Frog struck down by lightning
An Australian family had a lucky escape when a lightning bolt struck only 20m from their home. But a green tree frog hiding in a power box was not so lucky- he was fried alive. Belinda Brustolin said there was a bright flash before her house went dark when the bolt struck a power pole in her frontyard.
‘It was like nature’s version of Territory Day,’’ she said. ‘‘There was a thunder clap, a bright flash and then the power went out. Mrs Brustolin lives with her husband Mark and her four children in Girraween in the Northern Territory.
The lightning struck at about 5.50am as much of Darwin, Palmerston and the rural area was drenched in the first downpour in weeks. The rural mother said her youngest two boys had a mighty fright from the the loud noise. ‘‘It was a good storm,’’ she said.
‘‘It was manic, within 10 minutes it was on and next thing I had six dogs and two kids in my bed.’’ The Brustolin’s were left without power all day. The fuses were as fried as the frog after the lightning strike torched the electricity supply. The family’s trusty generator came to the rescue. Mrs Brustolin has lived at the property for 30 years.
‘It was like nature’s version of Territory Day,’’ she said. ‘‘There was a thunder clap, a bright flash and then the power went out. Mrs Brustolin lives with her husband Mark and her four children in Girraween in the Northern Territory.
The lightning struck at about 5.50am as much of Darwin, Palmerston and the rural area was drenched in the first downpour in weeks. The rural mother said her youngest two boys had a mighty fright from the the loud noise. ‘‘It was a good storm,’’ she said.
‘‘It was manic, within 10 minutes it was on and next thing I had six dogs and two kids in my bed.’’ The Brustolin’s were left without power all day. The fuses were as fried as the frog after the lightning strike torched the electricity supply. The family’s trusty generator came to the rescue. Mrs Brustolin has lived at the property for 30 years.
Russian children who found lion cub took it to school
Children on their was to school in Russia found a lion cub. The animal was found in the village Seyatel in the Salskovo region of Rostov Oblasts.
The children who found the young wild cat took their find to school number 84, where he was put in the sports hall. The director of the educational institution Angelica Chemerisova called the police and the emergency services reporting that there was a lion cub at the school.
Law enforcement agencies are looking for the owner. It was possibly able to escape from the travelling zoo “Safari”, currently in Salsk. Another possibility is that the lion cub was left in the street by its owners, who realised that they could not look after a young predator.
YouTube link.
It has not been established how long the lion had been free. When the cub was found, she appeared scared and hungry. At school number 84, the animal drank thirstily. It has now been removed from the school and placed in a local zoo.
There's an additional news video here.
The children who found the young wild cat took their find to school number 84, where he was put in the sports hall. The director of the educational institution Angelica Chemerisova called the police and the emergency services reporting that there was a lion cub at the school.
Law enforcement agencies are looking for the owner. It was possibly able to escape from the travelling zoo “Safari”, currently in Salsk. Another possibility is that the lion cub was left in the street by its owners, who realised that they could not look after a young predator.
YouTube link.
It has not been established how long the lion had been free. When the cub was found, she appeared scared and hungry. At school number 84, the animal drank thirstily. It has now been removed from the school and placed in a local zoo.
There's an additional news video here.
Acid attack survivor wins 2.5m rupees on Indian version of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire'
Four months ago, acid attack victim Sonali Mukherjee just wanted to die to escape her suffering. Now, the 27-year-old is a rupee millionaire after appearing on 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', the Indian version of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire', and plans to use her experience to help combat the heinous crime of acid violence, which kills hundreds of people every year, most of them women. "I've had 22 operations and nine more are remaining, so that at least my eyes and ears are functional," Mukherjee said. "If I recover, I want to help people like me. In my nine years of struggle, I have faced a lot. I know the kind of difficulties we have to face, with no help from any quarter."
Nine years ago, three men broke into Mukherjee's home in the middle of the night as she slept and poured acid over her face - burning her skin, melting away her eyelids, nose, mouth and ears and leaving her partly deaf and blind - simply because she spurned their sexual advances. Left with 70 percent burns and severe disfigurement, Mukherjee, who was a 17-year-old college student in the central Indian town of Dhanbad at the time, endured years of suffering, confined to her home. Her family could not afford the expensive reconstructive surgery she needed to help her live a normal life. Her three attackers were released after serving three years in prison. Unable to continue what she said was "half a life with half a face", Mukherjee begged the government to allow her to kill herself. Euthanasia is illegal in India.
In the weeks that followed, Mukherjee's story made national headlines and there was an outpouring of public support for her. Local charities and private hospitals came forward offering to fund the surgery she needed. The turning point came last weekend, when she was invited to appear as a contestant on the Indian quiz show " Kaun Banega Crorepati" hosted by popular Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, also known as Big B. "I could never imagine that I would meet big people. Meeting Big B was the best thing. He is such a big star, but is so humble and down-to-earth," she said. Wearing sunglasses and with a red scarf wrapped round her head and partly covering her face, she was guided onto the stage by Bachchan and former Miss Universe Lara Dutta, and given a standing ovation by the audience.
Confidently answering questions on everything from botany and cooking to political history, the young woman scooped 2.5 million rupees, (£28,200, $45,300) with her celebrity partner Dutta. Mukherjee plans to use her winnings to complete her surgery, but says this is not the end of her struggle. With her new-found celebrity status, she wants to speak out against acid violence, most common in countries such as Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, where social structures remain deeply patriarchal. Around 1,500 acid attacks are reported globally each year, 80 percent of them on women, says the London-based charity Acid Survivors Trust International, though it also says this is a gross under-estimate as most victims are scared to speak out. "I appeal to the government to ensure that these cases are not repeated," said Mukherjee. "Make a separate law, which is not just on paper, but is followed," she said.
Nine years ago, three men broke into Mukherjee's home in the middle of the night as she slept and poured acid over her face - burning her skin, melting away her eyelids, nose, mouth and ears and leaving her partly deaf and blind - simply because she spurned their sexual advances. Left with 70 percent burns and severe disfigurement, Mukherjee, who was a 17-year-old college student in the central Indian town of Dhanbad at the time, endured years of suffering, confined to her home. Her family could not afford the expensive reconstructive surgery she needed to help her live a normal life. Her three attackers were released after serving three years in prison. Unable to continue what she said was "half a life with half a face", Mukherjee begged the government to allow her to kill herself. Euthanasia is illegal in India.
In the weeks that followed, Mukherjee's story made national headlines and there was an outpouring of public support for her. Local charities and private hospitals came forward offering to fund the surgery she needed. The turning point came last weekend, when she was invited to appear as a contestant on the Indian quiz show " Kaun Banega Crorepati" hosted by popular Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, also known as Big B. "I could never imagine that I would meet big people. Meeting Big B was the best thing. He is such a big star, but is so humble and down-to-earth," she said. Wearing sunglasses and with a red scarf wrapped round her head and partly covering her face, she was guided onto the stage by Bachchan and former Miss Universe Lara Dutta, and given a standing ovation by the audience.
Confidently answering questions on everything from botany and cooking to political history, the young woman scooped 2.5 million rupees, (£28,200, $45,300) with her celebrity partner Dutta. Mukherjee plans to use her winnings to complete her surgery, but says this is not the end of her struggle. With her new-found celebrity status, she wants to speak out against acid violence, most common in countries such as Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, where social structures remain deeply patriarchal. Around 1,500 acid attacks are reported globally each year, 80 percent of them on women, says the London-based charity Acid Survivors Trust International, though it also says this is a gross under-estimate as most victims are scared to speak out. "I appeal to the government to ensure that these cases are not repeated," said Mukherjee. "Make a separate law, which is not just on paper, but is followed," she said.
Five hospitalised after neighbourhood brawl over ownership of cat
A dispute over the ownership of a cat resulted in five people taken to hospital in Gympie, Australia. Two men have been charged after three households clashed over the ownership of a pet cat, with one group of people attacking the other with weapons, including a machete. Queensland Police Detective Senior Sergeant Gregg Davey of Gympie's Criminal Investigation Branch said five people were taken to hospital as a result of the neighbourhood battle, with two suffering from serious cuts to their bodies.
He said the dispute was an ongoing one that "boiled over" when police received numerous Triple Zero calls at around 11.30pm on Thursday. When they arrived they found several people injured and a man walking towards them with a machete in his hand. Police drew their guns and tasers and ordered the man to drop his weapon. After he complied, the 29-year-old was arrested and charged with going armed as to cause fear.
