TENNIS: I've Never Felt Better Before Wimbledon, Says Federer

Roger Federer Wimbledon 2015

Roger Federer has not won a grand slam title since 2012, he is at that age when he keeps getting asked about his retirement plans, and he is about to bid farewell to another one of his contemporaries.

Rather than looking back on a stellar career that has earned him a record 17 grand slam titles, the 33-year-old Swiss declared on Saturday he has never felt better coming into Wimbledon. "It's probably been the best preparation I've ever had for Wimbledon because we have a week more on the grass," Federer told reporters about the extended three-week grass court swing ahead of Wimbledon. "Winning Halle has given me the extra confidence I guess it's going to take me to win this title here."

Kidnapped Vice Chancellor freed

The Police in Rivers State on Saturday confirmed the release of Rosemond Osagholu, the Vice Chancellor of Ignatius Ajuru University, Port Harcourt.

Ms. Osagholu, a professor, was abducted by gunmen on June 20 as she was leaving the campus of the Rivers Government-owned institution.

The Police Public Relations Officer in of the State, Ahmad Muhammad, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Port Harcourt that Ms. Osagholu was released on June 26.

He did not, however, disclose the exact location of her release or if any ransom was paid for her freedom.

“I can confirm to you that the Vice Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University has been released. She is in good health and has been reunited with her family,” Mr. Muhammad said.

He did not also say if any arrest had been made.

The abduction of the vice chancellor threw the academic community into a state of shock.

Unions, associations and groups in the academic community mounted pressure on the police to rescue her.

Kidnap for ransom is rampant in Rivers and neighbouring Bayelsa State.

(NAN)

Thousands Of Britons Flee Tunisia As Beach Shooting Death Toll Mounts

Tourists scramble to leave Tunisia after deadly attack (Image source: Yahoo News)

Thousands of British tourists are fleeing Tunisia in the aftermath of the bloody terrorist attack at a resort that left dozens of holidaymakers dead. Authorities said Britons were the majority among the victims.

Tour operators Thomson and First Choice sent 10 planes to repatriate all their customers, a total of approximately 2,500 people. They are, however, just a faction of the 20,000 Britons, who, according to the ABTA travel association estimate, were spending their holidays in Tunisia at the time of the attack.

On Friday, a gunman disguised as a tourist carried an assault rifle concealed in an umbrella to the beach in Sousse in the south of the country. Thirty-nine people were killed in the massacre, which was the worst terrorist act Tunisia has witnessed in years. The Syria and Iraq-based terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Chinese Doctors Bring Brightness Back To Botswana Cataract Patients

A doctor checks the eyes of a patient in Botswana [Photo: Xinhua]

A team of Chinese ophthalmologists in Botswana will provide 500 free cataract removal operations this month, as part of this year's "Brightness Action" campaign.

Botswana performers sing a local song to celebrate that group of cataract patients can see clearly after the gauze on their eyes was removed on Thursday.

"Two years ago, I cannot see very clearly. Yesterday, they did the operation, after the operation, they take this (the gauze) out, I can see clearly now. Clearly."

Most Tunisia Hotel Attack Victims Were British: Tunisia Premier

Police officers control the crowd (rear) while surrounding a man (front C) suspected to be involved in opening fire on a beachside hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, as a woman reacts (R), June 26, 2015. Reuters/Amine Ben Aziza

Most of the 39 people killed by a gunman in the Tunisian beach hotel attack where British citizens, Tunisia's Prime Minister Habib Essid said.

Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for Friday's assault on the Imperial Marhaba resort hotel in the town of Sousse.

"The dead are British, German and Belgian, but most of them are British, without giving any figures," Essid told reporters on Friday night.

A Tunisian gunman disguised as a tourist opened fire with a rifle he had hidden in an umbrella, killing people as they lounged at the beach and at the pool. He was shot dead by police.

Austrians Launch Petition To Quit EU

A barbed wire is seen in front of a European Union flag at an immigration reception centre in Bicske, Hungary June 25, 2015 (Reuters / Laszlo Balogh)

Austrians have launched a petition to quit the EU, arguing that the nation will be better off economically if it leaves the union. To force the national parliament to consider the initiative activists need to have gathered 100,000 signatures by July 1.

The petition was started by a retired 66-year-old translator, Inge Rauscher, who has collected enough signatures to launch an official campaign. The plea seeks to request that the national parliament debate the idea of a referendum on quitting the EU. However, to get that issue even discussed, the petition must gather 100,000 signatures.

China Says Changing Position On Sea Dispute Would Shame Ancestors

Disputed South China Sea Islands (Image source: npr.org)

Changing position on China's claims over the South China Sea would shame its ancestors, while not facing up to infringements of Chinese sovereignty there would shame its children, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.

China has become increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, building artificial islands in areas over which the Philippines and other countries have rival claims, sparking alarm regionally and in Washington.

Why I Slept With My Granddaughters – 75 Year Old

Umoru Choji

A 75-year old grandfather, who allegedly slept with his granddaughter, has told the police that he was lured into the shameful act by his daughter.

The Septuagenarian, Mr. Umoru Choji, who lives in Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, was said to have had carnal knowledge of two of his granddaughters before he was caught.

118 Fake Chinese Universities Exposed By Education Website

The screenshot shows the official website of Sdaxue.com, a Chinese university information website, which has identified and released a list of 118 fake universities from China's 25 provinces and regions including Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu. [Photo/ sdaxue.com]

A Chinese university information website has identified and released a list of 118 fake universities from China's 25 provinces and regions including Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu. This is the 4th such list released by Sdaxue.com.

The alleged fake universities are exposed following the announcement of the test results for China's annual college entrance exam or "Gaokao". All the universities listed are not registered with China's Ministry of Education and thus have no licenses to either accept students or award college degrees. 39 of all the 118 alleged fake universities listed have the word "Beijing" in their names.

THE NATION INTERVIEW: My Abductors Initially Fed Me The Way They Would Feed Their Dogs — Catholic Priest Just Released From Captivity

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Akingbade

A Catholic priest in Ekiti State, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Akingbade, spent one week in the den of kidnappers after  he was abducted in his official residence in Ido Ekiti. He was kidnapped on June 9 and released on June 15. Akingbade recounted his ordeal to reporters after his miraculous escape. Odunayo Ogunmola was there.

Will you relive the events that led to your escape from the kidnappers?  

I didn’t have the opportunity of reading newspapers, but I remembered whether on Wednesday or Friday, my abductors came to me to say that the news that the church was making in the media, especially on the pages of the newspapers, was annoying so because of that, I, got to know that something was happening outside.  And that thing that was happening was the contribution that the mass media has made.

Buhari Traces Looted Funds To UK, Switzerland, Others

President Muhammadu Buhari

The Federal Government has started tracing looted Nigerian funds to foreign nations with the aim of recovering and repatriating them. The Federal Government specifically targets the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and other European jurisdictions where it believes corrupt officials have been stashing public funds.

This move came on the heels of the declaration by President Muhammadu Buhari on his first day in Aso Villa office that he inherited an almost empty treasury from his predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, thus vowing that his administration would recover all the looted funds stashed in foreign banks by corrupt Nigerians.

“The next three months may be hard, but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.

Bus Overturns, Hit By Truck On Highway In China, Killing 12

Passenger bus overturned in C China

A bus overturned on a highway and was hit by an oncoming truck in eastern China, killing at least 12 people, officials said.

Associated Press reports another 24 people were injured Friday, including three in serious condition, the government of Wuhu city in Anhui province said. The crash was under investigation.

State broadcaster China Central Television said the bus overturned into the opposite lane and was hit by the cargo truck.

It wasn't clear how many people were aboard the two vehicles.

Photos circulating in the social media showed rescuers in a rain on a wet road with the bus resting on its side.

Road accidents in China are often caused by poor driving, inadequate maintenance, overloading, and dangerous mountain roads. The number of motorists also has been rapidly increasing, with the rise of the country's middle class.