A man narrated his ordeal with a lady he met on the internet he went on a date with.
According to the man, he had been speaking with the girl on Instagram for quite some time and she had repeatedly demanded that he take her out.
He agreed to accompany her to a restaurant of her choice, where she ordered expensive meals and drinks while he sipped on his drink.
When it came time to pay the bills from their special date at the restaurant, however, the lady stared at him, and he ended up footing all of the bills for that session, drastically draining his wallet.
He decried the fact that Igbo women never cease to disgrace you
He narrated;
”Will never forget when this babe on this app was always texting me that she wanted to take me out. I finally agreed. When we got to the location (that she picked), She was ordering expensive stuff and in my mind I was like “This babe get money o” I just ordered drinks because I wasn’t really hungry. When it was time to pay, she started looking at me. Long story short, I was the one that paid all the bills. Igbo women will disgrace you 🤦🏿♂️”
See reactions on his post;
@renychime; My take on this:
1. if you tell someone you want TAKE him/her out…you pick the bill,
2.If someone says he/she wants to take you out, the person picks the bill
3. If you both decide to hangout, any of you can decide to pick the bill or you go dutch( split the bill)
@fran6ixIV; You’re the one that disgraced yourself by even agreeing to pay for what she ordered.
Better go apply for Shola summer lesson now before form go finish
@Red_Ivvy wrote; Why is the fact that someone asked to take him out and he ended up paying not being discussed here? Ok he erred in generalizing “Igbo women” but she was wrong when she opted out in paying for the bills. That was totally wrong. Na you say let me take you out
Moscow’s tightly-controlled state TV has issued a chilling nuclear threat to the West should NATO wade into the bout by sending peacekeepers into Ukraine, saying World War III may just be lurking around the corner.Barring any resolution of the alliance leaders at the G-7 summit afoot in Brussels, the Kremlin issues stern warning against deploying any troops into Ukraine on the pretext of maintaining peace.
These frightening pitfalls unfold four weeks into Russia’s invasion, as Putin’s forces continue to bombard countless Ukrainian cities with air raids, whilst Kyiv’s resistance holds fast.A TV presenter Vyacheslav Nikonov claimed that Russian truck drivers stuck on the border had spotted “an accumulation of American and Polish troops”.
“As for me, Poland strives not just to fulfil a peacekeeping mission, but to stake out the territories which they consider belonging to them historically,” Russian television host and political commentator, Olga Vladimirovna Skabeyeva noted.“They should understand that this will represent a direct clash between the armed forces of Russia and NATO, and how this collision will end is probably not worth explaining… this is called World War Three,” she added.Despite threats of ratcheting up the warfare, Russia’s invasion continues to stall and stutter in the face of logistical and morale issues and huge Ukrainian resistance, albeit early reports suggested that the Kremlin intended to take Ukraine in a ‘lightning invasion’ lasting days._
Tactical Nuclear Weapons –
Russia’s threats were echoed on other Kremlin-controlled shows. On Channel 1, Colonel Yury Knutov repeated the same claims.He said, “If there are any sane people left in NATO, they will not approve [a peacekeeping] operation [in Ukraine]. Why? Because [a collective] NATO decision will mean a de facto declaration of war on Russia… this would be a casus belli – meaning war between Russia and NATO. To win this war, whether we like it or not, we will have to use tactical nuclear weapons in the theatre of operations”.
”This will then entail the use of powerful strategic nuclear weapons… which means universal nuclear war,” he inferred.Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would only use nuclear weapons in the event of an “existential threat”, but also warned deploying Western peacekeepers to Ukraine would be “very rash and extremely dangerous”.He said, “A special military operation is underway, and any possible contact between our military personnel and NATO military personnel could lead to quite understandable consequences that would be difficult to put right.”– Poland’s Dilemma –Russia’s state TV mouthpiece also warned the same outcome would come about if Poland acted independently, and not under the NATO umbrella.
Throughout its unsuccessful invasion of Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly made threats towards the West about intervention.On top of the invasion not going as planned, Western media reports suggest that Russia had been begging China for military equipment and financial support to help it get around sanctions since it all began on February 24.China, along with India, is one of the few powers yet to denounce Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine.
The butcher of Chechnya, veteran Colonel-General of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Shamanov, told Channel 1 that Putin should secure Ukraine’s Western border with Poland.The MP and recipient of Russia’s highest honour, the Hero of Russia, said, “The time has come for our leaders to say very clearly – these are the borders and don’t you Poles dare to poke in here even 10 metres. You’ll be hit immediately with the whole might of our Kalibr [cruise missiles] and with all the might of artillery and aviation”.This is not a nuclear weapon, but an ordinary one. And then the praised Polish army will run – knees up high – right back to Warsaw,” Shamanov quipped, assuring that the Poles would be defeated “in full” if it sought to interfere with Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
Poland on Wednesday had expelled 45 Russian “spies” posing as diplomats but NTV channel owned by Gazprom-Media said this was part of concerted action against Moscow, which it wanted out of the G-20.“Warsaw is sending out Russian diplomats, and is calling for Russia’s replacement in G-20, as well as to bringing peacekeepers into Ukraine,” said the channel, whilst, in addition, ”increasing its army twofold, strengthening its border grouping. Perhaps Poland wants to get back territories it lost some time ago?”– Cracks in the Kremlin –However, as Russian state TV makes bold threats, there are reports of possible cracks between Putin and his top generals, as there may be no love lost within the Kremlin circles harbingering a possible putsch with extreme political volatility.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has not been seen for 13 days amid claims he has ‘heart problems’ just as reports suggest Putin held him responsible for the invasion’s failure so far.Alongside this, Anatoly Chubais, the man who gave Putin his first job in the Kremlin, resigned and fled Russia in dramatic fashion, reportedly with the intention of never returning, over his opposition to the war.– WW III: Fears as the US €150m “Doomsday Plane” spotted flying over Europe –The US “Doomsday Plane” has been spotted flying over Europe, as tensions continue to rise with Russia.The Boeing 747 E4-B aka Nightwatch aircraft can remain in the air for days, and even withstand the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast.
Washington has maintained a fleet of these super-luxurious £150m planes since the Cold War, with the intent of using them as mobile bases if a war did turn nuclear.The plane, officially known as the ‘Flying Pentagon’ to house senior military personnel and the defence secretary, was spotted taking off from the US on Wednesday night asides from the convoy shuttling the president over to Europe.Recall at the height of the Cold War, when nuclear exchanges seemed like a plausible scenario, both the US and the Soviet Union commissioned Doomsday planes, designed to function as flying war rooms, from which the superpowers’ leaders could issue commands in the escalating event of a nuclear war.
Theoretically, the plane is capable of surviving a nuclear attack as well as the stygian effects of electromagnetic pulse, whilst keeping the leaders in touch with other world leaders through satellite communication.”The E-4B is protected against the effects of electromagnetic pulse and has an electrical system designed to support advanced electronics and a wide variety of communications equipment,” the US Air Force writes on their website, described as ”an advanced satellite communications system provides worldwide communication for senior leaders through the airborne operations centre.
<Other improvements include nuclear and thermal effects shielding, acoustic control, an improved technical control facility and an upgraded air-conditioning system for cooling electrical components.”According to IFLScience, the Doomsday planes are capable of being refuelled in the air, only needing to descend to lubricate the engine about once a week.Mirror
Chinese authorities searching the site where a China Eastern jet crashed, killing all 132 people on board, have found the aircraft’s black box.
Liu Lusong, a spokesman for China’s aviation authority told reporters the flight recorder ‘from China Eastern MU5735 was found on March 23’.
The discovery comes after the head of aviation safety revealed pilots of the doomed flight did not respond to multiple calls from air-traffic controllers as the plane entered a fatal dive into a mountainside.
The Chinese Boeing 737-800 was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew from Kunming in Yunnan province to Guangzhou when it crashed on Monday afternoon March 21, outside the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region.
All 132 people onboard are presumed dead after rescue workers speculated that the fire resulting from the crash had ‘totally incinerated’ the passengers and their belongings, before causing damage to the surrounding forest.
An air-traffic controller tried to contact the pilots several times after seeing the plane’s altitude drop sharply but got no reply, Zhu Tao, director of the Office of Aviation Safety at the Civil Aviation Authority of China, said at a news conference on Tuesday evening.
‘As of now, the rescue has yet to find survivors,’ Mr. Zhu said. ‘The public security department has taken control of the site.’
The plane went into an unexplained dive an hour after departure, suddenly plummeting 30,000ft in two minutes before slamming into the ground at 350mph.
Investigators, who say it is too early to speculate on the cause of the crash, said the plane stopped transmitting data 96 seconds into the fall.
The investigation, which Zhu said would be ‘very difficult’, was temporarily suspended on Wednesday after rain soaked the debris field and filled the red-dirt gash formed by the plane’s fiery impact.
Zhu said the investigative team would make ‘all-out efforts’ to collect evidence and that they were focusing on searching for the aircraft’s flight recorder box.
‘We will take into consideration all factors in analysing the cause of the accident,’ he added.
Local media identified the captain of the aircraft as being Yang Hongda, the son of a former airline pilot, who aviation professionals said had an ‘excellent’ safety record.
The first officer was named as Zhang Zhengping, a 58-year-old with 40 years experience and more than 30,000 hours of safe flying, reported the Times.
Birth control pills will not be exclusive to women anymore. According to multiple studies, the first male contraceptive pill (birth control) showed significant results at lab trials.
Now, the evidence shows that human trials will begin soon, starting at the end of 2022.
The contraceptive created by researchers at the University of Minnesota shows a 99% effectiveness at preventing pregnancy in mice with no apparent side effects.
The pill targets interactions with vitamin A, a crucial component of fertility. Researchers noted mice who took the compound for four weeks showed a significant drop in semen.
The treatment rendered the mice sterile. However, the mice returned to normal levels after they suspended the treatment.
The virility recovery process took from four to six weeks.
Ph.D. candidate Md Abdullah Al Noman at the University of Minnesota leads a project that could change the contraceptive market forever.
Abdullah Al Noman focuses on male contraception for several years. However, he’s not the only advocate seeking efforts into creating a new birth control method.
In 2018, a pair of researchers found a way to halt the movement of sperm by using an extract from a plant that African warriors and hunters once used as a heart-stopping poison.
The study develops a male contraceptive gel, which is rubbed on the shoulder daily. The gel is still in clinical trials.
However, there’s a similar idea around the birth control market for women. In 2020, there was an approval of gel-based birth control for women.
The Ukrainian army has stated that Russia is now getting former soldiers to join its war effort and make up for heavy losses it has suffered in its Ukraine invasion.
Military officials have been actively recruiting former servicemen particularly “those who already have combat experience”, the Ukrainian military said in an operational update posted Wednesday morning, March 23 on Facebook.
The Ukraine military also claimed that Russian forces “in particular directions were demoralised”, while Ukraine continues to hold the line in various parts of the country, including the eastern and southern regions. It added that it was conducting a “circular defence” in Mariupol – a strategic port city where over 100,000 residents are said to be trapped without access to food and medicines.
According to US, UK and NATO intelligence agencies, Russian advance in Ukraine is continuing to stall, with troops digging in and reinforcing defensive positions with reports by Reuters saying Russian forces have not staged any large assaults this week.
