Socioscope News Agency

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) is searching for Campus Ambassadors in Nigeria. The Programme UBA Campus Ambassador programme offers a unique opportunity for students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria and across Africa to be part of a dynamic and forward thinking Pan-African bank by representing the brand on campus. The initiative is part of the bank’s commitment in developing creativity and leadership abilities amongst young people in the continent of Africa. The programme is designed to be a learning experience and a highly rewarding one for selected students while providing them a platform to build their leadership capabilities and showcase their diverse talents. Responsibilities for the UBA Campus Ambassador Role Represent the UBA brand on campus Provide insights that will help UBA better understand campus requirements unique to each region Learn about UBA products/ services and promote their adoption within the campus Plan and host fun events on campus to amplify ...

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has suspended its nationwide strike Usman Duste, national president of ASUP, announced this on Wednesday during the union’s 14th national delegates conference holding in Bauchi state. ASUP embarked on the industrial action on November 13 over the failure of the federal government to implement its agreements with the union reached since 2016. Dutse said the union was prompted to suspend the strike after the series of meetings it held with the federal government. “The union considered the suspension to give an opportunity for implementation of the content of Memorandum of Settlement and Action, and shall be reviewed according to the timelines outlined in the MoS,” Duste said.

Cuba is holding municipal elections, the first step toward the end of the Castro era. The Communist Party-supervised process comes a day after the first anniversary of Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s death. Though no opposition candidates were competing in Sunday's elections for more than 12,500 council seats, voters could still choose among 30,000 candidates named by acclamation in neighborhood assemblies. The municipal vote, Cuba’s only direct election, is the beginning of a strictly controlled process to eventually choose leaders in higher government positions. A February election for provincial and national assembly deputies is expected to decide who will succeed Raul Castro as president. Campaigning in Cuba is prohibited. Candidates for ward post are chosen based on merits; not on policy agendas. They are nominated at neighborhood meetings. February’s election will be the first change in leadership since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel. Current first Vice Pres...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced the award of a full postgraduate scholarship to the 2016/17 best graduating student of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. The Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, announced the scholarship in a statement by NNPC spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu. Baru said the recipient, Al-Amin Bugaje, would b sponsored to further his education up to Ph.D level in any institution in the world. Bugaje, 23, bagged a First Class degree in Electrical Engineering with the highest Cumulativ Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.93 to emerge the university’s overall best graduating student. ”This gesture is in line with NNPC’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of championing educational excellence nationwide. ”We equally want to encourage other students who are still in school to aspire towards achieving excellence in their academic pursuits,” Baru, himself a First-Class degree ho...

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N164.7 million for the payment of second semester school fess of the freed 106 Chibok girls at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Adamawa. The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday. The presidential aide said that the President had expressed satisfaction over the progress so far made in the rehabilitation of the freed Chibok schoolgirls. According to him, Buhari expressed his feelings while reviewing progress report on the affected girls. He said that the report was submitted to the President in line with his commitment to personally monitor the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of the freed Chibok girls. Shehu said the President also assured that the Federal Government would continue to provide full support for their education. “The President has approved payment of the sum of N164,763,759 million (one hund...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to conclude on the choice of a core investor for the proposed Bio-fuel plant in Agasha Guma area of Benue State. Speaking at the end of a follow-up meeting with a Benue State delegation led by Deputy Governor, Engr. Benson Abounu, the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said that arrangements have been finalized to name the prospective investor in the weeks ahead after a painstaking due diligence exercise. The GMD who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer in Charge of Ventures Directorate, Dr. Babatunde Adeniran, explained that the core investor would provide 70 per cent of the required funding for the project, while Benue State government and the NNPC would take up the balance equity contribution. The NNPC said upon completion, the plant was projected to generate about one million direct and indirect jobs for the populace noting that the project would help link the energy sector with the ...

Ile-Ife, the ancestral home of Yoruba descendants, is set to be transformed into a world heritage city, according to the promoters of a project in that regard. The promoters led by Adeyeye Ogunwusi, ooni of Ife, and and Almajdal Limited, an international business conglomerate, said the project involves the transformation of the ancient city into “the biggest tourist destination in Africa”. In a statement on Sunday, Wali Kutrub, executive director of Almajadal Limited, said when completed, the project would also stir “immense wealth and job creation and an economic bang.” He also quoted the ooni of Ife, as saying the project involves “re-construction and beautification of ancient sites, greenery of the city centers, redesign of the city main boulevard, outskirts and other legacy projects in line with the idea to create the necessary impetus for Ile-Ife and Yoruba cultural renaissance”. He added that the project would also enhance research-based and...

