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Italian police officers are under investigation for the alleged rape of two U.S. students in Florence, media said on Friday. The women, aged 19 and 21, were in a nightclub Wednesday night when a fight broke out and the owner called the police. Six officers arrived, with four leaving shortly afterward when calm was restored, the reports said. The two who stayed on struck up a conversation with the Americans, who were visibly drunk, and offered them a lift home when they failed to find a taxi. The women claim they were attacked by the officers once they arrived home in the early hours of Thursday, with one raped in the courtyard and the other in the house. The four are captured on video surveillance footage in the car. Neighbours heard no cries for help, the reports said. The women were examined by hospital doctors, who noted one was still drunk and both were highly distressed, according to La Repubblica daily. There were no external signs of sexual violence, ...

Ma Rongrong’s labour pains were unbearable. For hours she had begged for a C-section to ease her agony. After multiple requests were refused, she jumped five floors from a hospital window in northern China to her death. Ma’s family and her doctors have blamed each other for denying her the surgery that could have eased her suffering. The tragedy has attracted intense attention in China, with many wondering how Ma could be denied such a common procedure. There is no clear answer, but the incident has sparked a national discussion on everything from the high cost of health care and patients’ rights to the dangers of traditional Chinese family values. The conversation reached fever pitch this week after leaked security footage showing Ma on her knees in front of her family in a hospital corridor went viral. In response to the uproar, the official People’s Daily said in an editorial that no matter who is ultimately to blame, the incident should serve as a nationa...

Environmental ministers representing Canada, China , and the European Union will co-host a meeting in Montreal later this month to move forward with the implementation of the Paris climate change agreement. The ministerial meeting will include representatives from some 30 countries, according to Canada’s minister of environment and climate change, Catherine McKenna. “This meeting brings together major economies and key climate actors to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement and demonstrate continued commitment to global action on climate change,” she said in a statement. The meeting follows US President Donald Trump’s announcement in June that the United States would abandon the painstakingly-negotiated 2015 global pact. The accord commits signatories to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, which is blamed for melting ice caps and glaciers, rising sea levels and more violent weather events. They vowed steps to k...

The Cross River State Government says it has discovered new solid mineral deposits across the three Senatorial Districts of the state and if fully tapped would tremendously transform the economy of the state and reduce its over dependence on federal allocations. The search and discovery of the resources follow a geological mapping of the state by some Chinese geologists from Shian Xi Province of China after an MOU signed between the Country and Cross River State. Some of the minerals discovered in commercial quantity were Uranium, iron ore, manganese, tourmaline, barites, marbles, Galina, spherite, coal, kaolin, sulphite, rutile as well as new limestone deposits. The State’s Commissioner for Solid Minerals, Hon. George Oben’echi, who spoke to journalists at Kokunne forest in Mkpani, Yarkurr Local Government Area of the state, where a huge deposit of limestone was discovered said the new discoveries could be turned to wealth for the state if properly utilised. ...

Like the old saying goes, ‘a leopard never changes its spots’, veteran Juju music singer King Sunny Ade held a crowd of different generations spell bound as he took to the stage of the Lagos Shift initiative on Mayday. The Sixty-five year old Grammy Award nominee, defied his age as he made a meal of the brief stint he had on the stage and even reprises his trademark dance step.

Juju legend Sir Shina Peters has said that Prince Adekunle’s contribution to Juju Music cannot be quantified. Adekunle is known to have influenced and assisted the careers of Sir Shina Peters and Segun Adewale, who were two of the biggest Nigerian music stars in the 1980s. Speaking with Entertainment News on Channels Television, Sir Shina Peters stated that Prince Adekunle’s contribution to the Juju music is immense. “His contribution to the Juju music is immense, you can’t quantify it, I don’t even know how I can quantify it, his contribution, especially in the area of indigenous music, has been a lot. Speaking further Shina Peters explained that working under Prince Adekunle has been a blessing, as he has learnt a lot. “I started with him at the age of 10, I learnt a lot from him (Prince Adekunle).I learnt how to be patient and be humble, I learnt how to have the fear of God. Papa encourages every youth and the upcoming ones.” The Juju music veteran, Gene...

