These are the top stories you should be monitoring today.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has directed candidates for the 2018 UTME to start printing their examination notification slip from tomorrow.

The board’s Head of Media and Information Department, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said in Lagos Sunday, that arrangements had been concluded for the successful conduct of the exam scheduled to hold from March 9 to March 17.

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The leadership of the Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA) has accused Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) of impersonating the group and using it for criminal activity.

According to AYA, a photo banner, apparently working against constituted authority, was posted on Melaye’s Facebook wall, using AYA’s name.

The group said it has summoned an emergency meeting of its executives to consider a legal action against the Senator.

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The Military has dismissed the claim that the 110 abducted Dapchi girls are in Yobe.

A top officer, who pleaded for anonymity, last night described Hon. Goni Bukar and other politicians/activists speaking on the whereabouts of the girls and the identity of their abductors as “a bunch of confusionists”.

“If they know where the girls are, they know what to do, instead of staying somewhere in Damaturu or Abuja and claiming that the girls are somewhere within Yobe or anywhere else.

“This is how some of these politicians will stay in Abuja and will be granting interviews to you media people, claiming this and that, yet they are not anywhere near their constituencies.”

Meanwhile, youth of Dapchi have called on the authorities to act on tips given by groups and individuals on the whereabouts of the girls.

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The State Security Service (SSS) has demanded that the Nigerian journalist, Tony Ezimakor must disclose his sources as a prerequisite for his freedom.

The SSS detained Ezimakor in Abuja on Wednesday after honouring an invitation over a story he wrote detailing how the Buhari administration paid millions of dollars as ransom to Boko Haram for the release of some Chibok girls.

Ezimakor’s story also uncovered how ransom payments have become a lucrative source of extra income for Nigerian and Swiss intelligence officers who participated in the negotiations for Boko Haram hostages.

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The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Sunday assured Nigerians that the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) bill will be passed this week.

Saraki gave the assurance via Twitter.

Following my meeting on Thursday with Speaker @YakubDogara, the Chairman @NGRSenate Committee on Anti-Corruption and @HouseNGR Chairman on Financial Crimes, the Conference Committee meeting for the NFIU Bill will hold tomorrow and the Report presented in both Chambers on Tuesday.

— Bukola Saraki (@bukolasaraki) March 4, 2018

I am confident that we will pass the NFIU Bill this week. https://t.co/v5YCKRQHSz

— Bukola Saraki (@bukolasaraki) March 4, 2018

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And stories from around the world…

About 50 percent of Italians who voted in the national elections on Sunday supported populist parties that were once considered extreme, according to early election exit polls and voter projections.

The most likely result of the national election seemed either a win by the centre-right coalition headed by Silvio Berlusconi, the 81-year-old former prime minister, or a hung parliament in which populist parties – the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the xenophobic Northern League – would have considerable influence in the creation of a new government.

The ruling centre-left Democratic party has already admitted defeat after coming in third according to projections. “This is a very clear defeat for us,” said minister Maurizio Martina. “We are expecting a result below our expectations … This is very clearly a negative result for us,” he said.

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The Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, has kicked off a potentially memorable political summit in Beijing by instructing Communist party officials to “resolutely uphold” the primacy of president Xi Jinping and follow their sovereign in thought, word and deed.

Speaking at the opening of the fortnight-long national people’s congress – at which Xi looks set to establish himself as ruler for life – Li urged his country’s political elite to fall in line behind a leader now considered China’s most dominant since Mao.

“Entering a new era … we must resolutely uphold the core position of Xi Jinping,” Li told the nearly 3,000 delegates.

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The UK government has been threatened that plans to deny millions of people the right to access immigration data held on them by the Home Office are illegal and will be challenged in court.

Organisations representing up to 3 million EU citizens living in the UK and digital rights activists have written to the home secretary, Amber Rudd, giving notice that they will take legal action if a clause in the data protection bill is enacted.

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Forces loyal to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, have captured six villages and towns bordering the besieged rebel-held enclave of eastern Ghouta, as hopes that a long-planned humanitarian convoy might enter the area were dashed again.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitor, confirmed the latest advances, saying pro-regime government forces had seized about a quarter of the enclave on the outskirts of Damascus in recent days.

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Saudi Arabia’s heir in waiting, Mohammed bin Salman, has embarked on his first trip abroad, a three-country visit with stops in Cairo, London and New York that aims to press his credentials on a wary global stage.

When he arrives in London on Wednesday, Prince Mohammed will be received as head-of-state-in-waiting, and will travel to Windsor Castle for a dinner with the Queen. As a senior member of Britain’s most important trading partner in the Middle East, he will also arrive with a twin agenda: as head of a lucrative trade mission, and as a leader looking for validation after a chequered debut year in foreign affairs.