One person has died with six others injured in an early Sunday auto crash in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq, said the accident occurred around Majidun, inward Ogolonto, directly opposite MRS Filling Station.
Taofiq said, “The brutal impact resulted in the instantaneous death of an adult female passenger, while five female occupants and one male sustained severe and life-threatening injuries.
“While all five injured casualties were rushed to nearby Benic Special Hospital, the remains of the deceased were immediately transferred into the custody of security personnel who conveyed them to the General Hospital, Ikorodu, for urgent formal documentation.”
READ ALSO: [PHOTOS] Two-Storey Building Collapses In Lagos
He said the accident involved a Volkswagen commercial bus bearing registration number EPE 494 XM and a stationary tipper truck.
“Preliminary inquiries have established that the ill-fated commercial bus, chartered to convey passengers to a scheduled programme in Ogijo, experienced an abrupt brake failure,” Taofiq said in a statement.
“The driver, who was reportedly travelling at a perilously excessive speed, consequently lost control and forcefully collided with a tipper truck positioned at the roadside for diesel purchase.”
Although the truck driver had attempted to abscond following the accident, LASTMA operatives apprehended him as well as the commercial bus driver.
“Both individuals were thereafter handed over to officers of the Ipakodo Police Division for comprehensive investigation,” he said.
“To re-establish order and ensure seamless vehicular movement toward Ikorodu Garage, LASTMA personnel efficiently removed the mangled remains of both vehicles from the roadway.”
In the wake of the accident, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, conveyed profound grief over the harrowing incident and extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
The singer, 67, became distressed in the middle of a concert and had to be comforted by his wife after receiving the ‘worst news ever’ earlier that day
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Music legend Gary Numan breaks down on stage after ‘worst news ever’(Image: Getty Images)
Gary Numan worried fans attending a concert at the O2 Academy in Birmingham after he broke down on stage. The singer had to be comforted by his wife as he struggled after receiving what he said was the “worst news ever” earlier in the day.
The 67-year-old was midway through his song Please Push No More, which was in the middle of his set on Saturday (15 November), when he became distressed. His wife, Gemma, had to rush out on stage to comfort him, as Gary explained he’s received the “worst news ever” that morning.
He explained that he would share what the news was in a few days, when he had properly processed it. Gary is currently in the early days of his Telekon tour, which celebrates the 45th anniversary of his album of the same name, which reached the UK number one spot in 1980.
READ MORE: ‘Nostalgia is the kiss of death,’ says Gary Numan before Telekon 45th Anniversary TourREAD MORE: Gary Numan’s wife hospitalised ahead of major surgery – ‘I’m a broken nightmare’
Fans were incredibly concerned and expressed their worry on social media. One user wrote on X: “Rough to see him so upset during PPNM – not looking forward to hearing the reason in the coming days. Can’t be good. Absolute pro to battle on.”
Another added: “Gary Numan breaks down at O2 in Birmingham?? Hope he’s ok! He’s heard something today but said it’ll all come out in a few days.” Another said: “Hearing today that Gary was struggling in his Birmingham show, sending love.”
On Facebook, one fan wrote: “Hats off to Gary!! Imagine having bad news and still coming on stage to perform to all his fans. Takes great courage!” Another shared: “Fantastic show, very emotional. Hope it isn’t anything to do with his health or his family.”
One fan posted an image from the gig and wrote: “A very emotional Gary tonight in Birmingham. He broke down during Please Push No More. Apparently, he’s had some bad news today, which he’ll make public in a few days’ time. Gemma came on stage and hugged him. I really hope it’s not something to do with Gemma’s health. But he still did a tremendous show. And the audience loved him a little bit more for it.”
Gary has been married to Gemma for 30 years. The couple met in 1997, when she was a member of his fan club. They have three daughters together.
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One of his daughters contributed vocals to his 2017 song My Name Is Ruin, when she was only 11. Currently, the family live in Santa Monica, California, where they’ve been based since 2012.
