President Bola Tinubu is upset about the state of the opposition parties in Nigeria, according to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
He made the remarks on Wednesday during the commissioning of the recently constructed Arterial Road N20 interchange bridge.
The President is interested in seeing a vibrant opposition, Akpabio said. When he observes the disorganized opposition, it depresses him.
According to him, members of both the PDP and Labour Party are experiencing internal crises because they “cannot manage small parties yet want to run the country.”
Senator Neda Imasuen’s confirmation that she had earlier left the Labour Party for the APC was also confirmed by him.
Tommy Bradley and Megan Forte Clarke appeared to be the season’s power couple on Love Island, but things can quickly change in the Mallorcan villa.
Megan and Tommy are coupled up on Love Island(Image: ITV/Love Island)
Love Island star Tommy Bradley was left in tears as the cracks appeared in his link-up with Megan Forte Clarke. The Hertfordshire-born contestant and his Irish counterpart had appeared to be this year’s power couple with their romance blossoming.
However, as ever in the Love Island villa, things can drastically change in no time. And as Megan appears to be shifting her focus towards fellow Irishman Conor Phillips, it left fans wondering what next for Tommy.
Fans have praised Tommy for his actions to date despite being one of the youngest contestants in series 12. Tommy, who was only 22 years old, was obedient to his match.
Megan and Tommy have been coupled up since the first episode(Image: ITV/Love Island)
After telling producers he wanted a girl who was “very ambitious, with a big personality, caring, but also someone who doesn’t take themselves too seriously,” he and Megan, 24, have been dating since the very beginning of the series.
He once said, “I don’t know if that’s asking for too much, but I want a little bit of everything.” However, I don’t have a particular type of appearance.
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And while others try to woo Megan away from him, the 22-year-old has frequently mentioned his need for respect. Conor and Conor exchanged several kisses on the terrace, but it seems like Conor may be about to take her.
And the actions have seemingly left fans accusing her of playing games. Megan was seen discussing a potential romance with Conor in an episode earlier in the week before sharing the sneaky smooch on Tuesday’s edition. She told him in one scene: “I think one thing that always like attracted me to you from the start was like you were very vocal about what you wanted.”
After Megan and Tommy’s fallout, the two continued to kiss. While Tommy handled the situation by complaining to Harry and Ben and saying he wanted to “sit in a quiet corner,” it appeared Megan’s anger pushed her into Conor’s arms.
Before the pair leant in for a kiss, she informed Conor that she was ready to “raging with Tommy” and that she was ready to recoup with him.
Megan kisses Meg and Alima as she chats with them in tonight’s episode. She feels it’s necessary to pull Tommy for a chat after the chinwag, where she claimed she didn’t regret her actions.
Tommy tells her in the Den, “The thing that irritated me was when I said, “Look Megan, I do believe you,” while we were talking about Harry… What transpired really disappointed me.
Megan responds, “I don’t think you realize how much you upset me… you can’t take my word for it because Harry told you something,” she says.
Tommy simply replies, “Okay, cool, cool,” as she then opens up during the kiss. Then Megan says, “I’m here to explore connections, but I’m not against you.” Although I didn’t have to come and tell you this, I do, so I’m telling you.
Tonight, Love Island airs on ITV2 and ITVX at 9 p.m.
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton was left traumatized by her best friend’s tragic passing, but her tireless efforts to raise awareness of domestic abuse resulted in the 2014 Pride of Britain award, which is now being performed on Glasto!
Joanne Simpson was beaten to death by her estranged husband as their two young children cowered in a playroom(Image: PA)
Ordinary mum-turned-domestic violence champion Hetti Barkworth-Nanton is headlining The Information Stage at Glastonbury this weekend to give voice to abused women like her best friend, who was beaten to death by her husband.
Hetti was the last person to speak to her “soulmate” Joanna Simpson an hour before her savage killing, and tells The Mirror: ‘I was talking to her… and then she was just literally ripped away.”
