Why Diezani Alison-Madueke Must Be Probed

Barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed all the members on the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, has reiterated his call for the erstwhile Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to be probed.
Keyamo had, on June 17, written a letter to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives asking the National Assembly to commence investigations into the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, especially with regard to the crude oil swap programme and offshore processing agreements of the company.
He alleged that some NNPC officials, in collaboration with some local companies, were looting the country’s resources.
In an interview with Sahara TV on Saturday, Keyamo said there was an array of issues necessitating investigations into Alison-Madueke’s management of the ministry.
He said, “It is about a whole lot of issues. In my petition, I was particular about what has come to be known as the crude oil swap deals. Under this arrangement, we never knew that a lot of our crude oil was given to private oil companies in exchange for their bringing in petroleum products. Under one arrangement, they were supposed to take it out. We signed (out) the products and then took them back to Nigeria whether they were petroleum products or by-products.

Decomposing Body Of Kidnapped Ex-FUTA VC, Prof. Albert Ilemobade Found Inside His Own Compound

Seven days after he was declared missing and family members were still expecting to hear from his abductors to pay ransom, the body of former Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof. Albert Ilemobade, has been discovered.

Why Buhari May Not Appoint Ministers Until September

Itchy Nigerians who eagerly await President Buhari’s ministerial list might have to wait a little longer as the President is said to be in no hurry to announce cabinet members.
The president is said to be determined to put the formation of his cabinet on hold until the “rot left behind by the past administration” is cleared. This was revealed to Punch on Sunday, June 28, 2015, by a reliable presidency source.

Al Shabaab claims responsibility for Somalia suicide attack

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into the entrance of a Somali intelligence training center Sunday, a government official said.

And armed attackers traded heavy gunfire with security guards as they tried to enter the building, said Mohamed Yusuf, spokesman for the Somali Security Ministry.

The militant Islamist group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, Yusuf said.

Yusuf said Somali security forces killed three insurgents. But at least one Somali intelligence official was also killed, he said.

Al Shabaab has been designated a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States. It has waged a long insurgency in Somalia.

8 million mummified animals, mostly dogs, in catacombs at Egypt site

 

For centuries, dogs have been humans' loyal, domesticated companions. They've been wild animals, doing what's needed to survive. And in ancient Egypt, they served as bridges to the afterlife, with the hope that they'd intercede with the god Anubis on their owner's behalf.

But only now is it becoming known the extent to which dogs served this latter role -- 8 million times over.

Child suicide bomber kills 10 in Nigeria market attack

 
A suicide bomber, believed to be about 12, blew herself up in a market in northeast Nigeria's insurgency-plagued Yobe state, residents and medics said.

The blast Tuesday killed 10 people and injured more than 30 others.

The bomber detonated her explosives among traders and customers at a weekly market in the remote Wagir village.

Chad strikes Boko Haram in Nigeria, bans burqas

The central African country of Chad conducted airstrikes against Boko Haram sites in neighboring Nigeria on Wednesday and announced it has banned burqas, the head-to-toe garment worn by some Muslim women, after twin bombings earlier this week by veiled attackers.

The Chad army and security forces hit Boko Haram bases and related sites, according to a government statement, destroying six bases and killing several militants.

Prime Minister Kalzeube Payimi Deubet announced the burqa ban Wednesday following a call with religious leaders, according to another statement from the government.

The move was at the direction of President Idriss Deby Itno, after as many as 23 people were killed Monday in the capital, N'Djamena, in two attacks -- one at the National School of Police and the other targeting the Central Office of the Police, according to Chad's communications ministry.

The four attackers were also killed, and more than 100 people were wounded, officials said.

Meet the Muslims who celebrate their faith with dreadlocks and reggae

The followers of the Baye Fall aren't your typical Muslims. They show their devotion a bit differently: with dreadlocks and reggae.

Often, members of the Baye Fall are confused for Rastafarians.

"They both have very positive vibes, which is why they look alike -- the Baye Fall and the Rasta" concedes Mamadou Lamine Seck, a follower and the lead singer in Gustou Band.

"But we don't have the same prophet. I don't believe in Rasta, but I appreciate Rasta."

The Baye Fall sect is little more than a century old, and was born out of Senegal's second largest city: Touba. Touba itself was founded in the late 19th-century by the creator of the Mouride Brotherhood -- a branch of the Sufi order of Islam. In fact, Baye Fall's founder, Sheikh Ibrahima Fall, was said to be one of the brotherhood's fiercest disciples.

