Tshow Blog

A powerful storm toppled a construction crane Friday afternoon at the Masjid al-Haram, or Grand Mosque, in Mecca -- killing at least 107 people and injuring 238 others, Saudi Arabia's civil defense authorities said on Twitter. Photos and video on social media showed the crane crashing through the mosque roof and the aftermath, with bodies, blood and debris spread across the courtyard. The crane fell  10 days  before the start of  the Hajj , the annual pilgrimage expected to bring 2 million people to Mecca. The Masjid al-Haram is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds Islam's holiest site, the Kaaba -- a cube-shaped shrine that worshippers circle.  One man said the bad weather contributed to the chaos after the crane toppled over. "We just washed and were getting ready to head to the Masjid al-Haram for the Maghrib prayer (sunset prayer)," said Yahya Al Hashemi, 30, a CNN iReporter who  shot iPhone video of the crane  striking the roof of the...

The National Youth Service Corps on Saturday in Abuja stated that media reports about involvement of three corps members in Suleja, Niger State in robbery were a case of mistaken identity. Already, two of the suspects have been released following the intervention of the Niger State government through the Office of the Secretary to the Government and the Ministry of Youth Development, while the process of securing the release of the third suspect is on-going. The NYSC Director (Press and Public Relations), Mrs. Bose Aderibigbemade clarifications on the alleged crime. She said, “It was a case of mistaken identity. They arrested our corps members and said they were the armed robbers that came to their shop. But further investigations by security agencies revealed that they were not and it was a case of mistaken identity. Some armed robbers went to harass some people in Suleja but the robbers were not corps members.” Aderibigbe, in the statement, said after the arrest of the three...