SOLUTION AND GIST

The Federal Government, yesterday, stated that effective January 1, 2016, Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, would be sold at N86 per litre by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Retail stations, while other oil marketers would sell at N86.50 per litre. The Nigerian Labour Congress said, however, that it would resist with all its might, any attempt to remove fuel subsidy.

We've all been given a gift for Christmas or a birthday which we either don't like, don't want or would rather swap for cash – but it's not always that easy to ditch the undesirable if you choose to sell it on eBay. Simply slapping up a picture and a price on eBay might be the quick but it won't get you the sale you're after and will often take much longer to sell then you'd like. But if you approach selling online in the most professional manner using a few simple tricks you'll be fanning yourself with bank notes before you know it.

Women and children are being locked into unhappy marriages by the rulings of Sharia councils. Although council judgments have no legal basis in this country, decisions made by Muslim leaders presiding over these gatherings often keep women in marriages when communal relations or moral rectitude are perceived to be under threat.

Georgia’s 33-year-old Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili resigned on Wednesday after two years on the job as the ruling coalition struggles to boost its popularity ahead of parliamentary polls next year. “I took the decision to leave my post,” Garibashvili said in a televised address to the nation. “All posts are temporary. Only God and Motherland are eternal,” a stone-faced Garibashvili said without elaborating on his surprise decision.

On Christmas day, we are set to be treated to a rare lunar phenomenon as the moon will complete its phase and be full on 25 December. It will be the first time since 1977 that we will have experienced a full moon on Christmas day.

President Buhari who begged Nigerians while presenting the N6.08 trillion 2016 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly, said the government has not increased fuel price and that the pump price of fuel remains N87 per litre.

It has been another top-notch year for the smartphone industry but, as is always the way, the next 12 months are set to be even better. We will see new flagships from Apple, Samsung and Sony, and it will be make-or-break time for HTC, Blackberry and maybe others, too.

Demand for oil from members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) is expected to keep falling until 2020. The cartel said prices will recover to $70 a barrel at the end of the decade.

T he Federal Government has filled a fresh six-count charge of treason and managing the affairs of ‘an unlawful society,’ against the embattled leader of  Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

The Cameroonian army has killed 70 civilians in a Gwoza village as they chased Boko Haram fighters in Borno State, north-east Nigeria. Fleeing residents from Kirawa-Jimni told the Associated Press they had run for their lives from the Cameroon force, claiming troops had fired indiscriminately on villagers believing them to be Boko Haram, and then leaving their corpses lying in the street.

A man from north London has been charged with a number of money laundering offences. Tommy Adams was arrested as part of a series of raids by the Metropolitan Police's Proactive Money Laundering Taskforce.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal condemned the media and demanded an apology during a press conference following a week of speculation over his future at the club – before storming out after just five minutes.

A mysterious gold object weighing 8.5kg has been discovered in an old building in a Jerusalem cemetery. Experts at the Israel Antiquities Authority are so baffled as to what it is they are seeking help from the public to identify it.

AS President Muhammadu Buhari presents the 2016 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives today, there were strong  indications, yesterday, that the lawmakers are ready to ensure speedy passage of the bill.

Just over a year after the UK ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, the UK is sending back military personnel to Afghanistan's Helmand province on fears that the Taliban is close to overrunning the Sangin town.

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele says the apex bank is evolving additional measures to boost the nation’s economy and stabilise the naira. Emefiele made the remark at an Interactive Session with Media Editors in Abuja. He declined to give details of the measures and modalities for their implementation. Don’t ask me because I will not disclose our strategy for now’’, adding that doing so would be counter-productive and pre-emptive.

Virtual assets prized within the world of gaming can now be traded for physical gold thanks to a collaboration between gaming value platform FreeMyVunk and crypto-assets issuer Digix. FreeMyVunk has set out to revolutionise the way gamers will trade their virtual property (virtual junk, VUNK), using the Ethereum public blockchain.

