Serena Williams completed her French Open preparations by beating Victoria Azarenka to win the Italian Open - her fourth consecutive tournament victory. Williams, the world number one, powered to a 6-1 6-3 victory in Rome, extending her unbeaten run to 24 matches. The American, 31, will head to Paris as a strong favourite to win the title at Roland Garros for only the second time. Her victory at the Foro It ...

After winning adulation across Mali for a five month military offensive that crushed al Qaeda fighters, France is now frustrating some of its allies by pushing for a political settlement with a separate group of Tuareg rebels. A standoff over how to restore Malian government authority to Kidal, the last town in the desert north yet to be brought under central control, is sowing resentment with Paris and cou ...

Supporters of the hardline Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia clashed with Tunisian police on Sunday after the government banned its annual rally, saying it posed a threat to society. Ansar al-Sharia, which openly supports al Qaeda, is considered the most radical of the hardline Islamist groups to emerge in Tunisia since a 2011 revolution overthrew secular dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. The annual rally, exp ...

British Prime Minister David Cameron is "losing control of his party", Conservative Party grandee Geoffrey Howe said on Sunday, as a row raged over whether a close aide to Cameron had labeled grassroots activists "mad, swivel-eyed loons". The furor threatens to further alienate Cameron and his inner circle from the core of his party, with whom ties are already almost at breaking point. Differences with the ...

A Chinese trade delegation on a visit to Cross River state has made known its intention to open a truck manufacturing plant within Calabar Free Trade Zone. Leader of the group and Deputy Mayor of Chang Chun City, China; Mr. Gui Guangli, disclosed this to Governor of Cross River; Liyel Imoke, during a visit to his office in Calabar, the state capital. Guangli said the team had spent two days in the state exp ...

The Oyo state Governor; Abiola Ajimobi, has disclosed that state government is concluding arrangements on instituting an e-governance system and outsource some services in order to create a support system that would improve information-sharing across various areas for the citizens of the state. He made this known while formalising arrangements between an international solutions provider; Spanco BPO, during ...

Abia state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private firm under a Public Private Partnership to build and develop an industrial markets city-Abia International Industry City (ABIIC)-for traders and other business ventures that would be comparable to international standard. Governor Theodore Orji during the MOU signing at the Government House, Umuahia, said the desire to bring ...

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare on Saturday continued her impressive run in the IAAF Diamond League as she finished second in the Women’s 100m event with an impressive 11.00 seconds. Okagbare finished behind London Olympic champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, of Jamaica who also outran her arch-rival Carmelita Jeter again as she won the women’s 100m sprint with a new world leading time of 10.93 seconds to claim t ...

The Federal Ministry of Health has called on Nigerians and government at all levels to support efforts for the eradication of Guinea Worm in a bid to aid the certification of Nigeria as a Guinea Worm free country. This call was made by the national coordinator of the Nigeria Guinea Worm Eradication Programme, (NIGEP), Mrs Ifeoma Anagbogu  in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital at a sensitization programme on the d ...

Ahead of the forthcoming Anambra governorship election in November and the 2015 general elections, the leader of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh has set up a rebuilding and crisis review committee. Relying on his recent victory at the appellate court, Chief Umeh named a 20 man committee to rebuild the party. APGA has been enmeshed in a leadership crisis following the ruling of an E ...