Lucyharri:

Pls wen wil JAMB examination 2011 take place?

June 11th.

Ostensibly to ensure that all eligible voters register in the ongoing registration exercise, the Abia State government has declared today as work-free day for all its civil servants. In the same vein, all markets in the state would also not open for business next Tuesday to allow traders to register.


The state commissioner of information and strategy, A.C.B. Agbazuere, who disclosed this during the post executive council meeting press briefing at the Government House in Umuahia, also said any public servant that did not register for a voters card would not be paid their January 2011 salary.

"The public holiday was part of government's mobilisation strategy to ensure that everybody was given the opportunity to register without having an excuse," Mr. Agbazuere said.

He said that the task of enlightening the public on the importance of the voter registration should not be the exclusive duty of the government and its agencies, but all stakeholders, to enable people vote for the leaders of their choice in the April elections and subsequent ones.

Visits to the various registration centres showed a remarkable enthusiasm by potential voters to register, as long queues were noticed in all the polling booths visited and people waited patiently to be registered.

The initial hiccups in the exercise appear to have gradually eased out, giving way to faster registration, as it took an average of seven minutes to complete the registration of one person in most of the centres monitored yesterday.

At Umuafor village hall, in Obingwa local government area, where about 14 persons were registered on Tuesday and 15 the next day because of the problems of the Direct Data Capture machines, about 40 had registered at 12 noon yesterday when NEXT visited the unit.

Improved registration.

It was the same report of improved performance at Umuokahia, Anwa/Amaolewe, and Umunwokoma units where those who had written down their names and left to come back much later on came to see that those who waited had long been registered.

The Registration Officers in the units said the improvements were as a result of the upgrading of the softwares they were using, and expressed optimism that at that rate they might meet the deadline given by INEC for the exercises.

On the fate of those who were registered without their fingerprints captured, they said that INEC was aware of it and that their registration was valid, and advised those involved not to panic or go for another registration as it would amount to double registration which would be rejected by the computer.

The commissioner revealed that the government has approved the return of 22 secondary schools taken over by the military government in the early 1970s to their rightful owners. The return of the schools, which did not include primary schools, would be in phases and he urged those whose own were not included in the current batch to exercise patience,

"The decision was the outcome of a committee set up by the government to look into the matter, which has been a contending issue as Christian groups have been demanding for the release of their schools," he said.

Mr. Agbazuere said the owners of the released schools would be expected to meet some conditions before the schools are finally handed to them, adding that those who cannot meet the conditions might forfeit the release.

Hulk Hogan wed girlfriend Jennifer McDaniel in Clearwater Beach, Fla., but not without a rumble, People reports.

The wedding was interrupted by a fight that prompted a visit from the police. "Yes, police came to the scene but we have no details to report yet," a Clearwater police spokesman told the magazine. "We have no further comment at this time."

Hulk Hogan to host kids game show

A fight broke out at the wedding, held Tuesday at Hogan's house, when a photographer tried to snap pictures of the couple during the ceremony, according to TMZ.

A family employee asked the photographer to leave, at which point the photographer allegedly pressed his forearm to the employee's throat and a fight started. The person was not specifically identified as a paparazzo.

Get the rest of today's news

No arrests were made because no one wanted to press charges, and the ceremony continued, TMZ said.

Hogan, 57, and McDaniel, 35, have been dating since 2008. The longtime professional wrestler and reality star split from his wife of 23 years, Linda, in 2007. They have two children together: Brooke, 22 and Nick, 20.

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/hulk-hogan-remarries-but-not-without-a-fight/52464

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been accused of siphoning off up to $9bn (£5.6bn; 7bn euros) of his country's funds by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Luis Moreno Ocampo told the BBC that President Bashir had hidden the money in personal accounts outside Sudan.

Mr Ocampo's suspicions originally came to light when a diplomatic cable obtained by Wikileaks was published by the Guardian newspaper.

Sudan has forcefully denied the claims.

The ICC's chief prosecutor has charged Mr Bashir with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide over alleged atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region.
'Not in London'

Mr Ocampo told the BBC he had looked into Mr Bashir's financial affairs as part of the overall case against him.

He said the court had "strong reason to believe that Bashir has a lot of money" held in personal accounts outside Sudan - but that he could not be sure of the precise amount, with estimates ranging from hundreds of millions of dollars up to $9bn.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

    Ocampo suggested if Bashir's stash of money were disclosed (he put the figure at possibly $9 billion), it would change Sudanese public opinion from him being a 'crusader' to that of a thief ”

End Quote Senior US diplomat, author of cable revealed by Wikileaks

In the leaked diplomatic cable, US diplomats report Mr Ocampo as saying that "Lloyd's Bank in London might be holding or knowledgeable of the whereabouts of his money".

But Lloyd's has denied holding any funds in Mr Bashir's name, and in his BBC interview, Mr Ocampo agreed that the money was not held in a London account. "This is a confusion," he said, and he said he did not know where the money was.

"The money is not in UK and it's sad because in UK it would be easy to get the money. In UK, some banks [have] official accounts of the Sudanese government - that's different. The personal accounts of President Bashir are not there."

Asked why he did not reveal his suspicions about siphoned funds at the time the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir in March 2009, Mr Ocampo said he was not bringing financial charges against Mr Bashir but that any funds uncovered could be used to compensate his victims.

Correspondents say that if Mr Bashir does indeed hold a fortune of $9bn in secret bank accounts, that would amount to one tenth of the country's annual GDP.

"Ocampo suggested if Bashir's stash of money were disclosed,  it would change Sudanese public opinion from him being a 'crusader' to that of a thief," one senior US official was quoted as saying in the leaked cable.
'No credibility'

Speaking to the BBC, a spokesperson for the Sudanese government, Dr Khalid al-Mubarak, dismissed the claims made by Mr Ocampo.

