The Pakistani Government has ordered at least 18 International Aid Groups to wind up their operations and leave the country within two months, Officials said on Friday. ActionAid, Open Society Foundation, Save the Children and Plan International are among the organisations that have been asked to leave Pakistan, officials at the Interior Ministry said, seeking […]

A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Minna has sentenced one Monday Simon, 30, to two weeks in jail with three days’ labour for pouring hot tea on his neighbour. The Chief Magistrate, Malam Nasiru Mu’azu, sentenced the convict when he pleaded guilty to a count of causing hurt to his victim, Abubakar Umar of Lapai Motor Park. […]

Cash-strapped Zimbabwe will cut public sector jobs to help stem ballooning expenditure, the country’s finance minister said Friday. Recently-appointed Mthuli Ncube said job cuts were among austerity measures needed to revive the moribund economy as the southern African country reels under a debt of $16.9 billion. “We are going to do that (job cuts),” Ncube […]

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was left out as Germany coach Joachim Loew named a 23-man squad for upcoming Nations League matches against the Netherlands and France. Gundogan hobbled off clutching his hamstring in the 2-1 Champions League win at Hoffenheim in midweek. But club-mate Leroy Sane, sensationally left at home by Loew for the […]

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, on Friday led the state governor-elect, Gboyega Oyetola, to a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari. The meeting was held at the President’s office inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Oyetola emerged as the winner of the governorship election in Osun State after a re-run election that followed the […]

Samson Folarin Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a trader,  Emmanuel Nwodu, for allegedly dealing in adulterated alcoholic drinks in the Iju area of the state. The 38-year-old suspect was reportedly caught with chemicals suspected to be ethanol and other materials used in producing the fake drinks. The state Police Public Relations […]

Oluwatobi Akindele A motorist, John Nwakwo, has been arrested by the police for allegedly beating up a woman, Olufunmilayo Oyelade, to a pulp. PUNCH Metro gathered that the duo had been involved in an accident which dented Nwakwo’s vehicle. Nwakwo reportedly assaulted the victim and dragged her into a gutter until she became unconscious. The […]

Peter Dada, Akure Barely 12 hours after five people were killed in a fatal accident at the Shagari Junction on the Akure-Owo Expressway, Akure, Ondo State, residents of the area have taken to the streets to protest against the attitude of the government to incessant accidents at the junction. A tanker carrying 33,000 litres of […]

Oluwatosin Omojuyigbe A teenager, David Olojo, has been hospitalised after he was allegedly beaten by some hoodlums working for one Adetola in the Egbeda area of Lagos. PUNCH Metro learnt that 17-year-old Olojo had gone to deliver some car documents to Adetola on behalf of his in-law, Olawale Ademola, a clearing agent. It was gathered […]

Samson Folarin There was pandemonium in the Kosofe, Epe and Lagos Island areas of Lagos State on Thursday as hoodlums loyal to some aspirants of the All Progressives Congress opened gunfire on some residents and party members. PUNCH Metro gathered that while no fewer than seven people, including a former chairmanship aspirant, Ibrahim Mustapha, were […]

Femi Makinde, Osogbo The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has said that he opted to support the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola,  in the rerun election in the state because the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state said they did […]

Empower 54, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the eradication of malnutrition in Africa, says it has embarked on free medication to 620,000 children in the Province du Mai-Ndombe, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The medication being distributed in 14 towns in the region included Albendazole, used for the treatment of worms and related diseases, […]

Olufemi Atoyebi, Ibadan Yejide Girls Grammar School, Ibadan on Thursday won an inter-schools quiz competition organised by Youth Empowerment Foundation for nine schools in Ibadan. Our Lady of Apostles finished in the second position while Queens’ School came third. The competition was witnessed by representatives of the Oyo State Government from the Ministry of Information, […]

Feyisayo Popoola May & Baker Nigeria Plc has said its directors and professional advisers had signed off the offer documents for the company’s recapitalisation. The firm said it would be offering 980 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N2.50 per share to existing shareholders. It added that the rights issue had been provisionally […]

Idris Adesina Niger United of Minna stayed on course to win the men’s title of the 2018 Prudent Energy Handball League after beating fellow contenders Plateau Vipers 30-29 on Thursday at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Complex, Rowe Park. Both sides played with a good defence but United ended the first half 15-11. In the second […]

At least two passengers on a South African Airways flight headed to Hong Kong from Johannesburg alleged that they were robbed of money and other valuables while on board. Cabin crew were told by some passengers during the flight on Monday that their valuables, stowed in the overhead compartments, had gone missing, reports South Africa’s TimesLive. […]

Adeniyi Olugbemi, Sokoto As members arrive Port-Harcourt, Rivers State venue of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primary election, Sokoto State delegates are reportedly torn between two aspirants. Two aspirants from the state — ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa and  incumbent governor, Aminu Tambuwal, are among the 13 contenders. The PUNCH learned from a dependable source that if the […]

