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Saturday 25 May 2013

Football: Rafael Benítez will be our new manager, claims Napoli president

Rafael Benitez

Napoli hope to confirm the appointment of Rafael Benitez as their new manager next week upon the Spaniard's return from the United States, where the Chelsea interim manager is concluding his short-term employment with the Europa League winners on their post-season tour.
Benítez's agent, Manuel García Quilón, met with the Napoli president, Aurelio de Laurentiis, in Rome on Thursday and is understood to have agreed a two-year contract, possibly with an option for a third, worth around E3.5m (£3m) a season. He would replace Walter Mazzarri, Napoli's manager of almost four years who announced last week he would be leaving the club despite steering them to second in Serie A and a place in next season's Champions League. Mazzarri is expected to take over at Internazionale.

Leonardo DiCaprio will fly into space with one lucky fan

Vasily Klyukin and girlfriend with Leonardo DiCaprio(bottom right)

A trip into space with Leonardo DiCaprio has sold for just over one million pounds.

A seat beside The Great Gatsby actor on Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space flight attracted the huge bid at amfAR's annual gala and auction at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Seats on similar flights – which Richard hopes will begin to launch from New Mexico by the end of 2013 – usually sell for £132,406 although a pair of tickets on Leonardo's shuttle sold for £1.19 million at the auction.

The auction brochure for the gala held at the five-star Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France said Leo and the winning bidder will be among the first 1,000 people to leave the planet on the Virgin Galactic flight.

After winning, Monaco based Russian estate agent Vasily Klyukin, 37, said: 'I want to be a bit daring. I will have to give up smoking now for sure!'

Show of largesse: Dubai officers drive around in fleet of supercars including £1.6m Aston Martin

In an impressive show of largesse, the emirate's police force has added the eye-wateringly expensive Aston Martin One-77, left, to its fleet of cars, which now also includes a £300,000 Lamborghini Aventador, top right, and a Ferrari FF, bottom right. The force says the supercars can help cut down speeding, which is a major problem in the city - someone dies on its roads on average once every 26 hours.

Burmese Muslims given two-child limit

       The two-child policy will be mandatory in Buthidaung and Maundaw provinces, Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Muslims in a province of Burma have been ordered not to have more than two children in an attempt by the government to stop Buddhist attacks on Muslims.
State officials said the two-child limit in the state of Rakhine would ease tensions between Buddhists and their Muslim Rohingya neighbours.
Local officials said the new measure was part of a policy that will also ban polygamy in two Rakhine townships that border Bangladesh and have the highest Muslim populations. The townships, Buthidaung and Maundaw, are about 95% Muslim.
The measure was enacted a week ago after a government-appointed commission investigating the violence issued proposals to ease tensions, which included family planning programs to stem population growth among minority Muslims, said Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing. The commission also recommended doubling the number of security forces in the volatile region.
"The population growth of Rohingya Muslims is 10 times higher than that of the Rakhine (Buddhists)," Win Myaing said. "Overpopulation is one of the causes of tension."
I hardly know what to say. Is this not against human rights?

Troops Overrun 3 Sect Camps, Rescue Women, Children In Borno


Soldiers in Borno state have dislodged three camps belonging to suspected members of Boko Haram in Sambisa forest, rescuing three women and six children  during the operation.
This was made known by the Director Defence Information;  Brigadier General Chris Olukolade in a statement on Friday.
The women and children, he said were kidnapped from the police barracks and its environs during the 7th of May attack in Bama by members of the Islamic sect.
He however said the troops are still on the look out for one woman and two of her children who are thought to be held in the forest.
General Olukolade added that the focus of the troops at the moment is to ensure that all camps and enclaves are dismantled and destroyed.

Video: D'banj, 2face Excite Fans at MTV All Stars Concert


The MTV All Stars concert held on May 18, in Durban, South Africa with heart thumping performances from US rapper Snoop Lion, 2face, D’banj, Flavour, Camp Mulla and others.

Video courtesy; You Tube

Research: Women's Handbags Dirtier Than a Toilet


A woman's handbag is like her second identity. It is indispensable, especially if she is going out.

