Archive May 11, 2025

Ibas Promises To Tackle Security, Development Challenges In Rivers

By in News, Nigeria News

The Administrator of Rivers State, Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has called for strengthened collaboration between security agencies, community stakeholders, and residents to combat criminal activities, including sea piracy, illegal oil bunkering, and theft of fishing equipment in parts of the state.

The Sole Administrator stated the commitment during a town hall security stakeholders’ meeting held in Opobo Town in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area on Saturday.

Represented by the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, the Sole Administrator emphasized the need for collective efforts to safeguard critical government assets and infrastructure.

“We are here to ensure you work in synergy with the Local Government Administrator to protect government infrastructures and critical assets,” he stated.

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He further assured residents that the government would prioritize healthcare, education, road rehabilitation, and other welfare concerns to enhance living standards in the area.

In his address, the Administrator of Opobo/Nkoro LGA, Frederick Apiafi, highlighted the region’s unique security challenges to include sea piracy, theft of fishing equipment, illegal oil bunkering activities and unauthorized vigilante operations.

A similar meeting was held in Omoku, the Headquarters of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area where the Sole Administrator charged the people to uphold peace as a vital pillar for sustainable development.

Also represented by CP Adepoju alongside a high-level delegation of security chiefs, the Sole Administrator emphasized that “without peace, no meaningful development can thrive.” He assured residents of the state government’s commitment to strategic engagement and inclusive collaboration to enhance security and socio-economic growth across ONELGA.

At Ngo in Andoni Local Government Area, the Sole Administrator reaffirmed the state’s commitment to tackling critical development challenges in the area.

Ibas emphasized the need for strengthened collaboration among communities, security agencies, and government officials to enhance welfare, security, and socio-economic growth.

He also addressed concerns over oil companies’ failure to provide adequate employment opportunities for indigenes, promising swift intervention.

In his remarks, the Sole Administrator of Andoni LGA, Surveyor Atajit Francis, commended the Rivers State Government for initiating the engagement, stating that it would “enhance governance, promote peace, and accelerate development in Andoni and across the state.”

It’s Painful I Couldn’t Settle Down With My Wife At Old Age – Bongos Ikwue

By in Entertainment News, News

Eighty-three-year-old legendary songwriter and composer, Bongos Ikwue, speaks about his songs, family, and other sundry issues in this exclusive interview with Channels Television.

Enjoy the excerpts…

You’re going to be 83 next month, on June 6. How are you doing, sir?

I guess I’m doing very well. I’m doing okay. I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be with you, too.

One of the songs we know you for is Still Searching, and after a beautiful journey, your wife passed on, and then you did the song. I know this is one of the most painful experiences of your life, but it has also shaped you in some way or the other. Speak to us about that.

I don’t think any human is a robot. So, the consciousness of feeling and missing somebody is so profound, and it’s difficult to explain to anybody. My dear wife always told me something. She always looked forward to the day when I stop running around the whole country and settle down at an old age so we could have a lot of time together. It’s very painful, it never did happen. When she passed on, I dedicated a song.

I’ll just draw an inference from your song, Still Searching, for the average Nigerian. So, some will say Nigerians are still searching for good governance or the very best of it. What message do you have for the government yet again from the benefit of your wisdom?

It’s a very difficult question for me to answer because I know how little we know as humans. Our knowledge is so infinitesimal. I don’t feel qualified to talk about anything because there’s so much that we don’t know about. Maybe the only reason I think I know is because I don’t know at all. But governance, to me, put very simply, means service. Talking about service, service is the only commodity today for sale.

Service must also transcend into whoever is leading; any country must learn to render service first. It takes a little to understand. Maybe I don’t quite understand what I’m talking about, but I can feel it. Once you’re unable to render service and you are just taking, that’s a problem.

Your life has been one of service. Hasn’t it?

To give is much more beautiful than to take. If you have ever given something to somebody who actually needed it at a particular time, the feeling is unbelievable to express.

Let’s talk about all the things you have given us – timeless hits. What are some of your fondest memories about your journey, your art, and all of that?

There are quite a lot of them, but when I first met my wife, I didn’t think she would say yes, and she did say yes. That’s unbelievable, isn’t it? At that point, she looked so pretty, yeah. And I said to myself, “Is this really going to happen?” and it did happen.

There are still young people, by the way, who love your music. They were not born when you were performing or when you did those songs, but they listened to your song and they fell in love. How do you feel about that?

