Super Eagles Striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni Shares Photos of Family Holiday in Dubai

Nigerian football star, Yakubu Aiyegbeni is currently on holiday with his wife Yvonne and their two beautiful daughters in Doha, Qatar. Awww, see the doting dad. Yakubu and Yvonne got married in 2008.

I Left Deeper Life Church 'Cos A Tv Set Was Called The Devil’s Box- Tunde Bakare

Pastor Tunde Bakare has in the past explained why he left The Redeemed Christian Church Of God to start his own ministry, but has never really explained why he left Deeper Life Bible Church in the first place for RCCG. In a new interview with City People Magazine, the Pastor explained the real reason that made him leave the church in the 80’s.

I was in Deeper Life for five years, between 1978 and December 1983. Brother Kumuyi was and is still a great teacher of the Word. The person that put the fear of God in me was Brother Kumuyi. He laid the foundation for systematic teaching that many people see me do today. However, I rose through the ranks. I preached while I was there and conducted youth meetings. I was doing some legal works for the ministry also. I registered some of their companies. But one day while I was ministering and a brother was interpreting, I was giving example of the “faith cometh by hearing and hearing the word of God” and I said, ‘Supposing you go to a supermarket to buy soap, you might not know what soap to buy but because you watched the advertisement of Joy soap on television, then you would look for Joy soap because you have been hearing about it.’

And my interpreter said: “If you have been watching the devil’s box … “ I told him I didn’t say devil’s box but television, and he repeated saying the devil’s box and Brother Kumuyi was behind us. I said I didn’t say devil’s box and that the normal interpretation is amu ohun mu aworan, (the box that captures both the voice and the visuals). Anyway, he still said what he said. The following Sunday, Brother Kumuyi came up with what he called “Sunday Exaltation”; he said that even if you repair television, you are a child of the devil. Then I took my Bible and left. I went home and said I would serve my God, but was not interested anymore in church.

So I returned to Surulere Baptist Church. And one day, my photographer came to me and said I should not just sit like that and that I should come and join his church because I would enjoy it. I asked, ‘What is the name of your church’ and he said The Redeemed Christian Church of God. I said okay and that I would come one day since I was not interested at that moment. The first Sunday of March, 1984, I invited my wife and said we should go (we were not married then). I borrowed a car because I had no car then. We drove to that church and I discovered I had been to that church before. That was the place Deeper Life was doing their Bible study in 1978. Then there was this gentleman who walked up, they called him G.O. He is still G.O. today, but they call him Daddy G.O. He was the one who preached that day and the message was titled: “The Mercy of God.” I said this seems better than the background of what seems I was coming from, because, in fairness to Brother Kumuyi, he himself eventually went on television. He must have changed his mind, because that time he was very hard on such things. By the way, looking back today, there is a lot of evil on television. It is not the television that is the devil’s box, it is the programmes that people put on it. So you can choose what you watch.

Photos: One Of Alaafin Of Oyo's Wives Spotted Sitting Beside Him

The Alaafin of Oyo is in the news again!

Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi and his four wives.

This time, it is not about her four wives, or how he cruises abroad showing his affluence with the array of wives he has. It is about one of his wives.

In a recent occurrence,  one of the wives of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, was spotted sitting close to him as he addresses some market women who came to see him at his palace last week. The Alaafin who is one of the most popular monarchs in Nigeria recently celebrated his 76th birthday in grandstyle.

This many see as strange in our modern world but it is quite possible, as this and even much more can be seen during the times of the people of old.

Enjoy viewing the photos below:

Tambuwal: Court stops PDP from reconvening House of Reps

Justice Ahmed Mohammed of a federal high court in Abuja has made an order directing the Peoples Democratic Party, its national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, and others not to reconvene the House of Representatives at least until Friday, 7th November when they have been directed to appear before the court and show cause why the reliefs being sought by the Speaker and the APC should not be granted.

The trial judge specifically directed that the status quo be maintained in the matter pending the 7th of November when the defendants are expected to appear before the court to show cause why the reliefs of the Speaker should not be granted.

The court noted that the order was to preserve the subject matter of the suit which borders on the Speaker’s position following his defection to the All Progressive Congress.

Justice Mohammed made the orders following the motion exparte moved on behalf of the Speaker and the APC by their lawyer, Mr. Sunday Ameh, a senior. Advocate of Nigeria, where he urged the court to protest the subject matter of a suit which they filed last Friday challenging the plots by the PDP to remove him as the Speaker of the House and declare his seat vacant.

The lawyer told the court that granting the orders will help preserve the subject matter of their suit which is the position of Tambuwal as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, his membership of the House as well his security which are all under threat.

He further told the court that the PDP had summoned its members at the House of Reps alongside the Deputy Speaker, Hon Emeka Ihedioha, for the purpose of plotting the re convening of the House for the sole purpose of discussing the removal of Tambuwal as the Speaker and member of the House.

He also pointed out that Order 5 Rules 18(1)(2) and (3) of the House Standing Rules empowers the Speaker to reconvene the House by directing the Clerk of the House of Reps to notify members and that it is unlawfull, unconstitutional, null and void for the PDP to move to reconvene the House outside of the Speaker.

The court, after ordering that the House should not be reconvened, adjourned till Friday when the defendants are expected to come and show cause why all the reliefs being sought by Tambuwal and APC should not be granted.