Aside from the physical look of Baye Fall followers, the sect is also notable for the value it places on hard work.

"Ibrahima Fall realized and decreed that working is better than fasting and praying. That is the principle we are all still following right up to this day," says Serigne Abdoul Aziz Fall -- a Baye Fall religious chief and grandson to the founder.

Iceland remains most peaceful nation in the world

 
In search of peace? Maybe it's time to move to Iceland.

According to the nonprofit Institute for Economics and Peace, the thinly populated island in the midst of the North Atlantic has retained its place as the most peaceful country in the world.

Tourists flee Tunisia after resort attack

 
Tourists fled a Tunisian seaside resort on Saturday, a day after an attack killed at least 38 people and wounded at least 39 others.

A stream of buses quietly ferried out thousands of guests who abruptly ended their beach holidays in the coastal city of Sousse.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack that started on the beach outside the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba, but it wasn't clear if the Islamist group had any direct role in it.

Stowaway found dead after falling from British Airways plane in London

A stowaway on a British Airways jet was found dead after falling on a roof as the plane approached London Heathrow Airport, authorities said Friday.

It's unclear whether the man had crouched in the wheel well, a common hiding place for stowaways.

Nigerian military: 20 women, children rescued; scores of terrorists killed

 
Nigeria's military claimed more progress Saturday in its fight against Boko Haram, saying scores of terrorists were killed and 20 women and children were rescued in a recent operation.--by (CNN)

Ukraine charges 2 suspected Russian soldiers with 'terrorist activity'

Two Russian soldiers allegedly captured while fighting in eastern Ukraine have been "charged with terrorist activity," Markiyan Lubkivskiy, adviser to the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, said Wednesday.

UK police figures give alarming insight into rise in reported child sex abuse

Politicians, celebrities and music makers are among more than 1,400 suspects investigated over alleged histories of child sex abuse, UK police said Wednesday, in a report that sheds a light on the alarming prevalence of the problem.

French Open 2015: Roger Federer furious after boy's selfie attempt

From world leaders to celebrities of all degrees of fame, taking a selfie with fans has become an accepted part of life.

But tennis great Roger Federer felt an unacceptable line was crossed Sunday when a spectator invaded center court at the French Open to try to get a snap with the 17-time grand slam winner. 

High-ranking separatist commander killed in eastern Ukraine

A high-ranking separatist commander was killed in eastern Ukraine when his car was attacked in Luhansk region, his battalion announced in a video statement Sunday.

Alexei Mozgovoi, commander of the Prizrak, or Ghost, Battalion, was the target of the attack, Ukrainian and Russian media both reported.

A pro-Ukrainian guerrilla group called Shadows claimed responsibility for the attack, according to its leader, Aleksandr Gladkiy.

Nigeria -- crippled by fuel shortages

 

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, but fuel shortages have paralyzed the country that just a year ago was declared Africa's largest economy.

At one gas station in Lagos, crowds push at the gates waving empty jerry cans. Cars queue for a kilometre down the road creating gridlock.

Similar scenes are being repeated at almost every petrol station across Nigeria.

Egypt's former leader Morsy given death sentence in jailbreak case

 
Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy was sentenced Saturday by a Cairo court to death -- the latest judicial setback for the ousted leader. He was convicted in a 2011 prison break.

Morsy's name, along with those of more than 100 other defendants, will be passed to the Grand Mufti, the highest legal authority in Egypt, who will have the final say on their sentence. The verdict will be confirmed June 2.

Mathematician John Nash, wife killed in car crash

John Forbes Nash Jr., the Princeton University mathematician whose life inspired the film "A Beautiful Mind," and his wife died in a car crash Saturday, according to New Jersey State Police.

Nash, 86, and Alicia Nash, 82, were riding in a taxi near Monroe Township when the incident occurred, State Police Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Williams said.

China "nail houses"

In China, they're known as "nail houses" -- homes where owners refuse to accept compensation offered by road builders and developers in exchange for the demolition of their property. The dwellings stand like a nail that refuses to be hammered down -- a not uncommon phenomenon as some homeowners resist dispossession of their land or hold out for more money.

Nigerian military: 20 women, children rescued; scores of terrorists killed

 
Nigeria's military claimed more progress Saturday in its fight against Boko Haram, saying scores of terrorists were killed and 20 women and children were rescued in a recent operation.

