Putin’s opponent Navalny remains banned-Supreme Court

Russia’s Supreme Court on Saturday rejected an appeal by opposition leader Alexei Navalny against a decision to bar him from running in the country’s 2018 presidential election. The court agreed with Russia’s Central Election Commission that Navalny cannot register as a candidate due to a controversial embezzlement conviction which the opposition chief says is politically motivated. The court decided “to deny the granting of the appeal,” judge Nikolai Romanenkov was quoted as saying by Russian agencies. Opposed only by token candidates, Russian President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to win…

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Serena Williams suffers defeat on comeback

New mum, Serena Williams on Saturday suffered defeat on her comeback from a maternity break as French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko powered to victory in the “first to ten points” final set at the Mubadala World Championship in Abu Dhabi. The championship is an exhibition tournament. The slow moving 36-year-old Williams looked static and far from full fitness just four months after the birth of her first child and Ostapenko, a 20-year-old Latvian, won 6-2, 3-6, 10/5. “The first match is always really hard after a break,” Williams said. “I…

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WhatsApp to stop working on some devices from January 1

From January 1, 2018, Whatsapp will not provide support for some smartphones. This means some phone users will not be able to update to newer versions or enjoy new features of the software. The affected smartphones include Blackberry 10, Windows Phone 8.0 or any smartphone running Blackberry OS. “While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future. “This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one…

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Why I performed with Don Jazzy, Mo’hits crew -Dbanj

Dbanj has revealed why he performed on stage with Don jazzy, Mo’hits crew at Davido’s 30billion concert. The ‘Kokomaster’ as fondly called refuted rumors that he was paid to perform. The Mo’Hits crew comprising of Don Jazzy, D’Banj, Wande Coal, Dr Sid, K-Switch, Ikechukwu and D’Prince split in 2012 over several internal disagreements. Dbanj’s Mananager Frank told Punch, “Let us not get things twisted, not a dime exchanged hands for any reason. The entire performance was not motivated by money at all. “It was Davido’s initiative, he wanted it to happen…

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Shake-up in army, 399 senior officers affected

Some principal officers from the defence and army headquarters, corps commander and general officers commanding (GOCs) have been moved in a posting and redeployment announced by the Nigerian army on Friday. According to a statement by Sani Usman, the posting and appointments affected 399 officers. He explained that it was aimed at injecting new hands to further actualise the vision of the chief of army staff which is “to have a professionally responsive Nigerian army in the discharge of its constitutional roles”. Some senior officers, he said, were recently promoted…

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2018: Secondus speaks on PDP, APC, Buhari’s govt, forthcoming elections

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus has assured Nigerians that in the new year 2018, the main opposition party will play robust and vibrant roles to activate the nation’s polity. Secondus asserted that the worst is over for the PDP, assuring that the party is now ready and reenergized to play its statutory role in the polity to deepen our democracy. The PDP leader, in a new year message to Nigerians released on Saturday, said that what anti democratic forces planned against PDP in 2017…

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Putin to Trump: Let’s be friends

Russian President Vladimir Putin called for “pragmatic cooperation” in his New Year wishes to US President Donald Trump, the Kremlin said on Saturday. In a statement on the Russian president’s New Year wishes to world leaders, the Kremlin said Putin told Trump that “a constructive Russian-American dialogue is especially needed to strengthen strategic stability in the world”. According to the statement, Putin said that “mutual respect” should be “a base to develop relations” between the two countries. “This would allow us to move towards building pragmatic cooperation, orientated on the…

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North Korea gives U.S. condition to end nuclear tests

North Korea has finally agreed to give up its nuclear programme but with a condition that the United States (U.S.) and its allies should stop blackmailing it. It also demanded that the U.S. suspend its war drills with its allies in the Korean Peninsula. The country’s official Korean Central News Agency took the oft-repeated stance on Saturday as it reviewed the country’s major nuclear weapons and missile tests this year. North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date in September and launched three different intercontinental ballistic missiles into…

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