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BREAKING: ”Queen of rock ‘n’ roll’ Tina Turner dies at 83″

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American-born singer Tina Turner, who left a hardscrabble farming community and abusive relationship to become one of the top recording artists of all time, died on Wednesday at the age of 83.

She died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, her representative said.

In the 1950s Turner began her career during the early years of rock and roll and evolved into an MTV phenomenon.

In the video for her chart-topping song “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” in which she called love a “second-hand emotion,” Turner epitomized 1980s style as she strutted through New York City streets with her spiky blond hair, wearing a cropped jean jacket, mini skirt, and stiletto heels.

With her taste for musical experimentation and bluntly-worded ballads, Turner gelled perfectly with a 1980s pop landscape in which music fans valued electronically-produced sounds and scorned hippie-era idealism.

Sometimes nicknamed the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Turner won six of her eight Grammy Awards in the 1980s. The decade saw her land a dozen songs on the Top 40, including “Typical Male,” “The Best,” “Private Dancer” and “Better Be Good to Me.” Her 1988 show in Rio de Janeiro drew 180,000 people, which remains one of the largest concert audiences for any single performer.

By then, Turner had been free from her marriage to guitarist Ike Turner for a decade.

The superstar was forthcoming about the abuse she suffered from her former husband during their marital and musical partnership in the 1960s and 1970s. She described bruised eyes, busted lips, a broken jaw and other injuries that repeatedly sent her to the emergency room.

“Tina’s story is not one of victimhood but one of incredible triumph,” singer Janet Jackson wrote about Turner, in a Rolling Stone issue that placed Turner at No. 63 on a list of the top 100 artists of all time.

“She’s transformed herself into an international sensation – an elegant powerhouse,” Jackson said.

In 1985, Turner gave a fictional turn to her reputation as a survivor. She played the ruthless leader of an outpost in a nuclear wasteland, acting opposite Mel Gibson in the third instalment in the Mad Max franchise, “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.”

Most of Turner’s hit songs were written by others, but she enlivened them with a voice that New York Times music critic Jon Pareles called “one of the more peculiar instruments in pop.”

“It’s three-tiered, with a nasal low register, a yowling, cutting middle range and a high register so startlingly clear it sounds like a falsetto,” Pareles wrote in a 1987 concert review.

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President Tinubu, Other Political Leaders Watch MKO Documentary

The documentary, MKO, directed by Nigerian-American filmmaker Ose Oyamendan, chronicles the life, political journey and legacy of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, with particular focus on the June 12, 1993 presidential election, its annulment, subsequent detention and the pro-democracy struggle that followed.

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President Bola Tinubu on Thursday attended the official launch and premiere of MKO at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts in Lagos, ahead of the film’s nationwide cinema release from October 2.

Chief MKO Abiola occupies a prominent place in Nigeria’s democratic history as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was annulled by the then military government.

The President was joined at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts in Lagos by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Others present included Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musawa, former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba and other dignitaries.

The documentary, MKO, directed by Nigerian-American filmmaker Ose Oyamendan, chronicles the life, political journey and legacy of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, with particular focus on the June 12, 1993 presidential election, its annulment, subsequent detention and the pro-democracy struggle that followed.

The film, which had its international premiere at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival in the United Kingdom in June 2026, features archival materials and first-hand accounts from key personalities connected to the period.

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Nollywood actor Cjay Nwokafor dies

Cjay, who began his acting career in 2021, featured in several Nollywood productions, including Larry Cold, Mum Overnight and A Day to My Wedding.

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•Nollywood actor Cjay Nwokafor

The death of Nollywood actor Chijioke “Cjay” Nwokafor has been announced.

Cjay, an indigene of Anambra, who began his acting career in 2021, featured in several Nollywood productions, including Larry Cold, Mum Overnight and A Day to My Wedding.

His colleague, actress Nkechi Blessing, announced his death on Instagram on Wednesday, sharing videos of herself with the late actor.

Blessing did not disclose the cause of his death but said she had cancelled the release of her movie, Egusi Ogbono, in his honour. Cjay featured in the film.

The actress had initially scheduled the movie for release at 5pm on Wednesday but withdrew it after a hospital confirmed the actor’s death.

Blessing said she spoke with Cjay at about 8am on Wednesday, only to receive news of his death a few hours later.

“Cjay Nwoke Oma, so this is really the end? Omo we had plans. I spoke to you at 8 a.m. today and a few hours later you are no more with us.

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WhatsApp introduces parental controls for teens

The new controls allow parents to manage how their teens use Channels, whose Status updates they can see and who can view their own Status updates.

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WhatsApp has introduced new parental controls that allow parents to manage how their teenagers use the messaging platform while keeping their private conversations protected.

The platform announced the controls in a blog post on Wednesday, saying parents and teens can set them up together to determine the WhatsApp experience that best suits their family.

Parents can choose privacy settings for their teens, including who can see their profile photo and who can add them to groups.

If a teenager wants to change some of the settings, parental approval through a parent-set PIN will be required.

Parents will also receive notifications when their teen joins or leaves a group, or when a group the teen belongs to grows significantly.

The new controls allow parents to manage how their teens use Channels, whose Status updates they can see and who can view their own Status updates.

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