"World's Highest Bridge" Opens in China Over 1,850-Foot Gorge

A bridge in China suspended over a 1,854-foot gorge became the "world's highest" when it opened to automotive traffic Thursday, reports said.

The Beipanjiang Bridge took three years to build, cost more than $146.7 million dollars, and stretches to be 4,396 feet long. Its four-lane roadway sits nearly two thousand feet over the Beipan River, which it's named after, to connect the Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in southwest China, People's Daily Online reported. It surpassed the 1,837-foot-tall Sidu River Bridge for its world record title.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Boko Haram has been finally crushed – Buhari

ABUJA – Finally, Nigeria has won the war against Boko Haram insurgency as troops, on Friday, crushed the last enclave of the terrorists in the dreaded Sambisa forest in the North East geo-political zone of the country; and President Muhammadu Buhari is happy about it. The development has reportedly caused the insurgents to flee the forest while many were left dead. Excited by the development, President Buhari, in a personally signed goodwill message  to the troops on Saturday, celebrated the Nigerian Armed Forces. While commending the gallantry of the Nigerian troops, the President also charged them to be more courageous and never give up.

James Ibori released from prison

Former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori has been released from prison.

Unrest at Australia detention camp after Sudan refugee dies

A Sudanese refugee held at an Australian offshore detention camp has died after a “fall and seizure”, officials said, with the incident reportedly sparking a protest at the controversial facility.

The 27-year-old, named by refugee advocates as Faysal Ishak Ahmed, died in a Brisbane hospital in eastern Australia after being flown to Queensland from Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island, the immigration department said Saturday.

“A 27-year-old Sudanese refugee has sadly died today from injuries suffered after a fall and seizure at the Manus Regional Processing Centre,” the department said.

“The department is not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.”

GENCOs, TCN trade blame over wasted energy

As a vast majority of Nigerians continue to wallow in darkness and industries shutting down due to inadequate energy supply, it has been revealed that at least a quarter of the country’s energy produced by the generating companies (GENCOS) running to several hundred millions of naira gets wasted.

This is because the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) does not have the capacity to wheel about 4,000 MW of generated energy by GENCOS because of their obsolete and antiquated transmission equipment.

But the TCN has dismissed the claim of weak infrastructure to carry to the power generated, saying the it is capable of wheeling 6,000 MW if generated by GENCOs

Syria-bound Russian military jet crashes with 92 onboard

Moscow (AFP) - A Russian military plane crashed Sunday in the Black Sea as it made its way to Syria with 92 people onboard, including more than 60 Red Army Choir members heading to celebrate the New Year with troops.

Local news agencies, citing the defence ministry, said the Tu-154 plane had crashed shortly after take-off at 5:40 am local time (0240 GMT) from the southern city of Adler where it had been refuelling.

Beautiful bride-to-be allegedly stabbed by her house boy in Lagos

33-year-old Dayo Adeleke, who was preparing to be a bride allegedly died in the hands of her Cameroonian housekeeper who stabbed her at her home in Parkview estate, Lagos
According to Tony Ipriye Uranta, who shared the story on Facebook, the incident happened on Tuesday December 20th. The housekeeper identified as Smith has been arrested and is currently in police custody.

Reports reaching us has it that Tanko Abdulateef, who stabbed his employer in Lagos and fled to Bali area in Taraba State where he was eventually tracked down and arrested. has started confessing.

Yesterday Tanko was paraded at the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja, while speaking, he admitted that he stabbed 50 year old Mabel Okafor, four time in the stomach at her apartment located at close 9, Victoria Garden City in Lekki on August 17, 2016.

Berlin truck attack suspect shot dead by police in Italy

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian police shot dead the man believed responsible for this week's Berlin Christmas market truck attack, killing him after he pulled a gun on them during a routine check in the early hours of Friday.

The suspect - 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri - travelled to Italy from Germany via France, taking advantage of Europe's open-border Schengen pact to cross the continent undetected.

As anger grew over the fact that Amri had escaped expulsion twice in 18 months thanks to bureaucratic loopholes, eurosceptic parties called for the reintroduction of border controls, while Germany said deportations had to be made easier.

Accident Kill 14 At Benin-Asaba Expressway as bullion vans crash

At least, 14 people were feared dead yesterday in an accident involving bullion vans, a fuel tanker, a commercial bus and cars on the ever-busy Benin-Asaba-Onitsha Expressway. The victims included officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), policemen and passengers of commercial buses.

