Botswana President Ian Khama wounded by cheetah

Botswana President Ian Khama has
had stitches in his face after being
scratched by a cheetah, officials say.
The animal was reportedly being fed in its
enclosure at an army barracks when it
jumped up and scratched Mr Khama, who
was standing nearby.
The incident was "a freak accident, but
not an attack", government spokesman
Jeff Ramsay told local media.
Mr Khama's injuries were minor and there
were "no real security implications", the
official added.
The incident is said to have happened
very fast, catching the president and his
bodyguard by surprise.
"He was scratched by a cheetah but not
really attacked per se," said Mr Ramsay.
Mr Khama was seen sporting a plaster at
a meeting following the attack.
Cheetahs, the world's fastest land
mammals, are listed as an endangered
species.
Around 12,400 are thought to remain in
the wild in African countries, including
Botswana.

Everest: Climbers Steck and Moro in fight with Sherpas

Police in Nepal are investigating an
alleged fight between two famous
European climbers and their Nepalese
mountain guides on Mount Everest.
Switzerland's Ueli Steck and Simone Moro
from Italy were at 7,470m (24,500ft)
when the brawl occurred.
The pair allegedly ignored orders to hold
their climb and triggered an icefall which
hit the Sherpas laying fixed ropes. The
climbers deny this.
Both sides have since reached a peace
deal, reports say.
Mr Steck told the BBC that their three-
man team - which included Briton
Jonathan Griffith - was nearing Camp
Three on Saturday, when the "conflict"
broke out.
He said they had been keeping a
respectful distance so as not to disturb
the work of the Sherpas laying ropes.
The climbers continued to Camp Three
but later descended to Camp Two to
"finish the discussion" and were met by
more than 100 angry Sherpas, who began
to beat them and throw rocks, Mr Steck
said.
He said the Sherpas threatened to kill the
climbers if they did not leave the camp.
One of the Sherpas threw a pocket knife
at Mr Moro but "luckily [it] just hit the
belt of his backpack", Mr Steck said,
adding that they escaped with no serious
injuries.
Mr Steck said the conflict was the
symptom of a long-term problem of
"cultures", but did not elaborate.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, the former
president of the Nepal Mountaineers
Association, told the BBC that climbing
leaders of various teams at base camp
helped broker a peace deal on Sunday.
Exact details are not very clear, but the
two sides clearly had a misunderstanding,
Mr Ang said.
'Damaged pride'
In a statement, Mr Moro said that
"getting hit by chunks of ice is a very
natural occurrence" on an ice face. "As it
stands, no Sherpa has come forward to
show any injury."
"The climbers believe that the lead
Sherpa felt that his pride had been
damaged as the climbers were moving
unroped and much faster," the statement
added.
When they returned to their tents, Mr
Moro said a mob of guides had grouped
together to attack them.
"[The guides] became instantly aggressive
and not only punched and kicked the
climbers, but threw many rocks as well,"
said Mr Moro.
More than 3,000 people have scaled
Mount Everest since it was first
conquered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing
Norgay in 1953.
Straddling Nepal and China, the world's
highest mountain has an altitude of
8,848m (29,029ft).

Chat app messaging overtakes SMS texts, Informa says

Instant messaging on chat apps, such
as WhatsApp, has overtaken the
traditional SMS text message for the
first time, according to research firm
Informa.
Informa said almost 19 billion messages
were sent per day on chat apps in 2012,
compared with 17.6 billion SMS texts.
The shift is likely to have a big impact on
mobile operators, for whom texts have
been a key revenue source.
Pamela Clark-Dickson of Informa said
some operators were already "seeing a
decline in their messaging revenues".
According to separate estimates by
research firm Ovum, more than $23bn
(£15bn) of SMS revenue was lost in 2012
due to popularity of chat apps.
'Lot of life'
Informa said that it expected the
messaging on chat apps to grow even
further in the coming years.
It has projected that nearly 50 billion
messages will be sent per day using these
apps by 2014, compared with just over 21
billion traditional SMSs.
However, it said that despite the growing
gap between the two, SMS will continue
to remain a key player in the sector.
"There is a lot of life still in SMS," said Ms
Clark-Dickson of Informa.
She explained that most of the chat apps
were used by consumers who own
smartphones. However, she said, there
are a large number of consumers,
especially in emerging and lesser
developed economies, who use normal
mobile phones and rely on SMS as the
preferred messaging tool.
"They don't have mobile data plans, so
there is an awfully big base of mobile
phone users who are going to still find
that SMS is the best messaging
experience for them for a while," she
added.
At the same time, she said that
businesses were starting to look at SMS
more seriously, as it can be used on all
mobile phones and they do not need
smartphones to use it.
"There are a few things that, I think, will
keep the SMS alive for a few years yet."
Informa expects SMS revenue to grow to
$127bn by 2016, from $115bn last year.