Gary’s tour is set to continue with another concert in Bristol on Sunday (16 November), and there has been no indication that this performance will not go ahead. He has not addressed the events of the Birmingham performance on any of his social media profiles.
Luke Littler will become world number one for the first time after booking his place in the Grand Slam of Darts final in Wolverhampton.
The world champion’s 16-9 victory over the Netherlands’ Danny Noppert means he will overtake rival Luke Humphries to top the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world rankings regardless of the result of Sunday evening’s final.
Littler’s earnings over the two-year period that determine the Order of Merit total £1,770,500 after making the final, a figure that will rise to £1,850,000 if he wins.
With Humphries defending the money he won from triumphing in this tournament in 2023, even if he lifts the trophy again, he will have earned £1,769,000 – just short of fellow Englishman Littler.
“It is has not even been two years that I’ve been on the tour and I’m already world number one,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“That is job done – I am world number one – but there is a bigger match tonight.
“I am the best in the world. No matter what, I’ve said it throughout the year that Luke Humphries is the best in the world.
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At just 18, Littler will become the youngest PDC world number one, surpassing Michael van Gerwen who achieved the feat aged 24 in 2014.
The rankings are determined by the amount of prize money a player has won from ranking tournaments over a two-year period.
“Being world number one is some achievement for Luke Littler regardless of the result tonight and doing it in less than two years is something remarkable,” former BDO world champion Mark Webster told Sky Sports.
“He knows how to get it done. He doesn’t have bad spells – he does lose in some tournaments and it will continue to happen – but he’s just a brilliant talent.”
Littler had to overcome a sluggish start of his own and a blistering one from Noppert in his semi-final and found himself 8-6 down.
However, he rallied in impressive style, winning 10 of the next 11 legs and ending with an average of 102.62 to complete his rise to the summit of world darts.
Humphries had clung on to the number one spot for a little longer with a magnificent display to beat Gerwyn Price 16-13 in an enthralling first semi-final.
Rewind two years and very few people outside of the darting world knew of Luke Littler.
But at midnight on Sunday he will officially become the world number one, 11 months after being crowned world champion.
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‘A memory that will live with me forever’ – debut run to World Championship final as ’16-year-old boy’
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Littler became known to a wider – and non-darts – audience during the 2024 World Darts Championship in December 2023 and January 2024.
He beat former world champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross on his way to becoming the youngest world finalist at 16 years and 347 days. He lost the final 7-4 to world number one Luke Humphries.
“My first ever World Championships, as a 16-year-old boy. The tournament as a whole was really good – making it to the final aged 16 was an incredible achievement. It’s one of the memories that will live with me forever.
“I was looking into the crowd, I was ready to get onto the biggest stage of them all with millions watching.
“I didn’t have many expectations, just try to win that first game on my debut and then see what see what goes on from there… and it was pretty good.
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“Luke Humphries was crowned world champion. We had a cracking final – I did miss double two to go 5-2 up which would have been a massive advantage.
“I don’t remember too much but I do remember after we finished I said to him, ‘go over to your family, go and celebrate’.
“That year I was very happy to make the World Championships and win my first game. To get to the final was a massive boost, it got me up the rankings and I was invited to the Premier League.
‘There were doubts, but I came out on top’ – winning the 2024 Premier League
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Littler didn’t have to wait long to win his first major PDC title though, with victory in the Premier League in May 2024. The Premier League sees the top-four ranked players in the world, plus four invitational players and, after his success at the Worlds, Littler earned a spot.
He won four of the 16 regular league nights and then beat Humphries 11–7 in the final of the play-offs at London’s O2 Arena to become the youngest player to win a major PDC tournament.
He even hit a nine-darter – the minimum number of darts needed to complete a leg – in the final.
“This is a very good picture! Hitting double 20 to win the Premier League.
“It was a very long 16-week format, it’s been the same again this year, but to win it on debut – 17 at the time – and to beat Luke was a bit of payback from the World Championships.
“My first major title was a good one.