The Ukrainian army also said there were active efforts by Russia to increase Russian and Belarussian military equipment along the Ukrainian border.
Belarus has supported Russia since the war started but it’s not yet clear if they have deployed troops against Ukraine .
The morning update also added that Ukraine was verifying reports that opponents of the war in Belarus, have partially removed the railway connection between their country and Ukraine.
The Senator representing Anambra North at the Senate, Stella Oduah yesterday stood as surety for the embattled former governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano after he allegedly embarked on a hunger strike.
Stella Oduah stepped in as a surety because of the stringent bail conditions that was given to the Aguleri born politician by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Willie Obiano and close allies after his release from EFCC custody
Though, as part of his bail conditions, the travel documents of the former governor was seized by the anti-graft agency pending when he will be arraigned officially.
Recall that Obiano was arrested on Thursday last week by EFCC at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, hours after he handed over power to professor Chuwkuma Soludo.
He was reportedly fleeing to Houston Texas in the United States of America when he was nabbed by EFCC.
He was subsequently transferred to the headquarters of the commission, where he was grilled for days over alleged misappropriation of 42 billion naira.
Mr. Magnus Iganda, a commander of Ebubeagu security outfit has been reportedly killed in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
This was confirmed in a statement released on Thursday March 24, by Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ezza North Local Government Area, Mr. Emeka Nwonu, who is also a resident of the area.
Nwonu described the killing as shocking and barbaric, and also called on security agencies in the State to fish out his killers.
He said;
”The All Progressives Congress, APC Ezza North Local Government Area has received with shock, the sad news of the gruesome murder of the Commander of Ebubeagu Security Outfit, Ezza North Local Government Area, Mr Magnus Iganga, by yet-to-be identified gunmen in the early hours of today.
“The news about his killing is shocking, and we wonder why some individuals take delight in the termination of lives of fellow humans instead of being the keepers of those fellows as instructed by the scriptures to be our brothers’ keepers.”
Dmitry Polyanskiy, the Russian deputy ambassador to the UN has stated that Moscow has the right to use nuclear weapons if it is ‘provoked’ by NATO.
The top Russian diplomat made the chilling warning after Vladimir Putin’s spokesman refused to rule out nuking Ukraine in the face of an ‘existential threat’.
Asked if Putin was right to hold the prospect of nuclear war over the rest of the world, Mr Polyanskiy told Sky News:
‘If Russia is provoked by Nato, if Russia is attacked by Nato, why not, we are a nuclear power.
‘I don’t think it’s the right thing to be saying. But it’s not the right thing to threaten Russia, and to try to interfere.
‘So when you’re dealing with a nuclear power, of course, you have to calculate all the possible outcomes of your behaviour.’
Polyanskiy spoke from inside Russia’s mission to the UN in New York, where pictures of President Putin adorn the walls.
He dismissed the formal declaration by the US government that members of the Russian armed forces are guilty of war crimes in Ukraine.
Between sips of lemon tea he suggested footage showing Ukraine’s cities reduced to rubble due to Russian bombing could be fake. He also claimed that Ukraine is attacking its own buildings and civilians.
Two private Caribbean islands owned by the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein have been put up for sale and could fetch as much as $125m.
The two islands named Little St James and Great St James have been listed for sale according to a lawyer for Epstein’s estate.
Epstein died in jail in 2019, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The businessman bought the 90-acre Little St James – the more developed of the two – nearly 25 years ago for almost $8m (£6m).
He then acquired the Great St James property in 2016 for $22.5m and had drawn up plans to develop the 161-acre island by building homes, an amphitheatre, as well as an underwater office and pool.
But his estate’s lawyer, Daniel Weiner has now said some proceeds from the sale will used to settle outstanding lawsuits.
Epstein reportedly welcomed a number of high profile guests to Little St James over the years.
One of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre, claimed in a civil suit that Prince Andrew had abused her on the island. Prince Andrew denied the claims and said he had no recollection of meeting Ms Giuffre.
The prince recently paid a settlement to Ms Giuffre to end a civil case in the US.
Epstein was accused by US Virgin Islands attorney general Denise George of sexually abusing girls as young as 12 years-old on Little St James.
The lawsuit, filed two years ago, also claimed that one 15 year-old girl attempted to escape the island by swimming away before being captured and having her passport confiscated.
Weiner said the sale is taking place with the support of Attorney General George and that the proceeds “will be used by the estate for the resolution of outstanding lawsuits and the regular costs of the estate’s operations”.
Greece is keeping the system offline, after reporting a Cyber attack on its Postal Service on Sunday.
A service disruption was announced on Monday – while claiming isolating its data center has helped mitigate impact.
The attack reportedly targeted a single workstation, exploiting an unpatched vulnerability, and looking to encrypt systems critical to business operations.
No ransom has been requested so far – but it’s suspected that personal data may have been breached. Bill payments and financial transaction orders are currently unavailable.
As many as 15,000 Russian troops have been killed since the invasion of Ukraine began four weeks ago, according to NATO’s first estimate since the war began.
According to USAToday, Russia has suffered 30,000 to 40,000 battlefield casualties, including 7,000 to 15,000 killed, a senior NATO military officer said in a briefing Wednesday from the alliance’s military headquarters in Belgium.
The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by NATO, said the estimated deaths are based on information from the Ukrainian government, indications from Russia and open-source information.
The officer said the number of casualties came from a calculation of three wounded soldiers for every soldier killed. Casualties include killed, wounded or missing in action as well as those taken prisoner.
Earlier this week a senior Pentagon official estimated the Russian military had lost more than 10% of the combat force.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military, staggered in the early days of the war by the brutal fury of Russia’s invasion, has gained footing and begun the arduous task of taking back territory overrun by Russia’s initial onslaught.
A senior Pentagon official this week described Ukrainian resistance as quick and nimble, and, for the first time, seeking to retake lost ground.
Russian forces remain largely stalled around the capital of Kyiv, said the official who described intelligence assessments to reporters on condition of anonymity.
The Ukraine Defense Ministry claims its forces have driven occupying Russian troops out of Makariv – a small Kyiv suburb but crucial because it provides control of a highway to the west.
The effort also blocked Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest and provided the Ukrainian military with a much-needed success story.
An assessment released Wednesday by the British Defense Ministry described the battlefield across northern Ukraine as “largely static.” Russian forces are likely reorganizing before resuming large-scale offensive operations, the ministry said in a tweet Wednesday.
President Joe Biden embarks Wednesday on a multi-day trip to Europe starting Wednesday to meet with allies about the ongoing response to Russia’s invasion, including military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said Biden is working on long-term efforts to boost defenses in Eastern Europe and reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian energy.
NATO leaders to call out China for not condemning Russia’s invasionNATO leaders will pressure China to condemn Russia’s invasion and not provide military support to its ally, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
“I expect leaders will call on China to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the U.N. Security Council,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference previewing Thursday’s emergency NATO meeting on Ukraine in Brussels.
Stoltenberg said Beijing has joined Moscow in questioning the right of independent nations to choose their own path.
And he charged China with providing political support to Russia by “spreading blatant lies and disinformation” about the war.
“China has not been able to condemn the invasion,” he said.
Stoltenberg said China should do so now and “engage in diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful way to end this war as soon as possible.”
Three blood pressure medications manufactured by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer have been recalled after a potential cancer-causing chemical compound was discovered in them.
Several “tainted” lots of Accuretic and two authorized generic versions of the drug were found to have elevated levels of nitrosamine above the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) set by US regulators.
While everyone is exposed to some level of nitrosamines, these “impurities may increase the risk of cancer if people are exposed to them above acceptable levels over long periods of time,” Pfizer said in a statement.
Wayne Rooney and Patrick Vieira have become the latest players to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
Rooney is the Premier League’s all-time second top scorer, with 208 goals for Manchester United – with whom he won five league titles – and Everton.
Vieira won three Premier League titles during 11 seasons with Arsenal and captained the ‘Invincibles’ team to the title in 2003/04, when they did not lose a match.
Rooney and Vieira are the ninth and 10th players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Dennis Bergkamp, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham.
Rooney started making a name for himself at the age of 16 for Everton when he scored a spectacular winner against Arsenal at Goodison Park – his first Premier League goal. He then joined Manchester United for nearly £30m in August 2004 and would go on to become an Old Trafford legend.
In 13 years at United, Rooney became the club’s record scorer in the competition with 183 goals, won the league five times – including three in a row between 2006/07 and 2008/09 – and was named the league’s Player of the Season in 2009/10.
He also twice won the Premier League Goal of the Season award at United, for his long-range volley against Newcastle United in 2004/05 and his bicycle kick against title rivals Manchester City in 2010/11.
The 36-year-old, who currently manages Championship side Derby County, said: “It’s a huge honour for me to be named in the Premier League Hall of Fame, alongside an incredible group of players who have already been inducted.
“Growing up, I watched the Premier League as far back as I can remember. My dream was always to become a professional footballer, score goals, and win trophies, and I was lucky enough to win the Premier League five times.
“I have so many brilliant memories from my years playing for Everton and Manchester United, and I’m really proud of what we achieved. To enter the Hall of Fame is very special for me personally and I’m grateful to be recognised.”
Vieira joined Arsenal from AC Milan in 1996 and helped the Gunners to win the Premier League for the first time in 1997/98 in his second season at the club.
The midfielder was named Premier League Player of the Season in 2000/01 and then won the 2001/02 and 2003/04 titles alongside team-mates Henry and Bergkamp, who have also been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Frenchman scored 31 goals and provided 34 assists during 307 Premier League appearances for Arsenal and Manchester City, where he spent one season before retiring in 2011.
The 45-year-old, who currently manages Crystal Palace, said: “Being inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame is a fantastic achievement. When I received the news, I thought about being a young boy playing in Senegal, or in a suburb of Paris.
“To be there with the best players in the Premier League, the best league in the world, is bigger than what I was ever thinking about. To have my name around those players makes me proud and makes me realise how good I was.
“It’s not bad company to join. I was lucky to play at the same time as some of them, of course including Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. So to share the stage with them makes me realise I had a really good career.
“What really makes me happy and proud is when your name is mentioned by new, up-and-coming holding midfielders as an example of how they would like to play.”
President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin are reportedly sending execution squads after their own army with orders to kill Russians who try to flee.
Ukraine security services claim that prisoners of war have told them of the horrific plans that has reportedly seen Russian guns aimed at their own.
The ‘execution squads’ are a revival of Stalin’s World War Two tactics and are another sign of dire morale among Moscow’s troops, The Mail Online reports.
There have also been reports of Chechen units being sent in to try and stop Russian deserters.
Since the Russian invasion began on February 24, Kyiv has released videos of Russian captives who were saying on camera how they chose to quit rather than keep fighting.
Ukraine has sought to take advantage of poor Russian morale throughout the invasion and is waging a propaganda war of its own to promote success stories.
They have bombarded Russian phone numbers with texts instructing them how to surrender, and reportedly a few days ago a tank commander replied positively.
Victor Andrusiv, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs, said: “He didn’t see the point of war”.
A meet up was agreed and the tank commander was taken away after all the other troops in the tank had already fled back to Russia.
Mr. Andrusiv added: “He could not return home because his commander told him he would shoot him dead and say he died in battle.
“Misha told us that he had barely any food left, the command structure was chaotic and almost absent, morale is very low.”
