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The late Sawyer From the families and colleagues of doctors and medical officials quarantined in Lagos after contracting the Ebola virus came yesterday a distress call -  they are dying. According to them, the  patients are being treated by doctors, who are inexperienced in the treatment of Ebola. The relations, at a news conference in Lagos, urged the government to seek international help. But Minister of Health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu said in Abuja that Nigeria would get today a drug  to treat the patients. Giving an update on the Ebola situation in Nigeria, Chukwu said there was a new case – one of the doctors who treated the late Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer. An infected  nurse also died yesterday, bringing to four the number of people who have died so far from the Ebola virus. The minister, who confirmed the death in a statement last night, said there were 10 confirmed cases of the virus. Those who died earlier are  S...

  The king of online retail is flexing its muscle to win over Mom and Pop. Amazon, the online retail giant, on Wednesday announced its own take on a credit card reader, pushing the company into the crowded and complicated world of mobile payments. Already, many companies are elbowing one another to win the trust — and millions of business transactions — of small and medium retailers the world over. The new product, Amazon Local Register, is a black, compact rectangular card reader stamped with Amazon’s logo across the front. The $10 device plugs into a merchant’s smartphone or tablet, and works in conjunction with a smartphone app to process and track all of a merchant’s business transactions. It also comes with an enticing offer: lower processing fees. The device is a new stomping ground for Amazon, which has expanded its online storefront over the years to include goods of nearly all sorts — books, furniture and electronics, to name a few. While many of the ...

The Kwara State Government yesterday, announced  the immediate closure of a private hospital in the  metropolis  over a suspected Ebola virus contamination. Announcing the closure of the hospital, the Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor on Public  Health, Professor Sunday Opabola, and his counterpart on Secondary Health, Dr Ibrahim Gambari, said the seven months old baby girl suspected  to be infected with the virus has already been isolated and quarantined in a specialist hospital. According to Professor Opabola the baby girl came into the state with her mother as visitors from Ibadan, Oyo State. He explained that upon their entry into the state recently, the child was taken to a hospital over a case of malaria, adding that after the baby had spent three days on admission and there was no sign of improvement, the doctor treating her reported the case to the Ministry of Health for prompt action. He said after close examin...

Governor Kwankwaso commended the Northern delegates to the National Constitutional Conference that shunned what he described as “so called dollars” that some people are distributing now in Abuja, choosing to work tirelessly to save the country from imminent collapse. Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso The governor made the assertion during an interview with journalists in his office in Kano on Wednesday, his Director of Press and Public Relations, Halilu Ibrahim Dantiye, said in a statement. He lamented that those stakeholders that should care about the dangers of drafting a new and unnecessary constitution for the country are busy trying to perpetuate themselves in power. Governor Kwankwaso said the planned introduction of the so-called “New Constitution” may have adverse repercussions on the unity of the nation, pointing out that some parts of the country already have flags different from the constitutional green-white-green flag.  Kwankwas...

Residents of Agiliti, Mile 12 Lagos, woke up today to a gruesome sight. The headless body of a young man was found on a side street. On closer inspection, it was discovered that his manhood had also been cut off. People suspect it was ritual murder but no one knows for sure what happened. The murdered man has since been identified by people who claim to know him.

  Members of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province of the Catholic Church, comprising Ibadan Archdiocese, Ondo, Ekiti, Ilorin, Oyo and Osogbo Diocese, have been urged to desist from the common self-signing with water at the entrance of the church and other occasions. President of the Province, Most Revd. Gabriel Abegunrin, and the Secretary, Most Revd. Felix Ajakaye, gave the directive in a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting by the bishops at the Pope John Paul II Pastoral Centre, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State. The bishops also suspended shaking of hands at Mass in all their churches in the province because of the risk of members contracting the Ebola virus disease, adding that all Nigerians must be careful in a bid to stop the international scourge. “We, as church in Ibadan Province, pending the end of the alert on the Ebola epidemic, hereby direct that priests, religious and pastoral workers, collaborate with doctors and other medical personnel to sensitise and edu...

