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  Thousands of opposition activists in Pakistan are heading towards the capital, Islamabad, demanding that the Prime Minister  Nowaz Sharif step down. Pakistan Protesters Head Towards Capital They are heeding to separate calls by two leading figures, Imran Khan of the PTI party, and an influential religious leader, Tahir Ul-Qadri, to converge on the capital to mount pressure on the prime minister. The rallies are seen as the strongest challenge yet to the government of Nawaz Sharif, just a year after he took office in the first democratic transfer of power in a country long plagued by military coups. The protesters set out on Thursday from the city of Lahore in cars, trucks and buses, while others walked or drove motorcycles as they embarked on the 300km long journey to Islamabad.  Khan, the leader of the PTI, the third-largest party in parliament, is demanding a fresh general election, alleging that Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz  party rigged the 2013 polls. Qadri, a Canad

Former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi has resigned as leader of the All Pro­gressives Grand Alli­ance (APGA)and the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees. In a resignation letter ad­dressed to the national secre­tary of the party and submit­ted in the party’s Abuja office yesterday, Mr. Obi said he was resigning as leader and BoT chairman into which he was appointed in January 2014 by the National Ex­ecutive Council of the party, which, according to him, was yet to be ratified by a conven­tion of the party as stipulated by the constitution. Obi cited family and per­sonal reasons, but did not give details. He, however, wished the party well in her future endeavours, and reit­erated that he remains an or­dinary APGA member. Widely acknowledged as the man who kept APGA alive over the past decade, Mr. Obi had recently been denied appointment as a min­ister by President

Tension and ap­prehension now pervade the head­quarters of the Movement for the Actual­ization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, fol­lowing a marching order given to some key officers of the Movement by their leader, Chief Ralph Uwa­zuruike to vacate the or­ganization or face forceful ejection. The officers; National Chief Security Officer, Chief Security Driver, National Secretary, Chief Intelligence Officer, four National Com­manders and over two hun­dred security men camped at MASSOB headquarters, Okwe in Imo State since 2006 were affected by Uwa­zuruike’s orders to vacate Okwe within a week or be ejected by force. As a result, the National Director of Information, Comrade Uchenna Madu yesterday raised the alarm that the action of the MAS­SOB leader may lead to the collapse of the group and bloodshed in Igbo land. Madu described the af­fected

Minister of Sports and Chairman Na­tional Sports Commission (NSC), DR. Tammy Danagogo, has graciously cleared the embattled President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Al­haji Aminu Maigari, to return to his position at Glass House by Monday. Speaking to the media after a meeting with Maigari, who paid him a courtesy visit along two members of the board, Alhaji Ahmed Kawu and Yusuf Ahmed, yesterday, the minister said that he has secured the com­mitments of other board members to cooperate with the embattled NFF boss when he resumes duty. “He (Maigari) came on a courtesy call. What all well-meaning stakehold­ers have been trying to do all these while is to ensure that the crisis is resolved,” the Minister said. “By the grace of God, we have secured the com­mitment of the president and his board members after meeting with them few days ago. “They have all resolved to work

Nigeria’s Falcon­ets yesterday arrived in the city of Moncton for tomorrow’s quarter­final clash with Newzea­land at the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup holding in Canada. The Nigerian team topped Group C with Seven points to set up tomorrow’s epic encounter with New Zealand that came second in Group D. The Falconets left Ed­ monton on Wednesday at about 11.30am, flew through Montreal and ar­rived  Moncton at 9:15pm local time.  The team had a training session yesterday morn­ing at the Harrison Trimple High School pitch. All the players are in top shape while Osarenoma Ig­binovia, who was absent in the match against England due to injury, returned to training yesterday. This is the first time New Zealand has qualified for the knock out stage. The team defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in their last Group game, to qualify. The Falconets on the other han

Lagos state Governor, Raji Fashola today August 15th commissioned the newly refurbished Tejuosho market in Yaba Lagos, 7 years after the old market structure was completely gutted by fire. The refurbished market, which used to have 1,484 lockup, has been increased to 2,640. Facilities in the new market complex includes banking spaces, 8 lifts to enable goods, services and people move up, two escalators for up and down movement of people, two ramps designed to assist physically handicapped people to get into and out of the building and a crèche where nursing mothers can attend to and keep their children while they are trading. There is also a dedicated Fire Service Station within the complex with fire fighting systems built in the market to forestall any incident of fire disaster as well as a dedicated 800-vehicle capacity car-park unit. See more photos after the cut...

