Thailand furious at Lady Gaga's fake Rolex tweet

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's government is up in arms over a tweet by pop sensation Lady Gaga about buying a fake designer watch in a Bangkok street market and has complained to the United States. Bangkok's sprawling outdoor markets and some of its big shopping malls are widely known for selling near-perfect replicas of famous luxury brands, often imported from China. 

Even so, Gaga's May 23 tweet, two days ahead of a sellout concert in Bangkok, struck a raw nerve with some Thais who said the zany artist had dented the country's reputation by suggesting she could easily get her hands on a fake Rolex watch.

 The Grammy Award winner, who cancelled a concert after threats in Indonesia and faced protests by conservative groups in the Philippines and South Korea, has not apologized for the tweet, which Thailand's Commerce Ministry said undermined its efforts to stamp out piracy. 

"Lady Gaga is a representative of the U.S. and the U.S. puts pressure on smaller countries to promote the protection of intellectual property," an official at the ministry's Intellectual Property Department told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "She should tell her fans that they shouldn't use fake goods." Gaga's comment stirred debate on Thai web forums and social media. 

A small protest took place in Bangkok's business district but that failed to keep fans away from her much-anticipated show on Friday, which attracted 50,000 people. Gaga's contentious tweet to her 24 million followers said: "I just landed in Bangkok baby! Ready for 50,000 screaming Thai monsters. I wanna get lost in a lady market and buy a fake rolex." She was believed to be referring to the popular Ladies' Market in Hong Kong. Officials at the U.S. embassy in Bangkok were unavailable for comment.

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Drug dealer mistakenly sends officer text messages

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — Police say a drug dealer mistakenly sent messages to a California central coast police officer in an attempt to sell methamphetamines.

The Santa Maria officer notified Santa Barbara County sheriff's detectives about the errant text messages early Tuesday. The officer and detectives then set up a meeting with the alleged drug dealer.

Sheriff's spokesman Drew Sugars says they arrested 39-year-oldReymundo Carlos Escobedo and seized about 2 grams of methamphetamine.

A news release says 37-year-old John Martin Silvera, who is Escobedo's suspected methamphetamine supplier, also arrived and was arrested with about 7 grams of methamphetamine.

Escobedo and Silvera remain held on drug charges, including criminal conspiracy. Bail is set at $30,000 each.

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Michael Jackson's sleepless note pulled from auction

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A note written by Michael Jackson in which he complains of being unable to sleep has been withdrawn from auction at the request of the late singer's ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, the auction house said on Wednesday. Jackson, who died in 2009 after asking his doctor to give him a powerful anesthetic to help him sleep, wrote the note to Presley sometime between 1993-1996, when they were close friends. 

The two later became husband and wife. "Lisa I truly need this rest I haven't slept litterally (sic) in 4 days now. I need to be away from phones and business people. I must take care of my health first Im'(sic) crazy for you," reads the handwritten note, scrawled on yellow paper. Julien's Auctions, which had listed the letter in an upcoming celebrity memorabilia sale, said on Wednesday it pulled the note from its Music Icons auction on June 23rd and 24th at Presley's request.

 "I'm assuming that it's because the note is of a personal nature, and we want to honor the request and continue our good relationship with Ms. Presley," chief executive Darren Julien said. The "Thriller" singer had struggled with insomnia for several years while alive. His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, told police shortly after Jackson's death that the 50-year-old pop star pleaded for help sleeping during a long, restless night at his home on June 25, 2009, the day he died.

 Murray was convicted last year of involuntary manslaughter after delivering a fatal dose of propofol - normally used to sedate patients for surgery - and a cocktail of sedatives to Jackson.

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Woman nabbed with cocaine at P/Harcourt airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a woman identified as Mrs. Adaba Onitemi for allegedly taking in 839 grams of substance believed to be cocaine at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

The 54-year-old woman, believed to be a widow and a mother of six, was picked up while attempting to board Lufthansa Airline, en route to London via Frankfurt, Germany after she was suspected by officials

of the NDLEA at the Airport at about 8:30pm on Wednesday last week.

Mr. Olutekunbi Davies, the NDLEA Commander at the Port Harcourt

Airport while parading the suspect to newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday, said the woman  was taken to the military hospital in the state capital where she was found to have ingested the substance.

Davies said the substance would be valued at N10 million, pointing out that no fewer than three drug suspects have been arrested in similar circumstances at the airport in the last two years.

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BREAKING NEWS: Kidnapped German killed in JTF raid - Source

News reaching Todaysgist (TG) confirms that the German, Raufach Edgar, who was kidnapped in Kano on January 26 this year was killed by his captors this morning before he could be rescued by men of the JTF.

The JTF had conducted a raid at Danbare area opposite the new campus of Bayero University Kano this morning after tracing the kidnapped German to the hideout where he was being held but the captors killed him before the JTF could apprehend them.