At least three people have been reported to have died, while a pregnant woman also landed in hospital, as a result of excessive intake of salt for the prevention of Ebola Virus in Bauchi State.   According to Vanguard report, an old man in Misau local council and three other adults in Bigi , Gudum Sayawa, and Bayara village, suburbs in Bauchi, northern Nigeria, were the victims of the salt intake exercise An unnamed source was quoted to have said that one of the deceased, Mr. Paul Bigi, 74, drank more than two cups of salted water and also rub some on his body after bathing with the salt water as advised by his children. “Less than one hour after he took the salt water, Baba started deficating non-stop and he died in the morning around 7am,” the source said. Also in Gumdum Sayawa, it was gathered that one John Ayuba made use of one bag of salt in one drum of water for bathing and one bag of salt in another drum of water for drinking due to large number of peopl...

Luis Suarez's four-month biting ban is upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but he is cleared to train. A full explanation of the Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling will not be published until a later date. Suarez's lawyers argued world governing body FIFA's decision to suspend him from all "football-related activity" for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup was excessive. The Uruguay striker, 27, was also banned for nine international matches. Suarez was a Liverpool player at the time of his clash with Chiellini but has since left Anfield to join Barcelona in a £75m deal. Barcelona's La Liga season starts at home to Elche on 24 August. An eight-game ban would have meant Suarez was unavailable until El Classico at Real Madrid on 26 October. At last week's hearing in Lausanne, Suarez's legal team argued he should be allowed to train with Barca during his suspension and that his ban should be limited to internati...

Barcelona says Brazil striker Neymar has returned to training after passing a medical exam as he continues his recovery from a fractured vertebra. Neymar's back was injured in a collision with Colombian defender Juan Camilo Zuniga during the World Cup quarterfinals last month. The Brazilian striker trained away from his teammates on Tuesday after being examined by team doctors. Barcelona says Neymar's progress will determine when he rejoins the team for regular training. Barcelona also welcomed back Argentine forward Lionel Messi on Tuesday after a standard medical exam as he begins his preseason preparations ahead of the start of the season. The Catalan club host Elche on Aug. 24 in the opening match of La Liga.

Bayern Munich have confirmed the player will have an operation on a knee injury suffered in the DFL-Supercup defeat to Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich have announced that Javi Martinez will be out of action for "several months" as a result of the knee injury suffered against Borussia Dortmund.

The 10-man shortlist has been reduced to three, meaning Bayern Munich's star winger and their World Cup-winning goalkeeper will battle with the Ballon d'Or holder. Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben and Cristiano Ronaldo have been named as the final three nominees for the  UEFA Best Player in Europe award. The trio were named as part of an initial 10-man shortlist announced in July, which included Angel Di Maria, Diego Costa, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Philipp Lahm, James Rodriguez and Thomas Muller. Current Ballon d'Or holder Ronaldo has now been voted into the final three, along with Bayern Munich's star winger Robben and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who added the World Cup to his Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal successes last season. The winner will be announced on August 28 in Monaco during the group-stage draw for the Champions League. The  UEFA Best Player prize began in 2011 under an initiative from Uefa president Michel Platini and European Sports Media group. Lionel Messi w...

Pakistan's Punjab province is set for a day of protests, as opposition leader Imran khan and anti-government cleric Tahir-Ul-Qadri lead thousands of supporters in a march calling for the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign.  Marchers departed from Lahore on Thursday morning, also Pakistan’s independence day, and are travelling up the main highway to the capital Islamabad, where they plan to hold a sit-in until their demands are met. Hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) activists gathered outside khan's Lahore residence, with hundreds more present at Qadri’s party headquarters, local television news footage showed. The protest comes after days of escalating political tensions in Pakistan. Khan is demanding a fresh general election, alleging that Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) party rigged the 2013 polls. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) won 34 seats in the national assembly in that election, compared to the PML-n's 189, and the...

Kurdish officials said the situation in Dohuk city, with 150,000 refugees, was now critical. But the us said a rescue mission to aid thousands who fled to Mount Sinjar was unlikely as it had found fewer people and better conditions than expected  The UN estimates that 1.2 million Iraqis have been internally displaced.  The three other countries that have the same emergency status are Syria, South Sudan and the central African republic.  The un had estimated that tens of thousands of people, most from the Christian and Yazidi religious minorities, were besieged on the mountain after being forced to flee their homes.  US forces conducted a brief mission to Mount Sinjar to assess the situation after days of international concern.  It found fewer people than expected and that those remaining were also in a better condition than feared - partly because thousands had left the mountain each night over the past days.

