A South Africa lady whose Facebook is Nthabiseng Matlou, have decided to celebrate her birthday with a raunchy photo because she was born naked.

She wrote on Facebook; Since is my birthday today... I've decided to show off some of my skin. because i was born naked.

Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/10/a-south-africa-lady-celebrates-her.html?m=1

See reactions below;

Nigerian singer, Temitope Adekunle, popularly known by his stage name “Small Doctor” who is currently in Qatar, shares new photo on Instagram.

He wrote; Good morning Qatar... IYANU MASHELE SOONEST.

Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/10/small-doctor-looks-dapper-in-new-photo.html?m=1

Malaysian big boy and millionaire designer lover, Ray Hushpuppi who is known for his lavish lifestyle and his love for flaunting lots of designer items on his Instagram page, looks dapper in new outfit as he tell people to stay focused and trust in God

He Wrote;
When your blessings are getting closer, your attacks becomes greater. Stay focused n trust in God.

Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/10/when-your-blessings-are-getting-closer.html

Bro, never say never. I just visited your site, it ok....

Bashir Ahmad, the Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, listed 57 achievements of the Buhari-led administration to commemorate the 57th independence day celebration. Read the list below...


1. Release of 106 Chibok girls, as well as over 16,000 persons in Boko Haram captivity.

2. Tackling insurgency, decimation of Boko Haram in the North East.

3. Recovering 14 local governments and territories previously under Boko Haram control in the North East, rebuilding lives of citizens there; about one million displaced persons in the NE have returned to their communities in two years of this administration.

4. Curbing the incidence of kidnap across the country. (Arrest of kidnap kingpins and dismantling of kidnap cells across the country)

5. Restoring morale of the Nigerian military; re-organizing and better equipping the Nigerian Armed Forces.

6. Purchase of 12 Super-Tucano aircrafts worth $600 million to aid the Nigerian military’s current operations in the North East.

7. Ensuring continued peace in the Niger Delta through consistent funding of the FG amnesty programme for ex-militants.

8. Introduction of an improved mechanism for distribution of aid to IDPs in the North East through the establishment of the Special Intervention Programme of the Federal Government. (Door-to-door strategy)

ECONOMY

9. Implementing the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to aid economic recovery, taking the country out of her worst recession in 29 years, despite fall in oil prices.

10. N1.2 trillion expended on capital/infrastructure projects nationwide, a milestone in the nation’s history.

11. Effective implementation of the Treasury Single Account, and increasing government revenue by over N3 trillion as well as entrenching transparency and accountability.

12. Implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN), thus tackling corruption by plugging loopholes for siphoning of public fund and tracking of illicit funds through multiple accounts

13. Ease of doing business: the Federal Government signed into law two bills from the National Assembly (Acts are the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, 2017 (otherwise known as Collateral Registry Act) and the Credit Reporting Act, 2017) which has facilitated access to more affordable credit for Nigerians, fast tracked budget submissions and promotes Made-in-Nigeriaproducts.

14. Establishment of the Presidential Quarterly Business Forum to enhance interaction and private sector participation in the development of the economy.

15. Institutionalizing E-governance setting the foundation for the creation of a truly digital economy.

16. Creation of opportunities for youths to leverage innovation in technology through the introduction of the Aso Villa Demo Day (AVDD) through which over N700 million has been disbursed to young entrepreneurs.

17. The revitalization of the Made-in-Nigeria campaign. (Emphasis on consumption of local products gain grounds)

18. Implementing reforms in the civil service which has led to the elimination of over 30,000 ghost workers, thereby saving the country billions of naira monthly.

19. Massive investments in agriculture, e.g, Anchors Borrowers Programme to improve local produce, improving fertiliser distribution and access across states through the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative.

20. Reduction in rice imports as a result of government’s policies that has encouraged massive rice production across Nigeria.

21. Improving transport infrastructure (rail and road); construction work ongoing on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, renovation of Abuja International Airport runway, completion of Abuja – Kaduna Railway among others.

22. Social Investment Programmes (SIP): N-Power Volunteer Scheme creating jobs for over 200,000 (and still counting) unemployed graduates in all the 36 states and the FCT.

23. SIP: Ongoing Government Enterprise and Empowerment (GEEP) Scheme; commenced in November 2016 in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, where soft loans ranging from N10, 000 to N100, 000 have been given to over 189,000 market women and traders across different states.

24. SIP: Home Grown School Feeding Programme, where almost three million schoolchildren have been fed, while tens of thousands of cooks have been engaged in their respective states.

