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  The producer behind K-pop sensation BTS was the highest-paid employee in South Korea in the first half of this year, reports said on Wednesday, outranking some of the country’s richest business leaders. The trailblazing septet have reached global superstardom with their single “Dynamite” entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number one last year, making them the first South Korean act to top the US chart. They are credited with generating billions for the South Korean economy, and last year their label HYBE made a high-profile stock market debut. Kang Hyo-won, the chief producer of several of the group’s megahits including “Blood Sweat & Tears”, “DNA” and “Idol”, made more than 40 billion won ($34.2 million) in the January to July period, a regulatory filing by his agency HYBE showed. That made Kang, 37 and also known as Pdogg, the top paid staff member at any listed South Korean company in the first half of the year, reports said. His wages were around 38 million w...

Drake has opened up about having Covid-19, revealing that he has lingering hair loss as a side effect. The Canadian singer-rapper replied to a fan account on Instagram who posted a photo of Drake in the studio with a faded hairline, the heart shape only half visible. “That heart is stressed,” the user captioned the post. “I had Covid that sh*t grew in weird I had to start again,” Drake commented on the post. “It’s coming back don’t diss.”

English comedian and actor Sean Lock has died at the age of 58.  The former  8 Out of 10 Cats  and standup comedian, who was a regular panelist on TV shows including  Have I Got News For You ,  Would I Lie To You?  and  QI, had been  suffering from cancer. He was best known for being the team captain on Channel 4 series  8 Out of 10 Cats , presented by Jimmy Carr, for 10 years from 2005. He was replaced by Rob Beckett in 2016. Comedian Lee Mack, who was a close friend of Lock’s, shared a statement in tribute to his fellow comic, hailing him as “a true original both in comedy and life”. He described the news as “heartbreaking”, adding: “I will miss him so much.” A statement from Lock’s agent, Off The Kerb Productions, said: “It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Sean Lock. He died at home from cancer, surrounded by his family. “Sean was one of Britain’s finest comedians, his boundless creativity, lightning wit an...

Victoria Beckham is reportedly trying to help K im Kardashian as she is keen to start dating again after split from husband, rapper and entrepreneur, Kanye West. Kim, 40, whose divorce from the rapper is yet to be finalised, is reportedly keen to start dating a new man and has asked Victoria Beckham to help find a real match for her. According to the Heat, the 'Keeping UP With The Kardashians' star, who shares four children with West, is said to still feel "raw" following the breakdown of her marriage but is preparing to reenter the dating game with the help of David Beckham's wife. The report adds that Kim Kardashian believes that Victoria Beckham is the perfect person to help her move on from 44-year-old Kanye West.  The two celebrities have become close since Kim attended the 47th birthday party of Victoria in Miami.  A source told Heat magazine: "They see a lot of similarities in each other and Kim really admires how Victoria has had such a succe...

Pope Francis has made an urgent appeal to people to get inoculated against COVID-19, saying the vaccines could bring an end to the pandemic.  The pontiff made the personal appeal in a filmed public service message that was released online and on television on Wednesday, August 18.   “Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from Covid-19,” Pope Francis said in the message, which he made on behalf of the U.S.-based nonprofit group the Ad Council. He said the vaccines “bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we collaborate with one another.” The pontiff added that getting vaccinated “is a simple yet profound way to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable.”    Church officials in North and South America also appeared in the three-minute message, including Archbishop José Horacio Gómez of the United States, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico, and Cardinal Carlos R...

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled his country with $169million in his cash-stuffed helicopter and has been given asylum in Dubai on 'humanitarian grounds,' it has emerged. Ghani fled the country on Sunday night to avoid bloodshed, as the Taliban closed in on the capital Kabul.  He reportedly took with him four cars and a helicopter loaded with $169million in bags of cash - but was forced to leave some of the money behind as it would not all fit in the flight.    Earlier reports said Ghani had fled to Uzbekistan, citing Russian Embassy sources. It was also claimed that the former president had flown to Tajikistan, but diverted to Oman when officials in Dushanbe refused him permission to land.     Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the embassy, said: ‘As for the collapse of the regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled Afghanistan.   ‘Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the mo...

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed that he has been battling diabetes for the past 35 years.  Obasanjo made the disclosure at the closing ceremony of the Ogun State Diabetes Youth Development Camp, held in Abeokuta, Ogun state on Wednesday August 18.  The former President who reiterated that diabetes is not a killer disease, told children to abstain from consuming sugar, foods with carbohydrates and always take their insulin injection in order to manage the disease well. He said;  “I have been diagnosed of diabetes for more than 35 years now and here I am, I’m still going about, I’m still jumping up and down, I’m still doing many things many people of my age cannot do. “Since I was diagnosed of diabetes, a number of my friends have died and the reason is because they just did not manage their diabetes the way they should manage it.  “It does not matter whether you are type one or type two, so far there is no cure for diab...