Yesterday we heard that an experimental drug called 'Nanosilver' developed by a Nigerian in diaspora for the treatment of Ebola has arrived the country. But now, despite the experimental drug getting approval for use by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is claiming that Nanosilver is a pesticide From Reuters T he U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it has become aware of products being sold online that fraudulently claim to prevent or treat Ebola. The FDA's warning comes on the heels of comments by Nigeria's top health official, Onyebuchi Chukwu, who reportedly said earlier Thursday that eight Ebola patients in Lagos, the country's capital, will receive an experimental treatment called nano-silver. S ilver has been used as an antibacterial for centuries. Tiny silver particles known as nano-silver have controversially been incorporated into a variety of consumer products such as socks

GENEVA — West Africa’s deadly Ebola epidemic is probably much worse than the world realizes, with health centers on the front lines warning that the actual numbers of deaths and illnesses are significantly higher than the official estimates, the World Health Organization said. So far, 2,127 cases of the disease and 1,145 deaths have been reported in four nations — Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone — the W.H.O announced Friday. But the organization has also warned that the actual number is almost certainly higher, perhaps by a very considerable margin. “Staff at the outbreak sites see evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak,” the group said in a statement on Thursday. A sick child lies in a classroom used as an Ebola isolation ward in Monrovia, Liberia. The epidemic is still growing faster than efforts to keep up with it, and it will take months before governments and health w

Photo Rabbi Andy Bachman developed a model for what might bring some of the nation’s millions of Jews who are unaffiliated with synagogues back to the fold. Credit Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times Leafy, affluent Park Slope embodies the challenge facing modern American Jewry: Though many Jews live there, few are observant. So it was no small feat when Rabbi Andy Bachman took the helm of Congregation Beth Elohim in the Brooklyn neighborhood eight years ago and began attracting a vibrant congregation of Jewish atheists and agnostics, as well as the more traditionally religious. Drawn by big-name book talks, family-oriented religious classes and the rabbi’s teaching that to be Jewish is to do good in the world, membership doubled to more than a thousand families. The Reform synagogue drew young literati like Jonathan Safran Foer and catapulted to national attention as a model f

Preamble We, Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, comprising Ibadan Archdiocese, Ondo, Ekiti, Ilorin, Oyo and Osogbo Dioceses have held our meeting at the Pastoral Institute, Ado Ekiti from 11th till 12th August 2014. We have prayerfully deliberated on matters of pastoral, spiritual, social and political interest and now conclude with the following communique: 1. The Pallium, of the new Archbishop of Ibadan Province We thank God Almighty for the event of the imposition of the pallium, the symbol of the authority of the Metropolitan archbishop, on the new Archbishop of Ibadan, Most Reverend Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin on the 29th of June 2014 in Rome by His Holiness, Pope Francis. We thank the large Nigerian delegation that witnessed the occasion and pray that the Archbishop’s tenure witness unprecedented pastoral progress in our Province. 2. The Ebola Epidemic. The Ebola epidemic is a source of worry to all peoples all over the world. We highly commend the government

The Nigerian Medical Association has rejected the sack of resident doctors by the Federal Govt which happened on Wednesday August 13th.    At a press briefing today in Abuja, the president of the NMA, Dr Kayode Obembe asked the federal government to withdraw its circular on the sack of the resident doctors and also reverse the directive "NMA demands immediate withdrawal of the suspension circular and unconditional reinstatement of the so-called sacked resident doctors. Government should show commitment on her part in resolving the current impasse with the NMA rather than resorting to punitive measures that will only further aggravate the already deplorable situation. NMA condemns in totality the alleged presidential directive via the Federal Ministry of Health suspending Residency Training Programme in Nigeria,” the NMA President added. The NMA president also stated that even if FG reinstates the resident doctors, they will still not call off their strike,

The police officer who shot and killed black teenager Michael Brown on a street in Ferguson, St. Louis last Saturday August 9th has been named. His name is Darren Wilson and he's supposedly 'torn up' over the shooting. They are yet to release a pic of what the officer looks like. Darren Wilson is said to be a six-year veteran of the Ferguson Police Department and has no history of disciplinary action. The police claim the officer was treated for injuries after the shooting. Officer Wilson claims Michael attacked him and struggled with him over his gun during the altercation.  The Ferguson police chief in a press briefing today gave a timeline of the minutes leading up to the shooting on Saturday afternoon. " At 11.48am, Officer Wilson was at an unrelated ‘sick call’ with an ambulance. At 11.51am, a 911 call came in reporting a 'strong-armed' robbery at a convenience store, which included a description of two suspects." Contin