Burundi opposition leader gunned down

 

 A Burundian political opposition leader was shot dead in the nation's capital, a police spokesman said Saturday.

Zedi Feruzi, the leader of the UPD party was killed along with his bodyguard in a drive-by shooting in Bujumbura, Pierre Nkurikiye said.

President Pierre Nkurunziza's office said Saturday that it was "very moved by the assassination."

The killers have not yet been identified, Nkurunziza's office said in a statement. A radio journalist was seriously wounded in the attack near Feruzi's home.

The violence comes a day after at least three people were killed and 21 were wounded by two grenades thrown in a market attack in Bujumbura. A suspect is in custody, Nkurikiye told CNN earlier.

The turmoil, much of it centered around Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term, has been ongoing for more than a month. Such a re-election bid is prohibited by the agreement that ended the nation's 1993-2003 civil war, yet the President is pushing forward nonetheless.

Earlier this week he moved the elections to June 6, 10 days later than originally scheduled.

 By Steve Almasy, CNN

Ireland votes overwhelmingly in favor of same-sex marriage

 

Same-sex couples will soon be able to walk down the aisle in the Emerald Isle.

Voters in Ireland overwhelmingly chose to change their nation's constitution Friday, becoming the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through popular vote.

The official results were announced Saturday at a Dublin Castle press conference: 1,201,607 voted in favor of the landmark referendum, while 734,300 voted against it, said Ríona Ní Fhlanghaile, an elections official.

Voter turnout in the majority Catholic nation was more than 60%, according to Fhlanghaile.

Despite speculation in the run-up that opposition to the measure might have been understated because people were too shy to tell pollsters that they planned to vote "no" -- the outcome was lopsided, with the measure passing by just over 61% of the total vote cast.

Once the votes began to be tallied, the result was never in doubt.

Only one of the country's 43 parliamentary constituencies failed to pass it.  

By Laura Smith-Spark, Kevin Conlon and Phil Black, CNN

Martyred Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero closer to sainthood

 

Almost 35 years to the day that an assassin's bullet hit his chest, Archbishop Oscar Romero was beatified on Saturday, bringing the slain priest one step closer to sainthood.

Tens of thousands of people crowded El Salvador's Savior of the World Plaza for the bestowing of an honor that some wondered if Romero -- a controversial figure in his time -- would ever receive.

He was a hero to the progressive liberation theology movement, but his beatification was delayed for decades over political concerns. Pope Francis put things in motion when he declared Romero a martyr earlier this year.   by  San Salvador, El Salvador (CNN)

Okada & Keke riders fight at Oke Afa, Lagos yesterday-Photos

Okada and Keke riders clashed at Oke Afa near Ajao Estate, Lagos, yesterday. Trouble started after a collision between an Okada man and a Keke Napep led to a fight between the men. Witnesses said other riders got involved in the fight and about 7 Okadas and Kekes ended up getting burnt during the fracas. Thankfully, no one was killed. But the clash was so serious that police is patrolling the area today and no shop opened.

Uche Jombo celebrates 3rd anniversary with beautiful message & unseen wedding photo…Peep HERE

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So Sad! August Alsina reveals he Is battling blindness

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So This Happened: Instagram chick accuse Jim Iyke of marrying her in her dreams

 

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Kenyan Northern white rhinos under guard 24 hours

 

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Boy found in suitcase at Spanish border

Priego de Cordoba, Spain (CNN)--Bundled up tightly in a fetal position, an 8-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast survived several hours locked in a suitcase in a botched smuggling attempt into Spain.

A police spokesman who cannot be identified for security reasons told CNN that the boy -- who is now in Spanish custody -- was discovered Thursday in El Tarajal, a terrestrial point of entry at Spain's border with Morocco.

Police are still not sure how long the young boy spent tucked into the pink, medium-sized polyester suitcase, pressed against a few personal belongings.

"He was shocked when we opened the suitcase to see so many people looking at him," the spokesman said. But the boy is in good condition, he said.

The concrete that can heal itself

It's the world's most popular building material, and ever since the Romans built the pantheon from it some 2,000 years ago, we've been trying to find ways to make concrete more durable.

No matter how carefully it is mixed or reinforced, all concrete eventually cracks, and under some conditions, those cracks can lead to collapse.

"The problem with cracks in concrete is leakage," explains professor Henk Jonkers, of Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands.

"If you have cracks, water comes through -- in your basements, in a parking garage. Secondly, if this water gets to the steel reinforcements -- in concrete we have all these steel rebars -- if they corrode, the structure collapses."

