₦airaland Forum

Pedagogue:

One big fact about the UK is: No one will add 'Nigerian' to your status if you are representing the country in any capacity!
But if you dare commit a crime, your status will change from 'British' to 'British Nigerian' or 'Nigerian descent'- even if you've never been to Nigeria!

Nevertheless,

[color=#990000]We should ask ourselves why other countries in Africa have not 'produced' Abdulmuttalab and Dese 2 'Michael's'!!! And pls, don't tell me it's a fallout of the big size of the country!!! If its abt size then China or India ought to have produced millions of terrorists!

2 narrow things down,Many naija parents (home and abroad) now spend more time hustling than bringing up their kids.
This is what you get when u don't have properly brought up children!!!
If you don't Instill the right values in your children at their formative years,d devil will !

[/color]

Ghanaian, 32 who pulled Britain's largest-ever bank fraud totaling £1.4 billion jailed 7 years

A Ghanaian rogue trader who almost brought down an international banking giant by losing £1.4billion was jailed yesterday for committing Britain’s biggest ever fraud.

http://www.www.africanoutlookonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5363:ghanaian-32-who-pulled-britains-largest-ever-bank-fraud-totaling-p14-billion-jailed-7-years&catid=29:courts-a-crime&Itemid=53

Bridge collapse in Washington state sends cars and people into water

Part of bridge over the Skagit river gives way, with rescuers using boats to search for people in the water

Associated Press in Mount Vernon
guardian.co.uk, Friday 24 May 2013 06.50 BST


The major highway bridge linking the Washington state city of Seattle with Canada and the rest of the Pacific north-west region collapsed late on Thursday, dumping several vehicles and the people inside into a river.

The four-lane Interstate 5 bridge collapsed about halfway between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, Trooper Mark Francis of the Washington state patrol said.

Francis said he did not know what caused the collapse, which came at the start of one of the country's busiest holiday weekends of the year.

Kari Ranten, a spokeswoman for Skagit Valley hospital, said two people who were injured in the collapse were being taken to the facility. She said another person was being taken to a different area hospital.

A search of the river continued and a dive team was on the scene.
"We don't think anyone else went into the water," said Marcus Deyerin, a spokesman for the North-west Washington Incident Management Team. "At this point we're optimistic."

Helicopter footage aired by KOMO-TV in Seattle showed one rescue boat leaving the scene with one person strapped into a stretcher. A damaged red car and a damaged pickup truck were visible in the water.

A Skagit Valley Herald reporter at the scene said a sheriff's office rescue boat had arrived and rescue crews were looking for people in the water.

A man told the local Skagit Valley Herald newspaper he felt a vibration and looked in his rear view mirror to see that the part of bridge he had just crossed was no longer behind him. "I thought something was wrong with my car at first," he said

The bridge is not considered structurally deficient but is listed as being "functionally obsolete" meaning that its design is outdated, according to a database compiled by the Federal Highway Administration.

The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data.

Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges.

The group said more than a quarter of Washington state's 7,840 bridges were considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/24/bridge-collapse-washington-state-cars/print

SA fighting losing battle against corruption
May 3, 2013 | Sapa-AP | 4 comments

The author of a new report says South Africa is fighting a losing battle against corruption, with graft costing taxpayers nearly one billion rand ($111 million) last year.

Lawyer Peter Allwright of law firm Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs says although 88 percent of people tried for financial misconduct are found guilty only 19 percent are dismissed. He says most get off with a written warning and remain in government service and continue stealing.


Allwright says his report, based on figures from the Public Service Commission, covers only national and provincial governments, indicating the amount of money going missing from public coffers is more than that being reported.

He tells the AP that corruption "is rampant, it is out of control" and units fighting it "are essentially losing the battle."

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2013/05/03/sa-fighting-losing-battle-against-corruption

2 May 2013 Last updated at 17:16 GMT

South Africa probes India over Gupta wedding

South Africa's government is investigating if the Indian embassy abused diplomatic privileges over a society wedding, an official has said.

The embassy is alleged to have helped a wealthy Indian family gain landing rights for a private jet at a military base near the capital, Pretoria.

