David Beckham, skipper for the night, bade a tearful Parisian farewell on Saturday as the former England star made his final appearance at the Parc des Princes for Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint Germain before heading into retirement.

Last week, Beckham had helped PSG to their first league title since 1994 with a win over Lyon, and then announced he would retire at the end of the season having captured a championship in a fourth different league after England, Spain and the United States.

david Beckham: au revoir Paris. AFP photo

Coach Carlo Ancelotti made the 38-year-old captain for the night and Beckham duly basked in the applause as the capital club coasted to a 3-1 win over relegated Brest capped with two goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Beckham had a hand in the other Parisian goal, his corner finding Blaise Matuidi as the former Manchester United star signed off with an assist while Charlison Benschop replied for Brest.

There followed a standing ovation for Beckham as Ancelotti withdrew him with 10 minutes remaining and the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and LA Galaxy star, watched by wife Victoria and his parents, left the arena in tears to warm applause from his teammates, who each afforded him a hug.

Forum Chairman and Niger Governor, Babangida Aliyu, disclosed this in a statement by Danladi Ndayebo, his Chief Press Secretary, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The NSGF however expressed the hope that the imposition of emergency rule would complement Federal Government’s offer of amnesty earlier made to members of the Boko Haram sect.

“We feel this will help to restore peace to the affected states,’’ the forum said.

The Northern governors urged all members of the security agencies deployed to the affected states to operate by their rules of engagement.

“We advise the military to respect the sanctity of human lives, especially civilians who are not involved in the crisis,’’ they said.

The governors also called on the people in the affected states to also co-operate with military personnel posted to their areas to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and destruction of properties.

While commending President Goodluck Jonathan’s action, the forum urged members of the Boko Haram sect to accept federal government’s gesture of amnesty.

“They should respond to government’s gesture so that lasting peace can return to the region in particular, and the nation in general,’’ NSGF said.

It also commiserated with families of those who lost their loved ones in a gunmen attack in Daura, Katsina State on Thursday, urging citizens to remain vigilant at all times.

Meanwhile, the NSGF will hold a meeting in Kaduna on Tuesday, May 28.

Top on the agenda of the meeting is deliberation on the report of the Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and Security, submitted to the governors in Abuja in April.

“To resign would be to flee,” Assad said in an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarin when asked if he would consider stepping aside as called for by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

“I don’t know if Kerry or anyone else has received the power of the Syrian people to talk in their name about who should go and who should stay. That will be determined by the Syrian people in the 2014 presidential elections.”

He nevertheless said he welcome a US-Russian peace initiative to end Syria’s two-year civil war.

The United States and Russia are trying to convene a peace conference in Geneva that would bring together members of the regime and the rebels fighting to oust Assad.

“We have received the Russian-US approach well and we hope that there will be an international conference to help Syrians overcome the crisis,” Clarin quoted Assad as saying.

He added, however, that “we do not believe that many Western countries really want a solution in Syria. And we don’t think that the forces that support the terrorists want a solution to the crisis.”

Syria calls the rebels who have been fighting to overthrow the regime “terrorists”

Saturday evening state television accused “terrorists” of detonating a car bomb in a north Damascus neighbourhood, saying it killed at least three people and wounded five others.

The state broadcaster said the bomb was placed in a car in the Rokn Eddin neighbourhood and that a disposal team was sent in to defuse another device.

“The terrorist explosion was the result of a big bomb concealed in a car … Three people were killed and five others wounded according to a provisional toll,” it said.

Television said the blast took place in a car park near a school and a mosque.

It broadcast footage of a rescuers bagging charred bodies, pools of blood, the twisted remains of a car and a damaged passenger bus, as armed troops stood in the background.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the bombing but gave a higher toll of eight dead and 10 wounded.

A statement said the bombing targeted “the cars of government forces, killing four regular troops and four civilians.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

It came after officials and the Observatory reported that gunmen on Saturday kidnapped the elderly father of deputy foreign minister Faisal Muqdad, a key government figure, apparently in retaliation for the arrest of relatives of one of their comrades.

A government source said the gunmen stormed into the Muqdad family home, “beat up” the 84-year-old man and fled with him to the city of Daraa, south of Damascus.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said that Muqdad’s father, who was not named, was seized “in reprisal for the arrest by regime forces of relatives of one of the armed men.”

Muqdad is considered one of the most powerful voices of the embattled Syrian regime.

