Rivers lawmaker implicated in recent murder

The member representing Omuma Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Kelechi Nworgu has been implicated in the murder of one John Nwala.

John, who is on the wanted list of the Rivers state government,and Stream Nwafor were earlier reported to have been killed last weekend in Omuma by men of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, AKU.

However, a sibling of the deceased, Linus Nwala told newsmen that his brother was not killed by officials of the AKU as reported.

He acknowledged that his brother’s name was in the list of wanted persons by the state government but claimed that this was done out of hatred and as a result of his brother’s membership of a rival political party.

Linus accused the sitting lawmaker, Kelechi Nworgu of playing a role in the killing of his brother, adding that the Police was not aware of any operation in Omuma.

According to him, “My brother is not a criminal. He is not a kidnapper. They killed him because he has been having problems with Kelechi because of the role he played during the 2015 elections.

“They have been after him since then. Kelechi was the one who submitted his name as a wanted person. Those who saw where my brother was killed said they saw the leader of Kelechi’s security.”

Meanwhile, the lawmaker is yet to respond to calls put across to his phone line.

When contacted, spokesman of the Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni said the command was yet to be briefed about any operation by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Omuma.

I almost died giving birth - Williams

Former world number one Serena Williams said she almost died giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr in September.

The American, 36, made her competitive return earlier in February when she teamed up with sister Venus for the United States in the Fed Cup.

But the 23-time Grand Slam winner has revealed that giving birth "sparked a slew of health complications".

"I am lucky to have survived," she wrote in an article for CNN on Tuesday.

"My daughter was born by emergency C-section after her heart rate dropped dramatically during contractions. The surgery went smoothly.

"But what followed just 24 hours after giving birth were six days of uncertainty."

Williams, the most successful female player of the Open era, has previously said she was bedridden for six weeks after giving birth.

'I live in fear of this situation'

Williams' victory at the Australian Open in 2017 was her 23rd Grand Slam title, achieved while she was eight weeks pregnant.

The American is now just one shy of the all-time record held by Australian Margaret Court, but missed this year's Australian Open in January to give her more time to recover from the birth.

Speaking about the birth, Williams continued: "It began with a pulmonary embolism, which is a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot.

"Because of my medical history with this problem, I live in fear of this situation. So, when I fell short of breath, I didn't wait a second to alert the nurses.

"First my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism. I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large haematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen.

"When I finally made it home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of motherhood in bed."

Williams, who has not yet decided whether she will compete at this year's remaining three Grand Slams, has thanked the medical team for keeping her alive.

"I am so grateful I had access to such an incredible medical team of doctors and nurses at a hospital with state-of-the-art equipment.

"They knew exactly how to handle this complicated turn of events. If it weren't for their professional care, I wouldn't be here today."

Walmart shares fall 10% as online sales slow

Walmart shares suffered their biggest percentage fall for more than three decades on Tuesday after reporting disappointing online sales figures for the Christmas period.

Online sales were 23% higher in the three months to December.

However, that was less than half the growth recorded in the previous quarter and lower than in the same period of 2016.

Shares in the world's largest retailer fell just over 10% to $94.11.

The retailer said its online revenues totalled $11.5bn last year, but it lost money on those sales. Chief executive Doug McMillon said e-commerce losses would be "about the same" for 2018.

He told analysts the company was making progress in its efforts to compete with Amazon and other competitors.

"We're confident in our strategy to transform the company," Mr McMillon said. "It's really about providing more convenience to customers."

It plans to spend more on Walmart.com and cut back on marketing for its Jet.com site, which aimed at younger and better off shoppers. Walmart paid $3.3bn to buy Jet.com in 2016.

While sales at Walmart's US stores rose by a better than expected 2.6% in the fourth quarter, net profit sank 42% to $2.2bn (£1.6bn).

Asda, Walmart's UK supermarket, reported a 0.5% rise in like-for-like sales - its third consecutive quarter of sales growth.

Mr McMillon said he was encouraged by Asda's continued recovery, but said there was "more work to do".

Bryan Roberts, retail analyst at TCC Global, said the company "played a good game over Christmas", adding: "We've seen a marked improvement in service levels and sharper all-round availability."

Asda lost its place as the UK's second-biggest supermarket to Sainsbury's in late 2015 and the likes of German discounters Aldi and Lidl have also eaten into its market share.