The Gupta family flew guests, reportedly including Bollywood stars and Indian government officials, to South Africa for the wedding.

The family denies any wrongdoing.

The Gupta brothers - Atul, Ajay and Rajesh - are said have wielded enormous influence in South Africa since white minority rule ended in 1994.

Their business interests cover mining, aviation, technology and the media.


Two of President Jacob Zuma's children have served as directors of Gupta-owned firms, according to South Africa's companies database, the AFP news agency reports.

'Serious matter'

On Wednesday, the governing African National Congress (ANC) party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) demanded an investigation into how the guests of the family flew from India to the Waterkloof Air Force Base near Pretoria.

"The African National Congress, driven by the concern for the safety and sovereignty of South Africa, shall never allow a situation where our ports of entry and National Key Points are penetrated with impunity," ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said in a statement.

Police escorted the guests to the casino resort of Sun City for the wedding of 23-year-old Vega Gupta, the Gupta brothers' niece, to Indian-born Aaskash Jahajgarhia.

On Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane said top-level investigations were under way to establish how the chartered flight landed at the military base.

The investigation would also unearth whether diplomatic privilege had been abused, he added.

"The investigations will point out to us if that is the case," Mr Chabane is quoted by Bloomberg news agency as saying.

"If so, the necessary steps will be taken. This is a serious matter."

Gupta family spokesman Haranath Ghosh said South African officials had authorised the landing of the plane following a request by the Indian embassy in Pretoria.

"Waterkloof Air Force base was used with full permission of the authorities to receive foreign dignitaries, including some ministers," Mr Ghosh said, Bloomberg reports.

South Africa's International Relations Department said the Chief of State Protocol, Bruce Koloane, had been placed on suspension while an investigation took place.

The Indian embassy has not yet commented on the affair.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22386704

South Africans are backward – Zambian vice-president
2 May 2013 11:18

Zambian vice-president Guy Scott has said that South Africa is backward in terms of historical development, despite the country being Africa’s biggest economy.

The Guardian reported yesterday that the 68-year-old grandfather, who is also an MP for Lusaka, said South Africa was the cause of so much trouble on the African continent.

“The South Africans are very backward in terms of historical development,” he said. “I hate South Africans. That’s not a fair thing to say, because I like a lot of South Africans, but they really think they’re the bee’s knees and actually they’ve been the cause of so much trouble in this part of the world.

“I have a suspicion the blacks model themselves on the whites now that they’re in power. ‘Don’t you know who we are, man?’”

Scott also scoffed at the inclusion of South Africa in the Brics grouping of emerging economies.

“They think in Brics that the ‘s’ actually stands for South Africa whereas it stands for Africa. Nobody would want to go in for a partnership with Brazil, China, India and South Africa, for Christ’s sake.

“I dislike South Africa for the same reason that Latin Americans dislike the United States, I think. It’s just too big and too unsubtle.”

Warming to his theme, Scott let rip at South African President Jacob Zuma, comparing him with the last apartheid leader, FW de Klerk. “He’s very like De Klerk. ‘You just leave Zimbabwe to me.’ Excuse me, who the hell liberated you anyway, was it not us? I mean, I quite like him, he seems a rather genial character, but I pity him and his advisers.”

Scott became vice-president in 2011 but his presence baffles some African leaders at high-level meetings. “I think they regard me as a sort of mascot, a good luck charm for African politics.”

He also had something to say about Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe who has remained in power for 33 years: “I think if you asked him, he’d say it was enough. That’s what he said to us a few months ago. I said the way forward in African democracy is the way we do it in Zambia. He said: ‘I absolutely agree, I wish it would happen to me.’”

Scott went on to describe 89-year-old Mugabe’s persona. “He’s a funny chap. He seems to doze off and then he suddenly laughs at a joke while in the middle of dozing. And very articulate, without a note, without a scrap of anything.

“He’s an anglophone. He loves to give lectures on the English language, English weighing systems, English this or that. He was a teacher, and so he taught himself all that.”

Zambian president Michael Sata – whom Scott refers to as “the boss” – is known to be on friendly terms with Mugabe, who used to work as a teacher in Zambia. “I’m sure any good African nationalist admires Mugabe,” Scott added.

