Falcons eye top spot against Kenya

The Super Falcons have complained that they have not yet been paid their bonuses by the Nigeria Football Federation ahead of today’s match with

Fans urge Trump to up debate game

It’s 10 days to America’s next presidential debate, but some of Donald Trump’s most ardent admirers agree: he must do better — focus more on policy, and hit Hillary Clinton harder.

Most mainstream political analysts gave Democrat Clinton, the 68-year-old former first lady, senator and secretary of state the upper hand in this week’s television clash watched by 84 million.

Why there will be no dialogue with Shekau on Chibok girls, by military

Says he’s mentally unstable, dismisses latest video
Troops kill 22 B’Haram members, four soldiers slain

Efforts by the Federal Government to hold talks with Boko Haram on release of the abducted Chibok girls might have hit a brick wall.

President Muhammadu Buhari had recently invited the United Nations to act as mediator in discussions with the sect’s leaders, to secure the girls’ freedom from 900 days of captivity.

For the Record: Trump, Clinton, Florida and the Fed

We're 48 days out from Election Day, and there are still so many unanswered questions. Mainly: Will the Fed decide the presidential election today? Is the Donald Trump-Pam Bondi scandal over, or is it just getting started? And why are we

Eagles must brace for tough games, Garba Lawal warns

• Wants Isaac Success in team

Fomer Super Eagles Midfielder, Garba Lawal, has warned the players and coaches of the senior national team to be ready for difficult encounters if they want Nigeria to be at the Russia 2018 World Cup.

Why we are turning to debt, by Buhari

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has said the country is looking to raise funds by borrowing from World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Chinese Ex-Im Bank and other development finance partners but with a promise that the borrowed funds

Here's why Zuckerberg doesn't want to be a Murdoch-like media mogul

Meet the 21st century’s reluctant media baron — Mark Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg’s Facebook exerts the kind of influence over the media landscape that would be the envy of the moguls of old, say a William Randolph Hearst or Joseph Pulitzer. The social media service he launched a dozen years ago makes invisible decisions about what articles, images and videos its 1.7 billion global users see.


The extent of its editorial clout came into sharp relief when a global protest erupted over Facebook’s decision to remove the iconic photo of a naked 9-year-old girl fleeing napalm bombs during the Vietnam War. The service has strict guidelines on nudity; what its staff didn't take into account was the historical importance of the photo.

It's unlikely the last time its editorial judgement, an amalgamation of algorithms and human reviewers, gets rebuked for a bad call, forcing it to wrestle with the same ethical questions newsrooms have for years.

“They increasingly are determining how news gets disseminated, even made, in terms of how you write headlines, how you write articles,” said the University of Southern California professor Jonathan Taplin, author of the forthcoming book "Move Fast and Break Things: How Google, Facebook and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy."

"I would argue that they’re the most important news organization in the world.”

But Zuckerberg shrugs off the mantle of media mogul.

“We’re a technology company, we’re not a media company,” Zuckerberg said in remarks last month to a group of Italian university students. “When you think about a media company, you have people who are producing content, who are editing content, that’s not us. We’re a technology company. We build tools. We do not produce any of the content.”

The reality may be more nuanced, based on conversations with those who know Zuckerberg or have studied the company.

Zuckerberg, who created Facebook’s engineering-driven culture, doesn’t look in the mirror and see a younger version of Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

“It’s anathema to him to be lumped in with (Viacom’s) Sumner Redstone or (21st Century Fox’s) Rupert Murdoch,” said Antonio Garcia Martinez, a former Facebook executive and author of the memoir, "Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley." “He has to deal with them. He does not see himself like that at all.”

The media tag wouldn’t help Facebook’s recruitment efforts, either.

VALUED LIKE A TECH COMPANY

Wall Street prizes tech companies over media conglomerates, and rewards Silicon Valley’s innovators with a higher price-to-earnings ratio, a calculation made by dividing a company’s current stock price by its earnings per share.

Facebook (FB) has a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.8, based on past earnings. By this measure, it's far more in demand than a pure-play media company like Fox (FOXA) with a P/E radio of 16.9.

