Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Monday, 7 May 2012
Unknown gunmen attack Southern Kaduna early this morning
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A group of armed men carried out attacks early this morning in Southern Kaduna, Zangon Kataf local government area.It was gathered that the attackers stormed households around 1 a.m. in Boro village. “The villagers initially repelled the attackers and sent distress calls for help as the unidentified gunmen fled through the bush,” said the source.
The attackers seriously injured two persons, a father and his son.
The source said, “We have just received the signals, and we are in touch with our commanding officers and men to swim into action so as to avoid escalation. As we speak now, our men are there, and the victims are being taken to a hospital in Zonkwa.” The source added that the soldiers were still gathering more information, promising to update us if new facts emerge.
Southern Kaduna has witnessed several violent attacks—most of them during the night—since the last year’s post-election violence in Kaduna State. The attacks have resulted in numerous deaths.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
DON JAZZY LAUNCHES MAVIN RECORDS LABEL, ENLISTS WANDE COAL, TIWA SAVAGE, DR SID& D PRINCE.
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| Mavin - Wande Coal, D'Prince, Don J, Tiwa Savage & Dr. Sid |
Former Mo’hits CEO has formally announced his new label, Mavin Records. through his Twitter, Don Jazzy announced and unveiled the new artistes on the label which includes D’Prince, Dr Sid, Wande Coal and a surprise signing – Tiwa Savage. Outside D’banj who was not in the picture, Kay Switch was also missing.
He tweeted: ‘MAVIN ACTIVATED -http://www.mavinrecords.com’.
A compilation album titled ‘Solar Plexus’ featuring Wande Coal, D’Prince, Tiwa Savage & Dr Sid. Produced exclusively by Don Jazzy would be released on Tuesday, May 8th.
In 43 minutes, the followers on twitter for the Mavin Records account grew to over a thousand.
Also, The new Mavin Records President informed that he is still signed as a producer to Kanye West’s GOOD Music.
Taking a trick from D’banj’s playbook who has launched the dbanjofficial.com website, Don Jazzy made his announcement with the mavinrecords.com website.
Hollande defeats incumbent Sarkozy to become new French President
Defeating the incumbent president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is the 57-year-old socialist politician François Hollande has won the French presidential election on Sunday, capturing more than 51 percent of the vote to and become France's new president, according French television.
Sarkozy, who has held the French presidency since 2007, grabbed 48.1 percent, according to the polls.Hollande, the 57-year-old socialist challenger, narrowly edged Sarkozy, also 57, in a preliminary election two weeks ago, but since he did not win with an absolute majority, France law required a runoff between the top two candidates.
Sunday's victory means France will have its first Socialist president since since Francois Mitterrand, the country's president from 1981 to 1995. In voting Sarkozy out of office, French voters expressed their discontent over Europe's debt crisis.
French television declared the election for Hollande immediately after the polls closed Sunday. Moments later, Sarkozy told his supporters that he called Holland to congratulate him, and to concede victory.
"I take the responsibility for this loss," Sarkozy said. "I'm ready to become a French person among French people, and more than ever I have the love for my country deeply ingrained in my heart."
Hollande's victory could have far-reaching implications on Europe's debt woes. According to the Associated Press, Hollande has promised a 75-percent income tax on the rich and "wants to re-negotiate a European treaty on trimming budgets to avoid more debt crises of the kind facing Greece."
Big Brother Africa Live Streaming..expect the unexpected!!!
The very much anticipated Season 7 of Big Brother Africa STAR GAME is finally here, bigger and better than ever before.
If your area of Residence doesn't permit you to Watch, well i just got the link of where you can watch it Live!
Click to Watch bigbrotherafrica.dstv.com.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Unknown gunmen attack yobe market with explosives killing 34 persons
Gunmen armed with explosives yesterday at about 7:30pm attacked a cattle market in Yobe state northeastern Nigeria, leaving at least 34 persons dead, the toll is likely to increase, according to sources.
“Thirty-four bodies were deposited at the hospital,” the official said on condition of anonymity of the attack late Wednesday in Potiskum because he was not authorised to speak publicly.
