MH370 Malaysia plane: No debris found on second search day

Jonathan Head says planes from military base in Australia are leading the search

Continue reading the What we know

A second day of searching for sightings of possible debris from a missing Malaysian airliner in the southern Indian Ocean has proved fruitless.

The operation is due to start again on Saturday with extra vessels joining the search, Australian officials say.

Five aircraft took part in Friday's search for flight MH370, which vanished two weeks ago with 239 people on board.

Satellite images have revealed objects possibly related to the plane in waters far south-west of Western Australia.

Bad weather had initially hampered Thursday's operation, but conditions improved on Friday.

Experts have warned that the searchers face extremely treacherous seas and that a recovery operation would be very dangerous.

'Gut-wrenching business'

Operations were halted on Friday at nightfall, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) confirmed. It added that an Australian navy ship, HMAS Success, was on its way to the search area.

In an earlier press conference, Malaysian authorities said the vessel was expected to "reach the vicinity of the objects tomorrow [Saturday]".cont......

I don’t believe in marriage, says Dillish

BBA ‘The Chase’winner, Dillish Mathews is not ready to marry for now. The sexy singer, who  recently became a hot item since she featured in Flavour’s  new video, Ikwokirikwo has cleared the air surrounding her affair with the highlife singer.

The Namibian ex-beauty queen who is currently in South Africa to promote her business responded this way  when asked about plans to marry Flavour; “I don’t believe in marriage.

Well, I have just lost hope in marriage. I believe in love  not just marriage. I want a wedding and just not marriage.I don’t entertain falling in love with married men. I can’t cause another woman pain,” she said.

I want a man who will be proud of me — Victoria

Chocolate City first lady, Victoria Kimani recently shocked most of her fans when she revealed the kind of man she would wish to spend the rest of her life with.

The sexy singer in a recent interview on her kind of man  said, “ When the right time comes, and the right time is when God will bring for me the right man.

I cannot just give in to a man blindly without thinking of the long term consequences. I must look at his qualities keenly. Apart from being my husband, the  man will be the father of my children. Getting a responsible man to connect with and who has respect for God and himself in this era is not an easy task.

I want a man I will marry to be proud of me. He must show me love at all times; he must be God-fearing and hard working and creative in everything he does. My man must take me out to different places to have fun, not just at one particular joint every now and then,” she said.

Kayswitch welcomes baby boy

It was a moment of joy and merriment last weekend as Koko Master’s  kid brother and DB record label super star, Kayswitch welcomed a bouncing baby boy from his Liberian girlfriend and former beauty queen, Meenakshi Monica Subramani.

Matinee gathered that the baby was delivered in the wee hours of Saturday, March 15. Obviously elated, Kayswitch uploaded the picture of the baby on Instagram  with a caption; “My gift from God, too excited, more pictures coming soon.”

Recall that about two weeks ago, it was reported that the lovebirds were expecting a baby.

Government should stop giving actors money - John Okafor

Popular actor, John Okafor, in a recent chat with Punch, criticised the recent visit of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria to President Jonathan.

Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, said he had beef with those who went to visit the president  because the president is yet to set his priorities right with regard to Nollywood.

“The government should stop giving Actors’ Guild cash, because we don’t know how to handle it. Some people will go to the office, process the money and squander it and we (actors) never benefit from such goodwill.

“If they (government) can give us a structure or land, we (actors) can go ahead and secure funds from investors to build five-star hotels and other facilities on it, because it will be a tourist haven. We can bring the Nigerian Censor’s board into the same arena." Okafor tells Punch. Continue...

Reps Probe petroleum minister for N10billion private jet expenses

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a resolution to probe the expenditures of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Maduekwe, on a private jet she allegedly charters for private use and maintains with public funds. 

According to the sponsor of the bill, Hon Samuel Adejare who represents Lagos State, the minister maintains the jet with 500,000euros or N130 million monthly

"Thus, in the last two years, the minister has committed at least N3.120bn to maintaining the private jet, which is used solely for her personal needs and those of her immediate family, which is an appalling act"he said. He said the frequent use of the Jet by the Minister and her family members has caused an estimated N10billion to be spent on it for maintenance, fuel, payment of crew members, hanger rentage and others.