Det Snr Sgt Davey said a second man, a 26-year-old from Brisbane, has also been charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm. "Through our investigations so far we think there were seven people in total fighting," he said. "It was one house versus two houses it was an incident that boiled over. It eventuated over a cat. One group came armed with machetes, hammers and a steering wheel lock. It's such a basic neighbourly dispute. There are other avenues to sort these things out."
Det Snr Sgt Davey said police had no idea this problem existed between the households until Thursday night. Of the five taken to Gympie Hospital, two men and a woman have already been released while another two men were transferred to Nambour Hospital with serious injuries. One of the men released from hospital was the 26-year-old charged. It is understood the 26-year-old was merely a visitor to one of the households when he became involved in the melee. Police investigations into the incident are continuing.
He said the dispute was an ongoing one that "boiled over" when police received numerous Triple Zero calls at around 11.30pm on Thursday. When they arrived they found several people injured and a man walking towards them with a machete in his hand. Police drew their guns and tasers and ordered the man to drop his weapon. After he complied, the 29-year-old was arrested and charged with going armed as to cause fear.
Det Snr Sgt Davey said a second man, a 26-year-old from Brisbane, has also been charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm. "Through our investigations so far we think there were seven people in total fighting," he said. "It was one house versus two houses it was an incident that boiled over. It eventuated over a cat. One group came armed with machetes, hammers and a steering wheel lock. It's such a basic neighbourly dispute. There are other avenues to sort these things out."
Det Snr Sgt Davey said police had no idea this problem existed between the households until Thursday night. Of the five taken to Gympie Hospital, two men and a woman have already been released while another two men were transferred to Nambour Hospital with serious injuries. One of the men released from hospital was the 26-year-old charged. It is understood the 26-year-old was merely a visitor to one of the households when he became involved in the melee. Police investigations into the incident are continuing.
South African air force officer reprimanded over pink slippers
An officer in the South African air force who went out shopping in her military uniform and a pair of lurid pink slippers, has been officially reprimanded for the fashion crime, a response dismissed as too lenient by politicians who said she should be fired. The incident happened in April when Lieutenant Colonel Ruth Ndayi visited the Brooklyn shopping mall in Pretoria. The picture, taken by a colleague, shows her in the air force's blue-and-white garrison cap and uniform while pushing a plastic trolley among the aisles.
On her feet, pink slippers are clearly visible. Onlookers appear startled by the spectacle. The photo was sent to the air force for comment, causing widespread consternation in military circles. The episode was raised in parliament when David Maynier, the shadow minister of defence, waved a pair of pink slippers to taunt the then defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu – who happened to be dressed in pink.
Sisulu's successor, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, told Maynier in a written answer this week that Ndayi had now been reprimanded. But the shadow minister does not believe this goes far enough. "There should be no place for a military officer who goes shopping on the high street in pink slippers," he said on Friday. "I don't think the punishment fits the crime. She should be fired."
Maynier, an MP for the opposition Democratic Alliance, continued: "It is embarrassing. There are many loyal soldiers in our defence force trying to do a good job in difficult circumstances, but this case symbolises the decline in discipline. All the evidence points to a defence force in deep trouble." Siphiwe Dlamini, spokesman for the defence department, said: "It's a reprimand to not do it again. The rules say you can't wear uniform with other pieces of clothing."
On her feet, pink slippers are clearly visible. Onlookers appear startled by the spectacle. The photo was sent to the air force for comment, causing widespread consternation in military circles. The episode was raised in parliament when David Maynier, the shadow minister of defence, waved a pair of pink slippers to taunt the then defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu – who happened to be dressed in pink.
Sisulu's successor, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, told Maynier in a written answer this week that Ndayi had now been reprimanded. But the shadow minister does not believe this goes far enough. "There should be no place for a military officer who goes shopping on the high street in pink slippers," he said on Friday. "I don't think the punishment fits the crime. She should be fired."
Maynier, an MP for the opposition Democratic Alliance, continued: "It is embarrassing. There are many loyal soldiers in our defence force trying to do a good job in difficult circumstances, but this case symbolises the decline in discipline. All the evidence points to a defence force in deep trouble." Siphiwe Dlamini, spokesman for the defence department, said: "It's a reprimand to not do it again. The rules say you can't wear uniform with other pieces of clothing."
Catholic Church sets up exorcist hotline to deal with demand
The Catholic Church has established an exorcist hotline in Milan, its biggest diocese, to cope with demand. Monsignor Angelo Mascheroni, the diocese’s chief exorcist since 1995, said the curia had also appointed twice as many exorcists to cope with a doubling in the number of requests for help over 15 years. “We get many requests for names, addresses and phone numbers; that’s why we’ve set up a switchboard in the curia from Monday to Friday from 2.30pm to 5pm,” he said.
“People in need can call and will be able to find a priest in the same area who doesn’t have to travel too far.” And to that end, the number of demon-busting priests on call has increased from six to 12. The Monsignor said he knew of one exorcist who had been seeing up to 120 people a day. “But with so little time per client he was only able to offer a quick blessing. That’s not enough,” he said. ”There should be two to four appointments a day, no more, otherwise it’s too much.”
It’s not clear why the number of suspected possessions has risen so sharply. But Monsignor Mascheroni said that part of the increase might be explained by the rising numbers of parents having difficulty controlling disobedient teenagers. “Usually the parents call [because they are] concerned about a child who won’t go to school or who’s taking drugs or rebelling. In reality it’s not a demon, but when they’re 18 years old young people don’t want to be told what to do.”
He warned that many worried and vulnerable people were at risk from charlatans. “Magicians demand money; we … give our time, give benediction … all for free. It couldn’t be any other way.” The Monsignor said that all those who sought help were welcomed. But he added: “The real diabolical phenomena, at least in my experience, are very rare.” He said that “mental phenomena, mental and psychiatric disorders” were often to blame for unusual behaviour.
“People in need can call and will be able to find a priest in the same area who doesn’t have to travel too far.” And to that end, the number of demon-busting priests on call has increased from six to 12. The Monsignor said he knew of one exorcist who had been seeing up to 120 people a day. “But with so little time per client he was only able to offer a quick blessing. That’s not enough,” he said. ”There should be two to four appointments a day, no more, otherwise it’s too much.”
It’s not clear why the number of suspected possessions has risen so sharply. But Monsignor Mascheroni said that part of the increase might be explained by the rising numbers of parents having difficulty controlling disobedient teenagers. “Usually the parents call [because they are] concerned about a child who won’t go to school or who’s taking drugs or rebelling. In reality it’s not a demon, but when they’re 18 years old young people don’t want to be told what to do.”
He warned that many worried and vulnerable people were at risk from charlatans. “Magicians demand money; we … give our time, give benediction … all for free. It couldn’t be any other way.” The Monsignor said that all those who sought help were welcomed. But he added: “The real diabolical phenomena, at least in my experience, are very rare.” He said that “mental phenomena, mental and psychiatric disorders” were often to blame for unusual behaviour.
Christmas illuminations unveiling cancelled because no-one could find the 'on' switch
Festive feeling was put on hold when an official light switch on didn’t go quite to plan. Residents in Upper Dovercourt, Essex were left in the dark when no-one could find the switch for the Christmas lights.
About 150 people, including carol singers, a choir and Father Christmas, had gathered near the Co-Op in Fronk’s Road on Thursday for the big switch on.
As residents counted down in anticipation of illuminations filling the sky, the main lights at Fronk’s Road Co-op failed. Organisers rushed into the shop to find the switch, but couldn’t locate it.
The remaining lights were eventually twinkling the next night after the switch was found outside the building down an alley. The lights are provided by Harwich's Community Representatives Party.
About 150 people, including carol singers, a choir and Father Christmas, had gathered near the Co-Op in Fronk’s Road on Thursday for the big switch on.
As residents counted down in anticipation of illuminations filling the sky, the main lights at Fronk’s Road Co-op failed. Organisers rushed into the shop to find the switch, but couldn’t locate it.
The remaining lights were eventually twinkling the next night after the switch was found outside the building down an alley. The lights are provided by Harwich's Community Representatives Party.
Council ‘sorry’ for redacting all 425 pages of Freedom of Information request
Council officials have apologised after staff produced a 425-page Freedom of Information response with every page blacked out. The reply is as thick as a telephone when printed but contains page after page of large black rectangles blocking all key information. The 425-page document was put together by staff at Brentwood Council in Essex after they received questions about a multi-million pound deal to build a cinema.
Under Freedom of Information laws, local authorities are obliged to provide the public with requested information about how money is spent or how decisions are made. But the details that did pass the censor's pen included: "Hi Neil, [redacted] I trust this is helpful and thank you for your assistance. Steve Boyle." The FOI was originally submitted by local councillor Russell Quirk, 44, from Brentwood, after he became concerned taxpayers could be being short-changed in a deal to build a multiscreen cinema on council land.
