Nigerian terrorists group (Boko Haram), recently have been begging for allegiance in videos posted by group, but ISIS have tactically ignored the Nigerian terrorists.
Long before ISIS militants beheaded Christians on a Libyan beach last week, Nigeria's Boko Haram was carrying out similar atrocities 1,500 miles to the south. Now that ISIS is operating in northern Africa, will the Syria-based organization join forces with the continent's largest Islamist terror group?
Maybe not, say U.S. intelligence officials, and they suggest one obstacle is racism.
"The Arab world is incredibly racist," explained a U.S. intelligence official. "They don't see Subsaharan Blacks as equivalent to them."
ISIS may show "affinity" with Boko Haram, said the official, "but they stop short of allegiance." Moreover, said the official, while Boko Haram has in the past year released videos to show "affiliation" with groups like ISIS, there's no evidence of either group sending members to fight with the other. And while Boko Haram has praised ISIS, and shown the ISIS flag in videos, ISIS has not reciprocated.
ng before ISIS militants beheaded Christians on a Libyan beach last week, Nigeria's Boko Haram was carrying out similar atrocities 1,500 miles to the south. Now that ISIS is operating in northern Africa, will the Syria-based organization join forces with the continent's largest Islamist terror group?


Maybe not, say U.S. intelligence officials, and they suggest one obstacle is racism.
"The Arab world is incredibly racist," explained a U.S. intelligence official. "They don't see black Africans as equivalent to them."
ISIS may show "affinity" with Boko Haram, said the official, "but they stop short of allegiance." Moreover, said the official, while Boko Haram has in the past year released videos to show "affiliation" with groups like ISIS, there's no evidence of either group sending members to fight with the other. And while Boko Haram has praised ISIS, and shown the ISIS flag in videos, ISIS has not reciprocated.
Just one MORE reason to HATE ISIS!

More on http://www.creamynews..com/p/march-6-2015-long-before-isis-militants.html

Assistant Inspector General of police, Mr. Joseph Mbu has been dragged into a legal tussle with renown legal practitioner and Human Right Activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN).
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday ordered the service of court papers on the Police Service Commission in Abuja in a suit seeking declaration that an Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, is unfit to remain a police officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
The ex parte application for leave of court to serve the PSC outside of jurisdiction was brought before Justice Ibrahim Buba by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN).
Falana had on Thursday appeared in court and announced appearance as counsel representing the plaintiff, a lawyer, Mr. Tope Alabi, who filed the case.


Alabi is urging the court to compel the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation to immediately declare Mbu’s office with the Force vacant over alleged abuse of power.
The plaintiff’s legal action against the AIG stemmed from a recent order reportedly given by Mbu to the police officers of the Ogun State Police Command to kill 20 civilians for any police officer killed during the general elections.
Alabi is contending that Mbu, having sworn to uphold the rule of law and abide by the Constitution, acted in contravention of Section 308 (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution, when he gave such an order to his men.
According to the lawyer, such an utterance, which was widely reported in the national dailies was “capable of inciting mass killings, violence and anarchy,” in the country.
At the hearing of the case on Thursday, Falana after announcing appearance brought the ex parte application to the notice of the court.
He said, “My Lord, we have a motion for leave to serve the third respondent outside jurisdiction.”
The plaintiff also filed three other applications which have not been heard.
They are a motion for interim injunction restraining Mbu from giving any orders to officers under him during the general elections pending the hearing of the plaintiff’s motion for interlocutory injunction.
The motion for interlocutory injunction is seeking to restrain Mbu from giving any orders pending the hearing of the substantive suit.
The plaintiff also has a pending application seeking to abridge the time within which the suit will be heard and determined in view of its urgency.
Buba, after granting the applicant’s prayer to serve the PSC with the court papers, subsequently adjourned till March 16 for further hearing.
The applicant, in the substantive suit, said he recalled that Mbu served in Rivers State and in the Federal Capital Territory “where he continued to violate the Constitution by exhibiting intolerant and unlawful behavior, to the extent that the IGP had to distant himself from him in the latest instance, by restating that the mandate of the police is to save and protect lives and not to kill.”
The plaintiff asked the court to determine “whether Mbu is fit and proper to remain in office considering his controversial utterances and his public misconduct and whether the lives of Nigerians are not in danger as long as Mbu remains in office.”
He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mbu from giving any orders during the March 28 and April 11 general elections.
He also asked the court to restrain Mbu from arresting any governor in the light of Section 308 (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution.
He argued,“It is in the interest of justice to declare the first defendant unfit to be and to remain a police officer in Nigeria, considering his public conduct all the time and to declare his position and seat vacant and a replacement made without delay.”

More on http://creamynews..com/2015/03/court-grants-femi-falana-san-in-suit.html

THE PM EDITION OF RADIO BIAFRA LIVE BROADCAST IS ON NOW!!!...WITH HOST Nnamdi Kanu FROM LONDON.
Also note that there will be no interruption, as director decided to make a short trip to london just to resolve the technical challenges encountered while broadcasting some weeks ago from biafra land.
You can Listen to the broadcast via any of the following listening post: for those living in Enugu, Aba, Onitsha, PH, Owerri, Nwangele, Nkwerre, Ntigha, Orlu, Igweocha, oraifite, Ihiala, Asaba, Ibusa, isele ukwu, Ideato, ozubulu, Nnewi, Etiti, Okigwe, Mbano, Ngwa and its environ tune in to CHk 97.6 biafra FM ......for others living outside this locations, ON TUNEIN SEARCH FOR radio biafra, www.biafrarestoration.com, http://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Biafra-s225376/
http://www.radioforest.net/radio/radio-biafra/688339
http://www.radioforest.net/radio/rbl-world/745050
www.biafratv.co www.forum.radiobiafra.co, radiobiafra.co, ipob.org, www.biafravoice.com,rblworld.tv, indigenouspeopleofbiafra.org, rbl www.peopleofbiafra.org, also on AMOS 5 17°E SATELLITE, EUTELSAT, ARABSAT and DAARSAT or any free to air decoder .....Numbers to call during broadcast are +442081339976, +44783130837 +2348059098137, +2348168613291,and radiobiafra1 and radiobiafra for skype .....Director's effort is relentless as he and fellow hard core biafrans are working earnestly to ensure that other parts of biafra land starts listening via FM as well.... Tune in for what is preached here is nothing but Gospel...
This story was culled from https://www./radiobiafralondon
This news was kept primarily intact.

