₦airaland Forum

The Defence Headquarters has said in Abuja on Saturday that troops of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) has cleared a terrorists camp in Buduram, north of Doron Baga in Borno.

A statement by the Defence Headquarters said the dawn raid operation was carried out on Friday 15 August.

The statement said the troops raided the camp where the terrorists were re-grouping and re-organising to carry out a reprisal attack after being routed in Doron Baga in a previous encounter on 10 August.

According to the statement, 17 terrorists died in the operation, while some who escaped into neighbouring islands in the Lake Chad Peninsula are still being pursued.

It noted that calm had been restored to Doron Baga after the attack by the terrorists who infiltrated the community with some of them disguising as women in hijab.

It added that five of the terrorists died in the counter offensive to defend Doron Baga by troops of the MNJTF.

According to the statement, many of the inhabitants of the community who fled into nearby bushes for safety are now returning.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/nigeria-troops-clear-terrorist-camp-in.html

Victor Moses
Nigerian international, Victor Moses is set to join Stoke City on a season long loan from Chelsea. Jose Mourinho has agreed to send Moses to Stoke on loan.
Moses is expected to have a medical at Stoke’s Clayton Wood training Saturday morning before signing the deal that will take him to the Britannia.

Stoke manager, Mark Hughes is keen to sign another winger this summer but has experienced difficulties signing targets Oussama Assaidi and Nathan Redmond.
His bid to have Moses has been approved by Mourinho and Moses will link up with fellow Nigerian forward Osaze Odemwingie as he looks to spend another season away from Stamford Bridge.
Moses endured a frustrating spell at Liverpool last season, making only six Premier League starts, but is likely to be assured of more games at the Britannia Stadium.

source;http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/victor-moses-set-to-join-stoke-city-on.html

Suspected Islamist Boko Haram fighters have abducted dozens of boys and men from a village in northeast Nigeria, according to witnesses.
After loading them onto trucks and driving them off more 97 people are now missing.
The kidnappings come four months after Boko Haram, which is fighting to reinstate a medieval Islamic caliphate in religiously mixed Nigeria, abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the village of Chibok.
They are still missing.

Several witnesses who fled after Sunday's raid on Doron Baga, a sandy fishing village near the shores of Lake Chad, said militants clothed in military and police uniforms had burned several houses.
'They left no men or boys in the place; only young children, girls and women,' said Halima Adamu, sobbing softly and looking exhausted after a 180 km (110 mile) road trip on the back of a truck to Maiduguri, capital of the northeastern state of Borno.

Suspected Islamist Boko Haram fighters have abducted dozens of boys and men from a village in northeast Nigeria, according to witnesses. The kidnappings come four months after Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls (pictured) fom the village of Chibok
'They were shouting 'Allah Akbar' (God is greatest), shooting sporadically. There was confusion everywhere.
'They started parking our men and boys into their vehicles, threatening to shoot whoever disobey them. Everybody was scared.'

They said six older men were also killed in Sunday's raid, while another five people were wounded.
Boko Haram, seen as the number one security threat to Africa's top economy and oil producer, has dramatically increased attacks on civilians in the past year, and the once-grassroots movement has rapidly lost popular support as it gets more bloodthirsty.
Its solution - kidnapping boys and forcing them to fight and abducting girls as sex slaves - is a chilling echo of Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, which has operated in the same way in Uganda, South Sudan and central Africa for decades. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in a video he sent taunting the Nigerian government over the kidnapping of the girls from their boarding school dormitory in April
The military did not respond to a request for comment. A security source said they were aware of the incident but were still investigating the details.
The kidnappers overpowered local vigilantes who had no support because this is no military presence there, the villagers said.
Talatu Abubakar, another villager who fled to Maiduguri, said the invaders had taunted the men for being unable to defend themselves.
'They were shouting 'Where is your pride? You people used to be warriors. Today you are all just women, not as brave as we thought',' he said.
He said that from his Hadeija clan alone, some 47 people were missing and feared to have been abducted.

The raid shows how mobile Boko Haram units can be.
After a military offensive in May last year broke their hold on the area around Lake Chad in the far northeast of Borno state, the rebels relocated to the south of the state, near the Cameroon border nearly 300 km (190 miles) away. Chibok, where the girls were taken from, is in this area.
Their re-appearance in the area demonstrates their ability to move across vast swathes of northeastern Nigeria without being intercepted by the military.
Nigerian forces are overstretched against a determined foe. In the past week they have fought gun battles with Boko Haram Islamists in two key towns in the south of Borno - Gwoza, the security sources said, and the garrison town of Damboa, which the militants sacked a month ago.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/boko-haram-kidnap-dozens-of-men-and.html

Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu
The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria has risen to four, while six others infected with the virus are being treated in the economic capital Lagos, the health ministry said on Thursday.
Nigeria had earlier confirmed an 11th case but ministry spokesman Dan Nwomeh said that was an error due to “double counting”.


“We actually have four deaths now and six who are under treatment,” he told AFP.
The first fatality was Liberian government employee Patrick Sawyer, who brought the virus to Lagos, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest city, on July 20. He died in hospital on July 25.
The other deaths include two medical workers who treated Sawyer at the First Consultants hospital in Lagos and an employee of the regional bloc known as ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) who met Sawyer at the airport when he landed.
Nigeria has not recorded a case outside Lagos but there were fears that a nurse who contracted Ebola from Sawyer at the hospital may have carried the virus to the key eastern city of Enugu.

Doctors attending to an Ebola virus victim
The nurse began showing symptoms after reaching her home in Enugu and was transported back to Lagos for treatment.
Officials on Wednesday said 21 people in Enugu who had contact with the nurse were being monitored.
But Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said on Thursday that 15 of those people had been cleared, with only six in the city still being watched.
The development is a positive one for health workers in Africa’s most populous country, as a spread of the outbreak beyond Lagos would put significant strain on Nigeria’s weak healthcare system.
Enugu state Health Commissioner George Eze said authorities planned to set up four screening and quarantine centres in the event an Ebola case emerges.
The nurse’s house has been “decontaminated”, Eze told journalists.
Her husband has been quarantined in Lagos as a precaution despite not showing any symptoms, he added.
The number of people under surveillance for possible infection in Lagos was reduced from 177 to 169 overnight, Chukwu said.
The virus has a maximum incubation of 21 days, so anyone who does not become symptomatic within three weeks of exposure is thought to be safe.
The worst-ever outbreak of Ebola has killed more than 1,000 people since the start of the year in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria last month became the fourth.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/ebola-kills-fourth-victim-in-nigeria.html#more

PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN WATCHES
GOVERNOR BABATUNDE FASHOLA OF LAGOS STATE AS HE SANITIZES HIS HANDS
BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF A MEETING ON EBOLA VIRUS AT THE STATE HOUSE
IN ABUJA ON 13 AUGUST 2014
An experimental drug for treatment of Ebola has been provided by a Nigerian in diaspora and will arrive the country today, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said.
Also, he said a nurse who was under observation in Lagos but fled to Enugu has been brought back to Lagos.


Online news portal, TheCable, reports that the drug, called “Nanosilver”, can now be used following the approval by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that experimental treatments are ethical in the case of the Ebola pandemic.
The Nigerian government authorised the use of experimental drugs on Wednesday. The US sent ZMapp, another experimental drug, to Liberia on Wednesday, while Canada has decided to donate 1,000 vaccines to the affected countries.
According to Chukwu, the experimental drug is a donation from a Nigerian scientist who was concerned about the threat of Ebola in his home country. “The drug will reach Nigeria today,” he said.
Chukwu disclosed that the 169 secondary contacts were still under surveillance, while in all 11 Ebola cases had been recorded, including the index case, Patrick Sawyer, and the two Nigerians who died of the disease.
“Some of the people under surveillance have completed the 21 days incubation period, and we have to let them go,” he said.
The minister said the nurse, who is a primary contact, who had travelled to Enugu had not developed the symptoms as of the time of her trip, dispelling fears that she might have infected other people.
“In Enugu yesterday, there were 21 secondary contacts with the nurse, but after investigations, there are only six secondary contacts now,” he stated.
“The nurse who is newly-wedded had no symptoms of the disease when she travelled to Enugu, and while coming back to Lagos she travelled in a special ambulance with her husband. Her husband is under quarantine now.”
Chukwu maintained that only Lagos state has recorded Ebola cases.

Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister of Health
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has made a clarion to all Nigerian doctors to get actively involved in the control battle and provide all the needed professional expertise to ensure the situation is brought under control as quickly as possible.
The call was contained in an advertorial placed in a national newspaper published Thursday.
The statement signed by Dr. Kayode Obembe and Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki, President and Secretary General of the NMA respectively, partly reads: “All State Branch Officers’ Committees are directly to immediately liaise with the respective Commissioners for Health, Information, Housing and Urban development, Environment and Water Resources, Education, as well as Directors of medical services and Directors of public health with a view to fashioning out effective strategies to prevent the spread of Ebola virus.”
The NMA also urged the government at all levels to ensure that all the necessary Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, are made available to doctors and other healthcare workers to reduce the casualities and mitigate the risks these humanitarian service providers face.
The NMA further directed State Chairmen to set up Ebola control committees that will collaborate with State Ministries of Health, International Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs, and volunteer teams to actualise the goal of combating the Ebola scourge.
In the same vein the NMA has appointed Prof. Michael C. Asuzu, President, Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Department of Community Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, western Nigeria as the National coordinator of the Ebola Control Committee. A quarantine team for Ebola
The world’s worst outbreak of Ebola has claimed the lives of 1,069 people and there are 1,975 probable and suspected cases, the vast majority in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to new figures from the World Health Organisation.
Three people have died in Nigeria just as a consignment of experimental Ebola drugs arrived by plane in Liberia on Wednesday to treat two doctors suffering from the virus ravaging four West African countries.
The drug, ZMapp, arrived in two boxes on a commercial flight from the United States carried by Liberia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augustine Ngafuan, and was unloaded at the VIP terminal, a Reuters witness said.
It will be taken to a hospital in the capital and administered to Liberian doctors Zukunis Ireland and Abraham Borbor, who officials said contracted the disease while attending to patients, including a late colleague.
The World Health Organisation said only around 10 to 12 doses of the drug have been made and this raises difficult ethical questions about who should get priority access.
The doctors will be the first Africans to receive it, though it has been given to a Spanish priest who later died and two U.S. aid workers who are reported to have shown signs of recovery.
Authorities are also concerned that ZMapp’s unproven status could leave them open to the charge that humans are being used as guinea pigs.
“This is not the panacea to the problem. It is at the risk of the patient,” Liberia’s Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah told journalists at Monrovia’s main airport.
Information Minister Lewis Brown told Reuters the drug merely offered a “glimmer of hope” and its use was little more than a gamble.
Even so, the clamour for it is strong given that the contagious haemorrhagic disease is killing more than half of its victims and there is no known cure or vaccine.
“I welcome it. It is very good. Our nurses are dying. If you bring them the medication it will make them stronger to fight Ebola,” said stationery seller James Liburd, in Monrovia.
In evidence of the ethical dilemma, Melvin Korkor, the first Liberian doctor to survive Ebola, said he would not have used ZMapp when he was fighting for his life because U.S. authorities said they were not responsible for any adverse effects.
“Any drug that has not been approved by FDA should not be administered,” he told Reuters.
One of the epidemic’s most tragic consequences is the toll on health care workers who rushed in as first responders only to become infected themselves due to inadequate protection measures or diagnoses of patients that came too late or were inaccurate.
The World Health Organization said this week that 170 health care workers had been infected and at least 81 had died.
Sierra Leonean doctor Modupeh Cole became the latest medical practitioner to die of Ebola, a health ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
He contracted the disease after treating a patient who later proved to have the virus and died. The country’s leading Ebola doctor, Shek Umar Khan, also died last month.
Eight Chinese health workers are in quarantine in Sierra Leone because they may have contracted Ebola, according to the spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Freetown, Xu Zhou.
The seven doctors and one nurse treated patients at two Chinese-run hospitals in Freetown who later died from Ebola. One of the doctors has emerged from quarantine after a 21-day observation period, Zhou told Reuters.
Despite the stir caused by ZMapp, preventive public health measures will be crucial to containing the outbreak, according to the U.N. health agency. As a result, West African and other governments, including some which have seen no cases of the virus, have taken measures intended to prevent the spread of the disease.
Guinea-Bissau has decided to close its frontier with eastern neighbour Guinea, Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira told a news conference. Germany on Wednesday urged its nationals to leave Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, though the request did not apply to medical workers or German diplomatic staff, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
The outbreak has brought fresh attention to efforts to find a cure. Scientists in the United States studying Ebola say they have found how it blocks and disables the body’s ability to battle infections in a discovery that should help the search for potential cures and vaccines.
The scientists found that Ebola carries a protein called VP24 that interferes with a molecule called interferon, which is vital to the immune response.
“One of the key reasons that Ebola virus is so deadly is because it disrupts the body’s immune response to the infection,” said Chris Basler of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, who worked on the study.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/ebola-drug-arrives-nigeria-today.html

Guinean int’l cooperation minister Moustapha Koutoubou Sano (L) and Chinese ambassador to Guinea Bian Jianqiang (C) pose in front of medical supplies from China for countries hit by the Ebola outbreak at the Conakry airport on August 11, 2014
An ECOWAS official has died from Ebola in Nigeria, the West African regional bloc said on Tuesday, taking the total number of deaths in the country from the virus to three.
“The ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Commission announces with deep regret the passing of a staff member of its Lagos Liaison Office, Mr Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir, aged 36,” it said in a statement.


“Mr Abdulqudir, a protocol assistant, was among those who assisted the Liberian delegate to a regional meeting Mr Patrick Sawyer, who died from the Ebola Virus Disease at a Lagos hospital on 25th July 2014.”
The official had been quarantined since Sawyer was confirmed as having Ebola, which has killed more than 1,000 people since the start of the year, most of them in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
“The Commission wishes to use this opportunity to express its gratitude to Nigerian government authorities and others who contributed to managing the late official while under quarantine,” it added.
“The Management of the Commission wishes to commiserate with Mr Abdulqudir’s family and colleagues and prays for the repose of his soul.”
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday branded Sawyer a “madman” for bringing Ebola into Nigeria, despite his sister having died from it and that he reportedly displayed symptoms before getting on a flight to Lagos.

A nurse who treated him died of Ebola last week, while tests last weekend confirmed that another had also contracted the virus.
As of August 9, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there were 13 probable or suspected cases of Ebola in Nigeria, including two deaths.
The Nigerian government had a lower figure of 10 confirmed cases, including two deaths, as of Monday, with more than a hundred people being monitored for signs of the disease.
Sawyer was to have attended an ECOWAS meeting and Abdulqudir escorted him to hospital in the Ikoyi neighbourhood from Lagos airport, where he arrived on a flight from Monrovia via the Togolese capital, Lome.

It is understood he then returned to the ECOWAS offices on nearby Lagos Island.
The offices have been closed and disinfected as a precaution while staff have been informed of preventative measures to take, including seeking prompt medical advice in the event of illness.
ECOWAS on Monday warned that the outbreak threatened West Africa’s social and economic progress and has sought the support of all member states and partners to tackle the spread of Ebola.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/ecowas-official-dies-from-ebola-in.html

Fire ignited by candlelight has razed a storey building and burnt two children to death in Lagos, western Nigeria.
The incident happened on Monday around 8:38 p.m. at 43, Salami Street, Mafoluku where the two infants aged two years old each were burnt to death before fire servicemen could rescue them.
The name of the children were given as Joel Chukwu and Monadi Samuel. They were sleeping when fire gutted their flat.
Fire inferno

According to the mother of one of the children, Ada Patrick, one of the children belonged to a relation of hers, saying that the child came to stay with her.
Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Razak Fadipe, confirmed that two infants died in the fire disaster last night, lamenting that the fire service was not called on time to put out the fire.
“We got a distress call around 8:38p.m. last night and when we got there, we discovered that it was a storey building that was on fire. The top floor has two bedroom apartment and four single rooms, while the ground floor has two bedroom and six single rooms. They did not call us on time when the fire occurred,” he said.
Fadipe said the fire was caused by a candle which was lit by the family who went to sleep without putting it out, saying the candle stick fell and resulted in the fire.
He said two water tanks were used in putting out the fire, adding that the Isolo and Ilupeju Fire Stations were involved in putting out the fire.
He said the top floor of the building was razed, particularly the two bedroom flat on the top floor housing the deceased children and their family.
The Fire Service boss appealed to residents to desist from using candle in their houses as it could be very dangerous, saying that they could purchase cheap rechargeable lamps that would be more useful for them at night.
He also appealed to landlords to ensure that tenants did not use candle in their houses in order to prevent fire disaster.
Fadipe disclosed that the fire service responded to five emergencies overnight, one of which fire consumed a kitchen of a storey building at Shaba Court, Lagos Island.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/fire-burns-two-children-to-death-in.html

Not many can lay claim to fulfilling their vow of 'till death do us part'.

