Gist of The Hour Blog

Effective from Thursday, August 29th this year, the United States Embassy in Nigeria says Nigerians applying for tourism, student and business visas will pay an extra $110 (N40, 700) to collect their visa if granted. This is apart from the fee for the N59, 200 visa applicatuon. According to a declaration issued today by the Embassy on 27 August, candidates requesting the L1 Visa (job permit) will pay an additional N112, 100 if offered visas while those applying for H4 Visa (dependency / spousal) will pay an additional N66, 600. For Nigerians, the US Embassy has embraced the N370/$1 rate that is greater than both the official rate and the black market rate. The Embassy claims the reciprocity-based increase was made. It lamented that Americans wishing to enter Nigeria were being requested by the Nigerian government to pay exorbitant VISA charges and they took the choice to raise theirs after all attempts to make the federal government decrease the fee proved abortive.

On the first night of the US Open, Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova to win the first round. The 37-year-old American with 23 significant singles titles took only 58 minutes to humble Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 in the U.S. Open first-round game at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night (August 26) After the game, Serena Williams, who lost to Naomi Osaka at the same Stadium in the 2018 U.S. Open final, addressed the audience in her interview with ESPN. Thank you for helping me, "she said." I said it once, but here I have had a lot of hard games and a lot of hard losses, but coming out tonight makes it all worth it. "Sharapova, 32, who this year was plagued by accidents, said:" This is a very distinct chapter in my life. It was never. But about four months ago I came through a shoulder operation. It's a fairly large deal to discover myself playing at a U.S. Open night game with individuals excited about the matchup. I'm luck

Nigerian female athlete, Blessing Okagbare was disqualified at the 12th African Games in Rabat after a false start in the 100-meter women's semi-finals heat 1. She was disqualified at the starting block to beat the weapon. It was an enormous deception for the hopeful Nigerian medal who had won heat 3 of the first round of the event with a moment of 11.53 seconds earlier in the day.  Okagbare was already looking forward to the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex finals on Tuesday before the incident. “This is disappointing. I was already looking forward to appearing in the final, but this is disappointing. I know my fans are disappointed and if you know me, you know i don’t just show up. I show up and i am also there. Today didn’t go as planned but, lesson learned and gratitude given to God for my journey so far.Sometimes the blessing is not always about what’s given but what He takes away” she said.  The heat was won by Marie Ta Lou o

A judge discovered Johnson & Johnson liable for fueling the opioid crisis in Oklahoma on Monday, August 26th, and ordered the healthcare business to pay $572 million to remedy the destruction inflicted on the country and its inhabitants by the outbreak.  The landmark decision of Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman is the first to hold a drugmaker guilty of the failure of years of liberal opioid dispensation that started in the early 1990s, sparking a nationwide epidemic of death and addiction overdose. Since 1999, over 400,000 individuals have been killed by overdoses of painkillers, heroin and illegal fentanyl. “The opioid crisis has ravaged the state of Oklahoma and must be abated immediately. As a matter of law, I find that defendants’ actions caused harm, and those harms are the kinds recognized by [state law] because those actions annoyed, injured or endangered the comfort, repose, health or safety of Oklahomans,” Balkman wrote in the decisio

IPOB members were found in Japan awaiting the arrival of President Buhari to attend the 7th International African Development Conference in Tokyo. Yesterday evening, 25 August, President Buhari left Abuja for Japan. Remember that IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu gave his Japanese members a directive to disgrace President Buhari just as their counterparts in Germany disgraced former senate vice president Ike Ekweremadu on 17 August.  See the following pictures of IPOB members in Japan below.

Forbes ' 2019 ranking of the world's highest-paid music women is out, and Taylor Swift has secured the top place The "Me!""After earning a whopping $185 million pretax over the past year, singer takes the top spot on Forbes ' list, putting her ahead of runner-up Beyoncé and Rihanna. Most of the income from Swift came from her Reputation Stadium tour, according to People. The tour, running around the world from May to November 2018, earned a $266 million U.S. record and was probably her most successful to date tour. Runner-up Beyoncé's $81 million comes mostly from last year's On The Run II stadium tour, along with her live album and Netflix movie, both called Homecoming. Rihanna's $62 million in third on the list. Most of her latest income come from Fenty Beauty, which she introduced in 2017 is the popular cosmetics line. See all the highest-paid females of this year in music below: 1. Taylor Swift - $185 million 2. Be

Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as the Shi'ites, arrived in India for medical treatment with his wife Zeenah. The pair left Nigeria on an Emirates flight last night. A team of medical staff got them at India's airport. See more pictures below

Wesley Sneijder, a Dutch footballer, has retired from football, calling time for his distinguished 17-year career. The 35-year-old who, among others, enjoyed spells at Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Galatasaray has been playing for Al-Gharafa in Qatar most lately. Sneijder, who in his prime was considered one of the world's best-attacking midfielders, began his career at Ajax in the summer of 2007 before earning a move to Real Madrid. During his two seasons in Spain, the Dutchman contributed 11 goals and 11 assists in 66 appearances, winning a La Liga title before leaving for Inter Milan after Cristiano Ronaldo's signing. SNEIJDER'S CAREER  Ajax (02-07) 180 games, 58 goals, 45 assists Real Madrid (07-09) 66 games, 11 goals, 11 assists Inter Milan (09-13) 116 games, 22 goals, 35 assists  Galatasaray (13-17) 175 games, 45 goals, 44 assists Nice (17-18) 8 games, 1 assist  Al Gharafa (18-19) 27 games, 16 goals, 6 assists

