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There's no question about it -  Rihanna  is smoking hot. So when she recieved an award for "most desirable" at the 2014 Guys Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, we were hardly surprised.  Rex Features What DID surprise some the crowd at the awards, was that after her near-naked dress at the CFDAs, Rihanna toned it down in a simple black slip dress. OBVIOUSLY she still had sex appeal in spades - she's Rihanna, after all. But some attendees, like actor and comedian Kevin Hart, were clearly disappointed, and yelled out: "How many men are mad that she didn't come naked?!" 

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, has said no officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces is being tried on allegations of providing information and arms to the Boko Haram terrorists. In an exclusive interview yesterday aired by ARISE Television, a THISDAY sister company, Badeh said reports that some generals and other officers were being tried for providing arms and information to the Boko Haram were not true. “I was with the Chief of Army Staff this morning and I asked him if what I had read today in the papers was true and he said he did not know where they got the story from,” he said, adding, “No general is being tried.” Badeh was reiterating the statement issued by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), which had denied the news report published last week that 10 generals and other officers in the Nigerian Army were being court martialled for divulging intelligence to Boko Haram terrorists.

Two suspected Boko Haram militants have been killed in a botched attack on a town in Cameroon’s far north. They were killed by local security forces, who repelled the Boko Haram attack on Saturday. Nigeria had accused Cameroon of not doing enough to tackle Boko Haram, which grabbed global attention in April following the abduction of more than 200 girls from a school in Chibok, Borno State. The sect has also killed hundreds in the northeast since then. Cameroon recently deployed 1 000 troops to far north and the attack in the Mayo Tsanaga Division in the Far North Region is the latest in a series of clashes between its security forces and Boko Haram. The Cameroon government’s spokesperson, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, said a raid was carried out early on Saturday morning by 50 well-armed gunmen believed to be members of Boko Haram. “Our defence and security forces fought back immediately. [They] killed two of the assailants, seized one of their vehicles and a Kalashnikov war weap...

The Libyan Supreme Court has ruled that the election of Ahmed Maiteg as prime minister by parliament last month was unconstitutional. A government spokesman said this was a "final ruling" and all parties must comply with it. Since the vote in May, Libya has had two prime ministers as Abdullah al-Thani has not ceded power, says the BBC's Rana Jawad says in Tripoli. Three years after Muammar Gaddafi was ousted Libya remains engulfed by chaos. Politicians are divided between various Islamist groups and liberals, while rival militias run different parts of the country. Mr Maiteg, a 42-year-old businessman from Misrata, is not an Islamist but was elected with the support of Islamist blocs, our correspondent says. She says there have been fears of an armed confrontation between supporters of the two prime ministers and the court's ruling does not end this possibility.

Jennifer Lopez was also absent from the January event where Pitbull and Leitte unveiled plans for the song Jennifer Lopez has pulled out of performing the official World Cup song at the tournament's opening ceremony in Brazil, Fifa has announced. Officials said the singer could not attend Thursday's show because of unspecified "production issues". Lopez was due to perform alongside rapper Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, with whom she has recorded the song  We Are One (Ole Ola) . Pitball and Leitte will go ahead and perform accompanied by drummers Olodum. "For production issues, Jennifer Lopez, one of the artists of the official song We Are One, will not be able to perform at the Fifa World Cup opening ceremony," said a statement. The 25-minute ceremony in Sao Paulo will feature 600 artists, including acrobatic gymnasts, trampolinists, martial arts-style performers and stilt walkers.

Nigerian artists, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Flavour and video director Clarence Peters, won six MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) out of the 18 categories available, at a ceremony held at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Durban over the weekend. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Davido received two of the biggest awards of the night: Artist of the Year and Best Male Artist of the Year.’ Clarence Peters also won two awards Transform Today by Absolut and Best Video of the Year for directing the video of Burna Boy’s song; Run My Race. Tiwa Savage got the Best Female Artist of the Year’, while Flavour received the award of the Best Live Act. South African group Mafikizolo won the “Best Group’’ and “Best Song of the Year’’.

Rafael Nadal saw off the threat of Novak Djokovic for another year to win his ninth French Open title and a record fifth in succession. The Spaniard, 28, coped better in hot conditions as he won 3-6; 7-5; 6-2; 6-4 in three hours and 31 minutes. Nadal is the first man ever to win a major title nine times, taking his Grand Slam total to 14. The victory also means he will remain world number one ahead of Djokovic

The national under-17 male football team have arrived in Calabar, Cross River state for their closed door camping ahead of the African U-17 Championship qualifier. A statement by the team’s Media Officer, Morakinyo Abodunrin, in Abuja yesterday said the players and officials were gradually settling down at their Princeville Hotel Camp as the team prepare to meet the winners of the first round tie between Congo DR and Burundi in July. The statement quoted the team’s captain, Kelechi Nwakali, as saying the team’s players are ready to work hard ahead of their matches in the qualifying competition.

Coach Stephen Keshi confirmed that the 26-year-old Monaco player who limped out of Nigeria's 0-0 friendly draw against Greece shortly before half-time, underwent a scan where the injury was diagnosed by Doctors as a muscle tear, which is expected to keep him out for up to three weeks. Coach Keshi noted that he will be replaced in the squad by Enugu Rangers winger, Ejike Uzoenyi. Meanwhile, the Super Eagles lost their final friendly match against the USA, by 2goals to 1. A late minute victor Moses penalty was the consolation after a brace by Sunderland striker, Jozy Altidore, helped the US team maintain 3 straight friendly wins.

