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US Senate Declines To Fast-Track TikTok Bill

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A bill that would force the sale of TikTok from its Chinese owners or see it banned in the United States will move cautiously in the US Senate, key lawmakers said, after it sailed through the House.

The bill’s whirlwind House passage on Wednesday, and its backing from US President Joe Biden, had raised alarm bells that the app, used by 170 million in the United States, could be shut down within months.

But hopes from TikTok’s foes that the Senate could also move quickly were dashed, with key senators saying they would put the proposed law through the usual legislative process, which can take months.

“These fields are evolving and changing so rapidly that you can do a lot of damage by moving too quickly or without the facts,” Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, told the Washington Post on Friday.

Passing major legislation is especially difficult in an election year, and backers of the bill have bitterly predicted that the House’s proposed law would die in the Senate.

“What we’re likely to see happen in the Senate is people will nickel-and-dime it, a death by a thousand cuts,” Republican Senator Josh Hawley told Axios.

“Nothing that Big Tech doesn’t want moves across the Senate floor,” he said.

Senate leaders who would be in charge of shepherding the proposed law through a complicated amendment process and bringing it to a vote have been noncommittal on the bill.

After the House vote, Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat who chairs the Commerce Committee, said that she would “try to find a path forward that is constitutional and protects civil liberties.”

Republicans also expressed caution, and on Thursday former president Donald Trump reiterated his opposition to any ban of TikTok, asking his supporters to focus their anger on Facebook-owner Meta instead.

Trump’s position, which was surprisingly ignored by Republicans in Wednesday’s vote, is a reversal from his efforts as president to force TikTok away from ByteDance, its Chinese owner, efforts which were ultimately blocked by the courts.

Some Western governments have voiced concern about TikTok’s soaring popularity, alleging that the app’s ownership makes it subservient to Beijing — and could be used as a conduit to spread propaganda — claims TikTok and Beijing deny.

The White House has said Biden will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

AFP

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National Theater: The Bankers’ Committee “made me eat my words – Soyinka

President Tinubu stated that there was no controversy surrounding the renaming of the National Theatre, adding that he considered Prof. Soyinka’s contributions to the arts and culture.

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From left: First Lady Oluremi Tinubu; President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Prof Wole Soyinka and Lagos State Governor Babajide-Sanwo-Olu…yesterday.

Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka says that before the renovation of the National Theatre, located at Iganmu, Lagos, he thought it was irredeemable, but the Bankers’ Committee “made me eat my words.”’

The renovated edifice was renamed the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, by President Bola Tinubu, as parts of events marking Nigeria’s 65th independent anniversary, yesterday.

Soyinka praised the transformation of the building, noting, “If eating one’s word produces a morsel like this, then it’s a very tasty set of words.”

Soyinka emphasized that he accepted the renaming of the National Theatre after him : ” I never believed that the monument could ever be revamped.”

He admitted that he accepted the honour with mixed feelings, despite being a critic of many past leaders, who appropriated public monuments.

“I have to stand up in public and watch my name being put up as yet another appropriator. It just didn’t seem very well for me,” the literary giant said.

The Bankers’ Committee committed N68 billion into the project.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the occasion directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to float a National Arts Theatre Endowment Fund to ensure the maintenance of the national edifice.

Among the prominent persons at the event were First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, who coordinated the Bankers’ Committee, Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi, who is a former CBN governor; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.

The Bankers’ Committee committed N68 billion into the project.

President Tinubu said there was no controversy in the National Theatre being renamed, adding that he considered Prof Soyinka’s contributions to the arts and culture. Prof. Wole Soyinka is one of the greatest assets of the world. So, the renaming could not have gone to anyone else,” he said.

President Tinubu stated that there was no controversy surrounding the renaming of the National Theatre, adding that he considered Prof. Soyinka’s contributions to the arts and culture.

Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, disclosed that the Bankers’ Committee, the Lagos State Government, and the Ministry of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy came together with a shared purpose to deliver this national project, with the Bankers’ Committee alone committing approximately N68 billion, not as corporate social responsibility but as a deliberate investment in Nigeria’s cultural future.

He said that the project stands as proof that when the public and private sectors unite behind a shared national purpose, there is no limit to what Nigeria can achieve.

The CBN boss stated that 65 years after our nation’s founding, Nigeria’s creative spirit remains alive, pervasive and shaping global culture.

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Trump Imposing 100% Tariff On Movies Made Outside US (Implications for Nollywood)

Trump’s latest post echoes a threat he made in May, when he said the US movie industry was “dying a very fast death.

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US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he is imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States , claiming that his country’s industry has been “stolen” by others.

AFP reported that Trump’s remarks come shortly after he threatened a slew of new tariffs to be imposed this week on branded pharmaceutical products, furniture, as well as heavy trucks, respectively.

On Monday, Trump returned his focus to the film industry, charging in a Truth Social post that other countries have taken business from the United States, “just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’”

He criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom as “weak and incompetent,” adding that the state has been heavily impacted.

“In order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s latest post echoes a threat he made in May, when he said the US movie industry was “dying a very fast death.”

At the time, he said he was authorizing the Department of Commerce and US Trade Representative to start the process of instituting a 100-percent tariff

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Seven nollywood stars who ventured into politics

Over the years, some of its biggest stars have stepped out of the spotlight to contest elections and take up public office, proving that their influence extends well beyond the screen.

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Nollywood is more than just a movie industry, it has become a springboard into diverse careers, including politics.

The Nation reports that over the years, some of its biggest stars have stepped out of the spotlight to contest elections and take up public office, proving that their influence extends well beyond the screen.

Here are seven Nollywood actors who made the leap into politics:

1. Kate Henshaw : In 2014, Kate Henshaw declared her intention to contest for the Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Federal Constituency seat under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). She lost in the primaries.

2. Funke Akindele: Funke Akindele, popularly known in her popular film series, ‘Jenifa diary’, contested in the 2023 Lagos State gubernatorial election as the deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but lost the election.

3. Richard Mofe-Damijo :

Richard Mofe-Damijo served as Delta State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism from 2009 to 2015 under Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

4. Bob-Manuel Udokwu: In 2022, Bob-Manuel Udokwu was appointed Special Adviser on Entertainment, Leisure and Tourism to the Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo.

5. Kenneth Okonkwo

Kenneth Okonkwo, known for his role in Living in Bondage, joined active politics and became a spokesperson for the Labour Party during the 2023 presidential campaign.

6. Desmond Elliot: Desmond Elliot was elected as a lawmaker into the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2015 to represent Surulere Constituency 1. He was re-elected in 2019 and continues to serve in the Assembly.

7. Tony Muonagor: Tony Muonagor, popularly known as Tony One Week, was elected into the Anambra State House of Assembly in 2011 to represent Idemili North Constituency.

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