But for one California couple, who had been married an incredible 62 years, that's precisely what happened.

The family of Don and Maxine Simpson say they were two people brought together by fate and left each other in the same, dying just four hours apart .

'I knew in my heart this is what's supposed to happen - Grandma and grandpa are supposed to be together and grandma and grandpa are going to die together,' granddaughter Melissa Sloan told Two weeks ago, Don was at home when he fell, breaking his hip.

He was taken to hospital, but his health continued to decline.

At the same time, the cancer his wife had been fighting for hers started to progress as well.

'I told my sister on the phone, we got one shot to get them together,' Sloan said.

The family that, despite the situation, Don and Maxine would demand to be together, so they were both moved to a spare room in the family's home.

'We kept them together, and had their beds side-by-side,' Sloan said.

'Gram woke up and saw him, and held hands and they knew that they were next to each other.'

It wasn't long after that, holding her husband's hand, Maxine took her last breath.

'I walked them out with her body, walked back in to check on grandpa and he quit breathing as soon as her body left the room.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/couple-of-62-years-finish-their-life.html

Records reveal that 10 of the country's top church leaders defy the Pope's example and live in residences worth more than $1 million.
"How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!"— Pope Francis
Clearly, "lifestyles of the rich and religious" doesn't cut it for Pope Francis.
The pontiff has said it "breaks my heart" to see priests and nuns driving the latest-model cars.
He's blasted "airport bishops" who spend more time jet-setting than tending to their flocks.
And he's warned against church leaders who bear the "psychology of princes."
The Vatican fired one such "prince" last year: German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst -- aka "The Bishop of Bling" -- who spent $43 million to remodel his opulent pad.
(Bronze window frames? $2.4 million. Getting on the wrong side of the Pope? Far more pricey.)
"God save us from a worldly Church with superficial spiritual and pastoral trappings!" Francis said in his book-length blueprint for the church.
Say what you will, but this Pope puts his preaching into practice.
Previous pontiffs lived here, at the Vatican's opulent Apostolic Palace. L'Osservatore Romano/AP
The message seems clear, no?
But are American archbishops following Francis' lead?
A CNN investigation found that at least 10 of the 34 active archbishops in the United States live in buildings worth more than $1 million, according to church and government records.*
That's not counting hundreds of retired and active Catholic bishops in smaller cities, some of whom live equally large.

Among archbishops, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York leads the pack with this 15,000-square-foot mansion on Madison Avenue, in one of the priciest corridors of Manhattan. From Google
Vanderbilt Appraisal Company, a New York firm hired by CNN to estimate the building's value, said it's worth at least $30 million. Dolan shares the neo-Gothic mansion, which is reportedly filled with thick red carpets and priceless antiques, with three other priests.
Chicago's Cardinal Francis George lives in a pretty fancy crib, too. Charles Bennett/AP
This mansion has 19 chimneys and sits on 1.7 acres of prime real estate in Chicago's ritzy Gold Coast neighborhood. It's worth $14.3 million "as is," but the property could fetch far more, appraisers told CNN.
George, whose private quarters occupy the mansion's top two floors, according to the archdiocese, shares the residence with two bishops and a priest.
Three nuns who care for the cardinal and his mansion live in a 5,800-square-foot coach house near the main residence.
The mansion's size, architectural details, location and unobstructed view of nearby Lincoln Park make the residence "one of a kind," said Thomas Schurer, director of sales for Chicago's Real Valuation Services, which appraised George's residence for CNN.
Representatives for Cardinals Dolan and George point out that their mansions were built more than 100 years ago and are used as offices and for hosting guests and fundraisers as well as residences. They also say the mansions are historical landmarks and can't easily be sold or converted to other uses.
A century ago, Catholics celebrated the success of their church in the United States by building mansions for their archbishops, historians say. It was a way of saying, "We've made it, and we're here to stay."
But the point has been proved, some Catholics say, and Pope Francis has urged archbishops to refocus their resources on caring for the poor and marginalized.
"There's no reason a bishop has to live like a prince or medieval monarch, even if he inherited the place from his predecessor," said the Rev. Steven Avella, a Catholic priest and professor of religious history at Marquette University. "They should convert the mansions to museums and move into rectories."
In addition to regal residences, many archbishops acquire other perks: live-in assistants, housekeepers, chauffeurs and cooks. Others live alone in roomy residences.
Archbishop James Sartain of Seattle, for example, lives by himself in this three-story house. The appraised value is $3.84 million, according to the King County Department of Assessments. From Google
Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford, Connecticut, lives in this nearly 9,000- square-foot mansion, which was appraised at $1.85 million, according to government records. The 5,350-square-foot residence is worth more than $1.38 million, according to Miami-Dade County assessors.
This castle-like mansion, once featured in an article on the "Palaces of St. Louis," is home to St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson. The 11,000-square-foot home, which Carlson shares with a priest-secretary, is worth $1.4 million, city appraisers say. Two nuns also live on the property, but not in the house, and cook and clean for the archbishop. In 2008, Carlson also bought a house in Estero, Florida, for $327,500, according to public records.
Archbishop William Lori's home in Baltimore dates back to the very first bishop in the United States, John Carroll, historians say. The 11,500-square-foot building, where the archbishop lives with his priest-secretary and the rector of the Baltimore Basilica, is connected to the historic basilica by a passthrough. The Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation says the residence, which includes offices for Lori and the rector of the basilica, is worth about $1.24 million.
Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio lives in this 5,000-square-foot residence, which includes a courtyard, a private chapel, a fireplace and a wet bar. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News
The residence was built by Garcia-Siller's predecessor in 2009 for $1.1 million. At the time, the archdiocese was facing a budget shortfall that resulted in the firing of 11 full-time employees, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
In addition to the above examples, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles spent $7 million building a 26,000-square-foot rectory for its former archbishop in 2002, according to public records. Archbishop Jose Gomez, who moved to Los Angeles in 2010, now lives there with six priests.
The Archdiocese of Denver is building a $6.5 million, 13,500-square-foot center that will include meeting space, a kitchen, a library, a chapel and an apartment for Archbishop Samuel Aquila. The residence portion, which includes living space for several other priests, will cost about $1.3 million, according to the archdiocese.
Even in smaller cities, some archbishops live in houses few in their flock could likely afford.
Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, for example, lives by himself in a four-bedroom, four-bath house in Hamilton County, Ohio. The archdiocese bought this house for Schnurr in 2009 for $469,718, which led to some grumbling by local Catholics.
In response to questions about archbishops' residences, representatives for the church leaders say they are used as more than living quarters. They also have offices, host functions like fundraisers and house church staff besides bishops.
That's the case with Dolan's mansion, which connects to St. Patrick's Cathedral, said Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York. Besides, it's on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it can't easily be sold or converted to other uses, he said.
"Even if, in your wildest imaginations, you could dream up a scenario in which the archdiocese would want to sell it, it couldn't be sold since it is a landmarked building and has to remain as-is," Zwilling said.
Dolan has acknowledged, however, that Pope Francis' example has led him to question "the perks, the cushiness, we associate with being a bishop."
"I find myself examining my own conscience ... on style, on simplicity, on lots of things," he told National Catholic Reporter last year. "I also find myself thinking about living arrangements, because that's a pretty nice house I'm living in."
Zwilling said he's not aware of any discussions about Dolan moving out of his mansion.
As for George, he floated the idea of selling his Chicago residence in 2002, saying, according to the New York Times, "How can I call on my priests to display humility in their lives if I'm living in a mansion like that?"
Colleen Dolan, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said she's not aware of any discussions about George selling or leaving the mansion.
"The cardinal uses the building for meetings and receptions with donors," Dolan said, "and we'd be hard-pressed to find any other place that could serve those purposes."
Catholics are a generous lot, said Sister Sally Butler, a Catholic nun who ministers in Brooklyn housing projects and has clashed with bishops over their response to the church's sexual abuse scandal. But they expect their donations to pay for missions like feeding the poor, training priests and educating students, not keeping up multimillion-dollar estates, she said.
Like many Catholics, Butler said she is particularly galled by revelations that Archbishop John Myers of Newark, New Jersey, is spending $500,000 to add a wing to his already $800,000 weekend/retirement house. The new wing will include an indoor exercise pool, a hot tub, three fireplaces and a library. "It's scandalous!" said Butler, 83. "I guess they think they're entitled to it, but someone has to take these archbishops aside. It's so far from the gospel message and the Pope's example."
Not all bishops live like princes, however.
Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley resides in a rundown rectory on the South End.
"We no longer need all the symbols of the past, especially when those symbols now seem ambiguous at best and a contradiction of some of our Gospel values at worst,'' O'Malley said when he moved out of the archbishop's traditional mansion in 2003.
Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, shares part of a converted convent with his elderly mother.
And Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia sold the church’s $10 million mansion when he moved to town in 2011.
"He felt it was not really necessary to live in a residence that large," said Ken Gavin, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. "He wanted to live more simply."
With Pope Francis leading the way, more archbishops may be doing the same.
After getting an earful from angry Catholics, Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory agreed to give up his $2.2 million mansion.
Here's the 6,000 square-foot-house, which sits in the city's upscale Buckhead neighborhood. David Goldman/AP
Gregory apologized for building the mansion, calling it a lapse in judgment and out of step with his boss, the Pope.
"What we didn't stop to consider," Gregory said, "was that the world and the church have changed."

