President Jonathan's 2013 Easter Message to the Nation

Easter Message from our President. See it below...
Dear Compatriots,

I greet and felicitate with you all as we celebrate Easter which commemorates the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ after his redemptive self-sacrifice for the eternal salvation of mankind.
Irrespective of our religion or faith, all holidays provide us with a fresh opportunity to establish stronger bonds with our family, friends and all those around us for more enduring, harmonious and beneficial relationships.
See the rest after the cut...


As we celebrate this year’s Easter therefore, I urge all Nigerians to rededicate themselves to living in peace and oneness with all members of their communities no matter their ethnicity, religious beliefs or places of origin.



By now, it ought to be an accepted fact amongst us that our immense potential for greatness in the comity of nations derives in the main from our collective strength as a country of close to 170 million people and the acclaimed richness of our diverse human resources and natural endowments.


It follows, therefore, that to successfully achieve our vision of becoming one of the most dominant nations on the global stage in the shortest possible time, we must stay together as a people and continue to effectively resist by all possible means, the evil machinations of global terrorists and their misguided domestic accomplices who seek to provoke turmoil, hatred and harmful divisions among us.


I assure all Nigerians that our security agencies, armed forces and I will continue to fully discharge our constitutional responsibilities for protecting the unity and territorial integrity of this country with all the powers and forces at our disposal.


We must have peace, security and stability to effectively implement our agenda for national transformation in all parts of the country and we shall continue to work ceaselessly to re-establish the prerequisite conditions for nationwide progress and development.


For your part, dear countrymen and women, I urge you to continue to exhibit restraint and understanding in the face of seeming provocations. Those who mindlessly and indiscriminately attack churches, schools, health workers,  motor-parks, banks and ordinary road users must be seen as they truly are: the brainwashed pawns of international terrorism.


They do not represent any true religion or section of the country and we must never play into their hands by succumbing to their nefarious ploys to incite religious, ethnic hatred and division among us.


It is my hope and prayer that as we celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, his lessons of self-sacrifice, brotherly love, placing others before self, tolerance, obedience, respect for lawful authorities, dutifulness, diligence, honesty, justice and fairness to all will take firmer root in our beloved country and help us to overcome present challenges and build the more peaceful, secure, united, progressive and prosperous nation of our dreams.


I wish you all happy Easter celebrations.



Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR

President,

Federal Republic of Nigeria

March 30, 2013

DEAD prostitute wakes up and jumps out of coffin en route to morgue

A prostitute in Zimbabwe 'died' during a hotel romp with a client - only to come back to life as her body was being put in a coffin. The vice girl reportedly collapsed during a sex session last week at the Manor Hotel in Bulaweyo. Convinced she was dead, her shocked client called the police - who sent paramedics to collect the body.

But as they were loading the 'corpse' into a metal coffin, the hooker suddenly woke up screaming.
Local news reports claim she leaped from the casket, yelling: "You want to kill me, you want to kill me". LMAO. Continue reading...


Terrified staff and guests at the hotel who had gathered to watch the scene unfold, fled in panic.
A source told Bulaweyo24 News: "It was like a movie. People were running away in different directions. It was a scary incident because we were all convinced that she had died because she was just cold. Miracles surely do happen."

The shaken hooker - known locally as MaNdlo - was escorted home by another prostitute.

Source: The Sun UK

N Korea 'readies' rockets to strike US bases

North Korea's leader has responded to America's use of nuclear-capable B-2 bombers in joint South Korean military
drills with more angry rhetoric, saying his rocket forces are ready to attack US positions.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) news agency said on Friday that Kim signed off on the orders at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists in view of the prevailing situation".

In the event of any "reckless" US provocation, North Korean forces should "mercilessly strike the US mainland... military bases in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea", he was quoted as saying.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Friday that increased activities involving vehicles and troops at North Korea's mid- and long-range missile units were detected by the South's military.

"There is a combat duty readiness in effect at the North's missile units since February 26 so there is a possibility they will actually fire," the agency quoted a military official as saying.

'Intense rhetoric'

With tensions soaring on the Korean peninsula, two B-2s flew training bombing runs over South Korea on Thursday to underline US commitment to its military alliance with Seoul in the event of any aggression from the North.

Kim argued that the stealth bomber flights went beyond a simple demonstration of force and amounted to a US "ultimatum that they will ignite a nuclear war at any cost".


Present at the emergency meeting were the Korean People's Army (KPA) chief of general staff, director of operations and commander of strategic rocket operations.

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Seoul, said this was not the first time this sort of threat had been made.

"The question is whether this intense rhetoric signals some kind of change, whether there is some kind of pressure on Kim Jong-un's young leadership, whether he may be trying to shore up his position," he said.

The US flight came as part of annual drills between Washington and South Korea, which North Korea each year denounces as rehearsals for war.

Pyongyang has been particularly vocal this time, angered by UN sanctions imposed after its long-range rocket launch in December and the third nuclear test it carried out last month.

Pyongyang 'provocations'

The KPA had already put its strategic units at combat-ready status on Tuesday, and the following day it cut the last remaining military hotline with South Korea.

The bulk of the threats emanating from Pyongyang have been dismissed as bluster, and North Korea has no proven missile capability to strike the US mainland, or indeed Guam or Hawaii.

Washington has said that the decision to send the B-2 bombers was part of normal exercises and not intended to provoke a reaction from North.