Elsewhere rebels seized four deserted Alawite villages in the central province of Hama, the Observatory reported.

Second seed Roger Federer will meet six-time winner Rafael Nadal in the final of the Rome Masters after a hard-fought 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 semi-final win over Frenchman Benoit Paire.

Sunday’s final will be the 30th meeting between Nadal and Federer with the Spaniard holding a 19-10 lead.

Paire has been one of the sensations of the tournament and pushed his Swiss rival to a first set tiebreak.

However, Federer raised his game in an equally tight second set to set up a Sunday final with Nadal after the Spaniard accounted for Czech Tomas Berdych in straight sets.

Federer and Frenchman Benoit Paire

Paire had lost both of his previous encounters against the world number three — the first in the Basel quarter-finals last year and the second in this year’s Australian Open — in straight sets.

However the unseeded Frenchman came into the semi-final on the back of a one-sided quarter-final win over Marcel Granollers having accounted for Juan Martin Del Potro in the third round.

Paire started strongly, showing no sign of nerves in the opening game where he created two break points only to net one and send the other past the baseline.

Federer held serve, but the Frenchman went on to keep the Swiss on his toes until the sixth game when some wayward serves threatened to offer Federer the break until Paire steadied the ship.

Unperturbed, Paire broke Federer’s serve in the next game — the seventh — but failed to capitalise as Federer pounced on the second of two chances to break back after smashing home a Paire lob.

The pair traded blows until the tiebreak, when Paire took a 3-1 lead only for unforced errors from the Frenchman, and some massive groundstrokes from Federer, to give the Swiss the set.

Paire started the second set as he did the first, but back-to-back double faults in the third game gave Federer a crucial break.

The Frenchman pressed Federer throughout the remainder and despite recovering from a double fault at the start of the ninth game to close to 5-4, Federer made the most of three match points at the start of the 10th to seal the win.

Pope Francis on Saturday called for the respect of ethical values in public life and politics as their absence was “hurting all of humanity”.

Pope Francis: wants ethical behaviour in public life

“We are seeing a crisis of mankind which is destroying mankind,” the pope told a crowd of 200,000 people, most of them members of religious groups, in Saint Peter’s square.

“If there are no ethics in public life, in politics, anything is possible,” he warned, adding: “We read in the papers how a lack of ethics in public life is hurting all of humanity.”

As a number of European countries are struggling to overcome the consequences of the financial and economic crisis, Francis warned of putting the health of the banking systems ahead of families trying to cope.

“It’s a tragedy if banks fail in investments (but) if families are badly off and have nothing to eat, (the reaction is) so what? — this is our crisis today,” said the pope.

“A poor Church for the poor is fighting this mentality,” Francis added, speaking on the eve of Pentecost Sunday when Christians commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the 12 Apostles and other followers of Jesus.

Americans by the droves plunked down cold cash Saturday for a chance at fulfilling their most feverish dream: winning the $600 million Powerball lottery jackpot.

Millions will be glued to their TV sets when the Powerball numbers are drawn in a live event broadcast just before 11:00 pm eastern time (0300 GMT Sunday). If there is no winner, the jackpot could rise to close to $1 billion by the next drawing on Wednesday.

The jackpot is “the largest in the 21-year history of the game,” the Iowa state lottery agency said in a statement.

Kim Chatman, a building security guard in Washington who plans to buy her lotto ticket after work, said “you’ve got to take your chance — that’s what it’s all about.”

An advertising board shows the record jackpot of the Powerball US lottery with a record jackpot of 600 million US Dollars in a shop in downtown Washington, DC on May 17, 2013.

The $2 tickets are sold at supermarkets, corner stores and gas stations in 42 states, the capital Washington and the US Virgin Islands.

In the midwestern state of Minnesota, tickets are even sold at fuel pumps and automatic teller machines.

“Strong sales across the country are the reason the prize is taking big jumps now,” the Iowa state lottery agency said — particularly after the May 15 drawing, when the jackpot stood at $363.9 million, and there was no winner.

Sales were also boosted after Powerball tickets became available in California starting in April.

The game is a choice of five numbers from a pool of 59, plus a Powerball number from a separate pool of 35.

Powerball — a shared jackpot coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a non-profit group formed by the participating state lotteries — cannot be played from outside the United States or outside the participating states.