But do you know that women's handbags contain more bacteria than the average toilet?
Well, tests done by Initial Washroom Hygiene show that the dirtiest item in an average handbag is hand cream; it carries more bacteria than the average toilet seat, while other items like lipstick and mascara were also found to be contaminated.
It also shows that leather handbags carry the most bacteria because the spongy texture provides 'perfect growing conditions.' It is, therefore, advisable that women should wash their hands regularly and use antibacterial wipes to clean their bags and contents.
Results of these tests were reported by the UK's Daily Mail last week. The technical manager at Initial Hygiene, Peter Barratt, said: "Handbags come into regular contact with our hands and a variety of surfaces; so, the risk of transferring different germs onto them is very high, especially as bags are rarely cleaned.
"Once these germs are on the bags, they can easily be transferred via hands onto other surfaces."
Tests showed that one in five handbag handles is home to sufficient bacteria to pose a risk to human health. Some women actually go with them to the toilet, and yet the bags are never cleaned.
Like the handbags, there are a number of items we least expect to be contaminated with germs yet they are. Think of lip balm. How often have you - with unwashed hands - scooped some from the tin to apply to the lips, and then passed over to a friend to also apply to avoid dehydration?
Items like wet soap, cell phones, towels, TV or radio remote, gym bags and toothbrushes, if not properly stored and cleaned, they put us at risk of disease as they are good breeding ground for germs.

Nigeria: My Wife Is Too Lazy, Husband Tells Court


Malam Wahab Ahmed of Ojagboro area, Ilorin, on Tuesday, told an Ilorin Area Court that he was seeking for divorce from his wife, Abike Wahab, for her lazy nature and "I don't care attitude."
The 48-year-old man told the court that he had been married for six years now and that his wife hardly swept their bedroom and surroundings whenever she woke up in the morning," not until I force her to do so."
The petitioner told the court that his wife was fond of sleeping and watching movies thereby abandoning her domestic activities.
According to him, their marriage was contracted in 2007 and has produced two male children.
"My lord, I want an end to this marriage because I cannot cope with her dirty and lazy habit anymore."
#loooooolz! This is a serious matter but I cannot stop laughing.

Nigeria: Strange Fire Destroys 60 Houses in Bauchi


A recurring fire in Gurgeldi, Misau, Bauchi State, has destroyed some 60 houses, according to residents.

The District Head of Misau, Alhaji Ahmadu Ahmadu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the fire, which started from a house three weeks ago, had been spreading from one house to another and blamed the fire on an evil spirit just as he said that efforts to put it out using water and sand had been futile.
The first victim of the fire, Malam Bappa Jika, told NAN that the blaze started from his parlour.
"We made attempts to put out the fire using ordinary water but to no avail. In subsequent days, other houses in the neighbourhood had the same experience.
"Sometimes, the fire will ignite several times in either a single house, or different houses, occurring intermittently for over 60 times within the past three weeks," he said.
A cleric, Malam Mohammed Manga, who was invited to intervene with prayers, said that he had to recite some verses of the Holy Quran each time there was a fire before it could be extinquished.

The Chairman, Emergency Operations Team of Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Inuwa Bello, also confirmed the incident.
"We have made contacts with the victims and I can confirm to you that the incident is mysterious in nature. We have been advised by the residents not to take any relief materials there for now as similar assistance from individual were burned by the same fire," he said
Hard to believe but "powers" do exist


Glow-in-Dark Roach, World's Smallest Frog Among Top New Species

A cockroach that glows in the dark, a black fungus that's ruining prehistoric cave art and a frog smaller than a child's fingernail. These are three in a top-ten list of newly discovered species for 2012. An international committee of taxonomists announced their annual picks this week.

Committee chairman Antonio Valdecasas, a Spanish biologist and research zoologist, says the committee looks for organisms with "unexpected features or size, and those found in rare or difficult-to-reach habitats." Committee members also weigh the species' significance to humans. This is the sixth year the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University has selected the Top Ten New Species.


Also on this year's list are a tiny violet, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge, the lesula monkey, a snail-eating snake and a flowering shrub from the endangered Madagascar forest. The committee also included an extinct hangingfly identified in a 165 million-year-old fossil, and a lacewing identified from an image a photographer shared on the Internet.