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/the-lavish-homes-of-american-archbishops.html

A corpse of an Anambra State indigene brought from Liberia, yesterday, caused scare of the dreaded Ebola disease in the state, with officials of the state ministry of health directing security operatives to cordon off the mortuary where the body was deposited pending investigations by experts from the Federal Ministry of Health.

The corpse was brought into the country as a cargo and was taken straight to Apex Hospital and Mortuary at Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government Area of the state, apparently by his relations and waiting for burial.

However, somebody from the community, who knew that the man died in Liberia where there have been deaths caused by Ebola disease, informed the Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano. The Governor immediately directed the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Josephat Akabike to take action.

Addressing reporters in Awka, yesterday, Akabike said though it has not been confirmed that the man died of the Ebola disease, there was need for precautionary measures to be taken.
He said: “We have already contacted the Federal Ministry of Health and we are expecting them to arrive the state any time from now. We have sealed the mortuary and the hospital and all the corpses and the people working there have been quarantined.

“We are also making efforts to locate the family of the deceased to know their level of contact with the corpse when it arrived the country and everybody who had visited the mortuary will also be quarantined.
“We are surprised how the corpse came into Nigeria and Anambra State. It is shocking to us.

“We have directed the police to cordon off the area. Ebola is a very big threat and that is why we are taking all the measures.”
According to him, “the information was brought by somebody who acted fast, following the announcement we have been making since the disease was made known”, adding that his ministry has assembled its health team and got all the preventive materials ready.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/corpse-from-liberia-throws-anambra-into.html

Empowering women: Robyn Lawley strips nude to promote positive body image in a Woman's Health photo shoot

With her flowing locks left loose around her shoulders, the 25-year-old artfully raises one leg and holds her hands to her chest to cover her modesty.
She stares sultrily across the empty space and leans back provocatively in the image.


Speaking about her physique in the accompanying interview, Robyn says: 'A healthy body isn't defined by weight or size, it's about so much more.'
She also reveals that as a young model she was inspired by images of fellow plus size professional Crystal Renn.
'She taught me I didn't have to be a size six to be beautiful. I want other women to feel just as empowered.'Swinging into action: Former Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh also poses nude for the magazine's September Naked issue in celebration of its inaugural Body For Life campaign What's new pussycat: Former Pussycat Doll Kimberley Wyatt showed off her dancing skills as she posed in the nude Lady in the know: Celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson not surprisingly has an incredible figure Cover star: Zoe Saldana appears on the cover of the exciting issue

Despite launching her career as Vogue Australia's first 'plus-size' model in its 25 year history, Robyn recently told Daily Mail Australia she's keen to drop the label from her title.
'I can see the ramifications on young women if their body is similar or larger than mine and they see a 'plus size' label.
'I just see no reason in any labels really, I just want women [to be] happy with their bodies.'
While she is a trailblazer for many curvy women around the world, the beauty admits she's only human and not immune from body hang-ups like everyone else.
'I think all women and men do [have hang ups], it's one of those things,'
'Now and then I can't help but let the negativity creep in.
'It really helps that I'm surrounded by good people that would never stand for me to be upset about my body, life is really too short.'
On Monday, the model used her famous figure as a billboard for a political message, sharing a snap of herself with the words 'stop coal mining' scrawled across her bare stomach.
Explaining the photo is a protest against the Abbott government's approval of 'the biggest mine in Australia,' she captioned the image: 'I'm shocked and feel powerless so I decided to get people to read this one way or another, we have to stop them.....before its too late.'
Robyn also penned a first hand article for Daily Mail Australia on the issue on Thursday where she encourages communities to take action on important environmental issues.
'As a community, we need to take all of these aspects into consideration and rethink how we live today,' she writes. Outspoken advocate: Robyn used her naked figure to campaign against another cause this week, sharing this snap protesting coal mining
Robyn Lawley reveals she's sick of being considered plus-size The Body For Life campaign embodies the Women's Health ethos that a healthy body isn't just about pure aesthetics - it's about building a strong body that will protect you against illness and injury and keep you feeling (and inevitably looking) great for years to come.
Former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt, fitness icon Tracy Anderson - who is Gwyneth Paltrow's person trainer - and former Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh also took part in the shoot.
Read the full interviews and steal the moves the women use to hone and tone their bodies in the September Naked issue of Women’s Health – on sale Wednesday 30 July. Also available as a digital edition.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/i-dont-have-to-be-size-six-to-be.html

Okagbare celebrates her breathtaking feat
Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare claimed a women’s sprint double at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow Thursday.

The Nigerian 100 metres champion kept her bid for a Commonwealth treble on course as she added the 200m crown to her 100m title, the US-based 25-year-old still to run in the 4x100m relay.
She timed 22.25sec for gold, beating unrelated English duo Jodie Williams (22.50) and Bianca Williams (22.58) to top the podium.

Olympic champion and world record holder David Rudisha was beaten by Nijel Amos in the Commonwealth Games 800m final on Thursday while
Rasheed Dwyer led a Jamaican clean sweep of the men’s 200m to emulate teammate Kemar Bailey-Cole’s victory in the 100m, the two sprint golds going some way to make up for the absence of Usain Bolt, who will only compete in the 4x100m relay.

Kenya’s Rudisha, who set a blistering world record when winning Olympic gold in London, had finished ahead of silver medallist Amos in the British capital in 2012.
But there was revenge in the wet Glasgow air, Amos producing a sublime, fast-paced finish to outdo his Kenyan nemesis, clocking 1min 45.18, with Rudisha at 0.30sec. South African Andre Olivier took bronze in 1:46.03.

“The race was good but the last 100m was difficult. I didn’t have good preparations,” Rudisha said in reference to a calf injury that only saw him make his track comeback in May.
Botswana’a Amos was quick to heap praise on Rudisha, saying: “This gentleman will always be the hero of the 800m.”

In the men’s 200m, Dwyer outshone world silver medallist Warren Weir, the only sprinter in Glasgow to have clocked a sub-20sec 200m, timing 20.14sec for victory ahead of Weir (20.26) and Jason Livermore (20.32).
South African Cornel Fredericks won the men’s 400m hurdles while Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer claimed the women’s event.

