Actor Jacob Batalon appears to have confirmed his Spider-Man co-star Tom Holland’s engagement to Zendaya.
Jacob, 28 – known for his role as Peter Parker’s best friend Ned Leeds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the MCU) – spoke about Tom, 28, in a recent interview amid promoting his new film Novocaine. While discussing his own engagement to Veronica Leahov, Jacob was quizzed on whether he and Tom had coordinated proposing to their respective partners.
Speculation has been rife that Tom and co-star Zendaya, 28, are engaged, especially after the latter was spotted with an apparent engagement ring at the Golden Globes earlier this year. The couple hasn’t confirmed it but Jacob’s response has further fueled the excitement among fans.
Asked by Metro if he and Tom planned to propose “so close to each other”, Jacob laughed and shared: “No. I definitely, we did not know about each other’s plans like that. But I will say I thought about it first. We didn’t know about each other’s plans like that, no”.
Fans were quick to react with excitement, as reported by the Mirror US. One fan exclaimed: “So it’s CONFIRMED”. Another suggested: “Well someone got baited to confirm something”. Whilst a third person said: “He doesn’t even know that he confirmed what we’ve all been dying to know”.
Jacob Batalon (left) was asked about the relationship between his Spider-Man co-stars Zendaya (centre) and Tom Holland (right) in a recent interview (Gareth Cattermole, Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Despite the reaction, it’s thought that confirmation of the engagement had already been provided by Tom’s father Dominic Holland. As previously reported, he shared insights into Tom’s proposal preparations in a post on Patreon. He wrote: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring. He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter”. He continued by contrasting his own actions over proposing to Tom’s mother Nikki Holland, saying: “Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear… I on the other hand was woefully ill-prepared, almost as though I wasn’t taking it seriously”.
Dominic didn’t shy away from expressing his concerns about the challenges of fame on relationships either. He said: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb”.
Adding his optimism for the couple’s future despite, Dominic penned: “And even though show-business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention, with us an example, with Nikki helming this family and my ‘ wisdom ‘ on tap and a study in getting things mostly wrong and yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union”.
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Five months of negotiations and a three-day public hearing, finally, a decision has been made on the much-debated tax reform bills.
This is because the House of Representatives has adopted the report of its committee on finance on the bills.
Several amendments were made to accommodate all concerns as the bills were approved without any dissenting voice.
Part of the amendments include the retention of value added tax (VAT) at 7.5 percent, redefinition of the inheritance tax, and distribution of value added tax.
The House also approved the proposal for the military to be exempted from personal income tax.
“All the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory have their representatives in the sub-committee.
” This is the first time such a report is getting hundred per cent approval by almost all members, “the Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas said.
READ ALSO: Tax Bills Scale Second Reading At House Of Reps
FILE PHOTO: Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, during the inauguration of the 10th House of Representatives on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Photo: Taiwo Adeshina/Channels TV)
Following the consideration of the bills, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance James Faleke
” These bills underwent three full days of public hearings, with input from over 80 key stakeholders. Afterward, we held an eight-day retreat to debate each clause, “the Lagos lawmaker said.  ,
” I am glad that House members recognised our thorough work and approved all our recommendations. “
With the adoption, the House is now poised to pass the bills.
The adoption is coming after President Bola Tinubu in October 2024 asked the National Assembly to pass the tax reform bills. These bills include the NRS bill, the Nigeria tax bill, the Tax administration bill, and the joint revenue board establishment bill.
Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has been ordered to start negotiations to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title against Joseph Parker.
The move that could end British fighter Daniel Dubois ‘ hopes of a re-match with the Ukrainian.
The WBO announced Thursday that Usyk, who also holds the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) belts, has 30 days to “reach terms” for a mandatory title defence against New Zealand’s Parker or the governing body will call for purse bids.
Parker defended his WBO interim title in Riyadh last month with a second-round stoppage of Martin Bakole, a late replacement after Dubois withdrew because of illness.
Rather than reschedule his bout against Parker, International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Dubois had hoped for a return clash with Usyk, who defeated the Briton by ninth-round knockout in August 2023.
Dubois re-established himself in the heavyweight ranks with stoppage wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic before most recently knocking out compatriot Anthony Joshua, himself a former world champion, at Wembley in September to take his professional record to 22 wins, with two losses and 21 knockouts.
The 27-year-old Dubois was understood to be in talks to face Usyk in a fight that would see all four major world heavyweight titles up for grabs but the WBO’s announcement has complicated the picture in a sport where the lack of a single global governing body means there are often multiple world champions in the same weight class.
Usyk defeated Britain’s Tyson Fury in May 2024 to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion in almost 25 years. But he vacated his IBF belt before the rematch, with Dubois elevated to full champion.
