₦airaland Forum

TUBERCULOSIS IS ON THE RISE IN THE COUNTRY

The number of tuberculosis cases in the country is on the increase despite efforts by government and others to tackle the problem, minister of health Onyebuchi Chukwu has said. According to The Guardian, Chukwu said about 97,799 TB cases were recorded in 2012; 83% of these cases were tested for the human immunodeficiency virus with a positivity rate of 26%. Nigeria was still among 22 high burden countries that contributed 80% of the estimated 8.7 million new TB cases globally in 2012. A total of 190,000 new cases were estimated in the country in 2011, out of which 27,000 persons died.

The minister, who spoke during an occasion to commemorate the 2013 World TB Day in Abuja Saturday, added that the burden of TB in Nigeria was further worsened by challenges of HIV co-infection, drug-resistant TB and TB among children. While reeling out what the federal government has done to commit resources to the problem, Mr Chukwu called on individuals and families to contribute to the fight against the disease by “identifying and encouraging anyone who has cough of more than two week’s duration to go for TB screening and supporting those on TB treatment to complete their full course, which normally lasts six months.”

More health and general news
http://www.234globe.com/story/265/Nigeria+Still+%27Among+High+TB+Nations%27.html

Francheezy: lol mehn...u are really funny....dis shld b in d joke section

Yeah. Lol.

SUBSCRIBER GROUP WANTS REGULATION OF CALL RATES, TOO

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced a reduction in interconnection rates for voice calls in the country, reports Biztech Africa. It has been reduced from the current symmetric rate of N8.20 to N6.40 from 1 April 2013, N5.20 from 1 April 2014, and N3.90 from 1 April 2015 for new entrants (defined as a newly licensed operator entering an existing or new market within 0 to 3 years) and small operators (defined as an existing operator with a market share of 0 – 7.5% in terms of subscriber base in Nigeria). The rates for other operators are set at N4.90 from 1 April 2013, N4.40 from 1 April 2014, and N3.90 from 1 April 2015.

The new dispensation comes into effect from 1 April 2013 and remains valid and binding on all licensees for the next three years until further review by the Commission. Deolu Ogunbanjo, president of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, has hailed the new interconnection rate but say the exercise is not over—subscribers want the NCC to also put a price cap on how much operators can charge for voice calls the way it did for SMS when it imposed a price cap of N4 on all off-net SMS.

Source
http://www.234globe.com/story/261/NCC+Crashes+Voice+Interconnect+Rates.html

EQUITIES MARKET CLOSE ON A POSITIVE NOTE

Following weeks of intermittent bearish trading and bullish spells, the equities market closed the week on a positive note. Proshare reports that the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index appreciated by +1.69% to close at 33,506.88 points. The market capitalization appreciated by +1.69% to close at N10.72tn ($67.01bn), compared with the appreciation of +0.31% recorded the previous week when the market closed at N10.54tn ($65.89bn). Its Year-to-Date return currently stands at 19.33%.

The week’s appreciation was due mainly to the gains recorded in the share prices of Dangcem, Wapco, Cadbury, Nestle, Stanbic, Flourmill and FBNH. The banking sub-sector was the most traded followed by oil & gas and conglomerates. Wemabank and Okomuoil led the price gainers with 24.58% and 10.91% gains respectively, while ABC Transport led the losers’ chart, depreciating by 16.67% to close at N0.55. The market outlook indicates sustained price volatility with an increased chance to extend speculative trading in the coming sessions.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/258/NSE%3A+Stocks+Hold+Firm+Amidst+Price+Volatility.html

'WINE CONSUMPTION IN NIGERIA GREW FROM 18.8 MILLION LITRES IN 2006 TO 44.3 MILLION LITRES IN 2011'

Nigerians are among the top drinkers of the world. The country spends an average of N41.41 billion on champagne yearly, placing it among the top 20 champagne markets in the world, according to a report by Euromonitor International. With a total champagne consumption of 752,879 bottles (75cl) in 2011, the report said Nigeria is downing more of the luxury drink than Russia and Mexico. In 2010, the figure was about 593,000 bottles, dwarfing South Africa’s 384,000 bottles to maintain the position of the highest consumption in Africa.