The response took him half an hour to print and used a complete black ink cartridge. He said: "I find it ironic that on Brentwood Council's website it claims to have a 'reputation as one of the most transparent councils in the country'. This really is a slap in the face to that claim. I understand that some information has to be held back but what I do not understand is how all 425 pages can be deemed 'not in the public interest'. It must have taken a substantial amount of office time to redact all those pages."
Council officials said much of the information contained in the document had to be redacted as it was deemed commercially sensitive and releasing it would not be in the public interest. A Brentwood Council spokesperson said: "We're sorry that it was necessary to provide all the redacted pages in the document but it was our understanding that this is what was seen as good practice by the Information Commissioner. We needed to redact some information because some matters are commercially sensitive or are subject to legal privilege. But we continue to monitor this information and we will be sending more when we can."
Under Freedom of Information laws, local authorities are obliged to provide the public with requested information about how money is spent or how decisions are made. But the details that did pass the censor's pen included: "Hi Neil, [redacted] I trust this is helpful and thank you for your assistance. Steve Boyle." The FOI was originally submitted by local councillor Russell Quirk, 44, from Brentwood, after he became concerned taxpayers could be being short-changed in a deal to build a multiscreen cinema on council land.
The response took him half an hour to print and used a complete black ink cartridge. He said: "I find it ironic that on Brentwood Council's website it claims to have a 'reputation as one of the most transparent councils in the country'. This really is a slap in the face to that claim. I understand that some information has to be held back but what I do not understand is how all 425 pages can be deemed 'not in the public interest'. It must have taken a substantial amount of office time to redact all those pages."
Council officials said much of the information contained in the document had to be redacted as it was deemed commercially sensitive and releasing it would not be in the public interest. A Brentwood Council spokesperson said: "We're sorry that it was necessary to provide all the redacted pages in the document but it was our understanding that this is what was seen as good practice by the Information Commissioner. We needed to redact some information because some matters are commercially sensitive or are subject to legal privilege. But we continue to monitor this information and we will be sending more when we can."
Jail for thief caught with 20 mobile phones down his tights
A thief who was caught with 20 stolen mobile phones down a pair of tights he was wearing under his trousers after a tracking device helped police locate him, has been jailed.
Ionut Guita, 23, was arrested and charged in connection with a spate of phone thefts at the Sundown Festival at the Norfolk Showground in Costessey earlier this year.
Police were called on September 2 after a young woman reported her iPhone stolen. The victim, together with her friend, used a tracking application to trace the phone to the McDonald’s restaurant at Longwater Lane where she contacted police.
Officers entered the restaurant and dialled the number of the stolen phone to identify the thief who was searched and found to have 20 phones hidden in a pair of tights which he was wearing under his trousers. Guita, of Corporation Street, London, has been sentenced to a total of 30 months and two weeks in prison after he pleaded guilty to all theft charges.
Ionut Guita, 23, was arrested and charged in connection with a spate of phone thefts at the Sundown Festival at the Norfolk Showground in Costessey earlier this year.
Police were called on September 2 after a young woman reported her iPhone stolen. The victim, together with her friend, used a tracking application to trace the phone to the McDonald’s restaurant at Longwater Lane where she contacted police.
Officers entered the restaurant and dialled the number of the stolen phone to identify the thief who was searched and found to have 20 phones hidden in a pair of tights which he was wearing under his trousers. Guita, of Corporation Street, London, has been sentenced to a total of 30 months and two weeks in prison after he pleaded guilty to all theft charges.
Video: Post Of The Day- Must Read/Watch
Bill Clinton mastermind Holocaust In Congo, Susan Rice was one of his field soldiers during this time as well!!!
Why I said We must stop get involved about so called Israel and Palestine issues we must deal with our issues??? Here's the qu
ote from Dr. John Henrik Clarke "Arabs always act as though they are not in Africa. Once when I was visiting Egypt, I told my Egyptian Arab host to get a cab ready for the next morning that I was going to Kenya. So you are going to Africa to visit your people? We got no diseases here, why are you leaving us?" the host asked. Even across the Red Sea, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, blacks are treated worse than animals, after using their life´s savings to go there on pilgrimage. Please Continue Reading After The Jump Break
In Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Mauritania and the rest of the Arab world, Africans are treated as the scum of the earth. They are second-class citizens at the very best in their own Land. Blacks in these countries cannot aspire to positions of respect or authority. There are hardly Africans in high government positions in Arab governed African countries. Like Brazil, which is just as racially cruel against their blacknatives, there is no legislation favouring slavery (except in Mauritania). It is simply a way of life that's all. Blacks do not really exist or at best are not humans.a
Governor Suntai’s aides return to Nigeria after treatment in Germany
The Chief Security Officer and the Chief Details of Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba state have arrived Nigeria after successfully undergoing medical treatment in Germany following the October 25th plane crash. Governor Suntai and three of his aids sustained serious injuries in the plane crash and had to be flown abroad for urgent medical attention. Governor Suntai and his ADC are still in a German hospital according to the Taraba state commissioner of Information, but says they recovering well and hopes they will be discharged in no distant time
Court Reads Ojukwu’s Will, Bianca Takes Lion Share. It’s normal for a family like ours to have issues – Ojukwu’s son
The will of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was on Friday presented to the family with his widow, Bianca, getting the lion’s share.The presentation by the Chief Registrar of the Enugu High Court, Mr Dennis Ekoh, was witnessed by Bianca, Mr Val Nwosu, Ojukwu’s first cousin, and Mr Mike Ejemba.
In the will, the late Ojukwu identified one Tenny Haman as one of his children. Ojukwu listed the children as Tenny Haman, Chukwuemeka Jnr, Mmegha, Okigbo, Ebele, Chineme, Afam and Nwachukwu.
The Ikemba gave the Casabianca Lodge at No. 7, Forest Crescent, GRA, Enugu, two property at Jabi and Kuje in the FCT as well as all his money and personal effects to his widow.
He also said that Bianca should replace him as the trustee in the family company, Ojukwu Transport Ltd, while also giving her two plots of land in his village at Nnewi. He, however, added that if she re-married, the land should be taken away from her.
The first son, Emeka Jnr., got the family house at Nnewi, while the newly mentioned daughter, Tenny Haman, got the Jubilee Hotel located in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The Biafran warlord also shared other landed property in the village among all his children.
Ojukwu listed the trustees and executors of the will to include Bianca, Emeka Jnr and Mr James Chukwuneme.
Reacting to the will, Bianca, who is Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, expressed satisfaction with its contents.
“It was a fair will. This time round, he did not disappoint us,’’ she said.
The ambassador, however, expressed shock at the disclosure of a new daughter in the family, whom she said had never been mentioned by her husband.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that none of the children was present at the presentation of the will.
Source: NAN
It’s normal for a family like ours to have issues – Ojukwu’s son
 |
| Emeka Ojukwu, jnr, |
Excerpts;
There are speculations that one of your brothers has filed a suit at a law courtagainst Bianca barely one year after the death of your father?How true is this?
Are you referring to Debe?
Yes?
He has taken my father’s wife to court. He has taken me to court. He has taken my fathers brothers to court and even my cousins to court. He has taken the AIG of police to court and even the army command has been taken to court. Almost every body has been taken to court over one claim or the other.
I think that you would have to ask him why he is in court with everybody. And I want to remind you that while my father was sick in England, he took my Ojukwu Transport Company and the Directors which my father was a member to court. So, my father’s name was listed as a defendant. So these are things that you would have to ask him. I do not want to comment further on that. If there are issues within any family and there bound to be issues especially in a big family like this, it is best resolved within the family whether you are from the outside, or you are from the inside. Going to court or going to the police or even going to the press will certainly not solve the problem. All you do is to aggravate the system and it’s not good and you will end up creating more enemies.
Rumour has it that your father’s will has been tampered with. Is it true?
I have heard those rumours and people have asked me severally about it. Essentially, my father’s will is known to me and there has been a rumour and people are saying that there has been changes in the will. We are not aware of such changes. But we are watching to see. There is a rumour about reading of the will severally. Three months ago, there was a rumour that the will had been read without some people involved knowing about it. I want to wait and see, given that I know what my father said is what it is. You should also know that reading a will is a different thing from executing a will.
The family will have to look at it to see who produced these changes and what the changes are. If it is a deviation from my fathers wishes, then we will surely challenge it in court. I cannot discuss the details of my father’s will in the public but we do have copies with us.