Former undisputed world cruiserweight champion Usyk, 38, extended his perfect professional record to 23 wins in as many bouts, with 14 stoppages, after defeating Fury in a re-match in December that meant he retained the unified WBC, WBA and WBO championships.
While Usyk was speaking immediately after being declared the winner by unanimous decision, Dubois entered the ring and interrupted the London 2012 gold medallist’s interview to demand a bout.
But it appears Parker, who held the WBO title from 2016 to 2018 and is on a six-fight winning streak since losing to Joe Joyce in 2022, has overtaken Dubois as the next contender to face Usyk.
Music icon Princess Superstar had a very unusual job while topping the charts.
The American DJ and hip-hop artist was thrown into the global spotlight with her 2005 hip hop track Perfect. However, while her original a cappella track didn’t chart, a version of the track, Perfect (Exceeder) was picked up by Ministry of Sound, which landed at Number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and Number 1 on the UK Dance Charts in 2007. But while she was busy working on music and performing across the world, the 54-year-old found herself turning to a more bizarre job.
“I was working doing creative direction for brands and social media”, she exclusively revealed to the Mirror at her home in Los Angeles. But when asked about her most unexpected client, the star revealed: “One time, I had a client who made bullets, I was like ‘ Wow, ‘ and one time I had a doctor and I had to do her social media.
” Regardless, I enjoyed myself doing it, it was weird. “However, the musician joked that in 20 years, she would turn to” OnlyGrans. “With Perfect, Princess, whose real name is Concetta Suzanne Kirschner was left stunned when Ministry of Sound created a video for the track – without her in it, despite her signing a contract to have creative control over the situation. Speaking about this, Princess said:” Back then, we didn’t have social media so there was a lot of disconnect.
Princess Superstar was catapulted to fame with a 2007 remix of her track, Perfect
Despite the success of the Ministry of Sound track, Princess didn’t appear in the music video – despite having creative control (Photo by Joseph Cultice)
“Sonically, I’d had the hit with Bad Babysitter (2002) and then I had Perfect (2005) and it was years in between, so I think people were confused like ‘ Who is Princess Superstar? ‘ and now I get the chance with social media to be like ‘ I am Princess Superstar, ‘ which is really amazing and to put out new music, it’s been incredible”.
But while most people who grew up in the Nineties will know the star for the the lyrics “One, two, three, four, let me scream if you want some more”, – she also enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to the 2023 Emerald Fennell movie, Saltburn, which featured the hit.
“The fact Perfect went viral on TikTok after 17 years, TikTok helped give me my career back after Saltburn”, she said. But the musician had no idea what Saltburn was about when she was approached and only recognised a handful of names from the film. Recalling the moment, she said: “I had no clue, it was just like ‘ Can we use this song?, ‘ it mentioned the actors and I recognised a couple of their names, I thought it was some little Indie film, I pretty much always say yes to anybody wanting to use my song. I was like ‘ That sounds cool, let’s do it, ‘ I had no idea, none”.
Her track was used in the 2023 movie, Saltburn, which went on to become a hit across the globe – introducing her to new fans (AP)
Reflecting on the track being used over 42, 000 times on the app, she said: “It’s absolutely incredible, it’s any artists dream who wants to be a musician. It was so magical, like winning the lottery”. The star admitted it was also a chance to reconnect with her fans who were overjoyed that she was finally being recognised.
“Then there’s the new kids”, she said, adding: “There’s the kids, a lot of whom are on TikTok and they thought it was a new song! My comments, they’ll be like ‘ Wait, how old are you?! ‘ I think they think I’m supposed to be a new popstar. The kids are tremendous, I love them, it’s so fun.
” Sometimes when I play, it’s a lot of kids, like teenagers. “This resonates with Princess ‘ daughter, 13, who in recent years thanks to the resurgence has seen the world through her mum’s perspective and seen the track used on TikTok and Instagram”. It’s such a gift, “she said.
Perfect has been used on TikTok over 42, 000 times with many people believing Princess is a new artist (Redferns)
But now, she’s back with her new track, Goddess, which was written” a long time ago. “She commented:” I had all these old songs that I wrote that I never did anything with. I had the bones of it, I really wanted to write something that would make people feel incredible, like a Goddess or a God, I really like writing things that empower people, that are also campy.
“That’s my favourite thing, the juxtaposition of self-love but camp too. I hadn’t had that done, I worked with Oscar Scheller, he’s an amazing producer, he’s worked with Mel C, Pink Panthress, when I told him the idea, he was like ‘ I have the perfect track'”. But that’s not the only Spice Girls connection – the track was mastered by Geoff Pesche at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, famed for his work on the girl bands debut hit, Wannabe.
