Saturday

SATURDAY No. 443

N300

President Replaces Yakubu, Appoints Dawha As NNPC Boss

My Mirror Used To Be My Companion – Hadiza

Insecurity Mars Sallah Celebrations In Abuja

NEWS, PAGE 6

PAGE 68

PAGE 65

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY

02.08.14 www.leadership.ng

nigeria's MOST INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPER

Chibok Diary DAY 110

Leadership Newspapers

@leadershipNGA

We Are Examples Of A New Nigeria – BBOG Group > Page 2

I’ll Lead Nigeria To Defeat Boko Haram – Jonathan 5

Danjuma, Dangote, Adenuga, Elumelu, others donate N58.99bn for terror victims

L-R: Chairman, Leadership Group, Hajiya Ireti Kingibe, and managing director/chief executive officer, GTBank Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, during a visit to GTBank’s corporate headquarters in Lagos, yesterday PHOTO by BENEDICT UWALAKA

'Nigeria Leads Africa With 3.3m Displaced Persons'

> Page 5

chibok diary 110 DAY

Saturday, August 2, 2014 CHibok Facts ➔ Carol M. Cram @carolcram 2m I just made a donation to The Malala Fund for #BringBackOurGirls Please help! https:// www.stayclassy. org/checkout/ donation?eid=33381 …

➔ #BringBackOurGirls ‫@‏‬omojuwa 10h #ChibokGirls were abducted in April.

Fellow Nigerians, this is August and they are yet to be rescued #BringBackOurGirls

Nigerians protesting in Chicago over abducted Chibok schoolgirls and insurgency.

Photo by nan

➔ Ibrahim Ify Salawu ‫@‏‬ UnilagOlodo 18m It's Day109 Of #Bringbackourgirls Oby Ezekwesili Demands The Girls Be Brought Back Now & Alive http:// wp.me/p1KTM7-u0J

➔ Sen. Mobina Jaffer ‫@‏‬ SenJaffer 1h DAY 109 since more than 200 of our Nigerian daughters were taken.

We must not lose hope. #BringBackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/ Oz83bzXmf9

➔ avadesordre ‫@‏‬ avadesordre 1h #BringBackOurGirls who were abducted 100 days ago. Join the virtual vigil with @WalkFree: http:// twb.ly/MQLWFWUZ

➔ TheBritishBlacklist @BritBlacklist 2h "I'm a Mother. I have a Daughter. I have a heart. I pray" @ annastasiabaker on #BringBackOurGirls single http://www. thebritishblacklist. com/albertyanney-annastasiabaker-let-it-gobringbackourgirls/ … @AYanneyTBBL COMPILED BY agbo augustine

We Are Examples Of A New Nigeria – BBOG Group

By Chika Mefor and Ejike Ejike, Abuja

The #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) Group campaigning for the release of the over 200 Chibok school girls abducted by the Boko Haram sect has reinstated that it is an honest, transparent group that aims to become an order of a new Nigeria.

The group, which is the longest standing protest group in Nigeria, has lasted for over 90 days with its activities including daily sit-outs, protests and engagements with stakeholders in the country.

The BBOG group attributed the reason for its tenacity even in the face of attacks to the core

values it works with, which has made it focus on its singular purpose which is that the Chibok school girls be returned to their families alive.

The core values which the group called, Humanitedes and which is always discussed within the group and suggested for members and other Nigerians to inculcate, as guided it’s activities for the 94 days of its advocacy. “ We developed the core values that will guide us in our movement. We developed these core values to be our guiding values. It is the new order we want everyone to exhibit in this new order of Nigeria. It is

what we want for our country.

“Humanitedes for what we stand for means, Hope, Unity, Motivation, Affibility, Nationalism, Integrity, Transparency, Empathy, Discipline, Equity and Sacrifice. These values will guide and have always guided us even in the face of attacks. It has made us remain resolute to our singular purpose which is the Chibok girls,” it said.

It added that the group is united by common humanity not minding the ethnicitys, religion or political affiliation of its members, a value which is needed by Nigerians to fight their common enemy, terrorism.

It further stated that it was high time Nigerians united and empathised with the abducted school girls and others who have been affected by the insurgency, as injury to one is injury to all.

“Whenever we come here, we all say that we are from Chibok.

This is to show the people of Chibok that we are feeling what they are going through even though some people tend not to understand what is happening here. Most Nigerians do not understand how we can feel this way when it didn’t happen to us, but it is because of empathy that we keep doing this,” the group said.

N100bn Terror Victims Fund: Show Same Commitment For Chibok Girls, NGO Tells FG

By Kareem Haruna, Maiduguri

A Borno State based nongovernmental organisation (NGO), Ambassadors for Peace, has urged the federal government of Nigeria to replicate the spirited commitment deployed in raising about N100 billion for victims of terrorism in Nigeria in the rescue of the Chibok schoolgirls.

The group which described President Goodluck Jona-

than’s ability to coordinate the raising of such fund in one single event, as highly remarkable, however said such efforts could only be crystallised if more commitment is shown to the rescue of the 219 abducted Chibok girls still in the captivity of Boko Haram.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP Weekend in telephone interview the coordinaor of the group in Borno State, Ambassador Ahmed Shehu said just

as Nigerians have that remarkable spirit of generating such funds from just a fragment of its illustrious populace, so does the country have the ability and might to help rescue the girls.

But he wondered why it is taking the federal government over 100 days to get the girls rescued.

“We know such an amount raised on Thursday in support of President Goodluck Jona-

than’s N500 billion Appeal Fund initiative in support of victims of terrorism in Nigeria would also in a way impact on the lives of the parents of the abducted chiboks, the escapees and even those in captivity should they eventually gain their freedom by God’s grace, we still implore the federal government to put more effort and ensure that those girls should not spend more days in captivity”, said Ambassador Shehu.

3

our stand Saturday, August 2, 2014

Immigration Job Scam Forgotten?

W

hen on March 15, 2014, some 800, 000 Nigerian jobseekers trooped to stadia across the states and the Federal Capital Territory to write a recruitment test for 4,000 openings in the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), many thought it was a novelty made in hell. Expectedly, the shambolic exercise ended in a fiasco never seen in the country’s recruitment history as 23 applicants died in stampedes in the centres.

Many others received injuries.

Spontaneously, the Presidency and the National Assembly took on the comptroller-general of the service, David Paradang, and the minister of interior, Abba Morro, to account for the obvious indiscretion.

While the window dressing in the executive was understandable, the grandstanding of both chambers of the National Assembly cannot be excused. At the end of the day, the Presidency promised jobs for candidates from the family of each of the deceased.

The National Assembly, as usual, promised to get to the root of the circumstances that led to the tragedy. A groundswell of evidence pointed in the direction

of Minister Morro and the consultants, Drexel Technologies Limited, the outsourcing company he engaged for the illfated exercise. But the umbrella body of outsourcing companies in Nigeria, Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, said that investigations from the Ministry of Labour and Productivity saddled with the responsibility of issuing licences to outsourcing companies confirmed that it was not among the over 700 registered recruiter companies as at March 2014. Worse was the disclosure

by Paradang, at the Senate committee’s public hearing, that the minister acted without carrying the management of NIS along in the exercise.

We wonder how long the

Ag. Editor Catherine Agbo Deputy Editors Kazeem Akintunde Editorial Board Safiya M. Adamu, Chairman Christian Ochiama, Deputy Chairman Standards Aniebo Nwamu, Director ’Lara Olugbemi, Assistant Director

chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Abubakar Bagudu, and his colleagues will wait for the listing of the report submitted over two months ago.

There are issues bordering on compromise because the man in the eye of the storm is a known acolyte of the Senate president, David Mark. It is not unlikely that the report is being stepped down in his enlightened self-interest.

As it is, the Committee on Rules and Business and the leadership of the Senate will have to wait until the red chamber, currently on its two-month annual recess, resumes in September.

Beyond all the politicking, we are worried by the trend of public probes in Nigeria: the deceit, the insensitivity and the callousness.

The insult inherent in the palliative of jobs for members of the slain applicants promised by the federal government is sickening.

Those who benefitted from the injustice, mass murder and extortion of N1, 000 from each of these jobless youths should face the music. The blood money must be refunded. And the National Assembly should know that it has turned itself into a laughing stock. The cyclical trend of all its inquisitions, especially in this matter, is most disturbing.

Founder Sam Nda-Isaiah Chairman Hajiya Ireti Kingibe Group Managing Director Azubuike Ishiekwene Group Executive Directors Michael Okpere Dr Kazeem Durodoye Company Secretary/ Legal Adviser Abdulhaleem Amin Divisional Directors Abdulmumin Balogun Ademola Oladosu Iyobosa Uwugiaren Salisu Alhassan Bichi General Managers Aminu Abubakar Sule Zipporah D. Tanko Joy Adekanye

Leadership

Holdings

Managing Director Abraham Nda-Isaiah Executive Director Nnamdi Samuel New York Office Mohammed Bello Shehu London Office Dr Bello Salihu Johannesburg Office Abiodun Oguntuase Business Manager Bilkisu Mohammed Rimi

LEADERSHIP is a national paper symbolically embedded in the nation’s capital.

We shall stand up for good governance. We shall defend the interest of Nigerian people even against their rulers, and we shall raise our pen at all times in defence of what is right. These are the values by which we intend to be assessed.

We shall never, ever for any reason forget the noble reason of our coming into being: For God and country!

4

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Gombe State Government

60th Birthday Greetings!

As you rejoice over this great milestone in your life I celebrate with you on behalf of the entire people of Gombe State.

Nigeria is blessed to have someone like you as her vice president. The maturity with which you handle issues and how you continue to stand by the president in ensuring the consolidation of our democracy are very commendable attributes.

May the next 60 years be full of cheer and good health.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR! Signed:

Arc. Namadi

Dr. IbrahIm hassan Dankwambo oon Talban Gombe Executive Governor, Gombe State

Sambo Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

GCON

NEWS 5

Saturday, August 2, 2014

LIVING TO BE 100

One health tip daily Time to Exercise: Any Time!

We all know that exercise can prolong our lives, but many people say they simply don’t have the time. In our busy routines, it may be difficult to find an hour or two every day to go to the gym or take a fitness class. I tell them that there are many opportunities to exercise throughout their day.

My advice: take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Park your car a few blocks away from where you’re going. Cut the lawn with a manual mower. Sweep the floor with a broom instead of a vacuum. Wash dishes by hand rather than using a dishwasher.

Walk to get your newspaper don’t have it delivered to your door. Every bit of physical activity adds up!

‘Nigeria Leads Africa With 3.3m Displaced Persons’

By AGBO-PAUL AUGUSTINE, Abuja

Available statistics show that as at July 2014 Nigeria has about 3.3 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) induced by conflicts, making the country the largest IDP population in sub-Saharan Africa.

A report released by the Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), “Global Overview 2014” says Nigeria is leading the region ahead of Democratic Republic of Congo which has 2.9 million IDPs; Ivory Coast 709, 000 North Sudan with 470, 000, Ethiopia 200, 000; Central African Republic 197, 000 and Chad with 178, 000.

It further stated that the number of people internally displaced by conflict and violence in Nigeria is approximately a third of the IDPs in Africa and 10 per cent of IDPs in the world.

In 2013 alone, 470,500 persons were displaced in Nigeria and this is the third highest in the world, behind Syria with 6.5 million and Colombia with 5.7 million.

It noted that over 9 million Nigerians are indirectly affected by the rising insurgency attacks in the country, the report says.

However, when LEADERSHIP Weekend contacted the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons

(NCFRMI) for clarification, the commission said Nigeria had about 725,977 displaced persons living in various camps across the country, with Borno and Taraba States having 257, 694 and 108, 515 IDPs respectively.

The statistics from NCFRMI also indicated that Anambra State has the lowest number of such cases in the country, with 2, 318 people. About 12 Nigerian states are currently with IDP camps.

The figure of IDPs released by the commission shows that more Nigerians are being forced into displaced camps as more conflicts erupt in various parts of the country.

In February, Nigeria according to the commission, had a total of 613, 729 IDPs in 21 states of the federation, with states in the north leading the pack.

By the current statistics provided by the commission, the country has seen an increase of over 100, 000 persons dislodged from their homes owing to the insecurity in various parts of the country in the last six months. Borno State alone has seen about 61, 357 persons displaced into camps due to frequent attacks by insurgents in the state.

But the international monitoring group’s report showed an alarming increase in the number of Nigerians forced out of their homes in recent months.

I’ll Lead Nigeria To Defeat Boko Haram – Jonathan

By George Agba and Chika Otuchikere, Abuja

President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday that he was overwhelmed by the manner Nigerians responded to his appeal to contribute to the Boko Haram Victims’ Support Fund, saying the federal government’s initial target of N50billion had been exceeded.

He said a total sum of N58.790billion was realised for the Support Fund at a fund-raising dinner held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa on Thursday night.

Jonathan also vowed that he would personally provide the required leadership to Nigerians to defeat insurgency in the country.

The highest donors included the federal government (N20 billion), key players in the oil sector (N17 billion), the banking sector operatives (N15 billion), T.Y. Danjuma (N1.6billion), and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr Jim Ovia, Wale Tinubu, Mike Adenuga, N1billion each. All states of the federation and the FCT gave N3.7billion; Arthur Eze and Mohammed Indimi, N800million each; Mrs Folorunsho Alakijia, Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, Abdul Samad Rabiu, N500million each.

Mr Tony Elumelu, CON, founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and chairman of Heirs Holdings, committed N2.5billion towards revitalizing distressed Nigerian communities affected by terror activities.

According to Jonathan, this is a clear indication that Nigerians are in support of the federal government’s counter-terrorism strategies, even as he expressed immense appreciation over what he described as the kindness of all persons who responded enthusiastically to his appeal for collective action by contributing generously to the fund.

In a statement issued by his special adviser on media and publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, the president said he was overwhelmed by the expression of support, cooperation and solidarity by Nigerians and friends of Nigeria from all walks of life. He added that it showed that the public was genuinely concerned about the threat of terrorism “to our common humanity and stands ready to support worthy causes and propeople policies”.

The president also commended the chairman of the Terror Victims’ Support Foundation, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), and members of the Foundation for accepting to serve the nation in this regard.

Abati said, “He is confident and convinced that the Foundation will make judicious and transparent use of the

Jonathan

Dangote

funds in order to ameliorate the negative impact of terrorism in the affected areas.”

During the fundraising on July 31, the highest donation was N10 billion and the lowest individual contribution was N5, 000.

At the fundraising dinner, Elumelu thanked the president for taking the initiative to bring the public and private sectors together to address the problem.

Of the N2.5 billion that was committed by Elumelu, N1billion was immediately contributed to the Victims’ Relief Fund, while the additional N1.5 billion will go towards establishing and endowing a Nigeria Opportunity and Empowerment Fund over the next four years.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, which noted it will manage the endowment fund to global and professional standards, said the funds will be used to make investments and grants that create opportunities and empower the people in communities around Nigeria that have been ravaged by conflict or where fundamental issues of inclusion have to be addressed such as in the Niger Delta region.

Jonathan vowed that he would provide the required leadership to end insurgency in Nigeria, even as he said he never imagined that Nigerians could make themselves available to be used as suicide bombers.

Noting that the setting up of the support fund was not an admission that terrorism had come to stay in the country, he said: “The fact that we are setting up a victims’ support fund does not mean we have accepted that terrorism is here to stay. No! Never! Rather, this is just one of the short-term measures in our overall strategy against the enemies of peace and progress.”

The president stated vehemently that, rather than destroy the spirit and essence of the nation, the terrorists have succeeded in uniting and making Nigerians see that they are a common threat to all. “By bombing mosques and

churches, they have shown to us that they are enemies to all. By killing Muslims and Christians, they have demonstrated to every Nigerian that their evil agenda does not discriminate.

Unintentionally, they are motivating millions of Nigerians to see them as common enemies whose only purpose is to steal, to kill and to destroy.”

Gen. Danjuma said the fund had been established as a fullfledged company, adding that naira and foreign currency accounts had been set up to receive donations from around the world.

He commended Jonathan for his wisdom in setting up the fund and his policy of noninterference in its operation, saying that the committee would jealously guard its independence.

“All too often, the victims of terror are soon forgotten. The majority are the soft targets the terrorists prefer but unable to fend for themselves. The funds being collected are not for combating terror or fighting terrorist organizations but for supporting victims of terrorist attacks,” the former defence minister said.

Terrorism will have my full attention – IGP Abba Newly appointed acting inspector-general of police Suleiman Abba yesterday promised that he would put all his energy into the fight to rid the country of insurgents.

Abba spoke during the official handing over of the baton of leadership from the outgoing IGP Mohammed Abubakar, vowing to address the attitude problem associated with policemen.

“The recent upsurge in security challenges will have my full attention. I am committed to address these issues and reaffirm the high standards of performance for which the Nigeria Police is nationally and internationally acclaimed,” he said.

The new IGP who hailed his immediate predecessor for ➔ CONTINUES ON PAGE 6

6 NEWS

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Hajiya Kingibe, Chairman Of LEADERSHIP Visits GTBank

By Chima Akwaja and Remi Ofakunrin, Lagos

As part of her familiarisation with strategic business partners, the chairman of the LEADERSHIP Group, Hajiya Ireti Kingibe, yesterday led a delegation of Nigeria’s most innovative and fastest growing newspaper, LEADERSHIP Newspapers, to Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) at its head office in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Hajiya Kingibe who was received by the group managing director and chief executive officer, Mr. Segun Agbaje and, head of corporate communications of GTBank, Mrs. Oyinade Adegbite was

accompanied by the group executive director, Leadership Newspapers, Mr. Mike Okpere, FCA; director, Lagos operations , Mr. Ademola Oladosu and other members of the management.

After a brief welcome message from Agbaje, Ireti Kingibe stressed the importance of her visit to one of the major partners of the media outfit.

She said, “I am here to thank you for your patronage over time and to assure the entire GTBank’s family of continuous mutual relationship with LEADERSHIP Group”.

In his response, Agbaje, who eulogised the efforts of the group in building a media

establishment that speaks truth to power while defending the rights of Nigerian citizens implored the team to continue to work tirelessly to ensure the sustainability of the brand as well as the unity of the country.

Agabje who informed the team of his love for the vernacular edition, LEADERSHIP Hausa stated that he reads all the LEADERSHIP titles.

Okpere, who seized the opportunity to enunciate what Leadership Group stands for, said, “We are a national newspaper symbolically embedded in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Our stronghold cuts across Abuja, the north and 36 states of the

federation and we maintain our presence in all the major cities and economic centres in Nigeria. “Our focus is good governance and economic emancipation of the teeming population of Nigeria”.

According to him, Leadership Group maintains six titles (LEADERSHIP Daily – Monday to Thursday, LEADERSHIP Friday, Weekend LEADERSHIP, Sunday LEADERSHIP, LEADERSHIP Hausa and a weekly magazine, GOVERNMENT as well as two news websites– www.leadership. ng and www.hausa.leadership.ng.

“The print and web editions have unarguably performed well since its debut in 2004

on Nigeria’s news stable.

LEADERSHIP has equally taken giant strides in leading the business of news gathering and publishing in Nigeria by offering news of the same title in other major Nigerian languages (starting with Hausa).”

In her closing remarks, Mrs. Oyinade Adegbite expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Leadership Newspapers and promised that the Guaranty Trust Bank group will continue to appreciate the brand which she tagged “Reader Friendly Newspapers” that are very difficult to drop once a reader lays hands on any copy of the titles.

Danjuma

Elumelu

State Command, 2007 – 2008; and deputy commissioner of police, Kebbi, 2006 – 2007. He was also the aide-de-camp (ADC) to the head of state (Office of

the First Lady), 1995 – 1998; and the commanding officer of both 24 PMF (Presidential Escort) and 21 PMF Mobile Police Squadron, Abuja.

I’ll Lead Nigeria To Defeat Boko Haram – Jonathan ➔ FROM PAGE 5

executing the reform agenda of the incumbent president, however, noted that the reform did not reform the attitude of the officers and men: “It is only the reforms initiated by the Yar’Adua- Jonathan regime that have seen the light of day.

All other reforms – and I beg to be proven wrong – I have gone through a lot of researches on reforms in the Nigeria Police Force as an examiner in NIPSS; we have almost become disinterested in the reforms. We have even become lost at what the government intends to do.

“This is the only reform where we see funds dedicated for the implementation of the reform.

One aspect is completely missing. That is the aspect of

attitudinal change. It will be my focus. You can make a reform without reforming the person you are reforming. And so the focus of my leadership shall be attitudinal change.

“We’ll make sure that officers conform to ethical values and standards. We’ll have an ethical code of conduct which will regulate our actions. Senior police officers are to be held accountable for their actions and inactions, by means of performance contracts and indicators, with clear deliverables which will be closely monitored.”

The new IGP who hails from Gwaram local government area of Jigawa State holds degrees in History and Law and has attended several management and security courses within

and outside Nigeria. He is an alumnus of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos. Until his appointment, Abba was the assistant inspectorgeneral of police in charge of Zone 7 comprising the FCT, Kaduna and Niger police commands.

Abba enlisted into the Force as a cadet assistant superintendent of police in December 1984. He was commissioner of police, Rivers State, 2009 – 2012; commissioner of police in Lagos State during the 2011 general elections; and deputy force secretary twice both as commissioner of police and as a deputy commissioner of police.

The IGP was deputy commissioner of police, Kano

President Replaces Yakubu, Appoints Dawha As NNPC Boss New MD, 2 group executive directors also appointed

By George Agba, Abuja

A shake-up in the oil sector by President Goodluck Jonathan has led to the sack of Mr Andrew Yakubu from his job as group managing director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. The president has replaced him with Dr Joseph Thlama Dawha.

He has also appointed Mr Anthony Ugonna Muoneke as the managing director

Cholera Outbreak Kills 7 ...30 infected in Kaduna

By MIDAT JOSEPH, Kaduna

Seven people have died of cholera

of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

The president also appointed Ms Aisha Mata Abdurrahman as the group executive director, commercial and investment of the NNPC, and Dr Attahiru B. Yusuf as group executive director, business development of the NNPC A statement by the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, noted that “all the appointments are with immediate effect”.

The terse statement which the

presidential spokesman made available to LEADERSHIP last night reads in part: “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has approved the following appointments and changes in the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

“The new Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Dawha, hails from Borno state.

He has served previously as the Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production,

NNPC, and Managing Director of Integrated Data Services Ltd (IDSL), a subsidiary of the NNPC. “Mr Anthony Muoneke, the new Managing Director of the NPDC, hails from Anambra State. Called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985, he has over 29 years’ experience at both local and international levels in the oil and gas as well as the energy and power sectors, including serving as Executive Director, Finance & Admin, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd. (NDPHC)”.

Alison-Madueke

in three villages of Kudan local government area of Kaduna State, LEADERSHIP Weekend has gathered.

Six persons from two separate families were the casualties of the cholera outbreak in Hukunyi and Zabin-Kudan villages; one person was reportedly killed in Rimi Biso

village in the same Kudan local government area.

Investigations revealed that the outbreak has led to the hospitalization of over 30 villagers at the Hukunyi General Hospital and Kudan Primary Health Care Centre.

Confirming the outbreak,

the chairman of the local government, Alh. Umar Ibrahim, blamed the cholera outbreak on the carelessness of the people.

According to him, the outbreak was as a result of lack of toilet and absence of environmental hygiene.

He said the local government

had since deployed medical personnel to observe the situation and check possible epidemic.

He also attributed the outbreak to the method of consumption of food and water, especially during the just concluded Ramadan period.

news across the states 7

Saturday, August 2, 2014

short news Banks Shut out Customers Over Benue Workers Strike Banks and other financial institutions in Benue State yesterday joined the ongoing strike embarked upon by workers of the agrarian state and shut out customers in the process.

The bankers closed their offices to show solidarity with the aggrieved workers who have downed tools and are protesting the downward review of their salaries by the state government.

Breastfeeding Reduces Infant Mortality By 13 % – UNICEF

By Winifred Ogbebo and Victor Okeke, Abuja

Breastfeeding alone can result in up to 13 per cent reduction in infant death as infants that are not well breastfed are 15 and 11 times more likely to die from pneumonia and diarrhoea, respectively.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief nutritionist, Dr Stanley Chitekwe, said this at the flag-off of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week with the theme: ‘Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal For Life.

Dr Chitekwe said, ‘None breastfed infants have been shown to develop chronic diseases in adulthood such as diabetes and cancer.’ He said that no other preventive intervention is more cost effective in reducing the number of children who die before age five.

Meanwhile, health minister, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu has frowned at the non-enforcement of the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes by the Nigerian authorities. He said “There is no reason why Nigeria should not

be WHO code-complaint.”

Professor Chukwu made the remark while responding to NAFDAC’s claim that “it is disheartening to note that Nigeria is not recorded internationally as code-compliant because there is no available data on code monitoring.”

The minister said, “Breastfeeding helps in children’s mental development and the first one thousand days starting from conception is the brain infrastructure development period.

“It is proven that mothers who

ODSG Earmarks 3 Centres For Ebola Treatment

By Solomon Ayado, Makurdi

Nigerians Should Be Peace BuildersFormer CAS Nigerians have been urged by the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ishaya Risi Bamaiyi to forget about their tribal or religious differences and become partners in peacebuilding and strive to contribute to the development of their respective communities.

The retired army chief made this remarks in Zuru, Kebbi State during the 6th Anniversary of Sabatu Memorial School, a private school in Zuru.

Bamaiyi described peace and security as paramount in all facets of human life, pointing out that what the Nigerian society now needs is sustainable peace in the country. ‘’Success is not measured by the size of one’s wealth, but the legacies left behind for the future generation to judge, ‘’ he said.

By Yahya Sarki, Kebbi

breastfeed have reduced rate of postpartum bleeding, breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer,” he added.

Earlier in his address, the director-general of NAFDAC, Dr PAUL Orhii said that “Nigeria is signatory to the Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes by the World Health Assembly.”

The code, he said, regulates and stops the aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes by manufacturers so as to support and promote breastfeeding by mothers.

L-R: New Inspector General of Police Sulaiman Abba and formal Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar during the handing and taking over ceremony between the outgoing IGP and the newly appointed IGP in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY OKEKE JANE

FG Terrorising Osun Ahead Of Guber Poll–APC

By George Okojie, Lagos

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised the alarm that the PDP-led federal government has started terrorising and intimidating the peaceful people of Osun State, with a view to cowing them ahead of the August 9 governorship election in the state.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party wondered why the FG will send agents of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the state to harass innocent citizens in an unprovoked and primitive show of power that can only be described as sheer gangsterism. ‘’As widely reported, DSS agents, armed to the teeth and riding in over 50 trucks,

drove around Osogbo and other parts of Osun State on Wednesday blaring sirens and shooting sporadically in the air, thus disrupting the normally peaceful life in the state. ‘’Residents who were visibly traumatised by the shameful display of state power ran helter-skelter and wondered why their government has sent masked men, or ninjas, to terrorise them. They now understand that the masked thugs who have been following the PDP candidate around on his campaign trail were actually government sanctioned.

“This is a power show taken too far, even with the well-known impunity tendencies of the Jonathan administration,’’ the statement said.

APC said information at its disposal shows that 5,000 more DSS officers are be-

ing dispatched to the state before the election, on the basis of an orchestrated petition alleging that certain APC leaders are planning to foment trouble during the election. ‘’The real purpose of this fake petition and the consequent deployment of thousands of secret police to Osun is to harass, intimidate and arrest the leaders of the APC in the state, in a repeat of what transpired in Ekiti. ‘’Flooding Osun with irresponsible DSS officials to terrorise the residents is another low for a government that is notorious for abuse of power and federal institutions. It is no longer news that the military, the police and other security agencies are working for the Jonathan administration, rather than for all of Nigeria.

Determined to checkmate any outbreak of Ebola virus in Ondo State, the state government has selected three centers for the treatment of the deadly disease.

Known as Isolated Wards, the state commissioner for Health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju disclosed this yesterday at a sensitisation meeting with public and private health practitioners on the prevention of the virus.

The centers located in each of the three senatorial districts of the state are: Federal Medical Centre, Owo, State Specialist Hospital, Akure and General Hospital, Okitipupa Adeyanju affirmed that enough equipment has been provided in the hospitals to curtail any occurrences.

According to him, the state has been putting in place preventive measures to ensure that the deadly disease is kept away from the state.

He said the state government has commenced sensitisation of health workers on the need to be alert and be more informed on the symptoms of the virus.

His words: “We want to ensure the virus does not have a place in the state. The campaign will be taken to the grassroots to educate the people on the symptoms of the virus as well as how to prevent it.”

He charged health workers to adequately protect themselves through universal protection whenever patients are to be attended to and be up and doing as the government will continue to provide all necessary logistics for them.

By Tope Fayehun, Akure

Amaechi Addresses Eleme-Ogu-Okrika Boundary Conflicts

By ANAYO ONUKWUGHA, Port Harcourt

Rivers State governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has pledged to consult widely in resolving the ElemeOgu-Okrika boundary conflicts and address the omission of the area in the state gazette.

The governor said the state government will verify the outcome of the Boundary Adjustment Commit-

tee headed by deputy governor, Engr.

Tele Ikuru and ensure that all parties to the dispute are given a level playing ground to put an end to violent and provocative attacks on the people of Ekporo in Eleme local government area of the state.

Amaechi, who spoke yesterday, when the people of Eleme ethnic nationality paid him a solidarity visit at the government house, Port Harcourt, said: “I will call the deputy gov-

ernor and find out about the issues of the boundary adjustment in these areas. I told the deputy governor to ensure all parties to the dispute feel comfortable during the negotiations.

I will find out what the committee has done and then return back to you.”

He advised the people of Eleme to drop their worries relating to the area’s omission in the gazette of the state and minimise ethnic divisions but focus instead on promoting the

nationalism of Eleme people to actualise their common goals.

The governor said: “You are already treated as a distinct community, whether you are Ogonis or not.

In terms of infrastructural facilities and amenities, you are recognised by government. Now that I am aware of the omission of the Eleme ethnic nationality from the state’s gazette, I will look into it and find out who did that.

8

Saturday, August 2, 2014

9

Saturday, August 2, 2014

HURRAY! OUR VPEE IS

60 HAPPY BIRtHdAY! On behalf of my family and the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I heartily FELICITATE with you on this auspicious occasion of your birthday.

Your steadfastness, humility and unwavering commitment to the ideals of nationhood gives me a sense of pride.

May God in His infinite mercies continue to grant you good health, wisdom and courage for fruitful services to our fatherland in the years ahead.

Ride on Mr. Vice President!

Congratulations!

Arc. NAmAdi SAmbo, GcoN Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Signed:

Senator (dr) david A. b. mark GcoN, fnim, fnipr President of the Senate & Chairman, National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

peoples’ democratic party KADUNA STATE SECRETARIAT Motto: Power to the People

OFFICE: No. 1NDA Junction, Kaduna State. Tel: 062-313462, 08036839440, 08033494730

60 hearty cheers

On behalf of the teaming members of our great party,

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

in Kaduna State, we wish to join millions of Nigerians and well wishers all over the world to wish you a happy birthday as you celebrate your

60th birthday today.

As you continue to support President Goodluck Jonathan in providing good governance to the good people of Nigeria, we, from your home state, wish to say that we are very proud of you, and we wish you good health and longer life.

The entire PDP family in Kaduna State wish you well in all your endeavours.

Once again, we say

happy birthday.

Arc. Namadi

Sambo Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

GCON

Chief (Dr) Abubakar Gaiya Haruna JP Kaduna State PDP Chairman

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

Birthday!

GREETiNGs

The board, management and staff of Tertiary Education Trust Fund heartily rejoice with His Excellency, Arc. mohammed Namadi Sambo, GcoN, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the occasion of his 60th birthday.

We are all grateful to Almighty Allah who has preserved your life till now.

We pray Almighty Allah to continue to grant you good health and long life as you contribute positively to the growth and development of our great Nation, Nigeria.

Congratulations!

Signed: Signed

dr muSA bAbAyo Talban Katagum Chairman, TETFUND

Arc. NAmAdi SAmbo, GcoN Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

12

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Birthday Felicitation

My family and I express our warmest regards to a respected gentleman, VicePresident Muhammad Namadi Sambo, as he clocks 60 years today.

As we look forward to future years, may the Almighty God continue to grant him wisdom and good health.

May He also bless his endeavours at all times.

Happy Birthday Your Excellency!

Signed:

Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal CFR Speaker, House of Representatives

Arc. Namadi SAMBO GCON Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Saturday, August 2, 2014

13

14

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Happy 60

th

Birthday Once again, the moment has come for us to join you in thanking the Almighty God for adding yet another year to your years.