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“It was a massive moment with my mum and dad afterwards. There were obviously doubts about whether I was ready to play in the Premier League but I came out on top. To share it with my mum and dad was even better.
‘The link-up everyone wanted to see’ – meeting Norris, Fergie and Pitbull
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Littler’s popularity and stardom extends far wider than a darts audience. He was invited into Tottenham midfielder James Maddison’s box during his first World Championship campaign and did a Hot Lap around Silverstone with Lando Norris before the British Grand Prix in 2024.
He is an avid Manchester United fan and has visited their training ground to play darts against the players, while he has attended matches as a guest, meeting Sir Alex Ferguson and Bruno Fernandes, and he paraded his World Championship trophy earlier this year.
“Another good one. Lando Norris helping me put my helmet on before the Hot Lap at Silverstone, where he drove me around in a very fast McLaren!
“I never thought I would be in a car with one of the best F1 drivers there is at the minute but he took me round in the car, I played some darts with him as well – just a really good experience.
“Then at the Spurs game last season, on my way to the car I saw Bruno [Fernandes] and I had to get a selfie with him.
“He’s one of my favourite players. He’s not missed a game through injury yet, provides goals and assists and he’s definitely helped us the past few seasons. This year he’s helped us avoid relegation!
“Meeting the United squad last year and Carrington, meeting Sir Alex Ferguson – they’re crazy experiences and I thank Man Utd for the opportunity.
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After his World Championship success, Super League’s Warrington Wolves – his hometown club – renamed their ground for a game, while he has also met singer Pitbull in Dublin, with the teenager using his song Greenlight as his walk-out song throughout his career.
“The Luke Littler Stadium. This is another one that is near the top – having Warrington Wolves’ stadium named after me. A good night overall and I’m glad we got the win that night!
“It was a massive honour. It was good to go and see us win.
“And then, I think, this is the link-up that everyone wanted to see! But for myself, as a Pitbull fan and walking out to one of his songs that he did at WrestleMania 33, when I was there as a fan. It was good to see him and it was a great show in Dublin.
‘It meant everything’ – becoming the youngest winner of the PDC World Darts Championship
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Littler became world champion on 3 January 2025 with a 7-3 victory over Dutchman and three-time winner Michael van Gerwen. It made Littler the youngest world darts champion, aged 17 years and 347 days. He beat Van Gerwen’s record, from 2014 when he was 24.
It saw Littler move past £1,000,000 in prize money and took him up to a career high world ranking of second, behind Humphries.
“Look at him crying there! Yeah, obviously one of the biggest achievements of my career so far. Winning the Sid Waddell Trophy and becoming world champion by beating Michael van Gerwen.
“You could see there that I still couldn’t believe it.
“I was coming into the tournament ranked two or three in the world but even the first game against Ryan Meikle was hard enough.
“To pick up the trophy and beat a very good Michael van Gerwen in the final… it meant everything.
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‘Cry more’ – interacting with the crowd and making history on way to Premier League play-offs
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Littler’s defence of his Premier League crown went pretty smoothly in the 16-week league phase.
He broke the record for nightly wins, which was four, by winning six events. He also finished on 45 points, five more than the previous record.
He beat Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals but in a repeat of the 2024 final, Humphries had his revenge with a 11-8 win at O2 Arena.
“This was in Leeds in the Premier League this year and Nathan Aspinall missed seven or eight darts to go 5-3 up, I hit my double to make it 4-4 and it was basically me saying to the crowd ‘cry more’!
“It’s just for myself. Being a sportsman, doing stuff like this and just being myself, letting my emotions out – especially the Leeds crowd.
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‘This is my time’ – Grand Prix win closes the gap on Humphries
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Having become just the fifth player to complete darts’ triple crown with victory at the World Matchplay, Littler moved ever closer to the world number one spot by claiming the World Grand Prix title.
Once again, he found himself up against Humphries in the final but after so many close contests, this one was a demolition job with Littler triumphing 6-1 in Leicester.
Success at the ‘double-in and double-out’ tournament put him within touching distance of the world number one spot.