- News24

http://www.citypress.co.za/politics/south-africans-are-backward-zambian-vice-president/

South Africans are backward – Zambian vice-president
2 May 2013 11:18

Zambian vice-president Guy Scott has said that South Africa is backward in terms of historical development, despite the country being Africa’s biggest economy.

The Guardian reported yesterday that the 68-year-old grandfather, who is also an MP for Lusaka, said South Africa was the cause of so much trouble on the African continent.

“The South Africans are very backward in terms of historical development,” he said. “I hate South Africans. That’s not a fair thing to say, because I like a lot of South Africans, but they really think they’re the bee’s knees and actually they’ve been the cause of so much trouble in this part of the world.

“I have a suspicion the blacks model themselves on the whites now that they’re in power. ‘Don’t you know who we are, man?’”

Scott also scoffed at the inclusion of South Africa in the Brics grouping of emerging economies.

“They think in Brics that the ‘s’ actually stands for South Africa whereas it stands for Africa. Nobody would want to go in for a partnership with Brazil, China, India and South Africa, for Christ’s sake.

“I dislike South Africa for the same reason that Latin Americans dislike the United States, I think. It’s just too big and too unsubtle.”

Warming to his theme, Scott let rip at South African President Jacob Zuma, comparing him with the last apartheid leader, FW de Klerk. “He’s very like De Klerk. ‘You just leave Zimbabwe to me.’ Excuse me, who the hell liberated you anyway, was it not us? I mean, I quite like him, he seems a rather genial character, but I pity him and his advisers.”

Scott became vice-president in 2011 but his presence baffles some African leaders at high-level meetings. “I think they regard me as a sort of mascot, a good luck charm for African politics.”

He also had something to say about Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe who has remained in power for 33 years: “I think if you asked him, he’d say it was enough. That’s what he said to us a few months ago. I said the way forward in African democracy is the way we do it in Zambia. He said: ‘I absolutely agree, I wish it would happen to me.’”

Scott went on to describe 89-year-old Mugabe’s persona. “He’s a funny chap. He seems to doze off and then he suddenly laughs at a joke while in the middle of dozing. And very articulate, without a note, without a scrap of anything.

“He’s an anglophone. He loves to give lectures on the English language, English weighing systems, English this or that. He was a teacher, and so he taught himself all that.”

Zambian president Michael Sata – whom Scott refers to as “the boss” – is known to be on friendly terms with Mugabe, who used to work as a teacher in Zambia. “I’m sure any good African nationalist admires Mugabe,” Scott added.

- News24

http://www.citypress.co.za/politics/south-africans-are-backward-zambian-vice-president/

[quote author=~Bluetooth]Diezani peeping from behind checking oga at the top if he's going to ask the woman for her phone number.[/quote]Omo,your eye sharp o!

Wetin you sef look find that side?

Kajiang02: You forget some things here.
The investigation and finding the Boston bomber was made possible cos someone identified the bomber and from there, cameras were called to action.
Before some of us here castigate GEJ in times like this, How many people will come out to point to where the Boko guys are? Or who they are and how they operate.

Everyone was involved in this and great it became a historic achievement.

Correct!

Footage shows conservative Muslim smiling as he reaches for Mrs Obama's hands; tells Twitter followers it was unintentional.


JAKARTA, Indonesia — A conservative Muslim government minister admits he shook hands with first lady Michelle Obama in welcoming her to Indonesia but says it wasn't his choice.

Footage on YouTube shows otherwise, sparking a debate that has lit up Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the blogosphere.


"I tried to prevent (being touched) with my hands but Mrs. Michelle held her hands too far toward me (so) we touched," Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring told tens of thousands of followers on Twitter.

While Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, the vast majority practice a moderate form of the faith. But Sembiring has flaunted his conservatism and says he avoids contact with women who are not related to him.

The minister was among the dignitaries in a receiving line that greeted President Barack Obama and his wife as they arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday — a homecoming of sorts for the president who spent part of his childhood here.
Indonesians gathered around television sets across the country to watch the American president touch down. Children at the school he attended practiced a song dedicated to him just in case he visited.

