A Nigerian Air Force surveillance helicopter that crashed in Badna, Chukuba ward of Shiroro Local Government Area in Niger State has been linked to terrorism. On Monday, August 14, the Nigerian Air Force said that it had received confirmation of the accident and had started an investigation to ascertain its likely cause.

However, other terrorists claimed they shot down the chopper with an AK-47 rifle in two minutes, a seventeen-second video that has gone viral online.

The video's Hausa-speaking narrator claimed that they belonged to the Dogo Gide group, one of the infamous gangs that terrorized portions of Niger State and killed several farmers and security personnel.

Lionel Messi has aided Inter Miami in getting to the Leagues Cup final on Tuesday night against Nashville. On Wednesday morning, August 16, the World Cup champion of Argentina scored an incredible goal from 35 yards to propel Miami to a decisive 4-1 victory over Philadelphia Union. Josef Martinez, Messi's striking partner, scored for Miami in the third minute, giving them an explosive start. Later, Messi added to the score, and Jordi Alba and David Ruiz also scored.

After another convincing victory, Miami's head coach Tata Martino praised his star three of Messi, Busquets, and Alba. Martino stated of Messi, Busquets, and Alba, "They (Messi, Busquets, & Alba) pass on this confidence to the younger players and (Messi) has this commitment to the game." He is putting in a lot of effort, especially with recovery balls, and his teammates can feel it.

Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, recently met in Abuja. They are two of the country's top opposition leaders.

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) meeting was held late on Tuesday at the home of the former governor. The encounter was verified by Kwankwaso, who said on his Facebook page, "I was glad to visit my brother, the former Vice President, His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, at my apartment this evening. For this kind visit, I am grateful to Waziri. - RMK. Although the meeting's specifics are unknown since individuals close to the two leaders have maintained confidentiality, Daily Trust has learned that the meeting may have something to do with the nation's political climate and recent events.

Late on Tuesday, a meeting was held at the home of the NNPP leader and former governor of Nigeria. On his Facebook page, Kwankwaso announced the encounter and said, "I was pleased to receive my brother, the former Vice President, His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, at my residence this evening." I appreciate Waziri's hospitality throughout our friendly visit. RMK. Though people close to the two leaders have kept their conversations private, Daily Trust has learned that the meeting may have something to do with the nation's political climate and recent events.

In a recorded discussion, Ganduje was heard informing Tinubu's assistant Alhaji Ibrahim Masari that the meeting between Tinubu and Kwankwaso had caused commotion around Kano. What could I have told him? the governor was then heard asking. Is Tinubu now considering Kwankwaso as a potential replacement for us? No issue. since there isn't a government here? And we lost the government precisely because of him (Tinubu). He should have called us even if he planned to visit Kwankwaso. Or don't you comprehend, even figuratively. However, Ganduje's body language shifted in the weeks that followed as he warmed up to Tinubu's camp, becoming the party's National Chairman and even proposing a successor for Maryam.

A political coalition between Atiku and his allies and Kwankwaso against the APC and its presidential candidate failed to materialize before to the election. The next days will reveal whether a new political coalition is already in the works, despite a source close to the former vice president telling Daily Trust that the meeting was only for brotherly greetings.

In order to increase the All Progressives Congress's (APC) membership and supporter base nationwide before the year 2027, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the party's national chairman, has hinted at a plan to entice other political parties to enter into a sort of merger arrangement with the ruling party. While answering inquiries from the media on the recently circulated image of Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, visiting the senator's Abuja home, the senator made the disclosure. The APC National Chairman made it clear that he has not yet spoken with Wike, an APC minister-designate, about having him join the party, but he did not completely rule out the idea of doing so in the near future.

Wike is an honorable minister-designate, so he came, we talked about it because I wanted to congratulate him on that as well, and we talked about how when he becomes a minister fully, he will work extremely hard to advance the ministry he is given and is prepared to cooperate. However, we didn't talk about whether he would join APC or not. Later, the problem will come up.

He did, however, express optimism that Wike's impending arrival would increase the party's supporter base. In addition to Wike joining the APC, Senator Ganduje said that there is already an undercover plan in place to unite some of the political parties in order to increase the number of APC supporters before the 2027 general election. In addition to releasing a new plan to boost the party's followership, we are also including all levels of officials, including those who are in the APC and those who are in other political parties. This will undoubtedly raise the prospects of this our party, particularly in 2027.

I can promise you that certain political parties will even combine with the APC very soon. We are conducting that in secret. When asked if Wike's nomination as minister wasn't founded on the idea of a government of national unity advanced by the APC, Ganduje, who had previously appointed Simon Lalong as governor of Plateau State, responded, "But the idea of national unity does not entail the idea of one party in Nigeria. Spirit of national unity entails spirit of national capability and competence.

Earlier, Lalong had praised Senator Ganduje's nomination to the position of APC national chairman, stating that as the leader of the party with the longest tenure, he has the knowledge and temperament to guide it to victory. "As the National Chairman, Ganduje was Governor. In fact, when we consider his ancestors, we constantly claim that he is the most seasoned politician we now have.

