Archive July 1, 2025

‘Education Is Your Greatest Weapon,’ Tinubu Tells Saint Lucian Students

By in News, Nigeria News

President Bola Tinubu has described education as the “most powerful weapon” to fight poverty, urging students of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Saint Lucia to be bold, disciplined, and consistent in their pursuit of knowledge.

Speaking during a visit to the college on Tuesday, President Tinubu told the gathering of students and faculty that the youth have a critical role to play in shaping a united Afro-Caribbean future.

“Nothing like education can fight poverty. If anybody tells you that education is not crucial, ask the person to try ignorance,” he said.

He also cautioned against an over-reliance on artificial intelligence, encouraging students to embrace analytical thinking and perseverance.

Meanwhile, earlier on Monday, President Tinubu announced a new scholarship scheme for students from OECS member states to study in Nigerian universities from the next academic year and proposed visa waivers for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

Later that day, Saint Lucia honoured him with the title of Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia (K. C. S. L. ) for his efforts in strengthening ties between Africa and the Caribbean.

Read the full statement below:

STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT TINUBU TO SAINT LUCIAN STUDENTS: EDUCATION IS YOUR GREATEST TOOL; BE BOLD, DISCIPLINED, AND COMMITTED

President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to deepening collaboration with Saint Lucia in education, culture, and technology.

The President visited the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Morne Fortune, Castries, on Tuesday, the fourth day of his State Visit to Saint Lucia.

He engaged with faculty, staff, and students of the institution named after Sir Arthur Lewis, the 1979 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences.

Addressing the gathering, President Tinubu described the student community as vital to building a stronger Afro-Caribbean future.

He announced a cultural exchange opportunity for the college’s performing arts group following a stage performance of The Drum Maker, based on the work of Saint Lucian playwright Kendel Hippolyte.

“I offer a trip—at their convenience—for the performing arts group to come and mix with the talents that we have in Nigeria,” President Tinubu said, clarifying that the invitation is independent of the tuition-free scholarship programme for students from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Acknowledging education as the most effective weapon against poverty, the President encouraged students to be bold, consistent, and disciplined in their pursuit of knowledge.

“Nothing like education can fight poverty. If anybody tells you that education is not crucial, ask the person to try ignorance,” he said.

He stressed the importance of time management, perseverance, and critical thinking: “What you get out of this college is your own that you can use to achieve anything in life. Just be determined, consistent, and bold. Be intellectually inquisitive. ”

President Tinubu urged students not to abandon analytical thinking because of the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI).

“Don’t depend on AI technology to find you the solution. Go through like a recipe in the kitchen, one after the other. Then you solve the problem. Once you solve the problem, you see satisfaction in yourself and pride in achievement. ”

Highlighting the deep historical and cultural links between Africa and the Caribbean, the President reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to Afrocentric policies and South-South cooperation.

“I believe Nigeria will collaborate with Saint Lucia to make a difference in the lives of our Black race. In our national anthem, we pledge to hand over a banner without stain to the generation that comes after us. We will give you that banner if you work hard, honestly, and consistently. ”

Edward Shadrack, Saint Lucia’s Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, described the President’s visit as a powerful testament to the enduring ties between Africa and the Caribbean.

“Your presence here today is a powerful testament to the enduring bonds between Africa and the Caribbean—ties deeply rooted in shared history, culture, and aspirations,” the Minister said.

“Today’s gathering symbolises more than a diplomatic visit. It reflects our shared belief in the power of education to bridge continents, build partnerships, and shape a more connected and empowered world,” Shadrack added.

Mr. Cletus Springer, Chairman of the college’s board of governors, called for a robust partnership between the College and Nigerian universities and polytechnics in student and faculty exchange, joint research, digital innovation, and strengthening technical and vocational education.

On behalf of the Board and college community, Mr. Springer thanked President Tinubu for announcing scholarships for OECS students to study in Nigeria.