I really don’t know. There are lots of things I don’t know, but I think it is the hand of the Almighty. What I don’t understand sometimes, I think God is the most complex of all beings. He’s the ultimate mystery, we take him for granted.

I would say everything that happened to me carried the hand of providence along with it. I’m not a religious person, but I’m a total believer in God Almighty. There are two different things, maybe we’ll talk about that later.

I don’t know if you still write music.

I’m working on what I call the Power of Zero, I don’t see how I can condense that into a song. They told us in school that zero is nothing. That’s not true; zero is not nothing. Zero is only zero. The power of zero is the ultimate power. Zero is not greedy, if you divide anything by zero, you get infinity. Zero is ruthless. If you multiply anything by zero, it takes it to a level, leaves it right there. And zero is very humble, you can laugh at zero, but it remains zero, and it does all it has to do.

I believe that God Almighty assumed the humility of zero to be the Almighty God, and if you want to be like God, you have to become as humble as zero and completely do away with arrogance.

Are you going to write an album on this?

Some songs are impossible to write. What I feel is so big, I don’t think I have the energy or the power to subdue it, particularly with the power of zero. I started writing some songs from long time ago. I did a song called Man and Man. I said a man will steal from someone, and the same man will give to another. How a man discovers arms and weapons and things for destruction, the same man struggles to develop medicine to cure. So a man gives, a man takes, a man builds up, a man cuts down, and this has expressed the power of zero from the very beginning.

Negative and positive must coexist for there to be existence; otherwise, there will be no existence. I didn’t do that, the Almighty did it. If there’s no tall, there’s no short, there’s no fat, there’s no limb, there’s no white, there’s no black, there’s no hell, there’s no heaven. There’s no God, there’s no devil. Everything in this world is processed through the coexistence of positivity and negativity.

You also have a legacy, and I wonder what you want your legacy to be. What is that one thing that you want to be remembered for?

Edwards, Timberwolves overcome Warriors in Game 3 to take 2-1 series lead

By in News, World News

Anthony Edwards poured in a game-high 36 points, Julius Randle had 24 as part of a triple-double, and the Minnesota Timberwolves wrested back home-court advantage in their second-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors with a 102-97 triumph in San Francisco, California.

Game 4 in the Western Conference best-of-seven series is scheduled for Monday night in San Francisco, with the sixth-seeded Timberwolves leading 2-1.

Jimmy Butler III had a team-high 33 points on Saturday for seventh-seeded Golden State, which played without star guard Stephen Curry, out with a strained left hamstring.

The tightly contested game saw the Warriors clinging within 84-82 before two game-disqualifying fouls on defensive ace Draymond Green within 18 seconds inside the final five minutes.

The Timberwolves took control from there, getting a triple from Jaden McDaniels and a three-point play from Rudy Gobert, the latter creating a six-point cushion for the visitors with 2:05 to play.

“We’re making some shots, for sure,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We’re getting stops. We were getting stops throughout the regular season. We’re just winning the possession battle in clutch time now. We’re just not — we’re not giving the ball back on cheap turnovers. We’re not giving up as many or any second-chance opportunities.”

A 3-pointer by Edwards, his fifth of the game, all but clinched Minnesota’s second consecutive win with 1:19 to go.

Edwards’s 36 points were his second-most this postseason, topped only by a 43-point explosion in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. He hit 13 of his 28 shots on Saturday.

“The team defence was really good,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Held them to 102. That’s a pretty good number. But Randle and Edwards really both got going in the second half, and that was the key. We couldn’t quite contain them, especially in the fourth, and that was the difference.”

Randle complemented his 24 points with 10 rebounds, a game-high 12 assists and three steals for the Timberwolves, who outshot the hosts 43.9 percent to 43.2 percent in a defensive struggle.

“He’s playing with so much force and determination,” Finch said of Randle. “He’s going out there early and aggressive, and he’s exerting a tonne of energy on the defensive end with his body and his rebounding. He’s playing a complete game for us, no doubt.”

McDaniels added 15 points and Gobert had a game-high 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which went 2-1 on the road in its 4-1 first-round series win against the Lakers.

Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (#10) led Golden State with 33 points in a losing effort in Game 3 [Godofredo A Vasquez/AP Photo]

Butler’s 33 points on 12-for-26 shooting were his most since he had 35 for the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at Boston in 2023. He also found time for seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists.