The richest US jackpot of all time was $656 million, won in a Mega Millions drawing in March 2012 and split between three tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland. Like all US lotteries, the winnings are subject to tax.

Back then, “there were big lines for three days” of customers buying tickets, said Rajendra Prasad Bhusal, who works at the Continental Wine and Liquor store in downtown Washington.

That’s when the tickets cost $1. “Now, people complain that the tickets cost too much,” he said.

In recent days, customers have streamed in to buy Powerball tickets, but the crowd is only a third of the numbers seen in March 2012, according to the liquor salesman.

The Powerball website says the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 175,223,510. For a comparison, the odds of getting struck by lighting in the United States is one in 280,000, according to the National Lightning Safety Institute.

The main Powerball website advised that “swinging a live chicken above your head while wishing for the future numbers does NOT work” to improve the chances of winning. “There is no improvement to be had by swinging a dead chicken,” it added.

Buying more tickets helps, “but the odds are still high and hitting the jackpot is still a question of fate,” it said.

President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to establish a free trade zone in the South East to boost economic activities in the area. He made the promise at the ground-breaking ceremony of the international wing of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu on Saturday.

The president, who noted that a free trade zone would only be operational where there was an international airport or a functional seaport, said the facility had been over-due in the zone.

“When the governor of Enugu State was making the request of a free trade zone, I was smiling in my mind. The certificate is right for the zone so you do not need to ask.

“Free trade zones can only be functional if it has access to a functional seaport or international airport, so it is something that has been approved before you requested for it so, you can go and sleep,’’ he said.

Jonathan at the Akanu Ibiam Airport

The president also promised to establish a cargo terminal for perishable food items at the airport for the quick processing and evacuation of agricultural produce from the farm to consumers abroad.

According to him, when the cargo is constructed, it will give Nigerians the opportunity to export agricultural produce and create wealth at home.

“The opening of this airport is one of the key requests I received from my brothers and sisters from the South East during my campaign for the election as president in 2011.

“ I promised them to bring about the transformation of our economy and nation. Today, it is a historical fact as we have fulfilled our promise,’’ the president said.

Earlier in a welcome address, Gov. Sullivan Chime of Enugu commended the president for his transformation agenda and the plan to exploit the abundant coal deposits in Enugu.

Chime appealed to the Federal Government to intensify the pace of work at the Makurdi-Enugu-Umuahia-Port Harcourt railway.

He called on the aviation ministry not to relent until the Akanu Ibiam International Airport became fully operational.

The governor said a free trade zone, to be situated in Enugu, would assist the entrepreneurial skills of the people.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, said the airport terminal would be completed within 15 months.

Oduah said the national airports modernisation programme of the Federal Government was part of the president’s transformation agenda toward remodeling the aviation industry.

The event was attended by governors, National Assembly members, ministers, former governors as well as captains of industry from the zone.

Some of the stakeholders who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) commended the president for fulfilling his campaign promises to the zone.

They, however, called on him to ensure the speedy completion of federal roads in the zone.

Jang made the declaration while speaking to newsmen on arrival at the Jos Airport after a three-week trip abroad.

“Our president knows better as the chief security officer of this country, and he has acted in the interest of all citizens. Without peace, there is no way Nigeria can enjoy the patronage of investors. Peace is a prerequisite for investment, development and growth.

“Ours is to support everything the President is doing, so that we can bring total peace to our country,’’ he said.

The governor said he and some others were just back from an investment summit in Canada aimed at attracting investors to the country.

He however said peace had to be in place for the trip to yield fruits, saying “without peace, no one will come and invest here.’’

Jang said this was why he saw the emergency rule as a welcome development.

“It is a welcome development, especially as the political structures are still in place,’’ he said. In 2004, former President olusegun Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Jang’s Plateau state, but sacked the incumbent governor, Joshua Dariye.

The governor said the delegation had fruitful deliberations with various investors in different sectors of Canada, and they had expressed their willingness to invest in Plateau.

Jang was among some governors, as well as ministers and members of National Assembly who accompanied Vice-President Namadi Sambo to Canada. In Canada, they attended a Business Investment Summit.

Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan

Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade 1, today installed the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi and his wife, Florence, the Aare Atunluse and Yeye Atunluse of Ibadanland.

The ceremony was witnessed by a large crowd of political bigwigs and senior citizens of Ibadan.

