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Canadian Rapper Sentenced To 10 Years For Shooting US Artist, Megan Thee Stallion

Published

2 years ago

August 9, 2023

Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, convicted of shooting US artist Megan Thee Stallion in the feet during a drunken argument after a Hollywood party, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison.

A Los Angeles judge handed down the sentence after hearing how Lanez had ordered the hip-hop star to “Dance, bitch” as he shot at her several times while she stood on the road.

The sentencing follows Lanez’s conviction in December for assault with a semiautomatic firearm, discharging a firearm with gross negligence, and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.

Prosecutors had requested a 13-year sentence, claiming Lanez had caused physical and emotional scarring to the “WAP” performer.

Lanez’s attorneys had asked for him to be given probation or three years in prison, and mandatory rehab, including for alcohol addiction.

In a protracted sentencing hearing that began Monday, Judge David Herriford said he had received more than 70 letters on Lanez’s behalf, including from his celebrity friends.

One was from musician Iggy Azalea, whom he said had requested a sentence that was “transformational, not life-destroying.”

Another came from Lanez’s young son.

But the judge ordered Lanez — who has been in jail since his conviction — to serve a decade behind bars.

He said the prosecution had proven two aggravating factors, involving the use of weapon and a particularly vulnerable victim, but had not proven that the crime involved a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness.

Megan Thee Stallion — whose real name is Megan Pete — had been in a car with Lanez, his bodyguard and her friend Kelsey Harris after a party at Kylie Jenner’s luxury home in July 2020.

She and Lanez — whose real name is Daystar Peterson — had developed an intimate relationship in the months before the incident.

Harris, who only learned of the sexual relationship that night, had a “crush” on Lanez, she told the court, and an argument then erupted in the car, with Megan Thee Stallion demanding to be let out of the vehicle.

The “Savage” rapper said she saw Lanez pointing a gun at her and opening fire “after he said, ‘Dance, bitch.’”

Megan Thee Stallion told the court during the trial she felt she had “been turned into some kind of villain,” in the wake of the shooting, with the male-dominated rap world frequently seeming to be against her.

In a statement read in court Monday, she said she had not experienced “a single day of peace” since she was shot in July 2020.

“He not only shot me. He made a mockery of my trauma,” she said.

Related Topics:Canadian Rapper US Artist

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S’Africa Offers US New Trade Deal To Avoid 30% Tariff

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9 hours ago

August 12, 2025

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South Africa will offer a “generous” new trade deal to the United States to avoid 30 percent tariffs, ministers said Tuesday.

Washington on Friday slapped the huge tariff on some South African exports, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, despite efforts by Pretoria to negotiate a better arrangement to avoid massive job losses.

The ministers did not release details of the new offer but said previously discussed measures to increase imports of US poultry, blueberries, and pork had been finalised.

“When the document is eventually made public, I think you would see it as a very broad, generous and ambitious offer to the United States on trade,” Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said at a press briefing.

Officials have said the 30 per cent tariff could cost the economy around 30,000 jobs.

“Our goal is to demonstrate that South African exports do not pose a threat to US industries and that our trade relationship is, in fact, complementary,” Trade Minister Parks Tau said.

The United States is South Africa’s third-largest trading partner after the European Union and China.

However, South African exports account for only 0.25 per cent of total US imports and are “therefore not a threat to US production”, Tau said.

Steenhuisen said US diplomats raised issues related to South African domestic policies, which was a “surprise given the fact we thought we were in a trade negotiation”.

The two nations are at odds over a range of policies.

US President Donald Trump has criticised land and employment laws meant to redress racial inequalities that linger 30 years after the end of apartheid.

“Things like expropriation without compensation, things like some of the race laws in the country, are issues that they regard as barriers now to doing trade with South Africa,” he told AFP on the sidelines of the briefing.

“I think we’re seeing some form of a new era now where trade and tariffs are being used to deal with other issues, outside of what would generally be trade concerns,” Steenhuisen said.

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Over 600 Pilgrims Hospitalised After Chlorine Gas Leaked In Iraq

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2 days ago

August 10, 2025

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More than 600 pilgrims in Iraq were briefly hospitalised with respiratory problems after inhaling chlorine as the result of a leak at a water treatment station, authorities said on Sunday.

The incident took place overnight on the route between the two Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, located in the centre and south of Iraq, respectively.

This year, several million Shiite Muslim pilgrims are expected to make their way to Karbala, which houses the shrines of the revered Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.

There, they will mark the Arbaeen — the 40-day period of mourning during which Shiites commemorate the death of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

In a brief statement, Iraq’s health ministry said, “621 cases of asphyxia have been recorded following a chlorine gas leak in Karbala”.

“All have received the necessary care and left the hospital in good health,” it said.

Security forces charged with protecting pilgrims, meanwhile, said the incident had been caused by “a chlorine leak from a water station on the Karbala-Najaf road”.

Much of Iraq’s infrastructure is in disrepair due to decades of conflict and corruption, with adherence to safety standards often lax.

In July, a massive fire at a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut killed more than 60 people, many of whom suffocated in the toilets, according to authorities.

AFP

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PHOTOS: US Soldier Searching For Her Nigerian Father

Published

2 days ago

August 10, 2025

Editor

Old photos of Zainab James Parents, Lateef Quadri and Claudine James. Credit: Facebook

A US soldier, Zainab James, has launched a public search for her Nigerian father, identified as Lateef Quadri

The 31-year-old took to Facebook on Sunday to share old photographs of her father and her late mother, Claudine James, including one where Claudine was pregnant with her.

According to Zainab, her mother became pregnant in 1993, and she was born in 1994. Sadly, she lost her mother.

Old photos of Zainab James Parents, Lateef Quadri and Claudine James. Credit: Facebook

In her post, Zainab wrote, “Update: Mother’s name : Claudine James, born Decenber 9, 1969 in Montego Bay, Jamaica (deceased) , Hey All! A real shot in the dark but why not! My mom(pictured) got pregnant with me in 1993 ( I was born 1994) while living in Brooklyn New York. I’m looking for my father or any of his family. All I know is he was Nigerian, possibly named Lateef Quadri or something like that. They didn’t have a long term relationship as he wasn’t present at my birth but he did choose my name. No one in my family met him either. Apparently she was friends with his sister who worked in a jewelry store with her.”