"I know that we have a government, we have a treasury, we have a system, we have a civil service," Dr Mubarak said.

"And that we are not the sort of country in which the president puts all the money under his pillow and decides to deal with it the way he does,  We are a country with rules and regulations, and a civil service."

He said Mr Ocampo had "lost all credibility as far as Sudan is concerned. He has been proven wrong more than once about Sudan and he has exaggerated many things about Sudan and he has got some sort of almost vendetta based as I said more than once on anti-Arab prejudice and Islamophobia.

"And this is the reason why Sudan as a whole is being targeted," Mr Mubarak said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12025213

Some students joke that their teachers have eyes in the backs of their heads.

A New York University professor is now closer to that reality, having had a camera surgically implanted into the back of his cranium.

Wafaa Bilal, an Iraqi born photography professor at the university's Tisch School of the Arts, had the procedure done at a piercing studio last
month for an art project commissioned by a museum in Doha, Qatar, he
said.

"This will expose the unspoken conditions we face," Bilal said Thursday. "A project like this is meant to establish a dialogue about surveillance."

The project is called "The 3rd I," and will make use of the posterior camera by taking a snap-shot photographs each minute of Bilal's everyday activities for one year, he said.

The images will then be transmitted to Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, he said, featuring an exhibit entitled "Told/Untold/Retold" in time for
the museum's December 30 opening, according to a museum statement.

The thumb-sized camera is mounted on a titanium plate inserted inside the back of his head, Bilal said.

A cable runs from the camera to a computer that he carries in a custom-made shoulder bag, providing a real-time global positioning
signal of his location -- viewable on a website: www.3rdi.me.

"I wanted to lose that subjectivity [of knowingly taking photographs]," Bilal said. "At the same time I wanted to capture everyday mundane
images."

But the project has also raised privacy questions about the constant presence of cameras in a classroom.

University authorities have tried to allay those concerns by requiring a cover over the lens while Bilal is teaching on campus.

"We place a high value on his right to free expression in his creative work as an artist," said university spokesman John Beckman. "But as a school
of the arts, we also take seriously the privacy issues his project
raises."

"The 3rd I" is not Bilal's first venture into the controversial and unusual.

A 2007 project called "Domestic Tension" allowed virtual users to fire paintballs at him for an exhibit that prompted The Chicago Tribune to
name Bilal artist of the year, calling it "one of the sharpest works of
political art to be seen in a long time."

Bilal has said that he wants his artwork to examine broader ideas and realities.

"I see myself as a mirror reflecting some of the social conditions that we ignore," he said.

Oct. 19 (GIN) – Zimbabwe teen and songbird Gamu Nhengu, who gave a standout performance for the British “ X Factor” reality show, is bearing up under trying times. After getting cut by one vote by the Factor’s panel of four white judges, she is now threatened with deportation by order of the UK Border Agency.

After her recent showstopping performance on X Factor, judge Cheryl Cole gushed: “I thought you were adorable, I got you. I love your style of song and how you perform.

But I'm sorry Gamu," the judge told the 18-year Zimbabwean student who lives in Scotland before delivering the bad news.


“I don't think I can take you further forward. You just need to keep going and get some more experience.”

The surprising turn of events prompted an outpouring of outrage from British TV viewers on Twitter and Facebook.  An online petition quickly filled with a thousand signatures and fans say they will write to MPs and immigration officials to block the deportation.

The pop singing Gamuchirai Nhengu had been living in the UK while her mother, Nokuthula Ngazana, completed her college studies. But Ngazana's visa expired and the application to remain was rejected as they did not meet refugee status criteria. The family now must leave the UK voluntarily or be forced to leave.

A live recording of soloist Nhengu at the Praise Gathering Choir in Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall can be seen at:

Officials are understood to be speaking to Gamu and her family, who arrived in Scotland from Zimbabwe five years ago, about leaving the UK. They do not have a right to appeal and the singer cannot apply separately to remain here.

http://www.saharareporters.com/art-life/talented-teen-cut-x-factor-debut-hit-deportation-order

Satire

JOKYTECH:

@July123, to be frank with urself, was this Azuka girl really constructive in her criticism? what is her business with d banj's glo reduction in endorsement and his song. Abeg she should look for better criticism instead of this

The lady was just doing her job.if D'banj feels insulted he should do the right thing than harrassing her.

This one big problem with Nigerians, they don't want to be criticise even if it is constructive. Sending thugs because a journalist is doing her work. Most everybody like your music? A whole lot of negative stuff have been written about 2face but he always come out with an answer which is Good music. D'banj do good music.

The Elegant THISDAY entertainment and Style Columnist Azuka Francisca Ogujiuba have made claims that the Afro Pop star D`banj sent thugs to intimidate and bully her in Nairobi, Kenya.

She says D`banj was obviously pissed becos of her negative review of his song `Mr Endowed` and her revealing story on his reduction of fees for his Glo endorsement deal from 60 million Naira to 12.5 million.
All these was revealed on her Saturday column Fairground. She reportedly gave him a tongue lashing wen he and his `thugs` tried to intimidate her.

She posted this on her facebook page,
```In far away NAIROBI, D`BANJ has sent his thugs 2 intimidate and bully me over a story l did lastweek on my FAIRGROUND column asking "If he is really Mr endowned or lacking songs" and how GLO slashed his fee as dia AMBASSADOR frm 60 million to 12.5million becos of his unprofessional conduct.