Buhari gave an assurance to Nigerians that his administration would put an end to the bombings. He also maintained that Boko Haram had been massively degraded and its surviving members put on the run. “Instead of being hunters, they are now the hunted. In their desperation to stay relevant, they have resorted to the wicked and dastardly act of using innocent under-aged children to carry out suicide bomb attacks,” said Buhari who was represented Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture. ”But what we are witnessing now are the last kicks of a dying horse. Yes, these kicks may be dangerous, but they don’t last long. Progressively, they become weaker and weaker until the horse finally dies.” Buhari said the war against Boko Haram has moved to the next phase, which is intelligence-driven, with a view to ending the suicide bombings. ”That is why I approved the establishment of an intelligence fusion centre in Maiduguri, the Borno State capita...

Red palm is highly nutritious and naturally stacked with high amounts of saturated fat, vitamins, and antioxidants. This vegetable oil, mainly used for cooking, is obtained from the pulp of the of the fruit of oil palms. It gets its reddish colour from beta-carotene and lycopene, the same nutrients that give colour to carrots and tomatoes. Its carotene level is 15 times higher than carrots and 300 times higher than tomatoes. Below are 6 healthy reasons to use palm oil in your meals. Prevents heart diseases Palm oil contains tocotrienols, a form of vitamin E with strong antioxidant properties that relieves the heart of stress. It also improves blood circulation, regulates cholesterol levels, and lowers blood pressure. Palm oil has a balanced content of HDL and LDL cholesterol, thereby making is safe for the heart. Protects from brain damage The tocotrienols found in palm oil also support brain health. Palm oil’s antioxidant supply helps to prevent neurological degeneration...

Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe, 93, was reportedly offered a $10 million lump sum payment, full monthly salary, medical cover, security as well as protection of his private properties, as part of a deal that led to his resignation, The Independent reports. This came as reports indicated this week that the nonagenarian was also granted immunity from prosecution after his resignation as the leader of Zimbabwe on Tuesday. According to The Independent, negotiators managed to strike a deal with the country’s army generals to enable Mugabe not to go into exile but rather enjoy his retirement in Zimbabwe with all his benefits. “Government will give him $5 million lump-sum and then the remainder to be paid out in instalments,” the report quoted a source as saying. “Mugabe will also enjoy full medical cover as well as his full monthly salary. In the event of his death, his wife will be given half salary per month.” Zimbabweans witnessed the ina...

VICE Chancellor, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Professor Sulyman Abdulkareem Age, has advised secondary school students to use cell phones for knowledge acquisition rather than pay attention to social media platforms. Speaking at the 12th Mosobalaje Oyawoye Faculty of Science lecture, entitled: Science and Technology: Tools for Improving Values for a Better Nation,� in Ilorin last week Thursday, the vice chancellor urged the youths to dedicate themselves to science and technology. The programme was sponsored by the Professor Monmodu Jamiu Mosobalaje Oyawoye Foundation. "I urge you to dedicate your time and energy to science and technology as you can access the latest innovation, experiment and inventions anywhere in the world via that miniaturised device," the vice chancellor said. In his remark, Professor Oyawoye represented by his son, Abdulganiyu, said that the foundation had invested about N10 million on this year's programme, but government policies had disall...

Four suspects were on Thursday arraigned before an Anambra State Magistrate Court sitting at Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area over their alleged involvement in the killings at St Philip’s Catholic Church, Ozubulu, on August 6. It would be recalled that no fewer than 13 persons were killed and another 22 wounded in the early morning mayhem on worshippers. The suspects arraigned were Chinedu Akpunonu (44), Vincent Ike (57), Chukwudi Ugwu (30) and Onyebuchi Mbanefo (46), while three other suspects are still at large, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN. The suspects were arraigned on 37-count charge bordering on conspiracy and murder. A South African -based businessman, Aloysius Ikegwuonu, whose father was killed in the attack, the Parish Priest of St Philip’s Catholic Church, Rev Fr Jude Onwuaso and six others were listed as witnesses in the matter. Charges against them read in part, “That you Great Chinedu Akpunonu, .M. Vincent Ike .M. Chukwudi Ugw...

CAF @CAF_Online Former Black Stars of Ghana player, Anthony Baffoe is the new the deputy general secretary for football and development while Morocco’s Essadik Alaoui is the deputy general secretary for administration and finance. Amr Fahmy is the third generation of the Fahmy’s to be appointed CAF general secretary. Mourad Fahmy was CAF’s general secretary from 1961 to 1982 while his father Mustapha Fahmy inherited the position from 1982 till 2010.