In Challenge of Results, Gambia's Jammeh Says Only 'Allah' Can Deprive Him of Victory

Gambia's longtime president Yahya Jammeh says only “almighty Allah” can deprive him of victory as he seeks to overturn the results of this month's presidential election.

Opposition candidate Adama Barrow beat Jammeh in the December 1 election. Jammeh graciously conceded defeat at first, but now contends there were voter irregularities, and he has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the results of the vote.

Gunman Shouted 'Don't Forget Syria' After Shooting Russian Ambassador to Turkey

A gunman who shot and killed the Russian ambassador to Turkey on Monday shouted in the immediate aftermath of the shooting for attention to be paid to Syria and the besieged city of Aleppo.

Video of the incident showed the gunman, 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas, yelling "God is greatest" in Arabic over the fallen Russian ambassador, Andrey Karlov, at the Museum of Modern Art in Ankara, Turkey.

"Don’t forget Aleppo. Don't forget Syria. Don't forget Aleppo. Don't forget Syria," the gunman also yelled in Turkish. "Until these places are safe, you will not taste any safety either."

Altintas was a member of the riot police in Ankara, and used his police ID card to enter the building before the shooting, according to Interior Ministry sources.

Russian Diplomat Assassinated on Camera in Turkey

Russia's ambassador to Turkey was shot dead today when a lone gunman fired at him at a photo exhibition in Ankara, Turkey's capital, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman confirmed to ABC News. The attack was caught on camera.

Andrey Karlov, the ambassador, died from his wounds, she said, adding that Russia was calling the shooting a terrorist attack.

“Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria. Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria," the gunman yelled in Turkish during the attack. "Until these places are safe you will not taste any safety either.”

Images of the gunman, who has been identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas, show a thin man with dark hair gripping his pistol tightly with both hands.

Altintas, 22, was a member of the riot police in Ankara, which enabled him to enter the building through the use of his police ID card, according to Interior Ministry sources.

Dangote more powerful than Trump’s VP-elect – Forbes

ON ITS 74-PERSON list of most powerful people in a world of 7.4 billion people, Forbes rated President Vladimir Putin of Russia as the most powerful person alive. Putin was followed by Donald Trump, US president elect, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, who came in at the second and third spot.

Truck drivers block Abuja-Lokoja road over new tax regime

TRUCK drivers protesting a tax hike for vehicles plying through Kogi State, especially on the Abuja-Lokoja-Okene road blocked the highway at NATACO end of the capital city, causing gridlock and disruption of vehicular movement.
The road which serves as a major link between travellers from the north and south was blocked for about eight hours. Many vehicles were forced to stop because of the protest, as the drivers blocked the road at both sides with their vehicles.

West African leaders press Gambia's Jammeh to quit

BANJUL (Reuters) - Nigeria said on Tuesday Gambia's veteran ruler seemed receptive to a message from West African leaders that he accept his election defeat and step down, even as Gambian soldiers took over the offices of the electoral commission.

Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a coup in 1994 and has earned a reputation as a repressive leader, has refused to proceed with a handover of power despite initially conceding his loss to opponent Adama Barrow in the election on Dec. 1.

Nigerian Church Collapses, 160 Dead, Says Hospital Director

Mortuaries overflowed with bodies Sunday from a church collapse in southern Nigeria that killed at least 160 people, and worshippers said construction of the building had been rushed.

Hundreds had been inside the Reigners Bible Church International in the city of Uyo on Saturday for the consecration of founder Akan Weeks as its bishop when the metal girders fell and the corrugated iron roof caved in.

Screaming survivors streamed out amid cries from the injured inside.

"There were trapped bodies, parts of bodies, blood all over the place and people's handbags and shoes scattered," said computer analyst Ukeme Eyibio.

Officials feared the death toll could rise.

Weeks and Akwa Ibom state Gov. Udom Emmanuel were among the survivors.

Bomb blast kills dozens at Cairo Coptic church

A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt’s main Coptic Christian cathedral killed 25 people and wounded another 49 during Sunday Mass, one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory and a grim reminder of Egypt’s difficult struggle to restore security and stability after nearly six years of turmoil.