“Man, Jimmy was incredible,” Kerr said. “He really controlled the game for us and put us in a position to win, and we just couldn’t close it out. But he was brilliant all night.”

Jonathan Kuminga, pressed into increased playing time as the Warriors looked to fill the void of Curry’s regular scoring, backed Butler with a postseason career-high 30 points. He had totalled just 43 in Golden State’s first nine playoff games.

“JK [Jonathan Kuminga] played one of the best games of his life,” Kerr said. “It was fantastic to see. You can see how necessary he is in this matchup, especially without Steph [Curry].”

Buddy Hield shot 4-for-8 on 3-pointers to account for a majority of his 14 points for the Warriors, while Brandin Podziemski collected a team-high eight rebounds on a night when he shot 1-for-10.

Celtics bury Knicks in Game 3

In an earlier playoff game on Saturday, Jayson Tatum finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and the Boston Celtics pulled away for a 115-93 win over the host New York Knicks in Game 3 of their second-round Eastern Conference series.

Payton Pritchard scored a team-high 23 points off the bench for Boston, which cut the Knicks’ lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Jaylen Brown added 19 points, and Derrick White had 17.

Jalen Brunson scored 27 points on 9-for-21 shooting to lead the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

After struggling to score in the first two games of the series, the Celtics found their rhythm on offence. Boston shot 48.2 percent (40 of 83) overall and 50 percent (20 of 40) from 3-point range, and New York shot 40 percent (32 of 80) from the field and 20 percent (5 of 25) from beyond the arc.

“They got some clean looks early, and they see it go in; that gives them confidence. Then it’s hard to shut them off,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “We have to have greater awareness. We can’t allow missed shots to take away from [our] defensive tenacity. We’ve got to bounce back.”

Tatum made a basket to put Boston on top 112-89 with 2:40 remaining. He assisted on a 3-pointer by Al Horford on the next possession, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla rested his starters for the remainder of the game with the score out of reach.

“This is the fun part. You don’t get into the journey for it to be easy,” said Mazzulla. “It’s been dark, but in a good way. You’ve just got to tap into your darkness, and that’s it.”

Game 4 in the best-of-seven series will be played in New York on Monday.

Jayson Tatum in action.
Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, right, shoots over New York Knicks’ Mikal Bridges, left, during Game 3 of their second-round NBA playoff series on May 10, 2025, in New York, US [Pamela Smith/AP Photo]

Danny Dyer ‘off his nut’ while filming EastEnders – leading bosses to take drastic steps

By in Entertainment News, News

Danny Dyer has confessed to downing booze and taking prescription pills before filming scenes on EastEnders during his nine-year run as Mick Carter on the hit soap

Danny Dyer made a candid confession about his time on EastEnders(Image: Brett Cove/Shutterstock)

Danny Dyer has confessed that he was “off his nut” while filming for EastEnders, forcing show bosses to take drastic action. The actor made bombshell claims about his time on the BBC soap as he slammed it for being “s*** now.”

Talking at a charity event on Friday Danny – who has suffered from drink and drug abuse in the past – opened up about how he struggled after joining the soap and found himself drunk on set and taking prescription pills. Danny starred on EastEnders for nine years from 2013 – 2022 and during that time went to rehab in 2017 to address his addiction problems.

He described how the production team took action when he was drunk on set to stop him from downing beers while he worked. He said: “When I first arrived the pints were reaI. I was slipping and sliding around having a few lagers and they found out, so they started to put TCP in the f***ing beer!”

Danny then admitted that he was also taking pills but still managed to act his scenes as loveable landlord of The Queen Vic, Mick Carter. He said: “I was off my nut for a lot of that job, I’ve got to say. I was on a lot of valium and diazepam, that is why. Still got that f***ing job done somehow.”

Danny Dyer
Ricky Norwood and Danny seen at an Evening With Danny Dyer for the Paul Stank Charitable Trust(Image: Brett Cove/Shutterstock)

Danny didn’t hold back as he was asked what he thought of the show since he left in traumatic scenes that saw Mick lost at sea saving the lives of ex Linda Carter and evil new wife Janine Butcher at Christmas in 2022. He said: “S*** now though, ain’t it,” adding, “Serves them right.”

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Talking at the Paul Strank Charitable Trust event in Wimbledon, south London – where he donated thousands of pounds of his own money – Danny opened up about the emotional rollercoaster and how he struggled with the lack of downtime from draining scenes, saying there wasn’t enough “duty of care”.