```No b small thing, if d organizers of d event was not there, only God know wat wud ve happened,
they were all carrying glasses of Hennesy including d KOKO GANSTER himself, and D`banj was acting like
a Don as his thugs bully me,

```l told him to bleep off becos he cant make me like d useless song and dat if wat l wrote was fabricated,
he shud sue and not send thugs afta me,  we dey watch!!!!

D`banj is said to be on a sponsored tour of the Eastern African City and Azuka is on the team of Journalist covering the Gig

http://www.nigeriafilms.com/news/9304/19/dbanj-sent-thugs-to-harass-me-azuka.html

he Elegant THISDAY entertainment and Style Columnist Azuka Francisca Ogujiuba have made claims that the Afro Pop star D`banj sent thugs to intimidate and bully her in Nairobi, Kenya.

She says D`banj was obviously pissed becos of her negative review of his song `Mr Endowed` and her revealing story on his reduction of fees for his Glo endorsement deal from 60 million Naira to 12.5 million.
All these was revealed on her Saturday column Fairground. She reportedly gave him a tongue lashing wen he and his `thugs` tried to intimidate her.

She posted this on her facebook page,
```In far away NAIROBI, D`BANJ has sent his thugs 2 intimidate and bully me over a story l did lastweek on my FAIRGROUND column asking "If he is really Mr endowned or lacking songs" and how GLO slashed his fee as dia AMBASSADOR frm 60 million to 12.5million becos of his unprofessional conduct.

```No b small thing, if d organizers of d event was not there, only God know wat wud ve happened,
they were all carrying glasses of Hennesy including d KOKO GANSTER himself, and D`banj was acting like
a Don as his thugs bully me,

```l told him to Bleep off becos he cant make me like d useless song and dat if wat l wrote was fabricated,
he shud sue and not send thugs afta me,  we dey watch!!!!

D`banj is said to be on a sponsored tour of the Eastern African City and Azuka is on the team of Journalist covering the Gig

http://www.nigeriafilms.com/news/9304/19/dbanj-sent-thugs-to-harass-me-azuka.html

It has been an endless weeping and gnashing of teeth for Damola Osayemi, the Nigerian  athlete, who failed a dope test and had the women’s 100m gold medal she won at the Delhi  2010 Commonwealth Games withdrawn by the Local Organising Committee, LOC.

“Osayemi has been down in tears. She’s shattered and not moving freely in camp since the  result of a dope test in India,” said Tony Ubani, the new Public Relations Officer of the  Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, while recounting the athlete’s ordeal at the Games.

Although, Osayemi, the women’s 100 gold medalist in New Delhi, asked for her “B’’ sample  to be tested after Monday’s announcement that her initial sample was positive for a  stimulant, but the LOC stripped her of the medal.

Reports from Team Nigeria’s camp in Delhi early today revealed that Osayemi was  struggling to register her innocence of any drug use.

Ubani disclosed that the embattled athlete was seen in a very terrible mood when the  other athletes were flaunting their medals, while her ‘precious’ gold medal was  retrieved.

The World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, recently loosened the classification of  Methylexanemine, the stimulant found in Osayemi’s system for next year to the “specified  stimulant” list, which covers drugs that are more susceptible to inadvertent use and can  carry reduced penalties.

Sanctions for use of the drug can be reduced if athletes can prove they did not intend to  enhance performance but penalties can range from a warning to a two-year ban.

WADA said Methylexanemine was sold as a medicine until the early 1970s and has now  reappeared in some nutritional supplements and cooking oils.

The fate of Samuel Okon, the second Nigerian hurdler at the Commonwealth Games, who also  failed a dope test for the same banned substance is still being sorted out.

As the cases of the Nigerians  made the headlines, an Indian athlete also joined the drug  cheats’ list. The athlete, Yadav tested positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone.

The Commonwealth Games Federation said Yadav, who was sixth in the women’s 20-kilometer  walk on Saturday, has been provisionally suspended from the event.

Yadav could be banned for two years if found guilty.

Commonwealth Games Federation President Mike Fennell said more than 1,300 doping samples  had been collected so far at the games.

“Everyone would concede that to have three doping cases of those 1,300 tests is not a bad  record,” Fennell said. “And two of those have been concluded for substances that are  considered by many to be not in the serious area of doping activity, which is stimulants.  This new case has not been heard and I would not want to make any comments on that.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency recently loosened the classification of Methylhexaneamine  for next year to the “specified stimulant” list, which covers drugs that are more  susceptible to inadvertent use and can carry reduced penalties. Sanctions for use of the  drug can be reduced if athletes can prove they did not intend to enhance performance.  Penalties can range from a warning to a two-year ban.

WADA said Methylhexaneamine was sold as a medicine until the early 1970s and has now  reappeared in some nutritional supplements and cooking oils

Meanwhile, NAN reported today  that three Nigerians yesterday made a historic medal haul,  clinching the gold, silver and bronze medals in the female event of Para-sport  Powerlifting.

Esther Onyema, Ganiyatu Onaolapo and Osamwenyobor Arasomwan respectively secured  victories in the event’s Open Press women’s final.

Onyema claimed gold with a total of 148.1 kg; Onaolapo won silver with 139.3kg while  Arasomwan snatched bronze with 124.6kg.

The medals have now increased the country’s medals to 11 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze,  bringing the total to 34.

It is Nigeria’s first medal sweep across any Commonwealth Games, and took her overall  weightlifting medal tally in Delhi to 11.

It will be recalled that 17-year-old Nigerian Augustina Nwaokolo won the first gold of  the 19th Commonwealth Games in weightlifting.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2010/10/13/osayemi-in-tears-loc-withdraws-her-gold-medal-indian-also-fails-dope-test/

A young woman, Omolayo Rasheed, 18 years who allegedly killed her husband, Afeez Rasheed,  over the N70 (less than half a dollar) daily food allowance, has been arraigned before  the Iyaganku Magistrate’s Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, charged with murder.

In charge sheet number MI/1343C/2010, the police alleged that Omolayo stabbed her husband  to death with a sharp knife.

The charge against her reads: “That you, Omolayo Rasheed (F) on 7 October, 2010 at about  2:05pm at Oloola Compound, Oja-Igbo area, Ibadan, in the Ibadan Magisterial District  stabbed Afeez Rasheed (M), 22, to death with a sharp knife and thereby committed an  offence contrary to and punishable under Section 306, Cap. 30, Vol. 11, Laws of Oyo  State, 2000.”

