BREAKING NEWS

Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike also known as Nnemkadi Ogwumike has been awarded the Women's NBA Most Valuable player of the year award for her fine displays in the USA women's basketball league this season.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday backed the call for the sale of some National assets to revive the current ailing economy. Obasanjo ‎endorsed the sale of the assets at the opening ceremony of the National Council On Finance and Economic Development Conference (NACOFED) in Abeokuta yesterday September 27th.

So  on Tuesday  morning (Nigerian time), U.S presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took to the stage to have the first presidential debate ahead of the November 2016 elections. Donald Trump did well in the first 20 minutes while Hillary had the upper hand during the closing stages of the debate. A lot of political analysts believe Hillary defeated Trump overall during the debate with the way she tackled some important issues looking more prepared and assured during the debate. See the major talking points after the cut.

Real Madrid will have to cope without Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in the quest for a club-record 16th straight La Liga win after coach Zinedine Zidane said both will miss Sunday’s trip to Espanyol. Bale was forced off early by a hip knock as Real came from behind in dramatic fashion to beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on Wednesday in the Champions League. Ronaldo started Real’s fightback against his old club, but misses out this weekend due to illness.  “Cristiano won’t travel. He has a problem with his throat and is not ready to play,” Zidane said on Saturday. “We are not going to risk anything and much less so with Ronaldo.”

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg shared a photo of an 11 year old Nigerian boy named Tayo who built a game called Spike Rush. Read what Zukerberg wrote after the cut...

T he Federal Government has said the country spends $6m on the importation of rice daily, the  News Agency of Nigeria  reported. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said this while addressing farmers at Ndeagu-Echara and Omege-Echara in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi on Friday. “The country is currently importing $6m worth of rice daily and the funds to sustain such importation are no longer obtainable,” Ogbeh, who spoke through his Senior Adviser on International Donor Partners, said. To reverse the trend, Ogbeh said that government was giving priority to rice production

The Director-General, Debt Management Office, Dr Abraham Nwankwo, has assured that the one billion dollars Euro-bond proposed to be issued by the Federal Government will be ready by mid-December. He said this on Friday in Abuja at a news conference organised by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun. He said the DMO made requests for proposals for both local and international managers who were interested to compete on Monday, adding that the closing date was Sept. 19. He said, “Immediately after that, we would fast track the process of vetting, screening and selecting.

The 2016 World's highest paid athlete according to Forbes, uploaded an Instagram video of himself driving his new machine, a £1.7million Bugatti Veyron around his mansion in Madrid, Spain. He bought the car as a gift to himself following Portugal's Euro 2016 win . He captioned the post 'Coming back home". See more photos after the cut...

18 year old Gary and 71 year old Almeda Hardwick of Tennessee are ready to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary and say they have so much chemistry despite the massive 53 years age difference between the pair. According to USA Today, the relationship began in June 2015 when they met at the funeral of Almeda's son Robert. "It was like an instant connection. (There was) so much chemistry there," Gary told USA Today. We both loved music. I had prayed about my soul mate for like two years, so, you know.  ''I was lonely," said Almeda. I had no one, so God sent him to me." ''When I looked into her eyes I knew it," Gary continued. "Her eyes were a dead giveaway."  "His were too ... I knew," she said.

31 year old Chinese man, Zhang Yue has been stuck with a bizarre addiction, he can’t stop drinking liquid detergent. Originally from southwest China’s Chongqing city, Zhang said his addiction started in 2012. He said what initially began with a few sips later turned into an uncontrollable appetite for anything from dishwashing liquids to shampoos. Zhang’s obsession with consuming detergents has gained him an unusual fame but that has come with a cost. His habit, he said, has turned away women, making his love life unstable.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt became the first athlete to win three Olympic 100m titles by beating American Justin Gatlin to gold at Rio 2016 Games. The 29-year-old ran 9.81 seconds in his final Olympics to replicate his success at Beijing 2008 and London 2012. His mom, Jennifer Bolt, thinks that’s cool and all, but what she’s really interested in is having grandchildren. Really Soon. Lol "I would hope he’ll settle down, get married and start his family," Jennifer Bolt told  CNN’s Don Riddell  in a segment that aired  Saturday  about what she hopes Bolt will do after the Olympics end.

A Nigerian suspected of being in charge of a network of internet scammers, stealing around $60m (£45m), has been arrested in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. According to the international police organisation, the 40-year-old Nigerian known as 'Mike', the head of an international criminal network behind thousands of online frauds was arrested in a joint operation by INTERPOL and the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). The Nigerian national is believed to be behind scams totalling more than USD 60 million involving hundreds of victims worldwide. In one case a target was conned into paying out USD 15.4 million.

