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Convicted murderer and former NFL star Aaron Hernandez was found hanged in his Massachusetts prison cell Wednesday morning, just days after his acquittal in a double murder case. The 27-year-old former tight end for the New England Patriots hanged himself with a bedsheet attached to a window in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, the Massachusetts Department of Correction said. His body was discovered at 3:05 a.m. "Lifesaving techniques were attempted on Mr. Hernandez, and he was transported to UMass Leominster, where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m.," the correction department's statement reads. Hernandez was visibly emotional when the verdicts were read, embracing his attorneys. "You could tell that he was relieved as well," Ronald Sullivan Jr., his defense attorney, said after the verdict. "He was charged for something somebody else did, and that is a weighty burden for anyone to shoulder." Despite the acquitt...

There was a mild drama at the Presidential Villa, Abuja yesterday following the announcement by President Muhammadu Buhari suspending the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal and the Director General (DG) of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke. A statement by the presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, said both officials remained suspended until they were fully investigated. Lawal is being probed over allegations of an award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE). Oke, on the other hand, is facing scrutiny for his agency’s role in the $43 million and other local currencies found in an Ikoyi, Lagos apartment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). By the suspension of these officials, the government seems to have affirmed its commitment to its anti-corruption agenda. But how the matter is finally resolved will determine the strength of the resolve of the government to beam t...

At least two people were killed Wednesday when violent clashes marred what opposition leaders in Venezuela had billed as a massive march on a national holiday commemorating the start of the troubled country's independence struggle against Spain. Hours after the start of competing marches by the opposition as well as supporters of embattled President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's public ministry said it had launched an investigation into the shooting of a 17-year-old man who was struck in the head an hour into the march in Caracas. The teenager, later identified as Carlos Moreno, died while undergoing surgery, a hospital representative told CNN. Moreno's sister, Alejandra, said Carlos studied economics at Venezuelan Central University in Caracas. Instead of joining the marches, she said, he was on the way to play soccer. The ministry later said it was also investigating the Wednesday afternoon shooting death of Paola Andreina Ramírez Gómez, 23, in plaza San Carlos in Sa...

Ferrari knew the strategy they were going with and they stuck to it and it put all the pressure on Mercedes. I am sure Hamilton will look at the fact there were a whole six seconds between Vettel and himself but the reality is Sebastian was the fastest man out there today. It was an emphatic victory today from Ferrari.Now seven(7) clear off the championship table congratulation Vettel.

Cameroonian football star, Samuel Eto’o is currently in Nigeria, and he just visited Peter Okoye, who is also his very good friend at his Banana Island Mansion in Ikoyi, Lagos. The singer, who was happy that his friend came around, took to Instagram to write; “Guess who came thru?” the singer captioned one of the photos with the footballer, and in another, added, “At home With @setoo9.” The duo have maintained an enviable friendship over time. In 2016, Peter Okoye went on a promotional tour in Europe with the world class footballer and shortly after, reports surfaced that the duo were working on Okoye’s football club. whatever worth doing, it is worth doing well. #ThatsMajor

Lagos, Nigeria-Images of a Nigerian government official cutting hair extensions off two female employees have sparked strong reactions online. Andrew Kumapayi, the sector commander for the Nigerian Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Rivers State, Nigeria, was reportedly performing a routine inspection of officers' hair and nails on Monday. Two women reportedly were judged to have non-compliant hairstyles. Images of Kumapayi cutting off the extensions with a pair of scissors were posted on the FRSC Rivers State Facebook Page. These have now been deleted, but not before people online got hold of them -- and shared them on several social media sites, including Twitter. Some say the punishment will send a message to other employees.

The Edo State Governorship Election Petitions tribunal has overruled the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, challenging the declaration of Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress as winner of the September 28 poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission. In a two-hour ruling read by the Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Ahmed Badamasi, it upheld the election of Obaseki as Governor of the state.

- Attacks Jonathan, Rivers gov over failed PDP peace parley - In defiance sets ball rolling for convention - National chairman is an APC mole, gov insists Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayodele Fayose, of recruiting former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, into a ‘fake” peace effort predetermined to scuttle Governor Seriake Dickson’s peace committee plan. The faction also accused Wike of funding the botched peace meeting with N50 million while at the same time bankrolling the appeal being pursued by the National Caretaker Committee at the Supreme Court at the cost $6 million. Addressing journalists on Thursday in Abuja on the latest position of the Sheriff-led National Working Committee (NWC) on the crisis, his deputy, Cairo Oj...

- Gives FG 7-day ultimatum to return money allegedly diverted by ex-governor - Amaechi: Wike is a child, he talks without evidence Governor, Nyesom Wike yesterday said that the $43 million found in a luxury apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos belongs to the Rivers State Government and gave the federal government a 7-day ultimatum to return it, “failing which Rivers State Government will take legal measures to ensure that it gets back her stolen resources.” Addressing journalists at the Government House, Port Harcourt last night, he said that investigations by his administration revealed that the money was proceed from the sale of gas turbines by the immediate past governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi. But Amaechi told THISDAY last night that Wike’s allegations were frivolous and lacked any evidence. Wike said: “The money in question belongs to the former Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. We want to confirm that the house in Ikoyi also belongs to Chibuike Rotim...

Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari must stand for re-election in 2019 in the best interest of the country, one of his allies and governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has said. Sworn in as the country's leader less than two years ago after ousting the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan at the polls, Buhari was heralded into the office like a messiah of a sort. His campaign promises included stamping out corruption through and ushering in a new democratic era free from bitter partisanship. A biting economic recession accompanied by rising cost of living and a not-so-successful war on graft have, however, watered down his popularity among the people who now see his change agenda as only a tired campaign slogan. Those problems and his ill-health and notwithstanding, El-Rufai said Buhari has done well enough to be given a second term. "My prayer is that the president gets well...gets back to full health and run again because I still believe his being president...the stability th...

ISIS claimed responsibility for deadly bombings at two churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday.

Nigeria's secret service says it foiled a planned attack by Boko Haram militants on the US and UK embassies in the country's capital, Abuja. Six ISIS-linked Boko Haram members were arrested for the planned attack last month, the Department of State Services (DSS) said "The group had perfected plans to attack the UK and American Embassies and other western interests in Abuja," DSS official Tony Opuiyo said in a statement. The men were arrested March 25 and 26 in Abuja and central Benue state, Opuiyo added. Another man was previously arrested, on March 22, in north-eastern Yobe state, the DSS said. That man confessed to being part of the group, officials said. In 2011, Boko Haram killed at least 21 people in a car bomb explosion at the UN headquarters in Abuja. A UK Foreign office spokeswoman said the UK is "grateful for the support we receive from the Nigerian security authorities in protecting UK diplomatic staff and premises in Nigeria." "We...

Uefa has charged Lyon and Besiktas for multiple offences during Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first leg. The fixture at Parc Olympique Lyonnais kicked off 45 minutes late after clashes between fans before kick-off. Lyon face four charges for the setting-off of fireworks, blocking stairways, insufficient organisation and a pitch invasion after a late winning goal. The Turkish club have been charged for setting off fireworks, the throwing of objects and crowd disturbances. European football's governing body has not yet set a date for a hearing, at which its ethics and disciplinary body will determine any punishments. Lyon's charge for insufficient organisation relates to poor crowd segregation, while the pitch invasion charge brought against the club is not for fans entering the pitch before kick-off, which Uefa says happened because Besiktas fans threw fireworks. Violent clashes between fans at one end of the stadium followed the throwing of fireworks...

North Korea put its military might on display during a parade in the heart of Pyongyang while the regime showed off some of its latest arsenal. Pictures on state television showed thousands of soldiers marching in formation alongside tanks, balloons and enormous crowds. Leader Kim Jong Un was shown clapping and smiling from a reviewing box. At one point, the soldiers directed a chant toward him. "We saw a submarine launch ballistic missiles, we saw missiles that are capable of being launched from a mobile launcher and just seconds before we came on the air we saw these very large what are believed to be intercontinental ballistic missiles," as jets tracked colors of the North Korean flag in the sky during the parade. In a live broadcast, a newsreader from North Korea's state-run television service called the new military hardware the country's "modernized strategic missiles." "No nation in the world develops missiles and shows the real thing during...

The United States on Thursday dropped the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in its military arsenal for the first time in history. But President Donald Trump declined to say whether he personally signed off on the use of the GBU-43/B MOAB, also known as the "mother of all bombs," in a strike on ISIS militants in Afghanistan. "Everybody knows exactly what happens. So, what I do is I authorize our military," Trump said when asked whether he authorized the strike. "We have given them total authorization and that's what they're doing." Sources said Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, signed off on the use of the bomb. The White House was informed of the plan before the MC-130 aircraft delivered its 21,600-pound payload. Trump has given military commanders broader latitude to act independently on several battlefields where US forces are involved, which Trump touted as making a "tremendous difference" in the fight agai...

Lagos State Police Command on Thursday confirmed the killing of three of its men and two community leaders by unidentified gunmen at Oko-Asagun village in Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the gunmen also abducted four staff of two Telecommunication companies. Lagos Police Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, who confirmed the incident, said the policemen killed, were taken by surprise. He said the command was after the suspected gunmen, assuring that measures would be taken to ensure the release of those held captive NAN gathered that the gunmen had stormed the place from Ode-Omi creek, a border town between Lagos and Ogun States, to commit the crime. An eyewitness, Jude Ajagun, said those abducted were staff of TYDACOM Limited and Erickson Limited. “We were working in a site being developed by one Onoside ,who contracted us. “While on duty, we started hearing sporadic gunshots and...

He's crossed the finish line first in more F1 races than anyone apart from Michael Schumacher, but Lewis Hamilton hasn't always had a need for speed. Before making his name as one of the best racing drivers ever, the Mercedes man was behind the wheel of a more everyday vehicle. "It was a Mini!" laughs Hamilton, recalling his first ever car. "Actually my mum's was the first I drove, and then I got one." "It was second-hand but it was really in great condition." Hamilton's Mini might have not have clocked the top speeds of F1's sleek, aerodynamic machines, but that's not to say that made it any less enjoyable to drive. After his father Anthony helped him buy the Mini, Hamilton remembers it being "just the greatest thing," singling out "that freedom to go around and do things" his first car offered.Not that the youngster didn't abide by the rules of the highway code. "You know, I thought I knew eve...

Paul Walker's untimely death forced the "Fast & Furious" franchise into a rare moment of sobriety, an interlude that hits the brakes with "The Fate of the Furious." Yet even more free-spirited mayhem doesn't rev up the eighth installment in this hugely lucrative series, specializing in fast cars and artfully blowing stuff up. At this point, shuffling alliances and adding a few big-name actors (principally Charlize Theron, here as a Bond-esque cyber-villain known as Cipher) is about all that can be done to distinguish one outing from the next, which doesn't prevent the movie from feeling mechanical, and -- at well over two hours -- a little bloated. With nuclear weapons in the mix, nobody can accuse this latest adventure of playing for small stakes. Still, "Fate of the Furious" (which eschews designating its sequel status numerically, other than its Twitter hashtag) only sporadically sparks to life, with the best recurring bit involv...

A mother told a court that she had been left so traumatised after a male nurse raped her three-year-old daughter that she is unable to undress or bathe her. “The rape of my three year old daughter had affected every aspect of my life and I am convinced it will affect me for the rest of my life too. “Prior to this I had a fantastic and close relationship with my daughter. “After finding out about the rape I could not even bear to look at her or be with her for a few days afterwards. “I love my baby unconditionally, however I cannot bear to dress or undress her or bath her and ask her to these things herself. “I feel completely paranoid that anything I do such as touching her when she is N@kkd will be viewed as inappropriate. “It feels like all the innocence that she once had has now been lost. “I cannot take pictures of her anymore and do not want to be in pictures with her. “I am really worried that every time a mobile phone or camera is pointed at her it will stir up memories w...