The report indicates that Nigeria is the second fastest growing market in the world for champagne, noting that between 2006 and 2011, it achieved a compound annual growth of 22%. The report is bound to increase interest among European wine producers in the Nigerian market. Wines of South Africa (WOSA), an association of South Africa’s wine exporters, has also seen Nigeria as a promising market. But, speaking to BusinessDay, Rasheed Gbadamosi, a former economic adviser, has urged importation of grapes for local production.

More news
http://www.234globe.com/story/255/Nigerians+Spend+N41bn+on+Champagne+Annually.html#

POLICE ARREST 58-YEAR-OLD WITH LARGE QUANTITIES OF SUSPECTED FAKE DRUGS

If your partner gets pregnant after informing you she “took precaution”, you now know who to hold responsible—fake Postinor merchants. The Punch reports that the Lagos State police command have arrested a man in possession of a large quantity of printed packets for packaging Postinor tablets, five large cartons of Zentel tablets, and thousands of packs of Zentel tablets among other items suspected to be counterfeit drugs and drug-counterfeiting equipment. However, Ikenna Nne, 58, who was arrested at Ejigbo, and accused by the police of producing a “large quantity of” substandard drugs, has denied owning the products or selling them—he only packed them.

Mr Nne said he had worked for a pharmaceutical company in India where he acquired the skills to package drugs and to repair drug packaging machines. He said he merely applied his packaging skills for which he was paid by an accomplice still at large who owned the business. While admitting that the drugs were not produced by the manufacturers written on the labels, he denied that they were fake, saying that he took them and they were effective and he could even administer them to his children.

More news
http://www.234globe.com/story/249/Arrested+Fake+Drug+Merchant+Says+He+Only+Packaged+Them.html

MUSIC INDUSTRY BODY DISAGREES

A report published by the European Commission Joint Research Committee claims that music web piracy does not harm legitimate sales. The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies examined the online habits of 16,000 Europeans. They also found that freely streamed music provided a small boost to sales figures. The study, Digital Music Consumption on the Internet: Evidence from Clickstream Data, analysed data over the course of one year. But the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has described the research as “flawed and misleading”, and “disconnected from commercial reality”.

According to the researchers, the majority of the music that is consumed illegally by the individuals in the sample group would not have been purchased if illegal downloading websites were not available to them. “Although there is trespassing of private property rights (copyrights), there is unlikely to be much harm done on digital music revenues,” they said. They added that a 10% increase in clicks on illegal streaming websites led to up to a 0.7% increase in clicks on legal digital purchases websites.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/245/Music+Sales+Not+Affected+By+Web+Piracy.html

STATEMENT COMES A DAY AFTER COURT RULED DEREGULATION ILLEGAL

Nigeria’s economy will collapse if the full deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry is not carried out, the federal government said on Wednesday. There would be no jobs, no orderly market, no refineries, government will be broke—you know, everything will collapse. The Punch reports that information minister Labaran Maku, who briefed state house correspondents after the federal executive council meeting, stated this, adding that the present situation has “truncated” the potential of the oil and gas sector.

Mr Maku’s statement came a day after a federal high court sitting in Abuja declared deregulation illegal. Maku added that the government was paying money it should spend on development to marketers and urged Nigerians to remember that no government-run business had ever worked in the country. But he also said he knew people were cynical about government policies because past governments had failed them.