More news on www.creamynews..com

A day after alleging widespread racial discrimination in the Ferguson, Missouri, police force, the Justice Department says there isn’t enough evidence to press charges against Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
The teenager’s family expressed outrage: “So, you’re going to say Darren Wilson didn’t violate Michael Brown’s civil rights, but the police department did?,” asked one relative. Ferguson faces some tough decisions ahead as it considers how to respond to the allegations. Many expect the Feds will demand changes via a consent decree.
LA Times, CNN

www.creamynews..com

How much does confidence cost? If you're 50 Cent, about $1.6 million ... 'cause that's how much the hip-hop star says he's going to bet on his old frenemy Floyd Mayweather Jr. to beat Manny Pacquiao.
50 and his G-Unit runnin' mate Tony Yayo sat down with "The Breakfast Club" this morning -- when Charlamagne Tha God asked Fiddy for his pick for the mega-fight in May.
"Champ 'gon smoke em ... it's gonna look like [the fight] was pumped up for no reason."
So why such a big bet? 50 says he spoke with Floyd at the Chris Brown concert last month -- the first time they've spoken in a while -- and says Mayweather is SUPER focused.
It's interesting ... considering 50 bashed the hell out of Mayweather on social media last year ... ripping on everything from his spending habits to his reading ability.
But $1.6 million buys a hell of a lot of olive branches.

What a big bet

More on www.creamynews..com

How much does confidence cost? If you're 50 Cent, about $1.6 million ... 'cause that's how much the hip-hop star says he's going to bet on his old frenemy Floyd Mayweather Jr. to beat Manny Pacquiao.
50 and his G-Unit runnin' mate Tony Yayo sat down with "The Breakfast Club" this morning -- when Charlamagne Tha God asked Fiddy for his pick for the mega-fight in May.
"Champ 'gon smoke em ... it's gonna look like [the fight] was pumped up for no reason."
So why such a big bet? 50 says he spoke with Floyd at the Chris Brown concert last month -- the first time they've spoken in a while -- and says Mayweather is SUPER focused.
It's interesting ... considering 50 bashed the hell out of Mayweather on social media last year ... ripping on everything from his spending habits to his reading ability.
But $1.6 million buys a hell of a lot of olive branches.

What a big bet

More on www.creamynews..com

Singer Chris Brown leaves District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014, after pleading guilty on a misconduct assault. (AP)
Chris Brown could shortly be on daddy duty.
The hot-tempered thespian and dancer, 25, has reportedly fathered a now a nine-month-old girl, according to TMZ. The baby’s mother is a 31-year-old former indication named Nia.
Brown’s stream partner of 4 years Karrueche Tran, with whom he’s had a hilly relationship, hasn’t publicly commented on a news.
Days ago, Brown was denied entrance into Canada due to “immigration issues,” pronounced a Live Nation rep. As a result, shows in Montreal and Toronto were canceled.
In mid-January, Brown’s trial (stemming from his 2009 assault on Rihanna) was revoked. However, a decider has authorised a “Fine China” thespian to sojourn free. A conference is set for Mar 20.
A ask for criticism from Brown’s group was not immediately returned.
This essay creatively seemed in a New York Post today.

More from www.creamynews..com

Barcelona's Lionel Messi has signed his two-year contract extension which ties him to the Nou Camp until June 2018.

The Argentina superstar put pen to paper on his new deal at the Nou Camp on Thursday afternoon.

Messi follows in the footsteps of fellow club stalwarts Xavi and Carles Puyol, both of whom signed their extensions last month.

Barca announced in December they had agreed new contracts with the trio.

Barca defender Jordi Alba is delighted Messi, who will be 31 when his new deal expires, has committed his long-term future to the club.

"I can't imagine what Messi will be like in 2018, but it's great news for Barca fans that he's staying," said the Spain international.

"He is the best player in the world and as long as nothing happens, he'll be the best ever. We'll try to make him feel as comfortable here as we can."

Messi Moments
Messi, 25, came up through the youth ranks at Barca before making his competitive debut against Espanyol in 2004 at the age of 17.

Since then he has established himself as one of the best players in history, breaking numerous records in the process.

He won his fourth straight FIFA World Player of the Year award last month following a remarkable 2012 in which he scored 91 goals - smashing the world record of 85 in a calendar year set by Bayern Munich and West Germany striker Gerd Muller in 1972.

While setting that record, Messi became the first man to score five times in a Champions League game as Barca crushed Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 last March.

Three weeks after that he became Barca's all-time leading goalscorer after a brace against Granada moved him on to 233 official goals, one more than the previous record set by Cesar Rodriguez during the 1940s and 50s.

He has been in similarly stunning form in 2013 and his goal in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Valencia was a league-record 12th consecutive game in which he found the net.

During his time at the Nou Camp, Messi has also helped Barca win a host of silverware, including five Primera Division titles, three Champions Leagues, two Copa del Rey crowns and two FIFA Club World Cups. [b][/b] http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11833/8477995/Barcelona-s-Lionel-Messi-has-signed-his-two-year-contract-extension

murdered African boy whose torso was found in the River Thames in 2001 and whose identity has remained a mystery has been named by a key witness.

Former Glasgow resident Joyce Osagiede, who now lives in Nigeria, told BBC News the boy's name was Patrick Erhabor.

She claims she looked after him when she lived in Germany before he was trafficked into the UK.

Detectives - who named the boy "Adam" - believe he was murdered as part of a ritual sacrifice.

Adam's torso was found on 21 September 2001 near Tower Bridge in central London.

His arms, legs and head had been expertly cut off.

No-one has been charged with the murder.

Forensic tests showed he was from the Benin City area of Nigeria.

'Rituals' video
A tip-off led to Joyce Osagiede who, in 2002, was living in Glasgow.

Officers thought she was involved in some way, but due to a lack of evidence and doubts about her mental state she was deported to Nigeria.


Joyce Osagiede says that, in Germany, she handed the boy over to a man who took him to the UK
But last year Ms Osagiede contacted BBC News and said she was now prepared to reveal everything she knew about the case.

A BBC team travelled to her home in Benin City in southern Nigeria, together with Nick Chalmers, a former detective who worked on the Adam investigation.

Ms Osagiede told the BBC she looked after the boy in the weeks before he was trafficked to London and then murdered.

For the first time she revealed what she claimed was his real name.

She said he was called Patrick Erhabor - and that his mother's surname was Oghogho - and she claimed the child was brought to her when she lived in Germany.

In the past, she has told officers she then handed the boy over to a man she called "Bawa" who took him to the UK.

Now, for the first time, she has identified "Bawa" as Kingsley Ojo - a bogus asylum seeker who first came to London in 1997.


Kingsley Ojo has always insisted he had nothing to do with the killing
"Bawa is called Kingsley," she says.

There is no evidence Kingsley Ojo was involved in the murder or that he knew what would happen to the boy.

Ms Osagiede says he took Adam from her and took him to the UK.

Ojo, who used three different identities, was arrested in London in 2002 by officers investigating the Adam case.

