A Turkish Airlines flight carrying 256 passengers was diverted Monday after a note with the word "bomb" written on it was found in a lavatory, the airline said.
Turkish Airlines Flight 15 departed Istanbul en route for Sao Paulo, Brazil, until the note was found.
The plane, a Boeing 777, landed safely in Casablanca, Morocco, the airline said.
Additional details were not immediately available.
A Turkish Airlines flight carrying 256 passengers was diverted Monday after a note with the word "bomb" written on it was found in a lavatory, the airline said.
Turkish Airlines Flight 15 departed Istanbul en route for Sao Paulo, Brazil, until the note was found.
The plane, a Boeing 777, landed safely in Casablanca, Morocco, the airline said.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Abuja—The ECOWAS Observer Mission (EOM) has declared that Saturday’s Presidential election is acceptable and meet the criteria of being free and transparent. The declaration was made by the mission’s head and former President of Ghana, John Kuffour, in Abuja on Sunday.
Kuffour expressed satisfaction with the commitment made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, security agencies and various entities on the electoral process.
He observed that the turnout of voters was generally high with a laudable participation of women and young people who displayed commendable level of patience and discipline.
“Security agents were present at most of the polling stations and on patrols in and around the cities as peaceful atmosphere prevailed in most parts of the country,” he said. The mission also noted that INEC officials demonstrated good knowledge and compliance with voting procedures.
He also noted that agents of the major political parties, including All Progressives Congress, Labour Party and the People Democratic Party, were in attendance in most polling units. “The process of counting at the polling stations and the subsequent collations at designated centres were successful and in accordance with the Electoral Act.
“Some of the challenges the mission observed during the exercise included the late arrival of INEC officials in many polling stations and malfunctioning of Card Readers across the country,” he said. Kuffour further said the elections were still ongoing in some affected polling units were elections had been extended by one day.
He said the mission also observed that there was insufficient and/or non-availability of electoral materials in some polling units which led to delay in accreditation and voting processes. “Cases of attempt to snatch ballot papers were reported in some polling stations leading to instances of uproar, shootings and sporadic violence in the affected polling stations.
“Despite efforts by the relevant agencies to secure the electoral exercise, explosions were also recorded in some parts of the country,” He said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EOM is part of the ECOWAS sustained efforts to support the consolidation of democracy and good governance in Nigeria. The mission is also in line with ECOWAS guidelines on election-monitoring.
In what has been called a peace meeting, the two candidates met and signed another agreement, following the peace pact they both signed alongside other presidential candidates in January.
The meeting was brokered by the National Peace Committee for the 2015 General Elections, led by retired Gen. Abdusalami Abdusalami, and is aimed at extracting commitment from the leading candidates that the forthcoming elections would be violence-free.
They were accompanied to the meeting by the national chairmen of their parties.
I want to take this last opportunity, before we go to the polls on Saturday March 28 and April 11 respectively, to thank everyone who has supported our campaigns. I am humbled and grateful to have had the opportunity to meet so many of my fellow Nigerians who have helped to carry the message of change across our great country.
This is the fourth time that I would be standing for election as the President of Nigeria. All these years, I have been driven by a keen awareness of the potential greatness of our country and the desire to provide the true leadership that will unleash this huge potential.
I believe that a stable and prosperous Nigeria is not only important to Nigerians. It is also important to Africa and the rest of the world. The evidence of this is the unprecedented attention that our country will receive this weekend. On Saturday, the whole world would wait with baited breath for the greatest black nation on earth to take charge of its destiny. We must therefore not miss the significance of this moment. We must not let ourselves and our country down.
At no other time in our history is Nigeria in such an urgent need of strong and competent leadership. Sadly, at no other time is this leadership so sorely absent in our country. We live in a time of great opportunities and great peril. It is only a leader that understands these in equal measure that can find the rightful place for Nigeria among the great Nations of the world.
I have travelled extensively around Nigeria in the last three months. In the course of my travels, I encountered directly, what I have always believed: that a Hausa man’s desire for security is not different from the Ijaw woman’s desire to feel secured in any part of our country.
An Igbo woman’s desire for her children to get quality education and find employment is not different from the Yoruba man’s dream for his children to become a useful member of our society. A wife’s desperate need for affordable and quality healthcare for her husband diagnosed with prostate cancer in Enugu is not different from a husband’s desire to save the life of his wife diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Lagos.
Invariably, our fears are the same; our dreams are the same; and our problems are the same. Regardless of the language we speak, or the way we understand and worship God, what affects anyone of us, affects everyone of us.
Our economy is celebrated as the largest in Africa, yet our country is home to the continent’s highest number of people living in extreme poverty. Our youth population is larger than the combined population of many of our neighbours, yet our failure to plan and create opportunities for them is turning them to a social time bomb rather than economic catalysts.
A band of ragtag terrorist group has threatened our territorial integrity, killed thousands of Nigerians, displaced our people and abducted our children. The almost 60, 000 Nigerians who have become refugees in neighbouring countries represent a budding threat to sub-regional stability.
However, even in the face of these daunting challenges, I see a great opportunity for change. We have to start by rebuilding the trust and confidence of Nigerians in their government. No citizen will respect a government under whose watch more than 200 girls were abducted.
This singular act can only portray the government as insensitive, incompetent or both. When I become president, reuniting these children with their families will, without doubts, be a top priority. Rebuilding the army and other security agencies will also be a top priority of my government. I will ensure that never again will terrorists find a safe haven in Nigeria.
Recent fall in international price of crude leaves us badly exposed and vulnerable. Dwindling oil revenue also means that we are going to face serious financial challenges in the months ahead. However, even as daunting as this appears, it also provides us with great opportunity to diversify our economy and finally give meaning to the widely held belief that our prosperity as a nation would not continue to depend on the resources buried under our feet, but on the productive capacity of our people.
No matter how much resources we have, if not properly utilized, it would only create a few billionaires and leave majority of our people in poverty. Under the current administration, corruption has enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and this has been at the heart of most of our government failings, including insecurity, broken infrastructure and growing inequality in our country.
My government will have a zero tolerance for corruption. I will set a personal example and run a government that truly serves the people rather than serve themselves and a privileged few. Like I have repeatedly maintained that if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.
We must not allow Nigeria to die. Therefore, we must do all that is necessary to root out this evil that has reduced our great country to a laughing stock of the world. We must begin to rebuild the social fabrics of our society and teach a different experience to our youth in the values of hard work, discipline, integrity and service.
The change that I seek therefore; is a change from the current regime of mindless of corruption and profligacy; a change from fear and insecurity to peace and stability; a change from religious and ethnic divisiveness to unity, equity and justice. This is the change that my party stands for. This is the change that I am committed to bringing about as President. Give me the chance to lead you in rebuilding a Nigeria that all of us can be proud of once again.