The launch of musician, Simi’s, long-awaited album ‘Simisola’, has seen several fans get quite emotional. The X3M singer who over the years won the hearts of many with her sonorous voice and style of music, launched her debut album at an event on Friday night. In October 2016, she released a collaborative EP with singer, Falz, titled ‘Chemistry’ and has several tracks with other acts such as urban highlife singer, Adekunle Gold. This time around, however, it appears she wanted the new album to be all about her – going by the title. She also went solo on all the tracks but one which she featured Adekunle Gold. Her fans on the other hand, have continued to pour encomiums on her following the launch.

The unaired fourth episode of the new season of HBO’s hit series ‘Game of Thrones’ has been leaked online, the premium channel’s distribution partner Star India said on Friday. “We take this breach very seriously and have immediately initiated forensic investigations at our and the technology partner’s end to swiftly determine the cause. This is a grave issue and we are taking appropriate legal remedial action” a Star India spokesperson said in a statement. Star India is a subsidiary of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. The leak of the episode, titled “The Spoils of War,” was separate from a hack on HBO that was disclosed earlier this week, HBO said in a statement. In that incident, the company’s chairman, Richard Plepler, told employees in a Monday email seen by Reuters that the hackers had stolen “proprietary information,” including some programming. Entertainment Weekly reported on Monday that hackers stole 1.5 terrabytes of data, including two unaired episodes ...

Nigerian born American hip-hop artist Jidenna Theodore Mobisson popularly known as Jidenna has rendered support to the flood victims in Benue State. Jidenna expressed his sympathy via Instagram noting that he was moved by the effects of the flood on the Benue residents because he grew up very close to the State. The singer was Born to Tama Mobisson, an accountant, and Oliver Mobisson, a Nigerian (Igbo) academic who worked as a professor of computer science at the Enugu State University. Signed to Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland Records label, Jidenna, won the hearts of many following the release of his debut single ‘Classic Man’, in 2015. The track was nominated for Best Rap/Song Collaboration at the 58th Grammy Awards.

Making movies gets more terrifying the older you get, British actress Judi Dench said on Monday (September 4), a day after her latest royal comedy drama “Victoria & Abdul” premiered at the Venice film festival. Dench, who won an Oscar for her role in “Shakespeare in Love” and was nominated for Academy Awards six other times, said unlike in theatre, where you can adjust with each performance, in films you get only one chance. “It’s always challenging, I am always frightened, always frightened,” the 82-year-old actress told Reuters in an interview. “I get more frightened the older I get. Dench began her career in theatre, followed by numerous TV roles, but still recalls how during a film audition she was told she would never make a movie “because you have everything wrong with your face”. But the turning-point came in 1997 when she was cast as Queen Victoria in “Mrs Brown”, the first time she played the late British monarch. She stepped back into the Queen...

File Photo: President Buhari met with Osinbajo on May 7 just before travelling to the U.K. The Presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration welcomes news of Nigeria’s exit from recession with “cautious optimism”. Consequently, it says it will continue to drive the nation’s economic growth by vigorously implementing the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) launched by the President in April. The Presidency believes government’s overall economic plan and direction has resulted in sustained restoration of oil production levels (occasioned by the enhanced security and stability in the Niger Delta), sustained growth in agriculture, mining and the first growth recorded in the industry as a whole in the last nine quarters since Q4 2014 among others. This was contained in a statement signed on Tuesday by the senior special assistant to the Vice President on media and publicity, Mr Laolu Akande. The Presidency quoted the Special Adviser on Economic...