We celebrate with you the abounding grace, mercy and compassion of God that have trailed the exceptional story of your life these 60 years.

We are indeed grateful for having you as our leader, friend and associate and pray Almighty God to protect and guide you.

Our beloved vice president, we love you and remain loyal to the lofty goals and ideals you have shown us.

Happy Birthday Sir! Signed: KADUNA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CAUCUS 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Hon. Isa Mohammed Ashiru Hon. godfrey Ali gaiya Hon. Mohammed Shamsidin Ango Abdullahi Hon. Chanchangi Rufai Ahmed Hon. Simon Yakubu Arabo Hon. Yusuf Bala Hon. Yakubu Umaru Barde Hon. Ibrahim Bello Hon. Shehu Nicholas garba Hon. gwani Lucas gideon Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba Hon. Ibrahim Nuhu Kayarda Lawal Hon. garba Datti Muhammad Hon. Ibrahim Khalid Mustapha Hon. Abbas Tajudeen Hon. Bawa Shehu Usman

His Excellency

ARC. NAMADI SAMBO gCON Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Saturday, August 2, 2014

15

16

Saturday, August 2, 2014

,

and Chairman NDPHC Board The Board, Management and staff of Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited heartily congratulate your Excellency as you mark your

60th

Birthday today.

We are proud of you as you continue to shoulder the enormous task of nation building and in particular, the purposeful leadership you have given us at NDPHC. We pray to Almighty Allah to give you more strength, grant you great success and more years in good health.

Amen.

!

close up 17

Saturday, August 2, 2014

I Dumped Banking For Acting – Stephanie Wilson

A year ago, she was just another obscure actress, but after playing the lead role in Living Funeral, Stephanie Wilson was propelled to stardom. Playing a breast cancer victim in the movie produced by Pink Pearl Foundation earned her a nomination at the AMVCA 2014 for Best Actress In A Leading Role. Simple and down-to-earth, the Port Harcourt-born starlet spoke to SAMUEL ABOLUDE on her experience on set and her aspirations. an opportunity for me and also for the producer because no one knew Living Funeral would be this big.

Is Living Funeral your first movie appearance?

Not really. I was in another short film before Living Funeral; however it is yet to be released. The name of the movie is Man And Woman. It’s just an in-house thing, with a couple of actor friends and movie producers. I learnt they are still in production. Living Funeral is my first big break. Being my first professional movie, it really brought me out.

The director, Udoka Oyeka has been praised for fine-tuning every little detail in the movie, what’s your take?

Yes, the director is a talented person; he pays good attention to details. These are some things other movie makers overlook as we see in some of our movies.

The sound quality can be terrible and other technicalities and these are the little things that matter in the world of film making.

Prior to Living Funeral, what were you doing?

I was a banker. When shooting for Living Funeral started, I had to quit banking. Interpreting my role in the movie was tasking.

Yes, Living Funeral was a big big break for me! Apart from acting in churches and non-professional dramas here and there, Living Funeral is my first professional work. I’m also into fashion designing.

Living Funeral garnered 8 nominations at the AMVCA and one in the AMAA awards, but won no awards, your thoughts.

You played the lead role in the movie, how did you get the part?

I was told about the movie by a friend. I did not even audition for the role. The roles for the dad and mum were already taken and they needed someone to play the daughter’s role, which is the lead role. After I was told about it, the director said okay, try it out. I gave it a try and my director, Mr Oyeka liked my delivery. So I joined the cast.

So how challenging was it for you?

There were times I had to shave my hair and it was not funny

(Smiles) It was my first time in front of the camera; it was fun and it was hard-unlike what I did in church. I had to adjust to a lot of things. In church you just do your thing, whether you do it well or not, nobody really cares. But in this case, I was before the cameras and before people I don’t even know. The director, the D.O.P and others on set; I was jittery.

The role I was asked to play was very challenging in that I had to lose weight during shooting and put on the appearance of someone battling with cancer. I did not eat for a day or two so that I could shrink to a size that fits my character, because of the people we were trying to reach out to. I

Stephanie Wilson

thank God that the message was properly passed on for people to see what the Pink Pearl Foundation is doing.

Being my first big movie, it wasn’t easy for me at all, but the director and also seeing veteran actress, Liz Benson and her words of comforted made it easier for me. In all it’s an experience I won’t forget. My role was a lead character and on set, we had the likes of Aunty Liz Benson-Ameye, Nobert Young and other actors.

You were on set with Liz Benson, how was that like?

Hmm... It was wonderful. Aunt Liz bonded with me easily on set and her acting taught me a lot. When I heard that Liz Benson was going to play my mum, I said, “this woman has not been in the industry for a while, I wonder how we would connect.” It was so nice working with her.

She’s a very fantastic person.

She’s a mother, a teacher. I learnt so much from her. She was my mother in the movie and had to care for a cancer patient, her emotions, strong heart and my

battle with her really lit up the set and we had a nice time. I hope I get another opportunity to act alongside such a talented actress.

What other memories do you have of your period on set?

Well, I have so many memories of my performance there. There were times I had to shave my hair and it was not funny. Then there were scenes I was asked to retake and I didn’t want to because I was drained emotionally. There was one I had to do coming out from the bathroom early in the morning and it was very cold on location. I wasn’t ready for that. I had to retake the scene at such a cold temperature at 5am. Also, I played two characters, myself and my twin, Yvonne. The director, Udoka Oyeka did a lot; he was patient and encouraging. He put me through a lot of things. Things he wanted me to do, he taught me how to do it in a very short time. I was able to switch in between characters. We had our code-that is, what I was supposed to do as I switch from me to my twin character. It was

Yes, but that is left to the jury of the award organisations. That we were nominated more than once is even a testimony that Living Funeral- a short film was a huge success. We didn’t even envisage this. The movie has been screened in so many festivals and you know that the story is about cancer and its level of awareness in different societies.

We’ve screened it in Durban Film Festival; we’ve screened it in Los Angeles International film festival and also in Kent Film Festival. There is another one coming up in Bahamas in December.

What has the movie done for you as a person and your career?

I’m still who I am. I’m not cut out for “celebrity status”. I’ve learnt more about movie-making. I’ve met people at the premier of the movie that I would never have seen this way, and also at the preaward dinner, I met movie makers and chatted with them. All this wouldn’t have been possible if the movie did not get the attention it deserved. That is God and hardwork.

I’m not ready for Nollywood yet. I’m focussing on my fashion designing. Definitely, I will be working on a project next year.

For me, I just wanted to portray the victim. I didn’t even think it would be nominated for awards.

As regards the money I got for the role (smiles), the money is okay, though I didn’t look at that.

18 BLITZ

Saturday, August 2, 2014

C I Squad Wins 3rd K-Pop Dance Competition ByAnthony Ada Abraham , Abuja

It was a day of joy and appreciation as the Korean Cultural Centre, Abuja marks its 2014 dance competition at the Women Centre, Abuja.

Young dancers from all walks of life came in droves, either to cheer or support their favourite groups.

After scintillating performances by different participating groups, C.I. Squad, Asaba couldn't hold their joy as they were pronounced winners of the 2014 K-pop dance competition.

The ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Jong-Hyun Choi, said the essence of organising the K-Pop competition was generally for people to to have fun, both in Korea and Nigeria.

"I wanted to provide the Nigerian young stars who love fun the opportunity of singing or dancing. Also, by doing so they will have the opportunity

The winners and the korean amassador with the winning price

to get to know about Korean songs, culture and by extension, Korea.

"We also get to make a very strong bond between the two countries in furtherance of the relationship between our countries.

"This is the third edition of the K-pop competition in Nigeria that Korean embassy has hosted. As the years pass by, the competition is getting more competitive. And the quality of dance presented is getting better and better. I also wish to see the winners and runners up continue sharpening their

skills," he further stated.

Many dance groups from different parts of the country participated in this year's competition which was keenly contested.

A total of 100 contestants (six secondary schools and nine adult teams) had gone through a competitive preliminary round to get qualified for the stage.

According to the director, KCC Centre, Abuja, Kwon Yong-Ik, this year's edition was improved upon to boost participation in the competition.

“KCC has changed the existing application process to an online submission this year in order to encourage a larger number of K-Pop fans to participate even from the region at a long distance. As a result of it, Abuja-based KCCN has seven regional teams this year from Lagos, Jos, Benin, Kaduna, Delta, showing a greater fever than the previous years," he explained.

MDA 8: Lagos Contestants Rock ROHD

By SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH, Abuja

The atmosphere at the National Art Theatre Lagos, venue of the Maltina Dance All Season 8 (MDA8) audition, was charged as thousands of contestants rocked the dance stage with the new dance style Rhythm of Happiness Dance (ROHD), as the quest for places in the Maltina Academy heats up.

The ROHD dance is a new easy to learn hip-hop dance style that reflects contemporary pop culture.

The new dance style is a prelude to the popular family dance show, MDA season eight, tagged “The Rhythm of Happiness”. The contestants displayed the attitude of champions as they learnt the new dance style with excitement.

It is also predicted that the dance style will thrill the hip- hop world in the next two years.

It would be recalled that Kufre Ekanem, corporate affairs adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc at the

The final contestants that qualify for the next stage

press briefing to kick-off the show, described the dance performance as just “a tip of the iceberg of this season of Maltina Dance All.” True to those words, Lagos contestants gave their best by showcasing their versions of the ROHD. At the end of the gruelling and highly entertaining competition, eleven dancers were selected

by the judges to proceed to the next stage. The eleven dancers are: Nwaeze Favour (20); Aina Damilola (24); Tolu Okelowo (22); Ndulue Uche (22); Eniola Awokoye (19); Nwankwo Josephine (22); Akin Afolajuwon (21); OreOluwa Oladapo (18); Samuel Owusu (18); Abunwa James (24) and Awokoya Gbenga (18). The next step is for the eleven contestants to participate with their families at their homes and if they are selected and pass the medical tests, they will finally qualify to enter the popular MDA Academy.

On what is up for grabs for this year’s edition, the corporate affairs adviser said the winning family will go home with the grand prize of a whooping sum of N10 million. The first and second runners up will also get N3 million and N1 million respectively. This is a considerable increase from the N6 million, N1 million and N500, 000 won last year by contestants.

Living Together Hits TV Stations

By Anthony Ada Abraham, Abuja

Living Together, an urban sitcom comprising of five characters namely: Mimi, Temi, Yoyo, Chuks, and Name Potassium is set to airing on TV stations nationwide.

All three ladies in the sitcom (Mimi, Temi and Yoyo) are individuals who came into each other’s world as adults and took a decision to rent an apartment together.

With family members residing in other parts of the country, the ladies currently live in the big city and each is armed with a desire to

move to a greater level in life and fall in love in no distant future.

Mimi and Temi are university graduates with certificates to show for their feats, while Yoyo unfortunately had a slightly unstable upbringing as a result of losing her

dad at a very tender age; this left her a secondary school dropout.

Yoyo is however a very competent fashion designer.

Chuks is Temi’s cousin and a graduate from an institution in the eastern part of Nigeria. He is the one with a questionable certificate (this he denies all the time).

Name Potassium is a young man who lives in the neighbourhood and comes visiting anytime and almost every time. He has a crush on Temi and believes he will someday end up marrying her.

Excitement As HOAYS Goes To Cinemas This Weekend

By SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH , Abuja

Movie lovers can’t contain their excitement as the highly anticipated movie Half of a Yellow Sun HOAYS goes to the cinemas this weekend. This much is evident in several posts on social media platforms.

The movie, which has been released in cinemas in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand and has performed tremendously well, generating N280 million, is expected to do more in the Nigerian market, as the producer, director and writer are all Nigerians.

Half of a Yellow Sun which was slated for cinema release earlier this year, could not be shown as the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board did not rate the movie due to concerns that the movie could incite the public to religious violence in a move which was considered political. However the board finally rated the movie 18 and has thus approved its new cinema release date.

Speaking on the new release date, an official of Bigsam Media said “Half of a Yellow Sun going to the cinemas this weekend is a big deal for us. The movie has done well abroad, but we are expecting a massive turn out in the Nigerian market. This movie

HOAYS

is Project Nigeria because the writer, producer and director are all Nigerians and it is the biggest project from Nollywood. We want movie lovers to come out en masse to see it.”

According to Genevieve Nnaij, Half of a Yellow Sun is one of the biggest films I have done so far.

It is also one of the best Nigerian films of all times.”

Speaking on their expectations for the movie at the cinemas, Kene Mkparu of FilmOne Distribution said: “it is the beginning of a new level of film production in Nigeria. The movie is achieving and would achieve greater success. Half of a Yellow Sun tells that Nigerian films can match any international movie and we are expecting that it would make $1million in Nigerian cinemas. It is an honour to have this kind of project to work with, it is a great business and we are grateful to be a part of it.”

Gospel Singer, Mairo Releases You Are The Reason

By SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH, Abuja

The number of new entrants into the gospel music genre is on the rise and as they bring to the fore their love for God and more contemporary good music, the once seemingly unappreciated part of the Nigerian music industry is receiving a surge in the percentage of attention given to it.

One of the few driving that surge is Mairo. He has served as a gospel minister for different gospel ministries and perfected the art of worshipping. According to Mairo, he is set to take his music ministry to a larger audience in an eclectic

Mairo

blend of R n B and soul music.

Mairo, who has been in the gospel music industry for about seven years, has just released a new single titled, ‘You are the reason’.

Yaw Stages PO! On Sunday

By SAMUEL ABULUDE and OLAYEMI SHOWUMI, Lagos

The stage is set for a new drama series that will captivate lovers of the arts.

The audience will have their ribs cracked as Naija Entertainment led by multi- talented OAP actor and producer, Steve Onu, popularly known as Yaw, holds a new stage play performance called PO! Holding every Sunday evening, the two-man satirical stage play starring popular Wazobia FM OAPs Nedu and Ogbolor, is scheduled to hold at Terra Kulture every week in the month of August 2014.

PO1, which is written by Femi Branch and directed by award winning scriptwriter/director, Obi Martins, presents the good, the bad and the ugly taking place in Nigeria in a humorous fashion.

Yawnaija entertainment has been known to bring exceptional talents on stage to deliver unusual stage plays, dance and musical performances.

An excited Nedu assured fans to anticipate rib-cracking humour. “I am excited to be part of this stage play and can assure you it will be very hilarious. This is going to be so captivating; you wouldn’t want to miss it,” enthused Ogbolor.

scoop 19

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Solomon Nda–Isaiah Entertainment Ricochet

08116759802

M

nda_is@yahoo.co.uk

y esteemed reader's would be wondering why I sometimes deviate from writing on entertainment issues and write about other issues.

To this I say: first and foremost I was not born into entertainment, I was born into Nigeria by Nigerians.

So when the situation of the country is critical I feel we should all be concerned and talk about it all the time until everything is under control. It is said that the pen is greater than the sword so I’m using my pen as a journalist to contribute my own quota in bringing change and lasting peace to our dear country Nigeria.

Nothing good happens in a volatile place, community, state or country. I was born and bred in Kaduna State. I used to go around Kaduna city a lot-here, there, everywhere, but can you imagine this: I was in Kaduna for four days during the Sallah celebrations and most people where indoors because of threats made by insurgents to attack some areas during the Sallah celebration. On Monday traders in Kaduna central market where asked to lock up there shops and leave because of a bomb scare all around the city. That day people fled to their homes and those at home stayed put due to a rumour that a bomb was diffused by the state bomb squad along Kano Road.

It created tension all over the state.

It is so sad that we cannot move about freely in our own country.

People that are supposed to protect our lives and properties have their homes, offices and other places belonging to them barricaded and with tight security, leaving us to ourselves. However, we have the biggest protector-God. They can protect themselves but they cannot do it forever; they can run but they cannot hide and like Robert Nesta Marley popularly known as Bob Marley said in one of his songs, "you can run but you cannot hide."

God dey!

I wonder if it had been our president's wife, vice president’s wife or the senate president’s wife or their children who were abducted like the Chibok girls, would it have taken this long for them to be brought back? It was on news recently that the Cameroonian vice PM's wife was abducted by the same insurgents that adducted the Chibok girls, but it took them just two or three days to secure her release. The Chibok girls have been abducted for 110 days today and nothing has been done to secure their release. All we have been hearing is that they know where they are and they will soon bring them back.

We are tired of hearing this! We need action! The Cameroonian vice PM's wife was brought back alive; why haven't our own government and armed forces brought back our girls? We always claim to be the ‘Giant of Africa”, rubbish!!

We don't want to hear any more cock and bull stories; all we want is for them to bring back our girls now- hale and healthy! There are even speculations going round that maybe the teenage suicide bombers we hear about these days might be among the adducted Chibok girls because ever since the trend of suicide bombings entered Nigeria we have never heard of female suicide bombers-much less teenage suicide bombers. If members of the ruling elite, their cronies or their relatives are among the victims that have been killed or maimed by terrorists, would insurgency have been wiped out by now? Just because it is ordinary Nigerians that are being killed, they grandstand, shrug and go on looting. Recently, the American president, Barrack Obama said point blank that Nigeria has failed in the fight against terrorism and most countries are saying Nigeria has topped the list of the countries afflicted by terrorism. This is a big shame and a big blow to Nigeria!

Are they waiting for Nigerians to be pushed to the wall and go by the way of Libya and Egypt?

When people move around anywhere in the country, they are terrified- even in the Federal Capital Territory where we have the seat of power. The defence, the police and other intelligence agencies are all headquartered in Abuja. It is so sad!

The funds in the coffers of our dear country meant to safeguard lives and properties and to also create jobs, are instead being used to bribe lawmakers to impeach opposition governors; for encouraging defection and for political campaigns. Meanwhile, Nigerians are dying, not only due to insecurity, people are also dying of hunger, poverty, joblessness, etc. A whole lot has to be done in order to salvage Nigeria and bring everything back in place.

We, the stakeholders in the Abuja entertainment industry, are trying to organise a conference to find a way out and to proffer solutions to the dying entertainment activities in Abuja due to insecurity.

It seems the government of the day and their cohorts are just fooling us; it's like they don't have any idea how to tackle insecurity in Nigeria or is it zeal that they lack?

Stop trying to fool us! We need action; do something now! Have a lovely weekend peeps. Cheerio!

Vlogger Yemisi Aiyedun Wins N15m Wedding

By SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH , Abuja

The biggest wedding contest Nigeria has ever seen, 'My Big Nigerian Wedding' Season 1 finally saw the lucky couple Yemisi Aiyedun and Yomi Odusanya walk down the aisle with glam and fanfare. The bride was made-up by no other than makeup queen, Banke Meshida-Lawal of BM Pro; the cake was done by Tosan of Cakes

by Tosan; the bride and groom's attires were done by wedding attire king, Mai Atafo; pictures were taken by Kelechi Amadi Obi; decor by Nwando’s Signature and a host of the best of the best in the wedding industry handled different parts of the wedding. Who wouldn't want this kind of wedding for free? Guests at the wedding were amazed by the level at which the wedding was done. The organisers, WED Expo, which is the largest wedding exhibition in Nigeria, truly showed that they

Aiyedun

are the biggest in the game. The wedding, which will be produced

by Riverside Produxtion into a reality TV series, is expected to hit TV screens soon.

Yemisi Aiyedun, popularly known as Sisi Yemmie, is a photographer and a Vlogger (Video

blogger). She produces videos by herself for her YouTube channel (Sisi Yemmie TV). She has a Masters in International Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham and a diploma in Internal Communications, PR Academy London.

The whole country is gearing up for season 2 as 'My Big Nigerian Wedding' decides to take it a notch higher by introducing the Abuja version for season 2. The CEO of WED Expo, the organisers of 'My Big Nigerian Wedding', Akin Eso says in the second season, there will be both a Lagos wedding and an Abuja wedding.

Akin Eso also mentioned that the goal was to make the dream of a lucky couple come true each year.

The contest is certainly going to be one of the most talked about contests in Nigeria. Sponsors are already in talks to benefit from the span of this nationwide contest.

Project Fame: Clement, David, 2 Others Up For Eviction

By SAMUEL ABULUDE, Lagos

The audience rang with screams and howls of admiration on Sunday, as the 16 contestants in the MTN Project Fame Season Seven academy begun their journey into what has been defined as true stardom. Geoffrey and Flourish, singing Knocking on Heaven’s Door and Hello by Bob Dylan and Beyonce, respectively, earned their applause. In contrast, Clement, David, Emeka and Shola failed to live up to the judges’ expectations; the four became the first set of contestants up for eviction.

Their fates now lie in the hands of West Africa’s followers of the popular reality TV show, who will be voting to keep, at most, two of

Clement

the contestants in the competition this week.

The contestants either didn’t use the stage well, as was the case with Clement; or didn’t commit more energy into their performances, which Shola and David were guilty of. Emeka fell in between as his rendition of To Love a Woman by Bryan Adams was adjudged poor.

Asides Flourish, Geoffrey and the four contestants on probation, the other ten barely scraped through with performances that were, at best, average.

The fates of Project Fame’s contestants have always rested on the judges’ verdicts and votes from viewers. Prior to Sunday, the first performance show on Saturday clearly showed the contestants were just settling into life in the academy. At the first performance show of the 7th edition of the West Africa’s biggest reality show, the judges comprising Bibie Brew, Ade Bantu and ably represented by ace music producer, TY-Mix, spared no words in condemning all 16 contestants for putting up average performances in their first appearance.

Adenuga Gets Entertainment Pillar Of The Decade Award

By SAMUEL ABULUDE, Lagos

Globacom chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. (GCON), has been recognised for giving support to the entertainment industry. He was given the ‘Entertainment Pillar of the Decade’ award in recognition of his immense contribution to the entertainment industry in Nigeria in the last 10 years.

The award was given by Nigeria’s foremost entertainmentfocused publications, Entertainment Express and Sunday Express. It was the highest of a number of awards conferred on individuals and corporate bodies by the publications as part of activities marking their third anni-

Adenuga

versary.

Globacom, Nigeria’s nation-

al telecom carrier, was also recognised as the ‘Brand Supporter of Entertainment in Nigeria’ at the grand ceremony graced by the crème de la crème of Nigeria’s entertainment industry.

According to the publisher of the publications, Mike Awoyinfa, the Express Star award is the organisation’s way of rewarding individuals and organisations that have contributed in one way or the other, to the growth and development of the entertainment sector in Nigeria. The entertainment industry has featured prominently in Globacom’s Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives, principally on account of the company’s chairman’s passion for the industry.

20 OPINION

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Pastor T. O. Banso Faith 08155744752

cedarministryintl@yahoo.com, cedarministryng@gmail.com

Eternity: What Will Matter In The End (1)

M . Their rabid pursuit of the things of this world speaks volume on how the vanity of this world has blindfolded them

any will wish that they remain alive and not die. This is evident by the way they go about their lives. They live as if death will not come to them one day. They live as if they are going to wear the mortal body forever. Their rabid pursuit of the things of this world speaks volume on how the vanity of this world has blindfolded them.

Many are amassing wealth, titles, honours etc. as if they’ll live forever to enjoy them. The sad reality, however, is that mortal man will die one day and leave behind everything that he has succeeded in accomplishing – all that he’s succeeded in amassing. Then he’ll be faced with eternity. Heb 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (NKJV) Since eternity is awaiting man, one would have expected that he’ll live his present life in the light of eternity but that’s not the case with a lot of people. Eccl 3:11 says God has planted eternity in the human heart but while most men will admit that they’ll not remain in this flesh forever, only few prepare for

eternity. Shouldn’t one prepare for a place where one is going to live forever? Should one use one’s seventy, eighty or even one hundred and fifty years on earth – a limited period – to create an eternity of endless sorrow for oneself?

Two types of eternity await humanity – eternity with God and eternity with the devil. The latter is in hell fire while the former is in the Kingdom of God. Those who live their lives on earth apart from God will have hell fire as their eternal reward while those who live their lives in obedience to the Word and will of God will live with Him forever. Rev 20:15 says, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (NKJV) Ps 9:17 also says, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (NKJV) If one lives on earth forgetting about God and His Word, it’s only logical that one lives apart from Him in eternity.

God is a righteous judge; He’ll give to each person according to his work. This is a constant principle of God clearly stated in the Scriptures over and over again. Rev 22:12-15 captures this succinctly:

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” (NKJV) In eternity, all that’s beclouding the reasoning of many people now will not matter. It will not matter how many degrees you bagged.

It will not matter how many children you had. It will not matter how many chieftaincy titles and honours you were given. It will not matter how many mansions you built. It won’t matter how many contracts you won or the millions you had in your local and foreign bank accounts. It won’t even matter how many elections you won and what positions you occupied. All this will not matter to heaven.

In fact, it will not even matter that a minister of the Gospel per-

formed outstanding miracles and even made it into the list of the top ten ministers in his country or in the world. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matt 7:21-23 NKJV) It won’t matter that a person’s name is listed in the “Who is who in the world” These things won’t matter.

I’ll stop here today and continue this message next week.

Are you living with eternity in focus?

Take Action!

If you want to be born again, kindly say this prayer now: “0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I’m a sinner and I cannot save myself. I repent of my sins and forsake them. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

D det

Friday Ebinyi Impactful View impactfulview@gmail.com

Tel: 08150741383 (text only)

The Reality Of Heaven And Hell One of the mostly debated issues of our time is the existence of heaven and hell. And severally many had confused the meaning of heaven and hell. For example some refers to heaven as part of the galaxy or as part of the sky, firmament, and clouds or outer space. Many others seem to take hell to mean passing through a very difficult situation or having a very painful experience. There are others who prefer to remain in oblivion claiming that heaven or hell do not exists just because they could not use their natural senses coupled with the theories of pure and applied science to prove its existence.

The word of God spoke so much about heaven and that heaven is the abode of God. First and foremost the scripture maintained that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, thus depicting the reality of heaven. We are on earth today and therefore find it easier to believe that earth is real. But the holy writ maintains

that just as God created the earth which we see today, He also created the heavens which we do not see with our physical eye nor perceived by our senses at the same time. However the fact that we cannot perceive or see or experience the heavens with our very limited human senses and knowledge cannot in any way negate the fact of Genesis 1:1 otherwise it would be wrong to accept, believe and agree that earth exists just because we are living therein and not to believe that heaven was equally created by the same God. The big bang theory had been invalidated! It will be wrong to say because we cannot see heaven physically it does not exists Almost all religions of the world today believe that heaven is Gods dwelling place. Heaven is where God is situated with all the host, families of heavens “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Genesis 2:1). The question now is “what characterizes heaven? Is it just an-

other planet yet to be discovered by astronauts or NASSA?” Heaven is a holy place and no sinner will enter there (Revelation 21:27). This is awesome and frightening! It means even the religious fellows who believe in its existence may not get there because of their lifestyles of ease, dirt, and carelessness. In fact Jesus emphasized that except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

The Holy Scriptures emphasizes the reality of hell for example Psalm 9:17 noted that “the wicked (sinners) shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God”. Hell is a place of everlasting punishment, where sinners (Fornicators, adulteress, cheats, murderers, satan-worshippers, money-worshippers, liars, fraudulent men/women and all those who do not have their names written in the book of life ) will surfer torments for ever and ever. It was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41) But God has de-

creed that the wicked and those who forget him and rejected His own way of Salvation i.e. repentance a d turning away from evil will also be cast into hell because of their sins and neglect of salvation. There are two types of errors: the first is to decide that something is True when it is actually False, while the second is to assume that something is false when it is actually True. The consequence of the later is more grievous than the former. The same goes for the concept of heaven and hell.

If you choose to believe they do not exist, and you live your life in recklessness, by the time you realize that the truly exist it may be too late and you will have to bear the consequences. But if you believe that they exists and you play the game by the rule, even if they do not exist, you have nothing to lose but if they do you will be happy throughout all eternity for taking the right step. Be wise! Make hay while the sun rise!!

The big bang theory had been invalidated!

SPORTS

8

ELATING

PAGES

02.08.2014

PLAYER SIGNATURE TUSSLE

Nadal’s US Open Defence

Where Is Liverpool's Match Winner?

NIGERIAN FOOTBALL, P23

TENNIS P50

COMMENT P52

Akwa United puts Ekpai far from Kano Pillars's grab

A wrist injury suffered by Nadal puts him in doubt of his US Open crown defence

With Liverpool spending big ahead new season, who will be the team's match winner?

Amalaha stripped of gold medal after failing drugs test in Glasgow

PAGE 51

'Suarez Too Good For The Gunners' Steven Gerrard told Luis Suarez he was "too good for Arsenal" when the North Londoners bid for him last summer.

Arsenal believed they had met a release clause in Suarez's Anfield contract when they bid £40,000,001 last summer but Liverpool rejected the offer and Suarez's goals instead took Liverpool close to the Barclays Premier League title.

Gerrard understood that Suarez still had ambitions to leave, but proved right in his prediction that

he could earn himself a move to Spanish giants Barcelona with an outstanding final season at Anfield - with Barca having paid £75million for his services this summer despite the four-month ban he received for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup. "Last summer, when Luis was out in the cold, I told him, 'Don't go to Arsenal'," Gerrard told several national newspapers. "With all due respect to them, I told him he was too good for Arsenal.”

22 SPORTS/POURRI

Saturday, August 2, 2014

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

It’s a lion’s head. That’s good. His hair could be in line with the Neapolitan style Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has questionable reasons for wanting to sign Manchester United flop Marouane Fellaini

I would have been really sad and disappointed to see Luis go to Arsenal. With all due respect to them, I said to him that he was too good for Arsenal Steven Gerrard has a dig at Liverpool's title rivals

If it’s a question about quality of life, I would say that Sevilla is better than being at Liverpool, that’s for sure Iago Aspas is clearly not bitter about being a bench warmer at Anfield last season

SPORTS

GROUP SPORTS EDITOR Ishaku Kigbu REPORTERS Samuel Malik, Salifu Usman DESIGN & LAYOUT Paul Benjamin ACTING EDITOR Catherine Agbo

group FOUNDER Sam Nda-Isaiah CHAIRMAN Hajiya Ireti Kingibe GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR Azubuike Ishiekwene GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Michael Okpere, Dr Kazeem Durodoye

Spanish football club Cultural Leonesa caused a stir on Twitter after posing for their 2014-15 Segunda Division B team photo in their new tuxedo-inspired kit

SPORTING RECALL CONTINUES FROM LAST WEEK

The leadership of the Premier League changed hands a record 25 times in one of the most compelling title races ever seen.

Manchester City spent just 15 days at the top of the table but were in first place when it counted after a 2-0 win against West Ham secured their second championship in three seasons.

12 Jan, Stoke 3-5 L'pool. Gerrard's reinvention Having built a career around his marauding runs as an attack-minded midfielder, it is a little ironic that Rodgers's decision to curb Steven Gerrard's natural instincts was arguably one of his most vital.

Usually employed in an advanced role, Rodgers opted to name Gerrard as the deepest of a midfield three at Stoke City on 12 January.

Ten Moments That Helped Shape Last Season's Title Race

With more time and space on the ball, Gerrard revelled in the role to use his vision and range of passing to best effect.

8 Feb, L'pool 5-1 Arsenal. Gunners blitzed Just two wins from eight games made February and March months to forget for Arsenal, but one result marked the beginning of the end of their title challenge and underlined Liverpool's own credentials as genuine contenders.

Wenger's side were the leaders, Rodgers's charges eight points behind in fourth. A win would keep Arsenal top of the standings, but those hopes were swept away as Liverpool tore them apart inside the first 20, mesmerising, minutes.

19 Apr, Chelsea 1-2 S'land. Missed chances Jose Mourinho boasted a proud record of 77 unbeaten home league games in his two spells

at Chelsea but his first defeat at Stamford Bridge perhaps proved the most damaging to Chelsea's hopes of winning the title.

The Blues went into the game against relegation-threatened Sunderland with the chance to knock leaders Liverpool off their perch, but were undone by a catalogue of missed chances and errors.

27 Apr, Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea. The slip Head to a well-known search engine and the highest suggested search when typing in the name of the Liverpool captain is 'Steven Gerrard slip'.

That indicates just how crucial Gerrard's unfortunate error against Chelsea was. The Reds started the day five points clear at the top with three games left but were frustrated by a smothering Chelsea defence.

A point would have been enough to keep

Liverpool in control but they gifted their opponents a goal when Gerrard slipped after mis-controlling a Mamadou Sakho pass and Demba Ba raced through to score.

7 May, Man City 4-0 Aston Villa. Dzeko steps up After Liverpool's surprise 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace on 5 May, Manchester City went into the final week of the season needing two wins in their final two games - both at home - to be certain of the title.

