Beyoncé Announces New Album, Act II

Beyoncé announces new album, Act II, drops two new singles, Davido steals the spotlight at PUMA fashion show, Ivory Coast defeats Nigeria to win AFCON. Stay in the know with our Rave News Digest, which summarizes five of the hottest global news stories you need to catch up on, saving you time and energy. Consider it your daily news fix.

1. Beyoncé announces new album, Act II, drops two new singles

Beyoncé has announced a new album, Act II, which arrives on March 29. She’s also graced us with two new songs: “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages.” During the Super Bowl LVIII game, Bey revealed the news with a video on her Instagram. It looks like she’s going country for the second act of her Renaissance trilogy, based on the sound of both songs and the footage in the teaser.

While the album news came as a surprise, Verizon did hint that a Beyoncé-related ad would run this week. Sure enough, she starred in a Verizon commercial during the Super Bowl in which she teased releasing new music to break the internet. Minutes later, she did just that. Beyoncé also wore a white cowboy hat to the 2024 Grammys last weekend, perhaps as a nod to her country pivot.

2. Davido steals the spotlight at PUMA fashion show

Davido attended the Puma fashion show during the 2024 New York Fashion Week. The runway, “Welcome To The Amazing Mostro Show,” celebrated the return of the Mostro sneaker, first launched 25 years ago. The Nigerian superstar donned the event in a metallic jumpsuit styled with a silver duffle bag.

During an interview at the PUMA fashion show, Davido commended the fashion event and named the Mostro collection one of his favorites. He admired the elegance and darkness of the collection. He also said he would love to collaborate with Drake at some point in the future. In December 2021, Puma announced Davido as their global brand ambassador, and his long-term contract underscored the sportswear manufacturer’s commitment to the rapidly growing African market.

3. Ayanda Thabethe launches YouTube channel

Ayanda Thabethe is ready to give fans a glimpse into her life as she launches her YouTube channel. The media personality shared the first episode in which she spoke about what people can expect from her, highlighting the platform as a place where she will share things that make her life easy.

“We’re going to have guests on the show. I want to take the show slowly, organic. Make sure you guys find things useful that I use. I am a new mom and there are things I have found to be useful when you have babies, and I’m a girl about fashion, I’m a girl about presenting, I’m a girl about her home life,” she said. “There’s so much to me I want to introduce you guys to and let you get in on who I am and what I love using.”

4. More women come forward with abuse claims against Jonathan Majors

Jonathan Majors has been accused of abuse by two more women #THRNews pic.twitter.com/tbZ8L4mgKM

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 10, 2024

As Jonathan Majors currently awaits sentencing, more allegations of abuse have been brought against him. Two more women have spoken out to the media about their past relationships with the “Loki” star, including Maura Hooper, who alleges Majors emotionally abused her. Along with emotional abuse, Emma Duncan claims he physically abused her by choking her, throwing her around, and bruising her. Hooper’s and Duncan’s relationship with the Marvel actor reportedly overlapped, while neither was aware of it at the time.

Still, Majors maintains his innocence against physical abuse claims. On Thursday, January 8, his lawyer, –Priya Chaudry– argued Hooper and Duncan are both “toxic” and that the “Creed III” star has taken responsibility for his role while he was with them. Additionally, reports say the actor has had a history of toxic behavior outside of his personal life. Multiple situations allegedly occurred on the set of HBO’s “Love Craft Country,” which resulted in several complaints to the production juggernaut.

5. Ivory Coast defeats Nigeria to win AFCON

What a win for the host nation! 👏

Congratulations to Cote D’Ivoire on your AFCON victory! 🇨🇮 pic.twitter.com/vzPglP1i9Q

— Premier League (@premierleague) February 11, 2024

Sebastien Haller secured the Ivory Coast’s third AFCON title — a year after recovering from cancer — in a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Nigeria. The Super Eagles took the lead against the run of play after William Troost-Ekong outleapt Serge Aurier and powered a header into the top corner in the 38th minute. The tournament hosts weren’t going down without a fight, however, and had it not been for a brilliant goal-line block from Calvin Bassey to deny Max Gradel, they would have equalized just after halftime. The Elephants’ pressure finally told, though, as Franck Kessie headed home Simon Adingra’s corner to send the home crowd wild just after the hour mark.

Ivory Coast were growing into the game and took a deserved lead nine minutes from time as Borussia Dortmund striker Haller, who underwent two surgeries and chemotherapy after his testicular cancer diagnosis in 2022, exquisitely flicked home Adingra’s pinpoint cross. Despite a late surge, the Ivorians, who sacked manager Jean-Louis Gasset following their 4-0 group stage loss to Equatorial Guinea last month and appointed Emerse Fae as interim boss, held on to complete a remarkable turnaround at a raucous Alassane Ouattara Stadium.

Featured Image: @beyonce/Instagram

Our Weekday News Digest summarizes five of the hottest news topics worldwide–including celebrity news from Hollywood to Nollywood, the latest trending global headlines from American reports to top African news today, and the best sports stories in 2024.

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