Welcome to Olamama's blog!!!: August 2019

Friday, 30 August 2019

Woman who spent 35 years in prison for murder she didn't commit to get $3m

A woman who spent 35 years in prison for a murder she didn't commit will get $3 million in a partial settlement of a federal civil rights lawsuit, her lawyer said Wednesday. Cathy Woods, 68, will continue to seek additional damages from the city of Reno and former detectives she accuses of coercing a fabricated confession from her while she was a patient at a Louisiana mental hospital in 1979, according to her lawyer, Elizabeth Wang.

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France has blasted Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro after he appeared to mock his wife on social media.
Trouble started after Bolsonaro endorsed a sexist Facebook post about France's 66-year-old first lady Brigitte Macron. Bolsonaro's supporter posted a meme mocking the appearance of Mrs. Macron and compared her with Brazil's 37-year-old first lady Michelle Bolsonaro.
He wrote: 'Now you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?'

Vogue Magazine has described Burna Boy as “Nigeria’s Most Stylish Musician.”
Vogue featured the afrobeat star courtesy of his latest visual masterpiece, the video for his latest single 'Pull Up', shot by director extraordinaire Meji Alabi, and styled by his sister Ronami Ogulu. Burna rocks a yellow leather jumpsuit before changing into a snazzy sequin buttoned-down and black leather pants. His signature black dreadlocks are swept back into a stylish do and he rocks out to what is certain to be another hit from the album.

Imam Mohamad Tawhidi has criticized Muslims who insist on wearing the Burqa all the time. The Imam, popularly called Imam of Peace, shared photos of two woman covered from head to toe in the Burqa and tweeted:
"If you think wearing this your entire life is normal, then go see a doctor. If you think your wife should wear this her entire life, then go to hell."

Africa’s 100 metre hurdles champion Tobi Amusan ran a 12.68s to retain her title in the Women’s 100m final of the 12th Africa Games at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex on Wednesday.
The 22 -year -old surpassed Glory Alozie’s Africa Games record of 12.74s, which she ran 20 years ago in Johannesburg, setting a new one of 12.68s (-0.6) to win the event’s gold medal.
Burkina Faso’s Koala Yasmine ran 13.20s to win silver while South Africa’s Bieldt Taylon won the bronze medal with her 13.40s run.
Nigeria’s Ayemoba Ikaluse finished in 4th position with a time of 13.40s, while Francis Ruth did not participate in the race after opting for Women’s Heptathlon 200m event.

Ed Sheeran reveals he'll be taking an 'extended break' from music to spend time with wife

He has been touring the world for the last two years. And Ed Sheeran reportedly revealed that he will be taking an 'extended break' at his fourth and final homecoming show on Monday in Chantry Park, Ipswich, following the end of his record-breaking Divide tour.
The Shape Of You hitmaker, 28, is said to be taking a short hiatus from music in order to spend time with his wife Cherry Seaborn, who he married in December 2018.

2019 MTV Video Music Awards held last night, August 26, 2019, at the Prudential Center in Newark.This year, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande tied for the title of most-nominated artist as they received 10 nods each. Billie Eilish got 9 nods and Lil Nas follows with 8.

Lil Nas X performed his “Old Town Road” followup “Panini.” Lizzo performed “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell”.

Megan Thee Stallion opened the pre-show with a performance of “Big Ole Freak” and later performed a medley of “Hot Girl Summer” and “Cash Shit.”

It was indeed a memorable show. Below is the list of winners from last night.

Gavin Watson, the head of a South African firm accused of corruption, has died in a car crash close to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. "The man was driving into the airport precinct, when he allegedly lost control of his vehicle and collided with a concrete pillar holding up a highway bridge. The victim was certified dead on the scene by paramedics and a case of culpable homicide has been opened for investigation," the police said in a statement on Monday.

Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova to come out victorious on the first night of the US Open to reach the second round. The 37-year-old American who has 23 major singles titles took only 58 minutes to humble Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 in the US Open first-round match which took place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night ( August 26)

A plane was forced to make an emergency landing after the pilot fainted in the cockpit. The flight, which was on its way to Maderia from Manchester, had to divert to Porto in Portugal due to an "onboard medical situation", according to the airline. The pilot is understood to have been taken to hospital on arrival.

Michael Jackson was history at the MTV Video Music Awards Monday. The network quietly removed the late King of Pop from the name of its Video Vanguard Award without explanation during Monday’s show.
Page Six reported last month that MTV would pull Jackson’s name from the honor due to potential backlash after HBO’s controversial documentary “Leaving Neverland.” The film focuses on sexual abuse allegations against the star.

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk beats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win UEFA Player of the Year

Virgil van Dijk has been crowned UEFA's 2018/19 Men's Player of the Year. The Liverpool defender beat Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award at a ceremony which took place in Monaco, France on Thursday, August 29, 2019.
The 28-year-old who also picked up the prize for the UEFA Champions League defender of the year, played an influential role for Liverpool as they won the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup. He also helped his team to finish second place in the Premier League and reached the UEFA Nations League final with Holland in the summer, where they were beaten by Portugal.

Xana, the daughter of former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has died five months after she was diagnosed with bone cancer. The 49-year-old Spanish legend took to Twitter on Thursday, August 29, to reveal that his 9-year old daughter had fought osteosarcoma 'bone cancer' for 'five intense months. '

A popular comedian in Zimbabwe, who has been critical of the police and government in her skits, was abducted and beaten up overnight, colleagues and rights activists say. Samantha Kureya, known by her stage name "Gonyeti" on the comedy show Bustop TV, was taken from her home on Wednesday night by armed gunmen, according to the Zimbabwe branch of the Media Institute of Southern Africa

To commemorate your visit to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, you can bring home a $200 lightsaber, a Chewbacca backpack, or a puppet Porg. But you'll have to leave your intergalactic soda far, far away.
In response to a question, the TSA indicated on Twitter that Star Wars-themed Coke bottles are banned from checked and carry-on luggage, saying, "Replica and inert explosives aren't allowed in either carry-on or checked bags."

If you love a good selfie , you might want to consider turning the flash on your smartphone off. A new study has warned that flashes from smartphone selfies could be giving you wrinkles. Researchers from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences have discovered that flashes from LEDs - which are used in most smartphones - can affect the skin’s ability to repair itself, leading to early ageing.

Anssumane Fati, a young football player from Guinea-Bissau became the youngest Barcelona player to play for the club since 1941 during the 5-2 win against Real Betis on Sunday evening (August 26).
The 16-year-old La Masia product was called up to first-team training by Ernesto Valverde last week after Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were sure of not making the game due to injuries.

Iranian female fans will be allowed entry into the stadium to watch men’s football World Cup qualifying match coming up in October in the Islamic Republic. The official IRNA news agency, quoted a Sports Ministry official as saying on Sunday, following heightened pressure from FIFA.

Hundreds of thousands of people in southwestern Japan have been ordered to evacuate their homes as torrential rain continues to hit the region. Authorities issued an emergency alert Wednesday, warning of mudslides, flooding and swollen rivers in Fukuoka, Saga and Nagasaki prefectures in Kyushu island. The agency initially issued its highest level alert, known as a level five, but later downgraded it to a level four.

An Italian car crash victim has died after being looked after by his parents for 31 years while he was in a coma. Ignazio 'Cito' Okamoto from Brescia, was involved in a collision on March 19, 1988, and suffered a brain haemorrhage at the age of 22. His friend was killed in the crash but he survived the incident. Ignazio spent two years in a clinic, but his parents decided to take him home to try to bring him back to health.

Meek Mill's 12-year long case has ended after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour gun charge in a plea deal. The US rapper was granted a new trial in July because judges ruled that his original trial in 2008 had credibility issues with the arresting officer. The judge in the new trial decided the two years Meek Mill had already spent in prison was enough.

Couple's £450 cake topples onto floor as they cut it!