For an hour, City struggled to break through a stubborn Aston Villa defence. But in Edin Dzeko they had a player who proved a dependable source of goals and the Bosnia-Hercegovina striker made the breakthrough just before the hour and swiftly added a second to calm nerves inside Etihad Stadium.

CONCLUDED

TRANSFER SNIPPETS Arsenal have been told transfer target Juan Quintero, 21, will only be allowed to leave Porto if the Colombian midfielder's £32m release clause is activated.

ready to bid £14m for Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa, 25, having already enquired about the availability of the Japan international.

Manchester United are closing in on a £20m move for Germany World Cup winner Mats Hummels, 25, with Borussia Dortmund hoping to replace the defender with Liverpool's 21-year-old Tiago Ilori in a loan deal.

QPR have turned their attentions to 29-year-old Marseille midfielder Morgan Amalfitano, who ended last season on loan at West Brom. Their bid to sign Iceland striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, 24, from Ajax has stalled over personal terms.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed the Italian club's interest in Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini, 26, although he is not the only name on his list.

Manchester City midfielder James Milner, 28, is keeping the club waiting over signing his new contract as he weighs up his future at the Premier League champions.

Liverpool are eyeing a double deal for Spanish defenders Alberto Moreno, 22, of Sevilla and Javier Manquillo, 20, of Atletico Madrid.

West Brom are keen to sign Switzerland striker Haris Seferovic, 22, from Real Sociedad.

West Ham have held contract talks with unattached former Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o, 33, and are also considering a move for Besiktas's 30-year-old forward Hugo Almeida.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is

Quintero

Middlesbrough want to take Aston Villa full-back Matt Lowton, 25, on loan, while they have agreed a deal with Real Mallorca forward Emilio Nsue, 24.

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet says striker Connor Wickham, 21, could be sold if he does not sign a new contract.

Milner

Hummels

/ SPORTS 23

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Nigerian Football Footbal League

El-Kanemi Warriors Want Continental Action

By Salifu Usman, Abuja

Zanna Muhammed, general manager of El-Kanemi Warriors insisted the club has not derail from its focusing of winning a place on the continental ticket.

The Maiduguri based club fell 2-0 to Enugu Rangers last weekend at the start of the second stanza of the Glo Premier League and are now

El-Kanemi Warriors

just one place above relegation zone. But with just eight points drift of the leaders,Kano Pillars and five points behind Giwa FC on the last spot for continental action, Zanna believes they are well placed to challenge for continental ticket.

He said he is confident that they would at least qualify to play in Africa at the end of the campaign.

"We are still very on course

for continental and I'll be very surprised if we don't qualify for CAF competition at the end of the season.

"We are in good form. The understanding is there and players are focused on a top-three finish. We have good coach and we have also recruited some new players who help push us forward in this second face of the league," he said.

Lawal Sure Of Kaduna Utd's Survival

By Salifu Usman, Abuja

57 at the close of first stanza hostilities. The club loss their first match of the second stanza of the Glo Premier League to Warri Wolves in Asaba.

But speaking to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND Sports, Lawal insisted that the task of pulling the side out of the relegation zone is surmountable with the additions of new legs to

Super Eagles utility player and Kaduna United chairman, Garba Lawal is confident his club will avoid relegation at the close of the 2013/14 Glo Premier League season.

The Kaduna-based side is presently sit at the third last position of the 20team elite league log with 21 points from a possible

the squad.

"It is going to be difficult but in football you can't predict what will happen until it is over. The task is enormous and it is achievable with the quality of players in our fold. We've recruited few experienced players to boost the squad and I believe they would add value to our survival Lawal campaign.

Akwa United Stop Ekpai's Pillars Move Akwa United have suspended striker quotes attributed to him."

Ubong Ekpai and declared that he will not be allowed to join Kano Pillars.

Ekpai was one of the standout performers for the Uyo club during the first round, but failed to return when the club resumed after the twoweek mid-season break.

Media reports later emerged claiming the player had teamed up with Kano Pillars.

Akwa United chairman Isong Isang reacted angrily. "These kinds of things can only happen in Nigerian football," Isang told KickOffNigeria. com.

"How can a player under contract just get up and move to another club without permission from his club?

How can Kano Pillars just take our player without permission from us?

"Up till now nobody from Kano Pillars has come to us or called anybody at Akwa United to discuss the player's clearance or anything at all relating to the player, so we are only aware of Ekpai him being at Pillars from newspaper NPLF Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

PTS

1

Kano Pillars

20

9

7

4

30

20

10

34

2

Abia Warriors

20

10

3

7

28

20

8

33

3

Giwa FC

20

9

4

7

20

15

5

31

4

Nasarawa United

20

9

4

7

21

17

4

31

5

Warri Wolves

20

9

4

7

21

19

2

6

Akwa United

20

9

4

7

19

18

7

Dolphins FC

20

8

6

6

22

8

Sharks

20

8

6

6

22

9

Sunshine Stars

20

7

9

4

10

Enyimba

20

8

5

11

Lobi Stars

20

9

12

Taraba FC

20

9

13

Enugu Rangers

20

8

3

9

26

23

3

27

14

Heartland FC

20

6

9

5

19

17

2

27

15

Bayelsa United

20

8

3

9

25

30

-5

27

16

El-Kanemi Warriors

20

7

5

8

23

19

4

26

17

Crown FC

20

7

3

10

16

24

-8

24

18

Kaduna United

20

6

3

11

16

24

-8

21

19

Gombe United

20

5

5

10

21

24

-3

20

Nembe City

20

3

7

10

9

34

-25

Nigeria Premier League Schedule 6/8/2014 Pillars vs Giwa FC vs Sunshine Enyimba Dolphins Crown FC

vs Heartland vs Lobi

31

Gombe Utd Nasarawa Utd

vs Akwa Utd vs Taraba FC

1

31

Kaduna Utd

vs Abia Warriors

16

6

30

El-Kanemi Warriors

vs Wolves

18

4

30

Nembe City

vs Enugu Rangers

28

25

3

30

Sharks

vs Bayelsa Utd

7

18

13

5

29

1

10

23

26

-3

28

1

10

14

19

-5

28

FC Taraba

LAST WEEK RESULTS 1-0 Gombe United

Bayelsa United

1-0 Crown FC

Sunshine Stars

1-0 Nembe City

Giwa FC Abia Warriors Rangers

1-0 Enyimba 2-1 Nasarawa United 2-0 El-Kanemi

20

Lobi Stars Warri Wolves Akwa Utd

2-1 Heartland 1-0 Kaduna United 1-0 Sharks

16

Dolphins

1-0 Kano Pillars

FOOTBALL BRIEFs We’ve Beefed Up FC Taraba

Chairman Football Club of Taraba (FC Taraba), Tijani Babangida said they have used the mid-season break to strengthen their squad for the second stanza of the Glo Premier League season.

The Jalingo based club is presently 12 on the log with 28 points, but Super Eagles winger said they have acquired two or three new players that will help the team in its bid to cement its position in the Nigerian elite league.

He said they had identified the initial hitches that affected the club performance in during first stanza of the campaign. "We know where the problem are and trying to adjust. We have brought in two or three players that we believe will help make the team better," he said.

Signs Genk Spurs Won't Release Yahaya Alampasu Deal Tomorrow For AYC Tie Nigeria U20 English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur will not release Flying Eagles forward Musa Yahaya for next month’s final 2015 African Youth Championship qualifier against Lesotho.

His agent Babawo Mohammed informed AfricanFootball.com Yahaya has been lined up for several test games with the Spurs Academy team around the August 15 clash against Lesotho and so will not be available for the crucial qualifier.

“Musa Yahaya has so far impressed in England with the Spurs Academy team, but he will not be available for the Flying Eagles next month because Spurs have arranged a couple of more matches for the player about the same time too,” Babawo disclosed.

Yahaya

Hat-trick Hero Fatai Dedicates Goals To Twin Brother Nigeria striker Kehinde Fatai has said his memorable treble for Romanian club Astra Giurgiu in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match are dedicated to his twin brother, Taye.

Fatai fired hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Liberec in a third round qualifying clash on Thursday night.

He told AfricanFootball.com: "I am so happy that I scored a hat-trick, and we won 3-0.

It was a great moment for me.

“I have scored six goals in three games now, I thank God. “I dedicate all the goals to my twin brother, Taye. He is always around me and encourages me."

The former JUTH FC striker opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a superb strike, when he picked the ball from the left wing, dribbled past several defenders before he fired the shot into the corner of the net.

goalkeeper Dele Alampasu is set to sign a pre-contract with Belgian club Racing Genk on Sunday.

A top source close to the former Nigeria U17 shot stopper informed AfricanFootball.com that he is waiting for his agent to join him in Belgium for his contract negotiations to be finalised.

He is expected to sign a professional contract when he turns 18 on Christmas eve.

Alampasu, who was on the final squad to the 2014 CHAN in South Africa, first tried out with Genk before a freak training ground accident cut short his stint with the club as he suffered a knee injury that required surgery.

Eduok targets Federation Cup Golden Boot After scoring his third goal in the 2014 Federation Cup, Dolphins star, Emem Eduok, has declared his readiness to grab the highest goal scorer award.

Eduok scored against amateur side, Ingas as well as Premier League rivals, El-Kanemi Warriors and struck his team's opening goal in the 4-2 victory over another Premier League side, Lobi Stars in the quarterfinal. Against Lobi Stars, Eduok was simply outstanding and contributed to his team's brilliant performance on match day.

"I'm happy with my performance and ready to score more to win the Federation Cup golden boot," Eduok said to supersport.com.

24

Saturday, August 2, 2014

A woman and her children in transit

Internally Displaced: Nigerians Cry Out As the Internally Displaced Persons' camp continue to swell across the country, occupants speak out on life as an IDP and other pressing matters. AGBO-PAUL AUGUSTINE (ABUJA), SOLOMON AYADO (MAKURDI), Andrew Ojih (JALINGO) and Mohammed Ismail (YOLA) write.

I

am still staying in this school with my family because I don't have any place to go. My village is on the front line where we are constantly attacked and killed by gunmen and so I am afraid of been killed with my family when we move back,” says Mr. Iortyom Kur, 65, who hails from one of the communities destroyed in Guma LGA as conflict ripped through the remote settlement recently.

The visibly devastated old man has been living in the corridors of LGEA primary school Pechwa, located along Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi with his wife and four children. He narrated his ordeal even as he struggles to hold back tears to our reporter and stated that he is afraid of returning to

his ancestral home because, according to him, his village is situated on the border between Benue and Nasarawa states which he disclosed were still surrounded by suspected herdsmen.

Along with Kur are a few of the internally displaced still left to savour the harsh realities unfolding in the beleaguered camp, including, women and children. Kur like other IDPs sleep in one of the classrooms, cook and bath in it, just as they spread their washed clothes to dry. It is in the same place that they sit to welcome and interact with people who are kind enough to pay them visit.

The precarious state of IDPs in Benue State worsens as their temporary homes in the closed primary schools opened for school pupils after

the long Benue teachers’ strike was called off. The suspension means the displaced people who found some kind of solace in the class rooms must give way for the eager pupils who are excited to return to school.

“We are no longer welcome here and we don’t know where to head to. This is painful and make life meaningless to many of us in this difficult state,” said Michael Nimba as he ponder on what is next for his family.

However, the cramming of the displaced persons on the major streets in Makurdi, the state capital and environs has greatly reduced since normalcy and peace is restored in some of the troubled spots.

Many of the displaced persons told LEADERSHIP Weekend that life has never been the same since leaving their villages to shelter places

around the state. They said their major concerns now are how to integrate back to the society and take off from where their normal life stopped.

“We only hope that government would intervene and provide the necessary assistance including finance to allow us build a house in our villages and feed our families,” some of them said.

They also lamented that they had no relations in the big cities and their camps are becoming increasingly uncomfortable as the rains becomes heavy. They fear of starvation if nothing is done to rescue them.

The situation in Taraba State is no better as the recent ethnoreligious crisis that engulfed Wakari, Ibi, Donga, Bali, Gashaka, Gassol and Takum local government areas of the state created a huge number of IDPs. The crisis has so far claimed over 350 lives and created an army of over 50, 000 internally displaced Nigerians in 28 camps scattered in the State.

In some of the camps LEADERSHIP Weekend visited, IDPs who narrated their grime experiences to our correspondents, lamented that they were rendered homeless, hungry, oppressed and denied of their fundamental human rights in terms of social security in their respective CONTINUED ON PAGE 49

IDPs who narrated their grime experiences to our correspondents, lamented that they were rendered homeless, hungry, oppressed and denied of their fundamental human rights

ISSUE 144, AUGUST 2, 2014.

JESSICA ALBA

Household product CEO

FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS INNOCENT CHUKWUMA

From Hollywood superwoman, 32-yearold Jessica Alba is probably one of the busiest women around.

TRENDED

Orlando Bloom punches Justin Bieber

Businessman who defied the limits

STUFF

KEY QUESTION

AUCTIONED

Hotels that shaped history

Will today's children die earlier than their parents?

World’s most expensive surfing board priced at $1.3m

26

Saturday, August 2, 2014

KNOW-ALL

THAT'S INSIDE THIS ISSUE

32

BELIEVE THIS!

STUFF

A man in Iran tried to rob a bank after paying $500 to a wizard to make him invisible.

28 TRENDED

45

DESIRABLES

30

29 TOP TEN STARTING BLOCKS 27 PROUDLY NIGERIA •

INNOCENT CHUKWUMA: Businessman who defied the limits

28 TRENDED •

Rob Kardashian’s exgirlfriend disses him

28 VIRAL •

Dog steals spotlight on social media

29 TOP TEN highest paid female athletes 2014

30 WHAT'S UP •

STUFF

32 STUFF

37 FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS • •

•

Hotels that shaped history

•

•

Charm a snake

•

33 ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE 34 ARTICULATE •

Designer creates furniture that looks like human skin

35 THE KEY QUESTION •

Will today's children die earlier than their parents?

36 DOERS •

Germany's shy, super-rich

The Panama Canal, Panama

Jessica Alba: Household product CEO

• • • • •

Biblical Cain and Abel Dramatic Hatfields and McCoys The Not-So-Friendly Friendly’s Brothers Havilland and Joan Fontaine Innovative Adidas and Puma Back-biting Joan and Christina Crawford Lieutenants Stalin and Trotsky Godfathers' Al Capone and Bugs Moran The 47 Ronin and Kira Yoshinaka

WHAT'S UP?

44 DRESS SENSE

THE REGULARS

THE BIG STORY

31 WONDERS OF THE WORLD •

43 TECHLIFE

35 THE KEY QUESTION

43 TECHLIFE •

Click Click,

44 CULTURED! •

Etiquettewise, Superstitions, Proverbs, Excusez moi

45 DESIRABLES 46 MINDFUL •

Crossword, WordSearch, Sudoku, Homework, Bookshelf

47 A LA CARTE •

Crazy Tricks, Gentleman's Words, Laugh-Out-Loud

48 BONUS PACK •

Seen & Overhead, English Phrases, Keepsakes

BOXED • • • • • • • • • • •

Believe this Fact Box, Do You Remember When? Strictly For JJCs Shocking Foodfacts Psychology Ideas, Useless Information, Business Blunder, Quick Quiz, Espionage, Discovered Sounding Clever, Sounding Great, Spotlights, Know Why, Celeb Info, Teeny Fascinating Facts, Keepsakes, Just Unbelievable, Fast Forward

Buzzstop Two American aid workers infected with Ebola in Africa while responding to an outbreak of the deadly virus have shown slight improvement but remain in serious condition, a relief organisation said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Beyonce struck back against rumours that her marriage to Jay Z is headed for divorce by posting a pic of her 44-year-old husband carrying their two-year-old daughter Blue Ivy on the beach with the words: “My favourite hue is JayZ Blue.”

Russia blasted the West’s new economic sanctions on Wednesday, accusing the US of being prosecutorial in its drive to impose penalties on the country’s key energy and finance sectors.

US First lady, Michelle Obama embraced her family’s African roots in a speech on Wednesday, telling a group of young Africans that the “blood of Africa” runs through her veins as she urged changing traditional beliefs on the worth of educating women.

One of Charles’s Angels, Drew Barrymore’s older half-sister, Jessica Barrymore, was found dead in National City, California, early Tuesday morning.

Rafael Nadal withdrew Wednesday from US Open tune-ups in Toronto and Cincinnati because of a right wrist injury, putting in doubt his status for a title defence at the year’s last Grand Slam tournament.

Alicia Keys and husband Swizz Beatz are

expecting their second child, reports said Thursday. The singer announced the good news on Instagram.

A bipartisan resolution written to honour Pope Francis for his work towards social justice appears to be mired in Congress, reportedly due to his reputation among Republicans as being “too liberal,” reports said Wednesday.

Serena Williams looked healthy and played sharp in her first tournament since defaulting during a doubles match with sister Venus at Wimbledon report said Thursday.

Chris Brown continues to look noticeably heavier since getting out of jail ... bravely partying without a shirt on while hanging out Wednesday afternoon in glorious St. Tropez.

CONTENT Victoria Usman, Abisola Alawode, Love Adeyemi, Elizabeth Martin DESIGN/LAYOUT Michael Igwe-Ngerem ACTING EDITOR Catherine Agbo

group

FOUNDER Sam Nda-Isaiah CHAIRMAN Hajiya Ireti Kingibe GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR Azubuike Ishiekwene GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Michael Okpere, Dr Kazeem Durodoye FEEDBACK AND MAILS Cognoscenti is published as an insert in LEADERSHIP Weekend. A number of the articles in this pullout are sourced from diverse sources.

Please do send your feedback and enquiries to cognoscenti@leadership.ng or send us a tweet @LeCognoscenti

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

STARTINGBLOCKS Morocco has Africa’s highest internet penetration rate.

AFRICANFACTS

THE PACESETTING PAGES

Botswana’s Orapa mine produces more diamonds annually than any other diamond mine in the world.

EMEKA OFFOR

True philanthropist

PROUDLY NIGERIA INNOCENT CHUKWUMA

Businessman who defied the limits What Innocent lacked in affluent parental background, he made up for with intelligence, hardwork, discipline and business acumen, qualities that have continued to interplay remarkably in his many ventures.

Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma (OFR), was born into the family of Mr & Mrs Chukwuma Mojekwu of Uru-Umudim, Nnewi, in Anambra State. His growth trajectory in the private sector took off modestly when his elder brother, Chief Gabriel Chukwuma (Gabros) identified the good qualities in him and paved the way for the youngster’s journey into the business terrain as an apprentice after his education in his home town.

First, it was patent medicine trade that he tried his hands on, but he later developed a stronger passion for motorcycle spare parts. This early tutelage became the veritable foundation the young Chukwuma needed to demonstrate an innate flair for trading, especially in motorcycle and automotive parts.

With his knowledge of the trade now honed, in 1981, Chukwuma ventured fully into the trade under the name Innoson Nigeria Limited (with motorcycle parts and accessories as his main stock). It was this seed sowed 21 years ago that flourished and multiplied like a mustard seed, into the many companies under the big umbrella called the Innoson Group.

Guided by the instinct of a farsighted investor, Chukwuma promptly realised that the time was now ripe for Innoson Nigeria to domesticate the production of the motorcycles with substantial

STRICTLY FOR JJCs Travelling is supposed to be fun but when you have scammers at various stops to your destination to worry about, it's not so much fun anymore. Here are a few tips to guide you safely on that necessary trip this holiday season.

Great deals On entry into a store, often prompted by an enthusiastic taxi driver, you will be offered a deal so preposterously lucrative that refusing it seems unthinkable.

Think again – those gems are going to be worthless and the stuff you buy may not make it home at all.

Airport taxis Drivers taking you into town might try

Chukwuma

local input. To realise this dream, Chukwuma in 1994 entered into a symbiotic partnership with some Chinese motorcycle manufacturers, which was consummated with the establishment of a facility in Nnewi, where top quality motorcycles were produced.

Less than 10 years after going into making motorcycles locally, Chukwuma branched into plastics manufacturing. This was when Innoson Nigeria Limited, in 2002, sired Innoson Technical and Industrial Company Limited, located in Emene, Enugu.

In February 2007, Chukwuma embarked on what some analysts perceived then as a mission

impossible, when it incorporated Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited (IVM), to produce sundry commercial automobiles, utility vehicles and passenger cars, in collaboration with a consortium of Chinese auto manufacturers. IVM is today a success story which has attracted effusive commendations and awards from various quarters, including the nation’s seat of power.

While opening the plant on October 15, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan not only hailed Chukwuma for the courage of venturing into an industry many ran away from, but also assured him of government’s patronage from the government.In recognition of his contributions to the business and productive sectors, Chukwuma and his business empire have at different times won various awards, honours and recognitions, including Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), in November, 2011, National Honours of the National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) in 2010, both conferred by President Jonathan; Special Merit Award by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN); Meritorious Award by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in 2008; Special Presidential Merit Award by Nigerian Society of Engineers December 2011; MANCAP Award of Excellence by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in 2008, and many others.

Common travel scams you must know every trick in the book, from asking you for an inflated fare to driving around the streets to raising the price. This is usually harmless, but you should only travel with licensed taxis and, if you can’t pay in advance, agree on a fee before starting out and don’t pay until you get where you want to be.

Timeshares You're approached by an extremely genial young man who offers you a scratch card, no strings attached. He's friendly, so you accept the card and, lo and behold, you've won some sort of prize, which could be anything from a t-shirt and cash to a holiday. What's the catch? The

local insists you must accompany him to a hotel (which might be an hour's drive away) to collect your prize. If you haven't smelled a rat by now, you need your senses tested.

'This is closed' In some countries everyone from touts to taxi drivers will try to tell you that your chosen hotel, restaurant or shop is closed…but there’s another, even better one you should visit, where they can pick up a commission.

This is more annoying than harmful, but always insist on having a look for yourself.

Continues next week

Emeka Offor is the group executive vice chairman of the Chrome Group. A dynamic and articulate entrepreneur with nearly three decades of business experience, he has built a vast empire with interests in oil and gas, insurance, the power sector, telecommunications and logistics, both in Nigeria and overseas.

The subsidiaries of Chrome Group include Kaztec Engineering Limited, Global Scansystems Nigeria Limited, Chrome Insurance Brokers Limited and Interstate Electrics.

Sir Offor was honoured a couple of years ago by the Romanian Consulate in Nigeria for his invaluable contribution towards the development and enhancement of Bi lateral relations between Nigeria and Romania. He is also the current chairman of the Nigerian-Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce.

This benevolent and amiable billionaire businessman established the Sir Emeka Offor foundation (SEOF); a non-profit, charitable organisation a couple of years ago. The foundation embodies the humanitarian spirit of its founder by seeking to reduce poverty and create life-improving economic opportunities for those living in Nigeria’s most marginalized and poorest communities. Working on the principle that the very poor and needy can become active and productive members of the society if properly equipped, Sir Emeka through his foundation is committed to human and material capacity development; skills acquisition and transfer at the grassroots level leading to the establishment of small and medium enterprises and cooperative societies, for the less privileged. ‘I want to make my mark. Actually, I want to make two marks. One is that I have been an excellent businessman who built a group of companies that will stand the test of time. Two that I have been as good at giving as I was in turning a profit. In my own way, I hope to set an example for the next generation of successful Nigerian businessmen.

I want them to know that they can make money while also making a difference.’ His own words tell of Sir Emeka’s social commitment.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

STARTINGBLOCKS

100,000,000

Number of people who come to India’s Kumbh Mela festival, the world’s biggest gathering of humans.

44,000,000

Number of American adults who can’t read well enough to read a story to a child.

THE BUZZWORTHY STUFF ONLINE

Trended

Funny web

Rob Kardashian’s exgirlfriend disses him

Selfie with Steven Gerrard makes Liverpool fan cry

Rob Kardashian’s ex, Adrienne, who recently attempted to get her ‘Rob Kardashian’ tattoo removed from her behind, has revealed that she regrets appearing on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. ‘To be stuck with that Kardashian label, that was so hurtful to me and to my career,’ Adrienne said in an interview. ‘I probably realised that too late—not that it would’ve affected my decisions in terms of who I dated, but it would’ve affected my decision to appear on the show.’ Rob and Adrienne dated from 2007-2009, and Adrienne made frequent appearances on the reality show before the couple split.

Most fans are happy when meeting their favourite players, but it was all too much for one Liverpool fan as an encounter with Steven Gerrard left her in tears.

The Liverpool captain was signing autographs while on tour in the US and after posing for a selfie with the supporter she became hysterical, told him ‘I love you’ and then burst in to tears. Gerrard then tried to sign autographs for other people but the girl insisted he sign her ‘Steven Gerrard’ phone as well, at which point she completely lost it. The girl then cries even more as she looks at the picture on her phone. The fan was inconsolable after the encounter, which only lasted a matter of seconds. Her companions laughed and smiled as they smiled and tried to take her away.

Orlando Bloom punches Justin Bieber It was fisticuffs at down when Orland Bloom spotted Bieber at the Cipriani in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Orlando was reported to have thrown a punch when Bieber made derogatory remark about Bloom’s ex-wife Miranda Kerr. Bloom and Kerr split in October 2013 amid rumours Bieber had spent way too much time flirting with her at a 2012 Victoria’s Secret show. The strain on their marriage afterwards was apparently too much to handle and they separated.

However, sources tell The Sun Biebs’ comment was only made after Orlando had already thrown a punch at the pop star. It then erupted into a shouting match between the two before they were eventually pulled apart by their pals. To make matters worse, Bieber then uploaded a picture of Miranda to his Instagram account with a crown symbol, before swiftly deleting it.

#PAULADEENTVSHOWS hashtag In case you didn’t hear, squawking butter mistress Paula Deen was fired from her very lucrative Food Network gig for her rather casual admission that she uses the N-word on a regular basis and thinks it’s cool to let her brother sexually harass young girls. So, of course, a #PaulaDeenTVShows Twitter hashtag popped up to help Paula figure out a good name for her next show. Here are the best: The Back of the Magic School Bus #PaulaDeenTVShows Arrested Black People Development #PaulaDeenTVShows Everybody Loves Raymond Because He’s White #PaulaDeenTVShows According to Jim Crow #PaulaDeenTVShows So You Think You Can Vote #PaulaDeenTVShows Two and 3/5 men #PaulaDeenTVShows The Amazing White Race #PaulaDeenTVShows Parks and Segregation #PaulaDeenTVShows The David Duke’s of Hazzard #PaulaDeenTVShows Six Feet Underground Railroad.

Viral

Dog steals spotlight on social media

In a world that sometimes seems filled with hardness and hate, Casey the schnauzer of Murrysville has offered YouTube fans a look at loyalty and unconditional love so intense she apparently fainted from joy during a reunion with her long-lost owner. Rebecca Ehalt was visiting her family’s home in Pennsylvania, all the way from Slovenia when she got quite the greeting. The family dog, Casey, a light grey pup with a strong set of pipes, hadn’t seen Ehalt in two

years, according to news reports.

Rebecca Ehalt had been living, working, and getting married in Slovenia the last two years and didn’t come back to Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Her entire family - with the exception of her dog Casey - came out to Slovenia for her wedding last year. Upon their reunion, the pooch squealed, jumped on her and smothered her with kisses. Then, after a few moments, the pup started to wobble and passed out from excitement. Ehalt posted a video of it on YouTube, writing that ‘in fairness,’ two years ‘is 14 years in dog years.’ The video has more than 20 million views.

‘I think the video really says it,’ Ehalt’s sister, Rachel Abbett, told TODAY.com about the reunion.

While the reunion with Casey was an amazing moment for the entire Ehalt family, we really feel for Rebecca’s husband. Hopefully she understands that it’s impossible for him to get that excited every time he sees her walk through the door.

Abbett said the family had never seen the dog faint before and were initially worried, but she’s just fine.

STRANGE

Woman arrested for calling her exboyfriend 77,000 times in a week Linda Murphy, a 28-year-old woman in New Mexico was arrested by the Albuquerque Police Department after causing what could be one of the most extreme cases of stalking.

Murphy recently broke up with a man named William Ryans after a three week relationship. In the Span of ONE WEEK: *She called her ex 77,639 times, *Sent him 1937 emails, *Texted him 41,229 text messages, *Left 217 sung messages, and *Wrote 647 letters!

The worst part is that she dedicated her time to this by calling him, 24 hours a day, on his cell phone, home number and at work. The woman would have ingested large quantities of energy drinks and amphetamines to remain awake and would have gone sleepless for a week, calling her ex nonstop.

‘My client is profoundly relieved

that Ms Murphy is finally behind bars’ stated the plaintiff ’s lawyer, J.D. James Kiroy. ‘He hasn’t been able to sleep, work or enjoy life in any way, for more than a week. He was having a hard time thinking clearly and was nearing depression, it was about time the harassment ceased. Now all we want is for Ms Murphy to get the medical help she needs, and for the law to keep her away from my client.’

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

STARTINGBLOCKS DUMBLAWS

It is illegal to have more than two vibrators in Arizona.

In Maine it's unlawful to tickle women under the chin with a feather duster.

10

OF EVERYTHING THAT'S WORTH ITS SALT

HIGHEST PAID FEMALE ATHLETES 2014

Sharapova

Williams

Li Na

S/N Name

Sports

Yearly income

1

Maria Sharapova

Tennis

$29m

2

Serena Williams

Tennis

$20m

3

Li Na

Tennis

$18m

4

Victoria Azarenka

Tennis

$15m

5

Danika Patrick

Motor race

$15m

6

Kim Yuan

Ice skating

$14m

7

Caroline Wazaniacki

Tennis

$13.6m

8

Agnieszka Radwanska

Tennis

$7.4m

9

Ana Ivanovic

Tennis

$7m

10

Paula Creamer

Golf

$5.5m

WORLD'S BESTSELLING SOFT DRINKS

Diet coke

Pepsi

S/N Soft drink 1

Coca cola

Year introduced to the market 1944

2

Diet coke

1982

3

Pepsi

1893

4

Mountain dew

1940

5

Dr Pepper

1885

6

Sprite

1961

7

Diet pepsi

1964

8

Diet Mountain dew

1940

9

Fanta

1941

10

Diet Dr pepper

1962

SHOCKING

FOODFACTS

In Hong Kong, there’s a law that allows a wife to kill her husband with her bare hands if she finds him cheating.

Mountain dew

Coca cola

The soup, which is an expensive Chinese delicacy, is made from a particular kind of nest that is created by bird saliva.

PALATINE HILL FEATURES – ROME 1. Domus Flavia Marked today mainly by the remains of two fountains, this imposing edifice was the official wing of a vast emperors’ palace, built by Domitian in AD 81.

2. Livia’s House Now below ground level, this 1st-century BC structure formed part of the residence of Augustus.

Here you can see a number of frescoes and mosaic pavements.

3. Palatine Museum and Antiquarium This former convent houses a wealth of artefacts unearthed here, including pottery, statuary, ancient graffiti and fine mosaics. You can also study a model of the Iron Age Palatine.

4. Romulus’s Iron-Age Huts Traces of these three 9thcentury BC huts were uncovered in the 1940s.

Legend says that this tiny village was founded by Romulus, son of Mars, who gave Rome its name.

5. Stadium Possibly a racetrack, or just a large garden, this sunken rectangle formed part of Domitian’s palatial 1stcentury abode.

6. Domus Augustana All that remains of the private wing of Domitian’s imperial extravaganza are the massive vaults.

7. Temple of Cybele The orgiastic Cult of the Great Mother was the first of the Oriental religions to come to Rome, in 191 BC. Still here is a decapitated statue of the goddess.

Priests worshipping Cybele ritually castrated themselves at this temple.

Domus Flavia

Livia’s House

Palatine Museum

8. Famese Gardens Plants and elegant pavilions grace part of what was once an extensive pleasuregarden, designed by Vignola and built in the 16th century over the ruins of Emperor Tiberius’s palace.

9. Cryptoporticus This series of underground corridors, their vaults decorated with delicate stucco reliefs, stretches 130m. It connected the Palatine to Nero’s fabulous Golden House.

10. Domus Septimius Severus Huge arches and broken walls are all that remain of this emperor’s 2nd-century AD extension to Domitian’s Domus Augustana.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

STARTINGBLOCKS

BY THE NUMBERS

Alzheimer’s disease in America

5.3 million Number of Americans that have Alzheimer’s disease.

CELEBINFO

BOXOFFICESTATS

Mark Wahlberg once went to jail for 45 days for beating a Vietnamese man in what was believed to be a racially motivated attack.

WHAT'S UP

As at Tuesday, 29th July, 2014, Universal studios Lucy has made over $55m dollars worldwide.

