Hajj to go ahead despite deadly Mecca mosque tragedy that killed 107 people

Islam’s hajj pilgrimage will take place despite a crane collapse that killed 107 people at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Saudi authorities said Saturday as crowds returned to pray a day after the tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had already arrived in Mecca for the annual hajj when the massive red and white crane toppled over during a Friday thunderstorm. Parts of the Grand Mosque, one of Islam’s...

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3 Nigerians injured in Mecca Grand Mosque tragedy

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has confirmed that three Nigerian pilgrims sustained minor injuries in the crane crash in Mecca’s Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia. hajjThe Chairman of the commission, Mallam Abdullahi Mukhtar, who made this known at a news conference in Abuja, said that the victims were responding to treatments in the Holy land. Mukhtar, who did not name the victims,...

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NEXIM boss wants Nigeria's oil to dry up

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Import Bank, Mr. Roberts Orya, on Saturday said he wants Nigeria’s oil to dry up. According to him, until the country’s crude oil dries up, Nigeria may not harness the resources in other sectors of the economy. This, the NEXIM bank boss said, was why he decided not to finance investors in the oil sector, stressing that the industry...

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Mourinho laments after yet another disappointing defeat

Jose Mourinho refused to blame his players after Chelsea’s worst start to a Premier League season since 1988 was compounded by a 3-1 defeat by Everton at Goodison Park. Substitute Steven Naismith came on to score a perfect hat-trick – prompting Toffees supporters to chant ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ in the direction of the Portuguese, who has endured his worst start to any league...

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World's most expensive teenager, Anthony Martial hits debut goal as Manchester United go second

Anthony Martial scored on his Manchester United debut as the Red Devils defeated fierce rivals Liverpool 3-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday. Daley Blind opened the scoring early in the second half and then saved his side at the other end with a tremendous goal-line clearance before Ander Herrera won and converted a penalty to put the hosts two up. David de Gea, who signed a new contract this week,...

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Nigeria’s past visionary leaders left good names, not estates, says Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on Nigerian leaders to do all it takes to win the people’s heart rather than enriching themselves with state resources. He made the call on Satuday during the opening session of Northern Reawakening Forum (NRF) Summit at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. Osinbajo recalled that Nigeria’s founding fathers in the North such as Sir Ahamu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto,...

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Fashola’s social media account hacked

Immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola has alerted the public that his twitter account @tundefashola has been compromised by hackers who posted four tweets in a language that resembled Japanese. According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Hakeem Bello on Saturday, the twitter account must have been compromised on Friday, as members of the public, who...

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La Liga : Ronaldo scores 5 times to lead Espanyol trashing

Cristiano Ronaldo opened his account for the season in spectacular fashion with five goals as Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 6-0 on Saturday. The Portuguese dispelled any doubts over his form by slotting home the opener from Luka Modric’s wonderful pass before doubling his tally from the penalty spot after Gareth Bale had been felled inside the area. Bale crossed for Ronaldo to complete his...

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Poverty, underdevelopment in North should not define region’s future - Osinbajo

The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said on Saturday that the present level of poverty and underdevelopment in the Northern parts of the country should not be allowed to define the future of the region. Osinbajo gave the advice in his address to the summit organized by the Northern Re-Awakening Forun (NRF),tagged:“Building a Safe, Secure and Economically Inclusive Northern Nigeria’’. Although...

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VIDEO: Watch Iheanacho’s first English premier league goal for Manchester City

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Gas explosion rocks restaurant in India killing 85, injuring 100

A powerful explosion triggered by a gas cylinder tore through a packed restaurant in India on Saturday killing at least 85 people and wounding approximately 100 others, police said, in one of the worst such accidents in the country in recent memory. The restaurant building in central Madhya Pradesh state was being used to illegally store explosives which detonated in the blast, local authorities...

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Synagogue: Collapsed building victims to be honoured

Prophet Temitope Joshua of the Synagogue, Church of All Nation, said the Church would hold a memorial service for victims of the September 2014 collapsed building that occurred in the Church. A statement issued by the Church on Saturday in Lagos said the memorial service would hold in Lagos and South Africa . The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that 116 persons, including 84 South Africans,...

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Borno power supply restored

Electricity supply to Maiduguri, Borno State capital, was restored on Saturday, many months after it was cut from the national grid, Power Ministry Permagent Secretary, Godknows Igali, says. (NA...

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Nigeria's Ighalo gives Watford first win of the season

Watford secured their first victory since their promotion to the Premier League as their 10 men held on to beat Swansea City 1-0 at Vicarage Road on Saturday. Odion Igahlo scored the decisive goal just before the hour, Troy Deeney picking up on a long ball forward and feeding his team-mate, who fired past Lukasz Fabianski for the hosts' first home goal of the season. Just five minutes later,...

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Arsenal 2-0 Stoke City: Walcott & Giroud return to goalscoring form

Both Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud answered their critics with well-taken goals as Arsenal picked up a first home win of the season in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Stoke City at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners laid siege to the visitors' goal in the opening exchanges, twice hitting the woodwork, and finally took the lead through Walcott on the half-hour mark, racing onto Mesut Ozil's excellent...

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EPL: Nigeria's Ihenacho scores first Manchester City goal, ensures win

Nigeria's Kelechi Iheanacho has made a name for himself by scoring a late winner to help Manchester City claim a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. On the day that summer signing from Wolfsburg Kevin De Bruyne made his debut after being introduced early on for the injured Sergio Aguero, it was Iheanacho that scored the winning goal in stoppage time after Samir Nasri's shot was saved. Ihenacho shot...

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We’re returning PDP to younger generation – Dokpesi

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party e-Membership Registration Committee, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, has said the party is undergoing an all inclusive process of rebranding itself in order to conform with global best practice of political participation. The chairman spoke during the official inauguration of the party’s electronic registration in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State...

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Man urinates on fellow passengers on plane

A drunk passenger on board a JetBlue plane was arrested on Friday upon arrival in the western US state of Oregon after urinating on fellow passengers, authorities said. “Flight 45 from Anchorage, Alaska, was met by local authorities upon arrival into Portland at 4:26 this morning following an incident involving an intoxicated customer,” the airline said in a statement. Portland police said...

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Buhari orders security of Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to take necessary action to ensure the security and well-being of all Nigerian pilgrims in the holy land. The directive followed the deadly crane collapse within the precinct of Mecca on Friday. The president equally commiserated with his Majesty, King Salman, the people...

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Mobile internet users in Nigeria hit 93 million

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said that the number of internet users on the country’s telecom networks increased to more than 93 million as at July. The commission made this known in its Monthly Internet Subscriber Data, obtained Saturday in Lagos. The data revealed that internet user on both the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and the Code Division Multiple Access...

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Buhari vows to punish officers, soldiers involved in human rights violations

President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday in Kaduna reaffirmed his administration’s total commitment to the rule of law and warned that proven acts of human rights violation by the Armed Forces would be punished. Addressing officers, troops and newly commissioned cadets at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), President Buhari reminded them that the rule of law applied to the Armed Forces as much as any...

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Everton 3-1 Chelsea: Naismith hat-trick piles more pressure on Mourinho

Chelsea's start to the defence of their Premier League title went from bad to worse as they were beaten 3-1 at Goodison Park by a Steven Naismith's hat-trick for Everton. The Scottish forward broke the deadlock with a header in the 17th minute and followed it up with a second just five minutes later, taking advantage of slack defending from Branislav Ivanovic to bury a low shot past Asmir Begovic. Jose...

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3.4m Nigerians living with HIV-AIDS

The Country Director of UNAIDS, Mr Bilali Camara, Friday said 3.4million Nigerians are living with HIV/AIDS virus in Nigeria and in 2014 alone 60,000 children were infected. Camara made this disclosure during a courtesy visit to the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila. aidsHe also advised the Nigerian government to encourage pharmaceutical companies to produce...

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Obasanjo gets scared when he sees me, i will soon expose him - Alamieyeseigha

It's about 10 since the impeachment and subsequent imprisonment of former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, but the past still remains a bitter and unforgettable one for the former Bayelsa governor. Alamieyeseigha, who spoke to newsmen in his country home in Yenagoa, said that he had forgiven all those who plotted and sent him to jail purely for political reasons even though the experience remains very...

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Abandoned projects, reason for N30bn loan – Wike

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has said that he decided to take loans after he assumed office in order to pay backlog of salaries owed workers and complete some abandoned projects in the state. Wike said on Friday that it would have been difficult for his administration to pay contractors if he had waited for the next federal allocation. He explained that since he met an empty...

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Senate president, Bukola Saraki donates pension to law graduates

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Friday donated his pension as a former Governor of Kwara State to two best graduating students of the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, for the 2014/2015 academic session. The beneficiaries are Tosin Mohammed and Adam Ndakuku. While presenting N500, 000 cheque under the aegis of Abubakar Bukola Saraki Pension Scholarship Scheme to each of the...

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Asset Deceleration: APC governors refuse to follow Buhari example

Following the Buhari and Osinbajo public asset deceleration made last week, governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress have said they will not follow the example laid by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in declaring their assets publicly. The governors stated that it is not compulsory for them to declare their assets publicly and that they would...

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Ex-militants to Buhari - 'Develop Niger Delta or there won’t be peace'

Ex-Militants in the Niger Delta under the Third Phase Group has called on the Federal Government to aggressively pursue development of the Niger Delta to forestall another crisis in the region.  The former militants, who flayed the actions of former Presidential Adviser to the President on the Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku, said that the call is timely as such failure in the past led to...

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REVEALED: 50 countries share Nigerians’ $1bn medical tourism spending

About 50 countries benefited from the $1bn spent by 30,000 Nigerians on medical tourism in 2014, an Internet portal, Gapdoc.com, has revealed. Forty per cent of the amount, according to the portal, was spent by Nigerians to get medical care in India alone. The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Saurabh Maskara, named other countries that benefited from the rest of the money to include...

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