Idris Elba, the British actor, is set to executive produce and star in the TV adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart‘.

The late Nigerian author first published the book in 1958.

‘Things Fall Apart’ is Achebe’s debut novel and the first book of the iconic literary mind’s African Trilogy, followed by ‘No Longer at Ease’ and ‘Arrow of God’.

The novel depicts the pre-colonial life in Igboland and the subsequent appearance of European missionaries and colonial forces in the late 19th century.

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The book was first brought to life as a movie in 1971 and a mini-series in 1987 with ace actor Pete Edochie playing Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist, who was famous in the villages of Umuofia for being a wrestling champion.

According to Variety, a TV series adaptation of ‘Things Fall Apart’ is in development by the American production studio, A24.

Elba will executive produce the series alongside Gina Carter under their newly launched 22Summers production company.

Also among the executive producers are David Oyelowo, Amanda N’Duka, Ben Forkner, Dayo Ogunyemi and Achebe Masterworks.

Idris will take on the role of Edohie as Okonkwo in the new series.

Things Fall Apart is the captivating story of Okonkwo (Elba), one of literature’s most iconic characters—a fearless African warrior and leader who is resolute about preserving his people and culture. As British colonizers disrupt his world, Okonkwo’s struggle to maintain power and tradition spirals into a heart-wrenching confrontation. His fierce resolve, a fatal flaw in the face of unstoppable change, makes him an unforgettable character, embodying the tension between strength, vulnerability and adaptability.

The news outlet reports that no writer is currently attached to the project, nor is it currently set up at a streaming service or network.

‘Things Fall Apart’ is seen as an archetypal modern African novel in English and one of the first such novels to receive global critical acclaim. It has been translated into over 60 languages and is a staple book in schools throughout Africa.

The novel is widely studied in English-speaking countries worldwide. It is also widely regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written.

Naomi Campbell, the British supermodel, has been banned from being a charity trustee in England and Wales for five years.

In a statement by the UK Charity Commission, Fashion for Relief, Campbell’s charity, was said to have been “poorly governed and managed financially” by the trustees.

The inquiry which was conducted between April 2016 and July 2022 found that only 8.5% of the funds raised were spent on charitable grants.

It added that part of the charity funds was also used to pay Campbell’s stay at luxurious hotels, spa treatment as well as her cigarettes.

Reacting to the inquiry in an interview with AP, Campbell said she was unaware of the expenses because she “was not in control of my charity”.

“I have just found out today about the findings, and I am extremely concerned,” she said.

“I was not in control of my charity, I put the control in the hands of a legal employer.”

Asides from Campbell, Veronica Chou and Bianca Hellmich are among trustees sanctioned.

Hellmich was banned for nine years for receiving $385,000 of unauthorized funds for consultancy services. Chou was banned for four years.

Commenting on the ban, Tim Hopkins, who was part of the investigation, said Campbell and the other trustees failed in their legal duties.

“Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities,” he said.

“Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them”.

About £344,000 has also been recovered and a further £98,000 of charitable funds have been protected.

The funds were used to make donations to two other charities and settle outstanding liabilities.

Campbell founded Fashion For Relief in 2005 with the aim of relieving poverty.

Malian singer Rokia Traore will be extradited from Italy to Belgium over an outstanding two-year prison sentence handed down in a child custody dispute, her lawyer said Thursday.

The singer and guitarist was sentenced in absentia by a Brussels court last year on charges of parental abduction.

She was arrested in Italy in June and challenged the extradition order, but a Rome court ruled Thursday that “Rokia will have to be transferred to Belgium within 10 days from today,” lawyer Maddalena Claudia Del Re told AFP.

Traore had been arrested in Paris in March 2020 on a European arrest warrant over a Belgian court ruling ordering her to return her daughter, now aged nine, to the child’s Belgian father.

She defied a ban on leaving France and flew home to Mali several months later, before she could be sent to Belgium.

A lawyer for the child’s father said he had not had any contact with his daughter, who lives in Mali, since she turned four.

The lawyer said the father had offered to draw up a new custody agreement with Traore, validated by Malian and Belgian courts, to “find a way out of this nightmare and guarantee their child a future with two parents”.