Nollywood actress, Rita Dominic has revealed why she is still single at 41. In an interview with a lifestyle and fashion magazine, Schick, she said that she could have been married a long time ago, but things didn’t work out. The multiple award-winning actress, however, is hopeful that God will present the right man to her at the right time. She said, “I believe that God is in charge of my life and will present the right man to me at the right time.” When asked whether social pressure don’t get to her, Rita replied, “I am a human being and I would be lying to say that it doesn’t sometimes. “More so because it’s something I sincerely want to do but the feeling passes when I remember that society will not live with the person. “I will live with the man, so it is very important that I do it because I want to, not because society wants it for me.” On the myth that sex, for women, gets better with age, Rita opined that sex at 40 is what you make of it. “If you ordinaril...

Nollywood actor, Ramsey Nouah, has cleared the air on his real nationality, despite speculations among movie fans in the country that he is a foreigner. While fielding questions as a guest of Classic 97.3 FM radio recently, the actor, who was the subject of a death rumour that went viral on the social media in July, insisted that he would prefer to be addressed as a Nigerian and not as an Israeli He said, “I am Nigerian. Although I am also partly Israeli and Lebanese, I carry only the Nigerian passport. I was born and raised in Nigeria. All my life I have lived in this country and I have never been to either Israel or Lebanon where my paternal grandparents come from. Basically, this is my home and where I have found myself.”                    

Veteran Nollywood actor, Ramsey Nouah has disclosed that most of his fans in Lagos State see him as their money making machine. He revealed this in an interview with TheSun. While reacting to what fame has done to him, he said: “I wouldn’t say it closed doors on my face. No, not exactly. But, you know, you meet lots of people who tend to appreciate you. Everyone sees you around, all your fans, most especially in Lagos; see you as their ATM. All their greetings have to be paid for. For instance, they will greet you ‘Hey, good morning bros, we dey hail o…’ You know you have to drop something, so it’s quite a thorn in the flesh.”

Mai-Tangaran The Department of State Service (DSS) says that it uncovered and foiled sinister plans by Islamic State of West Africa (ISWA) terrorists, to cause mayhem and destruction that would have disrupted the just concluded Eid-Kabir Sallah festivities. The DSS in a statement signed by its spokesman, Tony Opuiyo, on Saturday said the plan was to conduct gun attacks and suicide bombing on selected targets in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Yobe and Borno States. According to the statement, the mastermind of the operation was one Husseini Mai-Tangaran, a well-known senior ISWA commander who has been on the radar of the Nigeria Army since 2012, when he spearheaded the armed attacks on the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone I, on 20th January, 2012, as well as other public places in Kano. It was also noted that Mai-Tangaran was responsible for the deadly explosive attacks against worshipper...

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo, hounded by allegations of tax evasion in Spain, is “delighted” to be staying at Real Madrid, according to club president Florentino Perez, who called claims that the Portuguese striker might leave the country exaggerated. “As he said a little while back, he’s delighted to be here. No one is better placed than him to say that,” Perez told Cadena Ser radio. Ronaldo strongly denied having evaded 14.7 million euros ($17.5 million) in tax on his image rights when he appeared in court in a preliminary hearing on July 31. Prosecutors accuse the Real Madrid star of evading tax via a shell company based in the British Virgin Islands and another in Ireland, known for low corporate tax rates. Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez In addition, they say Ronaldo only declared 11.5 million euros of Spanish-related income from 2011 to 2014, while what he really earned during that time was close to 43 million euros. They also accuse him of “volunta...

The likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona may soon play competitive La Liga games in China or the United States, Spanish league president Javier Tebas revealed on Friday. Tebas suggested the staging of La Liga games abroad from next season would help Spanish soccer compete for foreign revenue with its English and German rivals. “It would only be one or two games a season, like the NFL or NBA do,” said Tebas. “If we want to compete with the Premier League or the Bundesliga we have to look for added value,” he said. “We would look into it deeply before presenting the idea to the clubs, there are legal and social implications and you’d have to look at the hours too,” he said. “But it’s not a bad idea.” The 55-year-old Tebas has been in the news of late accusing Qatari-owned French side Paris Saint-Germain of “laughing” at UEFA’s the financial fair play (FFP) system. The NFL has been staging games in London since 2007, calling those game the ‘International Series’. The NBA calls i...