North Korea's belligerent tones and actions in recent weeks have increased the danger in the region, "and we
have to understand that reality", Chuck Hagel, the US defence secretary, said.

"We will be prepared, we have to be prepared, to deal with any eventuality," Hagel told reporters at the Pentagon. "We must make clear that these provocations by the North are taken by us very seriously and we'll respond to that."

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, responded to the threat by saying that the US should refrain from undertaking "unilateral actions against North Korea" that go beyond those called for by the UN Security Council.

"We can simply see the situation getting out of control, it would spiral down into a vicious circle," he told reporters in Moscow.

China, North Korea's main regional ally and biggest trading partner, meanwhile, called for an easing of tensions in the region, saying that upholding peace and stability in northeast Asia "serves the common interests of all parties", according to a foreign ministry statement.

Jim Walsh, a former nuclear negotiator for the US in talks with North Korea, said that with tensions so high, the risk of "an accidental war" was ever-present.

"The US use of those airplanes was meant to reassure South Korea, its treaty ally, and send a message back to Americans at home that we're not going to be threatened by the North Koreans. I think the US is going to continue to support its ally, and we're going to continue to have military exercises and other symbolic acts where the US is saying we support South Korea and Japan," he told Al Jazeera.

"The fundamentals have not changed. North Korea does not want a war. South Korea does not want a war. China and the US do not want a war. So no wants to fight a war, and that's the good news.  [...] On the other hand it's still scary, because you can still get into an accidental war. There could be some small incident, that each side feels like it has to react to, given the current context."

UAE economy suffering from anti-Iran sanctions: UAE traders

Prominent Emirati merchants say US-engineered sanctions against Iran over its nuclear energy program have had adverse effects on the UAE economy.


During a high-level meeting between Emirati and American trade officials in Abu Dhabi on March 27, the UAE business community said it has been disadvantaged by rigorously applying sanctions against Iran and has lost trade to other countries, English-language newspaper The National reported.

"We discussed Iran in a private meeting. The UAE is the 18th largest trading partner of the USA, and we value the relationship...but the interests of the UAE business community must also be taken into consideration,” Abdul Aziz al-Ghurair, a senior Dubai businessman, said.

Official statistics published earlier this week showed that trade between Dubai and Iran have fallen by nearly one-third from 36 billion dirhams (USD 9.8 billion) in 2011 to 25 billion dirhams (USD 6.8 billion) last year.

Financial restrictions, imposed as part of the US-led sanction against the Islamic Republic, have made all types of trade more difficult.

Wave of African refugees arrives on Italian, Maltese shores

Some 342 African migrants landed in Italy and Malta after their vessels were intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea, officials said on Friday. Many North Africans have fled the continent since the Arab Spring of 2011 brought instability to the region.

Four boats carrying a total of 342 migrants have landed in Italy and Malta, officials said Friday, as improved weather conditions in the Mediterranean herald more arrivals from Libyan shores.

Three of the boats with 260 people on board were intercepted by Italian coast guards and taken to an immigration centre on the tiny island of Lampedusa, which is closer to north Africa than to the Italian mainland.

Maltese armed forces rescued a dinghy packed with 82 migrants 68 nautical miles south of the island.

The migrants, who said they were from Somalia, had sent out a distress signal when the dinghy's engine failed.

The group included 10 women, one of whom is pregnant, and a toddler.
Tens of thousands of migrants have arrived on Italian shores since the Tunisian revolution in January 2011 set off a chain reaction across north Africa, bringing tumultuous political change and severe economic hardship.

Bobby Brown out of jail in hours......

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Bobby Brown walked out of a Los Angeles County jail after serving just nine hours of a 55-day sentence imposed for his second drunken driving conviction in a year.
A Los Angeles County probation officer determined that Brown, the ex-husband of Whitney Houston, was eligible to serve his time at home if he wore an electronic monitor bracelet, Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said. The singer is technically still in custody and under the control of the probation department, he said.

"He is presently home with family," his lawyer, Christopher Brown, said Thursday. "Mr. Brown has accepted responsibility for what occurred last October 2012. Mr. Brown is pleased that the matter has been resolved and to be home with this wife and young son."
Brown can take the bracelet, which he is paying for, off his leg after eight days, the same amount of time he would have otherwise spent behind bars, Whitmore said.
Good behavior rules and jail overcrowding guidelines add up to a sharp reduction in actual time served for county inmates, Whitmore said.

Brown, 44, was taken into custody at the Van Nuys, California, courthouse Wednesday, but was free about 10 hours later, Whitmore said.
The singer pleaded no contest to a drunken driving offense, driving with a suspended license and violating his probation from another drunken driving conviction last year.
He spent time in a "confidential rehabilitation center" last August as part of his plea deal for the April 2012 arrest.

He was arrested again in October after a police officer smelled "a strong scent of alcohol" when he approached Brown during the Ventura Boulevard traffic stop, a police spokesman said.
Brown and Houston divorced in 2007. He has one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, from his relationship with Houston, as well as three other children. Houston died a little more than a year ago.
Brown, who has been touring with his R&B group, New Edition, released "Masterpiece," his first solo album in 14 years, last June.

Man accused of raping his own daughters and granddaughter............