“In a film you properly cry and go to a dark place,” he said. “You have time to recover. But on soap, you ain’t. On a soap, it f**** a lot of people’s heads up. I tell you most people in soaps are off their nut. You meet them on the street and they’re f***ing lunatics, I’m telling you.

“If someone dies in your family, they won’t even let you go to a f***ing funeral because it is such a machine there wasn’t much duty of care there.”

A spokesperson for the show has rebuked Danny’s claims. In statement, they said: “We would never discuss an individual’s private matters however, we do not recognise these claims. EastEnders has extremely robust and well established procedures in place to safeguard the welfare of everyone who works on the show.”

Danny Dyer and Kellie Bright
Danny with co-star Kellie Bright as Mick and Linda Carter(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

He took the part of Mick Carter at a low point in his career after his Human Traffic and The Football Factory success had waned and with bailiffs at his door, having previously sworn he would never star in the soap.

Danny, 47, claims he didn’t get a warm welcome on Albert Square. “I will be honest, it is a very clicky place to work,” he said. “We took the pub over from Jessie Wallace and Shane Ritchie. Kat and Alfie had an 11 year run and then they want to get rid of them.

“So they brought us in and they had the hump. That was getting tricky. I was like ‘What’s the matter with these people, I’ve not made this call’. So there was a lot of people blanking us when we turned up.”

Whilst he looks back fondly on the first three years of working on the show, he said it went downhill from there. “I really cherish those first three years,” he recalled, “Then a new producer came in and sacked every f***er. It is a very ruthless job. I learned a lot. Nine years was enough for me.”

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Emily In Paris’ Lily Collins surprises castmates as she brings baby to set four months after birth

By in Entertainment News, News

Emily In Paris star Lily Collins brought her cast mates and crew to a standstill after she brought her four month old daughter to the set of the popular Netflix drama

Lily Collins brings four month old daughter to set(Image: Getty Images for BFI)

After months away from filming Emily In Paris, Lily Collins’ return to set was always going to be a welcoming affair. But Netflix star brought the entire set to a standstill as she returned to work with her four month old daughter in tow.

Cradling her in her arms, the 36 year old actress looked the picture of happiness as she was surrounded by her cast mates and crew as they cooed over her baby girl, named Tove. And it looked as though the four month old was also in her element as she playfully smiled and sat comfortable in the arms of various pals of the actress.

In one picture, one member of the crew appeared so enamoured by Lily’s daughter, she could barely contain her excitement as she looked on as Lily cradled her baby girl.

The star is back filming the latest series of Emily In Paris
The star is back filming the latest series of Emily In Paris(Image: CAROLE BETHUEL/NETFLIX)

The actress was seen dressed in a blue and white floral trouser suit for her role as Emily Cooper for the new series of the show, in photos shared by the Daily Mail.

Waiting in the wings to step in for parent duties in case Lily was to be whisked off to shoot a scene, was her husband and father to her daughter, Charlie McDowell.

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Standing aside, Charlie placed a muslin cloth over his shoulder in case he needed to take over and comfort his daughter.

The new series of the show is being filmed in Rome instead of Paris as Lily’s character is now creating a new life for herself in the historical city with her on-screen boyfriend Marcello, played by Eugenio Franceschini.

(Image: Getty Images for Netflix)

Back in January, Lily and Charlie welcomed their daughter via surrogate.

Sharing her happy news with her 29 million followers, Lily posted: “Welcome to the center [sic] of our world Tove Jane McDowell. Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again…”

Unfortunately, both Lily and Charlie were criticised by a few people on social media for using the aid of a surrogate to fulfil their dreams of becoming parents, as they claimed they had bought the privilege.

Lily and Charlie became parents in January
Lily and Charlie became parents in January(Image: Getty Images)

While others likened surrogacy to “human trafficking.” This forced Charlie to publicly address the comments and labelled the comments as “unkind.”

He wrote: “It’s OK to not know why someone might need a surrogate to have a child. It’s OK to not know the motivations of a surrogate regardless of what you assume.”

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A month after the birth, Lily took to Instagram once again to share with fans how Valentines Day took on a new meaning for her now that she was a mother.

On February 14, she wrote: “I truly can’t imagine feeling more love. Valentine’s Day (and every day) just got a whole lot sweeter.”

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