Good morning fellow Nigerians and my friends abroad, I hope you had a nice sleep and you are gearing up to make today a productive one. Anyways, lets go straight to the NEWS Stories.

FIRST in The News is an update on the Michael Jackson’s Mother Missing Saga:
Jermaine Jackson, brother of late pop singer Michael Jackson, has cleared the air that his mother, Katherine, was not missing as other relatives reported to authorities, but resting with family in Arizona on "doctor's advice." It would be recalled that over the weekend 82yr-old mother of late Michael Jackson, Katherine Jackson was reported missing by relatives.

AND NOW, THE MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
1. The University of Lagos has been ranked 16th position in the recent ranking of Top 100 Universities and Colleges in Africa by the 4ICU.ORG University Web Ranking. The first six Universities on the list were South African Universities. Other Nigerian Universities that made the list and their positions are University of Ilorin (39),University of Ibadan (40), Obafemi Awolowo University (42), University of Benin (45),University of Port Harcourt (52), University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (64), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (84) and University of Jos (88).
According to 4ICU.ORG, this ranking is based on web popularity using from three different search engines:Google Page Rank, Alexan Traffic Rank an Majestic Seo Referring Domains.

2. The Federal Government has concluded plans to pay women who attend antenatal clinics the sum of N5,000 as part of efforts to tackle the menace of maternal mortality. The plan would be executed as part of the Midwifery Service Scheme (MSS) introduced in 2010.

3. Zambia has excluded Nigeria among the African and Commonwealth countries that do not require visa to enter the country. The other country also excluded in the preference list is The Gambia. Ordinarily, Nigerians should obtain Zambian visa at the point of entry into that country but latest development indicate that Zambia authorities have changed their mind on free visa application requirements for Nigerians. The country said in its website that Nigerian nationals and some others going to Zambia as private/ business visitors or in transit shall apply for visas at Zambian Missions abroad. It however said the nationals who come to Zambia on confirmed Government business could obtain their entry visas at Zambian Missions abroad or points of entry upon production of official invitation letters.

4. The Federal Government is set to build a coal power plant worth $4billion in Benue State, the Chairman of Pacific Energy, Mr Adedeji Adeleke, made this known during the official commission ceremony of the Electric Training Centre in Olorunsogo Power Plant, built by SEPCO llI and Pacific Electric Power, in Ogun State, which was contracted to SEPCO in 2007. The chairman said that the coal power plant when completed is capable of generating 120 megawatts, adding that the ground breaking of the power plant is scheduled to hold soon.

5. The Federal Government is putting structures in place with a view to stopping rice importation by 2015, an official said on Monday. Mr Amos Afowowe, Deputy Director, Agro-Processing and Marketing, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, said this in Kaduna when he paid a visit to Gov. Patrick Yakowa.

6. Five Nigerians die in America auto crash on Sunday; Americans come to terms with the dastardly theatre killings in Colorado, the Nigerian community in New York was thrown into mourning,on Sunday, when a Mercedes Benz sports utility vehicle with some Nigerians hit a concrete support and rolled over. The SUV burst into flames killing five of the seven passengers including two children. The five persons that were confirmed dead are Nigerians.

7. New international airport to be constructed in Jigawa State: The Chairman of the Dutse Capital Development Authority, Alhaji Bashir Aminu, has said that 11 companies are bidding for the construction of the proposed international airport in Dutse Jigawa State. Aminu made the disclosure in an interview in Dutse on Monday. He said that about two billion naira had been set aside by the Jigawa Government for the commencement of the project.

8. The State Security Service SSS on Monday invited convener of the Save Nigeria Group, SNG, and ex-vice presidential candidate’ Pastor Tunde Bakare for questioning over the content of his Sunday sermon asking President Goodluck Jonathan to resign from office.

9. WORLD BUSINESS NEWS: Network equipment maker CISCO SYSTEMS said on Monday that it plans to cut about 1,300 jobs as part of ongoing efforts to restructure the company.

10. AMERICA IDOL NEWS: Mariah Carey is now AMERICA IDOL judge; Grammy-winning pop star Mariah Carey will join Fox television's "American Idol" singing competition on the judge's panel next season as the highly rated show tries to recapture viewership that has weakened in recent years.

That is the end of the news. Kindling visit my website www...com to read more news. My blog/website is a news aggregate site that updates latest news automatically.

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NEWS EDITOR: ENDY EDESON
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