For more
http://234globe.com/story/241/FG%3A+Economy+Will+Collapse+Without+Full+Deregulation.html

POLICE BUST FLORIDA TEEN FOR ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL

After Kimani Parker was caught shoplifting at a Walmart shop and ordered to pay $200 in restitution, he figured out a great way to do so—he went out and stole an air conditioner to sell for scrap to raise the money. That was the 18 year old’s narrative after a neighbour saw him pushing a stolen air conditioner in a wheelbarrow and called the police, The Smoking Gun reports. According to a Volusia County Sheriff's Office report, Parker and a friend were seen at about 6:00 am "pushing a wheel barrow down the street with an air conditioner inside it."

When confronted by the police, the 18 year old claimed "he has a civil obligation and owed Walmart $200.00" and was planning on selling the unit to a scrap yard. Parker had tried telling the officers he had permission to take the air conditioner but soon relented and took them to the house he stole the unit from. He was charged with burglary, grand theft, and criminal mischief and locked up in the county jail. He will need to come up with more plans since, in addition to his Walmart debt, he would now have pipes and wall fittings to repair for the homeowners he stole the unit from.

For more
http://www.234globe.com/story/239/Teen+Steals+Air+Conditioner+to+Pay+Off+Shoplifting+Restitution.html

Two inmates of St-Jerome prison, near Montreal in Canada, have made a daring escape by climbing up a rope into a hovering helicopter, BBC News reports. Prison officials said Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, 36, and Danny Provencal, 33 fled at about 14:20 (18:20 gmt) on Sunday. A manhunt was immediately started and one inmate has been re-arrested. Police say they have surrounded the area the second is hiding and they are trying to get him to surrender peacefully. The helicopter—which was hijacked from a tour company—has been found and the pilot is being questioned.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/224/Prisoners+Escape+in+Helicopter.html#

OFFICIALS MODERATE THEIR LIFESTYLE TO FOLLOW POPE FRANCIS' PUBLIC EXAMPLES

Taking their cue from the public example of the new pope, Vatican officials have already begun to moderate their lifestyle, shunning the large fleet of luxury cars for taxis to get around Rome, media reports say. "The pope, who is used to taking the minibus with his Cardinal brethren, standing in line for breakfast at the self-service restaurant in the Domus Sancta Martha (the Vatican hotel) and settling his hotel bill in person, could look out of the window and see that he is surrounded by people who are not getting the drift and not following suit," reported La Stampa. "Self-reform has started."

Meanwhile, Pope Francis gave his first Angelus on Sunday, to an audience of some 200,000. The Angelus is an ancient short Christian devotion, which the Pope gives after a short message every Sunday. World leaders or representatives, from US vice president Joe Biden to Zimbabwean strong man Robert Mugabe, are arriving in or on their way to Rome for the pope's inauguration Mass on Tuesday. The pope has advised Argentine bishops not to travel to the inauguration, but to donate the airfare money to the poor.

For more
http://www.234globe.com/story/221/New+Pope%3A+Vatican+Officials+Now+Take+Cab.html#

PSYCHOLOGIST CLAIRE GUEST REVEALS THAT IT IS THANKS TO HER LABRADOR THAT SHE IS STILL HERE TODAY

Daisy, a normally calm Labrador, seemed anxious and unusually attentive, just the kind of behaviour she had been taught to display. At the time Claire Guest was training the dog to be able to detect cancer—a controversial technique that uses the animals’ acute sense of smell to pick up chemicals given off by tumour cells. But she was not to know that she would be the first person diagnosed by the dog. Daisy kept jumping up on Dr Guest who kept misreading her behaviour. But after much unsettling behaviour from Daisy, Guest had a core needle biopsy and was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent treatment and has since been fine.

That was in 2009, when the dog was just a puppy, and Guest’s charity, Medical Detection Dogs, only one year old. Daisy has progressed and is now the organisation’s foremost “advanced cancer dog”, able to detect different cancers through smelling a patient’s breath, urine or skin. The centre also trains canines for purposes other than cancer detection. People with nut allergies can apply for a dog trained to detect traces of it in their immediate environment. The centre has dogs can alert diabetes sufferers when their blood sugar is reaching dangerous levels. There are dogs trained to detect anything from Addison’s disease to bed bugs.

