₦airaland Forum

The Christmas holiday seems to be over fast for Bajan singer and original bad girl as she releases another daring picture of herself and it’s only the fourth day of a new year.

Rihanna has just unveiled the first, sultry image from her upcoming MAC Cosmetics campaign, in which she dons a blond wig covers her chest with only her hands.

As far as Rihanna is concerned it’s safe to say, ‘I’m going to stop posting topless pictures of myself on the Internet’ is not her new year’s resolution.

- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/rihanna-blond-and-topless/

According to Coroner’s report revealed on Friday, the Porsche in which Fast and Furious star, Paul Walker was travelling in was going at over a 100mph (160kph) before it crashed and burst into flame killing the film star and another occupant.

The 40-year-old start was found dead along with his friend and financial adviser, Roger Rodas, on 30 November in a burnt-out Porsche Carrera GT in Los Angeles.

According to the Guardian, the coroner’s report said Walker died of the combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries while Rodas, the driver, died of multiple traumatic injuries. No drugs or alcohol were detected in either men.

Kristy McCracken, the investigator for the Los Angeles coroner, described how the car was driving at unsafe speed in an easterly direction. “For an unknown reason the driver lost control of the vehicle and the vehicle partially spun around and began to travel in a south-easterly direction.

“The vehicle then struck a sidewalk and the driver’s side struck a tree and then a lightpost. The force of these collisions caused the vehicle to spin 180 degrees and it continued to travel in an easterly direction,” the report states.

“The passenger side of the vehicle then struck a tree and it then burst into flames.”

The coroner said the Porsche was found “totalled with major traffic collision damage all around and it appeared that the vehicle was almost split in half.” The report found no evidence of foul play.

Walker was still filming scenes for Fast and Furious 7 when the accident happened. The film is expected to be released later this year.

Walker and Rodas were the owners of a motor racing team and Rodas was also a professional driver.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/paul-walker-was-going-at-over-160kph-100mph-before-crash-coroners-report/

stan-ogb:
(APC) )Amaechi's Problems Continues

Seriously? I Laff tire.

A wannabe or failed female comic act in Kenya is currently enjoying her 15-minutes of fame on youtube over a mediocre attempt to ridicule Nigeria by claiming President Jonathan traveled to Kenya with seven private jets.

She seems to have caught on to the latest Internet meme of seeking fame by insulting Nigerians knowing fully well that her amateur act will be propagated by any Nigerian slag with a blogger accounts who desperately wants to be the first to spread a rumour.

Her claim was refuted by none other than the Special Adviser on Media Affairs to the President, Ruben Abati, on his twitter account.

His tweet insisting that President Jonathan did not travel to Kenya with seven private jets was completely unnecessary and petty.

Ruben Abati went on to ask her to prove her claim knowing very well that the wannabe comedian simply can’t.

Firstly, the joker herself with all her theatrics, gesticulations and facial muscle movements comes across like someone desperately trying to be funny. Pathetically, she comes across like a failed stand-up comic wannabe.

Secondly, the b**ch didn’t say President Jonathan came with seven Presidential jets. She said private jets! To someone like her, every plane on the tarmac that doesn’t have the Kenya Airways insignia must be a private jet and since the almighty president of Nigeria is visiting the private jets must be his.

Kenyans like her have still not recovered from the invasion of Nigerian millionaires to Kenya a few months back so every time she sees a plane without the

Kenya Airways insignia it must be a private jet owned by a Nigerian and on this particular day the Nigerian president was visiting. After all, Kenyans, in their wildest imagination cannot fathom the amount of wealth in Nigeria.

In line with our editorial policy not to give much column space to those attention seekers who attack the image of this country we implore every Nigerian to allow this woman’s 15-minutes of fame to pass quickly by ignoring her.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/seven-private-jets-kenyan-bch-enjoys-15-minutes-of-fame/

Today, 1st January 2014, marks the 100th anniversary of the first commercial flight: a 23-minute hop across Florida’s Tampa Bay. The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was subsidized by St. Petersburg officials who wanted more winter tourists in their city. The alternative: an 11-hour train ride from Tampa.

Pilot Tony Jannus had room for just one passenger, who sat next to him in the open cockpit. Three months later — when tourism season ended — so did the subsidy. The airline had carried 1,204 passengers but would never fly again.

The flight lasted only 23 minutes and maintained an altitude of less than 5oft.

The aviation industry has come a long way since then: eight million people are expected to board planes today and 52 planes take off all over the world every minute with over 5,700 passengers on board.

Apart from human beings planes now carry 50 million tons of cargo every year representing 35% of world trade value or about £7.5m worth of cargo every minute.

- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/today-marks-100th-anniversary-of-first-commercial-flight/

According to the 2014 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly, the National Assembly and the Presidency alone have been allocated the sum of N183 billion (over a Billion Dollars) for recurrent expenditure for the year.

The Presidency plans to spend at least N2.3 billion on local and international travels and transportation next year.

The proposal is contained in the 2014 appropriation bill submitted by President Goodluck Jonathan through the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to the National Assembly last week.

A breakdown of the figure showed that the State House would require the sum of N1.2b for what it called Local Travels. International travels and transportation will gulp N1.15b.

For the whole year, the Presidency intends to spend N200 million for the provision of foodstuffs/catering supplies while it also plans to expend another N162,556,500 on meals and refreshments.

For honorarium and sitting allowances, the Presidency has budgeted a princely sum of N320 million for that purpose just as it has set aside the sum of N33.8 million for the office of the Vice-President to take care of his foodstuffs and catering supplies as well as meals and refreshments in the year.

Under the arrangement, N23.8 million will go for foodstuffs and catering supplies while the balance of N10 million will be spent on meals and refreshments in the office of the Vice-President.

The total amount budgeted for the Presidency is said to be around N33b.

In the same vein, the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is expected to spend the sum of over half a billion on honorarium and another N51 million will be spent on meals and refreshments within the fiscal period.

A careful review of the budget proposals however showed that the Presidency shied away from making any provision for the controversial Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, whose head, Arunma Oteh, has been embroiled in a ceaseless war with the National Assembly.

The lawmakers had vowed not to approve any budget for the commission until Oteh was removed but President Jonathan ignored them and their resolution.

In the same vein, the Federal Government made the same yearly provision of N150 billion for the National Assembly but did not give any breakdown of the sum.

It is not clear if the NASS would be in a hurry to pass the budget given the furore that attended the presentation of the document.

Controversy had mounted to the extent that President Jonathan had to back out of the presentation and later sent the Finance Minister to represent him

See more at: http://naija2015..co.uk/

This post may surprise or even shock you but that is if you don’t already know about it.

We are all familiar with the popular legend of how three men, often referred to as Kings, visited baby Jesus in the manger and presented him with gifts. No Nativity play is complete without those characters but really, they ought not to have been included in the first place because that event never took place. No, not the birth of Jesus, that is for another post. I was referring to what is commonly referred to as “The visit of the Magi”.

Firstly, the number of men who visited Joseph and Mary was never mentioned. There’s no documented evidence that they were three. They could have been only two or more. This is what the bible said, “… behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem". (Mathew 2:1). Interestingly, historical evidence has shown that there’s no way three men could have made such a risky journey through deserts all by themselves. Even if they were three or even two they would have been accompanied by an army of servants and body-guards. This means that the picture we see on several Christmas cards of three men travelling in the middle of a desert with a bright star shining above them without an entourage in sight is a complete fallacy. They did present three gifts but the bible never said there were three of them.

Secondly, the visit by these men, which is an undisputed historical event, must have taken place several months after the birth of Jesus Christ. Again, this is exactly what the bible records, “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother…” (Mathew 2:11). This verse clearly shows two things, Jesus Christ was not a baby when the wise men visited him, he was a young child of about two years old and the visit did not take place at the manger where he was born but in a house Joseph and Mary moved into after Jesus was born in a manger.

The strongest indication that Jesus was about two years old at the time of the visit can be found in verse 16 of the second chapter in the book of Mathew, which reads thus, "Then Herod,…, was exceedingly wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men". (Mathew 2:16.) It is safe to assume that there’s no way Herod would have ordered a massacre of little children from two years old and under if the Wise Men gave him the impression that the child they sought was born just a couple of days earlier. It can also be implied from the last line of Mathew 2:16 that from Herod’s inquiries he figured out that the Wise Men set out from their base the day Jesus was born, when they saw the star and did not arrive in Bethlehem until two years later. “For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Mathew 2:2) This kind of confirms uncorroborated historical and geographical evidence that the journey from the east must have taken them about two years to make. Remember there were no cars or aeroplanes then.

However, in a modern world where Christmas has become a largely commercial affair the reaction expected to these revelations is, ‘frankly speaking, who cares?’



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/the-myth-of-the-three-wise-men/

The Nigerian asylum seeker who embarked on a hunger strike for over ninety days in protest against his detention has been deported to Nigeria.

According to the BBC, a flight carrying Isa Muazu left the UK on Tuesday and has arrived in Lagos.

In his asylum application, Muazu claimed that if he returned to Nigeria he could be killed by Boko Haram insurgents from whom he fled after he refused to join their group.

His argument was rejected by the Immigration Tribunal and the decision of the Tribunal was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Immigration minister Mark Harper confirmed his removal saying Mr Muazu had “no right” to be in the UK.