Because of his extensive civil service, he rose to the positions of Permanent Secretary, Commissioner, longest-serving Deputy Governor, and Governor, he explained. "So what else do you need in party affairs with this sort of experience? We thus have faith in him since he is here, and it is not a problem of one individual; whenever he gets the chance, he conducts extensive consultation, and we are always accessible. His former Governors' colleagues are constantly accessible for this type of activity. Because of this, we are uniting to support him in whatever way we can so that the party may also be successful.

It goes without saying that some of the most successful clubs in the world have also invested the most in their athletes. For instance, the most costly teams frequently include Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid. Over the past few years, Manchester City alone has spent over a billion dollars on players. It makes sense to question if the large sums of money spent on players have resulted in success on the field. Let's take a look at some of the football teams with the most costly rosters right now.

5.       Chelsea The London-based team now has one of the most costly rosters in international football. They presently have a team worth €926 million, but if they successfully recruit Moises Caicedo from Brighton, their valuation might increase.

4.       Real Madrid: This list also includes the Spanish team. They possess a team worth €980 million thanks to significant acquisitions this summer including Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler.

3.       PSG: The French team now has one of the most costly rosters in all of football. This summer's additions have given them a team worth about $1.06 billion.

2.       Arsenal: The London-based team presently has the second-most costly roster in the whole globe. They just spent almost €200 million on players such as Declan Rice and J. Timber, among others. Their team is currently worth somewhere about €1.2 billion.

1.       Manchester City: Since taking over as manager, Pep Guardiola has truly poured money into this team. Their team is now worth €1.25 billion as a result of the recent acquisition of Josko Gvardiol.

Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, has drawn criticism for opposing President Bola Tinubu's decision to reduce gasoline subsidies.

                                                                                                         AJIBOLA BADIRU

Bakare had questioned the president on some of his economic decisions, such as rolling out palliative to cushion poor Nigerians from the effect of the withdrawal of petrol subsidy, while making a nationwide broadcast on the nation's status on Sunday. "Mr. President, even though you have announced some palliatives, let me remind you that palliatives cannot address the root cause of the problem," the priest stated in his broadcast, according to Bakare in an ideologically laden "State of the Nation." 

According to multiple persons acquainted with the negotiations, the United States and Iran have agreed to liberate five American prisoners in exchange for the detention of several Iranians and access to around $6 billion in Iranian oil money in the future. Iran has released five Iranian American dual citizens into house detention as a first step in the arrangement, which comes after more than two years of covert discussions, according to representatives from the State Department and the National Security Council.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken stated on Thursday that "this is just the beginning of a process that I hope and expect will lead to their return home to the United States." To bring them home, additional effort has to be done. I think that this is the beginning of their nightmare's end. The detainees include two more whose families suppressed their names and Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi, and Morad Tahbaz, who had all been imprisoned on fictitious allegations of spying. Two persons informed on the release's preparations said that one of the anonymous Americans is a scientist and the other is a businessman.

The three indicted prisoners and one other person were moved from Evin Prison, one of Iran's most notorious prisons, to a hotel in Tehran, the country's capital, on Thursday. According to Jared Genser, Mr. Namazi's attorney, they will be held there for a few weeks before being allowed to board an airplane. According to multiple persons acquainted with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the final agreement, one other prisoner, an American lady, had already been freed into house arrest.

In a statement, Mr. Genser remarked, "While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more." But there are just no assurances as to what will occur next. He said that Iranian authorities had informed the Americans that they would be confined at the hotel under watch. Iran's deputy foreign minister and principal nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, said that the United States and Iran had achieved an agreement for the release of Iranian assets worth billions of dollars in exchange for the exchange of prisoners.

He said that the US has given Iran the "commitments necessary" to uphold the agreement. According to IRNA, the official news agency of Iran, five Iranians will be freed from American jails in return for the release of five Americans. Iranian media portrayed the agreement as a win for President Ebrahim Raisi's conservative administration and referred to it as "honorable diplomacy."

Officials from the Biden administration declined to disclose or confirm specifics of what Iran will receive in return. But according to some who are acquainted with the deal, the Biden administration would free a few Iranian citizens who are currently serving jail terms for breaking sanctions on Iran once the Americans are permitted to return home.

According to the persons familiar with the agreement, the US would also transfer almost $6 billion of Iran's current assets located in South Korea and deposit the money into a Qatari central bank account. According to them, the Qatari government would be in charge of the account and supervise it so Iran may only use the funds to pay suppliers for humanitarian expenditures like food and medication.