In his flat they found in a plastic bag, a mixture of bone, sand and flecks of gold very similar to a concoction found in the dead boy's stomach.

There was also a video marked "rituals" which showed a B-movie in which a man cuts off the head of a child.

Ojo said the video and mixture belonged to other people in the house and detectives could not establish a link between him and the Adam case.

In 2004, he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for people smuggling. While in prison he contacted officers and offered to help with the inquiry.

But investigators concluded he was wasting police time and he was deported to Nigeria.


Ms Osagiede previously wrongly said the boy in this picture was the dead child
Retired detective Nick Chalmers, who worked on the inquiry for seven years, said Ojo was "someone I've been interested in for a long while - I've always suspected his involvement and now, for the very first time, we have a witness who is saying categorically Kingsley was involved".

Kingsley Ojo refused requests from BBC News for an interview, but he has always insisted he had nothing to do with the killing.

Mr Chalmers said the development with the name given by Ms Osagiede was "really interesting".

But he also recognises she has been unreliable in the past and has psychiatric problems. She is currently taking medication.

In 2011 she identified a photograph discovered by the police - and shown to her by a journalist - as the dead boy and said his name was "Ikpomwosa".

Ms Osagiede now says that was all a misunderstanding and reveals the picture is "Danny, my friend Tina's son, he lives in Germany".

She says it was taken during a party in her old flat in Hamburg.

We travelled to Hamburg to find out if she was telling the truth about the photo and tracked down Danny.


Angus Crawford travelled to Germany and tracked down the boy in the photograph.
He immediately recognised the photo but was surprised to hear it had been used by newspapers and TV news around the world.

"You said that I was already on TV and I didn't know it," he said.

We located Ms Osagiede's old flat on the other side of the city where she looked after the boy she calls Patrick.

There we met a man who saw the child.

"The boy was running around, he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt and he was jumping all over this couch that they had and drawing on it," he said.

The BBC shared what it had learned with the Metropolitan Police.

A spokesman for the Met said "the investigation remains on-going and any new information provided to the team will be thoroughly investigated".

Anyone with any information should call police on 020 7421 4906 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21365961

A murdered African boy whose torso was found in the River Thames in 2001 and whose identity has remained a mystery has been named by a key witness.

Former Glasgow resident Joyce Osagiede, who now lives in Nigeria, told BBC News the boy's name was Patrick Erhabor.

She claims she looked after him when she lived in Germany before he was trafficked into the UK.

Detectives - who named the boy "Adam" - believe he was murdered as part of a ritual sacrifice.

Adam's torso was found on 21 September 2001 near Tower Bridge in central London.

His arms, legs and head had been expertly cut off.

No-one has been charged with the murder.

Forensic tests showed he was from the Benin City area of Nigeria.

'Rituals' video
A tip-off led to Joyce Osagiede who, in 2002, was living in Glasgow.

Officers thought she was involved in some way, but due to a lack of evidence and doubts about her mental state she was deported to Nigeria.


Joyce Osagiede says that, in Germany, she handed the boy over to a man who took him to the UK
But last year Ms Osagiede contacted BBC News and said she was now prepared to reveal everything she knew about the case.

A BBC team travelled to her home in Benin City in southern Nigeria, together with Nick Chalmers, a former detective who worked on the Adam investigation.

Ms Osagiede told the BBC she looked after the boy in the weeks before he was trafficked to London and then murdered.

For the first time she revealed what she claimed was his real name.

She said he was called Patrick Erhabor - and that his mother's surname was Oghogho - and she claimed the child was brought to her when she lived in Germany.

In the past, she has told officers she then handed the boy over to a man she called "Bawa" who took him to the UK.

Now, for the first time, she has identified "Bawa" as Kingsley Ojo - a bogus asylum seeker who first came to London in 1997.


Kingsley Ojo has always insisted he had nothing to do with the killing
"Bawa is called Kingsley," she says.

There is no evidence Kingsley Ojo was involved in the murder or that he knew what would happen to the boy.

Ms Osagiede says he took Adam from her and took him to the UK.

Ojo, who used three different identities, was arrested in London in 2002 by officers investigating the Adam case.

In his flat they found in a plastic bag, a mixture of bone, sand and flecks of gold very similar to a concoction found in the dead boy's stomach.

There was also a video marked "rituals" which showed a B-movie in which a man cuts off the head of a child.

Ojo said the video and mixture belonged to other people in the house and detectives could not establish a link between him and the Adam case.

In 2004, he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for people smuggling. While in prison he contacted officers and offered to help with the inquiry.

But investigators concluded he was wasting police time and he was deported to Nigeria.


Ms Osagiede previously wrongly said the boy in this picture was the dead child
Retired detective Nick Chalmers, who worked on the inquiry for seven years, said Ojo was "someone I've been interested in for a long while - I've always suspected his involvement and now, for the very first time, we have a witness who is saying categorically Kingsley was involved".

Kingsley Ojo refused requests from BBC News for an interview, but he has always insisted he had nothing to do with the killing.

Mr Chalmers said the development with the name given by Ms Osagiede was "really interesting".

But he also recognises she has been unreliable in the past and has psychiatric problems. She is currently taking medication.

In 2011 she identified a photograph discovered by the police - and shown to her by a journalist - as the dead boy and said his name was "Ikpomwosa".

Ms Osagiede now says that was all a misunderstanding and reveals the picture is "Danny, my friend Tina's son, he lives in Germany".

She says it was taken during a party in her old flat in Hamburg.

We travelled to Hamburg to find out if she was telling the truth about the photo and tracked down Danny.


Angus Crawford travelled to Germany and tracked down the boy in the photograph.
He immediately recognised the photo but was surprised to hear it had been used by newspapers and TV news around the world.

"You said that I was already on TV and I didn't know it," he said.

We located Ms Osagiede's old flat on the other side of the city where she looked after the boy she calls Patrick.

There we met a man who saw the child.

"The boy was running around, he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt and he was jumping all over this couch that they had and drawing on it," he said.

The BBC shared what it had learned with the Metropolitan Police.

A spokesman for the Met said "the investigation remains on-going and any new information provided to the team will be thoroughly investigated".