Mr Muazu’s lawyer also confirmed his arrival in Lagos saying his client was being taken to hospital following his arrival in Nigeria.

Mr Harper said Mr Muazu had overstayed his visa by more than five years before claiming asylum, and he was “not found to have a genuine need of protection”.

“Halting the removal of Mr Muazu because of his protest would undermine our asylum and immigration system – and provide a dangerous incentive for others to follow suit,” he said.

He said Mr Muazu had been offered “appropriate” medical assistance and the UK would cover the cost of an assessment in Nigeria.

Muazu’s case had attracted a lot of concern from prominent British personal who tried to appeal to the Home Secretary not to deport a man who was considered too ill to travel.

All their appeals, however, fell on deaf ears.

A previous attempt to deport him failed when a plane carrying him was refused permission to land in Nigeria.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/isa-muazu-back-in-nigeria

edo3: Ok we will set up commitee 2 luk into d matter.

Lol

There has been a lot of talk on Nigeria’s cyberspace about the attention (or lack of) Nigeria received at the ceremonies that followed Nelson Mandela’s demise.

Nigerians have not failed to notice that our president, Goodluck Jonathan, who was present at the memorial service was not given any form of acknowledgement at the event where President Barack Obama of the US was given the podium to give a eulogy.

Nigerians were quick to point out that while the US and the UK were supporting apartheid Nigeria was at the forefront of the fight to end the evil political system.

The complaint goes on and on.

It appears that we are the only ones who do not realise the fact that we have been consigned to the dustbin of history, thanks to our leaders.

After South Africa embraced multi-party democracy, Mandela sworn in as the first democratically elected president they made giant strides not only in the continent but also in the world.

Mandela in particular made sure that he lived above board and set a fine example for leaders all over the world to follow.

Mandela has become the yardstick with which the world measures political transparency.

Most people are quick to mention the fact that he refused to run for a second term in office.

Since Mandela’s release from prison on the other hand, Nigeria has moved from military dictatorship to civilian profligacy; complete disrespect for the Rule of Law under military dictatorship has been replaced with unbridled corruption under civilian rule and government by electoral fraud has simply replaced unconstitutional military dictatorship.

Yet we complain that we were not recognised at Mandela’s funeral. The old man would have been disappointed at the present ANC leadership had Nigeria’s president been given the podium to speak at the memorial ceremony.

While South Africans were still celebrating the life of one of the greatest statesmen in the last two hundred years an ex-president and the incumbent one are engaged in a power tussle with Nigerians taking sides with one or the other.

Yet we complain that we were not recognised at Mandela’s funeral. The important dignitaries would probably have laughed at the organisers had the podium been given to our president.


Respect is not demanded for but earned. If we want to be respected at the world stage we have to earn it and not throw tantrums like a child every time we get what we deserve.

See more at: http://naija2015..co.uk/

The funny thing is that most people are taking sides with either the sender or the recipient of the letter (Obasanjo or Jonathan) nobody is interested in the content of the letter. They want to be seen as taking sides, (mostly) with the incumbent.

This post is really thought provoking. That is exactly how a country spreads its influence around the world: helping out in times of crises. Nigeria should learn to start doing the same.

Now magazine has reported that a furious Kim Kardashian has confronted “baby father” Kanye West over flirty messages sent to Rihanna she discovered on Kanye’s secret spare mobile phone.

The magazine reported that Kim discovered the flirty messages on Kanye’s secret spare mobile phone while taking a spin in his $750,000 Lamborghini Aventador.

‘She found a mobile in the glove compartment containing all kinds of messages between Kanye and Rihanna – and some to other women, too,’ A friend of Kim’s said.

‘Poor Kim was horrified.’

Another insider then disclosed that when Kim confronted Kanye about it, he insisted it was all perfectly innocent.

‘He said he didn’t know what the fuss was about as he’s been pals with Rihanna for years – and that’s the way they’ve always talked to each other’.

‘He claimed the other texts were sent to women working in his office whom he has a really good rapport with’.

‘But Kim was having none of it and screamed and shouted at Kanye.

‘She warned him in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t take any nonsense from him.

‘She wants to believe that Kanye’s telling the truth, but she’s annoyed he can’t see why she’s so cross – especially as Rihanna has a reputation.’



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/kim-furious-as-she-discovers-flirty-texts-to-rihanna-on-kanyes-secret-phone/

The manufacturers of Blackberry have agreed in principle to be sold to a consortium led by Fairfax Financial for $4.7bn.

Fairfax Financial is Blackberry’s largest shareholder with about 10% of its stock.

The buyers are offering $9 a share in cash for the transaction.

While agreeing to the deal in principle, the smart phone makers have said they would continue to explore other options.

The Canadian smart phone company have said it is expecting a loss of up to $1bn due to poor sales of its new handsets and on Friday announced that 4,500 jobs will be shed in an effort to minimise the losses.

On Monday, the company released a statement that it had “signed a letter of intent agreement under which a consortium to be led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has offered to acquire the company subject to due diligence”.

The statement continued: “Diligence is expected to be complete by November 4, 2013. The parties’ intention is to negotiate and execute a definitive transaction agreement by such date.”

Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, Fairfax’s chairman and chief executive, said: “We believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for Blackberry, its customers, carriers and employees.

“We can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to Blackberry customers around the world.”

Blackberry’s financial crisis reached a climax this year due to disappointing sales of its new Z10 model smartphone.

Released in January – after many delays – the smart device has not thrilled consumers as much as similar products in the market from Blackberry’s competitors.

Blackberry shares, which fell 17% on Friday after its jobs cut announcement, rose just over 1% on Monday.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/blackberry-to-be-sold-for-4-7bn/

Only days after lone gunman, Aaron Alexis shot and killed 12 people in Washington DC, Chicago authorities have reported that 11 people, including a three-year-old child, were injured when a gunman opened fire on people in a park located in the city’s Back of the Yards district.

According to MSN.com, Chicago Fire Department officials report the child is in critical condition. Two other victims were also in critical condition, officials say.

Officer Amina Greer says the shooting occurred shortly after 10 pm local time.

According to Greer, at least 10 ambulances responded to the scene, taking the victim to several different hospitals.

Authorities say no one has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting.

A witness, Julian Harris, told the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper that men fired at him from a grey sedan before turning towards Cornell Square Park and firing at people in the area. He said his three-year-old nephew was wounded in the cheek.

“They hit the light pole next to me, but I ducked down and ran into the house,” he said. “They’ve been coming round here looking for people to shoot every night, just gang-banging stuff. It’s what they do.”

Francis John, 70, said she was in her apartment when the shooting occurred. She said went down to see what was going on and “a lot of youngsters were running scared.” She said she was surprised by what had happened, saying she has lived in the neighbourhood for 30 years.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/another-mass-shooting-in-america/

Judging by the rate at which Nigerians buy electronic gadgets, we may start seeing Nigerians wearing smartwatches very soon as Samsung has unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

According to msm.com, the announcement, at the IFA tech trade show in Berlin, will mean that by Christmas you’ll be able to wear a watch on your wrist that’s connected to your phone, giving you a plethora of information on the go.

Although not the first smartwatch on the market, the move by Samsung concretes the gadget as the possible next big thing to own.

The Galaxy Gear is a 1.6-inch 320 x 320 resolution OLED companion device that will allow you to bark orders by shouting towards your wrist Dick Tracy and Michael Knight style using Samsung’s S Voice software found on its phones.

Trying to offer something different from other smart watches on the market, Samsung has even included a 1.9-megapixel camera on board to capture still images or 720p HD video, while an accelerometer and gyroscope also feature alongside 4GB of internal storage. A variety of features apps – such as MyFitness Pal – will make best use of such features.

Specs wise the watch will run an 800MHz processor along with 512MB of RAM to handle all the goodies you’ll throw at it. Not ultra-powerful like current smartphones then, but it’s a companion device remember.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear will be available on 25 September although no price has been set as yet, and go up against competing devices from Qualcomm and Sony amongst others.

Here is what a reviewer, Luke Edwards, has to say about it:

“The Samsung Galaxy Gear doesn’t scrimp on design like some of its more plastic smartphone family members. It’s slim and sleek, sits comfortably and thanks to the stainless steel and six colour options it should go with whatever you’re wearing. The demographer camera sits seamlessly into the rubberised strap and is completely comfortable.
Multiple face options mean you can personalise it, although we found our favourite early on and imagine we’d rarely change it. Perhaps if third-party faces are available too that decision may change.
Despite the 800MHz processor and 1.63-inch Super AMOLED (320×320) screen, it feels modern, fast and capable. Apps like Evernote, eBay, Spotify and location sharing Glympse run quickly and simply. This could be a great new platform for more mobile specific apps – it’s as exciting a prospect for app development as the iPad was for mobile gaming”.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/smartwatches-may-hit-nigerian-stores-before-christmas/

A 37-year-old truck driver in the Philippines has died from self inflicted gunshot wounds after accidentally shooting himself in the private regions.

The man, identified by the Police as Geronimo Narciso died during a drinking session with friends in the Philippines province of Pangasinan – and not at the wheel.

Eye-witnesses report that he was drunk and fired two shots into the air after which his friends had to restrain him.

Unfortunately for him, when he tried to place the homemade pistol in his trousers, he accidentally pulled the trigger.

- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/man-dies-after-accidentally-shooting-his-penis/

Sky News has reported that research shows Facebook could be spreading unhappiness through society as well as keeping people connected.
The number one social networking site is strongly associated with declines in well-being, psychologists claim.

According to the British broadcasters, scientists found the more time people spent on Facebook over a two-week period, the worse they subsequently felt.
In contrast, talking to friends on the phone or meeting them in person led to greater levels of happiness.

Study leader Dr Ethan Kross, from the University of Michigan in the US, said: “On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection but rather than enhance well-being, we found that Facebook use predicts the opposite result – it undermines it.”

The researchers recruited 82 young adults, all of whom had smartphones and Facebook accounts.
To assess their personal levels of well-being, participants were sent questions by text message at five random times each day for two weeks.
The “experience sampling” technique is a recognised reliable way of measuring how people think, feel and behave in their day-to-day lives.

Participants were asked how they felt “right now”, how worried or lonely they were, and to what extent they had been using Facebook or interacting with other people directly.

Writing in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE, the researchers said higher levels of Facebook use correlated with greater loss of well-being.

Volunteers were also asked to rate their level of life satisfaction at the start and end of the study.
Over the two-week period, satisfaction ratings were found to decline the more people used Facebook.

“This is a result of critical importance because it goes to the very heart of the influence that social networks may have on people’s lives,” said University of Michigan neuroscientist and co-author Dr John Jonides.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/facebook-could-bring-unhappiness/

Napoli manager Rafa Benitez is lining up a £5million raid on former club Chelsea for their midfielder John Obi Mikel according to a report on Metro.co.uk.

It will be recalled that Mikel played under Benitez while the Spaniard was interim manager at Chelsea till the end of last season. Rafa Benitez must have been impressed with the Nigerian mid fielder.

Benitez is desperate to add another holding player to his squad this summer – and attention has turned to Mikel who has been put up for sale by Chelsea.

According to reports in Italy, Napoli are ready to offer up to £5million to land the Nigeria international, with talks set to open before the weekend.

Mikel, who is also a target for Galatasaray, has previously expressed his desire to remain at Stamford Bridge, but Napoli are confident of doing business.

The Italian giants could offer regular first-team football – something that is in doubt at Chelsea – and that could prove to be the tipping point.

Chelsea are expected to try and bring in another holding player regardless of whether Mikel stays or goes, with Roma’s Daniele De Rossi a key target.
Napoli are believed to be ready to spend £8m to get their man.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/napoli-offers-5m-for-mikel/

A New research has revealed that the on-going economic recession is taking its toll on the personal hygiene of a lot of young men in the United Kingdom.

According to The Independent, modern young men used to have a reputation for using a range of beauty products but a recent research carried out has revealed that 7% of young men in Britain have recently stopped using deodorant, while a further 5% of men aged 17 to 24 have stopped washing their hair regularly.
This research was commissioned by a retail magazine called The Grocer.

The research also discovered that another 5% are no longer styling their hair at least once a week with products such as gel.

According to analysts Kantar Worldpanel, the decline in sales is partly due to high rates of graduate unemployment.

According to one analyst, Samuel Hart, “The core driver for using deodorant as part of a routine is getting ready for work. Unemployment removes this.”

Latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that nearly one in ten students were unemployed six months after graduating from UK universities, with men more likely to be out of work than women.

Sales figures from the male grooming market show that the recent attitude to personal hygiene has affected the industry badly in the past year and sales have fallen 2.3% on volumes down 1.1%.

In a similar fashion, sales of razors have also fallen by 2.5% but this is believed to be as a result of men adopting a more rugged look – leaving their beards unshaved.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/economic-recession-personal-hygiene-suffering-in-britain/

The Mirror has reported that Lady Gaga revealed in an interview with Ryan Seacrest that she wears an item of Micheal Jackson’s clothing when making her music.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get more bizarre with Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka lady Gaga, she comes out with another outrageous revelation like that.

A video showing her meditating in her buff has only just been released last week and it didn’t appear like it was without her approval.

During an interview with Ryan Seacrest on US radio station KIIS FM on Monday, she said: “I recently bought a bunch of Michael Jackson clothes – bought a lot of clothes.”

“The idea was to keep them for him. I actually don’t want to wear them – they’re Michael’s clothes. I have one of his sweaters that I put on. I wear that when we’re mixing and finishing up the records. His real clothing.
“But wearing it and having it be mine? No.”
“Perhaps she finds inspiration and thinks her creative juices will flow while wearing the King of Pop’s tops but it does seem a tad extreme.” The Mirror added.

She also opened up about the apparent feud between her and Katy Perry which is said to have kicked off when they decided to release their singles just days apart.
However, due a strange turn of events the release dates suddenly coincided on Monday when Lady Gaga rush released her single Applause at the same time as Katy’s tune Roar after Gaga’s track was leaked online.

Clearing up the matter, Gaga said: “We both just happened to want to put our singles out within a week of each other. It’s not necessarily convenient for everyone any maybe a little bit awkward but we don’t need to force feed this negativity until everyone explodes – it turns into a competition and it’s not what I’m about at all.”

“I really like KP and I really like her fans and I really respect everyone in this industry because it wasn’t easy for me to get here and I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her to get where she is so I just wanted to put an end to it before it started.”



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/i-wear-micheal-jacksons-clothes-lady-gaga/

American rapper and new dad, Kanye West, seems to be sparing no expense as he placed an order for two high-performance armored vehicles at the cost of about One hundred and eighty million Naira to protect Kim Kardashian and their baby daughter North, says the Daily Mail.

Inspired by the President Obama’s “Limo One”, the 36-year-old rapper has reportedly spent $1.2 million each for two Prombron Iron Diamonds by Dartz Motorz, the Latvian company that angered PETA for featuring leather interior made from the foreskin of a whale penis.
On the Dartz website, the Iron Diamond is said to prevent kidnapping, hijacking and ‘other problems which can meet rich and lonely lady on the street.’

His two-month-old baby, North West, should rest easy inside the super-SUV ‘built to withstand attacks from landmines and rocket-propelled grenades.’

‘Kanye is fully aware that his new family is so high-profile they attract the attention of weirdos and psychopaths,’ a source told the Daily Star.

‘He aims to leave nothing to chance…His priority is to get delivery of the vehicles, especially Kim’s, before he begins his US tour in October.’

The 21-time Grammy winner apparently decided to beef up security for his family at Jay Z’s suggestion.

The Mercy rapper and his partner of 16 months will also reportedly employ two bodyguards and use body doubles as decoys for paparazzi.

The source ominously added: ‘If there have been any kidnapping threats already against their daughter, he isn’t saying. But that fear is clearly in his mind.’

According to Us Weekly, the Black Skinhead hitmaker ‘doesn’t leave North for more than an hour’ and he tenderly ‘holds the baby all the time.’

Kanye’s new album Yeezus debuted at number one in 31 countries, but due to lack of promotion the overall sales have been disappointing.



- See more at: http://www.urnaija.com/kanye-west-splashes-n180m-on-kidnap-proof-cars/

This post is exactly about what it says on the title. There's a new blog that will pay N2,500:00 for stories published that was sent by a contributor and the opportunity is open to anyone.

No prior qualification or gimmicks involved.

You send a story that hasn’t been published anywhere else, we publish the story, N2,500 lands in your account and you can do the same thing the next day and the day after.

We can accept a maximum of two stories per contributor every day - that's 5K a day.

It is absolutely necessary to attach pictures/video to any story sent.

You can make money from your eye-witness account of any breaking news!

We are the first Naija blog to introduce monetary payments for Citizen reporters!!

Please feel free to ask your questions on this thread. We are eager to answer your questions!!!

NB: The amount offered may be small for Nairaland webmasters but we would appreciate it if you could please make a mention on your blogs to your esteemed readers. Thanks

http://www.urnaija.com/urnaija-pays-ngn250000-per-story/

dayoade2007: Sounds interesting.........is there anything like number of pages of report to be sent in or amount of pix? Can you clarify this aspect?......

Thank you for your interest, dayoade2007. We will advice you to file a report that you're comfortable with. If it's too short on details it becomes irrelevant, too long and editing becomes a nightmare. About 300-400 words would be okay. As regards pictures, two or three pix should do the trick.

Please contact us: stories@urnaija.com and we can give you a tip on where you can get a story that we will be happy to publish.
Looking forward to receiving your e-mail.

Justine Greening, the United Kingdom’s Overseas Aid Secretary, the cabinet member in charge of British aid to developing countries, has unequivocally denied recent reports that British Aid money was being used to fund a Nigerian “space project”.

Speaking on a BBC radio programme she claimed that the so called “space project” was nothing more than an investment in satellite technology that did not involve putting a man in space and was not being funded by British Aid money.

Ms Greening defended Nigeria’s investment in satellite technology by saying it will help combat famine in Africa after Conservative MPs have criticised her department for allocating more than £900 million in government funds for social and educational projects in Nigeria when the country is spending its own money on training an astronaut.

She also said she believed British aid was being “well spent” but added: “We obviously have to make sure that we critically assess the projects underway.

“We are investing in education projects – some of these are actually in incredibly challenging parts of Nigeria.”
Ministers expect the Nigerian government to invest in its own infrastructure as well, she said as she praised the investment in satellite technology as “a sensible investment”.

“The so called ‘space programme’ was in fact investment in satellites, weather satellites and for communication.” The minister explained.
“For a country like Nigeria, which still has a huge agricultural sector for which getting crops can be the difference between keeping people alive and having chronic famine, actually understanding weather patterns is absolutely key to food production and food planning.”

The Cabinet minister said it was “regrettable” that almost half a million pounds of British taxpayer-funded aid and equipment had fallen into the hands of al-Qaeda-linked rebels in Somalia.

Over a three month period, the terror group’s franchise in the country, al-Shabaab, “confiscated” the material worth £480,000 from contractors working for the British government in a series of incidents.

Miss Greening sought to play down the significance of the losses and insisted that officials in her Department for International Development “track exactly” what happens to taxpayers’ money.

“This incident shows that often we are working in incredibly challenging circumstances,” the minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It is regrettable that we lost supplies that were funded by the taxpayer but we were in Somalia precisely because of the terrorism threat and at a time of huge issues of piracy as well and it shows why we were there in the first place,” she told the Today programme.



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We read a recent interview reportedly granted by Tontoh Dikeh to The Nation. It’s very surprising that the interviewer still brought up the infamous picture allegedly posted on the star’s Instagram account. It’s assumed that the matter had been buried.

In response, Ms. Dikeh said she had not been contacted by the NDLEA, which is not surprising at all.

We trust that Ms. Dikeh would have sought legal advice on this matter and that’s perhaps why she said it will be a shame should the NDLEA contact her.

Unless the Drug Law Enforcement Agency has re-written the Law of Evidence or they operate by their own set of evidence rules we at urnaija don’t expect any action to emanate from the Instagram pictures.

Before a person could be prosecuted for possession of a banned substance, the NDLEA would have confiscated the substance, taken a sample to their lab for analysis and got a confirmation from the lab that the substance is actually what it is suspected to be.

During the trial, the analyst who tested the substance would be called to give evidence as an expert witness and the defence lawyer should be given the opportunity to cross examine the expert witness as regards the true nature of the substance.

It will be a turning point in Nigeria’s jurisprudence when a person is prosecuted or sentenced for possession of a banned substance on the strength of a photograph posted on the Internet.

This case brings to mind a similar situation involving British top model and mother of one, Kate Moss. In September 2005, the daily mirror published a picture of Kate Moss allegedly snorting cocaine in a London studio while her then boyfriend, Pete Doherty, was recording an album.

After the pictures came a youtube video showing her allegedly snorting the white stuff:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L30zN9pJZkE

She lost a few big contracts but she gained more than she lost as she even became more popular. It was almost as if the cocaine incident rejuvenated her career.

About seven months after the pictures and video emerged the Daily Mail published a story in their 4th April 2006 edition that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the government agency responsible for prosecuting drug related crimes, might not press any charges against her. According to the Daily Mail there are three main reasons why lawyers believe there is insufficient evidence to charge her. Firstly, police cannot be 100 per cent certain that she was snorting cocaine in the pictures published. If charged, she could argue that she was pretending to take the drug.
Secondly, there are fears that she could have been "set up" to take substances by music industry insiders looking to sell the images to a newspaper. It is believed the Daily Mirror paid up to £150,000 for the footage.

Finally, she refused to say anything incriminating when interviewed by officers after the photographs emerged. Without an admission of guilt, she cannot even be cautioned.

About two months later, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed that they were dropping charges against Kate Moss completely. Here’s what a source at CPS said, "We knew from the outset that the photographs were not legal proof. The case would never have gone ahead if it had been plain Mr Jones."
Since the Nigerian Legal system is similar to that of the United Kingdom it should be assumed that the Tonto Dikeh incident will go the same way the Kate Moss saga went.

CAVEAT: This article does not constitute legal advice. The only advice we can give Ms. Dikeh is to seek independent legal consultation on the matter if she hasn’t done so already.

We also wish her all the very best in her music and acting careers.

Read more at: http://www.urnaija.com/tonto-dikeh-and-the-ndlea/

Usain Bolt has claimed the gold medal in the men’s 100m race at the world Athletic championships in Moscow in 9.77sec.

The world fastest man, world record holder and multiple Olympic gold medalist made up for his disappointing disqualification from the same race two years ago in Daegu but was unable to recapture his form from Berlin in 2009, when he won gold in a world-record 9.58sec.

Justin Gatlin claimed silver in 9.85sec and Nesta Carter took bronze with a time of 9.95sec in the Luzhniki stadium.

Bolt was the hot favourite for the title in the absence of the injured 2011 winner Yohan Blake and the 2007 champion Tyson Gay, who announced last month he had failed a dope test.

The Jamaican had sauntered into the final earlier in the evening in a time of 9.92sec, although his compatriot Nickel Ashmeade was the fastest qualifier in 9.90.