Deaths of babies at Dominican hospital raise alarm

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Rosa Elba Santana struggles to comprehend what went tragically wrong for her infant twins at the Robert Reid Cabral Children's Hospital, one of the few places for someone with a sick kid and not much money in the Dominican capital.

Rosanna and Isaac died, according to their death certificates, from a bacteriological infection. But the clinical explanation only raises more questions for Santana, who took the month-old twins to the state-run hospital because the girl had stomach pains and the boy seemed to have trouble breathing.

"I took them to be checked, not because it was serious," the 20-year-old mother said in a sparsely furnished home with a dirt floor where she is living with her toddler son, mother and a sister. "Instead of getting better, they got worse."

Her twins were among 11 babies who died at Robert Reid Cabral over three days in early October, a cluster of deaths that shocked Dominicans and brought what some say is long-overdue attention to one of the country's most important medical institutions. It also raises questions about overall quality of health care for the poor in the Dominican Republic.

Following the deaths, President Danilo Medina appointed a commission to investigate. It found significant shortcomings at the hospital, leading to the firings of the nation's health minister, the hospital director and others, even as officials have defended the overall care at the 300-bed facility.

The commission, led by the attorney general, determined in a preliminary investigation that infections contracted in the hospital were responsible for the deaths of four of the 11 children, including Santana's twins. Four other deaths stemmed from "deficiencies in the quality" of medical care, including a failure that lasted several hours in the system that supplies oxygen to the hospital's respirators. In only one of the deaths did the patient receive adequate treatment, their report found.

The ousted director, Rosa Nieves Paulino, who was deputy director for seven years before moving to the top job when Medina took office in 2012, sought to defend her tenure by noting that the hospital's mortality rate declined in recent years. Even so, the death rate is three times the national average for public hospitals and there were at least two other clusters of deaths there since June.

"The children who come to the hospital are very sick. And, of those who died, some of them had been here less than 24 hours," she said.

There could be other factors behind the mortality rate, including the fact the hospital treats children who are poorer and sicker than the overall population. There isn't enough data to determine if the number of deaths is "alarming," said the new director, Jose Miguel Ferreras.

"We can't say three or four deaths per day is a high figure without a deeper analysis," Ferreras said.

Still, officials and doctors concede the hospital is understaffed, underfunded and overfilled. Santana recalls there were four other babies crowded onto the same bed as her twins when she took them there to be checked out. Ferreras, however, said that only occurs in the emergency room, not after patients have been admitted.

The Dominican Republic has pockets of extreme wealth but it still largely is a poor country of 10 million. UNICEF says widespread malnutrition is primarily responsible for the country's infant mortality rate of 27 per 1,000 births. The average for all of Latin America and the Caribbean is 16 per 1,000, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

Robert Reid Cabral opened in 1956 and is named for a Dominican pediatrician and brother of a former president, but is popularly known as "El Angelita" for its original name honoring Angelita Trujillo, daughter of a former dictator. Because it accepts payments from social security and is willing to treat the very poor at no cost, it draws patients from throughout the country, including many who, like Santana, live in slums on the outskirts of the capital.

"They told me this was the place to take your children, where they have the specialists," she said.

Sitting on her tattered couch, Santana, who is single and has no job, tries to make sense of the death certificates, which describe how her son died while doctors tried to perform a blood transfusion to treat sepsis that had overwhelmed his body. Her daughter died under similar circumstances the next day. Prosecutors interviewed her for the commission's investigation but she hasn't heard back from them. She doesn't know whether she will receive any compensation for her loss.

Some parents of other children who died invited her to take part in a protest at the hospital but she declined. "I will never go back to El Angelita," she said. "I'm afraid to go there."

Doctors and nurses who work at Robert Reid Cabral say the main problem at the government-funded hospital is a lack of resources. They have an annual budget of just $1.7 million and admit about 13,000 patients a year.

Last year, the government eliminated the minimum fee for patients lacking health insurance or social security coverage and "there was an avalanche in the demand for service," which strained the hospital even more, said Dr. Martiza Lopez, the head of a committee of doctors that has pushed to increase the budget.

Doctors and nurses at the hospital, like counterparts in other parts of the country, repeatedly have gone on strike over their dismal wages and working conditions. Doctors who are specialists earn about $1,000 a month, and many must take side jobs to get by. Some, like Dr. Radhames Ovalles, accuse of the government of trying to win political points by expanding access to health care without paying for it.

"The government should stop its rhetoric and begin to take care of the poorest," he said.

Skye Bank completes payment for Mainstreet

Skye Bank Plc says it has announced the full payment of the 80 per cent balance of its purchase price for Mainstreet Bank.

This is in fulfilment of the major requirement for its acquisition of 100 per cent shares of the bank from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

The last tranche of the money for the acquisition was paid to AMCON on Friday, October 31 ahead of the November 3 deadline, the bank said in a statement.

The 80 per cent balance payment was made to AMCON in fulfilment of the share sale and purchase agreement earlier signed by both AMCON and Skye Bank.

Skye Bank had on October 9, 2014, paid the mandatory deposit of 20 per cent for the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank, with a pledge to complete the 80 per cent balance payment within the agreed time frame.

AMCON had in October announced Skye Bank as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of all its interest in the Mainstreet Bank, representing the entire capital of the bridge bank.