Anyone with any information should call police on 020 7421 4906 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21365961

de Hitchcock: Henry Okah has been found guilty of masterminding the twin bomb attacks in Abuja on Independence Day.
The alleged mastermind of the October 1, 2010 bomb blast in Abuja, Henry Okah, now has three days to convince a South African Court to reduce a planned sentence after he was found guilty of the bombing.
Justice Neels Claassen of a Johannesburg High Court on Friday adjourned the pleading for mitigation of sentence in Henry Okah’s trial to February 28.
Mr. Okah was found guilty, on January 21, by the court of masterminding the bombing which caused deaths and injuries to several people.
His lawyer had told the court after the ruling that his client plans to call witnesses including Niger Delta leaders who would make a case for a reduced sentence for Mr. Okah. He also said the convict was willing to use his popularity in the Niger Delta to help restore peace to the oil rich area in Nigeria.
The judge said the adjournment to February 28 would be the final to allow all the witnesses called by Mr. Okah to testify in the pleading for mitigation of sentence to ensure that justice is done.
“I will grant you this request for the last time. I’m granting you three days from Feb. 28, March 1 and March 4, to call all your witnesses to testify in mitigation or aggravation of sentence.
“You have to ensure that all your witnesses appear in court in those three days, and if for any reason any of the witnesses fails to appear, the court will go ahead with the pronouncement of the sentence.
“I cannot entertain any further delay in this trial due to the nature of the case and its security implication to South Africa and Nigeria governments,’’ Mr. Claassen said.
Mr. Okah’s attorney requested the adjournment of hearing for mitigation of sentence to enable him produce in court all witnesses willing to testify on behalf of Mr. Okah.
The adjournment is also to allow Mr. Okah engage the Nigerian government in the peace process in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
Mr. Okah, a factional leader of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, was convicted on January 21 by Justice Claassen.
Mr. Okah was found guilty on a 13-count charge of conspiracy to commit terrorism by masterminding two car bomb attacks in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on October 1, 2010.
South Africa judiciary system, like most systems, allows convicted persons to plead for mitigation of sentence before the trial judge makes a pronouncement of sentence.
(NAN)http://ow.ly/hkVoE

Politics has entered ooooo. Anyway he will be released to ensure peace in the nigerdelta

de Hitchcock: Jux bc am making money,they say i join illuminati,i really dont care .

I really don't care. Lol Hater

One-hour condom delivery service launched in Dubai
By Associated Press

Need a condom delivered to your doorstep in an hour? Then Dubai is the place to be.
Already the launching pad for American fast-food restaurants and a Canadian coffee shop, the glittering Gulf metropolis now features a service from Durex and Buzzman Middle East called SOS Condoms.

Starting this week, users can have Durex products delivered within an hour to anywhere in the city from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. Users order condoms from their smartphone or a website.
Sandrine Girard, a spokesman for Buzzman, said Thursday that the service will expand to other cities with the next city decided by a competition on SOS Condoms' Facebook page.
Dubai has strict laws on sex-related issues, but is more liberal than the rest of the Persian http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/31/16794219-one-hour-condom-delivery-service-launched-in-dubai?lite.

Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Confusion over Beyonce lip-syncing
Beyonce admits anthem lip sync Watch
Singer Beyonce has admitted miming during her rendition of the American national anthem at the inauguration of President Obama last month.

She told reporters that she was a "perfectionist" and - due to lack of rehearsal time - "did not feel comfortable taking a risk".

"I wanted to make him [Obama] and my country proud, so I decided to sing along with my pre-recorded track."

"I'm very proud of my performance," she said.

The star opened the press conference in New Orleans by asking reporters to stand before performing a live rendition of the national anthem.

Highlight

Millions of people tuned in to watch President Barack Obama sworn in for his second term in office on 21 January, which included performances by James Taylor, Kelly Clarkson and Beyonce.

The pop star's performance of the Star Spangled Banner at the inauguration was considered one of the highlights of the ceremony, but later reports suggested the singer had recorded her vocal.


Hudson won an Oscar for her role opposite Beyonce in Dreamgirls in 2007
"I am a perfectionist and one thing about me is that I practise until my feet bleed and I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra," the Grammy-winning artist said on Thursday.

She said her decision to mime the track was triggered by the weather, delays and "no proper soundcheck", adding that pre-recording is "very common in the music industry".

"It was a live television show and a very, very important emotional show for me and one of my proudest moments," she said.

However, she insisted she would be singing live for her half-time Superbowl performance on Sunday - one of the most-watched TV events in the United States.

"I will absolutely be singing live. This is what I was born to do, it is what I was born for."

The National Football League also announced that singer Jennifer Hudson would be performing America the Beautiful with the chorus from Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 children and six adults were killed in a mass shooting in December.

Last year's Super Bowl half-time show, performed by Madonna, was watched by an average of 114 million viewers, while Janet Jackson's notorious 'wardrobe malfunction' - in 2004 - generated a record number of complaints for broadcaster http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21290682.

A baby girl has been born in Sheffield with a huge tumour that accounted for a sixth of her body weight.

The orange-sized growth was so large it was crushing Isabel Roberts's throat, leaving her unable to breathe naturally.

Doctors needed to rapidly fit a tube to help her breathing before she stopped getting oxygen from her mother.

The tumour has since been removed and doctors expect Isabel to make a full recovery.

Sometimes things go wrong during a baby's development in the womb and tumours can form. In 2012 surgeons in the US removed a tumour while the baby was still in the womb.

'Race against time'
Doctors at Sheffield Children's Hospital and Jessops Maternity Hospital noticed an abnormal growth in a scan after 33 weeks.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

The baby was so small and the tumour so big, it was a very difficult job to secure the airway”

Dr Ayman Eissa
Consultant anaesthetist
The twins were delivered by Caesarean section and doctors then started a "race against time" as soon as Isabel's head was free.

Consultant anaesthetist Dr Ayman Eissa said: "We estimate the placenta will continue to supply oxygen through the cord for up to five minutes, but you can never be sure. It could break off at any time.

"The baby was so small and the tumour so big, it was a very difficult job to secure the airway."

While Isabel weighed 3lb 9oz (1.6kg), the tumour alone weighed 0.6lb (0.3kg).

"The relief when I secured the tube was unimaginable. It was definitely the most stressful few minutes of my career," Dr Eissa said.

Isabel's tumour was removed 10 days later.

She is now at home in Hoyland, near Barnsley, with her twin sister Alexandra, older sisters Sarah and Olivia and mother and father Maureen and Simon.

Mrs Roberts said: "The few weeks leading up to and after the twins' arrival were a blur. It's crazy to think just how much has happened to my baby. I can remember walking into the operating theatre to have the Caesarean and not knowing what was going to have happened when I woke up."

The consultant who removed the tumour, Neil Bateman, said: "When we weighed the tumour it accounted for one-sixth of her entire body weight.

"It is very rare for a baby to develop a tumour of this size in the womb."

The cancer did not spread, but Isabel is now on a course of chemotherapy. She is expected to make a full recovery and is "getting stronger every day".

I'm watching you on 3D hitchcork. Lol

opening up about her relationship with Chris Brown ... and reveals why she decided to give him another chance.

"I decided it was more important for me to be happy," she tells the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone. "I wasn't going to let anybody's opinion get in the way of that. Even if it's a mistake, it's my mistake."