The prosecutor, Inspector Oluyemi Eyiaromi, informed the court that the accused was  arrested after the incident

The presiding magistrate, Mrs. K. Y. Durosaro ordered that the accused be remanded at the  Agodi Prison, pending the determination of her bail on the next adjourned date, 25  October, 2010.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2010/10/12/n70-palavar-housewife-docked-for-killing-husband/

British high street banks have accepted millions of pounds in deposits from corrupt Nigerian politicians, raising serious questions about their commitment to tackling financial crime, warned Global Witness in a report published today. By taking money from corrupt Nigerian governors between 1999 and 2005, Barclays, NatWest, RBS, HSBC and UBS helped to fuel corruption and entrench poverty in Nigeria.

What is so extraordinary about this story is that nearly all of these of these banks had previously fallen foul of the UK banking regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), in 2001 by reportedly helping the former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha funnel nearly a billion pounds through the UK. These banks were supposed to have tightened up their systems but as this report now shows, a few years later, they were accepting corrupt Nigerian money again. There is no sign that the FSA has taken any action this time.

Global Witness’s new report, International Thief Thief, is based on analysis of court documents from litigation in London by the Nigerian government to get funds returned from the UK that were stolen by two former state governors. British banks made it possible for Dieypreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State and Joshua Dariye of Plateau State to bring their corrupt loot into the UK.

“Banks are quick to penalise ordinary customers for minor infractions but seem to be less concerned about dirty money passing through their accounts,” said Robert Palmer, campaigner at Global Witness. “Large scale corruption is simply not possible without a bank willing to process payments from dodgy sources, or hold accounts for corrupt politicians,” he added.

One of the banks profiled in the report is the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), now majority owned by the taxpayer. RBS allowed former governor Alamieyeseigha to receive bribes and bring £2.7 million into the UK. An English High Court judge found that at least £1.56 million of these funds were bribes paid by a state contractor called Ehigie Edobor Uzamere, currently a Nigerian senator, in order to win a contract to build a fence around the governor’s official lodge. Global Witness has asked RBS whether it carried out adequate checks on its customer and his funds, but has not had a reply.
Former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye jumped bail in London
“It adds insult to injury that not only are ordinary taxpayers propping up failing banks, but that one of these banks has facilitated corruption in Nigeria, a country where more than half the population are still without access to clean water. This undermines British development aid, which fills the gaps created by poor governance and failing state services,” said Palmer.

Global Witness is concerned that banks and the FSA have yet to take this problem seriously enough. Anti-money laundering regulations require banks to identify their customers and the source of funds, but they are not being adequately enforced. Banks need to get much better at checking where the money is coming from and whether it was obtained through corrupt practices. The banks in this report may not have broken the law, but corrupt money still entered the UK and so our financial system is still complicit in corruption.

This is an ongoing problem, as shown by the action taken against HSBC by the US regulators last week. They required HSBC’s American arm to overhaul its due diligence systems following violations of US anti-money laundering laws and inadequate monitoring of transactions and customers, including ‘politically exposed persons’ – ie the foreign senior officials who could be involved in corruption.

The British coalition government plans to abolish the FSA. Whatever body replaces it must take corruption seriously. The government and the new regulator must send a clear signal to the financial sector that corrupt money is not welcome. And the banks themselves must demonstrate much more clearly the steps they are taking to stop dirty money entering the financial system.

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/british-banks-complicit-nigerian-corruption-court-documents-reveal-globalwitness-report

The Federal Government may spend about N14 billion on Muslims who will attend this year’s  pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, sources at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON),  have said.

It was gathered that although 95, 000 Muslims in the country will take part in this  year’s Hajj as the pilgrimage is known, the Federal Government will sponsor 26, 235  pilgrims.

Sources said that it will cost between N460, 000 and N540, 000 to sponsor each pilgrim  for this year’s Hajj. The total amount to spend on 26, 235 pilgrims will be between N12  billion and N14 billion.

“The number of pilgrims for this year’s Hajj is 95,000 and the government will sponsor  26,235. The allocation of Hajj seat for the states and officials under Saudi Arabia Royal  Embassy in Abuja for us this year is 95,000 and this includes the Medical team, the  Security and the Welfare team. As I am talking to you now, the Saudi Arabia Embassy has  issued about 15, 077 visas to some pilgrims and the issuance still continues,’’ the  source said.

P.M.NEWS gathered that out of the total number allotted to the country, there are 10,000  special slots being given out to some wealthy citizens.

It was learnt that Niger State has the largest contingent of pilgrims for this year’s  Hajj with 4,322 pilgrims. Lagos State follows with 3,896 pilgrims and Federal Capital  Territory (FCT) has 3,115.

The states with the smallest pilgrims are Ebonyi State, with just 8 pilgrims. Abia,  Adamawa and Akwa-Ibom States have 50 pilgrims each.

P.M.NEWS learnt that the first flight to Saudi Arabia from Nigeria will take off on  Friday, 15 October 2010.

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2010/10/08/fg-to-spend-n14b-on-pilgrims/

CNN fired news anchor Rick Sanchez on Friday, a day after he called Jon Stewart a bigot in a radio show interview where he also questioned whether Jews should be considered a minority.

Sanchez, who was born in Cuba and had worked at CNN since 2004, was host of the two-hour "Rick's List" on CNN's afternoon lineup. He did a prime-time version of that show in recent months, but that ended this week because the time slot is being filled by a new show featuring former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and columnist Kathleen Parker.

Stewart had frequently poked fun of Sanchez on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," most recently for saying on the air that his show had received a tweet from House Republican leader John Boehner. Stewart called it a case of "send a twit a tweet."

