Singapore News Channel, Singapore News Network

Beautiful woman…

A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Tuesday honoring Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard, coinciding with the season premiere of his Fox hip-hop drama “Empire.”

Former Fox Television Group Chairman and CEO Dana Walden was among those Howard thanked in his nearly three-minute acceptance speech.

“A few years ago I was taken down by Hollywood and was told I would never work again,” Howard said. “But then, a young woman named Dana Walden had faith in me and allowed me to head her show.”

Directors Malcolm D. Lee and Dito Montiel preceded Howard in speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony in front of the El Centro Complex on Hollywood Boulevard, near the corner of Hollywood and Vine.
Lee directed Howard in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama “The Best Man” and its 2013 sequel, “The Best Man Holiday.” Montiel directed Howard in the 2009 sports action drama “Fighting.”

The star is next to the star of his “Empire” co-star Taraji P. Henson. It is the 2,674th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.

“Because my name is written in stone in Hollywood, as long as there’s a Hollywood Boulevard, Terrence Howard will still stand,” he said.

Business tycoon, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, says he hopes to give out a chunk of his $9.2bn wealth like billionaire philanthropist, Bill Gates.

Dangote, who is Africa’s richest man, said this at the 2019 Goalkeepers’ event hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in New York on Wednesday.

Dangote, who was a discussant alongside Gates, said he had been running the Dangote for over 25 years but he remained impressed by Gates’ philanthropy.

He said he found it amusing that a man who is from America could show so much love to Nigeria and invest in the lives of people he had no relation to.

The industrialist said, “When I started my foundation in 1994, I never realised we had this massive challenge in the health sector.

“Really, it was mind-boggling when we had this agreement to collaborate with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and that really opened my eyes to realise that there are a lot of challenges in health.

“At that time I didnt have the opportunity of meeting Biill but meeting Bill changed me into a different person. This is somebody that has nothing to do with us in Africa or Nigeria but he is putting his money and his soul into everything.

“He is very committed to helping humanity and that really surprises me a lot and I realised that he is a simple person and I never knew Bill would be this simple. He is a very soft-spoken guy and kind hearted.

“It is very difficult to find people like Bill in this world. Bill, we are very grateful and I can assure you that with my association with Bill, my only prayer is that in the next few years, I will try and give my chunk of wealth to charity.”

In his response, Gates thanked Dangote for connecting him with the governors in the North.

The American billionaire noted that he was not a sociable person as he preferred to communicate with people via email.

He, however, said it was Dangote who proved to him that one could make better impact by reaching out to powerful politicians who are in charge of policy.

The Kano State Fire Service has confirmed the death of three persons following an early morning fire on Wednesday at a flat at Gayawa Tsohowa, in Ungogo Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

Alhaji Saidu Mohammed, the spokesman for the service, disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Wednesday. Mohammed said that the victims included a 2 year-old baby girl.

“We received a distress call in the early hours of Wednesday from one Malam Mudassir Abdullahi at about 3:57 a.m. that there was a fire outbreak at a dwelling house. Upon receiving the information, we quickly dispatched a fire engine to the scene at about 4:08 a.m., to bring the fire under control,’’ he said.

He gave the names of the victims as- Malam Aminu Bala, 50, Rukkaiya Aminu, 30, and Aisha Aminu, 2. Mohammed, however, said that the remains of the victims were taken to the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, where doctors confirmed them dead.

Mohammed added that an investigation had commenced to determine the cause of the incident.