The two, of course, have a very violent past together -- one that includes Brown brutally assaulting her after a pre-Grammy party in 2009.

But after keeping their distance for a little while, the two started hanging out again.

"After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I'd rather just live my truth and take the backlash. I can handle it," she adds.

In the new issue, out Friday, she tells the magazine what's changed between them.

"When you add up the pieces from the outside, it's not the cutest puzzle in the world," Rihanna says. "You see us walking somewhere, driving somewhere, in the studio, in the club, and you think you know. But it's different now. We don't have those types of arguments anymore. We talk about s***. We value each other. We know exactly what we have now, and we don't want to lose that."

Rihanna also says the public aren't the only ones who were horrified by what Chris did ... so is Chris.

"He doesn't have the luxury of f***ing up again," she says. "That's just not an option. I can't say that nothing else will ever go wrong. But I'm pretty solid in the knowing that he's disgusted by that. And I wouldn't have gone this far if I ever thought that was a possibility."

While it's interesting to hear her be so honest about their relationship, is it sending the wrong message to her fans? Or should she just be who she wants to be?

We're really interested in what you have the say about this one ... sound off
f http://www.toofab.com/2013/01/30/rihanna-chris-brown-rolling-stone/!

Shell was acquitted in a Dutch court on Wednesday morning of most of the charges against it for pollution in Nigeria, where disputed oil spills have been a long-running source of contention between the oil company, local people and environmental campaigners.

The case involved five allegations of spills in Nigeria, and four of these were quashed by the court. On the fifth count, Shell was ordered to pay compensation, of an amount yet to be decided.

The case was brought in the Netherlands because of Shell's dual headquartership, being both Dutch and British, and was brought by four Nigerian farmers co-sponsored by the international green campaigning group Friends of the Earth.

In a statement, Friends of the Earth Netherlands said: "This verdict is great news for the people in lkot Ada Udo who started this case together with Milieudefensie [Friends of the Earth Netherlands]. But the verdict also offers hope to other victims of environmental pollution caused by multinationals. At the same time, the verdict is a bitter disappointment for the people in the villages of Oruma and Goi – where the court did not rule to hold Shell liable for the damage. Fortunately, this can still change in an appeal."

Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International's Africa programme director, said: "Clearly it's good news that one of the plaintiffs in this case managed to clamber over all the obstacles to something approaching justice. However, the fact that the other plaintiffs' claims were dismissed underscores the very serious obstacles people from the Niger Delta face in accessing justice when their lives have been destroyed by oil pollution."

Shell's subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, said the main cause of oil spills in the country was from people taking oil for illegal refineries. Mutiu Sunmonu, managing director of SPDC said: "We welcome the court's ruling that all spill cases were caused by criminal activity. Oil pollution is a problem in Nigeria, affecting the daily lives of people in the Niger Delta. However, the vast majority of oil pollution is caused by oil thieves and illegal refiners. This causes major environmental and economic damage, and is the real tragedy of the Niger Delta."

He added: "SPDC has made great efforts to raise awareness of the issue with the government of Nigeria, international bodies like the UN, the media and NGOs. We will continue to be at the forefront of discussions to find solutions. For SPDC no oil spill is acceptable and we are working hard to improve our performance on operational spills. In the past years we have seen a decline in operational spill volumes. These spills, however, were caused by sabotage and the court has, quite rightly, largely dismissed the claims."

The case turned on whether Shell was responsible for the spills, through negligence and a failure to invest in proper safety systems of the kind that are required in developed countries, as the campaigners alleged, or whether – as Shell argued – the spills were mainly the result of local people attempting to steal oil from pipelines.

It is understood that the court took the view that four of the spills were caused by sabotage, as people tried to extract oil for their own purposes. In the case of the fifth, the finding was that Shell had been negligent in failing to prevent such sabotage.

But the farmers and green campaigners are expected to appeal against the verdict to a higher court.

Shell is accused of widespread spills across the regions of Nigeria where it operates, but the allegations in question concerned incidents in Goi, Ogoniland, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom.

"There is an atmosphere of celebration here – the community feels that some justice has been done," said Ken Henshaw, a Niger Delta activist from campaign group Social Action which has closely followed the case. "A precedent has been set, it has been made known that shell can be liable for damages and loss of livelihood."

"We didn't win all the cases, but we won one, and that one is a precedent," Henshaw added. "We are prepared to appeal the other ones. Shell tries to give the impression that the oil spills are caused by sabotage, but we are convincied that it was not sabotage. It is the result of equipment failure and neglect on the part of Shell."

"We are emboldened by this victory, we feel confident that we will definitely succeed on appeal. This is a major threshold, now that we have crossed it, we can bring more claims. The communities who have had their lives ruined by oil companies now feel galvanized to take action."

Plantiffs from Ikot Ada Udo, Akwa Ibom State, whose case was successful, said they were now looking forward to compensation for their loss of livelihood.

"We were successful today, and I am happy, I know that the judgment has been divinely directed," said Elder Friday Akpan, 55, from the Ikot Abasi area of Akwa ibom state, whose 47 catfish farms were destroyed following pollution from an oil spill, a claim which the court upheld as caused by a breach of Shell Nigeria's duty of care.

"The fishes died completely. I was confused because it left me completely empty," Akpan added. "I did not have some money to pay school fees for my twelve children, and nothing to allow me to earn my livelihood again. Debts I had borrowed I could not repay. There was nothing for me. I was finished."

One lawyer involved in the case said that it was right to see it as a victory.

"There are positives and negatives from this case," said Prince Chima Williams, head the legal affairs department at the Environmental Rights Action group. "It is positive in the sense that the court has found Shell liable for the environmental destruction in Akwa Ibom State. It is positive because it means that Nigerian citizens can now drag Shell to court in Holland for its actions and inactions in their communities."

"The negative aspect is that the court refused to agree with us Shell's negligence caused the other oil spills. Because we disagree with the court on that position, and that is why our first priority now is going to be to appeal the judgment," Williams added.

The case has cast a spotlight on the power which Shell wields in Nigeria, amidst allegations that the Nigerian authorities would not have enforced the judgment had the case been brought in local courts.

"Shell do not admit mistakes," said Akpan. They would not obey a judgment in a Nigerian court. When they know that the judgment is in Holland it's better."

"We considered all the options and the history of litigation in Nigeria before deciding to take the case to Holland," said Williams. "We could not have confidence in the judiciary in Nigeria because, coming from our experience, when the judiciary gives a judgment, the enforcement of that judgment by the executive becomes a problem."

"Shell is a very stubborn company, and in Nigeria, in some situations, it is more powerful than the Nigerian government," Williams added.