"He's upset that someone of my ilk is almost at his level," Sanchez said during a satellite radio interview with Pete Dominick. Details of the interview were posted on the Mediaite website Friday and quickly became a topic of conversation in the media world.

Sanchez said that Stewart is bigoted toward "everybody else that's not like him." He said Stewart "can't relate to what I grew up with," saying his family had been poor and he had seen prejudice directed at his father.

Sanchez dismisses it when Dominick points out that Stewart, who is Jewish, is also a minority.

"I'm telling you that everyone who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart, and to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority?" Sanchez said, adding a sarcastic "yeah."

"I can't see someone not getting a job these days because they're Jewish," he said.

CNN issued a statement late Friday that said Sanchez "is no longer with the company." In it, the network also thanked Sanchez "for his years of service" and wished him well.

Sanchez did not immediately return an e-mail or call to his mobile phone seeking comment, though it was unclear whether the CNN-issued phone or e-mail address were still active.

Stewart had no comment on Sanchez's statements, a Comedy Central spokesman said.

Three times in the past few months Stewart had used a Sanchez clip for the mocking "moment of Zen" feature on "The Daily Show," including once where Sanchez mispronounced the world "annals" in a story about Vice President Joe Biden.

He also made fun of Sanchez questioning a reporter who was stationed in a California gay bar for a report on the court case there involving gay marriage and hadn't found anyone at the bar who opposed the idea.

Sanchez spent much of his career as a reporter and anchor in Miami, where he won an Emmy Award in 1983 for a story on why he left Cuba. He has also worked at MSNBC and CNBC.

During the interview with Dominick, Sanchez told about a CNN executive whom he would not name telling him that he saw Sanchez not as an anchor but a reporter like ABC's John Quinones. He implied that this was a subtle form of bias.

Later in the interview Sanchez, indicated that "bigot" may be too strong a word to describe Stewart, saying he was "prejudicial" instead.

"He's not just a comedian. ,  He can make and break careers," Sanchez said.

http://www.pointblanknews.com/News/os3983.html

tjskii:

hmm interesting,also heard somewhere that self-servicing also increases the risk for brain damage,guys beware

Joke of the day

As residents of Abia State and all Nigerians bask in the euphoria of the release of 15 pupils of a private school in Aba, six students have again been kidnapped in Abia State. The victims are students of Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
It was gathered that the abducted students were going back to school when gunmen ambushed their bus at Ohanze, in Obingwa Local Government Area and took them hostage.

According to the driver of the students’ bus, whose identity could not be ascertained immediately, “when it appeared to the hoodlums that I hesitated to stop, they shot at me and one of the bullets hit my hand and I had to stop. They ordered me out of my vehicle at gunpoint and took the students along with it.”
The driver said the police at Umuobiakwa, in Eastern Ngwa, were alerted when the incident occured, but the matter was not followed up immediately. He said if the police had acted immediately, the abductors would have been tracked down.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers have asked for N2 million ransom. They also threatened to kill the students if their demand was not met and in reasonable time. 
Parents of the affected students have appealed to the kidnappers to release their wards so that they would go back to school and resume academic work. They said they had no money to meet the ransom demand.
When contacted, the PPRO, Abia State Police Command, Mr. Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident. He said that efforts were on to effect the release of the students.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/special-%20reports/2010/oct/02/special-report-02-10-2010-003.htm

The Cameroonian government has blacklisted Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua of the  Synagogue Church of All Nations, saying that he is an agent of Satan hoodwinking  unsuspecting members of the public with “diabolical miracles.
Cameroon Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Henri Eyebe Ayissi, in an official communiqué he  issued this week titled “The Devil Is In the House”, described T.B. Joshua as a “son of  the devil” pretending to be “a man of God”.

The Minister warned hundreds of Cameroonians trooping to Lagos, South West Nigeria, for  miracles in Joshua’s church, to desist from taking the trip or face the consequences as  the country will not stand by them.

The communiqué written in French reads in part “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns  those who by naivety or deception of Emmanuel TV’s captivating images, or even those who  by hopelessness, envisage taking the pilgrimage to Pastor T.B. Joshua’s Synagogue Church  Of All Nations in Lagos, that they will do so at their own risk.

“The Cameroonian Government warns these pilgrims that they will face the consequences  alone. This is motivated by the painful and shameful fact that Cameroonian men and women,  in search of deliverance and blessings, once in that church, find themselves in bestial  and pitiable conditions.

“Women are raped; pilgrims dispossessed of their belongings by armed robbers and left to  sleep in the streets at the mercy of gangs. Many cases of assassinations have even been  recorded. And this is without other cases that are not recorded at the Cameroonian  Embassy in Lagos with the victims too ashamed to narrate their infernal odysseys once  they are out of Hell,” the Minister said.

The Minister said that while the bible asks us to be discreet with gifts and donations to  the poor, T.B. Joshua is seen daily dolling out bags of rice to indigent people.

Cameroonian newspapers which published the communiqué this week tell tales of hundreds of  Cameroonians who sold their properties or borrowed money in the hope of getting miracles  in T.B. Joshua’s Church, only to be disappointed in Lagos.

The newspapers report that Joshua’s TV station has gained popularity in Cameroon and many  people are tempted to take the trip and receive healings and sudden blessings.

It says that Joshua is now in many households in Cameroon and many people believe the  flashy images they watch on television.

One newspaper writes in French “witnesses who come back from that pandemonium reveal that  to secure an appointment with this Jesus-Christ-reincarnate, they had to spend 150, 000  FCFA (about N50, 000) and the amount keeps going up, depending on the treatment and the  case.

“This has led to confusion and disillusionment from Cameroonians, who on their way to  Damascus, now find themselves refugees at the Cameroonian Embassy in Lagos.”