He said the toll was likely to be more than 50 dead because families were also burying relatives’ bodies without bringing them to the hospital.
Witnesses said the gunmen started shooting in the market, trying to steal cattle. They said three people at the market were killed, as a fourth man suspected to be part of the group of robbers was set afire while still alive and died of his burns.
Police confirmed the attack happened but said they had no details.
The attack does not appear to be the work of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is waging an increasingly violent sectarian fight against Nigeria’s weak central government. Cattle raids remain common across the north, as herdsmen lead teams across the arid plains.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
3 Nigerians back four years jail term for telemarketing fraud in US
Three Nigerians are to serve four years in jail for their roles in a fraudulent telemarketing scheme, they were sentenced in United States Middle District Court sitting in Pennsylvania.The Nigerians, Christian Nwosu (41); Alexander Ojiri (53) and Kennedy Onaiwu (42), were charged as part of an investigation into fraudulent telemarketing schemes using MoneyGram and Western Union money transfer systems.
U.S. Attorney Peter Smith said Nwosu and Onaiwu were MoneyGram and Western Union agents who allowed fraud-induced money transfers, and Ojiri served as a middleman between the agents and fraudulent mass marketers.
He added that the cases were part of an ongoing investigation which has so far resulted in charges against 28 people and the uncovering of $13.5 million in reported losses to fraud victims.
The three were charged with mail and wire fraud and later pleaded guilty. The court also ordered the three to pay restitution totaling more than $2.7 million.
NUMBER PORTABILITY: GSM operators won't be allowed to charge subscribers – NCC
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| NCC Headquatersn, Abuja |
Section 6 (3) of Nigeria Mobile Number Portabilty , Business Rules & Port Order Processes dated March 2012 and posted on the regulator’s portal, states, inter alia:
“Neither recipient operators nor donor operators may make a charge to the customer for porting their number.”
NCC issued the directive ahead of making MNP available to the public, after appointing a consortium of telcos to handle the service that for now excludes fixed wireless and fixed lines services.
Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah had earlier hinted at the possibility of launching the MNP service by September during a parley with the media in Lagos, adding this would give mobile subscribers freedom to accept and reject their service providers at will while retaining their numbers.
Equal treatment
In the document cited above which develops the framework for number portability in Nigeria, NCC maintained that recipient operators must treat incoming subscribers from other networks same way it treats its existing subscribers.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Ministry of Communication Technology signs MoU with Nokia
The Ministry of Communication Technology has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nokia, a multinational communications corporation, aimed at stimulating the growth of the Information and Communication Technology( ICT) sector in Nigeria.At the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Honourable minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson stressed that government would continue to partner with the private sector and industry players to stimulate socio-economic development and bridge the digital divide in the country.
The MOU is one of several public private partnership (PPP) initiatives being undertaken by the Ministry to foster innovation and development of the ICT sector in Nigeria. Johnson added that the Nigerian government was much aware of the potential which ICTs can have on the development of the nation and is working to ensure that ICT is deployed as a tool to foster inclusive development and transform Nigeria into a digitalised economy. She said that the Ministry was focused on creating incubation centers that would facilitate innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation in the country.
In his comments, James Rutherfoord, vice president for Nokia West Africa and Central Africa, stressed that despite the advent of GSM technology in Nigeria, a sizeable proportion of the population was yet to be connected by mobile, a development which he said impedes economic growth.
The partnership is expected to demonstrate the value of mobile enhanced services for the people of Nigeria and to support growth of indigenous innovation, resulting in solutions and services created by local application developers.
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Testicle Squeezing In Street Fight Causes Man's Death
There are worse ways to die, but you probably don't want to think about them, especially if you're a guy.A Chinese man was reportedly killed last week when a woman squeezed his testicles until he collapsed during a fight over a parking space.
An unidentified 41-year-old woman in China's Haiku City in the Hainan Province rode into town on her scooter to pick her child up from school. The woman tried to park in front of a local store, but the store owner, the 42-year-old victim, refused to allow it, China News 24 reported.