Culled from Punch


A seven-year-old girl (name withheld and face blurred), has accused her 49-year-old father of rape. The girl said her father, Sylvester Ehijele, had on numerous occasions had sex with her, adding that he used to promise to buy her goodies and toys before the actions. Photo:
She said he usually had sex with her on a daily basis whenever her mother was not home.
She said, “Whenever my mum is not at home, he grabs me, forces his hand over my mouth and then inserts his penis into my private part. He promises to buy me a car, cake and biscuit but he doesn’t buy anything for me.
“He also threatens to use a knife to gouge my eyes out anytime I threaten to report to my mother.”
Sylvester’s wife, Margaret, told PUNCH Metro that he (Ehijele) also raped their 23-year-old daughter when she was much younger and recently, he raped their one-year-old granddaughter that lives with them.

She said, “I am a caterer. In 2006 I went to Abuja for a catering job where I spent five days. But at about 1am, my first daughter, who was about 17-years-old at the time, called me on the phone crying that her father raped her that night.

“When I returned, I confronted him but he beat me up and he continued to molest our daughter and each time I confronted him, it earned me a beating. I had no choice but to leave him when I got fed up with seeing him molesting our daughter and later sleeping with me. I took my six children and we relocated.”

She said in 2011, Sylvester’s family settled their  differences and urged the couple to reconcile for the sake of the children.

She said her husband swore never to touch any of his daughters again and she reluctantly returned to her husband’s house.

Margaret said she was however disappointed to find out that less than a year after moving in with her husband, he went back to his old ways.

She said, “We reconciled in May 2011 and I really thought he had changed but in August last year, I caught him in a compromising situation with our seven-year-old daughter. I called her out and she told me how her father had constantly been abusing her.

“Again, I confronted him and he beat me up. I had to pick my daughter and ran to his brother’s house, where I stayed for three days before I went back home.”

Mrs. Ehijele said she continued to cope with her husband’s ways until he finally raped their 15-month-old granddaughter.

She said, “Because my oldest daughter works, we decided to put her daughter baby at a day care in Ejigbo. I have always been the only one that brings her back at 6pm everyday from the day care. But on that particular day, my husband went to the day care and after an altercation with the teacher, he took the baby home.

“He took the baby home and hours later the baby was crying profusely. When I got home, the baby was still crying and I wondered what was wrong. When I finally took off her diapers so I could bathe her, I noticed she was bleeding in her private part. When I raised the alarm, my husband was unnerved. That was when I suspected him.

“I rushed down to the Ejigbo Police Station and reported the matter.”
Margaret said she had been married to the suspect for over 23 years and lamented that he had had carnal knowledge of all their daughters.

“I have two daughters, four sons and a granddaughter. Sadly, my husband has raped all of the females,” she said.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said the suspect would soon be charged to court on charges of defilement.

“The suspect is in the habit of sleeping with his daughters and now his granddaughter. We have the doctor’s report which shows that the girls have been defiled,” she said.
A copy of medical report issued by the Isolo General Hospital reads in part that, “The vaginal hymens of the girls are no longer intact.”
Sylvester however denied the allegation, adding that it was his wife that poisoned his daughters’ minds against him.

He said his wife left him initially because he had refused to pay her dowry.

He said, “If I was the one that raped them, let me die. My wife and I were separated for four years and it was because her family said I hadn’t paid her bride price. After we reconciled, she told my daughters to tell lies against me in order to disgrace me.

“Even my oldest daughter confessed to my family that I never raped her and that it was my wife that told her to lie.”

When quizzed about the medical report, Sylvester said it was not authentic.

 http://www.punchng.com/news/man-accused-of-raping-daughters-granddaughter/

Jamie Foxx and Kelly Rowland secretly hooking up?

According to reports, Jamie Foxx and Kelly Rowland are secretly seeing each other. Jamie Foxx shamelessly flirted with Kelly Rowland on the Oscars red carpet and according to The National Enquirer they swapped numbers after the show and have been hooking up secretly since then.

Kelly, who has been single for a while, has been seen visiting the unrepentant bachelor at his LA home according to NE but no photo to prove this. Jamie has two kids with two different women.

You know what they say, in Hollywood, everyone sleeps with everyone. But why creep when you are both grown and single? They will make a cute couple.

Greek footballer banned for life over Nazi salute

Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis has been banned from playing for the Greek national team for life after he gave a Nazi salute while celebrating a goal in a Greek league match on Saturday.

Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis has been banned from any Greek national team for life after giving a Nazi salute while celebrating a goal in the Greek league.


Greece's football federation said Sunday in a statement that the player's gesture ``is a deep insult to all victims of Nazi brutality.''

The 20-year-old Katidis gave a Nazi salute after scoring the winner in AEK's 2-1 victory over Veria on Saturday. His action provoked an immediate and overwhelmingly negative response on social media.

Katidis apologized on TV and Twitter, pleading ignorance about the meaning of the salute. AEK and the Greek league are also considering separate sanctions.

AEK could also be penalized.

Hardcore AEK fans have issued a statement demanding Katidis' dismissal from the team.

Katidis has played for Greek junior teams.

Police DPO shot and killed in Kano as she picks child from daycare

Esther Tarimo, a Divisional Police Officer in the Daurawa area of Kano, was this afternoon shot dead by unknown gunmen as she left her child's daycare.

Esther was trailed from her child's daycare where she had gone to pick up her baby. She was attacked and killed before she got home, but her child was not harmed. Security agencies in Kano confirmed the killing but do not know those behind it or why she was killed.