25. SIP: Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme, under which about 25,000 less privileged Nigerians so far are now being funded with the monthly N5,000 stipend in 9 pilot States (Bauchi, Borno, Cross Rivers, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Osun and Oyo). More beneficiaries are expected to be added in more states.

26. The establishment of MSMEs Clinics, a small Business support programme to support entrepreneurs and small businesses in different states.


More on:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/10/happy-independence-day-nigeria.html

Manchester United star, Pogba posted two snaps
to Instagram, showing two separate styles shaved on to his head. The left boasts a lightning bolt, while the right shows a flame emoji.

The 24-year-old star is currently having hamstring
injury means, he will be unable to set the pitch
alight in Russia on Wednesday night, but he will
hope his flame- coloured locks can inspire United
to another European victory.

Source: www.Thomasloaded.com

Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji shares photo with actress, Funke Akindele.


Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com

A criminology student has been jailed for falsely accusing a taxi driver of raping her after he refused to accept a £10 note covered in kebab oil.
Sophie Pointon, 22, called police in the early hours of April 22, this year and told officers she had been molested in the back of the cab she had been picked up in after a night out. She went on to sign a statement giving an account of the attack, in Leeds, West Yorks, England.
Following the accusation, the driver, a father-of-five, was tracked down and kept in custody for six hours, Leeds Crown Court heard. He was also unable to work for four weeks as a result of the claim. The driver described in a statement how the false allegation had caused him to suffer from stress.

Kate Bisset, prosecuting, said the driver was interviewed and said he could recall Pointon being "extremely drunk" when she got into his car holding a kebab. He said Pointon threw a £10 note at him when they reached the Hyde Park area but he refused to accept it as it was covered in oil from the kebab. The driver said Pointon then became abusive and ran around the car opening doors.

The prosecutor said: "He did not think much of it at the time because such incident with people who are intoxicated are not unusual."
A recording of a conversation between the driver and a phone operator at his taxi office supported his account. The court heard a GPS tracker fitted to the car also revealed Pointon's description of the taxi journey to be untrue.

When Pointon's account of the incident was challenged by police, she broke down in tears and asked if she could drop the charges. She pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and was jailed for 16 months.

Denise Breen-Lawton, mitigating, said Pointon, of Manchester, had been studying in Leeds at the time. She said her hopes of becoming a police officer were now ruined.
Judge Christopher Batty told her: "Your malicious complaint has done a huge disservice to those seeking justice through the police and courts."


Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/criminology-student-22-who-falsely.html

The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, ASUU, has officially suspended its one month, six days strike.

The union directed university lecturers to resume duty from today, Tuesday.
The suspension of the strike was announced on Monday evening after a meeting with the government delegation.

The lecturers proceeded on a strike on August 14th. Announcing the suspension, the President of the union, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, said the strike would be suspended until the end of October so that the Federal government can fulfill all the promises it had made to the association. He said failure to fulfill the agreement would result in the resumption of the strike.

ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike on ...

READ MORE :http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/ASUU-suspends-strike-lecturers-to.html

Lol..

Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/ghana-must-go-september-18-2017-cartoon.html

Tell them, aunty Linda. Natural b*a is the best.

Thomasloaded.com

The agitation of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) is no longer a joke as we can see that the matter is gradually getting some international attention.

But then, for our readers who might not be up to date with some basic facts about Biafra, here is these 11 things you need to know about Biafra.

1. On 29 May 2000, the Lagos Guardian newspaper reported that the now ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo commuted to retirement the dismissal of all military persons who fought for the breakaway state of Biafra during Nigeria's 1967–1970 civil war.

2. On 30 May, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the South Eastern Region's military governor, announced the Republic of Biafra, citing the Easterners killed in the post-coup violence.

3. It is a movement of Igbo speaking people. Mostly people from the South Eastern Geopolitical region of Nigeria

4. The agitation was first led by late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Late Ojukwu declared Biafra 30th May, 1967 from the city of Aburi in Ghana.

Biafra Coat Of Arms

5. The war against Biafra led by then, General Yakubu Gowon lasted for over 30 months. It seems to be one of the longest ever in Nigeria.

6. This present-day Agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra is led by Nnamdi Kanu.

7. Odumegwu-Ojukwu was in exile for 13 years over issue bordering on Biafra

8. The majorly known group agitating for Biafra are Massob and IPOB

9. After the demise of Late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in 2011, the group became active again in 2012 courtesy Nnamdi Kanu led activism move.

10. Late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the first leader of Biafra hails from Anambra and precisely from Nnewi.