Faced with the only chance to save a child’s life, doctors in South Africa have performed a medical first — transplanting part of the liver from a HIV-positive mother to her HIV-negative child, it was announced Thursday. The doctors at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg revealed that, one year after the operation, the child […]

Lionel Messi appears a man on a mission in the Champions League this season after making it five goals in two games following Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Tottenham on Wednesday. Three quarter-final exits in a row have left Barca, and Messi, desperate to make amends. He began with a hat-trick against PSV Eindhoven at the […]

Samuel Awoyinfa, Abeokuta The Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Ogun State, Dr. Gbolade Osinowo, on Wednesday night, declared Prince Gboyega Isiaka as the winner of the party’s governorship primary. Osinowo declared that Isiaka, popularly known as GNI, polled 207,334 votes as an unopposed aspirant of the party. The chairman declared the election free and […]

Wales boss Ryan Giggs said on Thursday that Jose Mourinho should remain as Manchester United manager despite the mounting crisis at the club. Mourinho is under increasing pressure at Old Trafford with United a lowly 10th in the Premier League and winless in four games in all competitions. Giggs, who played almost 700 games for […]

The death toll from multiple quakes and a tsunami in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province has risen to 1,424, an official said on Thursday. Head of the planning department of the National Search and Rescue Office, Abdul Haris said that the search and rescue operation was hampered by poor access to the hardest-hit areas. He said […]

Security was tight at voting centres in Badagry, Lagos State, on Thursday as All Progressives Congress members turned out to select their candidates in the senatorial and House of Representatives primaries, ahead of the 2019 elections. The News Agency of Nigeria correspondent who monitored some of the centres reports that party members converged at various centres […]

Gareth Southgate has been rewarded for guiding England to this year’s World Cup semi-finals with a new contract, the Football Association (FA) announced on Thursday. The 48-year-old’s new deal will see him through to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and see his pay rise to a reported £3million ($3.9million) per year. “I am delighted […]

A Kaduna High Court on Thursday fixed November 7 for ruling on the bail application filed by the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibrahim Zakzaky; and his wife, Zinat. Justice Gideon Kurada adjourned the matter after the prosecution counsel, Dari Bayero, complained of lack of adequate security in Kaduna town. The prosecution explained […]

Campaigners for a second referendum on Brexit are braving scepticism and even hostility as they hit Britain’s streets as part of a growing movement to get Britons to change their mind. More and more politicians are calling for another vote and recent polls show some 40 percent of the population support it but reactions are […]

D’banj, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Yemi Alade and 41 other Nigerians were honoured on Wednesday at the United Nations as they were unveiled as part of the 2018 Most Influential People of African Descent global 100 list. The list, which was announced in March, recognizes the positive contributions made by people of African descent, worldwide, across four […]

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja Some state governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress believed to issues with party primaries in their state on Thursday stormed the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The aggrieved state governors met behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari. The governors at the meeting with the President included Abiola Ajimobi […]

Cristiano Ronaldo will not take part in Portugal’s next four internationals, the national coach Fernando Santos said on Thursday, refusing to give any reasons. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner missed the two internationals Portugal  played in September. At the time, Santos suggested that the 33-year-old’s absence was temporary and intended to help the star attacker […]

Dayo Ojerinde Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State has become the highest ranked Nigerian university in the latest Times Higher Education ranking released on September 26, 2018. The body is behind the world’s most influential university ranking, and with almost five decades of experience as a source of analysis and insight on higher education. Its data […]

Olaleye Aluko  and  Ted Odogwu The Federal Ministry of Education on Wednesday said there was no plan to increase the tuition to N350, 000 per session as claimed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, noting that the establishment of an Education Bank was already in the pipeline. The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr […]

Olusegun Adebiyi (Secretary, Organised Labour, Ogun State) Inducement of electorate has been around for quite some time. What is, however, novel about it in recent times is the brazenness of buyers and sellers? Physical cash, basic commodities such as rice, vegetable oil are routinely distributed at virtually all political parties’ periodic meetings and rallies. A […]

Friday Olokor, Jos About 72 suspects, including two women, have been arrested by the military in connection with the recent violence in Jos, the Plateau State capital, the Special Military Taskforce, codenamed Operation Safe Haven, has said. The military unit also dismissed what it described as “media hype” about fake soldiers in Jos, saying, “there […]

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said his side could only blame themselves after the last year’s Champions League runners-up were overrun by Napoli before Lorenzo Insigne’s late winner gave the Italians a 1-0 win to go top of Group C on Wednesday. “We were not good enough and if you are not good enough, you’ll lose […]

Amazon is firing a new salvo in its global battle with Netflix for the booming online streaming market — and it features Julia Roberts and descendants of Russia’s tsars. The US internet shopping leader is investing an estimated $4.5 billion (4.0 billion euros) in streaming content through its Amazon Prime Video service this year. That […]