But Princes siblings filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Trinity Medical Center in Moline, Illinois, where the singer was treated when his plane made an emergency stop on his way back from a concert in Atlanta days before he died in April 2016.

The family said the hospital should have investigated to see if Prince had taken a counterfeit medicine.

According to Minnesota prosecutors, doctors in Moline administered to Prince two doses of Narcan, which reverses opioid overdose, but did not test the pills in Princes system although the singer was famously insistent on his privacy.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Illinois Friday but revealed later by lawyers, also targeted the pharmacy chain Walgreens for allegedly dispensing medicine without proper checks.

What happened to Prince is happening to families across America, family lawyers George Loucas and John Goetz said in a statement.

The family wishes through its investigation to shed light on this epidemic and how to better the fight to save lives. If Princes death helps save lives, then all was not lost, they said.

Walgreens and the hospital declined comment on the lawsuit, saying they do not comment on ongoing litigation.

Prince is the most visible face of an opioid epidemic that, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, claimed more than 42,000 lives last year in the United States.

Prosecutors said that Prince died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl an ultra-potent drug that is up to 100 times as powerful as heroin in pills marked as the prescription drug Vicodin.

Prince, 57, was outwardly a model of health who fired bandmates over drug use but had been suffering pain after undergoing hip surgery.

Source: NAN

Music star, Oladapo Oyebanji, a.k.a Dbanj, on Wednesday said that a platform for Nigerian talented actors to showcase their scripts for sponsorship would be launched May 1.

He disclosed this during the 2018 Nigerian Entertainment Conference with the theme Understanding Emerging Markets, Trends and Opportunities in Lagos.

Dbanj who established similar platform showcasing talented musicians called Creative, Reality, Entertainment, Arts and Music (CREAM) in 2016, said that the platform would afford actors opportunities to showcase their scripts.

The Koko Master said that random selection would be done monthly and CREAM would be responsible for all the finances to ensure the most interesting ones were selected for production.

He said it would be a platform that provides the up and coming artistes the opportunity to have their songs recorded, movies and videos shoot for the budding artistes.

It would also help secure collaborations with established acts.

The first set of beneficiaries on the platform was Rayce, TK Swag, MKJ, Leke Benson, Legend Courage and recently Real Self.

We have been doing this for the musical industry since 2016, we want to rub off on the potential actors and actresses too because we realise there are talents too in that field who needs assistance.

Every month beginning from May, we will be picking 10 scripts we believe will interest the viewers and they will all be shoot and produced.

We have 3.5million subscribers already on CREAM platform and we expect more talented Nigerians to upload their scripts and music for possible assistance.

Legbegbe which is one of the most played song in clubs, radio stations and parties was a product of CREAM , this was done by Real self, featured Idowest, Obadice and Kelvin Chuks, he said.

Source: NAN

Britains Prince Harry has asked his elder brother Prince William to be his best man at his wedding to U.S. actress Meghan Markle next month, his office said in a statement on Thursday.

Harry was Williams best man at his own glittering wedding to wife Kate Middleton in 2011.

The Duke of Cambridge is honoured to have been asked, and is very much looking forward to supporting his brother at St Georges Chapel, Windsor on May 19th, Kensington Palace said.

Some 600 guests are expected to attend Harry and Markles wedding service and a reception inside Windsor Castle, with hundreds of others, including members of the public, invited to watch the wedding from the castle grounds.

Earlier this week William and Kate, whose official titles are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, celebrated the arrival of their third child.

Source: NAN

Disgraced television icon Bill Cosby was convicted Thursday of sexual assault by a US jury losing a year-long legal battle that was made tougher at retrial as the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

The frail 80-year-old Cosby once beloved as Americas Dad could now spend the rest of his life behind bars when he is sentenced for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.

His lawyer vowed that the battle is not over as he would appeal.

Im the happiest Ive ever been about any court decision in 42 years, said lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents 33 Cosby accusers.

Constand was in the packed courtroom in Norristown, just outside Philadelphia, as the verdict was read out to stifled sobs in the gallery.