Speaking after his formal installation along with his wife and the presentation of certificate, Governor Ajimobi noted that he had turned down many chieftaincy titles from many monarchs from the state but accepted that of Olubadan because of his belief that the monarch gave him the title based on his objective assessment about his performance in the last two years of his reign.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi and his wife, Florence

Expressing profound appreciation to the Olubadan for the honour bestowed on him and his wife, Ajimobi described the Olubadan as a highly revered and principled traditional ruler who would not dole out chieftaincy titles to anybody who did not deserve it, no matter the person’s status in the society.

His words, “We are all very proud of the Olubadan of Ibadanland. Ibadan people are very tough. They are not given to frivolities. If they deem it fit to honour you, you should know that you really worth it”.

He thanked the Central Council for Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) and the Ibadan Elders’ Forum for their usual support stressing that the honour done him and his wife would further spur him into performing more than before in his quest at transforming and repositioning the state for socio-economic development.

Speaking on behalf of Olubadan, Otun Olubadan, High Chief Omowale Kuye said, “It is long we saw development in Ibadan last. It was last witnessed during Awolowo’s time, but Ajimobi has done it. The Olubadan enjoins you to continue to do well so that any governor that comes after you can be told to follow your foot step. Aare Atunluse title is a special title given to the governor. After him, anyone who performs the feat he has performed will be installed as Atunluse, while the governor remains the Aare. We have got a flyover, but we need more. Ibadan is now clean, but we need further developments in it”.
He explained that in the past few years, relationship between the palace and the government was not cordial, “but we thank God, things have changed. We need more of these developments”.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi and his wife, Florence with Olubadan, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade 1, after the installation,

National Chairman, (CCII), Chief Bayo Oyero in his remark said Ajimobi first rejected the title when he was offered, but heaccepted later having been told the essence of it and that the Olubadan was in support of the initiative..

Among the eminent persons who attended the ceremony were the National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande, Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Oyo state Deputy Governor, Chief Alake Adeyemo, Speaker, Oyo House of Assembly Monsurat Sunmonu, Chief Judge of Oyo state, Justice Bolajoko Adeniji, Chairman, Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Chief Sarafadeen Alli, Senator Remi Tinubu, wife of the ACN leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the state of Osun represented by his wife Mrs. Serifat Aregbesola, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau state represented by the state Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Paul Samani White, Governor Liyel Imoke of River State represented by his Special Adviser on Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. John Ehekoye, Chief Lamidi Ajadi and Chief Bode Amoo.

Others include: Two former governors of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, former Oyo state Deputy Governor, Chief Iyiola Oladokun, GOC 2 Div Major General Ahmad Jubrin, Retired Chief Judge of Oyo state, Justice Nurudeen Adekola, Senator Ayo Adeseun, Chief Tom Ikimi, High Chief Omowale Kuye, Osi Olubadan of Ibadanland, Senator Lekan Balogun, Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), Aare Musulmi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Azeez Arisekola, a business mogul, Chief Kola Daisi, Iyalode of Ibadanland, Alhaja Aminat Abiodun and Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Alhaji Suara Aruna.

Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Eleruwa of Eruwaland, Oba Akingbola Akindele and Ajinase, Oloogunebi, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Salawu Ganiyu Salau, were among the traditional rulers seen at the event, which took place at the Monatan residence of the Olubadan, in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State

It said weapons such as rocket-propelled grenade launchers, assorted ammunition and rifle magazines were recovered, just as it also announced the arrest by its Special Task Force of 65 persons suspected to be terrorists.

A statement signed by Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information, said the terrorists were caught while attempting to infiltrate Maiduguri as they fled their various camps now under attack.

The statement said the arrest was aimed at ridding the nation’s territories of all insurgent activities.

According to the statement, a total of 11 vehicles, four tricycles and 24 GSM handsets were also seized in the process.

“All the suspects are in custody of the Joint Task Force and are currently being interrogated,’’ it said.

The statement added that most of the terrorists’ camps were found to have been deserted by fleeing insurgents when STF troops stormed their occupied localities.

“The facilities have now been occupied by our troops,’’ it said further.

The statement also said some of the fleeing insurgents from various camps have been noted to be in search of fuel from neighbouring communities.

“Citizens are advised to report to the STF any group of persons roaming around the local communities with large quantities of containers in search of fuel. The advancement of troops is continuing on all fronts as scheduled,’’ it added.

The statement said the Defence Headquarters had further enjoined the troops to sustain the intensity of the operations.