Lil Wayne leaves hospital

 RapperLil Wayne has been released from the hospital six days after he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in West Hollywood after suffering several massive seizures caused by a suspected drug overdose.

The 30-year-old rapper's hospitalization at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center triggered media reports that he was near death -- rumors his associates were quick to squash. Few details about his medical condition were made public.

On Monday night, Mack Maine, the president of Wayne's label, Young Money, thanked the hospital.
"@LilTunechi has been officially been released and is headed home...God is great," he tweeted.
Lil Tunechi is Lil Wayne's nickname, as well as his Twitter handle.
An online report that Lil Wayne was near death and on life support Friday cause panic among his fans and caused Twitter to light up with messages of concern.
"I'm good everybody," the rapper tweeted Friday evening, helping defuse the concerns. "Thnx for the prayers and love."

Young Money publicist Sarah Cunningham acknowledged Friday that Lil Wayne had had a seizure, but members of the New Orleans artist's camp have shot down reports that he was near death.
"Dont believe the nonsense about comas and tubes to breathe ... that's false!!" Maine tweeted Friday night.
Instead of ighting for his life, Lil Wayne was watching the Syracuse University Orange play the Georgetown Hoyas in the Big East men's basketball tournament, he said.
Born Dwayne Carter, Lil Wayne is one of the rap world's most successful artists.
He won best rap album for "Tha Carter III" at the 2008 Grammy awards and took home three more Grammys the next year.

Beyond winning over critics, he's also been a commercial success.
In September, Billboard reported the rapper had tallied 109 hits on its Hot 100, surpassing the record previously held by Elvis Presley.
But he's also run into trouble outside the studio and off stage.

Lil Wayne was arrested in 2007 outside New York City's Beacon Theater after police said they found a .40-caliber pistol on his tour bus. He pleaded guilty to felony gun charges and spent eight months at New York's Rikers Island jail.

Woman has 5 husbands who are all brothers - and she sleeps with a different one each night

 Rajo Verma, 21, lives in a one-room shack with all five, sleeping with a different one each night on a rota. The housewife has no idea which one is the father of her toddler son. She said: “Initially it felt a bit awkward. But I don’t favour one over the other.”

Husband Guddu, 21 - the first to make her his bride insisted: “We all have sex with her but I’m not jealous. We’re one big happy family.” Guddu and Rajo got married in an arranged Hindu marriage four years ago and he remains her only official spouse. Continue...

But the custom in their village is she had to take as husbands his brothers Bajju, 32, Sant Ram, 28, Gopal, 26, and Dinesh - who married her last year when he turned 18.

Eldest brother Bajju said: “I consider her my wife and sleep with her like my brothers.” Rajo cooks, cleans and looks after 18-month-old Jay while her hubbies go out to work in Dehradun, northern India.

She said of the ancient tradition, called polyandry: “My mother was also married to three brothers so when I got wed I knew I had to accept all of them as my husbands.

“I sleep with them in turn. We don’t have beds, just lots of blankets on the floor.
“I get a lot more attention and love than most wives.”

Source: The Sun UK

Lil Wayne is 'good, just resting' after seizure, friend says

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Rapper Lil Wayne's "just resting" two days after suffering a seizure that sent him to a Los Angeles hospital and triggered media reports that he was near death.
Details about the Grammy-winning and multiplatinum-selling hip hop artist's medical problem have been few, but it appears the reports of his demise were exaggerated.
"He's good, just resting," said a close friend who visited the rapper at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Saturday night.
Lil Wayne fans around the world were stunned by the reports. Twitter lit up with rumors, spreading fears of the worst for Wayne's outcome, but a Tweet in his name attempted to calm the tempest. "I'm good everybody," read a message from Lil Wayne's Twitter account Friday evening. "Thnx for the prayers and love."
There was no weeping for "Weezy," as he's known among his friends, in the hallway near his hospital room Friday night. They talked more about a Twitter feud that erupted Friday between rappers Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka than about Lil Wayne's condition.
Fellow rapper Drake was one of several of Lil Wayne's Young Money record label mates who have visited him since Friday night.
Young Money publicist Sarah Cunningham acknowledged Friday that Lil Wayne had had a seizure, but members of the New Orleans artist's camp have shot down reports that he was near death.
"Dont believe the nonsense about comas and tubes to breathe ... that's false!!" tweeted Mack Maine, the president of Lil Wayne's Young Money label, around 5:20 p.m. (8:20 p.m. ET) Friday.
Maine didn't offer much detail, though he did say that he and Lil Wayne had been watching the Syracuse University Orange play the Georgetown Hoyas in the Big East men's basketball tournament.
"Wayne is alive and well!" the record label president wrote on Twitter.
The rapper's independent publicist, Kia Selby, said only, "Lil Wayne is doing well." She strongly denied reports he was in a medically induced coma, as reported by TMZ.
Born Dwayne Carter, Lil Wayne is one of the rap world's most successful artists. He won best rap album for "Tha Carter III" at the 2008 Grammy awards and took home three more Grammys the next year.
Beyond winning over critics, he's also been a commercial success. Last September, Billboard reported the rapper had tallied 109 hits on its Hot 100, surpassing the record previously held by Elvis Presley.
But he's also run into trouble outside the studio and off stage.
Lil Wayne was arrested in 2007 outside New York City's Beacon Theater after police said they found a .40-caliber pistol on his tour bus. He pleaded guilty to felony gun charges and spending eight months at New York's Rikers Island jail.

