Astronomers have spotted an exotic planet that seems to be made of diamond racing around a tiny star in our galactic backyard.

The new planet is far denser than any other known so far and consists largely of carbon. Because it is so dense, scientists calculate the carbon must be crystalline, so a large part of this strange world will effectively be diamond. "The evolutionary history and amazing density of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon -- i.e. a massive diamond orbiting a neutron star every two hours in an orbit so tight it would fit inside our own Sun," said Matthew Bailes of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.

Lying 4,000 light years away, or around an eighth of the way toward the center of the Milky Way from the Earth, the planet is probably the remnant of a once-massive star that has lost its outer layers to the so-called pulsar star it orbits. Pulsars are tiny, dead neutron stars that are only around 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in diameter and spin hundreds of times a second, emitting beams of radiation. In the case of pulsar J1719-1438, the beams regularly sweep the Earth and have been monitored by telescopes in Australia, Britain and Hawaii, allowing astronomers to detect modulations due to the gravitational pull of its unseen companion planet.

The measurements suggest the planet, which orbits its star every two hours and 10 minutes, has slightly more mass than Jupiter but is 20 times as dense, Bailes and colleagues reported in the journal Science on Thursday. In addition to carbon, the new planet is also likely to contain oxygen, which may be more prevalent at the surface and is probably increasingly rare toward the carbon-rich center. Its high density suggests the lighter elements of hydrogen and helium, which are the main constituents of gas giants like Jupiter, are not present.

Just what this weird diamond world is actually like close up, however, is a mystery. "In terms of what it would look like, I don't know I could even speculate," said Ben Stappers of the University of Manchester. "I don't imagine that a picture of a very shiny object is what we're looking at here."

Innocent NIGERIANS and FOREIGNERS alike lost their lives at the hand of Boko Haram. For what? If I may ask?

This is clearly a wrong way of sending a message across to whosoever!!!

(the other pictures cannot be posted here cos they are gory) u can see them in the link in my signature.

Innocent NIGERIANS and FOREIGNERS alike lost their lives at the hand of Boko Haram. For what? If I may ask?

This is clearly a wrong way of sending a message across to whosoever!!!

(the other pictures cannot be posted here cos they are gory) u can see them in the link in my signature.

IT was like a scene from a thriller, as an unidentified man yesterday drove a Honda Accord car at a maddening speed into the United Nations (UN) House in Abuja. The suicide bomber ignored all the frenzied attempts by security guards to stop him and smashed his way into the iconic building.

His car was loaded with explosives, which promptly detonated at impact, leaving in their wake an estimated 22 persons dead. The time was 10.40am. The impacts of the blast were felt on the four floors of the building built for the United Nations by the construction giant, Julius Berger, during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration between 1999 and 2007. The bomb severely rocked the main reception area of the building, shot right up and brought down the second floor.
The deafening sound and the accompanying tremor brought about commotion, as staff and visitors in the building ran for cover. About 1,000 staff are quartered in the vast office spaces. Emergency rescue teams, led by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) immediately deployed to site and evacuated the victims using the ambulances to convey both the unconscious and the dead to the nearby National Hospital, which could hardly cope with the casualties. Other rescue teams included the Red Cross, Civil Defence, Air Force, Police, Army and Navy; the FCT Administration and the Fire Services. The Police Bomb Squads were also deployed and combed the area in case of any more explosives.

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who was at the hospital to oversee extent of care for victims regretted the incident and commiserated with families of the deceased.
A doctor at the National Hospital told The Guardian that window loeuvers were even broken as the emergency teams rushed in victims adding that wards have been thrown open for relatives to identify victims. There was an unconfirmed report of earlier intelligence by the UN that the Abuja building had been a target, a report said to be causing a stir in the presidency.

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Innocent NIGERIANS and FOREIGNERS alike lost their lives at the hand of Boko Haram. For what? If I may ask?

This is clearly a wrong way of sending a message across to whosoever!!!

(the other pictures cannot be posted here cos they are gory) u can see them in the link in my signature.

IT was like a scene from a thriller, as an unidentified man yesterday drove a Honda Accord car at a maddening speed into the United Nations (UN) House in Abuja. The suicide bomber ignored all the frenzied attempts by security guards to stop him and smashed his way into the iconic building.