But Jonkers has come up with an entirely new way of giving concrete a longer life.

"We have invented bioconcrete -- that's concrete that heals itself using bacteria," he says.

Dozens of dinosaur eggs discovered by construction workers in Chinese city

The Chinese city that boasts the largest number of dinosaur eggs in the world has added a new batch to its impressive collection.

Construction workers unearthed 43 fossilized dinosaur eggs during road repair work in Heyuan city in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Sunday, officials said.

The city, which calls itself the "Home of Dinosaurs," won a Guinness World Record for the world's largest collection of dinosaur eggs at its museum in 2004.

Huang Zhiqing, deputy director of the Heyuan Museum, said that it was the first time the fossils have been discovered in the bustling city center.

Major road repair work was halted as a team of researchers and construction workers jumped down into a ditch to dig out the fossils.

Vatican Fast Facts

Here's what you need to know about the Vatican, also known as the Holy See. 

Facts:
The full name of the country is the State of Vatican City, and it is the spiritual and governing center of the Roman Catholic Church.

It stands on Vatican Hill in northwestern Rome, Italy west of the Tiber River.

Tall stone walls surround most of Vatican City.

Historical documentation reveals that St. Peter was crucified at or near the Neronian Gardens on Vatican hill and buried at the foot of the hill directly under where the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica now stands. Excavations at the basilica between 1940 and 1957 located the tomb believed to be St. Peter's.

'I was flogged daily:' Rescued Boko Haram survivors share tales of horror

The Malkohi Camp in Yola, Adamawa State, in north-eastern Nigeria, is home to the 275 women and children who were recently rescued from the Sambisa Forest, a stronghold of Boko Haram.

Prior to their rescue, the camp was home to about 845 internally displaced persons. With the arrival of the recently rescued women and children, the camp now houses more than 1,000 people.

On the surface, it seems that normal life has resumed for many of the camp's residents. Joyful tales of reunions with families and loved ones are sometimes shared among the women and girls, such as Hauwa, an adolescent who was reunited with her parents after seven months in captivity.

Fuel shortages bring Nigeria to a standstill

Nigeria's finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala discusses the country's fuel shortages with CNN's John Defterios.

Burundi: Leaders of attempted coup arrested after President's return

The President of Burundi declared Friday that peace had returned, two days after a failed military coup left the African nation in a state of chaotic violence.

In a nationwide TV address, The President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza also warned that any more attempts to seize power by force would "bring war, poverty and other atrocities we have seen in this country."

Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sentenced to death

A jury condemned Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death on Friday, May 15th, for his role in killing four people and wounding hundreds more in the 2013 Boston marathon bombings.

Borno border town(Marte) Recaptured by Boko Haram sect

Marte, the border town in the northern flank of Borno state has again fallen to the Boko Haram sect.
Security sources said the terrorists, most of whom had fled Sambisa forests and their other strongholds across Borno State, have now regrouped in Marte, a town 112km north of Maiduguri, the state capital.
The deputy governor of Borno State, Zannah Mustapha, confirmed that Marte was seized on Friday.
The news came as soldiers sustained a 24-hour curfew imposed on Maiduguri, the state capital on Thursday after Boko Haram terrorists attempted an invasion of the city on Wednesday night.
Intelligence obtained after the  attack  on Wednesday suggests that at least 600 females had accompanied the Boko Haram terrorists with a mission to carry out multiple suicide bombings..

Fashola hinges sustainable development on adherence to laws

Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Tuesday said it would be difficult for nations to attain meaningful development in the absence of law and order. The governor made the remark while inaugurating a 22-room magistrate court in Ogba area of the state. The court was named after retired Justice Samuel Ilori, a former Chief Judge of the state. Fashola said law and order remained the most important agenda any nation could pursue, pointing out that without it, nothing could be achieved.

“So it is important to pay attention to those who will have the responsibility to enforce the law and those who have the responsibility to administer laws. ” Because the greatest civilizations have been those founded and nurtured on the basis of law and order,” he said. The governor said the delivery of the court was a demonstration of the government’s commitment to deepen the rule of law and widen access to justice.According to him, Nigeria will be a better place if things are always done in accordance with the rule of law. “Law and order remains the most single important agenda that I think any nation can really pursue. “A nation that pursues law and order will achieve everything. And no matter the buildings we build, the roads, if we choose to live outside of the law, our society will not progress.