A fund-raising drive has been launched by relatives of some passengers on the missing Malaysian plane to seek information on flight MH370. The campaign, spearheaded by an Australian businessman, aims to raise at least $5m (£2.9m) "to encourage a whistleblower to come forward". Using satellite data, officials have concluded that the airliner, Flight MH370, which had 239 people on board, ended its journey in the Indian Ocean, on March 8, 2013 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There is no explanation for the plane's disappearance

Video:  The terminal targeted by the fighters is used for VIPs and cargo Enlarge Troops are rushed into Karachi International airport after an attack by 10 gunmen disguised as police guards. 1 of 10 Police help an injured colleague onto an ambulance. The militants were armed with automatic weapons, a rocket launcher and grenades. 2 of 10 As authorities scrambled to secure the area, heavy gunfire and multiple explosions could be heard coming from the terminal. 3 of 10 Police show some of the weapons seized from the gunmen. 4 of 10 Airport staff are ushered out of the terminal building. 5 of 10 Scroll through for more images from Karachi International airport. 6 of 10 7 of 10 8 of 10 9 of 10 10 of 10 Gallery:  Gunmen Attack Karachi Airport Enlarge At least 23 people have been killed after gunmen disguised as police guards attacked a terminal at Pakistan's Jinnah international airport in Karac...

South Africa’s government has said President Jacob Zuma has been discharged from hospital yesterday evening but will now rest for a few days, working mainly from home during the rest period. Minister Jeff Radebe thanked the public for the messages of support and good wishes in a statement, clarifying that Presdient Zuma, undergoes two major medical examinations per annum, the first one in January and the second in June. Zuma was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on Saturday with instructions to rest following a demanding election and transition to a new administration, the Presidency said at the time.

Claims by the leadership of the Lagos State University Students’ Union that the fee regime introduced in 2011 has led to a high rate of drop outs due to inability to pay were at the weekend debunked by the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor John Obafunwa. The Students Union through its President, Mr. Yusuf Temilola Nurudeen, rolled out facts and figures, which put the number of the students who dropped out from the institution since the new tuition regime was introduced three years ago at over 1,000. Professor Obafunwa, who spoke at a media interaction with Senior Journalists, noted that there was no truth in the claims as investigations by the authorities of the University revealed that majority of the students who dropped out did so because they did not meet the appropriate CGP of the school, some others had actually collected bursary and scholarship and either dropped out or still did not pay, while others were not even students of the institution. Noting that the problem...

Lagos State government has said henceforth, admission of pupil into its public secondary schools will be through a placement examination to be conducted throughout the state. Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, who disclosed this at an interactive session with parents, teachers and other stakeholders in the education sector, explained that pupils were expected to obtain 50 percent average scores in English and Mathematics in addition to 50 percent cumulative scores in the examinations before they could be considered for admission into public secondary schools. Already, the government has set Saturday, July 5 for the placement test across 300 centers in the state, for admission into the state public secondary schools for the 2014/15 academic session.

The National Boundary Commission (NBC) has cleared the air over an alleged plot to cede some Nigerian communities to the Republic of Cameroon. Contained in a statement issued at the weekend by the NBC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mrs. P.A.O. Baker, the Commission had instead embarked on pillar reconstruction along the Nigeria-Cameroon border in Taraba, Cross River and Benue states. It said neither the current nor previous pillar reconstruction exercise undertaken by the Cameroon-Nigeria joint Commission had the effect of ceding any territory to another nation, adding that the clarification became necessary following complaints by Biajua and Danare communities in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River over alleged ceding of Nigerian villages to Cameroon, and urged the communities to avoid uninformed and inflammatory statements on the matter

The Presidency yesterday also clarified that there was no iota of truth in the news making the rounds that the Federal Government was planning to name the University of Ibadan after a former Minister of Information and Communications, late Professor Dora Akunyili. Akunyili who was also a former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control died in an Indian hospital at the weekend where she had gone to receive medical treatment for a cancer-related illness. Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Reuben Abati, urged members of the public to ignore what he described as fake news, in a message posted on his Twitter handle.  However, as sad reactions continue to trail the death of Professor Dora Nkem Akunyili, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday described her death as a deadly blow to the nation.

The Presidency said yesterday that the clampdown on the print media by soldiers is in order. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, who ascribed the move as a measure to tackle security challenges in the country, however claimed that President Goodluck Jonathan has no hand in the continuing assault on the print because as he said, the soldiers’ action runs contrary to the president’s political belief. Okupe clarified as untrue, news reports suggesting that President Jonathan might have ordered that the media and its activities be suppressed, adding that the exercise would be relaxed as soon as there is “significant reduction in the level of security alert.” News reports said the Nigerian army (including officers in plain-clothes) continued their assault on the print media for the third day running yesterday, detaining delivery vans, confiscating newspaper copies and questioning vendors across the country

  Former Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, has been named as the new emir of Kano in Nigeria. The new emir becomes the 57th one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the country's largely Muslim north. The previous emir, al-Haji Ado Bayero, died after a long illness at the age of 83 last Friday. Meanwhile, Protesters have stormed the palace of the Emir of Kano and have barricaded the entrance, including the road to Government House from the former Silver jubilee roundabout. Having also taken over major roads in the state, the protesting youths have compelled car owners and commuters to carry fresh tree leaves in solidarity to their protests. The state government has however deployed security personnel to the area to disperse the protesters. Security men had earlier stopped youths from entering the palace of the Emir of Kano after the government announced Lamido Sanusi as new emir.