FRESH 4RM GIM

  NNPC Towers Angry oil workers have shut down all offices and facilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in protest of Tuesday’s splitting of the state oil company by the federal government. There are fears of fresh fuel scarcity as a result of the protest. The government had announced the unbundling of the NNPC into seven independent units. Two major unions in the oil and gas sector had on Friday rejected the planned splitting.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a case of fundamental rights filed by the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olisa Metuh, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Mr. Metuh is facing a seven-count charge of corruption and money laundering, for illegally receiving and spending N400 million, being part of $2.1 billion arms money diverted by former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. Mr. Metuh had approached the court with an application seeking his release from detention, following his arrest in January.

Has violence against women increased since Tunisia's revolution?  Tunisia's revolution is seen by some as the only success story of the Arab Spring. But the BBC's Sally Nabil reports from the capital, Tunis, that five years on, life could be getting worse for one group - women. Avenue Habib Bourguiba, the main shopping street in central Tunis, is quite an eclectic scene. Some women are wearing mini-skirts and tight jeans, while others are fully covered with headscarves and long dresses. This diversity is rarely seen in other parts of the Arab world.

A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, in this handout photo released by the official website of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on March 8, 2016. (Reuters) An Iranian state television report showed a missile being fired from a fortified underground silo at night time. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired several ballistic missiles on Tuesday, state television said, challenging a United Nations resolution and drawing a threat of a diplomatic response from the United States.

Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly have raised the alarm over plot to coerce them into impeaching Governor Ayodele Fayose, saying a sum of $1 million was being promised some of the members that will be ready to be part of the impeachment plot. The Assembly members, who vowed not to collaborate with anyone to truncate the government of Governor Fayose, added that; they were prepared to spend the rest of their tenure in DSS cell, instead of joining people that they roundly defeated in five straight elections to cause another political instability in Ekiti State.

Switzerland has given conditions for repatriating $321m looted fund to Nigeria. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama said that the government was working on the modalities for the repatriation. Part of the conditions includes but not limited to... - the fund will be used for projects that will benefit Nigerians and they (the projects) must be monitored by the World Bank.

Kachikwu said that when the refineries were finally fixed, they would contribute in building the country’s strategic fuel reserves.   Ibe Kachikwu (NTA) The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, said Federal Government planned to end importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) within the next 12 to 18 months. Kachikwu said this while addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PMS is also known as petrol He said that government was working out modalities to ensure that it repayed the 5.1 billion dollars arrears it owed its Joint Ventures (JV) partners within a six-month time frame.

 Maria Sharapova reveals Australian Open failed drugs test Maria Sharapova's failed drugs test was "reckless beyond description", according to former World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound. Sharapova, 28, revealed on Monday that she tested positive for the banned substance meldonium in January. A number of sponsors have already distanced themselves from the Russian. Pound cannot understand how Sharapova found herself in this situation, given the high stakes involved, both professionally and financially.

  Billionaire Donald Trump notched a pair of easy victories Tuesday in the Republican presidential nomination race, as Democrat Hillary Clinton suffered a surprise loss to Bernie Sanders in one of the two major states at stake. Trump shrugged off a barrage of negative advertising and intense efforts by the party establishment to derail his White House campaign to win primaries in Michigan and Mississippi, signaling to his rivals he can survive anything they throw at him. “I don’t think I’ve had so many horrible, horrible things said about me in one week, $38 million worth of horrible lies,” Trump told a crowd in Florida as he celebrated his victories.