11. Right from time the Biafra Agitators has seen Nigeria as an opposition to their emancipation

12. This present-day IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu holds dual citizenship. He is a British-Nigerian

13. Late Ojukwu led the creation of the Biafra Radio which is now managed by Nnamdi Kalu



Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/13-things-you-probably-dont-know-about.html

Nigerian singer and songwriter, Simisola Bolatito Ogunleye, professionally known and referred to as Simi, has been rumoured to have had one or two things with singers, Adekunle Gold and Falz at some point, popular singer, Simi, has said Nigerian men “are not romantic.”


She said, “I don’t believe Nigerian men are romantic. I think Nigerian men do not think they have to be romantic.

I am not saying this to bash men but I think no one pushes Nigerian men to fight for anything so they have this sense of entitlement. I was watching a Nigerian movie one day and there was this unfaithful Nigerian man who left his wife for another woman. At the end of the day, the other woman left him and he retraced his steps to his initial wife.

The lady’s mother actually told her to kneel in front of the man and that bothered me a lot even though I knew it was a movie. That is the way things are.

“A lot of men grow up in this country feeling entitled to certain things and they believe that they don’t have to work for anything. This has been the case for generations and a lot of our mothers were unhappy because the society expected them to stay in the relationship.

I am not saying it is the right thing for people to leave their relationships but a man needs to fight for what he wants so he can value it. I think the problem is because a lot of Nigerian men feel self-entitled and I blame our culture and our mothers.

Most mothers are the problem because when something happens, they are quick to advise the daughter and wives, they don’t tell the men that their actions are wrong. So if a man feels that he does not have to fight to keep the relationship, he would not.”

The singer who hinted that she is currently in a relationship described the kind of lover she is. “To describe myself as a lover, I would say that I am a loyal lover. When I am in a relationship, I am all in and I put everything into it. I can only quit a relationship if the person betrays my trust because, to me, trust is everything.

Trust is a big foundation for love. If I don’t trust a person, it would be hard to be with the person. If I date someone, I expect that you know what you have to offer. I believe that whatever I do for the person, I should get the same in return. I don’t like people lying to me,” the singer said.

The singer is currently in cloud nine because of the feedback she has been receiving over her sophomore album, ‘Simisola.’ It was a night of ecstasy for the soulful singer at her album launch party which took place at The Lekki Coliseum.

It is her sophomore album and her debut album since joining her record label X3M Music three years ago. Before now, she had released a plethora of singles such as ‘Tiff,’ ‘Jamb Question,’ ‘Outta My Head,’ which were well received and enjoyed massive airplay.


Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/nigerian-men-are-not-romantic-simi.html

The nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji shared a beautiful new photo of herself via Instagram today.

Source: www.Thomasloaded.com

The former bread seller turned model, Olajumoke Orisaguna is at it again and this time she's channeling her classy diva. The model released new photos of herself and fans can get enough of the beauty and how far she's come in her career.

She wrote on Instagram; Hey you, do you know they'll be no me without you? You're my brother, you're my sister, you're my friend & you're my family.

I'm grateful for the love, patience, encouragement & criticism always. God bless you all.
I LOVE YOU
#Olajumokesauce #olajumoke #blessed#thankful

Styled: @tiannahsplacempire
Makeup: @dg_pro_makeover
Hair: @benflashessylva of Tiannahsplaceempire
Photo: @constantphotoandvideo
Location: @homesrez

Source: www.Thomasloaded.com

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he intends to visit China, Japan and South Korea later this year, a blockbuster maiden presidential visit to Asia.

"It will be a busy 10 days," Trump told reporters abroad Air Force One travelling with him to Florida.
Trump said this while responding to a series of questions on his travel to Asia later this year.

"Probably be visiting (to China). I was invited by the (Chinese) President. We'll probably all be going over as a group sometime in November," he said.

"And we'll be doing Japan, South Korea, possibly Vietnam with a conference," he added in an apparent reference to the ASEAN Summit in Philippines.
However, he did not say if he will travel to Philippines and Vietnam.

Trump said he has a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"We have a very good relationship with China and with the President of China. We are working on different things. I can't tell you, obviously, what I'm working on. But believe me, the people of this country will be very, very safe," he said.

"I think that a lot of effort is being put into this. We're looking at what's going on. As we speak, we are literally at it right now, and you will be seeing what we'll be doing?" Trump said.

Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/donald-trump-will-travel-to-asia-in.html

Selena Gomez recently received a kidney transplant from television actress Francia Raisa due to her struggle with lupus, the actress and singer revealed Thursday.

Gomez revealed in an Instagram post confirmed by her publicist early Thursday that she has been somewhat out of the spotlight this summer because she was recovering from the procedure.

