₦airaland Forum

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

   
* John Avlon: Constant drumbeat of sex scandal, as in Weiner, Spitzer, Sanford, hurts us
   
* He says others would be fired, prosecuted; politicians often get off scot-free or are re-elected
   
* He says civic culture is at stake; important issues ignored as media eat up sex scandal
   
* Avlon: Politicians must hold themselves to high standard, not lowest common denominator

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/08/avlon.weiner.sex.scandals/index.html

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

   
* Sarfraz Shah begs for his life on the video
   
* He is shot by members of the Sindh Rangers
   
* The incident is one of a series of human rights breaches
   
* A human rights activist says security forces were trigger happy

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/10/pakistan.shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the death of senior Africa al-Qaeda militant Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a "significant blow" to the group.

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed


* Born in Moroni, Comoros islands, in the Indian Ocean

* Indicted in the US over 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania

* One of FBI's most wanted terror suspects with $5m reward

* Speaks French, Swahili, Arabic, English and Comoran

Source: FBI

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

   
* CNN source says NATO believes the U.N. resolution on Libya justifies killing Moammar Gadhafi.
   
* NATO replies: "We are simply not targeting individuals."
   
* NATO is trying to decide what to bomb first, Gadhafi's army or the leader himself.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/06/10/libya.nato.robertson/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." ~ Albert Einstein

Is there any connection between the Law of attraction and relationships, and how you can use it to get what your heart desires. Does the law of attraction work for your life and relationships! How do you react to this?

Is it a good idea to have romantic relationships in the workplace? After all you're working in the same company and have seemingly similar interests. So will a work place romance work?

While moping and trying to hang on is usually your first reaction, what is the best course of action?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

   
* David Gergen: The noose around Libyan leader Gadhafi is tightening
   

* NATO has escalated bombing; diplomatic and economic pressure is mounting
   

* He says if Gadhafi is forced from power, Obama's approach will be vindicated
   
* Gergen: It's not clear if a new regime in Libya would be friendly to the U.S.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/08/gergen.libya.gadhafi/index.html

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

   
* Nine people are killed when assailants strike a police station in Borno state
   
* Two die after an explosion outside a church
   
* Police suspect the Boko Haram militant Islamist group is responsible for both attacks

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/08/nigeria.violence/index.html

What is a good reason to have a boyfriend or girlfriend?

Relatives of a policeman jailed in Zimbabwe for using a toilet reserved for President Robert Mugabe are appealing for his release.

The policeman, Alois Mabhunu, was arrested last month in the city of Bulawayo after he used a special presidential toilet at a trade fair.

A police court on Wednesday ordered his imprisonment for 10 days.

Zimbabwean human rights lawyers said there was no law forbidding people from using the president's toilet.

They said Mr Mabunhu should not have been arrested.

Mr Mugabe, 87, visited Bulawayo, the country's second city, for the opening of the annual Zimbabwe International Trade Fair on 6 May.

Mr Mabunhu was on duty when he was caught short and rushed to use the reserved toilet. He was arrested several days later.

According to Zimbabwe's Daily News paper, his charge sheet did not specify what laws he had breached or how he had compromised security.

The BBC's Thabo Kunene in Bulawayo says his relatives are angry that he was tried before a police tribunal without lawyers present.

Mr Mugabe, who has been the leader of Zimbabwe for the three decades of its independence, is currently in a power-sharing government with long-time opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tripoli – NATO announced Saturday it had for the first time used attack helicopters in Libya, striking military vehicles, military equipment and forces backing embattled leader Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi.

"Attack helicopters under NATO command were used for the first time on 4 June, 2011 in military operations over Libya as part of Operation Unified Protector," the Atlantic Alliance said in a statement.

"The targets struck included military vehicles, military equipment and fielded forces" of the Qaddafi regime, said the statement, without detailing exactly where the strikes had taken place.

The Apaches hit two targets near the coastal city of Brega, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense in London.

It said they took off from HMS Ocean, stationed off the Libyan coast and returned safely after completing their mission in the early morning hours.

The French helicopters took off from the helicopter transport ship Tonnerre in the Mediterranean, said Col. Thierry Burkhard. He said the French helicopters struck 15 military vehicles and 5 military command buildings, without identifying the sites or their location.

He said the French helicopters came under light firearms fire but were not hit or damaged. Burkhard said the operation was aimed at putting "additional pressure on the Gadhafi forces who continue to threaten the civilian population."