The resulting fight escalated, leading the woman to call her husband and brother, who in turn got into a more violent fist fight with the shopkeeper, according to the website. At some point in the fracas, the woman grabbed the man's testicles and squeezed them until he collapsed. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and later died.
Parking disputes can get ugly just about anywhere. On March 26, Louisiana resident Shawntay Brown, 19, was arrested for biting a 15-year-old's breast during a brawl in Monroe.
An affidavit in the case included a police officer's statement that the 15 year old "showed me the bite mark."
A video is said to show Brown running after the younger girl and biting her on a tender spot, the Smoking Gun reported.
Saturday, 28 April 2012
A six-year-old Bangladeshi computer whizz kid eyes breaking record
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| Wasik Farhan-Roopkotha |
A six-year-old boy from Bangladesh is hoping to become the world's youngest computer expert after becoming obsessed with his mother's PC at the age of two.
Wasik Farhan-Roopkotha, who turned six in January, is hoping his skills will be recognised by Microsoft and Guinness World Records.
As a toddler, Wasik started to show an aptitude for computers and before long he had mastered several popular video games, including Modern Warfare and Metal Gear Solid.
He began typing in Microsoft Word as a three year-old and knew how to programme and download game emulators at the age of four.
His mother Cynthia Farhan-Risha said: "I knew he was very different since his birth. I couldn't believe my eyes when he began computing when he was just seven months old.
"Wasik started to play and master many complicated games and started installing them just after he turned two and also started typing in MS Word from around the same time."
By the time he was of school age, Wasik was not integrating at his local primary and so his parents decided it was best for him to be taught at home.
According to his mum, Wasik's English is still fairly limited. But he did have a few words to say in Bengali.
"I really enjoy playing on the computer and learning new skills," he told the BBC.
"My ambition is to be a computer expert and to work for a big computer firm in the future."
Wasik - who comes across as a very quiet young boy - has now been working with computers for more than four years, but he still enjoys mixing with other children of his age, playing football and listening to music.
Samsung overtakes Nokia in mobile phone shipments
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| Samsung phones Displayed |
Samsung Electronics has overtaken Nokia to become the world's largest maker of mobile phones, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
Nokia took the top spot in 1998 from Motorola, but in the first quarter of 2012 Samsung shipped 93m phones compared to almost 83m by Nokia.
Samsung also reported its highest quarterly profit since 2008.
Net profit was 5.05tn won ($4.5bn; £2.8bn) in the quarter ending 31 March, up 81% from 2.78tn won last year.
Samsung is also the world's biggest TV and flat screen maker.
"We cautiously expect our earnings momentum to continue going forward, as competitiveness in our major businesses is enhanced," said Robert Yi, head of investor relations at Samsung
Bright future
The firm said its IT and mobile communications division, which manufactures the smartphones, made an operating profit of 4.27tn won during the period, as revenues in the division surged 86% from a year earlier.
Samsung will unveil the latest version of its Galaxy range of phones on 3 May.
The Galaxy range has been very popular and helped Samsung overtake Apple to become the world's biggest seller of smartphones.
100 Afghan schoolgirls poisoned in anti-girls' education attack
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| Afghan Girls |
More than 100 Afghan schoolgirls were taken to the hospital overnight after drinking water believed to have been poisoned by opponents of education for girls, an official said.
"I think some radical elements who oppose girls going to school are behind this act," said district governor Mohammad Hussain, adding that police were looking into the incident.
The schoolgirls fell ill after drinking water from a tank at their high school in the small town of Rustaq in the northeastern province of Takhar, Hussain said.
Education ministry spokesman Abdul Saboor, however, cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the cause of the incident.
"According to our reports a number of these schoolgirls were panicked and taken to hospital and they were then quickly dismissed.
"But some others are still there. We think it is a small incident, but we are continuing our investigations."
Afghan girls were banned from going to school or working in offices by the hardline Islamist Taliban regime until it was overthrown by a US-led invasion in late 2001 for sheltering al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The Taliban have since waged an insurgency against the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai and some 130,000 NATO troops in the country.