Barcelona unveil giant statue outside Camp Nou in honour of late club legend Johan Cruyff

Barcelona have unveiled a giant statue outside their famous Nou Camp stadium in honour of late club legend, Johan Cruyff. The event took place today, August 27, with friends and family of the former Barca player and manager present at the ceremony.
Barcelona also named their new B team stadium in honour of the Dutchman, who played five seasons for the club between 1973 and 1978 before returning to manage them between 1988 and 1996. During the ceremony, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu addressed the gathered crowd as he spoke on the legacy Cruyff brought to the club.

He played the same lottery numbers for 20 years. He just won $60 million.

Bon Truong of Edmonton said he knew he won $60 million in the October 26, 2018, Lotto Max jackpot the morning after the numbers were drawn, according to a news release from the Western Canada Lottery Corporation.
Rather than claim his prize immediately, he decided to wait almost 10 months later because "he felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of his win," he told WCLC.

Emmanuel Adebayor has signed a one-year deal to join Turkish minnows, Kayserispor. The former Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City striker was a free agent after he left Istanbul Basaksehir earlier this summer, ending his three years career with the club, where scored 28 goals in 76 appearances.

Race car driver Jessi Combs, who earned the title of the "fastest woman on four wheels" after she set a record with a jet-powered car, died Tuesday while trying to beat a land speed record, officials said.
Combs died Tuesday in Alvord Desert in southeast Oregon, the Harney County Sheriff's Office said. She was 39.
"She was a brilliant & to[p]-notch builder, engineer, driver, fabricator, and science communicator, & strove everyday to encourage others by her prodigious example," said Adam Savage, former co-host of the TV show "Mythbusters."

For the second year in a row, Scarlett Johansson has topped Forbes’ list of the highest-paid actresses, earning $56 million including an eight-figure cheque for her upcoming Black Widow film and an impressive back-end payment of about $35 million for the $2.8 billion-grossing Avengers: Endgame.
Johansson is joined on the list by newcomers Elisabeth Moss and Margot Robbie, as well as returnees likeSofia Vergara and Reese Witherspoon. Together, the world’s ten highest-paid actresses tallied a combined $314.6 million between June 1, 2018, and June 1, 2019, before fees and taxes.

French football club, Nice has been purchased by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is the chairman, and chief executive officer of the Ineos chemicals group. The 66-year-old chemical engineer turned financier and industrialist who has an £18.664 billion fortune was on Monday (August 26) given the all-clear to seal the reported £91m deal with Nice's Sino-American owners by the French Competition Authority.

Nigeria’s Raymond Ekevwo has emerged as the winner of the 100m event at the ongoing 2019 African Games. He ran a time of 9.96 secs to win in Morocco
Another Nigerian, Usheoritse Itsekiri, came third in a time of 10.02secs. Both times by the runners are their personal best times.
This is the first time since 2007 that Nigeria will win gold in the men’s 100m event at the African Games.

Bangladesh court scraps women’s virgin status on marriage certificate

Women's rights campaigners in Bangladesh celebrated a landmark legal victory on Tuesday, after the nation's top court recently ruled that the word "virgin" must be removed from marriage certificates.
Under the current marriage laws in the Muslim-majority country in South Asia, a bride is required to state on her marriage certificate if she is a "kumari" — meaning virgin — a widow, or divorced.

A Jamaican man identified as Leon Haughton was detained for almost three months in the United States after bringing in bottles of honey from the Caribbean island that customs agents mistakenly believed to be liquid methamphetamine.
Haughton’s long ordeal began on December 29th 2018 at Baltimore-Washington International Airport when customs agents had a dog sniff his bags. Inside they found three bottles duly labelled as honey that Haughton, a 45-year-old father of three, uses to sweeten his tea.

Shaun Wright-Phillips has announced his retirement from football at the age of 37. Wright-Phillips made the announcement appearing on Sky Sports' Soccer AM this morning.(August 24).
He said: "I was trying to hold on to [my career] for as long as possible."But over the last few weeks, I've decided it is time to be official and say: I'm officially retired.
"I was doing stuff with Manchester City and little stuff with TV - and it helped me glide out of it.
"I knew growing up it was not something that lasts forever, but after I had my last operation, it fell into place."