“My manager knew Geoff and he was like” I think I could get you there, ‘ I was shaking, I was so excited, Geoff is such a dream, he’s so talented! “But while Princess was” afraid “of Geoff hearing the track, he told her that the production was” f***ing amazing, “leaving her completely blown away.
Known for her camp hits, Princess admits that the LGBTQ+ community is” everything “to her”. I wouldn’t be who I am, all my art direction and my beauty, is all my gay friends, “she revealed”. That’s who I love, that’s who have always supported me since day one. I feel the most comfortable, my favourite gigs are Pride, “she commented.
Despite the highs of releasing new music and performing across the globe, Princess recently endured utter devastation. Living in Los Angeles, close to the Pacific Palisades, she witnessed the heartbreaking fires first hand”. I was living in New York during 9/11, Downtown, so it really reminded me of that, “she said before adding:” It was so scary. “
Reflecting on the fires, she said:” I knew people who lost their homes, kids who lost their school and were just devastated. The thing is, there’s always beauty in pain and the thing that I saw was everybody coming together. I spoke to a bunch of people who had lost everything and they were saying it’s hard to receive all the love that has poured out and the unity that had come in during the disaster was extraordinary to watch. It reminds you that humanity is fundamentally good. “
This year, she will be dropping new music” frequently “and has a mixtape, The Serve, which she says is about” glamour, serving “but” also serving mankind. “
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Borodyanka, Ukraine – Days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a 500-kilogramme high-explosive bomb dropped from a fighter jet collapsed a section of Mariya Vasylenko’s apartment building.
During the March 1, 2022, attack that levelled or damaged dozens more houses in this once-tranquil town, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Kyiv, Vasylenko and her neighbours were hiding in an ice-cold basement.
They rushed outside to see how the heatwave turned the air blue, melted snow and ignited cars, leafless trees and frozen blades of grass around the building.
“Have you ever seen hell? That’s what it was”, Vasylenko, 80, told Al Jazeera.
Disoriented and deafened, she could not find her daughter Olena, a 41-year-old nurse, and her son-in-law Serhiy Khukhro, a 37-year-old construction worker, who were hiding in the basement under the collapsed section.
Their crushed bodies remained in the flooded basement while Vasylenko was evacuated to central Ukraine with their young children, Milena and Bohdan.
Meanwhile, Russian soldiers moved into Vasylenko’s apartment for a month, leaving rubbish, excrement and graffiti with Soviet symbols, and plundering all valuables when Moscow ordered a retreat from around Kyiv and northern Ukraine.
Mariya Vasylenko (right) and Hanna Ryashchenko (left) say Russian bombs destroyed their apartments in Borodyanka]Mansur Mirovalev/Al Jazeera]
‘ She doesn’t smile any more ‘
Weeks later, Vasylenko returned to Borodyanka to bury what was left of Olena and Serhiy.
Her grandchildren were sent to safety in Poland. She could not bear to tell Milena about her parents ‘ deaths for more than a year until they returned to Ukraine.
Milena is 12 now. She returned to Borodyanka with Vasylenko – and is deeply traumatised.
“She doesn’t smile any more”, Vasylenko said, sitting on a bench next to a community centre where she and her neighbour sing in an amateur choir.
“She can’t bear to see parents hugging and kissing her classmates after school because her mum and dad never will”, the 79-year-old neighbour, Hanna Ryashchenko, told Al Jazeera.
Both women and their relatives live in tiny rooms in a dormitory donated by Poland with communal bathrooms and kitchens.
Excavators started removing the debris from around Vasylenko’s building only two weeks ago.
From hell to limbo
At least 300 civilians were killed in Borodyanka, according to survivors, Ukrainian officials and human rights groups.
Russian forces bombed Borodyanka even though it never hosted a military base or plants producing weaponry.
Amnesty International, a rights monitor, concluded that the bombings “were both disproportionate and indiscriminate under international humanitarian law, and as such constitute war crimes”.
Russian soldiers operating tanks and artillery shelled apartment buildings point blank.
They also shelled shops and malls just to crack their doors or walls open and loot what was inside. The soldiers shot at anyone they saw without warning – and threatened to gun down those who tried to retrieve bodies from the streets or rescue survivors from under collapsed buildings, residents said.
For its part, Moscow has continually denied targeting civilians.
Workers renovate an apartment building near the bullet-riddled bust of national Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko]Mansur Mirovalev/Al Jazeera]
“I preferred to remain at home and starve”, Volodymyr Robovyk, a 69-year-old retired factory worker, told Al Jazeera.
Most of the trapped civilians, including children, were buried alive as they froze to death or starved.