IN-THE-NOW HAPPENINGS AROUND US

Germany's super-shy, super-rich

454,000 Number of new cases of Alzheimer’s reported each year.

7

Alzheimer’s position on the list of America’s leading cause of death.

8,700

New cases of Alzheimer’s disease recorded every week.

70

Time in seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s disease.

$172bn Amount of money that is spent globally on Alzheimer’s.

11 million

Number of people that provide unpaid care to Alzheimer’s sufferers in the US.

46%

Increase in death attributed to Alzheimer’s disease.

Susanne Klatten is Germany's richest woman

Nobody could accuse the richest people in Germany of flaunting their wealth, quite the opposite.

With the death of Karl Albrecht, there was no announcement for nearly a week, and not until the small, private funeral was over. He and his brother, Theo, had turned their mother’s small grocery store in the Ruhr into Aldi, one of the world’s biggest supermarket chains, but the habits and thoughts of this megabusiness mogul were unknown. For the obituaries, the German papers could only trace bland statements he had made in 1953 and 1971. This was not a chatty public figure. He grew orchids, apparently, and played golf - but on his own, private golf course.

In the absence of a public presence, a legend grew around him. The brothers, ex-employees said, would keep accounts using stubs of old pencils, almost too short to hold. It is said that they once told architects designing a new store that they were using paper that was too thick.

It was this frugality which set the Albrecht brothers on the road to super-rich status. After the war, they took over the grocery store and set up a company called Aldi after Albrecht Diskont. Even shelves were thought to be too extravagant - after all shelves had to be stacked and that meant stackers and that

meant wages. Instead, the goods were deposited, in the stores on the pallets on which they arrived. Even today, Aldi stores usually offer no more than 2,000 products compared with the 45,000 products for other chains.

If Karl Albrecht was reclusive, the head of the rival Lidl chain is positively invisible. There are only two photographs in existence of Dieter Schwarz (C.E.O of the Lidl chain), and one of those is in black and white. He may be the 25th richest man on the planet but nobody outside his closest circle knows anything about what he thinks or does.

It is the same with the Quandt family which owns BMW. The product may be a symbol of conspicuous consumption but they are a symbol of inconspicuous taciturnity. Take the case of Susanne Klatten, the daughter of the industrialist Herbert Quandt, the man who made BMW the luxurycar colossus it is today. She was left 12.5 % of BMW. With her other business interests, she is the 44th richest person in the world, but a woman with a low profile. When she started in business, learning at the bottom, as an apprentice, she worked at a BMW factory under a false name.

The man she married never knew her real identity until the romance was solid.

In the US and Britain, business people are part of public life. Warren Buffett gives press conferences.

Bill Gates tours the world, banging the drum for measures to prevent disease. Every American city has a museum or a medical research centre or a university department named after a local moneybags. But the German way with money is to keep it quiet.

It is partly because frugality is a virtue, a matter of morality and not just of wise behaviour. It is not the kind of place then to approve of young millionaires roaring around in expensive cars they may make the Porsches and the BMWs but it’s for others to rev them up and show off. The figures show that private wealth in Germany is more unevenly distributed than in any other country in the Eurozone. While the richest 1% have personal wealth of just short of one million euros on average, a quarter of adult Germans have no wealth or even owe money. But because those with the money keep their heads down, it doesn’t always show.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

STUFF

p32

HOTELS THAT SHAPED HISTORY

TODAY'S CHILDREN

p35

They made room for visitors to rest and while at it affected history in one of the best ways ever.

p36

It’s believed that they will have shorter average life spans than their parents.

JESSICA ALBA Hollywood superwoman is probably one of the busiest women

THAT WILL TICKLE YOUR FANCY

ECONOMIC IDEAS

WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Debt and deflation Falling prices can cripple an economy

Deflation and the last decade

The Panama Canal, Panama The Panama Canal is one of the most important man made waterways in the world. joining the great oceans of the Atlantic and pacific, the canal cuts through the isthmus of panama and triumphs over the continental barrier.

Who were the three musketeers in the novel by Alexandre Dumas?

Answer:

QUICKQUIZ

three sets of locks that raise the water 26m up to the level of Lake Gatun, a process necessitated by the rolling topography. The canal is wide enough to permit travel in both directions for almost the entire passage. The locks are what determine the size of the ships that can pass through, and those dimensions are known as the Panamax. Panamax ships can be no larger than 293m long and 32m wide. They also cannot have a draft, or depth, greater than 12m.

Since the Panama Canal was opened in 1914, more than one million passages have been recorded, with 14,000 in the year 2005 alone. The Panama Canal Authority collects tolls for every transit. When the United States relinquished control of the canal to Panama in the year 2000, the nation of Panama became solely responsible for its operation and administration. The tolls based on the size and tonnage of the ship, average around $70,000 per passage. However, it has long been clear that the canal’s capacity is no longer sufficient. Freight shipping between the USA and Asia has increased dramatically while using more and larger ships. The measurements of ships in the so-called post-Panama class, of which there are currently around 300 sailing the world’s seas, do not permit them to pass through the canal’s locks.

Soon there will be many more of these giant tankers and freighters. The largest container ships now in existence can carry up to 10,000 containers, twice as many as the largest Panamax-class freighter.

For the nation of Panama, the canal is a veritable goldmine. In order to ensure continued demand and secure the long-term income of the state, the Panamanian government intends to renovate the canal to accommodate larger ships, with much higher tolls planned as a means of financing the project. This highly controversial renovation is currently set to begin in 2007.

The three musketeers in Alexandre Dumas' novel were Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

Back in the sixteenth century, the Spanish conquistadors were already thinking of digging a navigable waterway that would connect the two great oceans. But the Spanish king, Philip II, was strongly opposed to the project, setting the death penalty as punishment for anyone who continued to waste time on bold plans for a canal. It would be 300 years before anyone would try again. Flushed with triumph following his success with the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps also made plans to join the Atlantic with the Pacific. He started work in 1881, but this time the result was a fiasco. The ambitious project completely shut down only seven years after it was begun. The consortium in charge of the finances was ruined by mismanagement, corruption and bribery scandals. It went bankrupt soon afterward.

In 1902, the consortium’s liquidators sold what was left of the canal to the United States of America for $40m.

At this time, Panama still belonged to the political jurisdiction of Columbia, making it impossible for the Americans to simply pick up and start construction again. President Theodore Roosevelt supported a coup instigated by a Panamanian independence movement, helping it to victory. By 1903, Panama was an independent, sovereign nation and work on the canal could begin. The first ship passed through the new Panama Canal on August 15, 1914. The contract between the United States and Panama stated that the canal would remain an American possession ‘forever.’

Roughly 80km long, the Panama Canal runs through the city of Colon on the Atlantic through to the dammed Lake Gatun on the Pacific side. Its construction shortened the sea journey from New York to San Francisco from ca. 25,749km to just 9,656km. The level of Atlantic Ocean is only 9.5 inches lower than the Pacific. Nevertheless, the landscape is hilly and ships on their way through the isthmus must pass through

Although the Great Depression is regarded as the worst deflationary spiral experienced in modern times - in the US, for example, unemployment rose to onequarter of all able-bodied people and GDP shrank by a third - there have been other more recent recurrences of the phenomenon.

The most notable was in Japan in the 1990s, where prices dropped into negative territory, forcing the Bank of Japan to cut interest rates to zero. The spiral contributed to a so-called ‘lost decade’ of anaemic growth and falling prices from which the country could not escape.

Definitions Deflation implies that prices of goods and services are falling, usually on a year-to-year basis.

Disinflation is where the inflation rate slows down but remains positive.

BUSINESS BLUNDER

Lululemon’s seethrough pants If you were to rank the most important qualities for a pair of pants, opacity would surely be high on the list. It appears athletic wear retailer Lululemon lost sight of this fact when customers began to complain that its most popular line of yoga pants became translucent after only limited use. Lululemon worked to fix the issue, recalling the faulty pants and revamping its quality control process, but the problem resurfaced in November 2013 when Lululemon co-founder Chip Wilson partly blamed the defect on his customers bodies being unfit for his product.

32

Stuff

Saturday, August 2, 2014

HISTORIFIC

THAT WILL TICKLE YOUR FANCY

Upon dying, some pharaohs were sealed into their tombs alongside their living servants, pets and concubines.

SCIENTIFIC The human brain takes in 11 million bits of information every second but is aware of only 40.

Hotels that shaped history

Watergate Hotel

The Sea Marge Hotel

The Goring hotel

The Mayflower Hotel

Watergate Hotel Next month marks the 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation, as a result of his impending impeachment following the Watergate scandal. The former president’s downfall all began with a break-in at the Watergate Hotel and Office building in Washington, D.C. Omni Parker House, Boston The Parker House Hotel in Boston (now the Omni Parker House) employed both Ho Chi Minh (as a baker) and Malcolm X (as a busboy).

Charles Dickens stayed there for two years on one of his American tours, and John Wilkes Booth stayed a few days before nipping off to Washington to shoot Abraham Lincoln.

The Sea Marge Hotel Winston Churchill allegedly used the telephone at what is now the Sea Marge Hotel in Overstrand, North Norfolk, to mobilise the British navy at the start of the First World War (he was First Lord of the admiralty at the time). His father Randolph had a house in Overstrand, which was the place to holiday in the late 19th and early

20th century. At one point, six millionaires had houses there.

The Goring hotel In 1914, the Allied war effort was run from the kitchen of The Goring in London. It was the command centre for the chief of the Allied forces, with direct phone links to General Pershing and President Wilson. Goring staff from France and Germany were at one time evacuated and famously walked arm-in-arm to Victoria Station singing each other’s national anthems. This was also where Kate Middleton spent the night before marrying Prince William.

The Mayflower Hotel This Washington, D.C. hotel is linked to at least three political sex scandals. Judith Exner, who claimed to be the mistress of JFK, stayed here, so too did Monica Lewinsky. It was at a campaign event here in 1996 that Clinton and Lewinsky were pictured together - a photograph that became a key part of the media coverage. More recently, in 2008, the New York Times reported that Governor Eliot Spitzer met a call girl in room 871

of the hotel. The story prompted his resignation days later.

Holiday Inn This hotel was made famous for housing dozens of war correspondents during the four-year Siege of Sarajevo. It was severely damaged during the conflict and it is now called the Holiday Hotel.

The Willard Founded in 1847, The William is known as the ‘residence of presidents’, due to the huge number who have spent the night or attended functions there. It was where Abraham Lincoln, fearing assassination, lived in the weeks running up to his inauguration, and is where Martin Luther King wrote his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. Ulysses S Grant was said to have spent many hours smoking cigars and downing whiskey in the lobby (the hotel dubiously claims this is the origin of the word ‘lobbying’), and Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd resigned in the hotel’s Douglas Room.

Hotel Ritz It was here that Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, spent

the evening before embarking on the car journey that would end so tragically in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel. The hotel was also the home of Coco Chanel for 30 years, while Pamela Harriman, the US ambassador to France, died in the pool. Ernest Hemingway claimed to have ‘liberated’ the Ritz’s bar from the Nazis.

Cecilienhof Palace As a place of historical significance, the Cecilienhof Palace on the outskirts of Potsdam takes some beating. It was here in the summer of 1945 that Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin (and then Attlee, Truman and Stalin) met to regulate their respective zones of influence in Europe following the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. The rooms in which the conference was held remain open to visitors.

Amsterdam Hilton and the Queen Elizabeth Hotel It was at these two hotels in The Netherlands and Canada that John Lennon and Yoko Ono held two week-long ‘Bed-Ins for Peace’ to protest the Vietnam War.

QUESTIONS YOU'LL NEVER ASK

WORLD OF ESPIONAGE

US spies say incriminating flight MH17 recordings are genuine American intelligence officials said recently that the intercepted conversations between pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine, in which they admit shooting down a plane at approximately the same time Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 crashed in eastern Ukraine, are ‘authentic’. The officials were speaking on condition of anonymity at a press briefing in Washington, organised by the United States government to provide its own take on the tragic incident, which killed almost 300 people last week. On Monday 21 July 2014, Russian military officials said Moscow had evidence that a Ukrainian fighter jet was trailing the civilian airliner shortly before it crashed. But American officials told reporters that satellite images, voice traffic, as well as information gathered from social media used by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine, ‘point overwhelmingly’ to direct rebel responsibility for the attack. The officials said that the possibility that Ukrainian military forces might have shot down the plane was ‘not a plausible

scenario’, because Kiev had ‘no anti-aircraft missile system within range of the Malaysian flight at the time it was struck’. They added that photos from the crash site showed damage consistent with that caused by a Russian-made SA-11 missile, though they stressed that the data backing this assertion is still preliminary.

They also pointed out, however, that US intelligence experts had verified the authenticity of the intercepted telephone conversations released shortly after the plane disaster by the Security Service of Ukraine. The voices in the recordings are allegedly those of senior pro-Russian rebel commanders, as well as of officials in Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, known commonly as GRU. In one conversation, recorded 20 minutes after the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down, Igor Bezler, a leading commander of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, tells GRU Colonel Vasily Geranin: ‘We have just shot down a plane It fell down beyond Yenakievo’

How do I bring up using a condom with my partner?

Talking about how to have safer sex with your partner is very important. While it might be embarrassing at first, it is absolutely necessary if you’re going to share in the intimacy and responsibility of sex. One of the easiest ways to bring it up is just to take a deep breath, be direct and say what you feel. Highlight the importance of protecting yourselves against diseases. (Remember, it is possible that one of you may have an STD, even if you haven’t seen any symptoms of it yet.) Discuss the importance of protecting against an unplanned pregnancy.

Talk about the responsibilities that would arise if you didn’t use a condom and either spread an infection to your partner, or pregnancy occurred.

Using a condom will help protect both you and your partner. Bringing up the topic of using a condom may be a little awkward at first, but you and your partner will both be glad you did.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

BRANDED

SPORTFACT

Disney owns the ABC networks, 10 broadcast TV stations and 70 radio stations.

Of the 40% of midfielders to score more than five goals in the 2013/14 Premier League, Yaya Toure had the best shot conversion rate.

SOUNDINGCLEVER MISNOMER A name that is wrong from the Old French mesnommer: to misname, from mes-: wrongly, and nommer: to name. A horseshoe crab looks more like a stingray than a crab: so the term ‘horseshoe crab’ is a misnomer.

VENIAL Trivial from the Latin venia: forgiveness.

Russian monarch Ivan the Terrible, who used to roast humans alive, regarded his other pastimes - such as throwing dogs off towers - as no more than venial sins.

BENIGHTED Ignorant due to a lack of education from the Latin bellicus: pertaining to war. Genghis Khan’s bellicose nature led to conquests that created one of the largest empires in history.

SYBARITE A person who is overly fond of luxury. Charlie Chaplin used to frequent a brothel called The House of All Nations, which was a popular haunt of wealthy sybarites.

SOUNDING GREAT

AMELIORATION

The act or process of improving something or the state of being improved. They gave him their attention, the prime ministers, the archbishops, the princes: they had begun to be gravely alarmed by the unrest of the lower orders...

(Robert) Owen ws still able to believe in their disinterestedness. It had never occurred to him that for person that for persons like them, in positions of high responsibility, it would be possible to desire anything other than the general amelioration of humanity.

ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE

THINGS YOU WILL NEVER DO

Charm a snake

Stuff

THAT WILL TICKLE YOUR FANCY

AUGUST 1983

SPOTLIGHTS

FILM Risky Business

A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.

‘Hypnotising’ a venomous snake might seem like a risky business, but snake charmers are wily fellows who do everything in their power to eliminate danger, Though the practice is now outlawed in India, there are still around a million charmers, most of whom learned the skill from their fathers, So what’s the secret?

The first thing you’ll need to do if you’re seriously considering a career in snake charming is to find out whether it’s even legal in your part of the world, It’s forbidden in many parts of the world for protection of both the animals involved and their rapidly declining environment.

Assuming you’re in the clear, the first thing you’ll need to do is get a snake. A cobra is the classic choice, but a viper will do just as well. In all honesty, get somebody with specialist skills to obtain the snake for you, and make sure it’s from a legitimate source.

Snake charming is not a profession beloved of the animal rights movement for good reason. It is not uncommon for charmers to remove the snake’s fangs or venom glands, and in some cases, to actually sew the snake’s mouth closed. None of these methods are recommended here, but

‘milking’ the snake to temporarily drain its venom seems like a good idea. Once again, though, you should get a specialist rather than do it yourself. Put the snake in a pot or basket, don a suitably ‘mystic’ outfit and find a spot in a crowded market. Lay down your basket/pot and sit by it in a crosslegged pose, out of biting range just in case.

(As a rule of thumb, a cobra’s attack range is about one-third of its body length). Keep the snake well fed so it is likely to be docile, When you take the lid off the pot/basket, the snake will probably ‘stand up’ without encouragement- a defensive rather than aggressive gesture, and hardly surprising given the circumstances, Start playing your flute, while swaying the instrument from side to side, The snake appears to ‘dance’ to it, In fact, they do not hear music like humans do, Instead, they respond to the sight 0 the moving instrument - no hypnosis required, At the end of the act, slowly replace the lid on the container. But in retrospect, why not take the snake out of the equation altogether and just lea to play the flute really well instead? It’ lot kinder to animals and if you get re good, it could earn you a lot more money.

Be struck by lightning twice According to popular folklore, lightning never strikes the same place twice. But comforting though that thought may be, it’s far from the truth - multiple strikes happen all too regularly. Of course, there’s no good reason you’d want to be struck by lightning even once, let alone twice but here’s how it could happen.

Lightning is still poorly understood, but seems to be triggered when a strong electrical field builds up between negative charges at the bottom of a storm cloud and positive charges on the ground. A lightning strike is thus an attempt by nature to restore the circuit. It leaves a trail of charged or ‘ionised’ air in its wake, opening up a path for further strikes. If an object is struck once, it is no less likely to be struck again, and tall, exposed points are obviously vulnerable. The Empire State Building, for instance, can count on being

struck between and 100 times each year. In any one year, you have about a 1 in 700,000 chance of being struck by lightning.

Fatalities stand at about 10 per cent, and usually result from the electric current stopping the heart or compromising other major organs. Survivors are likely to suffer burns and stroke-like effects. You’re most likely to fall victim to a strike if you remain outside during thunderstorm. Putting yourself next to a taII object such as a tree 0r pylon radically increases your risk, as does holding aloft an umbrella, flying a kite or waving golf clubs around. One man who was living evidence of lightning striking the same spot more than once was Roy Sullivan, a park ranger from Virginia who was first struck in 1942. A 27-year hiatus ensued before a further six strikes from 1969 to 1977. He also told of a further hit in his childhood though this incident could not be verified.

MUSIC Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

Islands in the Stream is a song written by the Bee Gees and sung by American country music artistes, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. It was released as the first single from Rogers’ album Eyes That See in the Dark.

TELEVISION Blockbusters

Game show which sought to resolve the question, “Are two heads better than one?” A single contestant competed against a team of two (related in some way but not married) to answer general.

EVENT Natural disaster

On the 17th, Hurrican Alicia hit southern Texas and leaves 17 dead.

BIRTHDAY Steven Carell

Award winning actor, Steven Carell, who won an award for Best Actor for his role as Michael Scott in The Office in 2006 turned 21 on the 16th.

DEATH Simon Oakland

American actor of stage, screen, and television, Simon Oakland who is best known for playing General Thomas Moore on NBC’s Baa Baa Black Sheep died on the 29 of cancer.

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Stuff

Saturday, August 2, 2014

10

THAT WILL TICKLE YOUR FANCY

ARTICULATE

metres

Length of the Limousine stretch car.

Does drinking coffee make us more alert?

The presence of caffeine in coffee has given the beverage an enduring reputation as a stimulant. However, research published in 2010 suggests we may have been mistaken.

In the experiment the subjects, who included both coffee-drinkers and non-coffeedrinkers, were all asked to avoid caffeine for 16 hours. They were then given either a caffeine capsule or a placebo, and later a slightly higher dose or another placebo. The results showed that caffeine did not improve the alertness of either group, though some of the non-coffee-drinkers reported headaches and showed increased anxiety.

Where does the ebola virus live between human outbreaks?

Ebola is one of the most contagious and virulent diseases known to medical science. It can be transmitted by no more than a handshake, and once infected the victim suffers massive internal bleeding, as the walls of the blood vessels are destroyed. There is no known cure, and between 50 and 90 per

cent of those infected die. Nobody knows where the virus lurks between human outbreaks. Bats have long been suspected, as they have frequently been found at the site of Ebola outbreaks. Insects, birds and non-human primates, which are all known to have died from the disease, have also fallen under suspicion.

Can we correct colour blindness?

KNOW WHY...

…engineers are more likely to have a generation of autistic children?

To test the theory that autism has a genetic component, in 1997 the British psychologist SimonCohen and others compared the family histories of children with autism. Their findings showed that in a sample of 919 families with a child with autism, 28.4 per cent had a father or grandfather who was an engineer, compared with only 15 per cent of families without autism. Later studies also showed that students of mathematics and physics were more likely to have autism in their families than students of subjects demanding a high degree of social understanding. Perhaps social interaction is simply too fuzzy or too imprecise a skill to catch the interest of the methodical autistic brain.

What causes pimples and acne

Pimples occur when a pore or hair follicle collapses in on itself and blocks the secretion from the sebaceous gland of sebum, an oily secretion that lubricates the hair and skin.

The trapped sebum builds up into an oily spot. Various factors have been identified as causes of pimple formation, such as poor diet (including vitamin deficiency), hormonal imbalance (which is why teenagers are particularly prone to spots) and stress.

What is not clear is why one sebaceous gland should give rise to a pimple while another does not.

English designer creates furniture that looks and feels like human skin Gigi Barker, a British furniture designer and owner of Studio 9191, has come up with a new range of seating that looks and feels a lot like the human body. The seats are designed to mimic bulbous, podgy human flesh. And they’re oddly comforting, as Gigi’s customers reluctantly admit. Although the seats are made of leather – the closest material to human skin that she could find – they’re so oddly shaped that they aren’t instantly recognisable. And that’s exactly the effect that she was hoping to achieve with the project, which she calls ‘A Body of Skin’. Through the project, Gigi wanted to explore people’s reactions to furniture that is strangely familiar to the sight, smell and touch, but not recognisable. To create the unique pieces in her new furniture collection, Gigi started off by tracing the outline of an anonymous gentleman’s midriff, as he was seated. She studied his figure in detail and developed sketches of how she wanted her furniture to look. ‘I abstracted the shapes of his form so as to remove some of the immediacy of such a literal representation and allow the viewer to form their own conclusions,’ she said.

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Number of muscles in a cat’s ear.

No! Colour blindness is caused by an inherited defect in the genes

that code for the colour-sensitive proteins in the eye.

How fast does a bullet accelerate as it leaves a gun barrel?

Muzzle velocity depends on the type of gun and bullet, with high-velocity rifles firing bullets at much higher speeds than small handguns. But the explosive charge that propels a bullet out

of a gun will typically produce accelerations of over 100,000 times that due to gravity. That means a bullet goes from a standing start to the speed of sound after travelling less than 50mm.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

THE KEY QUESTION

Will today's children die earlier than their parents?

It’s often said that today’s children will have shorter average life spans than their parents, because so many suffer from obesity. But there is another view that says they will live longer - at the risk of spending their twilight years in poor health.

The idea that children alive today will die younger than their parents has been popularised

by Michelle Obama and Jamie Oliver - but the assertion that they ‘may on average, live less healthy and possibly even shorter lives than their parents’ originates in scholarly research. Not all experts are convinced, however.

It’s true that the number of people who are obese now is higher than in the past. Figures published in the Lancet earlier this year put the figure at 2.1bn worldwide, up from 875 million in 1980.

It’s also true that obesity-related illnesses have been on the rise. It was reported that the UK is suffering a ‘national health emergency’ because of the numbers being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, an illness which is often linked to obesity. But the risk of dying from heart attacks and strokes, both associated with obesity, is in fact lower than in previous decades, according to a leading expert in the field. ‘If you take Britain as an example, the probability of dying from the sorts of things caused by being overweight has gone down by a factor of four,’ says Sir Richard Peto, professor of medical statistics at Oxford University. The probability of dying before age 50 worldwide is half what it was 40 years ago’.

This trend is replicated in most parts of the world, in part because the treatment of heart problems is now much better than it used to be. But some people think that being fatter may actually lengthen rather than shorten life. Katherine Flegal, an epidemiologist at the National Centre for Health Statistics in Hyattsville Maryland, and her team analysed 97 studies into causes of death and concluded that people deemed ‘overweight’ by international standards were 6% less likely to die than those of ‘normal’ weight. People are considered overweight if they have a body mass index (BMI) over 25 and obese with a BMI over 30.

Flegal’s paper, published in the American Medical Journal in January last year, says it’s possible that overweight people get better medical care - either because they show symptoms of disease earlier or because they’re screened more regularly for chronic diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease. It drew a hostile response from some public health experts, who have been advising people for decades to watch their weight. A number of other researchers, on the other hand, have embraced Flegal’s work and see it as the latest illustration of what is known as the Obesity Paradox - the notion that there is an inverse relationship between body fat and risk of death. At least one study has suggested that heavier people are more likely to survive certain operations. Fat or not, people around the world are likely to live longer than previous generations, says Peto. ‘If you’re not in the middle of a war, HIV epidemic or drinking gallons of vodka then overall death rates are going down and they are going down very fast,’ he says.

‘The probability of dying before age 50 worldwide is half what it was 40 years ago.’ Of course there are differences between countries. Forty years ago more than 36% of people died before their 50th birthday in Iran, whereas now it’s only 6%, Peto points out. On the other hand, in some countries of sub-Saharan Africa there has been very little change. There are a variety of different reasons for lengthening life expectancy, including better vaccination programmes and drugs, cleaner water, better trained midwives and people stopping smoking. But though we may live longer our quality of life may be low.

So while we can expect extra years, they may not necessarily be golden - which is itself a good reason to stay away from the pies.

Stuff

THAT WILL TICKLE YOUR FANCY

TEENY 13 signs you might be living in a gothic novel We love gothic novels for their emotional power, their over-the-top drama, and the creepy-shivery feelings we get while reading them. Of course, part of the fun of gothic novels is that their characters and situations are so much larger than life…or are they?

If you’ve started to suspect that the drafty cathedral your family has called home for countless centuries may in fact be the setting of a bona fide gothic novel, here are 13 spooky ways to tell for sure: 1. Either there are no clocks in your house, or your house is filled with clocks…but they’re all set to different times.

2. Also, though you refer to it as ‘your house,’ it’s actually one of the following: a dilapidated mansion, a mouldering manor, or a crumbling castle with no plumbing to speak of. Also, the wind is always howling outside.

3. People around you are regularly tumbling dramatically down stairs and breaking all of their bones.

4. You can tell that things are starting to get kind of serious with the guy you’ve been seeing because he’s started talking about how you two are actually one person and how if you’re ever separated by death he will throw himself into your open grave and be buried alive with you. Also, you suspect that the two of you might be somehow related. Best not to dwell.

5. Flickering candles everywhere.

6. Three or more friends or family members have wasted away from mysterious fevers, but always looked great doing it.

7. Instead of watching TV, you plot revenge.

8. Every time you’re about to finally fall into bed with the long-term object of your obsession, a gust of wind blows the French doors open, a candle gutters out, and one of you immediately begins to waste away from a mysterious fever.

9. Your living quarters are no great shakes, but you’ve noticed that going outside is somehow always a bad idea.

10. 20% of the meals served and eaten in your house are laced with some kind of drug or poison.

11. People are constantly being locked in their rooms or locking other people in their rooms without anybody ever batting an eye over it.

12. Most of the marriages of the couples around you were motivated by vengeance.

13. An attic without an insane person chained up in it for years just doesn’t have that lived-in feeling. Same goes for cellars, and the odd cupola.

Do you suspect you might be living in a gothic novel?

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Stuff

Saturday, August s, 2014 that will tickle your fancy

SHOPAHOLIC

Jennifer Behr's $1,375 braided crystal twists and chunky strands headwrap will give you that desired chick flavour.

LADYLIKE

A lady knows that the ability to provide an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on is one of the greatest gifts she can give a friend.

fitnessdorm

Brush away dry skin

Jessica Alba

Household product CEO From Hollywood superwoman, 32-year-old Jessica Alba is probably one of the busiest women around as she works her way to becoming a highly influential and productive household product CEO Noticeably absent from the screen for the past year, Jessica Alba returns as the voice of an extra-terrestrial villain in animated kids’ movie Escape from Planet Earth. And with a further six films lined up during the course of the year, it’s not even movie-making that preoccupies this glamorous mum but more her role as boss of a burgeoning business empire employing 100 staff.

She has also blossomed as an advocate for a number of issues including gay rights and global education. The actress is also the CEO of The Honest Company, which she launched two years ago. ‘We do detergents, household cleaning products, personal care products, diapers and wipes; all non-toxic and hypo-allergenic,’ says Alba, who herself suffered from childhood asthma. ‘It’s a game-changer in the family product business.

I’m the president and founder and it’s grown quicker than we ever imagined. I’m really proud of it. I spend more time at my office now than on the movie set,’ explains the actress who famously embarked on her enterprise after her eldest daughter, Honour, almost ate her diaper. She sees no reason why she can’t have it all and,

thus far, seems to have pulled off a perfect balancing act, returning to the screen in romantic comedy How to Make Love Like an Englishman with Pierce Brosnan, period drama Dear Eleanor and comedies Stretch and Barely Lethal.

Reprising her role as dancer Nancy Callahan in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For , the sequel to Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s hard-boiled 2005 cult classic is perhaps her most hotly anticipated role. Rodriguez has been instrumental throughout Alba’s career, first auditioning her when she was 17 and going on to cast her not only in Sin City but Machete Kills and Spy Kids: All The Time in the World in 4D. The daughter of an Air Force father and homemaker mother, she was 11 years old when she won an acting competition and was signed by an agent, winning a handful of commercials and TV roles. At 21, she starred as a genetically-engineered soldier on James Cameron’s short-lived TV series Dark Angel, which led to her breakout role in Honey, her sexy dance moves sealing her reputation as both sex symbol and action star then cast in superhero franchise Fantastic Four. Making her animated film

debut with Escape from Planet Earth alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, it’s something of an understatement when she says: ‘I never get to do movies that my kids can see. This is really the first one.’ Despite her many provocative scantily clad roles, her no-nudity clause affords her the protection of body doubles and digital trickery.

That being said, she draws the line at her children checking out the rest of her catalogue.

‘A lot of my films are rated ‘R’ so there’s no way my children will be watching them, not for a very long time. It’s not appropriate,’ says the actress who confesses how, at five years old, she would sneak downstairs and hide behind the couch while her parents watched horror movies like Friday the 13th and Pet Sematary. ‘I felt like I didn’t sleep for my entire childhood.

I was freaked out.’ Seven months pregnant when she wed businessman Cash Warren, 35, six years ago, the couple are now parents to daughters Honour, almost six, and Haven, almost three years old. ‘It couldn’t have worked out better actually,’ she says. ‘I used to work, basically, 11-and-a-half-months-a-year on location. And now I have an office job.’

Dry skin brushing is a great way to give your circulation a boost and improve the look of your skin. This age-fighting treatment is especially effective at getting rid of bumpy ski on the backs of your arms and at tackling the appearance cellulite. An essential part of your summer beauty armoury.

When to do it The best time to do it is before you have a shower. You’ll need highquality dry skin brush with soft bristles.

How to do it

Start at the feet and, using a light but firm touch, start to sweep the brush in small circular motions over the skin. Move over the toes and up legs, towards the hips. Next, start at the fingertips and continue up towards the heart. Go gently over delicate areas such as the neck.

Finishing off

When you’ve finished, get in the shower and lather yourself with a moisturising shower gel. Your complexion should be left a pink, healthy glow.

Brushing yourself in this way every other day or so is good for your circulation as well as your skin.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

Stuff

THAT WILL TICKLE YOUR FANCY

FASCINATING FACTS

6 CLEVER CRIMES The great gold robbery: England/1855 A total of 91kg of gold was stolen as it was being shipped to the Crimean War front lines.

The thieves stole and copied the keys to the safes, boarded the train, replaced the gold with lead shot, and got away clean. The gang fell apart on rivalries; one was sent to Australia as a convict, but the mastermind received only two years for larceny. The gold was never fully recovered.

Sisi Star Heist: Austria/1998 Canadian criminal Gerald Blanchard videotaped the layout of an Austrian castle while on a family holiday. He then parachuted from a small plane to the roof at night, broke in, and switched the jewels with cheap copies.

The switch was not discovered for some days.

