Here are the stories that drove the conversation today:

The Federal Government has faulted claims by the Lagos State Government that a Federal High Court had shut down the Ikoyi marriage registry, insisting that the report was false.

The Director of Legal Services, Ministry of Interior, Bola Odugbesan, made the clarification in a statement in Abuja on Friday, as he said that the court, presided over by Justice Chuka Obiozor, simply upheld the judgment of a Federal High Court delivered in 2002, which was not appealed.

Dismissing the claims, Odugbesan presented a copy of the judgment by Obiozor, who described the case as “an abuse of court process” and struck it out, added that the Lagos State Government was not a party to the suit.

He insisted that the Federal High Court never ordered the closure of Ikoyi Marriage Registry.

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has called for the immediate sack of the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole.

The decision was an indication that the workers have lost confidence in the ability of the Minister to resolve the lingering industrial dispute in the health sector, claiming that that the Minister has deliberately turned himself into major hindrance to fruitful deliberations to end the strike.

JOHESU National President Biobelemoye Josiah told journalists at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday that” the Minister has never disguised his intention to symbolize what he described as the propaganda machine of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), through his posturing at previous meetings.”

The Federal Government has approved the training of 20,000 youths in various vocations across the country, in a programme aimed at creating thousands of technical jobs for the youths as well as improving their entrepreneurship skills.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this in Enugu on Friday during the inauguration of one of the 250 training centres approved for the scheme, located at the Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company complex, Emene.

According to him, the training which is an integral part of the N-Power project that had absorbed thousands of youths across the country would run for nine months, adding that the trainees would receive a monthly stipend of N30, 000 within the period.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it had destroyed Boko Haram terrorists structures in Bama, Gobara, in its ongoing “Operation Thunder Strike’’ against the insurgents in North East.

The NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, AVM. Olatokunbo Adesanya, who confirmed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said the air interdiction was carried out on Tuesday.

“The fighter jets acquired and took turns to strafe the location, destroying the building and killing most of the BHTs in the process.

“After the attacks, the BDA revealed that some other adjoining BHT structures and hideouts were equally destroyed,”

Police and Military authorities in Rivers State are battling to calm frayed nerves to avert violent police military conflict after a police officer shot and killed a plainclothes soldier.

Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, Zaki Ahmed who confirmed the incident that happened at dawn Friday said, “It is very unfortunate, but it is not true that soldiers are chasing police” 

Reports from say the incident involving policemen of the Rumuekani Police Station, Ada George Road, Obia Akpor has seen the station deserted by attached police personnel.

Residents in the affected area are also said to be worried as uneasy calm gradually returns to the neighborhood. (Vanguard)

And stories from around the world:

At least eight people were killed and six people hospitalized, including a police officer when a 17 year old male student opened fire at his Texas high school on Friday.

The shooting took place as classes were beginning for the day at Santa Fe High School in the city of the same name, located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Houston.

Hospital officials said one victim was in critical condition, as President Donald Trump expressed “heartbreak” over the latest deadly school shooting in the United States.

A Cubana de Aviacion Boeing 737 with 104 people on board crashed on takeoff from Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport on Friday, according to Cuba’s state-run television.

The flight was headed to the Cuban city of Holguin and casualties are reported, an airport source confirmed.

The western city of Holguin is about 500 miles east of the Cuban capital. Cuban state media originally reported that the flight was bound for Guyana. (CNN)

The United Nations top human rights body has voted to send a team of international war crimes investigators to probe the deadly shootings of Gaza protesters by Israeli forces.

A resolution calling on the UN Human Rights Council to “urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry” was backed on Friday by 29 members.

The members – United States and Australia voted against and 14 abstained.

Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan on Friday called on the Muslim world to back Palestinians against what he said was Israel’s cruelty in Gaza, and castigated both the United States and the United Nations over the deaths of dozens of protesters.

Addressing thousands of supporters waving Turkish and Palestinian flags in Istanbul’s Yenikapi neighborhood, Erdogan called for Muslim solidarity and said the United Nations had lost legitimacy for failing to stand up against Washington.

Turkey declared three days of mourning after Israeli security forces killed dozens of Palestinian protesters on Monday. (Reuters)

The European Union took steps Friday to avoid reimposed United States sanctions on Iran and save the international nuclear deal as a rift with Washington widened.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, moved to help EU firms skirt US penalties and have member governments directly pay Iran’s central bank for oil.

The commission, which took two other steps, said it was acting on a “green light” EU leaders gave at a meeting in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Thursday. (AFP)

Read » The Late 5: FG dismisses claims on shutdown of Ikoyi Registry, Health Sector Unions call for sack of Health Minister and other stories on YNaija