Gaza city: Israeli air strike kills Palestinian militant

A Palestinian militant has been killed
in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City.
Haytham al-Mishal, 29, was hit while
riding a motorcycle. At least one other
person was reportedly also injured.
A militant group which fired rockets at
the southern Israeli city of Eilat two
weeks ago said Mishal had been one of its
members.
It is the first deadly air strike in Gaza
since a ceasefire ended eight days of
fighting between Israel and militants
there in November.
The incident comes after a rise in violence
across the Israeli-Gaza border in recent
days. Militants have fired several rockets
across the border into Israel and Israel
has carried out air strikes, with neither
causing injuries.
A spokesman for Hamas, which governs
Gaza, said it considered the air strike and
the killing of Mishal as "a serious violation
of the ceasefire".
An Israeli government official said the
ceasefire was "based on mutual quiet".
"Attacks on Israel from Gaza are a breach
of the ceasefire and Israel cannot be
expected not to act".
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said
Mishal was a weapons expert who had
made rockets and bombs for different
militant groups.
It said Mishal had been involved in
"extensive terror activity against Israeli
civilians and IDF soldiers", including the
attack on Eilat, a popular tourist
destination on Israel's southern Red Sea
coast.
In that incident, two rockets fired from
the Egyptian Sinai by Gaza-based militants
landed in open areas, without causing
damage or injury.
The Mujahedeen Shura Council said
Misshal had been one of its members.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Today, we
took down one of those involved in the
criminal act of firing rockets against the
town of Eilat. I had said that we would
not sit quietly while this happened, and
this is a clear result of our policy."
Israel and militants in Gaza fought an
eight-day war in November, which ended
with both sides agreeing to desist from air
strikes and rocket attacks.
The truce has largely upheld since then,
despite several incidents of cross-border
fire.

Saturn hurricane is 12 times UK size

An enormous hurricane raging at
Saturn's north pole has an eye
2,000km (1,250mi) across - big
enough to cover the UK 12 times over.
The striking images of the storm were
snapped from a height of 420.000km
(260,000mi) by the Cassini spacecraft,
which arrived at Saturn in 2004.
They were captured in red and infrared
wavelengths and have been false-
coloured to show detail.
Scientists say the hurricane's winds reach
a staggering 150m/s (330mph).
But they do not know just how long the
storm has been brewing.
When Cassini first arrived, the north pole
was in darkness; it was winter in the
planet's 29-Earth-year annual cycle.
Now it has taken some of its first sunlit
images of the pole, which has not been
seen since the Voyager 2 craft last sent
pictures on its fly-by in 1981.
Andrew Ingersoll, a member of the
Cassini team based at the California
Institute of Technology in California, US,
said: "We did a double take when we saw
this vortex because it looks so much like a
hurricane on Earth."
"But there it is at Saturn, on a much larger
scale, and it is somehow getting by on the
small amounts of water vapour in Saturn's
hydrogen atmosphere."
The team believes the hurricane to be
"stuck" at the pole, forced northward by
winds in the same way hurricanes tend to
move north on Earth.
Cassini caught sight of an even larger
storm in 2006 - the first time a hurricane
had been seen on another planet.

Twitter warns news organisations over hacking amid Syrian attacks

News organisations including the BBC
have been warned by Twitter to
tighten security in the wake of several
high-profile hacks.
The Guardian became the latest
publication to be hit by a group calling
itself the Syrian Electronic Army.
A previous attack on the Associated Press
caused stocks to dip.
Security experts have said Twitter itself
needs to take more action to ensure its
users are protected.
An email sent by Twitter to news
organisations on Monday urged them to
take a close look at their internal
measures for dealing with social media.
Advice included making sure passwords
were more than 20 characters long and
made up of random strings of letters and
numbers.
The social network also advised having
just "one computer to use for Twitter".
"This helps keep your Twitter password
from being spread around," the site
added.
"Don't use this computer to read email or
surf the web, to reduce the chances of
malware infection."
Security researcher Rik Ferguson, from
TrendMicro, told the BBC this particular
piece of advice was somewhat
unworkable.
"The point of Twitter is that it's instant,
and you can react instantly.
"If you have to run back to the office to
get to a particular computer to use
Twitter, that's obviously going to impact
upon its use."
Souped-up security
Twitter also encouraged organisations to
have a closer relationship with the site to
ensure account details are kept up to
date.
"Help us protect you," the company said.
"We're working to make sure we have the
most updated information on our
partners' accounts.
"Please send us a complete list of all
accounts affiliated with your organisation,
so that we can help keep them
protected."
Beyond advice to external organisations,
there is increasing pressure on Twitter to
bolster its own security.
Specifically, there have been calls from
security professionals for two-factor
authentication.
This would require two steps, the entry of
a password as well as another action.
On Facebook, for example, two-factor
authentication is triggered when users
try to log in in an unexpected way, such
as from a computer in a different country.
A report in technology magazine Wired
last week
suggested Twitter had begun trialling two-
factor technology - but this is yet to be
confirmed by the company.
Mr Ferguson noted that as Twitter
remained a free service supported by
advertising, two-factor authentication
could prove costly.
He suggested one way to raise funds for
enhanced security would be to charge
major users to become "verified" - a
status currently given to accounts which
Twitter has checked are genuine.
"One thing Twitter should be looking at
now is for any account which is verified to
have a two factor log-in process," he told
the BBC.
"If you make a nominal fee for verifying
accounts - they can make sure that the
accounts are protected from not only
malware-based attacks, but also that staff
are more protected from phishing."
White House blast
The Syrian Electronic Army's typical tactics
to date have included sending "phishing"
emails to glean log-in information from
unsuspecting victims.
Once access to an account had been
gained, the SEA would then begin to post
tweets - in some cases mimicking the
style of the victim.
The BBC's Weather account was among
those successfully hacked
This technique was most damaging in the
case of the Associated Press. When the
news agency's main account - @AP - was
breached, the SEA posted that US
president Barack Obama had been injured
in a blast at the White House.
It was of course false, and swiftly
corrected by other organisations - and
later by AP itself - but not before $136bn
(£88bn) was temporarily wiped off the
New York Stock Exchange.
US financial authorities are to investigate
the incident to "make sure that nothing
nefarious in markets took place",
according to the New York Post.
Meanwhile, the SEA - which appears to
support the Assad regime - has vowed to
continue its attacks on media
organisations.
An anonymous user believed to be
working for the group told Vice
magazine : "They already started
suspending us from the internet by
closing our accounts, our pages and
suspending our domain names, but they
failed and they will keep failing.
"We will not stop or despair. If they close
a Twitter account, we will open a new
one; if they close a Facebook page, we
will create another one; if they suspend
our domain names, we will buy new
ones."