He was eventually caught for other crimes, and admitted that the jewels were hidden in his grandmother’s basement in Winnipeg.

Mona Lisa Caper: France/1911 Eduardo de Valfierno allegedly had six copies of the Mona Lisa made; he then paid Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia to steal the original, which he did by simply hiding it under his coat and walking out. After the heist, the copies were delivered to buyers, each of whom believed the painting had been stolen for them. In 1913 Peruggia was caught trying to sell the original.

Catch Me If You Can: Worldwide/1965-1969 Frank William Abagnale Jr. was a con man, impostor, and escape artist who became notorious for successfully passing the modern-day equivalent of US $2.5 million in forged cheques, starting when he was only 17 years old. In the process, he successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a doctor, a prison inspector, and a lawyer. He is now a private security consultant.

Banco Central Burglary: Brazil/2005 A gang of burglars rented an empty property and put up signs claiming that the rental housed a landscaping company (to explain the van-loads of soil they were soon removing daily). They spent three months tunnelling 78 metres- two city blocks- to q position beneath the bank. They surfaced in the bank on a weekend and made off with almost US $99 million. Most of the money has never been recovered.

The Inner Tube Robber: Us/2008 A criminal advertised on the online community resource Craigslist, offering to pay strangers to show up outside a given bank dressed in yellow vests, safety goggles, a respirator mask, and blue shirts. About a dozen did and while they milled about, the robber (dressed in the same getup) overempowered an armoured car guard and grabbed bags of money. He fled in an inner tube down a nearby creek, but was eventually caught.

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THE BIG STORY

FAMOUS FAMILY

FEUDS

Blood is thicker than water, as they say. However, perhaps it should be added that money is thicker than both. The truth is, a number of the families in this story might best be described as ‘rich, famous and feuding.’ If you think your family has issues, the following family feuds may make you glad you don't have a fortune to fight over.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS

Biblical Cain and Abel Cain and Abel were, according to Genesis in the Bible, Adam and Eve’s two sons. Cain is described as a crop farmer and his younger brother Abel as a shepherd. Cain was the first human born and Abel was the first human to die.

These two Biblical brothers birthed the family feud. The sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel grew up outside the Garden of Eden thanks to Mom and Dad’s fruit binge.

Firstborn Cain worked the fields while Abel tended the sheep.

According to the story in Chapter 4 of Genesis, when God favoured Abel’s sheep offering over Cain’s garden sacrifice, an enraged Cain killed his brother, thus introducing murder to the world. God sent Cain away to live ‘east of Eden’ in the

land called Nod. According to the biblical narrative in Genesis 4:1-16, Cain treacherously murdered his brother Abel, lied about the murder to God, and as a result was cursed and marked for life. With the earth left cursed to drink Abel’s blood, Cain was no longer able to farm the land. Interpretations extend Cain’s curse to his descendants, where they all died in the Great purge as retribution for the loss of Abel’s potential offspring. Cain’s curse involves receiving a mark from God, commonly referred to as the mark of Cain. This mark serves as God’s promise to Cain for divine protection from premature death, with the stated purpose to prevent anyone from killing him.

Dramatic Hatfields and McCoys There’s simply no feud more noteworthy than the legendary conflict between West Virginia’s Hatfield family and Kentucky’s McCoys, which has come to be the most famous historical example of the destructive power of vendettas.

The differences between the wealthy Hatfields and the more working class McCoys started during the Civil War. The pro-Confederate Hatfields made no secret of their disdain for the McCoy’s support of the Union, and they were even suspected of killing one of the McCoys who served in the Union Army.

But the feud didn’t really begin to gain steam until 1878 when a dispute over ownership of a pig ended with the McCoys killing one of the Hatfields.

From here, the conflict escalated into an all-out war, with both sides regularly perpetrating killings, beatings, and kidnappings against the other. In one of the feud’s most dramatic chapters, Roseanna McCoy began an affair with one of the Hatfield boys, and the familial

strains caused by the relationship (which was eventually abandoned) led to a series of brutal murders on both sides.

The feud reached its bloody peak in 1888. In what has come to be known as the New Year’s Night Massacre, a group of Hatfields attacked the McCoy cabin in the middle of the night. After opening fire on the cabin, killing two children, and brutally beating their mother, the men burned the house down. This incident, along with a string of other killings during the 1880s, eventually got the law involved, and the governors of both Kentucky and West Virginia even deployed state militias to help get the situation under control. After a manhunt, several of the Hatfields were arrested for their part in the New Year’s Night massacre, and at least seven were given life sentences in prison. In 1891, after ten years of bitter conflict and more than a dozen deaths, the two families finally agreed to a truce, and from there the feud eventually eroded.

OTHER FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS The Astor’s

New York socialite Brooke Astor acknowledged motherhood wasn’t her strong suit, friends said. She shipped off her only son, Anthony Marshall, to boarding school at an early age.

Then again, there’s evidence Marshall grew up to be a less than a dutiful son.

In 2006, Marshall’s son, Philip, filed a lawsuit demanding his father be removed as guardian of Grandma Astor, who was 104. The grandson claimed his father was denying Astor, who gave away a reported $200m during her life, decent food, a warm place to sleep, even visits

from her beloved dogs. JPMorgan Chase Bank was brought in to look at Astor’s finances, and in court documents alleged Astor’s son may have wrongfully taken millions from his mother’s estate. Astor died in 2007, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s office investigated and indicted Marshall for what one prosecutor called ‘grand theft Astor.’ In 2009, after a five-month trial, Marshall was convicted in Manhattan Supreme Court of siphoning millions from his mother as she lay dying.

At the age of 85, he was sentenced to three years in prison. He remains free pending appeal.

The Gallo Brothers

Ever feel like proposing a toast to family unity? It’s doubtful the Gallos ever did.

You’ve almost certainly heard of Ernest and Julio Gallo, whose winemaking operation was the largest in the world.

You may know less about a third brother, Joseph. During the Great Depression, he became a ward of his older brothers after an apparent murder-suicide in which their father shot their mother then turned the trigger on himself. Prohibition was ending, and Ernest and Julio began making cheap wine from the grapes of the family’s California vineyard. But

Joseph felt his treatment was akin to servitude. He became a commercial dairy rancher, whose best-known brand was Joseph Gallo cheese. In this case, wine and cheese clearly didn’t go together. After an extremely bitter court battle, Ernest and Julio prevailed over Joseph’s claims that he had been denied his rightful share of the winery.

Further, in a trademark infringement ruling, Ernest and Julio were given rights to the Gallo name. The cheese line had to be renamed Joseph Farms.

Joseph never again spoke to his brothers.

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FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS

The Not-So-Friendly Friendly’s Brothers When the Blake brothers, 20-year-old Prestley and 18-yearold Curtis, opened their first Friendly ice cream shop in 1935, the Massachusetts, the siblings had no idea how difficult it could be to do business with family.

Their company saw great success and expansion in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and by 1979 they were ready to sell. The Hershey Foods Corp. purchased Friendly, but nine years later the ice cream chain was sold to Tennessee Foods, who changed its name to Friendly’s. These deals all seemed to be acceptable to both brothers, but in 2007, when Friendly’s announced that it had hired Goldman Sachs to help it explore another possible sale, younger

brother Curtis had had enough.

He wrote a letter to his older brother Prestley, who still held 13% of the company, asking him on behalf of Friendly’s management not to allow another sale. ‘Our company is now in a very precarious position,’ wrote Curtis. ‘You alone are now in the position to control the entire future.’ Prestley responded publicly, telling the Boston Globe: ‘I’m sorry my brother isn’t with me on this, but I’m going to keep going because I know I’m right.’ And with that Friendly’s was sold for $337m to the private investment firm, Sun Capital Partners. It has been said the brothers regret business came between them. In the same Globe

article, Curtis wrote of the sad ending to their story: ‘I’m very disappointed. He was my best

Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine are both Academy Award winners, have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and are acclaimed for their film roles in the 1930s and ‘40s. They are also sisters, though you’d be hard-pressed to find much evidence of that fact.

For more than three decades, the sisters did not speak to each other, a result of a vicious sibling rivalry that has persisted throughout their entire lives. The fighting reportedly began when the two, as children, competed for the attention of their mother, actress Lillian Augusta Ruse (known professionally as Lillian Fontaine). The feud only increased from there as the actresses battled over men, film roles and accolades.

They even went head-to-head for

the Oscar for Best Actress in 1942 (Fontaine won for Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion over de Havilland’s Hold Back the Dawn). But it was their mother’s death in 1975 that was the final straw. As Fontaine attacked de Havilland for not notifying her of their mother’s passing, de Havilland countered that Fontaine was too busy to attend the services.

Reportedly, the two stopped talking since then. The sisters continued like this, battling over awards, parts, and men (including oil magnate Howard Hughes). When both were invited to commemorative Oscar ceremonies honouring past winners, they were kept to opposite sides of the stage; in 1989, given adjacent hotel rooms for another Oscar presentation, Fontaine switched rooms, and never

attended the Oscars again. Olivia and Joan have not spoken a word to one another for more than 35 years.

It seems unlikely that they will ever meet or speak to each other again. It

friend for 85 years. It would have been a nice story if we ended up best friends for our entire life.’

Fighting divas Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine

has become Hollywood’s most bitter and longest-running feud, a source of distress to both their families, and of embarrassment and dismay to their friends and colleagues.

OTHER FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS The Novacks

Ben Novack Jr. loved his Batman memorabilia. His collection was reportedly the second largest in the world. He could afford it. He owned a successful Fort Lauderdale, Fla., convention planning firm, and his father, Ben Novack Sr., founded Miami Beach’s famed Fontainebleau Hotel. On July 12, 2009, Novack visited a hotel for the last time. He was beaten to death with a dumbbell in a suburban New York hotel while on business. His estate was worth a purported $7m. His wife, Narcy, said the murder happened while she was at breakfast. But prosecutors contend the widow Novack skipped the bacon and eggs. Actually, she’d hatched a murder-for-hire plan and watched

as paid hit men killed her husband, prosecutors alleged. She has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial on charges that could mean life in prison.

Liam Gallagher vs. Noel Gallagher

The fight between these two brothers is something else. Liam and Noel Gallagher have had more fallings-out than we’ve had hot dinners (as they say in the U.K.). But this round seems slightly more serious than the usual physical or verbal skirmish. Liam has filed a high-court action in reaction to Noel’s allegation that he pulled out of Oasis’ 2009 headline performance at the V Festival in England because of a ‘hangover.’ Liam maintains that he had laryngitis, according to the diagnose of a doctor, and claims that his older

brother’s comments went ‘way beyond rock-’n’-roll banter and questioned my professionalism.’ ‘I tried to resolve this amicably but have been left with no choice but legal action,’ he said, adding, ‘All I want is an apology.’ But considering that the brothers have parted ways, any apology may be a long time coming, unless an eventual court case dictates otherwise.

Anna Nicole Smith vs. the Marshalls

It’s the classic story: Successful man meets younger woman, dies shortly after marrying her and everybody lawyers up. In 1994, J. Howard Marshall II, a billionaire Texas oilman, married former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith at a drive-in wedding chapel. He was 89 to her 26. Marshall died the next year, setting up a showdown

between his widow and E. Pierce Marshall, who was technically her stepson although nearly 30 years older. Smith claimed her husband nicknamed Paw Paw promised her half his estate. Problem: It wasn’t in the will. The son appeared to have won.

But the widow filed bankruptcy, and was awarded $475m. That was thrown out by a federal appeals court, which said the bankruptcy court overstepped its authority. In May 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Smith could pursue her case in federal court. A month later, E. Pierce Marshall died of an infection. Seven months after that, Smith died of a drug overdose. But the feud continues. In 2010, a federal appeals court ruled Smith’s estate deserved none of Paw Paw’s money. In January, the Supreme Court heard her estate’s appeal. It hasn’t ruled.

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FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS

Innovative Adidas and Puma

Two of the world’s most renowned shoe companies were birthed from a bout of bad blood between siblings. In the 1920s, German brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler launched a shoe company together in their mother’s laundry room. Their business boomed after Dassler shoes adorned the feet of gold-medal-winning Olympians in the 1930s. But as their sales spiked, so did the tension between the two brothers.

World War II proved the breaking point in their relationship. While no one is sure what caused the rift, it’s said to be a result

of miscommunication. After an Allied bomb attack, Adolf and his wife took cover in a bomb shelter already occupied by Rudolf and his family. ‘The dirty bastards are back again,’ Adolf said, apparently referring to the planes, but Rudolf thought the comment was an attack against his family.

By the war’s end, the brothers had split the company and waged a war of their own in the business arena. Adolf, who preferred to be called Adi, named his business Adidas, combining his first and last names; Rudolf

tried the same with his firm called Ruda, though he later changed it to Puma. It’s said that the brothers never spoke again, and their bitter rivalry even divided the town of Herzogenaurach, where they built their competing factories on the opposite banks of the town’s river. It wasn’t until September 2009, long after the brothers’ deaths, that the companies put aside their feud and faced off in a friendly game of soccer an appropriate meeting for two companies who’ve become independently famous in the field of sports shoes.

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FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS

Back-biting Joan and Christina Crawford When Oscar-winning movie icon Joan Crawford died in 1977, she couldn’t have known that just a year later, her adopted daughter Christina would publish Mommie Dearest, a memoir that recounted her abusive, militaristic, perfectionist tendencies as a mother. Because of the timing of the book’s publication, some people doubted the veracity of Christina’s claims especially since Joan had taken great pains to appear publicly as the model parent. To the wider public, Christina’s mother was not the abusive parent, prone to uncontrolled bouts of fury.

She was not the alcoholic, given to occasional bursts of sporadic violence. She was not the tyrannical harpy who apparently let rip behind closed doors. To everyone else she was simply Joan Crawford, Hollywood movie star. At the height of her fame in the 1940s, Crawford had a considerable reputation to uphold. She was one of the original studio ingénues, an actress who overcame an impoverished childhood to become one of the highest-paid women in the business. But to Christina, the public image was a gilded lie.

Furthering the distrust over

Christina’s claims was that she and her brother Christopher had been taken out of Joan’s will, for reasons ‘well known to them’ giving Christina what seemed to be a perfect motivation to malign her mother’s name.

There were others in the Hollywood community, though, who supported Christina’s account, saying they had witnessed Joan’s abusiveness.

When the film version was released in 1981, starring Faye Dunaway as Joan, it was poorly received, proving that although Joan had been dead for nearly five years, she still had friends in high places.

Lieutenants Stalin and Trotsky Just before the death of the famed Soviet revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin, his two lieutenants Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky became embroiled in a bitter struggle for control over the newly formed USSR. Even prior to Lenin’s illness, there was no love lost between the two men, who had very different ideas about the way the socialist revolution should be conducted.

They clashed after Stalin directly defied Trotsky’s orders during the Russian Civil War and the PolishSoviet War, and Trotsky responded by being openly critical of Stalin during the Soviet Party Conference.

Trotsky was far more popular than Stalin, so Stalin was given the less public role of General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1922.

Trotsky, who was a persuasive

orator, maintained a visible presence in foreign affairs and was perceived by many as the heir apparent.

After Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922, the feud escalated considerably. Trotsky was considered the smarter tactician of the two men, and he was widely acknowledged as Lenin’s preferred successor. But Stalin was shrewder and more skilled at negotiating backroom deals, and he quickly assembled a team of allies determined to see Trotsky destroyed.

Although outnumbered by political opponents, Trotsky continued to voice his opposition to Stalin and his allies even after Lenin’s death in 1924. He briefly managed to gain popular support, and to many he was still regarded as the natural

successor to Lenin. But Stalin soon began using the Soviet Secret Police as a means of intimidation, and before long support for Trotsky had largely been stamped out. With his new power, Stalin saw to it that

Trotsky was removed from the party and exiled from the USSR in 1928. Trotsky eventually ended up in Mexico where, on Stalin’s orders, he was assassinated by a Soviet operative in 1940.

POPULAR CELEBRITY FEUDS Solange & Jay Z

Beyoncé’s little sis was allegedly caught on camera attacking the rapper in an elevator after the 2014 Met Gala in NYC! The brutal brawl is still unexplained and has many fans wondering what caused the intra-family feud.

The Jacksons

The wacky and wild drama going on within Michael Jackson’s family lately is, to say the least, well, thrilling.

And confusing to boot. First, Jackson matriarch Katherine was reported missing but then found with family members in Arizona. Then, an alleged physical altercation at the Jackson family home? And you thought your

family had problems.

Jon Voight & Angelina Jolie

When Jon Voight publicly claimed daughter Angelina had ‘mental problems,’ Ms. Jolie handled the diss with a sixyear estrangement. But Angelina isn’t exactly one for normalcy. At 14, she went through a self-proclaimed ‘punk rock’ phase and first began experimenting with knives. She went on to struggle with depression, drug use and cutting in her teens and early 20s. But there’s an end to the bitter family feud—Jon and Jolie made peace two years ago.

The Sheens

The Sheens may have Tiger Blood to bond them, but there wasn’t always love in this

famous fam. Following years of struggle with addiction, Charlie was arrested for drug possession and assault on then wife Brooke Mueller. Less than a year later, the actor had a very public meltdown (and was fired from Two and a Half Men), causing a rift in the fam. His father Martin and brother Emilio Estevez then deemed him ‘emotionally crippled.’

The Spellings

Tori Spelling’s feud with mom Candy began shortly after the death of her famous father, Aaron Spelling, when the sTORIbook Weddings star came up short in her dad’s will. Tori opened up in a tell-all book about her dysfunctional relationship with her mother. Things heated up when

Candy openly criticized her daughter in 2009 for becoming a reality-TV sellout and using her family as props. The two have since repaired their broken relationship.

Leighton Meester & Mother Constance

Meester’s mama drama started in July 2011 when the Gossip Girl star sued her mother for allegedly stealing money the actress had set aside for her sick brother. Constance fired back with a lawsuit against Leighton claiming that she ‘sacrificed her happiness’ for her daughter’s career. The judge eventually ruled in favour of Leighton and since then, Leighton’s drama has been confined to her scenes on the set of Gossip Girls.

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FAMOUS FAMILY FEUDS

Godfathers' Al Capone and Bugs Moran Prohibition-era gangsters Al Capone and Bugs Moran managed to control the Chicago underworld for most of the 1920s. They ran liquor, operated casinos, and opened brothels, all with little fear of retaliation from the police. What both men did fear, though, was each other. For years prior to Capone’s imprisonment, the two engaged in a bloody feud that included robbery, arson, and murder. The trouble started when Capone’s Southside Italian gang started to rise to power through violence and intimidation. Moran’s Irish Northsiders took a strong dislike to Capone’s brutal tactics, and Moran himself regularly lambasted Capone in the press, calling him ‘Scarface’ and a ‘grease ball.’ On more than one occasion, Moran and his associates performed drive-by shootings on Capone’s

cars and businesses, and both men had properties owned by the other burned to the ground. In one particularly grisly incident, Moran’s crew abducted Capone’s personal bodyguard and tortured him for hours before killing him and ditching the body.

Capone and Moran’s organizations continued to trade punches throughout the late 1920s. Moran made several attempts on Capone’s life, and he regularly had his gang raid Capone’s shipments of illegal liquor. The tension finally got the better of Capone in 1929, when he allegedly ordered the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, which saw seven of Moran’s men lined up and shot hundreds of times with Tommy guns. The massacre marked the beginning of the end of Moran’s criminal empire, but it also drew the

ire of the federal government, which arrested Capone on tax evasion charges two years later. After being released, Capone was never able to

re-establish his criminal empire.

Moran, meanwhile, was later arrested for bank robbery, and died in prison at the age of 65.

The 47 Ronin and Kira Yoshinaka In Samurai history, there’s no more famous story of vendetta than the tale of the 47 Ronin, which has become one of Japan’s most treasured pieces of national folklore.

Also a movie starring Nicolas Cage has been made. As the story goes, the feud originally began in the 1600s between Asano Nagonori, a feudal lord, and Kira Yoshinaka, an official who worked for the Shogun, the head military official in Japan. Kira was supposedly a rude and ill-tempered man, and it’s said he regularly disrespected the more unflappable Asano. After repeated insults, Asano finally drew his sword and attacked Kira, but he only succeeded in slashing the other’s face before he was subdued and arrested. For his crime, Asano ‘hara-kiri.’ Asano’s death meant that his Samurai retainers had become Ronin warriors without a master or purpose. Most went their separate

ways, but a group of 47 loyal members, led by Oishi Yoshio, swore to avenge Asano’s death.

Kira was wary that the Ronin would try to seek revenge, so they were forced to lie in wait for over a year, carefully disguising their motives by taking on menial jobs and pretending to be poor and undisciplined. But two years after Asano’s death, the Ronin finally attacked. They converged on Kira’s mansion, and after defeating several rival Samurai in combat, they found Kira cowering in a back room and killed him by cutting off his head.

They took the head with them and placed it on their master Asano’s tomb before turning themselves in to the authorities. Though they may have been victorious in the feud, the 47 Ronin were still charged with murder, and they were forced to commit seppuku in the same fashion as their master.

POPULAR CELEBRITY FEUDS The Lohans

Need we even explain this one?

There’s often-troubled daughter Lindsay, who spent much of her 20s between rehab and the courthouse.

Then there’s ma Dina and pa Michael, both of who spend much of their time blasting each other in the media.

Mike ‘The Situation’ & Frank Sorrentino

After his son made a name for himself in Hollywood on The Jersey Shore, Frank Sorrentino, blasted Sitch for abandoning him for fame, claiming, ‘when I needed his help, he left me hanging. I think people should know what I know.’ Frank also

planned to write a tell-all about his celeb spawn. The Situation quickly filed a lawsuit against his pops for trying to ruin his reputation.

The Hogans

t was a rocky end for the TV family as Hulk and Linda’s marriage fell apart on camera. When newly single Linda began dating a 20-yearold boyfriend, daughter Brooke lashed out that she felt betrayed and backstabbed by her mom.

Fast forward a couple years, add an autobiography by Linda with supposedly false allegations against Hulk and you get Hulk Hogan filing a defamation lawsuit against his ex.

Madonna & Christopher Ciccone

The Material Girl has long butted heads with younger brother Christopher after dropping him as her assistant. Madonna tried but failed to stop publication of Christopher’s 2008 tell-all about the ‘Vogue’ singer titled Life With My Sister Madonna.

The Barrymores

Adorable Drew may have won our hearts in E.T., but life as a child star wasn’t easy. Mother Jade Barrymore became Drew’s manager and the 7-year-old began accompanying her to nightclubs, leading to a slew of addictions at a young age.

Following a suicide attempt at age 14, Drew successfully emancipated herself from her parents and stayed committed to sobriety. The motherdaughter bad blood lasted for years until they finally reconciled while filming Riding in Cars With Boys.

The Gosselins

Jon and Kate Gosselin’s bickering on Jon & Kate Plus 8 was just a sign of things to come once the couple divorced. Following their June 2009 split, the reality-TV parents got into a nasty custody battle over their eight children, not to mention the many good-parents, bad-parent attacks each of them made on the other.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

GAMETROPIC

Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon got the idea for the game after collecting caterpillars as a child and watching them change into butterflies.

GADGETED

The primary duty of the refrigerator is to keep your food fresh. This is something the Mitticool refrigerator does effortlessly. This refrigerator is a no tech fridge that is simple yet effective.

TECHLIFE

'Big Brother' airport installs world’s first real-time passenger tracking system the Wi-Fi network at Helsinki Airport will be monitored by an in-house tracking system that identifies passengers’ real-time movements. The technology has been criticised by privacy advocate groups, but is said to be aimed at monitoring crowds and preventing bottlenecking at the airport, which sees around 15 million passengers a year, Bloomberg reports. About 150 white boxes, each the size of a wireless internet router, have been placed at various points around the airport. Equipped with tracking technology from the Finland-based retail analytics company Walkbase, each device is designed to collect the ‘unique identifier numbers’ of all mobile phones which have WiFi access switched on. Passengers can also ‘opt-in’ for other services, by logging into the network via

Civil liberty groups criticise a new tracking device at Helsinki Airport that can monitor passengers’ footsteps, from arrival at the car park to take-off.

All mobile phones logged into

an application such as an airline app or retail store app, to receive sales offers from the airport’s 35 shops and 32 restaurants and cafes, in addition to any relevant flight information. Users wanting access to the Wi-Fi network will be notified of the monitoring system before they log in to the network.

Currently at its initial phase, the full tracking system is expected to be in place by the end of this year which could enable shops to specifically target passengers that are within their vicinities, such as a deli that could alert a passenger walking by of a certain item on sale. The technology was also met with concern from customers at the US-based department store retailer Nordstrom where it was tested last year, who criticised it for monitoring unwary customers.

Kim Kardashian’s game makes $700,000 a day Kim Kardashian is famous for doing nothing. Now she’s got a game that’s pulling in $700,000 a day where players have to do, well, nothing. ‘Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’ from Glu Mobil lets you create an avatar that can work to achieve virtual A-list status.

Your mission: Hob-nobbing with celebrities, going to a photo shoot and wearing expensive clothes.

The game is free to download, but players spend real money on things like virtual clothes, virtual hairstyles and energy boosts for their avatars. The more your avatar does, the faster you can move up the ranks from the E List to the A List the objective of the game.

If sales continue at their current rate, the game will gross $200m in its first year, according to Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen and

Click! Click!!

Company. That would put ‘Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’ in the big leagues with smash-hit mobile games like Candy Crush. Creutz estimates there are only about seven other apps in the world that are pulling in more money right now. And Kardashian’s is one of the top five most downloaded apps in

Apple’s store. ‘I don’t even know what genre to call it, but people are taken with it,’ he said. Shares of game maker Glu Mobil (GLUU) have soared more than 30% since the app launched in late June. Glu reported a 51% jump in sales for the second quarter, thanks to the Kardashian game as well as other hits such as Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores. It’s impossible to know if ‘Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’ will maintain its current growth, Creutz said. Adding new characters and levels to the game hello Kourtney and Khloe! could keep more people playing longer. The mobile game market is expanding rapidly.

The trick is to get more people comfortable with spending money on purchases within games that they downloaded for free. Right now, less than 3% of gamers do so.

FOR THE UPWARDLY MOBILE

Aptitude Listhings Listhings is a simple online sticky note app that lets you ditch your physical note, create one online, then access it from anywhere other computers etc.

fontBROWSER fontBROWSER lets you type in any text you want in any two sizes and then scroll through your list of installed fonts and see a quick preview of each. You can even view all of the standard keys and special characters in each font with a click.

Meal Snap TIf you use written contracts for your work (and you should!), it can take a lot of time to prepare files, send them off and then follow up to make sure you get all of the required signatures. This can often result in a delayed project start. EchoSign is an online electronic signature service that lets you get quick e-signatures on your contracts, track responses and file your documents.

DrunkBlocker Ever hear the sad story from one of your friends how they had too much to drink and then called the boss? Make sure you don’t duplicate the stupidity by setting this app to prevent you from calling people you shouldn’t when out on a bender.

Fake Me Out of Here Ever been trapped by someone you really didn’t want to talk to? They go on and on and there is no escape. Smartphone to the rescue with this app, that will give you a fake phone call by simply shaking the phone. Just shake and excuse yourself to take the important ‘call’.

Google can predict the stock market

Google searches for business and politics topics can predict a future stock market crash, researchers have claimed. An analysis of search terms between 2004 and 2012 found an increase in internet searches preceded falls.

Researchers from Warwick Business School said search behaviour could provide an early warning system of concerns about the state of the economy. They developed complex computer programmes that mined through the vast amount of internet traffic to identify trends in a broad range of topics or sectors from food

to architecture to cricket. Research Fellow Chester Curme said: ‘Search engines, such as Google; record almost everything we search for.

‘Records of these search queries allow us to learn about how people gather information online before making decisions in the real world. ‘So there’s potential to use these search data to anticipate what large groups of people may do. ‘However, the number of possible things people could search for is huge. So an important challenge is to identify what types of words may be relevant to behaviours of interest.’

Previous studies showed usage data

from Google and Wikipedia may contain early warning signs of stock market moves but these findings relied on the researchers choosing an appropriate set of keywords, in particular those related to finance.

In order to enable algorithms to automatically identify patterns in search activity that might be related to subsequent real world behaviour, the team quantified the meaning of every single word on Wikipedia.

This allowed the researchers to categorize words into topics, so that a ‘business’ topic may contain words such as ‘business,’ ‘management,’

and ‘bank.’ Researchers then used Google Trends to see how often each week thousands of these words were searched for by Internet users in the United States between 2004 and 2012. Assistant Professor of Behavioural Science Suzy Moat said: ‘By mining these datasets, we were able to identify a historic link between rises in searches for terms for both business and politics, and a subsequent fall in stock market prices. ‘No other topic was linked to returns that were significantly higher than those generated by randomly buying and selling.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

CULTURED!

FOR THE UNINFORMED & CLUELESS

CULTURE

SHOCK

Superstitions

Dresssense

In Japan, it is believed that if a beggar ever comes to your doorstep, you’re supposed throw salt to your entry way where the beggar has been. Failing to do so will bring bad luck and financial misfortune to your household.

Trinny Woodall goes bohemian and braless for afternoon shopping trip She shot to fame as a selfproclaimed fashion expert on TV show What Not To Wear. But Trinny Woodall suffered a wardrobe malfunction of sorts as she stepped out braless on a decidedly chilly afternoon. Floating through London’s Sloane Square shopping district in a light fabric maxi, Trinny’s failure to put on an essential part of her get up, was made very apparent.

The 50-year-old mum of two layered

a chic bohemian dress over beige cigarette-cut trousers to master one of the season’s notoriously hard catwalk trends, but failed at the first hurdle when getting dressed that morning. Enjoying a solo shopping trip, she wore loose curls in her medium-length hair and made strides through the West London territory with a white shopper in tow, which she carried down by her side.

Proverbs A chattering bird builds no nest..

-CAMEROONIAN PROVERB Don’t bargain for fish which are still in the water.

-INDIAN PROVERB Never rely on the glory of the morning or the smiles of your mother-in-law.

-JAPANESE PROVERB

Excusez-moi

Auctioned

Dressing of the Maltese

World’s most expensive surfing board priced at $1.3m Roy Stuart has just created what can be easily billed to be the most expensive surfboat in the world. The New Zealand based surfer has come up with his designer surfboat which has been priced at $1.3 million.

Roy has named his creation as ‘The Rampant’ primarily because he claims that the board moves in an unrestricted and unrestrained manner.

The surfing board being 10 feet by 6 feet is bigger than any other standard surfing board. The look of the board is captivating though. Paulownia timber has been used in creating the same and the same has been fetched from East Asia. The use of this timber has ensured that Roy was able to create a single concave right from

Whereas it’s usually the rich who can afford the ocean views and hilltop villas with a breeze, in Rio de Janeiro it’s the poor who have squatted the hills above the rich districts and founded their favelas.

nose to the tail region of the surf board. This gives a balancing feel to the surfing board. Kahikatea wood found in New Zealand has been used in the basal part of the surfing board. The front surface of the board has a captivating figure of a lion done in 23 karat gold. Roy promises the best of the experience to the surfers wanting to try this board. It remains to be seen as how many surfing enthusiasts will take a liking for this surfing board which has been priced well over $1.3m.

Uncommon history of common things First there were garlands, then wreaths, then bouquets. Wedding flowers symbolise joy, new life, and love, but for early brides and grooms, they also symbolised safety from evil. That’s not all; sage meant wisdom, dill meant lust, and garlic combined with dill? Let’s just say that would have been some wedding night.

Generally, attendants at weddings with these aromatic floral arrangements would have carried sheaves of wheat as a sign of plenty. As time went on, more and more blooms were placed in bridal bouquets, and the attendants began to carry flowers as well. The bride’s

bouquet was larger to showcase her, but it was also meant to provide colours and scents that she might recall later, to give her happy memories. Different floral traditions evolved for brides in different cultures; one that came to the U.S. from England was the practice of having a young female relative known as the ‘flower girl’ scatter rose petals in the bride’s path.

The bride’s bouquet, like the bride’s attire, was considered very lucky.

Guests would clamour for bits of the wedding dress, which is one reason the garter toss was instituted. The bouquet, with its promise of fecundity,

The Maltese are conservative, and their clothing reflects that fact. They believe appearance indicates status. Never appear sloppy, and take care to groom properly.

Business dress is generally quite formal; casual clothing (even smart casual) isn’t appropriate in the workplace. Men wear suits, and women wear dresses or tailored suits. Women often wear hats to church services and official business or government functions.

For formal occasions, men may wear tuxedos, and women wear cocktail dresses or evening gowns. (If you’re unsure about the appropriate attire, ask your Maltese colleagues.)

Casual attire is always elegant.

Men wear slacks and shirts, and women wear blouses and skirts.

Dress modestly when visiting churches. Women should wear dresses that come below the knee, and make sure their shoulders are covered. Also, don’t wear shorts, sleeveless tops, sandals, or open-toed shoes.

Throwing the bride’s bouquet became something that female guests particularly fought over. It was no doubt a bride who wanted to see her beautiful flower arrangement stay intact who tossed it to a special sister or friend.

The bouquet toss has become a part of many U.S. weddings, especially when there are a number of young, unmarried women in attendance. At the reception, the single women gather in a group so that the bride can ‘throw’ the bouquet to them. Most brides turn their backs to this group and throw the flowers over smaller bouquet made up by a florist their shoulders so that they cannot be to ‘toss’ so that they can preserve their accused of favouring one woman over carried bouquet as a keepsake. another. Many brides have a special,

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

TRAVELOGUE

Fair Isle, Scotland is the most isolated inhabited island in Britain. It is home to only about 70 people, but hundreds of thousands of birds reside on the island making it a paradise for birdwatchers.

DESIRABLES

THE MUSTREADS AND LINGER-ONS

Weird Al Yankovic is no clown; he’s a clone and a master businessman you should copy When his new album, Mandatory Fun hit number one on the Billboard chart, the parodist Weird Al Yankovic surprised, everyone including himself. But Weird Al isn’t just a goofball, he’s a smart businessman.

Al Yankovic

Even though he’s known for satires like Eat It, which spoofed Michael Jackson’s Beat It and his new song Word Crimes, which irreverently appropriates the Robin Thicke single Blurred Lines, Yankovic is a savvy businessman, with a three-decade track record of persuading better-known artistes to let him adapt their work. Just as Weird Al copies other people’s ideas and builds on them, you can copy his strategies to grow your own business.

There are three main types of growth: differentiation, replication and

appropriation. Most of the time, we talk about differentiation, where firms create new products and seek out new markets.

The second type, replication, seeks growth through copying existing business models and products; franchising is the most common example.

The third type of growth, appropriation — this is where Weird Al comes in. He uses strategic alliances and partnerships to generate value through new products and new markets, using others’ skills and resources. This doesn’t mean stealing ideas

or violating intellectual-property rights.

Back in 1997, the rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sampled the Police hit Every Breath You Take without asking permission for his song, I’ll Be Missing You, which won a Grammy and sold 7 million copies. Sting sued, and a court awarded him 100 per cent of the royalties to I’ll Be Missing You for all time.

Weird Al, by contrast, has promoted his career by seeking approval from every musician he spoofs. As a great New York Times profile points out: ‘The popularity of ‘Mandatory Fun’ also points to the goodwill that Mr Yankovic has built up among both fans and fellow artistes in his more than 30 years in the pop-culture spotlight. Generations of fans have grown up with his parodies, and many artists see getting the Weird Al treatment as confirmation of success.’

For the launch of ‘Mandatory Fun,’ Weird Al found partners that hit this trifecta. As the Times story explains, he wanted to release a new video each day for eight days, but he didn’t have the budget from RCA, his record label. So he secured the funding to make the videos from partner websites such as Nerdist, Funny or Die and College Humour.

The websites had financial resources and their own valuable audiences. They got new viewers through Weird Al’s videos. And Weird Al got his marketing blitz, which went viral under the hashtag #8videos8days, and which drove his album sales to the top of the chart.

Examples of partnerships involving appropriation extend well beyond music.

Macy’s recently got a noticeable sales boost from leasing space within its department stores to the retailers Finish Line and Lids brands that attract millennials and play to the athletic-wear trends currently in fashion.

Weird Al has a tougher task to get partners to cooperate, because he is not only appropriating, but also innovating. What he proposes to other artists can be risky and, well, weird. But his career has endured because he keeps his word to musicians — and because he is a consummate marketer.

The Atlantic describes how Lady Gaga, or her management, at first opposed his song ‘I Perform This Way,’ a parody of Gaga’s ‘Born This Way.’ Weird Al agreed to keep the song off his album, but he released it online for fans and wrote a long blog post explaining his reasoning. By the end of the day, he had Gaga’s blessing. And he donated all the proceeds from the song to the Human Rights Campaign, one of her favourite charities.

46

Saturday, August 2, 2014

MINDFUL

RANDOM

FOR THE LEISURELY-MINDED & THOUGHTFUL

FACTS

LAST WEEK'S

CROSSWORD

SOLUTIONS 1. Pub (6) 4. Take for granted (6) 9. Weird (7) 10. Take place (5) 11. Expiation (9) 12. Sense organ (3) 13. Stage whisper (5) 15. Paragon (5) 20. Sphere (3) 22. Vortex (9) 24. Tine (5) 25. Ameliorated (7) 26. Cure (6) 27. Extremely bad (6)

WORDSEARCH BACON BAGELS CEREAL EGGS GRANOLA HASH BROWNS HONEY JAM JUICE MILK MUFFINS OATMEAL OMELETS PANCAKES PORRIDGE SAUSAGES TOAST WAFFLES YOGURT

SUDOKU CLASSIC

WORDSEARCH

WORDLADDER Can you climb the ladder and find the missing numbers?

?

118 ?

56 28 26

SUDOKUCLASSIC

13 9 6 4 See solution below

HOMEWORK FOR GROWN-UPS 1 The ohm, the unit of resistance, was named in honour of whom? a) George Ohm b) Frank Ohm c) Daniel Ohm 2. An electric fish is a fish that can generate what? a) Electric current b) Electric field c) Electric voltage 3. Who replaced Timothy Dalton as James Bond? a) Daniel Craig b) Sean Connery c) Pierce Brosnan 4. What is the giant panda's favourite food? a) Marijuana leaves b) Bamboo shoots c) Cassava leaves 5. Which group of people were the first to

use freeze-drying on potatoes? a) The Incas b) The Aztecs WORDLADDER SOLUTION c) The Celts 6. What Italian city had the Roman name Mediolanum? a) Milan b) Naples c) Rome 7. Which Asian country HOMEWORK boasts of having the largest Muslim population in the world? a) Vietnam b) Indonesia c) Singapore 8. What African country's name is from the Latin for ‘free’? a) Liberia b) Sierra Leone Answers c) Burkina Faso

a) George Ohm b) Electric field c) Pierce Brosnan b) Bamboo shoots a) The Incas a) Milan b) Indonesia a) Liberia

1. Tropical bird (6) 2. Asinine (7) 3. Ambit (5) 5. Yelled (7) 6. Relative (5) 7. Mistakes (6) 8. Varieties (5) 14. Injured (7) 16. Foreshorten (7) 17. Barrel maker (6) 18. Wild and savage (5) 19. Blot (6) 21. Flower (5) 23. Part of a play (5)

CROSSWORD

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

ACROSS

(+2)=6(+3)=9(+4)=13(x2)= 26(+2)=28(x2)=56(+3)=59 (x2)=118(+4)=122

DOWN

Put each of the numbers 1-9 once in every row, column and 3x3 box

Mosquito repellents don’t repel.

They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito’s sensors so they do not know you are there.

47

Saturday, August 2, 2014

a la carte

75%

GRAFFITI

THE LOTS TO CHEW ON AND REGURGITATE

Percentage of water inside our bones.

92%

Percentage of people who refuse to eat the first and last slice of a loaf of bread.

LADY'S WORDS When a lady, on an airplane, train, or bus is seated next to a fellow traveller intent on having a conversation.

She does not say: “That’s a fascinating story.

Maybe the guy in the aisle seat would like to hear it.”

“Sorry, I’m not feeling well.

I’ve got the flu.”

But she does say: “I wish I were able to talk with you, but I have to finish this paperwork (or read this article) before the end of the flight.”

When travellers are seated beside one another on an airplane, they are not required to-or even expected toestablish a social relationship.

If a lady and a fellow traveller are in the mood to talk, they may enjoy each other’s company. But a lady feels no

obligation to become best friends with her temporary next-door neighbour. If the two of them do strike up a conversation, however, they talk quietly, so as not to disturb other passengers.

When someone questions a lady’s patriotism or her candidate of choice She does not say “I had no idea you were such a liberal” “What proof do you have that you’re such a great American?”

“You are really embarrassing yourself by this stance, Ann. Everybody is talking about it.”

But she does say “I’ve always believed our nation’s greatest strength is that it allows us to tolerate our differences. So let’s just

agree to disagree on this.”

In today’s ever-changing climate, a lady will at one time Or another probably come into Contact with another person who feels so strongly about his or her Own political views that he or she will attempt to belittle or berate anyone with a different belief or opinion. In those instances, a lady can either attempt to change the subject or do her best to end the conversation in a civil manner. A lady knows it is easier to change the subject than it is to change another person’s mind.

CHANGE YOUR WORLD

Look after your clothes Just about everything that you do to your clothes to make them last longer is also better for the environment.

That’s even without taking into account the savings created by having garments that don’t need to be

replaced. So go back to all the stuff your parents used to do: wash at low heat, sun dry (with clothes inside out so that they don’t fade), avoid dry-cleaning if you can and use a biodegradable washing powder. Making

things last longer comes back down to the idea of appreciating the effort and energy that goes into making and transporting goods, and respecting that investment of time and money accordingly.

Obey the speed limit We already know that the most fuel-efficient way to drive is to keep below the

speed limit. You’re saving petrol, pollution and money.

You are also saving the police

time so they can actually deal with some more sensible law enforcement.

Don’t use a hose to wash your car While spraying the whole thing endlessly with a hose is acres of fun, it uses up the

most astonishing amount of water. By all means give the car a quick spray to wash off

excess soap, but apart from that, it’s better to use the old bucket and rag.

LAUGH–OUT–LOUD

Higher education During a college examination, the professor found a student peeking at a classmate’s answers. ‘How can you cheat so blatantly?’ the professor shouted. ‘You have already stolen more than one look at your classmate’s paper!’

‘Don’t blame me, sir,’ replied the student. ‘If his handwriting weren’t so bad, I could have got it all at one glance.’

Q: what’s the difference between ignorance and apathy? A: I don’t know and I don’t care.

A young man hired by a

supermarket reported for his first day of work. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, gave him a broom and said, ‘Your first job will be to sweep out the store.’ ’But I’m a college graduate,’ the young man replied indignantly. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that,’ said the manager. ‘Here, give me the broom-I’ll show you how.’

During a lecture for medical students, the professor listed as the two best qualities of a doctor the ability to conquer revulsion and the need for

keen powers of observation.

He illustrated this by stirring a messy substance with his finger and then licking his finger clean. Then he called a student to the front and made him do the same. Afterward the professor remarked, ‘You conquered your revulsion, but your powers of observation are not very good. I stirred with my forefinger, but I licked my middle finger.’

Our economics professor talks to himself. Does yours?’ ‘Yes, but he doesn’t realise it. He thinks we’re listening!’

48

Saturday, August 2, 2014

BONUSPACK $3,226 707 kmh billion

THE TAKE-AWAYS THIS WEEK

KEEPSAKES

FASTFORWARD

Record speed of the Speed Demon Streamliner, the world’s fastest land speed car.

DENSELY POPULATED CITIES

POPULATION COUNTRY

1.

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24,150,000 21,150,000 21,142,625 17,060,307 14,160,467 12,700,800 12,478,447 12,111,194 11,821,873 11,318,745 11,007,835 10,467,400 10,388,055 9,988,329 9,735,000 9,341,844 9,071,577 11,922,949 12,043,977 8,874,724 8,693,387 8,425,970 8,416,535 8,405,837 8,280,925 8,220,207 8,154,051 7,776,845 7,681,700 7,219,700 7,180,889 6,886,253 6,844,100 6,809,970 6,429,923 6,151,622 5,743,719 5,676,621 5,570,585 5,399,200 5,391,028 5,278,800 5,131,967 4,765,000 4,741,929 4,714,000 4,681,087 4,676,118 4,616,625 4,513,137 4,486,679 8,467,837 4,462,002 4,434,827 4,393,857 4,364,541 4,360,438 4,327,066 4,280,701 4,252,458 4,239,988 4,122,087 3,954,929 3,884,307 3,740,026 3,717,098 3,680,267 3,590,101 3,560,391 3,531,347 3,520,846 3,517,424 3,456,259 3,442,361

Shanghai Beijing Karachi Lagos Istanbul Guangzhou Mumbai Moscow São Paulo Lahore Delhi Shenzhen Seoul Jakarta Kinshasa Tianjin Tokyo Cairo Dhaka Mexico City Lima Bengaluru London New York City Bangkok Dongguan Tehran Bogotá Ho Chi Minh City Hong Kong Baghdad Wuhan Hanoi Hyderabad Rio de Janeiro Foshan Santiago Riyadh Ahmedabad Singapore Shantou Luanda Saint Petersburg Abidjan Chengdu Yangon Chennai Sydney Alexandria Chongqing Kolkata Xi’an Surat Johannesburg Nanjing Dar es Salaam Ankara Suzhou Harbin Melbourne Giza Zhengzhou New Taipei City Los Angeles Cape Town Shenyang Yokohama Busan Hangzhou Xiamen Quanzhou Berlin Jeddah Durban

China China Pakistan Nigeria Turkey China India Russia Brazil Pakistan India China South Korea Indonesia DR Congo China Japan Egypt Bangladesh Mexico Peru India UK US Thailand China Iran Colombia Vietnam China Iraq China Vietnam India Brazil China Chile Saudi Arabia India Singapore China Angola Russia Ivory Coast China Burma India Australia Egypt China India China India South Africa China Tanzania Turkey China China Australia Egypt China Taiwan US South Africa China Japan South Korea China China China Germany Saudi Arabia South Africa

please cut along this line and keep

SEEN & OVERHEARD

ENGLISH PHRASES Walk

Crime

Ah, if only I could steal enough to be an honest man!

ALDO VANUCCI If you are a police dog, where is your badge?

JAMES THURBER I’ve got to finish him off while I’m still temporarily insane!

GROUNDSKEEPER WILLY

Politics please cut along this line and keep

CITY

JUST UNBELIEVABLE Total asset of US government-sponsored Federal National Mortgage Association as at April 2013.

Those who say that I am not in agreement with the policy are, rightly or wrongly, quite wrong.

WILLIAM WHITELAW This strategy represents our policy for all time. Until it’s changed.

MARLIN FITZWATER And truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Cat

If I die before my cat, I want a little of my ashes put in his food so I can live inside him.

DREW BARRYMORE In China, a healthy cat has been born with three heads. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

CRAIG KILBORN If you’re sick of being covered in cat hair, get some tape and wrap it around your cat.

ADAM BLOOM

Athletics

Be a walking encyclopaedia To have a wide range of knowledge of facts about the world: walking dictionary is also recorded. Mr Brooke was a grave, silent young man, with handsome brown eyes and a pleasant voice. Meg liked his quiet manners, and considered him walking encyclopaedia of useful knowledge.

Walk (all) over somebody Informal to treat somebody thoughtlessly without respect. Oh, master! master! I am indeed downhearted when you walk over me.

Walk away from something To escape unharmed from an accident or attack. Amazingly, Adam walked away from the crash with just a gaze on his left shoulder.

Walk off with something To steal something, especially something in one’s care or to which one has ready access. It’s really a piece of good luck that he was not taken with a fancy to leave us upon my island; and then we might all have been soused by this here rain: and he could just as well have walked off with my bridge as with the ladder.

Walk of/in life A person’s regular occupation or profession: in early use also with reference to social rather than professional status. He had served three years as clerk to an attorney in the north of Ireland, when, chusing a gentler walk in life, he quitted his master, came over to England, and set up that business which requires no apprenticeship, namely, that of a gentleman, in which he had succeeded, as hath been already partly mentioned.

Walk on eggs/eggshells

And the line-up for the final of the women’s 400 metres hurdles includes three Russians, two East Germans, a pole, a Swede and a Frenchman.

DAVID COLEMAN

To act or speak with extreme caution, in order to avoid causing trouble or offence.

He takes a long and leisurable stride and longest on the hinder foot he said so soft he trends on eggs her were afraid.

Kris Akabusi, do you have to plan your tactics before the race or do you just try and run faster than the other blokes?

MRS MERTON

Informal, chiefly North American to make one’s actions suit one’s words; to behave according to one’s stated principles.

There goes Juantorena down the back straight, opening his legs and showing his class.

RON PICKERING

Walk the talk

Walk tall Informal to have a self-confident and proud demeanour; to have dignity. Well, I will walk tall into varmint and Indian; it’s a way I’ve got, and it comes as natural as grinning to a hyena. I’m a regular tornado - tough as a hickory- and long-winded as a nor’ -wester ... I must fight something, or I’ll catch the dry rot.

cover story 49

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Internally Displaced: Nigerians Cry Out

Some people at a displaced camp

➔ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 areas.

At the Muslim Council Secretariat in Jalingo, one of the refugees, Babangida Adamu, who shared his experiences with our correspondent, said that the crisis in the southern part of the state has forced them to leave their ancestral homes, stressing that “nothing can be more devastating and painful as that”.

“But for a few assistance from State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) during the just concluded Ramadan fast, we would have pass through hell and died of starvation; the situation is not palatable at all and we are worried for our little ones who get sick daily,” Adamu lamented.

Also at the NKST church also in Jalingo were thousands of refugees are currently camping, the pastor in charge of the church, Rev. Othniel Amah expressed his frustration, claiming the Taraba State government have not thought it wise to extend relief materials to IDPs currently seeking shelter in the church premises.

The worried pastor did not hide his frustrations over the actions of the Taraba State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) over their poor response to the plight of the IDPs. He alleged that the religious umbrella body in the state has also turned a blind eye on the hundreds of displaced people in the premises of the church.

Meanwhile, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Taraba SEMA, Mr. Paul Tino recently disclosed that the agency has from April till date

distributed over 150 trucks of relief materials to internally displaced persons taking refuge in 25 camps in the state.

He noted that the agency has also from April till date build over 5, 000 refugee camps to the internally displaced persons taking refuge in Wukari, Takum, Bali, Gashaka, Donga and Ibi local government areas of the state.

He assured them that government would continue to deploy all available measures to build more camps to reduce their suffering. He also promised them that they would be assisted in the best way possible to calm down the ugly situation in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, IDPs in Adamawa State fear that food shortage may soon hit many of the IDPs in the state. They said many of them are about losing their farm plants due to lack of fertilizers as the state enters the mid-farming season. They said that farming remains the only option for their survival.

Many of the IDP’s who relocated from the northern parts of the state to Boleh in Yola South local government area said their major preoccupation before Boko Haram Insurgents routed their villages was farming and they have been calling on the government to assist them with farming implements to no avail.

The IDPs in Adamawa State are constraints to staying outside defined opened camps as such places are soft targets for insurgents who often attack and kill residents.

Most of them are now guests of friends and relatives who provided shelter for them as authorities have advised them stay away from open camps.

They also lamented that the

government has not lived up to its expectations in providing the needed relief materials as they said they lack basic necessities such as adequate medical facilities, food stuff, clothing and adequate shelter.

One of the IDP’s who simply identify himself as Mr. Zira told LEADERSHIP Weekend that they are in dire situation as most of the people lack basic facilities including clean water, shelter, food, clothing fertilizer and other farm implements to carry out farming.

“Our most important requirement is fertilizer and other farm implements so that we can farm and get food for sustenance as that remains the only option for our survival, we have been harping for government assistance along that line which is not forthcoming. We are not asking for much, all we are asking is to get farm implements to enable us have food after rainy season,” he said.

He added that the IDPs also faces serious accommodation problems as the hundreds of the displaced compete for space with their host adding that because of the lack of accommodation, he and his wife alongside his eight children make a living in one room while water, toilet facilities and other necessities are in short supply.

Other facilities like schools, health and trauma centres are out of reach of the IDPs for now. What most of them are yearning for is for their immediate survival and safety that has remained an illusion to them.

But the Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, Mallam Haruna Hammanfuro disclosed that his agency has

been rendering assistance to the IDP’s in terms of food and non-food items saying that the increasing number of the IDP’s made it difficult for his organization to meet all their needs.

Statistics obtained by Leadership Weekend from the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFMIDS), indicated that 725, 977 internally displaced Nigerians live in various camps in 12 states of the federation as at June, 2014.

The data also showed that only Anambra and Kogi states have IDPs induced by natural disasters. The remaining 10 states with displaced people have various conflicts as the cause of their displacement.

Borno and Taraba States lead the pack with 257, 694 and 108, 515 IDPs respectively.

Anambra State has the lowest IDPs in the country with 2, 318 people.

However, a report by the Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), “Global Overview 2014 says Nigeria have the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDP) in Africa with a figure of 3.3million.

It further stated that people internally displaced by conflict and violence in Nigeria is approximately a third of the IDPs in Africa and 10 per cent of IDPs in the world.

In 2013 alone, 470,500 persons were displaced in Nigeria and this is the third highest in the world, behind Syria with 6.5 million and Colombia with 5.7 million.

It noted that about 9 million Nigerians are indirectly affected by the rising insurgency attacks in the country, the report says.

People internally displaced by conflict and violence in Nigeria is approximately a third of the IDPs in Africa and 10 per cent of IDPs in the world

50 SPORTS/other sports SPORTS BRIEFS FOOTBALL

Schneiderlin To Stay At Southampton Southampton manager Ronald Koeman insists Morgan Schneiderlin will remain at the club for the start of the season and is expecting to sign “two or three” players this weekend.

Schneiderlin and team-mate Jay Rodriguez have emerged as primary targets for Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, but executive director Les Reed and chairman Ralph Krueger have ruled out any more high-profile sales.

“It’s the decision of the board but I don’t talk about it,” Koeman told Sky Sports. “He’s a player at Southampton and he will continue as a player at Southampton.

Pacquiao To Retire From Boxing In 2016 Manny Pacquiao has revealed he plans to retire from boxing in 2016, further slimming the chances of the Filipino ever fighting Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Arguably the two greatest pound-forpound boxers of their era, the pair have never met in the ring.

Pacquiao, 35, plans to run for the Senate in his homeland after retiring.

He is already heavily involved in politics having twice been elected to Congress.

After revealing his plans to retire, Pacquiao told DZMM: ‘There’s a big possibility that I will run for Senator.

UNA (United Nationalist Alliance

TENNIS

months.

China’s Li, the world No.2, also pulled out from tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati over the next two weeks, which would have acted as her hardcourt preparation for the US Open, which begins on August 25.

Li wrote on her official Facebook page that she has been struggling with the knee problem since March. “It is just not where I need it to be in order to play at the highest level,” Li added.

“My medical team has advised me that I need to take some time off to rest my knee.”

Wozniacki

Pacquiao (right) lands a right hand on Timothy Bradley on his was to victory in April

Caroline Wozniacki has revealed that she plans to fit the New York Marathon around her busy tournament schedule this autumn.

The former world No.1 says she typically runs for 40 minutes a day as part of workouts for tennis and hopes that one longer session per week of an hour or more can get her through the race on November 2.

Wozniacki also insisted she is not seeking this challenge in an attempt to distract herself from her personal life, after golfer Rory McIlroy broke off their engagement in May, less than a month before Wozniacki

decided to prepare for a marathon when she would have been preparing for a wedding.

“Tennis helped me just get through the tough times,” Wozniacki said on Thursday.

“Now I’m just feeling happy and I wanted to do something good for others.

“This had nothing really to do with my personal life. It was something I was passionate about.”

The 24-year-old Dane has long wanted to run a marathon, and looking at this year’s tournament schedule she determined it was doable.

Serena Now Healthy Serena Williams looked healthy and played sharp in her first tournament since defaulting during a doubles match with sister Venus at Wimbledon.

Williams stopped worrying and started having fun again, beating Karolina Pliskova 7-5 6-2 in a second-round match at the Bank of the West Classic on Wednesday night.

At Wimbledon, Williams tried to play through a viral infection that caused her to lose her equilibrium during the doubles match. On Wednesday night, encouraged by

a large crowd, Williams fought through a tough first set before she found her legs and took control of the match with a big second set.

“I thought I played well,” Williams said. “I’m on the right path, I’m excited and I’m looking forward to my next match.”

In the quarter-finals, Williams will meet the winner of Thursday’s match between fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic and qualifier Carol Zhao, a Stanford sophomore playing in her first WTA event.

Serena

Nadal’s US Open Defence In Doubt

ATHLETIC

Child Savours Special Silver

Eilidh Child hailed one of the greatest days of her life as the poster girl of the Commonwealth Games landed silver in the 400 metres hurdles.

The 27-year-old, whose pictures are plastered on billboards across the city, was beaten to the title by Kaliese Spencer, the favourite, but there was only delight that she was able to deliver on the expectation.

“I’m so happy. I think I said after the Olympics I came off thinking I could have done more. I came off that line and my legs were gone, they were gone at that finishing line, I couldn’t give any more.”

party) asked me to join its slate and I am grateful they picked me.’

Pacquiao has won an unprecedented eight world titles in five different divisions.

He bounced back from consecutive defeats in 2012 by Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez to beat Brandon Rios and his re-match with Bradley.

Pacquiao’s next fight sees him face Chris Algieri in Macau on November 22.

He has a career record of 56 wins from 63 bouts.

Wozniacki Dreams New York Marathon

Li Out Of Us Open With Knee Injury

Two-time major winner Li Na has withdrawn from the US Open due to a knee injury that has troubled her for several

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Nadal

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters events with a wrist injury, putting the defence of his US Open crown in doubt.

Nadal suffered the problem to his right wrist during training on Tuesday and said he could need at least three weeks of recuperation - with the US Open starting in less than a month on August 25.

“Unfortunately I injured my right wrist yesterday during practice and after the tests I have

undergone today in Spain, including an MRI, and checking with my doctors, I will have to stay out of competition for at least 2-3 weeks,” Nadal said in a statement on the Cincinnati Masters’ official website.

“I am sorry and wish the best to the tournament and thank all of the fans for their support.

I’m extremely disappointed that I am unable to defend my titles and compete in Toronto and Cincinnati this year.

REPORTS/SPORTS 51

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Amalaha Stripped Of C/wealth Gold Medal Teenage Nigerian weightlifter Chika Amalaha was yesterday stripped of her Commonwealth Games gold medal a week after failing a drugs test in Glasgow.

It was confirmed that the B sample analysis, requested by 16-year-old Amalaha, had returned another positive result and that made it inevitable she would lose her title.

Amalaha was confirmed yesterday afternoon after hearing of the Commonwealth Games Federation court that she would be disqualified, a CGF spokeswoman confirmed to Press Association Sport. 'It is correct that she has been stripped of the gold medal.'

Amalaha went through doping control after her victory in the 52kg class at the Clyde Auditorium on July 25, and the results showed traces of diuretics and maskings agents.

The CGF disciplinary hearing was chaired by the federation's president, Malaysian Prince Imran.

Their decision brings a sorry saga to its natural conclusion, with Amalaha having provided an early feel-good story before the full context of her achievement was revealed.

She had set Games records in her weight category in both the snatch and overall elements, and said afterwards: 'I'm absolutely

delighted. I wasn't coming here to go for gold, I just wanted to break my own record. I'm so happy that I'm going home with gold in my first Commonwealth Games.'

Amalaha spoke of the 'pain and dedication that got me here', yet Tuesday saw the announcement of her failed drugs test.

World Anti-Doping Agency president Sir Craig Reedie expressed his shock that someone so young should have failed a doping test, saying: 'I am very disappointed that somebody as young as that appears to have committed an offence at a multi-sport event like the Commonwealth Games.'

Remy Back On Newcastle's Radar Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has confirmed he is interested in Loic Remy and is monitoring the QPR striker's situation following the collapse of his move to Liverpool.

The French frontman was poised to complete an £8.5million switch to Anfield last week, only for the Reds to pull the plug on the deal due to doubts over his medical.

Hoops boss Harry Redknapp has urged the former Marseille forward to decide his future as soon as possible as he shapes his squad for the new campaign.

Remy

However, Pardew is ready to launch another bid to land the 27-year-old, who fired 14 goals in 24 starts during a successful loan spell last season, on a permanent basis.

'I am surprised about what's happened with Loic because I thought he was signing for Liverpool and the door was slammed shut,' Pardew told the Chronicle Live.

'I didn't expect that, and we certainly had no problem with Loic during his time here. So we shall monitor his situation.'

Arsenal Close In On Quintero Arsenal have opened talks with Porto over a deal for Colombia midfielder Juan Quintero.

Such a move would place further question marks over the future of Atletico Madrid target Santi Cazorla but reports out of South America on Thursday night said a fee has been agreed for £15.8m and that Quintero was on a flight to London Heathrow.

The 21-year-old’s agent Maria Elena Chavarro tweeted on Thursday: ‘Today @juanferquinte10 travelled to England to sign a contract with Arsenal who are paying 20m Euros

Jose Mourinho insists Fernando Torres is to remain at Chelsea next season as one of the club’s three strikers.

Torres has been persistently linked with a return to Atletico Madrid this summer after struggling to make an impact at Stamford Bridge since his arrival in 2011.

Instead, the Spaniard must battle it out with new signing Diego Costa and Didier Drogba, who rejoined the Blues last week, for the marksman duties.

When Mourinho was asked if Torres was the player in question when the Portuguese indicated there may be a departure in the transfer window, he told Sky Sports News: “No. “Three strikers is fundamental in a squad and we have three strikers - Fernando, Didier and Diego, so one of them is not (going) for sure.”

Milner Will Stay If Given Playing Time James Milner has confirmed his Manchester City future will be determined by how frequently he plays this season.

Milner, 28, is into the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium, and has been linked with moves to Arsenal and Liverpool.

Although Milner played in 31 of City’s top-flight games last season, he only started 12 of those and is keen to play a more prominent role.

“Basically I want to

Suarez

Van Nistelrooy Joins Dutch Set-up Ruud van Nistelrooy has been named as one of Holland's assistant coaches.

A tweet from the Dutch football association, the KNVB, announced that Van Nistelrooy, now 38, will work under new coach Guus Hiddink and alongside Danny Blind, who is due to take over from Hiddink in 2018.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker scored 35 goals in a 70-match international career which started in 1998 and finished in 2011.

Former internationals Pierre van Hooijdonk, Aron Winter, Sonny Silooy and Michael Reiziger have also been given various roles with Holland's junior teams.

Falque Joins Genoa

(around £15.8m) to FCPorto, congratulations!’

Quintero took a flight From Medellin to Bogota before flying to Heathrow with a ticket for seat 6A according to Colombian reports.

He was in Jose Pekerman’s World Cup squad that reached the quarterfinals in Brazil.

The youngster came off the bench in their second group game against Ivory Coast, scoring the goal that put Colombia 2-0 up, and started their 4-1 win over Japan in their final Quintero group game.

Torres Going Nowhere

football BRIEFS

Milner

be here - as long as I’m playing,” Milner is quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.

“I love it here and hopefully I can be here for a long time to come. But that’s determined on how much football I get. I just want to feel like I’m contributing.

“I played a fair amount last year - maybe not as many in the league as I would have liked but I felt I contributed to the trophies I won.

Iago Falque has become the fourth player to exit Tottenham during preseason after signing for Italian Serie A side Genoa.

Genoa have a completed a deal for the 24-year-old Spanish winger, understood to be in the region of £4million, pending a medical.

Falque joined Spurs on a season-long loan deal from Juventus three years ago before completing a permanent move the following year, but during his entire time with the club he made only one Premier League appearance.

Falque follows Jake Livermore, Heurelho Gomes and Gylfi Sigurdsson out of White Hart

Spurs Agree Dier Deal

Tottenham have agreed a deal with Sporting Lisbon for the transfer of defender Eric

Dier.

A statement from Spurs read: "W e are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Sporting Lisbon for the transfer of Eric Dier, subject to a medical."

The 20-year-old, born in Cheltenham, can play as a defender or a defensive midfielder. He had a spell on loan with Everton in 2011.

52 SPORTS/COMMENT

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Where Is Liverpool's Match Winner?

Brendan Rodgers has opted to spend on depth rather than a marquee signing

O

ver four years, Liverpool have gone from Moneyball to money men. The guiding philosophy may not be borrowed completely from baseball's new-age thinkers any more. Now the most eye-catching element lies in the numbers.

The £75 million they banked for Luis Suarez is the third-highest fee ever received by an English club. Their eventual outlay this transfer window should be a nine-figure sum, making this just the fifth time an English club has spent £100m in a summer.

Yet this is a spending spree with a difference. One question is whether Brendan Rodgers has a stronger squad but, shorn of Suarez, a less potent starting XI. Another is whether Liverpool could crash through the £100m barrier without securing a marquee signing.

