match 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 in one hour and 40 minutes in Turin, Italy.
Alcaraz is making his third appearance at the season-ending tournament but has never reached the final before.
He withdrew injured in 2022, lost in the semi-finals on debut a year later and failed to qualify from the group last year.
Alcaraz is battling rival Jannik Sinner for the top ranking, with the Italian moving back to the top spot after his victory at the Paris Masters last week.
“I’ve been struggling in the past three years to come to the end of the year with energy and motivation. This year is a little bit different,” Alcaraz said.
“I’m really proud about the way I’ve been doing things to come here with motivation.
“I’m really excited and looking forward to playing great tennis, and giving myself a shot to try to win this tournament.”
The 28-year-old German lost only one of 17 points on serve in the first set and 10 of 54 across the match, finishing with a 81% first-serve percentage.
Australian Open finalist Zverev did not face a break point in the match but had to rally from 6-3 down in the second-set tie-break to advance.
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Alcaraz edges closer to number one spot
World number two Alcaraz provided his usual moments of shot-making brilliance against De Minaur, hitting a total of 32 winners, but he was scrappy at times in the first set.
Alcaraz raced to an early lead but missed three break points for a 5-1 advantage – and then found himself two points from losing the opener in the tie-break.
De Minaur’s trademark fight took him to the brink of winning the set but, leading 5-3 in the breaker, lost the next four points to concede it.
Set two began with three consecutive breaks of serve, two of them in favour of Alcaraz, before a run of three sensational winners in a row put Alcaraz firmly in charge.
Despite defeat for De Minaur – who has not beaten Alcaraz in five attempts – the 26-year-old Australian should take confidence from his performance against the six-time Grand Slam champion.
Alcaraz and defending champion Sinner have split the four Grand Slam titles between them this year.
They are in different groups and are widely tipped to meet in the final on Sunday, 16 November.
This is what each has to do to end 2025 as world number one:
In the doubles, British top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool – who won the Wimbledon title in July – lost 7-5 6-3 to Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