A human right activist, Mr. Emmanuel Owotunse has taken a swipe at Hon. James Faleke for approaching the tribunal over the choice of Alh. Yahaya Bello as the party’s candidate to replace late Prince Abubakar Audu, saying Faleke’s action was an affront to the authority of the party.

Gone are the days when maps were used to just figure out directions to destinations. Thanks to innovative thinkers at Google, electronic maps can do much more than configure convenient routes and provide traffic information.

 The merger of three key ministries of Power, Works and Housing into one, is a disservice to the nation. This view was canvassed by Lagos-based estate surveyors and valuers who also faulted the non-appointment of one of their own as the Minister of Housing in view of the fact that they are best qualified and positioned to man the ministry.

The Federal Government, yesterday, said it would neither be cowed nor threatened by MTN’s court action against the N1.4trn fine which was later reduced to N780 billion, insisting that the telecommunications company risks another fine if it fails to pay on deadline.

Apple has expressed major concerns over the UK government's investigatory powers bill, claiming that if passed, the bill could jeopardise the privacy and data of millions of law abiding citizens. Apple has also recommended major amendments to the bill, before it is passed.

Energy giant Npower has been fined £26m for sending out late and often inaccurate bills and failing to deal with complaints correctly, energy regulator Ofgem has said. The settlement is the largest yet agreed between Ofgem and a "big six" energy supplier.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has nullified the outcome of the April 11 governorship election in Akwa Ibom State.

Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf‎ of the Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama has granted bail to the former National Security Adviser, ‎NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, rtd.

Scientists have been altering the brain activity of rats in an attempt to help pave the way for new treatments for Parkinson's disease. They changed the amount of neurons reaching the rat's thalamus – a central part of the brain – to make them fall into an unconscious state, or to wake them up.

T HE Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, has been called upon to wade into the brewing crisis between members of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, Lagos branch, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, who  are spoiling for a showdown over alleged insensitivity of management to their plights and highhandedness of the Agency’s Director of Administration/Human Resource.

There appears to be increasing tension and instability in the Nigeria’s foreign exchange market with depreciation of Naira accelerating as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the banks push for more restrictions on the market.

Chinese authorities have issued a second smog alert for Beijing as polluted air is expected to blanket most parts of the capital. This is the second "red alert" the Chinese capital has been issued within a span of 10 days.

British Astronaut Tim Peake posted his very first picture on Twitter and has sent a message to the Queen from the International Space Station (ISS). After having safely arrived at the ISS for a six-month mission, Major Peake sent a picture of the Soyuz capsule that had safely transported him from Earth.

THE Police in  Aba, Abia State, has recovered three vehicles  and an AK 47 rifle with 59 rounds of live ammunition stolen by hoodlums.

A trial of a Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) vaccine that targets the coronavirus that causes the disease in Arabian camels has delivered some encouraging early results, scientists say. The vaccine, developed by a team led by Bart Haagmans at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, was found to "significantly" lower the level of virus in camels and protect them from Mers symptoms.

Family members and supporters of controversial pro-Biafran leader Nnamdi Kanu have reacted with mixed feelings over the Abuja High Court's decision to free him. Although most of them reacted with relief when the court ruled that Kanu's prolonged detention was unlawful, many expressed concern as the Radio Biafra director was not in court at the time of the ruling.

For over 14 years I have been engaged in documenting and writing about what I came to call the Global Muslim Brotherhood, which I have defined as a global network developed by Muslim Brothers (Ikhwan) who fled their home countries and settled in Europe and the United States where they went on to found what has become some of the most prominent Islamic organizations in their new home countries.

A man who drove up to his ex-girlfriend and battered her in an attack that that killed their unborn son has been found guilty of deliberately murdering the foetus. Teaching assistant Kevin Wilson kicked and stamped on the stomach of Malorie Bantala in a sickening assault that killed the unborn child and caused the Marks & Spencer worker to lose six litres of blood.