Activists believe that the case will have a longer-term effect on attitudes within communities affected by oil spills in Nigeria.

"In the long run a case like this will promote self-help among communities, because they know that if they know they can go to court in Holland, they can obtain a judgment that will be complied with, from which they can reap the benefits" said Williams.

The level of damages is yet to be determined. "In the case itself we didn't make specific demands for an amount, so the next step will be for the community to assist the court with an assessment of the actual loss that should be compensated," said Williams. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/30/shell-acquitted-nigeria-pollution-charges

Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said that the country only had $217 (£138) left in its public account last week after paying civil servants.

However, he said that the following day some $30m of revenue had been paid in.

Mr Biti told the BBC he made the revelation in order to emphasise that the government was unable to finance elections, not that it was insolvent.

Polls are due this year, with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF fighting Mr Biti's Movement for Democratic Change.

Mr Biti has previously complained that diamond mining companies have not been paying revenues to the government.

The power-sharing government set up in 2009 ended years of hyperinflation by using the US dollar, but the economy remains fragile.

'Challenging position'
Mr Biti told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme that his statement had been deliberately taken out of context.

"You journalists are mischievous and malicious - the point I was making was that the Zimbabwean government doesn't have the funds to finance the election, to finance the referendum," he said.

"To dramatise the point, I simply made a passing reference metaphorically that when we paid civil servants last week on Thursday we were left with $217... but even the following day we had $30m in our account."

Zimbabwe needs nearly $200m (£127m) to pay for a referendum on a new constitution, as well as the election.

The government-run Herald newspaper says Mr Biti and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa have been given the task of sourcing this money from donors.

Analysts say the power-sharing government has achieved some economic stability.

However, high levels of unemployment mean the country's tax and revenue base remains extremely low.

"We're in a challenging position, we're a small economy and we've got huge things to be done but… the minister for finance of Greece has an even worse story," Mr Biti told the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21257765

Attackers, whose identities are yet to be determined, have killed eight people in northeastern Nigeria.


Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, a military spokesman in the area, confirmed that the attack occurred in the village of Gajiganna in the Borno state on Sunday, AFP reported on Monday.

However, the spokesman sufficed to saying that "lives were lost."

A local official, who did not want to be named, said that "It is still not clear who carried out the attack because the attackers moved silently into these homes."

While there were reports that certain victims were shot dead and others had their throats slit, some said that the attackers cut all the eight victims’ throats.

"They were silent attacks and nobody knew what was happening until the morning when news began to filter from different neighborhoods," one of the residents said.

Musa said in a text message that the death toll "is yet to be ascertained." http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/01/29/286119/attackers-kill-8-in-ne-nigeria/

Iran says it has successfully sent a monkey into space.

The primate travelled in a Pishgam rocket, which reached an altitude of some 120km (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight before "returning its shipment intact", the defence ministry said.

Iranian state TV showed images of the monkey, which was strapped into a harness, being taken to the rocket.

Western nations have expressed concern that Iran's space programme is being used to develop long-range missiles.

Such missiles could potentially be used to carry nuclear warheads.

Iran denies it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

Turtle and worms
Satellite technology expert Pat Norris told the BBC that Iran's claim to have sent a monkey into space was not a major advance on what its space programme had already achieved.


The monkey was sent up in a Kavoshgar rocket dubbed "Pishgam" (Pioneer)
The achievement was similar to launching a missile at 4,828km/h (3,000mph) and having its warhead survive the flight - something Iran had done in several tests in recent years, he noted.

However, the survival of the monkey, without incurring any injuries, would demonstrate that the acceleration and deceleration of the rocket were not too severe, Mr Norris added.

In 2010, Iran successfully sent a rat, turtle and worms into space. But an attempt to send a monkey up in a rocket failed in 2011.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced in 2010 that the country planned to send a man into space by 2019.

A domestically-made satellite was sent into orbit for the first time in 2009.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21230691

At least 245 people have died in a fire that swept through a nightclub in a university city in southern Brazil, police and officials say.

Local media say the fire began when a band let off fireworks at the Kiss club in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.

Reports say panic spread as people tried to get out. Many victims reportedly died from inhaling toxic fumes or from being crushed.

The fire is now out and bodies are being removed from the scene.

President Dilma Rousseff cut short a visit to Chile and was returning to Brazil following the blaze, her spokesperson said.

A firefighter told BBC News he had never seen such a tragedy in his life, with the victims "so young".

The priority for the authorities is now to identify the dead with many distressed relatives arriving at the scene, but in the hours ahead the focus will turn to the cause of this accident and safety procedures at the club, the BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Sao Paulo.

'Ceiling on fire'
The fire broke out some time after 02:00 (04:00 GMT) when between 300 and 500 people are believed to have been in the club, where a band was playing.

Thick smoke engulfed the venue after acoustic insulation caught fire, officials say.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

The smoke spread really quickly, it didn't give enough time for people to get out”

Aline Santos Silva
Eyewitness
"We looked up at the ceiling in front of the stage and it was catching fire," eyewitness Luana Santos Silva, 23, told Brazil's Globo TV.

"My sister grabbed me and dragged me out on the ground."

The exit, she said, was a "small door for lots of people to come out by".

The young woman's sister, Aline Santos Silva, 29, added: "We managed to see it in time and to get out quickly, before the smoke began to spread.

"The smoke spread really quickly, it didn't give enough time for people to get out. I think people started to feel unwell, and then they began to come out covered in black smoke stains."


Nightclub fires
2009: Santika Club, Bangkok, Thailand - sparked by fireworks; 66 killed
2009: Lame Horse Club, Perm, Russia - sparked by fireworks; 150 killed
2003: The Station, Rhode Island, US - sparked by fireworks; 100 killed
1996: Ozone Disco Club, Quezon City, Philippines - 160 killed
1990: Happy Land, New York, US - arson kills 89 at unlicensed club
1977: Beverly Hills Supper Club, Southgate, Kentucky - 165 killed
1970: Club 5-7, Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France - 146 killed;
1942: Cocoanut Grove, Boston, US - 492 killed.
In pictures: Brazil nightclub fire
The witness commended the emergency services: "Help arrived really quickly, ambulances, police."

Fire crews tried knocking through an exterior wall to help those trapped inside to escape.

Some 15 bodies were found in the club's toilets where people had apparently sought refuge, local reports said.

Speaking to BBC Brasil, Sergeant Arthur Rigue, from the local fire department, said: "I never witnessed a tragedy like this in my whole career.

"These people are so young… There were many bodies piled up in various parts of the place. Some were in the toilet. They died of asphyxiation."

Fire chief Guido de Melo told local media. "People started panicking and ended up treading on each other."

Hundreds of people have been taken to hospital.

Santa Maria is a major university city with a population of about 250,000 people

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21221785.