Reno Omokri, former media aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has hit back at Bola Tinubu for alleging that there was grand corruption in the administration of his then principal. Omokri said contrary to Tinubu’s claim that there was unprecedented graft during Jonathan’s time in office, the country got its best rating in anti-graft war under the former president. While speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state, had said : “The prior government used the public treasury as a private hedge fund or a charity that limited its giving only to themselves. “So much money grew feet and ran away faster than Usain Bolt ever could. That which could have been spent on national development was squandered in ways that would cause the devil to blush.” But Omokri described the allegations as baseless and lacking in facts. In a statement, he said Nigeria moved from 144 to 136 in Transparency International‘s annual Corruption Perce...

There was drama at the headqaurters of Peace Corps of Nigeria in Abuja as civil society organisations clashed with police over an attempt to reopen the premises. Last week, a federal high court in Abuja ordered the police to unseal the premises which had been cordoned off since February. After the court ruling, Dickson Akoh, Peace Corps commandant, had said he will resume work at the organisation’s headquarters this week. The CSOs, under the aegis of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations for Justice and Equity (CCSOJE ), arrived the Peace Corps headquarters on Thursday in solidarity with the organisation’s workers as they had come to re-open the place. On arrival at the premises, they opened the main gate of the two-storey building but were refused entrance by officers of the Nigeria police who said they are yet to get a directive to leave the premises. Danlami Taura, a chief superintendent of police, who led the policemen, said the operation department of the fo...

GAZA CITY: Hamas on Thursday alleged that Israeli spies used Bosnian passports to enter Tunisia and assassinate one of its drone experts as the Palestinian movement announced details of its probe into the December incident. Tunisian engineer Mohamed Zaouari was shot dead in his car in December 2016 by unknown gunmen, with Hamas accusing Israel of responsibility at the time. Senior Hamas figure Mohammed Nazzal made the allegations on Thursday in a statement and at a press conference in Beirut. He said an investigation concluded that a number of agents from Israeli intelligence agency Mossad had operated in Tunisia over several months, including pretending to be foreign journalists in order to get close to Zaouari. The main two assassins who entered the country before the killing were using Bosnian passports, Nazzal said. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon declined comment. Israel also had not previously commented on the killing. Israel has previously faced criticis...

Share CAIRO — An international aid group says an estimated 130 children or more die every day in war-torn Yemen from extreme hunger and disease. Save the Children said late on Wednesday a continuing blockade by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Shiite rebels is likely to further increase the death rate. It says over 50,000 children are believed to have died in 2017. Saudi Arabia blocked Yemen's ports after a rebel missile attack near Riyadh earlier in November. It said Monday the coalition would lift the blockade after widespread international criticism. On Thursday, the leaders of the World Health Organization, the U.N. children's agency and the World Food Program issued a joint appeal for the easing of the blockade. "While the Saudi-led military coalition has partially lifted the recent blockade of Yemen, closure of much of the country's air, sea and land ports is making an already catastrophic situation far worse," they said. "The space an...

Share IRBIL, IRAQ — Iraq's Kurdish lawmakers are returning to Baghdad this week in an apparent end to their boycott of the national parliament, a senior Kurdish official said Thursday. The move is a concession to Baghdad after a military and political standoff that followed the controversial Kurdish independence vote in September. Kurdish lawmakers had announced they would return to parliament, but an Iraqi lawmaker, Josef Slewa, told The Associated Press that Kurdish legislators from Masoud Barzani's Kurdish Democratic Party did not attend Thursday's session. The KDP members had boycotted the parliament since it declared the Kurdish referendum unconstitutional just before the Sept. 25 independence vote. Renas Jano, a KDP lawmaker, said the lawmakers are returning to Baghdad in hopes that their presence in the Iraqi capital will bring the prime minister to the negotiating table. "We want to start dialogue with the central government," he said, adding that att...

Share BARCELONA, SPAIN — The jailed leader of the main grassroots group pushing for Catalonia to secede from Spain resigned his post Thursday to run as a candidate in the election the Spanish government called for next month to stop the region's push toward independence. The Catalan National Assembly said Jordi Sanchez would be a candidate on the slate headed by Catalonia's former president, Carles Puigdemont, who is in Belgium facing extradition back to Spain along with four members of his ousted cabinet. Sanchez and another separatist activist were jailed on Oct. 16 while being investigated for sedition for their alleged roles in a secession-related protest that trashed police vehicles in September. Under Spanish law, he and any other pro-independence Catalan officials or activists can run in the Dec. 21 election unless they are convicted. Puigdemont plans to be his party's top candidate while campaigning as a fugitive in Belgium. Another eight former members of Cata...