“This is my time and I’ve just got to keep going. Obviously, until I get that world number one spot, I will never call myself the best in the world.
“Whoever’s number one, they’re the best. But knowing I’m only £70,000 in prize money behind Luke, and then he’s got to defend all of his prize money from the Grand Prix, the Players Championships and the World Championship.
‘I am the best in the world’ – Grand Slam run to reach the summit
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After a whirlwind first couple of years on the tour, the last thing for Littler to accomplish was the world-number-one ranking.
Humphries had topped the PDC Order of Merit since winning the 2024 World Championships but Littler had been gradually chipping away at his rival’s lead and eventually completed his ascension at the Grand Slam of Darts.
He won 10 of the last 11 legs to beat Danny Noppert in the semi-finals and secure top spot in the rankings, even before the final against Humphries.
“It is has not even been two years that I’ve been on the tour and I’m already world number one. That is job done – I am world number one – but there is a bigger match tonight,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“I am the best in the world. No matter what, I’ve said it throughout the year that Luke Humphries is the best in the world. No matter if you go out in the first, second or third round you are the best in the world.
Great Britain’s Henry Patten completed a life-changing visit to Turin by becoming an ATP Finals champion for the first time – a week after the nerve-jangling moment of proposing to his girlfriend in the city.
Patten, from Essex, said the lucrative season-ending tournament had “taken quite a big back seat” to his engagement plans.
But he got the answer he hoped for from long-time partner Ellie as they looked out over the city from a hilltop basilica last Sunday.
The unforgettable trip then became all the more special as he and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara triumphed together seven days later, winning 7-5 6-3 against Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski in the doubles final to earn a shared prize of about £660,000.
The success comes at the end of a year that began with Patten and Heliovaara adding an Australian Open title to their 2024 Wimbledon victory.
Patten, 29, praised his beaten compatriots and thanked his support team in a post-match speech, before adding: “I have to give a special mention to my new fiancee, Ellie. I thought Turin was a pretty romantic place and luckily she said ‘yes’. Thank you for the support and I can’t wait to enjoy our time together.”
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If this proves to be Salisbury and Skupski’s last match together, as is expected, then their year-long partnership ended in a familiar feeling of disappointment in a major final, having also been beaten in the French Open and US Open title matches.
Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers took them down in both Grand Slam finals, and in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
“We’ve had some great times, we’ve had some tough times,” Salisbury said after their latest defeat on a big stage.
This time the British pair faced a team they had beaten in the round-robin stage, but they were wary that Patten and 36-year-old Heliovaara were off their game on that occasion and expected a greater test in the final.
That is how it played out.
After the first 11 games went with serve, big-hitting from Patten and a Salisbury double fault put Heliovaara and Patten on the brink of the opening set, which was secured when Skupski’s volley on the stretch found the net.
The decisive break in the second set came in game six when Skupski’s serve gave way, a fizzing forehand from Heliovaara on break point too hot to put back in play.
Salisbury has twice been a champion at this event alongside American Rajeev Ram, but this was not to be his and Skupski’s day.
Patten began the week by saying his engagement was “so much more important” than the outcome on court, but he got to experience the best of both worlds.
On Thursday morning, a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians from war-torn Gaza – many without the required travel documents – landed at an airport near Johannesburg, leaving South African officials “blindsided”.
After nearly 12 hours of scrambling, the group was allowed to disembark into the care of a local charity organisation.
More details have emerged about the scheme run by “Al-Majd Europe”, through which activists argue Israel is advancing its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.
The Palestinian passengers were charged a hefty sum of money by the organisation, which says on its website that it coordinates “evacuations from conflict zones”.
Here is everything we know about the group’s transit so far and who’s behind Al-Majd Europe.
What happened in South Africa?
The plane full of people sat on a runway for nearly 12 hours while South African authorities tried to figure out why they did not have exit stamps or slips from when they left Gaza, according to officials from South Africa’s border agency.
They were also not sure when asked by immigration where they would stay or how long they planned to be in South Africa.