Last Sunday, your family had one year remembrance of late Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu. People had expected that the South East governors would have been present. But on that day it was only governor Peter Obi that came.
Let me clarify something for you first of all. What happened on Sunday was the removing of our mourning cloth. It was not the remembrance. You remember my father died on the 25th of November and he was buried in March. The remembrance would be around that time. We as a family decided to give him one year of mourning from the day he died and that was why. We celebrated mass on the 25th. It is more of a private family matter or ceremony with some few close friends of the family. It was not supposed to be for the general public as such.
Source
Pregnant Woman, Seven Others Die In Delta Road Crash
Ex-Basketball Player, Chinedu Onyeuku, Shot Dead While Trying Robbing A Home
A former Nigerian national basketball player was shot dead in a botched burglary in Texas before Thanksgiving, it has been revealed. Chinedu Onyeuku, 29, was trying to break into a home in Plano on November 21 and was shot and killed by the homeowner, police say. Onyeuku had played for the Nigerian team that qualified for this summer’s Olympic Games in London.
According to the Dallas News, Onyeuku and another person allegedly tried to break into a residence on Rio Grande Street in Plano, Texas the night of November 21. The homeowner told Plano police that he saw ‘multiple people’ approaching the house. The two apparently entered the residence by breaking a glass patio door.
The homeowner shot Onyeuku, killing him instantly. His accomplice ran away without injury. Police are still trying to track the second burglar. No one inside the home was injured in the burglary. Upon their arrival, EMT workers pronounced him dead at the scene. It is unclear why Onyeuku and his companion were trying to burglarize the residence.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation posted a statement saying that the 29-year-old athlete played basketball for the team that qualified for the London 2012 Olympics. However, Onyeuku was not on the Olympic roster and did not actually compete.
The statement reads:
'[His] passion for playing with D’Tigers was deep-seated and he will be greatly missed. The federation joins his family and team mates to mourn a departed son, father, husband and great patriot”.
According to online sports records, Onyeuku was born in the Nigerian capital of Lagos in 1983. He moved to the United States at age six.
He played college basketball at Illinois State University and then went semi-pro for awhile, playing for the Arlington Bulldogs, in the American Basketball Association.
In 2009, he was invited to play for the D’Tigers, a national squad in Nigeria. It also said that Onyeuku lived in Omaha, Nebraska.
VIDEO: Chinedu Onyeuku Granted A TV Interview In Prep For The London 2012 Olympics Basketball Qualification
FG To Sanusi 'We Will Not Sack Workers'
The Minister of Labour, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu, yesterday told Nigerian workers not to be worried over the call on the government by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to cut the nation’s workforce by half to help sustain economy. Sanusi had argued that the country was spending too much money on a negligible percentage of the population to the detriment of the overwhelming majority.
Wogu, who made the call at the 8th National Labour Relations Summit and Fellowship Award, with the theme, ‘Social Policy, Labour Relations and the Transformation Agenda: Extending Social Protection In Nigeria’, assured the workers that the federal government would rather create more jobs for Nigerians than sack workers.
The House of Representatives also raised objections to Sanusi’s suggestion for a reduction in the number of lawmakers in National Assembly to save cost.
Wogu declared: “I speak authoritatively and I want to be quoted. Both the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) should not be agitated on the issue because federal government is committed to protecting and creating more jobs in the country.”
The minister further disclosed that a committee had been set up to create more jobs in various sectors of the nation’s economy, and would commence work next week.
Though, he contended that job creation was mostly driven by the private sector, he, however, said that the government was creating enabling environment for the private sector to thrive, adding that government owed the society the responsibility to do just that.
He also said that President Goodluck Jonathan was committed to implementing job creation policies, particularly in sectors like agriculture, construction, ICT, and tourism, among others.
Source
Jonathan Set To Impose Anenih On PDP As BoT Chairman
President Goodluck Jonathan may have made up his mind to impose the reclusive former Minister of Works, Chief Tony Anenih, on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT). Anenih, who was on Monday summoned by the House of Representatives over the sum of N2.3 billion that was purportedly disbursed for an abandoned road project in Nassarawa State in 2006, was at the Presidential Villa on Thursday morning where he had a closed-door meeting with the President.
The meeting, it was gathered, involved discussions about how to make sure that Anenih, who was known as “Mr. Fix-It” before his political profile began to diminish, becomes the next chairman of the BoT, a position from which former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, resigned in April this year. In 2007, Obasanjo outmaneuvered Anenih to bag the influential job.
Apart from Anenih, others in the race are a former National Chairman of the party, Dr. Ahmadu Ali; a former Chairman of Board of Trustees of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Chief Harry Akande; and a former President of the Senate, Senator Ken Nnamani.
A presidency source said President Jonathan settled for Anenih, who suffered a huge defeat in Edo, his home state, when Mr. Adams Oshiomhole defeated the candidate of the PDP, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (retd.) last June to retain the governorship.
While some of the members of the board are said to favour either Ali, Mr. Jonathan is said to be insisting on Anenih, convinced that he needs someone with the clout to counter the growing characterization of his regime as non-performing.
Jonathan is said to be deeply unhappy about the recent comment of Obasanjo, his political benefactor who has criticised him on many occasions for poor performance.
“Anenih is seen as the right person that can speak for the President and probably look at the likes of Obasanjo in the face,” said the presidential source.
Apart from this, it is also the calculation in the presidential villa that whoever occupies the office of the BoT chairman will be important in determining Jonathan’s second term ambition.
Anenih played an important role in persuading the governors to support Jonathan to run for office in 2011. The governors had insisted that the party must stick to its zoning formula following the death President Umaru Yar’Adua.
At the PDP headquarters, the governors said it was wrong for Jonathan to run when the North was yet to finish its eight years in office.
After the intervention of many members of the party, the governors and the party decided to allow Jonathan to run, with the understanding that he would only complete Yar’Adua’s projected eight year tenure, which will expire in 2015.
The members of the BoT are meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday night, where the election will take place.
One of the tricks used by Obasanjo to side-track Anenih from becoming BoT chairman in 2007 was to change the rules so that only persons who had been president were qualified to contest.
Under that rule, which has yet to be changed, none of those currently vying for the position is qualified to contest.
source
Good Samaritans save deer stranded in sea off Hawaii
Good Samaritans at the Four Seasons Resort Maui worked together last month to save an Axis deer from drowning which was swimming about 200 yards off Wailea Beach. Workers at the Four Seasons Resort rushed into action and worked to get the deer safely to shore.
At first they didn't want to touch the deer, just guide it back to shore, but soon they noticed the deer was having a hard time staying above water. That is when a beach lifeguard swam out, eventually putting a rescue tube under the deer.
But after that they still had to swim more than 100 yards to shore. Locals, tourists, canoe paddlers, and stand up surfers all escorted the animal to shore.
YouTube link.
"They took the deer back into the woods and when they let the deer go it was exhausted, but it sprinted out for about maybe 20 to 30 yards and after amount of time it just turned around and looked back at the guys and did a three to second stare at them almost like a thank you and then kind of walked back off into the woods," Michael Boyer of the Four Seasons Resort Maui said.
At first they didn't want to touch the deer, just guide it back to shore, but soon they noticed the deer was having a hard time staying above water. That is when a beach lifeguard swam out, eventually putting a rescue tube under the deer.
But after that they still had to swim more than 100 yards to shore. Locals, tourists, canoe paddlers, and stand up surfers all escorted the animal to shore.
YouTube link.
"They took the deer back into the woods and when they let the deer go it was exhausted, but it sprinted out for about maybe 20 to 30 yards and after amount of time it just turned around and looked back at the guys and did a three to second stare at them almost like a thank you and then kind of walked back off into the woods," Michael Boyer of the Four Seasons Resort Maui said.
14 illegal immigrants fled SUV during traffic stop
A routine traffic stop for tailgating along Interstate 40 led to the arrest of 13 suspected illegal immigrants. The incident occurred in Oklahoma about 40 miles west of Oklahoma City on Tuesday morning.
A state trooper had stopped a maroon SUV for tailgating a semi truck in the eastbound lanes of I-40. As he questioned the driver, passengers began fleeing the vehicle, jumping onto the shoulder of the road and running off into the hills and, in a few cases, across the interstate – 14 of them in all.
LiveLeak link.
The trooper's dashcam captured their escape. "I couldn't fathom that they had gotten that many people in that car," Cody Palmer, a Canadian County Sheriff's Department employee said.
By Wednesday, 13 of the suspected illegal immigrants had been arrested in a search conducted by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Canadian County Sheriff's Department, the state Agriculture Department, Immigrant and Customs Enforcements and K-9 units. One person remains at large.