More
http://www.234globe.com/story/218/Medical+Dog%3A+How+Dog+Found+Owner%27s+Cancer.html

The Peoples Democratic Party in the Southwest of Nigeria has begun fresh moves to unseat Rep Aminu Tambuwal and claim the speakership of the House of Representatives, reports The Nation. The party’s leaders in the zone want the House speakership as well as the position of national secretary of the party restored to the zone to redress what it calls undue marginalisation in the country’s leadership structure and make the party sellable to the people of the zone in 2015.

The party leaders made their position known to the party’s national chairman Bamanga Tukur at a meeting in Ibadan, telling him that unless the speaker’s position is returned to the Southwest, the cry of marginalisation by the people of the region will not stop. The House speakership was zoned to the Southwest in 2007 but at inauguration the zone fielded more than one candidate, making it easy for the House members to rebel against the party’s leadership by endorsing a candidate from the North.

For more news:
http://www.234globe.com/story/215/Southwest+PDP+in+Fresh+Bid+to+Oust+Tambuwal.html

BREAST SIZE PREFERENCES MAY REVEAL MEN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN

The more oppressive attitudes a man has towards women, the more likely he is to prefer women with bigger bustlines, a new study has found, lending more weight to feminist theories postulating that beauty ideals and practices in contemporary societies serve to perpetuate male domination. The study, published February in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour, observed 361 white heterosexual British men aged 18 to 68 who were asked to look at five 3D models of virtual women before stating their preference. The pictures used in the study were all identical except for the models' breast sizes.

Afterwards, the men were asked to complete a questionnaire that determined their attitudes toward women. The questionnaire examined the men's general attitudes, hostile and benevolent sexism towards women, “benevolent sexism” being seemingly positive female stereotypes that may actually be damaging to gender equality. In the end, the study revealed that the preference for larger breasts was significantly linked to hostile sexism, benevolent sexism and female objectification. "Our results showed that a greater likelihood of rating a larger breast size as physically attractive was predicted by men's oppressive beliefs," the researchers wrote.

For more
http://www.234globe.com/story/213/Sexist+Men+More+Likely+to+Prefer+Women+with+Bigger+Breasts.html

SERVES HIM HIS MEAL OF CHOICE TO MAKE TASK EASY

A housewife is in police custody in Port Harcourt for allegedly planning and financing the murder of her husband Wednesday night, Saturday Sun reports. The deceased, a businessman and contractor with Nigerian Agip Oil Company, was killed at his country home in Mgbeoshimiri, Rumuolumeni, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state. According to Saturday Sun, the woman hid the contract killers in the house before her husband returned from work, since, according to her, he was “a strong man” whose powers needed to be neutralised before their task could be accomplished.

When the deceased returned home from work at about 11:30 pm, the wife drugged the oatmeal he requested, making him too weak to offer any resistance to the assassins. But they met their waterloo shortly after when one of them ran into the members of a neighbourhood watch group who noticed bloodstains on his clothes and promptly handed him over to the police. The woman confessed to the police that she decided to eliminate her husband because she found out he was making plans to marry a woman who was already pregnant for him.

Fore more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/210/Port+Harcourt+Housewife+Hires+Assassins+to+Kill+Husband.html

A new research, published in the journal PLoS Pathogens, states that treating people with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rapidly after they have become infected with the virus that causes AIDS may be enough to achieve a "functional cure" in a small proportion of patients diagnosed early. Scientists in France who followed 14 patients who were treated very swiftly with HIV drugs but then stopped treatment found that even when they had been off therapy for more than seven years, they still showed no signs of the virus rebounding. The research’s findings are somewhat similar to the case earlier this month of a baby girl in Mississippi in the United States who was cured of HIV after receiving very early treatment.