South African authorities have seized a plane from Tanzania's national carrier. The Airbus 220-300 was due to fly from Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania but it was impounded.
It was not immediately clear why the action was taken, and South African authorities have not commented, media reports however said the aircraft was impounded because Tanzania's government had not paid the $33m (£28.8m) it owes in compensation.

After a blistering attack on coalition partner Matteo Salvini, Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said he will tender his resignation. Mr Conte said Mr Salvini had been "irresponsible" in creating a new political crisis for Italy for "personal and party interests".
Mr Salvini, the leader of the nationalist League party, had tabled a no-confidence motion against Mr Conte.
He also said he could no longer work with his coalition partners Five Star.
The League and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement formed a coalition to govern just 14 months ago with Mr Conte as an independent as prime minister.

Bullfighter gored in the groin during the Basque culture celebration in Spain (Photos)

A Spanish bullfighter was gored in the groin during Basque culture celebration Spain which runs for nine days in August. Gruesome images show the frightening moment Paco Urena was gored in the groin by an angry bull at the Vista Alegre bullring in Bilbao, Basque Country, northern Spain.
Mr. Paco was tussling with the animal as part of the Semana Grande (Big Week) fair before he was then seen making a pained expression as the bull lunges its horn between his legs.
More pictures after the cut

Court orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in Oklahoma’s opioid crisis

On Monday, August 26th, a judge found Johnson & Johnson responsible for fueling Oklahoma’s opioid crisis and ordered the health care company to pay $572 million to remedy the devastation brought by the epidemic on the state and its residents.
Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman’s landmark decision is the first to hold a drugmaker culpable for the fallout of years of liberal opioid dispensing that began in the late 1990s, sparking a nationwide epidemic of overdose deaths and addiction. More than 400,000 people have died of overdoses from painkillers, heroin and illegal fentanyl since 1999.

Five young people were killed and dozens more injured in a stampede at a packed rap concert in the Algerian capital, a spokesman for the rescue services said Friday. The stampede took place Thursday night as fans thronged an entrance of the August-20 Stadium where rapper Soolking was to perform.
The 29-year-old has won a huge number of fans in the North African country, his song "La Liberte" (Freedom) becoming a mainstay of anti-government protests that will enter their seventh month on Friday.

The PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta, United States was called off after six spectators were injured as a result of lightning strikes on Saturday August 24. The sad incident occurred after a 60-foot pine at the Tour Championship was struck by lightning which shattered the bark all the way to the bottom. The injured victims include four adults and one female juvenile who had sought shelter beneath the tree after the PGA Tour event was suspended for about 30 minutes because of storms in the area.

Marvel Studios has announced the release date for Black Panther 2. The highly anticipated sequel will officially hit theatres on May 6th, 2022. Marvel made this announcement at Disney’s D23 Expo on Saturday, August 24. Director Ryan Coogler will return to the franchise. Kevin Feige invited Ryan Coogler to the D23 stage to announce the highly anticipated sequel.

Authorities in Indonesia have confirmed that the inmates including convicted murders who fled for their lives during a prison fire this week have returned to finish their sentences. On Monday, August 19, more than half the jail's 500 convicts fled the building when it was set on fire by protesters rioting outside in Sorong city.
The riots and demonstrations occurred after the weekend arrest of dozens of Papuan students in Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya, where they were also targeted with racial abuse.

Space Smells Like Seared Steak
When you see footage of astronauts floating peacefully in space, do you ever wonder, What does space smell like? Well, according to some former astronauts, space does have a distinct odor that hangs around when they come back in the ship after a spacewalk. They’ve described it as “hot metal” or “searing steak.”

Prince Andrew breaks silence; denies knowledge of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s behaviour

Prince Andrew has broken his silence on his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Queen’s second son, who was friends with the disgraced financier, said that he never "witnessed or suspected" any improper behaviour by Epstein, who committed suicide in jail two weeks ago while awaiting child sex trafficking charges.