Vikas Shive Gowda won the discus with 63.64m to end India’s 56-year gold medal drought in men’s athletics at the Games, the last winner being Milkha Singh over 440 yards at the 1958 edition in Cardiff.
Australia’s Olympic champion Sally Pearson showed no fall-out from the suspension of head coach Eric Hollingsworth for his outspoken criticism of the star hurdler for missing a pre-Games team training camp.
Pearson scorched into Friday’s final of the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.69sec, tellingly punching the air as she came through the line.

Alex Dowsett, second to David Millar four years ago in the men’s road cycling time trial, claimed Commonwealth gold for England in a closely-contested race through the streets and suburbs of Glasgow.
He timed 47 minutes 41.78 with Australian rider Rohan Dennis crossing the line nine seconds slower to take silver and Geraint Thomas grabbing third to claim the bronze for Wales.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/08/okagbare-wins-gold-in-200metres.html

Two policemen were stabbed yesterday in Alakija area of Lagos metropolis as they tried to drive an insane woman away from the premises of a popular pentecostal church.
According to an eyewit­ness, who did not want to be named, “trouble started when the woman was stand­ing in front of the church and policemen deployed to the area attempted to evict her.
“Suddenly, a madman, who was watching what was going on, went to meet the policemen ostensibly to stop them.

“The policemen left the woman and confronted the insane man. They started beating him with their ba­tons. The madman, who was with a stick started flogging the policemen.
“Suddenly, the madman brought out a broken bottle from his bag and stabbed the two policemen, who were later rushed to Navy Town Hospital by church mem­bers and onlookers.
“News got to other police­men attached to the church that their colleagues had been stabbed by the mad­man and they reinforced and began to look for the mad­man, whom they found at Alakija Bus-stop.
“The five policemen sur­rounded the madman and tried to overpower him and after much struggle, they tied him up with a rope and bundled him into their van and took him back to the church for interrogation.”
He said the policemen later saw a man taking pic­tures and tried to collect his phone from him but he iden­tified himself as a soldier and they let him go.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/drama-as-madman-stabs-2-policemen-in.html

Doctors attending to an Ebola virus victim

Lagos State Government on Wednesday again reiterated that no fresh case of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease has been found in the state or any part of the country.

According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the governor on Public Health, Dr (Mrs) Yewande Adeshina, none of the persons said to have had contact with the late Liberian victim of the virus, Patrick Sawyerr has manifested unusual body temperature or any other symptom of the dreaded virus.

She explained that all the 59 persons who were in close contact with the deceased Liberian in Nigeria are hale and hearty and have not exhibited any unusual symptoms, just as there has been no case of the dreaded disease from the country’s borders.


Also, the Commissioner for Information, Lateef Ibirogba has advised the citizenry to be wary of the activities of fraudsters who are making spurious claims about their ability to provide cure for the Ebola Virus Disease, urging them to always contact health providers to report unusual feelings noticed.


Late Patrick Sawyer
He cautioned the people to desist from sending panicky text messages round about the Ebola Disease that could heighten tension and create anxiety.

He also called on those who want to make cheap money from the case to desist from their strange claims of cure for the disease lest they run foul of the law, as only medical solutions are known to be appropriate for the disease.

He reminded residents of the State to make use of the emergency phone numbers – 08023169485, 08033086660, 08033065303, 08055281442 and 08055329229 provided to contact health authorities in case anyone with observed symptoms of the Ebola disease is noticed.
He also advised residents to observe the highest level of personal environmental hygiene adding that they should visit hospitals or Primary Health Centres nearest to them to report strange feelings noticed.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/no-fresh-case-of-ebola-in-lagos.html

File Photo: Police Anti-bomb Squad
Nigeria security operatives have arrested a 10-year old girl strapped with explosives as well as two members of Boko Haram, Mike Omeri, Coordinator of the national Information Centre revealed at a briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.

Omeri identified the teen bomb carrier as Iliya Dahiru while the two Boko Haram suspects are Zainab Musa and Hadiza Musa, both 18 years.


According to him, the three suspects were arrested on Tuesday at about 10pm along Zaria road in the Tudun Wada area of Funtua metropolis in Katsina while they were driving in a Honda CRV car.
“When they were directed to disembark for security checks, 10-year old Hadiza was discovered to have been strapped with an explosive belt and immediately, Iliya and Zainab made attempts to escape with the car but were later blocked by other concerned Nigerians and subsequently arrested.

The police successfully unstrapped the explosives,” said Omeri who appealed to parents to take more interest in the activities of their children to stop them being used by terrorists.
He however commended Nigerians for their level of consciousness of on security issues which, according to him, has lead to low level of insurgent activities in recent times.

Omeri urged Nigerians to remain vigilant as he promised that the Nigeria military will eventually win the war against the insurgents and counter the spread of terrorism in the country and on the continent.
“The government is closely liaising with domestic and international intelligence agencies within the newly-established Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit (RIFU) to track and capture all terrorists, and their sponsors, in the country.
“With this action, the government is sending an unequivocal message that terrorists will find no safe haven in any corner of the count,” Omeri said.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/10-year-old-girls-strapped-with.html

Doctors Without Borders says outbreak can only worsen, as Nigeria tries to trace 30,000 people linked to first victim.


Global medical charity Doctors Without Borders has given warning that the Ebola crisis in West Africa is "unprecedented, absolutely out of control", as states across the world took steps to prevent its spread.

Bart Janssens, the charity's director of operations, warned there was no overarching vision of how to tackle the outbreak, in an interview with Belgium's La Libre Belgique newspaper.

"This epidemic ... can only get worse, because it is still spreading, above all in Liberia and Sierra Leone, in some very important hotspots," Janssens said.

"We are extremely worried by the turn of events, particularly in these two countries where there is a lack of visibility on the epidemic. If the situation does not improve fairly quickly, there is a real risk of new countries being affected.

"That is certainly not ruled out, but it is difficult to predict, because we have never known such an epidemic."

More than 650 people have died of Ebola in the outbreak, the largest on record since the disease was detected in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, the International Civil Aviation Organisation has met global health officials to discuss measures to stopping the disease crossing borders. The pan-African airline ASKY suspended all flights to and from the capitals of Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The EU allocated an extra $2.7m to fight the outbreak, bringing total funding to $5.2m.

"The level of contamination on the ground is extremely worrying and we need to scale up our action before many more lives are lost," said the EU's humanitarian aid commissioner, Kristalina Georgieva.

The bloc has deployed experts on the ground to help victims and try to limit contagion.

Nigerian health authorities meanwhile announced they were trying to trace more than 30,000 people who could be at risk of contracting Ebola after Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian, died from the disease in Lagos on Friday.

Sunday Omilabu, a professor at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, said: "We've been making contacts. As I'm talking, our teams are in the facility, where they've trained the staff, and then they (are) now asking questions about those that were closely in contact with the patient.

"We're actually looking at contacting over 30,000 people in this very scenario. Because any and everybody that has contacted this person is going to be treated as a suspect," said Yewande Adeshina, a public health adviser.

Nigeria's government has implemented a state of "red alert" at all border crossings and initiated a media campaign to alert the public.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/ebola-epidemic-out-of-control-says.html

he Sierra Leonean doctor who treated more than 100 Ebola patients has also died. Dr Sheik Umar Khan (pictured above), who was hailed as a national hero for disregarding his own health and helping sick patients, died today July 29th from the disease after being diagnosed with the virus last week. He contacted the virus despite wearing protective gear when treating patients.

In an interview last month, the 39yr old doctor had expressed fears for his life because of his constant contact with Ebola patients.

"I am afraid for my life. Health workers are prone to the disease because we are the first port of call for somebody who is sickened by the disease. Even with the full protective clothing you put on, you are at risk" He told Reuters

His death comes days after a senior doctor at Liberia's largest hospital, Samuel Brisbane, died on Saturday at an Ebola treatment centre in Monrovia. 3 nurses working in the same Ebola treatment centre alongside Khan also died from the disease last week. Several other medics have been infected.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/doctor-who-treated-more-than-100-ebola.html

Early this morning July 29th, a man was found dead head down inside a well (pictured above) with his slippers beside the well in a house at Akanyn street, Shibiri Rd, Ilemba in Ojo, Ajangbadi, Lagos.