As we come out to vote on Saturday, I appeal to all Nigerians to shun violence in whatever form. It is the right of every adult Nigerian to vote and expect that their votes would count in a free, fair and credible election. However, we also have a responsibility to respect the choice of others and grant them the same treatment that we expect.
I also want to call on all our men and women in uniform, the Judiciary, and all others who have constitutional responsibility to safeguard our democracy, to remember that their responsibility is primarily to Nigerians and the survival of Nigeria. They must therefore not allow anyone to use them to subvert the will of the Nigerian people. I believe that their dreams and aspirations are not different from those of other Nigerians.
I have no doubt that with God being on our side; together we can make our country great once again.
Gen. Muhammadu BUHARI, GCFR
The Minister for Internal Affairs, Comrade Abba Moro, has directed that all sea and land borders be closed ahead of the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The directive, which was made available in a statement by the ministry, stated the borders should be closed from 12 midnight of Wednesday 25 of March till 12 midnight Saturday 28 or March, when the presidential election would have been concluded.
Abubakar Magaji, Permanent Secretary to the interior minister, who signed the release, noted that the closure of the borders is necessary ‘to allow for the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming national elections’.
The Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS) was also directed to ensure that foreigners do not participate in any part of the election process.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) said Computer-Based Test (CBT) would be used to conduct examinations for applicants of the 2015 recruitment into the service.
Mr Chukwuemeka Obua, the Public Relations Officer of the service, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Obua said this was to prevent a reoccurrence of the 2014 recruitment where a stampede was recorded at various centres across the country due to large crowd of applicants.
He said the CBT would also be used to conduct the examination in order to test the computer literacy level of applicants.
He said this was a basic requirement for employment into the service.
“ This is the process that will be adopted for the recruitment in order to prevent the reoccurrence of the past incident. Four or five computer centres will be designated in each state of the federation.
“ Applicants will be divided according to these centres and they will be communicated online individually the date they are required to sit for the examination and the location in order to prevent over-crowding in centres and cases of non-applicants in attendance,” he said.
The spokesman said the CBT was a global trend accepted and used worldwide to conduct examinations.
He said the device was chosen to prevent the rigours associated with paper-based examinations.
He said that applicants would not be required to bring any writing materials; rather, they would only need their password which was the registration number to log into the computer, answer the test and submit online.
Obua said after the test, successful applicants would be contacted individually and asked to report to designated immigration offices across the country where they would be further examined.
“ At this stage, we will do the physical examination to check the height, presence of any physical disabilities and general state of health of applicants to ensure that they are fit to carry out their duties when employed.
“ Documents of applicants will also be reviewed during the examination after which successful candidates will be contacted online informing them of their acceptance into the service,” he said.
NAN reports that applications for recruitment into the NIS which commenced on Feb. 9 closed on March 22.
German airliner crashed near a ski resort in the French Alps on Tuesday with all 148 people on board pronounced dead, in one of the worst ever plane disasters in the country. France’s transport minister said there were “no survivors” from the crash of the Germanwings Airbus A320. “The circumstances of the accident, that are not yet clear, make us think there are not thought to be any survivors,” President Francois Hollande told reporters.
The plane was travelling from the Spanish coastal city of Barcelona to the German city of Duesseldorf when it went down in the Barcelonnette area in southeastern France. The airliner, which was carrying 142 passengers and six crew, issued a distress call at 10:47 am (0947 GMT), civil aviation authorities said. “The debris of a passenger plane has been found in the region of Barcelonette,” said interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet.
He said “major rescue efforts” had been mobilised. The plane belonged to Germanwings, a low-cost affiliate of German airline Lufthansa based in Cologne which had no fatal accidents. The single-aisle A320 typically seats 150 to 180 people.
- Crisis cell -
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve immediately headed to the scene while Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he had called an inter-ministerial crisis cell. “We don’t know the reasons for the crash, we clearly fear that the 142-150 passengers and personnel have been killed considering the circumstances of the crash,” said Valls. “All is being done to understand what happened and to help the families of the victims,” he said. Germanwings had no immediate comment on what caused the crash.
“We have recently become aware of media reports speculating on an incident though we still do not have any confirmed information,” it said in a statement. “As soon as definite information is available, we shall inform the media immediately,” it said, urging people to monitor its website www.germanwings.com. A spokesman for Airbus, the European aerospace giant, said it could not make any comment “for the moment”.
“We have no information on the circumstances of the accident,” the spokesman told pressmen adding that the company had opened a “crisis cell”. In July 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed shortly after take-off from Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport en route for New York, leaving 113 people, mainly Germans dead and eventually leading to the supersonic airliner being taken out of service.
The world’s worst air disasters remain the March 27, 1977, collision of two Boeing 747s on the runway at Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people, and the August 12, 1985 crash into a mountainside of a Boeing 747 belonging to Japan Airlines, killing 520 people. France’s leading air traffic controller union SNCTA called off a strike planned from Wednesday to Friday after news of the crash. “We are suspending our planned strike as a result of the emotions created in the control rooms by the crash, particularly in Aix-en-Provence,” the union’s spokesman Roger Rousseau told newsmen.
France’s leading air traffic controller union SNCTA has called off a strike planned from Wednesday to Friday. “We are suspending our planned strike as a result of the emotions created in the control rooms by the crash, particularly in Aix-en-Provence,” the union’s spokesman Roger Rousseau told journalists. Lufthansa itself was hit by a four-day pilots’ strike last week, although this did not affect Germanwings. Shares in Airbus slumped on news of the accident, down 1.77 percent to 58.94 euros at 1100 GMT after briefly sliding two percent.
Lagos – Ahead of Saturday’s presidential election, security has been beefed up at the Lagos State Office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
As part of the security measures, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) were positioned at the entrance of the commission’s office.
A correspondent, who monitored activities at the INEC’s office, reports that there was presence of security personnel in the area.
Some soldiers and mobile police personnel were also seen within the area apparently to provide protection for electoral officers and materials.
Also, staff of the commission were seen busy sorting and packaging non-sensitive electoral materials for distribution to different parts of the state.
INEC vehicles were also seen loading and moving materials to the commission’s local government offices across the state.
Meanwhile, Mr Femi Akinbiyi, the state’s Head of Public Affairs, said that the commission had distributed 3. 8 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to registered voters in the state.
Akinbiyi said that the figure represented 69 per cent of the total registered voters.
“We have distributed 3, 847, 491 PVCs in Lagos as at the end of last week.
“This represent 69 per cent of the total registered voters in the state,’’ the spokesman said.
According to him, many registered voters failed to come for their cards in spite of all the commission’s efforts.