“So if Zuckerberg wants to deflate (Facebook’s) value by like two-thirds, then by all means, be a media company,” said Roger Entner, founder and lead analyst with the consulting firm Recon Analytics.

Some industry watchers say Facebook has more in common with a telecommunications company like AT&T or Verizon Wireless than it does with a traditional media company like CBS. Its myriad platforms, including mobile applications WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, connect a billion people a month.

It even had ambitious plans to beam Internet service to sub-Saharan Africa via a satellite that was destroyed earlier this month, when a SpaceX rocket blew up on a launchpad in Florida.

“They’re clearly a communication platform,” said Cowen and Co. Internet analyst and media observer John Blackledge.

LEGAL BENEFITS

Certain legal advantages accrue to online platforms like Facebook that distribute content, but steer clear of creating it.

Facebook benefits from an obscure provision of the Telecom Act of 1996 that shields online operators from liability associated with the speech and actions of third parties who use the site, notes Adam Thierer, a senior research fellow at Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

“Traditional media companies do not enjoy the same degree of protection,” Thierer said via email. “Thus, Facebook doesn't want to lose that valuable legal shield from potentially onerous liability.”

But try as it might to avoid the media label, Facebook’s editors and algorithms increasingly make judgment calls that would be familiar to anyone working in a newsroom. They’re arbiters in determining which articles and images to show the 105 million American adults who get their news from the site, according to Pew Research Center.

“That is front and center of what we do as journalists,” said Edward Wasserman, dean of the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Facebook's stumble over the 1972 Vietnam photo came close on the heels of another series of revelations that highlighted its hand in determining what news articles and videos its users see.

This spring, an ex-staffer who worked on the "Trending" topics feature accused former colleagues of squelching conservative views and news sources from the list of most popular news topics. The social network denied any bias. But Zuckerberg, in an unusual move, met with conservative leaders to deflect criticism the network exhibited a liberal slant, and this summer, Facebook removed the team of editorial “curators” from the equation.

It also took steps to change the main news feed to display more posts from friends and family — and re-asserted its neutrality, saying “we do not favor specific kinds of sources — or ideas."

Facebook sees its role in determining what users see as less an exercise in editorial discretion than a delicate balancing act, between enabling expression and protecting its community.

"These are difficult decisions and we don't always get it right,” Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg wrote in a letter of apology to Norway’s prime minister, which was obtained by Reuters, adding, “We intend to do better.”


www.usatoday.com

Angelina Jolie files for divorce from Brad Pitt

Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, USA TODAY has confirmed

The couple married in 2014 and have been together since 2004.

An attorney for Jolie Pitt, Robert Offer, told the Associated Press that she has filed for the dissolution of the marriage. Offer said the decision was made "for the health of the family."

Man bought his dog eight iPhone 7s

How best would you show love to your dog, considering that dogs are thought to be man’s best friend? A special treat? Maybe some juicy bones from your favourite butcher’s shop?

Well, for Coco, an Alaskan malamute owned by Wang Sicong, son of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, an eight new iPhone 7s release would do

PDP asks President Buhari to quit over poor performance

President Muhammadu Buhari

• Blames APC for high cost of living
• Insists ‘body language ‘ has failed
• Opposition irresponsible, says ruling party

Fuming at what it called crass ineptitude and lukewarm attitude of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to quit office along

Arik, Nigeria’s biggest airline suspends operations

Passengers stranded, management says disruption temporary

Nigeria’s largest domestic carrier, Arik Air, shut its operations yesterday.The airline, responsible for over 40 per cent of domestic passenger traffic nationwide, blamed the “temporary” disruption on its inability to secure insurance renewal.

The development left many passengers across the country and in West Africa stranded. Also affected are the airline’s long-haul operations to Heathrow Airport in London, and New York in the United States.Arik is the third,

Clinton has pneumonia, was dehydrated at 9/11 event

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is suffering from pneumonia and was overheated and dehydrated when she quickly left a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York on Sunday, her doctor

Iheanacho’s strike against Tanzania wins CNN’s award

Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho (C) strikes a shot at the goal to earn his team the lone goal victory against Tanzania during the Africa Cup of Nations qualification match in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on September 3, 2016.
PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

Nigerian teen sensation, Kelechi Iheanacho, has won the CNN Goal of the week award for his wonder strike, that helped the Super Eagles beat Tanzania 1-0 in a dead rubber AFCON 2017 qualifiers tie, reports owngoalnigeria.com.

The organisers took into consideration all the goals scored during

Clinton, Trump war of words escalates as race narrows

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – SEPTEMBER 06: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pauses during a campaign event September 6, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Trump participated in a discussion with retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn. Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP
ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, sensing the urgency of a presidential campaign entering its home stretch, assailed one another on multiple fronts and in coarse terms Tuesday as new data showed the candidates in a dead heat.

Army arrests Niger Delta militant leader

The Nigerian Army said its troops on Operation Crocodile Smile have arrested, Gabriel Ogbudje, one of the leaders of a Niger Delta militant group, the `Otugas Fire Force’.

A statement issued by its spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, on Wednesday, said that Ogbudje was arrested along with his accomplice, Elvis Dweller Ejus.

Anxiety in Niger Delta as military showcase might

                          • Operation ‘Crocodile Smile’ Takes Off Today In Port Harcourt
In what appears to be a final showdown with the militants, more military personnel, heavy weapons, gunships and vehicles are arriving in Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States, to stem incessant attacks on oil installations and end the smouldering seven-month militancy.

The massive deployment of troops and heavy arms to the Niger Delta, seems to underscores the Federal Government’s resolve to secure a military victory against the militants in the region, despite calls for dialogue.

Fear of war grips Niger Delta as military deploys weapons

                                           • Troops vow to dislodge criminals
                                           • IYC, monarch urge govt to dialogue
Apprehension, suffering and death. These are the concerns as the military begins a massive buildup against armed agitators in Nigeria’s oil rich region, the Niger Delta.
Yesterday, a long convoy of about 32 articulated vehicles was seen on the Port Harcourt-Warri dual carriage way carrying long-range tanks, armoured personnel vehicles and an assortment of weapons. The vehicles allegedly headed to

Guard who killed employer in Ajah, Lagos arrested in Taraba

                                           The suspect Tanko Abdulateef
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested one Tanko Abdulateef, a 22-year-old security guard, who allegedly killed his employer, Mabel Mba Okafor, in Ajah area of the state on August 17, 2016.

The suspect, who was arrested in Bali, Taraba State, was said to have stabbed Okafor, a Bureau De Change operator, to death.

The 50-year-old

Trump rejects moderation, goes hard-line on immigration

PHOENIX — Donald Trump on Wednesday atomized any notion he is softening his hard-line immigration positions, rejecting a move to the middle that might make his presidential candidacy more appealing to Latino and moderate white voters and instead reinforcing his uncompromising image on border security and deportation policy.

Trump presented a day-vs.-night contrast between his high-octane opposition to

Mexican president: I told Trump we wouldn't pay for wall

MEXICO CITY — After a surprise, last-minute meeting in Mexico City, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto agreed to disagree Wednesday on such politically contentious topics as immigration and trade — and disputed whether they discussed Trump's claims that Mexico would pay for his proposed border wall.

Teenager caught selling soaps as phones in traffic

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos State Police Command have arrested one Segun Adeyefa, a teenager, for allegedly selling bar soap as mobile phones to unsuspecting members of the public.

The 18-year-old, who was trying to defraud an unsuspecting victim in traffic, was caught in the act by RRS operatives on routine patrol of Ikorodu motor-park.

Rivers defends amnesty programme for cultists, criminals

 
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike

The Rivers Government says it has no regrets initiating the ongoing amnesty programme for repentant cultists and criminals in the state.

The Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Banigo, told newsmen in Port Harcourt on Wednesday that the programme was in line with the peace initiative of the state government.

The amnesty programme came under

Riot police patrol Zimbabwe cities

Zimbabwe opposition supporters clash with police during a protest march for electoral reforms on August 26, 2016 in Harare.
Riots erupted in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare after police fired tear gas and beat protesters who responded by throwing stones in the latest of a string of tense demonstrations. The violence came a day after a High Court judge had ordered police “not to interfere (with), obstruct or stop the march”. Dozens of police blocked off the site of an opposition rally to demand electoral reforms before 2018 when 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African country for decades, will seek re-election. / AFP PHOTO / WILFRED KAJESE

Riot police patrolled Zimbabwe’s capital Harare and other cities Wednesday after authorities vowed to prevent further protests against President Robert Mugabe’s government.

Organisers of recent demonstrations had planned

Pastor in court for allegedly marrying mother, daughter

Pastor, Timothy Ngwu, was yesterday docked at an Enugu North Magistrates’ Court for allegedly marrying another man’s wife, daughter as well as another woman.The pastor’s wife, Veronica Ngwu petitioned the court over the development.

The victims, whom Mr. Ngwu converted to his “wives” were said to be members of his church, God’s Favour Ministry, Nsukka.One of the victims, Calista Omeye, however, told

Djokovic beats scare, Nadal eases at revamped US Open

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns against Jerzy Janowicz of Poland during their 2016 US Open 2016 Men’s Singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2016 in New York. / AFP PHOTO / Don EMMERT


Defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame an arm injury scare and long-time rival Rafael Nadal shone in 33-degree heat as the US Open showcased its $650 million upgrade on Monday.

World number one Djokovic, also the 2011 winner in New York and chasing his third major of the year, defeated Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

Brazil police fire tear gas at impeachment protesters

Police fired tear gas late Monday to disperse demonstrators who lit fires in the street of Sao Paulo to protest the looming impeachment of suspended president Dilma Rousseff.

Riot police and trucks dispersed several thousand protesters on the main Paulista avenue in the center of the country's economic capital.

In Pictures: Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner

Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, announced Monday she will be separating from her husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., following another sexting scandal.

Huma Abedin says she's leaving Anthony Weiner after new sexting scandal

Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, announced Monday she will be separating from her husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., following another sexting scandal.

"After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband. Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for

2 elected officials own firm involved in fatal bus crash

NEW ORLEANS — A company owned by a parish constable and an Arkansas state representative hired a bus full of illegal workers that caused a fatal accident on Interstate 10, and one of the workers with a particularly bad driving record was at the wheel.

WRS, an Arkansas company registered to three men — including Eddie Schmidt, the elected Ward 4 constable for St. Tammany Parish; and David Wallace, a state legislator from Leachville, Ark. — had a man round up potential workers. Wallace told The New Orleans Advocate that WRS hired a bus to take the work crew to a commercial job site in the Baton Rouge, La., area.

S.Korean newspaper : North Korea publicly executes two officials

North Korea publicly executed two officials in early August for disobeying leader Kim Jong Un, a South Korean newspaper reported on Tuesday, in what would be the latest in a series of high-level purges under the young leader's rule, if

Government urges unemployed Nigerians to register before August 31

                                      Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has called on unemployed Nigerians to register at the online job portal: Npower.ng.org of the Social Intervention Scheme.

Ngige’s call was contained in a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Press, Samuel Olowookere, in the ministry on Sunday in Abuja.

Okogie writes Buhari, says Nigerians are hungry

Nation in search of peace, security, cleric affirms
Nigerians are hungry and they urgently need succour from President Muhammadu Buhari. They want him to fulfill his campaign promises by providing good leadership that will check hunger and poverty in the land. This was the

He married his love but is expected to die within weeks

 NASHVILLE — With just weeks to live, a terminally ill cancer patient got his dying wish: He married the love of his life.

Chris Ford and Nicole Wismer, 22, planned to wed in October, but doctors told the couple that Ford, 26, might not live that long.

"When the doctor told us, it was Nicole and I sitting in there, and Nicole just looked at Chris and said, 'You still want to marry me, don't you?' " recalled Amy Ford, Chris' mother.