The 47-year-old mum-of-two, who was in the middle of a bitter divorce from her estranged husband, Robert Brown, had planned to stay with Hetti on the weekend she was killed.
When Joanna was brutally murdered and buried in a pre-dug grave by Brown in 2010, who brutally murdered her within earshot of their young children, Hetti’s life was changed.
Afterwards, Hetti and Joanna’s mother Diana Parkes started the Joanna Simpson Foundation, to help children affected by domestic violence, and were recognised for their work at last year’s Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards.
Hetti speaks at Buckingham Palace on October 30, 2024, at a screening of a documentary addressing the urgent issue of domestic and sexual violence(Image: Getty Images)
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O Cruises and P& are now seeking nominations for tireless campaigners like Hetti and Diana for this year’s Pride of Britain Awards.
Still grieving for her friend, Hetti, 58, from Swindon, says:” Jo was a ray of sunshine – she was kind, warm, fun and, above all, an incredible mother.
We founded the Joanna Simpson Foundation because we couldn’t allow that to happen again after watching the law fail to protect two severely traumatized children. We also wanted to raise awareness of domestic abuse. People don’t realize what is happening to those they love so frequently.
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130, 000 children are in homes where serious injury or death are at risk, according to the charity, and 200 children are bereaved annually by being murdered.
Now Hetti, who also chairs domestic abuse charity Refuge, will be joined on stage at the UK’s biggest festival by TV presenter Zara McDermott and football pundit Eni Aluko, to raise awareness of the soaring rates of violence against women and girls.
Refuge ambassador Zara McDermott at the Brit Awards 2025(Image: Getty Images)
Refuge ambassador Zara says: “Since sharing my experiences of intimate image abuse, I have been taken aback by the sheer scale of this horrific form of abuse, with many survivors sharing their own stories with me.
Every day, thousands of women are affected by domestic abuse. No one can afford to turn a blind eye to this devastating societal issue. “
Former footballer Eni, who is also as passionate, has made a statement about the issue of women’s safe spaces in stadiums.
READ MORE: ‘We drank to excess and had debauched sex parties – but one drug split the band’
Hetti continues, “There has been a lot happening over the last 15 years, but winning a Pride of Britain award has to be one of the most overwhelming and positive things.” She continues, “Sincerely proud of winning Pride of Britain’s Special Recognition award last year. It’s amazing. “
She and Diana have successfully fought for the government to review the murder law and sentencing and to change how certain offenders’ license conditions operate as a direct result of their Pride of Britain award.
Former player and football pundit Eni Aluko attends the Women’s Football Awards(Image: Getty Images)
They claim that the current system traps victims because some prisoners are prohibited from entering their homes within a five-mile radius of their victims and their families.
” Victims feel very anxious about going outside of a five-mile radius, where they would bump into their assailant, but the offender can go everywhere else. It’s crazy, Hetti claims.
Diana, now 86, raised her daughter’s children – now young adults – as her own after her killing.
READ MORE: ‘I designed Princess Diana’s wedding dress – one problem nearly ruined it all’
They wanted no contact with Brown, who was jailed for 26 years, after pleading guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility.
After serving half of Brown’s sentence, Diana from the Isle of Man and Hetti successfully launched a campaign to stop him from being automatically released from prison in October 2023. But he is up for parole again.
According to Hetti, “Robert Brown poses a serious threat to girls and women.” He’s applied for parole again, but he hasn’t yet been given a hearing for that. This will be the fall of this year, in our opinion.
Hetti says she and Jo” became best buddies straight away “when they met at nursery when their children were little.
Diana Parkes and Hetti Barkworth-Nanton being presented with their Special Recognition Award by Clare Balding and Stephen Mangan(Image: David Dyson /Mirror)
” We were really soulmates, “she says, reflecting, sadly, on how Jo called off her plans to stay with her on that fateful weekend.
She decided that too much work was required of her. I was literally speaking to her in the hour before… trying to just encourage her to stay positive, because it was their final High Court hearing a week later.