Many residents of the house had fetched water from the well and even made use of the water before someone discovered there was a corpse inside it. When he was eventually pulled from the well, he was recognized as someone who lived around..a carpenter whose wife recently left him. Some people claimed to have seen him the previous day, very drunk. No one knew how he fell into the well.

A source told LIB that the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ojo division and Ajangbadi police were contacted and they came to remove the corpse and took it away for fuurther investigation. See the exclusive graphic pic after the cut...

source:http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/graphic-pic-man-found-dead-head-down.html

European nations have called on their citizens to leave Libya as heavy fighting between troops loyal to a renegade general and militias in the eastern city of Benghazi left more than 36 people dead.
This move comes as the Libyan government said more than 150 people had died in Tripoli and Benghazi in two weeks of fighting.

France on Sunday called on all its nationals to leave the country due to the deteriorating security situation.
"All our nationals are invited to get in touch as quickly as possible with our embassy in Tripoli," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The US, the UN and Turkey have pulled their diplomats out of the North African country.
The US evacuated its embassy on Saturday, driving diplomats across the border into Tunisia under heavy military protection because of clashes near the embassy compound in Tripoli.
A British embassy convoy was hit by gunfire during what an embassy official described as "an attempted hijack" as the convoy was on its way to the Tunisian border. No-one was injured in the incident.
Britain's Foreign Office advised its citizens on Sunday to leave the country immediately because of the "greater intensity of fighting" in Tripoli and the likelihood of further attacks on foreigners.
Germany and Spain also issued warnings to their citizens to leave. Italy's Foreign Ministry said it helped more than 100 Italians leave Libya and would help other countries evacuate their citizens as well.
Battle for airport
In Tripoli, 23 people, all Egyptian workers, were killed when a rocket hit their home on Saturday during fighting between rival militias battling over the city's main airport, the Egyptian state news agency reported.
Since the clashes erupted a fortnight ago, 94 people have died in the capital, and more than 400 have been injured as militias exchanged rocket and artillery fire across southern Tripoli, the Health Ministry said.
"Most of the victims we have noticed are civilians as the fighters have their own hospitals on the battlefield," a Benghazi medical source told Reuters news agency.
Another 55 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Benghazi since the clashes have intensified over the last week between regular forces and militias entrenched in the city.
A new Libyan parliament was elected in June and Western governments hope warring parties may be able to reach a political agreement when the lawmakers meet in August for the first session.

source:http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/foreigners-urged-to-flee-libya-fighting.html#more

2 explosions kill 6 persons, injure 13 in Kano
No fewer than six persons lost their lives following two explosions which occurred in Kano on Sunday, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The first blast went off at Kofar Nasarawa, near the North-West University, while the second explosion happened at St. Charles Church on Zungeru Road in Sabon Gari.
The State Police Commissioner, Mr Aderenle Shinaba who confirmed the incident while briefing newsmen in Kano, said 13 other persons sustained injuries.

He said the attack at Kofar Nasarawa was carried out around 12.05 p.m. by a 16-year-old girl suicide bomber who wanted to cross over to the university.

“The girl loaded herself with explosives and her target was the university and in the course of preventing her from going to the university, she detonated the bomb and injured five policemen.
“Five out of the security personnel stationed at the place sustained injuries, while the girl blew herself off instantly,’’ the police commissioner said.

He added that in the case of the second blast at Zungeru road, the bomb was detonated within the vicinity of the church.
Shinaba said this had led to the killing of five persons while eight others were injured.
“The attack, which was carried out around 1.00 p.m., claimed five persons and injured eight persons,’’ he said.
The police official said three suspects, including a cripple, had also been arrested at Sabon Gari while all the injured were now receiving medical attention in the hospital.
He said investigation had already commenced to unravel the circumstances and those behind the attacks.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in the affected areas.(NAN)

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/another-explosion-kill-6-injures-13-in.html

Ladies, some of you get carried away by money and how to buy all the beautiful things that would make your own wedding more colourful than that of your friend. But moderation is the key, that dayy is a "strong" day! This lady almost died on her way to her reception venue in an accident involving the car conveying her and the fuel truck inserted in the pix. She survived by providence but she won't forget the experience in a hurry.

source:http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/see-naija-babe-who-almost-died-on-her.html

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State
The deadly Ebola Virus Disease which has killed over over 500 people in West Africa has hit Lagos, the Lagos state government says.

Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, presently, has no cure and is ravaging neighbouring West African countries with many people killed and nations still at risk of the deadly disease.


At a news conference in Alausa, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Thursday, Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, told newsmen that a 40-year old Liberian, working for a West African Organiation in Moronvia, Liberia, who arrived Lagos last Sunday is suspected to have the disease.
She said details of the suspected case were obtained from a private health facility in the state, which she refused to mention, saying that history taken revealed that the 40-year old man had no contact with EVD, did not visit any person with EVD in the hospital and neither did he partake in the burial of any person who died of the disease.

A quarantine team for Ebola in Uganda
“However, on account of working and living in an endemic region for EVD, and the presentation of non-specific constitutional symptoms and signs (fever, malaise, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea etc) associated with EVD, a high index of suspicion was raised.

“Based on this, blood samples were taken to Virology Reference Laboratory, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, on Tuesday. Preliminary results necessitated the confirmation of EVD at a World Health Organisation, WHO Reference Laboratory in Dakar, Senegal which is actively in process,” she said.
According to her, the patient’s condition is considered stale while the health facility had since initiated Universal Safety Precautionary measures to prevent spread of the disease and guaranteed safety of other patients.
Adeshina said the Federal Ministry of Health, including Port Health Services were partners with the state government in areas of contact tracing and other specialised care, urging Lagosians to remain calm and take appropriate measures for the prevention of the disease.

Dr. Yewande Adeshina
The Special Adviser explained that Ebola virus disease is caused by a virus which natural reservoir of virus is not completely known, stressing that fruit bats have been considered to be the natural host of the virus.
“The virus can be spread through close contact with the blood, body fluids, organ and tissues of infected animals; direct contact with blood, organ or body secretions of an infected person. The transmission of the virus by other animals like monkey and chimpanzee cannot be ruled out,” she said.

Adeshina noted that those at the highest risk of the disease include health-workers; and families or friends of an infected person who could be infected in the course of feeding, holding and caring for them.
She stressed that Ebola virus disease should be suspected in persons who develop bleeding from the body openings like the mouth, nose, rectum and ear; a close contact with a person who is infected; or health worker who had treated either suspected or confirmed infected person.

“Early symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, chills, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and joint pains. Later symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, bleeding from the mouth and rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and rashes all over the body that often contain blood. It could progress to coma, shock and death,” Adeshina explained.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/ebola-virus-hits-lagos.html

At least four people lost their lives at the New Road Luxury Park, Sabon Gari, Kano, northwest Nigeria Thursday afternoon when a low-profile Improvised Explosive Device, IED, exploded.
When our Correspondent visited the area, security personnel and Park Task Force were removing the bodies, including unspecified number of people who got injured.


According to eyewitness account, the bomb exploded at about 2:30 p.m. when a Luxury bus marked Ifeanyi Chukwu Motors was offloading passengers.
“The luxury bus just returned from Port Harcourt and was off-loading passengers when the blast occurred. No one can tell whether the bomb was planted inside the bus or the carts that were coming to take passenger’s loads.

Military officers walk past the remains of a car after an explosion on July 23, 2014 in Kaduna, north of Nigeria
“I may not be able to tell you the number of casualties, but I counted four dead bodies, while I saw many people with blood stains running for dear lives,” the eyewitness said.
The incident created fear and panic within the Sabon Gari community as many people were seen closing their shops.

The incident paralysed activities in the park as both passengers, business owners and workers at the park deserted the place.
Security operatives have cordoned off the area as at the time of filing this report. The state Commissioner of Police, Adenrele Shinaba who arrived the scene of the incident a few minutes after the blast said it will be too hasty to say anything on the number of casualties, on Monday, 18 March, 2013, both workers and travellers at the New Road Luxury Motor Park were taken unawares when bombers struck at the park which generates millions of naira for business men and Kano state government through Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.
On that day at about 4:30pm, when most of the first buses, like the ill-fated Lagos-bound Gobison-owned bus were fully loaded, bombers in a Volkswagen Golf car casually drove into the park.
Hell was let loose when there was a big bang from the Golf car which had already made its way close to the fully loaded Lagos-bound Gobison bus. This was followed by other blasts in four other buses that set the luxury park on fire.

