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Aki And Pawpaw Announce New Series, Fatty And Sons

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Nollywood actors and comic duo, Chinedu Ikedieze and Osita Iheme, are set to release a new series titled Fatty and Sons.

Iheme, popularly known as Paw Paw, made the announcement through his Instagram page on Thursday as he posted pictures of himself and other co-stars with the caption, “You guys asked for a TV series; so, here you have it. This time, we are adding Amala and Ewedu to the menu.

“The title is Fatty and Sons Autos. Where Una go watch am?”

The new TV series will feature other Nollywood stars such as Muyiwa Adegoke, Chinedu Ani Emmanuel, Saeed Muhammed, among others.

The pair had earlier hinted about working jointly on a project like old times. The original movie, which shot both into limelight and gave them their popular household names was “Aki na Ukwa”, where Iheme played the role of Paw paw and Ikedieze as Aki.

The story involved mischievous twin brothers ruining every effort of their father at marrying another woman after their mother’s death.

As earlier reported Nigerian filmmaker, Charles Okpaleke, had on Wednesday announced the remake of the 2002 classic on his Instagram page with a poster that read, “Aki & Paw Paw… coming to cinemas soon.”

From all indications, the pair is ready to deliver both a TV series and a movie as requested by their fans.

10 Year Old Tanitoluwa Adewumi Becomes America’s Newest Chess Master

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Tanitoluwa Adewumi, a once-homeless Christian refugee in New York City who fled persecution with his family from Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, is now America’s newest national chess master at the age of 10. And he and his family are thanking God for the achievement.

“Our God has done it again today. Tanitoluwa won Chess Club of Fairfield Connecticut championship,” the prodigy’s father, Kayode Adewumi, announced earlier this month in a post on Facebook showing his son, affectionately called Tani, gleefully holding two trophies. Earning that win on May 1 gave the 10-year-old his newest chess ranking.

A statement from the U.S. Chess Federation said Tani’s achievement at 10 years, seven months, and 28 days makes him the 28th youngest person to become a national chess master. Tani, who had to defeat another national chess master and an international master to achieve his latest ranking, said he is “very happy” about the achievement.

Nine-year-old Tani Adewumi was hoping to defend his title this weekend at the New York State Scholastic Chess Championship. The tournament was canceled due to Coronavirus. When Tani won the primary school division in 2019, he was living with his family in a homeless shelter.

“I’m very happy that I won and that I got the title. I’m very happy with myself. I really love that I finally got it,” he said in a recent interview.

Denzel Washington, Mark Burnett Rent Out Theaters To Screen Christian Film On Chicago Homicides

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Hollywood stars, including Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, have rented out movie theaters to show their support for a pastor-led documentary that opened in theatres nationwide Wednesday, “Chicago: America’s Hidden War.”

The timely documentary, led by Christian pastor Dimas Salaberrios, landed on this year’s Oscar eligibility list for an Academy Award in the best documentary feature category and has caught the attention of the 66-year-old Washington and his wife, Pauletta, along with other celebrities.

“‘Chicago America’s Hidden War’ pulls back the curtain to expose the pervasive genocidal-like behavior, explain what birthed and contributed to this war and why so little is done to stop it, and ultimately inspires a clear path toward change,” the film’s synopsis states. “It’s time for us all to unite and take a stand because this is no longer America’s Hidden War. This is Our War.”

The film, recently covered by Forbes, features firsthand testimonies from pastors, gangbangers and children who say they only feel safe “in school and in the church” as violence continues to increase.

Stars who joined Washington by renting out theaters to screen the film include Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the creators of the record-breaking television miniseries “The Bible.”

Others include Charlamagne tha God, Willie Robertson, Darryl Strawberry, Dexter Darden, JoJo, Curtis Martin, Dean and Scott Winters, Angie Stone, BeBe Winans and Clifton Davis.

Theaters were offering buyouts in partnership with the producers of the film following the reopening of theaters.