World football governing body, FIFA, today Thursday August 14th ordered the re-instatement of impeached Aminu Maigari as president of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF. The directive, which was conveyed in an email signed by the Deputy Secretary General of FIFA, Markus Kattner and sent to the NFF Secretary General Musa Amadu, stated that the NFF leadership must remain as status quo prior to the World cup in Brazil.  Mr Maigari was on July 24th impeached from office after a vote of no confidence was passed by some members of the NFF board. This will be the second time FIFA will be using its power to reinstate Maigari. With this new directive, Maigari and all his 13 board members earlier suspended will return to office until August 26th when a fresh election will take place.

AIT Ebola virus situation in Guinea has forced it to declare a national health emergency as it battles to curb the deadly virus from being spread further. A state radio reported that measures will include a ban on the moving of corpses from one town to another, increasing border controls and an immediate isolation on anyone who was suspected to be a carrier of the virus. There are fears that the Ebola virus which has killed over 1000 people could spread to the Eastern parts of Africa. This is the deadliest outbreak since the disease was discovered in 1976. Although the virus has no cure, the experimental drug, ZMapp which was dispatched has arrived Liberia from the United States which was approved by WHO to be administered to patients on Tuesday. Ebola’s initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas such as eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. Patients have a better chance of surv...

Students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago – Iwoye, in their thousands seized the entrance to the Oke – Mosan Governor’s Office, demanding 50 percent reduction in their tuition fee. They said the reduction should take immediate effect – 2013/2014 academic session and not by next session, lamenting that OOU students remain the highest fees paying students in Nigeria. The students who also blocked the Abeokuta – Kobape – Sagamu expressway for the better part of Thursday, made vehicular movement nightmarish for travellers and motorists going to and fro Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. They dropped a frightening pot of fetish objects – ebo (sacrifice) bearing egg, eko, feather among others at the Governor’s Office gate with all the items smeared with red palm oil. Over two dozen policemen including the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikemefuna Okoye, had a hectic time labouring to contain the surging crowd lest they pull down the locked entrance gate in a bid to...

Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote has donated N150million to help in the fight of the spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria. The Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Foundation, Mrs Adhiambo Odaga announced this at a media briefing at the Ministry of Health, Abuja on Monday. She said the money will be available for the establishment of an Ebola emergency operation centre in Lagos. “After bilateral discussion with the honourable minister and his team, Dangote foundation has funded the establishment of the Ebola emergency operation in Lagos, that is being done through grant from the foundation of just a little over N150 million,” she said. Continue... "The strategy that our chairman is deploying is the strategy to respond and to commend government for the effort, and to show that all Nigerians are concerned. We will continue to discuss with the ministry about what additional support can be offered. “And we also have been approached by several parties w...

Nigerian troops have massed around Gwoza to retake the town from members of the Islamist group, Boko Haram, military sources have disclosed. The battle for control of Gwoza rages as reports emerged that Boko Haram insurgents yesterday killed 20 people in Doro Baga in Kukawa local government area of Borno State. The residents of the embattled village also disclosed that the militants kidnapped several women in an early morning raid. Continue... One military source in Abuja told SaharaReporters that the soldiers on the mission to recapture the town were drafted from Maiduguri and Mubi in Adamawa State. The officer added that special Army and Air Force units had been pounding Boko Haram positions since yesterday. “Over 1000 soldiers are involved in this operation to take Gwoza back from Boko Haram,” said the officer, adding that the troop commanders were confident of dislodging the insurgents in a matter of hours or days. A resident of Bama, which is 35 m...

A cross section of students from various higher schools of learning during a thank you visit to the Ogun State Governor's Office following the government's drastic reduction in school fees at the Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta on Thursday.

It was a happy end to an uncertain journey on Thursday when the plenary session and indeed the 2014 National Conference drew to a close amidst fanfare laced with solidarity songs. Suddenly, media hypes regarding apprehensions arising from issues contained in the three volumes of the prepared reports melted into oblivion as delegates unanimously approved the reports. A scenario of unsolicited hugs, multiple pats on the back, wide smiles, handshakes unhindered by ethnic divides unfolded naturally as the unanimous adoption of the reports was taken. Conference Chairman and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, GCON; Deputy chairman and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi; Conference Secretary, Dr (Mrs) Valerie-Jenette Azinge and the three assistant secretaries savoured the atmosphere with joy. Shortly after the adoption of Votes and Proceedings of the previous day, the session opened with a “motion to mandate the secretar...