Gomez wrote on Instagram; I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of. So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health. I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you. Until then I want to publicly thank my family and incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery. And finally, there aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis. Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made. For more information regarding Lupus please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org/ -by grace through faith.


The Instagram post includes a picture of Gomez and Raisa holding hands while lying side-by-side in hospital beds and another photo of a scar on Gomez's abdomen. The 29-year-old Raisa is best known for her role on the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Raisa's publicist didn't immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

Ongoing struggle with lupus

Gomez revealed her lupus diagnosis in 2015 and took a break from her career last year to deal with anxiety, panic attacks and depression stemming from her battle with the disease.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, where the body mistakenly attacks its own tissues, sometimes including the kidneys. One healthy kidney is all the body needs, so a single kidney transplant can resolve the problem, said Dr. David Klassen, chief medical officer for the United Network for Organ Sharing, which runs the nation's transplant system.

"Lupus tends to be a disease of younger women, and younger people tend to do better with transplants than older patients, so the expectation is she would do quite well," he said of Gomez.

Lupus also tends not to come back after the operation — "the drugs that prevent kidney rejection are also very good for treating lupus, the underlying disease," Klassen said.


The causes of lupus are unknown.


Gomez, whose hits include Good for You, Same Old Love and Come & Get It, has been in the spotlight since she was a child. She appeared on Barney and Friends before breaking through as a teen star on the Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place. She has a massive following on social media. Her 126 million followers on Instagram are the most on the platform.
She is due to star in an upcoming Woody Allen movie due out next year.

Gomez, who has been dating the singer The Weeknd for several months, also has had success behind the scenes as the executive producer of Netflix's 13 Reasons Why, the controversial young adult series that became a summer sensation this year.

Source: Thomasloaded.com

A young Louisiana rapper was shot and killed early on Sunday morning in Dallas over an alleged internet beef.


22-year-old rapper Gee Money, otherwise known as Garrett Burton, was reportedly shot dead in Louisiana early Sunday morning.

The Baton Rouge native was reportedly leaving a studio session in his hometown when an unknown assailant approached the rapper and shot him in the head. Baton Rouge police told local news affiliate WBRZ that Burton died at the scene of the crime.

There are currently no details about possible suspects, and the majority of the reaction centered around loss of life, rather than pointing fingers at potential suspects.

Hip-hop fans mourned the loss of a young talent, unsettled by how much life he had ahead of him before the tragedy.

Source: www.Thomasloaded.com

Hurricane Irma finally made its way to Florida on Sunday and the storm's impact has not been pretty. And within the next few days, the storm will continue to approach the rest of the United States in its path.


Once Irma's power and destruction has subsided, the damage will be assessed and people will be able to return back to their homes that they had to evacuate. For those who don't live in the path of the storm, these photos of Hurricane Irma making landfall in Florida show just how massive and powerful the storm was on Sunday.

According to reports, It first crashed into the Florida Keys on early Sunday morning, slamming the area with winds up to 130 mph. By Sunday afternoon, more than 1 million people had lost their power and in Miami.

Irma will also have a major impact on Florida cities such as Tampa, Fort Meyers, and Naples located in Central Florida. And the many photos from the hurricane hitting the Florida Keys and Miami, shared on Twitter, show just what kind of devastation the hurricane has caused.

Here's a sampling of what people have been sharing:

More on: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/photos-of-hurricane-irma-making.html

Kim Kardashian went nude in a photoshoot done by fashion photographers; Mert and Marcus for their soon to be released book.



Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/kim-kardashian-goes-nude-in-new.html

A 24-Year-Old man has been apprehended by Police and troops for allegedly slashing the throat of a five-year-old girl and dumping her body in an old septic well, at a deserted house in Kanchanaburi’s Sisawat district.


The suspect, Anusorn Saipin,who was a neighbour of the girl in Moo 1 village in tambon Thakradan, was arrested at about 8.20am on Tuesday, September 5, while hiding in a forest behind Siswawat Pitthaya school.

The girl disappeared from her house at about noon on Sunday and later that day her body was found in a fertiliser bag that had been dumped in the septic well.

On Monday night, police, troops, volunteers and forestry officials surrounded the hiding spot of the suspect before his arrest.
He was taken to Sisawat Police Station. At about 9am, Kanchanaburi police chief Maj-General Khamron Boonlert interrogated the suspect and he allegedly made a confession.

Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/man-found-hiding-in-forest-arrested.html

A Nigerian man who's identified as Ceebar Omega on Facebook celebrates his achievement after buying iPhone 7 plus.