Willem-Alexander sworn in as king of the Netherlands

Willem-Alexander has been sworn in as
king of the Netherlands following the
abdication of Queen Beatrix.
He became the country’s first king since
1890 when his 75-year-old mother signed
the abdication deed earlier on Tuesday
after 33 years on the throne.
Huge crowds of orange-clad partygoers
are in Amsterdam to pay tribute.
The queen had announced her intention
to stand down in January, saying her son
was ready to reign.
Now known as Princess Beatrix, the
former queen maintained a recent Dutch
tradition of monarch’s handing over
power to a new generation.
Willem-Alexander was officially sworn in
at a colourful secular ceremony in the
Nieuwe Kerk, a decommissioned church,
before a joint session of the Dutch
parliament.
Crowds in the square outside cheered as
the announcement of the inauguration
was made from a balcony overlooking the
square amid trumpet fanfare.
In the evening, the royal family will take
part in a water pageant.
The queen had announced her intention
to stand down in January, saying her son
was ready to reign and that it was time
for the throne to be held by “a new
generation”.
She formally relinquished the throne at a
short ceremony in the Royal Palace on
Tuesday, signing a statement transferring
the monarchy to her son “in accordance
with the statutes and the constitution of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands”.
There were huge cheers from the crowds
outside in Dam Square, who were
watching the ceremony on giant television
screens, as she, her son and his wife
Maxima – a 41-year-old Argentine-born
investment banker – signed the deed of
abdication.
Shortly afterwards, the three royals
emerged on a balcony above the square.
The visibly emotional Princess Beatrix told
the crowds: “I am happy and grateful to
introduce to you your new king, Willem-
Alexander.”

ARSENAL 1-1 MAN U

Arsenal was held to a 1-1 draw against
Manchester United at the Emirates in
a match dominated by Robin van
Persie's return to this old club.
Theo Walcott gave the hosts the lead
inside the second minute as Arsenal raced
out of the blocks but the Gunners were
pegged back at the end of the half
courtesy of a van Persie penalty.
After a week's worth of speculation, van
Persie started on his return to the
Emirates while Lukas Podolski also made
a rare start as Arsenal's central striker
with Olivier Giroud missing with
suspension.
The Gunners got off to the perfect start in
front of their red hot home support when
Walcott beat the offside trap and calmly
found a way past David de Gea from a
tight angle inside the second minute.
Santi Cazorla then stung the hands of the
United keeper with a shot from range as
Arsenal maintained their early
momentum.
Van Persie's first real involvement in the
game was a miscued shot which sailed
high over the bar just after the 10 minute
mark, much to the delight of the Gunners'
supporters. Those fans then collectively
held their breath moments later when
the Dutchman broke down the left flank
before crossing for Phil Jones who failed
to find the target with a header after
surging into the box.
Wenger's men lost some of that early
impetus as the first half went on but were
sparked back into life when Jonny Evans
brought down Walcott just outside the
area.
The free kick was wasted but moments
later Arsenal had a glorious chance to
double its lead on the counterattack.
Rosicky elected to pass to Podolski, rather
than the unmarked Walcott, but the
German could only fire his shot from a
tight angle straight at De Gea.
Arsenal then had Wojciech Szczesny to
thank for keeping it ahead just before the
break. The Poland international made
himself big to keep out van Persie's
header from point-blank range after a
swift United counterattack.
But moments later van Persie made no
mistake, this time from the spot, after
Sagna's rash challenge on the Dutchman
gave United a penalty.
The Gunners made a bright start after the
break and could have gone ahead early on
but Tomas Rosicky's prod with the
outside of his boot whistled just past the
De Gea's far post.
Sir Alex's side soon edged back into the
contest and dictated the game for a
period of 15 minutes. Van Persie over-hit
a low cross past the onrushing Antonio
Valencia before Wayne Rooney wasted a
good chance with a header straight at
Szczesny from close range.
Arsenal rallied for a winner in a end-to-
end finale to match with the visitors still a
threat on the break but neither side
could fashion the clear-cut chance needed
to win the game.
Cazorla came close with a powerful right-
footed shot which was palmed away by
De Gea with minutes left on the clock
before Ryan Giggs wasted a great
opportunity when found totally unmarked
on the break by Rooney.

Nigeria's polytechnic lecturers begin indefinite strike

THE Academic Staff Union of
Polytechnics, ASUP, has commenced
an indefinite strike, following failure
of the federal and state
governments to implement
agreements on issues affecting
polytechnic education in the
country.
The indefinite strike declared,
Sunday, by the union, followed end
of a seven-day warning strike which
ended weekend.
Some of the issues in contention are
non-migration of members at the
lower cadres on CONTISS 15 salary
scale; release of white paper on the
visitation panel to federal
polytechnics; non-commencement
of needs assessment of Nigerian
polytechnics; worrisome state of
state-owned polytechnics/
monotechnics; and continued
appointment of unqualified persons
as rectors by some state
governments.
Others include failure of most state
governments to implement
approved salary packages
(CONPCASS) for polytechnics and 65
years retirement age; continued
recognition of the NBTE as a
regulatory body for Nigerian
polytechnics against the creation of
a national polytechnics commission;
and the snail speed associated with
the amendment of the Federal
Polytechnics Act, amongst others.
National President of ASUP, Mr
Chibuzor Asomugha, told Vanguard,
Sunday, that the indefinite strike
had become inevitable because the
meeting the union had with
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Senator Anyim Pius
Anyim, on the issues yielded no
positive results.
He said the strike would be called
off only when governments
addressed all issues raised by the
union, and urged all polytechnics
across the country to abide by the
directive to embark on strike.

Inmate impregnate four warders

IT was like a case of the hunter becoming
the hunted during the week when a
notorious Maryland, the United States of
America (USA) prisoner, Travon White, was
accused of impregnating four female
officials of the prison where he is serving
term.
The illicit activities of White, who was
serving sentence at the Baltimore City
Detention Centre and who was accused of
being a member of a sex ring, was said to
have resulted in his putting four female
officials of the correctional center in the
family way.
Names of the four corrections officers were
given as Jennifer Owens, Katera Stevenson,
Chania Brooks and Tiffany Linder.
In a shocking revelation by federal
prosecutors, 13 female correctional
officers, seven inmates and five others
with gang ties were charged with plotting
to smuggle drugs, cellphones and other
contraband into the Baltimore jail and
other corrections facilities.
An indictment unsealed during the week
said the ring also involved many round of
sex between inmates and guards, a
development that led to four of the prison
officers becoming pregnant by White.
White was described as the leader of a
jailhouse gang called the Black Guerrilla
Family. He is said to be held at the
Baltimore City Detention Center, awaiting
trial on a charge of attempted murder
when the incident happened.
According to Fox News, he was accused of
“corrupting” the female officers through
personal and sexual relationships and other
bribes and convincing them to join his ring.
The report added that the ring became
increasingly brazen and confident over
time, with White quoted as saying: “You
understand me? This is my jail. I am dead
serious; I make every final call in this jail.”
With the latest development, however,
White has had more charges preferred
against him than the initial attempted
murder that led him into the jailhouse. So
also are other prisoner members of his
gang.
The indictment released during the week
claims that the jailhouse gang ran the
scheme from inside the detention centers
and charged both the gang members and
corrections officers with conspiracy, drug
possession and distribution as well as
money laundering.
A total of 25 people will be facing the
charges.
According to CBS News, two of the women
impregnated by White were found to have
tattooed his name on their bodies. He was
also reported to have showered three of
them with expensive gifts, including cars
and jewelry, using these to secure their
attention.
U.S. Attorney, Rod Rosenstein, was quoted
as saying; “the 25 defendants participated
in running the activities of the Black
Guerilla Family – a prison and street gang –
from behind bars in Baltimore City.

Nadal claims eighth Barcelona title

Rafael Nadal recovered from a slow start
to beat compatriot Nicolas Almagro and
win his eighth Barcelona Open title in
nine years on Sunday.
The Spanish left-hander has not lost at
the venue since 2003 and a 6-4 6-3
victory was his 39th consecutive triumph
in the tournament.
Nadal struggled while there was light rain
early on and he found himself 3-0 down
after conceding two breaks.
But the second seed eventually
triumphed in an hour and 33 minutes.
Nadal would have been fearful of a second
consecutive final defeat on clay early on,
having lost to Novak Djokovic in Monte
Carlo.
However the world number five soon
found his rhythm, recovering to lead 4-3
before closing out the set with his first
set point on the Almagro serve.
The outcome of the match was never in
doubt after that, with Nadal producing
two breaks of the Almagro serve in the
second set to clinch victory.

Probe me and leave my aides,Obasanjo tells Fed. Govt

The cold war between former President
Olusegun Obasanjo and the Goodluck
Jonathan Administration came again to
the fore on Sunday at a thanksgiving
service held in honour of a former
Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, in
Abuja.
At the service that had many eminent
Nigerians, including a former Head of the
Service of the Federation, Steve
Oronsaye, and ex-Attorney General of
Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu
Agabi, in attendance, Obasanjo said if the
Goodluck Jonathan administration was
keen on probing his government, it
should come after him instead of people
that served under him.
He also flayed the plan by the Federal
Government to set up a pipeline
protection agency, saying it was another
avenue for corruption.
But Obasanjo's comments drew the ire of
the Presidency which said no past
administration, either past or present,
should be afraid of probe. It also advised
the former President to allow Jonathan to
do his work.
The former leader had at the 50th
birthday thanksgiving service for
Ezekwesili, said, "I have always said this,
whatever you want to blame in my
government, blame me; don't blame any
of those people who assisted me. If there
is any credit to dispense, we share it. But
for anything you want to say is wrong, I
was the one in charge and I was in
charge."
Obasanjo, whose comments were
necessitated by the war of words
between Ezekwesili, and the Presidency
over the $67bn the Jonathan
administraion inherited from his
government, said he had absolute trust in
those that worked under him, especially
as ministers.
Ezekwesili's claim that the Federal
Government squandered the sum was
described by the Presidency as reckless.
Turning to the former Education minister,
Obasanjo said he was sure nothing would
be found against her because of her
integrity and commitment to public
service.
He said, "Actually those who wanted to
probe you (Ezekwesili), you should have
asked them to go ahead because if they
are honest, they would find out that the
government should give you money for
what you have done for this country
without stealing money."
Obasanjo, who is the immediate past
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party
Board of Trustees, then faced Oronsaye,
Agabi, a former Central Bank of Nigeria
Governor, Charles Soludo; and ex-
Minister of Information, Frank Nweke Jnr.,
and said, "When I look at you, I thank
God for making you available to serve in
my administration, to serve Nigeria and
serve God at the time you did."
But he faulted Agabi's earlier call at the
service for the establishment of a
National Commission for Integration,
saying it was not necessary. According to
him, the entire 1999 Constitution is for
integration.
"What else do you need. You have a
constitution that is intended to integrate
the country. You have the Federal
Character Commissiom for instance. What
is that one meant to do? It is for
integration. The entire constitution is all
about integrating this country. If at all we
failed to use it, it can even be said that
we have breached the constitution. You
don't need a commission for integration,"
Obasanjo added.
On the planned agency for pipeline
protection, the former President said it
would be another avenue for corruption.
"This (Sunday) morning, I was travelling
from Abeokuta and I was listening to a
radio station when I heard that they
(government) are going to set up an
agency for pipeline protection. Now, what
are the police for? What are all the
security agencies that we have doing? This
is another chop chop .
For those advocating change in Nigeria,
Obasanjo said they must be prepared to
take insults.
"I just hope that we will get it right. We
have no choice, we have to get it right.
Let us decide individually that 'I would do
what I have to do to bring about change
in Nigeria.' If you do that, let me assure
you, you will be called names; you will be
abused; some people are hired to do
that. But like Oby (Ezekwesili) say what
you believe is right and stand by it.
But the Special Adviser to the President
on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak,
responded to Obasanjo's comments,
saying that any administration could be
probed.
Gulak, in an interview with one of our
correspondents, argued that even the
current administration was being probed
regularly by the legislative arm of
government.
He added, " This administration and past
administrations can be probed. Nobody
should be afraid of probe."
On Obasanjo's description of the planned
pipeline protection agency as another
chop chop, Gulak said as an
elderstatesman, Obasanjo should not just
criticise government for its sake, but
should proffer solutions if indeed he loves
the country.
He said since Obasanjo was not the
present President, he should allow the
incumbent to concentrate on his job.
Gulak said, "The former President is
entitled to his opinion; but he is not the
President. He should allow the President
to do his work. People should stop
making derogatory statements about the
President. There is only one President in
the country today and we should all
support him.
"People should not just be criticising
government. As an elderstatesman, if he
indeed loves this country, he should
proffer solutions rather than criticising."
Some aides of the former President-
Hassan Lawal, Nasir el-Rufa, Femi Fani-
Kayode, and Adeyanju Bodunde - are
currently being tried for various offences.
While Lawal, a former Minister of Works,
is being prosecuted for N75bn fraud, el-
Rufai, an ex- Minister of the Federal
Capital Territory, is facing trial for irregular
land allocation and abuse of office.
Fani-Kayode, who is former Minister of
Aviation, is facing trial for money
laundering while and Bodunde, an special
assistant to Obasanjo, was in 2011
arraigned for his alleged involvement in
the $180m Harlibutton bribery scandal.
Ezekwesili had in her remarks, recalled
how her parents moulded her by teaching
her moral values. She said she could not
understand why people would wanted to
enjoy a life that they never worked for.
"I was born to parents who are from a
humble family. My daddy was a man of
uncompromising integrity. My daddy
worked in Nigeria Ports Authority. He
used to say to us that the NPA had
become a centre of corruption. That was
so many years ago. My mother talked my
father out of public service because she
was afraid for him.
"My mother used to go to what we call
bend down boutiques in Tejuosho Market
in Lagos to buy clothes for us. She knew
what they called grade one okrika (used
clothes). We did not have money. We
were poor but rich in values. Those
values shaped everything about me.
From young age, good governance and
accountability mattered to me," she told
the congregation.
Ezekwesil, who said she felt "a sense of
completion of a certain phase in my life,"
added that corruption in governance
today might not allow a child of similar
background to survive.
"In a relatively decent society, I got the
kind of education that has taken me thus
far. I was Minister of Education. A
similarly poor child, who comes from the
kind of family I came from when I was
young would not have the kind of
opportunities that I had in this same
nation.
"We must therefore build a decent society
that does not sow this terrible seed of
inequality that I see around me today.
When I see the children of drivers, the
gardeners and I see that they will not
have the kind of education and
opportunities that I had, it pains me."
On why she criticised the government
recently, she replied that "democracy is
incomplete without the engagement of
citizens in the process. The demand for
accountability and results is the right of
citizens."
In his homily, Rev. Dr. William Okoye,
appealed to Nigerians to shun corruption
and be contented.
According to him, any nation that places
values on materialism is doomed.
"Life is not about material things that
some of us are concerned about today.
Life consists of far more than that. When
people value money more than life and
God, they can do anything. The life you
live pursuing mundane things at the
expense of God has no blessing and can't
save you."

NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES TODAY

The Guardian
:
• Obasanjo dares Jonathan on probe of
corruption
• ACN decries invasion of citizens’ privacy
with $40m contract
• Militants kidnap nine oil workers in
Bayelsa
• NLC, NUPENG urge speedy passage of PIB
• Court hears Al-Mustapha, Shofolahan’s
appeal Monday
• Military denies existence of mass grave,
detention of soldiers over Baga
• Govt spends N1.3tr on Abuja
infrastructure
• SON, BCPG to flush out substandard
building materials
• Engineers urged to embrace new skills,
mentor young graduates
• Lagos plans early completion of Lekki
drainage projects
• Planners decry location of telecom masts,
filling stations in cities
• UN officials hopeful on 2015 climate talks

Punch
• ACN blasts FG for $40m Internet
surveillance contract
• Jonathan insensitive to Baga killings – El-
Rufai
• Probe me, not my aides, Obasanjo dares
FG
• President didn’t order grounding
Amaechi’s plane – NCAA
• Nigeria becoming a failed state –
Aregbesola
• FCT equips 12 hospitals for hypertension
treatment
• Bus driver nabbed for assaulting LASTMA
official
• A’Ibom denies sending hit squad after
Senator
• Al-Mustapha’s appeal unopposed as
hearing resumes today
• Pipeline vandalism: IPMAN donates 10
vans to NNPC
• Oil theft: JTF arrests 76, impounds vessel
• Lagos arrests drivers, 16 vehicles for
obstructing traffic
• Jonathan, Kalu hail Adenuga at 60
• How Edo poll was rigged – PDP
• Ogun ACN prays for Amosun’s success
• Reps move to curtail adjournments,
awaiting trials, others
• Bishop warns Christians against occultism

Vanguard
• Finally A Peoples’ Constitution?
• Poly teachers begin indefinite strike
• Police rescue abducted American School
student
• CAF U-17: Chukwu calls for replacement
of players
• UTME: NSCDC arrests 82 over exam
malpractice
• FG orders sack of 20,000 PHCN workers
• Edo LP chieftain urges Sanusi to check
illegal sale of Naira
• Osun’s changing environment
• Court remands 18-yr-old, 13 others over
robbery
• Between Delta State govt and Shell (2)
• 60,000 women die through pregnancy
complications annually – NPHCDA
• Etok’s allegations spurious – Akpabio
• Shocker! Athletes protest against high
standards
• Jonathan endorses N-Delta Trust Fund
• Tell Boko Haram to stop attacking
Christians, Anglican Primate urges
Amnesty Panel
• Nigerians push federal character to the
extreme
• The Baga military expedition
• Obasanjo tackles Jonathan on proposed
pipeline protection
• Foreign remittances to Nigeria hit $21bn

Nigerian Tribune
• You can’t register as APC, INEC tells ACN,
CPC, others
• 2015: Buhari’s ambition unsettles merger
plan
• Jonathan, Awujale, Arisekola, others greet
Adenuga at 60
• NJC probes ex-Appeal Court president
•As petitions flood council •Plans
underway to push extension for CJN
• Fuel retailers defraud Nigerians of N20bn
in 3 months —Investigation
• Scores injured as police, drivers clash in
Ekiti
• Edo LG polls: PDP wants military’s role
probed •Insists on release of
Esan N/East result
• No mass grave found in Baga —Military
•Says casualty figures exaggerated
• FG targets 10,000MW of electricity by
2014
• May Day: Jonathan to lead workers’ rally
• Boko Haram: What northern leaders must
do —Kuku
• Nigeria is on the brink of disintegration —
Aregbesola

Suarez Banned For 10 Games For Biting Ivanoviç

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been
suspended for 10 matches for biting
Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in last
weekend's English Premier League
match at Anfield, the Football
Association said on Wednesday.
"A three-person
Independent Regulatory
Commission today
upheld The FA's claim that a suspension
of three matches was clearly insufficient
and the player will serve a further seven
first-team matches in addition to the
standard three," the FA said on its
website thefa.com.
"The suspension begins with immediate
effect," it added, effectively ruling him
for the start of next season.
Liverpool were quick to react, with
managing director Ian Ayre declaring the
club was "shocked and disappointed" by
the "severity" of the FA's decision.
Suarez has until midday (1100 GMT) on
Friday to appeal the additional
suspension to the violent conduct charge
against Ivanovic in Sunday's 2-2 draw.
The Uruguayan striker had pleaded guilty
to the charge but had denied the FA's
claim that his initial three-match ban was
not enough.
The 26-year-old Suarez is no stranger to
lengthy bans.
In 2010 he was suspended for seven
matches in the Netherlands when he
sank his teeth into PSV Eindhoven's
Otman Bakkal, leading to him being
dubbed the "Cannibal of Ajax".
And last year the FA banned him for
eight matches and imposed a £40,000 ($
60,000, 46,000 euros) ban for racially
abusing Manchester United's Patrice
Evra.
French defender Evra made fun of Suarez
after United captured the Premier
League title with victory over Aston Villa
on Monday by producing a bloodied fake
arm.
Suarez has apologised to Ivanovic, who
suffered a bruised arm from the bite, and
the Chelsea defender has acknowledged
the apology.
Liverpool moved quickly to deal with the
latest crisis surrounding their star striker
and imposed a club fine which is being
donated to the support group for
families affected by the Hillsborough
stadium disaster, in which 96 people
died.
The latest controversy came just two
days after Suarez was named on the
shortlist for the Professional Footballers'
Association Player of the Year award.
With the votes already counted, the
forward will remain eligible for the
award.

WHAT DO YOU THINK

HAVE YOUR SAY

Dortmund 4 Madrid 1

Lewandowski
runs riot on
Real with
FOURsome
display as Spanish Wembley dreams
are shredded
Robert Lewandowski scored all four
goals for Borussia Dortmund as they
smashed 4-1 Real Madrid in the first
leg of their Champions League semi-
final tie in Germany.
The Polish striker's awesome display
put Dortmund on the verge of an
all-German final at Wembley
following Bayern Munich's 4-0
crushing of Barcelona on Tuesday.
Lewandowski opened the scoring in
the eighth minute when he diverted
Mario Gotze's cross in at the far
post before Cristiano Ronaldo pulled
Real level just before half-time.
But the forward stole the show in
the second period with three more
goals at the expense of Jose
Mourinho's shell-shocked side.

Man arrested for sending OBAMA a poisonous letter

A 45-year-old father of four from
Mississippi was arrested on
Wednesday in a scheme to kill US
President Barack Obama with a
poisoned letter.
The letter to Obama contained deadly
ricin, according to a preliminary test
of the granular substance.
Paul Kevin Curtis is an Elvis
impersonator on cruise ships and
gambling boats, his old man said.
"You can't imagine what a shock it is,"
a baffled Jack Curtis Sr. said in a
telephone interview Wednesday night,
not long after federal agents arrested
his son.
"I don't ever believe he would do that.
How would he even be able to get a
hold of ricin?"
The father said the suspect in the
letter plot was nabbed while pulling
out of his Corinth, Miss., driveway, on
his way to pick up his children and
take them to an evening church
service.
"It's a sad state of affairs," Curtis said.
"I literally detest Obama. I hate that
he was even elected to start with and I
certainly can't believe he beat
Romney.
"But I can't think of any rhyme or
reason why Kevin would do anything
like that," he added. "I've never talked
to him about Obama and Wicker, I
don't know. I know very little about
him."
The dad said his son, who goes by
Kevin, at one point owned an office
cleaning business in Tupelo but quit
that several years ago to focus on his
Elvis act.
"He's really good at what he does," the
father said, noting that his son once
finished seventh in an Elvis
impersonation competition in
Memphis. "I'm shocked as all get-out."
The potentially deadly letter
addressed to Obama and mailed to the
White House was one of three that
were intercepted Wednesday, the
same day three suspicious packages
led to a partial lockdown of a Senate
building.
U.S. Capitol Police lifted the security
restrictions about 1 p.m. after the
parcels proved to be harmless.
The apparent attempt on the
President's life and the other
suspicious packages that turned up
across the U.S. Wednesday heightened
tensions created by the Boston
Marathon bombings on Monday.
The FBI announced its arrest of Curtis
in a statement Wednesday night, but
the mailings were not believed to be
related to the terror attack in Boston.
The letters, postmarked April 8 in
Memphis, were caught at offsite
screening facilities before they
reached the White House, the district
office of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)
and the office of a Mississippi judicial
official.
A screed posted to the consumer
advocacy website Ripoff Report and
signed by a Kevin Curtis of Booneville,
Miss., a town near Corinth, hinted at
why the suspect might have harbored
anger toward Wicker.
The writer of the complaint claims to
have owned and operated a cleaning
business that did work for the North
Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.
The rant, which appears to have been
written several years ago, details the
writer's treatment by the hospital and
mentions letters sent to, and not
returned by, Roger Wicker, who the
writer refers to as a state
representative.
It also mentions rebuffs by politicians
Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, and ends
with the sign-off, "This is Kevin Curtis
and I approve this report." The line is
similar to one that reportedly ended
the letters mailed to Wicker and
Obama this week: "I am KC, and I
approve this message."
The discoveries coincided with scares
created by three suspicious packages
at a Senate office building. Part of a
Senate building was put into lockdown
when the suspicious par, but U.S.
Capitol Police lifted the security
restrictions at about 1 p.m. after the
three packages at the Capitol complex
proved to be harmless.
The letters to Obama and Wicker
contained a threatening message: "To
see a wrong and not expose it, is to
become a silent partner to its
continuance," according to an FBI
bulletin obtained by The Associated
Press. They were signed, "I am KC and
I approve this message."
Authorities were awaiting the results
of more thorough analysis of the letter
because quick field tests are notorious
for returning false positives for ricin, a
byproduct of processing castor beans
that is lethal if inhaled or ingested.
The fact the scare resulting from the
potentially deadly letters followed so
soon after the Boston attack was eerily
reminiscent of the anthrax mailings
that came on the heels of 9/11.

Manhunt for Boston bombers

Two men suspected in the
Boston Marathon bombings that killed
three people may have terrorized the
area a second time overnight. The latest
developments:
--The man known as "Suspect
1" in the bombings was shot
and killed by officers in an
exchange of gunfire, Gov.
Deval Patrick said.
--Several sources tell CNN
that the dead suspect has
been identified as Tamerlan
Tsarnaev, age 26.
-- "Suspect 2" is at large in the Boston
suburb of Watertown, where dozens of
officers from local, state and federal law
enforcement agencies have fanned out to
track him down.
-- The suspect at large is Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev, age 19, several sources told
CNN.
-- Police are going door-to-
door to look for him.
--The suspects were
brothers, a terrorism expert
briefed on the investigation
said.
--The suspects are originally
from the Russian Caucasus
and had moved to
Kazakhstan at a young age
before coming to the United
States several years ago,
according to a source briefed
on the investigation.
-- The violence began late
Thursday night when a Massachusetts
Institute of Technology police officer was
shot and killed when he responded to a
disturbance on campus.
--Another policeman, transit officer
Richard H. Donohue Jr., was also shot and
wounded overnight. The 33-year-old is a
three-year veteran of the force, a transit
police spokesman said Friday.
-- Within an hour, police were called to
respond to a carjacking, which led them
on a chase of the two suspects through
Watertown.
-- The fleeing men allegedly used
explosives against police as they were
being chased.
-- Police have warned Watertown
residents to lock their homes and stay
away from windows and doors.