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Ian Birrell, a former deputy editor of the Independent who also worked as a speechwriter for David Cameron during the 2010 election campaign has written in an article published yesterday in The Guardian that the United Kingdom will need Nigeria more than Nigeria needs the UK in the emerging world order.

Commenting on the £3,000 visa bond scheme, among other issues, Mr. Birrel believes rather than turn away people from Nigeria, a country he considers an emerging superpower, Britain should encourage more Nigerians to visit.

Please find below full text of his article:

“Despite their military name, it is hard to see how an eight-strong delegation from Nigeria’s branch of the Boys’ Brigade posed much of a threat to this country. They are, after all, members of a Christian youth group that is championed by our royal family and had been invited to a prestigious global event to recognise civic leadership. But the handpicked teenagers and their two dedicated leaders were barred from Britain.

The group was gutted. “We are not happy at all,” Arastus Mbamoh, national secretary of the Boys’ Brigade in Nigeria, told me. “It is very annoying and highly disappointing for everyone.” They were not alone –43 other delegates were barred from the international gathering this weekend at Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. With depressing inevitability all were from Africa; only eight applicants from the continent were allowed to join the festivities.

This is the flip side of our toxic immigration debate, with those vile “go home” posters and racist talk of bongo bongo land. Each day, thousands of Africans are turned away from Britain, wrecking carefully laid plans to trade, visit relatives, attend conferences, see the sights or simply enjoy some shopping. They lose costly visa fees of up to £772 and go elsewhere; we lose goodwill alongside much-needed business in key sectors.

This official hostility makes a mockery of politicians who talk of competing in a global race as they corrode links to some of the world’s fastest developing nations. And nowhere sums up Britain’s anachronistic and contorted view of a rapidly changing world better than Nigeria, a country cobbled together by our Victorian ancestors a century ago that is emerging, for all its flaws and internal rifts, as Africa’s potential superpower.

On one hand our leaders, who love to cloak themselves in compassion as self-proclaimed saviours of the poor, throw huge clumps of taxpayers’ cash at this west African behemoth. As ministers pump taxpayers’ money into aid despite a startling history of failure, Nigeria is being handed the biggest increase of any major recipient nation over the course of the coalition. The annual bung is rising from £142m three years ago to£305m by the next election in 2015 – coincidentally the country’s target date to launch its first astronauts under an ambitious space programme.

It is daft to pour such sums into a place pockmarked with corruption and soaring inequality. Nigeria is one of the world’s fastest growing markets for private jets and champagne: a bottle of Cristal can cost £600 in a club while two thirds of people struggle to survive on less than half that sum a year. The core issues are ones of governance and social justice – yet we prop up a thieving political elite that has failed persistently to deliver public services to its people. This is a major oil producer that suffers crippling power shortages and accounts for one in three children out of school in Africa.

It is worth adding, of course, that it is pinstriped western pimps in finance, law and property who assist the flight of African capital – much of it stolen – into offshore accounts and tax havens. Little is done to tackle this. Now one of our leading banks is about to cut the life support that aids millions of families through the transfer of remittances.

Despite the kleptocracy and growing insurgency in the north, Nigeria is one of the continent’s most consistent economic performers, with annual growth rates of more than 5% over the past decade and about to become Africa’s biggest economy. This is not just down to oil – it has strong banking and technology sectors, while manufacturing, construction and leisure thrive. The question is whether its energy and entrepreneurialism can sustain a population expected to increase fivefold by the end of the century; if it does, it could challenge even China.

So what is our stance towards this nation that has strong historic ties to ours, speaks English and can be brought to near standstill by an Arsenal match on TV? A sharp rise in the proportion of rejected visa applications, according to most recent figures. And now the government, rattled by Ukip over immigration but impotent to stop those coming from Europe, plans to impose an absurd £3,000 bond on the six-month visas favoured by most of the 142,000 Nigerians who visited these shores last year. This discriminatory idea was, incidentally, first floated by Labour then initially announced by the Liberal Democrat leader.

Yet we will need Nigeria more than they need us in the emerging world order. Over the past decade trade between the two nations rose nearly fivefold, with the value of British exports there doubling. Meanwhile, a study last month found Nigerians to be the sixth-biggest spenders in our shops, which explains the Hausa signs in Debenhams, while they spend £300m annually at our schools and universities. But there is nothing to stop them educating their children in the US, trading with Turkey or holidaying in China.

The bond proposal created a deserved backlash in Nigeria, with fiery calls for retaliation. Newspaper headlines talk of two nations on a warpath – but which one will be the loser in the so-called global race? The African powerhouse growing at great speed – or its former colonial master, struggling to hold its head above water? Britain bleats about bogus development through aid, yet demonstrates hostility that reeks of hypocrisy and damages both our interests. We need to wake up before it is too late.”



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