Scores of people lost their lives. Two buses owned by Gobison Transport, two buses marked Ezenwata Transport Limited and one other owned by Chimezie Transport Limited were burnt.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/four-killed-in-kano-park-blast.html

Former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari
Former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) has said that the second explosion that ripped through Kaduna on Wednesday was an assassination attempt on his life.
Buhari said this in a statement he signed. “I am personally involved in a clearly targeted bomb attack today at about 2:30pm on my way to Daura.

Buhari, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress narrated harrowing experience. “The unfortunate event, clearly an assassination attempt came from a fast moving vehicle that made many attempts to overtake my security car, but was blocked by escort vehicle.
“We reached the market area of Kawo where he took advantage of our slowing down and attempted to ram my car and instantly detonated the bomb which destroyed all the three cars in our convoy.
“Unfortunately, when I came out of my vehicle, I saw many dead bodies littered around. They were innocent people going about their daily business who became victims of mass murder.
“Thank God for His mercy, I came out unhurt, but three of my security staff sustained minor injuries. They have since been treated in hospital and discharged,” the statement read.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/bombers-wanted-to-assassinate-me-buhari.html

Former Head of State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari escaped death today after another bomb exploded under Kawo bridge, Kaduna killed over 40 persons.

Buhari, a presidential flag bearer of Congress for Progressive Change in 2011 escaped the bomb blast which left scores injured.

Buhari, according to a close source disclosed that he was coming into town from a journey when the second bomb exploded.

P.M. News however gathered that the suicide bomber who also was on a bicycle died instantly in the blast .

Meanwhile tension has enveloped all parts of the state out of fear that more bomb could be exploded.

Traders and workers were seen closing their shops and moving to their various houses.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/buhari-escapes-death-as-bomb-blast.html

Hong Kong (CNN) -- After wreaking damage on the Philippines over Tuesday and Wednesday, a newly intensified Typhoon Rammasun is bearing down on Hainan and Guangdong provinces in southern China.

The storm, which was downgraded as it passed over the Philippines, gained strength again over the South China Sea and is now battering Hainan, with its inner eye wall hugging the island's coast.

Now categorized by the China Meteorological Administration as a super typhoon, Rammasun made landfall on the island province of Hainan at around 1.30 p.m (1.30 a.m Eastern) Friday after veering westwards.

Super typhoons are categorized as having sustained winds of 150 mph (241 km/h) or higher.
Typhoon Rammasun's pathTyphoon Rammasun's path
Typhoon Rammasun now category 5

The Administration issued a 'red' typhoon warning, the highest of four color-coded warning levels. It is the first time this year the signal has been raised. Authorities in the region are on high alert.

"Its intensity when landing will reach force 15 to 16 (50 to 55m/s)," the bulletin said, prior to the storm reaching Hainan.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, tracked the typhoon as moving in a northwesterly direction, passing over the northern tip of Hainan and the Leizhou peninsula. The Center defines a super typhoon as having sustained winds of 130 kt; as of 11 a.m. local time (11 p.m Eastern), it was monitoring winds at 125 kt.

At 2 p.m local time (2 a.m ET) Hong Kong's government observatory estimated the super typhoon to be around 242 miles (390 km) southwest of the city. It was not expected to affect the city beyond strong winds and rain.

Should Rammasun hit the mainland as expected, the storm is expected to produce strong gales -- which may top 93 mph (150 km/h) -- heavy rain and tidal surges.

Given the rapid escalation in the storm's strength -- from a category one to a category five -- it is unclear how comprehensive preparations for this storm have been in the areas likely to be affected the most.

Shipping in the region has been suspended, as have some flights, including in Hainan, which is a popular holiday destination. Trains in Guangdong bound for Hainan have been halted in the provincial capital Guangzhou, and Hainan's high-speed railway has also had operations suspended, according to China's state-run news agency.

China's National Meteorological Center also said that inland areas of some provinces, including Yunnan, Hubei and Henan would experience rainstorms. The NMC warned of flooding in cities and landslides in mountain areas.

The typhoon caused 38 deaths in the Philippines, as well as damage to property and infrastructure across Luzon, the largest island in the archipelago.

James Reynolds, a freelance journalist and videographer who was in Legazpi when the typhoon made landfall in the Philippines, said in a twitter post that Rammasun looked "immensely powerful -- one of the strongest I've seen in the (South) China Sea for a long time."

Only two other super typhoons have ever hit China, Saomai in 2006 and Marge in 1973. Saomai, registered as a once-a-century typhoon, was the most powerful typhoon ever to have made landfall over mainland China. This storm, says CNN's Ivan Cabrera, could top both of these.

The existing typhoon record of 78.9 m/s was observed at Dalaoshan, Hong Kong, on 1 September 1962

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/super-typhoon-rammasun-bears-down-on.html

A Malaysian Airlines passenger plane has reportedly been shot down on the Russian-Ukraine border, apparently killing all 295 people on board.
Flight MH17, which was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew, was flying between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpar after taking off leaving at lunchtime today.
The Interfax news agency reported that the aircraft went missing near Donetsk, where pro-Russian rebels have been fighting Ukrainian government forces for several weeks.
TV pictures from the scene showed a pall of smoke billowing into the sky apparently from the stricken aircraft.
It is believed the plane was struck by BUK surface-to-air missile at 33,000ft around 20 miles before entering Russian airspace.
A Malaysian Airlines passenger jet is thought to have been shot down over the Ukraine / Russian border
Malaysian passenger plane crashes on Russia/Ukraine border
The shoulder-launched Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile can be packed into a golf bag and assembled and fired very rapidly by one person with minimal training.
Defence experts have expressed fears in the past they could be used to target at civil aircraft.
A similar launcher was seen by Associated Press journalists near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne earlier today.
Malaysian Airlines said they have no information about any survivors.
In a tweet, the airline said: 'Malaysia Airlines has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow.'
The crash comes three months after the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 which is though to have crashed into the Indian Occean.
Two weeks ago, investigators say what little evidence they have to work with suggests the plane was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometres from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the Indian Ocean.
The search was narrowed in April after a series of acoustic pings thought to be from the plane's black box recorders were heard along a final arc where analysis of satellite data put its last location.
But a month later, officials conceded the wreckage was not in that concentrated area, some 1,000 miles off the northwest coast of Australia, and the search area would have to be expanded.
The next phase of the search is expected to start in August and take a year, covering some 60,000 sq km at a cost of AU$60 million ($56 million) or more. The search is already the most expensive in aviation history.
The new priority search area is around 2,000km west of Perth, a stretch of isolated ocean frequently lashed by storm force winds and massive swells.

source:http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/breaking-news-malaysian-passenger-plane.html

Eleven months after the death of controversial pastor, Prophet Elijah Iretiola Ajanaku, burial rites for his final homeward journey to eternity commenced Thursday morning at his church, Christ Revival City Chapel International, CRCCI, Ikola Akinwale Street, off Oluwada, Baruwa Ipaja, Lagos State, western Nigeria.
His remains arrived at the church premises at exactly 9:30 a.m. and the funeral rites began immediately.
Thousands of anxious Nigerians, who were shocked that the remains of the pastor, who died in his hometown, Gbongan, Osun State, last year, remained in the mortuary up till now, trooped to the church to ascertain that Ajanaku, who many also thought had been allegedly buried by cultists immediately he died, was never buried after all.
•The late Ajanaku
As at the time of filing this report, the people were still waiting anxiously for the casket bearing the remains of the dead pastor to be opened. But there was no indication that the casket would be opened.
Many of those who were there didn’t come to pay their last respects to the deceased but to catch a glimpse of the late pastor.