Sacked chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, will today meet with security and anti-corruption agencies to personally provide insight on his petition against Speaker Yakubu Dogara and three other principal officers of the House. According to a statement he shared on his Facebook wall this morning, himself and his lawyers will be at ICPC by 10am, DSS 12noon, EFCC 2pm and Police HQ 4pm. In the post, he wrote;

Olisa Nwakoby, a bank Manager at a second generation bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc, on Friday evening shot himself dead in the presence of his Priest at the Lekki area of Lagos Island, Lagos State. The father of a 10-year- old daughter was said to have taken his own life because of an incriminating huge loan transaction he approved in his bank.

Retired super rich boxer Floyd Mayweather recently paid $50,000 to service his $1.5m Bugatti Veyron. TMZ reports that the repair was done by Nigerian Obi Okeke, who revealed how much it cost to service the luxury sports car. "The breakdown: Four (4) 2015 Bugatti tires cost $33k, Basic service (oil & fluid changes) cost $23k and then to top it off, a $3k detailing service."

A Nigerian Gay man David Ukre, who hails from Warri, Delta state, got married to his white partner Eric T. Shoen in New York,  on Saturday July 30th .

Telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria, has said it will list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2017. The company said in a statement on Thursday that the listing was part of a settlement arrangement with the Federal Government. “The Board of Directors has resolved to proceed with preparations for a listing of MTN Nigeria on the NSE as soon as commercially and legally possible, and has established a management task team with the responsibility to guide the company towards a listing,” it said in the statement. “ At present, MTN Nigeria is targeting that the listing takes place during 2017, subject to suitable market conditions.” The statement was signed by MTN Nigeria’s Public Relations and Protocol Manager, Mr. Funso Aina. ‎The telecoms firm said it had appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited (together with its affiliates, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Advisory London Limited) (collectively “Stanbic”) and Citigroup Global Markets Limi...

Sacked chairman of the House of Representatives committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has released a new statement indicting speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. According to Jibrin, Dogara fraudulently diverted  a Federal government water project to his farm in Nasarawa state. Read his statement below  Good morning fellow Nigerians, Everyday I will give additional allegation against Mr Speaker and the 3 others until the law catches up with them. Allegation no21 to MrSpeaker: why did you fraudulently divert a Fed Govt water project to your farm in Nasarawa and how are you funding the farm?  When a new Speaker emerges and the other principal officers replaced, I will write to the presiding officers of both chambers to commence a radical internal reform in the entire NASS beyond budget to cover performance assessment, running cost and allowances, investigations etc  If the reform so done on NASS is not made public latest by Decemb...

Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has dropped out of the list of top 100 richest people in the world. This is largely due to the devaluation of the Naira. Dangote who owns the second largest sugar-refinery in the world, remains richer than American billionaires, Donald Trump, and Oprah Winfrey who ranks as the second richest black woman in the world. Dangote is now worth $11.1 billion, while Trump and Oprah are estimated at $4.5 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively. The devaluation of the Naira against the dollar from about 198 to about 300, has eroded about a quarter of Dangote’s wealth as he continues to invest heavily in Nigeria. At the launch of the new foreign exchange regime on June 23rd, Dangote fell from number 46 on the world billionaire list to 71 and has continued to drop as the Naira continues to crash. According to Bloomberg billionaires, Dangote, who was worth $15.4 billion (N3.05 trillion) in March, is now worth $11.1 billion (N3.3 trillion) - richer in naira ...

Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II has just added a Rolls Royce Phantom to his fleet of exotic cars. He drove the car around Kano state yesterday July 27th. More photos after the cut...

Heavy rain and strong winds reportedly destroyed and swept some vehicles into a small river, after Kantoma Brigde, in Suleja, Niger state. According to an eyewitness, most of the cars were in a motor park and belonged to a car dealer. See more photos of the damaged vehicles as you continue.

\ US-based Chierika Ukogu will be making history at the 2016 Olympics Games, being the first rower to represent Nigeria. Born on October 1992, Okogu, who is a graduate of Stanford University, said in a recent interview that the sport had been challenging but she will put in her best, adding that her training with members of the U.S. team at the Vesper Boathouse at Schuylkill, Philadelphia had helped develop her skills. "It is my ultimate goal to be the 1st Nigerian to row at the Olympic Games. Heading into Rio, it's a really wonderful opporunity for Nigeria. This is the first time we've had an athlete at the Olympics in the sport of Rowing," said Ukogu  

Brexit is official! With 16,737,273 votes for Leave, Britain has voted to leave the EU, breaking the winning post in the referendum. Leave won 52% to 48%, with England and Wales voting for Leave while Scotland and Northern Ireland voted for 'Stay'. This exit has plunged the pound against the dollar to its lowest level since 1985 as Britain lurched towards Brexit. Sterling has crashed nearly 10% to $1.34, and by more than 6% against the euro. Gold is up nearly by 6% this morning. US markets were expected to open down 550 points on Friday morning. Trading in Tokyo was halted after stocks plunged nearly 7 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi tumbled about 4 per cent. Crude oil prices also took a hit. As results poured in, a picture emerged of a sharply divided nation: Strong pro-EU votes in the economic and cultural powerhouse of London and semi-autonomous Scotland were countered by sweeping anti-Establishment sentiment for an exit across the rest of England, from sout...