The celebrant wrote on Facebook....Read more via http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/bravo-nigerian-man-celebrates-his.html

After Hurricane Harvey, a woman took to Instagram to show her support for Houston with this photo, she wrote; Pray For Houston.

Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/see-pray-for-houston-photo-woman-posted.html

According to (Leviticus 20:10) the punishment for adultery is death.


Mark 10:11
"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her."

Mark 10:12
"And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."


Question To Answer

I noticed that the rate people divorced nowadays is very copious even among pastors. People divorced, re-marry another person and still attends Churches and allegedly consider themselves Christians.

My question to those people according to Bible: Wouldn't HE/SHE be put to death since they have committed adultery?

Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/question-to-christians.html

Ten Indonesians were were sentenced to up to 100 lashes of the whip for adultery in Banda Aceh under the brutal Sharia law.

The beatings occurred in Aceh, which is the only province in the country which implements Sharia law in full.

The province began implementing Sharia law after being granted autonomy in 2001 – an attempt by the government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.

Islamic laws have been strengthened since Aceh struck a peace deal with Jakarta in 2005.
People are flogged for a range of offences including gambling, drinking alcohol, gay sex or any sexual relationship outside marriage.

More than 90 per cent of the 255million people who live in Indonesia describe themselves as Muslim, but the vast majority practice a moderate form of the faith.

The brutal and public beatings have become more prevalent this year with a number of reported incidents of those being punished collapsing in pain on stage.

Back in September 2014, Aceh approved an anti-homosexuality law that can punish anyone caught having gay sex with 100 lashes.


After a three-decade-old separatist movement, a peace agreement signed in 2005 granted special autonomy to Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, on condition that it remained part of the sprawling archipelago.

As part of that deal, Aceh won the right to be the only Indonesian province to use Islamic sharia law as its legal code.
Anybody caught engaging in consensual gay sex is punished with 100 lashes, 100 months in jail or a fine of 1,000 grams of gold.

The law also set out punishment for sex crimes, unmarried people engaging in displays of affection, people caught found guilty of adultery and underage sex.

Religious police in Aceh have been known to target Muslim women without head scarves or those wearing tight clothes, and people drinking alcohol or gambling.
Over the past decade, the central government has devolved more power to regional authorities to increase autonomy and speed up development.


Engaging in homosexual acts is not a crime under Indonesia's national criminal code but remains taboo in many conservative parts of the country with the world's largest Muslim population.

The trend appeared to be slowing down after a string of worrying incidents at the turn of the new year, but the new pictures reveal the practice still looms large in Indonesia.

Men and women have collapsed in pain due to the severity of their injuries and people can be caned for something as innocent as standing too close to a partner in public or being seen alone with someone they are not married to.



Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/09/sharia-law-ten-indonesians-are-lashed.html

A white five-year-old girl was forced to live in Muslim foster homes where nobody spoke English and her carers took away her Christian cross and encouraged her to learn Arabic, it emerged today.

The child, who is a native English speaker, spent the past six months in two Muslim households after being placed into foster care in Tower Hamlets, east London.

Local authority reports describe how the little girl sobbed and begged not to be returned to her niqab-wearing carer’s home, telling a social worker: ‘They don’t speak English.’

Her mother offered to send her back from a home visit with her favourite meal - spaghetti carbonara - but the girl said it was banned because it contained bacon - which Muslims do not eat.

And more recently the girl told her that ‘Christmas and Easter are stupid’ and that ‘European women are stupid and alcoholic’, according to The Times.

The reports, seen by Andrew Norfolk, detail how the child was ‘very distressed’ and claimed the foster carer had removed her Christian cross and encouraged her to learn Arabic.

The two placements were made by the scandal-hit Tower Hamlets borough council against the wishes of the girl’s family.

Local authorities are required to give due consideration to a child’s religion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background’ when placing them into a foster home.

The girl’s mother is said to be horrified by the circumstances her daughter has been placed in.

A friend told the newspaper: ‘This is a five-year-old white girl. She was born in this country, speaks English as her first language, loves football, holds a British passport and was christened in a church.

‘She’s already suffered the huge trauma of being forcibly separated from her family. She needs surroundings in which she’ll feel secure. Instead, she’s trapped in a world where everything feels foreign and unfamiliar. That’s really scary for a young child.’

The girl lived with her first carer, who is believed to have worn a niqab outside the family home, for four months. Her current carer wears a burka, which covers her face entirely, when she is out in public with the child.

The council’s children’s service was rated as inadequate and found to have an ‘entrenched culture of non-compliance with basic social work standards’.

The Department for Education said: ‘When placing a child in a foster home, the local authority must ensure that the placement is the most appropriate way to support [the child’s] welfare. A child’s background is an important consideration in this decision.’