Skye Bank emerged the preferred bidder after a bidding exercise that spanned five months, and involved 20 bidders. Cedar One Investment Partners Limited emerged as the first reserve bidder and Fidelity Bank Plc as the second reserve bidder for the acquisition.

The acquisition of Mainstreet Bank is part of Skye Bank’s strategic plan for growth, according to the statement.

Skye Bank emerged from the merger and integration of five banks in 2006, following the first phase of the banking industry consolidation.

The bank intends to leverage its wealth of experience from the successful integration of five banks to drive efficiency, increase market share and ultimately ramp up stakeholder value from the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank, the statement said.

The lender said the acquisition would avail it many benefits, including cost leadership, business optimisation, and greater ability to offer business convenience to its teeming retail and commercial customers, with a combined branch network of over 450, across all the states of the federation.

Skye Bank, a leading tier 2 bank in Nigeria, was among the eight banks recently designated as ‘Systemically Important Banks’, which reflected its industry leadership, strong market share, diverse location spread, and strong brand equity.

The management of Skye Bank assured the customers of Mainstreet Bank of excellent service and superior value in the enlarged Skye Bank, the statement said.

AMCON, which was created after the banking crisis of 2009, recently began the sale of the three bridge banks, namely Enterprise Bank, Mainstreet Bank and Keystone Bank, which assumed the assets and liabilities of three nationalised banks.

Heritage Bank had in October completed payment for the acquisition of Enterprise Bank, while Keystone Bank will be sold next year.

My Wife Knows I’m A Robber —Refugee

A suspected car snatcher and Liberian refugee in Nigeria,  has confessed that his wife, who is a Nigerian, knew he was an armed robber before he married her because he tells her whenever he was going out at night for operation.

The suspect, Moses Andrel, also revealed that whenever he goes out at night, his wife would pray and wish him well.

The 25-year-old Andrel said though he does not discuss his criminal activities with his wife,  he usually gives her some money to keep and spend after he returns from a successful operation.

He said before he quit driving, he told his wife about his decision and when he started going out in the night, she knew he was going to rob.

“My wife has a boy for me and is pregnant and she knew all my movement but I didn’t discuss everything with her,” he said.

Andrel said he quit driving for car-snatching because of the huge money he was making from snatching cars in Nigeria.

As a driver distributing sausage rolls to customers, he said he was earning between N20,000 and N25,000 a month as salary but when he quit driving and joined a car snatching gang, his income increased asronomically to N200,000  a month.

He said he did not find it difficult to be a car snatcher because he was already a driver and what he did was to look for a driving job and when his employuers assign him a car, he would sell it and relocate to another city in Nigeria.

He confessed that he sold some cars in Lagos and relocated to Oyo State where he was eventually arrested by the police.

On how he came to Nigeria, he said he came as a refugee and started his driving profession before he met his friend, Nana, who convinced him to go into car-snatching.

Andrel revealed that they have network across cities in Nigeria and that was why it was possible to sell off any snatched car through their network.

He mentioned Alhaji Tanko as their big customer living in Abuja and said once any of his gang snatches any car, Adebayo, a panel beater, would first change the engine and chassis numbers of the vehicle before they end it to Alhaji  in Abuja who pays them immediately.

He said they target brands such as Toyota Camry, Nissan,  Honda and SUVs and usually sell them for between N250,000 and N300,000 to Alhaji.

He said he is now regretting his decision to join the gang because he did not anticipate that he would be arrested one day.

Andrel was arrested along with four other members of the gang who were paraded last week by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti.

Those arrested along with him are Alhaji Mahmud Abdulakeen Tanko, 48, Musa Yusuf, 27, Israel Nana, 30, and 53-year old panel beater, Abayomi Adebayo, who changes the engine and chassis numbers of stolen vehicles for the robbers. Sixteen vehicles were recovered from the gang.

Misapplication of funds: Reps say WAEC has case to answer

ABUJA — THE House of Representatives  Committee on Public Accounts, weekend, accused the West African Examination Council, WAEC, over misapplication of several billions of naira.

The council, which receives annual budget worth several billions of naira, failed to remit its revenue generated to Federal Government since inception as provided by extant laws.

The committee also alleged that the council failed to provide update of its audited accounts to the Auditor-General of the Federation and relevant committees of the National Assembly.

To this end, the House Committee resolved to investigate the financial status, assets and expenditure of the council to ensure accountability and transparency in the management of public funds.
Solomon Adeola, chairman, House Committee on Public Account, who presided over the investigative public hearing, expressed displeasure over the failure of some of the 262 Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, to provide their audited accounts to the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation from inception.

Adeola said: “The attitudinal behaviour you, WAEC, have exhibited over the years does not portray the kind of institution Nigerians expect of WAEC. Is it the monumental fraud, or lack of records, or financial Improprieties that have taken place in the institution?
“I was not taken aback when I found your name on that list (of Auditor-General). I was not surprised. It is expected.

“Sir, if you know the amount of fraud accruing to WAEC day in, day out; year in, year out and all that WAEC can tell Nigerians is that they only submitted their audited account up to 2010? And as a result of our insistence that made them rush down with 2011 and 2012 while 2013 is still awaiting the signature of the Council.

“Aside from that, WAEC, all money accruing to you, you don’t report anything to the Federal Government, yet you still collect subventions like others. Money accruing to WAEC going to several billions of naira, and that same institution does not render account as at when due, even when state governments now pick up your bills for all schools? I’m not surprised.