There's a news video here.
A state trooper had stopped a maroon SUV for tailgating a semi truck in the eastbound lanes of I-40. As he questioned the driver, passengers began fleeing the vehicle, jumping onto the shoulder of the road and running off into the hills and, in a few cases, across the interstate – 14 of them in all.
LiveLeak link.
The trooper's dashcam captured their escape. "I couldn't fathom that they had gotten that many people in that car," Cody Palmer, a Canadian County Sheriff's Department employee said.
By Wednesday, 13 of the suspected illegal immigrants had been arrested in a search conducted by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Canadian County Sheriff's Department, the state Agriculture Department, Immigrant and Customs Enforcements and K-9 units. One person remains at large.
There's a news video here.
Man who pretended to practice witchcraft charged with fraud
After convincing a 56-year-old Toronto woman he could lift her family’s curse for $14,000, a Spanish-language newspaper publisher has been charged with one of the rarest offences in the Canadian criminal code: pretending to practise witchcraft. On Tuesday, Toronto Police announced that Gustavo Valencia Gomez, 40, of Mississauga, had been charged under Section 365 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits pretending to “exercise or to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration.”
Mr. Gomez publishes el Negocia Redondo, a newspaper in which he advertised his services as a healer. The ads attracted the attention of a 56-year-old woman who suffered a range of ailments. “Using spells and rituals, the man convinced the woman that she and her family were cursed and that he could remove the curse for a sum of money,” police allege, adding that there may be other victims. He is also charged with fraud over $5,000, false pretences over $5,000 and possession of the proceeds of crime and is to appear in a Toronto court on Dec. 28.
Lodged between laws that prohibit document forgery and “dining and dashing,” Section 365 is a distant descendant of Medieval English laws that sentenced accused witches to burn at the stake. In 1735, long after most Britons had stopped believing in sorcery, King George II amended the law to combat potential fraudsters. More than a century later, Canadian legal framers saw fit to put it in the inaugural 1892 edition of the Criminal Code of Canada. Although Sec. 365 is often cited as the textbook example of an archaic law - particularly when other outdated sections such as anti-dueling laws were weeded out in 1987 - it is still dusted off every few years.
Aside from witchcraft, Section 365 also prohibits undertaking “for a consideration, to tell fortunes.” The measure technically outlaws Toronto’s many professional psychics, Tarot card readers and astrologers, but accused soothsayers can easily avoid a fraud conviction by testifying that they actually believe they can see into the future. “The offence is only committed if the practice is undertaken ‘fraudulently,’ which the law usually defines as involving the intentional and dishonest putting of another person’s interests at risk,” wrote Law Now magazine in a 2011 issue.
Mr. Gomez publishes el Negocia Redondo, a newspaper in which he advertised his services as a healer. The ads attracted the attention of a 56-year-old woman who suffered a range of ailments. “Using spells and rituals, the man convinced the woman that she and her family were cursed and that he could remove the curse for a sum of money,” police allege, adding that there may be other victims. He is also charged with fraud over $5,000, false pretences over $5,000 and possession of the proceeds of crime and is to appear in a Toronto court on Dec. 28.
Lodged between laws that prohibit document forgery and “dining and dashing,” Section 365 is a distant descendant of Medieval English laws that sentenced accused witches to burn at the stake. In 1735, long after most Britons had stopped believing in sorcery, King George II amended the law to combat potential fraudsters. More than a century later, Canadian legal framers saw fit to put it in the inaugural 1892 edition of the Criminal Code of Canada. Although Sec. 365 is often cited as the textbook example of an archaic law - particularly when other outdated sections such as anti-dueling laws were weeded out in 1987 - it is still dusted off every few years.
Aside from witchcraft, Section 365 also prohibits undertaking “for a consideration, to tell fortunes.” The measure technically outlaws Toronto’s many professional psychics, Tarot card readers and astrologers, but accused soothsayers can easily avoid a fraud conviction by testifying that they actually believe they can see into the future. “The offence is only committed if the practice is undertaken ‘fraudulently,’ which the law usually defines as involving the intentional and dishonest putting of another person’s interests at risk,” wrote Law Now magazine in a 2011 issue.
Thief stole four pairs of shoes by concealing them in his trousers
Police in Daytona Beach, Florida are searching for a man who they say was caught on video stealing four pairs of shoes from Marshalls by shoving them down his pants and walking out of the store.
According to a police report, the man walked into the Marshalls on International Speedway Boulevard on Nov. 11 and put the shoes in his shopping cart. The man then used a sharp tool to cut off the security sensors and put the shoes, valued at $160, inside his blue jeans.
YouTube link.
Police said the man was walking out of the store when a loss prevention officer approached him. The man then pulled the sharp tool from his pocket and told the officer, "Come on, I'll stick your ass," according to the police report.
The man then drove away in a gold Mitsubishi car. The culprit was described as a black man with a shaven head, goatee and a tattoo on his left forearm. He was wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans.
According to a police report, the man walked into the Marshalls on International Speedway Boulevard on Nov. 11 and put the shoes in his shopping cart. The man then used a sharp tool to cut off the security sensors and put the shoes, valued at $160, inside his blue jeans.
YouTube link.
Police said the man was walking out of the store when a loss prevention officer approached him. The man then pulled the sharp tool from his pocket and told the officer, "Come on, I'll stick your ass," according to the police report.
The man then drove away in a gold Mitsubishi car. The culprit was described as a black man with a shaven head, goatee and a tattoo on his left forearm. He was wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans.
Man arrested for watching TV police show while driving
A 28-year-old Kingston, Ontario, man was so busy watching a TV cop show while he was driving his SUV, he failed to notice a police officer trying to get him to pull over, Ontario Provincial Police say.
OPP in South Frontenac County said they attempted to pull over the driver of the SUV on Highway 15 on Saturday, after getting a report of a man watching television while driving.
Police said it appeared the driver was having a difficult time staying in his lane.
When a police car pulled alongside the vehicle, an officer could see there was a phone mounted on the dashboard and the driver was so intent on watching the police drama, Rookie Blue, he didn't notice the cruiser until the officer turned on the vehicle's emergency lights. The man has been charged with careless driving.
OPP in South Frontenac County said they attempted to pull over the driver of the SUV on Highway 15 on Saturday, after getting a report of a man watching television while driving.
Police said it appeared the driver was having a difficult time staying in his lane.
When a police car pulled alongside the vehicle, an officer could see there was a phone mounted on the dashboard and the driver was so intent on watching the police drama, Rookie Blue, he didn't notice the cruiser until the officer turned on the vehicle's emergency lights. The man has been charged with careless driving.
Man charged with falling off building onto police officer
An Idaho man has been charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, after falling off a building in downtown Ketchum last summer and landing on a Blaine County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, breaking the officer’s neck.
Ketchum Police Chief Steve Harkins reported that Austin B. Cruz, then 20, was charged with the crime after the case was reviewed by Ketchum City Prosecutor Rick Allington. According to court records, Cruz was not arrested but was issued a summons instead. Cruz has pleaded not guilty.
The accident occurred at around 1:45 a.m. on July 15 during a street party that was part of the MASSV music event in Ketchum. According to police reports, Cruz fell from the top of a building on Main Street, landing on Sgt. Corey Weatherly, then 43, who was working security at the event. Weatherly was flown by emergency aircraft to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise where he underwent surgery.
Sheriff Gene Ramsey said that Weatherly remains on medical leave after undergoing a second surgery in October. He said Weatherly is still undergoing rehabilitation for the injury. “We plan on him coming back in the future,” Ramsey said. “He’s actually doing really good after the second surgery.”
Ketchum Police Chief Steve Harkins reported that Austin B. Cruz, then 20, was charged with the crime after the case was reviewed by Ketchum City Prosecutor Rick Allington. According to court records, Cruz was not arrested but was issued a summons instead. Cruz has pleaded not guilty.
The accident occurred at around 1:45 a.m. on July 15 during a street party that was part of the MASSV music event in Ketchum. According to police reports, Cruz fell from the top of a building on Main Street, landing on Sgt. Corey Weatherly, then 43, who was working security at the event. Weatherly was flown by emergency aircraft to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise where he underwent surgery.
Sheriff Gene Ramsey said that Weatherly remains on medical leave after undergoing a second surgery in October. He said Weatherly is still undergoing rehabilitation for the injury. “We plan on him coming back in the future,” Ramsey said. “He’s actually doing really good after the second surgery.”
