World Sight Day: 400,000+ Beneficiaries, One Priceless Gift

A child can't read, a trader struggles to recognise a customer, and an older person needs help finding their way home. When it becomes hard to see, it also becomes difficult to learn, earn, and live independently. Sometimes an eye test, glasses, or prompt treatment can help. But what happens when that care isn't available?

That is the need First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation (TCF) set out to address when they launched Priceless Gift of Sight in 2009. By July 2024, the programme had provided free eye care to over 400,000 Nigerians, including eye tests, optical services, surgeries, and disease management.

Last week’s World Sight Day commemoration brought the next challenge into focus: how to make care accessible to more people—and keep it available.

Man mauled to d3ath after entering tiger enclosure at UK wildlife park

 

A man has died after sustaining serious injuries when he entered a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, according to South Yorkshire Police. 

Emergency services were dispatched to the attraction near Doncaster in northern England on Saturday afternoon following reports of a breach at the enclosure.

"At 1.35pm today (Saturday 10 October) we received reports of a man entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park," South Yorkshire Police said in a statement.

"Emergency services attended and sadly, despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene." 

Three sisters of Nigerian descent who drowned in the sea off Brighton committed suicide, inquest finds..

 Three Nigerian sisters whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton in the UK took their own lives, a coroner has ruled. 

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, had been living "very secluded lives" following the death of their mother, who drowned in 2010, senior coroner Penelope Schofield said.

On 11 May, the sisters, who had all been living together in Greenford, London, visited an area of Birmingham close to where their mother died before travelling the next day to Brighton beach, where they drowned in adverse sea conditions in the early hours of 13 May. The coroner said they could not swim.

NLC issues two-week ultimatum to FG on petrol price and minimum wage

 The Nigeria Labour Congress has given the Federal Government two weeks to reduce petrol prices and begin renegotiating the national minimum wage, warning that failure to act could prompt further action by the labour movement.

The ultimatum, which begins on Friday, October 9, 2026, was announced in a communiqué signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero after a joint meeting of the Congress’s National Executive Council and Central Working Committee in Abuja. The NLC directed its affiliates and allies to remain on alert, citing worsening economic conditions and declining purchasing power.

“The joint meeting-in-session notes with profound alarm the deepening misery inflicted on the Nigerian working class and the broader masses by the neo-liberal policies of the federal government and its state institutions,” the communiqué said. It added that “inflation continues to soar unabated, the naira remains traumatised, wages have been rendered worthless, and the cost of living has become unbearable.” The Congress said currency depreciation and rising prices had substantially eroded the value of the national minimum wage.

Zlatan announces wedding date as he releases pre-wedding video

 Zlatan Ibile, real name Omoniyi Temidayo Raphael, is set to wed. 

The Zanku crooner and his longtime partner, Davita Lamai, will get married on October 24, 2016. 

The singer made the announcement by sharing their pre-wedding video, which included a touching voice over from one of their sons. 

Nigerian-born football executive Lola Ogunbote has officially joined Chelsea FC Women as the new Head of Football Operations & Player Services.

 Nigerian-born football executive Lola Ogunbote has officially joined Chelsea FC Women as the new Head of Football Operations & Player Services.

Ogunbote moved to the London club after almost five years at Burnley, where she served as the club’s first Head of Women’s Football from 2021. During her time at Burnley, she played a key role in recruitment, player development, performance structures and the wider development of the women’s football programme.

Her spell at Burnley ended on a high, with the women’s team winning the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division title and securing promotion last season. Burnley confirmed in June that Ogunbote would leave the club at the end of the month.

The Kenyan Airways has confirmed the d3ath of a passenger on a flight from Nairobi to Lagos.

 The Kenyan Airways has confirmed the death of a passenger on a flight from Nairobi to Lagos.

In a statement issued Wednesday, October 7, 2026, the airline said the flight experienced a medical emergency on board on Tuesday at around 21:20 hrs Nigerian time as the passenger was found to be unresponsive appropriately 20 minutes before landing in Lagos. 

According to the statement, its crew administered first aid as per their training and followed all emergency procedures.

However, after landing at Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 21:41 hrs, the aircraft was met by medical personnel, and upon further examination, the medical personnel confirmed that the passenger had passed away.

Ex-'American Idol' contestant Caleb Flynn sentenced to life in prison over murder of his wife

 Former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Flynn is set to be sentenced after a jury found him guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn, according to TMZ. Flynn faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. TMZ said it would stream the sentencing hearing live.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Flynn shot Ashley twice in the back of the head and staged the scene to make it appear that a break-in had occurred. They also alleged that Flynn was having an affair and had sent his mistress a text message the night before the killing that read: “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow.”

President Tinubu declares three-day National mourning over the Ondo military aircraft crash

 President Tinubu has declared a three-day national mourning over the Ondo military aircraft crash that occurred on Monday, October 5.

The President has also ordered that flags should be flown at half-mast throughout the country as a mark of respect to the officers and others onboard the illfated flight.

In a statement released, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said President Tinubu “extends his deepest condolences to the family of the 25 passengers and seven crew members involved, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and all officers, airmen and airwomen of the Nigerian Air Force.”

“This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation. Our Air Force personnel put their lives on the line every day to secure Nigeria. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Photos from funeral service of Veteran Actor, Olu Jacobs

 The funeral service for late actor Olu Jacobs took place in Lagos on Friday, October 2.

The funeral service which was held at This Present House Church, Lekki, Lagos and had in attendance his beloved wife of 40 years, Joke Silva, their sons, grandchildren, family members, friends, and well-wishers.

Among those who paid tribute was Darey Art Alade, who performed his hit song Pray For Me, featuring Olu Jacobs and his wife, veteran actress Joke Silva.

The Deputy Governor of Lagos state, Obafemi Hamzat, first lady, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu and others was also in attendance. The actor’s son, Olugbenga Jacobs, presented his father’s biography during the funeral proceedings.

'I was not going to let others di£' - Pilot stabbed by co-pilot on FlyDubai flight describes cockpit attack that was almost Hijacked

 The Indian captain who helped thwart an apparent attempt to hijack a FlyDubai flight has spoken about how he fought for his life after his co-pilot stabbed him and the plane began a steep descent. 

Captain Smit Machchhar spoke on Friday,  October 2, while recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital. 

He told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call broadcast live on television channels that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save the passengers aboard the aircraft. 

"I had so many wounds. I had fallen down," he said from the hospital, his head bandaged and tubes in his nose, before breaking down as he recalled the attack.