The government allowed them to leave the plane after charity organisation Gift of the Givers offered to accommodate them.
Officials said 23 Palestinians flew to other countries, without adding any more details.
“These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday.
He added that “it does seem like they were being flushed out” of Gaza. South Africa’s intelligence services are investigating the incident.
What is the company that flew them to South Africa?
Behind the flight is Al-Majd Europe, which is accused of acting in coordination with Israeli authorities.
Loay Abu Saif, who fled Gaza with his wife and children to Johannesburg, told Al Jazeera on Friday that he had heard about it through a social media advertisement.
The Al-Majd Europe website says it was founded in 2010 in Germany, and the homepage has a pop-up warning about individuals pretending to be its agents, sharing phone numbers of “legitimate representatives”.
But the site itself has no address or phone number, providing just a location in Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem. However, Al Jazeera was not able to find an office there.
The website domain, almajdeurope.org, was only registered in February this year, while several links on the site lead nowhere. The email listed, info@almajdeurope.org, bounces back an automated message saying it does not exist.
Namecheap, which registered the domain, has been cited in several cybersecurity reports on online fraud because of its low-cost, easy sign-up process.
Al Jazeera learned that many people were told to pay via bank transfers to personal, not organisational, accounts.
Does Al-Majd Europe do what it says it does?
Among the links that work is a page with four “Impact Stories”.
One post about “Mona”, a 29-year-old from Aleppo, Syria, is dated March 22, 2023, even though the website was only registered 10 months later.
The narrative, written in “Mona’s” voice, expresses gratitude to Al-Majd for moving her and her mother “to a safe place” when they felt threatened in Lebanon, where they fled to in 2013.
The photo, however, shows Abeer Khayat, who was 33 when photographed by journalist Madeline Edwards in December 2024 in Tripoli, Lebanon, for Middle East Eye.
The online form reads: “For Gaza residents currently inside the Gaza Strip only!
“Do you aspire to travel and start a new life? We are here to help you!”
Left: Al-Majd’s story about ‘Mona’, who it claimed to have removed from Tripoli, Lebanon, in 2023; Right: The photo is of Abeer Khayat, photographed in Tripoli for the Middle East Eye in 2024
How did people end up on that flight?
The Palestinian families, with a pregnant woman among them, boarded the plane not knowing their final destination, having paid Al-Majd $1,400 to $2,000 each – the price for children the same as adults.
Saif, who was on the plane, said he hadn’t known when they would leave Gaza until a day before, when he was told passengers could only take a small bag, a mobile phone, and some cash.
They were taken by bus from southern Gaza’s Rafah to the Karem Abu Salem crossing (known as Kerem Shalom in Israel), where they were checked, then transferred to Israel’s Ramon Airport, without Israeli authorities stamping their travel documents.
Another person interviewed by Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity said: “The … applicant must [have a young] family. [Then] the names are sent for security screening. Once that’s completed, and if the family is approved, they’re asked to pay,” he said.
“There had been prior coordination with the Israeli army for the buses to enter Rafah,” he said. “The process was only routine.”
The group left from Ramon in a Romanian aircraft and transited through Nairobi, Kenya, before landing in Johannesburg.
Have there been similar flights before?
A man who was on board the plane told Al Jazeera there had been a similar flight to Indonesia in June.
Al-Majd’s website also claims to have facilitated a trip for “a group of doctors working in hospitals in the Gaza Strip” who it flew to Indonesia “for further studies and advanced medical training”. However, this post is dated April 28, 2024.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the authenticity of this post and a photograph of the group in it.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman, who alleged that Al-Majd was one of “Israel’s front organisations”, told AP that this was the second plane to arrive in South Africa.
Another plane arrived with more than 170 Palestinians on board on October 28, but that flight was not announced by authorities.
What did Palestine say?
The Palestinian Embassy in South Africa said in a statement that the flight was arranged by “an unregistered and misleading organization that exploited the tragic humanitarian conditions of our people in Gaza, deceived families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner”.