In footage of the official welcome, Sembiring appeared to share his countrymen's enthusiasm. He smiled broadly as he shook the president's hand and then reached with both hands to grasp Michelle Obama's. But later he said she forced their contact.

His denial was in a response to tweets from Indonesians who noted the handshake and questioned his long-standing claims that, as a good Muslim, he restricts his contact with women.


Many posts had a "gotchya" quality to them.

One female journalist — who said the minister had refused to shake her hand — gleefully noted that now he would no longer be able to wriggle out of it.

Sembiring has often tweeted controversial comments, including blaming natural disasters on a lack of morality and joking about AIDS.


http://www.jpost.com/International/Minister-admits-reluctant-Michelle-Obama-handshake

Twitter users slam SABC Mandela footage

April 29 2013 at 07:59pm

South African Twitter users have condemned the footage of former president Nelson Mandela shown on SABC on Monday evening.


The SABC broadcast exclusive footage of ailing former president Nelson Mandela on Monday evening, showing him sitting impassively with a blanket over his legs.

Although the state broadcaster said he was in good health and good spirits, many viewers questioned this on Twitter.

President Jacob Zuma told the state broadcaster that Mandela was “up and about” but the former president showed little emotion while being filmed with Zuma seated next to him.

The ANC’s top leaders visited Mandela at his Houghton home in Johannesburg earlier on Monday.

The SABC accompanied the ANC on its visit, tweeting on social networking site Twitter about its exclusive from early afternoon.

“We had some conversation with him, shook hands, he was smiling,” Zuma told the SABC.

“He's really up and about, (and) stabilised. We are very happy, we think he is fine.”

SABC news had footage of Mandela sitting in a chair flanked by Zuma, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, party chairwoman Baleka Mbete and his medical team.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate looked blankly at the camera while everyone around him stood chatting and laughing.

This was the first footage of him in many months.

A frail Mandela was seen closing his eyes as someone's camera flash light clearly affected his eyes.

Mandela is known to have sensitive eyes after years of working in a limestone quarry when he was imprisoned on Robben Island.

Some viewers took to Twitter voicing their displeasure at the footage of Mandela.

Ranjeni Munusamy said: “Who's the idiot who took a picture of Madiba with flash during the visit by ANC officials? Don't they know it hurts his eyes?!”.

Another Twitter user commented: “After everything the man has done for us this is how we treat him. Like an animal at the zoo. Shame on us.”

Another person said: “After months of attacking media for “invading” Mandela's privacy, ANC today released an invasive video of a clearly ailing and grim Mandela.”

“SABC claims Mandela looks “relaxed” and “in good spirits” but the new video contradicts that claim,” wrote another user.

"They need to stop saying Mandela is doing well. Look at him," another tweet said.

Another user wrote: "Mandela is not in a good shape, the government have the nerve to lie straight to our faces."

Mandela was discharged from hospital earlier this month after spending nine days receiving treatment for recurring lung problems.

Early in March, he was admitted to a Pretoria hospital for a scheduled check-up. He was discharged the following day.

In December last year, Mandela underwent an operation to remove gallstones and treat the lung infection. He was discharged after an 18-day stay and placed under home-based high care at his Houghton home.

In January, the presidency said Mandela had made a full recovery from the surgery and continued to improve. In February last year he was admitted to hospital for a stomach ailment.

At the time, the presidency said Mandela underwent a diagnostic procedure to investigate the cause of a long-standing abdominal complaint.

In January 2011, Mandela was taken to Milpark Hospital for routine tests relating to respiratory problems.

Mandela's last major public appearance was in July 2010, at the final of the Fifa World Cup at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.

Since then he has spent his time between Johannesburg and his ancestral village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape. - Sapa

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/twitter-users-slam-sabc-mandela-footage-1.1508158#.UX9-cWfNl8E

How could the Chinese guy be running at the same pace as the runner who eventually came second?

Did his own race start earlier?

Busoga youth grumble over Museveni’s Shs 250m

News
Wednesday, 24 April 2013 00:22
Written by TREVOR S BALEKE & ANDREW MULINDA

Even after President Museveni gave a sack containing Shs 250m to youth groups in Busoga, there are voices in the sub-region accusing him of betrayal. The president donated the money, a Fuso truck (UAS 372P), a mini bus (UAS 038P) and 15 motorcycles at the weekend. Museveni, who was in Kaliro to launch the Busoga Youth Forum (BYF), also set conditions for the money, insisting that each of the sub-counties in Busoga would get Shs 5m and the youth had to be disciplined and avoid alcohol.

“Today, I came to ‘kutongoza’ (launch) the new leadership of the Busoga Youth Forum ... I will support you if you are disciplined,” the president said, shortly before handing the sack of money to the Kaliro youth chairman, Sanon Bwiire.

But since the President left, many youths have complained about the money and outstanding presidential pledges. In Jinja, youth threatened to dump their NRM cards, saying it was regrettable for the president to emphasise a hatchery delivered 10 years ago. Fatuma Nairuba, a youth from Bugembe town council, said the president had discriminated against them in favour of rural youths, who were expected to support him in 2016.

“For how long will the president continue mentioning the hatchery he gave to youth [in 2003], he can take it back if it is the only ground upon which to give us new projects,” she said.

Sam Ibanda, the Luuka district youth councillor, was also unimpressed.

“When he invited us to State House in Entebbe, we went with proposals as per the districts and each district was given ample time to discuss … he approved all our proposals and pledged to fulfill them the day when he launched the youth forum. But we are saddened to see him giving out money, cars and motorcycles to just selected groups,” said Ibanda.

He explained that Luuka youths had asked for a poultry project worth Shs 192m for the 42 youth groups from the 42 parishes in the district. There were also angry comments from youth leaders in Bugiri and Namutumba, saying Museveni had only aided a small, selected group. But junior Youth Minister Ronald Kibuule urged the various groups to remain patient.

“You should appreciate the little you have so far, as we pave way for getting more support from government lest the president brands you as undisciplined youth and so sidelines you always,” he said.


http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24917&Itemid=114

22 April 2013 Last updated at 17:49 GMT
President Yoweri Museveni's sack of money sparks Uganda row

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has publicly handed a sack containing about $100,000 (£66,000) in cash to a youth group, raising questions about how the money will be spent.

The donation was broadcast on national television, with many social media comments condemning it.

"There should have been a system to make sure the youth spend the money properly," said analyst Peter Magelah.

A minister said giving the money in public would ensure transparency.

Mr Museveni pledged to help the group during the 2011 election campaign.

There were loud cheers as President Museveni held the white sack containing 250 million shillings aloft, before he handed it to a representative of the Busoga Youth Forum.

At the same meeting, he handed over a minibus, a truck and 15 motorcycles, reports Uganda's NTV.

The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga in Kampala says Ugandans are used to seeing the president hand out money at public events.

But what has shocked many Ugandans is the amount and the image of their president holding a sack of money.

Many Ugandan Twitter users have been commenting using #sackofmoney.

Peter Magelah, a researcher at the think-tank Acode told the BBC: "This is just politicking by the president to gain popularity.

"Do we know how they money will be spent? There's no system of accountability to make sure we get it back if these youth mismanage it. It's a loss for the country."

But Minister for the Presidency Frank Tumwebaze defended the donation.

"Quite a few times people have requested the president for money and have stolen it. Giving it in broad day light means that the youth can see who has their money," he said.

"The president is not taking the money to Las Vegas, he's supporting income-generating schemes."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22245873

^

Koreans Slap Bill Gates for 'Rude' Handshake
By Joohee Cho | ABC News Blogs – 13 hours ago


SEOUL, South Korea - The buzz in town today is this photograph of Microsoft founder Bill Gates' shaking hands with South Korea President Park Geun-hye.

Gates, 57, might have not realized it Monday, but a one-hand shake in Korean culture - and also in Asia - is notably casual, done only when the other party is a good friend, of the same or younger age. Using one hand with the other tucked in the pants pocket is considered rude here, done when one is expressing superiority to the other.

