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The finale of the 7th season of HBO hit show “Game of Thrones” has again broken the record to become HBO’s most watched show ever. The episode “The Dragon and the Wolf” was seen by 12.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen. HBO said when views from streaming service HBO Go and its stand-alone HBO Now app are included, that number rises to a whooping 16.5 million viewers. The 12.1 million viewers is a 36 percent improvement from last season finale which was seen by 8.9 million people. The previous record for the most watched HBO show belonged to, fittingly, episode 5 of the 7th season Game of Thrones, which was seen by 10.7 million viewers. HBO added that this season averaged 31 million viewers per episode once all live, time-shifted, on-demand, and streaming views are included. This is another record set by the show.

Group A Benfica, Basel, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow José Mourinho will be pleased with the draw, no doubt. United have bought wisely in the summer – Romelu Lukaku has added goals and will be joined by Zlatan Ibrahimovic if they get through the group – and Nemanja Matic looks an inspired piece of business to strengthen the midfield. Benfica are still the best Portuguese team in the competition despite selling Ederson, Victor Lindelof and Nélson Semedo this summer. Bruno Varela is a very good replacement for Ederson and they have kept Pizzi and Álex Grimaldo. CSKA, meanwhile, have had a relatively poor start but have improved in the past few weeks. Igor Akinfeev has finally kept a clean sheet in the Champions League after 11 years of failing to do so and in the new manager, Viktor Goncharenko, they have a more attack-minded man in charge compared to Leonid Slutsky. Basel, who have just been hit by the retirement of club legend Matias Delgado could well finish bottom. Ricky van

The management of the University of Ibadan (UI) has rejected the new cut-off marks for universities as set by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB). The university’s position was contained in a statement released by the office of Abel Olayinka, vice chancellor. The statement, titled ‘On the Recently Announced cut off Marks of 120 for University Admission: our position in UI’, said the institution would not lower her standards to stoop to the new benchmarks. On Tuesday, Ishaq Oloyede, registrar JAMB, announced the cut-off marks for tertiary institutions. Oloyode said the stakeholders unanimously agreed that the minimum cut-off marks for university degree should be 120. The new cut-off has raised a lot of reactions, with arguments that it is lowering the standard of education. Olayinka said since the commencement of JAMB, UI has never admitted any candidate with a score below 200 “The management of the University of Ibadan wishes to inform the public abo

Defenders of President Donald Trump offer two arguments in his favour—that he is a businessman who will curb the excesses of the state; and that he will help America stand tall again by demolishing the politically correct taboos of left-leaning, establishment elites. From the start, these arguments looked like wishful thinking. After Mr Trump’s press conference in New York on August 15th they lie in ruins. The unscripted remarks were his third attempt to deal with violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend . In them the president stepped back from Monday’s—scripted—condemnation of the white supremacists who had marched to protest against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general, and fought with counter-demonstrators, including some from the left. In New York, as his new chief of staff looked on dejected, Mr Trump let rip, stressing once again that there was blame “on both sides”. He left no doubt which of those sides lies closer to his he

When the word water appears in print these days, crisis is rarely far behind. Water, it is said, is the new oil: a resource long squandered, now growing expensive and soon to be overwhelmed by insatiable demand. Aquifers are falling, glaciers vanishing, reservoirs drying up and rivers no longer flowing to the sea. Climate change threatens to make the problems worse. Everyone must use less water if famine, pestilence and mass migration are not to sweep the globe. As it is, wars are about to break out between countries squabbling over dams and rivers. If the apocalypse is still a little way off, it is only because the four horsemen and their steeds have stopped to search for something to drink. The language is often overblown, and the remedies sometimes ill conceived, but the basic message is not wrong. Water is indeed scarce in many places, and will grow scarcer. Bringing supply and demand into equilibrium will be painful, and political disputes may increase in number and intensify

Thirteen people died and dozens were injured when a van ploughed into crowds in Barcelona's famous Las Ramblas area, Catalan police and local officials say. The rented vehicle sped along the pedestrian area that is popular with tourists, mowing down people and sending others fleeing for cover. Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said it was a "jihadist attack". Two people have been arrested, but police say neither was the driver, who fled on foot. Early on Friday morning, Catalan police said an operation was taking place in town of Cambrils, to the south-west of Barcelona, in response to a "possible terrorist attack" and have told people there to stay indoors. The authorities also say an explosion on Wednesday evening at a house outside Barcelona that left one person dead was connected to the Las Ramblas attack. Dozens of gas cylinders were found at the house in the town of Alcanar, about 100km (60 miles) south west of Barcelona, and Reuters

Ayoola Omole The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) reached a yet to be met Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the federal government, back in 2009. The agreement bordered among others, on the lecturers' salary structure, allowances, funding of federal and state universities, allocation of a minimum 26% of Nigeria's annual budget to the education sector, as recommended by UNESCO for developing nations, amendment of 2004 JAMB act, amendment of pensionable retirement age of academics in the professorial cadre, consolidated peculiar allowances (CONPUAA) . The failure of the federal government to comply with these demands led to a Nationwide strike in 2013. In an attempt to put an end to the crisis which ravaged the education sector, ASUU was persuaded then by the Nigerian government to shelve its sword, and return to work after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was reached, restating the government's readiness to follow its commitments through.  Fast forwa

The recent massacre at the St. Philip’s Catholic Church, Ozubulu, Anambra State, linked to a gang war among the Nigerian Methamphetamine barons, which resulted in the death of 13 people has brought to the fore the increasing prominent role of Nigerians in the global illicit drug trade. This upsurge in the involvement of Nigerians in the global cocaine and heroin business has resulted in the arrest and conviction of many the couriers, including students, in Malaysia and Thailand where demand for hard drug is very high. According to sources at the Malaysian embassy in Nigeria, out of 81 Nigerians on death row in their country, 80 of  them were sentenced to death for drug-related offences. “As at today, 123 Nigerian students are in various detention centers after being arrested by Royal Malaysian Police for drug trafficking. This is out of a total of 350 foreign students in detention in Malaysia,” said the embassy sources. Another source at the Thai embassy informed THISDAY th

North Korea said on Saturday that nearly 3.5 million workers, party members and soldiers volunteered to join or rejoin its army to fight against the U.S. in the current geopolitical tension between Pyongyang and Washington. Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s official newspaper, said the volunteers had offered to join or rejoin the People’s Army after the Korea Central News Agency issued a statement on Monday condemning new sanctions imposed by the UN in retaliation for North Korean missile tests. North Korea threatened to strike the United States and its Pacific territory of Guam. KCNA said on Wednesday a mass rally was held in Pyongyang to support the government. North Korea has previously mobilised large crowds to show its resolve when tensions escalate. In August 2015, one million North Koreans offered to enlist or re-enlist in the army when a mine exploded in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, raising additional tensions. North Korea warned foreign diplomats to

The State Security Service (SSS) said it had arrested 18 suspected members of notorious kidnap gangs operating across the country. The suspects include: Haliru Hassan, Usman Abdulkadir, Yusuf Saidu, Abubakar Shuiabu, Abubakar Suleiman, Uzairu Bawa and Sani Abubakar. A statement by an operative of the service, Tony Opuiyo, said the suspects were arrested on July 3, at the Kakuri industrial area of Kaduna State. Mr. Opuiyo said the suspects had been terrorising motorists and commuters within the Rijana and Katari axis of the Abuja-Kaduna Highway. He said the service also arrested two notorious kidnap suspects, Rabiu Sani alias Dogo, and Abubakar Sani. He said the suspects were arrested on July 4, along the Zaria-Funtua road in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The operative said Mr. Sani was a notorious kidnapper and gun-runner who had been supplying arms and ammunition to criminal elements in Kaduna, Kano, Taraba and Plateau states. He said items recovered from

In spite of his obvious infirmity, loyalists to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari are prepared to campaign for his re-election in 2019. But they may be in for a resounding defeat if numbers from the latest Guardian Poll and rounds of protests in the nation’s capital, which entered the fourth day yesterday, are anything to go by. There is a growing level of disenchantment with the Buhari government which came into power on the wings of promises to reposition the country by fighting corruption, improving security and remodelling the economy. While appreciable progress has been recorded in the fight against insurgency in northeast Nigeria and corruption, the country’s economy is in the throes of a stubborn recession that has led to the death of many businesses while inflation continues to journey upwards. More importantly, the president, ushered in in 2015 like a messiah of sorts, has spent more days outside of Nigeria in 2017, attending to an undisclosed ailment. While the

The N-Teach assessment tests commenced on Wednesday, August 9. N-Power Teach volunteers are expected to improve basic education delivery in Nigeria and will be deployed as teacher assistants in primary schools nationwide. The programme explains that they will not replace the current teachers, but are to work as support teaching staff, assist with school management and other functions within the schools. The duration of the programme is 2 years and participants will undergo an initial induction training prior to deployment. N-Power has released some pointers and here are some things you need to know: 1. Some will be able to write their tests immediately, others will do so at a future time according to the schedule. 2. If your BVN validation is pending, then you might have to wait till Friday, August 11. 3. If your BVN records do not match your application, you will be unable to take the test. 4. If you ticked certain consistency skills, you will be required to take a

The presidency wednesday restated that there was no basis for President Muhammadu Buhari, to resign from office, saying such calls are unlawful. Following Buhari’s absence from the country on medical vacation for over 90 days, popular musician, Charlie Boy and his group, ‘Our-Mumu-Don-Do,’ have since on Monday been embarking on a peaceful protest in Abuja, demanding his return from London or resign from office. However, speaking on ARISE Television, a THISDAY Newspapers sister broadcast network, the Senior Special Assistant to president on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari has not violated any law and therefore there was no basis for the calls for his resignation. “Honestly speaking, if they have work to do, they should go and do their business. This is because there is no basis for the demand they are making in law. The president has done the needful. The constitution says he can take this kind of leave and handed over power and so long that he has handed ov

The Commissioner of Police in Anambra, Mr Garba Umar, has said that some suspects have been arrested in connection with Sunday’s killings at St. Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu, in the state. Umar told newsmen on Monday that the number of arrest would not be disclosed so as not to jeopardise ongoing investigation into the massacre of 11 persons by unknown gunmen. The gunmen attacked the church while Mass was going on, and apart from the dead, no fewer than 18 others had been hospitalised for gunshot injuries. . The commissioner had on Sunday said that the attack was an isolated case of feud between two individuals from the same community, adding that the police had contacted some persons who would be useful in the investigation. Meanwhile, Mr Ikenna Ofodeme, Transition Committee Chairman of Ekwusigo Council, has said that his people were still in shock after the gun attack at the Ozubulu. Ofodeme told newsmen on Monday in Awka that the trauma among the reside

If you have not been keeping up with Game Of Thrones, this is the perfect time to start. The drama series, which was based off George R.R. Martin’s best-selling book series titled A Song of Ice and Fire has been ongoing for a few years, and is currently in its seventh season. Be warned. Spoilers ahead! Early in the episode, Lord Baelish (Littlefinger) gives Bran the Valyrian dagger that was used in an attempt to kill him (Bran) in season one. Arya Stark finally returns to Winterfell and reunites with her siblings. Before long, she mentions her kill list which has the names of bad people and those who have wronged her over the years. They become aware of Arya’s intention to kill pretty much every bad person in Westeros. For a while we hadn’t heard anything about Arya’s kill list, which she once recited out loud before going to bed. Perhaps we were made to think that all the people whose names were on her kill list were dead. Over the course of the preceding series, we watch

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday ordered permanent forfeiture of a 37.5m dollars sky-scrapper on the highbrow Banana Island, Lagos, belonging to former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, to the Federal Government. Justice Chuka Obiozor, who gave the ruling, also ordered that the sums of 2.7 million dollars and N84.5 million realised as rents on the property should equally be forfeited to the Federal Government. Obiozor, a professor of law, gave the orders following a motion on notice argued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s counsel. The anti-graft agency had on July 19 obtained a court order to temporarily seize the property located at Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista Plot 1, Zone N, Federal Government Layout, Banana Island Foreshore Estate which is said to have 24 apartments, 18 flats and six penthouses. The court had directed that the temporary forfeiture order be published in a newspaper and fixed Aug. 7 to enable an

After years of foot-dragging, the US state department has approved the sale of a $593 million A-29 Super Tucano attack planes with associated parts, training, facilities and weapons, to Nigeria. The defence security cooperation agency delivered their certification of the foreign military sale to congress, as required by law, on August 2, according to United Press International. The twelve A-29s, equipped with wing-mounted machine guns, weapons integration with advanced surveillance… precision-guided bombs, and even air-to-air missiles” are expected to be used by Nigeria to combat the Boko Haram insurgents and other extremist groups. They will also serve to counter smuggling and trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. The DSCA has determined that US security interests are served by assisting Nigeria in its counter-insurgency operations and that the A-29 sale will not significantly alter the military balance of power in the region. The contract will require US government or p

The National Council on Education has approved the reintroduction of History into the curriculum for primary and secondary schools nationwide. The Chief Executive of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, who announced the NCE’s decision in a briefing in Abuja, noted that the re-introduction of History was agreed on at a meeting in Kano State. Ajiboye, who said the TRCN had registered 1.8 million teachers, added that the council would conduct a Professional Qualifying Examination for about 15,000 teachers in October. The TRCN boss lamented that there was still a shortage of qualified teachers for the country’s 170m population. Ajiboye said the qualifying examination would help to restore sanity to the teaching profession and eliminate quacks. He said, “We were aware of the issues regarding Religious Studies in the present curriculum, which were recently resolved. But, as the government said, the decision to join the religious subjects was reache

Uefa will demand to know how Paris Saint-Germain intend to finance their world-record £198 million transfer deal for Barcelona’s Brazilian superstar Neymar, with European football’s governing body reiterating its stance that financial fair play rules will be enforced. On a dramatic day, Barcelona announced on Wednesday that Neymar, 25, had told them of his intention to leave and that in response had said he could only do so on payment of the £198 million (€222m) buy-out clause included in the new contract he signed last year. It is anticipated that the Qatari-owned PSG will pay it in full although the structure of the deal, expected to be €450m in total, will have to pass Uefa’s financial fair play (FFP) rules. Neymar is expected to earn around €55m a year before tax meaning that the total deal, spread over the course of a five-year contract, could cost €90m annually - almost a quarter of PSG’s current annual revenue of €389.6m. In a statement to Telegraph Sport , Uefa reitera

After trading at over U.S.$100 per barrel for some years, the price of oil began to tomble down around July, 2014, falling to below U.S.$30 per barrel. The collapse of the price of crude created serious economic crisis for oil-reliant countries, including Nigeria. It was not unexpected that Nigeria became one of the countries most affected by the downturn. Central to the economic crisis that would later befall the country was her over reliance on oil. Oil accounts for 69 per cent of exports, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and around 70 per cent of government revenue. The impact started to be felt at the most unfavourable period, at the crucial time a new administration had just come into office. The slump in crude prices, Nigeria's mainstay, hammered the country's earnings, leading to a significant decline in the country's foreign reserves and a free fall of the naira. The value of Nigeria's crude export dropped by N2.2tn in the first ha