The raid is still ongoing and sporadic shootings are still being heard by residents who are all trapped within their homes and unable to go to work. A military helicopter is also still hovering overhead, providing aerial support to the forces on the ground.

The JTF is to brief the press soon on the incident.

Raufach Edgar was until his kidnap working with Dantata and Sawoe construction company. He was abducted  by two gun men around 8 am on January 26 along the Zaria - Kano expressway were his company is located.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb connection

On March 27, a Mauritanian and four other men were arrested in Kano over the January kidnapping. Four of the suspects were arrested in a raid on a supermarket owned by the Mauritanian, while the fifth was held in a separate raid.

“Guns and a laptop were recovered in the store and the documents found in the computer, including an AQIM operation manual, showed that the suspects are linked to AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and were involved in the kidnap of the German engineer in January,” one of the sources said in describing the supermarket raid.

AQIM has also disclosed through a private news agency in Mauritania a week before the raid that it was holding the German and that it wanted to swap him for a jailed Muslim woman.

A video obtained by the agency, ANI, showed Raupach, his hands tied behind his back, surrounded by masked gunmen. In the video he called on his "parents, friends and German public opinion" to convince Berlin to "bring an end to the torture of our Muslim sister", adding that only her liberation will save his life.

AQIM warned that any attempt to rescue Raupach will lead to his death, as happened in the case of Italian engineer Franco Lamolinara and British colleague Chris McManus, killed earlier this month during a failed rescue bid by Nigerian forces.

A source, speaking of the Mauritanian, said “he turned the upper floor of his store into a hideout where he housed his three Nigerian accomplices.”

Germany responds

A release said to be authorised by the German Embassy in Abuja and published as an advert in Daily Trust on May 11, 2012 claimed the German woman in question, had been released.

The woman, Filiz Gelowicz, who had converted to Islam and now bears the name Uma Saifullah Al-Ansariya, was released two weeks ago, according to the advert.

The publication announcing the release of the jailed German woman said, “100 days missing. Your sister Uma Saifullah Al-Ansariya (Filiz Gelowicz) is free since two weeks. When do you release our brother Edgar?? His friends are waiting for him…”

Edgar’s photo was placed by the side of the text of the advert, which also contained a message in Arabic apparently meant to inform the kidnappers of the release of Gelowicz.

Source:DailyTrust

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Zimbabwe Police Label TB Joshua A Sorcerer

Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity are powerful forces in sub-Saharan politics. So, too, is the belief in prophecy and sorcery.

In Zimbabwe, it is tense times, with uncertainty about President Robert Mugabe’s health, the dates of the next election, and whether constitutional and other reforms will be achieved. Taken together, faith and politics are the context for the Zimbabwean partisan wrangling over a Nigerian Pentecostal preacher.

Zimbabwean prime minister and opposition presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai has allegedly invited the Nigerian televangelist and faith healer Temitope Balogun (‘TB’) Joshua to Harare to be the guest speaker on Africa Day, May 25, a “National Day of Prayer.” In response, the police, dominated by President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, are pulling out all of the stops to prevent the visit. A senior police officer accuses Joshua of being a “false prophet,” and screened at the Harare police headquarters a video that dwells on Joshua’s alleged womanizing, titled “T.B. Joshua’s Evil Doings Finally Revealed.” Close Mugabe ally, the schismatic Anglican bishop Nolbert Kunonga, accuses Joshua of “Satanism” and of being “diabolical.” Previously, other pro ZANU-PF clergy have claimed on state-controlled media that Joshua’s preaching is “judgmental, partisan, and unorthodox.” The apparent anger of Mugabe’s supporters also reflects that many Zimbabweans, like others in sub-Sahara Africa, treat prophesy, “Satanism,” and the “diabolical” with deadly seriousness. Hence, the denunciation of Joshua as a “false” prophet.

Joshua earlier prophesized that “an African leader” would die in sixty days. In fact, the president of Malawi died shortly thereafter. More recently, he has prophesied that another “African leader” will fall “critically ill’ and be hospitalized soon.

For Mugabe, who reportedly suffers from prostate cancer and seeks medical treatment in Singapore regularly, this “prophecy” is probably too close to home. It doesn’t help that Joshua has apparently been invited to Zimbabwe by Tsvangirai who might somehow benefit from Joshua’s charismatic preaching whenever the elections are held.

An estimated 15,000 attend Joshua’s Nigerian services on Sundays, at his Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). He also runs Emanuel TV, which broadcasts via satellite and Internet. He has affiliated congregations in Ghana, the UK, South Africa, and Greece. Zimbabwe police are reportedly investigating a “fraudster” church in Harare allegedly linked to Joshua. His faith healing ministrations have included South African rugby players.

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Men who have an extramarital affair more likely to die of a heart attack

Researchers in Italy examined monogamy among men and discovered an interesting correlation -- having an extramarital affair increases men’s risk of having a deadly heart attack.