Adam Lallana is the most expensive arrival so far. Dejan Lovren is the costliest defender in Anfield history. The third former Saint, Rickie Lambert, provides the most heart-warming tale, of the local lad belatedly returning to his hometown club.

Divock Origi had the best World Cup of any. Emre Can, should he break into the Germany team, will be an international colleague of World Cup winners. Lazar Markovic's talent gives him the most potential of all the newcomers. None, however, was supposed to be the flagship buy.

Admittedly, there wasn't one last summer and that hardly hampered

Liverpool's progress. They jumped from seventh to second at startling speed; close-season additions were not the major reason. Yet Alexis Sanchez's decision to join Arsenal was a continuation of the theme of last summer when Diego Costa, Willian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan eluded Liverpool; for different reasons, the slightly lower-profile Loic Remy has joined Yevhen Konoplyanka on the long list of those who got away.

Remy was due to inherit Suarez's No.7 shirt. It is impossible to replicate every element of the Uruguayan's contribution, whether the 31 goals and 12 assists, the constant controversy or the status as Liverpool's figurehead. Nevertheless, the burdens on Daniel Sturridge, as scorer, and Steven Gerrard, as skipper, may increase without that headline recruit.

Options are beginning to abound, but someone will have to shoulder the burden of becoming a match winner.

It is a sign of the times that a club can part with £90m without the semblance of a superstar arriving. It is a source of amusement to some and bemusement to others that some £50m of that has been diverted to Southampton for the trio of Lambert, Lallana and Lovren, a total that could rise if suggestions that Jay Rodriguez is a target become reality.

Given the wholesale importing of Southampton's players, even the lesser lights at St Mary's, such as Steven Davis and Jose Fonte, may be expecting the call from Anfield. The serious point, however, is that besides their individual attributes,

Rodgers clearly sees similarities in his style of play and the progressive pressing game Saints deployed under Mauricio Pochettino.

It is tempting to note that 2012 brought the arrivals of Joe Allen and Fabio Borini, the Swansea alumni, and 2013 saw the Spanish signings of Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas. Every year has brought a search for those with a similar ethos who can slot seamlessly into the side.

The other common denominator has been a futuristic element to recruitment, the quest for long-term value. The fact that Origi commanded an eight-figure fee and was promptly loaned back to Lille fits in with a broader trend. In one respect, the young Belgian is 2014's answer to Samed Yesil and Alberto. In another, he ought to be a distinct improvement on supposed prodigies who have offered little evidence of why they were bought.

What it means, though, is that Rodgers' spending cannot simply be judged over the course of one season. In Origi, Liverpool have probably signed Lambert's longterm replacement before the older man has even made his competitive debut.

If he will be the new Lambert, Liverpool already find themselves described as the new Tottenham. Spurs spent £110m last season and regressed. While Andre Villas-Boas and Franco Baldini were guilty of some poor buys, it is also pertinent that Tottenham actually broke even. As a result of the Rafa Benitez years, Liverpool are wearily familiar with debate about spend and net spend. Their

current incomings could swell towards the £100m mark, not least because they now have three left-sided centre-backs.

Bringing in Lovren surely means that Daniel Agger can go out. Forward Borini, too, could go.

It means there are two categories among the clubs who spent a tenth of a billion in a few months: those who, broadly speaking, balanced the books, and those who made no attempt to do so. Chelsea were the pioneers, paying out £110m in an otherwise deflated transfer market in 2003. Manchester City followed suit in successive summers, forking out around £140m in 2010 and £130m in 2011.

There is the potential for Chelsea to top £100m again this summer - the deals for Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis have taken them 80% of the way there or for Manchester United to join the club.

It will be a mark of football's inflated economics if, after there were only four £100m-summers in England's history, there were three additions to the ranks of the extravagant spenders in a few short months.

The past proves that spending, even when funded by sales, confers pressure.

Liverpool know as much. Their transfer outgoings over 2011's two windows amounted to £115m. They only finished eighth the subsequent season, leading to Kenny Dalglish's sacking and Rodgers' appointment. Money creates opportunities and fosters expectations alike.

If he will be the new Lambert, Liverpool already find themselves described as the new Tottenham Agree or disagree? We want to know what you think . You can have your say by emailing weekendsports@leadership.ng or tweeting @sportsmetronome

news across the states 53

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Taraba Crisis: Death Toll Hits 20 The death toll from last Thursday’s attack on Ibi local government area of Taraba State that claimed over eight lives has risen to twenty.

LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that the crisis which started on the strength of mere allegations of roadblocks set up by unknown gunmen to rob people, has worsened as people within and around the town endured a night of heavy gunshots.

An eye witness, who spoke to our correspondent said that the destruction caused by the crisis that continued in the night was devastating, adding that the victims of the crisis included soldiers who were on ground to provide security to the people and maintain law and order.

The eye witness noted that most of the victims injured in the crisis were receiving treatment at the General Hospital Wukari.

“I wonder why fresh hostilities have erupted in the town when it was least expected,” an eye witness said.

But the spokesman of the Taraba State police command, Joseph Kwaji informed our reporter that normalcy had returned to the town, as security presence had been increased in the town to maintain law and order.

Dangote Signs N165bn Rice Investment Deal With FG …Nigeria to Become a Net Importer of Rice by 2018

By By Ruth Tene Natsa, Abuja

Dangote Industries Limited yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the federal government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to invest a total sum of $1 billion dollars equivalent to N165 billion for the development of integrated rice projects across five states.

Chairman of the group and African business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who made the revelation in Abuja during an interactive session with the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adeshina said the five beneficiary states include, Edo, Jigawa, Niger, Kebbi and Kwara.

According to Dangote, “Apart from producing rice, the investment will ensure that Nigeria begins to export rice, while creating

thousands of jobs for the many unemployed Nigerian youths through the out-grower system. If Nigeria sorts the problem of power and agriculture in Nigeria, the nations GDP will grow at double digits,” he added.

He said the investments will not only generate thousands of jobs, demonstrate and reduce fear that agriculture is a poor man’s job, reduce tension of unemployment in Nigeria, but also attract other investors into agriculture, saying “it

short news

Founder of Calebdanladi Foundation, Mr. Caleb Danladi (fifth-left) and others during the donation of relief materials by his NGO to internally displaced persons from the killings in Sang local government in Kaduna

By Andrew Ojih, Jalingo

N82bn Allegation: Nyako Will Not Go Unpunished –Fintiri

Another twist was yesterday added to the political imbroglio rocking Adamawa State as the acting governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri vowed to punish the former governor of the state, Murtala Nyako, who allegedly squandered the states resources to the tune of about N82billion.

Fintiri, who made the remark during a PDP stakeholders meeting which took place at the government house, Yola, said the punishment will serve as a deterrent to any leader with an insatiable lust to steal public funds.

He said he will inaugurate the panel of inquiry which will look into the financial fraud committed by the former governor on Monday, to unravel the financial misconduct carried out by the previous administration which plunged the state into abysmal decay.

Fintiri noted that the main reason for instituting the panel is for the government and the people of Adamawa to be able to recover the stolen resources of the state, so that they can be put to better use.

“We are going to ensure that all Adamawa funds in private accounts are retrieved back into the state coffers. We shall also ensure that all properties acquired with Adamawa resources are also retrieved, so that their values can be channelled into Adamawa State resources,” he said.

By Mohammed Ismail, Yola

will be a shame for a country such as Nigeria not to be able to produce what it consumes most.”

Alhaji Dangote assured that the investment will also ensure training for farmers, provision of fertilisers for the out-growers, as well as the assurance to buy off paddy rice and process them from the farmers.

“Only people who are not serious and want to milk the system will want to continue to import rice,” he said.

short news Moro Declares Support For Security Conference

The minister of interior, Comrade Abba Moro, has pledged to give all he can to support the security conference being organised by the Benue State University Alumni Association (BSUAA), led by its national president, Stephen Ijoh, to find a lasting solution to the security challenge which has bedevilled the country and Benue State in particular.

Moro, who hosted the association in his office yesterday in Abuja, insisted that since security has become a source of national worry, the conference couldn’t have come at a better time and, therefore, must be supported.

The minister further called for crossfertilisation of ideas to counteract the spread and the effect of terrorism in the country.

Christiana Esebonu, Abuja

Impeachment: APC, Maku, Doma In War Of Words

By By Donatus Nadi, Lafia

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State, minister of information, Labaran Maku and a former governor of the state, Alhaji Akwe Doma are currently in war of words over the impeachment plot against Governor Tanko Al-makura.

APC had accused Maku and Doma of being the conspirators sponsoring the impeachment move against Governor Almakura in order to pave way for their ambition, come 2015.

In a press conference in Lafia, the state capital yesterday, the chairman of the APC in the state,

Philips Tatari Shekwo, said that the involvement of the duo in the current impeachment effort is a testimony to their unbridled thirst for power, at whatever cost to collective prosperity and development.

“It is regrettable that instead of joining hands to contribute to the recovery of the state from the precipice of underdevelopment their misrule has taken the state, they are engaged in plots to scuttle the fast pace of development currently going on in the state” he lamented.

Shekwo also claimed that Nasarawa legislators have pocketed over N7billion in the past three

years, inclusive of a curious constituency allowance of N2.4 billion and N4 billion as salary, arguably the highest in the federation.

But a source close to Maku said that the information minister is heavily pre-occupied with national assignments, adding that the whole world could see the passion with which he addresses national issues.

The source disclosed that two of such issues are the insurgency and the Ebola menace, adding that he and the health minister, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu are the arrow heads behind the sensitisation on Ebola.

Ebola: Govt Not Prepared To Tackle Menace – Lab. Scientists Fashola Urges FG To Shut Borders With Neighbouring Countries

By DAVID ADUGE-ANI, Abuja, GEORGE OKOJIE, Lagos

The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has observed that despite the reported cases of Ebola virus in Lagos and parts of West Africa, the federal government is yet to put in place necessary measures to tackle the menace.

In an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Abuja yesterday, the chairman, AMLSN, FCT chap-

ter, Dr Ifeanyi Casmir noted that what government is doing at the moment is setting up committees, which according him is not the solution to the problem.

“The question we should be asking ourselves is today how prepared is the Nigerian health authorities to contend with the issue of Ebola virus? The answer is that we are not prepared. Firstly, Nigerian doctors are currently on strike, which is a sign that we are not prepared.

Also, what government is doing at the moment is setting up committees on the problem. The committee option is not the way to go,” he said.

Ifeanyi also explained that the pragmatic way used for containing diseases globally is preventive health care, which according to him is the function of a laboratory-based surveillance system and is also not yet in place to tackle the menace.

Meanwhile, Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola has urged the federal government to shut its borders with neighbouring countries without delay, to avert spread of the disease.

Fashola, while speaking with journalists yesterday at Ikeja House noted that, “This is no longer a local, but an international problem.

Katsina Attack: Foundation Donates Relief Materials To Victims The Jaiz Charity Foundation has donated food items and clothing materials worth millions of naira to victims of an attack by gunmen in Faskari and Sabuwa local government areas of Katsina State.

The chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees, Alhaji Garba Abubakar said that decision was aimed at assisting the families of the deceased and Internally Displaced Persons with relief materials to reduce their hardships.

He said that materials included 300 bags of rice, maize and millet, 330 jerry cans of vegetable oil and 660 pieces of clothing materials.

Abubakar said that they have so far visited six states where people were affected by calamities and distributed such materials.

Abubakar urged the state government to make judicious use of the items.

He also said that foundation is currently constructing a library in Katsina, while offering scholarships to students, constructing schools and hospitals which it then hands over to state governments.

Receiving the items on behalf of the state government, the deputy governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Faskari commended the foundation for the gesture.

By Muazu Elazeh, Katsina

54 news across the states

Saturday, August 2, 2014

NDLEA Destroys 184 Hectares Of Cannabis

By NKEM OSUAGWU, Lagos

A combined team of 100 National Drug Law Enforcement (NDLEA) officers drawn from eight commands have jointly raided Wese Forest Reserve and destroyed 184 hectares of a cannabis plantation.

The raid which lasted 72 hours led to the dismantling of a cannabis syndicate known as AKUNNUBAS. The treasurer of the group, Eke Sylvester, 37, and five members of the association were also apprehended. They are Friday Julius, 28, Azonobi Godwin, 21, Leke Cletus, 29, Festus Osagie, 30 and Charles Osanebi.

Chairman/chief executive of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade has described the operation as a positive step towards the total dismantling of cannabis cartels in the country.

“I am very pleased with the success of Operation Wese. This is obviously a positive step towards the eradication of cannabis cartels. I commend the officers for a great job.

Let me assure members of the public that this is the beginning of total war against cannabis cultivation in the country,” Giade stated.

“Since the commencement of Operation Burn the Weed exercise in 1990 (where NDLEA offi-

cials discover and destroy cannabis farms) the battle against cannabis cultivation has grown in leaps and bounds. There is no state that has not recorded cannabis farm destruction in Nigeria. From Lagos to Sokoto and from Adamawa to Rivers State, the story is practically the same,” he added.

According to NDLEA, cannabis grows effortlessly across the length and breadth of the country. NDLEA statistics have shown that large scale cultivation of cannabis occur predominantly in the South West and South South states of Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Edo and Delta. The scope of cannabis cultivation has grown dangerously, with grave security implications.

Operation Wese has revealed the modes of operation of cannabis production syndicates and related implications for the country. In Akure the capital of Ondo State, cannabis cultivators have now organised themselves into illegal associations. The name of the cannabis syndicate dismantled by Operation Wese is AKUNNUBAS. According to investigation, this full-blown drug-trafficking network has an executive arm that oversees the administrative affairs of the group.

short news

Mechanic Electrocuted To Death

short news

‘Confab Is A Huge Success’

There was pandemonium in Iyana Era, in Ijanikin area of Lagos State when a man was electrocuted by a falling electric wire.

LEADERSHIP Weekend investigation revealed that a mechanic was repairing a car when a high voltage wire belonging to the Power Holding Company Of Nigeria (PHCN)fell on him.

An eyewitness, Joshua disclosed that when people noticed that the high tension wire fell, everyone around took to their heels, adding that some people even left their husbands or wives behind as they ran for their lives.

He said he and others who had witnessed the incident had to deter people from running towards the scene.

Joshua said he nearly became a victim because he was close to the spot where the mechanic was killed.

Confirming the story to LEADERSHIP Weekend, the Lagos State police public relations officer, DSP Ngozi Braide said the incident occurred on July 27, 2014, around 3pm at a mechanic workshop.

She said the victim, Lukman Ayinla was under the bus trying to effect repairs when the high voltage wire fell on the vehicle and he was electrocuted.

Braide said his corpse has been deposited at Badagry General Hospital mortuary for an autopsy.

End Of Boko Haram In SightPresidential Aide

The just concluded national conference has succeeded in tackling issues affecting the country, fostering unity among all Nigerians, Sen Ibrahim Muhammad Ida has said.

Speaking with newsmen in Katsina yesterday, Senator Ida, a member of the Confab, said delegates to the conference were able to thoroughly discuss issues and come up with common consensus.

Ida, who was one time senate committee chairman on defence, said the success of the conference was contrary to expectations of Nigerians, because of the belief that it was organised to achieve a hidden agenda.

He said although delegates from states, federal government, civil societies and religious bodies, came to the conference with different agendas, however they resolved their differences and the issues were tackled, in the general interest of the nation.

By Muazu Elazeh, Katsina

By Matthew Dike, Lagos

Senior special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Youth and Student Affairs, Comrade Jude Imagwe yesterday said the failure of the dreaded Boko Haram sect to plunge the nation into a full scale war along religious lines, may not be unconnected to their unrelenting quest to attack the very fabric that bind us together as a country.

The presidential aide, who predicted the end to insurgency in parts of northern Nigeria, also appealed to Nigerians to support the efforts of the federal government in bringing an end to the activities of the sect, which has claimed many lives.

He spoke at the Confluence of South/ South Youth rally in support of the return bid of President Goodluck Jonathan in Salepe local government area of Delta State.

By Patrick Ochoga, Benin

L-R; President Goodluck Jonathan; his wife, Patience; Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu; Chairman of the Victims Support Fund Committee Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd); and wife of the Senate President Helen Mark, at the fundraising dinner for the victims of terrorism at the Presidential Villa Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY REMI AKUNLEYAN.

INEC Wants APC’S Petition Against Fayose Dismissed

By ALO ABIOLA, ADO-EKITI

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ado-Ekiti to dismiss the All Progressive Congress (APC) petition against the election of Ayodele Fayose of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Standing as the third respondent in the case, the commission in its preliminary objection held that, APC ought not to seek the return of its candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, saying he was not part of the petition.

In a 43 paragraph reply signed by its counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN and submitted to the Tribunal, INEC also denied the allegations levelled against it by the party that the election was systematically and electronically rigged.

The electoral body noted that ballot papers and other materials used in the election were the same models used in previous elections in the country, contrary to the APC claim that they were manipulated to favour the PDP. The electoral umpire discounte-

nanced the allegation of security clampdown on APC leaders, saying no such reports were brought to its notice.

All the electoral officers of all the local government areas being challenged by APC were at the Tribunal to sign their affidavit and written depositions before the Tribunal’s secretary, as provided by section 117 (4) of the evidence act.

APC in its petition challenged the results of the June 21 governorship election in seven of the sixteen local government areas where the election was held.

Gov Dickson, IYC Mourn Death Of Ebizimor

By OSA Okhomina, Yenagoa,,

The Bayelsa State governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson and the umbrella body of Ijaw Youths worldwide, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) were yesterday thrown into mourning following the death of foremost Ijaw musical icon, King Robert Ebizimor in a fatal road accident along the Warri-Sapele road in Delta State.

King Robert Ebizimor, according to reports, died while returning from Abuja to Bayelsa State to plan a thanksgiving party today (Saturday) in his hometown of Angalabiri in Sagbama local govern-

ment council of the state.

The music maestro, LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered, had been bedridden for months following the amputation of one of his legs due to diabetes earlier in the year and had recently returned from an hospital in India.

Governor Seriake Dickson and the leadership of the Ijaw Youths Council through its spokesman, Comrade Eric Omare, while expressing shock and disbelief over the death of the Late Ijaw music icon, announced that a state burial would be accorded him by the state government.

According to Dickson, “The news of the death of King Robert Ebizimor in a ghastly motor accident was received with deep shock, sadness and total disbelief. King Ebizimor’s untimely death is a calamity and a monumental loss to Bayelsa State, the Ijaw nation and the people of the Niger Delta.”

The governor, who was visibly disturbed over the news, recalled with nostalgia his personal relationship with the legendary and amiable singer, whom, according him, gave his all to the growth and advancement of culture through his songs.

Daniel Agaba Murder: Police Are Subverting Justice – Family

By DAVID ADUGE-ANI, Abuja

The family of late Daniel Gabriel Agaba, a 17-year old who was suspected to have been murdered while in police custody at Wuse Zone 3 police station, has said that the police are trying to prevent the family members from obtaining justice for the murder of their child.

In an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Abuja yesterday, the family, represented by their lawyers, disclosed that the police have commenced investigations, stating that some of the policemen who were involved in the matter had been invited.

According to the family lawyer, Barrister Femi Mathew, the investigation team, which was set up the Inspector General of Police (IGP), also invited the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Wuse Zone 3 police station at that time the incident took place.

Also invited for interrogation, according to Barrister Femi, is Inspector Julius, who is the head of the anti-robbery unit at the station and Corporal Kingsley, among others.

However, according to Barrister Femi, the family has reservations about what the police has done so far, stating that among all the accomplices invited by the police, Cor-

poral Kingsley, who is purported to have shot the deceased, is the only one being detained.

“We complained that the other accomplices, like the DPO of Wuse Zone 3 police station at the time the crime was committed and Inspector Julius, who is the head of the team into whose custody the boy was handed over, should also have been detained like Corporal Kingsley,” he said.

Femi explained that he personally took up the matter with the head of the investigative team, CSP Musa, and also spoke with the deputy commissioner of police, who is the head of the IGP monitoring unit, but nothing tangible has been done about it.

potpourri 55

Saturday, August 2, 2014 Patrick Ebi-Amanama saintpatrick1996@gmail.com

Background: The story behind the picture Leave A Legacy And Get Streets Named After You In life there are actors, spectators, commentators, critics and losers. Actors are those whose faces are printed on our currencies; streets are named after them, institutions are named after them. Some are dead while some are very much around.

In this photo is a street sign with the names of Sir Ahmadu Bello and Ladoke Akintola. Our streets are lined up with signs like these, especially in posh areas such Asokoro and Maitama in the FCT, while in Lagos State, we have names of influential people

Things You Only Know When You’re Single Amarachi Aibangbe

Feedback: amaflysky@yahoo.com amaflysky@yahoo.com

Think, Think, Think and Think Again!

E

very woman’s desire at some point in her life is to meet her perfect match; a man who completes her and who fits into her dreams.

Some ladies somehow know when they have met this particular someone, but many others get things mixed up and get confused or carried away along the line. When it comes to choosing a life partner, it is always advisable that singles take their time before making such a big commitment to spend the rest of their life with someone.

Today divorce and separation rates have gone up and these can be associated with so many reasons. Unlike many of our parents who believed in courting for longer periods, many of the singles today prefer shorter relationships.

Rita Olori, 32, believes there is an increase in divorces today because couples don’t date for a long enough period.

“I believe marriages don’t last long because couples don’t really know much about each

other. Many people go into marriages after dating for a short while without knowing all the necessary things they ought to know about each other. You should know his genuine source of income and every other thing,” Rita said.

By nature ladies are more open and very easy to decode, but the reverse is the case with men. Men do not open up so easily and this leaves most ladies in the dark about their men. Many ladies do not know how to make the necessary enquiries about their partners and this can be a major problem in the future.

There are a lot of deceitful men out there and many ladies have fallen into traps, believing in things that are not.

Before you take that guy to meet your parents or family, ensure you have done all the necessary checks on him, because things may seem a lot different beneath the surface.

Dear Amarachi, My name is Emily and I am a regular reader of ‘Things You Only Know When You Are Single’.

I live in Nassarawa State and I am a student of Nassarawa State University.

I have a group of friends whom I enjoy their company a lot and we are all in the same department so it makes it very convenient for us to move together. But I am not really comfortable with some of the things they do as they seem too wild for me (If you know what I mean). We have been making plans to get an apartment together but recently with the things I see them do I am not sure if living together with them would do me any good.

I don’t want them to feel like I’m an enemy but truly I do not want to move with them anymore. My problem now is how to tell them because we are very close and I don’t want enemies.

I would appreciate your thoughtful and kind advice. Thank you very much.

Emily, Nassarawa.

Dear Emily, Thanks for taking time to be a regular reader of Things You Only Know When You Are Single.

About your present situation, I am glad you are being true to yourself about your friends and I totally understand your concerns about creating enemies from these friendships. You need wisdom to go about this. Try telling them that you do not feel good about getting the apartment with them, then start creating some distance.

The truth is your friends need to know what you stand for and with time they will leave you if they are not ready to change. You also need to put this into prayers so God can guide you right.

Amarachi.

in areas like Ikoyi, Victoria Island , Lekki and Victoria Garden City. We can also see names like these in Rivers State.

The history of our nation would not be complete without these names. They are the history makers; we read about them, study them in schools, we sing songs about them. Now, let us face it, some of these names contributed positively to the development of the nation and some did little or nothing, but like a stage play or a Nollywood movie, the drama is not

complete without the roles been played by those called “extras”.

Life is a journey; we need to be positive about our actions. Things we do today are what will speak for us after we are long gone. Life is like a marketplace where people come and go, yet actors don’t die because when they die, we erect monuments so that we do not forget them. Chinua Achebe cannot die; he started as a man and ended as a movement. In no time from now, streets and institutions will be named after him.

Faces In The Crowd

BY AMARACHI Aibangbe, Abuja

Taiye Omotoyinbo Lecturer Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

I see myself being a better individual; and a better person in my career, achieving greater things. I also see a very successful lady.

Eze Joyce Administrative Officer What do you do for leisure?

I am a very busy person because my job keeps me going for 6 days during the week, so when I get my off day I spend it sleeping, eating and seeing movies.

Nanya Dul Student How would you describe a perfect date with your boyfriend?

A perfect date would be the date where he takes me to dinner and asks me to marry him.

56 OPINION

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Sambo: The Emergence Of A True Elder Statesman

BY Ahmed Maiyaki

As we celebrate the newest elder statesman in town, it is important to appreciate his many selfless strives in the quest for building a modern industrialized nation

Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo clocked the wisdom age of 60 years and by implication joins the exclusive class of elder statesmen in our great country. As a mark of his quintessential achievements and contributions to nation building, many friends and associates have rightly chosen to roll out the drums in rejoicing with him. It is however imperative that while we celebrate his life to also reflect on his immense contributions to improving the overall living conditions of every Nigerian. A great man is nothing if his achievements have not impacted positively on the lives of the less privileged in the society.

The VP has strived to successfully accomplish all responsibilities assigned to him by the Constitution of the Federal Republic as well as by the President. As Chairman of the National Privatization Council, Sambo has successfully reduced the level of friction in the privatization programme through eschewing personal interests by officials and putting the interest of the country first.

This was manifest in his handling of the power sector privatization.

Other agencies under the office of the Vice President are also responding positively to the transformation process of the Jonathan administration. A case in view is

that of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), which in the last few years witnessed a major reform with increased capacity to manage disasters. NEMA has acquired modern technical and manpower capacity to deal with emerging calamities.

The emergency resilience and preparedness model of the agency is second to none in West Africa and has become case study for similar agencies across the African continent. Today, NEMA can swiftly respond to emergencies and also provides relief to victims of disasters in all parts of the country, no matter the terrain.

The National Boundary Commission. Under Sambo, the commission has also successfully resolved several boundary issues within the country. Many disputes have been amicably resolved, avoiding the usual conflicts and sometime violent clashes involving boarder communities.

As at May 2011, there were 79 road projects spread across the three geo-political zones of the North, with a total contract sum of N475.2 billion. About 30 months into the Jonathan Administration, the number of road projects in the North grew from 79 to 117, with a total contract sum of N914.8 billion.

It is also on record that to curtail the scourge of the traditional Almajiri system, the Jonathan-Sambo

Administration has successfully incorporated the Almajiri Islamic Education System into the national educational policy. A total of 101 Almajiri Model Schools are now in full operation across the North. The administration has also established Federal Universities in six Northern States that hitherto had no such institutions.

To improve power supply in the North, work on the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro-power projects that were abandoned for many years are now receiving attention. The projects are to produce a combined 3750mw to the national grid. Other similar projects are the Gurara Phase I and II, the Galma Dam, the Bakalori Dam, the Kashimbila Dam and the Itisi Dam all in the North. There is also the 215mw thermal power plant in Kaduna and completion of various transmission and distribution projects across the region.

Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA) the Federal Government is reaching more farmers with subsidized fertilizers and hybrid seeds every year. The present administration has made tremendous efforts at improving the agriculture value chain process through massive investments. For instance, the rice transformational plan envisaged the establishment of 14 rice mills, ten (10) of which will be sited in the North.

In furtherance of his commit-

ment to revamping the railways, Sambo as a loyal deputy, contributed immensely to rehabilitation of the Kano-Lagos, Zaria-Kaura Namoda and other rail line linking the North with other parts of the country. The VP is also in the forefront towards ensuring the completion of the Kaduna-Abuja fast rail line, which is presently at about 75% completion.

As we celebrate the newest elder statesman in town, it is important to appreciate his many selfless strives in the quest for building a modern industrialized nation. For close to three decades since he first took public office, Sambo has left indelible marks in all the positions he held. As commissioner in two different ministries and later Governor of Kaduna State, the VP left legacies beneficial not only to the present generation but also to the future.

At 60, we can only thank the Almighty God for the gift of such a selfless leader that is committed to common good of all. Our hope is for the Almighty to continue to sustain him with good health and wisdom to continue to support our great Leader, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in actualizing all the set targets now and beyond. We say a big happy birthday to you Sir. – Maiyaki resides in Kaduna and can be reached on ahmedmaiyaki@ gmail.com

when we fail to protest. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.

Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

In the light of current happenings, Nigerians must never get tired of what Rev. Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah calls ‘prophetic outrage.’ We must continue to askfundamental questions about how our country is organized and governed. Our questioning attitude must lead to demanding accountability from those who govern us. Societies only make substantive change when their members insist upon it. You have to want it.As such, we must never allow the Chibok issue to die down. However, we must adopt a new strategy. The civil society coalition must begin to rethink its strategies and fashion new ways of cooperating with the government to bring about the safe return of our daughters. Gathering at the Unity Square in Abuja and holding press conferences will not bring back the girls. It may help mount pressure on the government, but it doesn’t lend any practical help to the cause.

At a trying time like this, it is not profitable to create a cleavage between “the government” and “the governed.” All our energies and resources should be channelled into what is clearly a “we” issue” and not a “them versus us” issue. After all,

terror is no respecter of boundaries. Everyone, without exception, is affected by the spate of bombings and killings.

I therefore urge Nigerians adopt the posture already taken by Mariam Uwais in her beautiful piece, “Until the Girls Return” published in THISDAY (Thursday, June 5, 2014, p.14). There she said: “I resolve again and again that I must do all that I can to keep the issue on the front burner of the Nigerian discourse. I cannot sit at home and lament about the situation so helplessly; I must remain engaged and involved. I must find creative ways of collectively and constructively engaging our citizenry on security concerns, and our leaders on how we can support them, to make our country a safer and more peaceful place to live in. We cannot allow that the girls be forgotten or sidelined by other ‘breaking news’, for that would amount to abandoning them (and their families) to a fate worse than death.”What will win the war against terror is our collective synergy with the government, not antagonism, divisive posturing and misplaced efforts.I strongly believe that if we make the Chibok issue count, it may well be the deciding dice for a 2015 electoral spring!

Towards A Chibok Spring BY mmanuel Ojeifo

History has taught us that there are two sets of people that can destroy a society: those who know and say nothing, and those who don’t know and say something. Whenever I recount these penetrative words of wisdom, my mind goes back to what happened in the 1930s when Adolf Hitler rose to power as Chancellor of Germany. With a blend of political acuity, deceptiveness, cunning, sheer grit and eloquence, Hitler, a man hitherto unknown, succeeded in swaying the leading intellectual lights of the Reichstag and the Nazi Party stalwarts to buying into his poisonous philosophy of reawakening the long-dormant Germanic spirit, with its racial and militaristic qualities.

No one seems to vividly capture the mood of the times like Martin Niemöller (1892– 1984), a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. In his famous statement and provocative poem, “First they came…”Niemöller spoke about the cowardice of German intellectuals and leaders of the Protestant churches who, through their silence during the period of Nazi madness, became complicit in one of the bloodiest chapters in human

history.

No one seems to know exactly what is happening. Twitter handles calling for BringBackOurGirlshave slacked, civil society protests are dying down, newspapers headlines have moved on to capture new items of journalistic sensationalism, Malala has come and gone, Chibok parents have met President Goodluck Jonathan, and what is more? Nigerians, as it is customary, seem to have moved on with their lives.

The truth, like Dele Giwa once said, is that “Nigerians are unshockable.”Tragic stories such as Chibok have become commonplace in our national life.

Many years ago, the Martiniqueborn Afro-French philosopher, Frantz Fanon, said it: “Every onlooker is either a coward or a traitor.” When he was being awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986, Elie Weisel, aJewishholocaust survivor of Hungarian descent, drew from the store of historic wisdom to pass a very important message to humankind. He said: “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference; the opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference; the opposite of faith is heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. There are times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time

– Ojeifo is a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja.

We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO OUR VICE PRESIDENT

@

60

On behalf of my family I congratulate you as you attain 60 years today.

In so many ways you have earned the respect of everyone who has had the opportunity of interacting with you.

I therefore pray that allah (SWt) will continue to guide and protect you in the many more years we pray you live.

Happy 60th Birthday!

DR.GOODLUCKEBELEjOnathan,

Arc. NAmAdi sAmbo GcoN

Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

ALH. (dr.) sANi dAUdA moN

(GARKUWAN ZAZZAU BABBA) cHAirmAN Asd GroUP oF comPANiEs

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

Taraba STaTe GovernmenT Happy

Birthday!

60th

I, on behalf of the good people of Taraba State heartily felicitate with the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Arc. Mohammed Namadi Sambo as he attains the age of 60.

Your Excellency, we are grateful to Almighty Allah for making it possible for you to witness this milestone.

We pray that He will continue to guide, protect and bless you with good health to celebrate many more years ahead.

Congratulations!