About 100 people were arrested at Notting Hill Carnival after attacks on Police officers

Nearly 100 people have been arrested so far at this year's Notting Hill Carnival as police are given extra stop-and-search powers to reduce a recent surge in violence across London. Among the 97 people arrested there were 12 suspected of assaulting a police officer after 11 were injured on duty on Sunday.
Nine were detained on suspicion of having an offensive weapon and 41 for drug offences.
There were also three suspected s-xual offences, one robbery and one case of suspected criminal damage.
Police patrolling the event in west London have been given extra powers to stop and search carnival-goers after a surge in 'incidents of violence' in the capital in recent weeks.

Villarreal awards players

Super Eagles of Nigeria star, Samuel Chukwueze won Villarreal’s Revelation Player of the 2018-2019 season during the club’s Peña Pardals Grocs Awards. The Villarreal fans club named the 20-year-old winger as the club's breakout star for the 2018-19 season, in which he scored score eight goals in 38 appearances across all competitions.

Billionaire industrialist David Koch, a driving force behind conglomerate Koch Industries who as one of the world's richest people became a major financier of conservative causes and political candidates, has died at age 79, his brother said on Friday.
Charles Koch, Koch Industries Inc's chairman, disclosed the death in a statement that touched on his younger brother's lengthy battle with prostate cancer and his philanthropic contributions to medical research, education and the arts.

India wants to ban e-cigarettes and give people who vape jail time, government documents reveal

India's health ministry has proposed a ban on the production and import of electronic cigarettes, documents seen by Reuters showed, potentially jeopardizing the expansion plans of big firms like Juul Labs and Philip Morris International. The ministry has proposed that the government issue an executive order banning the devices in the public interest, saying it was needed to ensure e-cigarettes don't become an 'epidemic' among children and young adults.

Gary Ray Bowles a 57-year-old man who admitted to killing six gay men in 1994 from Florida to Maryland has been executed. Bowles confessed to all six killings, but has been tried, convicted and sentenced to death for just one - that of Walter Hinton, who was killed in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
He met his victims in bars and, in each case, the victims were found with objects shoved down their throats. These included a sex toy, toilet paper and a towel, prosecutors said. Hinton was the last of the six murders, carried out in a gruesome eight-month period across Florida, Georgia and Maryland.

Franck Ribery has joined Italian side Fiorentina on a free transfer. The French footballer, 36, became a free agent in the summer after 12 years at Bundesliga club, Bayern Munich, where he made 425 appearances and scored 86 goals in all competitions. On Wednesday, August 21, Ribery signed a two-year deal with Fiorentina.
At his unveiling on Thursday, August 22, at Fiorentina's Stadio Artemio Franchi, the 36-year-old winger who will wear No.7 shirt for the club was given an incredible reception as he was welcomed by 12,000 fans.
"I'm delighted. Let's achieve something together," he told Fiorentina's official website.

A woman has revealed her shock after her manager asked her to shave for work, claiming hairy legs are a 'hygiene issue' and 'against company policy'. The anonymous woman, 21, believed to be from America, was horrified when her manager pulled her to one side and made the bizarre request.
Posting on Reddit, she explained that she wasn't a 'hairy person at all' and didn't want to 'waste time or money' on shaving.

Andy Ruiz Jnr has now reportedly agreed to fight Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia for their second bout in December. The world heavyweight champion who defeated Joshua in June to win the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles originally had 'security concerns' about their location for their rematch in the Middle East. But, after receiving reassurances and a bigger purse than the original figure of £8million, the fight is now set, according to The Athletic.
The fight between the British-Nigerian boxer and the Mexican-American star which is billed as the 'Clash on the Dunes', will take place on the 7th of December in Diriyah.

Friday, 30 August 2019

Thursday, 29 August 2019

Wednesday, 28 August 2019

Tuesday, 27 August 2019

Monday, 26 August 2019