Mr. Andrusiv made the claims yesterday on social media, as a part of the ongoing communications war between the two sides.
He said the defector would be given $10,000, a TV, phone, kitchen, and shower to spend the rest of the war with.
This follows growing claims that Russia’s forces are being hamstrung by desertions, with many of its troops’ conscripts.
Denys Monastyrsky, the minister for internal affairs, said: “We are seeing cases of surrender when Russian troops voluntarily contact our military and declare that they want to surrender, that they do not take part in active hostilities.”
He claimed that many realised they were being used as “cannon fodder” by their commanders.
The Centre for Defence Strategies, a leading Ukraine think-tank echoed this, saying: ”Russian forces are aware of the hopelessness of their situation and increasingly choosing desertion to avoid death”.
Ukraine also claimed that two days ago they saw a sharp rise in defections in the southern Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence ’s intelligence agency said: “Having seen the real strength of the Ukrainian defenders, the occupiers are no longer interested in easy money and the possibility of looting, which they were promised before the invasion.”
Other reports of intercepted messages from demoralised Russian soldiers have revealed them talking about officers who shot themselves in the leg to get home.
A petition demanding that Switzerland expels Vladimir Putin’s rumoured mistress out of their country has hit more than 63,000 signatures.
Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 38, is believed to have been sent to a private chalet in Switzerland earlier this month as Putin continues his war in Ukraine.
According to Mail Online, Kabaeva is widely believed to be the Russian strongman’s mistress and mother to four of Putin’s children whom he has never officially recognised.
A petition, launched by citizens in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine two weeks ago, has called for Swiss authorities to kick Kabaeva out of Switzerland and deport her back to Russia.
The appeal, which describes Kabaeva as the ‘favourite wife of the delusional dictator and war criminal Putin’, has since reached over 63,000 signatures.
‘It’s time you reunite Eva Braun with her Führer,’ the strongly-worded petition said.
‘Despite the current war, Switzerland continues to host an accomplice of Putin’s regime.’
The West has so far not sanctioned Kabaeva, who as well as being Putin’s rumored secret partner is also chairman of the board of directors at National Media Group – a major Kremlin-obedient TV and newspaper behemoth – with a salary of almost £8 million a year, Mail Online reports.
‘We, the citizens of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, which is currently undergoing immense suffering, are uniting to appeal to the Swiss authorities,’ stated the petition, which was posted on change.org in in German, French, and English.
‘The public has just learned that the Russian political and media figure, and former athlete, Alina Kabaeva, is hiding the consequences of the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation in your country.’
The petition continued: ‘She is the favorite wife of delusional dictator and war criminal who has been treacherously attacking Ukraine over the past weeks.’
The petitioners questioned why, ‘given the volume of sanctions placed on Russia’, Swiss authorities continue to host her and her family at a time when Putin ‘is destroying the lives of millions’.
The petition tells the Swiss: ‘For the first time in modern history, your country has violated its neutrality, which it did not even do vis-à-vis Nazi Germany in the 20th century, and joined the sanctions against Putin and his surroundings.
‘And now you are allowing his favourite mistress and her children to hide within the borders of your state.’
There is as yet no independently verified evidence that Kabaeva, a former pro-Putin MP, is hiding in Switzerland, where she is thought to have given birth to the Russian President’s children.
The petition calls for the Swiss authorities to ‘investigate very carefully the legal basis on which she is present in your country, and to check ‘the cleanliness of the funds used for the purchase of real estate in Switzerland, of which this person uses’.
Manchester United midfielder, Paul Pogba has taken a swipe at interim boss, Ralf Rangnick and the club saying he’s wasted the last five years at Manchester United.
Pogba re-signed for United in 2016 years after leaving the club to join Juventus as a teenager.
The Frenchman’s contract expires at the end of this season and talks to extend his deal at Old Trafford have not made any progress.
But in a new interview while away with his national team the Frenchamna has stated he has wasted five years of his career and that Manchester United’s season is dead even as the likes of PSG, Juventus and Real Madrid are all interested in signing him as a free agent.
Pogba won the Carabao Cup and Europa League in his first season with United under Jose Mourinho but has experienced trophy drought since then.
The midfielder who won the World Cup with France was a serial title winner at Juventus.
Pogba told Le Figaro: “You have to be honest, the last five seasons have not satisfied me – really not at all.
“This year it is dead, we won’t win anything. Whether it is with Manchester United or at another club, I want to win trophies.”
Speaking about his manager, Rangnick, Pogba said, “It’s simple with France, I play and I play in my position – I know my role and I feel the confidence of the coach and the players,’ he continued.
“It’s normal to feel a difference at Manchester United because it’s hard to be consistent when you often have a change to your position, or the team system, or your partners.
“I get along very well with [France boss Didier Deschamps], he gave me a role that I know, but at Manchester United, do I really have a role? I ask the question but I don’t have an answer.”
A shortage of dollars and a severe economic crisis has forced Sri Lanka to announce the closure of some of its foreign missions, as the country struggles to maintain enough currency to cover essential imports.
The govt has decided to close embassies in Iraq, Norway and the Consul General’s Office in Sydney, Australia, effective March 31. The number of diplomatic missions dropping to 60.
The cash-strapped nation is currently weighed down by a heavy multi-million-dollar debt to China, while suffering from extreme fuel and food shortages, as reports emerge of people starving to death or dying from exposure while queueing to get vital commodities.
As the economic sanctions slammed on Russia for launching a full scale military action against Ukraine keep biting hard on her economy, President Vladimir Putin has declared that European payments for gas supplies from the country will be switched to rubles as soon as possible.
He made the declaration during a video conference with some of the country’s partners.
Meanwhile, Russia has been in the eye of the storm since the invasion of Ukraine on the 24 of February 2022.
Hundreds of businesses across the globe have pulled out of the Russia, with many suspending or cancelling contracts with some of the indigenous companies.
Russian president, Vladimir Putin has lost another commander – the 15th of his top military leaders to be killed as the country’s invasion of Ukraine heads into its second month.
Colonel Alexei Sharov became the latest high-ranking Russian official to die in what has become the country’s biggest loss of military higher-ups since World War II. His death was announced by Ukrainian armed forces on social media Tuesday.
The commander of the 810th Guards Separate Order of Zhukov Brigade in the Russian Marines, Sharov was reportedly killed in Mariupol, a city in which over 100,000 people have been trapped amid a siege by the invading Russians.
At least 902 civilians have been killed and 1,459 wounded in Ukraine as of midnight on March 19, the UN human rights office said.
Ten million people have been displaced, including nearly 3.4 million who have fled the country, the U.N. refugee agency said.
Russian media had reported that they’ve lost almost 10,000 troops of their own since the invasion began but the tabloid paper Komsomolskaya Pravda has since said they were hacked and this was not the case.
Russia has not officially updated its casualty figures since stating on March 2 that 498 servicemen had been killed and 1,597 wounded.
Sharov’s death comes after the death of Colonel Nikolay Ovcharenko, Commander of the 45th Engineering Regiment.
Sharov is the fifth colonel to die and marks 15 of Russia’s military commanders to have died in the invasion, according to The Sun. Foreign Policy reported that Moscow has suffered its highest casualty rate among top brass since the WWII.
The news comes as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said some 100,000 are still in the besieged city of Mariupol, trapped ‘in inhumane conditions’ while low on supplies and under constant attack.
The Russian military has lost more than 10% of the combat force that President Vladimir Putin sent to invade Ukraine, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday.
The Russian combat force has dipped slightly below 90% for the first time in the war that began less than a month ago, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe intelligence assessments.
Not all of the more than 150,000 Russian troops in Ukraine are combat troops.
Russian forces remain largely stalled across Ukraine, particularly around the capital of Kyiv, where their closest forces remain about 10 miles from the city’s center.
The official described Ukrainian resistance as quick and nimble – and for the first time in the war seeking to retake ground from the Russians.
In the besieged city of Mariupol, the port city in southern Ukraine, Russian ships have been shelling the city from the sea for the first time, the official said.
The shelling of the city appears to be a sign that Russia continues to struggle on the ground against Ukrainian forces.
Russian commanders instead are relying on long-range bombardment to take the cities, a tactic that often results in civilian casualties.
Russia continues to have problems supplying its troops in Ukraine with food, fuel and weaponry, the official said.
Some soldiers have suffered frostbite because they don’t have proper cold-weather gear. There are signs that they are having trouble keeping ships fueled at sea, the official said.
Kremlin quiet on rising casualty count
Estimates of Russian military casualties vary, but even conservative figures by Western officials are in the low thousands. Ukraine has estimated Russian losses at more than 15,000.
Russia has not given an update since it said March 2 that 498 soldiers had been killed in action.
Russia’s pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, citing the Defense Ministry, briefly reported Monday online that almost 10,000 Russian soldiers had been killed.
The report was quickly removed, and the newspaper blamed hackers. The Kremlin declined comment Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army said it forced Russian troops out of Makariv, a strategically important Kyiv suburb, after a fierce battle.
The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway to the west and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.
But Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces battling toward Kyiv were able to partially take other northwest suburbs – Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin – some of which had been under attack almost since Russia’s military invaded late last month.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will marry his long-term partner Stella Moris inside a high-security prison in southeast London on Wednesday March 23, at a small ceremony to be attended by four guests, two official witnesses, and two security guards.
Assange is wanted by U.S. authorities to face trial on 18 counts relating to WikiLeaks’ release of vast troves of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing
The 50-year-old has been held at Belmarsh prison since 2019 and before that was holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for seven years.
While living at the embassy he fathered two children with Moris, a lawyer more than a decade his junior, who he met in 2011 when she started work on his legal team. Their relationship began in 2015.
The registrar-led ceremony will take place during visiting hours at the prison, where some of Britain’s most notorious criminals have served sentences.
Moris’s wedding dress and Assange’s kilt have been created by British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who has previously campaigned against his extradition.
Assange was denied permission this month to appeal at Britain’s Supreme Court against a decision to extradite him to the United States. He could still challenge any decision from the government to approve his extradition.
Mrs Tammy Onyeke, the American wife of popular Nigerian stand-up comedian Patrick Onyeke aka Mr Patrick has revealed that their marriage is in crisis.
Speaking in an interview with YouTuber, Obodo Oyinbo TV, after her husband claimed in an interview with Daddy Freeze that “wicked” Nigerians in the diaspora and fake friends are seeking to destroy his marriage, get him deported and instigating his marital crisis, Tammy accused her estranged husband of lying and infidelity.
She recounted how her husband’s attitude changed after they applied for his green card. Tammy alleged that her husband of 6 years abandoned her since June 2021 and also pretended to love her so he could secure a Green Card.
The lady said;
“I don’t know what is going on with my husband. He came out with that video to make those statements. That is not my husband, and he doesn’t do social media tantrums. So when I saw the video, I texted my husband, “Is he okay?” because that’s not like him. So since June, all these things have been happening to bring things to you. My husband has been gone since June. He moved out of the house, and I have only seen him twice. The six-year-old marriage is on the verge of a divorce due to lies and Infidelity”.
Tammy also recounted the sacrifices she made including coming to Nigeria to learn how to make Nigerian dishes after they got married.
She added;
”I have been married to my husband for the past six years. When we first got married, I moved to Nigeria to learn the culture of how to cook. After that, I thought of settling in Nigeria because I am an accountant.