Teacher jailed for eight months after bludgeoning rabbits in anatomy class
A Milan court on Wednesday sentenced public school anatomy teacher Carlo Rando to eight months in prison for the killing of two rabbits in a classroom.
Italian animal rights association LAV filed a complaint after students reported that during a dissection lesson Rando, upon seeing that two of the four rabbits delivered to the school were still alive, "brutally killed the animals himself" in front of the class.
According to reports from LAV, the teacher "first tried to strangle them, then repeatedly punched the animals, and then after prolonged violence, smashed the rabbits' heads with a hammer - all in front of a room full of children". "The conviction sets an important legal precedent in the educational field and is a move to guarantee pedagogical ethics," said Michela Kuan, a biologist with LAV.
"Such uncivilized methods are not only ethically unacceptable, but totally unnecessary. Anatomy is no longer taught through dissecting animals, but through the widespread availability of models, videos and interactive three-dimensional reconstructions, which moreover simulate and explain the organization of many species, not just one," Kuan said.
Italian animal rights association LAV filed a complaint after students reported that during a dissection lesson Rando, upon seeing that two of the four rabbits delivered to the school were still alive, "brutally killed the animals himself" in front of the class.
According to reports from LAV, the teacher "first tried to strangle them, then repeatedly punched the animals, and then after prolonged violence, smashed the rabbits' heads with a hammer - all in front of a room full of children". "The conviction sets an important legal precedent in the educational field and is a move to guarantee pedagogical ethics," said Michela Kuan, a biologist with LAV.
"Such uncivilized methods are not only ethically unacceptable, but totally unnecessary. Anatomy is no longer taught through dissecting animals, but through the widespread availability of models, videos and interactive three-dimensional reconstructions, which moreover simulate and explain the organization of many species, not just one," Kuan said.
Vandal stole Mrs Santa Claus from couple's garden before decapitating her
Police are hunting a vandal who was caught on CCTV stealing a model Mrs Santa Claus from an elderly couple’s garden before cutting her head off. Disturbing video captured the moment the thug swiped the 4ft-high Mrs Claus from outside Gertie and John Garner’s home in a midnight raid.
The yob can be heard laughing as he rips the head off the festive figure before lobbing the body parts into the garden. The intruder struck just after midnight on Tuesday last week just hours after the couple had festooned their home in Grantham, Lincolnshire, with Christmas decorations.
Devastated Gertie, 78, said: “It was the first night we’d lit it all up. I do it every year for my son Christopher who is severely disabled because he loves lights. It was his carers who found out what had happened first when they came to get my son out of bed.
YouTube link.
“A lot of people get a lot of enjoyment out of the decorations so I don’t see why they can’t just leave them alone. What sort of person beheads a figure of Mrs Christmas? It’s like something straight out of the Grinch. We will not be beaten by this senseless attack and are already planning bigger and better decorations.” Lincolnshire Police confirmed they are investigating the attack.
The yob can be heard laughing as he rips the head off the festive figure before lobbing the body parts into the garden. The intruder struck just after midnight on Tuesday last week just hours after the couple had festooned their home in Grantham, Lincolnshire, with Christmas decorations.
Devastated Gertie, 78, said: “It was the first night we’d lit it all up. I do it every year for my son Christopher who is severely disabled because he loves lights. It was his carers who found out what had happened first when they came to get my son out of bed.
YouTube link.
“A lot of people get a lot of enjoyment out of the decorations so I don’t see why they can’t just leave them alone. What sort of person beheads a figure of Mrs Christmas? It’s like something straight out of the Grinch. We will not be beaten by this senseless attack and are already planning bigger and better decorations.” Lincolnshire Police confirmed they are investigating the attack.
Pensioner dumped poo on garage forecourt
A pensioner has been issued with an £80 penalty notice after dumping his poo on a garage forecourt in Seaton, Devon. The 76-year-old, from Sidmouth, was captured on CCTV defecating on the back seat of his car in broad daylight.
He was at a petrol pump at Tower Services. The man then picked up the faeces and dropped it on the forecourt by one of the pumps before driving off. It is alleged the man had bought a pasty in the garage shop and eaten it before using the bag as toilet tissue.He then smoked a cigarette before driving off.
The business’s sickened co-owner, Rob Gibbons, had to clean up the mess. “We’ve been up here for 33 years and in all that time I have never seen anyone defecate on a forecourt,” said Rob, who runs Tower Services with his brother Richard. “We’re calling him ‘the bloke who took a dump on the pump’. It really was disgusting.”
Mr Gibbons said customers aren’t allowed to use the conveniences at the petrol station on advice of police as it could become a security issue. PC Steve Speariett said: “Although the male later apologised, this was a truly disgusting act and is totally unacceptable. Fortunately, the staff were able to clear up the mess before anybody trod in it.”
He was at a petrol pump at Tower Services. The man then picked up the faeces and dropped it on the forecourt by one of the pumps before driving off. It is alleged the man had bought a pasty in the garage shop and eaten it before using the bag as toilet tissue.He then smoked a cigarette before driving off.
The business’s sickened co-owner, Rob Gibbons, had to clean up the mess. “We’ve been up here for 33 years and in all that time I have never seen anyone defecate on a forecourt,” said Rob, who runs Tower Services with his brother Richard. “We’re calling him ‘the bloke who took a dump on the pump’. It really was disgusting.”
Mr Gibbons said customers aren’t allowed to use the conveniences at the petrol station on advice of police as it could become a security issue. PC Steve Speariett said: “Although the male later apologised, this was a truly disgusting act and is totally unacceptable. Fortunately, the staff were able to clear up the mess before anybody trod in it.”
Mystery over 'Do not eat the flowers' signs
Residents of Sudbury in Suffolk have been confronted with signs urging them not to eat the flowers in the town’s troughs and tubs. The green and white professionally produced plastic signs, which read “PLEASE do not eat the flowers” sprung up in beds this week. But the town council, their contracted gardener and the town warden claim to know nothing about the signs.
Deputy town clerk Jacqui Howells said: “I know we have experienced problems with people stealing the plants before because you can see where they’ve been dug up, but as far as I know, we’ve never come across anyone eating them before. I assumed the signs might have been put there by our gardener Gary Flowers, but he is as mystified as we are. Whether it’s someone who is seriously concerned that the flowers are poisonous or somebody just having a laugh, we don’t know.”
Chairman of Sudbury in Bloom, Nick Irwin, suspected the town warden had erected the signs. But he said: “If they were planting the troughs up with poisonous plants then I could see some merit in warning people not to eat them. However, I doubt if they would choose to put highly dangerous plants in the town centre anyway.”
However he said there was a more serious note to the signs adding: “Although some flower species such as certain types of violet and rose are edible, it is probably good advice not to eat any flowers unless they are served up in a posh restaurant.” Town warden Bradley Smith, who has just returned from holiday said: “It definitely wasn’t me who put the signs there. In fact when I saw them, I was convinced they had been put in by the council because they look so official.”
Deputy town clerk Jacqui Howells said: “I know we have experienced problems with people stealing the plants before because you can see where they’ve been dug up, but as far as I know, we’ve never come across anyone eating them before. I assumed the signs might have been put there by our gardener Gary Flowers, but he is as mystified as we are. Whether it’s someone who is seriously concerned that the flowers are poisonous or somebody just having a laugh, we don’t know.”
Chairman of Sudbury in Bloom, Nick Irwin, suspected the town warden had erected the signs. But he said: “If they were planting the troughs up with poisonous plants then I could see some merit in warning people not to eat them. However, I doubt if they would choose to put highly dangerous plants in the town centre anyway.”
However he said there was a more serious note to the signs adding: “Although some flower species such as certain types of violet and rose are edible, it is probably good advice not to eat any flowers unless they are served up in a posh restaurant.” Town warden Bradley Smith, who has just returned from holiday said: “It definitely wasn’t me who put the signs there. In fact when I saw them, I was convinced they had been put in by the council because they look so official.”
WW3 IMMINENT?: BREAKING! Canada cuts all ties with Iran, closes embassy, orders diplomats home within 5 days
OTTAWA CITIZEN (H/T Susan K) Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird delivered a diplomatic bolt from the blue Friday, abruptly and unexpectedly severing ties with Iran, shuttering Canada’s embassy there and giving Iranian diplomats in Ottawa five days to get out of the country.
Baird rattled off a litany of long-standing grievances with Iran during a hastily organized news conference in the Russian city of Vladivostok, where he and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are participating in this weekend’s meeting of Asia Pacific Co-operation leaders.
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| CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER |
“The Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention and its guarantee of protection for diplomatic personnel,” Baird said. ”Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran. Our diplomats serve Canada as civilians, and their safety is our No. 1 priority.”