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola personally made sure Raheem Sterling would not be allowed to join Arsenal in a swap deal for Alexis Sanchez, he revealed on Friday. The two clubs spent transfer deadline day locked in talks over City’s desire to sign Sanchez, only for the deal to collapse because Arsenal were unable to sign their preferred replacement, Monaco winger Thomas Lemar. At one point Sterling was mooted as a potential makeweight in the Sanchez deal, but Guardiola said he was determined not to allow the 22-year-old England forward to leave. “When we started to speak with Arsenal in the last days before it was not impossible, they wanted to make a swap with Raz,” Guardiola told reporters at the City Football Academy in Manchester. “And they talked to me and I said: ‘No chance. Zero chance. Not one percent chance’ to take a swap deal with Alexis because I have a lot of trust in Raz. “He is 22 years old, an English player and he has a lot of gap (potential) to impro...

Finnish telecoms giant Nokia said on Thursday it planned to cut around 600 jobs in France as it seeks to make cost-savings and refocus its loss-making businesses. The group said it planned to reduce its headcount in France by 597, a little over 10 percent of its total workforce in the country, with French trade unions calling the move “unacceptable.”Nokia, which no longer makes handsets having sold that business to Microsoft, bought French-American telecoms equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent in 2015 in a deal that was expected to lead to savings. The cuts in France will be focused on administrative and support services and will not effect research and development as it refocuses on high-speed 5G telecom networks, cyber security, and Internet-linked appliances, the group said. Nokia is aiming to make 1.2 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars) in total cost savings by the end of 2018 following net losses of 766 million euros last year.

Hajia Alhassan who is the Women Affairs Minister has been in the spotlight for saying she will not back Buhari, if he wishes to run. Mama Taraba who had ran for governor in Taraba State in 2015, defended her position at the Presidential Villa yesterday, September 7. She said “God gives and takes position” when asked whether she expected to be fired from her position, following her declaration of support for former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku. A party leader said last night. “The remarks rattled us. It is totally unexpected. But it is her view, not a collective opinion.” Senator Shehu Sani (APC Kaduna Central) advised the minister to resign. Sani said: “The difference between that woman who made the statement as a minister and others is that she was open and others are still having it in their minds. “If she is prepared to work for the former vice-president,she can easily excuse herself from this government and concentrate on what she believes in for 2019.” A chieftain of ...

(File Photo) Supporters gather outside the stadium before the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on August 21, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Anthony DEVLIN The Spanish football league wants the  Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA) to investigate whether Manchester City has broken financial fair play rules. European football’s governing body is already investigating if Paris St-Germain has broken rules designed to stop clubs from ‘financial doping’. La Liga president Javier Tebas said City and PSG’s “funding by state-aid distorts European competitions; however, reports say UEFA has no intention of opening an investigation into City at this stage. City and PSG spent hundreds of millions of pounds on new players this summer.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar (R) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani react during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) on August 25, 2017, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. FRANCK FIFE / AFP Qatari-owned French side Paris Saint-Germain are “laughing” at the financial fair play (FPP) system, a combative Javier Tebas, president of Spain’s La Liga, said on Wednesday. The 55-year-old also warned that if he was not satisfied with UEFA’s response to La Liga’s concerns regarding the lavish spending of both PSG and Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City then he would consider taking his case to Brussels and the European Union. PSG stunned the football world when they prised Brazilian superstar Neymar away from Barcelona for a world record 222 million euros ($264 million) and then took Monaco’s highly-rated French star Kylian Mbappe on loan with an option to buy him...