Tiger Woods confirms he's dating Lindsey Vonn

So, the cat's out of the bag.

Golfing great Tiger Woods confirmed a very loosely kept secret Monday: that he and six-time reigning World Cup downhill skiing champion Lindsey Vonn are an item.


On his Facebook page, Woods wrote: "This season has been great so far and I'm happy with my wins at Torrey and Doral. Something nice that's happened off the course was meeting Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey and I have been friends for some time, but over the last few months we have become very close and are now dating. We thank you for your support and for respecting our privacy. We want to continue our relationship, privately, as an ordinary couple and continue to compete as athletes."

Vonn also posted on Facebook, saying: "I guess it wasn't a well-kept secret but yes, I am dating Tiger Woods. Our relationship evolved from a friendship into something more over these past few months and it has made me very happy. I don't plan on addressing this further as I would like to keep that part of my life between us, my family and close friends. Thank you for understanding and your continued support! xo LV"

Vonn is currently nursing and rehabilitating a badly injured right knee, hoping to defend her 2010 Olympic downhill gold medal in Sochi, Russia, next year.

At Doral on March 10, Woods won his fifth golf tournament in less than a year. At the Masters, which starts April 11, Woods will attempt to win his 15th major championship, second all-time to Jack Nicklaus.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe arrives for pope's inaugural

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's controversial president, is under a European Union travel ban, but he arrived in Italy for the inauguration of Pope Francis on Monday.
The much reviled leader can skirt the EU travel ban if he enters Italy on religious grounds, the Italian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
Mugabe and a delegation traveled to Rome, Italy's capital, and will head to the Vatican, a separate state, for the Tuesday ceremony.
The 89-year-old, in power for decades, visited the Vatican in 2011 for the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II. He attended that pope's funeral in 2005.
A day of prayer, song, pomp to welcome new pope.

In power for decades, he has been sharply criticized for rights abuses and turning the nation from a breadbasket into a financial basket case. The presence of a man widely regarded as a brutal dictator, juxtaposed with a pope who preaches peace, has raised eyebrows.
Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster, who attended the 2011 ceremony, said, according to the Daily Mail, that Mugabe's record on human rights was deplorable and "it felt uncomfortable to be in his presence."
Controversy erupted in 2005, when Britain's Prince Charles found himself seated near Mugabe at the funeral and at one point shook his hand. A spokesman for the prince later said that was a mistake, that Charles was caught by surprise after Mugabe offered his hand.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said last week that the Holy See did not formally invite diplomatic missions to attend the Mass, instead simply informing countries through diplomatic channels that the event is taking place.
The pope's four biggest challenges
Even countries with which the Vatican does not have diplomatic relations, such as Saudi Arabia, are informed of major events such as the installation or funeral of a pope, he said.
The Vatican Press Office said it could not yet provide a full list of attendees for the ceremony. The Bernini Bristol Hotel in Rome confirms it has hotel reservations for a Zimbabwean delegation but did not provide names.
Mugabe arrived amid political turmoil in Zimbabwe. Police raided an office of Zimbabwe's prime minister on Sunday. Four officials with the office are accused of impersonating police, Zimbabwe police spokeswoman Charity Charamba told reporters.
The raid came a day after a national referendum to approve a new constitution that would impose presidential term limits for the first time in Zimbabwe.
The results of the vote are not yet known, and it came just a few months before Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to run against Mugabe in presidential elections. The two leaders entered a power-sharing agreement in 2009
If approved, which is highly likely, the new constitution will give more powers to the parliament and limit the president's. It also introduces a two-term limit of five years each for a president. But the limit would not apply retroactively, which means Mugabe could have 10 more years as head of state if he is re-elected.

Lil Wayne's ready for rap retirement

Lil Wayne may not know the exact release date for his final album, but he does know that'll be his swan song to rap.

The New Orleans artist will release "I Am Not A Human Being II" in February, and then, as he told MTV, he'll look ahead to ending his career with "Tha Carter V."


"I know y'all want me around for a little bit, and Carter V is my last album," Lil Wayne said. "Man, I've been rappin' since I was 8 years old. I'm 30 now, man. That's a long time."

As MTV points out, Weezy could churn out a record or two before "Tha Carter V," so his retirement might not be as close as it sounds. But when he does drop the mic, the rapper wants to go out on top.

"I signed my contract at 11, I went platinum at 14 ... Thank God I haven't put out an album that hasn't went platinum," he said. "To just keep it going like that, I think not only am I being greedy, I'm fooling myself to think that it will continue to be that great."

Instead, Wayne is planning to be great in another field. "I'd be a skater/sports analyst," Wayne told MTV of his post-rap plans. "My day job will probably be sports analyst, and I’ll skate all night instead of being in the studio all night."

Police: Swiss tourist gang-raped in India

(CNN) -- Police are investigating the gang-rape of a tourist in central India, the latest black eye for the country over violence against women.

A Swiss couple was camping near a forest in India's Datia district when a group of men beat the husband and raped his wife, the district's deputy superintendent of police, R.S. Prajapati, told CNN. There were between five and seven attackers, he said.
The couple arrived in Mumbai on February 3 and were on a cycling tour across the country, said D.K. Arya, deputy inspector general of police.