Serena Williams. AFP

Victoria Azarenka has set up a Rome Open final with world number one Serena Williams after ending local hopes of a dream final with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Sara Errani on Saturday.

Azarenka’s all-round more powerful and varied game carried her through a first set that was interrupted three times – twice by rain and once by Errani calling for her coach after dropping the first three games.

Errani, who had beaten the Belarusian only once in their six previous encounters, emerged with bigger ambitions in the second set.

But despite battling all the way, she was broken by the tournament third seed in the 10th game before Azarenka served to take a 6-5 lead.

Errani saved three match points in the final game but was finally broken by the more powerful Belarusian, who will face Williams in a final for the first time since her win over the American earlier this year in Doha.

The African Union Commission (AUC) says 75 Heads of States and Governments from AU member states are expected to attend the 21st African Union Summit, scheduled to hold from May 19 to May 27 in Addis Ababa.

A statement by the Commission’s Directorate of Information and Communication in Addis Ababa on Saturday, said 450 journalists had been given accreditation to cover activities of the summit, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the defunct Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the 10th anniversary of the African Union (AU).

The OAU was established on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa on a signature of the OAU Charter by representatives of 32 governments including Nigeria, while 21 States joined gradually over the years.

South Africa became the 53rd member on May 23, 1994 after the first multi-racial elections that ushered in Dr Nelson Mandela as the first democratically elected black African president of the rainbow nation.

South Sudan became the 54th state to join the AU after securing independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011.

The OAU was formed to promote the unity and solidarity of African States, coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa; defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

African leaders at an event in Sao Tome

Part of the objectives of the OAU was to eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; promote international cooperation, with due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

NAN also recalls that other objectives of the organisation was to coordinate and harmonise member-states’ political, diplomatic, economic, educational, cultural, health, welfare, scientific, technical and defence policies.

The OAU later transmuted into the AU following the adoption of the Act of the African Union during the Lomé Summit of the OAU on July 11, 2,000.

Meanwhile, the statement said activities of the summit and 50th anniversary will kick off in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on May 19, with a preparatory meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) of the AU.

“The year long celebrations will include a commemorative summit, celebrations, sporting and cultural events as well as a gala dinner.

“These events will coincide with the Special Commemorative Summit on May 25, on the theme: “Pan Africanism and African Renaissance”.

It said the 21st Assembly of the Heads of State and Government will hold between May 26 and May 27, where adoption of various proclamations will take place.

“The Commemorative Summit and associated events will be attended by about 75 Heads of State and Government coming from the continent and beyond.

“Several build up, parallel and side events will take place in the week of May 19 to May 27, which include an African Youth and Children’s Intergenerational Forum to be addressed by Kenneth Kaunda and Sam Nujoma, former presidents of Zambia and Namibia, respectively, among others.”

The statement said that the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) would also convene a one-day dialogue on “Securing Africa’s Renaissance: the Role of the Private Sector in the next 50 years’’.

“In order to ensure a transparent and all-inclusive commemorative summit and celebrations, the AU has, so far, accredited about 450 journalists from Africa and beyond.

It said that the journalists would receive a live feed of all proceedings through the web and Ethiopian TV based broadcast.

“A media centre and media hotspots have been set up for the first time in AU history, so as to ensure better coverage for the event.”

It said that a youth forum would also be hosted at the AU Conference Centre and Africa Hall (where the OAU was founded 50 years ago) at the instance of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), between May 22 and May 24.

It said that the PACCI dialogue would be hosted on May 24 by ECA, while a debate on the adopted theme of “Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance’’ would hold at the commission’s conference centre on May 25, with the media, guests and civil society participating.

The summit would be concluded with the 21st Summit of the Heads of State and Government, which will commence on May 26 with an open session and would roundup with the adoption of proclamations on May 27.

Alhaji Kamaldeen Oladeji, Lagos Zonal Coordinator, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), on Saturday said that there was no going back on the newly introduced Computer Based Test (CBT).

Oladeji, who supervised the CBT of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination at University of Lagos, said this in an interview on Saturday in Lagos.

About 100,000 candidates would be taking the examination across 56 centres in the country.

The examination, which is the first of its kind conducted by the board is expected to come to an end on June 1.

The zonal coordinator noted that if the country was to compete favourably with other climes, especially with regards to technological advancement, all hands must be on deck to support the initiative.