It’s almost cliché: a middle-age man having s*x with a woman who is not his wife keels over in flagrante delicto, what’s known as sudden coital death (oh yes, it has a medical name). But like some stereotypes, it appears to be based in truth, says Dr. Marc Gillinov, a heart surgeon at The Cleveland Clinic and co-author of the book "Heart 411," which looks at cases of sudden coital death, among other cardiac events. (Gillinov did not participate in this study.)

The researchers -- from the University of Florence -- examined the medical literature related to cheating by searching for “unfaithfulness,” “extramarital affairs,” “infidelity” and “men.” Reliable statistics about cheating are hard to find because most people claim to be morally opposed to cheating and don’t chat to scientists about it. The authors report that anywhere from 15 to 25 percent to as many as 30 to 50 percent of men cheat at least once in their lives. Then the researchers looked at a variety of physical and mental health factors and the rates they occur in both monogamous and un-monogamous men.

Doctors have long known that men live longer if they consistently have sex into old age, but knocking boots only provides a health boost if it occurs with the same partner in a familiar place. Sex into old age only helps if you’re doing it with your spouse. Sudden coital death occurs most frequently when a man engages in coitus with a woman who is not his long-term partner.

While scorned wives might believe these results make sense on a karmic level, the authors found them surprising. Generally, cheating men have better hormonal and vascular function, meaning they’re healthier than monogamous men (finally, a reason to be excited that your man is a couch potato).

But the authors believe that the act of trying to keep an affair secret might contribute to cheating men’s increased risk of a deadly heart attack.

“It’s the added stress of trying to have a secret affair,” says Gillinov. “You are doing things that you don’t normally do.”

Cheating men frequently have affairs with younger partners and these men feel they have to drink, smoke, and eat more to keep up with their mistresses. All this adds up to increased heart rate, blood pressure, and anxiety, which can contribute to a heart attack. Although, s*x itself is no more strenuous than walking up a few flights of stairs.

“It’s also like there is a medical reason for fidelity,” Gillinov says.

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Liberia’s Charles Taylor sentenced to 50 years

A UN-backed war crimes court sentenced Liberia’s former president Charles Taylor to 50 years in jail Wednesday for arming rebels in Sierra Leone in return for “blood diamonds”. Taylor, 64, was convicted last month of all 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for aiding and abetting Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) during the country’s brutal 1991-2001 civil war. In return, the court said, he was paid in diamonds mined by slave labour in areas under control of the rebels, who murdered, raped and kept sex slaves, hacked off limbs and forced children under 15 to fight.

 “The accused has been found responsible for aiding and abetting some of the most heinous crimes in human history,” said Special Court for Sierra Leone judge Richard Lussick on Wednesday. “The trial chamber unanimously sentences you to a single term of imprisonment for 50 years on all counts,” the judge said as he announced the ruling of the court based at Leidschendam, just outside The Hague.

 “The trial chamber noticed that the effects of these crimes on the families and society as a whole in Sierra Leone was devastating,” Lussick said in handing down the ruling, the first sentence against a former head of state in an international court since the Nazi trials at Nuremberg in 1946. Taylor, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and dressed in a dark suit and gold tie, listened with his eyes closed as the judge handed down the sentence, which Taylor’s team, and prosecutors, have two weeks to appeal.

 Early this month, chief prosecutor Brenda Hollis argued for 80 years behind bars for Taylor, once one of west Africa’s most powerful men and a driving force behind Sierra Leone’s decade-long war which claimed 120,000 lives. His defence argued such a sentence would be “excessive”. Throughout the trial, Taylor himself maintained his innocence and insisted he was instrumental in eventually ending Sierra Leone’s civil war. He will remain in the UN’s detention unit in The Hague until his appeal procedure is finalised. Taylor’s sentence will be served in a British prison. London’s offer in 2007 to host Taylor in custody if he was found guilty was part of the deal to put him on trial in the Netherlands-based court. The trial, which lasted nearly four years, wrapped up in March 2011.

 It saw several high-profile witnesses testify, including supermodel Naomi Campbell, who told of a gift of “dirty diamonds” she received in 1997 at a charity ball hosted by South Africa’s then president Nelson Mandela. Handing down the verdict last month, Judge Lussick stressed that although Taylor had substantial influence over the RUF, including its feared leader Foday Sankoh, this “fell short of command and control” of rebel forces. Sankoh died in 2003 before he could face trial. 

Authorities in Nigeria arrested Taylor in March 2006 as he tried to flee from exile after being forced to quit Liberia three years earlier, under international pressure to end that country’s own civil war. He was transferred to The Hague in mid-2006 amid security fears should he go on trial in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. 

Taylor’s sentencing came 66 years after the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg sentenced admiral Karl Donitz to 10 years in jail for his part in Nazi crimes during World War II. Adolf Hitler had appointed Donitz his successor shortly before committing suicide in Berlin in 1945.