“You are an endangered species and we need to take care of you specially. So, it’s a special investigation to be conducted on WAEC.

“This committee is going to be investigating WAEC for 2011, 2012 and 2013. We’re not insinuating anything, but it’s only fair and proper that an institution like WAEC that is generating much revenue annually must account for how that revenue is spent.

“I know that a whole lot of activities including contracts are being awarded by WAEC. We want to know how much is generated by the sale of forms and how much subvention is paid to the headquarters in Accra as well as other expenditures.”

I’ll make Akwa Ibom less dependent on oil – Gov. aspirant

Engineer Patrick Ekpotu, former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom state and a front runner in the 2015 governorship race under the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has promised to make the oil-rich state more prosperous by making the state less dependent on crude oil revenue from federal allocation.

The governorship aspirant, who served as deputy governor in the state between 2007 and 2009, in the first tenure of the current governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio, made this disclosure while speaking on why he wants to succeed his former boss as governor of Akwa Ibom state.
According to the chemical engineer turned politician, if given the opportunity to pilot the affairs of the state, his government will put in place a robust agro-economy that will dwarf the current crude oil dependent system.

He explains that his government will implement a specially designed agricultural programme that will generate huge revenue that will compete favorably with the lucrative crude oil revenue and remarkably improve our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). ” We have to among other things, invest in palm oil production which is as lucrative as crude oil but neglected in the past. I can assure you that the state will be making an average of about N5 billion per month in the first three years after take off. And N20 billion a month at optimal operation.

” I will establish Ibom Agro and Allied Industries Ltd (IAAI)’ within three months of coming into office to drive the initiative on a competitive basis and not as a usual government outfit. Apart from the wealth creation potential of this initiative, it will also boost job creation in the state.”

Ekpotu also stated that if elected as governor, his “government will work hard to erase the divisive lines of ethnic and political dichotomies in the state, by engendering a robust inclusiveness that will bring every interest group into a unified front that will focus only on the development and progress of Akwa Ibom state and Akwa Ibom land.

“My government shall as a matter of urgency pursue vigorous and purpose-driven youth empowerment programme through specially designed skill acquisition programme that will offer training in diverse fields that will add value to the lives of the beneficiaries such that they will become self- sufficient and essentially become job providers rather than burden to the society.”

Akwa Ibom, under his leadership,he said,shall take conscious steps to ensure a social re-engineering of the state that will be anchored on the principles of equity, justice and fairness. “Our administration shall also promote and reward merit, hard-work, creativity and productivity. This philosophy will essentially give a new focus and a fresh breath to our collective value system that yearns for a practical and visible reorientation”

In the area of health, the former deputy governor stated that since majority of Akwa Ibom people live in the rural areas, his government “shall focus on the Primary Healthcare sector in the state by bringing effective health services to the rural parts of the state, where common diseases such as malaria, cholera and even common cold, remain a challenge to the people. And also ensure that portable water is made available in the local areas in order to promote good hygiene and prevent diseases.”

Should his aspiration become a reality, Ekpotu, who has served Akwa Ibom in the past as Commissioner for Information Culture and Ethical Orientation in the administration of Obong Victor Attah, affirmed that Akwa Ibom state government under his watch, will be “a government of service to the people. And that which will be firm and uncompromising in discharging its duties. We will be unflinching in ensuring that the rule of law and true democratic principles are upheld. Above all, we will run a prudent, transparent and just in managing the commonwealth of the state.” He stated.

Engineer Ekpotu hails from Eket Senatorial District where the National Working Committee (NWC) of his party, PDP has endorsed to produce the next governor of Akwa Ibom state.

Ibinabo Fiberesima replies haters who mock her for having children for different men

If you are one of those mocking Ibinabo Fiberesima for not being in a stable relationship and having different kids for different men, well she's got a message for you below:

FG To Return Emir Of Kano’s Seized Passport

Following the reconciliation between the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and President Goodluck Jonathan, the Federal Government is reportedly set to return Sanusi’s seized passport.

Sanusi’s passport was seized in February 2014 after he was suspended from his position as the Central Bank Governor by the FG.

However, after a meeting with the president in Abuja on Thursday, October 30, the duo are said to have come to a “total reconciliation.”

The salaries of the former CBN governor which were withheld will also reportedly be released.

A government source told The Nation:

“Some political leaders from Kano, who witnessed the session, were all excited that there is a new understanding between the President and the Emir. Prior to the meeting, there had been apprehensions on likely hostile crowd against the President in Kano during the 2015 campaign.”

“With the rapprochement, the Emir’s travel passport and his withheld salaries and allowances will be paid. These are some of the gains of the meeting. If the traveling documents are released, the Emir will be able to travel abroad for checkup and to meet his international friends who are desirous of investing in the Emirate,” the source added.

Sanusi fell out with the Nigerian government after he alleged that $20 billion in oil revenue had been misappropriated.

Singer Refuses To Pronounce Don Jazzy’s Name During Performance

Whatever happened between Don Jazzy and his erstwhile protégé and signed artiste, Wande Coal really must have left a deep scar on the heart of the black singer, which has made him unable to publicly mention the name of the Mavin Boss.