An average of 18,000 plant and animal species are discovered each year, but scientists have identified only about 2 million of the earth's 10-12 million living species - and that's not counting most of the teeming microbial world. Quentin Wheeler, founding director of the Institute, called for "a NASA-like mission to discover 10 million species in the next 50 years." He said such an achievement could provide important new evidence about the origins of life on Earth, and new insights into how humans can live more sustainably on the planet.

The top 10 new species for 2013 according to the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University.

Zoo keeper mauled by tiger


Sarah McClay, 24, was attacked by a Sumatran tiger at South Lakes Wild Animal Park, in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, on Friday afternoon. She was taken by air ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital but died later from her injuries.

Cumbria police said the tiger was locked in its enclosure following the attack and that members of the public were not at any risk during the incident. Police and Barrow borough council are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
David Gill, the owner and founder of South Lakes Wild Animal Park, said McClay was very experienced in looking after big cats and he had no explanation as to why she had entered the enclosure.

Bad guy: President Obama breaches military protocol for second time in a week

While boarding Marine One, the presidential helicopter, on Friday, Obama walked past a saluting Marine corporal and strode up the boarding stairs without returning the salute. The President, the military commander-in-chief, clearly recognized the gaffe but made it worse, coming back down the boarding steps for just a handshake - not a salute. The blunder came in the same week Obama appeared to break military protocol by forcing a Marine (inset) to hold an umbrella for him.

Football: Van Persie sends Piers Morgan a message with signed picture of his league title win


Robin van Persie dealt a blow to one of his biggest detractors after sending him a mysterious package in the post.
                                                       Robin Van Persie sent a photo to CNN presenter Piers Morgan


Sent to CNN host and Arsenal fan Piers Morgan, who has waged a running battle with Van Persie all season, the package contained a double-sided picture of the Dutch striker kissing the Premier League trophy with one message        reading : 'Piersy my man, thanks for all the support! You made this day even more special! All the best, Van Pursestrings.'

The other read: 'Great to be a champ.. so many #Tears4Piersy

Morgan had given Van Persie the nickname 'Van Pursestrings' to imply that the former Arsenal captain joined the Premier League champions for money, although he took the message in good humour.
                                                       In good humour: Piers Morgan said he'd take it 'on the chins'


Writing on his Twitter page the former Daily Mirror editor said: 'After all the grief I've given Van Pursestrings, he's allowed a whack back. I'll just have to take it on the chins.'

Morgan has had several Twitter battles with various current and former footballers, most notably Gary Lineker and Joey Barton.

Thursday 23 May 2013

25,000 Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend wedding ceremony where bride remained veiled throughout

Tens of thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews have attended the wedding of the eldest grandson of the leader of the Belz Hasidic sect, in Jerusalem.

Up to 25,000 guests watched on as Shalom Roke’ach, who recently turned 18, was married to Hannah Batya Penet, who wore a diamond-encrusted traditional white dress and remained veiled throughout the ceremony.

The Belz Hasidic is one of the largest Hasidic sects in the world, with the lavish and lengthy wedding drawing thousands of guests from the US and Europe.

Tiger has surgery to remove 4lb basketball-sized hairball

An under the weather tiger needed surgery after failing to cough up a giant furball the size of a basketball.Poorly big cat Ty was forced to go under the knife so surgeons could remove the 4lb furry blockage from his stomach in Tampa Bay, Florida.

The 28lb tiger had been off his food for almost two weeks after the hairball became stuck in his digestive system.

Pope Francis tells atheists: Do good and we will meet one another

Pope Francis has said people of all religions – and none at all – ‘have a duty to do good’.

The Roman Catholic leader said atheists and believers alike must ‘meet one another doing good’.He made the comments during the homily of his morning Mass on Wednesday.

The Pontiff told a story of a Catholic who asked a priest if atheists were redeemed by Jesus.According to a report of his words on Vatican Radio, he said: ‘Even the atheists. Everyone.‘We are created children in the likeness of God and the blood of Christ has redeemed us all.‘We all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace.

‘If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good.

’The Pope posed a hypothetical comment from an atheist saying they did not believe, which was met with the response: ‘But do good: we will meet one another there.’

Obamas Top Forbes List of Powerful Couples

Each year they take inventory of the influential twosomes around the world, and 2013 Forbes Most Powerful Couples list just hit the internet.

Not surprisingly, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama landed in the #1 spot given their political and entertainment industry influence.

The Forbes report states, "With 67 percent of Americans viewing first lady Michelle Obama favorably, she's more popular than her husband.

"Also of note are dynamic duos like Jay-Z and Beyonce, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, and of course Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Bird's eye view of the Monaco Grand Prix

One spectator got a little too close to the action during practice for this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. A dove dared to play 'chicken' with Brazilian GP2 driver Felipe Nasr at one of the fastest sections of the Monte Carlo circuit.

The bird stared down Nasr, competing in Formula One's feeder series on Thursday, before deciding to leap out of the way at the eleventh hour. 

The power of Nasr's car flipped the bird upside down before  it managed to regain its composure and miraculously fly away from the scene of the hair-raising incident. The nature of Monte Carlo allows spectators to get as close to the action as any other venue permits on the grand prix calendar.

 But  I reckon this bird will think twice before it tries to get the perfect vantage point of this weekend's action.

Football: Malouda heading towards Chelsea exit as £80k-a-week star trains alone while team-mates holiday

This time last year Florent Malouda was still celebrating Chelsea's Champions League triumph after coming on as a substitute against Bayern Munich.Yesterday the forgotten man of Chelsea's historic victory against Jupp Heynckes' side in the Allianz-Arena was isolated and alone at their Cobham training centre.

Malouda's contract at Chelsea, which is worth £80,000 a week, does not end until June 30 and it is possible he may even be ordered to train until then.Chelsea's under-18 team, who lost the FA Youth Cup final against Norwich, and the Under-21 Development Squad have packed up for the summer.

It's the penalty Malouda, who joined Chelsea in 2007 from Lyon, is paying for criticising Roberto Di Matteo's training methods and refusing to leave last summer.
The Chelsea winger was banished to the academy building after he refused to apologise to Di Matteo during the club's pre-season programme.

The response, which was taken at boardroom level, was to order the France international midfielder to train with the Development Squad in another area of Chelsea's training ground.Chelsea's hardline stance has cost them just over £4m in wages, but the football board maintain they made the right decision when they stripped Malouda of his first team privileges.

Japan man, 80, scales Everest, sets record

An 80-year-old Japanese climber reached the summit of Mount Everest on Thursday, becoming the oldest person to scale the world’s highest mountain, his website and a Nepalese official said.Yuichiro Miura and his party, including his second son Gouta, arrived at the summit at around 9 am local time (0315 GMT), according to the website, besting the previous age record by four years.

But he may not have his name on the title very long: Nepal’s Min Bahadur Sherchan, the former record holder who turns 82 on June 20, is on the mountain again and bidding to reach the summit.“I feel like the happiest person in the world,” Miura said in a satellite telephone conversation with his office in Tokyo.

“I’ve never been more exhausted than this but I can keep on going even at the age of 80.“I can see the Himalayas below me and it’s beautiful. I have stayed strong, strong and strong to be here,” he said.

His wife Tomoko, 80, told the adventurer: “You’d better come home soon.”“I’m not sure if I am happy or not to have a husband who has so many dreams,” she told reporters. “He is the kind of person who does whatever he believes in, no matter what other people say.”

Woolwich terror attack: MI5 admit they KNEW about fanatics who 'slaughtered soldier'

One  of the British citizens suspected of executing a serving soldier in the Woolwich terror attack was brought up as a Christian but became 'obsessed' with Islam as a schoolboy, it emerged today.

A man identified as Michael Adebolajo, 28, was filmed yesterday drenched in blood, wielding a meat cleaver and yelling 'We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you.'

The British citizen of Nigerian descent was born in Lambeth, South London, in 1985, and then moved to Romford, East London.In 2003 he converted to Islam and began calling himself Mujahid, which means a Muslim who takes part in jihadist actions

In another twist, the two men were known to security services. David Cameron revealed that authorities were looking into what was already known about the Drummer Lee Rigby's killers but it is not thought they were an immediate threat.

One of the men, believed to be Michael Adebolajo, is believed to have been arrested after he went to Somalia to join banned Islamist group al Ahabaab.
Adebolajo is said to have joined the banned Islamist organisation Al Muhajiroun, which promotes Sharia law, and other controversial groups banned under the Terrorism Act.

I find it interesting though that his descent is remembered or mentioned in the face of an evil act. My guts tell me that it has been done to further demonise Nigeria. This guy is British and as far as we have been told, no links to Nigeria whatsoever. 

When the British of African descent do good things, their roots are not talked about.

My pregnancy lips are outta control!' Kim Kardashian shares a picture of her plumped-up pout

She revealed in a recent interview that she has struggled to maintain her body confidence throughout her pregnancy.But one thing Kim Kardashian doesn't want to lose when she gives birth is her boosted pout.

The 32-year-old star shared a picture of her plumped up lips on Twitter on Tuesday, writing: 'My pregnancy lips are outta control #IGuessNotABadProblemToHave.'

Bird's eye view of the Monaco Grand Prix

One spectator got a little too close to the action during practice for this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. A dove dared to play 'chicken' with Brazilian GP2 driver Felipe Nasr at one of the fastest sections of the Monte Carlo circuit.

The bird stared down Nasr, competing in Formula One's feeder series on Thursday, before deciding to leap out of the way at the eleventh hour. 

The power of Nasr's car flipped the bird upside down before  it managed to regain its composure and miraculously fly away from the scene of the hair-raising incident. The nature of Monte Carlo allows spectators to get as close to the action as any other venue permits on the grand prix calendar.

 But  I reckon this bird will think twice before it tries to get the perfect vantage point of this weekend's action.

Football: Uefa to offer Champions League place to Europa League winners

Uefa is set to award a place in the Champions League to the winners of the Europa League from the 2014-15 season, in order to make the competition more attractive, with an announcement expected on Friday.

Other plans being considered include whether to award a fifth Champions League place to clubs in the big European leagues and to expand the number of Europa League places on offer.

Also teams who win the Champions League or Europa League but finish outside the qualifying places in their domestic campaign will no longer usurp one of their league rivals to take up their place the following season.

That means the fate that befell Tottenham Hotspur in 2011-12, when they missed out on Europe despite finishing fourth because Chelsea won the Champions League and finished sixth, would not happen again.

Instead, England would now have five representatives.The new rules are expected to be ratified by the Uefa Congress in London on Friday and will apply from 2014-15.

Soldiers arrested for aiding Boko Haram

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, on Wednesday said some soldiers and officers of the Nigerian Army had been arrested for conspiring with insurgents in the ongoing face-off between the military and militants.

The COAS however did not give the number of soldiers that were arrested.Ihejirika said that the affected troops were caught while posting comments he described as "negative" and conversing with terror suspects on the Internet.

He stated, "There are some soldiers that have been found to be posting negative comments on the Internet and some  conversing with insurgents."I want to state that any officer or soldier caught linked one way or the other will be disciplined severely, there are no two ways about it.

Well said,  chief!

Gynaecologist urges women to be sexually active at menopause

A gynaecologist, Dr Prosper Igboeli has advised women in their menopause to be sexually active in order to avoid shrinking of the vagina.

 Igboeli, Managing Director of a Fertility and IVF Centre, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that active sexual intercourse during menopause was desirable for healthy living. 

“Menopause does not mean they should stop sexual intercourse; women at this period need to be sexually active in order to avoid shrinking of the vagina''

 The doctor described menopause as an event that ends a woman's reproductive cycle, in terms of menstruation. He also urged women to be more positive in their thinking about menopause and to entertain no fear in attaining the age. 

“The more positive women are about menopause, the less it affects them.''He advised such women to use lubricants before having sex, in order to prevent tear and painful intercourse. 

“The use of lubricant is advisable to lubricate the vaginal passage because estrogens that lubricate the vagina will no longer be  present and it will also prevent tear and painful sexual intercourse.

Wednesday 22 May 2013

Man killed in deadly terror attack in London street

Dramatic footage has emerged of the suspected terrorist attack near the London barracks that left one man dead, showing a suspect with blood-covered hands using jihadist rhetoric to justify the violence.

Brandishing a cleaver and a knife, and with the body of the victim lying yards away, the man said: "We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reason we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.""We must fight them. I apologise that women had to witness this today.

"But in our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don't care about you."The man then walks away and talks to another suspected attacker.

It is believed the person died after suffering knife injuries, possibly around the head area.Two people have been taken to hospital after they were shot by armed police.