Arc. MohAMMed NAMAdi SAMbo Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria Signed: alhaji Garba Umar (UTC) Ag Governor, Taraba State

GcoN

Saturday, August 2, 2014

59

60

Saturday, August 2, 2014

60 Happy

Cheers My family and I rejoice with you on this auspicious occasion of your 60th birthday anniversary.

Over the years, you have distinguished yourself as a reliable brother, friend and leader. As an Architect, you gave your best to the promotion of qualitative infrastructural development in Nigeria. As a nationalist, politician and bridge builder, you have demonstrated an uncommon passion for the unity and progress of Nigeria. You are indeed a True Patriot, an exceptionally loyal Vice President in the history of our country, and the greatest partner of the North and South-South regions of Nigeria.

On this diamond jubilee of your birth, may the Almighty God grant you strength, wisdom and good health as you continue to support Mr. President, being the dependable ally you are, to pilot the affairs of this great country of ours to greater heights.

Welcome to the sexagenarian club, Your Excellency! We wish you many more fruitful years of service to our beloved country and humanity.

HAPPY

Birthday!

Arc. NAmAdi SAmbo, GcoN Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Signed:

dr. StepheN oriSe oru Honourable Minister Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

60th

bIRTHdAY ANNIVERSARY To An AMIAblE lEAdER And PolITIcIAN I, the Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Shehu Usman Tahir, on behalf of all the Honourable Members, wish to felicitate with His Excellency the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Arch. Mohammed Namadi Sambo, FNIA, GCON on his attainment of sixty years of age.

Your Excellency, you have grown from a decent and modest background to the exalted office of the Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Your Excellency, you have proven beyond reasonable doubt that you are a dependable political ally. You are also highly responsible and generous; a soul everyone can lean on.

We at the Assembly are therefore very proud to be associated with you, and pray to Almighty Allah to continue to give wisdom to and strengthen our leaders.

oNcE MoRE coNgRATUlATIoNS, SIR!

ARC. NAMAdI SAMbO, GCON

Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Signed: RT. HON. SPEAKER SHEHU USMAN TAHIR Kaduna state legislature

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

Happy

NIGERIAN COLLEGE OF AVIATION TECHNOLOGY, ZARIA

Training for excellence

Birthday I, on behalf of the Management and Staff of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria heartily felicitate

Vice-President,

with the Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Arc. Namadi Sambo on this auspicious occassion of his

60th Birthday Anniversary.

You have been a stabilizing force in the polity of our great nation,Nigeria.

As you add another year today, we pray God to grant you more prosperous years ahead.

Signed:

Arc. Namadi

CAPTAIN SAMUEL .A. CAULCRICK Rector/Chief Executive NCat Zaria

Sambo Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

GCON

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

PLATEAU STATE GOVERNMENT

CONGRATULATIONS! On behalf of my family, Government and People of Plateau State, I wish to rejoice with you as you celebrate your 60th birthday.

We pray God to continue to guide, protect you and your family.

May He also give you the wisdom and courage to sustain your contributions to the transformation of our dear country.

Happy Birthday Mr Vice President!

arc. naMaDi SaMBo, gcon Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria Signed:

JonaH DaViD Jang Governor, Plateau State

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

e-FEATURE 65

Saturday, August 2, 2014

A woman sitting inside a plastic boat with her hands up in celebrating Eid-el-Fitr at the Wonderland Park in Abuja, yesterday. photo by ogoh joseph

Insecurity Mars Sallah Celebrations In Abuja

BY Anthony Ada Abraham, Abuja

Many families chose to remain in the comfort of their homes, where most believe their safety is guaranteed.

Even the ‘mai ruwa’ (water vendors) were nowhere to be found

Muslims across the globe celebrated the end of the Ramadan fast with different degrees of fanfare.

However, in Nigeria the usual excitement that accompanies the Sallah celebration was to a large extent muted, no thanks to the plague of insecurity in the country. In some places, the air of celebration was totally absent.

Many families chose to remain in the comfort of their homes, where most believe their safety is guaranteed.

Even the 'mai ruwa' (water vendors) were nowhere to be found.

From Gwarinpa through to Dawaki, Lugbe, Area 1 and Utako, the story was the same, with the few people seen going about their normal businesses in a most unusual manner.

A truck pusher, Abdulaziz Umar, seen at Gwarimpa going about his normal business was asked by our reporter why he was not in celebratory mood. His reply: “How many people do you find celebrating sallah with the country like this?

Everyone in this country is mindful of his business because no one is sure of what will happen the next minute.”

He explained in Hausa that even the popular dubar (horse riding and displays) which was celebrated in Kano annually was cancelled this year because of the spate of violence that has been hitting the ancient city.

However, in spite of the pervasive air of insecurity, some people still went all out, staging some funfilled events in the city. On Sunday, 3Js Hotel, Utako near Chida Hotel, hosted its monthly Comedy Assembly Reloaded. This month’s event coincided with the Eid-elFitri celebration and the hall was filled to capacity.

Celebrities and comedians graced the events and in their usual manner were on hand to thrill guests and fans.

Among those who graced the occasion were actress Empress Nyama, Coach Samson Siasia, Yaxman (Wazobia FM), Crazy Legs, CD (winner GLO Naija Sings), Doomoore and a host of others.

The CEO of Comedy Assembly, Nick B, said though people are still scared of the insecurity in the country, especially during festive periods, many Abuja residents still love having fun and Comedy Assembly welcomes them.

There was also the rain, which deterred some people from having fun.

It rained heavily in many places around the city, to the disappointment of fun seekers. Many who managed to make it to Jabi Lake could not engage in some of the activities available- like horse riding- due to the rain.

Eid-el-Fitr An important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. The religious Eid is a single day during which Muslims are not permitted to fast. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawnto-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan.

The day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month of Shawwal. This is a day when Muslims around the world show a common goal of unity. The date for the start of any lunar (Hijri) month varies based on the observation of new moon by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration varies by locality. However, in most countries, it is generally celebrated on the same day as Saudi Arabia.

Also, Nigeria is the

only country in the world whose Muslim faithful celebrated Eid-el-Fitr (the end of Ramadan festivities) on Sunday, following the controversial announcement by the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad, on Saturday night that the new moon of Shawwal had been sighted in some cities across the country, according to Premium Times.

The newspaper reported that the Ramadan fast in other parts of the world ended Sunday, with the EidEl-Fitri celebrations holding on Monday.

The chairman of the Nigerian National Moonsighting Committee, Hafiz Wali, as well as a member, Sheikh Habeebullahi Al-Ilory, told Premuin Times that in no other country was the sighting of the moon reported by anyone.

“It will interest you to know that Nigeria is the only country celebrating Eid-elFitr today,” Dr. Wali said.

“That is because it is the only country where people claimed they sighted the moon,” he added.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

NSHA/OFF/7/VOL.II/85

30th July, 2014

RESOLUTION NO. 78 OF NASARAWA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ON THE SEVEN MAN PANEL SET UP BY THE HON. CHIEF JUDGE OF NASARAWA STATE, HON. JUSTICE SULEIMAN DIKKO TO INVESTIGATE THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR UMARU TANKO AL-MAKURA OF NASARAWA STATE His Lordship, The Hon. Chief Judge, Nasarawa State Judiciary, High Court of Justice Headquarters, Lafia.

WHEREAS section 188(5) of the Constitution of the Constitution, Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended), Amended), therefore to be nullified. mandates the House of Assembly to request the 3. That appointing personal friends of His Excellency Hon. Chief Judge of the State to Constitute a Seven Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura as members (7) man panel to investigate the allegations leveled of the panel has contravened the provisions of against His Excellency, Governor Umaru Tanko Alsection 188(5) of the Constitution of the Federal makura by the State House of Assembly; Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended).

4. That if the panel shall sit without the sitting WHEREAS the Members so appointed were not procedure of which the House of Assembly shall appointed in accordance with the provisions of the prescribe, the sitting shall be inconsistent with the section of the Constitution quoted above and the provisions of section 188(7) (a) of the Constitution Hon. Chief Judge is so petitioned before the House of of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended).

Assembly (copy of petition and annexure attached); 5. That based on the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of AND WHEREAS section 188(7) (a) of the 1999 Nigeria 1999 (as Amended) and quoted Constitution, Federal Republic of Nigeria (as above, Nasarawa State House of Assembly Amended) provides that the panel shall only act in is hereby urging the Hon. Chief Judge to line with the procedure which the House of Assembly dissolve the said panel and re-constitute shall prescribe: same based on the inconsistencies raised above.

NOW THEREFORE Nasarawa State House of Assembly has resolved this 30th day of July, 2014 thus: AND NOW THEREFORE the Clerk is mandated to 1. That the appointment of public servant as a communicate this Resolution to the Hon. Chief Judge member of the’ panel is inconsistent with the for compliance, same is accordingly forwarded to provisions of section 188(5) of the Constitution of you in line with the strength of the Resolution the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended), please. and therefore null and void to the level of the inconsistency.

2. That the appointment of members of a political party as members of the panel has contravened the provisions of section 188(5) of the 1999

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

CONCERNED NASARAWA CITIzENS AND RESIDENTS Shendam Road, Lafia, Nasarawa State

25/7/2014 The Honourable Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly Shendam Road, Lafia Nasarawa State.

Dear Sir,

PETITION AGAINST THE COMPOSITION OF THE PANEL TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF GROSS MISCONDUCT AGAINST ALHAJI TANKO AL-MAKURA, THE GOVERNOR OF NASARAWA STATE 1. We the undersigned are Citizens of Nasarawa State.

2. We have followed the recent developments of the allegations of gross misconduct leveled against Governor of Nasarawa State by the Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly culminating in the directive given by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to the Chief Judge of Nasarawa State to constitute a 7 (Seven) man Panel to investigate these allegations of gross misconduct following the allegations.

3. We have observed that the Chief Judge of Nasarawa State, the Honourable Justice Suleiman Dikko in the purported exercise of his duties under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended in 2011) constituted a Seven (7) man panel to investigate the allegations on the 25th day of July 2014. The members of the Panel are: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii)

Mallam Yusuf Usman (Chairman); Alhaji Mohammed Sabo Keana (Member); Rev. Joel Galadima (Member); Aihaji Abdullahi Usman Galadima (Member); Mr. Samuel Chaku (Member); Mallam Mohammed Sani Usman (Member); and Pastor Daniel Chaga (Member).

4. We understand that by the provisions of Section 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended in 2011), the Honourable Chief Judge of the High Court of Nasarawa State must apply the provisions of Section 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended in 2011) in considering and appointing members of the panel to investigate the Governor.

5. Section 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended in 2011) reads: “Within seven days of the passing of a motion under the foregoing provisions of this section, the Chief judge of the State shall at the request of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, appoint a Panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity, not being members of any public service, legislative house or political party, to investigate the allegation as provided in this section”. 6. We are of the firm view that the Honourable Chief Judge of the High Court of Nasarawa State in constituting the Seven (7) man panel to investigate the allegations on the 25th day of July 2014 acted in breach of the mandatory provisions of Section 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended in 2011).

7. Reverend Joel Galadima is a serving appointee of the Governor of Nasarawa State as a Board Member of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board of Nasarawa State. He is also of the same Gwandara ethnic extraction as His Excellency, the Governor of Nasarawa State whose allegations of misconduct he is supposed to investigate. Furthermore, he is the serving Chairman of the Gwandara Development Educational and Cultural Association (GWADECA), a cultural association to which His Excellency, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura belongs to. The principal objective of the Gwandara Development Educational and Cultural Association (GWADECA) is to advance the cause of persons of Gwandara extraction. In proof of the assertions made herein are: (I) (ii) (iii)

The payment vouchers of the Nasarawa State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board made to Reverend Joel Galadima (Attached and marked as Annexure I); The Video Computer Disk of Reverend Joel Galadima regarding his Membership (Attached and marked as Annexure ll); and Reverend Joel Galadima was once suspended by the Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ (ERCC) (Attached and marked as Annexure Ill).

8. Alhaji Mohammed Sabo Keana is a registered member of ‘ a political party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He is registered in the Amiri Ward, Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State with Number 8794402 in the People’s Democratic

Party (PDP) membership register of the Amiri Ward of Keana Local Government of Area of Nasarawa State. (Attached and marked as Annexure IV is the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) membership card of AIhaji Mohammed Sabo Keana).

9. Alhaji Abdullahi Usman Galadima is a registered member of a political party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He is registered in the Angwan Rimi Ward, Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State with Number 9880967 in the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) membership register of the Angwan Rimi Ward of Keffi Local Government of Area of Nasarawa State. (Attached and marked as Annexure V is the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) membership card of Aihaji Abdullahi Usman Galadima).

10. The Chairman of the Panel, Mallam Yusuf Shehu Usman has been a childhood friend of His Excellency, Aihaji Tanko Al-Makura, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa and his wife is a Special Aide to Salamatu Al-Makura one of the wives to the State Governor of Nasarawa State whose conduct is to be investigated by the Panel.

11. Another Panel Member, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Usman has been a childhood friend of His Excellency, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, the Executive Governor Nasarawa State whom the Chief Judge of the High Court of Nasarawa State had no hesitation in appointing. The same applies to Daniel Chaga and Samuel Chaku are close personal friends of the person whose conduct is the subject of the investigation and played visible roles during his election. Their independence and objectivity is not guaranteed as they were nominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party which the Governor belongs to. No wonder, the Governor who has refused to accept the acknowledgement of service of the impeachment notice has decided to appear before a panel made up of his cronies.

12. We humbly seek the Honourable Speaker and the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to use its good office to: (i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

Investigate the allegations against the Chief Judge of the High Court of Nasarawa State for breach of Section 18& (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) for appointing members of the public service as members of the impeachment panel; Investigate the allegations against the Chief Judge of the High Court of Nasarawa State for breach of’ Section, 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) for appointing members of political parties as members of the impeachment panel; Investigate the allegations against the Chief Judge of the High Court of Nasarawa State for breach of Section 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) for appointing personal friends of the Governor of Nasarawa State as members of the impeachment panel to investigate allegations of misconduct against “the Governor of Nasarawa State; and Ensure the Chief Judge of the High Court of Nasarawa State complies with the full spirit and intention of Section 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) in appointing members of the Panel by ensuring that the Members mentioned above are excluded from the Panel in strict compliance with Section 188 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) for appointing members of the panel

We hope our petition will be thoroughly investigated and if found true, granted.

Yours faithfully, for: CONCERNED NASARAWA CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS

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my secret life

Saturday, August 2, 2014

My Mirror Used To Be My Companion

– Hadiza Idris Maska, Beautician My parents are... late Sarkin Maska, Alhaji Idris Sambo and Hajiya Nafeesa (Walata) Baba Ahmed Growing up...After my father’s death we moved to my uncle’s house in Kaduna where I grew up and attended primary school together with my cousins.

My favourite childhood memories... applying my aunt’s foundation powder which was far lighter than my skin colour and then sitting in front of the mirror for over 30 minutes to admire my new ‘light complexion’. I also loved my dresser mirror so much to the extent that it became my dining table because that was the only place I enjoyed eating my meals, watching myself chew and swallow the food every second and making silly faces.

Craziest thing I’ve ever done...wearing my niece’s diaper!

My biggest regret... not being able to see my best friend before she died in the hospital.

As a child...I have always wanted to be a beautician My best motivators...my husband, Alhaji Muhammad Usman; sisters, Rumana and Zarah and brother- Nura Best movies I’ve ever watched... Coming to America and Save The Last Dance Book that has made an impact on me...The Gift One thing I could change about myself...my simplicity The last time I cried... during my husband’s daughter’s graduation; I got very emotional when I saw the graduands crying When I look into the mirror...I see opportunities yet to come and a bright future ahead Style to me means...having self-value, being well-composed at all times Five words to describe me... sincere, simple, friendly, emotional and determined In five years... I hope to establish other branches of NEEMAB BEAUTARIA in other Nigerian States.

I used to be... So happy and full of dreams but now I understand that nothing comes easy.

Life is full of challenges.

Died About Seven people have died of cholera in three villages of Kudan local government area of Kaduna State.

It was gathered that six persons from two separate families were the casualties of the cholera outbreak in Hukunyi and Zabin-Kudan villages with one person reportedly killed in Rimi Biso village in the same Kudan local government areas.

Described The just concluded national conference has been described as having succeeded in tackling issues affecting the country and foster unity among all Nigerians, Sen Ida has said.

Speaking in Katsina, Senator Ibrahim Muhammad Ida, who was a member of the confab, noted that delegates to the conference were able to thoroughly discuss issues and come up with common consensus.

Dismantled

Hadiza

Life In Brief Hadiza Idris Maska was born on 29th September, 1987 and attended Kaduna International School for her nursery and primary education. She completed her secondary education at Uncle Bado Memorial College then proceeded to Kaduna State University where she graduated and obtained a Bsc in Mass Comunication. After graduation, she decided to start up a business in the beauty line, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Today, she is a proud owner of a ‘women only’ beauty parlour called “NEEMAB BEAUTARIA”, which is named after her two children Tasneem and Abdullah and covers almost all aspects of beauty services such as hair styling, body waxing, body scrubbing, hair plaiting, body massage, pedicure, henna designs, simple and bridal makeup and lots more and has been running for a year now. photo By Hadiza Idris Maska Interview by Amina Alhassan Ahman

A combined team of 100 National Drug Law Enforcement (NDLEA) officers drawn from eight commands have jointly raided Wese Forest Reserve and destroyed 184 hectares of cannabis plantations.

The raid operation which lasted 72 hours led to the dismantling of a cannabis syndicate known as AKUNNUBAS, while the Treasurer of the group, Eke Sylvester, 37 and five members of the association were also apprehended.

Joined Banks and other financial institutions in Benue State have joined the ongoing strike embarked by workers of the agrarian state and shut out customers in the process.

The bankers closed their offices to show solidarity to the aggrieved workers who have down tools and are protesting downward review of their salaries by the state government.

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70 news across the states

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Military Enquiry Into Zaria Shooting Incident Ongoing-DHQ

By Bayo Oladeji, Abuja

The defence headquarters yesterday disclosed that there was an on going enquiry into the shooting which led to the death of some members of Shiite Islamic sect in Zaria last Friday including three sons of the leader.

LEADERSHIP Weekend recalled that the clash between the Shiite sect and some soldiers has been generating intense controversy. But the military, in a statement signed by the Director of Information, Defence Headquarters, Major General Chris Olukolade, disclosed that the matter is being investigated.

The statement reads in part “The need to calm the situation in Zaria city after the recent encounter between soldiers on routine patrol and members of Shiite Islamic sect in Zaria last Friday informed the initial taciturn posture of the Defence Headquarters on the issue.

“While not underplaying the significance of such incident, it was also necessary to ensure that sufficient information was obtained beginning from the unit level and other reliable sources at the location. A preliminary investigation was therefore initiated to unravel the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident. An enquiry is subse-

‘Atiku Has Paid His Dues In Nigerian Politics’

By CHIKA OTUCHIKERE, Abuja

quently ongoing at the Divisional level” The military however disclosed that there were some contradictions in the allegation raised by the leader of the Shiite.

“Although the report of the preliminary investigation at the unit level has vehemently contradicted some of the issues raised by the leader of the group, in his statement, especially on the allegation of extra judicial killings, the Defence Headquaters is conducting additional investigation on the incident to ascertain the claims in the preliminary reports from the unit level,” the statement added.

Former Vice president Atiku Abubakar has been described as an outstanding politician with the national appeal and acceptability to give the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, a run for their money in 2015.

The League of Patriotic and Progressive Youths, a non-governmental organisation made this known yesterday in a statement signed by its north-central coordinator, Dominic Alancha in which has said that Abubakar is the most likely candi-

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date to win electoral victory for the All Progressivees Congress, APC. The group said it came to this conclusion after assessing recent political developments in the country saying that the former vice president remains the only outstanding politician in the party to fight the PDP. “Following a painstaking assessment of political developments in Nigeria towards the 2015 Presidential election, it has become very clear to us that if the APC is desirous of winning the election, it must as a matter of political exigency to settle for the candidacy of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to fly its flag.

“We have had series of consultations with other youth groups in the country and leading political actors across the country and it is increasingly clear that only the former Vice President has the national appeal to match the ruling People’s Democratic Party, (PDP).

The reality of what has so far transpired in the country has shown that the APC must work hard and present a candidate that is acceptable to majority of Nigerians”.

Ebola Virus: NCAA Lifts Suspension On Asky Operations

By Kazeem Akintunde, Lagos

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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has lifted the suspension placed on Asky Airlines last week following the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the countries where the airline operates.

A statement by the general manager, public affairs of NCAA, Mr Fan Ndubuoke, said the lifting followed the undertaken by the airline to abide by the rules and regulations with a view to curtail the spread of the deadly virus by not flying to countries where the disease was prevalent Ndubuoke said the NCAA was collaborating with other airliners with a view to curtail the spread of the virus and assured that everything possible will be done to ensure the safety of Nigerians The NCAA had last week suspended all Asky Airline operations to Nigeria with immediate effect, as the airline flew in an inflected Ebola Liberian victim who died of the virus in Nigeria.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

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AYC U-17 Qualifier: Umeh Sure Of Golden Eaglets

Amunike

Acting President of Nigeria Football Federation, Chief Mike Umeh said he is confident the U-17 national team, Golden Eaglets, will overpower their counterparts from Democratic Republic of Congo in Abeokuta tomorrow to reach the final round of qualifying series for 2015 African U-17 Championship.

“I have no doubt about the ability of the Golden Eaglets to not only win, but win convincingly. I have followed the exploits of the team since Emmanuel Amuneke took over and I know for certain that he has been working hard to ensure he raises another world –conquering squad,” Umeh said.

Nigeria won a record fourth FIFA U-17 World Cup title in the United Arab Emirates last year, with Manu Garba

as Head Coach and Amuneke as his first assistant, but the world champions have been promoted to the U-20 team and the former African Footballer of the Year has had to start from the scratch.

“Amuneke has shown excellent determination as a Coach, as he used to show in his playing days. His new boys did not fare badly at the WAFU B Tournament in Togo and their victory over the Congolese in Kinshasa shows the improvement the squad has made generally,” Umeh added.

The Eaglets take on the Les Leopards at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta tomorrow in the second leg of a second round qualifying fixture, with Nigeria one goal up from the opening leg in Kinshasa last Saturday.

Ebola Virus: 30 Sierra Leone Athletes Seek Refuge In Glasgow About 30 Commonwealth Games athletes from Sierra Leone are considering extending their stay in Glasgow amid fears over the Ebola virus.

The Bristish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that a second Sierra Leone competitor, Samuel Morris, has been tested for Ebola and cleared by doctors in Glasgow. Cyclist Moses Sesay had also tested negative for the virus.

It has been confirmed another Si-

erra Leone cyclist, Mohamed Tholley, has vanished from the athletes’ village. Ebola has caused more than 700 deaths since February in an outbreak affecting four West African countries.

The Sierra Leone cyclist Moses Sesay, 32, was admitted to a Glasgow hospital last week after feeling unwell and doctors tested him for various conditions, including Ebola – which is blamed for 729 deaths in an outbreak in four West African countries. But Sesay, whose homeland has

declared a public health emergency, was given the all-clear and released from hospital in time to compete in the men’s individual time trial at the Games on Thursday.

Asked if there were any other athletes in isolation in Glasgow hospitals awaiting test results for Ebola, Brock-Doyle said: “No, just to be really clear, there is no Ebola in the athletes’ village, there is no Ebola virus in Scotland. I want to be really, really clear about that.”

Kurfi Wants NFF To Seek Financial Autonomy Stories By Salifu Usman, Abuja

As the crisis rocking the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) continues unabated, Alhaji Aminu Balele Kurfi, former personal assistant to erstwhile chairman of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Col. Abdulmumini Aminu (retired) has urged the NFF to seek financial independence from the government. He said this is the only way the recurrence leadership tussle in the Nigeria football will be avoided.

Kurfi, who was Reacting to the impeachment of the NFF president, Alhaji Aminu Maigari by members of his executive committee in far away Saudi Arabia where he is performing lesser Hajj, said unless the NFF ensure that they stays independent of government’s funding there will be no end to repetition crisis in football.

“Something must be done to ensure that the NFF stays independent of the government because there can never be peace as far as government continue to funds the activities of the NFF. Everybody

believes there is money in football and even those who have nothing to offer football or has never invested kobo in the sector will fight to get to the money.

“I can assure you that if government stop funding football today, all those fighting to takeover NFF will run away and you will never see them come close to football again. If check their records, you will be surprise that they have never spent their personal money for the development of football, but they want to reap the benefit.

I am not just talking anyhow because I know how much I have invested in football. If government remove it hand from football today, we will bring people who will invest and move Nigeria football forward,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to pray fervently to God to put an end to the recurring infractions of the NFF statutes which according to him have resulted in the embarrassment of the Nigeria football brand, disruption of proper and orderly administration and development of the sport in the coun-

Kurfi

try as well as check the situation where personal ambition has taken predominance over the development of football.

“I am in Saudi Arabia praying to God, so I don’t take much about any national issues. We should all pray to God to save our football and the future of Nigerian youths because personal ambition has taken predominance over the development of football.”

Fed Cup: Enyimba, Dolphins Final Will Be Tough – NFF The acting president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Mike Umeh has said that the 2014 Federation Cup final between two premier league giants, Enyimba of Aba and Dolphins of Port Harcourt will be a tough one.

He assured that every arrangement will put in place to ensure a befitting final. “It is would be a good match. Lagos State is our sponsor and Eko for sure, would do what know how to do best.

To reach the final, Dolphins defeated National League side, Prime FC, 1-0 at the FIFA goal project, Abuja, while Enyimba also piped Giwa FC of Jos with same margin in Abeokuta in the semifinals on Thursday.

Dolphins, who have won the

Nigeria league in action

Cup four times, were made to work for the win by second division side, Prime FC before Ebube Okpokwu scored in the second half to set up a Cup final clash with Enyimba.

Cameroon striker, Rafael Boum-

song, scored the winner for Enyimba in the 54th minute to seal their passage to the Cup final as Giwa FC finished the game with 10 men following the sending of Ifeanyi Anaemena.

a collective journey toward actualise Nigeria as a gateway to great country and social harmony.

“It will be contested by the 36 state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and it will heal the heart of the victims of terrorism attack in some part

of the country.

The coordinator added the finals would take place 1st October, 2014 to mark Nigeria’s 24 year independent anniversary with President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience Jonathan expected to grace the final.

37 Football Teams To Participate In Peace Cup Competition Eze Jude-Chukwudi, the National Coordinator of the national U-20 peace cup competition, yesterday in Abuja said 37 football teams would participate in its maiden football peace tournament.

He said the tournament which aims to create unity

among Nigerian youths, would see each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) present one team that would represent the state, adding that it was is basically an invitational grassroots programme.

He said the competition will take place at the main bowl of

the Abuja National Stadium and FIFA goal project in package B of the Stadium.

The proposed national peace will make Nigerians more united and galvanise our strength as people of peace, stability and progress. This football competition will also serve as

AMUSEMENT PARK

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02.08.14

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FOR GOD AND COUNTRY

No. 443 N300

The Weekend Column Capt Daniel Omale

F

Boeing is targeting improvements to the spoiler control units and brakes

lying on the Boeing 787 is one of the most soughtafter experiences in today’s air transport system – that is the message from airlines operating the new twinjet on a growing network of routes around the world.

This, of course, was Boeing’s goal from the start of the program a decade ago, but getting there has not been easy. The 787’s troubled development, production and entry into service is well-documented and the company learned bitter lessons from it that have been rigorously applied to follow on 787 derivatives as well as the impending 737 MAX and 777X families.

Now, with the 787-9 stretch version poised for service entry and more than 160 787-8s delivered, the program is finally entering a calmer phase. After a disappointing start with systems and softwarerelated issues, most airlines are now approaching 777-like reliability levels with their 787 fleets. Many are also using the 787 to open up new point-to-point, long-haul routes that cannot be economically flown by any other aircraft, in most cases. Most significantly, and the raison d’être for the 787, operators are also reporting significantly lower fuel burn per seat compared with older models such as the 767300ER-20-22%, depending on the length of the flight.

With deliveries expected to surge to three aircraft per week on average this summer, Boeing says another 15 new operators will be flying the 787 by year-end, virtually doubling the current user group which in June included 19 airlines. “It is a big deal in terms of growth,” says the 787 chief project engineer and vice president, Bob Whittington. In the weeks before the Farnborough air show, average daily fleet utilization was around 300 departures and more than 1,650 revenue flight hours.

Despite last year’s fleet grounding due to the battery problems, the aircraft passed the 100,000-revenue-departures

Operators See Improving 787 Reliability After Rough Start daniel@leadership.ng

milestone earlier this year and has carried 20 million passengers.

Dispatch reliability is now running at 98.5% on a three-month moving average. “So we getting into an area which is pretty consistent with other medium twins [such as the Boeing 767/Airbus A330 class],” he adds. Most days the rate is running just under 99%, so the reliability is coming up on the aircraft,” Whittington notes. “We spend a lot of time so we can get to where the customer is, which is the 777. [It] sets the benchmark, and that’s where we are headed. We will be well entrenched with the rest of the medium twins by midyear and headed to 777-benchmark probably by the second quarter of 2015.

Right now we are about 1 percent behind,” says Whittington. Late in 2013 the average dispatch reliability for the total in-service 787 fleet was at 97.5%, still significantly lower than the 99.2% dispatch reliability target set by Boeing for two years after entry into service.

Boeing is targeting improvements to the spoiler control units and brakes, which Whittington describes as “the top two delay drivers,” and continues to simplify the display and control alerting (DCA) software to reduce the thirdlargest cause of delays, nuisance messages.

Electromechanical actuators control two of the seven spoiler pairs on each wing, while hydraulic actuators control the remainder. As with many aspects of 787 design, the technology level in these areas is beyond that of any other airliner, which itself has represented a challenge to introduce into day-to-day service. According to the FAA and the Boeing Critical Systems Review Team tasked with reporting on the 787 after the January 2013 battery incidents, the spoiler control represents the first use of an electromechanical actuator on the primary control surface of a production civil jet airliner or military aircraft.

“The good news is, this is also the first aircraft in aviation history where the pneumatic system is

not the primary delay driver,” Whittington quips, referring to the use of more electric systems in place of the conventional pneumatic system. Improvement to the DCA software load have “dropped flight deck effects by about half,” he adds. Notable flight deck incidents such as a reported triple flight management system failure on an Air India aircraft in February “turned out to be a software glitch that was in the software from the beginning,” he says. “We have a software patch for that, and it is being installed now.”

Boeing is relentlessly backtracking through each software fix to weed out issues, explains Whittington. “We are at about 85 percent first-time quality, so [in] about 15 percent of the fixes we put out we didn’t get it all. As we lower the water level in the lake, something else pops out we didn’t see. At the moment, 85 percent take care of the problems, and as we move to 99.5 percent we will take every delay and break it down by root cause. We will then drop hardware and software fixes into the fleet.”

However, finding time to install the upgrades is a problem. “The airplane gets 20-22 percent better fuel burn and the airlines are reluctant to bring [the aircraft] down for more than an overnight to put these fixes into them because they love the fuel burn. As a result, we have a little bit of a lag between the release of the update and the incorporation of the service bulletins.”

All Nippon Airways (ANA) was the first carrier to operate the 787-8, and its fleet of 28 is still the largest.

It was severely affected by early incidents such as the battery-related global fleet grounding. But now ANA says it is “satisfied” with the 787,s reliability and dispatch reliability is “almost the same as other aircraft” in its fleet. The airline says it is not experiencing any inflight issues and the 787’s performance and operating economics are meeting expectations. ANA uses

08054102747 (text only) the type in five configurations on domestics, medium- and long-haul international routes. Some 787 routes are new, while the type has replaced other aircraft on other routes.

Japan Airlines (JAL) was the second 787 operator and has 15 in service. The “failure rate has shown a trend of decline compared with the [early] period of its commercial operation,” the carrier notes. “We have been cooperating with Boeing and related [manufacturers] to further improve the 787’s quality.”

JAL says the operating economics of the aircraft have been as forecast, with the reduced fuel consumption particularly noticeable on longhaul routes. The 787s have been using 20% less fuel than JAL’s 777s and 767s, the carrier adds. Also, customer feedback shows the cabin environment is comfortable and the higher humidity levels are being noticed.

United Airlines, the sole U.S.– based operator of the type so far, is very pleased with its 787s. “[The aircraft] is exceeding our expectations on several fronts,” United says. “The aircraft’s superior operating economics enable us to serve new markets such as Chengdu, China; Melbourne, Australia; and Lagos, Nigeria.”

Source: AW&ST, June 2014

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