Former US President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush have expressed their 'deep sadness' over the events unfolding in Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of the country.   In a statement issued late on Monday night, August 16, the former president and his wife said their 'hearts are heavy for both the Afghan people who have suffered so much and for the Americans and NATO allies who have sacrificed so much.'  Before now, Bush had criticized the planned withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan just last month, warning that civilians would be left to be 'slaughtered' by the 'brutal' Taliban and women and girls would face 'unspeakable harm.'  After expressing his condolences, Bush and his wife went on to recognize the veterans who had served in Afghanistan, lauding their accomplishments and recognizing the wounds, both visible and invisible, suffered by those who were embroiled in the conflict.  The fo...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Kaduna Zonal Command, has arrested 10 persons for alleged Internet-related fraud The agency in a statement released gave the names of the suspects as Ezenwa Peter, Fahad Ahmad, Alyassau Mohammed, Nehemia Joel, Enoch Simon, Kabson Ziryi Beloved, Japheth Audu, Olatunji Abimbola, Innocent Arzuka and David Samuel. According to the statement, the suspects were arrested at a hotel along Karji Expressway, Kaduna following intelligence on their alleged internet fraud activities. Investigation revealed that the suspects specialize in love/marriage scams, identity theft, and impersonation as they created fictitious social media accounts to defraud innocent victims. Some of them are said to be pickers or receivers of proceeds of fraudulent acts. The suspect will be arraigned in court at the conclusion of the investigation.

  New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a nationwide lockdown after the country confirmed one coronavirus case — the first locally transmitted Covid-19 case in the community since February. Ardern told a press conference Tuesday authorities were assuming it was the contagious Delta variant, although genome sequencing is still underway. An unvaccinated 58-year-old man in the country’s largest city Auckland tested positive for the virus. The man had traveled to other parts of the country, and had obvious link to the border, Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said Tuesday.   New Zealand will be under the strictest level lockdown level for the next three days starting from 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, local time, Ardern said. Under level four lockdown, everyone must stay home and businesses are closed aside for essential services such as supermarkets and pharmacies.

The Federal High Court Abuja has frozen the bank accounts of some investment and trading platforms that Nigerians have been using to transact online. Justice Ahmed Mohammed made the order on Tuesday while delivering his ruling in an ex parte application filed by the Central Bank of Nigeria through its lawyer, Micheal Aondoakaa (SAN). Justice Mohammed stated that persons who were aggrieved by the order could approach the court for redress. The CBN told the court that the financial activities of the defendants were being probed for operating without obtaining licence as asset management companies and utilizing FX sourced from the Nigerian FX market for purchasing foreign bonds/shares in contravention of the CBN circular referenced TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/012, dated July 01, 2015. The defendants affected by the order are Rise Vest Technologies Limited, Bamboo Systems Technology Limited, Bamboo Systems Tech. Ltd OPNS, Chaka Technologies Limited, CTL/Business Expenses and Trove Tec...

  The draw for the group phase of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, was conducted at the Yaoundé Conference Centre in host nation Cameroon on Tuesday evening. The draw was conducted by CAF competitions director Samson Adamu, and assisted by African legends, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Gaelle Enganamouit, Rabeh Madjer and Asamoah Gyan. Nigeria is the same with Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau. The host nation, Cameroon, is joined by Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cape Verde in Group A. The AFCON 2021 is scheduled to run from 9 Jan. to 6 Feb. 2022. AFCON 2021 group phase draw in full;

Superstar footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo has issued a statement about his future amid reports in Spain linking him with a return to Real Madrid.  The 36-year-old Portuguese and Juventus striker has 12 months remaining on his contract with the former Italian champions and has not informed the club that he wants to leave. Juventus have not also received an offer from Real Madrid or any other club, and on Tuesday night, August 17, the Portugal captain took to social media to end any transfer speculation. In a lengthy Instagram post, Ronaldo said his story at Real Madrid "has been written" with numerous trophies and titles, while insisting that he's only focused on the current season.  He wrote:   "Anyone who knows me is aware of how focused I am on my work. Less talk and more action, this has been my guiding motto since the start of my career. "However, in view of everything that's been said and written recently, I have to set out my position....

The federal government on Tuesday August 17, received 699,760 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines donated by the UK government.  Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Dr Faisal Shuaib who spoke during the official hand-over of the vaccine, said it is the first tranche of the 1,299,760 expected from the UK Government through the COVAX facility.   Shuaib said;    “I am glad to inform you that last night, we received 699,760 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the UK Government. We are most grateful to the government and people of the UK for this gesture. “This vaccine will be deployed immediately to the States (after NAFDAC’s approval), and would be administered as second dose to those who had earlier received only the first dose of the vaccine during the first phase of the vaccination rollout. “I, therefore, enjoin all those who have received AstraZeneca as firs...