Only one woman managed to save a family of eight by sneaking food and water into a tiny crevice at night.
Fifty-five apartment buildings, hundreds of houses, shops and offices have been destroyed or damaged, rendering thousands homeless and jobless, officials said.
A slow restoration
A dozen apartment buildings have been fully restored or retrofitted with heat-saving padding, plastic doors and windows, residents say.
But many more remain untouched.
“They dug this hole and are doing nothing”, Robovyk said, pointing at a construction pit on the Tsentralnaya (Central) street once named after Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin.
Behind the fence was a brand new excavator that tumbled into the pit and lay upside down.
Robovyk’s tiny, shell-damaged house was patched up by volunteers in the autumn of 2022, but the renovation of larger buildings is far from over.
“The end of reconstruction is December 2024”, a plastic sign on the side of Valentyna Illyshenko’s five-storey apartment building reads.
But the house is still encapsulated in scaffolding as workers finish covering it with heat-saving plastic that also hides bullet and shrapnel holes.
Illyshenko fled her apartment with her husband and their six-year-old son on February 28, 2022, when Russian tanks and armoured vehicles entered Borodyanka or roared by on their way to Kyiv.
She said Russian soldiers occupied their apartment – and drank all the alcohol, destroyed every family photo and stole each electronic device.
At least one of the unwanted guests was a sniper who nestled in the kitchen and cut a hole in the drapes, she said.
The soldiers left the refrigerator and the washing machine only because they were too heavy to be carried down from the fourth floor, she said.
All heavy household appliances have been taken out of apartments on lower floors, and the Russians left Borodyanka with trucks loaded with stolen goods, Illyshenko and other locals said.
“Hatred is what I still feel”, she told Al Jazeera. “I could choke them with my own hands”.
Having escaped the occupation’s hell, she lives in a reconstruction limbo with the noise, the dust and the dirt.
Turf wars
Her explanation as to why the renovation progresses so slowly is simple – she blames Ukraine’s endemic corruption and the dismissal of Oleksander Sakharuk, a community head elected in 2020.
“They don’t let him work”, Illyshenko said.
Sakharuk was a member of the Platform for Life, a pro-Moscow party that was banned in 2022 and whose members were barred from holding elected jobs.
Even though many Platform for Life members in Russia-occupied areas began collaborating with Moscow, some remained staunchly pro-Ukrainian – including Sakharuk, several Borodyanka residents told Al Jazeera.
He got his job back in June 2023 and last October after court rulings, but both times the justice ministry overturned the decisions.
“When he’s back to work, things are moving. When they fire him again, things stop”, Vitalii Sydorenko, a 47-year-old war veteran, told Al Jazeera.
Sakharuk did not respond to requests for comment.
Ukraine’s ubiquitous corruption scandals have also delayed Borodyanka’s renovation.
Last December, anti-monopoly officials cancelled a contract to restore the apartment building where Vasylenko’s daughter and son-in-law died because of the construction company’s alleged corruption ties.
Vasylenko also spent several months and hundreds of dollars to restore the deed on her apartment and other documents destroyed by the bombing.
Five Star musician Stedman Pearson’s cause of death has been announced.
It was announced earlier that the late singer had died, aged 60, prompting tributes on social media. It has been announced that he died on March and had been on dialysis. His sister Deniece Pearson, 56, who was also his bandmate, told the PA news agency: “He died on March 10, he was on dialysis and he had diabetes”.
A statement from his family to PA read: “He was a gentleman to the very end – in every way and an amazing son/brother and uncle. May the memories and love he gave to us and the world be our greatest comfort. He will be deeply missed”.
Stedman rose to fame four decades ago as a member of the band Five Star alongside his younger siblings, including Deniece. The group also included Lorraine Pearson, 57, Doris Pearson, 58, and Delroy Pearson, 54. Five Star, which had been put together by their father and manager Buster Pearson, had six Top 10 singles in the UK.
It’s been announced that Stedman Pearson has died, aged 60 (Redferns via Getty Images)
He’s best known for having been a member of Five Star with his siblings (BSR Agency/Gentle Look via Getty Images)
They are best known for songs like System Addict and Can’t Wait Another Minute, both released in 1986. The group’s outfits and synchronised dance routines often drew comparisons to the Jackson 5.
Five Star released their debut album, Luxury of Life, in 1985 – just two years after their formation as a group. The album included the song System Addict, which remains one of their highest charting singles after peaking at Number 3.
Their follow-up album Silk &, Steel topped the charts upon its release in 1986. Its tracklist includes the Slightest Touch and Find the Time. Rain or Shine – which is the band’s highest charting single, having reached Number 2 – is also on the album.
The siblings have since released several other albums and numerous singles.
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