Eminent Nigerians gathered in Ilorin, Kwara state yesterday to take part in a special prayer organised in memory of the late Second Republic Senate leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki. ROYAL NEWS gathered that Saraki passed on five years ago, precisely on November 14, 2012. The pack of the dignitaries that attended the 5th year remembrance prayer for Olusola Saraki include his heir, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki,his wife, Toyin, the Kwara state governor, Alh Abdulfattah Ahmed and his wife, Omolewa, Senators Garba Baba Kaka and Senator Philip Aduda. Others are the Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr Ali Ahmad a members of the legislative and executive councils as well as stalwarts and members of the All Progressives Congress. In his brief sermon, a renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Sulaiman Dan Borno urged Nigerian politicians to use their positions to impact positively on the lives of the masses. He emphasised the need for politicians in the state to sustain the philanthropi...

The Kwara State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has elected Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo the new chairman of the Party in the state. Oyedepo defeated his closest rival, Sunday Fagbemi with just three votes. He had 220 votes to defeat Fagbemi who polled 217 votes. The congress which ran from Monday to Tuesday also saw the emergence of executive members of the party from the two factions of the party. A former governor of Kogi state, Ibrahim Idris who led a national delegation of the party to conduct the election assured that the PDP is ready to take the mantle of leadership in Kwara State. The first litmus test for the party is this Saturday's local government election.

The Kwara State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has elected Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo the new chairman of the Party in the state. Oyedepo defeated his closest rival, Sunday Fagbemi with just three votes. He had 220 votes to defeat Fagbemi who polled 217 votes. The congress which ran from Monday to Tuesday also saw the emergence of executive members of the party from the two factions of the party. A former governor of Kogi state, Ibrahim Idris who led a national delegation of the party to conduct the election assured that the PDP is ready to take the mantle of leadership in Kwara State. The first litmus test for the party is this Saturday's local government election.

The Confederation of African Federation (CAF) organising committee for CHAN 2018 has released the schedule for the tournament. In a statement released by the continental body on Wednesday, the draw is scheduled to take place on Friday. “The four pots consisting of the 16 qualified teams were decided on the basis of a ranking established taking into account the performances at the past editions of the final tournament designed exclusively for footballers playing in their domestic leagues,” CAF said. The organising committee also approved the calendar for the final tournament which will run from January 13 to February 4, 2018. The championship will be held in four cities of Casablanca (Group A), Marrakech (Group B), Tangier (Group C) and Agadir (Group D). The opening and final matches will be played at the newly refurbished Mohamed V Complex in Casablanca, which also hosted the second leg final of the Total CAF Champions League 2017. THE FOUR POTS Pot 1 : Morocco (host...

To emphasize the importance attached to the consideration of Nigeria to become the first country to host the annual World Aviation Forum by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to attend the opening ceremony and flag off the event. This is contained in a Press Statement Wednesday in Abuja signed by James Odaudu, Deputy Director, Press and Public Affairs of the Ministry of Aviation. The statement reveals that the Forum holds from the 20th to the 22nd of November, 2017 in Abuja. It will be the first to be held outside the Organization’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada and underscores Nigeria’s rising profile in the aviation world. According to the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, the hosting of the ICAO World Aviation Forum by the country, coming so soon after it hosted the ICAO Symposium on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) is a clear indication of the confidence the Buhari Administration ...

The Sokoto State government has confirmed three deaths, including two students, following a strange illness that occurred in two neighbouring houses at Mabera in the state. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a mechanic and father of five, one Malam Abdullahi Lawal, 58, died as a result of severe headache, convulsion and bleeding from the eye on Nov. 11. NAN reports that two students, who were neighbours to the deceased, Bello Aminu, 15, and Nasiru Kamba, 14 also died after at Usmanu Danfodio University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto on Monday after exhibiting similar symptoms . Addressing newsmen on Wednesday, the Deputy Director Public Health in the state Ministry of Health, Alhaji Abbas Aliyu, confirmed the three deaths noting that preliminary investigation conducted by some doctors, suspected malaria as the cause for the deaths. Aliyu said a team of specialists were deployed to the area and people were sensitized to report any suspected case immediately to obtain sample...

Police in Ogun State have apprehended one Ehioboh Lucky for impersonating a billionaire businessman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. The 24-year-old suspect, according to the spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, was arrested on November 6, following a complaint by one Abiola Olalekan Ogunseye, who claimed the suspect defrauded him of N1,028,770. Oyeyemi added that the suspect, who hails from Edo State, had opened a Facebook account with the name and picture of the business mogul, which he has been using to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. The PPRO said, “One of his victims, Abiola Olalekan Ogunseye, came into contact with him on Facebook where he promised to get employment for him at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and asked him to pay the sum of N1.5 million to ‘settle’ some members of the management of the corporation who will influence his appointment. “The sum of N1,028,770 has so far been paid to the suspect ...