A council spokesman said: ‘We are unable to comment on individual cases. In every case, we give absolute consideration to our children’s background and to their cultural identity. All our foster carers receive training to ensure they are fully qualified to meet the needs of children in their care.’

It’s not the first time Tower Hamlets has been embroiled in scandal. In 2014, a leaked government report suggested the mayor Lutfur Rahman had links to Islamic extremist groups, including one seeking to set up a Sharia state in Europe.

In 2011, it was reported a 31-year-old Asian woman who worked in a local chemist’s had received death threats for refusing to wear a veil, even though she was not a practising Muslim.


Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/08/a-5-years-old-christian-forced-into.html

Some Vice-Chancellors and the Academic Staff Union of Universities have rejected the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to peg admission cut-off mark at 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.

ASUU said the action, which it described as a “sad policy decision,” was in tandem “with the dream of the present government to destroy public universities in the country.”


Most of the vice-chancellors our correspondents interviewed on the issue maintained that they would not lower admission standards in their respective varsities.

The vice-chancellors stated that the decision would add no value to the nation’s university system.

For instance, in a statement issued by the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, on the issue and released by his Media Assistant, Mr. Sunday Saanu, on Thursday, the premier university stated that it would never admit any candidate that scored 120 in the UTME.

The statement added, “It should worry us as patriots that candidates who scored just 30 per cent in the UTME can be admitted into some of our universities. Yet, we complain of poor quality of our graduates. You can hardly build something on nothing. The consolation here is that since JAMB started conducting this qualifying exam in 1978, UI has never admitted any candidate who scored less than 200 marks out of the maximum 400 marks.

“This translates to a minimum of 50 per cent. This remains our position as an institution aspiring to be world-class. Reality is that only about four other universities in the country have such high standard. To that extent, apart from being the oldest, we are an elite university in the country at least judging by the quality of our intakes.’’

Olayinka, however, commended the decision of the Federal Government to re-introduce the post-UTME test and exonerated the incumbent JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, from the cancellation of the test two sessions ago.

“It is gratifying to note that the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who chaired the meeting, apologised publicly for canceling the post-UTME screening last year.

“In effect, universities are now allowed to conduct the test using modalities approved by the Senate of each institution.

“To be fair to the incumbent Registrar of JAMB, he was not the Registrar when the policy somersault of cancelling the post-UTME test was made last year. As strongly canvassed by us at every opportunity, for UI, the need to admit the best admission seekers is the primary motivation for the test and not money, even though we do not pretend that you can run any university so properly called without funds.”

Speaking to one of our correspondents on Thursday, the Vice-Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Prof. Oluyemisi Obilade, said that the onus would ultimately fall on parents and employers of labour to decide “between a first-class graduate of a university which takes 120 as its cut-off mark or one that takes 180 as its cut-off mark.’’

Obilade, who said that TASUED would never go below 180, insisted that many of the VCs at the Combined Policy Meeting during which the 120 benchmark decision was made, said they would not go below 180.

She said, “But some universities chose 120 at the meeting. What the JAMB has done is to transfer power back to the Senate of universities to decide their cut-off marks. What I can tell you is that many public universities and even private universities will not go below 200. We were told that some universities were doing what they called ‘under the table admission’ and then come back to JAMB after four years for regularisation.

“TASUED will not go below 180, not under my watch. Even in the United States, there is what we call Ivy League universities, and there are those you can call ‘Next Level Universities.’ There are also those that are termed community colleges. At the meeting, the outcome is that universities have been given the freedom to decide. It is not general legislation and it is not binding on everybody.’’

Speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the Chairman of ASUU at the University of Ibadan, Dr. Deji Omole, said it was the dream of the present government to destroy education in the country.

He said, “Rather than sanctioning the identified universities that admitted over 17,000 students illegally, the JAMB registrar simply regularised illegality and lowered cut-off marks to favour the interests of the friends of government who own private universities and are hell bent on destroying public education.”

Omole said it was vital for JAMB to be scrapped in order to save the nation’s education and its future. He said the board had outlived its usefulness and that prospective students should apply directly to universities of their choice for admission.

He said, “Where are the students that the JAMB registrar said entered universities illegally? Which universities admitted them? If 30 per cent did not take JAMB and found their way into the university system, is that not corruption and a message that JAMB is not significant anymore? What sanction did those who did the illegal thing receive other than regularisation of illegality.

“We are watching because long before now we have said that JAMB has outlived its usefulness. Let the universities set their unique standards and those who are qualified can come in. Scoring 120 out of 400 marks is 30 per cent. Even in those days, 40 per cent was graded as pass. But now JAMB said with F9 which is scoring 30 per cent you can be admitted.