JAMB: computer test has come to stay

According to him, the adoption of the CBT will eventually assist in enhancing ICT skills amongst the citizenry.

“This CBT examination has come to stay, once we get it right, others will follow because as you can see, our education system is gradually transiting to e-education.

“This means, we should be talking e-learning, e-teaching, e-research across all the various levels of education in our system.

“With ICT, we can achieve a lot in no time, but the only challenge currently is that the computer penetration and infrastructural backing is still very low in our society,’’ he said.

Oladeji implored stakeholders in the private sector to strive to improve infrastructure and internet penetration across the country.

“The private sector must wake up to their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in ensuring that they tag along this line and seek ways of partnering with government in achieving this feat,” he said.

According to him, education is a fundamental issue and must not be left to government alone to tackle, adding that if this was accomplished; the society will be the better for it.

“Government and private operators should partner in such a way that the CSR should be 80 per cent education and 20 per cent others.

“When we talk of human personnel capacity, especially in respect to ICT, we have it and I want to assure you that by 2014, we might likely not have any more Paper Pencil Test (PPT).

“The examination will be reduced to only the Dual Based Testing (DBT) and the on-going CBT until 2015, when it will be a full blown CBT with the others completely phased out.

“I also want to state that as soon as the CBT mode fully takes shape, other examination bodies such as WAEC, NECO and others would follow, as the introduction of e-testing is already a national policy,” he said.

Oladeji said that if there was sound and qualitative education in place, there would be no militancy or any insurgent group holding citizens and government to ransom.

“Education promotes egalitarianism. If we want an egalitarian society, we must be educated,” he said.

The zonal coordinator said that the introduction of the CBT would also eliminate all forms of examination malpractice and assist candidates to develop skills in ICT.

The supervisor said that results of the 350 candidates, who wrote the examination at the University of Lagos, would be released within four hours after its completion.

He said that the results, which ought to have been released immediately after the test, were intentionally delayed, to avoid any attack on the systems by candidates who did not perform well.

“We are delaying the results slightly because we do not want the candidates to attack the system in a feat of anger, if they see their results instantly and are not pleased with their performance.

“The results will be made available to them through short message service (SMS) or any other means, but it will sure get to them same day,” he said.

Meanwhile, Oladeji said that withheld results of the more than 68,000 candidates that wrote the PPT and the DBT on April 27, on account of biometric verification related issues have all be released.

He advised affected candidates, who had protested the development recently in Lagos and other places to check their results on the board’s website.

“In order to sustain special operations in the face of recent Boko Haram attacks, (a) 24-hour curfew is hereby imposed in the following wards” of Maiduguri, a military statement said, listing 12 neighbourhoods considered Boko Haram strongholds.

The areas affected, according to a statement by Lt.Col. Sagir Musa of the Joint Task Force are: Gamboru, Mairi Kuwait,Bakin Kogi,Kasuwan Shanu,Ruwan Zafi,202 Quarters, Dikwa Quarters, Low-Cost Sinimari, 505 Housing Estate, Chad Basin Area, 303 Housing Estate and Baga road areas.

Musa, the JTF spokesman appealed to the general public to continue to cooperate with the security agencies by providing credible and timely information.

Nigerians living with Boko Haram insurgents in northeast Nigeria fled their homes Saturday as military fighter jets and helicopters carried out heavy air strikes on Boko Haram Islamist camps.

The Nigerian military launched a massive offensive against Boko Haram this week, deploying several thousand troops across three states where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency after the Islamists seized territory and chased out the government.

Dozens of insurgents have been killed in the fighting, the military has said, without offering a specific figure.

A security source who requested anonymity told AFP that a helicopter was hit by Boko Haram gunfire, but “managed to rush back to base without sustaining any casualty.”

Nigeria’s offensive is targeting all three states put under emergency decree, including Adamawa and Yobe, but the Boko Haram’s traditional base of Borno is expected to see the most intense fighting.

In Marte district of Borno state, some residents have started fleeing east towards the Cameroon border, less than 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) away.

“It has been scary in the past three days,” said Buba Yawuri, whose home is in the town of Kwalaram in Marte but who has fled to the border town Gomboru Ngala.

“Fighter jets and helicopters kept hovering in the sky and we kept hearing huge explosions from afar,” he told AFP.

He said that as the air assaults began, the security forces told all residents to stay indoors, cutting off his family’s access to food and water.

