Twin Kano bomb blasts death toll rises

The death toll has risen to 12, in the explosions that rocked Sabongari area of Kano on Monday, military spokesman, Cpt. Ikedichi Iweha said on Tuesday.

Although it has been claimed  in some quarters that there are have been more than 20 deaths, Iweha said in a statement that others who sustained injuries had been taken to the hospital for treatment.

According to the statement, “12 persons were confirmed to have died from both incidences, while a couple of others who sustained various degrees of injuries were rushed to hospital for medical attention”.The statement urged the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious movements or persons to security authorities.It added that “this latest incidence could have been avoided if citizens had maintained vigilance, adding that contrary to media reports that the attack was carried out by suicide bombers, the parcel bombs were dropped among revellers.

It restated the determination of security agencies to continue to carry out their duties diligently.“The JTF and other security agencies will continue to count on the support and cooperation of the people of Kano to achieve an atmosphere of peace conducive for all to live in’’, it added.

5 Myths About Getting Flat Stomach

We all want to have that sexy flat stomach, especially when the summer is near, and we are willing to work for it. The problem is that lots of people are wasting their efforts simply because they have a wrong information about getting flat stomach. Here’s 5 myths you should not believe about it:

Extra Crunches for A Flat Stomach

Extra crunches don’t lead to tight abs. The truth is that everyone has ab muscles. They just stay hidden underneath a thick layer of fat on the stomach. If you want a toned look, you need to focus on burning the layer of fat that may be covering your belly. The key is to not obsess about crunches, but focus on burning fat.

Starve Yourself to get A Flat Stomach

At times, you may think that starving yourself is the only way to lose weight and get a flat stomach. Starving yourself is not only ineffective, but also dangerous for your overall well-being. You may think that severe calorie reduction may lead to better and quick results. It is important to understand that the human body is complex. As a result, starving yourself may disrupt your body’s metabolism. This will only slow down results. It is important not to starve yourself, but eat wholesome meals after short intervals of time. Eating less may be the key to weight loss, but starving yourself is not.

Diet Pills and Supplements

Well, diet pills and supplements can be quite tempting. There are many pills and supplements which claim to give you a flat stomach. However, you should not fall for it as there is no ‘magic pill’ available in the market. In fact, diet pills and supplements are more likely to hurt your pocket than showing any results on your belly. Instead of popping a pill, it will be better to burn calories with intense exercise.

Packaged Diet Products for Better Results

There are many packaged foods which are considered to be a solution for weight loss. Usually, such packaged products are packed with refined sugar. There are also some artificial ingredients which your body does not really need. Some ingredients in packaged foods don’t lead to weight loss. In fact, they may have a high-calorie content. You should try to avoid packaged foods and stick to a nutritious diet. Whole grains can be a good choice.

Avoid Carbohydrates for Tight Abs

Many notions and misconceptions make you think that carbohydrates are bad for your health. However, if you are one of the people who believe this, it is quite unfortunate. You can eat carbohydrates while slimming down. As mentioned earlier, it is important to avoid packaged foods and stick with oatmeal, whole grains and brown rice. In other words, you should stick with wholesome carbs rather than giving up all carbohydrates.

- fitnea.com

I had to speak with Islamic Clerics- Papiss Cisse

Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse donned the club's controversial 'Wonga' strip for the first time, as he started the club's pre-season friendly at St Mirren.

 Cisse broke his silence in his row over new club sponsor Wonga, revealing he consulted Islamic teachers before deciding to pull on the team's new shirt.Cisse made his first appearance of pre-season against Scottish side St Mirren on Tuesday night, having been at loggerheads with Newcastle over the deal with payday loan company Wonga, which the striker said conflicted with his Muslim beliefs.

Hmmmmmm!

Beware: Your phone can make you fat

IF you are trying to lose weight, and you sincerely wish to succeed in your weight loss plan, you need to ditch your cell phone. Really!?

Short answer: Your cell phone is making you fat.That smart little gadget of yours which has become the centre of your world of late, is slowly but steadily transforming you into a lazy bag of bones and if care is not taken, you’ll end up a fat  slob before you know it.Remember how you woke up this morning, all fired up to go to the gym – for  the first time in ages – and you really meant to go, but then your phone buzzed before you even got out of bed.It turned out to be your colleague at work texting a delicious tidbit of gossip. You had to respond – back and forth for about 10 minutes. And since your phone was in hand, it only made sense to check  Facebook and to see what else was going on in the world, which led you to a friend’s Instagram profile,  then pinterest, twitter, etc.
Suddenly, those 40 minutes you had dedicated to going to the gym had been eaten up by all those little apps on your smartphone.

