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At least 235 people have been killed and scores more wounded in a devastating attack on a mosque in northern Egypt on Friday. In one of the deadliest attacks in the country's recent memory, suspected militants targeted worshippers in a synchronised gun and bomb attack on al-Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of Arish city in the Sinai region. More than 50 ambulances rushed people to hospital as the injured total was placed at more than 125, according to the state news agency, after the attack struck the same region where hundreds of Christians have been killed by Islamists in recent years.  The first bomb blast ripped through the mosque during Friday prayers - the high point of the Islamic weekly worship pattern - then the attackers approached in four off-road vehicles opening fire on the worshippers, according to Reuters. 'They were shooting at people as they left the mosque,' a local resident whose relatives were at the scene told Reuters. 'They were shooti...

The Church of Sweden is urging its clergy to use gender-neutral language when referring to the supreme deity, refraining from using terms such as “Lord” and “he” in favour of the less specific “God.” Head of largest Swedish Christian church says God is beyond human gender determination The move is one of several taken by the national Evangelical Lutheran church in updating a 31-year-old handbook setting out how services should be conducted in terms of language, liturgy, hymns and other aspects. French language watchdogs say 'non' to gender-neutral style   Read more The decision was taken on Thursday at the end of an eight-day meeting of the church’s 251-member decision-making body, and takes effect on 20 May on the Christian holiday of Pentecost. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, some 37 miles north of the capital, the church has 6.1 million baptised members in a country of 10 million. It is headed by a woman, Archbishop Antje...

A picture of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace, reportedly taken just before he signed his resignation letter on Tuesday – has gone viral on social media. The picture shows Mugabe, 93, and Grace with the veteran leader’s “friends”, including the country’s former reserve bank governor Gideon Gono. A government source claimed Mugabe, 93, said he wanted to die in Zimbabwe and had no plans to live in exile, so negotiated a deal which included a pension, holiday and transport allowance, health insurance and security. According to social media users, Grace looks “humbled”. @ali_naka wrote: “Moments before Resignation, Grace looking “humbled” Former Reserve Bank Governor Gono almost in tears! People get drunk on power! Mugabe had been ruling for 37 years but still too sad to go!!! Unbelievable #MugabeResignation” @mtyala wrote: “Grace looks like she hasn’t slept in days, the arrogance wiped from her face. What’s “stress” in Shona? Credits: Politics ...

Former vice president of Zimbabwe, Emerson Mnangagwa has been sworn in as president of Zimbabwe following the resignation of Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa was sworn-in amidst thousands of cheers and praises bringing a total end to Mugabe’s 37-year rule. Mugabe resigned on Tuesday after heavy pressure from the military, party officials and the people of the country. Zimbabwe's new President Emmerson Mnangagwa has addressed a packed stadium, vowing to serve all citizens. He said he felt "deeply humbled" to take the role. And he said he was "not oblivious to the many Zimbabweans from across the political and racial divide who have helped make this day." He paid tribute to his predecessor Robert Mugabe - to muted applause - calling him "a father, mentor, comrade-in-arms and my leader". Mr Mugabe left office dramatically this week after 37 years of authoritarian rule. His departure followed a power struggle in which Mr Mnangagwa was sacked as vice p...

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid striker Robinho has been sentenced to nine years in prison in Italy after he was convicted of gang rape, according to local media reports Thursday. The alleged incident occurred in January 2013, when the Brazilian was playing for Milan in Serie A. He was found guilty in absentia by an Italian court for raping a 22-year-old Albanian woman. Five of the player's friends were accused of the same crime. One of the accused was also given a nine-year prison sentence while the trial of the four others has been suspended because they are on the run. According to Milan daily Corriere della Sera, Robinho and his acquaintances made the young woman drink "to the point of making her unconscious and unable to resist". They were then said to have engaged in "sexual intercourse multiple times in a row" with her. The court in Milan also ordered those found guilty to pay the victim 60,000 euros ($71,000). Robinho, who...

The Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winfred Oyo-Ita, has insisted that letters came from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, to the Federal Civil Service Commission, FCSC, directing the reinstatement of ex-pension boss, Abdurasheed Maina. Oyo-Ita made this revelation when she appeared before the House of Representatives committee investigating the disappearance, reappearance and reinstatement of Maina in the federal civil service on Thursday. The HoS said she was also surprised to hear about Maina’s reinstatement in the media like anyone else, submitting that the Ministry of Interior never acted on her letters. Speaking further, Oyo-Ita insisted that she has never received any notification that Maina challenged his dismissal in court since her appointment. She said, “Maina was dismissed in 2013 from federal civil service. “Sometime this year, letters began to come from AGF to the Federal Civil Service Commission, copied to my office. “A...

Applicants successfully pre-selected for the 2017 federal government job programme for graduates, N-Power, should start getting ready for their physical verification, the management has said. According to information released on the official Facebook page of the scheme, the physical screening for pre-selected applicants will hold between December 4 and 14. After a brief break , N-Power reopened its portal on Monday night to the applicants to start checking their pre-selection status. The scheme further released a breakdown of how the applicants were pre-selected after unsuccessful applicants demanded an explanation. The N-Power Volunteer Corps is part of the federal government’s Social Investment Programmes, SIP, under which it plans to hire 300,000 unemployed graduates in 2017. Meanwhile, applicants who are yet to confirm their status can follow the simple steps below to see if they have been selected for the next stage of the N-Power exercise. 1. Candidates are advised...