She said, “The divorce hearing is not going to end. He’s going to carry on controlling me.
READ MORE: ‘I’m a mum of two disabled teenagers – brutal PIP cuts make our life impossible’
” She knew what he was capable of, because he threatened her with a knife three years before. However, we all hoped he would end his relationship with his pregnant girlfriend.
Even now, Hetti misses Jo and struggles with the loss”. She explains, “You know I was talking to her when she abruptly disappeared.”
” Then there was no-one to give Jo her voice at the trial, and he ended up getting manslaughter. “
Due to the shock of Jo’s horrific death, Hetti has experienced serious health issues. I spent four years unable to work with really severe complex PTSD. And then, according to her, she developed breast cancer in 2018, which was unavoidably brought on by the trauma.
Pride of Britain 2024 award winners Diana and Hetti are surprised by Queen Camilla at Clarence House on October 7, 2024 (Image: Getty Images)
She and Diana are concerned about Brown’s release. We’re really worried, terrified, “says Hetti”. Due to the pre-nuptial agreement he signed, this man spent his marriage resenting Jo. And that resentment turned to utter distaste and then insidious hatred.
He was forced to carry out his actions three years after their separation. But having spent three months digging a grave, he holds vengeance like no other.
He will be furious that he has been imprisoned for more time than he anticipated. And he blames myself and Di for that.
We only hope that he stays in prison for a while before getting physically older.
Both women were appointed CBEs in the New Year Honours List 2024 in recognition of their work, and Queen Camilla says they are her inspiration for raising awareness around domestic violence.
Diana vows to fight until her final days to protect children and stop domestic abuse.
READ MORE: ‘I’m a chemist – Agatha Christie wrote one murder plot better than any other’
major innovations
After Hetti and Diana collected their award at last year’s glittering Pride of Britain ceremony, the pair went to Number 10 the following day to meet PM Keir Starmer.
Hetti recalls: “We then met Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood, where we put forward a number of issues we’re concerned about, regarding the law and the treatment of victims.
” Two things have happened notably since then. First, the High Commissioner of Justice announced a thorough investigation into the murder law and sentencing by the Law Commission, and we have in fact attributed that decision to our campaigning.
“The second issue we discussed, which is very much the brainchild of Diana and something that she feels very strongly about, is the licence conditions that are in place to stop offenders from going near the victim.
When someone is allowed to operate a vehicle without a license, it effectively traps the victim within that five-mile radius. They feel very anxious about going outside that five-mile radius limit, where they would bump into the offender, but the offender can go everywhere else.
We worked really hard to change that, particularly for dangerous offenders, so that victims are given loose driving conditions that allow them to travel.
Hetti adds: “Shabana Manood announced in the House that she is now going to explicitly look at changing the way licence conditions work for certain offenders, doing exactly what we’ve asked her to do”.
Background
Believing he’d been “stitched up” by a pre-nup, Robert Brown bludgeoned his estranged wife Joanna Simpson to death with a claw hammer – within earshot of their then nine and 10-year-old children – in Ascot, Berkshire, in October 2010.
The former BA pilot confessed to police the following day by placing her body in a pre-dug grave in Windsor Great Park.
Wife killer Robert Brown has applied for parole(Image: PA)
The couple had been living apart for three years.
Brown, then 47, claimed their bitter divorce proceedings had put him under great stress.
Brown was initially given a manslaughter sentence of 26 years after being found not guilty of murder.
After a public outcry at the leniency of the sentence and outraged that. Hetti and Diana met with the then-government and were told that he could be automatically released after half of his sentence had already been served.
Police in High Standing Hill just outside Windsor, searching for the body of Joanna Simpson(Image: PA)
The government also sent Brown’s case to the Parole Board in October 2023, which led to his arrest the following month.
Government lawyers said Brown had “persistently refused to engage in the rehabilitative elements of his sentence”.
The court dismissed the appeal in a landmark decision, finding that Brown posed a “high risk to the public of serious harm.”