Youth programs are also taking kids to see the film with the help of Hollywood celebrities, social justice leaders, faith communities and media personalities.

Directed by Daylight Supreme, the documentary was produced by Dimas and Tiffany Salaberrios, Mark W. Shaw, John Shepherd, A.R. Bernard, Lu-Shawn Thompson, David Pierce, Ron Hall, Eric Rojas, Richard Steele and Max Zoghbi in association with Miss Muffet Studios, Six+One Studios, Shaw Entertainment Group and SDG.

2020 SSCE Result: 115 Inmates In Enugu Record Credit Passes In English Language, Mathematics

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No fewer than 115 inmates in Enugu recorded credit passes in English Language and Mathematics in the last National Examination Council (NECO)-organised Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) (External).

Public Relations Officer of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Monday Chukwuemeka, Enugu State Command, disclosed this in a statement in Enugu , adding that inmates in the state had been excelling in SSCE.

According to him, in 2018, 84 inmates got credit passes in English Language and Mathematics while 136 inmates got credit passes in English Language and Mathematics in 2019.

He said that all the inmates were tutored within the custodial centre.

He disclosed that the Nigerian Correctional Service under the leadership of Haliru Nababa focuses on educational development as a viable tool for reforming offenders.

With the NCoS Act of 2019; the service has created a paradigm shift in the treatment of inmates in custody.

The paradigm shift to correction and reform has given rise to the opportunity for inmates to actualise their educational aspirations while in reformatory/rehabilitation process,’’ he said.

The spokesman said that the Controller of Enugu State Command of NCoS, Joseph Emelue, commended the inmates for the feat.

Chukwuemeka said that the controller appealed to members of the public to see the inmates as reformed upon release and avoid any form of stigmatisation.

Yaba College Of Technology Researchers Win Ford Foundation’s $100,000 Grant

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The Yaba College of Technology in Lagos State has described as laudable, winning of 100,000 US Dollars Ford Foundation grant by three of its researchers/staff members.

Deputy Registrar of the college, Joe Ejiofor, told journalists in Lagos that the fund would further support efforts to develop the institution.

Ejiofor listed the three researchers who jointly wrote a proposal that won the grant to include Dr Adeleke Abiodun of the Department of Chemical Science and Dr Funmilayo Doherty of the Department of Biological Science and Dr Odun Orimolade  of the Department of Fine Arts, according to Ejiofor.

According to the deputy registrar, who is also the institution’s Public Relations Officer, the research team also won a similar grant two years ago.

The first grant they won in 2019 was used to develop an institutional policy on sexual harassment and gender-based policy, as well as set up a museum for the college.

He said there is a proposal to use the second grant for the Yaba Art Museum.

Ejiofor said that the museum would host an archive presentation of “Living Blue” on the life and work of Chief Nike Okundaye, who was committed to youth development and gender advocacy.

It will also accommodate Yaba Cartoon Nation which will present archives of cartooning as a tool for social justice advocacy in Yaba alumni pursuits.

French Cinemas Face 400-Film Backlog In Preparation To Reopen

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France’s love with cinema threatens to be an overwhelming experience next week, when theatres finally reopen — the scheduling challenge of a massive backlog of 400 films.

On the outskirts of Paris, cinema owner Stephane Goudet is poring over the long list of options, trying to figure out how to give as many films as possible their shot at succeed.

Some had just been released and were scoring well when the second lockdown in October stopped them in their tracks.

Among them were French film “DNA”, by award-winning director Maiwenn. And also doing well when the curtains fell was Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round”, starring Mads Mikkelsen, which picked up this year’s foreign film Oscar.

No less than 45 films are slated for release when cinemas reopen on May 19 after six months of pandemic-induced closure — two to three times the usual number.

The authorities have encouraged cinemas to play multiple films in each screening room, so Goudet crams in 18 movies across his six screens for the opening week.

Russia To Send Film Crew To ISS For First Movie In Space

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Russia’s space agency said Thursday it was sending an actress and a director to the International Space Station in October to make the first feature film in space.