A video has emerged online of Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jummai Alhassan (Mama Taraba), declaring her support for the 2019 presidential ambition of former vice president Atiku Abubakar. Being a minister under President Muhammadu Buhari for whom other ministers and party members are drumming support for a second term in 2019, the minister may have alienated herself with her action. “Your excellency, our father and our president by the grace of God, come 2019,” she said in Hausa language. Popularly called Mama Taraba, Mrs. Alhassan was the APC governorship candidate in Taraba in 2015, an election she narrowly lost to the current Peoples Democratic Party Governor. Her support for Mr. Abubakar will not be surprising for political observers, as the former vice president is believed to be a major financier of the APC in the North-east including Taraba. Although Mr. Abubakar has not publicly declared his intention to run in 2019, he is believed to be mobilising and...

British pugilist, Anthony Joshua has said that his training regime doesn’t afford him ‘much time for girlfriends’ – and hinted he may not settle down for 10 years. He told the Evening Standard: “If people can ride with me for the next 10 to 12 years I would really appreciate it, but if they can’t foresee the future I’d rather they jump off the boat because I can’t stop for no one right now. I was speaking to my coach, who worked with Carl Froch who had a 12-year career. One day it does finish and now he has all the time in the world to think about business, family. Not everyone likes the decisions I make but I’ve got to make my own decisions. Decisions I make impact others. And my time training means there is not much time for girlfriends either.”

France and Germany plan to issue a new proposal to tax internet giants so that they pay a “fair contribution” in every country where they earn money, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. “We will unveil a new plan along with our German partners at the next finance ministers’ meeting in Tallinn in mid-September” for taxing technology giants including Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, Le Maire said in a Facebook Live chat. “We propose taking the revenues of these large companies as a reference point, and use this to determine a tax level so that these companies pay what they should to the treasuries of every country where they make money,” he said. He acknowledged, however, that similar proposals had already been made at an EU level as well as for the OECD group of developed economies, without success. “For now, these talks have stalled,” Le Maire said. The internet companies have come under fire in Europe for using complex fiscal arra...

Nigerians have been warned to stop making mockery of the Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un “lest they pay a heavy price”. A news service from the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), took to its twitter handle @DPRK_News to issue the warning. The twitter handle does not bear the verification icon of twitter as an officially verified handle. It said: “Impudent peoples of Nigeria are warned against mockery of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un, lest they pay a heavy price.” North Korea and its leader had been top on the news for its nuclear programme with the most recent being its successful test of a Hydrogen Bomb which many World leaders have condemned. However, no reference was given to the alleged mockery of the North Korean Leader by Nigerians.(NAN)

Advanced hackers have targeted United States and European energy companies in a cyber espionage campaign that has in some cases successfully broken into the core systems that control the companies’ operations, according to researchers at the security firm Symantec. Malicious email campaigns have been used to gain entry into organizations in the United States, Turkey and Switzerland, and likely other countries well, Symantec said in a report published on Wednesday. The cyber attacks, which began in late 2015 but increased in frequency in April of this year, are probably the work of a foreign government and bear the hallmarks of a hacking group known as Dragonfly, Eric Chien, a cyber security researcher at Symantec, said in an interview. The research adds to concerns that industrial firms, including power providers and other utilities, are susceptible to cyber attacks that could be leveraged for destructive purposes in the event of a major geopolitical conflict. ...

The presidency on Tuesday, September 5, said hard work and policies of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration made Nigeria exit recession. Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, who blamed the recession on mistakes of the past administration, said the government tackled the problem in just about a year. Adesina made the remarks at a solidarity rally at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. A statement by the State House Deputy Director (Information), Abiodun Oladunjoye, said the march was organised in support of the Federal Government by the Centre for Civil Society and Justice. “You have chosen a very auspicious day for this solidarity rally. Earlier today, we were told that Nigeria had officially exited recession,” Adesina said. “That shows that we have a government that is working for us, we have a government that is interested in our welfare, we have a government that is interested in our well-being.” He assured the gathering that he would relay their me...

