NEWS

Nigeria removes fuel subsidy, says petrol to sell for N85 by Jan 1st 2016

  Minister of State for Petroleum , Dr Ibe Kachikwu during a tour of the Port Harcourt refinery on Christmas Day said that the Federal government is working to reduce the pump price of petrol to about 85 or 86 naira per litre by Jan 1st. He said efforts were on to get the refinery to achieve 60 percent production capacity and to supply about 11 million liters of petrol daily. (more…)

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi Makes Surprise Visit To Pakistan

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise trip to Pakistan to meet with counterpart Nawaz Sharif Friday. Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed Modi would arrive in the eastern city of Lahore late on Friday for an unscheduled visit with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. State TV footage showed the Indian Air Force jumbo jet landing at the Allama Iqbal International Airport, while Sharif — who celebrated his birthday the same day — was flown in by helicopter, AFP reported. (more…)

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Pope urges Christmas prayers for Syria, Libya peace

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis issued a Christmas Day prayer that recent U.N.-backed peace processes for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people, denouncing the "monstrous evil" and atrocities they have endured and praising countries that have taken in refugees. Pope urges Christmas prayers for Syria, Libya peace Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Francis issued a plenary indulgence for all Catholics in hopes of spreading the church's message of mercy in a world torn by war, poverty and extremist attacks. The sun-soaked

NEWS

This Is What Happened When a White Man Spat on a Woman Wearing Hijab

When the unthinkable happens to you in a public place, the hope is that some anonymous strangers will come to your defense. But when Iqra Mohamed, a 20-year-old Muslim woman who lives in London, says she was spat on by an unidentified white man on a public bus, no one came to her defense. Instead, according to Mohamed’s account, people laughed. “A white man spat at me in a buss of people and kept on cussing me out cause of my hijab while people smiled a laughed along,” she tweeted from an account that has since been made private.  (more…)

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Russia warming ‘2.5 times quicker’ than global average: ministry

Moscow (AFP) - Russia is warming more than twice as fast as the average for the rest of the world, the environment ministry said Friday, sounding an alarm on the rise in floods and wildfires nationwide. A government report on environmental protection said temperatures in Russia had warmed by 0.42 degrees Celsius per decade since 1976, or 2.5 times quicker than the global warming trend of 0.17 degrees. "Climate change leads to growth of dangerous meteorological phenomena," the ministry said in a comment to the report published Friday. (more…)