“They deliberately want to destroy education. Even for polytechnic, 100 marks is 25 per cent. It is sad. And that is where we are in Nigeria. They want to destroy public education at all costs. This is not setting standard for education in Nigeria. It is purely lowering standards and digging grave for the future. This is why ASUU is currently on the struggle to influence the government to do the needful for education in Nigeria.”

Also, the Dean of Students Affairs, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Kayode Alese, who spoke on behalf of FUTA management, said that the institution would soon unveil its cut-off mark.

“However, I can assure you that FUTA has never gone as low as 120. It has never happened and it will never happen,” he said.

Alese added, “Having spoken for the university, my personal opinion is that the 120 cut-off mark will not add value to our education system. The Federal Government has just increased the pass mark from 40 to 45 in universities. What that means is that you must score at least 45 for you to pass any course. We have enough candidates and yes you may try to increase access but tertiary education should be for those who have the capability.’’

Also, the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Tope Ogunmodede, said the institution would not admit any candidate with 120 UTME score.

He said, “Traditionally, OAU has never admitted students who scored below 200 in the UTME. For us, we are sticking to 200. The minimum benchmark is 120 but you can go higher than that. I expect that an institution should be able to determine the quality of its graduates because there are internal exams. What has been done is to provide a leeway for universities to decide their cut-off marks.”

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has described the reduction of the cut-off marks for admission into tertiary institutions as “a gross misplacement of priority and an exercise in futility.”

The organisation said that the reduction by JAMB, from 180 for universities and 165 polytechnics, to 120 and 100 respectively for the 2017 UTME, would translate to a disastrous outcome in the future.

The President of NANS, Chinonso Obasi, in a statement on Thursday, threatened that the decision would be resisted if JAMB refused to adhere to the status quo.

He said, “As critical stakeholders in the educational sector, NANS will vehemently resist the review and call on government to maintain the status quo and endeavour to conduct a comparative study and analysis of policies from other climes that support functional learning and production of young people that can compete with their peers globally.

“Even with the current status, the general phenomenon is that Nigerian graduates are not employable. The lowering of standards will translate to a disastrous outcome in the future by churning out young people who cannot fit into the demands and expectations of the 21st century.’’

According to him, since the 21st century is being driven by innovation and competitiveness, lowering the entry level into tertiary institutions would only further contribute to reducing the productivity and peak performance of young people seeking admission into the country’s higher institutions of learning.

However, the Vice-Chancellor of the Christopher University, Ogun State, Prof. Friday Ndubuisi, said the new admission benchmark would have no negative implication on the quality of education.

He said, “This is not an imposition. The cut-off mark is a minimum benchmark for admission. This idea of taking the UTME every year without getting admission is worrying. About 1.6 million candidates sat for the examination this year and about 500,000 will be admitted mostly because of the cut-off mark.

Most universities will not go below 200, but with five credits obtained in two sittings, a person should be qualified for admission. This is, however, not an imposition. Universities still get to decide on whom to admit through the post-UTME.’’

Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/08/vcs-ASUU-rejects-120-cut-off-mark-for.html

A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Beetle Aircraft crashed in Kaduna while on a mission. The only soul on board the aircraft, one of the NAF’s experienced instructor pilots, was unfortunately lost during the mishap.

According to a statement released by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigeria Air Force, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adekoya, the cause of the accident is unknown but the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) has immediately directed the constitution of a board of inquiry to determine the immediate and remote causes of the crash. The statement noted that the unfortunate incident is a tragic reminder of the hazards associated with the flying profession.

Adesanya said the CAS and the entire NAF family commiserate with the relatives of the late instructor pilot.

Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/08/pilot-dies-in-nigerian-air-force-plane.html

Even as tensions between the United States and Russia fester, there is one surprising place where their military-to-military contacts are quietly weathering the storm: Syria.

It has been four months since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered cruise missile strikes against a Syrian airfield after an alleged chemical weapons attack.

In June, the U.S. military shot down a Syrian fighter aircraft, the first U.S. downing of a manned jet since 1999, and also shot down two Iranian-made drones that threatened U.S.-led coalition forces.

All the while, U.S. and Russian military officials have been regularly communicating, U.S. officials told Reuters. Some of the contacts are helping draw a line on the map that separates U.S.- and Russian-backed forces waging parallel campaigns on Syria's shrinking battlefields.

There is also a telephone hotline linking the former Cold War foes' air operations centers. U.S. officials told Reuters that there now are about 10 to 12 calls a day on the hotline, helping keep U.S. and Russian warplanes apart as they support different fighters on the ground.

