MODERN NEWS

“Dual n-back,” one of the two brain-training methods most scientists use in research, is significantly better at improving memory and attention, findings show. It also results in more significant changes in brain activity. While the exercise didn’t make anyone smarter, it greatly improved skills people need to excel at school and at work. The results in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement suggest it’s possible to train the brain like other body parts—with targeted workouts. “People say cognitive training either works or doesn’t work. We showed that it matters what kind of training you’re doing,” says lead author Kara J. Blacker, a former postdoctoral fellow in psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University and current researcher at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for Advancement of Military Medicine Inc. “This one task seems to show the most consistent results and the most impact on performance and should be the one we focus on if we’re interested in im...

Reuters Image caption Puigdemont said Madrid's actions were "premeditated aggression" The Spanish government has said it would welcome the participation of sacked Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont in new elections. The central government in Madrid has ordered that fresh elections for the regional parliament of Catalonia should take place in December. It stripped Catalonia of its autonomy after the Catalan parliament voted to declare independence. Mr Puigdemont is urging "democratic opposition" to direct rule from Madrid. He condemned the suspension of Catalonia's autonomy and promised to continue to "work to build a free country". Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since an independence referendum, organised by Mr Puigdemont's separatist government, was held earlier this month i...

Ozibo Ekele, a 2013 Mass Communication graduate of the University of Nigeria Nsukka and a 2016 graduate of Ibadan School of History (Department of History), Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, broke a 69-year-old record of the school where he finished top of the Faculty and Department with a B.A. (First Class Honours) and a CGPA of 6.6 out of a possible  7.0. With this, he became the first person to graduate with First Class Honours in the 69-year-old Department. Some of the prizes he also won include; Best Graduating Student of both Faculty of Arts and Department of History;  Dr. Robert Bradbury Memorial Prize ; Irving and Bonar Prize; Oba Lipede Prize; CUSO Nigeria Limited Prize; J.A. Atanda Memorial Prize; and Omoyisola Atanda Memorial Prize in History. Source:  http://www.informationng.com/2017/10/unn-graduate-breaks-69-year-old-record-university-ibadan.html

Two white farmers in South Africa have been jailed after forcing Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin and threatening to kill him. The video showed Victor Mlotshwa being shoved into a coffin and begging for his life Two white South African farmers have been jailed for more than a decade after forcing a black man into a coffin. Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Jackson were found guilty of attempted murder and kidnap after they filmed themselves shoving Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin and threatening to kill him. On Friday, a judge in Mpumalanga sentenced Jackson to 14 years and Oosthuizen to 11 years. Image: Oosthuizen and Jackson claimed Mr Mlotshwa stole cables from their farm They had pleaded not guilty to an array of charges after a video showing them assaulting Mr Mlotshwa went viral in August 2016. In the video, Mr Mlotshwa begs for his life as he is pushed into the coffin by the two white farmers. One of the men ...

Salford keeper Max Crocombe sent off for urinating vs. Bradford Salford City registered a 2-1 away win over Bradford Park Avenue in the National League North on Saturday, but only did so after ending up with 10 men on the field. Edging ever closer to victory as the game entered its final stages, Salford were rocked when goalkeeper Max Crocombe was shown a straight red card in the 88th minute. The incident happened quickly and off the ball, leaving Salford's puzzled Twitter correspondent unable to shed much light on the situation. Fortunately, it soon emerged that Bradford Park Avenue's social media representative had been afforded a much better view. It would appear that Crocombe received his marching orders from the officials on duty after getting caught a little short in the closing stages. Question is, why on earth didn't he just wait until full-time? Source: http://kwese.espn.com/football/blog/the-toe-poke/65/post/3248775/salford-keeper-max-cro...

Manchester United were at their smash-and-grab best, soaking up 80 minutes of Tottenham pressure before Anthony Martial snatched the win. Anthony Martial struck the winner for Manchester United as they snatched a 1-0 win from Tottenham at Old Trafford to cement second place in the Premier League. Henrikh Mkhitaryan's breakaway effort secured an identical result in this fixture last season after Spurs had dominated possession and it was a similar story here as Mauricio Pochettino's men struggled without injured talisman Harry Kane. The England man was absent with a hamstring injury, Pochettino choosing Son Heung-min over Fernando Llorente in attack, but Pep Guardiola's branding of Spurs as "the Harry Kane team" may be revisited after they failed to break down United's stiff defence. Any suggestion that Jose Mourinho would throw the shackles off after soporific attacking displays in a draw at Liverpool and defeat at Huddersfield Town...

Goal takes a look at the potential implications of a political landscape shift in Spain and how it would affect one of the nation's best teams Spain is in the midst of a tense political stand-off that could potentially alter the complexion of the country after the government of Catalunya defiantly voted in favour of independence from Spain. On October 27, the Catalan government voted to officially declare independence from Spain, but Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy responded within minutes by imposing direct rule on the region. It is the latest development in a protracted disagreement and it comes nearly a month after a contentious referendum on the matter. The Spanish state warned that the referendum was in contravention of the constitution and that it is actually illegal, but that did not diminish the appetites of those within the region who are seeking change. The people of Catalunya pressed ahead and, controversially, it w...