Christine Rouzioux, a professor at Necker Hospital and University Paris Descartes and a co-discoverer of HIV 30 years ago, described the shrinking of viral reservoirs, limiting of viral mutations, and preservation of immune responses in these patients as closely matching the definition of “functional cure”. The implication of a “functional cure” is that the patient will not have to continue taking antiretroviral drugs because the virus, although still detectable in the body, is reduced to a level where it no longer poses a threat.

Source
http://www.234globe.com/story/209/Rapid+Treatment+Helps+%27Cure%27+HIV+Patients.html

The accusations against Pope Francis “come from parts of the anti-clerical left”. That is how the Vatican's official spokesman, Fr Lombardi, has described the accusations against the new head of the Catholic Church. The 1970s were a turbulent time in Argentina. Tens of thousands were kidnapped and killed by the military junta during a period of widespread state repression of left-wing activists, union leaders and social activists which came to be known as the "Dirty War". Some religious leaders, including Catholic bishops, have been accused of aiding the junta. BBC News reports that some of these fingers are now being pointed in the direction of Pope Francis, former Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Graciela Yorio is specific in her accusation. She is the sister of Orlando Yorio, a priest who was kidnapped in May 1976 and tortured for five months by the military government. Ms Yorio accuses the then-Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio of effectively delivering her brother and fellow priest Francisco Jalics into the hands of the military authorities by declining to endorse publicly their social work in the slums of Buenos Aires, which infuriated the junta at the time. There have been investigations pointing fingers at the pope as well. But the pope, speaking to his biographers, had denied the accusations—as have others on his behalf—saying he asked the navy chief to release held priests. There has been no strong evidence adduced linking the pope to the regime.

Fore more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/208/%27Dirty+War%27+Accusations+Haunt+Pope+Francis.html

A woman in Georgia, United States, Tuesday went to the police, along with her mother, to report that her ex-husband had cast a spell on her and her home, reports The Smoking Gun. Mychia Vang and her mother, Pang Khang, told the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office that Vang’s former spouse Bruce Lor had placed her and her Winder, Georgia residence “under a spell or spells.” Mr Lor, Vang’s 28-year-old former spouse, was said to have accomplished this with the assistance of his mother.

Vang and Khang told Sheriff Deputy D. Boyd that they believed they were under a spell because Lor was able to know whatever they did and wherever they went. They were also certain that Lor’s spell caused Vang’s recent illness. After listening to the duo Boyd told them a report would be made documenting the incident—there wasn’t much else the officer could do.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/201/US+Woman+Claims+Ex-Husband+Put+Juju+on+Her.html#

Nigeria is likely to take South Africa’s position as the continent’s largest economy within two years, a Reuters poll found on Thursday. Nigeria’s gross domestic product will receive an enormous boost when it is rebased later this year to more accurately reflect changes in the economy over the last two decades. The GDP base in use is from 1990 and fails to capture the technology and telecoms sectors which have emerged since then. The much-delayed rebasing could add up to 50% to Nigeria’s economy, giving it a nominal GDP of around $375bn which is almost the size of South Africa’s.

Strong domestic demand and high levels of agriculture and services activity will see it clinch the title of Africa’s biggest economy within a couple years if current growth rates are maintained. High unemployment and a slowdown in the euro zone, South Africa’s main trading partner, make it vulnerable to losing its number one spot. It is set to grow at just 2.6% this year. It must be noted, however, that while being number one in the continent may boost Nigeria’s profile, South Africa still enjoys a better GDP-per-capita ratio compared to Nigeria, and therefore a slightly better standard of living.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/198/Economy%3A+Nigeria+Set+to+Overtake+South+Africa.html

The Police in Lagos have arrested three robbery suspects who specialised in snatching cars from female drivers and hiding them in a church, The Punch reports. Chinedu Ndubuisi, 23, Haruna Mohammed, 44 and Sylvanus Happyday, 35, were before their arrest, members of a five-man gang, who robbed in the Epe, Ajah, Lekki Peninsula and Victoria Island areas. Speaking to The Punch, gang leader Ndubuisi gave some insight into their activities. According to Ndubuisi, once they sighted a choice automobile being driven by a woman, he would instruct gang driver Haruna to quickly hit her from behind. A female driver would typically leave her car key at the ignition, come out of the car, check the extent of damage and walk towards the person that hit her.