“When I was in Nigeria for one year, we had light for only 45 days, there was also fuel scarcity, and then the generator was giving me a headache. I had a condition called Lupus, that’s why I am fat, many people made fun of me, some said Mr Patrick married that fat cow”
Tammy who is an accountant revealed that issues in their marriage began after she saw a text message from one of Mr Patrick’s suspected lovers, a Nigerian actress, whom her’ husband claimed was a ‘business partner’.
She said;
”Our first misunderstanding began after a Nigerian actress messaged my husband at 2 a.m. I thought it was an emergency. Maybe his dad and I saw a message saying, “baby, I am sorry I slept off.” So I said, who is this calling my husband.
“So I went to the actress’ page, I clicked on her story, there was a video. I saw my husband and the actress talking to someone, and then I asked the actress via her Instagram story, “Why are you calling my husband baby” do you know that that actress deleted that story?.
“I went to my husband, and I woke him and questioned him. He said it’s not my business; he said it’s someone she was his business partner. I got all kinds of stories.
“I noticed the difference when we applied for Patrick’s Green Card. He started acting funny. He wasn’t kissing me, wasn’t touching me, for a whole year, he was acting funny, and I said I can’t take this anymore.”
Tammy also narrated how her husband never bulged after she went down on her knees to beg him.
She said;
“As an American woman, I went to him, I got on my knees and asked him, ‘my husband, if I have offended you, please let’s talk about it. He kept quiet and stayed on his phone. For 15 minutes, I was on my knees begging. He finally said you hadn’t done anything to me; I am provoked from work. You know I am working. I snatched his phone. It can be the worst, and I haven’t seen my husband since then.”
The lady who disclosed that she became worried after Mr Patrick left the house, said she went to his office only to discover that he had changed his account number and was financing his alleged fancy trips with a new lady.
Tammy said;
“When he was gone, for two days I kept calling to know his location, but on the fifth day I was curious to know what was going on with my husband, so I went to his office. I found out that he has opened a new bank account. So I got the bank account details, put it up online, and saw that they bought two plane tickets.
”Patrick has been going back and forth to Maryland land for two months. Usually, he would spend the weekend, but he started staying weeks in Maryland. So I saw one ticket for a girl and the other for himself. So I called him, and he said that the girl was his business partner.”
She also claimed that the lady from the office was a 27-year-old girl who later swindled the 42-year-old comedian of his money, one that caused him a significant setback.
According to Tammy, Mr Patrick had an established and booming fish business but kept hanging around the wrong people who ruined the business. She revealed that people around her reported the comedian to the U.S. CIA that he scammed her, which propelled the agency to launch an investigation against him.
Tammy further disclosed that she employed the services of a private detective, who was also investigating Mr Patrick and his escapades.
She said;
“The US CIA came knocking on my door, so it wasn’t me that reported him first. But, yes, he’s right that I have had people tell me about him. He was right about that…
“I had my private detective investigate him, and we discovered he was living with a girl who wraps fish for him, one he claims was a business partner, and all these while my husband, my husband, was at her address.
“On my birthday, May 30, he said he couldn’t celebrate my birthday with me because his dad was dead, but he was spotted in the club in the VIP section, clubbing with women around on my birthday. These things hurt.
“But when it was the birthday of his ‘business partner’ whom he lived with, her birthday was July 13, he was on a date with her and her friend, celebrating the girl’s birthday. This girl called me that Patrick said you couldn’t give him babies, insulting me. I heard several things people told me that Patrick had said he was ashamed of my weight when I came to Nigeria”
More than 2,000 Ukrainian children have allegedly been “kidnapped and deported to Russia ”, an act that has been called a “gross violation” of international law.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared the damning update in a Facebook post, which accused the “aggressor state” of Russia of kidnapping children.
The post read: “According to the information received, on March 19, Russian occupation forces illegally took 2389 children to the territory of the Russian Federation, who were in the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
“Forced relocation of civilian population to the territory of the aggressor state, in particular children, has signs of kidnapping.
“Such actions are a gross violation of international law, in particular international humanitarian law.”
The MFA carried on to say that by “destroying homes and killing parents”, Russia deprives Ukrainian children of parental care and puts their lives in further danger.
An urgent response from the international community is needed, the statement said, to stop the barbaric war against the Ukrainian people.
It continued: “The facts of kidnapping children, as well as hundreds of other facts of crimes by Russian occupiers against civilians in Ukraine, are carefully documented by law enforcement.
“The culprits of these crimes will be brought to justice.”
The abduction or illegal removal of children during a period of conflict is one of the six “grave violations” named and condemned by the UN Security Council.
These six violations make up the basis of the Council’s framework to monitor, report and respond to abuses suffered by children in times of war.
This comes days after Kremlin was accused of war crimes against children for bombing a Ukrainian theatre in Mariupol, which was housing a number of youngsters.
… Begs Uzodinma, Soludo to expedite the release of Nnamdi Kanu.
Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), has urged Sen. Hope Uzodinma and Prof. Charles Soludo to expedite the release of Ipob leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The National President of the Council and Spokesman of Indigenous Ethnic Youth Leaders of Nigeria, Comrd. Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, made this appeal yesterday, March, 22, 2022, in Owerri, the Capital of Imo State.
Igboayaka lamented that criminals have hijacked the peaceful activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in conjunction with the Eastern Security Network, ESN( founded to protect farmers in the farm) and have since then, been rampaging the entire Southeast region.
Recall that the indefatigable youth leader has overtime, raised alarm over the hike in insecurity in the region, and has condemned utterly, the recent attack of Prof George Obiozor’s residence at Awo, in Oru East Local Government of Imo State.
Comrade Igboayaka while condemning the burning of Prof. George Obiozor house by criminals, described the act as a sacrilegious act and humiliating to the whole Igbo race in the world.
OYC President regretted that some faceless beings had sworn to besmirch Kanu’s reputation, hence they have disguised as IPOB and ESN members with a view to indicting Kanu thus impeding the attempts towards his release.
“Amb. George Obiozor symbolizes the new father of Igbo race, burning his house has a deep significance. These gangsters have hit the academic and intellectual treasure of Ndigbo, by raising down Prof George Obiozor library that’s quite very symbolic to Igbo political history”
“Our investigations have proven that hoodlums have taken over Alaigbo pretending to be IPOB or ESN, all in conspiracy attempt to indict Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to scuttle his release, and the political solution being championed by Prof. George Obiozor the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.
“At this hour, over 50 million Progressive Igbo youths are passionately appealing to Gov. Hope Uzodinma and Gov. Charles Soludo to hasten up their efforts on the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to enable the security agents know the direction of security bridge in Southeast.”
Furthermore, Igboayaka called on President Mohammadu Buhari to demonstrate fatherhood thereby adhering to the political solution as initiated by Prof. George Obiozor, adding, “to settle the legal battle between the Ipob leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and federal government”, Igboayaka stated.
Continuing, he said, “Ndigbo must raise now to understand that armed criminal gangsters has taken over Alaigbo. Our traditional rulers, president of Town Unions and religious leaders all over Alaigbo ought to know that there’s a big challenge in Igbo land and they must collaborate with government to stop those behind this criminal act since over eight (8)months in Southeast”, Igboayaka pleaded.
It’s very painful to all Igbo Youths, we appeal to Prof. George Obiozor not to loose courage in his genuine engagement with Federal government of Nigeria on the release of Nnamdi Kanu, but to see this painful event, hence the awful burning of his library as a last price he paid to redeem Alaigbo, Igboayaka concluded.
President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned the Dangote Fertiliser Plant in Lagos state.
The president said the plant is an endorsement of his administration target of food sufficiency, adding that it will reduce dependence on imported fertilizers and create employment for Nigerians.
The governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the project will address youth employment and boost agriculture in the country.
Sanwo-Olu lauded former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for conceiving the idea of the Lekki Free Trade zone in 2003.
The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, while thanking the government for creating enabling environment, stressed that the plant will meet the fertilizer need of Nigeria and boost foreign exchange earnings through export.
He said the product is already being exported to the United States of Ameria and India.
The plant, which occupies 500 hectares of land in Lekki Free Trade Zone, is Africa’s largest Granulated Urea Fertiliser complex
The complex, which was built at a cost of $2.5 Billion, has the capacity to produce 3 million metric tonnes per annum of urea fertiliser in phase 1.
Gennadiy Druzenko, the owner of a war-zone mobile hospital in eastern Ukraine has disclosed that he instructed his doctors to ‘castrate’ captured Russian soldiers.
Discussing captured injured Russian soldiers on Ukraine-24, Druzenko said: ‘I have always been a great humanist and said that if a man is wounded, he is no longer an enemy but a patient.”
‘But now [I gave] very strict orders to castrate all [captured Russian] men, because they are cockroaches, not people.’
Since 2014, some 500 doctors – male and female – have worked with Druzenko’s mobile hospital, Mail Online reported
A lawyer by training, he set up the First Voluntary Mobile Hospital which deploys civilian doctors and nurses in the conflict zone close to the separatist republics in eastern Ukraine.
He also told famous Russian TV host Yevgeny Kiselyov on the Ukraine-24 channel: ‘Believe, all doctors who saved the patients – Russians will die here. Die in large numbers.
‘Those who [come here] will remember their nightmare on Ukrainian soil.
‘Like the Germans remember Stalingrad.’
The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case into the comments, which means that if Druzenko is captured he will face trial under Russian law.
The head of the committee Alexander Bastrykin, a former university classmate of Vladimir Putin, initiated a criminal case over his castration demand which is ‘contrary to the law and the norms of medical ethics.’
“The head of the Ukrainian Mobile Hospital project, Gennady Druzenko, called for violence against captured soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces live on a Ukrainian TV channel.” Bastrykin said
‘He gave this instruction to the doctors of mobile hospitals.’
Druzenko is set to be put on Russia’s international wanted list.
The glamorous wife of a prominent Ukrainian tycoon and politician was caught at a border with ‘ £22 million while crossing into the EU’, it is alleged.
The money – in US dollars and euros – was spotted by Hungarian customs in the baggage of the spouse of controversial ex-MP Igor Kotvitsky, 52, say reports.
The woman, Anastasia Kotvitska, had taken the cash through a refugee border crossing into the European Union while fleeing the war-torn country.
A criminal case has been opened into a failure by Anastasia Kotvitska to declare the removal of the large sum from the war-ravaged country, say reports in Kyiv.
Kotvitsky, once Ukraine’s wealthiest MP, said his wife was leaving the country to give birth, but denied reports she was carrying $28 million and 1.3 million euros.
‘All my money is in Ukrainian banks, I did not take anything out,’ he said, before closing his social media account.
Kotvitska, who reportedly travelled with two Hungarian men and her mother, is yet to comment on the allegation.
The allegation is that she did not declare the huge cash sum exiting Ukraine at the Vilok checkpoint, but the money was found by Hungarian customs officers, said Obozrevatel newspaper.
She then made a declaration that she had brought the sum into Hungary, an EU country.
Kovitsky reportedly controls via associates Nuclear Energy Systems of Ukraine, and uranium deposits in the country, which has been partially invaded by Russia. He also has close business and political links with ex-Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
Neymar has been revealed as the highest-paid footballer in France, beating Lionel Messi with a staggering £41m-a-year salary.