“We are excited about our students learning alongside their Nigerian peers. This is the surest way for our respective peoples to build networks that cross oceans but remain rooted in our shared African-Caribbean identity,” he said.

He also applauded the President’s decision to engage directly with the academic community.

“Your presence here today is deeply inspiring. We are touched that, among the many options you had for your official visit, you prioritised spending time with us—especially with our students, 25 of whom are here today and the countless others watching online. ”

Reflecting on the legacy of Sir Arthur Lewis and Sir Darnley Alexander, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, both of whom were of Saint Lucian descent, Springer highlighted the intellectual and historical connections that bind Saint Lucia and Nigeria.

“Their lives inspire today’s leaders and institutions—such as our own Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and Nigerian universities—to reignite intellectual, educational, and cultural collaboration in pursuit of shared development goals. ”

Speaking on behalf of the student body, Naeem Philbert, President of the Students’ Council at SALCC, described President Tinubu’s visit as a moment of reconnection between Africa and its diaspora.

“Today is not just about diplomatic formality—it is a quiet yet powerful affirmation that we have not forgotten one another,” Philbert said.

“Though our stories have been written on different ocean sides, they remain deeply connected. For many of us in Saint Lucia, Nigeria is not a foreign country. It is family. Its music, literature, and legacy live with us. ”

Philbert also expressed heartfelt appreciation for the scholarship initiative.

“Your Excellency, your generosity in offering these opportunities speaks volumes. We look forward to building lasting bridges—student to student, story to story. This visit brings with it not only the weight of legacy but the promise of possibility for youth like us,” he said.

The Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa; Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal; Director-General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, Hon. Yusuf Yakub; and the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, accompanied the President on the visit to the school.

Before departing the college, President Tinubu paid his respects at Sir Arthur Lewis’s gravesite in the school compound.

Jury Reaches Partial Verdict In Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial

By in Entertainment News, News

A jury reached a partial verdict Tuesday in the sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, but has been unable to agree on the most serious charge facing the music mogul — racketeering.

A note from the jury to Judge Arun Subramanian did not say whether the verdict on four of the five counts against the 55-year-old Combs was guilty or not guilty.

“We have reached a verdict on counts 2, 3, 4, and 5. We are unable to reach a verdict on count 1 as we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides,” the jury note said.

The judge instructed the jury to continue deliberations on the racketeering charge, but dismissed them for the day and asked them to return on Wednesday.

Count One is the racketeering charge and accuses Combs of being the ringleader of a criminal organization that forced women into coercive sex marathons with escorts.

(FILES) Singer and model Cassie Ventura (L) and Rap mogul P Diddy (aka Sean Combs) arrive for the traditional Clive Davis party on the eve of the 60th Annual Grammy Awards on January 28, 2018, in New York.   (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP)

It carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

In addition to racketeering, Combs faces two charges of sex trafficking and two charges of transportation for purposes of prostitution.

Combs’s star fell dramatically when his former partner of 11 years, the singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of disturbing sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

That case was settled out of court for $20 million, but it triggered an avalanche of similarly harrowing civil lawsuits and eventually criminal charges.

The seven-week trial included at times disturbing testimony — two women spoke of feeling forced into lurid sex parties, and some former employees told jurors of violent outbursts — along with thousands of pages of phone, financial and audiovisual records.

Central to the prosecution’s case is its accusation that Combs led a criminal enterprise of senior employees who “existed to serve his needs” and enforced his power with offenses including forced labor, drug distribution, kidnapping, bribery, witness tampering and arson.

But defense attorney Marc Agnifilo underscored that none of those individuals testified against Combs, nor were they named as co-conspirators.

Many witnesses were given immunity to avoid incriminating themselves.

To convict Combs on racketeering, jurors must find that prosecutors showed beyond reasonable doubt that he agreed with people within his organization to commit at least two of the eight crimes forming the racketeering charge.

The eight men and four women must reach a unanimous decision on each count.

READ ALSO: [‘Unlimited Power’] Testimony Against Sean Combs Tells Of Lurid Violence

‘Not a god’

(FILES) US producer-musician Sean “Diddy” Combs. (Photo by MARK RALSTON / AFP)

Combs is charged with sex trafficking two women: Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane.

Both were in long-term relationships with Combs. And both testified of abuse, threats and coercive sex in wrenching detail.

But while his lawyers have conceded that Combs at times beat his partners, they insisted the domestic violence does not amount to sex trafficking or racketeering.

Agnifilo scoffed at the picture painted by prosecutors of a violent, domineering man who fostered “a climate of fear. ”

Combs is a “self-made, successful Black entrepreneur” who had romantic relationships that were “complicated” but consensual, Agnifilo said.

The defense dissected the accounts of Ventura and Jane and at times even mocked them, insisting the women were adults making free choices.

But in their final argument, prosecutors tore into the defense, saying Combs’s team had “contorted the facts endlessly. ”

Prosecutor Maurene Comey told jurors that by the time Combs had committed his clearest-cut offenses, “he was so far past the line he couldn’t even see it. ”

“In his mind he was untouchable,” Comey told the court. “The defendant never thought that the women he abused would have the courage to speak out loud what he had done to them. ”

“That ends in this courtroom,” she said. “The defendant is not a god. ”

What happens next in Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs trial after jury reach verdict on four counts

By in Entertainment News, News

The case of Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs nears its end, but jurors in the Lower Manhattan courtroom are yet to come to a decision on all five counts against the musician

The jury on the P Diddy case are undecided one one count(Image: BANG Showbiz)

The Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs verdict is set to be delivered in the coming days. The jury was expected to announce its decision on Tuesday after a second day of deliberation.

However, they have since gone home for the day after deciding on four of the five charges made against the rapper, 55. They had reached a decision regarding counts two, three, four, and five, but had remained unable to decide on count one.

At the end of Tuesday, Judge Arun Subramania instructed the jury to continue deliberating, saying: “I received your note that you have reached verdicts on counts two to five but not on count one. I ask at this time that you keep deliberating. “

Diddy
Jurors are undecided on one case against Combs(Image: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

The judge had indicated that he would instruct the jury to continue weighing the charge. This echoed the sentiments of prosecutors and Combs’ defence team who had claimed that just two days into deliberations was too soon to call time on trying to reach a verdict on all counts.

Combs has denied all charges made against him. He faces life in prison if found guilty. Now, as the six-week trial rolls over another day, we look at exactly what each count is.

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  • Count 1 – Racketeering conspiracy
  • Count 2 – Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion – pertains to Victim 1 (Cassie Ventura)
  • Count 3 – Transportation to engage in prostitution relating to Victim 1 (Cassie) and commercial sex workers
  • Count 4 – Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion(relating to Jane Doe – Victim 2)
  • Count 5 – Transportation to engage in prostitution, relating to Victim 2 (Jane Doe) and commercial sex workers
(Image: AP)

The jury has remained unable to decide on the biggest sentence. Count one carries the biggest sentence of the five counts, with the rapper potentially facing life in prison if found guilty on the count.

A note said the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge because there were jurors with “unpersuadable views” on both sides. However, the judge remained undeterred as they were prepared to wait for a full verdict.

He said that while the jury has a right to deliver a partial verdict that is more of a last resort. And, due to the amount of time passed so far, he would rather give them more time and wait to have a full verdict.

Counts two and four both carry minimum sentences of 15 years. The maximum sentence on the counts is life. Counts three and five carry a maximum sentence of ten years.

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The jurors will return to the court in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, July 2, at 9am New York time, which is 2pm in the UK.

Mbappe returns as Real Madrid beat Juventus at Club World Cup

By in News, World News

Gonzalo Garcia’s 54th-minute header was enough to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Juventus at Hard Rock Stadium and book their place in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Spanish giants will face the winner of Tuesday’s other game between Borussia Dortmund and Mexico’s Monterrey in the last eight.

It was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side, and adding to a positive day, Kylian Mbappe made his return from illness, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for his first appearance of the tournament.