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress. Abubakar confirmed this in a statement he personally signed on Friday. He also gave reasons for quitting the party. However, he did not state which party he intends to join, but said he is pondering on his political future. The statement, titled: “Statement of resignation of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar (Waziri Adamawa) Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007 from the All Progressives Congress,” reads in full… “On the 19th of December, 2013, I received members of the All Progressives Congress at my house in Abuja. They had come to appeal to me to join their party after my party, the Peoples Democratic Party, had become factionalized as a result of the special convention of August 31, 2013. “The fractionalization of the Peoples Democratic Party on August 31, 2013 had left me in a situation where I was, with several other loyal party members, in limbo, not knowing which of the parallel...

SYDNEY/BEIJING –  Australia warned Thursday against American disengagement from Asia at a time of rising Chinese power, as traditional U.S. allies grow nervous about President Donald Trump’s isolationist tilt. In a major Foreign Policy White Paper — the first to be issued by the Australian government in 13 years — Canberra outlined its approach to the “Indo-Pacific” region amid “changing power balances.” “The United States has been the dominant power in our region throughout Australia’s post-Second World War history. Today, China is challenging America’s position,” the 136-page document said. “Navigating the decade ahead will be hard because, as China’s power grows, our region is changing in ways without precedent in Australia’s modern history.” In the report, Australia noted that it was “particularly concerned by the unprecedented pace and scale of China’s activities” in the South China Sea. China responded the same day by urging Australia to refrain from making “ir...

One would have imagined that Neymar would've been in better spirits after his double in Paris Saint-Germain's 7-1 victory over Celtic. The shock was on for all of eight minutes after Moussa Dembele opened the scoring for the visitors but PSG's class told in the end and Neymar got the comeback rolling. The Brazilian was decked to the nines in a Floyd Mayweather tracksuit as he faced reporters in the mixed zone after the game but the journalists looked eager to get an angry reaction from Neymar. Firstly, he was asked if the game reminded him of Germany's thrashing of his native Brazil by the same scoreline when they met in the 2014 World Cup semi-final. "There you go again, remembering that day," Neymar answered. "This is just going to go on and on, you’ll never stop. "I’m happy with tonight’s game and getting a win and that’s the most important thing, independently of the result. The team imposed a strong rhythm right after scoring th...

In a Thanksgiving Day post to his 43.2 million followers, Donald Trump let his hand show, responding to a liberal “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump tweeted Thursday morning. But that message was  posted as a reply  to a column by liberal Greg Sargent slamming the president for “[rage-tweeting] about a prominent African American again.” The Post national correspondent Philip Bump posited a theory about why Trump’s post replied to Sargent. “A while back, Twitter made a UI change so if you hit the ‘new tweet’ button while viewing a tweet, your new tweet was a reply to the tweet you were viewing.” “Thanks for checking out Post reporting, Mr. President,” Bump added. A while back, Twitter made a UI change so if you hit the “new tweet” button while viewing a tweet, your new tweet was a reply to the tweet you were viewing. Thanks for checking out Post reporting, Mr. President.   pic.twitter.com/FooGhLATVS — Philip Bump (@pbump)  November 23, 2017 The...

Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe was granted immunity from prosecution, sources close to the negotiations said on Thursday. According to the source, Mugabe was assured that his safety would be protected in his home country as part of a deal that led to his resignation. Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for close to four decades but stepped down on Tuesday after the army seized power and the ruling party turned against him. He led Zimbabwe from independence in 1980 but stepped down on Tuesday after the army seized power and the ruling party turned against him. Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former vice president, is set to be sworn in as president on Friday. A government source said Mugabe, who is 93, told negotiators he wanted to die in Zimbabwe and had no plans to live in exile. “It was very emotional for him and he was forceful about it,” said the source, who is not authorized to speak on the details of the negotiated settlement. “For him it was very important that he be guara...

Former Minister of State for Defence and member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, will be officially decamping to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Obanikoro confirmed his plan to leave the PDP in an interview on Channels Television. He stated that he would be announcing his defection in Lagos by the weekend. However, the politician did not disclose reasons for dumping his current party. Obanikoro served as a minister under the administratation of past president  Goodluck Jonathan and also contested the for the PDP ticket for the office of the Lagos state Governor in 2015, which he lost to to Jimi Agbaje.

Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s Salary post-resignation still looks as attractive as it was when he was in charge. Apparently, Mugabe knew the consequences of allowing the impeachment proceedings against him to push through‚ thus he resigned. If he had been fired by the parliament, he would be left with no benefits among other things. This according to the Presidential Pension and Retirement Act’s Section 6 which stipulates that a former president can be denied pension if he or she leaves office having “acted in willful violation of the Constitution; or of gross misconduct.”  Notably, the charge sheet against the ousted president which was brought before Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda had allegations about Mugabe’s “serious misconduct”. Among other things, the 93-year-old veteran leader was accused of letting his wife speak about government business in public when she was not a cabinet minister, in addition to abusing state resources. Apparently, Mugabe had...

Earlier today, it was reported that teenage actress Regina Daniels is being accused of threatening to release a teenage girl's nude photos for refusing to sleep with a movie producer (read  here ). This information was revealed by Amanda Chisom on Facebook. She has now shared the text of the initial message she allegedly received from the teenager being blackmailed. She also shared screenshots of other messages Regina Daniels allegedly sent to the victim and also messages Regina's best friend Casie sent to the victim. Four people have been fingered in these accusations. They are Regina Daniels, her brother Sammy Daniels, the producer Richy Adams, and friend Casie Snow. Meanwhile, there is also a blurred screenshot of a semi-nude photo of the victim which Regina allegedly went ahead to share on a particular website. According to a commenter on Amanda's post, he reported the explicit photo on the website and it has now been taken down. The v...