French publication L’Equipe have released estimates of monthly salaries across the country’s top tier.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side dominates the list with the top 14 spots occupied by PSG players, showing the gulf between his side and the rest of the league.
Brazil star Neymar, who joined PSG from Barcelona for £198million back in August 2017, is still the division’s top earner, earning around £3.4million a month before tax. This equates to a yearly gross salary of just under £41m a year.
The second on the list is his teammate, Lionel Messi, who joined the club in the summer following his emotional exit from Barcelona.
The 34-year-old world superstar, who was once the highest earner in world footballer, now makes around £34m-per-year at the French giants.
Kylian Mbappe, 23, who is in the final few months of his current contract, earns £22m-a-year.
Mbappe is expected to leave the club at the end of his contract, with Real Madrid the most likely team to sign him on a free.
See 30 of Ligue 1’s top earners (yearly salaries) below.
Romelu Lukaku has been crowned Serie A player of the season award for 2020-21 ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Belgium striker was instrumental in the Nerazzurri’s title success last term, as he scored 24 goals in 36 appearances for Antonio Conte’s championship-winning side.
He was not the league’s leading scorer, with Cristiano Ronaldo taking that honour with Juventus, however, his contribution to the title race saw him take the top spot.
‘Being ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo is something that doesn’t happen every day. To me, he is one of the best three players in football history. He also brought me to a different level because he does great things.
‘I am really happy to be included in the Serie A top XI for last season. I want to thank all those who voted for me and the team that helped me a lot, the coach and his staff. It was the team’s achievement and it’s an honour to be in the top XI.
‘It was my dream as a kid to play in Serie A and I did all I could to achieve it. I am satisfied to have done it.
‘It’s an honour to have been named best player of the season. It’s something that I could not achieve without the help of the team.
‘They helped me realise great things. We won together improving a lot. Everyone developed and the coach was always close to us. This award gives me a lot of confidence for the future.’
The trophy comes just months after Lukaku sat down with Sky Italia to give an interview in which he detailed his love for Inter fans, while also expressing a desire to return back to the club.
Lukaku has scored 12 times across 34 appearances and has been selected in Thomas Tuchel’s starting line-up on just 12 occasions in the Premier League this term.
China’s state broadcaster says no survivors have been found in the wreckage of a plane that crashed with 132 people on board.
The China Eastern plane which crashed in a forested and mountainous area on Monday was the country’s worst air disaster in a decade.
The Boeing 737-800 crashed near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region while flying from Kunming in the south-western province of Yunnan to the industrial centre of Guangzhou along the east coast. It ignited a fire big enough to be seen on Nasa satellite images.
China’s state broadcaster said on Tuesday morning – more than 18 hours after the crash: “Wreckage of the plane was found at the scene, but up until now, none of those aboard the plane with whom contact was lost have been found.”
Villagers were first to arrive at the forested area where the plane went down on Monday, sparking a blaze big enough to be seen on Nasa satellite images.
Hundreds of rescue workers were swiftly dispatched from Guangxi and neighbouring Guangdong province.
The plane was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, the CAAC said, correcting earlier reports that 133 people had been on board.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an “all-out effort” by the rescue operation, as well as for an investigation into the crash and to ensure complete civil aviation safety.
State media reported all 737-800s in China Eastern’s fleet were ordered grounded, while broadcaster CCTV said the airliner had set up nine teams to deal with aircraft disposal, accident investigation, family assistance and other pressing matters.
State media said local police first received calls from villagers alerting the crash at around 2.30pm (0630 GMT).
Guangxi provincial emergency management department said contact with the plane was lost at 2.15pm (0615 GMT).
Chicago-based Boeing said it was aware of the initial reports of the crash and was “working to gather more information”.
China Eastern, which has its headquarters in Shanghai, is one of China’s top three airlines, operating domestic and international routes serving 248 destinations.
Flight number 5735 had been travelling at around 30,000ft when suddenly, just after 0620 GMT, the plane entered a deep dive at its cruising altitude speed of 455 knots (523mph, 842kph), according to data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.com.
The data suggests the plane crashed within a minute-and-a-half of whatever went wrong.
The plane stopped transmitting data just south-west of the Chinese city of Wuzhou, a city of three million in eastern Guangxi.
The aircraft was delivered to the airline from Boeing in June 2015 and had been flying for more than six years.
China Eastern Airlines uses the Boeing 737-800 as one of the main workhorses of its fleet – of its more than 600 planes, 109 are Boeing 737-800s.
Boeing began delivering the 737-800 to customers in 1997 and delivered the last of the series to China Eastern in 2020.
It made more than 5,200 of the narrow-body aircraft, a popular, single-aisle commuter plane.
The twin-engine, single aisle Boeing 737 is one of the world’s most popular planes for short and medium-haul flights.
China Eastern operates multiple versions of the common aircraft, including the 737-800 and the 737 Max.
The deadliest crash involving a Boeing 737-800 came in January 2020, when Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard accidentally shot down a Ukraine International Airlines flight, killing all 176 people on board.
The 737 Max version was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes.
China’s aviation regulator cleared that plane to return to service late last year, making the country the last major market to do so.
China’s last fatal crash of a civilian airliner was in 2010.
The executive governor of Anambra State, Professor Chuwkuma Soludo, has revealed that his predecessor, Chief Willie Obiano left the paltry sum of 300 million naira in the state account when he left office last week.
The former CBN governor made the shocking revelation during an interview with Arise Television
He said, “In terms of debt I inherited, it runs into hundreds of billions of Naira. In that of cash, we met about 300 million Naira. In fact let’s not talk about it. Our treasury is funny. But I hope we shall make money henceforth to help us fulfill our promises for infrastructure and development of the state. But in terms of what I met in our coffers, my brother, it’s pathetic. Please let us not go there. God will help us”.
Chief Willie Obiano who is still under the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was arrested last week at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos when he was trying to flee to Houston Texas, United States few hours after handing over power to Prof Chuwkuma Soludo.
He is under investigation for alleged misappropriation of 42 billion naira.
Barcelona hammered bitter rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at the Bernabeu on Sunday night, March 20, their first El Clasico win since 2nd March 2019.
Prior to Sunday’s game, Madrid had won the last five meetings between them and Barca, but received a rude awakening as former Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice in his first ever El Clasico, putting misery into Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Aubameyang scored for Barca on 29 minutes, giving them the lead as he headed Ousmane Dembele’s cross from the right past goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois.
Then in the 38th minute Ronald Araujo put Barca 2-0 up with a powerful header from a Dembele corner.
Just two minutes into the second half, former Manchester city striker, Ferran Torres made it 3-0 with an emphatic finish after Aubameyang supplied a pass with a clever back heel.
Then on 51 minutes Aubameyang, put the scoreline beyond doubt with his second and Barca’s fourth goal after a lovely chipped effort with his left off Torres’ assist.
The goal was initially flagged for offside but after consultation with VAR, it was awarded.
The surprise win saw Barca move up to third on 54 points and 12 points behind leaders Madrid.
Ms. Ebelechukwu Obiano has spoken out following her fight with Ms. Bianca Ojukwu at the inauguration of Charles Soludo as the governor of Anambra State.
Speaking about the events of March 17, Ebele said she had left her seat to greet Bianca but the latter reacted to her greeting by slapping her.
According to a statement released by Ebele Obiano’s spokesperson, Chidiebele Obika, the wife of the former Governor of Anambra State said all she did was approach the former beauty queen for their usual friendly banters only to be slapped and pushed by her.
She wondered what brought about “so much anger and hate” that would cause a former diplomat to be unable to “manage herself in public”.
Mrs. Obiano stated that she didn’t bother returning the slap, instead she walked away in utter bewilderment.
France has frozen and seized assets of Russian oligarchs to the tune of around $938 million.
“We have immobilised … €150 million in individual’s accounts, credit lines in France and in French establishments,” French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told French television as Paris hits Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Furthermore, “we have immobilised €539 million in real estate on French territory, corresponding to some 390 properties or apartments and we have sequestered two yachts (with a value of) €150 million,” said Le Maire.
“In total that is (almost) €850 millions in assets belonging to Russian oligarchs which have been immobilised on French soil,” he added.
The French crackdown means the owners are unable to sell or monetise their assets.
Notwithstanding, “they are not seized in the sense that the state becomes the owner and could then sell them on. For there to be seizure there has to be a penal offence”, Le Maire stipulated.
“The sanctions are hitting Russia, the state, Vladimir Putin hard,” Le Maire went on.
France established a task force to implement EU sanctions against Russian oligarchs or those close to President Vladimir Putin.
It is tasked with finding their assets in France and identifying the owners of bank accounts, luxury villas, and yachts, which is a complicated endeavour due to the many shell companies used to hide identities.
Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the fifth year running, in an annual UN-sponsored index that Afghanistan as the unhappiest.
The latest list was completed before Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
In the list, Denmark is ranked second happiest followed by Iceland, Switzerland and Netherlands.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a co-author of the index, said: ‘This presents a stark reminder of the material and immaterial damage that war does to its many victims.’
The World Happiness Report, now in its 10th year, is based on people’s own assessment of their happiness, as well as economic and social data.
It assigns a happiness score on a scale of zero to 10, based on an average of data over a three-year period.
A 52-year-old father of four children who claims to be a businessman, Okeke Adolphus Anayochukwu has been arrested with black liquid cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA Abuja by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Director, Media & Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday March 20, said that Okeke was arrested with 20.75 kilograms of the black liquid cocaine on Tuesday 15th March, upon his arrival at the Abuja airport onboard Qatar Airways flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil through Doha, Qatar to Abuja.
The liquid was discovered upon search of his two luggages stuffed with six smaller bags containing 32-makeup mascara, which tested positive to cocaine.
Married with four children, the indigene of Oraifiti in Akwusigo local government area of Anambra State claims he was a businessman dealing in children wares before delving into the illicit drug business.
He claimed he met the person who gave him the consignment to deliver in Nigeria for a fee of Two Million (N2, 000,000) Naira at a drinking joint in Brazil.
In other operations across the country, different quantities of various drugs were recovered from suspects.
At least three persons: Tony Samson, Paul Adamu, and Reuben Waziri were arrested in Kaduna on Friday 18th March with 18,380 tablets of Tramadol, and 12,500 tablets of Diazepam and Exol-5 tablets.
In Anambra, NDLEA operatives on Thursday 17th March intercepted a bus with reg. No AGU 460 ZW, at Obosi bridge heading to Aba, Abia state from Onitsha. Upon search, seven and half jumbo sacks of cannabis weighing 362kg were recovered while the driver, Ifeanyi Anyamele admitted to be the owner of the drug exhibits.
The previous day, Wednesday 16th March, narcotic officers in Ogun state recovered 865.2kg of cannabis sativa around Otapele- Obada road in Imeko-Afon LGA. The consignment was brought in from Benin Republic on motorbikes for onward transportation to Lagos and Abeokuta. Same day, operatives in the state arrested Bello Ibrahim, 38, with 312.4kg of cannabis sativa at Ogere tollgate, Ikenne LGA.
While commending officers and men of the NAIA, Kaduna, Anambra and Ogun state Commands of the Agency for their vigilance and diligence, Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them and their counterparts across the country to always remain steps ahead of the tricks of drug traffickers and the barons.
Chelsea striker, Antonio Rudiger is reportedly set to leave the London club after agreeing on a four-year contract with Juventus worth £5.4m a season.