The moment their victim steps out, John and Festus, gang members who are still at large, would quickly get into the car and drive off. The others would follow in their car. It is done so quickly that the victim is taken by surprise. The robbers then drive to a Catholic Church at Sangotedo where they park the stolen car without the knowledge of the parish priest till a buyer shows up. Lagos Police PRO, Ngozi Braide, advised female drivers to “make good use of their side mirrors to know whether the driver that hit them from behind is alone or with other men in his car”.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/193/Robbers+Hide+Stolen+Cars+in+Church.html

The South African police have opened a new murder investigation into the deaths of two ANC activities in which Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is implicated, Sky News reports. Lolo Sono, 21, and Sibuniso Tshabalala, 19 disappeared in November 1988 after they were last seen in Mrs Mandela’s home. In 1999, her chief bodyguard who was serving life for the murders, Jerry Richardson, told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that he and a colleague stabbed the young men to death on the orders of the former wife of Nelson Mandela. She denied the allegations. Forensic scientists have now unearthed two bodies that mortuary records indicate had multiple stab wounds and the Hawks, a special police investigative unit, have dusted up the files.

Piers Pigou, senior investigator for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission who cross-examined Madikizela-Mandela during its hearings, said he found it particularly distressing to know that when the men's bodies were taken to the mortuary the day after they disappeared, the police failed to link them to the two missing men who were being desperately sought by their families. In 1991, Mrs Mandela was sentenced to six years in prison for kidnapping and assault in the death of 14-year-old James Seipei "Stompie" Moeketsi, who was also last seen at her home in 1988. She appealed and had the sentence reduced to a suspended jail term.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/187/Winnie+Mandela+May+Face+Fresh+Murder+Probe.html

An analysis has shown that the rate of change of legislator pay is growing faster, relative to the growth rate of the capital expenditure, BusinessDay reports. The Nass had a budget of N104bn, N127bn, N232.7bn and N150bn for the years 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 respectively, according to data from budget proposals. This compares to N890bn, N1.3 trillion, N1.12 trillion, and N1.32 trillion as capital expenditure for the same years. The steepest rise in National Assembly pay occurred in 2011 when it rose by 82.2 percent, compared to a 53.9 percent rise in the capital expenditure which occurred in 2010.

The numbers above are made worse by a couple of facts. While the Nass budget has increased by 44.2 percent in 2012 from the 2009 levels, the legislator population has remained steady at 469 members. According to BusinessDay, this compares to the Nigerian population which has grown to 167mn people from about 151.8mn in 2009 having to make do with capital expenditure growing at a rate well below the ability to have any meaningful impact in their lives. Analysts say the return on investment by Nigeria for such huge spending on the Nass is quite poor, as crucial bills with a potential to improve the economy such as the PIB continue to languish in the Nass.

For more
http://www.234globe.com/story/179/Legislators%27+pay+rising+faster+than+Nigeria%27s+capital+expenditure.html

It is not a definitive cure but it may prevent and treat existing HIV infections. And it does offer hope for a cure since, in theory, if they were injected into the patient's bloodstream, they should be able to clear the blood of HIV. It’s nanoparticles containing the bee venom toxin melittin. They can destroy the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while at the same time leaving surrounding cells unharmed. Medical News Today reports that scientists from Washington University School of Medicine, who disclosed their finding in the March 2013 issue of Antiviral Therapy, believe it is a major step toward creating a vaginal gel that can prevent HIV spread.