"Perhaps it was his all-American style but an open jacket with hand in pocket? That was way too casual. It was very regretful," said Chung Jin-suk, secretary general at the Korean National Assembly.

President Park's office has said nothing publicly about the incident and a spokesperson for Gates declined to comment.

But Internet chat rooms and social network sites are filled with views debating cultural differences and analyses of Gates' laid-back style.

"I don't know if that was ignorance or just plain disrespect," Cho Park, a Korean student studying in New York, said. "It was pretty rude of him. The thing is I'm not sure if it is rude in Western culture."

The controversy doesn't end there. Gates had met with two other previous South Korean presidents: Kim Dae-jung and Lee Myung-Bak. He apparently gave the proper handshake with both hands to the late Kim in 2002 but was spotted giving an improper shake to President Lee in 2008. That also became a subject of debate.

Some South Korean media have been speculating that perhaps it was intentional, showing his political preference; respect for the opposition leader Kim but disrespect for the ruling party leaders Lee and Park, 61.

"Cultural difference or bad manners?" the Joongang Ilbo newspaper wrote.

"A disrespectful handshake or a casual friendly handshake?" DongAh Ilbo newspaper said in its photo caption.

"It's a head of state we're talking about," said Rick Yoon, a brand retailer in Seoul. "And she's a lady. This is not just a Korean thing. It's an international protocol.

"Maybe it was intentional. Otherwise, he has a very strange habit."

Gates was in South Korea on a three-day visit to promote his start-up TerraPower, which is developing next-generation nuclear reactors.

ABC News' Joanne Kim contributed to this report.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/koreans-slap-bill-gates-rude-handshake-113610749--abc-news-topstories.html

Dubai Police Add $450,000 Lamborghini Aventador To Fleet Of Vehicles

By Carey Vanderborg | April 11 2013 9:53 AM

Lamborghini Aventador Photo: Dubai Police Department Dubai Police Department adds £360,000 Lamborghini Aventador to fleet

If you’re going to keep a city safe, why not do it in style? That is seemingly the mentality of the Dubai Police Department as the Arabian crime stoppers have just added a £360,000 ($554,000) Lamborghini Aventador to their fleet of vehicles.

The Aventador, a two-door, two-seater sports car with speeds capable of up to 217 mph, can be seen in the above picture as it has been painted in the green-and-white colors of the Dubai police force. Fair warning to all who choose to go up against this beast of a vehicle: The Aventador can go from 0 to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds.

While it unclear how many of the supercars have been added to the Dubai Police Department, local media reports said the Italian-made Lamborghini Aventador is the crown jewel of a wider upgrade in Dubai police wheels.

The force is also reportedly adding some American muscle to its fleet with considerably less expensive Chevy Camaros.

https://www.nairaland.com/1224347/only-naija/1#15281653

Dubai Police Add $450,000 Lamborghini Aventador To Fleet Of Vehicles

By Carey Vanderborg | April 11 2013 9:53 AM

Lamborghini Aventador Photo: Dubai Police Department Dubai Police Department adds £360,000 Lamborghini Aventador to fleet

If you’re going to keep a city safe, why not do it in style? That is seemingly the mentality of the Dubai Police Department as the Arabian crime stoppers have just added a £360,000 ($554,000) Lamborghini Aventador to their fleet of vehicles.

The Aventador, a two-door, two-seater sports car with speeds capable of up to 217 mph, can be seen in the above picture as it has been painted in the green-and-white colors of the Dubai police force. Fair warning to all who choose to go up against this beast of a vehicle: The Aventador can go from 0 to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds.

While it unclear how many of the supercars have been added to the Dubai Police Department, local media reports said the Italian-made Lamborghini Aventador is the crown jewel of a wider upgrade in Dubai police wheels.

The force is also reportedly adding some American muscle to its fleet with considerably less expensive Chevy Camaros.

http://www.ibtimes.com/dubai-police-add-450000-lamborghini-aventador-fleet-vehicles-photo-1186165#

Kenyan politicians get more VIP protection
Africa
Tuesday 16 April 2013 - 7:39 PM


KENYA - Times are changing in Kenya. The country has a new constitution and after successful elections a new president, vice president and many more elected government officials, including senators and governors across the country.

