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| Rapper, Desmond Chideme |
South Africa’s communications regulator, ICASA, on Wednesday gave permission for satellite television network TopTV to broadcast three “sexually explicit” channels, saying there was no legal basis to reject the application.
The decision opens the gates for wider dissemination of pornography in Africa’s largest economy, where regulators have previously rejected bids, saying such broadcasts could offend a morally conservative public.The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) said channels Playboy TV, Desire TV and Private Spice would likely be on the air within six months.
“It is the authority’s view that indeed there is no basis or law for the rejection of TopTV’s application,” ICASA spokesman Paseka Maleka said in a statement.
A previous bid by TopTV last year was turned down. This time, its management cited constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and choice, arguing that programs would not breach the law on hate speech or incitement to violence nor would they demean women or children.Maleka said the sexually explicit channels would be accessible from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., and TopTV needed to ensure security measures, including a double pin code, were in place to protect children.
TopTV is owned by On Digital Media and whose shareholders include Luxembourg-based telecoms operator SES Astra
Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled a plot to smuggle 40.255kg of methamphetamine to South Africa on board a South African Airline flight.
The consignment is reported to have been detected at the cargo section of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos.A total of 41 parcels of the methamphetamine were found hidden inside melon packed with cosmetics and provisions.
According to the NDLEA airport commander, Mr Hamza Umar, the drug was found in a bag of provisions and cosmetics.The NDLEA also said that it has impounded a Hummer Jeep, Range Rover Jeep and a Bus from suspected members of the cartel.The suspect, Mr. Ihedioha Chidi who is a patient medicine dealer said that he was given the sum of N450,000 to send the consignment.
News has emerged that 12 Nigerian policemen which are missing or presumed dead following an ambush on their boat in the Niger Delta region.
Gunmen attacked a police boat in the delta's creeks on Friday, officials said, in what appeared to be a dispute over amnesty payments.
A boat carrying some 50 police officers was on its way to a funeral when it developed engine trouble in one of the creeks."The officers became soft target for some hoodlums, who we have confirmed were part of a militant group that was supposed to be enjoying an amnesty," police commissioner Kingsley Omire said.All but the 12 officers reported missing were now safe, he added.Thousands of former militants are supposed to be receiving a monthly salary as part of the amnesty agreement
Mend threatened to resume violence after its leader, Henry Okah, was recently jailed by a South African court for terrorism.The group had been fighting to gain a greater share of the oil wealth from its part of southern Nigeria.
On the other hand, thousands of former militants are supposed to be receiving a monthly salary as part of the amnesty agreement.However, whilst some former commanders have grown extremely rich out of the deal, some of the junior militants have not received what they are owed.
I just hope the Government is culling one or two lessons from these occurrences in their Boko Haram decisions.
Former South –African president Nelson Mandela who is being treated for Pneumonia was visited by members of his family on Monday after doctors had reported an improvement in his condition over the weekend.
A statement from South Africa’s presidency said there was “no significant change” in the condition of the 94-year-old former president, who has been in hospital since late Wednesday suffering from a recurrence of a lung infection.
“Former President Mandela is still in hospital where he is receiving treatment … He spent part of Family Day today with some members of his family,” the statement from President Jacob Zuma’s office said
In South Africa, Easter Monday is a public holiday celebrated as Family Day.In their previous bulletin late on Sunday, the medical team treating Mandela said he had a “restful day” and had shown further improvement after a procedure to drain excess fluid from around his lungs. Doctors had already said he was breathing without difficulty.Mandela’s latest treatment is his third visit to hospital in four months, generating worldwide concern over the health of the revered statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who became South Africa’s first black president in 1994.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from the hospital in the capital Pretoria following a routine medical check-up. "The doctors have completed the tests. He [Mandela] is well and as before, his health remains under the management of the medical team," a statement by the South African government said. The 94-year-old spent the night in the hospital where he was treated for a pre-existing condition consistent with his age. The anti-apartheid leader, who imprisoned for 27 years, has already returned to his home in Johannesburg