The move came as a surprise, one Baird justified with complaints that Canada and others around the world have been making for months, if not years. Baird cited an eight-month-old attack on Britain’s embassy in Tehran as evidence that Canada’s own diplomats there are in danger. He also accused Iran of providing military assistance to the Assad regime in war-riven Syria, failing to comply with UN resolutions regarding its nuclear program, and “materially” supporting terrorist groups.
And, for good measure, he accused Iran of “routinely” threatening the existence of Israel, engaging in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide, and called the country “among the world’s worst violators of human rights.” ”Canada,” he said, “views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today.”
Robbers Kill Chinese Shoot Wife In The Head In Lagos State
Gunmen shot and killed a Chinese businessman at Ogudu area of Lagos on Wednesday night, Nigerian Police spokesperson said. Two other Chinese women sustained head and leg injuries during the incident, said Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide. Police said four Chinese in a car were coming from a function at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, southwest Nigeria,when a red car followed and overtook them as they were about entering Chinatown at Ogudu.
“They shot the man at close range and collected his bag. He was rushed to Gbagada General Hospital where he died,” Braide said. She said although investigation is ongoing, the police suspect murder.
“We are suspecting murder,” she said. Braid said the corpse of the Chinese has been deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, while the two women are responding to treatment.
Sources said that the woman who sustained head injury was the deceased’s wife.
It was learnt that the incident happened at about 9.30 p.m. Sources said the deceased was a businessman and dealt in air travel business. Sources said many Chinese citizens invaded the hospital after they learnt about the incident. The identities of the victims were not available at press time.
It was the fifth Chinese death in the hands of gunmen in Nigeria in the last two months and the first in the Lagos area.
On 19 October, a Chinese construction worker was killed in Maiduguri, Borno state, less than a week after a Chinese chef was also killed in the same area. This month, 2 Chinese construction workers were killed in Benisheikh, another town in Borno state, in Nigeria’s Northwest. In recent times, Chinese nationals have increasingly become victims of violent attacks.
Source: PM News
Girl, 15, Beheaded For Refusing Marriage
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| Challenges: Afghan women have won back some basic human rights since the fall of the Taliban, but there is still a ‘long way to go’, activists say |
A teenage girl was beheaded by a relative in northern Afghanistan after she turned down his marriage proposals, according to reports. The victim, named as Gisa, was decapitated with a knife in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province on Tuesday, local police said. She is believed to be around 15-years-old.
A police spokesman said two men, named as Sadeq and Massoud, had been arrested following the teenage girl’s murder.
The two men are understood to be close relatives of the victim that live in the same village. Local police sources have said the men behind the attack wanted to marry the girl, but their advances had been turned down by victim’s father. Gisa is understood to have been attacked as she returned to her home in Kulkul village after going out to collect water from a nearby well. Her father told a local news agency he had not wanted his daughter to get married because she was too young.
Afghanistan’s Taliban regime – notorious for its oppression of women in the country – was ousted in 2001, but extreme violence against women is still rife. In 2009, the Elimination of Violence Against Woman law was introduced in Afghanistan, criminalising child marriage, forced marriage, ‘giving away’ a girl or woman to settle a dispute, among other acts of violence against the female population of the ultra-conservative Islamic nation.
But the UN has said there is a ‘long way to go’ before the rights of Afghan women are fully protected. Comprehensive official statistics on the number of incidents of violence against women in the country are difficult to establish, with the majority of cases going unreported.
However, in the year to March 2011, Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission registered over 2,000 acts of violence against women.
The NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force has given high priority to re-establishing women’s rights that were eradicated under the Taliban as part of its efforts to create a security strategy for Afghanistan.
But with the deadline for international troops to pull out of the country – scheduled for the end of 2014 – looming, activists have warned that the outlook for the female population remains bleak. Human Rights Watch has said women’s rights are increasingly at risk in the run up to the scheduled draw-down of NATO forces, with early and forced marriage, impunity for violence against women and lack of access of justice among the long list of challenges they still face.
Ghanaian Arrested With Cocaine At Nigeria’s Border
The Seme Border Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 28-year old Ghanaian auto dealer for allegedly concealing wraps of powdery substances that tested positive for cocaine in his inner wear, the agency said on Thursday. The suspect, Ali Aminu, was arrested with a Ghanaian international passport number H2252580, said Mitchell Ofoyeju, NDLEA Head of Public Affairs. Aminu is alleged to have imported 1.3 kilogrammes of cocaine from Dubai. “He was caught during routine search of passengers at Gbaji security post along Lagos Seme express way,” NDLEA said.
NDLEA Seme Border Commander, Mr Nicholas Ajaduronye said: “A total of 78 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.3kg was found hidden inside his inner wear which he covered with the clothes he wore.”
The suspect was said to have boarded a flight from Dubai to Cotonou because he preferred to enter the country through the land borders, Ajaduronye said.
NDLEA quoted the suspect as saying in in a statement it was his friend in Brazil that introduced him into the drug business.
“My friend promised to pay me $ 2,500 which I intended to invest in my business,” he was quoted as saying.
“Ali who is married with two children told narcotic investigators that his father is from Ghana while the mother is from Anambra State,” NDLEA said in a statement.
Source: PM News
I killed my friend to put him out of pain – Suspected Murderer Confesses
A friend in need, they say, is a friend indeed! Call it euthanasia (mercy killing) if you like, but the story you are about to read definitely looks a lot like a case of mental instability. Joseph Akindele, a middle aged man, has confessed to the killing his friend, Mufutau, to relieve him of the persistent pain and agony he was going through due to an undisclosed ailment, affirming that his friend is “now happy in death.”
The suspect had been arrested with a bag containing the skull and other remains of the deceased by a team of patrol officers in the Badagry area of Lagos State. In his written statement to the police, he said, “I am a tout. I live under the Gbaji/Iyafin bridge at Badagry with Muftau. I don’t have a means of livelihood and that’s why I live under the bridge. I work as agbero (tout) at motor parks; there, I get money to feed. Muftau has been living under the bridge but he was always sick and there was no money to go to hospital.”
He continues, “He was suffering too much because his sickness will not go. We didn’t have money for treatment, so after watching him in that pathetic state, I decided to put a stop to it by killing him with a sharp cutlass, so he can rest from the pains he was going through,” he added.
Meanwhile, the suspect has been transferred to the Homicide department at Panti, Yaba for further investigation to ascertain if he is in a good frame of mind, a ritualist or/and a cold-blooded murderer.
Kissing Your Wife In Public In Dubai Can Land You In Jail
When you are in a foreign land, respect their idiosyncrasies and of course their law. How many Nigerians for instance know that you can go to jail for one month if you pucker up to your wife in a restaurant in Dubai? Yeah, that’s right. So, imagine what will happen if you are caught pants down with a member of the opposite sex in a public place. You are asking for it.
A British woman and Irish man recently accused of engaging in intimate activities in a Dubai taxi have now been sent to jail for three months after which they will be deported. Rebecca Blake and Conor McRedmond both denied charges of "breach of honour with consent" and committing "an indecent act in a taxi" when they appeared in court last month. They also pleaded guilty to a third charge related to consumption of alcohol in public.
"The court sentenced them to jail for three months and deportation in addition to a fine of 3000 dirhams (R7300) each," their lawyer Shaker al-Shammary said. Granted that United Arab Emirates is the most liberal of the seven-member UAE federation; granted it wants to be seen as a tourist haven and throws its doors open to all and sundry; still, the country frowns on acts that fly in the face of their Muslim identity.
Be careful!!
Pregnant Nollywood Actress Silifa Ladeji Beaten to Death by Lover
Information reaching Edeson ONLINE News from the Yoruba movie industry, otherwise known as ANTP, indicates that one of the fast rising actresses, Silifa Ladeji famously known as Silifonia, was on Wednesday beaten to death by her lover during a misunderstanding. A close friend of the late Silifonia, who is also an actress, said that Silifonia who was heavily pregnant before her sudden demise had been a victim of battery and assault in the hands of her lover. We gathered that the suspect is currently at large, while the corpse of Silifonia has been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary. may her soul rest in peace.
General Mohamdu Buhari Loses His First Daughter, Zulai Buhari
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| The ex-head of state daughter died some few hours ago, condolences to the Buhari Family, she died from the sickle cell syndrome |
Fashola Arrests Policeman Riding ‘Okada’ On Express Way
Governor Fashola earlier today ordered the arrest of a policeman riding a motorcycle on Lagos/Abeokuta expressway. The governor spotted the policeman when his convoy was passing on the Ikeja section of the expressway. Policemen in the governor’s convoy effected the arrest and immediately whisked him away in their van.