Melittin is a powerful toxin found in bee venom. It can poke holes in the protective covering that surrounds the human immunodeficiency virus, as well as other viruses. Senior report author, Samuel A. Wickline, MD, the J. Russell Hornsby Professor of Biomedical Sciences, has demonstrated that nanoparticles loaded with melittin also have anti-cancer properties and have the capacity to kill tumor cells. The beauty is that normal cells are unharmed. They are also safe for sperm, for the same reason they are safe for vaginal cells. This offers tremendous hope for couples where one is HIV-positive who want to have kids. Click here to read the whole MNT article.

Fore More:
http://www.234globe.com/story/172/Bee+Venom+Destroys+HIV%2C+Spares+Surrounding+Cells.html#

texazzpete: As a Nigerian living in Nigeria, I make bold to say most Nigerians living in Nigeria ought to take common sense lessons as they are the architects of our collective failure. If we had common sense, there would be no reason why the same party that has ruined Nigeria since 1999 keeps getting voted in. There would be no reason why people would avoid taxes and fail to pay utility bills. There would be no reason why folks are less concerned about leaving a better Nigeria as a legacy for their Children and more concerned about how outsiders perceive them.

I laugh at the idea of 'citizenship lessons'. How many good citizens do we have in Nigeria? Even the members of the FG's FEC that travel overseas for medical treatment yet fail to improve our healthcare, what kind of citizens are these? Our fat, corrupt and corpulent Senators, are these the patriots you refer to? The oil bunkerers, the political assassins, the corrupt market women?

You are here complaining about patriotism meanwhile since 1999 your democratically elected Government has supervised a severe rot in our educational sector that will mean your Nation will remain a technologically inferior one for decades to come. Hilarious

Touche!

To avoid a sudden eruption as occurred in Egypt and Tunisia, African countries, especially Nigeria, must face head on now the monster of corruption in government. That came from the former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings yesterday during a keynote address at the second Zik Lecture Series of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Speaking on the theme, “Eradicating Corruption in Africa”, he stated that postponement of this battle would spell doom for Nigeria and Africa.

The Sun reports that Mr Rawlings described corruption as moral degradation and a greedy quest to outdo each other in terms of class, distinction and perceived respect in society and a willingness to tolerate the intolerable. He added that leadership by example meant that leaders, whether at national or local level, must not merely talk about truth, integrity and accountability but must demonstrate those qualities in their daily lives.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/162/Rawlings%3A+Nigeria+Must+Fight+Corruption+or+Risk+Arab+Spring.html

Kenya’s deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Coalition appears to have won the presidential election, provisional results indicate. BBC News reports that after all the votes were counted he had polled 50.03% of the vote, 4,109 votes over the 50% threshold required for outright victory in the first round. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission says official results will be declared later today after the audit. Mr Kenyatta won 6,173,433 votes out of a total of 12,338,667, well ahead of the prime minister Raila Odinga of Cord, who polled 5,340,546, or 43.28% of the vote.

Mr Odinga is likely to file a legal challenge. If Mr Kenyatta is confirmed by the electoral commission Kenya will have a president who shuttles to The Hague to answer war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court. Analysts believe this could lead to difficult relations with Western countries. Both the US and the UK have hinted that this will be the case. Mr Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto are accused of fuelling communal violence after the 2007 election that saw more than 1,000 people killed and 600,000 forced from their homes.

Fore More:
http://www.234globe.com/story/161/Kenya+Election%3A+Kenyatta+Wins.html

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Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer got a $1.12mn bonus in 2012 based on serving a half of a year, reports All Things Digital. It was part of a compensation package she got when she came to the Silicon Valley Internet giant. Mayer has an annual salary of $1mn, and is eligible for a $2mn annual bonus, based on meeting certain performance goals set by Yahoo’s board. In addition, she got numerous stock and options compensation, worth $56mn, including $14mn to make up for the loss of earnings when she left Google, where she was a top exec for many years.