The newspaper report says further: “There are many here in Cameroon, convinced of the  power and the blessings of this “man of God”. However, they forget that Jesus Christ is  in our hearts through faith and with our practice of the Ten Commandments and our  relationship with one another. Before the publication of the communiqué by the Ministry  of Foreign Affairs, the bible said over 2000 years ago, ‘And Jesus answered and said unto  them, Take heed that no man deceives you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am  Christ; and shall deceive many’.”

When contacted this morning, T.B. Joshua denied that he has been blacklisted in Cameroon.

He said that Cameroonians who come to his church only heard about him in Cameroon and  started trooping to the church in Ikotun, with most of them without accommodation.

He said that had he been aware of their presence around his church, he would have  provided accommodation for them. He invited P.M.NEWS to visit his church for detailed  information over the matter.

Twelve suspects of Nigerian origin, who robbed some bureau de change operators at Krake village, Seme Podge, in Republic of Benin, might get the death penalty.

The Controller General of police in Benin, Celestine Guidimey, who revealed this to PUNCH METRO said that some Beninese were killed during the robbery operation. “In my country, if anybody kills during or after a robbery operation, what he would get from the court.is the death penalty.”

Guidimey was in Lagos State to receive the robbers from the Lagos State police command. Policemen in the state apprehended the robbers in Nigeria after the operation in Benin Republic.

He told PUNCH METRO that the Beninese police would conduct further investigation to get those who collaborated with the suspects in Benin and then charged them to court.

“Our investigations will not take more than a month. We know that there are some of our citizens that aided the successful robbery operation. We hope to get them and charge them alongside their Nigerian collaborators. Anybody we find not guilty among the suspect here will be allowed to go. After that, they will be punished according to their role in the crime. But we are confident that those who robbed and killed our people will get the death penalty,” he said.

The police commissioner in Lagos State, Marvel Akpoyibo, said that the arrest and handing over of the suspected robbers showed that the police are the same everywhere. He added, “Lagos State policemen are not bothered that they are serving their punishment in Benin because that is where the crime took place,” he said.

The gang that told PUNCH METRO last week that they found the trade too lucrative to abandon it, landed in police net shortly after the raid on the bureau de change in Benin Republic.

They were arrested by the police in Lagos State after they had safely slipped into Nigeria following a robbery operation in Benin Republic.

Akpoyibo had said he had ordered all the routes leading from Benin Republic to Lagos be sealed up upon hearing of the robbery. He said, “I also deployed a combined team of operatives from Police Mobile Force, Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Marine police to provide reinforcement and back up for the policemen in Seme and Badagry divisions.

“They abandoned their jeep with registration number Lagos VC 01 MUS and escaped into the forest. We immediately cordoned off the forest for three days between August 31 and September 1. At the end, we got these 8 suspects.

“In addition, four AK 47 rifles, 99 live ammunition, N504, 430, and 1, 673, 000 CFA suspected to have been stolen from victims during the robbery operation were recovered.

Last weekend’s home slump in the hands of John Mikel Obi’s Chelsea, may spell disaster for Victor Obinna Nsofor at West Ham United, as one of the club’s co-owners is thinking about cutting salaries of his players. Nsofor is still fresh at Upton Park and was rated man-of-the-match in their fourth slump of the campaign on Saturday, but he stands to face the cruel hands of fate, as The Hammers’ co-owner, David Sullivan admits they face a massive battle to get highly paid fringe players off their books.

Alarming news from Nsofor’s club reveals that debts are still estimated by the owners at £100million and the Sullivan-Gold regime is grappling with the balance sheet they inherited.

“The club is trading at a £30million loss, which myself and David Gold have both funded, but both the trading loss and debts will be reduced gradually with the support of ourselves, hopefully new investors, and the banks.
“It has meant, however, that there are restrictions on what we can pay for players and what wages we can pay,” Sullivan claimed.

He went on to admit that the arrival of Nsofor and seven other new players in the summer has added more weight for the club to carry, and hints that cost-cutting schemes must now be put in place at the London-based club.
“We have added eight players to the wage bill, only two came off, so a net increase of six players, and some of the new players are highly paid. As we work down existing contracts, so we will become more ambitious in our spending.
“Our problem is our wages budget has contractually been spent on players we inherited. Some players’ wages are so high it’s impossible to give them away, let alone get a fee for them,” Sullivan concluded.

However, despite the scary situation at Upton Park, Nsofor’s coach, Avram Grant is trying to cool tempers, as reports say the Israeli gaffer is struggling to arrest a negative thought process among his players. Following the 1-0 Carling Cup victory over Oxford United nearly three weeks ago he revealed he had spoken to the squad about ending talk of last season’s relegation struggle and to be more positive and look forward.

This inability to take on board instructions also manifested itself against Manchester United a fortnight ago during the 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford. Having instructed his defence to be careful not to foul Ryan Giggs, Grant watched as Jonathan Spector subsequently tripped the Welshman and gave away a penalty while West Ham were still level.

After losing 3-1 at home to Chelsea, Grant is desperate to take something from the next game, which is against Stoke City, before West Ham have to play Tottenham.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sportsonthehour/2010/sept/15/sportsbreak-15-09-2010-001.htm

The United Kingdom today announced plans to increase immigration and visa fees for all those applying to visit, study, work or stay in the UK from autumn 2010 with effect from October 01, 2010.

A statement posted by the UK Border Agency said the increment will help meet ‘budgetary pressures.’

The statement posted on its website said; "In line with broader announcements about reductions to public spending, the agency has considered how best to meet budgetary pressures, and the proposals for in-year fees increase will help to offset some of these pressures (alongside efficiency savings).

"Regulations to set application fees at or below the cost of processing are subject to the negative parliamentary procedure, and these fees will increase from 1 October 2010. Where a fee is charged that is set above the cost of processing, the regulations are subject to the affirmative parliamentary process; these fees are due to come into effect in November, subject to parliamentary timetabling.

"The date when the increased fees will come into effect will be published on this website nearer the time.