Mr Roberts said the latest sales figures hinted at a return to form.

"In its heyday, Asda really appealed to younger families. Its supermarkets were fun places to be," he said.

"It's lost some of that spirit over the years, but its recent seasonal campaigns - such as at Christmas and Halloween - show it still has that capability in the locker. A focus on recapturing a year-round family appeal could catalyse its ongoing recovery."

Champions League: Why Manchester United cannot score six against Sevilla – Mourinho

Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has said his team will struggle to repeat convincing Champions League wins for Manchester City and Liverpool, when his team take on Sevilla today.

City won 4-0 against Basel in Switzerland and Liverpool beat Porto 5-0 in Portugal.

Both Premier League clubs are all but guaranteed their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.

But Mourinho thinks it will be a different story against Sevilla.

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s possible to score six goals here,” he said.

“Betis scored five, but I only see a club like Real Madrid or Barcelona with [Cristiano] Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi on their best days to come here and smash and score five or six goals.

“The game they had against Betis was special because it was the local derby. Normally Seville is a team that defends well.”

El-Rufai finally reacts to his ‘suspension’ by APC

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has described those who suspended him from the All Progressive Congress (APC) as “impostors”.

This was made known by his spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, when he appeared on Channels Television on Monday night.

When asked whether his principal stands suspended, Aruwan replied: “What I would want you to know is that His Excellency Governor Nasir El-Rufai is not suspended by APC in Kaduna state.

“And I also want you to know that in Kaduna there is only APC that is legally recognized by the national leadership and majority of the members on

“I want you to know that the man who declared El-Rufai suspended is an impostor and is not recognized by the national leadership of the party neither he is recognized by the leadership of the APC in Kaduna.

“Some people are not comfortable with the progress El-Rufai is making in the state and that is why they are bringing all kind of antics to distract the Tinubu-led committee that would be coming to Kaduna very soon, as part of the initiative to reconcile different interest groups across the country.

“I want you to know there are no factions of APC in Kaduna.”

Aruwan went on to display some documents backing his claim via Skype.

On Sunday, two factions of the party — the ‘Akida APC’ and the ‘Restoration APC’ — had, after a stakeholders’ meeting on Sunday, announced the suspension of the Governor for six months over what they described as “anti-party activities”.

Those who attended that meeting include an aspirant during the party’s governorship primaries in 2015, Isa Ashiru; Chief of Staff to Senate President, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed; owner of Kaduna-based Liberty FM radio, Dr. Tijjani Ramalan; Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani; and his counterpart from the Northern Senatorial District, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, among others.

Nigeria's child comedienne Emmanuella lands Disney role

Popular Nigerian child comedian Emmanuella Samuel has announced that she is to feature in a Walt Disney project.

The seven-year-old broke the news to her fans on her Instagram account, posting a picture of herself on set.

The comedian who has put smiles on the faces of millions of fans around the world, then went on to crack a joke about her costume.

She had posted on Saturday, “Thanks @disneystudios God bless everyone whose support has added to bringing us here. I never dreamed of being here so soon. I miss Success. I love you all.”

In her characteristic hilarious manner, Emmanuella also appeals to the officials in Disney’s costume department to “please package me well.”

It, however, appears that she doesn’t know the Disney character she will be playing yet, as she notes in the IG post, “Worris dis? What character am I playing today? Ngkbeke in America?”

Emmanuella stars as one of the characters in a hugely successful comedy channel on YouTube, Mark Angel Comedy.

Many congratulated her on social media, with Nigerians particularly calling the Disney project a stamp of approval that should silence all who doubted her talent.
In 2016, Emmanuella was awarded the Best New Comedienne and Princess of Comedy at the Afro-Australia Music and Movie Awards in Australia while Mark Angel Comedy won Best Sub-Saharan Channel at the YouTube Awards in 2017.

Drogba's teenage son signs for Guingamp

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba's 17-year-old son Isaac has joined Ligue 1 side Guingamp as part of their under-19 academy, the French team said on Monday. The teenager follows in his father's footsteps with Drogba making 50 appearances at Guingamp before his move to Marseilles and then Chelsea, where he scored 164 goals in 381 appearances for the Premier League club.

"Couldn't be more proud of you Isaac Drogba," the 39-year-old said on his verified Instagram account.

Didier Drogba won four league and FA Cup titles, one Champions League trophy and several individual honours during his nine seasons at Chelsea.