There are also other possible bonuses, depending on results. The million-dollar payment would be okay with investors, since the shares of Yahoo have risen close to 50% since she arrived. That’s been based largely on hopes that Mayer can turn the company around, and on the actual stellar performance of its Alibaba Group stake in China.

For More:
http://www.234globe.com/story/152/Yahoo+CEO+Mayer+Gets+a+Million-Dollar+Bonus+After+Six+Months+on+the+Job.html

A woman arrested Monday on drug charges in Oklahoma, United States, was found to have a loaded handgun hidden in her vagina, according to police. The Smoking Gun reports that a female officer of the Ada Police Department who searched Christie Dawn Harris, 28, spotted the handle of the five-shot revolver "sticking out from" inside Harris. The Freedom Arms .22-caliber handgun was loaded with three live rounds and one spent shell. The police report reads: “gun located in suspect vagina”. Investigators also discovered plastic baggies containing methamphetamine lodged in the crack of Harris’ buttocks.

Harris was arrested at 3.45 am Monday outside a closed restaurant after a drug dog alerted to her while she sat with a friend inside a parked Toyota Yaris and officers who searched the car found meth, drug paraphernalia, a pistol, and a loaded magazine. While being transported to jail she asked several times to use the bathroom. At the changing room in jail, she declined to lower her underwear when officers attempted to check her for contraband, saying she was on her period and did not want to. She eventually complied and the gun was found.

For more:
http://www.234globe.com/story/150/Woman+Hides+Loaded+Revolver+in+Her+Vagina.html

Kalonzo Musyoka, the running mate of Raila Odinga, has called for a halt to vote tallying because it is '"doctored" and lacks integrity, CNN reports. He described the transmission system as a failure and said his party, the Cord Coalition, has evidence to back up its claims. He added that his coalition is looking at other options, including a court injunction. Mr Musyoka emphasised that he was not making a call for protests and urged Cord supporters to maintain the peace.

On Wednesday, election officials had disclosed that the new electronic voting system had developed faults, slowing down the process and forcing transmission to be done manually. Uhuru Kenyatta is ahead of Raila Odinga in the vote count three days after the election Monday. Kenya is an important country in the region and its elections are keenly watched by its neighbours and the international community. It is the largest economy in East Africa, is a crucial trade route into the rest of the continent and plays important roles in troubled countries like Somali, Sudan and South Sudan.

Election officials in Kenya have urged patience as problems with the electronic systems slow down the count, reports BBC News. Returning officers are being ordered to physically deliver paper copies of their constituency's tallies to the counting centre in the capital, Nairobi. Uhuru Kenyatta has been leading in early presidential results. By Tuesday evening, with results from more than 40% of polling stations, Raila Odinga had 42% of the vote compared with Mr Kenyatta's 53%. But results are yet to come in from Mr Odinga's strongholds, including the Coast Province.

Of major concern has been the matter of spoiled ballots, 330,000 having been recorded so far. To put that figure in perspective, it’s well over double the number of votes cast for the third-placed candidate Musailia Mudavadi who has just over 148,000 votes. Some observers put the large number of spoilt ballots down to voter confusion, with voters having six ballot papers of different colours to complete, while some others believe the tightening of rules on what constitutes a spoiled ballot is a significant factor. Election commission chairman has announced that the spoiled ballots would count in the overall vote total, decreasing the chances of any candidate securing over 50% of the vote in the first round and making a run-off likely.

A South African politician and former minister of intelligence services, Ronnie Kasrils, has asserted that the African National Congress is similar to the apartheid regime. Apartheid laws should have been terminated. Kasrils, himself a senior member of the ANC, also highlighted police brutality, the only difference being that during apartheid such brutality was legal. The statements came about a week after footage of a man tied to a police van was broadcast in television stations in South Africa and across the world. The man later died in custody.

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