Could Real Madrid’s match against Girona be postponed? Goal GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images After Catalunya declared independence from Spain on Friday, Goal takes a look at how the political situation could affect football in the region Politics and sport could again come into conflict this weekend in Spain amid the ongoing Catalan independence question and how it will affect La Liga. On Friday, Catalunya officially declared its independence from Spain following a controversial referendum on October 1, which was deemed illegal by the Spanish government. Meanwhile, the Spanish Senate voted to seize direct control of the region. After violence from Spanish police during the referendum, Barca decided to play their Liga match against Las Palmas behind closed doors and with Real Madrid in action against Girona in Catalunya this weekend, there has been talk of a possible postponement of that fixt...

Hakkin mallakar hoto Getty Images Image caption   Magoya bayan ballewar yankin sun taru a gaban majalisar a lokacin da ake kada kuri'ar Majalisar dokokin yankin Catalonia na Spaniya ta kada kuri'ar ballewa daga kasar baki daya domin kafa kasarsu. Matakin ya samu goyon bayan 'yan majalisa 70 daga cikin 80 yayin da 'yan adawa suka kauracewa zaman. Tun da farko Fira Ministan Spaniya Mariano Rajoy ya shaida wa 'yan majalisar dattawa cewa ana bukatar kawar da kwarya-kwaryar 'yancin da yankin yake da shi domin dawo da "doka, da demokuradiyya da kuma zaman lafiya" a Catalonia. Wannan rikici ya barke ne lokacin da jama'ar yankin suka kada kuri'a mai cike da rudani a farkon watan nan, inda suka amince da kafa kasarsu mai cin gashin ...

Spanish flags were taken down in several towns of Catalonia on Friday, after the region’s parliament voted in favour of independence from Madrid. Flags were removed from the town halls of Sabadell, Catalonia’s fifth-largest city, and of Girona, whose former mayor is Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont. Similar actions were taken in other municipalities such as Figueres, Vic and Tortosa, but not in the regional capital of Barcelona, whose mayor, Ada Colau, is against unilateral secession. In a social media message, Colau criticised the independence declaration and the Spanish government’s decision to counter it with the suspension of Catalan self-government. “We’re a majority, in Catalonia and in Spain, who want a halt to the confrontation and call for dialogue, common sense and an agreed solution to take hold,’’ she wrote. (dpa/NAN). Source:  https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/catalan-towns-take-down-spanish-flags.html

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia would “return” to a “moderate Islam that is open to all religions” - comments likely to rile staunch conservatives in the Gulf kingdom. The crown prince also announced Saudi Arabia would “eradicate promoters of extremist thoughts”, saying the country was not like this in the past. “We are returning to what we were before - a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world,” the 32-year-old heir to the throne said. Bin Salman made the remarks during a Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. During Tuesday’s event, Salman voiced his confidence in Saudi Arabia’s younger generation and its ability to adjust to a post-oil world, mentioning, among other things, the benefits of solar power. Bin Salman’s remarks come a month after Saudi Arabia made a landmark decision to allow women to legally drive vehicles starting in June 2018, a move that was cr...

Ko me ya sa aka nada Ministan kula da WhatsApp?   Yan Zimbabwe sun rika raha suna bayyana sabon ministan tsaro a harkar Internet a matsayin "Ministan WhatsApp"   An yi ta watsa sanarwar gwamnati a shafukan sada zumunta jim kadan bayan da shugaba Robert Mugabe ya sanar da kafa wata ma'aikata da za ta maida hankali wajen samar da tsaro a harkar Internet. Al'ummar Zimbabwe dai sun yi ta raha kan wasikar wacce ke dauke da sa hannu da kuma adireshi na boge na sabon ofishin ministan samar da tsaro a harkar Internet, Mr Patrick Chinamasa wanda ke umurtar duk masu amfani da WhatsApp a matsayin dandali da su yi rijista a ma'aikatar nan da watan Nuwamba. Wasikar dake umurtar masu amfani da WhatsApp a matsayin dandali su yi rijista Sai dai yanzu an rage yawan raha da ake yi kuma 'yan kasar Zimbabwe sun maida hankali wajen nazarin tasirin sabuwar ma'aikatar musamman kan batun da ya shafi 'ya...

