Entertainment

Joanna Lumley says wartime-style rationing could help solve climate crisis

Joanna Lumley has suggested that a system of rationing similar to that seen during wartime, under which people would have a limited number of points to spend on holidays or lavish consumer goods, could eventually help to tackle the climate crisis.

The Absolutely Fabulous actor, who has long campaigned against single-use plastic, said legislation could be the only way to curb the amount of waste produced by the public. “These are tough times, and I think there’s got to be legislation,” she told the Radio Times.

“That was how the war was – stuff was rationed – and at some stage I think we might have to go back to some kind of system of rationing, where you’re given a certain number of points and it’s up to you how to spend them, whether it’s buying a bottle of whisky or flying in an aeroplane.”

Lumley, who has been involved in conservation work, said that while many people remained poor, it was largely “the western world that stuffs its face and chucks stuff away”.

“Perhaps people have got to think a bit harder,” she said. “Maybe more of our holidays should be at home or taking trains, and not hopping on a plane to Magaluf for the weekend … Every plastic bottle you don’t buy, every piece of litter you pick up, every piece of meat you don’t eat, every small thing counts.”

Her comments come a week after Boris Johnson promised that transitioning to net zero could happen without sacrificing the things people love, claiming in a foreword to the government’s net zero strategy that technology would allow “guilt-free” flight by 2050.

While green taxes risk hitting the least affluent the hardest, rationing is seen by some as a fair and universal way to limit consumption. Critics, however, say it sacrifices economic growth.

As far back as 2006, the then environment secretary, David Miliband, argued that each citizen should be issued with a carbon “credit card” – to be swiped every time they bought petrol, paid an energy utility bill or booked a plane ticket – under a nationwide rationing scheme.

The historian Mark Roodhouse wrote in 2007 that rationing would be more effective than a carbon tax if governments needed “to reduce carbon emissions quickly and dramatically”.

In a new documentary on ITV next week, Lumley travels around the UK following the adventurer Sacha Dench – known as “the human swan” – as she attempts an epic 3,000-mile journey around the British coast in an electric paramotor.

According to ITV, the pair “meet environmental heroes along the way who show them surprising and fascinating ways to live more planet-friendly lives”.

But in September, just days from her journey’s end, Dench and her support pilot and photographer Dan Burton, who was flying a conventional paramotor, collided in mid-air over the western Highlands.

Burton, 54, a father of two from Devon, died, and Dench, 46, was seriously injured and remains in hospital. Lumley was not filming with them at the time.

“The shock was so vivid because it seemed such a short time since I’d been with them both,” Lumley told the Radio Times, explaining that the news reached her while she was working on a separate project in Berlin. “I couldn’t believe Dan would be [with us] no more … Dan’s family bravely insisted we complete the film, and Sacha sent a message, despite her critical injuries, saying: ‘Get the film finished.’ I was terribly moved.”

The resulting documentary, Joanna Lumley and the Human Swan, airs on ITV on 1 November and will be dedicated to Burton.

Entertainment

Court admits Mompha’s iPhone in ₦6 billion fraud case

BREAKING: Court grants Instagram celebrity, Mompha, N200m bail

An Ikeja Special Offences Court on Tuesday has admitted as evidence an iPhone belonging to social media celebrity Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, in an ongoing ₦6 billion money laundering case.

Mompha, who is still at large, is being prosecuted alongside his company, Ismalob Global Investment Ltd., on an eight-count charge of money laundering.

During the hearing, Musa Idi, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the sixth prosecution witness, testified that the phone had undergone forensic analysis conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He revealed that fraudulent documents were retrieved from the device during the investigation.

Led in evidence by EFCC counsel Mr. Suleiman Suleiman, Idi confirmed that the iPhone was seized during the course of the investigation. Suleiman subsequently requested that the court admit the phone as evidence.

Mompha’s counsel, Mr. Kolawole Salami, objected, arguing that the prosecution had not provided the required foundation for admitting the phone, citing the absence of a certificate accompanying the device as stipulated by the Evidence Act.

In response, the prosecutor argued that the Evidence Act’s provisions were not applicable in this case, urging the court to admit the phone regardless.

Justice Mojisola Dada overruled the defence’s objection, ruling in favor of the prosecution. The court admitted the iPhone as evidence, marking it as Exhibit P7.

At a prior hearing, two other documents—a statement from the first defendant and an asset declaration—were admitted as Exhibits P5 and P6.

The witness had earlier testified on July 1 about the EFCC’s investigation, which began after receiving intelligence from the FBI implicating Mompha and his company in cybercrime activities in the United States.

Justice Dada adjourned the trial until January 3, 2025, for the continuation of proceedings

Entertainment

Legendary British singer, Elton John loses eyesight

Legendary British musician, Elton John, has lost his eyesight.

At the premiere of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ The Musical in London on Sunday, December 1, the 77-year-old pianist revealed that while he couldn’t see the show, he thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.

Addressing the theatre audience, the award-winning singer expressed his gratitude for his husband’s support during difficult times.

He said, “As some of you may know I have had issues and now I have lost my sight. I haven’t been able to see the performance but I have enjoyed it.

“To my husband, who has been my rock because I have not been able to come to many of the previews.

“It’s hard for me to see it, but I love to hear it and it sounded good tonight.”

The music icon had earlier shared that he lost vision in one eye after contracting a severe eye infection during his vacation.

John is one of the best-selling artists of all time, renowned for iconic hits like Your Song, Rocket Man, and I’m Still Standing.

Over a career spanning six decades, he has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

His accolades include five Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards (including Outstanding Contribution to Music), two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globes.

Entertainment

Rapper Speed Darlington arrested again by police

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested Nigerian singer, Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington barely two months after he was released.

It would be recalled that the singer, also known as Akpi, was arrested on 4 October, following the release of a contentious video in which he allegedly mocked his colleague, Burna Boy’s association with American rapper Diddy, who has faced legal issues with the FBI over charges of sexual exploitation.

The outspoken Nigerian singer was, however, released on bail on October 9 after spending five days in detention.

His lawyer, Deji Adeyanju announced the latest arrest on Wednesday via a post on his official Facebook page.

He wrote, “Our client Speed Darlington, a.k.a AKPI has been arrested by the Nigerian police in Owerri at his show upon return to Nigeria”.