A guy went on a knife rampage in Sydney, Australia, screaming "Allahu Akbar" and he ended up injuring at least one individual before firefighters pinned him down. The guy supposedly screamed "Allahu Akbar" and "shoot me" during the incident, armed with a foot-long knife. Witnesses, including axis-armed firefighters, hunted the blood-covered guy through the business district of the city before pinning him to the floor. Nearby people used a chair from a nearby cafe and a milk crate to pin the guy to the ground. Police then quickly took him into custody. The injured woman was hurried to the hospital immediately.  People were urged to avoid the area around King and Clarence Streets in the heart of the central business district (CBD) while investigations were being carried out by police. At about 2 pm local time, close Wynard Station, the supposed attack took place just as individuals were completing

Abacha, a notorious armed robber and kidnapper who has been terrorizing Rivers State inhabitants for many years, was murdered by Rivers State Police command men during a shooting in Rumuakunde on Wednesday, August 7, in the state's Emohua local government area. The state police command Public Relations officer, Nnamdi Omoni, parading the deceased's corpse to newsmen, said Abacha was the leader of an armed robbery gang and has long been on the police's wanted list. Arms and ammunition as well as some police uniforms have been retrieved from the hideout of the gang, according to Omoni. ‘’The security team in collaboration with local vigilantes, raided a criminal camp at Rumuakunde, Emohua Local Government Area, where a gang terrorising the East-West Road was hibernating. They stormed the camp and on sighting the police, the hoodlums engaged the police officers in a gun battle. In the course of the gunfire, we were able to shoot one de

A bandit attack at a district head residence in Sokoto State left one individual dead and another abducted as verified by the police.  The Sokoto State Police Command disclosed that it had detained one Maude Salisu and also recognized the murdered guard of the palace as Usman Muhammadu. Police commissioner Ibrahim Kaoje from the state informed newsmen; “Armed men numbering about seven invaded the residence of the District Head of Gidan Bubu village in Wamakko LGA Sokoto, one Alhaji Muhammadu Gidado, shooting sporadically. “They kidnapped Alhaji Sani Ardo, the younger brother of the district head; his wife, Hauwa’u Sani and one other were beaten and they dispossessed her of her Tecno GSM handset.”  Mr Kaoje revealed that the brother of the kidnapped district head was released after paying the bandits an N3 m ransom. “During the course of investigation one Maude Salisu was arrested and the Tecno GSM handset belonging to Hauwa’u Sani with the sum of

In a six-year agreement, Manchester City finished the signing of Juventus ' Portuguese midfielder, Joao Cancelo, 25. Juve was paid £ 26 m by the Premier League club plus Danilo, valued at £ 34 m. As part of the swap agreement, the Brazilian defender will now migrate to Juventus. On Wednesday night after the agreement was confirmed, Cancelo said:' City is a wonderful club with a wonderful manager and I'm happy to be here. Everything about them impressed me with their playing style, from the equipment. I'm always looking forward to developing my game and winning awards and I think I can do that here, so now I'm really looking forward to the new season and testing myself in the Premier League.' Txiki Begiristain, City's football manager added:' Joao is a good player and a great full-back attacker who will give us a true danger on the right side. His advancement has impressed us and there is no doubt that he can continue to shin

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), revealed that a trip she made to the Indonesian prison a few years ago revealed that out of the 21 Nigerian drug peddlers on death roll, 20 were from the Anambra state, while the rest were from the Edo state. In a recent interview with The Cable, Dabiri-Erewa revealed this. She observed that the committee is working to raise awareness of the ills of drug trafficking, especially reminding Nigerians that death awaits them in some nations if they venture into drug trafficking as they collect their passports. She answered a query as to whether the commission offers advice to Nigerians detained for drug trafficking just like some other nations. The commission is planning that. So, with the commission on board, we are going to take it embassy by embassy. For example, if you are going to Indonesia and you carry drugs, you are dying. There is no debate. We went to Indonesia prison some

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has detained a serving member of the North American University youth corps, Ademola Babajide Adeniyi, and Onabuke Adedokun Kenny, for suspected Internet fraud. An antigraft agency declaration claims the suspects were detained on 30 July at Novojo Estate, Sangotedo Ajah, Lagos, during an EFCC operatives raid. Adeniyi said he gathered six iphone 8 and 4 Apple laptops from his unsuspecting victims, selling them for over N1 million, according to the declaration. At the stage of arrest, items discovered on the suspects include laptops, scam emails, photos of some female victims, phones and a 2015 Honda Accord vehicle. A suspected member of an internet fraudster syndicate, Oriyomi Adeoye, in Lagos, has been detained in a associated growth by EFCC operatives, Lagos Zonal office. On 26 July 2019 at Flanky Berry, Novojo Estate, Sangotedo Ajah, Lagos, Adeoye was detained for his supposed partic