  Adeniran Adebayo, (pictured above) a primary school teacher has been arrested and arranged in court by the Lagos state police command for raping a primary 4 pupil inside the toilet of their private primary school located on Olateju Ilesanmi Street, Baruwa, Ipaja area of Lagos, Punch reports. Testifying before a Lagos State Chief Magistrate Court in Ebutte Metta yesterday August 13th, the Investigating Police officer from the state Criminal Investigation Department Yaba said he interrogated the little girl three times in which she affirmed that her teacher, Mr Adeniran, who is married with two children, had lured her to the school toilet and forced himself into her and then threatened to flog her if she screamed. Continue... The police officer investigating the case said; "I interviewed the victim after the matter was brought to the SCID. She said on the fateful day, she was in school after the closing hours and was waiting for her younger brother, who...

Resident Doctors in Nigerian Teaching Hospitals have been suspended by the Federal Government starting yesterday August 13th. According to a letter sent out by the Permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, the indefinite suspension is meant to help the Federal Govt 'appraise the challenges facing the health sector'.

A doctor who attended to late Patrick Sawyer at the First Consultant Hospital has been confirmed positive with the Ebola virus. Speaking at a news conference today, the Nigerian Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu said the doctor is currently undergoing treatment at the quarantine centre in Lagos. Prof Onyebuchi revealed  that some of the 169 secondary contacts of Sawyer were no longer under surveillance and had been released, having completed the 21 days of incubation period.  The Minister also said the nurse who had escaped the quarantine center in Lagos and traveled to Enugu state has been returned back to Lagos with her husband in a special traveling ambulance. ' In Enugu yesterday, there were 21 secondary contacts with the nurse. But after investigations, there are only 6 secondary contacts now. The nurse who is newly wedded had no symptoms of the disease when she traveled to Enugu. She was transported back to Lagos in...

    An experimental drug developed by a Nigerian in diaspora for the treatment of Ebola is expected to arrive the country today, the Minister for Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said.   The drug, called “Nanosilver”, has been approved for use by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an experimental treatment ethical in the case of the Ebola epidemic. The Federal Govt yesterday approved the use of experimental drugs in the treatment of the deadly virus.

First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan pictured greeting officials of the Nigerian Embassy in Poland as she arrived the Gdansk Walesa International Airport in Sopoto, Northern Poland to commission a training ship built for the Nigerian Oceanographic Institute for Marine and Research purposes.

The Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi who has enjoined the federal government to fund the NYSC effectively, spoke yesterday at a visit paid to him in the government house by National Governing Board Of the NYSC, saying that State government were being made to shoulder the responsibilities of the federal government. Ameachi said, "I don’t know if you realise that NYSC is a Federal scheme. If you know it’s a federal scheme, why are you transferring responsibility to the State government? Even the allowances we are paying, we are not supposed to pay. I served in Abuja, nobody paid me one dime outside what the Federal Government paid us as allowance. The vehicles the youth service was using in Abuja were bought by the Federal Government, why then do we transfer Federal Government responsibility to the States?” Ameachi said the neglect from the federal government was making corps members go through challenges. He said that the State gover...

A woman has won the maths world's "Nobel prize" for the first time. Maryam Mirzakhani of Stanford University, California, will receive the Fields medal tomorrow at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Seoul, South Korea. The medal is awarded once every four years to at most four recipients, who must be aged under 40 at the start of that year. All the previous 52 Fields medallists, dating back to 1936, have been male. Mirzakhani, who is Iranian, studies the geometry of moduli space, a complex geometric and algebraic entity that might be described as a universe in which every point is itself a universe. Mirzakhani described the number of ways a beam of light can travel a closed loop in a two-dimensional universe. To answer the question, it turns out, you cannot just stay in your "home" universe – you have to understand how to navigate the entire multiverse. Mirzakhani has shown mathematicians new ways to navigate these spaces. Mi...