Swinging general slipped past security screeners

Capt. John Landry, U.S. Army

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. David Haight of the 10th Mountain Division.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s failure to detect the extramarital affair and “swinger lifestyle” of a top general despite background checks that likely included polygraph tests exposes flaws in vetting those entrusted with the nation’s most sensitive national security secrets, according to experts and

Mikel, Musa, Ighalo, Moses arrive today, as Super Eagles’ camp opens in Uyo

The Super Eagles will begin their campaign for a ticket to Russia 2018 World Cup away to Zambia in October.
Super Eagles’ Captain, John Mikel Obi, Odion Ighalo, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses and other invited players for the 2018 Africa Nations Cup qualifier against Tanzania are expected to

We’ll deal with Niger Delta militants like Boko Haram -Buhari insists

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his vow that his administration will deal with Niger Delta militants like it has done to Boko Haram terrorists, unless they

What you need to know about Zika and pregnancy

partners have traveled recently. That conversation can determine whether women should be tested for Zika.

Q. If a girl or woman is infected with Zika today, will the virus harm a future pregnancy?

Anxiety as Lagos records over 17-hour downpour

There were palpable fears among residents in Lagos, on Sunday, as the city witnessed more than 17 hours of rainfall, that almost marred social and economic activities.

The rain, which started as drizzles around

Trump to Clinton: Show me your medical records and I'll show you mine

Tax returns? Nope. Health records? Sure.

Donald Trump called on Hillary Clinton to release "detailed medical records" in a tweet Sunday. The Republican nominee for president said he was willing to

FG ready to swap Boko Haram detainees with Chibok girls -Buhari

THE Federal Government is willing to swap Boko Haram detainees with Chibok girls abducted by the terrorist group as long as it was convinced that it was dealing with the right leaders of the group which has custody of the girls.

What Clinton's small-business plan says about her: She understands

 Hillary Clinton rolled out a plan for small businesses on Tuesday that seemed to say: I get your pain, and if you elect me, I'll make your life easier.

Her initiative shows she does her homework. Clinton's proposals aren’t going to make anyone swing from the rafters in

Angst as Nigerians feel pains of increasing hard times

These are not the best of times in Nigeria. Long before July 21, 2016, when the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, officially confirmed that the country was ‘technically in recession,’ it had been an arduous battle for survival for citizens, organizations and governments at all tiers.

The first half of the year was

Federal Government ready to negotiate release of Chibok girls, says Buhari

• Warns N’Delta militants risk being crushed
• Clark, Diette-Spiff divide agitators
• FG enlists 823 ex-fighters for amnesty in Imo
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday restated the readiness of his administration to dialogue with the Boko Haram sect for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls who are

Unable to afford a car, grieving Indian man carries wife's body for miles

Manjhi's 12-year-old daughter cries as her father lifts the body of his wife.

New Delhi, India (CNN) A grieving man in India carried his wife's body for miles after the hospital where she died allegedly failed to provide a way to transport her body back to

5 things you need to know this weekend

Italian Towns Begin Burying Their Dead

Since this week's earthquake left no structures intact large enough to

Team Nigeria was programmed to fail in Rio

Nigeria’s Efe Ajagba (R) is punched by Kazakhstan’s Ivan Dychko during the Men’s Light Welter (64kg) Quarterfinal 4 match at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Riocentro – Pavilion 6 in Rio de Janeiro on August 16, 2016. 

After Nigeria’s defeat by Germany in the semifinal of the football event of the just concluded Rio 2016 Olympics and it became obvious that the country might not win more than a bronze medal at the competition, Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, proclaimed that

Rousseff allies fight impeachment in Brazil turmoil

Angry quarrels erupted at suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment trial Friday, while her key ally, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, faced corruption charges on a day of turmoil for

North Korea submarine missiles not ready until 2018

North Korea is making progress on a submarine-launched ballistic missile system but any deployment of the technology is years away, a US

Pictures of Lagos State Maryland Mall (Inside View)

First and second floor view of maryland mall ...

Exclusive: U.S. pilots provide first account of tense Syrian jet encounter

A MILITARY BASE IN SOUTHWEST ASIA — Two American fighter pilots who intercepted Syrian combat jets over northern Syria last week said they came within 2,000 feet of the planes without