The attackers stole a laptop, 10,000 rupees (US $185) and a mobile phone, he said. The victims went to police and the woman was hospitalized and later released.
Twenty people have been detained for questioning, Arya said.
The couple is staying at a guesthouse in the Datia district while the investigation unfolds, he said.
The attack comes at a time in India when there are calls for stricter laws on sexual assault and changes in cultural attitudes toward women.

In December a 23-year-old woman was gang-raped on a New Dehli bus, spurring protests in India, where most women have stories of sexual harassment and abuse on public transportation or on the streets, according to the Indian Council on Global Relations. That woman later died in a Singapore hospital.
A panel appointed by India's home affairs minister as a result of the case criticized Indian attitudes toward sexual assault and called for policy changes, including creating an offense of gang-rape punishable by at least 20 years in prison, making it a crime for police to fail to investigate sexual assault complaints and making it illegal to consider character or previous sexual experience of the victim at a criminal trial.

Viewer's discretion: How Charly Boy's Cousin, Emeka Aseme was murdered

 Charly Boy's cousin, Emeka Aseme, a business tycoon and a hotelier was forcefully taken away by gun wielding men during one of his visits to his 5-Star hotel in Oguta, Imo state on 24th February. Aseme's family managed to contact the abductors who demanded N8m ransom, which the family paid but Emeka was not released to them. On the 9th of March, the men who took the hotelier contacted his younger brother and directed him to go to a community between Owerri and Oguta called Okwonji, to find him brother. Emeka's decomposed body was found in a bush path, with his sexual organ , eyes and the heart plucked out.

I have a picture of his decomposed body with vital organs missing and it's unbelievable. You will find the photo after the cut...but please I beg you if you don't have the stomach for gory photos, do not look. It doesn't get worse than this. I have a few pics but I will show just you one and yes I have permission to share the photo. Will probably take it down later...See it after the cut..

Meanwhile, about five suspected hired assassins have been arrested in connection with the incident. This has twisted the suspicion of many people who had earlier thought that the killers were kidnappers.

Also one of the killers allegedly sustained serious injuries during the shootout with the three policemen who were manning Emeka’s hotel in Oguta. The three policemen were all killed. The injured kidnapper who ran to a hospital in Port Harcourt was requested to present his military identity card before treatment, since he went to the hospital on a military uniform. Unable to provide any proof that he was a military man, the police were invited, leading to his arrest. Five of the killers have already been arrested, and police investigations have revealed that the supposed kidnappers were actually hired assassins.

Charly Boy reacted to his cousin's gruesome killing, saying:
"I have never seen a thing like this since I grew up in Oguta. This is extreme barbarism. How can a man be so callous to his fellow man to the extent of removing different parts of his body until he finally gave up? This is unheard of. What is this country turning to? What era is this?  As far as I know, no evil doer will go unpunished. Every evil committed by man to man must surely be redressed, if not now, certainly later, if not by man, then by God, for the victory of evil over good is temporary. We are waiting for the outcome of police investigation. After then, we will take the campaign to Oguta. We must agitate for peace. The peace that has eluded us must be returned. We are not known for this.”

Pope Francis wants 'poor Church for the poor'

Pope Francis on Saturday told journalists he wanted the Catholic Church to be 'a poor Church for the poor', explaining he chose his papal name because St Francis of Assisi was a man of poverty, austerity and peace.



Pope Francis, giving his clearest indication yet that he wants a more austere Catholic Church, said on Saturday that it should be poor and remember that its mission is to serve the poor.

The pope made his comments in an audience with journalists, explaining why he chose to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, a symbol of peace, austerity and poverty.

He called Francis "The man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man," and added "How I would like a poor Church, and for the poor".

Since his shock election on Wednesday, the pope has made clear that he would be introducing a different style to the papacy following the resignation of Pope Benedict last month.

On the night he was elected he shunned the papal limousine and travelled on a bus with other cardinals who had elected him.

The next day he returned to the Church-run hotel where he had been staying before the conclave and insisted on paying the bill.

In other parts of his Italian address, much of it unscripted, he said that Catholics should remember that Jesus is the centre of the Church and not the pope.

Francis is taking the helm of the 1.2 billion-member Church at a time of crisis over the worldwide sexual abuse scandal as well as scandals involving intrigue and alleged corruption in the Vatican bureaucracy.

He said the Church, like any institution, had "virtues and sins" and urged journalists to focus on "truth, goodness and beauty" in the course of their work.

(REUTERS)

Rapper Lil Wayne suffers seizure

Update from TMZ

6:30 PM PT -- Sources at the hospital tell us Wayne is still in critical condition in the ICU ... but stabilizing. We're told the prognosis is uncertain.
Wayne is sleeping right now ... which is odd, because he just tweeted saying he's OK and thanking people for the prayers and love.
5:16 PM PT -- Wayne's mother is currently on a plane flying to Los Angeles -- and we're told all major decisions about Wayne's health (including the decision to discontinue life support) will not be made until she arrives.
Life support ke? God be with him. See more after the cut...




Lil Wayne is in ICU in critical condition after suffering yet another seizure, and we're told it doesn't look good ... TMZ has learned.

We broke the story ... the 30-year-old rapper was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. Tuesday night after suffering multiple seizures.  He was released Wednesday but just hours later one of his bodyguards found him in his room, on the floor and unconscious.