  The Bauchi State police command has arrested 10 robbery suspects who have been terrorizing residents of the state. The command Public Relations Officer Mr Mohammed Haruna, a Deputy Superintendent iof Police (DSP) disclosed this to Daily Sun, explaining that the gang specialised in instilling fear among the villagers and travelers along Darazo-Misau and Giade axis and extorting money from them. DSP Haruna said that the command equally smashed a syndicate of Nitel cable vandals and arrested four suspects “with a very long Nitel cable of 250 meter long yet to be cut to size valued at 1.7Million Naira” According to Haruna exhibits recovered from all the suspects included two fabricated rifles, two motorcycles, One Tipper Truck, Cutlass, Iron road, charm among others. He said that Investigation is in progress. Meanwhile, the command assured members of the Public that the upcoming distribution and issuance of permanent voters’ card would be conducted hitch free. The

The Enugu State Police Command has arrested a 22-year-old security guard, identified as Gideon Musa, for raping a nine-year-old girl to death in the state capital. According to reports, the suspect, who is a guard near the victim’s house, took the teenager to a nearby bush and raped her to death. However, father of the deceased, Mr. Edwin Ode Ominiyi of Umuchigbo, a community in Abakpa Enugu East council area, was said to have reported the disappearance of her daughter to the police. Confirming the incident on Wednesday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO,  Ebere Amaraizu, said the victim, according to her father, suddenly disappeared at about 1 pm, which resulted to a search and subsequent report  at the police station. Following the report, Amaraizu said the policemen swung into action, spreading their tentacles within the arena and environs. According  to Amaraizu, “a search was, however, intensified by the father assisted by the suspect. During the

•NYSC members The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has announced the suspension of scheduled stream two orientation programme of the 2014 Batch ‘B’ Orientation in six states billed to start on Monday September 1 due to the dreaded Ebola virus disease in the country. The Director General of the NYSC, Brig Gen Johnson olawumi who announced the decision in Kubwa Orientation Camp in the Federal Capital Territory said the corps members deployed to Adamawa, Bauchi, Jigawa, Borno, Gombe, and Yobe States will be affected by the directive. Olawumi however assured the prospective corps members that they would not suffer unduly as the NYSC would ensure that they were not cheated in any way by staying longer than necessary at home. It would be recalled that the Stream Two exercise, meant for the affected northern states, is scheduled for Monday, September 1, to Monday, September 22. Corps members posted to Adamawa State will have their orientation programme i

S econd national operator, Globacom yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Apple’s authorised distributor for Africa, Core Group, to ensure that subscribers have access to genuine Apple products and devices at Gloworld shops, accredited dealer shops and Glo zones across the country. Speaking at the unveiling of the partnership at the Mike Adenuga Towers, Lagos, Head, Gloworld, Mrs. Titi Ebinisi, said the partnership will enable users of Apple products to enjoy Globacom’s super fast  internet service, GloBolt. She said: “The strategic partnership removes the burden of worrying about how to get authentic Apple devices, and then worrying about how to activate its full functionalities through the purchase of a SIM and internet connection. Our customers have been relieved of all these worries. “Anyone can walk into our signature retail shops, GloWorld, our accredited dealer outlets and Glo Zones in the country to get genuine Apple devices bundled

President-Ellen-Johnson-Sirleaf Ebola prompts extraordinary precautions Posted by: Our Reporter in News 5 hours ago From Nigeria to the United States and many other parts of the world, the fear of the spread of the Ebola Virus ravaging West Africa has led to extraordinary precautionary measures, writes Wall Street Journal The  Ebola outbreak in West Africa has prompted hospitals and health authorities in other countries to take precautions that often go beyond experts’ recommendations, showing the impact of public concern about the deadly disease. Health officials in Charlotte, N.C., are taking no chances with three missionaries who returned to the U.S. earlier this week from Liberia. All had contact with patients sick with Ebola. So even though they are healthy, the three have been quarantined on the campus of the religious organisation for which they work. Quarantining people who were exposed to Ebola but don’t have symptoms is unusual. But t

The Kano State government is planning to ban the sale of bush meat. The plan followed the report of a committee set up by the government to visit bush meat sales points in markets and similar outlets. The three-man committee is headed by Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Nasiru Gawuna. His counterparts in the ministries of Health and Commerce, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf and Dr. Umar Faruk Jibril, are members. Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso addressed reporters yesterday in Kano at the weekly state Executive Council (Exco) meeting on efforts to contain the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The governor said his administration would soon take decisive steps to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, adding that doctors briefed the Exco on how to stop the virus ahead of the committee’s report. He said besides the proposed Ebola Isolation Centre in the state capital, the government was discussing with officials of the Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital on how to manage the d