"The UK Border Agency believes that the proposals to increase fees continue to strike the right balance between maintaining secure and effective border controls and ensuring that our fees structure does not inhibit the UK's ability to attract migrants and visitors who make a valued contribution. This will help to support the immigration system, maintain public confidence and ensure that migration is managed for the benefit of the UK.

"Details of the proposed fees are set out in a written ministerial statement by Immigration Minister Damian Green. You can find the statement, and assessments of the new fees' likely impact, in our Fees for
UK_VISA.txt

Prince Abubabar Audu is a two-time governor of Kogi State and an All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) stalwart who has been accused of physically and verbally assaulting his wife, a former First Lady.

THEWILL can also report that Prince Audu has abandoned this mother of three kids which includes a barely one month old baby in the United States of America without providing for them financially and otherwise.

Many would remember Prince Abubakar Audu who allegedly looted his state's treasury bare and only left the sum of N500, 000 for his successor as stated in a Nigerian newspaper, Sunday Sun, August 29, 2004. He was detained for misrule and theft of state funds and released on bail by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission when he left office.

Audu’s wife, the former First Lady of Kogi State, Mrs. Aisha Audu recently filed papers at the District Court of Maryland, Montgomery County, seeking a Temporary Protective Order against Prince Audu, her husband of over 10 years, alleging that the former governor assaulted her severally.

THEWILL learnt from family sources that the former governor and Mrs. Audu’s matrimonial problems started a few months back after Mrs. Audu refused to perform a ritual in the governor’s hometown in Kogi State, to denounce an allegation that she planned to poison the politician.

The source said Prince Audu’s eldest daughter, Maimuna had told Prince Audu that a former domestic staff had informed her about Mrs. Audu’s plans to poison him. The former governor was said to have confronted his wife with the allegation, which according to our source, she perceived was a ploy to break their marriage and force her out of the family home.

Prince Audu we gather is on the verge of taking a new wife.

Considering the weight of the allegation against the former First Lady, our source said her family and Prince Audu’s deliberated severally on the matter which saw Prince Audu insisting that his then five month old pregnant wife would have to walk over the former governor’s father’s grave naked and perform some rituals to convince him that she had made no plans to kill him.

Mrs. Audu and her family, according to our source opted to swear by the Quran to prove she had made no such plan, but the families failed to reach a compromise on this.

THEWILL was informed by another family source that Habiba, an ex-wife of Prince Audu, who died in London sometime in 2007 allegedly went through the same ordeal and became severely sick after she was made to perform the fetish act at the supervision of a witch doctor. She was then forced out of their home by the former governor and did not recover from the strange ailment until she died in a London hospital.

Mrs. Aisha Audu has refused to be lured into performing the same voodoo. They are currently enmeshed in a bitter legal battle that may become a reference point for many Nigerian thieving politicians with real estate assets abroad often acquired with looted funds from government coffers.

According to court papers dated May 19, 2010, exclusively obtained by THEWILL, Mrs. Audu told Judge Dennis Michael Mchugh that Abubakar Audu physically assaulted her during their last Christmas and New Year holiday at the Audu’s $1.7 million dollar family mansion in posh Potomac, Maryland and sometime in March 2010 in Nigeria .

She also alleged that Prince Audu threatened to cause her serious bodily harm and verbally abused her and the kids, which caused her to seek the court’s protection.

"The abuse started in December ‘09 during the Christmas vacation at the above address. We had arguments over issues of where to have my baby because I was already over 16 weeks pregnant and also on issues of where the kids will school since they will have to be with me if I am having the baby here because I already started anti-natal with my GP," Mrs. Audu wrote in her petition to the court.

Continuing, she said; "The violence continued, he got physical by hitting, slapping, punching, throwing things at me and abusing me and the kids verbally in front of others including my step children…."

"On getting to Nigeria, things escalated and he threatened to eliminate me by all means wherever I go. He had refused to continue paying the children’s school fees while school is still on. He then eventually locked me and the kids out of the house and I was left with no option but to return to our Glen Road residence because I was lucky to have our passports in a safe place," the former First Lady wrote.

"Am still afraid of my life and since he has continued to abuse and threatening me; he even used his political thugs and his other children to make life hostile and frustrating for us which started affecting my pregnancy badly. He vowed to eliminate me before the baby is born…" she further alleged.

Judge Mchugh, and Judge Stephen Johnson in obliging Mrs. Audu’s request for protection from her abusive husband, ordered as follows;

1. That the Respondent (Abubakar Audu) SHALL NOT abuse, threaten to abuse and/or harass Aisha Audu.

2. That the Respondent SHALL NOT contact (in person, by telephone, in writing or by any other means) or attempt to contact Aisha Audu.

3. That custody of Abubakar Suleman Audu JR (01/30/01), Shazali MOHD Audu (11/10/02) is awarded Aisha Audu until the hearing provided in paragraph 4 below.

On May 26, 2010, Judge William Graves Simmons, of the same court extended the Temporary Protective Order to July 09, 2010, ordering as follows;

1. That the Respondent (Abubakar Audu) SHALL NOT enter the residence of Aisha Audu at 12301 Glen Road Potomac, MD 20854.

2. That the Respondent SHALL VACATE the home immediately (home included yard, grounds, outbuildings, and common areas surrounding the dwelling) at 12301 Glen Road, Potomac, MD 20854 and remain away until hearing provided for below. Temporary use and possession of the home is to be granted Aisha Audu.

A final hearing was slated for June 09, 2010.

The new ruling thus barred Prince Audu from going near the family home located at 12301 Glen Road, Potomac, MD 20854 which Prince Audu paid cash for in 2001, a few months after he was sworn in as governor of the Confluence State.

A source told THEWILL that after the court order was served on Prince Abubakar Audu, he immediately moved to throw his kids and wife out of the Glen road mansion with the backing of his controversial daughter, Maimuna.

