Facebook pledges $10m for community leaders

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Facebook said Friday that it will issue up to $10 million (8.2 million euros) in grants to help support and train community leaders around the world. The tech giant unveiled its new initiative at a London summit of more than 300 community leaders from across Europe. The Facebook Community Leadership Programme will offer residency, fellowship and training opportunities, as well as community leadership circles and specialised assistance on the social networking platform. “Facebook will commit tens of millions of dollars to the programme, including up to $10 million in grants…

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Muslim singer forced to quit French show over terror posts

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A French Muslim singer who became an overnight star after dazzling judges on a TV talent show quit the contest Friday after coming under fire for past Facebook comments about terror attacks. Mennel Ibtissem, a 22-year-old student who wears a head wrap, was one of the top contestants on The Voice, where her English and Arabic version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah caused a sensation. But within days of Saturday’s performance she was under pressure to bow out over old Facebook messages that appeared to question the terrorist nature of attacks…

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Van Dijk accepts spotlight on Saints return

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Virgil Van Dijk insists criticism of his start to life as the world’s most expensive defender will not affect his preparations for a frosty reception on his return to Southampton with Liverpool on Sunday. The Dutch international moved to Anfield for £75 million (85m euros, $104m) in January, but has been on the winning side in just one of his four outings for Liverpool since. Van Dijk got off to a dream start as he scored the winner to edge a Merseyside derby against Everton on debut. However, hopes he…

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Donald Trump blocks release of Democratic memo on Russia probe

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President Donald Trump is refusing to declassify a high-profile memo written by Democratic lawmakers about the Russia probe. In a letter to the chair of the House Intelligence Committee Friday, White House counsel Don McGahn says the memo “contains numerous properly classified and especially sensitive passages.” The Democrats’ memo aimed to counter a Republican-drafted one the president declassified and released. However, portions of the memo “would create especially significant concerns for the national security and law enforcement interests,” McGahn wrote. FBI chief Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein…

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House of Reps cautions federal govt against selling National Theatre

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The Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Tourism and Culture yesterday cautioned the Federal Government not to sell the National Theatre situated in Iganmu, Lagos state. The chairman of the House committee on Culture and Tourism, Hon Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, made this known during an interactive session between his committee and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the National Assembly complex Abuja. The Edo lawmaker insisted that the position was in the best interest of Nigerians and promised to wade into the crises between the…

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No agreement to establish cattle colonies in Edo – Governor Obaseki

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The Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr Crusoe Osagie, has declared as frivolous, comments by the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the strategic steps the Edo State government has taken in bringing the clashes between cattle herders and farmers to an end, in the state. Osagie cautioned the opposition party not to trivialise a sensitive subject matter that requires a great deal of expertise to comprehend, a requirement he said, the PDP lacks and urged the party to know where to draw…

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Forex: Central bank intervenes in Retail SMIS with $325.64m

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The Central Bank of Nigeria has again intervened in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales to the tune of $325.64 million. Figures obtained from the Bank on Friday indicate that the amount released was for requests in the agricultural, airlines, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors. The figures were confirmed by the Bank’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, who noted that the continued intervention were in line with the assurances made by the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to sustain market liquidity in order to boost…

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Unraveling execution trap as challenge to Nigeria’s economic recovery

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The jury is still out on the status of the economic recession that hit the country very hard since 2015. The report on the news is that Nigeria has been in economic recession for five consecutive quarters now without relent. No one needs to be convinced again about the untold hardship that the recession implies for Nigerians in terms of the rising cost of living and the plummeting poverty figures. Employment spaces shrank terribly, and more Nigerian youths were thrown overboard into unemployment, brigandage and criminality. The economic problems have…

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Serena Williams says she’s ready for comeback

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Serena Williams has spoken out about the “ups and downs” she faced during her year away from competitive tennis but insists she’s now focused and ready for her quest to once more dominate her sport. Speaking ahead of her comeback at the Fed Cup in Asheville, North Carolina, where the United States will begin the defence of its crown against an unfancied Netherlands team, the 36-year-old said she had the benefit of a new outlook following the birth of her baby daughter Alexis Olympia in September. “There’s been a lot…

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Man loses rectum after long stay in toilet

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A young man (name withheld) in China was rushed to hospital in the middle of the night after noticing his rectum had fallen out of his body. He told doctors that he had been using his mobile phone while on the toilet for over half an hour  trying to poo. When they went to check him out, they found a massive lump measuring 16cm long sticking out of his anus. The man underwent gastro-intestinal surgery at The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Zhongshan, southeast China, last Sunday,…

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