“I couldn’t hold on any longer. I took the bush path,” and reached Gomboru Ngala early Saturday, he said.

Shafi’u Breima, a resident of Gomboru Ngala, told AFP that the border town is receiving a continuous flow of people arriving from Marte and neighbouring areas.

The phone network in Borno state has all but collapsed since the emergency measures were imposed but residents in Gomboru Ngala use phone services from Cameroon and have been sporadically reachable.

The remote, thinly populated region has porous borders where criminal groups and weapons have flowed freely for years.

The military has sealed previously unguarded crossings to block Boko Haram fighters from fleeing during the offensive.

“Border posts have all been manned by security agents to prevent escape or infiltrations by insurgents,” a military statement said.

Reports of Boko Haram’s presence in Cameroon first emerged in February, following the kidnap there of a French family visiting a game park near the Nigerian border.

The abduction was claimed by Boko Haram and the family was released in April.

The latest military campaign could prove to be the biggest ever against Boko Haram and is believed to be the first time Nigeria has carried out air strikes within its own territory in more than 25 years.

Aeriel support was believed to have been used against rioters in the north in the early 1980s.

Many have warned that there is a risk of high civilian deaths and Nigeria’s military has been accused of massive rights violations in the past, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that he was “deeply concerned about the fighting in northeastern Nigeria” and urged the security forces to “apply disciplined use of force in all operations.”

Boko Haram has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, but the group’s demands have repeatedly shifted.

The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces.

A lecturer at a government university in Zimbabwe has been jailed for three months for labelling veteran President Robert Mugabe “a rotten old donkey,” in the latest such case, lawyers said Saturday.

Chenjerai Pamhiri, 38, a lecturer at Great Zimbabwe State University in Masvingo city, was convicted and jailed on Friday by a magistrate on Friday, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said.

Prosecutors alleged that Pamhiri, while doing his shopping at a local supermarket last week, shouted that Mugabe was “dirt which should be discarded, a rotten old donkey”. He is also said to have urged people not to vote for him in elections expected sometime this year.

Police arrested him as he left the supermarket.

President Mugabe: lecturer jailed for calling ‘rotten old donkey’

“We received the shocking news of the conviction and sentencing of Pamhiri and we have promptly moved in to assist him,” Kumbirai Mafunda, spokesman for the human rights lawyers, told AFP.

“Our lawyers will file an appeal against the conviction and sentence and a make a separate application for bail pending appeal.”

Arrests for slandering Zimbabwe’s long-time president and breaching the strict public order law are common and those found guilty usually get away with light sentences, fines or are ordered to do community service.

Mafunda said rights lawyers have recorded over 60 such cases since 2010.

The workers decided to suspend the planned strike after a meeting between the management and union leaders.

Mr Supo Atobatele. General Manager, Public Affairs, NAMA, disclosed this in a statement he issued in Lagos after the meeting which ended late on Friday.

“The meeting is however expected to continue on Monday to further deliberate on issues at stake after the parties agreed that dialogue remains the best way of resolving industrial crisis,’’ he said.

Atobatele said the meeting was attended by representatives of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees.

Mr Abdulkareem Motajo, who led the team from NUATE, was quoted as saying during the two- hour deliberation, that the union leaders were not interested in creating problem for the management.

“The ultimatum earlier issued was to send a friendly warning that there were issues yet to be resolved, ‘’ he said.

NAMA’s Director of Human Resources, Dr Uwem Akangson, who represented Mr Nnamdi Udoh, the agency’s managing director, said the meeting was necessary due to communication gap between the management and unions.

“This had made it difficult to appreciate the extent of achievement on the implementation of the new salary package for the workers,’’ he said.

France became the 14th country to legalise same-sex marriage Saturday after President Francois Hollande signed the measure into law following months of bitter political debate.

Hollande acted a day after the Constitutional Council threw out a legal challenge by the right-wing opposition, which had been the last obstacle to passing the bill into law. The legislation also legalises gay adoption.

But while gay rights groups hailed the move, opponents of the measures have vowed to fight on.

Hollande made “marriage for all” a central plank of his presidential election campaign last year.

On Friday, he tried to turn the page on months of bitter opposition to the measures, arguing it was “time to respect the law and the Republic”.

And he warned that he would tolerate no resistance.

“I will ensure that the law applies across the whole territory, in full, and I will not accept any disruption of these marriages,” said the president.