The first half was a finely-balanced contest with Igor Tudor’s Juventus starting brightly before Real ended it on top.

There was an early chance for Juve’s Randal Kolo Muani after clever work from Kenan Yildiz to put him through on goal, but the French forward opted for an attempted chip of Thibaut Courtois, and his shot floated over the bar.

The impressive Yildiz then burst through the middle and unleashed a fierce effort which deflected off Aurelien Tchouameni and flew wide.

Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Garcia scores their first goal [Marco Bello/Reuters]

The Turin team, beaten 5-2 by Manchester City in their final group game, were moving the ball around with confidence, but Real grew into the contest, and they went close when Jude Bellingham forced a save out of Michele Di Gregorio from close range.

Federico Valverde then tested the Juve goalkeeper from long range, and Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped a low ball across the face of the goal as Madrid finished the half strongly.

The interval did nothing to alter the momentum of the game, with Real creating several chances: Bellingham laid off to Valverde, whose sweetly-struck shot was just wide, and then Bellingham himself brought another good save out of Di Gregorio with a shot from the edge of the box.

Dean Huijsen’s rocketing drive was parried out by the busy goalkeeper as Real laid siege to the Juventus goal, and it was no surprise when the breakthrough finally arrived.

Alexander-Arnold floated in a cross from the right, which Gonzalo met with a perfectly-timed header for his third goal in four games in the tournament.

Juve responded with Portuguese winger Francisco Conceicao bringing Courtois into action from a low shot that the Belgian shot-stopper did well to get down to.

But Real wanted to finish the contest off, and Valverde tested Di Gregorio’s reactions with an overhead kick before Alonso decided to introduce Mbappe to the delight of the 62,149 crowd.

Juve’s belief remained, however, and Nicolas Gonzalez flashed a 25-yard drive just wide.

Gauff crashes out of Wimbledon, setting unwelcome record

By in News, World News

Coco Gauff has become just the third woman in the Open era to lose in the first round at Wimbledon right after winning the championship at the French Open, eliminated 7-6 (3), 6-1 by the unseeded Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.

The No. 2-ranked Gauff made mistake after mistake at No. 1 Court, finishing with just six winners and a total of 29 unforced errors, which included nine double-faults. She joined another highly-seeded American, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, in bowing out on Day 2 of the tournament on Tuesday.

“I was really on fire,” said Yastremska, who accumulated 16 winners. “Playing against Coco, it is something special. ”

It was just a little more than three weeks ago that Gauff was celebrating her second Grand Slam title by getting past No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final on the red clay of Roland-Garros. The 21-year-old American also took home the trophy from the 2023 US Open.

But even though Gauff’s big breakthrough came at the All England Club at age 15 in 2019, when she beat Venus Williams in her opening match and made it all the way to the fourth round, the grass-court tournament has proved to be her least successful major.

It is the only Grand Slam where Gauff has at least made the semifinals.

Indeed, she has yet to get past the fourth round and has now been sent home in the first round twice in the past three years.

Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in action against Coco Gauff of the United States [Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images]

The transition from clay to grass has proven tough for most players, and the last woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season was Serena Williams a decade ago.

Still, since the Open era began in 1968, only Justine Henin in 2005 and Francesca Schiavone in 2010 went from holding the trophy in Paris to exiting immediately in London.

Gauff was never quite at her best on Tuesday against Yastremska, who had lost all three of their previous matchups and is currently ranked 42nd. Yastremska’s best Grand Slam result was making it all the way to the semifinals on the Australian Open’s hard courts last year, although she entered this event with a record of only 10-11 in first-round matches at majors.

Gauff, by contrast, was 20-3 at that stage, including a loss to Sofia Kenin at Wimbledon in 2023.

Yastremska’s deepest run at Wimbledon was making the fourth round in 2019, although she did get to the final of the junior event in 2016.

She recently reached her first tournament final on grass at a smaller event in Nottingham, which she said gave her confidence heading to the All England Club.