Wayne was rushed to the hospital again, but this time he did not stabilize.  He was taken to ICU, where he was placed in restraints because he was shaking uncontrollably.

We're told Wayne is currently "unstable," and has been placed in an induced coma.  He is breathing through tubes.

We're told several people are at Wayne's bedside crying, and a number of rap artists and family members are on the way.  Sources say the scene is violent as Wayne shakes uncontrollably.

Sources say there's evidence Wayne went on a Sizzurp binge after being released Wednesday, because doctors found high amounts of codeine in his system.

We're told Wanye's stomach was pumped 3 times to flush the drugs from his system.

Meanwhile Lil Wayne's Cash Money CEO Birdman and Mack Mane say the reports of him being in critical condition and clinging to life is not true...

Argentines show different reactions to election of new pope

The election of former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the leader the Roman Catholic Church has led to different reactions among the public in Argentina,Press TV reports.


On Wednesday, Cardinal Bergoglio, 76, of Argentina was named the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the nickname of Pope Francis I.

Many Argentines praise Francis I for his commitment to battle poverty, his conservative character and his austere way of life.

The new pope was the only Cardinal to walk through the San Pedro Square to attend the conclave that would then name him pontiff and shunned the papal limousine later.

Others Argentines, however, think the pope faces a troubled background that links the complicity of Argentina’s Catholic Church to the country’s 1976-1983 civil-military dictatorship and question the role Bergoglio played as the head of the Jesuit order in the 70s.

During the period, 30,000 people were persecuted, killed and tortured by the military.

The first non-European pope in modern times and the first Latin American pope in history has also maintained a troubled relation with the ruling Front for Victory leadership.

Nestor Carlos Kirchner, the former president and late husband of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, called Bergoglio “the real representative of the opposition.”

In 2010, tensions mounted between Argentina’s Catholic Church and government, when the Congress passed the gay marriage law, a project fueled by the national government.

Center-left Fernandez officially congratulated the ex-Archbishop of Buenos Aires, but urged him to promote “justice and fairness” as well as “fraternity among religions.”

She called on the pontiff to “take the message of emerging countries to world powers” as a Latin American Pope.

“I expect Bergoglio to be committed to the poor in the world, clarify the corruption that has been revealed to exist in the Vatican and fight against the terrible scourge of sexual abuses in the Catholic church. I hope he is up to the task and gives answers to these priorities,” said Argentine lawmaker Guillermo Carmona.

Leaders of Argentina’s Islamic community, who are the supporters of Fernandez’s administration, have acknowledged the differences between the 76-year-old pontiff and the government but, like the president, positively welcomed the news of his election.

Meanwhile, Public Communication Secretary and presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro has confirmed Cristina Fernandez will be attending Pope Francis assumption on March 19th.

Pope Francis replaces Pope Benedict XVI as the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholics.

On February 11, the 85-year old Benedict XVI announced his decision to step down, saying he was no longer able to carry out his duties due to his advanced age. He officially resigned on February 28, becoming the first pope to resign in 600 years.

Citing unnamed sources, a recent report by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, however, said that the pontiff decided to resign after an internal church probe informed him about a series of blackmails, grafts and underground gay sex in the Vatican.

The new pope faces a surmounting range of problems including sex abuse allegations, squabbling within the Vatican and the threat of secularism.

UK PM takes up first fight with Pope

British Prime Minister David Cameron has opened British relations with Vatican under the new Pope with an altercation over the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands (Falklands).


Pope Francis, who is the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, had previously supported Argentinian government’s stance on the islands saying they are "Argentinian soil" which has been "usurped" by Britain.

Last year, he had described Britain’s invasion of the islands in 1982 as “usurpation”.

Less than two days after Pope Francis was elected, Cameron told a press conference in Brussels that everyone in the world should respect the outcome of the recent London-sponsored referendum on the islands in which residents said they want to remain British.

Cameron said, in a reference to the way cardinals announce the election of the new Pope by letting off a white smoke from St Peter’s cathedral in Rome, that “the white smoke over the Falklands was pretty clear.”

“I don’t agree with him [the Pope] - respectfully, obviously. There was a pretty extraordinarily clear referendum in the Falkland Islands and I think that is a message to everyone in the world that the people of these islands have chosen very clearly the future they want and that choice should be respected by everyone,” he added.

Argentina has not accepted the result of the referendum as a legally-binding proof for how the South Atlantic islands should be ruled.

Buenos Aires argues that a referendum is not acceptable as the original residents of the territory have been expelled from there by the British after the illegal occupation of the archipelago in 1833, and holding a referendum means paradoxically asking Brits whether they want to remain British.

EFCC arrest 5 Yahoo boys in Enugu, recover money, exotic cars

EFCC released a statement via their website saying they have arrested five suspected internet fraudsters in Enugu. The statement, released by the Acting Head, Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said the suspects were picked up from their hide out at No. 26 and 42, Chimaobi Uba Street, GRA, Enugu following an intelligence report.

Part of the statement reads:
"The suspects, Uche Nwakor, 27; Ejikeme Oluchukwu, 30; Ifeanyi Ejikeme, 28; Nnamani Ikechukwu,30 and Ibe Kodili are alleged to be serial scammers who have defrauded several victims.
“Some of the items recovered from the suspects include Eight Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty Seven United States Dollars ( $8,227); Seventy Three Thousand Naira (N73,000.00); eight (8) exotic cars; nine (9) laptops; twenty one (21) mobile phones; two (2) internet routers; one (1) currency counter and one (1) Sony camera.
“Other incriminating items found with the suspects include four (4) drivers’ license bearing different names with same photograph, five (5) flash drives, two (2) external hard drives, various bank cheques, ATM and Master cards, 1 HP printer, a black traveling bag with 12 different identity cards, a company metal seal, two (2) international passports belonging to the same person, among other items."