Old friends, now enemies. Washing dirty linens outside. I can remember when they had indoor meetings for three hours at aso rock indoors without press before Rochas became the special adviser to him.
Greedy Rochas, now you can see how you mess yourself up. Obasanjo is always conning. Rochas you lost all that youthfulness that would had push you to be the president. Now baba laughs and makes jest of you. Good lesson for all you greedy politicians

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, described Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, as a “failure.”

Obasanjo said this just as the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, likened the current crisis rocking the ruling party as a “surgery” which must bring some pain to members.

Obasanjo who was responding to guests who spoke during the grand finale of a civic reception organised in his honour by the South West Zone of the PDP said there was no way he could associate with Okorocha who had jokingly referred to the former President as his “colleague.”

Okorocha, a governor on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance had defected from the PDP to the All Nigeria Peoples Party where he contested for the presidential ticket of the party in 2003 but failed to secure it.

The Imo governor had earlier in his speech talked about his days as Special Adviser on Inter-Party Affairs to Obasanjo, saying he gave the ex-President advice that resulted in the good decisions that Obasanjo took while in office.

The Imo governor said, “Obasanjo is indeed PDP. But in the actual sense, he’s a national leader. He does not belong to the PDP alone but a national leader of Nigeria. If I have another opportunity to advise him, I will tell him to be the national leader of the country and not the national leader of the party.

“We are here to give honour to whom honour is due. Obasanjo will remain immovable and unshakable. He is a man that is very difficult to describe. He represents different things to different people. But for me, he represents a former colleague. We both ran for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And later when he appointed me as his adviser, I gave him all the good advice.

“All the good things he did for those eight years, I advised him but all the bad ones he did, I travelled out of the country. I want to join Nigerians to celebrate this icon — this great and steadfast Nigerian, who is not afraid of fighting any battle. But when he starts fighting he doesn’t stop until he finishes fighting. He’s a general’s general and a soldier’s soldier.”

But the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio, in his message immediately came to Obasanjo’s defence and told Okorocha that, “I was not as lucky as Governor Okorocha to work with him Obasanjo. So I did not give him advice. I’m very sure that even the few things that he did were actually taken out of the bad advice of APGA where Rochas Okorocha must have represented. Baba, I say the good ones are from you, not from him (Okorocha).”

In his reaction, the former president said he could not be a colleague to Okorocha.

He said, “I met Okorocha a long ago by virtue of the fact that he was brought up in Jos — one of the few cities that I found in the fifties and seventies as a genuine melting pot in Nigeria.  He is a true Nigerian and when he wants to pull me down, he will say we are colleagues. How can I be a colleague of a failure? You are a failure in contesting the presidency of Nigeria!”

Tukur in his speech said the crisis-ridden PDP was undergoing a surgery in which pains must be felt for the ruling party to get over its current unhealthy state.

He said, “Let us fight and win unity, peace, development for our dear nation. The surgery we have started in our party, the PDP is in line with our vision for a better society and the aspiration of all Nigerians. In this surgery we are aware we must lose some blood, undergo some pains and challenges but surely the result will eventually be one sacrifice that we made for ourselves.”

Vice-President Namadi Sambo who used the occasion to talk about the achievements of the Jonathan-led administration, described Obasanjo as a true nationalist.

http://www.punchng.com/news/youre-a-failure-obasanjo-tells-okorocha/

Heritage Bank begins operation Jan 29, gets CBN licence

HERITAGE Bank, formerly Societe Generale Bank (Nig.) Ltd., SGBN, will commence commercial banking operation, Tuesday, January 29, following the approval granted it by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

According to the terms of the CBN approval, Heritage Banking Company Ltd. which will trade as Heritage Bank is to offer full commercial banking services under a regional bank status. As a preliminary step, the bank said it will commence an immediate validation exercise for account holders of the former Societe Generale Bank (Nig.) Ltd.

The letter conveying CBN’s approval for grant of Banking Licence to HBC entitled: ‘Re: Application for a Commercial Banking Licence with Regional Authorisation’ was dated December 27, 2012 with reference number FPR/LAD/CON/HBC/02/062, and signed by the CBN Director of Financial Policy and Regulations, Chris O. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/01/heritage-bank-begins-operation-jan-29-gets-cbn-licence/.

A recap of the Algeria crisis:

Bus attack: 0500 local time 16 January: Heavily armed gunmen attack two buses carrying gas field workers towards In Amenas airfield. A Briton and an Algerian die in the fighting.

Hostages taken: The militants drive to the installation at Tigantourine and take Algerian and foreign workers hostage in the living area and the main gas facility at the complex.

Army surround complex: Security forces and the Algerian army surround the hostage-takers. Western leaders, including the UK's David Cameron, urge Algeria to consult them before taking action.

Army attacks: 1200 (1300 GMT) 17 January: Algerian forces attack as militants try to move some of their captives from the facility. Reports say some hostages escape, but others are killed.

Final assault: The Algerians ended the raid on 19 January, killing the last 11 captors after they had killed seven hostages, state media reported. Twenty-three hostages and 32 militants in total are now known to have died


They Algerian interior ministry said troops had recovered:

six machine guns
21 rifles
two shotguns
two 60mm mortars with shells
six 60mm missiles with launchers
two rocket-propelled grenades with eight rockets
10 grenades in explosive belts
Weapons allegedly seized from the kidnappers were shown on Algerian TV.


US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta: "We cannot accept attacks against our citizens abroad"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21101092.

So when we talk about the risks of smoking, what do we mean? They cannot be the same for all smokers. Sir Richard Peto, Britain's foremost expert on smoking, wrote a decade ago that this was not a problem because all smokers eventually end up as 20-a-day smokers. But this is not the case.

Occasional or social smokers exist – but they are rare. They are defined in two ways: either as not smoking every day or as smoking an average of less than one cigarette a day.

Surveys suggest that between 10 and 18 per cent of smokers smoke five or fewer cigarettes a day. The surveys are now 20 years old but there has been little recent research.

Professor Robert West, an expert on smoking at University College London, is updating a study of light smokers he made with his colleague Peter Hajek in 1995. They found occasional smokers were predominantly middle class, better educated and viewed smoking as a social activity. However, they were still addicted. Some 80 per cent of occasional smokers find they cannot stop when they try. But this challenges our understanding of addiction. How can you be "occasionally" addicted?

Professor West says: "Nicotine addiction is not just about keeping the level of the drug topped up to avoid withdrawal symptoms. One way addiction works is by forming an association between situations where a person would typically smoke, which then creates the impulse to smoke when they find themselves in that situation again. A lot of daily smokers report very strong situational cravings."