Three journalists die as lorry crashes into Oshiomole’s convoy
Three journalists covering the Edo Government House lost their lives on Saturday afternoon when a lorry crashed into Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s convoy.The governor and his entourage were heading to Auchi from Afuze in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo to officially flag-off his return bid campaign.
The incident occurred between Ikharo and Auchi axis of the Auchi/Sabongidda-Ora road.
The driver of the lorry was said to have lost control after a break failure while descending the Auchi hill along the route.
The lorry narrowly avoided hitting the vehicle conveying the governor and rammed into the press crew bus and one of the escort vehicles attached to the governor.
Two of the three dead journalists, Olatunji Jacob and George Okosun are both of the Independent Television, while the third, Fidelis Ohani, was a cameraman with the African Independent Television.
The other surviving journalists were said to have sustained various degree of injuries as well as the chief detail to the governor and some other aides.
When contacted, Special Adviser to Governor Oshiomhole, Mr. Tony Iyare, said he was on his way to the scene of the accident to get first hand details of what was on the ground.
Azazi under fire for accussing the PDP for Boko Haram attacks
The comment made by the National Security Adviser, Owoye Azazi, on Friday that undemocratic practices in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party triggered the recurring deadly activities of the extremist Boko Haram sect has come under intense attack.
Mr. Azazi had while speaking at the South-South Economic Summit in Asaba, Delta State, said the worsening insecurity in the north eastern part of the country, exacerbated by the frequent and deadly attacks of the dreaded sect across the country, could be traced to the politics of exclusion of the ruling PDP.But speaking today during a visit to the bombed premises of THISDAY Newspapers in Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan said Nigerians should ask Mr. Azazi to expatiate on his claims that the ruling party's unsavoury politics was responsible for the country's intractable security challenges.
"People need to ask NSA to explain what he really meant," Mr. Jonathan said.
"I have read it from the papers. I don't believe it is the undemocratic practices of the PDP that gave rise to this or any other militant groups."
The president said although he had read the comments attributed to Mr. Azazi, he was yet to believe that the NSA really meant what he said.
Mr. Jonathan said as far as he was concerned, Mr. Azazi could have miscommunicated, failing to articulate his thoughts accurately.
"Sometimes, you have something in your mind you want to communicate but the way you communicate it , different people will give different interpretations," the President said.
Environment: NESREA seals off Visafone’s telecom mast
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| Ngeri Benebo |
A new mast belonging to Visafone Telecom has been sealed off by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency.
The Director General of the agency, Dr. Ngeri Benebo, who gave the directive for the seal-off of the mast, said the company which erected a base station located at Okesa area of Ado-Ekiti failed to comply with the NESREA’s guideline on a setback of 10 metres to the nearest building.
She also said the company did not carry out environmental impact assessment before embarking on the erection of the mast.
The state coordinator of NESREA, Mr. Adeleke Ajani, who led officials of the agency to seal off the mast on Friday, said the agency would not tolerate the violation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act.
The state coordinator added that the Visafone mast which was a new one only gave 2.8 metres and 5.1 metres to the two closest buildings to it instead of 10 metres.
“Base stations erected before now were mandated to give a five-metre setback but all new masts must comply with the 10-metre setback.
“Compliance with the 10- metre-setback is important as this reduces the effect of generator noise used to power the base station. Also, the impact of the vibration of such generators would also not be serious on buildings close to them.
'Technology and Innovation will strengthened Nigerian's vision 20:2020' -Engr. Bindir
-By Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu
He made this statement in a paper presentation as a guest speaker during the recently held investiture of Engr. Solomon Nyagba as the 8th President of Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ABUCCIMA) held at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Hotel, Abuja.
Presenting a paper on The Theme of the investiture; Transforming the Nigerian Economy from Trade and Import driven to a production and Technology Driven Economy, Engr. Bindir noted that Nigeria parades the best knowledge infrastructure in the West-African sub-region with about 117 Universities, almost 100 colleges of Education and nearly 300 research and allied institutions, yet Nigeria has not been able to give the world a globally accepted product from her indigenous technology.