French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, who steered the legislation through parliament, has said the first gay marriages could be celebrated as early as June.

gays: they can now marry legally in France

Nigerian lesbians: they are now legal in France

Marriages in France must take place in town halls, most of which take around four weeks to process marriage applications.

The issue of gay marriage and adoption has provoked months of acrimonious debate and hundreds of protests that have occasionally spilled over into violence and is unlikely to drop off the political agenda.

Although the Constitutional Council approved the bill on Friday, the International Day Against Homophobia, its opponents have vowed to fight on.

They have called a major protest rally scheduled for May 26 in Paris — and previous protests have drawn hundreds of thousands of people.

In April, the main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy challenged the measures on constitutional grounds immediately after deputies passed the bill in parliament.

But Friday’s statement by the Constitutional Council said same-sex marriage “did not run contrary to any constitutional principles,” and that it did not infringe on “basic rights or liberties or national sovereignty”.

Reacting to the ruling Friday, UMP party chief Jean-Francois Cope told TF1 television: “It is a decision that I regret, but that I respect.”

But late on Friday, between 200 and 300 protesters gathered in central Paris to denounce the ruling backing the bill and calling on Hollande to resign. One police officer was injured after a flammable liquid was thrown in his face.

Earlier, a group of bare-chested men wearing white masks staged their own protest against gay marriage on one of the bridges over the Seine. They call themselves the “Hommen” — a riposte to the bare-breasted feminist protesters known as the “Femmen”.

Gay rights groups hailed the decision as a watershed.

“Now it’s celebration time,” said spokesman Nicolas Gougain of the LGBT association representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

But gay rights watchdog SOS Homophobie added: “Our country has taken a great step forward today although it’s regrettable that it was taken in a climate of bad faith and homophobic violence.”

The issue of gay marriage has divided France, which is officially secular but overwhelmingly Catholic. Protests against the bill drew hundreds of thousands, with a handful of hard-core protesters clashing with police.

Last year, the proposals seemed to enjoy solid majority backing among French voters.

But as the opposition campaign got into gear, more recent polls indicated a shift of opinion to the extent that the electorate is now fairly evenly split on both gay marriage and adoption.

A statement signed by Mr Dave Ifabiyi, Assistant General Manager (Public Affairs), said that a fire incident which occurred on May 14 at the TCN substation in Ikeja-West, Ayobo-Ipaja, in Lagos State was responsible for the rationing.

“As a result of the fire which gutted TCN’s 150 MVA 330/132/33 KV Power Transformers, Lagos power load has been re-arranged to take advantage of excess capacity from other locations.’’

Ifabiyi listed the locations to include Akangba Transmission Substation in Surulere, Aja Transmission Substations in Victoria Island extension and Olorunsogo Transmission Substation in Ogun.

He said that electricity from the locations would be distributed evenly to spread the effect of the loss.

TCN management said investigation had begun into the cause of the fire which destroyed the transformers, manufactured by Mitsubishi in 1976 and inaugurated in 1979.

The statement also quoted TCN as saying that it would continue to work hard to enhance transmission capacity in the areas as well as improve grid power delivery and reliability nationwide.

TCN management expressed regrets for any inconveniences the power disruption may cause customers in the two states.

It, however, said that the quick intervention by its engineers in re-arranging the power load had stabilised the situation, adding that TCN was looking for a replacement for the burnt transformers.

TCN expressed its appreciation to Lagos State government and the Fire Service for helping to put out the fire.

Federer wrapped up the first set comfortably but in a tighter second set the Swiss was forced into a series of unforced errors by the service game of the giant 23-year-old from Lodz.

Janowicz built a 5-4 lead in the second set after hitting two aces.

But the Pole, standing at 2.03 metres tall, squandered a chance to level the match when he made two double faults in the 10th game.

Federer fought back to level at 6-6 and dominated Janowicz in the tie-break.

Rafael Nadal also battled his way into the semi-final, beating compatriot, David Ferrer in three sets. He will meet Czech star, Tomas Berdych in the second semi final match Saturday.

In the women’s championship, world number one Serena Williams will have to subdue Roamanian, Simona Halep, ranked 37th in the world, while Victoria Azarenka faces Italian, Sara Errani, who qualified for the semi without hitting the ball. She got a walk-over over Maria Sharapova, who withdrew from their quarter-final match, for ‘personal reasons’.