A criminal conviction and possible prison term is a devastating final chapter in the career of the once towering figure in late 20th century American popular culture, the first black actor to grace primetime US television, who hit the big time after growing up as the son of a maid.

The jury, which deliberated for more than 14 hours over two days, found him guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Cosbys first trial ended in June last year with a hung jury.

The three counts constituted penetration without Constands consent, which took place both while she was unconscious and after she had been drugged. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

The pioneering African American actor and entertainer, adored by millions for his seminal role on The Cosby Show, sat in silence as the jury foreperson read out the verdict.

But after the jury was led out, the Emmy winner dogged for years by allegations of similar assaults made by dozens of women erupted in an expletive-laden tirade as prosecutors argued he was a flight risk.

The verdict was a vindication for the prosecution, after Cosbys first trial ended with the sequestered jurors hopelessly deadlocked after 52 hours of deliberations.

It also ended a winning streak for Los Angeles lawyer Tom Mesereau, who leapt to fame for getting Michael Jackson acquitted of child molestation in 2005, but who ultimately failed to deliver for Cosby.

A case with no physical evidence, the trial essentially boiled down to he-said, she-said, hinging on how credible the jury found 45-year-old Constand, a former basketball player turned massage therapist.

The Canadian woman said she went to Cosbys home to discuss her impending resignation as director of operations for womens basketball at Temple University, where he was on the board of trustees.

The actor offered her three blue pills to help take the edge off, which she took believing they were a natural remedy.

I trusted him, Constand said. But within minutes, she developed double vision, started slurring her words and lost consciousness.

When she came to, she said Cosby was penetrating her vagina with his fingers, groping her breasts and making her masturbate him.

I was limp and I could not fight him off, she said.

When Constand first reported the assault, the district attorney at the time initially refused to press charges.

Prosecutors reopened the case in 2015, nearly a decade after she signed a $3.4 million settlement with Cosby in 2006, claiming that new evidence had come to light just as other accusers came forward.

Around 60 women, many of them onetime aspiring actresses and models, came forward publicly to brand him a calculating, serial predator who plied victims with sedatives and alcohol to bed them over four decades.

Crucial to the second trial was Judge Steven ONeills decision to let five other women testify how Cosby had preyed on them in a similar manner, to demonstrate common plan, scheme or design.

Inability to consent

Prosecutors said Cosby used his fame to gain the trust of unsuspecting women, time and time again, and deliberately drugged Constand so that she would be unable to resist his advances.

This case is about trust, betrayal and the inability to consent, Kristen Feden told jurors, tearing into the defenses vicious and filthy character assassination attempts against Cosbys accusers.

She turned on its head the defense claim that Constand was a con artist, who pursued a grieving father mourning his sons murder and old enough to be her grandfather for a big payout.

The perpetrator of that con? shouted Feden in dramatic and emotional closing remarks. That man! she shouted, pointing at Cosby.

Mesereau and former federal prosecutor Kathleen Bliss sought an aggressive defence that portrayed Constand as a money-grabbing opportunist, who lied to extricate herself from financial worries.

Youre dealing with a pathological liar, said Mesereau, branding the 2006 settlement one of the biggest highway robberies of all time.

But ultimately, the panel of five women and seven men were unconvinced.

Hanging over the entire trial was the cultural watershed of the #MeToo movement, which since last October has seen a litany of powerful men from Harvey Weinstein to Kevin Spacey lose their careers.

Experts had suggested that changing attitudes towards sexual assault could make jurors more inclined to believe female victims.

Source: NAN

American rapper Kanye West reportedly lost nine million Twitter followers in 10 minutes on Thursday.

A slew of celebrities have unfollowed and spoken out against West following his bizarre Twitter tirade praising Donald Trump.

Perhaps most shockingly, members of Wests wife Kim Kardashians family unfollowed him on Twitter, including Kylie Jenner and Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian.

West, a 21-time Grammy award winner, published dozens of tweets on Thursday morning (NZ time) on a number of varied topics, including his love of Trump, according to News Hub.

You dont have to agree with Trump, but the mob cant make me not love him, said West.

We are both dragon energy. He is my brother.