The 29-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, and the Blues cannot offer him an extension because of UK government sanctions placed on club owner Roman Abramovich.
Prior to the sanction, Rudiger had been rumoured to be considering a contract extension at the club where he has established himself as an exceptional talent since joining for £31million from Roma in 2017.
According to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Germany international has said ‘yes’ to a move to Juventus.
The report also claims Rudiger ‘will sign a four-year deal’ with the Serie A giants as he prefers them over both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and he will earn around £5.4m per season.
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel admitted last week he fears Abramovich’s sale of club could have an impact on negotiations with players who are out of contract in the summer.
‘The bottom line is maybe we can’t help it – it is what it is,’ Tuchel said. ‘You never know maybe it has a positive effect on the negotiations or maybe it has a negative effect.
‘We cannot predict and I would like not to predict on scenarios because you just lose focus, but everyone has a different situation and feels different about it (the sale).
‘I hope for the best outcome still, I think we have something to offer still. Chelsea are a strong club and will stay a strong club.
‘Our owner decided to sell the club but he sells a strong, solid, organised club at the highest level.’
Russian forces advancing on the Ukraine capital Kyiv from the northeast have stalled, British intelligence stated on Monday during its daily security briefing of the Russo-Ukraine war.
Russian forces hit houses and a shopping district in Kyiv’s Podil district late on Sunday, March 20, killing at least four people, city authorities said.
The assault on Ukraine started with Russian troops crossing the border using air, land and sea on Feb. 24.
But Western countries say Russia’s expectations of a swift victory and the removal of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government have been dashed as its invasion force has received serious losses.
Speaking on Monday, the British military intelligence said the bulk of Russian forces remain more than 25 km (15 miles) from the centre of the Kyiv,
“Heavy fighting continues north of Kyiv,” the Ministry of Defence said. “Forces advancing from the direction of Hostomel to the northwest have been repulsed by fierce Ukrainian resistance.”
In his latest appeal for help from abroad, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the Israeli parliament by video link on Sunday and questioned Israel’s reluctance to sell its Iron Dome missile defence system to Ukraine.
“Everybody knows that your missile defence systems are the best … and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews,” said Zelenskiy, who is of Jewish heritage.
Zelenskiy also welcomed the mediation efforts of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has held numerous calls with him and Putin.
“Sooner or later we will begin to have talks with Russia, possibly in Jerusalem,” he said in his daily video address to Ukrainians.
Oksana Shvets, one of Ukraine’s most famous stage actresses has been killed in a Russian rocket attack while she slept in an apartment in southeast Kyiv.
Her death was confirmed by the Young Theatre, a Ukrainian theatre company she had previously been working with.
They posted a tribute to the 67-year-old actress alongside a picture of the theatre and film star.
In a statement, translated from Ukrainian, the theatre company wrote on social media: ‘Bright memory to the talented actress! There is no forgiveness for the enemy that has come to our land!’.
The Kyiv Post has also confirmed the actor’s passing, adding on social media that she had been ‘murdered in Kyiv during the war’.
According to the theatre’s website, Shvets had graduated from Ivan Franko theatre school in 1975 and had a career that spanned decades. She had also been the recipient of the Merited Artist of Ukraine award, one of Ukraine’s highest and most coveted honours.
Russian troops have continued to attack the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and launched a barrage of missiles against an aircraft repair installation at an airport on the outskirts of the western city of Lviv, close to the Polish border. One person was reported wounded.
Ukraine said it had shot down two of six missiles in the volley, which came from the Black Sea.
The early morning barrage of missiles on Lviv’s edge was the closest strike yet to the centre of the city, which has become a crossroads for people fleeing from other parts of Ukraine and for others entering to deliver aid or fight.
In city after city around Ukraine, hospitals, schools, and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked. Rescue workers were still searching for survivors in the ruins of a theatre that served as a shelter when it was blasted by a Russian airstrike on Wednesday in the besieged southern city of Mariupol.
Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainain parliament’s human rights commissioner, said on Friday that 130 people had survived the theatre bombing.
‘As of now, we know that 130 people have been evacuated, but according to our data, there are still more than 1,300 people in these basements, in this bomb shelter,’ Denisova told Ukrainian television. ‘We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them.’
Russian president, Vladimir Putin has been accused of deporting Ukrainians to ‘filtration’ centres before forcibly taking them to remote Siberian towns after confiscating their phones and documents.
‘Several thousand’ people have so-far been taken, Mariupol city council claimed, before being processed through ‘filtration camps’ and sent to ‘remote cities’ in Russia where they will be obliged to stay for years and work for free.
Russian news agencies have reported that buses carrying hundreds of refugees from the besieged southeastern port city Mariupol had arrived in Russia in recent days. Moscow officials also said a trainload of over 280 Ukrainians were being ‘rescued’ from Mariupol, showing footage of them thanking Russian forces.
Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko likened the alleged forced deportations to transportation of prisoners by the Nazi regime during World War II.
Boichenko said: ‘What the occupiers are doing today is familiar to the older generation, who saw the horrific events of World War II, when the Nazis forcibly captured people. It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century people can be forcibly taken to another country.’
Russian Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev late on Sunday demanded that Ukrainian troops and ‘foreign mercenaries’ in the Black Sea port Mariupol lay down their weapons and surrender in return for letting tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the heavily besieged city leave safely.
Mizintsev said those who laid down their arms and raised white flags would be allowed to leave via ‘humanitarian corridors’. Civilians would then be evacuated afterwards. He gave Ukraine until 5am to respond.
But Mariupol rejected the demands within minutes, with Pyotr Andryushenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol – saying that Russian promises of amnesty could not be trusted and that troops defending the city were determined to fight down to the last man.
Mariupol city hall official Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Sunday that residents of areas under Russian control were being sent to ‘filtration camps’ and that Moscow’s men were ‘checking their phones and seizing their Ukrainian documents’.
US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN the deportation accounts were ‘disturbing’ and ‘unconscionable’ if true but that Washington had not confirmed them.
Thomas-Greenfield added: ‘To force people from Ukraine to go into Russia is abolsutel unacceptable; it’s unconscionable. It’s something we need to confirm, but I don’t put it past the Russians to take such a horrific action.
‘That would be another escalation, but not beyond the realm of possibility given horrible’ Russian pressure on Mariupol has been.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemned the ‘abduction and deportation’ of Ukrainians from the besieged city of Mariupol, in a move that has been likened to Nazi Germany.
Truss said she was ‘appalled’ by the reports and vowed for Putin to be ‘held to account’ for his treatment of civilians during the invasion.
The Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine on Sunday said that 2,973 people have been evacuated from Mariupol since March 5, including 541 over the last 24 hours.
Following Russia’s offer of an amnesty in Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk called on Russia to stop ‘wasting time on eight pages of letters’. She said Moscow should open humanitarian corridors for civilians to leave the city instead of using them as bargaining chips.
Vereshchuk told news outlet Ukrainska Pravda: ‘There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this.’ Mizintsev warned of a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ that will be faced by all those who remain behind after Moscow’s deadline for surrender elapsed.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has granted the immediate past governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, bail.
Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Abdulrasheed Bawa, disclosed this on Monday in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on the sideline of 5th Annual General Assembly (AGA) of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIMA).
Bawa, however, said the former governor is yet to perfect his bail conditions and as such, he is still in the custody of the commission.
Chief Obiano, was arrested on Thursday at about 8:30pm by EFCC at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos when he was trying to flee to Houston Texas in United States of America few hours after handing over to professor Chukwuma Soludo.
He was subsequently transferred to the headquarters of the commission, where he was grilled for days over alleged mismanagement of N42bn.
Ukraine has rejected a Russian military ultimatum offering people in the besieged city of Mariupol safe passage out of the port if they surrender by 5a.m Monday, March 21.
Under Russia’s proposal, civilians would be allowed to leave if the city’s soldiers laid down arms.
But Ukraine has refused the ultimatum saying it’s territorial integrity is out of the question and it won’t be surrendering the strategic port city.
Residents of Mariupol have endured weeks of Russian bombardment resulting in no electric power or running water as around 300,000 people are believed to be trapped there with supplies running out and aid blocked from entering.
Details of the Russian proposal to surrender were laid out on Sunday by Gen Mikhail Mizintsev, who said Ukraine had until 05:00 Moscow time (02:00 GMT) on Monday morning to accept its terms.
Under the plans, Russian troops would have opened safe corridors out of Mariupol from 10:00 Moscow time (07:00 GMT), initially for Ukrainian troops and “foreign mercenaries” to disarm and leave the city.
After two hours, Russian forces say they would then have allowed humanitarian convoys with food, medicine and other supplies to enter the city safely.
Russian Gen Mizintsev admitted that a terrible humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding in Mariupol and said the offer would have allowed civilians to flee safely to either the east or west.
Responding to the offer, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine would not stop defending Mariupol.
“There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms,” she was quoted by Ukrainska Pravda as saying.
Also, Pyotr Andryushenko, who is an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, vowed the city’s defenders would fight on.
“We will fight until the last of our soldiers,” he said.
“When they [Russian forces] say about humanitarian corridors, what do they really do? They really force evacuate our people to Russia,” Andryushenko said.
Mariupol is a key strategic target for Russia as it would help create a land corridor between the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, controlled by Russian-backed separatists and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
According to estimates, 90% of the city’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed in attacks since the war began three weeks ago, and authorities say at least 2,500 people have been killed although the true figure may be higher.
Last week Russian forces destroyed a theatre where more than 1,000 people were sheltering, while an arts school with 400 people inside has also been attacked.
President Volodomyr Zelensky has said the Russian siege amounts to a “war crime”.
“This is a totally deliberate tactic,” he said. “They [Russian forces] have a clear order to do absolutely everything to make the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukrainian cities an ‘argument’ for Ukrainians to cooperate with the occupiers”.
A woman has shared her unusual love story with her followers.
TikTok user Jasmine Grogan was outside a supermarket when she met a homeless man named Macauley Murchie.
She offered him money but he refused.
Jasmine continued with her food shopping but was distracted by the homeless man who wouldn’t take her money.
After he rejected any form of help from Jasmine, Macauley then offered to help her with her shopping bags.
The pair hit it off from there and Jasmime chose to give him a chance.
The couple now have two kids, Jasmine revealed on TikTok.
She shared photos of Macauley before and after they began dating as she explained their chance meeting.
She said: “Met a homeless man one day doing my food shopping. Offered him money but he wouldn’t except (sic) it…
“I went inside, continued to do my shop and couldn’t stop thinking about him. I went outside and asked if I could help him anyway, he said no. He asked if I wanted help putting my shopping into a taxi, I said yes.
“I asked if he wanted me to get him something to eat. He was embarrassed but he said yes and we went for some dinner.
“We had a long talk about his life. I went and bought him a little phone so we could keep in contact, there was something different about him.
“I got him a hotel and I went home. We kept in contact. I couldn’t stop thinking about him.”
Jasmine then shared screenshots of the tex messages they exchanged as they became friends.
Macauley wrote to Jasmine after they met: “You’ve made my day, thank you so much for everything, you are amazing. Can’t stop thinking about you xx.”
She replied: “You don’t have to thank me, I can’t get you out of my mind either.”
Jasmine then asked if she could take him for some lunch.
During their lunch date, Jasmine asked if he wanted to go back to her house and “sort” him some clothes to wear.
Jasmine wrote on TikTok: “I got him some new clothes and told him he could stay the night, but he ended up staying a lot longer than one night. We instantly fell in love. I knew he was the one for me. He was so nice.”
She continued: “We went on multiple dates, eventually he shaved his beard, got new teeth and got a really good job.
“We’ve never been apart since.”
Macauley later proposed to Jasmine and they now have two kids together.
She said: “We are so glad our paths crossed and believe everything happens for a reason, he made my life so much better and I couldn’t imagine doing it without him now.”
Jasmine’s story on TikTok has received over 7 million views and thousands of comments.
Car-free Sundays in cities, working from home up to three days a week, and using cost-efficient public transport… These are just some of the recommendations made by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a 10-point action plan aimed at cutting oil consumption “in the face of the emerging global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
According to IEA estimates, the actions it suggests, should they be implemented, could help reduce oil consumption by 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) within four months, which would be equivalent to more than half of Russia’s exports. It is estimated that the world consumes nearly 100 million bpd.
Among the measures to be enacted immediately, especially by developed nations, are the reduction of speed limits on highways by at least 10km/ph (6mph), and so-called car-free Sundays, with every such day helping to save approximately 380,000 barrels of oil, according to the energy watchdog.
The document goes on to point out that car-free Sundays are nothing new, in fact, as similar measures were introduced in countries such as Switzerland, the Netherlands, and West Germany at the height of the 1973 oil crisis. Moreover, certain cities have adopted the practice more recently to improve public health, the IEA notes. In addition to the drop in oil consumption per se, car-free Sundays’ positive side effects would include cleaner air, reduced noise pollution, and improved road safety, it adds.
In addition, the IEA recommends that those who can work from home up to three days a week do so. Among the other initiatives it advises governments to consider are cheaper public transport and incentives to buy bicycles.
In its plan, the IEA points out that besides reducing the “price pain being felt by consumers around the world,” the suggested measures could also help “shrink Russia’s hydrocarbon revenues, and help move oil demand towards a more sustainable pathway.” The paper concludes that the reduction of oil consumption is more than just a short-lived push, and, instead, is crucial for tackling climate change.
Following February 24, when Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border, oil prices have shot up to almost $140 per barrel – levels not seen since 2008.
Russian allegedly has a plot to ‘poison’ Vladimir Putin and instil a successor who will restore trade ties with the West, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
According to Ukraine’s Chief Directorate of Intelligence at the war-torn country’s Ministry of Defence, a ‘group of influential’ individuals in Russia have begun plotting to remove the dictator from office.
The Ukrainian intelligence service says that FSB director Oleksandr Bortnikov is the chosen man to replace Putin, leading the agency which the successor to the fearsome KGB.
Putin was the director of the Russian intelligence agency before he took the mantle of President and he and Bortnikov both served in the KGB together in Leningrad.
The insiders are reportedly incensed by the invasion of Ukraine’s effect on the Russian economy which has been hard-hit by sanctions.
The Chief Directorate of Intelligence said: ‘It is known that Bortnikov and some other influential representatives of the Russian elite are considering various options to remove Putin from power.
‘In particular, poisoning, sudden disease, or any other ‘coincidence’ is not excluded.’
Bortnikov has fallen out of favour with Putin after military losses in the first three weeks of the Ukraine war – in which time he has also sacked eight generals.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia has lost an estimated 15,000 troops in Ukraine.
One Ukrainian intelligence source said recently: ‘It is noteworthy that Bortnikov has recently been disgraced by the Russian dictator.
‘The official reason for the disgrace of the FSB leader is the fatal miscalculations in the war against Ukraine.
‘Bortnikov and his department were responsible for analyzing the mood of Ukraine and the ability of the Ukrainian army.’
Bortnikov is believed to have a network of insiders working and living within Ukraine, where he ran a network of agents for many years.
A western source told the Daily Mirror: ‘These rumours and suspicions within the Moscow inner-circle will sow the seeds of paranoia and doubt in the leadership.
There is no doubt that as the Russian elite feel the pinch of sanctions that they will be looking at the future with an eye on what a catastrophe this war is for them – and it’s going to get worse.
‘There is a significant suspicion that a small number of people might actually now try to get rid of the Russian President but whether they will succeed remains to be seen.
‘Certainly, they are being given an awful lot of encouragement by various influential figures in the west and the feeling amongst most people is that enough is enough.
‘Crucially, although Ukraine has suffered immensely from this invasion it has wrong-footed Russia’s military at every step, predicting their military moves and crippling their forces.
‘It is very possible that somebody has been leaking information and given every bit of encouragement to do so- perhaps with an offer of a future in the west or even in Russia itself.’
A fifth Russian general has been killed near the southern city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials have claimed.
In a post on social media, the general staff of Ukraine’s army claimed that the Russian Lieutenant-General Andrei Mordvichev had died when Ukrainian forces hit an airfield in Chornobayivka, near Kherson airport.
The Kremlin has not confirmed Mr. Mordvichev’s death.
“The commander of the 8th military army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation of Lieutenant General Andriy Mordvichev was destroyed as a result of the fire attack on the opponent,” the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine wrote on social media.
They added: “Based on the fact that the enemy has suffered major losses in personnel, it is likely that the Russian military and political leadership will make a decision … to prolong the length of the war.”
Ukrainian officials claimed that Russia “continues to bear significant losses” and that there is “a low level of morale” among their military forces.
Ukraine also said on Saturday morning that their fighter jets and anti-aircraft missile forces had hit “12 enemy air targets: 2 planes, 3 helicopters, 3 UAVs and 4 cruise missiles.”
Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelensky claimed on Thursday that a fourth Russian general had been killed during the fighting.
An adviser to the interior ministry later named him as Major General Oleg Mityaev.
Analysts believe that around 20 generals are leading the Russian operations in Ukraine, the BBC reported.
A person within Mr. Zelensky’s inner circle told the Wall Street Journal that Ukraine had a military intelligence team that was dedicated to taking out high-ranking Russian officers.
“They look for high profile generals, pilots, artillery commanders,” the source said.
A China Eastern passenger jet carrying 132 people has crashed in southwest China and caused a mountain fire with casualties unknown, China’s Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said today.
The Boeing 737 plane crashed in the rural countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region and “caused a mountain fire”, CCTV said, citing the provincial emergency management bureau.
The report added that rescue teams were dispatched to the scene.
The Civil aviation administration said the aircraft lost contact over the city of Wuzhou. It had 123 passengers and nine crew on board. State media said earlier there were 133 people on board.
The China Eastern flight from Kunming to Guangzhou departed at 1.11 pm local time (0511 GMT), Flight Radar24 data showed.
The flight tracking ended at 2.22 pm local time (0622 GMT) an altitude of 3225 feet with a speed of 376 knots.
It had been due to land at 3.05 pm (0705 GMT).
The safety record of China’s airline industry has been among the best in the world over the past decade.
According to Aviation Safety Network, China’s last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people on board were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility
Thomas Markle is not done dragging his daughter Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry.
The 77-year-old was a guest on GB News last night, March 17.
Thomas, who recently started a YouTube channel to criticize the Duke and Duchess of Sussex berated the couple during his interview with Dan Wootten.
Talking about his daughter and her husband. Thomas Markle Sr. said: “They are living like hermits in a 26-room house, they never have parties, they never have guests, the only guests they have are the million-dollar lawyers and the million-dollar PR team.
“Otherwise, it’s Harry walking his dogs or riding his bicycle. I don’t understand what they’re doing.
“They live alone in a 26-room house they don’t go anywhere and they don’t do anything. I don’t know what Harry does besides walking his dogs and riding his bike.”
When asked by Dan Wootton if he is scared of being sued by Meghan, he said: “Well they can sue me but what are they going to get I don’t have millions of dollars.”
He also slammed Harry and said: “This man abandoned his country and he expects them to treat him like a royal. He shouldn’t be entitled to any of this stuff. And what he has done to the queen is unforgivable.”
Talking about the couple’s choice to not attend the upcoming royal memorial, Thomas slammed Harry, saying: “I think its the cruellest, meanest thing he can do.
“To deny the children from the queen is unforgivable.”
He added: “He’s acting like a child but I have no respect for him at all.”
Despite all of the drama, Thomas said he does still “love” his daughter, although they are constantly wrapped up in public feuds.
Talking about the recent row between his two daughters, Meghan and Samantha Markle, he explained that he loves them both but is willing to take a stand against Meghan in court.
He continued: “I love both of my daughters, I’m not happy with what one of my daughters is going, but I don’t know what caused her to do this.
“But she’s telling lies, she’s telling lies about me and my son. So, I have no problem facing her in court and disputing what she has to say.
“It will be the first time I’ve seen her in four years.”
He added: “I’ve been trying for almost four years to get to see my daughter and her ginger husband in a courtroom face to face.
“I haven’t seen my grandchildren. I’d be thrilled to come to court and talk and defend my oldest daughter.”
Thomas also accused Prince Harry of shutting down his oldest daughter Samantha Markle’s Twitter account.
Twitter suspended Samantha’s account on Monday, March 14.
Her second Twitter account, @TheMarkleSammy, has been banned from the platform three years after her first account, @sammy-markle, was suspended.
Although Twitter has not said why the first account was taken down, it issued a statement saying the second account was suspended “due to ban evasion”.
Speaking on Thursday evening, Thomas Markle told the host that he believes that his son-in-law, Prince Harry, is responsible for his daughter Samantha’s Twitter account getting shut down.
After making the allegation live on air, he added: “If he’s shutting down everyone going after Meghan there won’t be any Twitter left.”
Dan asked: “So you think Harry has made a direct complaint about Samantha’s Twitter account?”
Thomas answered: “Yes, that’s the understanding. He knows the person who runs Twitter.”
Thomas Markle also suggested to Harry and Meghan how they can do some good in the world. He accused them of not doing enough good with their charity.
He said during the live TV interview: “Harry and Megan should get their chequebooks out and send it to Ukraine and help some of these people.”
He added: “They have a charity, they should start using it, start spending that money. No one seems to know what they are doing with it.”
He revealed that he will continue to do more YouTube videos then raised a mug to reveal to the host that he is having tea like the English.
“I wanted you to see I’m having tea today,” Thomas told the host as he raised his mug.
Dan then told Thomas that he is “so English”.
Thomas responded: “I’m with the Queen”.
Watch short clips from the interview below.
'They can sue me but what are they gonna get?'
Meghan Markle's father Thomas responds after Dan Wootton asks if he is worried about being sued by Harry and Meghan over his new YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/wd259tAv1R
Russia’s request to freeze a FIFA ban on its soccer teams ahead of next week’s World Cup qualifying playoffs has been dismissed.
FIFA said the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed the Russian soccer federation’s bid for an urgent interim ruling to freeze the ban pending a full appeal.
The CAS decision means Russia will not be able to play Poland in World Cup qualifying on Thursday and almost certainly means Russia cannot feature at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
They had been in a four-team play-off path also featuring Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic with the semi-finals and final being played later this month.
Poland, who had originally been due to play Russia in a play-off semi-final, have been granted a bye to the final where they will face either Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29.
The ruling follows a similar CAS refusal on Tuesday to freeze UEFA’s ban on Russian national and club teams in European soccer.
Russian athletes have been banned from competing in multiple sports because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Belarusian athletes have also been banned because their country has been an ally of Russia.
FIFA was initially pilloried for its response to Russia’s invasion, announcing a set of ‘interim measures’ that would allow Russia to continue competing, but at neutral venues and without their nation’s flag or anthem.
However, opposition to the measures gathered significant momentum, and Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic sent a joint letter to FIFA at the end of last month saying they would refuse to face Russia in the play-offs.
Just one day later, FIFA and UEFA ruled jointly on February 28 that all teams and clubs from the country could not take part in their competitions.
The move meant Russia would not be allowed to fulfil their qualifier against Poland and effectively ended their chance of participating in the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Bianca and Ebele made news on Thursday, March 17, when they had a scuffle during the inauguration of Charles Soludo as the new governor of Anambra state. In a viral video, Bianca gave Ebele a slap after the latter left her seat to insult her. Mrs. Obiano who was left ruffled after her scuffle with Bianca was also filmed on camera calling Bianca ”Ashawo”.
In an interview with Arise TV, Bianca who is the wife of late Odumegwu Ojukwu, said Ebele was noticeably absent as the inauguration ceremony started. Bianca said Ebele then arrived an hour later.
”I didn’t pay any attention to her arrival. Surprisingly, she then walked towards me and I thought she was coming to greet me. Instead she verbally attacked me with her voice raised, taunting me and asking me what I was there to do, using unprintable, vile language.
She asked if I had come to celebrate their last day in office but I ignored her completely. Then she kept on aggressively putting her hand on my shoulders and shouting.
While I ignored her verbal onslaught as advised by people sitting around me, I requested twice that she refrains from touching me with her hands. She proceeded to do so yet again and tried to touch my head and remove my headtie. It was at this point I stood up to defend myself and gave her a dirty slap to stop her from attacking me. As she made towards me, I den pulled away her wig, she then held on to her wig with her two hands and tried to take the wig away from me.
The former APGA chairman, Umeh, told her to leave me and told everyone to leave. I was stunned by the stench of whisky in her breath at such an early hour of the day.
How could the first lady be so drunk at that time? I stayed back to watch the ceremony till the end and left with my dignity intact”.
Investors in Chinmark Group have called for the immediate arrest of the founder, Marksman Chinedu Ijiomah, the brand ambassador Amanda Chisom who influenced and lured a huge number of investors into the scheme and other principal officers of the failed investment firm.
Since December 2021, the company has been unable to pay a Return On Investment, ROI, to their large number of investors, prompting calls for the arrest of the operators.
According to financial experts, investors stand to lose over N10 billion in the purported investment, which they describe as a ponzi scheme.
Besides that, Ijiomah is alleged to have restructured ownership of physical assets belonging to the company, removing both his name and that of his wife as directors.
For example, a CAC check of Chinmark’s group firms revealed that Mr Ijiomah had changed the name of the hotel in Enugu from Chinmark Suites to Bridge Suites.
He removed his name and his wife’s from the hotel’s board of directors and replaced them with different persons.
According to a lawyer, Collins Ogonnaya Arikor, because of the restructuring, investors will be unable to attach the hotel in order to recover their investment if they do not receive payment because the current fact presupposes that Marksman Ijiomah does not own the hotel.
“So while people are busy thinking there is an asset on ground – the hotel, there’s basically nothing.
“The other companies – i.e. the mall, logistics, food, real estate etc – are merely existing on paper. What we call “shell companies” in law. There are no verifiable businesses that can be linked to the companies. There are no assets linked to the companies,” Arikor said.
On FinAfrica, the company peddled as the investment arm of their group, the lawyer explained that the object of the company, as registered by the CAC, is “general merchandise”.
He added, “There is absolutely nothing remotely like investment in the business of FinAfrica. In any event, the company’s accounts are allegedly frozen by the law enforcement agencies, so how and where will the money to repay investors come from?
“Well, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Honestly. If this isn’t a premeditated, calculated plan to defraud people of their hard-earned monies then I don’t know what else to call it.”
On 25 December 2021, the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, warned Nigerians against investing in FinAfrica.
The government regulatory agency in a statement said, “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria (“SEC”) has been drawn to the activities of an Illegal Operator (FINAFRICA INVESTMENT LIMITED).
“The Company claimed to be an Investment Company that engages in Business Development in Commercial sectors of the economy and uses the funds in entities under Chinmark Group.
“The Commission hereby notifies the investing public that neither FINAFRICA INVESTMENT LIMITED nor Chimark Group is registered by the SEC and the Investment Scheme promoted by these entities are also not authorized by the SEC.
“In view of the above, the general public is hereby WARNED that any person dealing with the within named Company in any capital market-related business is doing so at his/her own risk”.
According to reports, the Red King as he is fondly called who has a Vanuatu passport has quietly relocated to Dubai.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has released the immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano.
The wife of the former Governor, Ebelechukwu Obiano was also released by the anti-graft agency.
This is coming after the EFCC arrested Obiano and his wife in Lagos State shortly after he handed over power to Prof. Charles Soludo as the new governor of Anambra.
Obiano was nabbed along with his wife at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, while trying to escape to Houston, Texas in the United States of America (USA).
But they have been released by the anti-graft agency after they were intercepted at the airport.
Meanwhile, details of why Obiano and his wife were arrested in the first place were still sketchy at the time of filing this report.
However, the EFCC had said the former Anambra State Governor had been on their watchlist prior to Thursday’s hand over of power to Soludo.
It is not yet clear if Obiano and his wife would still be allowed to proceed out of the country following their release by the EFCC.
Captured Russian soldiers have warned President Vladimir Putin ‘we’ll rise against you’ after they were made to carry out ‘terror attacks’ in Ukraine.
Moscow’s troops labelled the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 9 an act of ‘perverse neo-Nazism’.
Three air force pilots, speaking to CNN, warned the Russian strongman ‘you will not hide this for long’ because ‘many’ troops share the same feelings and ‘sooner or later, we will come home’.
They laid the blame at the feet of Russian commanders for ‘horrifying’ crimes against ‘peaceful Ukrainian civilians’ – and warned ‘you cannot forgive such things’.
‘I don’t know, what can justify, f***, the tears of a child, or even worse, the deaths of innocent people, children,’ Russian fighter pilot Maxim said.
‘It’s not just about demilitarizing Ukraine or the defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but now cities of peaceful civilians are being destroyed.’
The claims echo statements made by several Russian soldiers following their capture at the hands of Ukrainian forces and observers have raised concerns the servicemen are being pressured to denounce Moscow.
But CNN reported the three pilots appeared not to be speaking under duress, that they were not wearing handcuffs and that Ukrainian officials made no effort to direct the topic of the interview.
It comes after Russia on March 9 bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol killing four people, including a pregnant woman whose baby also died days after the attack.
One of Russia’s top paratroop commanders has been killed in Ukraine in the latest blow to President Vladimir Putin.
The death of Colonel Sergei Sukharev, of the 331st Guards Parachute Assault Regiment from Kostroma, was confirmed by state TV in Moscow.
Earlier his “liquidation” had been claimed by Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security.
“Commander of the Kostroma Airborne Regiment, Colonel Sergei Sukharev…got lost in the ‘[military] exercises’, but returned home the right way,” said the Ukrainian statement.
His deputy Major Sergei Krylov was killed alongside him, said the report.
They were among a number slain from the Kostroma regiment, seen as among Russia’s most elite fighting forces.
Russia acknowledged that senior sergeant Sergei Lebedev, sergeant Alexander Limonov and corporal Yuri Degtyaryov were also killed.
Sukharev was seen on Russian TV in January when he led his troops back from Kazakhstan where they had been sent following a wave of protests.
Russia described their mission as “peacekeeping” and Sukharev said his forces protected a vital power plant in Almaty.
Also killed in the latest Ukrainian fighting was military intelligence officer Sergey Vishnyakov, of the GRU’s 22nd Separate Special Forces Brigade. He is believed to have been killed fighting near Mariupol in a Grad attack by Ukraine’s Azov battalion.
Commercial sex workers in Tana River County, Kenya, have elected to digitize their business by forming WhatsApp groups led by various veterans in the trade.
According to Nairobi News, the sex workers said they are yet to recover from the effects of Covid-19 despite the lifting of regulations by the government, thus forcing them to look for other means of sustaining their trade.
Anne Makau,47, has been in the business for 19 years and currently chairs the group on various platforms.
“Covid-19 showed us hell, some of us abandoned the business and went back upcountry, some wrecked homes and stole husbands to survive that hard time,” she explains.
Amid the tough times, Ms. Makau, a mother of two, says that she had to think outside the box to survive as the trade suffered heavy punches from Covid-19.
The community had started to rebel against the trade and those known to be commercial sex workers became a target to harm by society.
“We lost two girls in Garsen and Bura towns, they were beaten by unknown people and later succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment in Malindi and Mombasa respectively,” she adds.
Ms Makau notes that they were forced into forming a group of the veterans where they deliberated on other means to survive as the streets were proving insecure for the girls.
Each was tasked to call for a meeting with the girls and brainstorm on the idea of leaving the streets to meet clients online.
“Most of the clients know us and contact us for the girls, we know the girls better, we know those that are ailing and are in our counsel and care, therefore if someone comes without consulting, they have themselves to blame, these streets are not all safe,” she says.
The team came up with a WhatsApp group in December, where all girls are members at a fee of Sh500 and a monthly contribution of Sh300 that goes into savings for other expenses.
According to Ms Makau, clients contact the leaders who then assign the girls to the client, to serve at home or provide company in hotels.
The client is also informed of the varying cost for services among other requirements.
“Some clients don’t want to use protection, in that case, we provide our ladies with test kits that have been made available to us for free by various organizations interested in our welfare,” she says.
Whereas some clients may prefer one partner, Ms Makau notes that sometimes the client is provided with other options to strike a balance in the trade and ensure everyone takes something home.
This has rendered the streets empty, as the ladies of the night don’t have to pause in the cold nights for clients.
“It is safer for us, I don’t get to engage anyone in the streets as we fight for a client, sometimes the clients may want you at day,” says Caroline Litei.
According to Ms Litei, the trade is better compared to times before Covid-19 as nobody knows what she does for a living.
The current model of business has created a safe room for all commercial sex workers, a family as well as drawn a better growth path.
“From the Sh300 we contribute that goes to the Sacco as a lump sum, we can borrow money to start a business, we all want to leave this trade one day and settle in families like the rest of us,” she added.
Vladimir Putin, Russian president is increasingly worried and fears that someone in his inner circle will poison him, a new report reveals.
According to Daily Beast contributing editor Craig Copetas, Putin has people taste his meals before he eats it, and he fired his whole personal staff of 1,000 people last month.
He then replaced them immediately.
“Laundresses, secretaries, cooks — to a whole new group of people. The assessment from the intelligence community is that he’s scared,” Copetas said.
According to Copetas, poison is the preferred method of assassination in Russia.
Putin’s killer squad in 2006, were suspected to have poisoned a pot of tea with radioactive poison, killing outspoken critic Alexander Litvinenko.
In 2018, police allege Putin’s thugs poured lethal poison on former spy Sergei Skripal’s home door. He and his daughter escaped death by a hair’s breadth.
Putin also allegedly ordered the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He survived, but is now languishing in a Russian jail.