Now Brown has once again applied for a parole hearing, which is due to be held in autumn.
Do you know of any campaigns that, in collaboration with P& and O Cruises, deserve to receive the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Special Recognition Award?
How to nominate:
Campaigns that change the world are at the heart of Pride of Britain, and over the past 26 years, some truly dedicated work by community-minded people have inspired the nation.
If you know a campaign that deserves an award, like Hetti and Diana, you can nominate them for:
SPECIAL RECOGNITION For achievements not covered in other categories, such as inspiring carers, campaigners and members of armed forces.
The administration of United States President Donald Trump has filed an extraordinary lawsuit against the Maryland district court system and its federal judges, accusing them of having “used and abused” their powers to stymie deportations.
The complaint was lodged late on Tuesday. In its 22 pages, the administration accuses Maryland’s federal courts of “unlawful, anti-democratic” behaviour for placing limits on Trump’s deportation policies.
Fifteen district judges are named among the defendants, as is a clerk of court, one of the administrative officials in the court system.
The complaint advances an argument that Trump and his allies have long made publicly: that the president has a mandate from voters to carry out his campaign of mass deportation — and that the courts are standing in the way.
“Injunctions against the Executive Branch are particularly extraordinary because they interfere with that democratically accountable branch’s exercise of its constitutional powers,” the lawsuit reads.
It seeks an immediate injunction against a recent ruling from Chief Judge George Russell III, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
Russell had issued a standing order that would automatically take effect each time an immigrant files a petition for habeas corpus — in other words, a petition contesting their detention.
The chief judge’s order prevents the Trump administration from deporting the immigrant in question for a period of two business days after the petition is filed. That time frame, Russell added, can be extended at the discretion of the court.
The idea is to protect an immigrant’s right to due process — their right to a fair hearing in the legal system — so that they have the time to appeal their deportation if necessary.
But the Trump administration said that Russell’s order, and other orders from federal judges in Maryland, do little more than subvert the president’s power to exercise his authority over immigration policy.
“Every unlawful order entered by the district courts robs the Executive Branch of its most scarce resource: time to put its policies into effect,” the lawsuit argued.
Trump’s immigration policies have faced hundreds of legal challenges since the president took office for his second term in January.
Tuesday’s lawsuit admits as much, citing that fact as evidence of judicial bias against Trump’s immigration agenda.
“In the first 100 days of President Trump’s current term, district courts have entered more nationwide injunctions than in the 100 years from 1900 to 2000, requiring the Supreme Court to intervene again and again in recent weeks,” the lawsuit said.
The Supreme Court has upheld the right to due process, writing in recent cases like JGG v Trump that immigrants must be able to seek judicial review for their cases.
But critics have argued that other recent decisions have undermined that commitment. Earlier this week, for instance, the Supreme Court lifted a lower court’s ruling that barred the US government from deporting immigrants to third-party countries without prior notice.
Tuesday’s lawsuit against the Maryland federal court system appears poised to test whether the judicial branch can continue to serve as a check against the executive branch’s powers, at least as far as immigration is concerned.
The lawsuit attacks Maryland’s immigration-related court orders on several fronts. For example, it questions whether “immediate and irreparable injury” is likely in the deportation cases. It also asserts that the federal courts are impeding immigration courts — which fall under the authority of the executive branch — from greenlighting deportations.
But the complaint also emphasises the need for speed in executing the removals of immigrants from the US.
“Removals can take months of sensitive diplomacy to arrange and often do not completely come together until the last minute,” the Trump administration’s lawsuit said.
“A delay can undo all of those arrangements and require months of additional work before removal can be attempted again.”
Maryland is a reliably Democratic-leaning state, and the Trump administration has been dealt some significant setbacks in its federal courts.
That, in turn, has led the president and his allies to denounce the courts for “judicial overreach”, a theme reprised in Tuesday’s court filing.