He hired a law firm by the name Rismiller Law Group, LLC of Rockville, Maryland to appeal the section of the restraining order which gave Mrs. Audu and the kids temporary custody of the their Potomac home.

Ms. Maimuna Audu (35), who still lives with her father flew in from Nigeria to represent the former governor and his firm, Gold Window. She led the onslaught to evict her siblings and father’s wife.

Prince Audu and his lawyers then came up with a plan. They averred that the Glen road mansion is not a family home but a company property belonging to Gold Window LLC. They added that the Audu’s sought the permission of Gold Window LLC to use the property for their Christmas and New Year holiday. The lawyers said the company wanted to take back possession of the mansion.

But THEWILL search at the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Montgomery County, of the Glen Road mansion history revealed that Prince Abubakar Audu purchased in cash, the two-storey mansion in his name from Par Development, LC for $1,719,954 on March 15, 2001. On April 22, 2001, he transferred (Sold) the mansion for $1.00 (One dollar) to Belside Properties, LLC, a company allegedly registered to himself and his first son, Aliyu. Belside Properties was later acquired by Gold Window LLC, another company registered to Abububakar Audu and his son, Aliyu. Both father and son are currently not on speaking terms after Abubakar Audu evicted Aliyu from the same property a few years back after they had a brawl.

In fact, THEWILL recalls that when the news broke that Prince Audu had acquired the mansion during his tenure as governor, after several denials, he acknowledged that the property was his and his representatives and spokespersons admitted same.

On June 09, 2010, Prince Audu’s lawyers filed a motion in court to modify the restraining order while Mrs. Audu had just been delivered of a baby girl. The court granted their request and "Ordered, that Gold Window, LLC’s motion to modify the Protective Order be and the same hereby is granted, and it is further-

"Ordered, that the Temporary Protective Order granted on May 26, 2010 in the above captioned matter be and the same hereby modified, and it is further-

"Ordered, that the petitioner (Aisha Audu) shall not have temporary use of the possession of the real property located at 12301 Glen Road, Potomac, Maryland 20854, which is owned by Gold Window, LLC."

A letter obtained by THEWILL showed that after the Order was made, Prince Audu’s lawyers wrote a letter dated same day, June 09, 2010, to Mrs. Aisha Audu, part of which reads; "The firm has been retained by Gold Window LLC, to represent its interest related to real property located at 12301 Glen Road, Potomac, MD 20854. I have enclosed herein the order issued today…directing that you "shall not have temporary use and possession of the real property located at ………

"On behalf of Gold Window, LLC, I am herein respectfully demanding that you vacate the Residence immediately. I am advised that you have taken possession of the residence and that you have altered the locks of the Residence…

"Further, you are herein directed to immediately surrender to Bob Healey, as an authorized representative of Gold Window, LLC, the keys to the Residence…"Prince Audu’s lawyers wrote.

THEWILL further learnt that Mrs. Audu through her lawyers sought audience with the Judge where they put forward an argument that she had just been discharged from the hospital after childbirth insisting that the Glen Road mansion is indeed their family home. After several back and forth deliberations between all parties, Mrs. Aisha Audu was told that if she chooses to reside in the property, she would have to pay $4000 (four thousand dollars) as monthly rent. She agreed and has since paid $8000 in rent to Prince Audu Abubakar for the two months of July and August.

Meanwhile, a motion to alter or amend judgment has been filed at a Circuit court. The court is yet to fix a date for hearing.

THEWILL has been unable to reach Prince Abubakar Audu for comments. Several calls to his phone went unanswered.

http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/headlines/62431-Gov-Abubakar-Audu-Assaults-Wife-Abandons-Family-USA-PICTURES.html

Luke Angel was reprimanded by police on both sides of the Atlantic after firing off a drunken message to the White House calling the president a "p****".

The FBI intercepted the message and contacted police in the UK who went to see the 17-year-old at his home in Silsoe, Bedfordshire.

Luke, a college student, is now on a list of people who are banned from visiting the States.

The teenager told the Bedfordshire On Sunday newspaper that he had sent the email after watching a TV programme about September 11.

When asked about the ban, Luke said: "I don't really care. My parents aren't very happy about it.

"The police who came round took my picture and told me I was banned from America forever."

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: "The individual sent an email to the White House full of abusive and threatening language.

"We were informed by the Metropolitan Police and went to see him. He said, 'Oh dear, it was me'."

Officers will take no criminal action.

Joanne Ferreira, of the US Department of Homeland Security, said there are about 60 reasons a person can be barred.

Authorities in the Philippines are trying to trace a mother who gave birth then dumped her baby on a flight from the Middle East.

The baby boy was found in a bin bag unloaded from a Gulf Air plane which had just arrived from Bahrain.

Bloodied and wrapped in tissue, he was rushed to an airport clinic, where he was examined, cleaned and given a bottle of milk,

He is now said to be recovering well and welfare workers are trying to trace his mother, who could face criminal charges.

"The baby is now under our care," said Celia Yangco, an official from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

"We'll look for his mother. We're giving his mother a chance to come forward."

If relatives of the mother can be traced, the baby will be entrusted to them, otherwise he could be adopted.

Social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman has spoken with anger about the incident.

"I was simply outraged, no infant should be treated that way," she said,

The baby - named George Francis, after Gulf Air's code name GF - was discovered by a security officer when he noticed something moving in a rubbish bag.

Airport doctors found the infant to be in good health, despite his ordeal.

"When we initially saw the baby, his colour was not right. His colour should be pinkish," airport doctor Maria Teresa Agores told reporters.

But she said that after the baby was cleaned, "he regained his natural colour."

Around one in ten Filipinos works abroad, many as maids and labourers in the Middle East.

Local media is speculating that the boy's mother could be a domestic worker returning from the area, however Manila airport manager Jose Angel
Honrado said it is too early to draw that conclusion.