The Nigeria football federation (NFF) have signed a deal with the Nigerian football team concerning payment and how they are to be rewarded for participation in the 2018 World Cup. Thi is welcome news especially after what happened at the 2013 Confederations cup in Brazil. Nigeria arrived days late for the 2013 Fif Confederations Cup in Brazil because of a row over player payments, which resulted in the squad refusing to leave a hotel and travel for the World Cup warmup tournament. Captain John Mikel Obi, who was part of a squad row over payments ahead of th 2013 Brazil Confederations cup, was pleased with the agreement he said “This is the first time since I started playing for the senior team that I would see everything regarding preparation an bonuses and allowances put down in black and white and a binding agreement executed.” Other African nations, including Ghana, Cameroon and Togo have also faced bonus-related problems and distraction during the World Cup. But this...

Emeka-Ojukwu-Jr Mr Emeka Ojukwu jnr, son of the founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC). Ojukwu jnr made his declaration on Wednesday in Awka, at the grand finale campaign of the APC candidate for the Anambra 2017 governorship election, Dr Tony Nwoye. President Muhammadu Buhari, APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, 12 APC governors, National Assembly members in the party, among other party big wigs, witnessed the event. According to him, his decision to join the party was to protect the interest of the Igbos. Ojukwu jnr, who was adorned in a toga of his new party, said it was time for the people of the South-East region to move from “the recession of the periphery to the centre.” “It is time to leave the shadows for light. Every now and then, they come out with my father’s shadow to confuse the people,” he said. According to h...

Abubakar Malami: Justice Minister The Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has called for the urgent passage of the Proceeds of Crime Bill before the National Assembly. Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation, who made the call on Wednesday, said the passage of the bill would greatly assist the government in its anti-corruption campaign. He spoke in Lagos at a National Seminar on Promoting Transparency and Accountability in the Recovery of Stolen Assets in Nigeria : Proposals for Reform. The seminar was organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in collaboration with Ford Foundation of the United States. Malami, represented by his Special Adviser, Mr Abiodun Aikhomu, noted that the Federal Government was committed to the recovery of all stolen public funds, including those taken outside the country by looters. “The Proceeds of Crime Bill, when it eventually becomes law, will help to combat corruption. “We believe that the bill wi...

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it arrested Kabiru Auta, a former judge of a Kano state high court, over an alleged N220 million fraud. In a statement on Wednesday, Rasheedat Okoduwa, spokesperson of ICPC, said the former judge was detained on Tuesday when he honoured an invitation by the commission over allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery. She said Auta allegedly conspired with some other persons to defraud a Kano businessman named Bashir Yakasai of N220 million. “The matter was referred to the commission after it had been reported to the National Judicial Council which had constituted a committee to investigate the allegations,” the statement read. “The amount involved had been fraudulently obtained from Yakasai by Auta and his accomplice, Bashir Sufi, on the pretext that they were acting on behalf of the former chief justice of Nigeria, hon. Justice Aloma Mukhtar. “Auta in his statem...

The election petition tribunal in Katsina has nullified the election of Mansur Ali Mashi, member representing Mashi/Dutsi federal constituency at the national assembly. The tribunal has also ordered for the conduct of fresh bye-election in 15 polling units in the constituency. Mashi is of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Delivering the judgment on Wednesday, L.M. Boufini said the tribunal was convinced that there were election irregularities during the May 20 by-election in the constituency. He said some electorate were disenfranchised from exercising their civic rights, which was against the provisions of the Electoral Act. Boufini also said the petitioner proved that some voters were not allowed to exercise their civic rights and that the card reader malfunctioned during the election. NAN reports that he further said INEC had also cancelled results of some polling units where thugs disrupted the election. The chairman directed that a new election should be conducted within...

Entertainment mogul Shina Peller has said his philanthropy isn’t a strategy to position himself for political office. The Quilox nightclub owner said although he is getting calls to vie for office, he isn’t considering venturing into it at the moment. “I actually don’t know why people are mistaking my philanthropic activities to be political because it isn’t something that just started now,” the Aquilla Records CEO told Hip TV. “I’ve done a lot in Lagos. Every year I have schools that I support; like the school for the blind. I pay more attention to the physically challenged people because I see it as my responsibility to help that person. “For people that think it is political, it is not. I don’t like politics. “But they say only a fool doesn’t change his mind. I’ve been getting pressures from leaders, from back home, from family and friends and everybody is thinking that I should take the opportunity. I...