Fashola later told newsmen that the arrest was to serve as a deterrent to those who felt that they were above the law and so could break the state’s laws. “There is no one above the law in the state. People who are not prepared to obey our laws should leave the state. “There is no society where laws are not broken, but the state government would continue to increase its enforcement so that there will be high level of compliance”, he said.
Source (PM News)
Boy Kills Father To Save His Mother’s Life
A fight between husband and wife Mr. Christopher and Mrs.Thorpe started on Saturday evening, during a bonfire party. Their son who witnessed the dispute, turned violent and fatally shot his father in a desperate attempt to save his mother’s life. According to reporters, the couple went inside of a mobile home and an argument ensued.
“He was beating her, [he] kept punching her,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter, according to newsmen. “Then they went from the living room to the master bedroom where he kept beating her.”The couple’s 17-year-old son, Channing Thorpe, ran into the mobile home where he discovered his father strangling his mother, police say. The teen used a handgun to fire several shots at his father to kill him.
The boy’s mother suffered a bullet wound to the thigh, the Tampa Tribune reports. She received treatment at a nearby hospital and was later released. Hugh Williamson, who lives a few doors down from where the incident took place, was saddened by the violence.”You hate to wake up and hear things like that much less in your own neighbourhood,” Williamson told newsmen.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office are still investigating the matter. Channing Thorpe was left in the custody of his mother. He is not facing charges.
Nigeria will be sufficient in tomato production by 2013 – Sanusi
Speaking at the 2012 forum of Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN) in Lagos, Sanusi said this feat was achieved from a model developed to revitalised the real sector of the economy and bring farmers into the financial inclusion programme.
Sanusi said that by February 2013, tomato production would have grown from 300,000 to three million metric tons, representing 1000 per cent in the state, adding that the farmers would be producing 300,000 metric tons of tomato pastes which are 100 per cent of importation of the pastes into Nigeria this year.
He said, “E veryone complains about maximum neglect to agriculture and it is true. For instance, look at tin tomato and how can banks lend to a tin tomato farmer? If you go to Kano today and take the tomato that is produced, there is so much water in it that it cannot produce what you call the China red paste that madam uses in the kitchen.
“So, even if you process that, it wouldn’t give you the paste. There is no storage for the Tomato farmer and the yields are very low. So, we started to work on fixing the market. What is done on Tomato paste for example, started between January and February.
“There is a huge transformation now. We put together all the stakeholders in various meetings including the processers, the seed providers, the research institutes, the Commissioner of Agriculture in the state, the banks, among others. By January/February, there will be a Dangote tomato processing plant in the Kano.
“We are working on the irrigation; we have changed the seeds; the production will move from 2 million metric tonnes per hectare to 10 million per hectare. We have a variety of seeds that produce paste. Now, with the irrigation, the farmers can now plant in two cycles. We are about to finish negotiation with Dangote on contracted price for the farmers per basket.
“The farmers used to sell a basket for N450 because they need to sell before it perishes. Those that are able to store can hold on and sell for N2,200 towards the end of the season. Now, the average now adds up to N1000 per basket. Dangote wants to pay N1200 per basket.
“If he accepts to buy at N1,200, our model shows that farmers can borrow from banks with the high yield through variety of seeds and, with this technical that assistance farmers have, they can make a return of 80-100 per cent of their capital.
“Thus, the cash flow. Now, with that model working from January 2013 through 2014, what would have happened is that tomato output in that area in Kano/Jigawa axis would have moved up from 300,000 metric tonnes to 3 million metric tonnes every year. We will be producing 300,000 metric tons of Tomato paste and that is 100 per cent of import of Tomatoes into Nigeria this year.”
Source
FEC approves N2.2bn 150-seater banquet hall for Aso Rock Villa
The federal government of Nigeria wants to spend over two billion Naira for a 150-seater banquet hall. Not a 5, 000-seater hall o, just 150 seats! Meanwhile, there's an existing banquet hall in the Villa o. This one is just to waste money and share the remaining. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Muhammed, said the proposed hall, which will be constructed by Julius Berger, will have walk ways, security post, hall conveniences, technical room and press briefing room. For N2.2bn?
Isn't there a way civil societies in Nigeria can stop all these unnecessarily spending by taking the federal government to court? Isn't there a way, we as citizens, can check our government?
Sad: ‘How My Daughter’s Fiancé Bathed Her With Acid’
The motive behind the acid bath of 22-year-old Chika Egbo by her estranged lover, David Sulaimon, remains elusive, but one thing is sure, the victim may not remain the same again. Chika is a student of the Enugu State College of Education. Last Tuesday, when our correspondent visited her at the Burns Unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Egbo has become a shadow of the beautiful girl she was. The substance Sulaimon allegedly poured on her had destroyed every visible skin from her chest upwards.
She mumbled to her father, a Taraba State-based businessman, as she could neither see nor speak properly at the time. When her father, Matthew Egbo, narrated the incident that led to Chika’s state, the story brought tears to his eyes as he lamented that his daughter would never be normal again.
Matthew said, “In March 2011, someone who identified himself as Lekan Sulaimon called me, asking for my daughter’s hand in marriage. We talked a lot and I promised to speak with Chika on the issue.
“My daughter later told me he was the boy she was in love with and said she had resolved to marry him.”
After much discussion, Matthew told Sulaimon to bring his parents for proper introduction, but the suitor said his father was ill and needed to be taken abroad for treatment. He also said his mother was abroad.
Matthew said, “On the June 25 date that we agreed on, Sulaimon brought seven men and four women dressed in Yoruba attire to my hometown, Enugu, where we held the introduction.
“But around November last year, my wife travelled from Taraba to Enugu and Chika told her she was pregnant.”
According to Matthew, Chika told her parents they should not be alarmed since she and Sulaiman had agreed to get married.
Chika was instructed to go to Lagos and tell Sulaiman’s relations about the pregnancy.
But when she got back from Lagos, Chika told her father that she discovered that most of what Sulaiman had told her about his parents were lies.
Matthew explained, “For instance, Chika discovered that Sulaimon’s father was hale and hearty. The father told her he was not aware of any plans by his son to get married.
“She also learnt that the mother was not abroad too. She visited her and she told us the woman received her well and even expressed joy that his son had found someone to marry.
“But after the visit, we heard nothing from neither Sulaimon nor his parents until after my daughter gave birth to a baby girl on May 4.
Our correspondent learnt that Chika had broached the idea of abortion to her parents, as she told them it was apparent that the man she was in love with had lied to her all along.
Matthew forbade her to consider abortion. After the baby was born, Chika was said to have informed Sulaimon, but he gave series of excuses why he could not visit her.
He reportedly told her he was facing some challenges and did not have the wherewithal to take care of the baby at the moment.
After a few months, Chika’s baby girl was weaned and taken to Taraba to live with Matthew and his wife.
The Egbos said they took the decision to take the baby off their daughter’s hands so that she could continue her study.
PUNCH Metro learnt that in November, Sulaimon began to request that he needed to see his baby, but Matthew told him to bring his parents to come and iron things out.
Chika was said to have insisted she did not want to have anything to do with the young man anymore.
But on November 5, Chika travelled to Lagos after Sulaimon had informed her that his mother wanted to see her. The unsuspecting girl left Enugu without informing her parents.
“My phone just rang that day and I was told to come to Lagos because a young man had poured acid on my daughter,” Chika’s father said.
Matthew said the message came as a rude shock since he was not aware his daughter went to Lagos. He explained that the police were the ones who got his number from her phone.
He said,“What I learnt was that when she arrived Igando, Lagos, Sulaimon met her and she demanded that he should take her to his mother who wanted to see her.
“What we gathered from the little she could mumble to us was that Sulaimon went behind a house and as they were about to pick an okada to his mother’s house, he brought out a polythene.
“But when they stopped at a point and Chika thought they were going to proceed to his mother’s house, he just opened a container in the polythene he was carrying and emptied its content on her head.
“She told us when she realised that what Sulaimon poured on her had began eating into her skin, she raised the alarm and called for help.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that passersby and sympathisers, who had been alerted to the young woman’s plight, pursued the fleeing Sulaimon. He was caught and taken to Ikotun Police Station.
“Till now, I still don’t know why he did what he did,” Matthew said.
Divisional Police Officer of Ikotun, Mr. Augustin Akika, confirmed the incident, but said the suspect had been transferred to the state Criminal Investigations Department, Yaba.
Source: PUNCH
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