Until now, NATO has relied on attack jets, generally flying above 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) -- nearly three miles (five kilometers) high and pounding Gadhafi targets in relentless overnight bombings.

But the helicopters are a game-changer, giving the alliance a key advantage in close-up combat, flying at much lower altitudes.

The news came as a report in Japan said that authorities there had frozen $4.4 billion in assets belonging to Qaddafi and his entourage under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution.

The assets included bank savings, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported citing data of the finance ministry, without giving fuller details. A spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the report.

The UN Security Council, with strong support from Arab and African nations, on February 26 unanimously passed sanctions against the Qaddafiregime with the aim of stopping a crackdown on anti-government forces.

Meanwhile in London the Ministry of Defense confirmed British Apache helicopters took part in the Saturday's helicopter attacks. "Yes, we confirm" their intervention, a spokeswoman said, without giving further details.

London, which has since March 19 taken part in the international coalition's operations in Libya, announced late last month it was sending in four attack helicopters to be based on HMS Ocean off the north African coast.

Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, commander in chief of the NATO mission in Libya, said "this success demonstrates the unique possibilities offered" by using combat helicopters.

"The use of attack helicopters provides the NATO operation with additional flexibility to track and engage pro-Qaddafi forces who deliberately target civilians and attempt to hide in populated areas," the statement went on.

It quoted Bouchard, the Canadian officer in charge of Operation Unified Protector, as saying: "We will continue to use these means when and where necessary, with the same precision as in all our missions."

NATO forces "are constantly reviewing their operations and use of available assets, including attack helicopters, to best maintain the momentum and increase the pressure on pro-Qaddafi forces."

The statement recalled that NATO's operation was being conducted under UN Security Resolution 1973, which did not authorize the sending of troops to occupy Libya but "which calls for an immediate end to all attacks against civilians and authorized all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in Libya."

At the end of May, Bouchard said French and British attack helicopters would allow NATO to conduct an "effective and aggressive" mission against Qaddafi forces threatening the civilian population.

"It's an additional capability to pinpoint these vehicles that are much more difficult to see from aircraft at high altitude," he said from his headquarters in Naples, Italy.

France was contributing four Tigre attack helicopters while Britain offered four Apaches, NATO military officials said, adding that the helicopters were being prepared to fly over sea water and desert conditions.

The choppers were based respectively on the helicopter carriers Tonnerre and HMS Ocean. The Tonnerre was also transporting a dozen Gazelle helicopters that are older than the Tigres, an alliance military official said.

Insisting that NATO had no intention to put troops on the ground, Bouchard said in late May: "The helicopters that are being provided to us are armed and attack helicopters and they are not the type that do mass movements of troops on the ground."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

This is an exclusive report on how some politicians in the North are already plotting on how to reclaim power by 2015. Will their plan work?

Lamentation song, pure and simple. The meeting was called to examine the failure of the North to stop President Goodluck Jonathan. But for a better part of the over two hours spent at the meeting, it was all about lamentation, about what ought to have been done but which was not done, things not meant to be done but which were done.

In fact, their discussions were so bitter in tone, pitiful in manner but desperate in approach, so much that they lamented why Jonathan had not been stopped much earlier, particularly during the heady days of the ailment which afflicted Umaru Yar’Adua, a time when just a handful of people held the country hostage.

To be fair, in recounting how the North lost an opportunity at seizing the moment, reference was made to a meeting held much earlier, where a former head of state was in attendance along with two serving ministers at that time, about the intrigues which went on in the Presidency.

Not totally representative of all the desperate interests in northern Nigeria, those in attendance assumed they were. But what the politicians represent were no more than political groups such as Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Unity Forum, UF, and General Muhammadu Buhari’s party, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.

Other interests allegedly represented at the meeting of the group, on Friday, May 20, 2011 between 8 and 1015 p.m, were the representative of a former Vice- President, the representative of a former Inspector-General of Police, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, two former ministers and a former state governor who dumped the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but who has now ended up in CPC and who played a prominent role in the Yar’Adua administration.

That was not the first meeting of some leading politicians from northern Nigeria. In fact, since after the primaries of PDP which saw the defeat of the obtuse consensus candidate of the Northern Political Leaders Forum, NPLF, there has been a rash of meetings.

Facts of this latest meeting emerged barely 48hours after the swearing in of President Jonathan as he begins his four-year tenure in office.

The politicians vowed to ensure that they keep a tab on the activities of the President with a view to plotting a retake of power in 2015.

The meeting was held in the Maitama District of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

Participants at the meeting were informed of the “need for them to further earlier discussions towards the realisation of the northern presidency project in 2015, as well as the question of leadership in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It was argued that the success of northern desires in 2015 will largely depend eventually on who secures the PDP leadership now.

”One of the participants described as unfortunate the present crop of northerners in the PDP, who he saw as only being used against the interests of the North”.

Speaking further, a source close to the meeting disclosed that participants were charged not to see the present situation in the North as a light matter.

”It is a very serious one”, one of the attendees charged, remarking that they were aghast when “they read the comment of Senator Joseph Waku, in a national newspaper, where he allegedly revealed that Mr. President, the current Chief Justice of Nigeria, the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Directors-General of the State Security Service (SSS), and the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), are all Christians.

“That Waku had also wondered in the said publication that Senator David Mark, who is also a Christian, should not similarly be aspiring to return to the position of president of the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

”That even among the present service chiefs in the country, it is only one of them that is a Muslim”.

But the meeting was not all about lamentation as a bit of introspection was introduced when one of the participants admitted that “their respective attitude as northerners is creating the prevailing situation for the North, adding that they, however, do not know the level of havoc they have done and are still doing until the North will be out of political power completely”.

Another participant, who had worked inside Aso Rock Presidential Villa, went further to give a breakdown of the security configuration in the seat of power.

”During (our) period in office at the Presidential Villa”, he began, “there were about 1,500 personnel of the SSS, out of which almost 1,000 were of northern extraction.

”That during the administration of the late President Yar’Adua, of the over 1,000 SSS personnel at the Presidential Villa then, most of them were northerners.

”That, there are about 700) SSS personnel presently deployed to the same Villa, with only few northerners amongst them, including one (names withheld) a namesake of his, who, he revealed, presently works with Mr. President.
”That similar situation obtains in the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, NIA”.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that one of those at the meeting categorically stated that the “President should be put under check”. It was gathered that “this position was generally accepted to the participants”.

Consequent upon an earlier point raised during the meeting, the participants were said to have enthused that some of the pieces of information gathered during their discussion would “make (for) progress”.

In fact, another speaker at the meeting remarked “that this reminded him of the on-going debate on the issue of leadership in both chambers of the National Assembly, particularly that of the Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives. He recalled that a fortnight ago, it was stated that there was no zoning, but that a week later, the same people maintained that there was zoning. He added that by the time media practitioners began to blame the Presidency and the leadership of PDP for doublespeaking on the issue, the Presidency and the PDP leadership could not defend it.

”The participants were thereafter admonished to document all comments made by Mr. President for the sake of posterity, so as to use same against him (Mr. President) later in order to also confront him that this and this, are what he (Mr. President) had stated at one point in time or the other”.

What Sunday Vanguard has also been able to discover is that whereas the meeting was expected to have more participants, the current agenda of ministerial nomination kept some of the expected participants away. It was also discovered that beyond the bravado of some of the leaders, there are those who are still hopeful of being appointed by Jonathan.

The participants at the meeting admitted this much when reference was made to the unfortunate development that has ensued that some “northerners in PDP (who were) being used against the interests of the North”.

For Nollywood actress and Glo ambassador, Monalisa Chinda, it is time to go spiritual. And the actress is leaving no stone un-turn as she affects humanity with her new thinking.

Lisa has turned a preacher of the word on facebook. Her “Monalisa Chinda-Friend Limit Reached” is the platform through which she is propagating her new ideologies to her teeming fans across the globe on facebook.

In one of the thought-provoking comments, she posted on her facebook wall, Lisa writes “to celebrate yourself each day of your life is the best gift you can give your soul. When is the last time you wake up and celebrate yourself by thanking God for creating that person you see when you look into the mirror?”

Continuing she added, “love yourself all the time so you shall be loved by others, treat yourself with so much respect so you shall be treated with happiness and respect, be blessed people.”

Stars do not struggle to shine, rivers do not struggle to flow, and You will never struggle to excel in life, because you deserve the best. Hold on to your dream and it shall be well with you…. The eyes beholding this message shall not behold evil, the hand that….” In all, i f you happened to be one of the fans of Lisa, and you are not benefiting from her winning ‘words of wisdom”, then, you need to hook on with her on facebook.

Speakers and human rights groups at the 15th anniversary of the slain Alhaja Kudirat Abiola have renewed their call on Federal Government for the immortalization of the deceased believed to be a martyr of democracy in Nigeria.

Kudirat Abiola, the wife of the late M.K.O Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the history of Nigeria, was assassinated on June 4, 1996 in the wake of agitation for the actualization of the mandate of her husband.

According to the co-ordinator of the anniversary who also doubles as the president for Women Arise, a non-governmental organization, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, the slow pace at which the judiciary is handling the murder trial calls for concern as “justice delayed is justice denied”.

Okei-Odumakin, who said that the large turn-out at the event was an indication that the woman did not die in vain, remarked that it was necessary for the judiciary “to speed up the process of adjudication and ensure that the culprit is brought to book”.

In the address of the secretary general of Coalition of Self-Determination Group (COSEG), Rasak Oloko-oba, the Federal Government must ensure that a major player in the Abacha regime is made to face the consequences of his actions while in power.

According to Oloko-oba, one of the ways the present government can prove to the world that it represents the interest of slain democrats like Kudirat Abiola, Pa. Alfred Rewane, Harry Marshal, Bola Ige and a host of others is to cater for the interests of ordinary men and women on the street who voted them into power.

Chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Debo Adeniran, enjoined the civil society to ensure that the interest of the people is not jeopardized by elected political office holders.

In the remarks of one of the sons of the late Kudirat, Abdul Abiola, who expressed satisfaction with the turn-out of the people at the event, believed that his mother died for the mandate of the people, urging them to extol the virtues of her mother in stimulating the struggle.

The highlight of the event was the laying of wreaths at the spot where the late martyr of democracy was assassinated in Oregun.

The battle for the speakership of the House of Representatives has shifted to the Asokoro lodges of governors from the Peoples Democratic Party, in Abuja, where they read the Riot Act to lawmakers-elect to respect the party’s decision by electing Mrs. Mulikat Akande-Adeola as speaker on Monday.

This is even as a rash of meetings of Reps zonal caucuses continued on Saturday to finalise strategies on the election of Speaker.

The life of the House under the superintendence of Mr. Dimeji Bankole ended on Saturday.

The contest for the exalted speakership seat has sharply divided the 360-member House, throwing up Adeola, Messrs Aminu Tambuwal and Muraino Ajibola, as aspirants.

The PDP leadership in league with its governors had endorsed Akande-Adeola as the party’s candidate after a meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

But a group of lawmakers led by Tambuwal, who is also aspiring for the most hallowed chair, has remained defiant, and vowed to contest the seat.

It was gathered that the adamant posture of the Tambuwal group, compelled the party to direct its PDP governors to individually reach out to their repsentatives to make them act in accord with the party position.

Consequently, PDP governors still in Abuja met the legislators last Friday to pressurize them to vote for the anointed candidate of the party.

One lawmaker outside the North, told Sunday Punch on Saturday that the governors called them to appeal and in some cases, intimidate, adding however, that they would still go ahead with the “Tambuwal project.”

He said, “The governors called us on Friday to read the Riot Act; but governors were not the ones that elected us. The electorate elected us.

“Our oath of allegiance is to the Constitution and not to any individual, mindful of the fact that the Constitution has no provision for either North or South, but one indivisible country called Nigeria.

“The important thing is that the Speaker of the House does not belong to the PDP alone, but also belongs to other political parties.

“Therefore, no amount of coercion, intimidation or threat will deter us from going ahead with our plan.”

Earlier, the South-West zonal plank of the PDP, led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo had adopted Muraino as its candidate, but the party in Abuja and the legislators spurned the decision.

The caucuses of South-South zone led by Mr. Andrew Uchendu and North-East zone chaired by Mr. Jerry Manwe, on Saturday, issued a statement, backing Mulikat.

Uchendu, from Rivers State told one of our correspondents on the telephone that the South-South lawmakers believed in the supremacy of the party and that whomever the PDP supported would be adopted.

He said, “After we evaluated the candidates for the contest, we found out that Mulikat’s mien, conduct, educational background and humility prepared her well as a possible leader we need to support.

“We also believe in political compromise for the sustainability of our democracy and our country. No zone should be left out in the political equation of the country and for the stability of the country.

“We have told our colleagues that we should not question the PDP platform that brought us to Abuja.”

Also, Manwe stated, “The North-East caucus stands by the party’s decision. We are loyal party members.”

It is believed that Mulikat is pairing with Mr. Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi State, who until last Friday was the Chairman, House Services Committee.

The House has about 260 new members of the 360-member legislature, and the new lawmakers hold the power loop critical to the emergence of the speaker.

A thrice-elected lawmaker said, “These new members can easily listen to their governors than the ranking members who are supporting Tambuwal.

“If we take cognizance of the fact that the old members are about 100, it will be easy to appreciate that we don’t have what it takes to tilt the balance, only the new lawmakers can.”

Both Mulikat and Tambuwal have met former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu of Action Congress of Nigeria, in a bid to secure the support of the 70-member lawmakers of the party.

The two leading contestants in the race are lawyers, and Mulikat apart from enjoying the party’s support, is also being supported by President Goodluck Jonathan and his wfe, Patience.

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Thousands of people filled Hong Kong's Victoria Park on Saturday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.

The candlelight vigil comes after recent efforts by the Chinese government to quash would-be demonstrators from holding anti-government protests. About 26 people were arrested between February and March, according to a Hong Kong-based human rights group, when an anonymous group began an internet campaign calling for anti-government protests in China similar to ones that have taken hold in the Middle East.

In response to the campaign, authorities deployed heavy security along major thoroughfares, especially in Wangfujing, a busy shopping street in downtown Beijing that had been designated by the online group for protests. The government also tightened rules on foreign reporters, explicitly warning them that they risk detention, suspension of press cards and expulsion if they show up at planned demonstrations.

20 years on: Tiananmen remembered

Saturday's protest is an annual event organized by the Hong Kong Alliance, a pro-democracy group. Hong Kong police called it a "peaceful gathering."
Remembering Tiananmen Square
RELATED TOPICS

* China

Images of the demonstration showed a sea of flickering candles covering the length of the park.

A little more than 22 years ago, students gathered in Tiananmen Square to memorialize the recently deceased Hu Yaobang. He was fired as Communist Party chief in 1987 by Deng Xiaoping for pushing policies deemed too soft toward "bourgeois-liberal ideas" and tolerating student protests.

The April 15 memorial quickly turned into a pro-democracy movement, and students held talks with the government and later a hunger strike in Tiananmen Square to press their cause. On June 4, 1989, Chinese troops in armored personnel carriers and tanks rumbled toward Tiananmen Square. The soldiers, on strict orders to clear the square of demonstrators, had forced their way through the city's main thoroughfare.

Along the way, they met fierce resistance from students and city residents who barricaded the streets, so they fired at them.

When the firing stopped, hundreds if not thousands of people lay maimed or dead.

Relatives of victims renew their hopes every year that Beijing's leaders will reverse the verdict that the protests were a counter-revolutionary rebellion that had to be put down.

CNN's Aliza Kassim contributed to this report.

(CNN) -- Football legend Diego Maradona has accused world governing body FIFA of being corrupt and run by greedy officials who have made millions from the sport.

The 1986 World Cup winner delivered the broadside at his first press conference as coach of Dubai-based club Al Wasl on Saturday, as he reflected on the recent FIFA presidential elections in which incumbent Sepp Blatter ran unopposed.

Blatter's main opponent, Mohamed Bin Hammam of Qatar, was suspended ahead of the vote along with fellow FIFA executive Jack Warner following accusations of bribery.

"There is a lot of corruption involving FIFA officials and they are all millionaires because of football," the former Argentina player and coach said.
'FIFA must come back to football'
What crisis? Five Blatter highlights
RELATED TOPICS

* Diego Maradona
* FIFA
* Joseph Blatter
* Argentina
* Soccer

"I wonder if Blatter has ever kicked a football in his life, and yet we have been under the control of such people who have refused to give up power in FIFA.

"Why don't they all just relinquish their positions, take the money they have made and leave the running of the sport in the more capable hands of former football players?"

Maradona, a controversial figure who was sent home from the 1994 World Cup for using drugs, said he had never liked the FIFA establishment.

"I don't support corrupt people and I will never be on their side. I have always been asked by them to support the FIFA family. But what family are they talking about? This sport belongs to us and they have never ever asked us to be part of the development process," the 50-year-old said.

"They have too much power and this has made them so arrogant and proud. This is not what a genuine football lover needs from such officials. After all football, is the biggest sport in the world.

"We will continue doing what we are doing so that these corrupt people go away. They are too old and since they have made so much money at the cost of football, they should simply take it all and go away. Please leave football alone."

Maradona, who turned up more than an hour late for the media briefing, added that FIFA had stifled his attempts to form a players' union.

"What did FIFA do? They worked against us to ensure the union never saw the light of day," he said.

Meanwhile, FIFA is investigating Argentina's 4-1 defeat by Nigeria on Wednesday as part of a wider investigation into match-fixing, according to a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph on Saturday.

The paper said there was evidence of irregular patterns as referee Ibrahim Chaibou of Niger allowed three extra minutes of injury-time in addition to the five already awarded before Argentina scored from a penalty.

"FIFA can confirm that this match between Nigeria and Argentina was one that we had an active interest in, and forms part of a wider ongoing investigation," it said in a statement to the Telegraph.

The Nigerian Football Federation released a statement denying the accusation on Saturday.

"We are concerned at attempts by unscrupulous elements to play down the feat that our national team performed by beating Argentina," general secretary Musa Amadu said.

"This match was shown on many television stations, including ESPN, and in front of a crowd of 50,000, and we are certain that Nigeria's Super Eagles deservedly won that match, playing to the rules, and clearly outplaying our opponents."

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- Police raided a clinic in southeast Nigeria and rescued about 30 girls allegedly used in a "baby industry" in which they would give birth to children who then would be sold, authorities said Thursday.

"There are about 30 pregnant young ladies -- the eldest was 20 years old," said Geoffrey Ogbonna, a police spokesman. "Some belong in secondary, even in primary school."

In addition to the expecting mothers, 12 children were found at the clinic ranging in age from 2 to 12 years old, according to Arinze Orakwue, a spokesman for the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons. It was not clear whether the children found were related to the pregnant girls and women.

Orakwue called the operation of the clinic, which was officially registered, "a failure of oversight."

Police stormed the Cross Foundation clinic in Abia state over the weekend after receiving a tip, but no babies were found at the location, the spokesman said.

Authorities believe there were cases in which babies were sold for between 100,000 and 150,000 naira ($640 to $960), with the women receiving about $131, according to Ogbonna.

Some of the women had unwanted pregnancies and wanted to get rid of their babies, while others were impregnated as part of the operation of the clinic's business, Orakwue said.

A doctor arrested at the location said the babies had been handed over to social welfare for adoption.

Police said the women seized were not cooperating.

Only one of the women has talked so far, and she said her friend took her to the clinic, according to Ogbonna.

"They do not want to open up," he said.

The investigation continues, police said.

How many movies per week does Nigeria's film industry produce?

(CNN) -- Back in March, Amnesty International began reporting that the Egyptian military had subjected 17 women protesters at a Tahrir Square demonstration to "virginity tests." The women told Amnesty that they had been handcuffed and beaten, stripped searched and photographed by male soldiers, then restrained by female soldiers while a man in a white coat performed a virginity check.

The military denied the accusations, but in the past few days, a senior general has confirmed to CNN that indeed, the virginity tests happened. The general justified the abuse by saying these women "were not like your daughter or mine. These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters."

The general went on to insist that the tests were necessary because "we didn't want (the women) to say we had sexually assaulted or violated them, so we wanted to prove they weren't virgins in the first place."

What are virginity tests? They are a controversial but relatively common practice in Egypt -- so much so that hymenoplasty (hymen restoration) is often sought by Egyptian brides to protect their reputation on their wedding night. But their use as an intimidation factor by security forces seems to be a new twist.

And based on the outrage across Egypt over this abuse, it seems that the military's attempt to intimidate and smear the women protesters has backfired. Human rights groups are demanding a full investigation and several demonstrations are planned in coming days in support of the women.

Egyptian security forces have a long and troubling history of abusing and torturing citizens for political ends. They have engaged in widespread intimidation tactics since the upsurge in political violence and Islamic militancy in the early 1990s, including the detention of women, children, and the elderly. In the last two decades, the practice of arrest and detention without trial has expanded to anyone considered a threat to the military or the former regime of Hosni Mubarak, especially those advocating political reform.

Women suffer special mistreatment. For example, Esraa Abdel Fattah -- better known as the "Facebook Girl" who in 2008 mobilized thousands of young people to march for political change -- was arrested for her leadership role in those protests. Egypt's security forces tried to destroy her reputation by accusing her of being a love-peddler, but her Facebook compatriots saw through that ploy and several young men even proposed marriage to her while she was detained.

More broadly, Egyptian women were abused and discriminated against both before and after the 2011 revolution. And although they played an important role in toppling Mubarak, it is not at all clear that their situation will improve under whatever system emerges. The military council that is ruling the country ahead of elections entirely excluded women from the constitutional committee that determined the new political process.

There are rumblings that the constitutional quota holding seats for women in the lower house of parliament might be eliminated. The quota must be maintained as a means of ensuring women's participation in politics.

At street level, the treatment is similar. Women in Egypt are violated physically and abused verbally on a regular basis. According to Human Rights Watch, the women who marched in Tahrir on International Women's Day in March were told by a crowd of male attackers: "You are not Egyptians ,  better for you to go home and feed your babies." Equally troubling was that the soldiers who broke up the mob asked why the women were demonstrating now, telling them this was "not the right time" and they were "wrong for coming out to demonstrate."

Later, a throng of men harassed, groped and chased a group of several hundred women who'd gathered.

Such scenes reflect that respect for women's rights, far from being a sideline issue either before or after the revolution, is in fact an important test of the revolution's success or failure. Thanks largely to the actions of the military, 2011 may become a revolution of liberty but not of equality.

The charges against the military come at a difficult time: As they gear up for elections, military leaders are attempting the Sisyphean task of trying to distance themselves from the abuses of the Mubarak regime. Virginity testing is something that conservative judges in Iran, or Mujahedeen leaders in Afghanistan, impose on women. The Afghan warlord Ismail Khan, when he was governor of Herat after the fall of the Taliban, was notorious for taking women off the streets who were seen walking with men and subjecting them to virginity tests.

Such behavior is hardly a good image-builder for the Egyptian military, which wants to position itself as a professional, modern caretaker of the state. It is also not an encouraging sign for women's role in Egypt's new society. Since the heady first days of the peaceful protests, when uncovered women wearing jeans and smoking cigarettes broke bread with conservative Islamists, there has been a marked deterioration in tolerance and inclusion.

The violence that marred International Women's Day in Tahrir Square, was an unfortunate harbinger of greater tensions, sectarian divisions and brutality that have infused even Egypt's revolution.

Reform will have a better chance of success if Egyptians can sustain a peaceful and inclusive transition. Holding the military accountable for its brutal and demeaning tactics is an important step in that process.

Egypt ex-finance minister gets 30 years in absentia
Former Egyptian finance minister Yussef Boutros Ghali was on Saturday sentenced to 30 years in,

Former Egyptian finance minister Yussef Boutros Ghali was on Saturday sentenced to 30 years in prison in absentia on corruption charges, an AFP correspondent said.

Judge Magdi Ghoneim of the Cairo criminal court sentenced Ghali to 15 years for squandering public money by using cars held in customs and 15 years for abusing his position for personal gain from ministry funds.

Ghali, who is out of the country and wanted by Interpol, has also been fined 70 million Egyptian pounds (around $11 million).

The court found the former minister guilty of having used 102 cars waiting in customs -- including six luxury cars for personal use -- in an action which "greatly harmed the financial interests" of their owners.

He was also found guilty of having used the finance ministry's resources for his personal electoral campaign, printing materials at the expense of the ministry.

Ghali is one of a string of ministers of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime to face justice as part of a sweeping probe into fraud by Egypt's new military rulers.

Mubarak is to face trial on August 3, along with his two sons Alaa and Gamal, accused of ordering the shooting of anti-regime protesters during the January-February uprising and for fraud.

The former president's once feared interior minister Habib al-Adly has been sentenced to 12 years for corruption and is facing a second trial over the killing of protesters.

Just as female infidelity is on the rise, women are catching up to the guys in many ways. Do women really like indecency as much as men?

Someone's heart has been broken because he is unable to read the signs. Could you help? Thanks in advance.

Would you let your partner keep an online dating profile?

How can a husband help heal his wife from his emotional and physical infidelity?

A man is what he thinks. Hence every one is truly responsible to himself or herself. We are truly the architects of our destiny. No game of chance. However, predestination may not be totally ruled out considering the fact the God and probably other unseen forces interfere in the affairs of men. The bottom line is that man has the power to fashion his own destiny. Exercise your freedom of choice now!

Love of money more than love of man.