On cards yet to be collected by their owners, the spokesman said that the state was waiting for directive on the next step of action from its headquarters in Abuja.
Akinbiyi, however, reiterated the commitment of the commission to ensuring free, fair and acceptable elections on March 28 and April 11. (NAN)
A crack has appeared in the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State as Deputy Governor Tele Ikuru on Sunday announced his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party.
Ikuru, who has worked with Governor Rotimi Amaechi for about eight years, may be received by President Goodluck Jonathan at a PDP stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt on Monday(today).
The deputy governor, in a statement on Sunday, described the APC as a party of “rebels, insurgents and anarchists clothed in the robes of pretence and deceit.”
Ikuru said in the statement titled, “A call on the conscience of the people of Rivers State, that since he joined the APC with other disillusioned people of the state, he had been in emotional agony.
He added that the more he struggled to belong to the APC, the more the Rivers man in him rejected the party.
The statement read in part, “Recalled that in December 2013, out of extreme loyalty to my boss and friend, I joined the APC, along with other disillusioned Rivers people. Ever since, as the true nature and motive of the APC are unveiled, I have continued to twist and turn in extreme mental and emotional agony.
“The more I struggle to belong, the more the Rivers man in me rejects APC. After carefully studying, interacting and analysing the leadership of the party, I have come to the sad conclusion that the APC is a party of rebels, insurgents and anarchists, clothed in the robes of pretence and deceit.
“APC is a party founded on deception and it thrives on unholy propaganda and falsehood.
‘‘I, therefore, on behalf of my teeming supporters and my humble self, denounce APC and we all jointly and severally (sic)resign our membership of APC.”
He called on the people of Rivers State to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday and the PDP governorship candidate, Nyesom Wike, on April 11.
The deputy governor advised that the people of the state should not be seen to be working against Jonathan,who like them, is a son of the Niger Delta.
Ikuru added, “My dear people of Rivers State, we of this generation will not in good conscience expect forgiveness and compassion from our forebears, posterity and the spirit of our unborn generations if it is recorded in the annals of history that, after 48 years of Rivers people supporting leaders from all parts of this country with our votes and resources, we were the same that hounded down the very first ever President from this region, granted us by providence. I wash my hands off this treachery
It's over for Jean-Claude Van Damme — again. The actor's wife Gladys Portugues has filed for divorce after 15 years of marriage, TMZ reports.
According to court documents, Portugues is citing irreconcilable differences and is asking for spousal support. The pair were previously married from 1987 to 1992, and have two adult children.
This is the fifth divorce for Van Damme, 54. The Expendables 2 star [nickname: Muscles from Brussels] was previously married to Maria Rodriguez for four years until their split in 1984, and Cynthia Derderian from 1985 to 1986.
After splitting from Portuguese the first time, he briefly wed model-actress Darcy LaPier from 1994 to 1997. Back in August 2012, he claimed in an interview with The Guardian that he had an affair with Australian singer Kylie Minogue while filming their movie Street Fighter in 1994.
Naples (Italy) (AFP) - It was a miracle! Or maybe not. The dried blood of Naples' patron saint Januarius half-liquified Saturday during a ceremony when Pope Francis held and kissed the relic while on a visit to the southern Italian city.
Archbishop of Naples Crescenzio Sepe showed the glass vial to the congregation in the city's cathedral and declared: "The blood has half liquified, which shows that Saint Januarius loves our pope and Naples."
Francis, known for his plain speaking, quipped that he and his fellow visitors to the city's cathedral had failed to win the saint's full affection.
"The bishop just announced that the blood half-liquified. We can see the saint only half loves us."
"We must all spread the word, so that he loves us more!" he added.
Each year thousands of Roman Catholic faithful go to the three special services at Naples Cathedral where the dried blood of the fourth-century martyr is said to turn to liquid.
Some people say the blood even increases in mass during these displays, though the church does not officially recognise any of the relic's alleged transformations as a miracle.
The Roman bishop was decapitated during the persecution of Christians during the reign of the emperor Diocletian in 305 AD.
- Catastrophe -
The showing of the vial is eagerly awaited because, according to tradition, whenever the blood has failed to liquify a catastrophe has occurred.
The ceremony has been going on, sometimes up to 18 times a year, for the past six centuries.
In 1527 and 1528 non-liquefaction was followed by the plague. In 1559 famine came and in 1833 cholera raged through the city. In 1944 during World War II non-liquefaction was proceeded by bombing raids by Allied aircraft.
The "half-miracle" came during Francis's one-day visit to the city in which he was greeted by hundreds of thousands of people waving Vatican flags.
Further strengthening his down-to-earth reputation, the pope headed deep into mafia territory, visiting jailbirds and the poor in Naples amid heightened security.
The pontiff arrived in the poor, crime-ridden Scampia area of the city in a popemobile and immediately plunged into a crowd of children and young people, two of whom managed to pose for a selfie with the pontiff.
"Corruption stinks, corrupt society stinks," he told residents, adding that "we all have the potential to be corrupt and to slip into criminality".
Nigeria became the first side to win the African Youth Championship for the seventh time after beating hosts Senegal 1-0 in the final of the 2015 edition at the Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium, Dakar on Sunday.
It was the second time the two sides would meet in the competition after the Flying Eagles had beaten the Young Lions 3-1 at the group stage where Nigeria topped the group to head into the semi-finals.
Nigeria’s captain Musa Muhammed won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Highest Goal Scorer’s awards after he scored four goals.
A lone goal from Bernard Bulbwa handed the Nigerians their fifth win of the tournament.
Coach Manu Garba named the same side which defeated Ghana 2-0 in the semi-finals with all players retaining their starting roles.
It was a tale of missed chances for the Senegalese, who were searching for their first continental title. They attacked from the first blast of the whistle and almost went ahead in the fifth minute when goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo saved Malick Niang’s header from the first corner kick of the game.
The physical Senegal side pegged the Nigerians in their half and came close again in the 10th minute when a defensive error freed Malick again with Enaholo to beat but the keeper saved his effort.
In the 15th minute, the Young Teranga Lions came close to scoring again but Malick could again not direct his header towards the Nigerian goal.
Against the run of play, Nigeria took the lead in the 19th minute when Bulbwa right footed a shot from outside the penalty area into the top right corner of the Senegalese goal after a long ball from the defence.
Senegal thereafter searched for the equaliser and almost got it in the 27th minute but the header was saved by Enaholo, who was the busiest of the two keepers. But the Flying Eagles survived another scare in the 40th minute when Mouhamet Sane struck the upright with a header from a Sidy Sarr corner kick.
The second half began with Nigeria attacking for their second goal and in the 59th minute, Bulbwa’s shot from a Musa Muhammed free kick was saved by goalkeeper Ibrahima Sy.
Senegal continued the search for an equaliser but the Nigerian defence and Enaholo denied them chance after chance while Nigeria also had several chances from Taiwo Awoniyi and Ifeanyi Matthew saved by Sy.
Meanwhile, Nigeria will play in Group E of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand as African champions along with Brazil, North Korea and Hungary, while Senegal will play in Group D along with Mexico, Uruguay and Serbia.
Third placed Ghana, who defeated Mali 3-1 in the losers’ final, will play in Group B along with Argentina, Panama and Austria and Mali will play in Group C.
Jamaica has imposed an immediate import restriction on poultry products from the United States and Canada in light of reports of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, in its northern neighbors.
All poultry, poultry products and by-products not fully cooked originating in Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Minnesota, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington in the USA and British Columbia, Canada, are under restriction, according to a government release available on Friday.
The release, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, said the measures are intended to safeguard the country’s poultry and public health though there is no immediate food safety risk in the island and the consumption of properly cooked poultry meat and poultry products remains safe.
In addition, the ministry has also engaged major players in the poultry industry and has been communicating with importers, Jamaica Customs Agency and the Ministry of Health on the matter.
“Further engagement will involve backyard and small scale poultry operators, egg farmers, pet bird owners, pet stores and all other stakeholders to ensure full cooperation on the part of everyone,” the release said
Jamaica is the second Caribbean country who restricts poultry import from bird flu-infected areas, following Barbados, whose ban has been in effect since early last month.
Jubilation greeted the long-awaited launch of an Igbo channel on Africa Magic during the week which is designed to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Igbo nation. The 24-hour general entertainment channel follows the success of the Africa Magic Hausa and Yoruba channels and will go on air from April 2.
The launch of AfricaMagic Igbo which will be available on DStv channel 159 could not have come at a better time. M-Net, owners of the AfricaMagic channels that avail Africans with platforms to tell their stories from their perspective, is following a tradition of excellence that has long trailed its operations.
The launch of AfricaMagic Yoruba was hailed as a highly strategic move which helped to display the rich Yoruba culture in all its glory to a global audience. Thereafter followed the launch of AfricaMagic Hausa, a development which surprised quite a few people who were hitherto unaware that a vibrant movie industry existed in the northern part of the country.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Nollywood coordinated by Chief Harris Chuma has congratulated Africa Magic for the establishment of Igbo Channel on its platform.
Chief Chuma said, the launch of the Igbo Channel will help to boost the Igbo language film industry as well as encourage many into producing Igbo contents which have been on the decline. “We solicit film makers of Igbo extraction to see this medium as a veritable platform to showcase our rich cultural heritage, promote and project our cultural values. We have over the years clamoured for the establishment of an Igbo channel on Africa Magic, now that is a reality, we are hopeful that it will serve as a catalyst towards revitalising the dwindling fortunes of Igbo language films,” he said.
With the launch of Africa Magic Igbo, which brings to eight the total number of Africa Magic channels, follows the redefinition of the Africa Magic channels in 2014 and the recent refreshing of the Africa Magic Urban channel. Speaking on the launch, the Managing Director, M-Net (West Africa), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said: “We are thrilled to announce the launch of Africa Magic Igbo.
Igbo language entertainment content has always played a prominent role in the Nigerian film and television industry and we are glad to offer a platform where this rich content can be showcased to the rest of Africa and the world. Popular Igbo language content like Living in Bondage, Nneka the Pretty Serpent and many others set the trend for the modern Nigerian film and television industry, or Nollywood as it’s called; it is thus only fitting that such content should be given a platform where it is easily accessible by audiences around the continent. With the launch of Africa Magic Igbo, we have once again proven our commitment to providing content made for Africa by Africans.”
Source: Vanguardnews.
Photos below shows the extent parents in India can go for their wards to go to school as well as pass school exams. With a surging poverty illiteracy level, Parents in India believe that education is the only way out and so do outrageous things to help their children.
Hmmm, my people is this too extreme?
An assistant professor at a Turkish university has appealed to the government for help after his three teenage sons left to fight with Islamic State group jihadists in Iraq and Syria, the Hurriyet daily reported Friday.
The professor, named only as Dr M. Sefik I., first lost his elder son, a dentistry student at Hacettepe University in Ankara, who on March 10 sent his parents a message asking them to pray for him before leaving Turkish territory.
The elder son then helped his 16-year-old twin brothers to cross the Turkish border to Syria, the paper added.
Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) has informed the family the three are believed to have first gone to Syria and then to Iraq to fight with the IS jihadists.
The parents have now appealed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the MIT for help in urging them to come back.
“We taught them to be human beings. We do not know how they arrived at that stage,” said the father, whose place of work and full name was not given by the paper.
According to Hurriyet, over 2,300 Turks are believed to have joined the ranks of IS militants who have taken swathes of Iraq and Syria up to the Turkish border.
Turkey has also been criticised for not doing enough to halt the flow of foreign jihadists across its borders but Erdogan said Friday 1,700 would-be foreign militants have been detained and deported.
“Turkey is fulfilling its task on this issue and will continue to do so,” Erdogan said before leaving on a visit to Ukraine.
Host nation Senegal defeated Mali 2-1 to set up a meeting with the Flying Eagles on Sunday in the final of the 20th edition of the CAF U20 Championship.
Les Lions de la Teranga scored the winning goal late in the game and held on for an inspiring victory in the second West African semis of the championship.
Hence, with the result, the scripts are well rehearsed as the finalist will clash for the second time at the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, the first meeting; which incidentally was the curtain raiser, saw Nigeria put 3 past the hosts and has since not looked back reaching the final as the only team yet to lose a game in the tournament.
The third place match will be a repeat of the earlier Group stage fixture as well between Ghana and Mali, with the Black Satellites ending that encounter as second best.
The four west African teams have also booked their places for the World Cup in New Zealand and Sunday’s games will among other things decide which groups Africa’s representatives will feature, as the draws for the showpiece was conducted last month in Auckland, New Zealand.
Both games will be played on the bumpy grass pitch of the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor in the historic city of Dakar.
So we hope you can join us for a minute’s silence, after Microsoft announced that they’ll soon be doing away with the iconic browser in favour of a newer version, which is currently codenamed Project Spartan.
Frustrated users have previously slammed the browser for being slow and bug-prone, and Microsoft once talked of changing the name of the browser to address “negative perceptions that no longer reflect reality.”
Speaking yesterday, Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossella said, “We’re now researching what the new brand, or the new name, for our browser should be in Windows 10.
“We’ll continue to have Internet Explorer, but we’ll also have a new browser, which is codenamed Project Spartan. We have to name the thing.”
Microsoft also revealed yesterday that users were more likely to favour services with the company’s name in front of them, meaning that the new browser is likely to adhere to this format.
Although it’s not clear when the browser’s new name will be revealed, it will form part of the much anticipated Windows 10, which will launch later this year.
Football’s governing body FIFA on Thursday approved holding the final of the controversial 2022 World Cup in Qatar on December 18 at the end of the first tournament held in the northern winter, a top official said.
FIFA is also aiming “in principle” for a tournament of just 28 days, four days shorter than previous World Cups, FIFA communications chief Walter de Gregorio told reporters after a meeting of the body’s executive.
He said the exact starting date would be decided after talks with federations and representatives of top clubs.
FIFA had to change from the traditional June-July World Cup because of the scorching summer temperatures in Qatar.
But the issue has caused months of debate within football’s leadership because of the disruption to national championships, particularly in Europe’s powerful leagues.
“The final will be on December 18. It is a Sunday and it is also the national day of Qatar,” de Gregorio said.
“In principle we try to play in 28 days. The next step will be to have different talks, especially related to the international calendar,” the official added.
Just read a report on Sahara Reporter that embattled members of Boko Haram have started slaughtering their wives to avoid them being married to unbelievers in other for them to meet again in heaven.
#craziness
A seven months' pregnant woman had her unborn baby cut out of her womb by a mother-of-two after she went to a home answering a Craigslist ad for baby clothes.
Dynel Catrece Lane, 34, allegedly stabbed the 26-year-old in the stomach and pulled out the baby, killing the fetus in the process.
Police rushed to the scene after reports of a stabbing attack in Longmont, Colorado at 2.30pm on Wednesday and could hear the victim calling for help inside the home.
The victim was taken to Longmont United Hospital where she underwent surgery and is expected to recover. The baby did not survive the attack.
Nine people have been arrested in connection with Wednesday's gun attack in Tunis that left 23 people dead, including 20 foreign tourists, the Tunisian presidency says.
It alleged that four were directly linked to the attack and five had "ties to the cell".
The army will also be deployed to major cities, the presidency added.
One of two gunman involved in the Bardo museum attack, Yassine Laabidi, was reportedly known to the authorities.
Laabidi and his accomplice, Hatem Khachnaoui, were killed as security forces stormed the museum.
Tourists from Japan, Colombia, the UK and other European countries were killed in the attack and more than 40 people were injured.
The suspects arrested on Thursday were not identified and no further details of their alleged involvement were given.
Nigeria Football Federation Secretary General, Musa Amadu has resigned.
In his letter of resignation dated 18th March, 2015 and addressed to the NFF President, Amadu said his resignation took immediate effect.
He thanked the President, the Executive Committee and indeed “everyone at the NFF for the singular honour of serving our great country in this position and wish you and the NFF the very best in the years ahead.”
The NFF in accepting his resignation said it respected Mr. Amadu’s decision and wished him success in his future endeavours.
“We greatly appreciate his quality contributions to the development of football in Nigeria. His professionalism, hardwork and commitment to his duty helped in no little way in keeping the NFF administration stable and efficient.
“Without any doubt, when the story of Nigerian football is written, Musa Amadu’s name will be etched in gold.”
24yr old Harnaam Kaur, who lives in Berkshire, UK, and suffers from what doctors calls polycystic ovary syndrome (facial hair growth in women) says she now loves her beards and have stopped trying to get rid of it. Harnaam said she started growing the beards when she was just 11 years old and had to endure years of bullying and people making fun of her.
Harnaam, who once attempted suicide, had in the past tried to wax, bleach and shave the hair which also started growing on her chest and arms but finally decided to stop after being baptised as a Sikh, a religion that forbids the cutting of body hair. She's now speaking up about her new-found confidence.
Speaking during an appearance on This Morning, Harnaam said:
"At the end of the day, I love myself and the way that I'm formed. Going through primary and secondary school with the facial hair, kids can be nasty. It led me to self harm and wanting to take my own life. It takes a lot of strength to say, 'I want to kill myself. A split second is all it took. That thought process really empowered me to just carry on with life.
"I'm more spiritual now than I am religious, I live my life the way I see fit. I stand for what I am. To be labelled as a woman you can look however you want."
Harnaam is now working on a campaign to show that name-calling has a big impact with anti-bullying charity Fixers and appears in a short film with her brother.
Source: Standard UK
The Federal Government on Tuesday announced a reduction in electricity tariffs by 50 per cent.
It explained that the reduction which came barely two months after it cut the pump price of petrol by N10, followed a series of complaints by electricity consumers.
The government through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission added that it took the decision after it removed the collection loss component of the Multi Year Tariff Order 2.1 of the affected Discos.
NERC Chairman, Sam Amadi, said the addition of the Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection losses to the reviewed tariff that was implemented on January 1, 2015 was responsible for the skyrocketed tariff.
The addition, according to him, was done after the regulatory commission conducted a fact-finding tour of the Discos and noted that it was aimed at ensuring a cost reflective tariff by passing the bulk to ‘‘paying’’ consumers for losses incurred from ‘‘non-paying’’ consumers.
He said although the increment in residential tariff was pending till June 2015, the total removal of the collection loss applied to all consumer categories, including industrial and commercial consumers.
Energy charges vary from one Disco to another. In Abuja for instance, residential consumers, based on the MYTO 2.1, pay N4 per kilowatt hour, while the amount charged commercial customers, depending on their respective category, range from N23.32 to N37.68 per KWH.
Fixed charges for most residential consumers is between N650 and N750 while energy charge has an average of about N4 for every KWH.
With the new directive, it therefore means that the energy charge, which forms the larger part of the tariff paid by customers when computed by Discos, will be reduced by half.
Nigeria has 11 Discos that distribute power to consumers.
Amadi said the commission listened to consumers and took full account of the impact of high tariff paid by consumers and the economy and therefore reviewed the basis of the MYTO 2.1 assumptions.
He explained that after the review, it was agreed that it was inappropriate to transfer the collection losses that were controllable by Discos to consumers.
The NERC chief said, “It is the responsibility of the Discos to collect their revenue from their customers. Failure to do so should not be a penalty to customers who pay their bills. It is clear that removing the collection losses will lead to lower tariffs for consumers.
“The removal of collection losses from customer tariff has reduced tariff by more than 50 per cent in some places. Please note that the reduction does not affect the Central Bank of Nigeria facility and its repayment.”
Since January 1, 2015 when NERC approved the MYTO 2.1, there had been several complaints against the increase in tariff of different consumer classes.
Industrial and commercial consumers under the auspices of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria petitioned the commission asking for a review of the MYTO 2.1 and requested drastic reduction of their tariff.
Pope Francis sent out a warm letter to Nigerians & Nigerian priest yesterday March 17th encouraging everyone in the face of the various Boko Haram attacks. The Pope's letter below...
To the Bishops of Nigeria
Dear Brother Bishops, While we walk this Lenten journey towards the Resurrection of the Lord united with the whole Church, I wish to extend to you, dear Archbishops and Bishops of Nigeria, a fraternal greeting, which I extend to the beloved Christian communities entrusted to your pastoral care. I would also like to share some thoughts with you on the current situation in your country. Nigeria, known as the “African giant”, with its more than 160 million inhabitants, is set to play a primary role, not only in Africa but in the world at large.
In recent years, it has experienced robust growth in the economic sphere and has again reasserted itself on the world stage as an attractive market, on account of its natural resources as well as its commercial potential. It is now considered officially the single largest African economy. It has also distinguished itself as a political player widely committed to the resolution of crisis situations in the continent. At the same time, your nation has had to confront considerable problems, among them new and violent forms of extremism and fundamentalism on ethnic, social and religious grounds.
Many Nigerians have been killed, wounded or mutilated, kidnapped and deprived of everything: their loved ones, their land, their means of subsistence, their dignity and their rights. Many have not been able to return to their homes. Believers, both Christian and Muslim, have experienced a common tragic outcome, at the hands of people who claim to be religious, but who instead abuse religion, to make of it an ideology for their own distorted interests of exploitation and murder. I would like to assure you and all who suffer of my closeness.
Every day I remember you in my prayers and I repeat here, for your encouragement and comfort, the consoling words of the Lord Jesus, which must always resound in our hearts: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27). Peace – as you know so well – is not only the absence of conflict or the result of political compromise or fatalistic resignation. Peace is for us a gift which comes from on high; it is Jesus Christ himself, the Prince of Peace, who has made of two peoples one (cf. Eph 2:14). And only the man or woman who treasures the peace of Christ as a guiding light and way of life can become a peacemaker (cf. Mt 5:9).
At the same time, peace is a daily endeavour, a courageous and authentic effort to favour reconciliation, to promote experiences of sharing, to extend bridges of dialogue, to serve the weakest and the excluded. In a word, peace consists in building up a “culture of encounter”. And so I wish here to express my heartfelt thanks to you, because in the midst of so many trials and sufferings the Church in Nigeria does not cease to witness to hospitality, mercy and forgiveness.
How can we fail to remember the priests, religious men and women, missionaries and catechists who, despite untold sacrifices, never abandoned their flock, but remained at their service as good and faithful heralds of the Gospel? To them, most particularly, I would like to express my solidarity, and to say: do not grow tired of doing what is right!
We give thanks to the Lord for them, as for so many men and women of every social, cultural and religious background, who with great willingness stand up in concrete ways to every form of violence, and whose efforts are directed at favouring a more secure and just future for all. They offer us moving testimonies, which, as Pope Benedict XVI recalled at the end of the Synod for Africa, show “the power of the Spirit to transform the hearts of victims and their persecutors and thus to re-establish fraternity” (Africae Munus, 20). Dear Brother Bishops, in perseverance and without becoming discouraged, go forward on the way of peace (cf. Lk 1:79). Accompany the victims! Come to the aid of the poor! Teach the youth! Become promoters of a more just and fraternal society! I gladly impart to you my Apostolic Blessing, which I ask you to extend to priests, religious, missionaries, catechists, lay faithful and above all to those suffering members of the Body of Christ.
President Jonathan is at the moment holding a crucial meeting at the Presidential villa with INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega and Security Chiefs over the forthcoming General elections.
Professor Jega is expected to brief President Jonathan and the Service Chiefs about his commission's preparedness for the upcoming elections. Those in attendance include Vice President Namadi Sambo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim; Chief of Staff to the President, Gen. Jones Arogbofa (retd.); National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki;
Attorney-General of the Federation, Muhammed Adoke (SAN); Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan; Minister of Interior, Mr. Aba Moro; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali. Others in attendance are Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu; Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba; as well as the heads of the Department of State Security and the National Intelligence Agency.
The picture bellow is a beautiful silverbird staff who was stab multiple times on her way from work. One arrest has been made so far sha. May her soul rest in peace.
Saw this on channels TV.
There are plans to hold a massive rally today at Tafawa Balewa square In Lagos by civic groups, students to support the Nigerian troop fighting BoKo. Guess there will be heavy traffic in Lagos today.
Tweets from defense headquarters showed that Tone and Adamawa are all free from Book haram after troops cleared terrorist off their last stronghold in Gunuri, Yobe state.
World leaders needs to do something about Syria.
Really heartbreaking pics as young boy protects his little sister from airstrikes in Syria.
Black Satellites’ coach, Sellas Tetteh, has said he is not disappointed with his semi-final date with perennial rivals and tournament favourite, Nigeria. Ghana succumbed 1- 0 to Mali in their last Group B match at the African Youth Championship (AYC) played at the Caroline Faye Stadium in M’bour on Sunday.
Black Satellites’ coach, Sellas Tetteh
The results mean Ghana, finishing second in the group with six points, has set up a semi-final date with Nigeria in Dakar on Wednesday. Tetteh told reporters in a post match interview that, “I am not disappointed that we will be meeting Nigeria. We knew any other team in the semi-finals is capable.
“We know we came and could not conquer which means the team we have to meet is Nigeria. All we have to do is to prepare well and beat them on Wednesday.” Tetteh, who rang changes in his starting line-up against Mali said, “I introduced four new players into the team. This is a tournament and at any given time you need to have the opportunity to see all the players. “It was a calculated risk that I took to introduce those players so we know how they will gel incase we will need them as we progress.”
It was not the reason we lost today. We lost holistically.”
Mali will now meet host Senegal at the semi-finals in Dakar on Thursday.
All four teams have qualified to represent Africa at the World Youth Championship (WYC), in New Zealand in May.
A female Ukrainian pilot detained in Russia on murder charges that Kiev says are politically motivated restarted a hunger strike Monday that officials have warned could kill her, her lawyer told AFP.
Helicopter pilot Nadia Savchenko first went on hunger strike in December to protest against her arrest last year for alleged involvement in an attack that killed two Russian journalists on eastern Ukraine’s frontlines, where she had enlisted as a volunteer in one of the battalions fighting pro-Russian rebels.
Savchenko broke off the more-than-80-day hunger protest earlier this month after her health nearly collapsed but lawyer Mark Feigin told AFP that she was starting again as her basic demands had not been met.
“She insists that she is innocent,” Feigin said.
Ukrainian medics paid a visit to the pilot over the weekend and strongly cautioned her not to go back on hunger strike, Feigin said.
“The doctors warned that she was not in any condition to begin the strike again, but she thinks differently,” he said.
The 33-year-old Ukrainian military aviator lost more than 20 kilos (44 pounds) after being drip-fed on glucose and vitamins alone during the first round of the strike.
Savchenko has become a symbol of resistance in Ukraine, where she has been elected to parliament. She has been listed as a political prisoner by Russia’s most prominent rights group, Memorial, as well as by Amnesty International.
The pilot says she was abducted by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine and smuggled to Moscow, where she is now being detained.
Russia says she crossed the border of her own accord, pretending to be a refugee.
Sunderland have sacked manager Gus Poyet after a run of just one victory in 12 Premier League games.
The Black Cats are one point above the relegation zone after Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat by Aston Villa.
“Sadly, we have not made the progress that any of us had hoped for this season,” said chairman Ellis Short.
“We find ourselves battling, once again, at the wrong end of the table. We have therefore made the difficult decision that a change is needed.”
A Sunderland statement added that an announcement about Poyet’s successor would be made “in due course.”
The Wearsiders face a trip to West Ham on Saturday before a derby against Newcastle on 5 April.
A Chechen woman living in the Netherlands has taken her two young children against their father’s will to join the Islamic State group in Syria, in what is believed to be the first such case, prosecutors said on Monday.
The unnamed 32-year-old refugee flew with her children, a boy aged eight and a girl aged seven, from Charleroi in Belgium to Athens in November, possibly using false passports after their Dutch father warned police of their imminent departure.
“She is most likely in Syria now. We are probing a kidnapping case,” public prosecution spokeswoman Elsbeth Kleibeuker told AFP, adding that an international detention request had been issued for them.
The Chechen woman and her children, who are Dutch nationals, were photographed as she withdrew cash from a cash machine in Istanbul in mid-December, the Dutch Limburger newspaper reported on Monday.
On December 28 she posted a picture on Facebook, believed to have been taken in the Turkish-Syrian border town of Tell Abiad, which is controlled by the Islamic State group.
In early January, she phoned her mother in southern Dutch city Maastricht and told her that she was in the IS stronghold of Raqqa, after which nothing further has been heard.
“The mother has taken the children against the wishes of her ex-husband, who has custody,” said public prosecution service spokesman Bart den Hartigh.
“Unfortunately there’s very little we can do (if they are) in Syria,” he told state broadcaster NOS.
At least 160 people have travelled from the Netherlands to join jihadist fighters in Syria and Iraq, Dutch Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk said late last year.
Nine of these were from Limburg province, including six from Maastricht, news reports said.
Their number included a young Dutch girl called “Aicha”, who was dramatically rescued by her mother from Syria last year after the teen travelled there to marry a jihadist fighter she saw as a Robin Hood figure.
The head of Nigeria’s electoral body said on Monday it was ready to conduct presidential and parliamentary elections in less than two weeks’ time, after the vote was delayed by security concerns.
Attahiru Jega told a meeting in the capital city Abuja that his Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had done “everything humanly possible” for a free, fair, credible and peaceful vote on March 28.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega
INEC has come under close scrutiny since last month when Jega was forced to postpone the February 14 general election on the grounds that troops could not provide adequate security on polling day.
Nigerian soldiers, backed by troops from Cameroon, Chad and Niger, are currently involved in a major offensive against Boko Haram, which has seized swathes of territory in Nigeria’s northeast.
The Islamist insurgency, which began in 2009, has killed more than 13,000 people and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee, raising the prospect that the displaced will be unable to vote.
Despite a series of claimed military successes, security fears remain over the safety of polling stations after an increase in bomb and suicide attacks in recent weeks.
Jega maintained that the election would be peaceful, despite the insurgency and election-linked violence, and said the six-week delay had given his organisation more time to prepare.
A week before February 14, INEC said that two-thirds (66.5 percent) of the 68.8 million registered voters had collected their ID cards, prompting claims that it was unprepared.
On Monday, Jega said 67.8 million cards had been produced and distributed to individual states, including to the internally displaced, who would be able to vote near camps in the north.
But he added: “The level of collection… nationwide is about 56 million out of these 68.8 million (81 percent).
“So, there are millions of cards out there that… people have not gone out and collected.”
President Goodluck Jonathan’s ruling party has raised concerns about the use of electronic card readers, claiming it is untested technology, as well as the rate of distribution of cards.
But Jega said the card readers, which scan fingerprints and record personal data against the electoral roll, will work and reduce the possibility of the persistent problem of fraud.
Cloned cards would not work, he said, adding that INEC had “cleaned” the electoral register since the last vote in 2011, removing over four million multiple registrations.
Jonathan is seeking a second term in office but has faced a strong challenge from the main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler.
Justice Akinkugbe of a Lagos High Court, sitting in Ikeja, has granted an interim order restraining management of AIT from airing a documentary on a former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, titled ‘Lion of Bourdillon’.
Pope Francis has marked the second anniversary of his election by giving a hint that his time at the Vatican may be short, saying he would be ready to resign rather than ruling the Catholic Church for life, Agencies report.
The revelation came in a lengthy interview with the Mexican broadcaster Televisa, released on the second anniversary of his surprise election.
“I have a feeling my pontificate will be brief,” said the Catholic pontif.
“Four or five years, I don’t know. Two years have already gone by.
“It is a vague feeling I have that the Lord chose me for a short mission. I am always open to that possibility.”
The first pope from Latin America has hinted in the past that he could retire, emulating his predecessor Benedict XVI, who became the first pope to resign in seven centuries when he stepped down in February 2013, saying that his decision is “courageous”.
“I share the idea of what Benedict did. In 2013, former Pope Benedict became the first head of the Roman Catholic Church in 600 years to resign instead of ruling until he died.
“In general, I think what Benedict so courageously did was to open the door to the popes emeritus. Benedict should not be considered an exception, but an institution,” Francis said.
The Pope also said he was opposed to the idea of an age limit for leaders of the Catholic Church.
“To say that one is in charge up to 80 years, creates a sensation that the pontificate is at its end and that would not be a good thing,” he added.
A papal conclave elected Pope Francis as Benedict XVI’s successor on March 13, 2013.
During the interview, he admitted he was “surprised” by the decision and had only carried a small suitcase to Rome, with the expectation he would return to Buenos Aires.
Sha no be only for Nigeria this kind thing dey happen.
Angry French doctors and health workers staged a protest march across the capital Sunday, gathering more than 40,000 people according to organisers and 19,000 according to police.
Doctors, interns, nurses and dentists have been protesting for weeks, with some staging a two-week stoppage before Christmas, to amend a controversial health bill that goes before a parliamentary committee from Tuesday.
An interns’ association claimed 50,000 people took part in the rally while a surgeons’ group put the numbers at 46,000.
The draft legislation notably provides for doctors to be paid in full by the state-run social security system by 2017, rather than the current system under which patients pay doctors and are then refunded by the system.
Medics fear the proposed change will hugely add to their paper-work, cause payment delays and open the door to administrative meddling in medical affairs .
To mark this year's mothers day the #Bringbackourgirls campaign team has dedicated this year's event to the missing chibok girls mothers in a statement released.
The statement reads: “Fortuitously, Nigeria is today celebrating Mother’s Day and we cannot but spare more than a passing thought for the Chibok Mothers who have had to bear so much agony for almost a year.
“Today, we stand with the grieving mothers of Chibok. We ask our leaders to pause for a moment and think about what these women have been forced to suffer and the nightmare they are still burdened with because of leadership inaction. Would our leaders allow their own mothers experience a quarter of this emotional torture?”.
A footballer has been jailed for at least eight years after punching to death a referee in a Michigan United Soccer League match in America.
Bassel Saad had already been booked when official John Bieniewicz adjudged him to have committed another foul and prepared to show him a second yellow card.
Instead of accepting his punishment, the player reacted by knocking the referee unconscious with a single punch, leaving him lifeless on the pitch.
Bieniewicz, 44, was taken to a Detroit hospital but passed away two days later, resulting in Saad being charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The 37-year-old pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison and ordered to pay €8700 towards funeral costs by judge Thomas Cameron, who delivered a final damning verdict on Friday.
He said: "For better or for worse, you've come to personify all that's wrong with many people's belief about the escalation of violence in sports."
The referee's widow, Kristen, held up a red card as Saad was led from court and added: "I would like to serve Mr Saad with the red card that he was entitled to."
According to Aljazeera, Egypt’s state media reports that a disciplinary court has ordered 41 judges into compulsory retirement for supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the latest move in a sweeping crackdown on political dissent.
The Disciplinary Council headed by Nabil Zaki, a judge, did not immediately release the reason for its decision on Saturday.
The government has implemented a harsh crackdown on Islamists and secular political opponents since July 2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi following mass protests against his rule.
Reuters reported that 31 of the judges were sent into compulsory retirement for signing a statement condemning Morsi’s removal.
Another 10 were removed from their posts for joining the ‘Judges for Egypt’ group, which supported the Brotherhood even before Morsi’s removal, citing judicial sources.
Egyptian law prohibits judges from engaging in politics, but critics and human rights groups say the judicial disciplinary court has turned a blind eye to judges who openly support the government of Sisi, who was elected president last year.
The government says the judiciary is independent and it never intervenes in its work.
“The decision is shocking and it is a massacre of the judges,” Ahmed El-Khatib, one of the punished judges, said, but declined comment about whether he supported the Brotherhood or not.
APC Governorship aspirant in Kogi state, AbdulAziz Omeiza Aliyu (pictured above) and his younger brother, Salmanu Adeiza Aliyu lost their lives in a fatal road accident that happened at Jere town along Kaduna – Abuja federal highway yesterday March 14th.
A family spokesman, Abubakar Aliyu said the 36 year old politician was returning from Abuja to Kogi with his younger brother when the chattered vehicle they were riding in got involved in the accident. All occupants in the car died. Continue...
According to the family spokesman
“Omeiza spoke with his father around 1.30pm Saturday few minutes into the ill fated journey and barely half an hour, we received the shocking and sad news of his demise from a samaritans from the scene of the accident. From the report we received none of passengers on the ill fated Sharon car survived and they have been given mass burial at location at Jere town”.
Speaking on his children's death, Alhaji Momohjimoh Aliyu said he has taken the incident as an act of God ” I have accepted it as an act of God. They are from God and they have returned to Him at appointed time and on our part we have accepted it as an act of God” he said.
PRESIDENT of the Medical and Health Workers Union, MHWUN and immediate past Treasurer of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC , Ayuba Waba was Saturday morning declared the new president of the Congress, amid protest by some of the contestants including, Comrade Joe Ajaero of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE.
The aggrieved unionists are presently in a crucial meeting to determine the next line of action.
One of the possible actions, Vanguard gathered may be to withhold allegiance to NLC until their grievances are addressed.
Labour leaders that have rejected the election results include Comrade Joe Ajaero, two Deputy Presidential candidates, Comrades Isa Aremu and Igwe Achese among others.
They opined that the election was skewed to favour some candidates so as to cover acts of fraud in the body.
The retuning officer and pioneer General Secretary of NLC, Dangiwar Aliyu while announcing the results, declared that Waba pulled 1, 695 votes of the 3115 votes to defeat his main rival, Joe Ajero of the Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) who polled 1,140 votes.
3119 delegates from 43 affiliate unions of the NLC were accredited for the election.
But the aggrieved members also lamented that some delegates from the South South and South East were disenfranchised to favour other ‘anointed’ candidates.
Facebook waded further into e-commerce with the acquisition of shopping search engine TheFind.com.
“For the last nine years we’ve worked hard to bring you a shopping experience that’s easy, efficient and fun — searching all the stores on the web to find just the right products you’re looking to buy,” TheFind said in a message at its website.
“We are now starting our next chapter by combining forces with Facebook to do even more for consumers.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Members of TheFind team are joining Facebook, where they plan to put their technology to work making ads at the leading social network “more relevant,” according to the post.
The acquisition will result in TheFind.com shutting down in the next few weeks.
Facebook has been playing catch-up regarding searching for information at the social network and becoming a middle-man of sorts for online commerce.
“Together, we believe we can make the Facebook ads experience even more relevant and better for consumers,” the social network said in a statement.
TheFind — “Everything you need when shopping to quickly decide what to buy and where to buy it” — will shutter the Silicon Valley base it has operated from since launching in 2006 and move team members
Iraqi Special forces have started torturing and beheading captured ISIS militants in apparent revenge attacks. The images above was posted on instagram by someone who claimed to be an Iraqi soldier and showed the disembodied heads and mutilated bodies of the militants. He said it was in revenge for the hundreds of Iraqi soldiers that have been killed by ISIS.
South African doctors have confirmed that they performed the world’s first successful penis transplant, three months after conducting the ground-breaking operation.
The 21-year-old patient had his penis amputated three years ago after a botched circumcision at a traditional initiation ceremony.
In a nine-hour operation at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town on December 11 last year, he received his new penis from a deceased donor.
“We’ve proved that it can be done — we can give someone an organ that is just as good as the one that he had,” said Professor Frank Graewe, head of plastic reconstructive surgery at Stellenbosch University.
“It was a privilege to be part of this first successful penis transplant in the world.”
Doctors said the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, has made a full recovery since the operation and had regained all his urinary and reproductive functions.
In 2006, a Chinese man had a penis transplant but his doctors removed the organ after two weeks due to “a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife.”