All of them have been assigned protection. Even the average member of parliament will have five police officers guarding them.

The number of officers assigned to VIP protection is to be more than doubled. The plan has upset many ordinary Kenyans.

It means around five thousand officers will be on VIP duty and that is five percent of the entire police force.

The expanded VIP protection plan has raised eyebrows.

Many Kenyans fear there are already too few officers on the beat. Mob justice is common, even in the capital.

Kenya is supposed to be on high alert, thanks to threats from Somali militants, Al-Shabaab.

Police say recruits due out of the academies later this year will plug the gap. They will also monitor how the politicians use their guards.

There have been reports some (politicians) have been deploying them (VIP protection) to fetch their shopping.

http://www.enca.com/africa/police-guard-politicians

.

Madonna’s PR guy Trevor Neilson (who doesn’t seem to be too great at his job judging by the way in which a routine baby-hugging photo-op has descended into a hilarious international shitshow) hit back, giving quotes to The Globe and Mail reporter Geoffrey York. I like to think that by this time Neilson had googled “David James” and was aware that Joyce Banda just compared his client to a veteran English goalkeeper.

[Neilson] said Ms. Banda is “using her office to pursue her sister’s financial interests.” He also rejected the government’s claim that Madonna’s charity had merely built 10 classrooms, rather than 10 schools.

The communities that received the school buildings “are simply overjoyed to have them,” Mr. Neilson said in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail. “In many of these communities, students were previously learning under trees. … The schools were built in the model of schools all across the country and around the world.”

He said Ms. Banda appointed her sister to a senior position in the Education Ministry, where she is using her office “to pursue her grudge” against Madonna’s charity. “I have been contacted by other foreign donors to Malawi who are interested in why the government is behaving this way.”

It’s (another) very serious allegation against Joyce Banda (and her sister), and it’s hard to believe there’s much substance to it.

It’s worth reading what Wayne Barrett, one of the finest New York City journalists, reported about that audit of Banda’s sister. In a piece published in The Daily Beast in April 2011 on Raising Malawi and Madonna’s devotion to Kaballa, Barrett deals specifically with the charges against Oponyo:

More recently, (Mark) Fabiani (who did damage control for Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal) and Neilson have successfully diverted attention from Madonna and the (Kaballa) center by announcing that Neilson’s group has completed a report pinning much of the blame on Raising Malawi academy director Anjimile Oponyo, the sister of Malawi’s first female vice president. The report accused her of “outlandish expenditures,” including a high salary, a car, housing, and a golf-club membership. Putting aside the fact that these items were included in her contract by Madonna aides, the actual expenditures seem trivial in the face of the $3.8 million lost on the school project. The golf membership cost a mere $461.27 a year and was offered as an aid to networking with government officials and potential donors. The car that was bought for her was a reconditioned 1996 Toyota. Her salary, $96,000, was actually a pay cut from previous positions she had held at the World Bank and the United Nations. Oponyo, who was interviewed by Madonna herself, agreed to move to the impoverished country with four of her six children. (If she had been posted in Malawi by the U.S. State Department, she would have received cost-of-living and hardship allowances, and educational and living-quarters benefits that would have added $150,000 to her salary.)

Also, two long pieces in The New Yorker and New York Magazine on Raising Malawi’s failures basically conclude that Nielsen may have planted a smear story about Oponyo in The New York Times that popularized all the accusations of “outlandish expenditures” against Oponyo.

Interestingly, while Malawi’s opposition parties have aggressively tried to smear Banda — everything from saying she goes on too many expensive trips abroad to coming up with misogynist nicknames for her — even they haven’t sought to exploit the “scandal” Madonna and her people have cooked up over Anjimile Oponyo.

Banda’s predecessor Bingu wa Mutharika made himself the country’s biggest landowner, built a vast mansion with suitcases of cash stashed under the bed, went on two-week-long holidays to Macau and appointed his brother as foreign minister. Joyce Banda isn’t perfect (we wish she’d directed some of that ire at IMF boss Christine Lagarde, who also visited Malawi this year, did get the red-carpet treatment and is doing a lot more damage to the country right now) but she’s not in this for the money. Little wonder that Madonna’s attempt to save face after her scolding by rehashing the stereotype of the corrupt African leader rings hollow, and a bit desperate.

Btw, Joyce Banda isn’t necessarily averse to hanging out with pop stars. Here she is chilling with Nigerian R&B duo P-Square last month. That’s one photo-op Madonna can forget about.

http://africasacountry.com/2013/04/11/madonna-vs-joyce-banda-celebrity-deathmatch-philanthropy-edition/

[size=14pt]Madonna Calls Malawi President Joyce Banda A Liar After Blackmail Claims[/size]
By Jill Heller | April 11 2013 2:42 PM

The rift between Madonna and Malawi President Joyce Banda deepened on Thursday, when the pop star issued a statement responding to Banda’s criticisms of her behavior on a recent trip to Malawi, calling Banda a liar and claiming that the condemnation was retribution for firing Banda's sister from her charity.

According to the BBC , the spat between Madonna and Banda began when the “Material Girl” allegedly complained about treatment she received on a goodwill trip to the southeast African nation. In spite of the 54-year-old singer’s charitable contributions to the country, the Malawian government issued a statement earlier this week, alleging that Madonna’s demands for special treatment had been out of line, and that she had entered the country expecting that “poor people dance for her.”

Madonna, who has two adopted children from the country, has sponsored a number of charity projects in the nation including Raising Malawi and the documentary, “I Am Because We Are,” both of which President Banda's sister, Anjimile Mtila-Oponyo, worked on before being fired on suspicion of theft. Oponyo later sued Raising Malawi for wrongful termination, and currently holds a senior post in the Ministry of Education.


"Granted, Madonna is a famed international musician. But that does not impose an injunction of obligation on any government under whose territory Madonna finds herself, including Malawi, to give her state treatment,” President Banda wrote in the statement on Wednesday. “Such treatment, even if she deserved it, is discretionary not obligatory.”

Banda also described the singer as "a musician who desperately thinks she must generate recognition by bullying state officials instead of playing decent music on the stage,” and added that "among the many things that Madonna needs to learn as a matter of urgency is the decency of telling the truth.”

Not one to take such criticisms lying down, Madonna responded to the attack, calling Banda’s allegations “lies” and saying that she would not be deterred by his comments or the negative press. “I’m saddened that Malawi’s President Joyce Banda has chosen to release lies about what we’ve accomplished, my intentions, how I personally conducted myself while visiting Malawi and other untruths,” Madonna said in a statement shared on Raising Malawi’s blog. “I have no intentions of being distracted by these ridiculous allegations.”

She went on to cite the strides her charities have made in the region, saying that over 4,800 children were attending primary school in facilities that she and her charities had helped to build. She closed the open letter by saying that she had made a commitment to Malawian children, and that she would continue to honor it.

“I did not ever ask or demand special treatment at the airport or elsewhere during my visit. I will not be distracted or discouraged by other people’s political agendas,” Madonna said. “I made a promise to the children of Malawi and I am keeping that promise.”

Madonna’s philanthropic advisor, Trevor Neilson, called the remarks retribution for Oponyo's firing. “Madonna is the largest individual philanthropist in Malawi,” Neilson told the BBC. “We will continue to fund programs that support children in Malawi.”

Madonna previously generated controversy when she was accused of "fast-tracking" her adoption of son David Banda, and later when Banda's biological father said that he thought the child might be better off in Malawi.

http://www.ibtimes.com/madonna-calls-malawi-president-joyce-banda-liar-after-blackmail-claims-1187443

Where's the picture?

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Seun, can you help?

Hello!

otokx: Because Hausa is more widely spoken in Western Africa and indeed Africa second only to Swahili.

Correct!

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The lawyer who registers the company is by default the company's secretary? What process is required to effect this change?

How do you get your username if you have forgotten it?

Yahoo and other such services assist you to get your username if you have your e-amil address.

Any help?

And how do you get your username is you have forgotten it.

Yahoo and other such services assist you to get your username if you have your e-amil address.

Seun, can you help?