P-Square pictured with the president of Malawi, Joyce Banda

The singing duo are currently in Malawi for a concert which will hold tomorrow March 16th.

US Government condemns Jonathan's pardon for Alams and others

The United States Government is deeply disappointed over the recent pardons of corrupt officials by the Government of Nigeria. We see this as a setback in the fight against corruption." US Mission in Nigeria.

Meanwhile presidential spokesman Doyin Okupe has said the the Presidential Pardon granted the former Bayelsa governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, can be equated to the same pardon accorded late Emeka Ojukwu and Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Is that so? What do you guys think?

Kanye West avoiding pregnant girlfriend, Kim Kardashian?

The rapper and his pregnant reality star girlfriend haven't been photographed together in weeks and insiders are claiming Kanye has grown tired of their relationship...

From In Touch

“His passion for Kim has cooled,” a Kardashian family insider tells In Touch. “This is a man who was once so infatuated with Kim that he would do anything to win her love. Now he’s trying to get away from her, despite the fact that they’re having a baby.”
“It’s making Kim very nervous,” the insider says. “If Kanye abandons her and she ends up a single mom, it will be her worst nightmare.”
Hmmmm... see more from In Touch after the cut...



Has Kim forced Kanye to head for the hills? It’s possible. Here’s how:

She Forced Him to Go On TV: Kanye reluctantly agreed to do Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but he’s made it clear he wants nothing more to do with reality TV and says Kim should step away, too.

She Made Him Do Covers: Kim persuaded Kanye to pose with her on the racy cover of French magazineL’Oficiel Hommes— but he didn’t show his face.

She Sets Up Silly Photo Ops: Kim roped Kanye into posing for a series of zip-lining pictures in Mexico in August, but he didn’t look happy at all. The rapper made sure the embarrassing images were blocked from running for months.

Michelle Obama covers April issue of Vogue magazine

This is her second Vogue magazine cover. Classy and elegant. See more photos after the cut...

Read the Vogue interview  HERE: http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/michelle-obama-leading-by-example/#1

Hugo Chavez 'fighting for his life'

Venezuela's vice president says Chavez is fighting for his life as he undergoes treatment at a hospital in Caracas.

Venezuela's vice president has said that President Hugo Chavez is fighting for his life while he continues to undergo treatment more than two months after his latest cancer surgery.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television on Thursday that Chavez "is battling there for his health, for his life, and we're accompanying him."
The vice president has used similar phrasing in the past, saying on December 20 that Chavez "is fighting a great battle ... for his life, for his health."
Chavez has not spoken publicly since before his latest cancer operation in Cuba on December 11. He returned to Venezuela on February 18, and the government says he has been undergoing more treatment at a military hospital in Caracas.

Maduro also called for Venezuelans to keep praying for Chavez and to remain loyal to the president.
"Do you know why Comandante Chavez neglected his health and has been battling (cancer) for nearly two years?" he said. "Because he completely surrendered body and soul and forgot all his obligations to himself in order to give himself to the homeland."
Chavez, 58, himself has previously acknowledged that he was neglecting his health in recent years, often staying up late and consuming cup after cup of coffee to remain alert.
The president has undergone surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments since June 2011, when he first announced his cancer diagnosis. He has not specified the type of cancer or the exact location in his pelvic region where his tumors have been removed.
On February 15, the government released four photographs of Chavez lying in a bed in Cuba with his two daughters by his side. They were the only images of him published since early December.
Re-elected in October, Chavez was scheduled to have been sworn in on January 10. But the Supreme Court said the swearing-in could be delayed.

Syria militants say ‘desperate’ for arms

The head of the Syria militants says his forces are in "desperate" need of weapons and ammunition rather than the “non-lethal support” the US has pledged to give.


"We don't want food and drink, and we don't want bandages. When we're wounded, we want to die. The only thing we want is weapons," General Salim Idris, chief of staff of the opposition's Supreme Military Council, told The Associated Press on Friday.

Idris said his troops “need anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.”

In a meeting of the so-called "Friends of Syria" group in the Italian capital, Rome on Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry promised an additional USD 60 million in aid to the opposition in Syria.

Kerry also said the Washington would provide direct support to militant forces in the form of medical and food supplies.

The US secretary of state said the decision was aimed at increasing the pressure on Syrian President Assad to step down.

After the meeting, the European Union also announced changes to its arms embargo on Syria, allowing EU states to provide armored vehicles and technical aid to the militants fighting against the Syrian government.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government has said that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and that a very large number of the militants operating in the country are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes. - See more at: http://presstv.com/detail/2013/03/02/291546/syria-militants-say-desperate-for-arms/#sthash.TtGajW3Q.dpuf

Cross River Governor Liyel Imoke returns to Nigeria after 3 months

After three months away from Nigeria to receive treatment for a supposedly minor health concern in the US, governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke is back in the country. He came into the country around 6:50 yesterday evening via a British Airways flight. He will resume office next week!