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Nigeria’s Sand Super Eagles on Friday lost 6-12 to Italy in their opening Group B game of the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Nassau, Bahamas. Enterprising Abu Azeez scored a hat trick, Godspower Igudia, Emeka Ogbonna and Victor Tale were also scorers on the day but Italy’s Gabriele Gori stole the show after scoring six goals for Italy. The Audu Ejo-led side took the lead twice in the first half with goals from Igudia and Tale before the Italians rallied back to ensure the first period ended in a 2-2 draw. Gori followed with six goals for the Italians and Paolo Palmacci contributed to the victory with a hat-trick, including two bicycle kick goals and Alfioluca Chiavaro’s goal in the third round. The Sand Super Eagles will face Mexico on Saturday. The Mexicans, however, also lost 2-3 to Iran in the other Group B game. The ninth edition of the tournament with 16 teams participating began on April 27 and will end on May 7. (NAN)

Pope Francis will Friday leave the Vatican for  Cairo, Egypt at the invitation of both President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar University, the most important institution of learning in the world of Sunni Islam. The Egyptian President  visited the Vatican in November, 2014, while Tayeb visited last year May. Francis will arrive in Cairo on Friday afternoon and will leave 27 hours later. Expectedly he will meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, grand imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb and the country’s Coptic Pope Tawadros. The only other visit of a Roman Catholic pope to Egypt was by Pope John Paul II in 2000. He did not meet with leaders at Al-Azhar but, after a brief sojourn in Cairo, traveled to Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, believed to contain the site of the burning bush seen by Moses. Francis’ trip will not just be promoting dialogue among different religions, but among different sects of Christianity as well. In addition to...

A South African man on Friday appeared in court for allegedly planning to assassinate 19 government officials and high-ranking businessmen. The 33-year-old, who was arrested on Wednesday, was standing trial in the magistrate’s court in the commercial capital Johannesburg for plotting to kill people who he had identified as beneficiaries of “state capture.” Fear of “state capture” has been widespread in South Africa since former public protector Thuli Madonsela released a report in November 2016 that accuses President Jacob Zuma and his close allies, including the Gupta business family, of influence peddling, nepotism and improper procurement practices. “Broadcaster ANN7” reported that the names of the president and former boss of state-owned electricity provider Eskom, Brian Molefe, were on the list. But the South African directorate for priority crime investigation, also known as Hawks, did not confirm this information. The accused was arrested “while he was busy explainin...

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has called on its members to ensure that all roads leading to South-East zone were blocked on 30 May, a day set aside to honour its members who lost their lives during the civil war. IPOB members on solidarity march This was made known to newsmen in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful. However, in its statement IPOB, ordered every Igbo person to sit at home and remember their heroes and heroines past. According to him, “We should not be discouraged by the court ruling of April 25, 2017. rather, we should be focused on May 30, 2017 remembrance day, which is the priority of every IPOB member to ensure that no movement of any sort, both human and vehicular, across Biafra land on that day, will take place. “We must make sure that all areas occupied by Biafrans for the remembrance and honour of our heroes and heroines, who laid down their lives during the genocidal war are shut down. “Our leader (Kanu) has been in high spirit si...

Senator Ahmed Makarfi, factional leader of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, has told president Muhammadu Buhari to resign and hand over to his Vice president who is fit to work and return after full recovery. He said this in an interview with newsmen, (Nation), when asked about Buhari’s absence at Federal Executive Council Meeting, FEC for two or more consecutive weeks. Makarfi He told newsmen, “It cannot be okay and it can never be okay. My take is that if the President is not fully fit to stay in office, it is better that he tell Nigerians, so that the Vice President will continue to be Acting President, exercising the powers of acting president. “Then you run away from this kind of situation when we allow time for the President to fully recover and assume his mantle of leadership. Me as PDP person, as a human being, I will never wish any human being ill-will, even if I disagree with you politically. “So, it does not matter that it is APC that is the person that is sick. My pr...

The Ogun State Government has shut down a maternity centre in Abeokuta, the state capital, for allegedly carrying out an illegal operation which resulted in the death of a 24-year-old man, Kehinde Sikiru. The affected facility was identified as Glorious Ona Ara Clinic and Maternity Home in Itori Odo, Abeokuta South Local Government Area of the state. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, who disclosed this in a statement issued Thursday, said the closure increased the number of private health facilities sealed off in the state since January, last year, to 169. Ipaye stated that the closure, which was carried out by ministry of health monitoring team, was achieved following a tip-off by concerned citizens. “We have received so many calls, petitions and complaints from good people of the state on that particular hospital, performing illegal operations against the licence approved for the facility,” he said. The commissioner said it was so sad that Kehinde Sikiru, a...