The iPhone jailbreak legend George Hotz, also known as Geohot, has ventured into the self-driving car business with the unbelievable feat of building the car in just one month. Hotz seems to have gained some sort of uncanny success with his first experiment in turning the 2016 Acura ILX Sedan into a self-driving car as Tesla Motors founder, Elon Musk, is said to be overwhelmingly impressed with his feat.

All I want for Christmas is...a career? Is that too much to ask? The talk these days is all about the "gig" economy, the march of the machines, the rise in self-employment and the crumbling of old certainties about the labour market. And yet it was not so long ago that "careers advisers" were still telling young people at school or university to get professional training and plan for a long and presumably steady lifetime at work.

Last Christmas gamers' hearts were broken as hackers from a group called Lizard Squad decided to take down the online networks of PlayStation and Xbox. This year we may see more tears, as a new hacking collective – called Phantom Squad – has threatened it will strike again.

A New York University (NYU) graduate has created a device using biometric sensors that helps people find partners called The True Love Tinder Robot. Nicole He, a student on NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) and the creator of the project, explains on her website that the project explores the idea that the computer knows us better than we know ourselves, therefore it knows who we should date too.

It may be the warmest Christmas period for years but people should not expect lower heating costs in the near future, consumer groups have warned. The warmest Christmas Day on record is expected after temperatures rose in the south east of the UK to 16C on 16 and 17 December.

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon believes that Jose Mourinho's dismissal as Chelsea manager is just a precursor for his return to the Bernabeu. Calderon says the Portuguese manager will be the perfect "shield" for current under fire chief Florentino Perez as the team struggles under Rafa Benitez.

Officials involved in the investigation of the Paris terror attacks have revealed they believe some of the terrorists used encrypted apps WhatsApp and Telegram to plot and communicate.

Guus Hiddink is set to take over as Chelsea manager until the end of the season. The 69-year-old Dutchman will return to Stamford Bridge for a second spell as interim manager, after Jose Mourinho was sacked on Thursday.

The closest potentially habitable planet outside of our solar system has been discovered, say astronomers. The planet, 14 light years away, is considered to be within the 'goldilocks zone' – meaning liquid water could exist on its surface.

Representatives from Libya's rival Tripoli and Beida parliaments have signed a UN-brokered peace deal in Skhirat that could lead to foreign intervention in the country.

  Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Chelsea. Again. The Chelsea boss has endured the worst season of his managerial career as the reigning Premier League champions turned in the performances of an unrecognisable side week after week. It has been the Blues' worst ever start to a season, and the worst Premier League title defence ever seen, with the club lurching towards the relegation zone.

Juande Ramos's agent, Gines Carvajal, flew into London on Thursday morning (17 December) to hold talks with Chelsea as a potential replacement for Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, according to AS. The Spanish publication adds that Mourinho's dismissal look "imminent" after owner Roman Abramovich lost patience with the Portuguese boss following Chelsea's latest defeat by Leicester City on Monday.

The Obama administration is going ahead with a major arms deal with Taiwan despite strong opposition from China. The contract, worth $1.83bn (£1.22bn), includes supply of US warships and sophisticated missiles to Taipei amid rising tensions over South China Sea.

Weeks after being voted the city with the worst traffic on Earth, the Philippines capital of Manila has now achieved the dubious distinction of having the toughest roads to navigate on the planet. The results of a new survey from automobile tech company Drivemode has revealed that nearly 60% of drivers in the city use navigation apps such as Waze and Google Maps while driving.

Google has slammed the California Department of Motor Vehicle's proposed regulations on self-driving cars that include provisions for a mandatory presence of licensed drivers. The draft proposal seeks to prohibit the use of vehicles without steering wheels and user-controlled brakes. Google has invested heavily in its self-driving car technology and is looking to roll-out its first ever driverless car by 2020.

THE Vice Chancellor of Mountain Top University, MTU, Ibafo, Ogun State, Prof. Elijah Ayolabi, has said the newly established varsity is a dynamic center of academic excellence for the production of top-rate morally sound graduates of distinction who will be globally competitive for outstanding impact on local and global development.