In a unanimous vote, the house members adopted the resolution and mandated its committee on Public Accounts to investigate the matter and provide results within 3weeks.

In a related development, a member of the House, Hon Aminu Suleiman through a motion he presented to the house, revealed that the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas NLNG had not remitted any of its generated revenue to the federation account since 2004 till date. The house committee on Natural Gas was directed to investigate the claims by Hon Aminu.

Doctors perform surgery to save Nigerian woman with ‘intestines hanging out’ of body

A Nigerian woman suffering from a life-threatening condition has been treated at a hospital in Ras Al Khaimah in UAE after allegedly being refused surgery in Nigeria, 7daysindubai reports... 

Victoria Odita was rushed to RAK Hospital in critical condition as a result of an incisional hernia in her abdomen, which caused her intestines to hang out of her body.

It’s thought the hernia developed following Odita’s four caesarian sections, which left her abdominal wall very weak and eventually allowed her intestines to push through. Doctors at RAK Hospital performed complicated surgery that saved her life.

The 37-year-old had suffered from abdominal swelling for years before realising she had a large hernia in her abdomen. When the swelling increased following her fourth pregnancy six months ago, she sought medical help, but was denied treatment in Nigeria because of the extreme severity of her condition.

“She was rejected treatment in her own country and had been suffering with immense pain for the past six months,” said Dr Parvez Ahmad, a specialist surgeon at RAK Hospital who operated on Odita. “She was a high-risk case and a challenge for any surgical team. An immediate operation was performed to repair the incisional hernia and alleviate the symptoms.”

Parvez explained the condition is quite common after multiple abdominal surgeries. However, he said Odita’s situation was made worse because her heart pumping capacity was only 25 per cent, which in normal person should be more than 60 per cent.

“A person who gains significant weight after abdominal surgery, becomes pregnant or lifts heavy objects is most at risk for an incisional hernia,” said Dr Anup Panigrahi, head of the minimal invasive surgery department at RAK Hospital. “The incision is weakest, and most prone to a hernia, while it is still healing.

“It is not only a female problem; both the sexes should be aware that anybody who has had one or many abdominal surgeries is at risk of developing an incisional hernia.”

'Committing abortion when you are raped is double sin' - T.B Joshua

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome said a baby that is a product of rape can be aborted (If you missed it, read here) but pastor T.B Joshua doesn't agree with him. He says committing an abortion when raped is a double sin. Which of these pastors do you agree with?

Lady beats 10 year old niece into unconsciousness for bed-wetting

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 27-year-old security guard, Joy Amodu (pictured above), for allegedly torturing her 10-year-old niece, Foziya Danjuma for several hours till the little girl fell unconscious. All because Foziya peed on her bed on February 28, 2014, Punch reports 

According to the police, the suspect as punishment, used a spatula to beat the 10-year-old and inserted Aboniki balm (methyl salicylate ointment) inside her private parts and her eyes. The suspect also allegedly inflicted teeth bites all over the girl’s body. It was after the girl fainted during the beating that her aunt rushed her to a hospital in the Ajah area, but she was rejected. Amodu then took her niece to a military hospital on the Victoria Island, but the victim was referred to the Military Hospital, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. It was at the military hospital that a non-governmental organisation, Hands that Care, took over the case and reported it to the police.

The suspect, crying profusely, said she only beat her niece on three occasions. That the victim was her uncle’s daughter and she would never attempt to kill her.

“I am very sorry for my action. I did not envisage what happened. The first time she wet the bed, I warned her to stop bedwetting because she is too old for that. She was left under my care by her father who is my uncle, so I needed to correct her. This is the second time she wet the bed and I needed to teach her a lesson. As I was beating her, she passed out. She was released to me by her father when I told him about the strange sickness that used to hit me because I was lonely and needed a companion.”

The victim could not talk much, but when asked if she was tortured by her cousin, she nodded in approval. National Coordinator of the Hands that Cares, Mrs. Jacinta Nworie, said  the girl was released to the suspect by her father in Kogi State because Amodu promised to train her in Lagos.
“The victim told us that the suspect bit her, inserted ointment into her private part and used stick to beat her up.”

Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, who expressed shock over the incident, described Amodu’s action as wicked.

She said:
“On February 29, 2014, the police at Onikan Division got information that a little girl was in one hospital in critical condition. The officers went there and found the victim with her face and hands swollen as a result of beating. The victim was later referred to the Military Hospital, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi for better treatment. An NGO, Hands that Care, was invited into the case by a good Nigerian. The NGO said it would settle the girl’s hospital bills, but called for Amodu’s prosecution.

It was learnt that the family members were already pleading that the victim and the suspect be released to them, saying it was a family matter. But a police source said since the victim was a minor, the government would decide if the case should be treated as a family matter or not.

Culled from Punch

Bowen University closed indefinitely following students' riot

The management of Bowen University this morning closed the school indefinitely following students' protest last night. Students of the private uni. say they are protesting scarcity of electricity, water and plans by the university to increase school fees. The students say they are not being treated right

"They take the light by 8am, and bring it back by 8pm and it goes off by 11pm again. We don't have water, no socket light, while our lecturers are in AC offices and cars. We have time table for eating. 7-9am for breakfast, 12-3 for lunch and 6-8 for dinner. Most times we have classes during these periods" one student told me.

All students have been asked to leave the university...while some students who were detained last night after the riot are yet to be released. Continue...

Photos: Lady dies in accident just a month to her wedding

29 year old Juliet Igbinoba (pictured above with fiance) died in a fatal motor accident on Monday 17th of March along the Lagos-Benin road just a month before her wedding. Juliet was planning to get married on April 19th; invitation have been sent out and preparation was in top gear before she met her untimely death while going home to meet her people over her forthcoming wedding.

Juliet was a staff of Fouani Nig Limited and an Accounting graduate of Auchi Polytechnic Edo State.. Burial arrangements for her would kick off today with service of songs and then interment tomorrow. May her soul rest in peace amen....

Oscar Pistorius selling home where he shot and killed his girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius's lawyer revealed today that the paralympian is planning to sell the house in which he killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, to enable him raise money for his legal fees which has been rapidly increasing since the commencement of his trial.

Reports say with all advertising deals closed up and none in sight, Oscar has been grappling with raising money to pay his legal team. He has since been selling off some of his other properties and some of his racehorses.

A statement on his official website confirmed he is selling the house

"It has become necessary to sell Mr. Pistorius’ home in the Silver Woods Country Estate in Pretoria in order for him to raise the necessary funds to cover his increasing legal costs. This is due to the unexpected extension of the trial beyond the initial three weeks period for which it was originally set down".

Photos: D'banj unveils Koko Garri at One Campaign launch

One Ambassador D'banj unveiled his new product, Koko Garri, at the One Do Agric Campaign launch which held today at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, as the first intended product to come out from his company, Koko Holdings. 

Photos: Jim Iyke proposes to Nadia Buari with 6 carat diamond ring

On today's episode of Jim Iyke Unscripted, Jim proposed to his Ghanian girlfriend actress Nadia Buari...and she said yes! Jim said he designed the 6 carat diamond ring he presented to Nadia himself in different counties, including Sierra Leone, Ghana and Gabon and it was finished in London.

Big congrats to them. Another celebrity wedding coming your way. Continue to see more photos...

Spain tightens African enclave security after hundreds storm border

Spain has more than doubled the strength of security forces at its North African enclave of Melilla, after about 500 people stormed its fences in the biggest border rush for years.

Madrid sent 100 more police on Tuesday and Wednesday, raising the total to 150, a source at the Interior Ministry said, and will reinforce the rapid response unit with 20 more personnel, bringing the total to 80.

Immigrants from all over Africa regularly dare the razor-wire fences of Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla, which are surrounded by Moroccan territory and sea. The numbers have multiplied as increased naval patrols discourage attempts to get to Europe by boat.

Some 1,074 people breached the 12-kilometre-long fences around Melilla in the whole of 2013, according to the source, and more than 1,600 have done so since the beginning of 2014.

Once in Melilla or Ceuta, the immigrants are fed and given clothes and beds in special centers.

Many end up in continental Spain and either stay there or travel elsewhere in Europe.

Young men gathered at the center in Melilla said on Wednesday they were happy to have come down from the mountains surrounding the enclave, where many had spent months living rough waiting for a chance to rush the border.

“We’ve made it! We’ve passed into Europe,” said one of a group of men from countries including Guinea, Mali, the Ivory Coast and Togo.

The internment center where immigrants await processing has been overwhelmed, prompting the army to put up tents around it.

There are now around 1,800 people housed in a facility with an official capacity of 480.

In February, the European Union asked Spain to explain why police had fired rubber bullets in warning when a group of African migrants tried to wade and swim to Ceuta. Fifteen died drowning and the shots could have caused panic among the migrants, according to Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs.

Spain has denied this. Secretary of State for Security Francisco Martinez said in parliament on Wednesday the migrants had not been targeted by the shots and they had not provoked any observable panic among them.

“There is no element (of this) that could lead to the conclusion that the migrants were shot at,” Martinez said.

In October more than 360 people drowned within sight of Lampedusa, an Italian island off Tunisia that has long been a magnet for migrants.

Italian naval and coastguard vessels have rescued more than 2,000 migrants travelling in boats from North Africa over the past 48 hours, authorities said on Wednesday.

Talks on a more coordinated, EU-wide solution have made little progress, despite attempts by countries like Spain and Italy to persuade northern neighbors to share the burden of the immigrant tide.

Russia expresses surprise, regret over Ukraine’s visa intentions

Moscow on Thursday voiced regret over Ukraine’s possible plans to introduce visa regime with Russia.

“Ukrainian intention causes nothing but surprise and regret. Kiev’s actions will significantly complicate contacts among millions of citizens of the two countries’’, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that cross-border, inter-regional and humanitarian cooperation also would be jeopardised if Kiev executes these plans.

Mutual travels of Russia and Ukraine citizens are governed by the inter-governmental agreements of 1997 and 2004, said the ministry.

According to these documents, the citizens of the two countries are not required to have either visas or travel passports for crossing the common border and may stay in each other’s country for 90 days in a row.

On Wednesday, Ukraine said it was considering introducing a visa regime with Russia and quitting the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Later, however, Ukrain’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Kiev was not going to hurry to implement its visa plans.

The Kiev authorities said it did not take into account the interests of common people when mulling introduction of the visa regime

Alamieyeseigha’s loot: Court summons EFCC, Lamorde

ABUJA—Despite controversy over the origin of the suit asking that the sum of N1.4 billion and another $1.3 million that was recovered from former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, be returned to the state’s treasury, a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, summoned Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and its Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, to appear before it on  April 15.

Diepreiye Alamieyeisegha

Trial judge, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, also directed the anti-graft agency and its chairman to ensure that they entered their defence to the issues raised in the suit before that date.

The court further directed that they should be duly served with hearing notices in respect of the suit.

It will be recalled that a security expert, Mr. George Uboh, had maintained that he was mandated by the Bayelsa State Government to file the suit to help recover the funds, which were seized from its convicted former governor.

But the Bayelsa State Government had denied ordering the suit, insisting that it never filed such matter before the high court.

Uboh, who is the Chief Executive of Panic Alert Security System, PASS, produced a copy of the mandate as well as series of correspondences between him and EFCC in relation to the seized funds.

In the suit against EFCC and its Chairman, in the name of Bayelsa State, it applied for a declaration that the failure of EFCC to remit the complete funds recovered from Alamieyeseigha after he was investigated and prosecuted and “subsequently trading with the funds by way of funds placement/fixed deposits, is an act of corruption and an economic crime contrary to sections 6 and 7 of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.”

APC plans violent overthrow of Jonathan’s Govt, says PDP

ABUJA- NATIONAL leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Thursday took a swipe at the All Progressives Congress, APC, alleging that the leadership of the party and members have concluded plans to violently overthrow the government of President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the  PDP noted that the unfortunate comparison by the APC was a tacit acknowledgment that the opposition party was planning to take Nigeria back to dictatorship.

Metuh’s statement read, “The Peoples Democratic Party has punctured an attempt by the All Progressives Congress APC to dismiss its complicity in the rising wave of insurgency and its concomitant adverse effects on national governance by drawing  an incongruent comparison between a democratically elected presidency with proven fidelity to democratic tenets  and defunct military dictatorships.

“The  unfortunate comparison by the APC was a tacit acknowledgment that this opposition party was planning to take Nigeria back to dictatorship.

More details soon

Amosun orders payment of OOU lecturers salary arrears

Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunlle Amosun has ordered the management of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, to effect the immediate payment of the outstanding one month salary arrears owed lecturers of the institution.

Secretary to the State Government, Mr.  Taiwo Adeoluwa,  in a statement issued in Abeokuta also said the governor has promised that all other outstanding arrears would be paid without delay.
He stated that Amosun- led administration inherited a backlog of arrears from the immediate past administration, adding, however, that it had prioritised payment of wages, cleared the backlog and restored normalcy to wages administration.

Adeoluwa stated that in-spite of significant life-changing infrastructure development initiatives going on across the state, the 32-month-old government does not owe workers’ salaries and noted that the State is one of the very first to show commitment to paying the new minimum wage in 2011.

Manchester United 3-0 Olympiakos (Agg 3-2): Van Persie hat-trick seals dramatic comeback

Getty Images

Robin van Persie salvaged Manchester United's Champions League dream as his hat-trick beatOlympiakos 3-0 and booked a last-eight spot.

The hosts had trailed 2-0 heading into the second leg, with manager David Moyes under huge pressure to produce a result, but the Scot avoided a Greek tragedy with the help of his prolific Dutch frontman.
Penalties have become a familiar sight at Old Trafford in recent days - United conceded three in the weekend Premier League mauling by Liverpool - and Van Persie put the hosts ahead from 12 yards when one went their way in the 25th minute after a foul by Jose Holebas.

The Netherlands striker doubled his tally on the stroke of half-time to level the tie on aggregate, before curling home a free-kick seven minutes into the second period to seal the win and a famous comeback.

The result takes United into the last eight for the first time since 2011, while Olympiacos have now lost on all 12 of their visits to England, conceding an average of three goals.

Moyes made four changes from Sunday's 3-0 Premier League defeat at home to fierce rivals Liverpool, bringing Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs into an experienced starting XI, and it was United who did the early pressing.

Wayne Rooney was first to challenge visiting goalkeeper Roberto, with the Spanish shot-stopper electing to extravagantly punch clear from a free-kick, but United's Herculean task almost became even greater 15 minutes in, when Hernan Perez scooped the ball over after good work by Joel Campbell to set up the opportunity.

Rooney went agonisingly close to making the visitors pay for that miss as he headed against the left-hand post from Giggs' cross, with replays suggesting that Roberto may have got the slightest of fingertips to the ball.

But United broke the deadlock from the spot after 25 minutes - Van Persie powering home after he had been recklessly bundled to the ground from behind by Holebas.

Patrice Evra had Roberto diving at full stretch 10 minutes before the break, forcing the Spaniard into an impressive stop with a headed effort from Van Persie's corner.

David De Gea then made a crucial double save at the other end, first denying David Fuster's header and then recovering well to keep out Alejandro Dominguez's effort from close range.

And United were level in the tie in first-half stoppage time when Van Persie tapped home through the legs of Roberto after a cross from Rooney.

The Dutchman was single-handedly rescuing their hopes, and he completed his treble in the 52nd minute by curling a 20-yard free-kick around the Olympiacos wall and beyond a statuesque Roberto to give the home fans belief and lift a considerable weight off Moyes' shoulders.

However, he almost had the ball in the back of his own net shortly afterwards when Dominguez's free-kick deflected narrowly wide off his head.

The delicate nature of the scoreline was emphasised when Fuster's rifled effort straight at De Gea in the 67th minute had many a Mancunian heart in their mouth, with Olympiacos still only a single away goal from victory.

But United weathered a late storm to cling on to an important victory, although the sight of Van Persie leaving the field on stretcher late on will be of some concern.

Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi was part of the disaster called the Biafra Civil War Says Dr. Junaid Mohammed

The Second Republic politician and a Kano State delegate to the National Conference, Dr. Junaid Mohammed has blamed the 1966 coup as the reason why the North is today left with “scoundrels, crooks and despots” as leaders. He made the accusation during an interview with SaharaTV over the weekend.

“From the time the Igbo staged a coup and decapitated the entire military and civilian leadership of the North, the North has never had decent leadership,” Dr. Mohammed said. “That’s the tragedy of the 1966 Coup.”

The Russian-trained medical doctor acknowledged that it would be uncharitable to blame the federal government for the mess in the north. The North, he said, has been completely irresponsible in the way it chooses its leadership.

“Look at the governors we have in the North, for Christ’s sake,” he said to SaharaTV’s Rudolf Okonkwo. “Will these people lead anybody to the promised land? I don’t think so.”

Mohammed, a follower of Aminu Kano, urged the North to do more to challenge their own local despots.  “A lot of crooks and rouges and scoundrels are stealing them (the North) dry,” he said.

He, however, reserved his worst venom for the former Army chief, General Azubike Ihejirika. He called Ihejirika the “lousiest, the least competent, and the most irresponsible army chief of staff in Nigeria.” He accused Ihejirika of dividing the army along regional and tribal line. He said that a lot of the money given to the army to fight insurgence was stolen.

Dr. Mohammed alleged that the first Igbo Chief of Army staff, Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi was part of the disaster called the Nigerian Civil War. Then he stated that Ihejirika, the second Igbo army chief of staff, ran an army of mercenaries who called themselves Nigerians. He said that those who were agitating for Ihejirika’s replacement with another Igbo man were essentially asking for “the end of the Nigerian army and Nigeria itself.”

Ihejirika, he said, used the Nigerian army as an army of occupation. “If Sarduana had been alive,” Mohammed lamented, “Ihejirika would have been taken to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.”

In what may be a subtle reference to the altercation between the Defense Minister Aliyu Gusau and the Service Chiefs, Mohammed said, “It is impossible for an army officer today to respect another officer from another tribe. “That’s the legacy of Ihejirika as chief of army staff.”

Jonathan approves appointment of 5 new Group Executive Directors for NNPC

Abuja -  President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the appointment of five new Group Executive Directors for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to fill vacancies in the Corporation.

This information is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by the President’s Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati.

The appointees are: Mr Ian Udoh, Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals; Dr Dan Efebo, Group Executive Director, Corporate Services; and Ms Aisha Abdurrahman, Group Executive Director, Business Development.

The others are: Mr Adebayo Ibirogba, Group Executive Director, Engineering and Technical; while Dr Joseph Dawha would serve as Acting Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production.

It stated Udoh from Akwa Ibom had been the Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd since November 2012.

“He has considerable experience of managing the nation’s refineries having previously held the position of Executive Director, Operations at both the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company ltd., and the Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd.’’

It stated that Udoh had served as a General Manager in the Refining and Petrochemicals Directorate of NNPC.

The statement said Efebo from Bayelsa was the Group General Manager in charge of the NNPC’s Human Resources Division before his new appointment. He hails.

It further stated that Abdurrahman from Kogi was the Managing Director of Nikorma, NNPC’s shipping subsidiary, since March 2011.

According to the statement, Abdurrahman has also served as Managing Director of Hyson, an NNPC trading subsidiary, and as Executive Director (Services) of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company .

It said that Ibirogba, a Chemical Engineer from Ogun was the Group General Manager, Engineering in the NNPC’s Engineering and Technology Directorate.

Dawha from Borno, who replaces Mr Abiye Membere as Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, has been the Managing Director of Integrated Data Services ltd., since 2005.

‘‘He has served the corporation diligently, over the years, in various capacities, in the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry,’’ the statement stated.

It further stated that all the appointments were with immediate effect. (NAN)

Ronaldo is ‘a beast’ but Real should fear Messi – Alba

MADRID (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo is “a beast” but Real Madrid should fear four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba warned on Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s crucial Clasico.

“I think they are two of the best players in the world but out of the two of them I’ll go with Leo,” Alba said when asked which of the two players should be feared more during Sunday’s game at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I don’t just say that now because I am in the same team, I thought that when I was at Valencia,” added Alba, who moved to Barcelona from the Mestalla in 2012.

“I think Cristiano, you have to be honest, he’s a beast, he’s a very important player for Real Madrid. When Madrid are not at their best he always pulls through,” the 24-year-old said.

Cristiano Ronaldo

“But we have Leo and other players and I think we are more of a team than a bunch of individuals.”

Ronaldo, a two-time World Player of the Year, has scored 41 times in 37 appearances for Madrid this season, including a double in Tuesday’s 3-1 win against Schalke 04 which secured Real Madrid’s place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Messi overtook Paulino Alcantara to become Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer by netting a hat-trick during the Catalan giants’ 7-0 rout of Osasuna in La Liga on Sunday.

The three goals brought Messi’s career tally for Barcelona to 371 in all games, breaking the club record of 369 held by Alcantara since 1927.

Leaders Real host Barcelona on Sunday night, when a win would stretch their lead over the defending champions to seven points and deal a severe blow to Barcelona’s chances of a fifth title in six years.

Barca are third with 66 points, a point behind second-placed Atletico Madrid.

“Madrid are a really good team. This year they are playing at a great level. It is going to be a very difficult match, very complicated, at their ground,” said Alba.

China launches organ donation Website

Guangzhou (China) -  China launched its first official organ donation registration Website on Wednesday, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).

NHFPC said that citizens could register as organ donors via www.savelife.org.cn and their information would only be accessible to authorised organisations and coordinators.

According to the commission, donors can modify or withdraw their registration via the Website. Donations will have to be approved by close relatives after the donor’s death.

An official with the NHFPC, Zhou Jun said the Website had been set up to promote public awareness on organ donation.

“China has the world’s second-largest demand for organ transplants.

“Over 300,000 patients suffer from organ failure each year but only around 10,000 transplants are performed due to a lack of donors.

“Traditional Chinese customs call for people to be buried or cremated with their organs intact, making it difficult to get people to become donors,’’ the commission emphasised.

Report says China introduced an organ donation system in 2010 with the Red Cross Society serving as an independent third party for supervising and facilitating donation procedures.

The NHFPC issued a new rule to prevent human intervention and ensure fairness and transparency in human organ distribution in August, stipulating that donated organs must be distributed automatically through a national system.

In March, China set up a special committee in charge of coordinating and guiding different systems, including donation, obtaining and distribution, clinical transplant service, postoperative registration and transplant supervision. (Xinhua/NAN)

FG may remove fuel and kerosene subsidies

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dieziani Alison-Madueke yesterday gave a hint of plans by the Federal Government to remove subsidies being paid on Petrol and Kerosene products. The Minister gave the hint while speaking at the Nigerian Oil & Gas Conference which took place in Abuja

 

While addressing the delegates, Alison-Madueke said subsidy being paid to marketers for petrol and kerosene was no longer sustainable and was only beneficial to the rich in the society.

"The continued regulation of the downstream sector has its positive and negative impacts on the economy. But the negative effect is more than the positive. The subsidy policy cannot be sustained any longer.This is because the subsidy payment is not benefiting the poor it is targeting; rather, it is benefiting the rich. The industry needs to move to next level by increasing revenue and curbing oil theft and pipeline vandalism.Without belabouring the point, we are all aware that the government has to deregulate the downstream sector. Continuing regulation, we all are aware, has negative effects. It is basically unsustainable, it discourages investment, and principally, it benefits the rich, not the masses in the society that we intend to reach in the first place" The minister said.

Analyst however say if petrol subsidy is removed, Nigerians would have to pay more for both products. Petrol for instance would rise to N144.66 for a litre, which is the landing cost of a refined litre as against the N97 its been sold for now at filling stations while Kerosene would go as high as N154.36 per litre, N138.87 as landing cost and N15.49 for distrubution margin, suming up to N154.36 it would be sold for

How Nigerian undergraduate was killed in Ghana over money

On February 19th, the body of a Nigerian student studying in Ghana was found. (Read here). Godwin Awogbo (pictured above), a 300level student of Social Sciences at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana was killed by unknown person/s and his body dumped by the roadside. Now the full story is out. According to a report by Tribune, Godwin was killed over money. Read the full story below

Gay man kills wife and burns her body after marrying her to hide his sexuality

A bank worker who married to conceal his homosexuality strangled his wife a few months later with a metal vacuum pipe, a court heard yesterday.

Jasvir Ram Ginday throttled Varkha Rani and tried to destroy her remains in an incinerator after going through with the arranged marriage to please his parents.

The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in India last March – even though Ginday, 30, had confided in a friend years earlier that he was attracted to men, the jury were told. Continue...

 The defendant had travelled to  the subcontinent with his mother to find a bride and met several women before a match-maker known to both families introduced him to Miss Rani.

Prosecutor Debbie Gould told a jury the couple became engaged ‘at the end of a meeting which lasted several hours’, with Miss Rani’s family believing Ginday to be ‘a perfect match for their intelligent, well-educated, and attractive young daughter’. 

The bride, who had completed a degree and a master’s degree in science and information technology in India, moved to the UK to live with Ginday in August after being granted a visa. 

But just a month later, police discovered the unrecognisable remains of the 24-year-old bride in the back garden of the home they shared with other members of Ginday’s family.

Miss Gould said that after killing his wife, Ginday had forced her body into a 22-inch deep metal incinerator in an alley beside their home. 

He called police that night to report her missing – claiming she had walked out after assaulting him and had only married him for a visa to get into the UK.

Miss Gould said: ‘His ultimate intention was to play the role of victim, safe in the knowledge that he could rely on his married status as a permanent excuse for never having another relationship with a woman...his respectability and that of his family’s would be secured.’ 

She said Miss Rani was ‘in all senses a stranger in a strange land’ following her arrival in the UK last August, and appeared to be isolated, friendless and alone.

The financially secure defendant, meanwhile, was ‘staring reality in the face’ and would have had to explain any attempt to divorce his new bride.
‘His marriage was motivated by a desire to please his parents and conceal his homosexuality from them,’ Miss Gould said.

‘Over the years the defendant made contact with gay chat lines to discuss his sexuality, he developed a network of gay male friends and he attended gay clubs in the Birmingham area.’

The court head Ginday and his wife had been alone in the  house at Walsall, West Midlands, on September 12, the day of the murder.
That afternoon, neighbours saw smoke and likened the smell to that which comes from a crematorium.
When one concerned resident knocked on Ginday’s door, he claimed he was simply burning rubbish

Police searched the property that night after Ginday made the missing persons report, but they did not look in the garden.
They returned the next night after neighbours reported seeing black smoke for the second day running.
Although Ginday had attempted to destroy his wife’s body, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that a woman police constable ‘lifted the lid (of the incinerator) and found herself looking down on a human skull which was severely burnt’.

Miss Gould said the skull was not complete and had only a few teeth, while the body was described as being ‘folded up and foetal-like’.

Officers also discovered Miss Rani’s wedding ring inside the 22-inch deep incinerator.
An examination of computer equipment showed that somebody at the property had searched for incinerators online around four weeks before Miss Rani’s death.

CCTV images also showed Ginday filling up a water bottle with petrol at a service station just hours before the body was discovered.

Pathologists later confirmed the human remains were that of Miss Rani and that she had  died from strangulation by a metal pole being placed across her throat.

Miss Rani’s father, Surjit Singh told the jury he had no idea his son-in-law was gay, and didn’t even know what the term meant. He said through an interpreter that he had been ‘shocked and distressed’ after British police had explained it to him.

He added: ‘Of course I wouldn’t have let her marry him if I had known. I have never heard of it before. No, Varkha didn’t know about gay either.’
Ginday denies a charge of murder but has admitted manslaughter and a further charge of perverting the course of justice by lying to police. The trial continues. 

Culled from UK Daily Mail