Wande Coal was signed to Don Jazzy under the defunct Mohits records, and chose to move with Don Jazzy during his bitter split with D’banj. But the duo later fell out in 2013, and Wande Coal departed Mavin Records, unceremoniously to setup his record label, Black Diamond Entertainment, where he has made hit songs such as ‘Baby Hello’, ‘My Way’,

But there were cracks in their relationship, which was made public when Wande Coal released his ‘Babyface’ song in November 2013, and Don Jazzy went public, claiming to originally own his song. Don Jazzy also released his version of Babyface, with many fans taking sides and branding Wande Coal a thief.

Not much has been heard about the duo, until on Sunday, November 02, 2014. Wande Coal held a performance at the Naija FM Comedy Jam, which held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos. Wande Coal deliberately refused to pronounce Don Jazzy’s name all through his stage performance.

Wande performed his hit songs from his Mohits and Mavins career, including, ‘Bumper to Bumper, The Kick, and Rotate, and he avoided Don Jazzy’s name. Wande kept mute, while the fans screamed the name of the Mavin Boss, with many in the crowd puzzled at his behaviour.

Wande Coal is currently promoting his single, Baby Hello, which has a video with Yemi Alade as the lead vixen.

Ex-deputy governor survives boat mishap, as four die

A former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Peremobowei Ebebi, has survived a boat accident but unfortunately, four others were not as lucky as they drowned.

Ebebi was among the passengers in the boat that capsized in the Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state on Saturday after the state’s ward congress of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The boat mishap reportedly claimed the lives of four persons including an operative of the Department of State Service.

However, fresh facts emerged on Sunday that if not for the timely intervention of the locals, Ebebi would have also died in the boat mishap.

The DSS officer, before the incident, was attached to the office of the state Project Monitoring Department located along Imgbi Road, Bayelsa State.

He was said to have escorted the Head of the Department, Mr. Ball Oyarede -who is aspiring for a seat in the state House of Assembly – to Ekeremor LGA for the just concluded ward congress of the PDP.

Oyarede, a former Commissioner for Lands and Housing and former state Representative, Niger Delta Development Commission, is the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties.

It was learnt that while returning from the ward congress on a boat the DSS officer and Ebebi boarded at the Ekeremor Town jetty, it overturned before taking off and emptied its contents into the water.

Sources at the jetty said the scramble to rescue Ebebi led to the death of the DSS officer and three others.

One of the sources who pleaded anonymity attributed the cause of the capsize to overloading.

According to him, the boat was loaded beyond its capacity which forced it to tilt and eventually turn upside down.

He said, “Most of the dead victims were trapped in the enclosed compartment of the boat when it capsized. Immediately the incident happened, the villagers who were at the jetty dived into the water in search of Ebebi.

“Eventually, when they lifted him, he had taken in so much water and was unconscious. He was later revived. But before help could come the way of other victims, they had drowned.”

The source also said that the victims were not wearing life jackets when the incident occurred.

He confirmed that the bodies of the dead casualties were immediately recovered by local divers and were brought to Yenagoa on Saturday.

It was gathered that a crane was later hired to remove the capsized boat.

When contacted, the state Director, DSS, Mr. La’san Baba, said the service had yet to confirm the death of its officer.

Drinker stabs barman for looking at him, girlfriend

A barman, who works in a hotel located on Obokun Avenue, in the Ojodu area of Lagos, is battling with wounds he sustained during an ‘unprovoked’ attack by a customer.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the alleged attacker, Kelvin Friday, a resident of Ojodu-Abiodun, Ogun State, allegedly stabbed the barman, who he accused of staring at him and his girlfriend.

It was gathered that Friday and his girlfriend, whose name had yet to be ascertained, had gone to drink in the hotel around 6pm on October 21, when the incident happened.

The victim, Simeon Tenebe, claimed he was brooding on an issue he had discussed with his sister earlier in the day when the 25-year-old man confronted him. He added that Friday interpreted his stare for rebuke and challenged him to a scuffle.

Friday reportedly smashed the bottle of beer he was drinking on the barman, inflicting injuries on his face and head. His girlfriend, it was learnt, fled the scene when Tenebe started bleeding.

Prior to the incident, it was said that Friday had accused the barman of being unpleasant while attending to him and his girlfriend.

Our correspondent also gathered that Tenebe reported the incident to the police, who arrested the suspect and charged him to an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court for assault.

The prosecutor, Inspector Chinalu Uwadione, brought him before the Magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Akinde, on one count of assault to which he pleaded not guilty.

The charge reads, “That you, Kelvin Friday, 25, on October 21, 2014 at about 6pm at Obokun Avenue, Ojodu in the Ikeja Magisterial District unlawfully used a bottle on the head and face of one Simeon Tenebe and inflicted injuries, to wit grievous harm and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 243 (1) Vol. 44, No. 2 Law of Lagos State, 2011.”

Akinde admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

“The sureties must present evidence of tax payment, means of livelihood and deposit N20, 000 to the account of the chief registrar. Their addresses must also be verified by the prosecutor,” she added.

Israel approves law to ease conversion to Judaism

Jerusalem (AFP) - The Israeli cabinet approved a new law Sunday that would enable easier conversions to Judaism, a move advocates hope will encourage hundreds of thousands of "religionless" Israelis to become Jewish.

The new law, a ministerial compromise following a bill initiated by Elazar Stern of Justice Minister Tzipi Livni's HaTnuah movement, stipulates that the chief rabbi of each Israeli city would be able to form and head a conversion court, pending conditions to be set by the chief rabbinate.