According to a new study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity,   persons in the habit of staying glued to the cell phone 24/7, are most likely to get less exerciseand  are likely to end up being in worse physical shape than those who use their phones less frequently.Unlike all of the other sedentary devices such as TVs, video games and computers, cell phones, regardless of their portability, tend to discourage  movement and on-the-go activity much more readily.

Researchers studied 300 students at Kent State University involving low-frequency cell phone users (90 mintues a day); moderate users (average of 5 hours a day); and heavy users (up to 14 hours a day).They measured their fitness levels by having them run on a treadmill till exhaustion, as well as measuring their body fat. As expected, those who used their phones the most were in the worst physical shape.Some students even reported that certain phones were more of a time suck than others.

One interview subject said: “Now that I have switched to the iPhone, I would say it definitely decreases my physical activity because before I just had a Blackberry, so I didn’t have much stuff on it. But now, if I’m bored, I can just download whatever I want. I really cannot get bored using it. Before I would always get bored and I would have to find something else to do.

My advise. .. Ditch your cellphone! Is that even remotely possible?

BBA - Nando Disqualified, Elikem Gets a Strike

Nando becomes the first housemate to get disqualified from the Big Brother house after receiving three strikes for breaking the rules relating to violence and provocation.

After Sunday's Evictions that sawAnnabel and Sulu being given the boot, Big Brother then gathered all of the Housemates in the living room. Big Brother reproached Nando for the fight that he had with Elikem on Friday. The heated face-off with Elikem saw the two fellas exchanging fiery words between them.

Nando instigated the fight. Instigation and provocation is a violation of the Big Brother rules.

"Any Housemate who becomes physically violent will be removed from the House immediately. Violence can refer to self-inflicted violence, or violence towards another. Violence includes provocation, goading, bullying and victimisation," said Biggie.

This season Big Brother has imposed a Three Strike Rule, which will be applicable to Housemates who commit serious infringements. For this fight Nando received his second Strike and Elikem was served with his first Strike. Afterwards the Tanzanian was called into the Diary Room. He was given his third Strike for making threats against Elikem's life, saying: "I feel like stabbing him. A nigga like that deserves to die".And he was also caught sleeping with scissors under his bed and this is not the first time that he has been caught with a weapon in the House. The troubled young fellow has had a dramatic nine weeks in The Chase. Last month he was served with a a Strike and a stern warning from Big Brother after he was found carrying a knife to the Channel O Party.

The possession of weapons or intention to be violent in the House is another violation of the Big Brother rules.After the Diary session Nando was told to immediately exit the House. Big Brother then gave a warning to the Housemates to conduct themselves as adults.

Nigeria's Okagbare Sets New African Record in 100 Metres race

Okagbare set a record of 10.86 seconds.Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare has broken the African Women's 100 metres record at the ongoing Sainsbury's Anniversary Games in London after posting an impressive 10.86 seconds winning time in the second semi-final of the Women's race.

Okagbare has been in tremendous form lately as she also leapt 7m recently to become only the second Nigerian lady after Chioma Ajunwa to do same.

Expectedly, Okagbare tops the list of 19 athletes to represent Nigeria at next month's World Athletics Championships in Moscow where Nigeria hopes to end her 13 years of medal drought.Coming behind Okagbare to place second in the second semi-final is America's Barbara Pierre; while fellow African, Murielle Ahoure of Cote D'ivore came third.

The other contestants were Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad & Tobago, Verena Sailer of Germany, Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, Asha Phillips of Great Britain and Annabelle Lewis, also of Great Britain.

Incidentally another Nigerian Olusoji Fasuba holds the African record in the men's 100m event.

Incredible: Music Director Impregnates Daughter 4 Times

An award-winning music director who impregnated one of his daughters four times has been found guilty and will spend the rest of his life in jail, reports Daily Mail online.

Aswad Ayinde, 55, also known as Charles McGill of Paterson, NJ, was sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday after being found guilty in the second of five expected trials in which he is accused of repeatedly raping his six daughters, resulting in six children being fathered.

He also fathered 12 additional children with an additional three women, according to court records Mr. Ayinde, whose name sounds western Nigerian, was found guilty in his latest trial of having intercourse with one of his daughters when she was as young as eight-years-old.

The second sentence adds to the 40-year sentence Mr Ayinde received in a 2011 trial for sexually assaulting a separate daughter.

Mr. Ayinde is known for directing the music video for the Fugees 1996 smash hit Killing Me Softly.