His car was loaded with explosives, which promptly detonated at impact, leaving in their wake an estimated 22 persons dead. The time was 10.40am. The impacts of the blast were felt on the four floors of the building built for the United Nations by the construction giant, Julius Berger, during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration between 1999 and 2007. The bomb severely rocked the main reception area of the building, shot right up and brought down the second floor.
The deafening sound and the accompanying tremor brought about commotion, as staff and visitors in the building ran for cover. About 1,000 staff are quartered in the vast office spaces. Emergency rescue teams, led by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) immediately deployed to site and evacuated the victims using the ambulances to convey both the unconscious and the dead to the nearby National Hospital, which could hardly cope with the casualties. Other rescue teams included the Red Cross, Civil Defence, Air Force, Police, Army and Navy; the FCT Administration and the Fire Services. The Police Bomb Squads were also deployed and combed the area in case of any more explosives.

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who was at the hospital to oversee extent of care for victims regretted the incident and commiserated with families of the deceased.
A doctor at the National Hospital told The Guardian that window loeuvers were even broken as the emergency teams rushed in victims adding that wards have been thrown open for relatives to identify victims. There was an unconfirmed report of earlier intelligence by the UN that the Abuja building had been a target, a report said to be causing a stir in the presidency.

more @ link in signature

The Yusifiyya movement popularly known as Boko Haram, Saturday, said that the reasons why they attacked the United Nations building in Abuja is because United States and the UN were supporting the Federal government of Nigeria in persecuting Muslims all over the country. One Abu Kakah, who spoke on behalf of the spokesman of the group, Abu Zaid while addressing newsmen in Maiduguri via the telephone said they considered the United States , the UN and the Nigeria government as a common enemy and such they would continue to attack them because they are infringing on the right of the muslims.

Abu Kakah accused the federal government of insincerity in dialoguing with them saying the only condition they can accept to dialogue with the federal government is unconditional release of all their members whom he said are in prisons all over the country.

source >> check the link in my signature

Two studies show that lowering sodium improves mild hypertension and helps medications work better
Does too much salt cause high blood pressure, or doesn't it? That debate has raged for decades, with a slew of studies finding "yes" and a slew of others finding "no." Two new studies out today in the journal Hypertension tip the scales in favor of reducing sodium—particularly for those 1 in 4 Americans who have high blood pressure. One study found that reducing salt intake from 9,700 milligrams a day to 6,500 milligrams decreased blood pressure significantly in blacks, Asians, and whites who had untreated mild hypertension. Another study found that switching to a lower-salt diet helped lower blood pressure in folks with treatment-resistant hypertension.

Read more » link in my signature

Two studies show that lowering sodium improves mild hypertension and helps medications work better
Does too much salt cause high blood pressure, or doesn't it? That debate has raged for decades, with a slew of studies finding "yes" and a slew of others finding "no." Two new studies out today in the journal Hypertension tip the scales in favor of reducing sodium—particularly for those 1 in 4 Americans who have high blood pressure. One study found that reducing salt intake from 9,700 milligrams a day to 6,500 milligrams decreased blood pressure significantly in blacks, Asians, and whites who had untreated mild hypertension. Another study found that switching to a lower-salt diet helped lower blood pressure in folks with treatment-resistant hypertension.

Read more » link in my signature

Judy Flanagan's phone rang Tuesday with a call the Arizona immigration attorney wasn't expecting. A federal prosecutor suggested one of her clients -- a 22-year-old university student with no criminal record -- should ask to have her deportation case dismissed. "That's never happened before," Flanagan said.

Immigration lawyers around the country hope those types of calls from federal officials will become more common under new deportation guidelines the Obama administration detailed a week ago. The Department of Homeland Security said the government would review about 300,000 deportation cases pending in federal immigration courts. Lower-priority cases -- those not involving individuals considered violent or otherwise dangerous -- would be suspended under the new criteria.

Read more » link in my signature

Judy Flanagan's phone rang Tuesday with a call the Arizona immigration attorney wasn't expecting. A federal prosecutor suggested one of her clients -- a 22-year-old university student with no criminal record -- should ask to have her deportation case dismissed. "That's never happened before," Flanagan said.

Immigration lawyers around the country hope those types of calls from federal officials will become more common under new deportation guidelines the Obama administration detailed a week ago. The Department of Homeland Security said the government would review about 300,000 deportation cases pending in federal immigration courts. Lower-priority cases -- those not involving individuals considered violent or otherwise dangerous -- would be suspended under the new criteria.

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^^lol sure. Thanks

very nasty, I pray this doesnt claim casualties, though it has weakened to just category 1, with winds of 85 miles per hour (140 km per hour) I heard.
[quote][/quote]

She has been working hard recently shooting scenes for the reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex. And alongside many of her fellow cast members Maria Fowler is spending the bank holiday weekend living it up in Marbella. The reality star, 25, displayed her intentions for the wild weekend through her dress sense and donned an animal print bikini by Caprice, as she soaked up the sunshine yesterday.

pictures as you read on

Maria, who told her Twitter fans she wasn’t feeling very well, mad the most of her holiday and was seen sipping on cocktails and enjoying a dip in the pool with her girlfriends. And with her boyfriend Craig staying put in Essex as she enjoys a girlie break the glamour model wasn’t short of male attention. In fact a tanned and tattooed male couldn’t help but come over for a chat with the Derby-born TV personality as she sunbathed on a large bed at Buddha beach, but Craig needn't worry it was just one of her friend's boyfriends.


And Maria isn't the only TOWIE star in Spain at the moment, Mark Wright is also making the most of the long weekend on a boys holiday in the area. Yesterday Maria complained that she was feeling under the weather and tweeted her boyfriend and Nubar manager Craig to tell him she wished he was with her. First she appealed to her followers and said: ‘Ohhhh first night in marbs can hardly speak my throat is so bad don't know weather to go out or stay in xxxx’ (sic)

pictures in link below (my signature)

FG uncovers corruption in judiciary •N106bn traced to judgment procurement •Judges own luxury houses in UK, UAE, S/Africa

The presidency appears to be in a dilemma as to the nature of its intervention in the judicial arm of government, following the submission of a secret report which indicted a number of judicial officers of monumental corruption.

Investigations confirmed that the government is in possession of the document which detailed lots of underhand dealings in the judiciary. It was confirmed that unethical practices, such as judgment procurement and actual instances of corruption were probed by the secret committee. According to investigations, the report, which detailed incidents in the judiciary from 2006 to 2011, confirmed that a number of judges have been named as “living above their legal means.”

It was further confirmed that a number of judicial officers were linked to what was termed “judgment procurement,” which was said to have gulped about N106 billion in recent years. “The bulk of that sum has been salted away in foreign lands to procure properties in the name of fake companies, fake children, schools and fake associates,” a source privy to the document quoted the submission.

“The last has not been heard of the development in the judiciary, as far as corruption is concerned. A report in the hands of the state has confirmed that some properties were bought globally, especially in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa and London. Some of the real owners are judicial personnel, whose total emoluments cannot in anyway justify the purchases. “Some of them have been found to send their children to some of the most expensive schools in the world, without taking loans. These are mind-boggling discoveries,” the source said.

A source said that the government was worried that a sacred arm of government was being desecrated by certain forces and that some of those making the loudest noise about the situation in the judiciary were “mere poster images of corruption.” Though the source said that the government was working to ensure that its actions in the judiciary were not misconstrued as political moves, it was learnt that a decision had been taken to ensure that the guilty did not go unpunished.

“The comprehensive report detailing the rot in the judiciary is in the hands of the highest authorities. I can confirm to you that those mentioned in the report as having been linked to improper conduct cannot go unpunished. The offences vary from judgment procurement to undue influence on judges. It dates back to the Obasanjo/Atiku era,” the source said.

“It has become so embarrassing to the government that judgments of Nigeria, which were readily cited in the United Kingdom and other lands are no longer regarded. Law students outside the country no longer see the judgments from Nigeria as worth the paper on which they are written. It is a battle the government must fight to ensure a proper demarcation between politics and the judiciary,” the source said.

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news with pictures/videos @ ***********

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The Federal Government plans to remove subsidy in petroleum products, cut recurrent spending; the overhead cost of running government in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to reduce the budget deficit to a manageable level of three per cent of output while boosting infrastructure investment to create jobs.

Finance Minister and Coordinator of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said yesterday while speaking on fiscal discipline and freeing more funds from recurrent budget for more attention on capital. She said the move would affect all arms of government and all categories of staff.

According to her, the current situation where recurrent budget takes an entire 75 per cent of total budget could not support the type of aggressive capital development that Nigerians yearn for and must therefore be addressed in such a way that it could be reasonably reduced. Continuing she said “We need to change the budget process in this country. We can not bring a budget and then have reservations that go back and forth. The executive has its responsibility and I hope the lawmakers will also take responsibility. By 2013 we will have a much saner budget process.”

Macro-economic stability
In her maiden press briefing in Abuja she said: “We need to maintain macroeconomic stability. We need to manage our fiscal situation in a more prudent manner. Monetary and fiscal policies must work hand-in-hand.” On fuel subsidy, she said: “There has been a lot of debate on fuel subsidies and we have all resolved that (removing it) is a good direction to go on. You have to leave it to us to decide when it is prudent to do so.”

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “Nigeria will reduce recurrent expenditure by at least one per cent a year in the next four years, which would bring it down to 70 per cent of the budget by 2014. Recurrent spending accounts for 74 per cent of the country’s N4.5 trillion budget. The minister said she favoured the Central Bank’s policy of pegging the naira to the dollar to provide stability for businesses, and promised to work with Governor Lamido Sanusi to have an exchange rate that “reflects the economy.”

Okonjo-Iweala further said that Nigeria’s total debt figure is currently $39.7 billion which is about 20 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product, GDP, even as she unveiled the priority sectors with which to drive the economy. She said she would critically review the borrowing processes with a view to reducing the rate, especially the domestic debt. Her words: “One of the things we would do is to pay attention to the debt situation. I know that many Nigerians are looking at it with concern, and you know my stand on debts. We have about N5.2 trillion in domestic debts and about $5.3 billion in external debts bringing total debt figures to $39.7 billion which is about 20 per cent of GDP, Gross Domestic Product.”

Total debt figure
The minister noted that the total debt figure as a percentage of GDP was not worrisome, as according to her, debt/GDP ratio could become of concern if it hits the 60 per cent threshold, in line with international norm. She said the external debt was “extremely low” but that the domestic debts mainly in Federal Government Bonds and Treasury Bills would be brought down through a systematic approach.

She identified job creation, building critical infrastructure especially electric power and roads/ rails, anti-corruption, agriculture, manufacturing, fiscal discipline, investment climate reforms, housing, entertainment, as well as, oil & gas as sectors of immediate focus. She told journalists that Nigeria was not used to trade-offs but that this administration would do so by paying greater attention to the priority sectors.

According to her, “this is not to say that other sectors are not important. It is just that we need to prioritise in the economy. One thing we are not used to doing is creating trade-offs and saying which are the key sectors, we need to focus on. So now we have to make some trade-offs.” Okonjo-Iweal warned that addressing the present challenges won’t be easy and that she did not have the magic wand for a quick-fix. She assured, however, that with the cooperation of good spirited Nigerians, the National Economic Implementation Team won’t disappoint. She said: “The present situation is not going to be an easy one and if you have a budget coming, you have to make choices.”

Specifically on power, the minister said, “All Nigerians know and many opinion surveys have shown that the thing that Nigerians are most interested in is improving our infrastructure in this country. Something that they can see with their eyes; power and roads as well as the rail and air transport. Nigerians are keen to see improvements and this is very important for us.”

She said that the problems bedeviling the Nigerian economy were built up over a long period of time and that Nigerians should not expect a magic wand from her in the efforts to fix the economy. “I have talked of the challenges that we face. There is no magic wand. I have seen some people writing about one magic wand that will be waved. Certainly not by me, I do not have any magic. There is no single person who can solve the problems of this country. We are a team here in the Ministry of Finance. The President has created the Economic Management Team and we have an Economic Management Implementation Team, because the other team is large, we need a core of people to push implementation.

Implementation team
“We will do the much we can but we can’t promise magic but we have got this implementation team that the President has inaugurated and we will do our best taking these problems one-by-one and trying to push on all fronts.” On the Sovereign Wealth Fund which governors have called for its suspension, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that the executive had engaged the governors with a view to convincing them to allow it to be established as earlier agreed. She said that the federal government recognised the reality of the recent review in workers= wages but that she was convinced that the governors also realised that the nation had just one economy.

“They are reasonable people. We are talking, we are dialoguing and I am sure we will come to a conclusion that would be beneficial to the economy.” Nigeria’s reliance on oil exports meant fiscal prudence was even more important given the volatility of global oil prices in recent months during the crisis in North Africa, the minister said.
Dollar crashes in parallel market as CBN intervenes.

Meanwhile the dollar yesterday crashed to N160 at the parallel foreign exchange market following the sale of $50 million special intervention foreign exchange to bureaux de change by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). As at the close of business yesterday the parallel market exchange rate had fallen to N160 per dollar from N163 on Tuesday and N165 on Monday. The rates have been going down rapidly since morning. Some people are selling as low as N158 per dollar@, said Harrison Owoh, Chief Executive H.J Trust BDC. The increased supply, which is aimed at narrowing the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rate is being offered through five banks at stipulated exchange rate.

It was gathered that the $50 million foreign exchange is different from the usual autonomous foreign exchange which banks sell to BDCs, and it is also different from the $100,000 weekly official foreign exchange sale to BDCs. The special foreign exchange sale represents the third measure by the apex bank to address the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates which rose sharply to N14 in July from less than N4 in June in response to the limit imposed on amount of foreign exchange banks can sell to BDCs. The limit which was introduce by the CBN on June 24th pegged bank=s sale of autonomous dollars to BDCs at $250,000 per week per bank.

This caused severe demand gap in the retail-end of the market, which propelled the parallel market exchange rate to rise as high as N167 per dollar. The concomitant wide gap between the official and parallel market exchange rate induced upsurge in foreign exchange round-tripping as foreign exchange operators particularly the banks and oil firms exploited the wide gap to make huge profit.