Ellie, 11 given the all clear after two years cancer battle

Ellie Thompson, from Sheffield, battled leukaemia for more than two years.

She had to take so many medications that her family had to use a whiteboard to keep track of the doses.

She has now been given the all-clear and is looking forward to going back to school in September.

I am do happy for her.

Picture: Body building couple

Engaged couples are usually so neck-deep in wedding invitations, seating plans and bridesmaid dresses that they find it difficult to make time for hobbies they already have, let alone new ones.

But then you can tell simply by looking at them that Don Akim, 43, and Rosanna Beckett, 33, from Loewstoft, Suffolk, are no ordinary couple. Just four months ago, the betrothed pair began bodybuilding, and are now celebrating having won three trophies at the Miami Pro World Champions held in St Albans - beating over 200 athletes.

Mark challenges northern governors to ban almajiri system

The Senate President, Sen. David Mark, on Wednesday advised northern governors to urgently ban the almajiri system in their states.

Mark gave the advice in Abuja during debates on the Bill for an Act to re-enact the trafficking in persons (prohibition) Act, which scaled through the second reading in Abuja.

He blamed the governors for encouraging the almajiri system, adding that it was “counter-productive’’ and had continued to undermine the development of the northern states.

“It is a system that is counter-productive, it is a breeding ground for irresponsible miscreants and we cannot tolerate it.

“I had to call the man who introduced Sharia on the issue, because wrongly or rightly, I think he is knowledgeable in Islamic affairs.“He told me categorically that the almajiri system is not an Islamic injunction.

Hmmmmmmm! I hope David Mark can be as vociferous on other pressing issues.

Paris’s Notre Dame evacuated after man shoots himself dead

A man shot himself dead Tuesday in front of the altar of Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral, forcing the evacuation of the French capital’s famed tourist spot, police told AFP.

The man, in his 70s, committed suicide with a pistol some time after 1400 GMT, investigators said. Police had earlier said he was in his 50s.The cathedral was in the process of being evacuated, police said. It was not immediately clear how many people were inside the building at the time of the incident.

It was the second dramatic suicide in less than a week in Paris, after a 50-year-old man with a history of family problems shot himself dead Thursday in a primary school near the Eiffel Tower, in front of about a dozen stunned children.

Picture: Beaten and bruised because I look like Taylor Swift

Xenna Kristian, 18, from Shropshire, pictured right as Taylor Swift and, left, after her attack, suffered bruising and a potentially broken jaw after allegedly being pulled from her chair and repeatedly kicked after thugs what started as verbal tirade about her similarities to the star turned to violence.

Xenna started performing as a lookalike of Taylor Swift, inset, earlier this year, after people started commenting on how much she looked like her. But now Xenna will have to take time off until the bruising goes down and her jaw recovers.

Professor Chinua Achebe is laid to rest

The Anambra state governor, Peter Obi on Wednesday led other dignitaries from Nigeria and abroad to pay last respect to the late literary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe, at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka.

The funeral ceremony began with a boundary reception at Amansea where Mr Obi and the Senator representing Anambra Central senatorial zone, Chris Ngige, received the body of the late sage before proceeding to the Alex Ekwueme square, Awka, where dignitaries poured encomiums on late professor Achebe.

All emphasized his life of honesty, integrity, dignity and concern for the downtrodden.The body lay in state at the middle of the square and was surrounded by Achebe’s kinsmen wearing traditional attire with red caps to match.It was a day of speeches as friends and acquaintances who came from all over the world spoke on the ideals of the late literary giant.

Achebe, 82, died on March 21 at a Boston hospital in the U.S.Born in Ogidi, Anambra, the author won a scholarship to the University of Ibadan and later worked as a scriptwriter for the Nigeria Broadcasting Service.

He chose to write Things Fall Apart in English for which he received criticism from authors including Ngugi wa Thiong’o.

But Achebe insisted that he felt “that the English language will be able to carry the weight of my African experience; it will have to be a new English, still in full communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings’’.

Before his death, he had twice rejected Nigerian honour of Commander of Federal Republic, complaining about corruption in the country.

Port Harcourt on edge as Anti- Amaechi protesters take to the streets

The political crisis rocking Rivers State,south/south Nigeria, took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, with thousands of youths under the auspices of the Rivers Peoples Assembly, a mass civil society movement,took to the streets of Port Harcourt ,the state capital demanding the resignation of Governor Chibuike Amaechi.