In a disturbing disclosure during his first trial, Mr. Ayinde’s former wife said he was trying to create a ‘pure family bloodline’ by impregnating his daughters.He even claimed during a pre-trial hearing before the first trial that ‘the world was going to end, and it was just going to be him and his offspring and that he was chosen.’

In this latest trial, it was revealed that Mr. Ayinde began having intercourse with his second daughter from the time she was eight-years-old, impregnating her four times. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received a year’s probation – as he continued raping one daughter for at least another two years, according to officials.

Mr. Ayinde faces three more trials over the alleged assaults.

7 ways to boost your metabolism

Many of us have a sluggish metabolism. This can make it really difficult to lose weight and extremely easy to gain weight. A slow metabolism can also make you tire out easily so you don’t get to enjoy all that life has to offer.

However, there is good news. You can easily boost your metabolism naturally if you know how. Below, you will find 7 ways to increase your metabolism:

1. Early Morning Intense Exercise – A short burst of intense exercise when you first get up can do wonders for your metabolism. Dr. Oz has advocated for this method of speeding up the metabolism. The best part is you only have to do about five minutes of intense exercise to reap the benefit all day. The exercise you do can be really simple. Examples would include running in place, jumping jacks, and lunges. Of course, if you have a stair master or a jogging machine, that would work too. Just get your heart rate up for five minutes and cool down for two minutes.

2. Eat More Spicy Foods – Hot spices like curry, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cumin, and turmeric all help the body speed up your metabolism. There are other “hot” spices that you may not think of as hot but they react in the body in this way. They include cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Try adding these tasty spices to your soups, stir-fries, casseroles, and other dishes. Curry goes great in some type of salads like quinoa salads. Some people love the taste of cinnamon in their coffee. Just add it to the grounds before you brew it.

3. Drink Lots of Water – Water is magical in this way. Drink a lot of water and your metabolism will magically increase because the metabolic process needs water to fuel it. It’s even better if you make sure you are drinking alkaline water.

4.Keep Your Thyroid Healthy – To work efficiently, the thyroid needs selenium, zinc, copper, and iodine. However, the American diet is notoriously low in these important minerals. To get more of these minerals, eat more seafood and nuts.

5. Never Skip Breakfast – Unfortunately, in this fast paced world we live in, many of us have a tendency to skip breakfast or grab something nutrient poor on the way out the door. This is one of the worst things you can do for your metabolism. Always eat a healthy breakfast. This should include a healthy protein like eggs from pasture raised chickens and fruit bursting with antioxidants like blueberries or strawberries.

6. Don’t Eat As Much Late In the Day – Unfortunately, most of us eat more at dinner than we do at breakfast. We also tend to snack at night before bedtime. This is exactly the opposite of what you want to do to speed up your metabolism. Try to eat more earlier in the day and less at dinner. Plus, try not to eat for at least three hours before bedtime.

7. Build More Muscle Mass – Weight training isn’t just for body builders. Building muscle mass should be part of all fitness programs. Even if you can’t join a gym or buy fancy equipment, you can build muscle mass. A couple of cans of food or water bottles filled with water can serve as weights for your arms and you can use those big rubber bands (cheap) or your own body weight to provide resistance to your legs to build more muscle mass.

- fitnea.com

Study finds more than 5,000 personality traits are linked to how we write

'Are you an outgoing, sceptical people pleaser? Or an arrogant, practical person who has a tendency to lie? 

According to research from the National Pen Company in the U.S., your handwriting can give away clues about 5,000 different personality traits based on the way you space your letters, how you sign your name, and even how you connect the letter 'o' and 's' to other letters in a word.

It can even be used to identify potential health problems including schizophrenia, high blood pressure as well as how much energy you have.

The process of analysing handwriting is called graphology. It is classed as a pseudoscientific because there are debates about how accurate it can be at determining psychological and even physical attributes. 

Some companies use graphology during recruitment processes and the methods have also been used in court cases.

According to the graphic, the size of someone's handwriting can determine the type of personality they have. 

People with small handwriting tend to be shy, studious and meticulous, whereas outgoing people who love attention will have larger handwriting.

Can this be true?

Nicki Minaj flashes diamond ring after suprise proposal

DJ Khaled dramatically proposed to Nicki Minaj on MTV Thursday.And though the 30-year-old rapper has yet to respond, she made sure to flash a massive diamond sparkler on her ring finger while in Beverly Hills Sunday night.

The four-time Grammy nominee held her left hand up while surrounded by bodyguards after a girls' night out at Crustacean restaurant.

Should I say congratulations or what?

Former Premier league star, aged 27 dies

Christian Benitez, a former premier league star is dead. The former Birmingham City player's death comes just a few weeks after his £10million switch to Qatari side El Jaish from Mexican team Club America.