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Fashola insists he can’t reabsorb sacked doctors

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, urged the sacked striking doctors in the state to channel their appeal through the Health Service Commission, to clear any issue that might have led to their sack, if they were still interested in getting reinstated and put an end to the crisis in the health sector.

He said he had no power to reabsorb the sacked doctors. The governor, at a live broadcast and handing over of Lagos Traffic Radio 96.1FM as part of activities to mark his fifth anniversary and Democracy Day, said the issue between the doctors and the government could best be resolved by the appropriate authorities, who were in charge of their employment and firing.

Fashola appeared on a live LTV interactive session with Deputy Managing Director of  SUN Newspapers, Mr. Femi Adesina; Editor of THISDAY Newspaper, Mr. Simon Kolawole; Talk Show producer, Agatha Amatha and broadcaster, Aderoju Adepoju, and other panelists, to commission the Traffic Radio.

He said the state Health Service Commission was the one  saddled with the responsibility of determining the fate of the doctors, and urged them to take the first step of appealing their dismissal.

He said: “I can’t reverse the sack, it is not in my powers to do so. I won’t be able to do so, just as I cannot effect their promotion, it is the HMC that will promote them and I won’t be here after three years, so it’s not about me, it’s about institutions.”

Handing over Lagos Traffic Radio 96.1 FM to Lagos residents as part of dividends of democracy to achieve a more happy and safe motoring in the state, he explained that the traffic radio will help pedestrians and motorists decide on the best way of getting to their destinations on time, adding that the radio will also avail motorists the opportunity of managing their time and money well.

Meanwhile, Governor Fashola has decried the high level of fraud in private organisations in the state, urging employed youths to desist from sabotaging investors.

Fashola, added that the state Ministry of Justice will begin the prosecution of traders and commercial motorcycle operators who flout traffic laws in the state, especially on the Bus Rapid Transport, BRT, corridors in the state.

At the inauguration of the Murtala Muhammed Way Yaba-Oyingbo-Iddo and the 304 LAGBUS Bus Franchise Scheme, in Lagos, Fashola said the measure will reduce unemployment rate in the state.

He said: “As investors are coming to invest in the country, there was need for us all to remember that without these people’s faith and the efforts of the state government to lure investors to the country, there will be no employment for thousands of youth.

“You are the pioneers, who have got the privilege to work for these investors, do not sabotage them. This is because there are still thousands of unemployed youths in the state, who are looking for the same opportunity that you have today. If these opportunities continue, unemployment will be reduced drastically.”

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D'banj aka Mr Oliver Twist -former security guard in London now international African artiste(VIDEO)

D'banj aka Koko Master or Mr Oliver Twist - former security guard in London now international African artiste. The boy from 9JA who left UK 9 Years ago And Return To Number 9 In UK Charts.He shouted "We did it" referring to himself and his mum.

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FRSC recovers corpse from river

The Bayelsa State command of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) says it has recovered one dead body from a vehicle that plunged into Okoso river along the east-west road axis of the state.

Sector commander, Vincent Jack, said in Yenagoa yesterday that a Mitsubishi Gallant saloon car with registration number AG 629 KMK over sped and ran into another car before it plunged into the river killing the only occupant.

Although the incident happened a few days ago, the body of the victim was not retrieved immediately as it took the combined effort of both men of the FRSC and people of the community people in the area to find the corpse.

While the dead person was said to have been deposited at a hospital mortuary in Odi, two other persons in the Honda Accord car, AG 188 KHE that was hit but did not fall into the river were seriously injured and currently receiving treatment in an unknown hospital.

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FG cuts meal subsidy for students

Funds allocated for students’ feeding in 104 unity schools have been cut in the 2012 budget, Education Minister Professor Ruqayattu Ahmed Rufa’i has said.

The minister said the shortfall followed the reduction in the overhead costs and meal subsidy allocations of the schools. She said the problem would create operational challenges in feeding the students.

She stated this when the Senate Committee on Education led by Senator Uche Chukwumerije visited the Federal Ministry of Education on oversight functions.

The minister said the removal of subsidies on diesel and gasoline was also biting hard on the unity schools and as a result, the ministry was proposing an increase from N50 per meal to N450.

Ruqayyatu said FGC Buni-Yadi which in 2011 had N91, 578,418 as meal subsidy and overhead cost was reduced to N30, 440,260 in the 2012 budget.

Other colleges adversely affected by the cuts include: FGC Okigwe, FSC Sokoto, FGGC Bauchi, FGC Enugu, FGC Ikot-Obio-Itong, FGC Langtang and FSTC Jalingo.

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Justin Bieber accused of battering man taking photos

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies are investigating a complaint that Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber roughed up a man who was taking pictures of the performer at a suburban shopping center, police said on Monday. 

Deputies were called on Sunday to an outdoor shopping area in Calabasas, about 23 miles northwest of Hollywood, by a man who reported having just had an altercation with Bieber, the sheriff's department said in a press statement. According to the statement, the man said he was taking pictures of Bieber, who was with his girlfriend, actress Selena Gomez, when the singer "physically battered" him. Bieber's publicist with Island/Def Jam Music Group could not immediately be reached for comment.

 A spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, Lillian Peck, declined to give further details about the nature of the alleged confrontation or any injuries suffered by the man. But Peck said the man, who was not identified by police, complained of pain, and after requesting medical attention was treated on the scene by paramedics, then taken to a local hospital, where he was examined and later released. Bieber, 18, who has professed a determination to maintain a squeaky-clean image, had left the shopping center with Gomez, 19, before officers arrived, according to the man with the camera. 

Peck said sheriff's deputies are investigating the case as a misdemeanor battery complaint and were looking for any possible eyewitnesses, but she did not know whether they had contacted Bieber about the incident. The Hollywood news website TMZ.com reported that the man behind the complaint was a professional celebrity photographer. Citing accounts of witnesses at the scene, TMZ said the paparazzo was blocking Bieber's car as the entertainer was trying to leave and that a scuffle ensued after Bieber got out of his car, asked the man to leave and the man refused.

 TMZ also reported that after the altercation, a lawyer approached the photographer and suggested he could collect a lot of money by calling for an ambulance and filing a police report. The cherubic-faced singer, discovered in 2008 through homemade music videos he posted on YouTube, released his first album at age 15 and rocketed to international fame on his way to logging 41 million fans on Facebook and 20 million on Twitter.

 Bieber's latest hit single, "Boyfriend," debuted at No. 2 last month on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that the recent high school graduate paid $6.5 million for his first house, a 10,000-square-foot (929-square-meter) luxury home set in a gated community of Calabasas. Amenities are reported to include a movie theater with stadium-style seating, a library, wet bar, wine cellar, guest house and swimming pool.

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"Idol" finale slumps, but Phillips tops iTunes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The "American Idol" finale audience slumped to a record low, but the show's newly crowned champion Phillip Phillips hit No.1 on iTunes on Thursday with his first single "Home." The 11-year-old Fox singing contest, once a TV industry juggernaut whose finale attracted more than 30 million viewers in 2006 and 2007, was watched by just 21.5 million viewers on Wednesday night, according to ratings data.

 Viewers in the 18-49 age group most-coveted by advertisers dropped by about 32 percent compared to last year's "Idol," although the program was still the top show on U.S. television on Wednesday night. Fox executives said earlier this month that the audience drop-off this season had been greater than anticipated and that several tweaks were in the works to freshen the format for 2013. 

Despite the smallest TV audience since the show began in 2002, viewers cast a record 132 million votes for finalists Phillips and 16-year-old singer Jessica Sanchez. And on Thursday, Phillips' first single, the folk-rock ballad "Home", topped the iTune charts, while his compilation album of "Idol" cover songs from Season 11 was in the No.3 spot. Phillips, an acoustic guitar player and songwriter, said "Home" didn't represent his style of music, which he described as more jazz and rock. "It's not really something I would write," the 21 year-old from Georgia told reporters on a conference call. "It's a little too pop for me. I don't really put in the ohs and oohs.

 I am a little more rock than that," he said, adding that he was excited to get his own album out. Phillips, whose goofball humor and good looks won the hearts of millions of young women, said he was still adjusting to his newfound fame. "I hate being the center of attention," he said. He was the fifth consecutive male to win "American Idol," joining a club of so-called "white guys with guitars" who had previously taken home the winner's crown. 

But Phillips said it was wrong to lump him in with recent Idols Scotty McCreery, Lee DeWyze, Kris Allen and David Cook. "They are probably better singers than I am, but I play the guitar a lot different ... I feel like I am different," he said. Fox said "American Idol" had held onto its spot as the most-watched show on U.S. television for the 2011-12 season just ended in total viewers, 18-49 year-olds and teens.

 The talent contest helped Fox to its eighth straight season victory among 18-49 year-olds, outperforming CBS by 7 percent, third-place NBC by 28 percent and ABC by 33 percent. Earlier this week, CBS declared victory as the most-watched network among total audiences, saying it would end the season with 11.74 million viewers a night, on average, followed by Fox with 8.87 million, ABC at 8.36 million and NBC in 4th place at 7.38 million.

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Court extradites Nigerian to US over $30m scam

A Lagos Federal High Court yesterday acceded to the request of the Attorney General of the Federation that one Godwin Chiedo Nzeocha be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges over alleged Health Care Benefit Fund fraud worth $30 million.

Ruling, Justice Tsoho aligned with the prosecution that the extradition application was competent and that alleged offences are returnable one.

He ordered that the accused be extradited to United States to face trial within a period of one month.