“NIGERIA SPENDS 16.8BILLION NAIRA ON CHAMPAGNE YEARLY…SECOND ONLY TO FRANCE IN THE WORLD”

Nigeria is gradually emerging as one of the
important markets for Champagne drinks
with $106.2million (N16.8billion) spent
yearly to import assorted brands of the
product.
A research by Euromonitor International
based in France showed that Nigeria’s
middle class, who are seeking an
alternative to beer, have been consuming
849,000 liters of assorted brands of the
product yearly.
A standard bottle of champagne has 0.75L
content.
According to the report, Nigeria’s
consumption increased 9% from 2009 with
wine prices ranging from N6,000 and
N150,000 and above in choice retail shops
in Lagos and some state capitals due to
soaring demands at middle class.
It was however learnt that the global
market volume may reach almost
210billion liters in 2014, representing 10%
increase in 5 years.
France is therefore looking into the
Nigerian Market due to ongoing economic
depression, said Steve Charters, Director of
the chair in Champagne management at
Reims Management school.

Source: DAILY NEWSWATCH

Top Ten most Valuable Football teams in the World

1 Real Madrid
Current Value : $3,300 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $650 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $170 mil

2 Manchester United
Current Value : $3,165 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $502 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $144 mil

3 Barcelona
Current Value : $2,600 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $613 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $160 mil

4 Arsenal
Current Value : $1,326 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $368 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $55 mil

5 Bayern Munich
Current Value : $1,309 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $468 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $88 mil

6 AC Milan
Current Value : $945 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $326 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $19 mil

7 Chelsea
Current Value : $901 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $409 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $82 mil

8 Juventus
Current Value : $694 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $248 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $20 mil

9 Manchester City
Current Value : $689 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $362 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : -$53 mil

10 Liverpool
Current Value : $651 mil
Revenue 2011-12 : $296 mil
Operating Income 2011-12 : $19 mil

NIGERIAN WITCHES WORD FOR GENERAL BUHARI

The Association of Witches and Wizards
have said that if Buhari contests 100 times,
he cannot rule this country again.
After their meeting held on January 29 in
Ilorin. Some of the resolution
*the witches in the North have been given
the mandate to cool down the sect; and by
the end of this year it would end
*That President Goodluck Jonathan will re-
contest and he will win the 2015 election
irrespective of whatever opposition that
rises against him (although this has been
refuted by the presidential spokesperson
that the president has a lot of the things to
do to move the country forward)
*They have also stressed that Nigeria
would not breakup after 2015 contrary to
what Dr. Fasheun and the American
governmnent

FUN FACTS

1. The most difficult language to learn is Basque

2. The world's most expensive dessert costs $25,000.

3. The human eye actually sees everything upside down.

4. In New Zealand, chewing gum in public is considered impolite.

5. Cold Showers are good for You!

6. What Countries Call Themselves:
Austria Österreich
Belgium Belgique
Germany Deutschland
Greece Hellas (Ancient); Ellas Greenland Kalatdlit-Nunat
Israel Yisrael
Japan Nippon
The Netherlands Nederland Poland Polska
Spain España
Nigeria  Naija

7.In India, women wear rings in their noses to show they are married.

8.The only part of your body that has no blood supply is the cornea in the eye

9. In Taiwan, belching after a meal is considered a compliment to the cook

10. Your skeleton keeps renewing itself every ten years which means that every ten years you get a new skeleton.

11.There are more than 2,700 languages in the world. In addition, there are more than 7,000 dialects.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED FOR

Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female PM, dead at 87

London (CNN) -- Former British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher, a towering
figure in postwar British and world politics
and the only woman to become British
prime minister, has died at the age of 87.
She suffered a stroke Monday, her
spokeswoman said. A British government
source said she died at the Ritz Hotel in
London.
Thatcher's funeral will be at St. Paul's
Cathedral, with full military honors,
followed by a private cremation, the
British prime minister's office announced.
Thatcher served from 1975 to 1990 as
leader of the Conservative Party. She was
called the "Iron Lady" for her personal
and political toughness.
She retired from public life
after a stroke in 2002 and
suffered several strokes after
that.
She made few public
appearances in her final
months, missing a reception
marking her 85th birthday
hosted by Prime Minister
David Cameron in October
2010. She also skipped the
July 2011 unveiling of a
statue honoring her old
friend Ronald Reagan in
London.
In December 2012, she was
hospitalized after a
procedure to remove a
growth in her bladder.

US posts $5m reward for Ugandan warlord Kony

A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY

 

0  

Left is a photo of the British Prime Minister David Cameron standing on a train. And the photo on the right is the PM with his wife, Samantha Cameron at a train station, carrying their own suitcases.

You can read your own meaning to this but i give a thumbs up for this show of humility from a great leader.