“Filming will take place at the International Space Station. The start of the expedition is scheduled for October 5, 2021 from the Baikonur cosmodrome on the Soyuz MS-19 manned transport spacecraft,” Roscosmos said in a statement.

Actress Yulia Peresild, 36, and director Klim Shipenko, 37, will undergo special training, including tests on a centrifuge and flights in zero gravity, starting no later than 1 June.

Their pre-flight training will be documented by one of Russia’s main TV channels, Channel One, which will also be involved in producing the film.

The film’s working title is “Challenge” and will be in the genre of a “space drama”, Roscosmos said, without providing details about the plot of the film or Peresild’s role.

Roscosmos said in September the movie will aim to “popularise Russia’s space activities, as well as elevate cosmonaut profession”.

The film will be co-produced by Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s space agency, with the ambition of making Russia the first country to shoot a film in space.

Last year, US space agency NASA confirmed that it will be teaming up with actor Tom Cruise to make a Hollywood movie on the ISS.

Madame Tussauds Moves Prince Harry And Meghan Waxworks From Royals

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A year after leaving their royal duties to move to Los Angeles, Madame Tussauds has now decided waxwork models of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan now belong in the attraction’s Hollywood zone and not with the other members of the House of Windsor.

The couple, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, quit royal duties to forge new independent careers on the other side of the Atlantic.

Now their waxwork models have been shifted from their place in the royal section of Madame Tussauds in London to join other celebrities, the famous attraction said on Thursday.

“Harry and Meghan have moved zones – Madame Tussauds London has moved its figures of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to their brand new Awards Party zone to reflect their move from Frogmore to Hollywood,” Madame Tussauds said in a statement, referring to the couple’s former British home Frogmore Cottage.

Harry appeared on the “Armchair Expert” podcast hosted by U.S. actor Dax Shephard, in which he likened his life as a royal to the “Truman Show”, a film about a man who unwittingly grew up as the central character in a popular worldwide television reality show.

He also disclosed that when he first began dating Meghan, they met in a supermarket to avoid paparazzi photographers, and that the couple enjoyed more freedom after moving to California with young son Archie.

“Living here now, I can actually lift my head and actually I feel different, my shoulders have dropped, so have hers, you can walk around feeling a little bit more free,” he said.

“I get to take Archie on the back of my bicycle. I would never have the chance to do that.”

US Seizes ‘Top Glove’ Shipment Over Disregard Of Ban

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A shipment of latex gloves by Malaysian manufacturers Top Glove, have been seized by US customs authorities for flouting ban. The shipment was found in Kansas City despite an import ban on its products over forced labour allegations.

In a statement, the US Customs and Border Protection said the 4.68 million latex gloves produced by a Top Glove unit in Malaysia with an estimated value of $690,000 was the second shipment seized from the company in the space of a week.

US Customs prohibited the import of Top Glove products last year, saying that upon investigation, it had found evidence of multiple forced labour indicators in Top Glove’s production process, including debt bondage, excessive overtime, abusive working and living conditions, and retention of identity documents.

Top Glove said that it has since resolved all indicators of forced labour in its operations. They have also been verified by London-based ethical trade consultant Impact Limited.

Sound Sultan Does Not Have Throat Cancer – Baba Dee

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Singer Baba Dee has debunked reports his younger brother Sound Sultan has throat cancer.

According to multiple media reports on Wednesday, May 12th, the 44-year-old born Olanrewaju Fasasi was said to have been reportedly diagnosed with throat cancer and currently undergoing chemotherapy in the US.

However, Baba Dee has expressed surprise at the news making rounds on social media while confirming the ‘Jagbajantis’ singer is ill but does not have throat cancer.

Baba Dee, in an interview with QENng,said: “He is sick and he is getting better in New York. But throat cancer. Na lie,” the man born Dare Fasasi wrote in the message.

He did not disclose the illness the younger brother is suffering from.