John Boyega calls out Disney, Nigeria receives the COVID-19 vaccine from Russia, Ghana and Nigeria meet to discuss trade, Messi to remain in Barca, and more. Stay in the know with our Rave News Digest which summarizes five of the hottest global news you need to catch up on, saving you time and energy. Consider it your daily news fix.
Here is a rundown of five of the hottest news topics…
1. Star Wars actor John Boyega says Disney sidelines actors of color
John Boyega is accusing Disney of failing to develop complex minority characters in the Star Wars film trilogy, which ended last year. The actor told GQ that the entertainment giant did not know what to do with the roles played by him and other non-White actors in “The Rise of Skywalker.” Boyega played Finn, a character that wielded a lightsaber in the first film and was then edged to the sidelines.
“What I would say to Disney is ‘Do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side,'” John Boyega said to GQ magazine. “It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
Disney is yet to comment.
2. Nigeria receives Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine
The Federal Government on Friday received samples of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine. Russia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshin, delivered the samples to the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, during a visit to the ministry in Abuja.
Others present during the visit were the Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora; top management of the Health Ministry, and other Nigerian Scientists. This was contained in a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Information, Media, and Public Relations, Olujimi Oyetomi. The statement was titled, “Russian Federation Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Alexey L. Shebarshin on a courtesy visit to Nigeria’s Health Ministers, Russian-made COVID-19 Vaccine finally here.”
3. Ghanaian President meets with Nigerian diplomats to discuss trade arbitrations
A delegation led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Femi Gbajabiamila, called on President Akufo-Addo to discuss some pertinent issues. The courtesy call, which was on Thursday, September 3, 2020, saw discussions centered on strengthening further the already-strong ties of co-operation and the bonds of friendship that exist between the two countries.
According to reports, prior to their visit to the president, the delegation from Nigeria called on the Speakers of the Parliament of Ghana and the House of Representatives of Nigeria to resolve to work towards regularising trading activities in both countries. Addressing a joint press briefing in Accra, Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, indicated that the Trade and Industry Committees of the respective houses have been tasked to work out the modalities of the process.
This was contained in a communiqué issued after a two-day bilateral discussion regarding recent hostilities in respect of the closure of shops of Nigerian retail traders and the demolition of a property belonging to the Nigerian High Commission in Accra.
4. South Africa: Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams submits herself to ANC integrity commission after recent controversies
Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams announced on Friday that she would voluntarily submit herself to the ANC’s integrity commission. According to a statement from her ministerial spokesperson, Mish Molakeng, her decision followed “the publication of a series of speculative media reports in recent weeks alleging possible business dealings, by senior officials, in state-owned entities under her portfolio and members of her family.”
“I have emphasised to my department, and all officials in the public entities that fall under my portfolio, that we must be resolute in eradicating corruption and lead by example in fighting impropriety in the entities we oversee,” Ndabeni-Abrahams said, according to the statement. She said in a show of commitment to eradicating corruption in her department and to protect the integrity of her office, and in line with the example already set by President Cyril Ramaphosa, she had also subjected herself voluntarily to the ANC’s integrity commission to address any allegations of impropriety that had been leveled against her office.
5. Messi to remain at Barca for the 2020/21 season
Lionel Messi will remain in Barca for the coming 2020/21 season to avoid getting into any form of a legal dispute with the club. Messi had earlier notified the club of his intention to leave but the club management has refused to let the player go by activating a 700-million-euro release clause in his contract.
Messi has said he is going to remain at the club in the interim “to avoid dragging his beloved club, Barca, to court. When I communicated my wish to leave the club to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama. The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.”
I thought and was sure that I was free to leave, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not. “Now they cling to the fact that I did not say it before June 10, when it turns out that on June 10 we were competing for La Liga in the middle of this awful coronavirus and this disease altered all the season. There was another way and it was to go to trial. But I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived and I gave it everything. I know that it never crossed my mind to take Barca to court.”
Cover photo credit: Instagram – johnboyega
Our Week Day News Digest brings you a summary of five of the hottest news topics including the Nigerian news today, top African news, latest trending global headlines, sports stories, celebrity news from Nollywood to Hollywood. 2020
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