As footballers across the world took to Twitter to voice their grief at news of his death, the Ecuadorian Football Federation revealed he was rushed to hospital yesterday with 'severe stomach pain' before he died from a heart attack.

Sad for someone so young. May his soul rest in peace

Malabu $1.1bn fraud: Senate to finally begin probe

Over one year after  the Federal Government agreed to investigate what appears a fraudulent transfer of almost $1.1 billion to a shady oil firm, Malabu, the Senate on Thursday mandated two of its committees to commence the probe.

The Senate had on July 17 last year agreed to probe the controversial deal involving the sale of an oil bloc, OPL 245 following a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Shell and ENi paid the $1.1 billion into Nigeria’s foreign account for the oil bloc. The government later transferred most of the funds to Malabu Oil and Gas, whose account is controlled by convicted money launderer, Dan Etete.

The oil bloc was formerly disputed between Malabu and the international oil companies, while the government’s transfer of the money was authorised by Attorney General Mohammed Adoke and Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama.

The Senate President, David Mark, admitted on Thursday that the Senate “stopped short of naming the committees that would investigate the issue when we took the motion (last year).”Mr. Mark then directed the committees on petroleum (Upstream) and finance to conduct the probe saying “the Committee on Petroleum will lead.”

Let us now see what will come of it.

15 Nigerian soldiers buried amidst tears

Two Army Majors and thirteen soldiers killed by Boko Haram Terrorists in the North Eastern states of Borno, Yobe, as well as UNAMID operations in Darfur, Sudan, were yesterday given national burial at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja with President Goodluck Jonathan insisting that the nation will win the war on terror.

At the burial ceremony which took place at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja, scores of officers and men of the force, amidst grieving relatives of the gallant officers and men, Jonathan represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo described the death of the officers and soldiers as a sacrifice for the nation’s unity.

The 15 soldiers killed Major Abdullahi Fambiya, Major Abdulllahi Kanoma, Staff Sgt. Keku Adebayo, Corporal Ahmed Usman, Cpl. Mathew Ade, Lcpl. Adamu Ibrahim, Lcpl. Suleiman Gimba, Lcpl Saduaki Salisu, Lcpl Usman David, Lcpl. Olusola Ajani, Private Zakariya Dauda, Private Daniel Kantona, Private Nya Bassey, Private Bassey Emmanuel and Private Enyenihi Effiong.

May the souls of these our departed heroes rest in peace

70 persons ‘deported’ to Onitsha from Lagos

NO fewer than 70 persons allegedly deported by the Lagos State government were sighted in the commercial city of Onitsha yesterday, some non-Igbo speaking.

It was the second time such human cargo was dropped in the town this year.Vanguard gathered that they were brought in a trailer and escorted by a police patrol van with heavily armed police men which, after discharging them at the popular Upper Iweka flyover at about 3.20am, made a U–turn and headed back to Lagos.

Many of them showed signs of lunacy as they could not say their names and home towns, while a few others who could speak claimed that they were brought into the city by the Lagos State government.Some of them said they had been in detention for many years before they were finally released and put in a trailer and brought to Onitsha.

My take on this is simple! If there is any truth to this, , it should be thoroughly investigated.  I do not know of any law that has been promulgated against Nigerians residing anywhere in Nigeria

15 Nigerian soldiers buried amidst tears

Two Army Majors and thirteen soldiers killed by Boko Haram Terrorists in the North Eastern states of Borno, Yobe, as well as UNAMID operations in Darfur, Sudan, were yesterday given national burial at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja with President Goodluck Jonathan insisting that the nation will win the war on terror.

At the burial ceremony which took place at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja, scores of officers and men of the force, amidst grieving relatives of the gallant officers and men, Jonathan represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo described the death of the officers and soldiers as a sacrifice for the nation’s unity.

The 15 soldiers killed Major Abdullahi Fambiya, Major Abdulllahi Kanoma, Staff Sgt. Keku Adebayo, Corporal Ahmed Usman, Cpl. Mathew Ade, Lcpl. Adamu Ibrahim, Lcpl. Suleiman Gimba, Lcpl Saduaki Salisu, Lcpl Usman David, Lcpl. Olusola Ajani, Private Zakariya Dauda, Private Daniel Kantona, Private Nya Bassey, Private Bassey Emmanuel and Private Enyenihi Effiong.