The Biden administration has orchestrated several high-profile prisoner exchanges to return Americans that the State Department believes are unlawfully jailed abroad. The most recent one included Iran, a bitter American enemy. The 51-year-old Mr. Namazi has been detained in Evin Prison since 2015 on allegations of "collaborating with a hostile state." He was handed a 10-year term. A businessman named Mr. Sharghi was found guilty of espionage and given a 10-year jail sentence in 2020. The environmentalist Mr. Tahbaz, who was detained in 2018, received a 10-year sentence for allegedly having "contacts with the U.S. government."

The three have all refuted the accusations, and according to the US, they were all illegally jailed. Siamak's brother Babak Namazi issued a statement in which he said, "We have suffered tremendously and indescribably for eight horrific years and wish only to be reunited again as a family." In a statement sent by their attorney, Neda Sharghi, Emad's sister, stated, "My family has faith in the work that President Biden and government officials have undertaken to bring our families home and hopes to receive that news soon."

Officials in the Biden administration do not think that there are any additional Americans detained in Iran. According to a statement from his family at the time, in 2020, authorities in President Donald J. Trump's administration concluded that Robert A. Levinson, the former FBI agent who vanished in Iran in 2007 while on an unapproved assignment for the C.I.A., passed away while in an Iranian prison.

According to two Iranians close to the regime who were acquainted with the plan, the prisoner exchange deal that would take place on Thursday was almost finished in March but was put on hold when Iran jailed one of the unidentified U.S. dual citizens. The two Iranians said that Iran originally opposed the United States demand that the prisoner be included. The final agreement took shape in recent months, according to people with knowledge of the discussions between the United States and Iran, which were mediated by Oman, Qatar, and Switzerland. All parties had been working on the logistics for weeks.

According to Ali Vaez, the Iran director for the International Crisis Group, a conflict prevention organization, who is familiar with the terms of the deal, this exchange will take place in a series of planned steps as opposed to prior prisoner swap agreements where detainees immediately boarded a plane out of Iran. The Americans will be permitted to leave Iran once the money is deposited in the Qatari bank account, which is anticipated to take four to six weeks due to the difficulty of obtaining the necessary licenses and sanctions exemptions documentation.

The exclusion of several well-known members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from appointment has been criticized by an organization called the Progressive Young Leaders Assembly (PYLA). …

                                                                                                                 BELLO MASARI

The absence of several prominent members of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's appointments has drawn criticism from an organization called the Progressive Young Leaders Assembly (PYLA). It claimed that the fact that some important members—including former governors Kayode Fayemi, Umaru Tanko Almakura, Bello Masari, Ahmad Sani Yerima, and Abdusalam Abdulkarim Zaura, among others—had not yet been recognized for their contributions to the president's victory had demonstrated the need for a complete overhaul of the party's reward system.

                                                                                                    Abdusalam Abdulkarim Zaura

This was said Tuesday in Abuja by the chairman of the PYLA, Abubakar Kurawa. He expressed his displeasure with President Tinubu's appointments of ministers and other officials so far, saying that they failed to take into account those who had toilingly contributed their time, physical energy, and hard-earned resources to ensure the party's victory in the February 25 presidential elections.

The fact that individuals like Fayemi, Almakura, Masari, Dambazzau, Abdulkarim Zaura, Senators Aishatu Binani, Ovie Omo-Agege, Andy Uba, and others have yet to get even a letter of praise for their work, according to Kurawa, is concerning. According to him, the 'democratic injustice' might lead to the APC's demise in the campaign for office in 2027 and beyond if it is not properly handled.

Harry Kane departs for Bayeny for medical checks With 280 goals in 435 appearances, Harry Kane holds the record for most goals scored by a player for Tottenham. The Spurs academy product is about to leave his alma mater to join Bayern Munich.

Later today, Harry Kane will go to Germany to finalize his £100 million transfer to Bayern Munich. This morning, Kane was scheduled to go to Munich but was advised against it. After turning around, he proceeded to a family house close to the airport to wait for approval to finalize the transaction.

Tottenham denied that their agreement with Bayern Munich had altered despite rumors that they were seeking to make last-minute adjustments to the arrangement.

Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State, has decided against joining President Bola Tinubu's government. According to sources in the presidency, Mr. El-Rufai informed President Tinubu during a meeting on Tuesday that he was no longer interested in becoming a minister but would still make his contribution as a private person to the development of Nigeria.

One of our sources stated, "He also told the president that he needed time to concentrate on his doctorate programme at a university in The Netherlands." Jafaru Ibrahim Sani, a new ministerial nominee for Kaduna State, was proposed by the former governor, who said the President would find him to be extremely valuable and resourceful, according to another insider who spoke to this medium. While Mr. El-Rufai was governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Sani served as commissioner in three ministries (Local Government, Education, and Environment).

                                                                                                     Jafaru Ibrahim Sani

A day after the Senate approved 45 ministerial nominations following a week-long review of 48 of them, Mr. El-Rufai paid a visit to the President at the White House. However, the higher parliamentary body refused to ratify him and the nominations of the other two, citing State Security Service security reports as justification. Sani Danladi, a former senator from Taraba, and Stella Okotete, a contender from Delta State, were the other two.