Alleged $3 million bribe: Otedola appears in court, insists Lawan demanded bribe (PremiumTimes)
The main prosecution witness in the trial of a former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, Wednesday testified before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Femi Otedola, the founder of Zenon Oil, was allegedly pressured by Mr Lawan to part with a $3 million bribe while the latter was chairing a subcommittee investigating a multi-billion dollar fraud associated with government fuel subsidy during the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan. Read more
Jega’s INEC conspired against me in 2015 – Jonathan (PremiumTimes)
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has suggested a vast conspiracy by the Independent National Electoral Commission which partly cost him his re-election in 2015. Mr Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress on March 31, 2015, heralding the first victory for an opposition platform in Nigeria’s presidential election history. Read more
2019: Atiku reveals plans to boost tourism sector (Vanguard)
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has revealed his plans to boost the tourism and culture sectors in Nigeria. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in his recently released policy document, the former Vice President proposed to enlist the help of private sector in transforming the sectors into major earners for the country. Read more
Katsina announces N300,000 as Hajj minimum deposit (DailyTrust)
Katsina state government has announced N300,000 as the initial minimum deposit for Intending Pilgrims for the 2019 Hajj exercise. The Executive secretary of the state pilgrims welfare board, Abu Rimi said the collection shall start from November 2018 to March 2019. He said, pilgrims who can afford to pay up the N1,500,000 at whole can do so saying that ‘ the deposit payments was aimed at making payment earlier by spreading it’ Read more
Senate demands answers on Khashoggi murder after Trump stands by Saudis (HuffPost)
Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on both sides of the aisle voiced their opposition to President Donald Trump’s proclamation of support for the Saudis, demanding answers into Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) specific involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) penned a letter to Trump on Tuesday asking the administration to do more to clarify what happened to Khashoggi. Specifically, they want an answer within 120 days into whether MBS is responsible. Read more
Interpol presidency vote: Russia in surprise loss to South Korea (BBC)
Interpol has elected South Korean Kim Jong-yang as its president, rejecting the controversial Russian frontrunner. Mr Kim was chosen by Interpol’s 194 member states at a meeting of its annual congress in Dubai. He beat Russia’s Alexander Prokopchuk, who has been accused of using Interpol’s arrest warrant system to target critics of the Kremlin. Read more
UAE appeals court sentences Matthew Hedges to life in prison (Aljazeera)
A court in the United Arab Emirates has sentenced British student Matthew Hedges to life in prison after he was convicted of spying and supplying sensitive security information to external actors. Abu Dhabi’s Federal Court of Appeal handed down the verdict on Wednesday, a move described as deeply disappointing by British Prime Minister Theresa May. Read more
Saudi Arabia tortured activists including women, rights groups claim (CNN)
Saudi Arabia has tortured, sexually harassed and mistreated several human rights activists detained since May this year, including women, two leading international rights groups have alleged. Activists were repeatedly tortured by electrocution and flogging, leaving some unable to walk or stand properly, with marks on their bodies and uncontrolled shaking of the hands, Amnesty International said, citing three separate testimonies. Read more
Smart glasses for the hard of hearing are changing theater in London (CNN)
When my Aunt Nicki visits me in London, we avoid musical theater and the cinema. Aunt Nicki is hard of hearing. Although there are many enhanced listening devices available to help her, such as an Assistive Living amplifier or a closed captioning screen that sits in a cup holder, she tells me they don’t work well enough. Read more
Sri Lanka v England: James Anderson rested, Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow return (BBC)
Fast bowler James Anderson has been rested for England’s third Test against Sri Lanka and replaced by Stuart Broad. Jonny Bairstow also returns in place of injured all-rounder Sam Curran and is listed to bat at number three with Ben Foakes remaining as wicketkeeper.Broad and Bairstow have not featured in the series while Anderson and Curran have each taken one wicket, with the latter making a second-Test fifty. Read more
Kylian Mbappe, Neymar injury concerns for PSG ahead of Liverpool clash (Sky)
Paris Saint-Germain have injury worries over Kylian Mbappe and Neymar ahead of their Champions League match against Liverpool next week. Both players limped off playing for their countries eight days before the clash in Paris on November 28. Neymar left the pitch after eight minutes of Brazil’s friendly with Cameroon in Milton Keynes on Tuesday night with an apparent groin problem. Read more
Groom ties knot after being shot on wedding day (Punch)
An Indian groom shot by two gunmen as he rode a chariot to his wedding in New Delhi managed to return just hours later after surgery and take his vows, police said on Wednesday. The unidentified assailants mingled with wedding guests dancing in an extravagant street procession as the 25-year-old groom made his way to the ceremony. Police said the pair climbed onto the horse-drawn carriage and opened fire before fleeing amid the panic. Read more
Gunmen kidnap Italian woman in Kenya (Punch)
An armed gang abducted an Italian woman from a village in southeast Kenya, shooting and wounding five residents in the raid, police said Wednesday. “The attackers fired indiscriminately at residents” before kidnapping the 23-year-old, who worked as a volunteer for an Italian charity, during the attack after dark on Tuesday at Chakama, a small village in the coastal Kilifi county, police said in a statement. Read more
Woman gets N50,000 bail for making noise in court (Vanguard)
A Sokoto Chief Magistrates’ Court, on Wednesday, admitted a 37-year-old woman, Aisha Mohammed, to bail in the sum of N50,000, after she was arraigned for making noise while a Chief Magistrate was sitting. The police charged Mohammed with one count of obstructing a public officer in the discharge of his public functions. Chief Magistrate Abubakar Adamu, who admitted the accused to bail, ordered that Mohammed must produce one surety in like sum. Adamu adjourned the case until Nov. 26, for hearing. Read more
Google rolls out Neighbourly, a new app just for India (CNN)
Google is rolling out a new app just for India. Neighbourly is a local social network that aims to answer questions people often have about their immediate surroundings, such as where to find the best street food or a reliable car repair shop. The app will source its answers from other users, or “neighbours.” Read more