One of the most prominent immigration cases unfolding in the US is that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant and resident of Maryland who was deported despite a protection order allowing him to remain in the country. His lawyers have maintained he fled El Salvador to escape gang violence.
His deportation was challenged before District Judge Paula Xinis, one of the judges named in Tuesday’s complaint.
Xinis ruled in early April that the US must “facilitate and effectuate” Abrego Garcia’s return from the El Salvador prison where he was being held, and the Supreme Court upheld that decision — though it struck the word “effectuate” for being unclear.
The Maryland judge then ordered the Trump administration to provide updates about the steps it was taking to return Abrego Garcia to the US. She has since indicated the administration could be held in contempt of court for failing to do so.
Abrego Garcia was abruptly returned to the US on June 6, after more than two and a half months imprisoned in El Salvador. The Trump administration said it brought him back to face criminal charges for human trafficking in Tennessee. That case is currently ongoing, and Abrego Garcia has denied the charges against him.
That legal proceeding, and Xinis’s orders, were not explicitly named in Tuesday’s lawsuit. But the complaint offered a broad critique of orders like hers.
Stormzy, the aspiring student turned award-winning artist in Big For Your Boots, has completed his journey in the most recent award from Cambridge.
Stormzy’s dreams come true as he’s awarded honorary degree from Cambridge(Image: PA)
UK rapper Stormzy has been honoured with an honorary law degree from the University of Cambridge, recognising his wide-ranging philanthropic work in education, music, sport, and literature.
The 31-year-old Michael Omari Owuo, a grime star, was presented with the honor at a special ceremony at Senate House. The London-born artist, who is best known for four UK number-one singles, has used his platform to help young Black students by creating the Stormzy Scholarship, which was launched in 2018.
The scholarship initially provided two Black British students per year, but it has since grown to include ten students annually. 55 students have received financial aid to pay for their tuition and living expenses to date. The initiative has also led to a notable increase in Black student applications to Cambridge, which has been dubbed the “Stormzy effect.”
UK rapper Stormzy has been honoured with an honorary law degree from the University of Cambridge(Image: James Linsell Clark / SWNS)
Stormzy first demonstrated the scheme at Harris City Academy in Croydon, a former student there.
He later stated that because we are a minority, it is important that all potential students have the same opportunity.
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His goal was to encourage young people from underrepresented backgrounds to aim high as well as reduce the financial strain on Black students. He added, “I hope it will serve as a reminder to young people from all backgrounds that they have the opportunity to receive the best education.”
Stormzy was all smiles on his big day(Image: James Linsell Clark / SWNS)
In a previous interview with BBC Breakfast, the MOBO-winning artist shared his message for young students: “If you’re academically brilliant, don’t think because you come from a certain community that studying at one of the highest education institutions in the world isn’t possible.”
The underrepresentation of Black students at prestigious universities is the inspiration for Stormzy’s scholarship program. Some Cambridge colleges at one point didn’t accept any Black students between 2012 and 2016 at all.
In contrast, there were only 58 Black undergraduate admissions in 2017; this is a small but significant change.
The UK rapper’s dreams have come true(Image: James Linsell Clark / SWNS)
Stormzy once vowed to study at Oxford or Cambridge, reflecting on his own academic journey. He didn’t pursue university, choosing instead to pursue his passion for music despite receiving six A*s, three As, and three Bs at GCSE level.
He said, “Fortunately for myself, I had the academic ability when I was going through school.” I diverted and ended up studying music, but they should know that’s possible when students are young, academically outstanding, and receiving excellent grades.
He also openly acknowledged that he struggled in A-levels, saying, “I remember going to my results day and seeing my results shocked me. I made no excessive progress. I was shocked by the educational system because it revealed to me that it was difficult to get a degree.
Trump and Netanyahu’s claims that their attacks on Iran sparked a nuclear war have been questioned by a leaked intelligence report. 400kg of uranium is missing, according to analysts, and some facilities weren’t even hit. A look is taken by Soraya Lennie.