Celebrities, including former friends of the Gold Digger rapper have unfollowed him on Twitter, including Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen.

Stephen Colbert addressed the series of tweets in a new clip for The Late Late Show.

After quoting Wests tweet where he said we have the right to independent thought, Colbert quipped: I independently think that Kanye has lost his mind.

Brother to brother, I just want to say put the phone down, the comedian pleaded.

Actor and rapper Ice T wrote a succinct summary of his feelings, saying he was done with the rapper.

Close friend John Legend wrote a series of tweets which did not directly mention West, but appear to be calling him out.

Legend concluded with: The defining trait of Trumps campaign and political profile was his embrace of white supremacy.

He made it clear every time he spoke. Some serious cognitive dissonance to ignore that for the others you might find appealing.

However, fellow musician Chance the Rapper however, tweeted his support of West.

Source: NAN

Real Madrid moved a step closer to a third straight Champions League title after substitute Marco Asensio hit the winner in a 2-1 semi-final, first-leg victory at Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old came off the bench to finish a counter-attack and complete the holders comeback win, giving Real the advantage for the return game in Madrid next Tuesday.

Bayern took the lead at the sold-out Allianz Arena through Joshua Kimmich, but Marcelo equalised just before the break.

Despite Bayern dominating possession and creating plenty of chances, Madrid claimed a sixth straight win, dating back to 2012, over the Bavarians in the Champions League knockout stage.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane pulled a surprise before kick-off by leaving both Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema out of the starting line-up.

Isco, who was replaced by Asensio at half-time, and Lucas Vazquez played either side of Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a subdued night up front in Munich.

The Portuguese failed to add to his tally of 15 Champions League goals this season, being denied a second-half strike by an offside flag, which would have made it 3-1.

James Rodriguez, who is on a two-year loan deal from Real, shone in Bayerns midfield and found plenty of cracks in the Madrid defence.

However, this just was not Bayerns night.

Both Thomas Mueller and Robert Lewandowski went agonisingly close with a string of chances.

The hosts suffered a blow with barely five minutes gone when Arjen Robben limped off to be replaced by Thiago Alcantara.

Bayern changed their system with right-back Joshua Kimmich moving up to plug the space on the right wing, which sparked the opening goal.

When Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich played the ball down the right flank, James released Kimmich with a perfectly-timed pass in the 28th minute.

The Germany international raced clear and caught out Keylor Navas at his near post to stun Real.

Bayern suffered their second early injury blow when Jerome Boateng was replaced by Niklas Suele on 34 minutes which is also bad news for Germany with the World Cup looming.

Real had a left-off when Ribery went one-on-one with Navas, but stumbled at the crucial moment.

Then from nothing, Marcelo conjured the equaliser on 44 minutes.

When Dani Carvajal headed the ball across the edge of the box, it landed at Marcelos feet and was in Bayerns net milliseconds later after a fierce left-footed shot.

It was the Brazilians third Champions League goal this season after also scoring in the knock-out rounds against Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

Real escaped again when Navas failed to hold a Lewandowski header just before the half-time whistle and the ball bobbled away to safety.

It shows how far Bale and Benzema have dropped out of Zidanes favour that Isco was replaced on the left wing by Asensio for the second half, but the move paid off.

Rafinha lost the ball in midfield after a Bayern attack, and Vazquez sprinted clear and put Asensio into space to curl past Ulreich on 57 minutes.

With 25 minutes left, Zidane threw on an extra attacker, as Benzema came on for injured right-back Carvajal.

Moments later Bayern came within inches of an equaliser when Navas denied Mueller with a reflex save.

In the final five minutes, Lewandowski beat Navas, but his floated shot flew just wide of the post to add to Bayerns misery.
*AFP

Source: NAN

Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss the rest of the season as well as the Russia 2018 World Cup, the club announced on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the midfielder was forced out from the field after 18 minutes of Liverpools 5-2 victory in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Anfield on Tuesday.

Liverpool FC can confirm Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains 2017-18 season is over for both club and country due to a knee ligament injury sustained against AS Roma on Tuesday evening, Liverpool stated on their official website.

