Headline
Bandits Kill Kidnapped ECWA Church Pastor, After Collecting Ransom

Bandits have finally killed Rev. Dauda Bature, Pastor of ECWA Church Nariya, Kaduna State who was kidnapped in his farm.
Rev. Joseph John Hayab, Vice President, Northern states and Abuja of the Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN), had told journalists that late Rev. Dauda Bature was kidnapped on the 8th of November, 2021 by the bandits while he was on his farm, not far from the Rigasa Train station in Kaduna state.
The bandits later demanded for ransom and Rev. Dauda’s wife took the ransom and delivered to the bandits.
“They kidnapped her ,too,” Hayab said. On the 18th of November, the bandits released the wife and few days later, killed the husband.”
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Rev. Joseph John Hayab who is also the Chairman of CAN in Kaduna state ,appealed to the security agents to double their efforts in the protection of lives and property, insisting that collecting ransom and going ahead to kill the victim, is an inhuman act that must be condemned.
Meanwhile, residents of a Kaduna community had to run for their lives as security agents and Invading bandits were engaged in a gun duel ,leading to shooting of a pregnant woman.
The pregnant woman was rushed to an undisclosed hospital.
Journalists are still waiting for reaction from the police. The security agents ,according to locals, “repelled the rampaging hoard of bandits that attempted to invade the community in the early hours of Saturday morning, December 11, 2021.
“The loud shots of different types of firearms rented the air from past 12 midnight to almost 3am.Three persons who were abducted from the community were later freed after military and JTF engaged them in gunfire.
“A woman among the freed was however, wounded by a gunshot. She is said to have been taken to an undisclosed hospital.
“Thousands of residents, including men, women and children took to the streets, with some just covered by their under wears.
“A residence was seen up in flames at about the same time, the bandits dug a hole through the fence, gained access and set the house ablaze before they fled.”
The community has been relatively safe, with an isolated incident of kidnapping recorded almost two years ago in December 2021, when a returnee from the United States was abducted alongside two of his brothers.
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Meanwhile, sources said at about same time, a mother and two of her children were suspected to have been abducted from Oil Village, which shares boundary with Sabo GRA.
A day earlier, in the early hours of Friday, sources said a security operative alongside his wife and baby were abducted in Ungwan Bulus, another community bordering Sabo GRA from the western axis.
VANGUARD reports that normalcy has returned to the Sabo GRA as people were seen pursuing their legitimate businesses, even as stern looking combat ready security agents continued to patrol the area.
Headline
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Is Dead

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz, has died at the age of 82.
According to a statement from the Royal Court, the revered cleric passed away on Tuesday morning.
Born in Mecca in November 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz rose to become one of the most influential religious authorities in the Kingdom.
He served as head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, as well as the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League.
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He was the third cleric to occupy the office of Grand Mufti after Sheikh Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Shaikh and Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz.
In its tribute, the Royal Court said King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had extended condolences to the Sheikh’s family, the people of Saudi Arabia, and the wider Muslim world.
“With his passing, the Kingdom and the Islamic world have lost a distinguished scholar who made significant contributions to the service of science, Islam, and Muslims,” the statement read.
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A funeral prayer is scheduled to be held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh after the Asr prayer on Tuesday.
King Salman has also directed that funeral prayers be observed simultaneously at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, and in all mosques across the Kingdom.
The Grand Mufti is regarded as Saudi Arabia’s most senior and authoritative religious figure. Appointed by the King, the officeholder also chairs the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas.
Headline
Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.
The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.
Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.
In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.
READ ALSO:Google Fined $36m In Australia Over Anticompetitive Search Deals
Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.
According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.
Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.
“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.
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In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.
Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.
This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.
The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.
That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.
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Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.
The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.
Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.
Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.
These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.
AFP
Headline
Google Faces Court Battle Over Breakup Of Ad Tech Business

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.
The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year after the California-based tech juggernaut saw a similar government demand to split up its empire shot down by a judge earlier this month.
Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.
In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.
Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.
According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.
READ ALSO:Google Fined $36m In Australia Over Anticompetitive Search Deals
Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.
“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.
In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.
Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.
This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.
READ ALSO:Perplexity AI Makes $34.5bn Surprise Bid For Google’s Chrome Browser
The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.
That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.
Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.
The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.
Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.
Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.
These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.
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