A Small African Country Just Put the United States to Shame

 you want a cause for celebration in this most dismal and eccentric of political years, look to The Gambia, the small African nation whose attachment to its definite article has made it beloved to pub trivia teams all over the world. Over the weekend, the voters of The Gambia ousted Yahyeh Jammah, the vicious crackpot of a strongman who'd been the country's president for 22 years, electing in his place Adama Barrow, an unassuming businessman who once worked as a security guard at a London department store.
The departed Mr. Jammah—who, as near as we can tell, beat feet for the border as soon as the results rolled in, but who may yet strand trial for his crimes—was a notable loon. He claimed that he could cure AIDS with prayer and some herbs. He was at the forefront of the group of African leaders who persecuted the members of their gay communities, not to mention his political enemies and inconvenient journalists. He has been on the watch list of international human rights groups for some time now, as you can see from this Times story from 2009.

Michael Jordan wins trademark case allowing him rights to his Chinese name

The top court in China has ruled in favour of former Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan, allowing him the rights to the Chinese version of his name. The verdict, which was issued on 8 December, was in regards to a case the basketball legend was fighting against a local sportswear brand.

Chapecoense air crash: Colombia plane 'ran out of fuel'

Colombian authorities say evidence is growing that a plane carrying a Brazilian football team crashed because it ran out of fuel as it tried to land.

The plane had no fuel on impact, an official said, corroborating audio of the pilot asking to land because of a fuel shortage and electric failure.

The capital Bogota was mentioned on the flight plan as a possible refuelling stop, but the plane did not land there.

Fidel Castro, Cuban Revolutionary Who Defied U.S., Dies at 90

Fidel Castro, the fiery apostle of revolution who brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere in 1959 and then defied the United States for nearly half a century as Cuba’s maximum leader, bedeviling 11 American presidents and briefly pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war, died Friday. He was 90.

His death was announced by Cuban state television.

In declining health for several years, Mr. Castro had orchestrated what he hoped would be the continuation of his Communist revolution, stepping aside in 2006 when he was felled by a serious illness. He provisionally ceded much of his power to his younger brother Raúl, now 85, and two years later formally resigned as president. Raúl Castro, who had fought alongside Fidel Castro from the earliest days of the insurrection and remained minister of defense and his brother’s closest confidant, has ruled Cuba since then, although he has told that the Cuban people he intends to resign in 2018.

Nigeria women football league makes me sad, says Oshoala

Reigning African Footballer of the Year, Super Falcons and Arsenal Ladies striker, Asisat Lemina Oshoala, is not happy with the current state of women football league in Nigeria.
Oshoala has been the cynosure of all eyes at the on-going 2016 African Women Nations Cup in Cameroun. She has scored five goals so far in two matches for the Super Falcons to occupy the top scorers’ chart. The goals include the four she netted against Mali in their first group match and one against Ghana Black Queens in the second game on Wednesday.

Speaking with The Guardian at the team’s Parliamentarian Flat Hotel camp in Buea yesterday, Oshoala said the current state of women football league in Nigeria is not encouraging. “The league in Nigeria is actually getting worse,” she said.

She said: “It is obvious that the Nigerian women league is still where it was, no improvement, nothing. To me, it is even getting worse.

Ehime Eigbe Akindele: From Citigroup to Sweet Kiwi

In 2009 whenEhime Eigbe Akindele visited Nigeria on holiday from the US, she kept asking for where to buy Frozen Yoghurt and nobody could give her an answer. That motivated her to quit he job at Citi Group, in Texas, USA and come back to Nigeria to establish Sweet Kiwi. Five years after, Sweet Kiwi Frozen Yoghurt is strategically branded as the got-to place for frozen yoghurt in Lagos, Nigeria. 

A Goldman Sachs 10, 000 Women scholar and a public speaker, Ehime holds a degree in Business Information Technology and International Studies from London Metropolitan University, and completed Entrepreneur Management programme at the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan African University, Lagos. She has also received certifications in restaurant management and dessert manufacturing. In this interview with Guardian woman she discusses plans for her business among other things.

Bimbo Akintola earns best actress award

AFRIFF Takes Young Filmmakers To Montana State University
For her outstanding role in the movie 93 Days, Nollywood diva Bimbo Akintola has emerged Best Actress of the Year at the just concluded Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) 2016, at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.