The extent of the injury means Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to miss the remainder of the campaign for Liverpool, as well as the World Cup finals in Russia with England.

The 24-year-old was assessed by the clubs medical team at Melwood on Wednesday morning and no specific timescale is being placed upon his return to action at this stage.

However, Oxlade-Chamberlain will now begin a rehabilitation programme to enable him to reach full fitness again as soon as possible, returning to action next season.

Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool from Arsenal this season and has excelled after a slow start.

Source: NAN

Atletico coach, Diego Simeone has warned Arsenal: Diego Costa is coming to make you suffer again.

Having initially been ruled out of the Europa League semi-final first leg with a hamstring injury, Costa recovered sufficiently to travel to London with Atletico Madrid, the Mirror newspaper has reported.

And the fiery frontmans potential involvement tonight is bad news for the Gunners as he was their worst nightmare during his time at Chelsea.

He was public enemy No.1 whenever he faced Arsenal because of how he tormented and got under their defenders skin with his ability to spark trouble as much as his goals.

Costa scored three times in six games against the Gunners, was booked twice and also the cause of red cards for Gabriel and Per Mertesacker.

The Brazilian-born Spain striker also somehow dodged a red in the 2015 clash when Gabriel was sent off despite clashing with Laurent Koscielny.

Asked if he included Costa to intimidate Arsenal or give his own squad a psychological boost boss Simeone said: Knowing Diego Costa, I think all of those apply to him.

Both in England and in Spain, many teams have suffered at the hands of Diego Costa. Not just Arsenal.

He [physically] has improved. He trained hard on Tuesday and he trained on Wednesday and based on what we will see fit, he will either play from the start or from the bench.

He is just as motivated as the back-up goalkeeper, for example, as all the players. We are all very determined and motivated for this Europa League semi-final.

We know we will be up against a tough team who will cause us problems and Arsenal will demand us to be at our best.

Atletico will be Arsene Wengers final home European opponents after he announced he will leave Arsenal at the end of the season after 22 years in charge.

Simeone spoke of his admiration for Wenger and his longevity.

But having been linked with the Arsenal job in the past, he ruled himself out of replacing Wenger now the role is up for grabs.

Simeone said: No, I havent spoken with anyone at Arsenal. I love it here at Atletico

Source: NAN

Olympique de Marseilles Dimitri Payet set up both goals as he guided the team to an impressive 2-0 home win over Salzburg in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.

In London, a late equaliser from French striker Antoine Griezmann gave 10-man Atletico Madrid a precious away-goal advantage over Arsenal in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final at the Emirates.

A night which looked like Arsenals ended with a 1-1 draw on Thursday.

Arsenal were given a huge boost after 10 minutes when Atletico defender Sime Vrsaljko was sent off for stamping on Alexandre Lacazettes foot.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone was also sent to the stands for his furious reaction to the decision.

Arsenal missed a number of clear chances before Lacazette broke the deadlock in the 61st minute, heading Jack Wilsheres cross down into the corner to put the home side in front.

Atletico seized back the initiative in the 82nd minute, however, when Griezmann sped past Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny.

The Frenchman collected his rebounded shot off keeper David Ospina and calmly lifted the ball into the roof of the net.

The teams head back to Madrid for the second leg next week when Atletico, second in Spains La Liga, should have talismanic striker Diego Costa back in their line-up.

In Marseille,Florian Thauvin headed in Payets free kick after 15 minutes and Clinton Njie calmly slotted home in the 63rd to put Marseille in the driving seat against the Austrian champions.

Payet has played a key role in Marseilles run to the last four with five assists and three goals in the knockout stages.

The Frenchman is making a late bid for a place in Frances World Cup squad with an impressive run of form.

Salzburgs Fredrik Gulbrandsen had their best chance when he volleyed against the post late in the second half.

The second leg of the semi-final match will be decided on May 3 as Marseille travel to Austria with a two-goal advantage.

Source: NAN

US President Donald Trump tweeted support for the North American FIFA 2026 World Cup bid Thursday, and hinted nations who oppose it could face political repercussions.

The U.S. has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada