Social Reporters News Service, published by IOE Publishers - CAC/BN/3400383

Lionel Messi’s hat-trick saw World Cup-bound Argentina to a comfortable victory against Caribbean minnows Haiti in Buenos Aires. It was the Lionel Messi show as his hat-trick guided Argentina to a routine 4-0 friendly win over Haiti with the World Cup looming. With the World Cup set to get underway in Russia next month, two-time champions Argentina stepped up their preparations thanks to captain Messi’s three-goal haul in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. Messi took his international tally to 64 goals in 124 appearances – the Barcelona star’s penalty breaking the deadlock in the 17th minute before he completed his hat-trick in eight second-half minutes against the Caribbean minnows. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner then set up substitute and Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero with 21 minutes remaining at La Bombonera, where Haiti did not register a shot.

Christina Comben Going to the doctor’s can be a real pain. Unless you’re fortunate enough to live in one of those Scandinavian countries where everything just works, for most of us, a trip to the doctor is a never-ending cycle of bureaucratic misery. Trying to get an appointment, verifying insurance, searching for medical records. If even the thought of it makes your stomach tighten in knots, take heart… Blockchain will revolutionize the medical industry soon enough. So, sit back and relax. You won’t have to worry about your intimate details circulating around the net, or being hung up on by a sour-faced receptionist ever again. And the safety of the medical devices you use and the drugs you take (assuming they’re legal) will be beyond question. Because frankly, between data leaks, malpractice, and insurance scandals; if ever there were a broken system screaming to be fixed, it’s healthcare. And while blockchain may not exactly be a superhero descending from the heavens like a light

By Isaac Eranga, Benin The first edition of the Stephen Keshi National Under 17 Football tournament is set to kick off with eight states comprising of thirteen teams from Friday 1st to 7th June 2018 in Benin. This was disclosed by Danladi Musa of the Nigeria Players Union. The participating teams are Oceanic Stars Football Club (Rivers) Recovery Football Academy, Freiburgerweg Football Academy (Lagos)  Rahbam Sports Football Club (Plateau) Lasora Spring Soccer Academy (Kwara) Kingdom Stars Football Academy (Bayelsa) Solo Wonders Football Club (Abia) Obazuwa Football Club, Cowbell Footbalbl Academy, BJ Foundation Football Club, Fortress Football Academy,  Edo: Rock Star Football Club (Edo) and Ogunmala Football Club ( Delta) The teams will arrive Benin on thursday 31st June to kick start  Preliminaries on Friday 1st June and grand finale on 7th June 2018 at the Crescent Club Football pitch in GRA Benin The tournament is part of activities organised by the National Association of Nig

In a bid to sustaining grassroot development, the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has urged support from Edo residents in order to enlarge its associated gains. Obaseki who said this in his Democracy Day Message in Benin City, noted that: "This day is one of extreme significance in our history as a nation as it marks the return of power to the people." He maintained that "Despite the challenges we have faced in our effort to firmly establish our democratic institutions and deepen the values, the non-interruption of our democracy since 1999, is proof of its overwhelming popularity and acceptance." He added: "It has proven to be the best form of government for human development and advancement because it encourages the participation of everyone in the society and we are happy that it is now firmly rooted in our country. "In Edo State, we have taken development to the grassroots in recognition of the fact that power belongs to the people. &quo

The Presidency on Sunday warned that the defeat of President Muhammadu Buhari and the return of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to government in 2019 will reverse the gains the present administration has made since coming into office in 2015. Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, observed in an article made available to the media in Abuja on Sunday that PDP politicians were busy going around the country with “Change the Change” campaign, canvassing for the removal of the All Progressive Congress (APC) led by the president whose campaign slogan was “Change.” While conceding that the PDP government established the present anti-corruption institutions, he said the removal of Buhari will mean a return to the old order where, according to him, corruption had a free rein while seized looted assets will be returned to corrupt individuals. “The real meaning and cost of the “Changing the Change,” is that if they win the next election, they will not

The police have arrested the most wanted suspects and other key members of the gang that took part in a deadly armed robbery in Offa, Kwara State. On Thursday, April 5, armed robbers invaded five banks in Offa, killing scores of residents, including policemen, bank workers and passersby. The assailants were said to have carted away millions of naira as they robbed the banks for about one hour without any challenge from security agents. The state Commissioner of Police, Ado Lawan, who put the casualty figure at 17, said nine policemen died during the attack. But sequel to the publication of the pictures of the robbers in the media, police said they have been getting several credible leads from good citizens. As a result, IRT teams deployed by IGP Ibrahim Idris to Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti States were able to arrest two more gang-leaders of the deadly bank robbery whose pictures were circulated by the Media. The confessed gang-leaders Arrested are: Kunle Ogunleye aka Arrow

From our correspondent The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Edo State Chapter, has described as illegal and undemocratic, the suspension of the law maker representing Ovia South West constituency in the Edo State House of Assembly, Honourable Godwin Adenomo, saying it is an attempt to ridicule the judiciary and undermine the institution of its powers. This was contained in a press statement signed by the Chairman of Edo CNPP Prince Roy Oribhabor and made available to the Social Reporters News Service . According to Prince Oribhabor, "the Edo CNPP is seriously bothered about this development because one will naturally expects the Edo State  House of Assembly to demonstrate inclusive participation and learn from history or even the Senate suspension of Senator Omo-Agege which the court has since quashed and described as legislative rascality and unconstitutional. "For how long shall we continue to operate in illegality? Whose interest is Edo State House o

•The World Cup begins in Russia on Thursday June 14 •Every qualified nation is naming their squad of players for the tournament •The final deadline set by FIFA for naming a squad is June 4 The countdown is on to football's greatest showpiece: the World Cup gets underway in Russia on June 14. In the build-up to the big event, each qualified nation is naming their squads for the tournament. All final squads must be submitted to FIFA by June 4, but most countries are naming provisional squads until that date. Group A RUSSIA (Preliminary squad) Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Brugge), Soslan Dzhanaev (Rubin Kazan), Andrei Lunev (Zenit St Petersburg) Defenders: Vladimir Granat (Rubin Kazan), Ruslan Kambolov (Rubin Kazan), Fedor Kudryashov (Rubin Kazan), Ilya Kutepov (Spartak Moscow), Roman Neustadter (Fenerbahce), Konstantin Rausch (Dynamo Moscow), Andrei Semenov (Akhmat Grozny), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit St Petersburg), Mario Fernandes (CSKA Moscow), Se

A Nigerian lady has left her boyfriend of 6-years heartbroken after she posted loved-up photos with another man on her Whatsapp updates. According to Twitter user, @papi_kash who shared the story and photos online, the lady who has been dating her boyfriend since 2012 accidentally exposed herself this morning. She blocked her man from viewing her Whatsapp updates, and posted the loved-up photos, but unknowingly to her, she forgot to also block her partner’s friend who then munched the photos and sent to him.

…With guaranteed power, we now want more investors for Industrial Park, Tech Hubs - Obaseki Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that with the 450MW Azura-Edo Power Project now on stream, the state is looking at attracting more investors for the Benin Industrial Park and technology innovation hubs, which would benefit from the conducive business environment and guaranteed power in the state. The governor said this during the visit of 10 World Bank Executive Directors to the Edo-Azura Power Plant, near Benin City, the Edo State Capital. According to the governor, “Power is the key to industrialisation and development. We need to extend the benefits of this investment. Now that we have power, what are we going to do with it? The next set of projects are those that have to rely on this key infrastructure we have just created. So, we would be looking at the Benin Industrial Park, building infrastructure to encourage and support manufacturers to come in. We are looking at inn

EXTERNAL LINK  - SOURCE: CNN As many as 270 women in England may have died because they were not called for a final breast cancer screening, the British government disclosed on Wednesday. UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced an independent inquiry into the failings, attributed to a computer algorithm error. An estimated 450,000 women failed to get a letter inviting them to their final screening, he said.

By Isaac Eranga, Benin Photo credit: Obaland Academy: From left: Dqueen Adesuwa of Obaland academy , Victor Uwaifo receiving his Award 05/03/2018 The Obaland academy has honoured the music maestro, Sir Professor Victor Uwaifo with the prestigious Obaland Royal award of excellence for his contribution towards the growth of the music industry in Nigeria.  On the 23rd of February 2018, Obaland  academy committee decided to honour the former Edo State Commissioner for Arte and Culture, with a prestigious monarch awards also known as Africa   Grammy Awards under the international category of “ Obaland Royal Awards ”  for Best Africa music legend 2018 (Honor). The awardees list was published nation wide by reliable Nigerian  daily national newspapers like Leadership, Vanguard, the Nigerian Observer and others few months ago. Most awardees excitingly couldn’t wait like the legendary musician Sir Victor Uwaifo, who immediately  requested the Obaland academy’s staff to bring his honou

By Isaac Eranga In a bid to promoting youth participation in the electoral process of Nigeria, the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) held a town hall meeting at the Egor Local Government Council secretariat in Benin, with the team, Promoting Inclusive Governance for Development . In his opening remark, the Edo coordinator of YIAGA, Amb. Peter Aguebor said he was delighted to see youth stakeholders seated for a just course. He said though it is not compulsory for all to be politicians, it is their civic right to promote good governance through inclusion. Amb. Aguebor reiterated that solutions to the problems besieging Nigeria is in the hands of the youths. "Chief Anthony Enahoro was in his youthful age when he made history by moving a motion for for Nigeria's political independence. A not of us are not happy with the state of affairs in this nation but are scared to take action. Today's meeting is towards redefining our purpose", h

By Benjamin Anabaraonye Climate change is in the news and on the agenda of leaders and scientists across the globe. But what is it, really? And how are humans changing the Earth’s climate? The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) defines climate change as changes in climate that is usually attributed straightforwardly or not directly to human activity which alters the composition of the overall atmosphere in addition to the usual climate changeability observed over similar periods. Climate change is a global problem, and it requires solutions on a global scale.   Appropriate and urgent actions must be taken both by individuals, institutions and the government to eradicate pollution and deal with climate change issues in order to ensure a sustainable future for her citizens.   Education is an essential element of the global response to climate change. Climate change education is therefore vital in every community in order to prepare us for climate change impa