Getty Images: A bana Najeriya ta yi kasafin Naira tiriliyon 7.44  Majalisar zartarwar Najeriya ta amince da daftarin kasafin kudin shekarar 2018 a wajen taron mako-mako na majalisar da aka yi ranar Alhamis a fadar shugaban kasa a Abuja. Majalisar zartarwar ta ce nan ba da jimawa ba ne za a gabatar da kasafin kudin ga majalisar dokoki ta kasar. Ministan Ayyuka, Wutar Lantarki da Gidaje Babatunde Fashola, ya ce aikin shugaban kasar ne ya mika wa majalisar kasafin kudi kuma ya yi bayanin kan yadda za a kashe kudin. Har ila yau ministan ya ce suna tattaunawa da bangaren majalisa don tsayar da ranar da shugaban kasar zai je ya mika mata daftarin kasafin kudin. "A baya muna mika wa majalisar daftarin kasafin kudin ne a watan Disamba, amma a bana za mu ba su a wannan watan na Oktoba ne, akwai bambanci kan yadda aka saba gani," in ji shi. Ministar Kudi Kemi Adeosun, ta ce an kashe naira biliyan 450 wadanda za a gudanar da ayyukan raya kasa da ...

Getty Images : Masu zanga-zanga suna toshe hanyoyi da duwatsu, su kuma jami'an tsaro suna tarwatsasu.  A daidai lokacin da ake zabe a wasu sassan Kenya, wasu sassa kuma irin su Kisumu zanga-zanga ake yi, kuma ko kuri'a daya ba a kada ba. Yawancin titunan da ke cikin birin a toshe suke da duwatsu da tayoyi da suke ci da wuta yayin da masu zanga-zanga ke arangama da jami'an tsaro - suna musayar duwatsu da hayaki mai sa hawaye. Kawo yanzu dai ba a kada kuri'a ko daya ba a birnin, kuma cikin jami'an hukumar zabe 400 da ake tsammani za su zo, guda uku ne kawai suka zo. Kazalika babu ko akwatin zaben da aka ajiye a runfunan zabe. Lamarin haka yake a unguwannin marasa galihu da ke Nairobi inda 'yan adawa ke da rinjaye. Amman a wasu sassan kasar ana ci gaba da gudanar da zabe, duk da cewa da alama mutane ba su fito kamar yadda suka fito ba a zaben watan Agusta wanda kotun kolin kasar ta soke. Ana kyautata zaton cewa za a nemi alkalai su yanke hukun...

 Korea News Service/Agence France-Presse North Korea protested Thursday that its sports activities were being blocked as a result of US-led sanctions, just days after Australia denied visas to North Korean football players. The nuclear-armed North is subject to a host of UN sanctions for its weapons programme, which include restrictions on imports of sporting equipments like skis, yachts, mountaineering boots and even billiard tables. But in a statement carried by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North’s National Sports Guidance Committee claimed that the sanctions were isolating North Korea from international sports competitions. “Due to the despicable and relentless pressure of the US, the regular leg matches set to be played in Pyongyang according to agreements with some countries are being delayed for more than a year,” a committee spokesman said. The spokesman noted that Australia had “even denied entry” to North Korea’s U-19 team,...

(Left to right) Sofia Wylie, Joshua Rush, Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Asher Angel star in the show  The Disney Channel is introducing a gay storyline for the first time in its show Andi Mack. The channel is to set to make history when its season two premiere airs on Friday in the US. It will see best friends Andi (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and Cyrus (Joshua Rush) both admit they are attracted to the same boy. A Disney spokesperson says the show "sends a powerful message about inclusion and respect for humanity". The statement added that the show's creator, Terri Minsky - who also made the hit Disney show Lizzie McGuire - and her team took "great care in ensuring that it's appropriate for all audiences." Disney Andi Mack @DisneyAndiMack The series is a coming-of-age show that revolves around 13-year-old girl Andi and her friends Cyrus, Buffy and Jonah. In the season premiere, Andi is dealing with feelings for a boy she knows whe...

Shaidanun Mata 10 Da Suka Yi Kaurin Suna A Duniya Daga Wakilinmu Mafi yawancin mutane sun yi imanin cewar mata an san su ne da tausayi da nuna kauna ga al’umma. Ga su kuma da nuna son jan aji. Sai dai, an samu akasi na nuna irin wadanan kyawawan halayen ga wasu mata goma da alkalumma suka nuna sun zarce saura a shedana, wadanda ba abin da suka fi jin dadi a duniya tamkar zubar da jinin mutane.Wannan dabi’ar tasu, ta zama barazana ga duniya. Matan, sun hallaka manya da yara ta muggan hanyoyi da nau’uka mabambanta. A lokuta da yawa, mu kan shafawa idonmu toka ta hanyar kallon ta’addancin da ake gani wasu shedanu   maza ke aikatawa a doron kasa, tare kuma da alakanta duk wata barna, shedana da kauce hanya ga mazan a mafiya yawan lokuta. Wannan sharhi ne akan mata shedanu goma da suka kafa tarihi wurin hallaka jama’a a duniya, rahoton zai warware zare da abawa akan wadannan gogaggun shaidanun mata goma. Matan su ne: Irma Ida Ilse Grese An haife ta ranar bakwai g...