Jason Kempin / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP Samsung on Wednesday unveiled a new model of its Galaxy Note as it seeks to leave behind the debacle over exploding batteries   in the previous generation of the device, and mount a renewed challenge to Apple and its soon-to-come iPhone 8. Introducing the Note 8 “phablet” at an event in New York City, executives repeatedly thanked fans who had remained loyal to the device. “None of us will ever forget what happened last year,” said Samsung president of mobile communications business DJ Koh. “But, I will never forget how millions of dedicated Note loyalists stayed with us, so let me express my deepest gratitude.” But the device left some analysts underwhelmed by its lack of new features beyond a dual-lens camera for telephoto zoom — already available on the iPhone7 Plus. Shares in Samsung Electronics ended almost unchanged at 2,376,000 won, up just 0.08 per cent, in its native South Korea Thursday with uncertainty over th...

SAUL LOEB, Ed JONES / AFP United States Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday threatened a “massive military response” to any attack on the United States or its allies after North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date. SAUL LOEB, Ed JONES / AFP United States Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday threatened a “massive military response” to any attack on the United States or its allies after North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date. Speaking outside the White House, Mattis said, “Any threat to the United States and its territories, including Guam, or our allies, will be met with a massive military response – a response, both effective, and overwhelming. “Kim Jung-Un should take heed of the United Nations Security Council’s unified voice. All members agreed unanimously on the threat that North Korea poses. And they remain unanimous to their commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.” Mattis said a small group natio...

Tennis legend Serena Williams and Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, welcomed their first child, a baby girl, in Florida on Friday, September 1. According to New York Daily News; “Tennis star Serena Williams gives birth to a baby girl weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces. Mom and baby doing well.” “Obviously, I’m super excited,” Serena’s big sis, Venus Williams, told ESPN shortly before her match at the US Open on Friday afternoon. “Words can’t describe.” Serena Williams Announces Her Engagement To Reddit Co-Founder In the Most Romantic Way After the news broke, pal Beyoncé, who recently welcomed twins, offered up her well wishes to the pro athlete, posting on Instagram, “Congratulations Serena!” Prior to their daughter’s arrival, the couple insisted they didn’t know the sex, though Ohanian said he suspected it would be a girl — and Venus referred to the unborn child as “she” and “her.” Williams, 35, previously said that despite “not being a baby person,” giving birth would make...

North Korea’s “words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter, in his first reaction after Pyongyang conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sunday. “North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success,” Trump said in a second tweet. The White House said Trump’s national-security team was “monitoring this closely” and that Trump will convene a meeting of his advisers later on Sunday. North Korea said it had tested an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile Sunday, setting off a man-made earthquake near the North’s test, which Japanese and South Korean officials said was around 10 times more powerful than the tremor picked up after its last nuclear test a year ago. There was no independent confirmation that the detonation was a hydrogen bomb rather than a less powerful atomic weapon of the ki...

Jason Kempin / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP Samsung on Wednesday unveiled a new model of its Galaxy Note as it seeks to leave behind the debacle over exploding batteries   in the previous generation of the device, and mount a renewed challenge to Apple and its soon-to-come iPhone 8. Introducing the Note 8 “phablet” at an event in New York City, executives repeatedly thanked fans who had remained loyal to the device. “None of us will ever forget what happened last year,” said Samsung president of mobile communications business DJ Koh. “But, I will never forget how millions of dedicated Note loyalists stayed with us, so let me express my deepest gratitude.” But the device left some analysts underwhelmed by its lack of new features beyond a dual-lens camera for telephoto zoom — already available on the iPhone7 Plus. Shares in Samsung Electronics ended almost unchanged at 2,376,000 won, up just 0.08 per cent, in its native South Korea Thursday with uncertainty over the ...