FG to reduce petrol price from N87 to N85 per litre from Jan 1, 2016

The Nigerian Government has promised to reduce the pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as  petrol from N87 to N85 per litre come January 1, 2016. 

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Emmanuel Kachikwu, disclosed this to journalists yesterday at the Port Harcourt Refinery Company, where he went to inspect the plant.

Asked when the Federal Government would release the new price template of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulation Agency (PPPRA), Mr. Kachikwu said he approved the new price for the agency on Thursday.

“Like I said, we have done a modulation calculation and it is showing us below N87,” Mr. Kachikwu said. “I imagine that if PPPRA publishes it today, it will become effective immediately. But the 1st of January that is when we are looking at.”

George Clayton Johnson, Writer of First 'Star Trek' Episode, dies on Christmas Day at 86

George Clayton Johnson, who wrote the script for the first "Star Trek" episode to air and co-wrote "Logan's Run," died Friday, Dec. 25 in the Los Angeles area following a battle with cancer, according to his son, Paul Johnson. He was 86. 

 

He was born in Cheyenne, Wyo., in 1929. He broke into the entertainment business in 1959 when he wrote the "I'll Take Care of You" episode for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."

Johnson was a member of the Southern California School of Writers, which included Theodore Sturgeon, William F. Nolan, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury. He met "Twilight Zone" producer Rod Serling through them and would go on to write eight episodes for the seminal sci-fi series including "Nothing in the Dark," "Kick the Can," "A Game of Pool" and "A Penny for Your Thoughts."

Johnson sold a short story that would serve as the basis for Frank Sinatra's 1960 movie "Ocean's 11" and the George Clooney-Brad Pitt reboot in 2001. He also wrote episodes for "Route 66," "The Law and Mrs. Jones" and "Kung Fu."

With William F. Nolan, he wrote the dystopian novel "Logan's Run," in which people are executed at the age of 21 and which served as the basis for the 1976 film. He wrote the adapted script for "The Intruder," the 1962 movie directed by Roger Corman, based on the novel by his friend Charles Beaumont. Both appear in the movie along with William F. Nolan.

Earthquake hits Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan

A strong earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan yesterday, rattling buildings and forcing sleeping residents out of their homes. 

 

More than 30 people were injured as houses or walls collapsed in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar, said emergency rescue service spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi. A total of 41 people were taken to hospitals in the city, according to doctors and rescue officials.

A victim of an earthquake is brought to a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan

Pakistani official Ghulam Rasool told The Associated Press that the magnitude-6.9 quake was centered in Tajikistan near the Afghan border, beginning after midnight and lasting for 59 seconds.

However, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake measured at magnitude 6.2 and was centered in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. Twitter users in the Afghan capital, Kabul, reported feeling the tremors.

Hamid Nawaz, the head of Pakistan's disaster management authority, said they were still assessing damage. He confirmed that some old homes and walls collapsed in Peshawar, but he refused to share further details.
Some people panicked and ran out of their homes in New Delhi and other parts of northern India. But there were no immediate reports of fatalities or major property damage, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The quake was also felt in the Kashmir region. In Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, some residents remained outside their homes despite the chilly winter weather, fearful of aftershocks.

Sahiba Khan, an 18-year-old student, said she was reading when the earthquake jolted her home. All of her family members emerged, reciting verses from the Quran.


NBC News

Bovi acquires new home in 'Groundnut Island' as Christmas gift

Still in the mood of Christmas, Nigerian celebrities are really trying their best to make this Christmas a memorable one by getting exotic gifts for themselves.

Comedian Bovi has decided not to carry last in this great celebration has just gotten himself a new house at Lekki, to join his other colleagues who are already there.

Celebrating his home, he wrote, "all I got for Christmas, ok for at least two Christmas. It is not in Banana Island, but a woman opposite me sells groundnut. So let just say it is in groundnut island. After all who fit buy groundnut go one day fit buy banana. Merry Christmas to you all."

200 shops burnt in Ibadan Plank Market, over N250m worth of goods lost

Over N250m worth of goods was lost yesterday at Sango Plank Market, Ibadan, Oyo State when a fire outbreak razed down over 200 shops. 

 

The inferno started around 3pm and was not put out until 8pm. 

 

According to traders on ground, only one vehicle belonging to the Oyo State Fire Service was available and once the fire fighters run out of water, they rush back to Eleyele Water Works for a refill which made the situation worse. The fire has however been put out.