Man U manager Jose Mourinho is set to increase the bad blood between him and Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger as he has tabled a £35m bid for Arsenal and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey. According to the Sun UK, Mkhitaryan of Dortmund is Mourinho's first choice, but after watching Ramsey at the Euros, has ordered Man U executive Ed Woodward to trash out a deal for Arsene Wenger's prized asset.  Mourinho wants him to be Manchester United’s answer to Frank Lampard, and believes he could achieve for Man U what Lampard achieved for Chelsea. Raiding Premier league rivals Arsenal for Ramsey  would be one of Mourinho’s boldest ever transfer moves as he knows he would face fierce resistance from Gunners boss  Wenger.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron resigned today after his devastating defeat in the EU referendum. He had fought strongly for Britain to remain in the EU but lost. He said he will stay in post till about October this year when a new Prime Minister is chosen. He said the country requires fresh leadership. Cameron's voice broke as he spoke outside Downing Street this morning with his wife Samantha in tears next to him. “We should aim to have a new prime minister in place by the start of the Conservative Party conference in October," he told the media after the country voted to leave the European Union. The Brexit campaign officially passed the winning post in the EU referendum at around 6am today, triggering a political earthquake and panic in the markets. Nigel Farage earlier declared it to be 'independence day' and a 'victory for real people' as the Leave campaign racked up votes across England and Wales - defying the verdict of London, Scotland and most of the...

The unveiling of the new foreign exchange guidelines for the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria has prompted stock investors to pump huge amount of funds into the market, STANLEY OPARA writes The Nigerian Stock Exchange reacted positively to the news of the unveiling of the new foreign exchange guidelines by the CBN last Wednesday as the market capitalisation soared by over N760bn, with investors committing huge sums to acquire more shares. The move by investors to acquire more stocks at this time is hinged on their desire to re-enter the market when share prices are at their lowest, as the market is expected to recover after months of persistent fall. Prior to the three-day straight gains last week, the NSE market capitalisation had stood at N9.284tn on Tuesday. But as of the last day of trading last week on Friday, the value of the market had soared to N10.044tn. Other variables like the All-Share Index, market turnover, share volume and deals also recorded signi...

Zara Holland, former Miss Great Britain winner, took to her Twitter handle to announce her sadness at leaving the dating program after hearing of her mother's illness, days after she lost her Miss GB crown for having sex with a housemate. In a statement, published by Mirror UK, she said: "I'm so sad to leave the villa but it's important for me to get home and spend time with my mum while she gets better. "I've had the time of my life on Love Island and would like to thank all of my fellow Islanders and the production team for all their support." ITV added: "Our thoughts are with her and her family and we send all of our best wishes After being told of the news of her crown being taken from her, off-camera, Zara returned to the villa in a fluster of emotion. She burst into tears before calling everyone to hear her cry.

Four states, namely Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom have been thrown into darkness following the collapse of the National Grid which occurred yesterday June 19th. According to PM News, the Head of Corporate Communications at the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHED, which supplies electricity to these states, yesterday notified its consumers in the four states that the National Power Grid had collapsed and so they will not be able to supply them power until the grid is repaired. He said PHED would however source for power from other alternative sources to consumers that are willing to pay for the power.

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press”  on Sunday  that he will win the U.S Presidential election in November 'one way or the other'. The Billionaire businessman said everyone should forget the polls, forget the short list of important endorsements and forget the GOP infighting, that he'll win the elections. “We're going to go onto a great victory. It would be nice if the Republicans stuck together,”  “I'm a different kind of a candidate, I think that I win either way. I can win one way or the other,” he said.

Microsoft, today, announced that it is acquiring LinkedIn, the social network for professionals with 433 million users, for $26 billion, on $196 per share, in cash. The transaction has already been approved by the boards of LinkedIn and Microsoft. LinkedIn is keeping its branding and product. It will become a part of Microsoft’s productivity and business processes segment. LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Read the letter Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent to employees about the buy after the cut. Team, I'm excited to share that today Microsoft announced a deal to acquire LinkedIn. You can see how Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, and I envision the opportunity ahead in this public presentation. This deal brings together the world's leading professional cloud with the world's leading professional network. I have been learning about LinkedIn for some time while also reflecting on how networks can truly differentiate cloud services. It...

Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Stephen Keshi died after a Cardiac arrest in the early hours of today Wednesday June 8th. Nigerian celebrities have been sharing tributes and mourning his death on Social Media. See more screenshots as you continue...