BREAKING NEWS

Britain’s Africa minister Rory Stewart arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday for wide-ranging talks, ahead of the inauguration of a new president following Robert Mugabe’s dramatic departure. Stewart is due to meet political and business leaders, as well as human rights groups and NGOs, the UK foreign ministry said in a statement. His arrival in the capital Harare comes just days after Mugabe’s resignation on Tuesday, ending his 37-year rule as MPs gathered in parliament to impeach their 93-year-old leader. Stewart described the historic change as “an absolutely critical moment” following 

According to Reuters, Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe was granted immunity from prosecution and assured that his safety would be protected in his home country as part of a deal that led to his resignation. Mugabe who led Zimbabwe from independence in 1980 stepped down on Tuesday after the army seized power and the ruling party turned against him and Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former vice president, is set to be sworn in as president on Friday.  

As we all know, Ebuka Obi-Uchebdu basically stole the show at BankyW and Adesua Etomi's traditional wedding ceremony on Sunday with his unique Agbada outfit and even the groom was also confused for a minute at who was actually getting married.

One of the military personnel told NAN under anonymity that only accredited vehicles were allowed to pass through the road block. In Ifte-Awka, Okpuno, Amawbia, Nibo and Umudioka, all in Awka South Local Government, security personnel were seen at all the major junctions and polling units. At Aroma Junction in Awka, INEC presiding officer, Mr. Joshua Ejimbi, told NAN that he was happy with the level of security at the centre. A local observer from the Centre for Citizens with Disability, Mr. David Anyamele, also corroborated the position of Ejimbi on security and applauded various security organisations for massive deployment of their personnel for the election.

 Today, the people of Anambra State will choose who will govern the state for the next four years. And they have a big task on their hands. Thirty-seven candidates are contesting in the election, including incumbent Governor, Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance. With the All Progressives Congress trying to get a better hold on the South East, the Peoples Democratic Party testing its preparations ahead of the 2019 general elections and other parties trying to displace the major players, much is at stake.

thousands of people have gathered in the centre of Harare to call for the resignation of Robert Mugabe, as moves to force the Zimbabwean president to stand down gather momentum. The rally is supported by the army and members of the ruling Zanu-PF party. War veterans who until last year were loyal to the president are also saying Mr Mugabe should quit.

Super Eagles squad were reportedly rewarded with $2,000 each after they thrashed Argentina 4 - 2 in an international friendly in Krasnodar, Russia last Tuesday. This was disclosed to SportingLife by a top Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) executive member who was in Russia. “The players are entitled to a flat rate of $2,000 for being part of the squad for any international friendly ahead of the World Cup and they are all aware of it” Our source disclosed.

Flamboyant retired boxer, Floyd Mayweather who is well known for flaunting his extravagant lifestyle, has added a new flashy item to his growing list. The Undefeated boxer was recently spotted carrying a diamond encrusted iPod and matching headphones while heading out with his girlfriend Keyshia Cole for a date at Catch Restaurant in West Hollywood, California.

A Nigerian couple, Femi and Oyetomi Adisa welcomed their second set of twins a few days ago. They had the first set (boys) in 2014 and welcomed another set (a boy and girl) in October, 2016. Congrats to them! More photos after the cut...

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court Abuja who was handling the trial of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has withdrawn from the case. At the resumed hearing of the case this morning, Justice Ademola announced his withdrawal, stating that he cannot preside over a case which the DSS has accused him of collecting money from the defendant, Dasuki. Justice Ademola was among the seven judges whose homes were raided a fortnight ago and were arrested over allegations of corruption.

Emirates Airline has said it is cutting flight operations to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja effective October 22nd as part of its restructuring and loss saving effort. Emirates has formally written the Minister of State, Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika over its intention to stop flight operations into Abuja following the airline's inability to buy forex and remit its sales..

Arsenal football club of England is set to reward Nigerian football starlet Alex Iwobi for his wonderful performances this season with a new bumper pay rise, his second pay rise this year.

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...