Not less than sixteen people were killed while twenty-three sustained injuries in a suicide attack at a mosque in the Muna Gida area of Maiduguri, Borno state. Four suicide bombers donated improvised explosive device (IED) at the mosque Wednesday evening, TheCable understands. Bello Danbatta, the spokesperson of the civilian joint task force (CJTF), confirmed the incident. He told TheCable that the attack occurred around 6:16pm when Muslims faithful were observing the Magrib prayers. Danbatta said the bombers, comprising of two males and two females, detonated their explosives in two separate locations in the area. “The two males detonated their explosives in a mosque while the other two females targeted the resident in the area and detonated their IED,” he said. “The victims were rushed to the general hospital while the dead ones were taken to the mogue. Ismaila Abubakar, an eyewitness, told TheCable that four of his family members were killed in the mosque. ...

BEIRUT: A Saudi citizen who went missing in Lebanon last week has been found, Lebanon's National News Agency reported on Wednesday. The Lebanese Army Command announced that "at 5 p.m., the Saudi citizen, Ali bin Abdurab Ennabi bin Ali Al-Bashrawi, turned himself in to the Lebanese army checkpoint in the area of Jisr Hosh Al-Sayyid Ali, in the northeast Lebanon town of Hermel, while coming back from Syrian territory." Bashrawi had gone missing last Friday in the Ghazir (Mount Lebanon) region. At that time, a woman filed a complaint at the Ghazir police station with the Internal Security Forces about the disappearance of her Saudi husband. Afterward, she received a call from unknown men who identified themselves as kidnappers of her husband and demanded a ransom for his release.

Flash floods caused by heavy rain in Greece killed at least 15 people in three rural towns west of the capital Athens on Wednesday. The towns of Mandra, Nea Peramos and Megara are home to many factories and warehouses on the rural outskirts of the city. Officials have compared the flooding overnight to a waterfall, coming down the mountains of the western Attica region. “The situation is very difficult; the Niagara Falls came down and could not be stopped,” the deputy regional governor, Yiannis Vassileiou, told state-run TV network ERT. The floods have been described by area mayors as the worst in 20 years. “Everything is lost. The disaster is biblical,” Mandra Mayor Ioanna Kriekouki told ERT.

A new Quinnipiac University public opinion poll shows U.S. voters who support universal background checks for gun purchases has reached a new high since Quinnipiac first started asking the question in 2013. The poll released Wednesday found 95 percent of voters favor uniform background checks for gun purchases. Most voters continue to believe it is too easy to purchase a firearm in the United States, but a majority doubt that more stringent gun control laws would help avert mass shootings, the poll said. About 60 percent of voters would like to see tougher gun laws and 65 percent favor a ban on the sale of assault weapons. The poll was conducted after more than two dozen people were killed earlier this month in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Share NEW YORK — Media giants Globo and Televisa teamed with a marketing firm to make a $15 million bribe to a FIFA executive to help them secure lucrative broadcasting rights to the World Cup in 2026 and 2030, the firm's former CEO testified on Wednesday. Alejandro Burzaco, a key witness at a U.S. bribery trial, testified that the deal was struck with longtime FIFA finance committee chairman Julio Grondona at a 2013 meeting in Zurich, Switzerland. “Were you and your partners able to get those rights?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Nitze asked at the trial in federal court in Brooklyn. “Yes, sir,” Burzaco responded. In wide-ranging testimony that began Tuesday, Burzaco also has implicated Fox Sports in a separate bribery scheme. Fox and Globo have denied any wrongdoing, while Televisa has denied comment. Burzaco is on the witness stand under a plea agreement against three former South American soccer officials accused of taking bribes in a sprawling ...

Share FLORESVILLE, TEXAS — About 3,000 people packed a funeral service Wednesday to mourn a Texas family that suffered losses to three generations when a man with an assault weapon opened fire at a rural church on Nov. 5 and killed 26 people. Hundreds had to be turned away from the public memorial for nine members of the Holcombe family after the crowd filled an event center to capacity in the town of Floresville, about 15 miles (25 km) from the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, where the attack took place. The funeral was closed to the media and a private burial will be held at a later time, organizers said.