May the souls of these our departed heroes rest in peace

National Shame: Nigeria’s satellite body, NIGCOMSAT, fails to connect lawmakers for constitution vote

Nigerians’ well-expressed frustration with spending trillions of Naira annually to run barely functional, but supposedly hi-tech institutions, appeared to manifest full-scale Wednesday after top government satellite body, NIGCOMSAT, failed for days to install a functional electronic platform for lawmakers voting on the constitution.

The multi-million Naira project flopped first on Tuesday, forcing a reschedule of the constitution amendment vote at the House of Representatives, and finally on Wednesday, plunging the chamber into a laborious manual voting that ended shortly before 11p.m.

How the Nigerian Communication Satellite body, an office expected to deal with utilising Nigeria’s satellite functions on broadband internet, tele-education and medicine, marine communication, and navigation services, got into a contract for a direct electronic voting machine installation is not clear.

What was clear however, was each of the 360 members received a new computer tablet and several new routers were purchased for the failed exercise.At an average N100, 000 per tablet, that would amount to at least N36 million, exclusive of other spending such as the internet routers and logistics.

Indication of a malfunction emerged Tuesday after members met for unusually long hours behind closed doors as they apparently waited to deal with the wobbling infrastructure. It is not also clear why the technical handlers of the machine, expected to be the same used by the Senate for their vote last week, were not called up.

As the lawmakers opened finally for business on Tuesday, it turned out it was NIGCOMSAT that was in charge of setting up an improvised system for the voting.The Director General of the Agency, Ahmed Rufai, apologised to the lawmakers on Tuesday after it failed to go through, urging patience and assuring the service will be functional by Wednesday.

Mr. Rufai said technicians were to work round the night to fix the problem, and counselled members to fully charge their new tablets for the next day.But the delay continued on Wednesday, and for hours voting failed to start, again drawing apologies from the DG, and a dim pledge to “give up” if the last try failed.

Indeed, that attempt failed forcing the House to commence manual voting that required each member to mark their preferences to 85 clauses, signed them while collation followed.Collation ended minutes before 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Nigeria!  I hail thee

Gild The Throne! Kanye West and Kim Kardashian flush nearly $1 million on gold plated toilets for their new Bel Air mansion

She has been out of the spotlight for nearly six weeks now after becoming a new mother to her newborn daughter North West.But it seems that Kim Kardashian has also been busy with the all important task of decorating her and Kanye West's new $11m Bel Air mansion, which is currently being renovated. 

And of course it is nothing but the best for the lord and the lady of the manor.

It has been revealed that the couple have splashed out a whopping $750,000 on four gold-plated toilets for the sprawling abode.

Kimye now join the likes of other famous celebrities and members of royalty who also have gold plated plumbing featured their homes.However, the couple cannot quite compete with the world's most expensive gold toilet, the $5 million Hang Fung Gold Toilet.

These guys cannot stop amusing me! " No be to shit"?

Podolski and Mertesacker square up in Samurai Warrior gear as Arsenal take Japan by storm

Arsenal have been busy banging in the goals on their pre-season tour to the Far East but it's not been all work and no play for Arsene Wenger's men.

The Gunners are now in Japan and defender Per Mertescaker and striker Lukas Podolski have been quick to soak up some local culture.

The German duo looked the part in full Samurai Warrior gear at the Urawa Royal Pines Hotel in Saitama while Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta and French defender Bacary Sagna were given a lesson in preparing sushi.

Arsenal, who have been making the headlines back home with their pursuit of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, thumped an Indonesian XI in Jakarta at the start of the tour and hammered Vietnam 7-1 in their national stadium last week.

Here are some pictures.

Thierry's new tattoo

Thierry Henry has revealed an intricate new tattoo involving a baby, the Empire State Building and an angel on Instagram.

A video showing the sleeve design, which covers the entirety of the Frenchman's left arm, was posted by Bang Bang Tattoos, a New York based tattoo parlour.The ink begins at the bottom of Henry's arm with an image of a baby, which could be his daughter Tea, 8, and then evolves into the Statue of Liberty and what appears to be Brooklyn Bridge.

The former Arsenal forward is not the first famous visitor to Bang Bang Tattoos. In recent months the popular parlour have posted images of their work on music superstars Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Adele.

The inclusion of some of New York's most famous landmarks suggests that Henry is enjoying his time in the USA, after signing for New York Red Bulls in the summer of 2010 from Barcelona.The 35-year-old was named his side's Most Valuable Player last season and earned a second consecutive spot as an MLS All-Star.

U.K. organisation confirms falsehood by Nigeria’s Attorney General, Mohammed Adoke

A global corruption watchdog, Global Witness, has confirmed that the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, sent it a letter claiming the House of Representatives cleared him of all infraction[s] of the Constitution or any other Nigerian law relating to the role he played in the fraudulent transfer of about N151 billion to a convicted felon in the murky Malabu Oil deal.

In a statement accompanied by a copy of the letter released on the organisation’s website, Wednesday, U.K.-based Global Witness said it decided to go public on the issue in the “interest of transparency and accuracy” since content of the letter in question has been reported in the media.

PREMIUM TIMES had exclusively published the content of the letter which showed Mr. Adoke, using Nigeria’s letterhead, to lie to the U.K. organisation.

According to Global Witness, Mr. Adoke wrote the letter in response to the organisation’s May 1, 2013 letter to the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala requesting amongst other matters that she investigates the role of Finance Ministry officials in requesting transfers of funds received from the sale of OPL 245, as the controversial oil bloc is called.

Global Witness said the Attorney General himself signed the letter, which was dated May 20, 2013.

In a copy of the letter published by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Adoke also claimed that the role of the Federal Government in transferring money to Malabu Oil and Gas, a fraudulent company established in 1998 to illegally appropriate the lucrative oil bloc, “did not breach the constitution or any extant law and was approved by all relevant authorities and persons.

”For the above reason, Mr. Adoke said, he is “unable to justify the call for the investigation of the officials of the Ministry of Finance or indeed any person or authority.”

With the release of this correspondence by Global Witness, the stack of lies and cover-ups, apparently built by Mr. Adoke to cover his dubious involvement in the Malabu Oil deal is beginning to crumble has he’s having problems convincing Nigerians that deal was done in good faith.

A report recently submitted by the House committee that investigated the deal is yet to be debated on the floor of the House.

But really,  are we surprised?

- Excerpts from Premium Times

Afterthought: Yerima blackmailed senators with religious sentiment, says David Mark

Senate President, David Mark, has accused a senator, Ahmed Yerima, who is at the centre of the child marriage controversy, of blackmailing the Senate to reverse its initial move to delete a section of the constitution that appears to support child

The said section says a woman married shall be deemed to be of age for the purpose of renouncing citizenship. But many Nigerians fear the section sanctions girl marriage and have asked that it be removed.

Mr. Mark repeated an earlier position of the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, that the section would be revisited.He did not, however, guarantee the contentious section, which ordinarily deals with citizenship, but appears to promote child marriage, will be deleted since it will require voting.

But he said the Senate was poised to remove the section from the law in the first place until members were blackmailed by Mr. Yerima by his claim that an alternative decision would be un-Islamic.

I read the above with so much distaste and disdain. You mean these legislators,  with all the outrageous earnings cannot study and understand what they are meant to vote for or against?  You only begin to wonder about how many of these scenarios have played out in the house.

God help us

Intriguing: Sleepy workers stop for a nap on busy highway in China as traffic zooms past

Of all the spots to choose for a mid-afternoon nap, the middle of a lane on a busy highway is hardly ideal.But it clearly appealed to these sleepy labourers in China, who downed tools and lay flat out on the tarmac in Chongqing yesterday.

A photographer captured traffic zooming past the prone figures of the six snoozing workers yesterday in the city in south west China.

While safety does not appear to be high on these men's priority list, they did use their vehicle to block the lane in front of them in a bid to avoid being hit by oncoming cars as they slept.Perhaps the heat got to the men, who had been working nearby in Chongqing, where temperatures soared above 35C this week.

Fighting couple strip naked in the middle of Chinese street

It was a fierce and very public row that was just too hot to handle.Standing in the middle of the street screaming at each, this young Chinese couple found the only way to cool things down was to remove their clothes.

So they did just that with first the man and then the woman performing a striptease for motorists and passers-by in Dongguan, Guangdong Province.

Amazingly, few took little notice even when the girl stood stark naked in the middle of the street.But witness Jiang Dayu did have the foresight to snap the scenes on his mobile phone.

'The couple started to quarrel at the roadside, then moved to the middle of the street', he said.'They completely ignored the traffic that was driving past even though people were beeping their horns and having to weave around them.

- Dailymail

Lounging: Retired footballing legend Ronaldo is on daddy duty

He might not be a footballer anymore but that certainly doesn't mean that Ronaldo can't holiday like one.

And the former sportsman did just that on Tuesday as he sunned himself during a family break to Ibiza, soaking up the sun with girlfriend Paula Morais and his young daughters.But the fun-loving star seemed to be more concerned with looking after his little ones than living it up on the party island, playing with them in the sea.

And although the Brazilian star, 35, has become known for his more rotund figure in recent years, he seemed body confident as he wandered around the beach.
But the star was somewhat outshone by his girlfriend, who showed off her trim and toned figure in an orange bandeau bikini with thong bottoms.

Even though they were there to let their hair down, the  couple seemed more worried about the youngsters, making sure that they were having fun during the beach day.

Looking Old May Signal Heart Trouble

Have you seen the Internet ads for the 53-year-old mom who looks 27? Not only does she look better than people who actually show their age, a new Danish study has found there's a good chance she'll live longer, too.

The older you look, the worse shape your heart is in, the authors of the ongoing Copenhagen Heart Study concluded.The study, which began in 1976, followed 11,000 men and women for 35 years to find the connection between physical appearance and heart health.Originally, the investigators paid attention to seven telltale signs of aging. They eventually found that wrinkles, gray hair and cholesterol deposits on the cornea of the eye were all part of the inevitable wear and tear on the body rather than predictors of bad health.

"These are signs of physical aging, not necessarily biological aging," said the study's lead investigator, Dr. Anne Tybaerg-Hansen.That left four physical traits - a receding hairline, baldness on top of the head, earlobe creases and yellow, fatty deposits around the eyelid - as visible evidence of heart disease. People with at least three of these markers for aging had a 57 percent increased risk for heart attack and a 39 percent increased risk for heart disease.

When the researchers considered gender separately, they found that hair loss in women was not linked with an increased risk of heart disease. However, the men with receding hairlines showed a 40 percent higher risk in men with hair loss than those without.Overall, the group for whom the new results raises a red flag was men between ages 70 and 79. In this group, 45 percent of those with all four aging signs developed heart disease, compared to 31 percent of those with none of the four.The markers used in the study are often cited as predictors of heart disease.

Scientists have long speculated that male-pattern baldness may be linked to high levels of testosterone, which, in turn, seem to be associated with a higher incidence of heart disease.Experts have suspected for decades that earlobe creases and cholesterol buildup on the eye are signs of heart trouble.Wrinkles, which weren't associated with heart health in the study, have been tied to poor bone health.

Last year, a Yale study found women with deeply furrowed brows in early menopause may also have weak bones.Tabaerg-Hansen said her research gave no clear answers as to why the four physical traits were so closely associated with the risk of heart disease. The next step would be to try to find out why they're connected and to see if they might also predict other diseases of aging, such as cancer.

Tabaerg-Hansen added that there's no reason physicians can't look out for these signs right now as they assess which of their patients are in poor cardiovascular health."This new study should give clinicians greater incentive to treat patients who show these physical signs," she said. "They could suggest lifestyle changes and therapies for those who have the appearance of higher risk.

"The study results were presented at this week's American Heart Association scientific meeting in Los Angeles. They have not yet been published.

Selling their skin: Japanese women paid to put adverts on their THIGHS to catch the attention of me

An advertising agency has hit upon a unique way of catching the attention of people living in ad-saturated Tokyo - use women's thighs as a living billboard.

Consumers in the Japanese megalopolis are notoriously hard to reach because of the sheer abundance of billboards, neon signs and huge TV screens pumping out commercials, so the WIT agency decided to put ads on a place men are happy to pay attention to.

'It's an absolutely perfect place to put an advertisement as it's what guys are eager to look at and girls are OK to expose,' said Hidenori Atsumi, the CEO of WIT.

Quite innovative!  Isn't it?

Intriguing: Ronaldo’s free kick breaks boy’s wrist

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo left a Brit fan aged 11 in agony — by smashing his wrist with a free kick.

Schoolboy Charlie Silverwood had been taken to see his team Bournemouth host Real Madrid . His dad DUCKED as the £80million ex-Man United forward’s wayward 35-yard rocket scorched into the stands — breaking his son’s wrist in two places.The lad was so determined not to miss the action he kept watching for the remaining 84 minutes — before going to hospital where X-rays revealed his double fracture.

He faced an operation before being plastered.Yesterday Charlie admitted: “It was very painful. I’ve told friends and they cannot believe it. Ronaldo is the world’s most expensive player — and he broke my arm.”The youngster, from Christchurch in Dorset, added: “I could see the ball coming towards me. It curled past the post and was going to hit my face — so I had to block it with my hand. My dad was sat next to me and ducked out of the way so I took the full force.”

Bournemouth gave Charlie — who will be in plaster for the entire six-week school holiday — a Real Madrid shirt signed by Ronaldo and his teammates to “cheer him up”.He also got a ball signed by the Bournemouth team.

13 years after, Nigeria Sydney Olympics Gold medallists honoured

Thirteen years after they were awarded Silver medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, members of Nigeria’s 4×4 Men’s Relay Team had their medals upgraded to Gold on Wednesday at a ceremony inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The upgrade followed the disqualification of the United States’ team that initially won the Gold based on drug-related issues.Shortly after their decoration with the upgraded medals, President Goodluck Jonathan announced a cash reward of N5m each for the six athletes and N7m each for their two handlers.

Google takes on Apple's iPad mini with its new super-slim Nexus 7

Google has unveiled a new tablet set to seriously challenge Apple’s iPad mini.

The new Nexus 7 is built by Asus and has a seven-inch, 1980x1200 display - the world's highest resolution screen - that offers almost double the pixels per inch than the iPad mini despite being around £100 cheaper.It also has a 5MP rear-facing camera for the first time, and a faster 1.5Ghz processor compared to the first-generation Nexus 7 device.

The new Nexus 7 is the first gadget to be shipped on an updated version of Google's Jelly Bean operating system, Android 4.3, and will come in three models: 16GB Wi-Fi for £149 ($229), 32GB Wi-Fi for £175 ($269) and a 64GB LTE model that costs £227 ($349).

 All three devices will go on sale in the U.S from 30 July and across Europe in 'the coming weeks.'

Presenting His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge

Kensington Palace tonight revealed the baby's full name will be George Alexander Louis.

William and Kate's baby will be known as Prince George. Kensington Palace said in a short statement: 'The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son George Alexander Louis.

The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.' The name will be seen to have been chosen in honour of George VI (left), the Queen's father, but royal sources say the baby's names are not supposed to be symbolic but that the couple just like them.

£40,000-a-week Muslim Premier league star who refused to wear shirt sponsored by loan firm Wonga is spotted GAMBLING in casino

A picture has emerged apparently showing Muslim footballer Papiss Cisse at a casino table. It comes as the Newcastle striker is at loggerheads with the club over their decision to replace old sponsor Virgin Money with pay-day loan company Wonga. 

Cisse, who is one of a number of Muslim players at Newcastle, has told the hierarchy at the club that he is unwilling to wear the shirt as it conflicts with his religious beliefs.But an image has emerged on Twitter that claims to show the Senegalese forward gambling in a casino. As well as the lending of money, gambling is not permissible in Islam.

A penny for your thought people.

Nigerian Lawmakers Top Salaries Chart

Nigerian federal legislators receive much higher salaries than their counterparts in wealthier countries and key developing nations, according to an analysis published by the Economist magazine.

A Nigerian legislator receives an annual salary of about $189,000, equivalent of N30 million, which is 116 times the country's gross domestic product (GDP) per person, says the publication which was posted on the magazine's website on Friday.

The figures put salaries collected by Nigerian senators and members of the House of Representatives way ahead of those received by fellow parliamentarians in the 29 countries whose data was analysed by the Economist.

In terms of volume of cash earnings, the Nigerian legislators beat their counterparts in Britain who take $105,400 yearly, as well as those in the United States ($174,000), France ($85,900), South Africa ($104,000), Kenya ($74,500), Saudi Arabia ($64,000) and Brazil ($157,600).

In terms of lawmakers' salaries as a ratio of GDP per capita, the gap is even much wider. While the salary of a Nigerian lawmaker is 116 times the country's GDP per person, that of a British member of parliament is just 2.7 times.The report said Britain's legislators pay is "relatively parsimonious" when compared with that of their counterparts in poorer countries, including Nigeria, who "enjoy the heftiest salaries by this measure.

"According to the data, only Australian lawmakers, with $201,200 annual salary, receive higher amounts compared to Nigerian legislators, but their salaries are only 3 times their country's GDP per person.Other yearly salary details published by the Economist are those of lawmakers in Ghana ($46,500), Indonesia ($65,800), Thailand ($43,800), India ($11,200), Italy ($182,000), Bangladesh ($4,000), Israel ($114,800), Hong Kong ($130,700), Japan ($149,700), Singapore ($154,000), Canada ($154,000), New Zealand ($112,500), Germany ($119,500), Ireland ($120,400), Pakistan ($3,500), Malaysia ($25,300), Sweden ($99,300), Sri Lanka ($5,100), Spain ($43,900) and Norway ($138,000).

Based on the constitution, RMAFC( Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission )has the final say on the remuneration package of National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly members, while a law needs to be enacted based on the commission's proposals regarding the pay packages of executive and judicial office holders.

But it is understood that the National Assembly and other arms of government have refused to implement the reduced packages on the grounds that the constitution says earnings of political officers should not be reviewed to their disadvantage. These same people could act in that of child marriage. ..pretty sad.