That is no small task, given the complexities of Syria's civil war. Moscow backs the Syrian government, which also is aided by Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah as it claws back territory from Syrian rebels and Islamic State fighters.

The U.S. military is backing a collection of Kurdish and Arab forces focusing their firepower against Islamic State, part of a strategy to collapse the group's self-declared "caliphate" in Syria and Iraq.

Reuters was given rare access to the U.S. Air Force's hotline station, inside the Qatar-based Combined Air Operations Area, last week, including meeting two Russian linguists, both native speakers, who serve as the U.S. interface for conversations with Russian commanders.

While the conversations are not easy, contacts between the two sides have remained resilient, senior U.S. commanders said.

"The reality is we've worked through some very hard problems and, in general, we have found a way to maintain the deconfliction line (that separates U.S. and Russian areas of operation) and found a way to continue our mission," Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, the top U.S. Air Force commander in the Middle East, said in an interview.

As both sides scramble to capture what is left of Islamic State's caliphate, the risk of accidental contacts is growing.

"We have to negotiate, and sometimes the phone calls are tense. Because for us, this is about protecting ourselves, our coalition partners and destroying the enemy," Harrigian said, without commenting on the volume of calls.

The risks of miscalculation came into full view in June, when the United States shot down a Syrian Su-22 jet that was preparing to fire on U.S.-backed forces on the ground.


U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said those were not the only aircraft in the area. As the incident unfolded, two Russian fighter jets looked on from above and a American F-22 stealth aircraft kept watch from an even higher altitude, they told Reuters.

After the incident, Moscow publicly warned it would consider any planes flying west of the Euphrates River to be targets. But the U.S. military kept flying in the area, and kept talking with Russia.

"The Russians have been nothing but professional, cordial and disciplined," Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, the Iraq-based commander of the U.S.-led coalition, says

Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/08/as-syria-war-tightens-us-and-russia.html

Negotiations were stepped up with PSG to land Angel Di Maria amid the Catalans frustrations over failed attempts to secure a big name since Neymar’s departure.

According to Sport report, PSG have accepted the fee despite the clubs poor relationship since the last time they did business together that saw Neymar’s record-breaking move to Paris.

But the French side were in need to sell while the Spaniards still have some of the £198m deposit burning a hole in their pocket.

Barcelona have had several set backs in their attempts to replace their former star with the pursuits of their top targets Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele being long-winded and full of twists.

Barcelona are to launch a final £136m bid for Liverpool wantaway Coutinho but the Red’s have so far played hardball.

As the La Liga giants turned their attention elsewhere, they have also struggled to get a player to put pen to paper.

After being 90 per cent certain of penning Jean-Michael Seri to a contract, Barcelona and Nice failed to agree to a fee and the deal fell through.


Source: http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/08/barcelona-agrees-45million-deal-with.html

Tensions erupted in Togo after protests against the ruling Gnassingbe family dynasty over the weekend, turned deadly.
Some protesters were killed and 13 others injured in Sokode, 338km north of the capital, Lome, when security forces opened fire to break up demonstrations.

Tikpi Atchadam, Togo's opposition leader and president of the PNP party, put the death toll at seven on Saturday night.
President Faure Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005 after the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who was president for 38 years.

Wearing the red colours of the position party and chanting "50 years is too long!", thousands took to the streets of Lome on Saturday calling for the reinstatement of the constitution limiting terms. Security forces fired tear gas to disperse them.

"We believe this is it," human rights activist Farida Nabourema told Al Jazeera on Sunday, adding that Togo was at a turning point..
"This is the time that this country that has been ruled by the oldest military regime in Africa decided to rise for its freedom."
There has been no official statement by the government regarding Saturday's violent protest.

"People are still so motivated and so ready. They showed so much courage. People were pulling out bullets from their bodies. They were daring the regime and the military."

A demonstrator who spoke to Al Jazeera said the protesters were part of a peaceful movement to reinstate a 1992 constitution that brought in notional multi-party democracy after decades of dictatorship.

But 10 years later, lawmakers amended it to enable Eyadema to run for another term.

Then, when he died, the military effectively tore up the constitution by installing his son as interim president, instead of the head of the national assembly, as was legally required.

The protests that followed Faure Gnassingbe's first election victory in 2005 triggered a violent security crackdown in which around 500 people were killed.

"We are protesting against the arbitrary nature of governance and denial of freedom to assemble," PNP leader Tikpi Atchadam told Reuters news agency.


Source:http://www.thomasloaded.com/2017/08/two-killed-scores-injured-in-togo-as.html