NewsReports

The Cairo court erupted in cheers when the judge said Mubarak should not have been a defendant in the case as the charges against him were added late. Charges against seven senior ex-officials were also dropped. The decision could be appealed. Victims’ relatives waiting outside expressed dismay and frustration. In a TV interview after the ruling, Mubarak said he had …

At least 120 people were killed and 270 others wounded on Friday when two suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen opened fire during weekly prayers at the mosque of one of Nigeria’s top Islamic leaders. The attack at the Grand Mosque in Kano, the biggest city in the mainly Muslim north of the country, came just as Friday prayers …

David Cameron has passionately urged other EU leaders to support his “reasonable” proposals for far-reaching curbs on welfare benefits for migrants. Britain’s prime minister said lower EU migration would be a priority in future negotiations on the UK’s membership and he said would “rule nothing out” if he did not get the changes he wanted. Under his plans, migrants will …

ABUJA — In its efforts to address the complaints arising from inability of eligible voters to register or obtain voter cards ahead of the 2015 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, announced the rescheduling of the ongoing exercises in seven states of the country. According to the commission, the production of Permanent Voter Cards and preparation for …

Reports in the Austrian media said 500 police were involved in searches at mosques, flats and prayer rooms in Vienna and the cities of Linz and Graz. Authorities also seized “terrorist propaganda material”, prosecutors said. It comes amid a European crackdown on fighters who have joined jihadist forces in Syria and Iraq. A statement from Austria’s state prosecutor’s office said …

THE Senate yesterday tackled former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo over his allegation that the National Assembly was using constituency projects to siphon public funds, saying the former president was out to denigrate the sanctity of the parliament. The Senate also claimed that it was Obasanjo’s administration which approved that the constituency projects be built into the national budget which was …

Enugu — Former Vice President and All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, in Enugu, warned Nigerians, that a vote for Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2015 general elections, was a vote for continuation of insurgency, kidnapping, oil bunkering, corruption and unemployment, among others. The former Vice President insisted that the PDP had nothing to offer Nigerians, …

Pele has been admitted into intensive care at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo. The Brazil legend is suffering from a urinary tract infection, but it reported to be in a “stable” condition. “The Albert Einstein Hospital informs that the patient Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) has been admitted in an unstable condition,” a hospital statement said. “To receive …

From all indications, it appears Stephen Keshi will continue as coach of the Nigerian national team, after officials confirmed he will get a new deal. There have been calls for Keshi to be sacked as Super Eagles boss, after the team failed to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Equatorial Guinea. Samson Siasia was dismissed after …

The price of oil slumped after the Opec oil producers’ cartel decided not to cut output at its meeting in Vienna. Opec’s secretary general Abdallah Salem el-Badri said they would not try to shore up prices by reducing production. “There’s a price decline. That does not mean that we should really rush and do something,” he said. Following the announcement …