WHITE HOUSE — Critics are accusing President Donald Trump of abandoning America’s principles of human rights and press freedom during his just-completed trip to Asia. In separate critiques, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders charged Trump with effectively condoning rights abuses and anti-press practices of some of Asia’s most notorious authoritarian regimes. “The United States’ voice on human rights has basically disappeared,” Human Right Watch Asia Director Brad Adams told VOA. “President Trump is providing the region’s authoritarian leaders with a blank check,” added Daniel Bastard, head of Reporters Without Borders' Asia-Pacific desk. The press freedom group criticized Trump for allowing Chinese President Xi Jinping to prohibit reporters’ questions during what was billed as a “joint press conference” during their meeting in Beijing. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporte...

HOUSTON — Allegations that former President George H.W. Bush inappropriately touched seven women involve potential crimes punishable by fines or jail time, if they had been prosecuted. All but one of the cases is ineligible under state laws that limit when a prosecution can begin after an alleged crime, and several lawyers interviewed said that it would be difficult to win a conviction against Bush, who has vascular parkinsonism, a rare syndrome that mimics Parkinson's disease. "You're still going to be facing prosecuting a 93-year-old man in a wheelchair that's a former president," said Toby Shook, a lawyer who previously served as a prosecutor in Dallas. "I doubt if you could ever find a jury that would ever want to convict him." There's no indication prosecutors are planning to pursue a case against Bush. Jordana Grolnick, an actress who alleged that Bush groped her behind last year as his wife, Barbara, stood nearby, told The Associated Press...

The University of Benin, Edo State, and two other institutions have won the Global Challenge Research Fund Grant provided by the United Kingdom to promote research and development. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing journalists on activities lined up for the 43rd convocation and 47th Founder’s Day ceremony of the institution. Orumwense explained that the university was awarded the grant worth £6.8m in partnership with Lancaster University, United Kingdom; and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Ghana. He noted that the grant would assist to boost research capability to address the problems faced by developing countries. “The grant, which is part of a new £225m rate of investment, aims to grow research capability to meet the challenges faced by the developing world. “The Britain’s £6.8m project will be led by Lancaster University, UK, with the University of Benin and CSIR, Ghan...

Some lawmakers and residents of Iseyin in Oyo State have appealed to the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) to grant operational licence to the first private polytechnic in the area. They made the appeal while welcoming the NBTE delegation to SAF Polytechnic, Iseyin, for the three-day accreditation exercise, which commenced on Monday. SAF Polytechnic, Iseyin, is the first private tertiary institution in the Oke-Ogun area of the state, which consists of 10 local government areas. The NBTE team was led by Dr Shehu Aliyu, who represented the Executive Secretary of NBTE. Hon. Abiodun Olasupo (APC-Iseyin/Itesiwaju, Kajola/Iwajowa federal constituency) appealed to the NBTE to accredit the institution, saying the institution has put in place the required facility. Olasupo, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Compliance, said that the polytechnic would avail the youths of Oke-Ogun area the access to sound education. “As a lawmaker, I am privileg...

Julian Draxler has defended Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar and his privileged position after recent speculation over the Brazil international’s happiness at Parc des Princes. Last week, Neymar, 25, chose to publicly address recent rumours about his supposed broken relationships with PSG teammate Edinson Cavani and coach Unai Emery, as well as his general satisfaction with life in the French capital following his world-record move from Barcelona in the summer. Speaking in a news conference ahead of Germany’s friendly against France in Cologne on Tuesday, Draxler stated that “the tension surrounding Neymar has been created by everything that has been said from the outside.” “There was the story of the penalty with Edinson, which was settled after one or two days,” Draxler added. “However, everybody else kept talking about it for four or five weeks afterwards. “I believe that this is part and parcel of life as a superstar like Neymar...

Former Ivory Coast striker, Didier Drogba has revealed what Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich told him about firing managers at the club. Drogba, a Chelsea legend, and a good friend of the Russian millionaire, also told RMC that he does not believe the high turnover of managers at his former club is anything exceptional in the current game. Abramovich has appointed nine managers in the last 10 years at Stamford Bridge. but Drogba said, “Everyone says Chelsea isn’t very stable. But in modern-day football, there is no coach who lasts more than three or four years at a club. “I asked him [Abramovich]: ‘We have had how many managers in how many seasons?’ He replied: ‘But Didier, each time I have done it, we have got results.'” Drogba said he did not believe the changing managerial cast was a conscious strategy on Abramovich’s part. “No, because when the managers come in they have carte blanche at the club. They do what they want. ...

Head coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr, has praised the duo of goalkeeper Francis Odinaka Uzoho and Brian Idowu, after their 4-2 win over Argentina in an international friendly on Tuesday night. The two players made their debut for Nigeria and impressed the German tactician. Idowu scored on his debut after coming on for Ola Aina, while Uzoho ensured Nigeria didn’t concede again after he replaced Daniel Akpeyi who conceded both goals. “Brian is a newcomer in the team, but he’s not the only one. We have three new players, and I would like to highlight our 19-year-old goalkeeper Uzoho. He played well. Such matches are specially designed so that we can asses new players in the team. We have three players who have a special relationship with Russia. “We have Ahmed Musa and the captain (Mikel Obi) of the team. He has a connection here through the family. Brian played well, scored a goal. His prospects depend on how he will perform at the club. His debut, I...

Sergio Aguero was taken to hospital after fainting in the dressing room at half-time in Argentina's 4-2 defeat by Nigeria in Krasnodar, Russia. The Manchester City striker had scored to put his side 2-0 up in the first half, but Arsenal's Alex Iwobi found the net twice as Nigeria came back. The Argentina FA said the 29-year-old had been taken to hospital to "carry out routine studies as a precaution". They later confirmed that Aguero had been discharged from hospital. "He is already in the hotel along with the rest of the team," they tweeted . After the match Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli said Aguero had "got dizzy and had to leave". In a statement City said he had been cleared by doctors to return to Manchester as planned "after suffering a dizzy spell" during the match. "Sergio never lost consciousness, and was taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks," the club said. "He will be assessed by the club...

A torrent of social media reactions has trailed the Super Eagles’ 4-2 win over Argentina. Alex Iwobi scored a brace while Kelechi Iheanacho and Brian Idowu scored a goal each to lead Nigeria to victory in the international friendly game. The win has elicited series of joyous, sarcastic, humorous, quirky, and tongue-in-cheek comments and memes. Here are some reactions from Nigerians on Twitter: What An Incredible Performance from Nigerian Football Team. Lagging From 2-0 To Final Lead to 2-4, Excellent Fought Youngsters. You Deserve a Big Clap,Much more Responsible Performance ! #ARGNGA 8:34 PM - Nov 14, 2017 1 2 3 Fazley Rabbi Shajib @FazleyShajib my grandma just asked me to take her out, and i asked why? cox nigeria won argentina boy!!! #ARGNGA 8:41 PM - Nov 14, 2017 1 RaNnY @AuGuSt_RaNnY Someone said Argentina without Messi is tina #ARGNGA 8:34 PM - Nov 14, 2017 1

Sergio Aguero was taken to hospital after fainting in the dressing room at half-time in Argentina's 4-2 defeat by Nigeria in Krasnodar, Russia. The Manchester City striker had scored to put his side 2-0 up in the first half, but Arsenal's Alex Iwobi found the net twice as Nigeria came back. The Argentina FA said the 29-year-old had been taken to hospital to "carry out routine studies as a precaution". They later confirmed that Aguero had been discharged from hospital. "He is already in the hotel along with the rest of the team," they tweeted . After the match Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli said Aguero had "got dizzy and had to leave". In a statement City said he had been cleared by doctors to return to Manchester as planned "after suffering a dizzy spell" during the match. "Sergio never lost consciousness, and was taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks," the club said. "He will be assessed by the club...

LONDON: The UK government should redefine the term “Islamophobia” as “anti-Muslim racism,” according to the think-tank Runnymede Trust in a new report. A lack of clarity around the meaning of the word is hindering efforts to design policies that could prevent the discrimination of Muslims in the UK, whether it be in the workplace or as a victim of hate crime, the report found. “At the moment people don’t have clarity over what it is (so) it is difficult for them to tackle it and for policies to be formulated to address it in a concrete way,” said Farah Elahi, research and policy analyst at Runnymede, speaking on the BBC 4 Today programme on Nov. 14 following the publication of the report. The recommendation formed part of a wider report, released on the 20th anniversary of Runnymede’s first paper on the subject in 1997, in which it is credited for coining the term “Islamophobia.” The new report includes case studies on the ...

DUBAI: The Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) has launched a $100 million fund for investment in financial technology, the fastest-growing sector of the global financial services industry. The fund will be invested from the UAE hub’s own internal resources, but may also get backing from other Dubai government entities, though private-sector bank finance has been ruled out. Essa Kazim, the governor of the DIFC, announced the fund at the DIFC’s Global Financial Forum. Other financial centers in the region have also identified fintech as a growth area. Kazim said: “The fund is to help establish, grow and upscale startup and growth-stage fintech firms looking to access markets in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The fund will leverage the DIFC’s fintech ecosystem consisting of attractive experimental licenses, market-leading pricing and collaborative spaces. “There is immense opportunity in this market, and this will be one more step toward...