This would potentially greatly increase the number of conversion courts from the four current state-recognised Orthodox bodies.

Israel has some 364,000 citizens defined as "religionless," the bulk of whom immigrated from the former Soviet Union.

They are not considered Jewish under the strict definition of Jewish law, despite most having lineage of the religion, but they are still considered Israeli by the state.

Stern pledged to act swiftly to implement the decision and form new courts for conversion candidates, "especially those who had already given up on conversion."

Livni called the new law "great news for hundreds of thousands of citizens who live with us, whom we encouraged to immigrate as part of the Law of Return but until now were second-rate citizens."

Critics say Israel's conversion courts, overseen by the ultra-Orthodox chief rabbinate, are overly stringent and discourage potential converts.

The chief rabbinate, however, has not accepted the new law, and will discuss its course of action later, a spokesman said.

Natan Sharansky, chairman of Israel's Jewish Agency, which links Jewish communities around the world with Israel and each other, said the new law was "crucial to the successful absorption and integration of many immigrant Israelis."

"There is no doubt that this is a welcome development to all who wish to draw in those who are distant and embrace those who have come near," he said in a statement.

Rabbi Seth Farber, whose ITIM organisation provides advice and help to people challenged by Israel's religious bureaucracy, hailed the law as "the first major reform in religion and state that has the potential to fundamentally change the status quo in Israel."

Terminally ill US woman who fought for right to die kills self

Los Angeles (AFP) - A young American woman with terminal cancer has committed suicide, following promises to do so that had triggered shock and controversy over the right to die.

Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old brain cancer sufferer, made headlines earlier this month when a video of her making her suicide threat went viral and was seen by millions of web users.

"Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me... but would have taken so much more," she wrote in a message circulated widely on social media.

"The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type... Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!"

Sean Crowley, spokesman for Compassion & Choices, an end-of-life activist group that supported Maynard, said she died peacefully in her home on November 1.

"Brittany has died, but her love of life and nature, her passion and spirit endure," the organization's president, Barbara Coombs Lee, added.

"In Brittany's memory, do what matters most. And tell those you love how much they matter to you. We will work to carry on her legacy of bringing end-of-life choice to all Americans."

In January, Maynard was given six months to live and told her death would be painful because of the aggressive nature of her cancer.

She had been trying for a first child with her husband Dan Diaz at the time, but gave up due to her disease.

Maynard and her husband, who had just married when she began having severe headaches, moved from their home in California to Oregon, one of a handful of US states with a "right-to-die" law.

A doctor could therefore prescribe her the medication she needs to end her own life, surrounded by her family in the bedroom she shares with her husband.

On Thursday, she had released a new video in which she said she might temporarily delay her appointment with a self-administered cocktail of potentially deadly drugs.

But the delay was a short one.

Her story has made headlines around the world, and she was featured on the cover of last week's People magazine in the United States.

Maynard has in recent weeks and months been working to tick off items on a "bucket list" of what she wants to do before she dies -- including traveling to the Grand Canyon last week.

Burkina interim leader Zida meets opposition leaders

Isaac Zida, named as Burkina Faso’s interim leader by the army after the ousting of the president last week, was holding talks Sunday with opposition leaders, an AFP journalist said.

Those attending included the leader of the main opposition group in parliament Zephirin Diabre, former foreign minister Ablasse Ouedraogo, former prime minister Roch Marc Christian Kabore and Benewende Sankara, a key spokesman during opposition protests last week.

Pope prays for dead who nobody remembers

Pope Francis on Sunday at the Vatican City marked the “All Souls’ Day” and offered prayers for forgotten victims of wars, violence and religious persecutions.

Speaking on the Catholic day of remembrance for the dead, Francis said the faithful normally visit the graves of their loved ones on All Souls’ Day.

Francis said, “but today we are called to remember everybody, even those who nobody remembers.”

“We remember the nameless resting in common ossuaries; we remember the victims of wars and violence, the small people of the world, crushed by hunger and misery,” he said.

Francis while reciting “Angelus prayers”, also remembered the brothers and sisters killed because they were Christians and those who sacrificed their lives to serve others.

Later in the day, the pope was due to pay a private visit to the graves of his predecessors in the Vatican Grottos, located underneath St Peter’s Basilica.

42 killed in Zamfara by cattle rustlers

No fewer than 42 people were reported to have been killed in Gidan Kaso town of Birnin Magaji Local Government area of Zamfara state by a group of suspected cattle rustlers, and properties of millions of naira destroyed.

The tragedy, which was not the first of its kind, happened when the culprits launched an attack on the village and demanded the villagers to either surrender their animals to them or be killed.

As some of them complied with the directive, those who refused to obey were instantly fired, as a result of which many of them died, while others in an attempt to escape got serious injuries.

An eye witness account told vanguard that the cause of the attack came following the killing of one of the colleagues of the hoodlums which they vowed to revenge upon. “For the past 20 days now, these people have been threatening the residents of this town that they will attack it, and since then, the people have not been themselves following the fear put in their minds by the threat,” added the eye witness.

It also revealed that on the day of the attack, the hoodlums suddenly entered into the town after destroying the farm produce of the residents who now felt that the only option to them was to launch a counter attack on the hoodlums. “immediately the hoodlums entered into the town, the opened five indiscriminately on whoever they came across, irrespective of sex, as one woman was among the already killed people,” explained one sahabi mai taya, a resident of the town who narrowly escaped death.

Sahabi said he lost one of his relatives in the attack and all his farm products were destroyed. By the criminals, who up to the time of filling in this report were at large.
Numbering about 80, the suspects were also carrying different dangerous weapons, including AK47 riffles, axe, dungeons’ sharp knives and cutlass among others in their hands.

A visit to the town by our reporter indicated that the whole place was deserted, and those who survived the attack had moved out along with the remaining animals they were left with.

The chairman of the council, Alhaji aminu Sani, jaja told vanguard that, while confirming the attack, that only 15 people were killed and three houses burnt to ashes including that of the chairman vigilante group of the area.

Jaja stated that those killed have since been buried, while those with injuries were receiving a medical treatment at various health institution around the local government.

He called on the entire people, particularly the affected town, to always report any suspicious character to the nearest authorities, and also continue to pray for peace in not only the town, or local government, but also to the state and nation in general.

All efforts to talk to the spokesperson of the state police command, Dsp Lawal Abdullahi proved abortive as all his phone lines were switched off.

60 OPC Members Protect Speaker Tambuwal

Reports just coming in from Abuja inform that the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal has got a new security detail after the policemen protecting him was withdrawn by the Presidency last week.

According to a news report aired by TV Continental in Lagos on Sunday, 2 November, 2014, about 60 members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, are now protecting Tambuwal in Abuja.

The OPC is a Yoruba nationalist organisation situated in western Nigeria.

Though details of this development are still being expected, it was gathered that the OPC members now follow Tambuwal to all his destinations.

The House of Reps is presently on recess till 3 December.

60 OPC Members Protect Speaker Tambuwal

Reports just coming in from Abuja inform that the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal has got a new security detail after the policemen protecting him was withdrawn by the Presidency last week.

According to a news report aired by TV Continental in Lagos on Sunday, 2 November, 2014, about 60 members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, are now protecting Tambuwal in Abuja.

The OPC is a Yoruba nationalist organisation situated in western Nigeria.

Though details of this development are still being expected, it was gathered that the OPC members now follow Tambuwal to all his destinations.

The House of Reps is presently on recess till 3 December.

Speaker Tambuwal had described the removal of his security detail by the Inspector General of Police as a a ploy to bring harm to his person.

The lawmaker had few days ago dragged the the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba to court for removing his security details.

Tambuwal was said to have stormed the Federal High Court in Abuja along with his lawyers and members of the House at about 12:40 p.m on Friday to file a suit challenging the withdrawal of his security details.

Tambuwal had on Tuesday, October 28, formally announced his defection from the PDP to the APC,shocking his colleagues.

According to report, the PDP is planning a shocker for Tambuwal as he may be barred from entering his office.

A top Presidency source explained that the decision to strip Tambuwal of all the rights and privileges was taken based on legal submission.

Chris Brown Talks All Things Rihanna: The Assault, Their Relationship, Drake and More--

Now that a substantial amount of time has passed, it seems like Chris Brown is willing and ready to talk about all of the things he may have been hesitant to address five years ago.

The singer stopped by Hot 97's Ebro In The Morning radio show to promote his new album X, and during his interview, Breezy talked about everything. No, seriously--Chris opened up about his 2009 assault against Rihanna, why he and RiRi gave love another shot, the Barbados beauty dating Drake and so much more.

"Honestly, I just kinda listened to the wrong--'OK, we need to to do this' PR strategy--I really just wanted to be like, man, f--k y'all, and that's how I feel, because it's my personal life. I'm going through a troubled time right now," Brown began to say in regards to the infamous altercation with his then-girlfriend.

"I feel like through the years, I've said [I f--ked up] enough now to where it's like, bro if you're still on that then I feel sorry for y'all, because it's over with. I don't have animosity about it. Obviously I have remorse about it and it's something that's really serious, but as far as the situation--like me and her, we made amends, we good. She's my friend," he continued.

"So at the end of the day, I knew that was a mistake I would never make again, but I take into consideration like, dang, I was like 17-18--I'm 25 now--so I look back at it now like, dang, and I'm still doing community service and seeing the judge every month and a half over that situation.

"It's something that, in your personal life, you definitely wanna keep those skeletons in your closet but because I'm an artist like me, you gotta be public about it. Everybody has their own demons and their own skeletons, but it's only how they handle it after when it's showcased. Some people have great political speeches, I can't do that. I can talk about it like this. I can give you a great song."

Chris and Rihanna continued to make headlines when they decided to rekindle their romance after the big blowout. Breezy explains that he just really wanted to show her that "I could be the man she wanted me to be."

He also admitted that he saw her Oprah interview, and watching her get so emotional and express her worry for Brown, let him know that there was possibility to at least remain friends. "She's showing me she cares because I didn't know for a while...I was actually moved by it," Brown said.

But things became extra awkward when RiRi decided to start dating Drizzy. "I'm content with who I am, so whoever decides to move on or do their thing, that's cool. You gotta consider that was in the thug Chris Brown era when I was...that was when I was all up on runnin' up on dudes," he began to say, but confessed that he feels like Rihanna did that to hurt him.

"In a way I do...It's understandable. It's the game, we young...we do that at that age. I think once we hit our 30s, we're in a mature stage of life and we're not focusing on that."