After the service at the church, his remains will be taken to his palatial home in Ikola, Agbado Oke Odo LCDA, where he will be interred.
When Ajanaku died in his hometown last year, his church gave the impression that he was abroad.
There were reports also that his corpse was brought to Lagos State by traditional cultists who allegedly held traditional rites for seven days in his Ikola home.
The controversy that followed was that some of his parts were removed and that he had been hurriedly buried.
But his wife, Joy Iretiola, denied the vile claims and said his body had been deposited in a mortuary.
Another unsubstantiated report had it that he was not buried because of the warning by the cultists that if they buried him, his family members would die one after the other. But that also may have been concocted, following his burial Thursday in Lagos.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/11-months-after-death-prophet-ajanaku.html

A female undergraduate of Babcock University, Ms Busayo Ogunkoya, has been killed by one Azeez Ibrahim during a birthday party in a hotel in the Ikorodu area of Lagos. Immediately the incident happened, there was confusion in the vicinity as many of the invited guests fled the hotel.

A source who was present during the unfortunate incident disclosed that Ibrahim was drunk. He said that “the incident happened on Saturday night when Busayo and her friends were having a party.

“She did not know the person celebrating, but she was invited to the party by her boyfriend. The party was going on fine until...

"Ibrahim, the security man, who was holding a gun which he claimed he had seized from some robbers, mishandled the gun and fired a bullet which hit Busayo. The guard was said to be drunk.”


According to Punch, the incident took place on Saturday evening, July 5, 2014, at Mambillah Hotel, when the guard fired a shot that killed Busayo. The bullet lodged in the neck region of the victim.

She was rushed to a private hospital in the area where she was confirmed dead. Policemen from the Owutu Police Division were said to have arrived at the scene and arrested the guard, the assistant manager of the hotel and the victim’s boyfriend.

Mambillah, which is one of the popular hotels in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, bore a gloomy look all through. A resident confided in Punch that since the tragedy, the hotel had been shut to guests and no music had been played during the daytime as was the practice.

A large number of security officials was also said to have been deployed in the hotel to prevent attack from some aggrieved youths in the area.

A young boy, who did not identify himself for security reason, said the incident left a bloody trail. He said, “On Sunday morning when I wanted to do something in the hotel, I noticed blood on the ground. I cannot say exactly how the incident happened, but I learnt a lady was killed the previous night.”

Ibrahim, the guard who fired the killer shot, owned a house in Ikorodu. Punch spoke with one of his tenants, who pleaded anonymity for security reasons. The tenant described Ibrahim as a caring landlord who was only a victim of some “forces.”

She said, “He is such a nice and caring landlord. I have been living in his house for a long time and he has never made any trouble with me. I know he is just a victim of some forces beyond his control. He could not have deliberately killed the girl and I hope the police authorities would have mercy on him.”

When contacted, the manager of the hotel said he had nothing to say.

The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Lelma Kolle, an ASP, however, confirmed the incident. The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, for investigation.


http://www.today.ng/metro/security-guard-kills-babcock-university-female-student-in-hotel/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter
http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/female-student-of-babcock-university.html

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has completed his move to Chelsea from the Spanish champions on a five-year deal. The 25-year old is believed to have cost the London club around £32m.

“I am very happy to sign for Chelsea. Everybody knows it is a big club in a very competitive league, and I am very excited to get started in England,” the Brazilian-born Spanish striker said.

Costa is Chelsea’s third summer signing following the arrivals of Cesc Fabregas and Mario Pasalic.

The striker scored 36 goals in 52 games for Atletico last term as they won their first La Liga title since 1996 and reached the Champions League final.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had made the addition of a “killer” striker a key priority during the summer with Costa the favourite.

The London club scored 71 goals in the league last season, 31 fewer than champions Manchester City, who finished four points ahead of them, as Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o all struggled to find the net consistently.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/diego-costa-completes-chelsea-move.html

Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state has been impeached. He was impeached after the state House of Assembly deliberated upon the report submitted by a seven-man investigative panel probing allegations of financial misconducts against him and his deputy.

Minutes before Nyako was impeached, his deputy, Bala Ngilari, resigned his position as the number two man in the state.

Ngilari’s resignation letter was read at the plenary by the speaker of the Assembly, Umaru Fintiri and approved by the lawmakers.

The Assembly is heavily fortified by security operatives who have denied people access to proceedings.

Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako (retd), was elected Executive Governor of Adamawa State, Nigeria, taking office in May 2007. Prior to this time, he served in the Navy, at one time being military governor of Niger State, and being appointed Chief of Naval Staff in December 1989.

According to Wikipedia, Murtala Hamman-Yero Nyako was born at Mayo-Belwa, Adamawa State on 27 August 1943. His father, Alhaji Hamman-Yero, was a notable merchant and produce buying agent, whose mercantile activities was directly responsible for the establishment of John Holts and Sons Ltd centre at Mayo-Belwa.

His mother, Hajiya Maryam Daso, was a housewife who was keen on Islamic studies and herbal medicine.

He started his western education at Mayo-Belwa Elementary School in January 1952, proceeded to Yola Middle School in January 1955 and commenced his secondary school education in the same school in January 1958. He was noted whilst there for his academic achievements and sporting prowess.

Nyako joined the Royal Nigerian Navy in June 1963 as an officer cadet, commenced his officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, England in September 1963, was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant in September 1965 and completed his initial naval training in September 1965.

Nyako returned to Nigeria in October 1966 to serve in the Nigerian Navy until September 1993. During that period, he held a number of on-board and shore appointments. He was at one time a Commanding Officer of a Patrol craft, a Landing craft and the first missile carrying ship of the Nigerian Navy.

In February 1976, General Murtala Muhammad appointed Nyako governor of the newly formed Niger State, which had been split out from Sokoto State. He served in this post until December 1977. Later he became the Chief of Naval Operations at the Naval Headquarters, the Flag Officer Commanding the Western Naval Command and the Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Training Command from where he was appointed the Chief of Naval Staff in January 1990.

Two years later, he was appointed the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff and retired from the Service in September 1993 with the rank of Vice Admiral.

Nyako was born a cattle owner as his mother had been allocated some cows for her offspring before he was born. He was, therefore, most involved with cattle rearing and later general agricultural development while he was in the Naval Service.

The main issue as he understood it was improving substantially the productivity of Nigeria’s agricultural units and the quality of their products. He commenced a sustainable cross-breeding programme of his local cattle with exotic superior sires in 1990 with very satisfactory results. He also got involved in the production of horticultural crops, and his first commercial export of musk melons to Europe using chartered aircraft took place in January 1990. Exotic mangoes from his mango orchard of 50,000 trees were first exported to Europe in 1993.

He is also presently involved in the modern production of dates, passionfruit, banana, pasture development, breeding of boar goats and fish farming.

Nyako is the President of the Horticultural Crops Growers Association of Nigeria, the Practicing Farmers Association of Nigeria and the Apex Farmers Association of Nigeria. He is a patron of numerous farmers’ commodity associations in the country. Admiral is a successful integrated farmer of international repute. He is sole owner of one of the largest dairy farms in the country, Sebore (EPZ) Farms. In addition, Nyako owns the largest mango farm in the country leading to him being known as Baba Mai Mangoro (BMM).

Nyako entered politics in 2006. He was elected Governor of Adamawa State in April 2007.

In February 2008 the Election Petition Appeal report found the governor guilty of all the 16 allegations of gross misconduct leveled against him by the House. Tribunal upheld nullification of his election, and the House Speaker James Barka was sworn in as Acting Governor on 26 February 2008.

A fresh election was run, and Nyako was reelected with a landslide victory taking all 21 Local Government Areas, resuming office on 29 April, 2008. Soon after, the House initiated moves to impeach Nyako, but was dissuaded after the personal intervention of President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The relationship improved, and in March 2010 the Adamawa State House of Assembly passed a vote of confidence in Governor Nyako describing the Governor as a “messiah” to the people of the state. In 2012 after the Governor first tenure, he ran for a second term and was once again re-elected. On July 15, 2014, the governor was impeached as the state House of Assembly deliberated on the report of an investigative panel that probed allegations of financial misconduct against him.

Nyako has been a recipient of an honorary Doctorate Degree of Agriculture from the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; University of Technology Minna, (2008); University of Technology, Yola (2009) and the National Awards of Commander of Federal Republic (CFR) in 1993, Grand Commander of the Niger (GCON) in 1999 and another Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2002.
Nyako is married and has children.

source: http://www.ralphcrown.com/2014/07/governor-murtala-nyako-impeach.html