Syria on Sunday slammed as “hostile” a French decision to host an ambassador from the opposition National Coalition, as regime forces bombarded southern districts of the capital and clashes raged nationwide.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel is ready to “significantly expand” its operation against militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip as it entered its fifth day.

ONDO State government weekend described as wicked the allegation by the opposition political parties in the state that it will abandon projects in local government not won by Governor Olusegun Mimiko in the October 20 election.

A former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, says his clamor for a president of Igbo origin in 2015 is not based on the platform of any political party.

Kalu, at the United States of America, last week, said that to achieve the lofty aim, it has to be beyond the confines of a political party, hence the formation of a non partisan political movement, the Njiko Igbo.

The event of November 13 in Idjerhe (Jesse) in Ethiope-West Local Government Area of Delta State proved tragic.

THE Itsekiri ethnic nationality has opposed the inclusion of Warri which is part of their ancestral land in the proposed Toru-Ebe, saying that such amounts to a forcible annexation of their homeland.The rejection of their homeland for inclusion in the proposed demand for the creation of Toru Ebe State was in response to the request for the creation of Toru-Ebe State from the present Delta, Edo and Ondo States by the Ijaw nationality.

One day, as I was reading Jesus’ Sermon of the Mount yet again, I suddenly heard the Lord say to me, deep within my spirit-man: “Femi, the end justifies the means.”  What does this have to do with the beatitudes?  Can we, should we, justify the end by the means?  Is it godly to do so?  I decided to search the scriptures for the answer

That Nigeria was born with great and positive dreams in 1960 is accepted by all. Taking the pulse of the domestic and international opinion in 1960, there was an expectation that Nigeria was going to be a great nation because it had a large population that dwarfed the population of most of the African states, it had vast quantities of natural resources and it had an enlightened elite, that was educated and experienced.

The Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, yesterday, in Ilorin, extolled the virtues of the late Waziri of Ilorin, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, describing him as an honest and God-fearing leader. According to him, the death of Saraki was a personal loss to him. While paying condolence visit to the head of the family, Senator Bukola Saraki, the monarch recalled that the late elder statesman and himself usually sat together during meetings and functions that had to do with the North or the country.

Capital Oil and Gas Limited says it has given heed to the court order shutting its operations but warned that the development could further cripple the supply of petrol in the country.

How has the subsidy intervention fund (SURE-P) fared since the government introduced it in the aftermath of the protest in January? The vice president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the body which spearheaded the January protest, Comrade Issa Aremu, provides the Labour perspective in this interview. The general secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), also speaks on the state of the nation.

Former Green Eagles defender and veteran coach, Kelechi Emetole has backed coach Stephen Keshi to present a formidable team that will go places at the 2013 Nations Cup starting January 19 in South Africa. Emeteole hinged his optimism on the players and team capacity building programme Keshi embarked upon when he took over from Coach Samson Siasia in November 2011.

FOR three days, Monday – Wednesday, last week, Jimitota Onoyume, Vanguard correspondent in Rivers State, could not eat. He declared an emergency fasting, drinking only water and turning ‘prayer warrior’ overnight.

These include the problem of constructing a viable Nigerian nation based on justice, equity and fairness for all ethnic nationalities, post-war deliberate depredation and exclusion of the Igbo and Igbo heartland from the commanding heights of national politics, the economy and infrastructural development by successive administrations at the centre, and the question of proper restitution for atrocities committed during the war against Biafrans by the Nigerian army.

For many, he was the face of judicial activism. While the likes of Alao Aka-Bashorun and Gani Fawehinmi were doing their thing from the Bar, the late Honourable Justice Bobakayode Eso represented the radical, nay progressive wing of the judiciary sparing no nonsense.