Luckily, the trio seemed to have all moved past the drama, and even past that huge bar brawl between the two rappers, which Chris refers to as a "stick yo' chest out contest. That's all it was. That was a, 'who got the biggest account in the room?'"

In fact, Brown shared that Drake's camp reached out to him and his people prior to the ESPYs to pitch doing a sketch together (you all remember that, right?) and that's when the pair finally decided to move forward.

"Let's break this whole beef thing and make light of the situation because it shows growth and maturity," Brown said.

British-Iranian volleyball woman gets one year in jail

Tehran (AFP) - A British-Iranian woman who was arrested in Tehran after trying to attend a volleyball match has been sentenced to one year in jail, her lawyer was reported as saying Sunday.

The case of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25-year-old law graduate from London, has attracted attention at the highest political level, given her dual nationality.

She was detained on June 20 at Azadi ("Freedom" in Farsi) Stadium where Iran's national volleyball team was to play Italy, and although she was released within a few hours she was re-arrested days later.

She eventually went on trial behind closed doors last month.

"According to the verdict she was sentenced to one year," her lawyer Alizadeh Tabatabaie was quoted in Iranian media as saying.

No reason was given for the conviction though Ghavami had been accused of spreading propaganda against the regime, a broad charge often used by Iran's judiciary.

Asked if the sentence could be reduced, Tabatabaie, who has not been allowed to visit his client, said: "Considering that Ghoncheh Ghavami has no criminal record, the court can alleviate the verdict.

"In a meeting Ghoncheh had with her mother on Wednesday, she said no new charges have been filed against her."

- Hunger strike -

So far, Ghavami has been held in the capital's notorious Evin Prison for 126 days. Last month she spent 14 days on hunger strike.

A Facebook page where her friends and family have campaigned for her release features photographs of her against the slogan: "Jailed for wanting to watch a volleyball match".

Officials, however, have said Ghavami was detained for security reasons unrelated to the sporting event.

An update on the Facebook account appeared to corroborate the one year sentence and it criticised the lack of transparency shown by the judiciary.

"This morning Ghoncheh's family and lawyer returned empty handed from branch 26 of Revolutionary court," it said, referring to Saturday.

"It is not clear to her family and lawyer as to what the current legal basis of her detention is. A fair and just legal process according to Iran's legal framework is the basic right of every Iranian citizen. Why are these rights not upheld in Ghoncheh's case?"

Ghavami's arrest came after female fans and even women journalists were told they would not be allowed to attend the volleyball match.

National police chief General Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam said it was "not yet in the public interest" for men and women to attend such events together. "The police are applying the law," he said at the time.

Women are also banned from attending football matches in Iran, with officials saying this is to protect them from lewd behaviour among male fans.

- Cameron intervention -

British Prime Minister David Cameron raised Ghavami's case during a meeting with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in September at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Cameron underlined "the impact that such cases had on Iran's image in the UK," a Downing Street spokesman said at the time.

The verdict also comes with Iran under international pressure over its human rights record.

When Rouhani, a self-declared moderate elected last year, has been questioned about a soaring number of executions and detentions under his rule, he has stressed the judiciary is independent of his government.

However, many of the more than 100 diplomats at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last week voiced outrage at the situation of political prisoners, women and religious minorities in Iran.

They also decried arrests and harassment of journalists, forced confessions and lack of access to fair trials.

Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary general of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, responded by saying his country had made great progress in the past four years.

His comments came after the UN's special rapporteur on Iran, Ahmed Shahhed, said the Islamic republic has executed at least 850 people in the past 15 months.

Here is How To Get Rid Of Neck Pain in Just 60 Seconds

In case you have unbearable neck pain and you immediately need a massage but unfortunately you do not have the time or money to afford this luxury, we offer you fast solution to your problems.

In this article we present to you how to treat and how to get rid of neck pain.

First Step:

Locate the painful area. If the affected area is located on the right side of your upper back or on the neck, use your right arm, if it is on the left side, use the left arm.

Second Step:

Press the painful area with your fingers. Make sure you are pressing with solid pressure, but do not overdo this. When pressing the painful area you should not feel any sharp pain or pain which you are struggling to tolerate.

If you cannot reach the certain area or you can reach it but you have a hard time pressing it as you should, use tennis ball or some other object. If you use anything other than your arm, press yourselves against the wall with the object in between in order to give the affected area the needed pressure.

Third Step

Slightly turn your head opposite of the painful area and then lower it diagonally as if you were trying to touch your armpit with your chin. Cramped muscle’s activity in combination with the pressure is going to help you relax the affected muscle thus get rid of the annoying pain.

Fourth Step

Repeat this procedure 20 times and in the end stretch yourselves as if you were getting out of bed in the morning. In order to maintain your muscles relaxed, repeat this exercise several times during the day.

PHOTOS: Cossy Orjiakor steps out braless for Halloween, man bites her boobs

Controversial Nigerian actress turned singer Cossy Orjiakor has shared pictures from her Halloween celebration last night.

She shared the pictures below with the caption: “Am the best girly to have around ur man Cuz nothing happens… never… Hahahha her royal highness. firm boobs.”

“Sexy witch cossy and my girly sexy cat from hell. Vampire things last night at caliente”

“Fresh face witches Hahahhah vampire things last night at Caliente… ”

“The very first time I stepped out bra less… Hmmmm got pips freaked out. Hahhahahh oh dear… ”

Find the pictures below: