‘Probe all corrupt past govt officials’ –Archbishop Chukwuma to Tinubu

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July 3, 2023

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie‘s former bodyguard spent 27 years in the British Army’s air service but working for the A-list couple was still his hardest job yet. In a 2016 interview with The Sun, Mark Billingham discussed his 18-month stint working for Pitt, 59, and Jolie, 48.

Billingham was Pitt and Jolie’s head of security and formed a close relationship with the couple’s six children — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne. Billingham told The Sun: “The military set me up perfectly for what I did with them.”

He says the protective parents were extremely strict about who spent time around their children. He recalls, “Angie and Brad are very worried about who goes near their children.

It was clear from the start we had a great chemistry and they trusted me with the kids.” Bellingham says he was close with the couple and lived with them throughout his time on their staff. He claims he effectively “fathered” the Jolie-Pitt kids, taking them swimming and accompanying them throughout the day.

“I could take the kids anywhere I wanted to on my own. No one else was allowed to do that,” he said. “Even when I wanted to bring in extra people, they wouldn’t let any of those near the kids.” Bellingham also had to protect the family from stalkers which he was a prolific issue.

But overall, Bellingham says the couple occasionally lacked social skills and common sense. Ultimately, Bellingham said he couldn’t work with the couple due to how much it took him away from his own six children. “I never had a private life. I was exhausted. I lost direction in my own family life,” he said, In 17 months I was only home for six weeks. It was just too full-on.”

Credit: yahoo.com

Arnold Schwarzenegger says ‘Terminator’ films predicted future of AI

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July 3, 2023

Arnold Schwarzenegger claims The Terminator franchise, which launched his career in 1984, predicted the future of artificial intelligence.

While speaking at An Evening with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Los Angeles on Wednesday, People reported that the actor talked about how writer-director James Cameron’s theories on AI in the films have “become a reality.”

“Today, everyone is frightened of it, of where this is gonna go,” he said of the controversial technology. “And in this movie, in Terminator, we talk about the machines becoming self-aware and they take over.”

AI is currently at the center of a huge debate in Hollywood and other industries surrounding the technology’s use. It also comes as programs like ChatGPT have risen in popularity across social media.

Schwarzenegger, who plays a cyborg assassin known as a Terminator in the movies, added that “at that time we (had) scratched the surface of AI, artificial intelligence. Think about that.”

“Now over the course of decades, it has become a reality,” he continued. “So it’s not any more fantasy or kind of futuristic. It is here today. And so this is the extraordinary writing of Jim Cameron.”

The actor went on to praise Cameron for his work and the franchise he created, calling him “an extraordinary writer” and “an unbelievable director.”

“This is again, one of those things that I wish I could take credit for this movie,” Schwarzenegger explained. “I can only take credit of the character that I played and the way I played it. But I mean, he has created this character. He has written it so well, he’s written the movie so well, and that’s why he is, you know, the number one director in the world.”

Source: hollywoodreporter

Nicki Minaj defence of murder suspect goes wrong

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July 3, 2023

Recently a story has gone viral about a 14-year-old boy who shot a man repeatedly punching his mom in the face in public. The mom, Hood, claims she was arguing with a man in a lineup, now identified as Jeremy Brown. He then began punching Hood; the attack was caught on cell phone cameras. Her son pulled his gun out and fired at Brown, hitting him in the back.

Brown fled, as did the mother and son, but the son kept shooting as they ran. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene.

The rapper took to the gram to support the young mother and her son. “No one else in the establishment did anything. And so, once he saw his mother get severely hit, he took action,” said activist Ja’Mal Green.

Nicki was triggered that no one helped. “That 14-year-old boy that backed dat hammer out when that grown ass man was punching his mother in the face as if she were a MAN; is a true hero, wrote the “Roman” rapper.

Nicki is raising her own son and feels close to what happened. She offered to help in any way that she could. “If he wants to attend college, I’d love to help. It’s what ANY son should’ve done for their MOTHER.”

She ended her message. “She raised a dope kid & should be so proud. Also, God knew b4 she knew; that she’d be attacked that day & made sure they had protection on

Credit: yahoo.com

Naomi Campbell becomes a mother for a second time, aged 53

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July 3, 2023

Supermodel Naomi Campbell has become a mother for the second time, aged 53.

The star, who welcomed her first child two years ago, announced the arrival of her son online on Thursday, telling her followers “it’s never too late”.

She had not previously revealed she was expecting a second child and did not offer any further details around the birth.

Campbell made similar headlines in 2021 when she announced the arrival of her baby daughter on Instagram.

The British model called the latest addition to her family “a true gift from God”.

“My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond measure and surrounded by love from the moment you graced us with your presence,” she wrote on Instagram, alongside a photograph which appears to show her and her daughter holding the newborn baby’s hand.

“A True Gift from God, blessed! Welcome Babyboy. #mumoftwo.”

She added: “It’s never too late to become a mother.”

Fellow model Claudia Schiffer, fashion designer Donatella Versace and singer Kelly Rowland were among the famous names posting congratulatory messages.

Last year, Campbell – the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue – posed with her daughter for the cover of British Vogue, and affirmed she had not been adopted: “She’s my child,” she said.

Credit: bbc.com

Mali and the UN: Why peacekeepers are being told to leave

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July 3, 2023

Mali has told the UN that its 12,000 peacemakers need to leave, after 10 years countering Islamist militants in the country.

Last year, France withdrew its forces after military leaders seized control of Mali and brought in mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group.

In 2013, the UN launched a mission after separatist rebels and Islamist fighters banded together and occupied northern Mali. They hoped to create a separate state.

The UN peacekeepers arrived after 5,000 French troops, who were sent to try and put down the uprising.

The threat from Islamist militants, who have killed several thousand people and forced tens of thousands from their homes, has continued over the years.

While the UN force in Mali has a wider brief to protect civilians and contain the jihadist threat, it is not intended to go on the offensive against militants.

In Mali and across the wider region attacks have been carried out by Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and an al-Qaeda affiliate called Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin.

Another jihadist group, Ansaroul Islam, is active in Burkina Faso, and Boko Haram is active in countries around Lake Chad.

Has the UN mission been successful?

Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers and French troops, who led counter-terror operations, the number of terror attacks in Mali steadily increased, as did the number of Malians joining insurgent groups.

Source: bbc.com

Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini treated for suspected poisoning -Aide

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July 3, 2023

The monarch has been at the centre of bitter feuds within the royal family

South Africa’s Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini is being treated in hospital for suspected poisoning, his traditional prime minister has said.

The king sought medical attention in Eswatini as he is uncomfortable with seeking treatment in South Africa, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi added.

This follows the sudden death of one of his senior advisers, also of suspected poisoning, Chief Buthelezi said.

However, the king’s official spokesman said he was in “perfect health”.

The monarch was currently not in hospital, and “unnecessary panic” should not be created, Prince Africa Zulu said, in what appeared to be an indirect reference to Chief Buthelezi’s statement.

King Misuzulu was crowned in front of thousands of his subjects last October.

But a vicious power struggle has been raging within the royal family over the 48-year-old’s accession, and tensions have also recently surfaced between the monarch and Chief Buthelezi.

The Zulu king does not have formal political power and the monarch’s role within broader South African society is largely ceremonial, but he remains hugely influential with a yearly government-funded budget of several million dollars.

A faction within the family is challenging his claim to the throne in court, insisting that he is not the rightful heir of his late father, King Goodwill Zwelithini.

They insist that another son of the late king, Prince Simakade, should be the monarch.

Source: bbc.com

21,000 Wagner mercenaries killed in Ukraine…, Zelensky says

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July 3, 2023

At least 21,000 Wagner mercenaries have been killed fighting in Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian leader said the private military company had suffered “enormous losses,” particularly in eastern Ukraine where its “most powerful group” was fighting.

“Our troops killed 21,000 Wagnerites in eastern Ukraine alone,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Saturday, adding that another 80,000 Wagner fighters had been wounded.

“These were enormous losses for the Wagner PMC,” said Zelensky, who characterized its fighters as a “motivated staff of the Russian army” and mostly convicts who “had nothing to lose.”

CNN could not independently verify the claim by Zelensky, made during a press conference with Spanish media to coincide with a visit to Kyiv by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The trip by Sanchez is his third visit to Ukraine. It comes as Spain takes over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union and follows news that CIA Director William Burns also recently traveled to Ukraine to meet with Zelensky and Ukrainian intelligence officials.

CIA director met Zelensky on trip to Ukraine, US official says

Zelensky’s claims about Wagner’s losses comes just a week after the private military company’s boss Yevgeny Prigozhin led his men in an abortive rebellion against Moscow.

Wagner troops had marched toward the Russian capital, taking control of military facilities in two Russian cities in what Prigozhin said was a response to a Russian military attack on a Wagner camp, before a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko defused the crisis.

Source: cnn.com

Action needed against ‘religious hatred’ after Quran defiled: IOC

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July 3, 2023

Demonstrators burn the Swedish flag during a protest against the Quran desecration in Tehran, Iran

The 57-country-strong Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said international law and other collective measures are needed to prevent future incidents involving the desecration of the Quran.

The grouping, whose populations are majority Muslim, issued the statement on Sunday during an extraordinary meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia after the holy book was burned and defiled in Sweden.

“We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred,” OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said.

Last week, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi who fled to Sweden several years ago, tore up and lit pages of the Islamic holy book on fire.

The desecration occurred on the first day of the Eid al-Adha holidays. The act angered OIC member Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the NATO military alliance.

Swedish police granted permission for a protest to take place, saying freedom of expression is guaranteed under the country’s constitution. But after the burning, police charged Momika with agitation against an ethnic or national group.

The act outside the Stockholm Central Mosque prompted international condemnation, including large protests in Iraq and countries in the Middle East summoning Swedish ambassadors.

On Sunday, Iran said it will refrain from sending a new ambassador to Sweden in protest over the incident.

Source: Aljazeera.com

Paris riots: Suburban mayor’s wife hurt as rioters attack their home

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July 3, 2023