This failure according to him is as a result of the inability of Nigerian academia to focus school curricular towards solving industrial problems as is done in the developed countries rather than being tailored towards mere literacy purposes. He added that Nigeria has every opportunity to be among the top ten economies of the world but noted that emphasis must be placed on the development of science, technology and innovation through deliberate and concerted efforts in funding industry based researches.
The role of Globalization in improving living conditions
The international community has been reminded through painful lessons how important it is to avoid fragmentation and to foster international cooperation and coordination. These lessons are as the result of a phenomenon called globalization. the elements of globalization includes interdependency of sovereign countries through trade, ease of capital flow across borders and harmonization of socio-economic rules that govern relationship between these sovereign countries that have agreed for a mutually beneficial relationship.Globalization has played a paramount role in improving growth potential and living conditions in most countries. However, by promoting a far reaching methodical interdependency approach, it has also multiplied a number of problems that no single country or international organization can solve on its own without collaboration.
The challenges of the 21st century are not all about finance, but also have to do with trade, cultural, climate change, food security, and access to natural resources and more. While global partnership has helped in lifting millions from the poverty line across the world we must also acknowledge that mutual interdependencies can evolve into mutual vulnerabilities too. There is the risk that any economic downturn affecting anywhere in the globe can invariably affect the prosperity of the interdependent countries across the globe. This can have deep economic consequences to any “home economy”.
Top 5 Richest Africans Over the Next Decade
In many parts of Africa, personal wealth comes with great responsibility. Individuals who control a country's major industries are responsible for providing jobs for thousands of households, and generally influencing the territory's economy in a significant manner.
For these elite few - the men who are consistently ranked among the world's richest people - sustaining their substantial wealth is as demanding as the effort it required to create it in the first place. In the league of Africa's rich men, there is no such thing as small money, and also, there is no such thing as "Once rich, always rich".
We profile five of Africa's richest men and find out who is most likely to increase their fortunes over the next decade - and who will give the most back.\
-MSN
Poor network service: Senate to investigate Gsm operators
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It also ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to enforce the policy of co-habitation of mast of the operators.
The Senate charged its committee on communications to ensure a thorough investigation that would make the subscribers enjoy good services commensurate with their money.
The resolution was as a result of a motion sponsored by Senator Gbenga Ashafa with 43 others, as they noted that subscribers were disappointed over poor quality of services being provided by the telecoms operators, adding that their complaints included inter-connectivity arising from congestion and poor quality network, inaudible calls, as well as distorted calls.
Senator Ashafa said despite the poor quality of service, “operators are still flooding the market with all kinds of promotions of all kinds and the burgeoning clientele of the GSM revolution has not been matched with equal re-investment by the service providers.”
Contributing, Senator Smart Adeyemi said something had to be done to check the excesses of the operators, who do little to alleviate poverty in the country.
Friday, 27 April 2012
'Why we bombed ThisDay offices' – Boko Haram
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Claiming responsibility of the simultaneous Bombings that rocked Thisday offices in Abuja and Kaduna yesterday Boko Haram on yesterday explained that its grouse with ThisDay over alleged misrepresentation of its position and perceived bias led to the bomb attacks on its offices in Abuja and Kaduna.Suspected Boko Haram members bombed ThisDay’s Abuja office as well as a complex housing ThisDay, Sun and Moment newspapers in Kaduna, leaving a number of people dead and many more injured.
The sect also known as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad said in an interview with a blog, premiumtimesng.com, that it was targeting Nigerian and foreign journalists.
The interview appeared to confirm suspicions that the Kaduna attack might have been actually targeted at ThisDay.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Technology: NITDA to Hold Scan-ICT Validation Today
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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says stakeholders in the ICT sector in the country will gather in Abuja today to validate the findings of Scan-ICT Nigeria survey which was commissioned last year.Scan-ICT is an initiation launched by the Economic Commission for Africa and the government of Finland to make available quality data on ICT activities in Africa.
It will create an enabling environment for the compilation of ICT indicators to be part of the activities of the National Bureau of Statistics.
Explosions Rock ThisDay offices in Abuja and Kaduna Simultaneously
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