Nzeocha, 54, worked with the City Nursing Services in Houston, Texas, USA as a Physical Therapist Aide between 2007 and 2009.

He was alleged to have conspired with others and submitted claims worth $45million to the Medicare and Medicaid for health care services on behalf of some patients who are beneficiaries of the health insurance claims.

Nzeocha and his co-travelers were paid $30 million. They didn’t remit the funds to the beneficiaries. He was  dragged before a United States District Court in the Southern District of Texas, Houston by the United States Department of Justice on the 19 October, 2009 for offences bordering on conspiracy to commit health care fraud, money laundering and mail fraud.

The court adjourned the case till June 4, 2012 for further mention.

He later  flee to Nigeria and was arrested in June 2011 by the Economic and Financial Criminal Commission (EFCC) following a petition from the Legal Attaché to the United States Consular Office, Lagos, on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI.

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Oshiomhole sues magazine, late journalist over libel

Edo state governor Adams Oshiomhole has sued a dead journalist Ahmed  Asekome and his soft sell  news magazine, News of the People, over libel.

In the case No. B/556/2011, between Governor Adams Oshiomhole and Dockland Communications Limited, publishers of News of the People magazine, the governor alleged that the content of the publication which was published sometimes last year carried on the front page and page 19 titled  “Oshiomhole’s Sex Power Exposed: Impregnates  young girl six months after death of wife” was libelous to him.

He told the court presided over by Justice (Mrs.) Efe Ikponmwonba that in the edition, he was also alleged to have bought the girl a jeep; that he was interfering in academics of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma on behalf of the girl, and that he used sexual performance enhancement drugs and that he has done traditional marriage to the alleged girl, adding that the edition which was widely circulated coincided with the preparations of one of his daughter’s wedding.

Asked by the lead prosecuting counsel K. O. Igiebor why he was demanding for damages, the governor who personally testified as PW/1, replied that the said publication caused him and his children serious psychological trauma six months after the death of his wife.

“When I called a brother governor to sponsor my daughter’s wedding, the governor said he was confused, and asked me if I was the one doing the marriage or my daughter, adding that he was reading a magazine which said that he (Oshiomhole) was about getting married to a university student, and that the said wife to be was already pregnant.”

The former Edo correspondent of the News of the People  who was said to have written the story Ahmed  Asekome died last year after a brief illness.

The case was adjourned to the 25 of June, 2012 .

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Italy doctors save baby with smallest artificial heart

ROME: Italian doctors have saved the life of a 16-month-old boy by implanting the world's smallest artificial heart to keep the infant alive until a donor was found for a transplant. 

The doctors at Rome's Bambino Gesu hospital said the operation was carried out last month and made public this week. The baby, whose identity has not been disclosed, was kept alive for 13 days before the transplant and is now doing well. 

The baby was suffering from dilated myocardiopathy, a heart muscle disease which normally causes stretched or enlarged fibres of the heart. The disease gradually makes the heart weaker, stopping its ability to pump blood effectively. 

"This is a milestone," surgeon Antonio Amodeo told Reuters television, adding that while the device was now used as bridge leading to a transplant, in the future it could be permanent. 

Before the implant, the child also had a serious infection around a mechanical pump that had been fitted earlier to support the function of his natural heart. 

"From a surgical point of view, this was not really difficult. The only difficulty that we met is that the child was operated on several times before," he said. 

The tiny titanium pump weighs only 11 grams and can handle a blood flow of 1.5 litres a minute. An artificial heart for adults weighs 900 grams. 

Amodeo said the baby had become family and his team wanted to do everything to help him. 

"The patient was in our intensive care unit since one month of age. So he was a mascot for us, he was one of us," the doctor said. 

"Every day, every hour, for more than one year he was with us. So when we had a problem we couldn't do anything more than our best," he said. 

Doctors said the device, invented by American Doctor Robert Jarvik, had been previously tested only on animals. 

The hospital needed special permission from Jarvik and the Italian health ministry before going ahead with the procedure.

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Nigerian appointed London police first black commander

Victor Olisa, a UK-based Nigerian and a Chief Superintendent with the London Metropolitan Police has been appointed as the first black commander for Bexley local council in London.

"Policing runs in the family and I have always wanted to be a police officer and ethnicity does not affect that" Olisa told the Europe Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in his reaction on the appointment in London.

Olisa, whose grandfather was a police officer in Nigeria, said his focus was on the job rather than on being the ``first black'' adding that his ethnicity never affected  the way he carried out his duties.

``I consider myself first and foremost a police officer. If (being black) is an advantage, then brilliant; If it's a disadvantage, I will have to deal with that, I  can't hide it.''

Olisa said a lot was being done to address racism within the force adding that it was the responsibility of the force to correct wrongs and not an institution for people with racist views.

``I am impeccably against anyone who uses racist language or behaves in a racist manner. This will not be allowed under my watch.

``I believe that everyone should be treated with dignity wherever they come from,'' Olisa said.

Olisa, 52, born in Warri, Delta,  is one of the  three chief superintendents from black minority ethnic background working for the Metropolitan Police.

He started his career in Surrey Police in 1982 before transferring to the City of London Police in 1990 as detective inspector in the Fraud Squad.

After a spell at the Home Office, he transferred to the Metropolitan police in 2006 as a superintendent in Southwark Council before his recent appointment.

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34 Lagos doctors get their jobs back

On monday thirty four of the sacked 788 Lagos doctors were reabsorbed. According to reports, the  doctors applied for a  review of their cases, hence they  are recalled by the Health Service Commission. Their recall was approved by the  Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola.
Fashola said such cases will be decided after the Democracy Day holiday and those with genuine cases will be recalled.

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Pope's butler arrested in Vatican leaks scandal

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican confirmed Saturday that the pope's butler had been arrested in its embarrassing leaks scandal, adding a Hollywood twist to a sordid tale of power struggles, intrigue and corruption in the highest levels of Catholic Church governance.

Paolo Gabriele, a layman who lives inside Vatican City, was arrested Wednesday with secret documents in his possession and was being held Saturday, the Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said in a statement.

Gabriele is often seen by Pope Benedict XVI's side in public, riding in the front seat of his open-air jeep during Wednesday general audiences or shielding the pontiff from the rain. He has been the pope's personal butler since 2006, one of the few members of the small papal household that also includes the pontiff's private secretaries and four consecrated women who care for the papal apartment.

Lombardi said Gabriele had two lawyers representing him as the Vatican judicial system takes its investigative course.

The "Vatileaks" scandal has seriously embarrassed the Vatican at a time in which it is trying to show the world financial community that it has turned a page and shed its reputation as a scandal plagued tax haven.

Vatican documents leaked to the press in recent months have undermined that effort, alleging corruption in Vatican finance as well as internal bickering over the Holy See's efforts to show more transparency in its financial operations. But perhaps most critically, the leaks have seemed aimed at one main goal: to discredit Pope Benedict XVI's No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state.

The scandal took on even greater weight last week with the publication of "His Holiness," a book which reproduced confidential letters and memos to and from Benedict and his personal secretary. The Vatican called the book "criminal" and vowed to take legal action against the author, publisher, and whoever leaked the documents.

The Vatican had already warned of legal action against the author, Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, after he broadcast letters in January from the former No. 2 Vatican administrator to the pope in which he begged not to be transferred for having exposed alleged corruption that cost the Holy See millions of euros in higher contract prices. The prelate, Monsignor Carlo Maria Vigano, is now the Vatican's U.S. ambassador.

Nuzzi, author of "Vatican SpA," a 2009 volume laying out shady dealings of the Vatican bank based on leaked documents, said he was approached by sources inside the Vatican with the trove of new documents, most of them of fairly recent vintage and many of them painting Bertone in a negative light.

At a press conference this week, Nuzzi defended the publication and said he wasn't afraid of Vatican retaliation. In fact, he even taunted Vatican prosecutors to seek help from Italian magistrates to investigate the case, charging that it would be a remarkable turnaround given the Vatican had been less than helpful in the past when Italian prosecutors came asking for information for their investigations.

The arrest has come during one of the most tumultuous weeks for the Vatican in recent memory. On Thursday, the president of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was ousted by the bank's board. Sources close to the investigation said he too had been found to have leaked documents, though the official reason for his ouster was that he had failed to do his job.

The Vatican has taken the leaks very seriously, with Benedict appointing a commission of cardinals to investigate. Vatican gendarmes as well as prosecutors are also investigating the sources of the leaks.

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Hyvinkaa shooting: Finland gunman in deadly rampage

Police recovered a rifle from the roof where the gunfire came from 

A gunman fired from the rooftop of a house in a southern Finnish town, killing two people and injuring seven others, the authorities have said.

Police arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of the shootings in Hyvinkaa, 50km (30 miles) north of Helsinki.

An man and a woman, both 18 years old, were killed in the incident. A police officer was among the wounded.

Some of the injured were said to be in a serious condition and have been taken to Helsinki for emergency treatment.

Local media reported that a man in combat fatigues opened fire on crowds in the early hours.

MTV3 channel said the man used a rifle and fled shortly after the incident.

Eyewitnesses spoke of panic as they were shut inside bars and clubs for hours while police searched the area.

Detective Chief Inspector Markku Tuominen said the suspect was arrested several hours later and offered no resistance.

"The man was found with two weapons... including a hunting rifle," he said.

The police have not publicly commented on a possible motive for the crime.

Finland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe.

However, a series of mass shootings prompted the government to tighten the rules last June.

The police said the Hyvinkaa suspect had no licence for his weapons.

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Airtel NG and others should stop the indiscriminate sending of text messages to Subscribers

Todaysgist(TG)-Airtel Ng subscribers in the country have been complaining for some time now about the number of text messages they received from the telecoms giant.Todaysgist went round to get responses from GSM users and the result is not very pleasant as 9 out of 10 users think they are being taken for a ride.

 Mr. John,a carpenter said he receives no less than 10 sms from Airtel daily and when his phone beeps he rushes out to reach it thinking it is one of his client but only to get disappointed that it is from Airtel. He said he has been considering changing to another network so he can have rest of mind but was told the others like MTN are still in the business of indiscriminate text message sending.

Mrs Janet,an Office help desk said he nearly got fired when she ignored an emergency text message thinking it most have been one of the numerous text messages from the telecoms people.People are beginning to loose interest in reading their text messages as they are concerned bulk of them are from the telecoms operatives

Todaysgist sent some personnel to the telecoms outfit and they promised to do something about it but in the last 2 weeks it has become worst.I wonder if NCC cannot interfere in matters like this

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Terrorists plan to attack Maiduguri on Democracy Day

The Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order (ORO) said on Friday that it had uncovered plots by some terrorists to cause havoc during the democracy day in Maiduguri. 
JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col.Sagir Musa, made this known in a statement in Maiduguri.

Information available to JTF revealed that some terrorists are planning to cause mayhem as a deliberate effort to disrupt the democracy day activities in the state.

``Members of the group intend to attack some identified locations in Maiduguri and environs,'' Musa said.

He warned that the JTF would deal ruthlessly with anyone found trying to breach the peace in the state.

``The JTF, therefore, warns in strong terms that terrorists and other criminals should stay clear of the evil plan as the taskforce will deal ruthlessly with any one or group that tries to disrupt the peace.’’

He advised members of the public not to panic but to continue with their routine activities.

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NestOil, Oilserve win deal to build $400m gas pipeline

NestOil and Oilserve, two indigenous companies have been awarded the $400 million East-West evacuation gas pipeline project by the Federal Government.

This project is part of a network of gas pipelines underway around the country, expected to bring about the springing up of hundreds of new businesses, reduce the cost of doing business in the country by as much as 30 percent, and generate many thousands of jobs, within a few years.

BusinnesDay investigation reveals that budgetary provision for the project has already been approved. The project is estimated to cost $700million when completed.

The East –West gas pipeline is about 120km x 48inches and will pass from Ob/Ob-Oben .

The contract is split into two equal parts for the two companies. This is the first time a project so large and strategic is being handled by indigenous companies. It is understood that the contract was awarded in the spirit of local content development. The construction would last for 24 months and is expected to generate over 1,000 jobs in the two years that it will last.

The NNPC/Total JV pipeline from Ubefan to Imo River via Obigbo, was recently awarded the 120km x 48inch Ob/Ob-Oben East West gas pipeline contract.

Other major gas pipeline projects that are on-going and progressing steadily, are the doubling of capacity to Two billion Cubic Feet / per day of the Escravos –Lagos Pipeline System( ELPS) from Oben-Ore-Lagos, through the 320km x 36inch pipeline construction, NNPC/Total JV pipeline from Ubefan to Imo River via Obigbo.

The idea to construct the pipeline to provide the much needed gas for the power industry and other sectors has been on the drawing board for several years. It is estimated that the country will need about $4 billon to build the pipelines.

A source told BusinessDay that the things that could encourage investors to put down their money is that the government must give assurance that the price is right for transmission.

There certainly are a lot of investment opportunities that would be generated with the pipeline by the time it comes on stream. This is because the reserves are there, market is there, while the infrastructure for the delivery of gas is being articulated and is progressing, a source said.

“When you create a 1.6 million crude barrel equivalent a day, clearly there are huge opportunities for both big and small players. About 2,500 kilometres of pipelines are going to be laid. The entire value chain around the pipeline is open for business opportunities. Everything around pipeline infrastructure is huge opportunities,” he said.

The minister of Petroleum Resources , Diezani Alison –Madueke said ``Specifically in the last one year, the government has invested close to $1bn in almost 1,000km of gas pipeline development, adding that the 136km x 36inch permanent gas pipeline from Oben to Geregu has been completed, creating a major sharp artery to the Geregu Independent Power Plants, and will feed Dangote’s Obajana cement and other potential industrial customers. She further said that this line would provide arterial supply to the North once the Ajaokuta-Kano line is completed.

She added that two other critical pipelines that will be concluded shortly are the Itoki-Olorunshogo 31km x 24inch gas pipeline and the 104km x 24inch Escravos-Warri gas pipeline expansion.

According to her, by the time the two pipelines are completed in the next few months, they will create a permanent solution to the challenge of gas supply to the PHCN and NIPP power plants at Olorunshogo, as well as supply to Ewekoro, Abeokuta and environs, for industrial capacity growth and double the existing transmission capacity to 600 mmcf/d and immediately add about 80mmcf/d additional gas supply to the grid from Escravos.a

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