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  Pope Leo XIV held the first Christmas mass of his pontificate on Wednesday, greeting thousands of faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square before the service. During the mass, Leo said Christmas was a feast of “faith, charity and hope” and criticised a “distorted economy” that “leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise”. Before, he spoke in front of St Peter’s basilica to offer Christmas wishes and thank those who had come to follow the mass on outdoor screens despite rainy weather. “St Peter’s is very large but unfortunately it is not large enough to receive all of you,” he told the crowd of around 5,000 people. The American Pope has adopted a more discreet and moderate style to that of his charismatic predecessor Francis, who died on April 21. The mass was attended by high-ranking Church figures, diplomats and around 6,000 faithful. Leo stuck to a very religious homily without any direct reference to current affairs. The ceremony celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and ...

  The head of Libya’s armed forces and four other high-ranking military officials died late Tuesday when their business jet crashed shortly after taking off from Ankara, officials in Turkey’s capital and Tripoli said. The  wreckage of their Falcon 50 aircraft was located by Turkish security personnel in the Haymana district near Ankara, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Three crew members were also killed. Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said on his Facebook page: “It is with deep sadness and great sorrow that we learnt of the death of the Libyan army’s chief of general staff, Lieutenant General  Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad.” Haddad earlier Tuesday held talks in Ankara with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler, and his Turkish counterpart, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, and was returning to Tripoli. Yerlikaya said on X that Haddad’s jet took off from Ankara’s Esenboga airport at 1710 GMT, and “contact was lost” 42 minutes later. The  aircraft issue...

  Nollywood  actress, Doris Ogala has given an update on the controversy surrounding her and the Founder and General Overseer of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministries, widely known as the Grace Nation International or Liberation City, Pastor Chris Okafor. The actress was arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command on Saturday, December 20, 2025, following allegations she made against the clergyman over an unfulfilled marriage promise. Doris Ogala regained her freedom on Monday afternoon after spending two nights in police custody. Reports indicate that during this period, Pastor Okafor allegedly appealed to her to embrace a peaceful settlement. Providing an update on the situation, the actress disclosed that discussions aimed at resolving the dispute are currently underway. She also confirmed that she remains in Lagos as the talks continue. She said; “Talks is going on now, resolution is ongoing at the moment. I’m still in Lagos, I’m not back in Abuja....

  The Founder and General Overseer of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministry, widely known as Grace Nation International or Liberation City, Pastor Chris Okafor has threatened legal action over claims that he is the father of a lady identified as Chidera Okafor. In a now-viral conversation with the Nigerian influencer and social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), Chidera claimed that the Lagos-based cleric is her father. She alleged abandonment by the preacher. At a press briefing, Pastor Okafor’s lawyers dismissed the claims, describing them as “damaging, misleading, and unacceptable”. “We wish to make it categorically assertive and unequivocally clear that those claims, as alleged by the so-called Ms. Chidera Okafor, are frantically untrue, misleading, malicious, inciting, and injurious to the personality and character of our client,” the lawyers said during the briefing. They demanded the “immediate retraction of all false, defama...

  A  massive fire incident on Wednesday evening ravaged the Great Nigeria Insurance House, a high-rise commercial complex on Martins Street, Lagos Island, leaving several traders reportedly trapped inside as emergency operations continue. The  blaze, which broke out around 5:00 p.m., swept through sections of the multi-storey structure, widely used as a warehouse and retail hub for clothing materials. Confirming the incident, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said preliminary findings indicated that the fire originated from an office on the fourth floor before rapidly spreading to other levels of the building. “ Upon arrival of the Shark Response Team, a 22-storey building known as Great Nigeria Insurance House was found to have been engulfed by fire,” Oke-Osanyintolu said. He added, “Preliminary investigation revealed that the fire started from one of the offices on the fourth floor and quickly sprea...

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) at a Juma’at Mosque in Gamboru Ward, around the Customs area in the heart of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The incident occurred at around 6:10 p.m. on Wednesday, less than 12 hours before Christmas, as Muslim worshippers were observing the Maghrib prayer. Although information on the incident remains sketchy, residents told the newsmen via a telephone that many worshippers were either killed or injured. However, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Nahum Daso, told the journalists that from preliminary investigations, five persons have been confirmed dead so far, while about 35 others were injured. The blast has already created fear among residents, especially within the Christian community preparing for the 2025 Christmas celebration. Security operatives have cordoned the area to prevent further casualties and to allow preliminary assessment of the incident. Nigeria has been batt...