Not all occasional smokers are the same, however. Some used to be 20-a-day smokers who are trying to give up, while others will be 20-a-day smokers in a few months' time. Relatively few are stable occasional smokers.

Switching from daily smoking to occasional smoking is possible – but it's hard. Most smokers can't do it for the same reason that most alcoholics can't return to controlled drinking. It is all or nothing.

Yet some can remain occasional smokers – neither increasing their consumption nor reducing it. Figures suggest there are high numbers in North America, though this is unexplained. What protects them from escalation into dependence on nicotine and prevents the development of tolerance and withdrawal discomfort? There may be genetic factors, family influences or what experts call "dimensions of social adjustment that may accompany higher levels of educational attainment". Or it may be down to simple bribery.

Occasional smokers pose another question. What are the health risks? Clearly they must be smaller than those faced by daily smokers – but they are not as low as you might think.

Smoking causes a wide range of diseases but the key ones are cancer and heart disease. With cancer, the risks are proportionate to the amount smoked. "The excess risk of cancer for a daily smoker is 15-fold higher than for a non-smoker," Professor West says.

Heart disease is different – the risk is not proportional to the amount smoked. It is much higher, proportionally, for the first one or two cigarettes – hence the risk from passive smoking.

There is some fascinating evidence that demonstrates this. Helena, a small city in Montana, banned smoking in public in June 2002, only to have the ban rescinded six months later. During the ban, heart attack admissions to the local hospital fell by a staggering 40 per cent. After the ban was lifted, the heart attack rate increased to its former level.

Following publication of this research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta warned that even 30 minutes of exposure to other people's smoke might be enough to trigger a fatal heart attack in people at risk of heart disease.

Scientists have been puzzled by this disproportionate risk. A non-smoker who lives with a person who smokes 20 a day has one-third of the risk of their partner, even though they are actually exposed to only 1 per cent of the smoke.

Laboratory evidence suggests this is because toxins in tobacco smoke peak at low levels of exposure, increasing the stickiness of the blood (the tendency of the platelets to aggregate) and inflaming the arteries, increasing the risk of thrombosis – a blood clot that can trigger a heart attack. What applies to passive smokers, of course, also applies to occasional smokers.

Professor West says the mechanism is similar to that which puts people with heart disease at risk on days of high pollution. "Inhaling particulates has an immediate, same-day effect on people whose vasculature [the state of their arteries] is compromised. Getting an increase in the stickiness of the blood affecting millions of people means that, by the law of averages, some will hit the dust."

Figures published last month show smoking continues to decline among young people. Nevertheless, 27 per cent of school pupils had tried smoking and 5 per cent smoked at least one cigarette a week, girls more than boys. Most of these will become 20-a-day smokers.

Pupils who were regular smokers were likely to show signs of dependence on the habit. Around two-thirds reported that they would find it difficult not to smoke for a week, while almost three-quarters said they would find it difficult to give up smoking altogether. Almost two-thirds of regular smokers had tried to give up smoking.

The proportion of pupils who thought it was OK for someone of their age to try smoking to see what it is like has steadily decreased from more than half in 1999 to around a third in 2010.

Of course, it is not a good idea to smoke. Apart from anything else it makes your legs fall off (I find this morsel of information works especially well with children). More people undergo amputations because the circulation in their limbs has been destroyed by smoking than for any other reason.

But if you have to smoke, it is better to smoke occasionally rather than regularly and it is better to smoke a little than a lot. It confers some health advantages, though they are not great. It may be easier too to give up, though not much.

Please quit smoking

too hard and too fast after time off are being warned that extreme exercise risks damaging the vital kidneys and muscles.

Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, director of the neuromuscular and neurometabolic clinic at McMaster University Medical Centre in Hamilton, Ont., is bracing for an increase in cases of a disorder called rhabdomyolysis — rapid breakdown of muscle fibres that leads to the release of chemicals in the blood that can damage the kidneys.

When Jay Armitage had rhabdomylosis after overexerting herself she said the muscle soreness was totally different from what she'd felt in the past. (CBC)
Rhabdomyolysis affects the muscles we use to run, jump and lift.

"We're probably going to see a big rise in this over the next months with the New Year's resolution person," said Tarnopolsky.

He gives the example of someone in their mid 30s who used to be an athlete in high school, hasn't been physically active since, and then decides it's time to lose 15 pounds.

Rhabdomylosis and genetic disorders
Besides exercise cases, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky sees people with rare genetic disorders, such as McArdle's disease that occurs in about one in 100,000 people who can't break down sugar in the muscle and develop rhabdomylosis.

Less commonly, he treats people have CPT II deficiency, which makes it difficult to break down fat after longer-duration activity. He said it occurs in about one in 200,000 people.

It's normal to have a few aches and pains in the first 48 hours after exercising, but people should watch for more serious signs of trouble, Tarnopolsky says.

"I think where people should be concerned and seek medical attention is if their urine goes dark, if their urine goes brown or red or tea colour. Those are the people who definitely need to go to an emergency department, they will likely need an intravenous, and they'll need lots of hydration to protect the kidneys and ride them through that period."

Tarnopolsky also advises people to seek medical attention if the muscle soreness worsens after two or three days.

Jay Armitage, 33, of Toronto, had rhabdomylosis in May. Armitage said she hadn't exercised for three months during a busy period at work and was getting dehydrated while flying. Then she did an intense, 60-minute class of kettle bells and squats. Her legs were shaking as she walked out.

"When I woke up in the morning, I was in incredible pain. I couldn't raise my arms above my shoulders," Armitage recalled.

When someone's urine goes brown, red or tea colour, they could need IV fluids.
As a kidney donor, she had a home blood pressure machine that showed a high reading. After blood tests, a doctor called her at home and told her to get to an emergency as soon as possible for treatment, reassuring her that she'd be fine.

"The end goal is to be active," said Armitage, who is now seeing Tarnopolsky for advice on getting back into exercise. "It's just a matter of slow and steady wins the race."

The other problem that Tarnopolsky said needs medical attention is significant muscle swelling after exercise, especially in the lower legs, which can push blood vessels and nerves leading to feelings of numbness or tingling or foot discoloration.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2013/01/11/rhabdomyolysis-exercise-extreme.html

Imagine getting this

In London alone, 10 women are attacked each month after getting into an unlicensed mini-cab. No wonder many women feel safer taking a taxi driven by a woman.

Pink Ladies spotted a business opportunity, and created the UK's first women-only private car hire franchise. The Pink Ladies drive Renault Kangoos that are pink inside and out, making them highly visible. Passengers sign up as members, and fares are either pre-paid, paid by credit card or with a "pink account," which is both convenient for members and safe for drivers.

Sport car taxi
Bicycle taxi in spain
Taxi in shanghai
Hummer taxi from houston, texas

Bat mobile taxi