Security was unusualy tight around the Government House in the old GRA area of Port Harcourt as Anti-Terror Squad of the Nigeria Police with several Armoured Personnel Carriers deployed to ensure that the anti-Amaechi protesters do not cause a breach of the peace or attempt to enter the Government House.

The protesters ,most of whom are wearing T-shirts with anti-Amaechi slogans also carried banners and placards calling on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to probe all financial dealings in the state under Amaechi’s watch.

We Sold Human Head For N8000, Suspects Confess

The Police force command in Lagos on Tuesday paraded four suspected men who specialised in selling human parts to herbalists and ritualists.The suspects confessed that human heads were sold for N8000, hands goes for N4000 and private parts are sold at N10,000.The suspects were arrested by officers of Special Anti-Robbery squad of the Lagos state command in Oja-Odan and other areas of Owode -Yewa in Ogun state.

One of the suspects Agboola Kolawole, who blamed his indulgence on poverty and inability to pay his children’s school fees, disclosed that he had so far sold four heads of his deceased siblings to a herbalist, who in turn sold to some persons they identified simply as ‘Alhaji’s.

’Their arrest, according to the Command’s spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, followed a tip-off from the officer-in-charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, Abba Kyari, that one of the suspects, Jamiu Adeleke, was at the verge of selling a human hand for N21,000.

Monday 20 May 2013

Nigeria: Ogun Govt. Stuns Civil Servants With Gate Lock-up

The Ogun State government took its workers by surprise on Monday as it locked out some workers at its Oke Mosan secretariat to drive home its belief that punctuality is the soul of business.

The gate exercise which the Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle, affirmed would be a continuous exercise, had the two gates leading to the expansive complex locked at exactly 8 a.m., a development which caught hundreds of the workers in different cadres unaware.

Apparently miffed by the number of workers caught in the web, the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa, decried the late coming attitude of the workers, warning that government would not condone their nonchalant attitude to work any longer.

He noted that the civil service rules and regulation on punctuality were clear and unambiguous, urging workers to adhere strictly to them to avoid sanctions and other penalties.“T

Boko Haram Insurgency: Military Says Clampdown To Go On As 3 Soldiers Are Killed

The military operation in the North East has left 17 people dead on the fifth day of a push to crush the Boko Haram insurgency in the area, with a death toll of 14 insurgents and three soldiers, while seven others sustained injuries.

The spokesperson for the Defence Headquarters, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, said the operation is continuing, with patrols sent out to secure towns and villages.Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, has conveyed President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive which urged members of the Boko Haram sect to surrender their arms and embrace the amnesty option.

The Presidency stated that the amnesty option is still open as the Presidential committee set-up to work out modalities of for it are still on the option of dialogue for a peaceful resolution.

In their biggest offence since the insurgency began in 2009, the Nigerian forces are trying to chase the well-armed militants out of territory they control in the remote semi-deserts around Lake Chad, along the borders with Cameroun, Chad and Niger.

They are also going after them in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, Borno State, where the sect has cells.

José Mourinho clear to rejoin Chelsea as Real Madrid confirm his exit

Chelsea will not have to pay compensation for José Mourinho after Real Madrid confirmed that the Portuguese manager will leave the Bernabéu at the end of the season by mutual consent.

Nothing now stands in the way of Chelsea and Mourinho formalising an agreement that was reached in principle months ago.

The 50-year-old, whose position at Madrid had become untenable, has long been preparing for next season at Stamford Bridge – preparations that include contacting potential signings.

Chelsea hope to confirm his reappointment in the middle of next month.Madrid's president, Florentino Pérez, called a meeting with Mourinho at the club's Valdebebas training ground on Monday morning during which the two agreed to bring an end to the coach's contract, which was due to expire in 2016, after the final game of the season on 1 June.

That decision was then ratified by the board in the afternoon and made public at a press conference at the Bernabéu at 8pm. Pérez said that no compensation would be payable either by coach or club.Madrid's president said: "No one has been sacked." He also said that he would have liked Mourinho to have continued but that the pressure at Real Madrid meant that the time had come to end the relationship.

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