At least seven men have been arrested in western India after a 16-year-old girl claimed she was raped hundreds of times by hundreds of men in the last six months
In a statement to India’s Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on November 11, the girl, who was homeless, said she was raped by 400 people in Beed district of Maharashtra state, according to CWC chairman, Abhay Vitthalrao Vanave.
In her complaint, the minor also named two policemen, Vanave said.
The girl was begging for money at a bus stop when she was allegedly forced into sex work by three men, Vanave said.
While the number of alleged rapists might be very hard for prosecutors to ascertain or prove, the girl could identify at least 25 alleged perpetrators, Vanave added.
The girl had attempted to file a police complaint against a man she accused of beating her up, but officers did not register it, Vanave said.
In a statement Monday, November 15, the force said it had registered cases against eight males including one minor — pertaining to rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences law, which has more severe sentences of longer jail time.
They have also registered a case under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
The girl also told police she was married off at age 13 to a 33-year-old man who sexually abused her, according to the police statement. She also told police she was sexually assaulted by her father, which made her to leave both homes and sleep at the bus stop.
Women’s rights activist Yogita Bhayana said this was “the most tragic (rape) case in history.”
“This girl was tortured every single day,” she said, adding that police had failed to protect her. “We want strict action against all culprits.”
According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, more than 28,000 cases of alleged rape against women were reported in 2020 — one roughly every 18 minutes. Experts believe the real number is much higher as many go unreported out of fear.
In September this year, police arrested 33 men for the alleged gang rape of a 15-year-old girl in Maharashtra.
Manchester City and England midfielder, Jack Grealish has been given a shocking ultimatum by his girlfriend Sasha Attwood to choose between her and English actress Emily Atack.
Sasha, his childhood girlfriend, is reported to have told the Manchester City footballer: “It’s Emily Atack or me.”
Grealish, who signed for City for £100 million from Aston Villa this summer, has been linked romantically with Emily.
Inbetweeners actress Emily has been enjoying dates with Grealish, according to reports.
Jack and Emily, who played Charlotte in the Inbetweeners, were romantically linked after meeting at a Manchester hotel and his home.
“Sasha has been rocked by news of Jack’s secret friendship. She had no idea,” a source told the Sun newspaper today.
Sasha and Grealish are childhood sweethearts, and the source continued: “Jack has apologised to her for any upset caused, and they were due to meet to discuss their future.
“Jack is really confused. On the one hand, he’s being advised to stay loyal to his childhood sweetheart for all sorts of reasons commercial and otherwise.
“But on the other, he’s intoxicated by Emily’s company. He can’t seem to stay away from her.”
Iranian goalkeeper, Zohreh Koudaei has denied claims she’s a man after Jordanian FA accused her of not being a woman.
Koudaei, 32, saved two penalties in a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Jordan in Uzbekistan on September 25, helping the Iranian women’s team qualified for its first-ever Women’s Asia Cup.
But after the game, Jordan’s FA demanded ‘a gender verification check’ on Koudaei from the Asian Football Federation (AFC) over her performance.
Reacting to the claims, Koudaei today said emphatically: ‘I am a woman. This is bullying from Jordan.’
‘I will sue the Jordan FA,’ she added, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
The Jordan FA’s letter, dated November 5, cited doubts over the ‘eligibility of a participating player.’
It also alleged that the Iranian women’s team ‘has a history with gender and doping issues’, and called for ‘due process’ to be followed.
The President of Jordan’s FA, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, shared the letter on Saturday, calling it a ‘very serious issue if true’, and demanded that the AFC ‘please wake up’.
A spokesman for the AFC said: ‘The AFC does not comment on ongoing investigations and/or proceedings, whether actual or potential.’
The Iranian team manager denied the allegations, claiming that the Jordanian team, who were heavy favourites, were seeking an ‘excuse’ for losing the match.
Iran’s team coach, Maryam Irandoost, told sports news site Varzesh3 on Sunday: ‘The medical staff have carefully examined each player on the national team in terms of hormones to avoid any problems in this regard, and so I tell all fans not to worry.’
The coach said that Koudaei had previously represented her country in Asian Cup qualifiers in 2008 and 2010.
‘We will provide any documentation that the Asian Confederation of Football wishes without wasting time,’ she added.
Irandoost said the accusation was being used to cover up for Jordan’s loss.
‘These allegations are just an excuse not to accept the defeat against the Iranian women’s national team,’ she said.
‘The Jordanian team considered themselves the big favourite to qualify… and when they lost… it was natural to seek relief under false pretences and to escape responsibility for this failure.’
A five-day-old baby girl, who was rescued from a drain where she was left to die in Mumbai, India is now recovering in a local hospital, authorities say.
Police said residents found the baby after a group of cats gathered at a spot along the road and began creating a ruckus – hissing, and purring loudly.
Police officials are now investigating how the baby ended up in the drain.
The baby was rescued by a women-led police team from a suburban Mumbai neighbourhood on Sunday, November 14.
When the police arrived, they found the infant lying inside the drain. They said the baby – dressed in a flimsy shirt and soaked in sewage water – was wailing in distress.
Two officers then scooped her out, wrapped her in a cloth and took her to the hospital.
“When we lifted the the baby out, she was freezing; her arms had turned blue. We asked for some warm water and cloth to clean the baby,” police constable Sheetal Sonawane told the Times of India newspaper.
Doctors at the Rajawadi hospital now say the baby is “stable”.
“Doctors are constantly monitoring her health. We will keep her under observation for the next few days,” Dr Vidya Thakur, the medical superintendent of the hospital said.
The United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that Iran has boosted its stocks of enriched uranium, just days before scheduled talks in Vienna to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal.
In a report cited by several media outlets on Wednesday, November 17, the IAEA gave updated estimates of Iran’s uranium stockpile.
The agency said it estimated Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium at 2,489.7 kilogrammes (4,488.8 pounds) – several times more than the cap agreed in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official title of the nuclear deal.
It said Iran’s total stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium stood at 113.8kg (251 pounds) earlier this month, up from 84.3kg (186 pounds) in September.
It added that Iran also possessed 17.7kg (39 pounds) of 60 percent enriched uranium, up from the previous 10kg (22 pounds).
The report came as Iran’s representative office in Vienna said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi will visit Iran next week Monday and hold his first meeting with Iran’s new foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, a day later, the office said in a statement.
The director of the global nuclear watchdog had previously said he finds it “astonishing” that he has yet to meet and discuss several outstanding disputes with top Iranian officials, months after Raisi’s administration was formed.
The most immediate issue appeared to be activities at a centrifuge parts production site in Karaj, which has been unmonitored by the IAEA since June, when Iran said a sabotage attack by Israel considerably damaged the facility, including IAEA cameras.
However, the two sides (Iran and IAEA) were at odds later in September when Iran said its security forces were still investigating the Karaj site and no one could access it.
In a separate report on Wednesday, the IAEA said it “categorically” denied that its cameras were used to mount the attack on the Karaj site after Iran said it was investigating that possibility.
The talks are expected to be complicated as Raisi’s administration has said Iran wants all imposed US sanctions – including those with “terrorism” or human rights designations – lifted, and requires a guarantee that the US will not abandon the deal again in the future.
The US, meanwhile, has maintained that it is only willing to lift sanctions that are “inconsistent” with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is formally known.
Jacob Chansley, the self-described “QAnon Shaman” who infamously marched through the U.S. Capitol with a spear and horned helmet during the Jan. 6 riot, was sentenced Wednesday November 17, to 41 months in prison for his role in the attack.
Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to impose a longer 51-month sentence on Jacob Chansley, who pleaded guilty in September to obstructing an official proceeding when he and thousands of others stormed the building to try to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election.
At the hearing on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Chansley to 41 months in prison, although he will be given credit for the roughly 10 months he has already served.
“You didn’t slug anybody, but what you did here was actually obstruct the functioning of the whole government,” Lamberth said. “You know what you did was wrong. I admire you for being able to come to terms.”
The Justice Department says Chansley was among the first 30 rioters to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6 as the crowd of Donald Trump supporters overwhelmed police, bashed in windows and pushed into the building. The mob forced lawmakers to flee and temporarily abandon their certification of Joe Biden’s election win.
Chansley was arrested days later and indicted on six charges, two of which were felonies, and ordered detained pending trial. He ultimately struck a deal with the government and pleaded guilty in September to a single count of obstruction of an official proceeding.
During the hearing, Chansley addressed the court for around 40 minutes. He said he has spent much of the time he’s been locked up reflecting on his life and his actions on Jan. 6.
“Men of honor admit when they’re wrong. Not just publicly but to themselves,” he said. “I was wrong for entering the Capitol. I have no excuse. No excuse whatsoever. The behavior is indefensible.”
According to court papers, on Jan. 6, Chansley made his way into the Capitol and onto the floor of the Senate, where he scaled the dais.
After a police officer asked him to leave, Chansley refused and said: “Mike Pence is a f****** traitor.” On the desk at the dais, Chansley scrawled a note on a piece of paper that read: “It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!”
Chansley also led rioters in an incantation over his bullhorn, which he concluded with the words: “Thank you for allowing us to get rid of the communists, the globalists, and the traitors within our government.”
At Wednesday’s hearing, Chansley admitted that he was guilty, but also said he’s not a “dangerous criminal.”
“I am not a violent man. I am not an insurrectionist. I am certainly not a domestic terrorist,” Chansley told the court. “I am a good man who broke the law. And I’m doing everything I can to take responsibility for that.”
Barcelona’s president has confirmed that Lionel Messi could be set for a return to his boyhood club after refusing to “rule out anything.”
The Argentine superstar spent 21 years with the Catalan side, winning every trophy and shattering numerous records before he was forced to leave last summer due to the club’s dismal financial situation.
Messi, 34, reportedly did not want to leave his beloved club and cried at his farewell press conference before joining French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
But Barcelona president Joan Laporta has now hinted that the magician may end up back at the Camp Nou before he calls time on his illustrious career.
Laporta, who resumed his post as Barcelona president earlier this year after Josep Bartomeu’s arrest, hinted that the door is open for both Messi and legendary midfielder Andres Iniesta to return to Catalonia.
He said: “I don’t rule anything out. It happened with Dani [Alves], age is a number.
“They’re two great players. I can’t predict what will happen tomorrow, they’re still playing & contracted to other clubs. You never know…”
His comments follow the arrival of iconic full-back Dani Alves, who returned to the club this week after six years, re-joining former teammate and new manager, Xavi Hernandez.
The United States has excluded Nigeria from its list of religious violators.
In a statement by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Wednesday, November 17, the US blacklisted Russia, China, and eight other countries as countries that limit freedom of people to practise their religion.
The communique listed the nations as “Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
Blinken’s statement which was titled, ‘Religious Freedom Designations’, also disclosed that Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua have all been placed on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.”
The US Secretary of State, in his statement, said, “The United States will not waiver in its commitment to advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country.
“In far too many places around the world, we continue to see governments harass, arrest, threaten, jail, and kill individuals simply for seeking to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs.
“This Administration is committed to supporting every individual’s right to freedom of religion or belief, including by confronting and combating violators and abusers of this human right”.
He added that “the challenges to religious freedom in the world today are structural, systemic, and deeply entrenched. They exist in every country. They demand sustained global commitment from all who are unwilling to accept hatred, intolerance, and persecution as the status quo. They require the international community’s urgent attention.
“We will continue to press all governments to remedy shortcomings in their laws and practices and to promote accountability for those responsible for abuses.
“The United States remains committed to working with governments, civil society organizations, and members of religious communities to advance religious freedom around the world and address the plight of individuals and communities facing abuse, harassment, and discrimination on account of what they believe, or what they do not believe”.
In 2020, the US placed Nigeria and six other countries on its special watch list of states that had engaged in or tolerated the severe violation of religious freedom.
An R. Kelly associate has been sentenced to 96 months for witness intimidation in connection to the singer’s sex crime and racketeering case.
The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced the sentencing Wednesday November 17, about seven months after 38-year-old Michael Williams pleaded guilty to an arson charge.
The Georgia resident admitted to authorities he had traveled to the home of one of Kelly’s accusers and set fire to a vehicle that was parked outside her Florida residence. Prosecutors say Williams’ deliberate actions were intended to scare the woman and prevent her from cooperating in Kelly’s federal trial.
Williams, a relative of Kelly’s former publicist, reportedly arrived at the accuser’s house on June 11, 2020, and poured gasoline around an SUV that was leased by the victim’s father.
Prosecutors say the witness identified as Jane Doe in court documents was inside the home at the time of the incident, along with three other adults and two children. The accuser’s mother reportedly called 911 after seeing the flames outside.
According to the Department of Justice, investigators also found traces of an accelerant outside the witness’ home. They also said Williams had conducted internet searches “about the detonation properties of fertilizer and diesel fuel, witness intimidation and witness tampering, and countries that do not have extradition agreements with the United States.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez read the following statement from the victim during the sentencing hearing:
Williams is one of three men who have been accused of harassing, intimidating, and/or threatening some of Kelly’s accusers.
Back in September, the singer was found guilty of eight counts of sex trafficking and one of racketeering. The artist is now facing between 10 years to life in prison. His sentencing is expected to take place in May 2022.
Former Schalke player, Hiannick Kamba has been jailed for nearly four years after faking his own death in a car crash in his native Congo.
Kamba, now, 35, and his wife named only ‘Christina von G’ due to privacy laws have been sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison after being convicted of fraud after life insurance paid out £1m due to his arranged death.
The car accident was purported to have happened on January 9, 2016, after Kamba had travelled back to Congo. Three years later in 2019, Kamba was discovered alive and well in Ruhr, Germany.
According to Bild, he was working as a chemical technician at an energy supplier.
Bild reports on Wednesday that the prosecutor in the case believes the plan was hatched by the pair and that originally, they tried to take out an insurance plan worth £3.36m. It adds that the prosecutor believes the pair have since fallen out.
Bild added that Kamba refused to comment when approached but his attorney said that he has never seen any money that was paid out, while Christina von G protested her innocence and said of the ruling: ‘You lose faith in justice.’
In 2018 Kamba allegedly headed to the German embassy in Kinshasa to report the ‘fake news’ about his death.
He told the authorities that he was separated from his friends during a trip in Congo and left without any documents, money, or a telephone.
‘Kamba claims he was abandoned by friends overnight in Congo in January 2016 and left without documents, money and a cell phone,’ public prosecutor Anette Milk told the German newspaper.
When Kamba was pronounced dead in 2016, his ex-wife claimed a low, six-figure amount on his life insurance.
Kamba’s former club VfB Huls issued an obituary for Kamba in 2016, saying: ‘He represented the ideas and values of our club like few others. His demise will leave a big gap. Hiannick is undoubtedly a bitter sporting loss for us, but primarily we will miss it as a fellow human being.’
Kamba was considered a talented right-back, representing the Schalke youth team alongside Manuel Neuer.
Streaming giant, Netflix has revealed its most watched shows, ending 14 years of hiding its viewing figures.
The company has launched a metrics website called ‘Netflix Top 10’, which shows Netflix’s most popular TV shows and films both globally and in more than 90 individual countries.
From the figures, sitting at the top of the company’s most viewed list is the Korean series ‘Squid Game’ which has had 1.6 billion hours viewed within the first 28 days of having been released – and has so far spent nine weeks in the top 10 shows on Netflix.
In the last week alone it racked up 42.7m hours viewed globally.
Elsewhere, according to the streaming service’s new metric, ‘Red Notice,’ starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, has been watched for 148.7 million hours globally since it debuted on November 12 on Netflix.
In the past week, the most popular series was season three of ‘Narcos: Mexico,’ with 50.3 million hours viewed.
Since Netflix began streaming in 2007, the company has been reluctant to release its viewing figures
Speaking in 2019, Scott Stuber, Netflix’s head of original films, told the Hollywood Reporter that secrecy of its viewing figures is ingrained in the company’s DNA saying filmmakers no longer have to care about ratings .
He explained: ‘It was for television creators to get out of ratings and Standards and Practices and actually free up their narrative form so that they could tell stories that weren’t [influenced] night after night by those numbers. So the methodology was right. And now, as we have grown … we are used to it.’
Every Tuesday, Netflix will update the site with the top 10 series and films on the streaming service.
‘This is an important step forward for Netflix, the creators we work with and our members,’ Pablo Perez De Rosso, a vice president for content strategy at Netflix, wrote in a blog post Tuesday, November 16.
‘People want to understand what success means in a streaming world, and these lists offer the clearest answer to that question in our industry.’
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for the 2022 World Cup play-offs after finishing top of Group C in the qualifiers on Tuesday night November 16.
The game played against Cape Verde at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos ended 1 – 1
Napoli superstar, Victor Osimhen found the net in the first minute of the clash before the visitors responded back four minutes later after Ryan Mendes scored.
Nigeria, having finished top of Group C with 13 points, join Senegal, Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Ghana, Morocco, and DR Congo as the 8th country to qualify for the playoffs round. Two more countries are expected to join them tonight.
Only five African countries will qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Senior Pastor of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleiman, has berated people who have made a vow never to give their money to any church.
While preaching in his church recently, the clergyman said;
”Since you stopped coming to church there is peace. You were coming to church there was no peace. Even the Prince of Peace was looking for peace. Now you stopped coming to church there is peace. So stay in your house.
‘That is why I will not give my money to church again.’ The money that did not change your life, what does the church need it for? Money you had that could not change your life, keep it keep it.”
The clergyman also reacted to comments by those that say religion has made Nigeria poor.
”I hear people say religion has made Nigeria poor. Which religion? Religion is not leadership. The problem of Nigeria is bad leadership. Not church.
You see a group of Christians praying and the next thing they carry it on social media saying ‘Look at that, Nigeria is praying and we are still poor. Does China pray like this? Don’t try to talk down prayer and bring a point that is very very irritating and does not even tally”
He also berated people who say Elon Musk is rich despite not paying tithe.
”Oh look at Elon Musk, he is rich. Does he pay tithe? Do you know the charity those men give? Bill Gates the other time went to Kano and gave billions of dollars for polio. That’s worth more than the whole churches in Nigeria put together. Everybody has what they believe in. Leave people to believe in Jesus.
You don’t want to know those multibillionaires around the world what they do. The investment, the giving that comes out of them. How to support institutions. Jeff Bezos came back from the space the other day and gave CNN reporters N100 million each. Is that not a tithe?” he said
A man has narrated how he met his wife when he was living in one room in Ajangbadi with a job that pays 50k and she was living in the US.
He told of how she helped him financially then helped him relocate to the US after which she continued to support him until he made it and started doing things for her.
He shared his story while reacting to the thread shared by a woman warning other women about marrying down based on her experience.
The man advised men not to feel ashamed receiving help from their women because they are their better half.
The United States government has reacted following the conclusion of work by the Lagos State Panel for victims of SARS related abuses and other matters.
After the panel chairman, Justice Doris Okuwobi (retired) submitted the report at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, concluding that people were killed and injured at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, during the End SARS protests, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu received the findings, recommendations and set up a four-member committee.
The committee led by Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), will come up with a White Paper in two weeks and Sanwo-Olu promised that the state government’s action would be guided by the law and in the public interest.
Reacting in a statement on Tuesday, Nov. 16, the US Mission in Nigeria said America awaits the response from President Muhammadu Buhari government and Lagos authorities.
The Embassy said official actions are part of a process that represents an important mechanism of accountability regarding the EndSARS protests and the events at the tollgate.
“Those events led to serious allegations against some members of the security forces,” the statement reads.
“We look forward to the Lagos State and federal governments taking suitable measures to address those alleged abuses as well as the grievances of the victims and their families.”
A woman who helped deliver her best friend’s baby has been left heartbroken after she discovered that her own husband was the father of the child.
Hailey Custer, 28, from Wickenburg, Arizona, said she was devastated when she found out her husband of six years, Travis Bowling, 36, had allegedly cheated on her with her close friend.
The mother-of-four said after being there ‘every step of the way’ to support her unnamed best friend during the pregnancy and birth, including wearing the hospital’s ‘daddy wrist band’ – she was shocked when she spotted a birth defect on the baby’s neck that was identical to one her husband has.
After confronting the pair about birth defect, she claimed her worst fears were confirmed and she now alleges that Bowling had cheated on her with up to 30 women during their marriage.
Despite the infidelity, Custer said she welcomed her friend into her home after she gave birth because she had ‘nowhere to go.’ She said: ‘I kept thinking of my kids, at the end of the day that is their blood sibling and I’m not going to be the one who causes harm to that child.’
Custer, who is a recovering drug addict, shared her story on TikTok and she quickly went viral.
She explained that she decided to get sober after she became pregnant with her own child years earlier. And she wanted to help her friend, who was also an addict, do the same.
‘I had been forced to sober up because I found out I was pregnant,’ she explained.
‘When I found out my friend was using and she found out she was pregnant, I wanted to do what was right and make sure that she was safe and taken care of.’
Custer, who works in administration, also opened up about the situation to Caters News, and she told them that she noticed her friend and her husband getting close, but didn’t think anything of it.
‘We are all charismatic people, so we all had that nature to be charismatic around each other and make jokes. I didn’t see anything there,’ she said. ‘I was very naïve so I just didn’t think it would be possible for someone to do that.’
She explained that she helped take her friend to doctors appointments, drove her to the hospital while she was in labor, and was right by her side when she gave birth.
‘It was a beautiful experience for me at the end of the day, I will never forget that. I was just happy to be a part of that,’ she added on TikTok.
She also told Caters, ‘In the hospital before I found out, I stepped into that father figure role. I was there for her every step of the way. Even in the hospital, I wore the daddy wrist band, when she got her epidural, she laid on me. I actually gave the baby her first bath.’
But when she noticed a hereditary defect on the baby’s neck a few days after they got home from the hospital, she claimed that she knew right away that the baby was her husband’s.
‘I’m very familiar with [the hereditary defect] because my older son has it – it’s an extra piece of cartilage that grows out of the side of his neck,’ she explained on the video streaming app.
‘I was changing her daughter and I noticed that she had what we call the Bowling bumps, and several of his other children have it as well, so I knew exactly that that baby was my husbands.’
She told Caters that she remembered feeling ‘shock come over her.’
She added, ‘When I found out my friend was standing next to me, I looked at her and you could just tell. She couldn’t say anything, she just dropped her head and looked to the floor, and I just knew.
‘There were no words that were said, I just knew. For me, I was in a state of shock for a little bit. I walked outside when I first found out and just prayed.
‘I kept hearing the words over and over in my head – “bigger picture.” For me that meant, stop with your tunnel vision.
‘I was in a lot of shock in the beginning I couldn’t even process what had happened, it was almost like a stage of grief.
‘Like you have your shock, your anger, and then you come to the conclusion that this is actually real life, this is actually happening.’
But Custer said she was keen to help her best friend and continued to let her live at her house.
She told Caters, ‘Now we have this innocent child who had no say in this whole situation, you have someone who doesn’t have anywhere to go, who has no family, we’re not going to kick them to the streets.
‘I kept thinking of my kids, at the end of the day that is their blood sibling and I’m not going to be the one who causes harm to that child. So, she ended up staying with us.’
‘We stayed friends right after. I was upset, don’t get me wrong, but she stayed at our house,’ she also said on TikTok. ‘She helped with my kids and I helped with her kid. We basically played house together while he was out doing whatever he wanted to do.
‘They stayed with us and I ended up taking care of the baby. The dad was never around, still battling addiction and couldn’t take responsibility – he didn’t want to admit it was his.
‘There were a couple instances where he came home, and he was upset and he actually physically abused both of us.
‘I always say that she was a victim as well. Especially when you’re dealing with addiction, you’ll do anything for your drug of choice and he was the biggest drug dealer where I’m from. So it is what it is, I get it.’
After the alleged heartbreaking ordeal, Hailey said she found forgiveness within herself.
She explained on TikTok, ‘Everything happens for a reason and I’m still friends with her today. I still love her, I forgive her I just hope she can forgive herself. Everyone makes mistakes.
‘There is no hate in my heart for either party. My ex-husband and me have three children together so I have to co-parent with him. And at the end of the day, my now ex-best friend’s daughter is my children’s sister. So I don’t hold any hate in my heart.’
The president of the Jordan Football Association (JFA) has called for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to carry out a gender test on Iranian women’s goalkeeper, Zohreh Koudaei.
Iran beat Jordan 4-2 on penalties in September, with Koudaei saving two spot-kicks to help her country to qualify for the 2022 Women’s Asia Cup for the first time in their history.
But the JFA have doubts over the ‘eligibility of a participating player,’ and are demanding a gender test on the shot-stopper. They believe Koudaei was in fact a man impersonating a woman.
In response, Iran’s team selector Maryam Irandoost strongly denied the allegations.
Irandoost told sports news site Varzesh3: “The medical staff have carefully examined each player on the national team in terms of hormones to avoid any problems in this regard, and so I tell all fans not to worry.
“We will provide any documentation that the Asian Confederation of Football wishes without wasting time.”
It comes after the President of the Jordan Football Association, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, tweeted a letter calling for a gender test.
He has slammed the AFC over the ‘very serious issue,’ and fumed at the confederation to ‘wake up’.
The JFA have demanded an ‘independent panel of medical experts’ take a look at the issue.
Part of the letter reads that the JFA: “Understand that gender verification is not mandatory for participating players, however, the article reserves the right for AFC to investigate and take appropriate measures if there is a doubt on the eligibility of a participating player.
“Considering the evidence submitted by JFA and given the importance of the competition,
“We request the AFC to initiate a transparent and clear investigation by a panel of independent medical experts to investigate the eligibility of the player in question and others on the team,
“Particularly that the Iranian Women Football team has a history with gender and doping issues.”
Grace Atinuke Oyelude, the first-ever Miss Nigeria, turned 90 today.
Oyelude was crowned Miss Nigeria in 1957 after beating over 200 Nigerian girls in the pageant.
Oyelude revealed in the past that she became Miss Nigeria by accident.
Her brother who was a broadcaster saw the advertisements for the pageant in the papers and entered her for the competition without her knowledge in Lagos even though she was still residing in Kano.
After she won the pageant, which came with 200 Pounds prize money and a return ticket to London for two weeks, she gained admission into the school of nursing, Ashford Kent, England, and became a state registered nurse in 1961.
She enrolled at the school of midwifery, St. Thomas Hospital, London, where she qualified as a state registered midwife SCM in 1962.
She also attended the Royal College of Nursing, England in 1971 and obtained a Diploma in Nursing and Hospital Administration and in 1976, obtained another diploma from Ghana Institute of Management and Personnel Administration.
To mark her 90th birthday, Miss Nigerian organizers celebrated her on Instagram.
Manchester United and France midfielder, Paul Pogba has taken to his Instagram page to celebrate his wife and mother of his two children, Zulay Pogba.
Sharing lovely photos of them posing inside a mansion full of roses and balloons, the football star wrote: “???? ????, ???? ??????, ?? ?????! Masha’Allah Happy 28th birthday, mi vieja #MashaAllah.”
Remembrance Day bomber Emad Jamil Al-Swealmeen decided to carry out a bomb attack after his asylum bids were repeatedly turned down, it emerged last night.
The 32-year-old blew himself up in a taxi at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Sunday, Nov. 14, after the taxi driver David Perry, 43, locked him up in the car to stop him from getting out to harm others with the bomb. David Perry was injured in the explosion but survived by a “miracle”.
Emad Jamil Al-Swealmeen, who had no known connections with any terrorist groups, blew himself to bits with a home-made ball-bearing device.
He had taken a taxi from his bomb lair home to the local Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
CCTV footage captured the moment the device was detonated seconds after cabbie David Perry pulled up in front of the main entrance at 10.59 am.
Because of Al-Swealmeen’s severe injuries, it took police several hours to establish a potential identity.
It’s been revealed that Al-Swealmeen had mental health problems and was once arrested with a knife.
It remained unclear when exactly the bomber entered the UK but it was understood he had been in a long-term dispute with the Home Office over his application for UK residential status.
And he had not been granted leave to remain in the UK permanently.
A source told The Sun: “One of the issues being looked at is whether this unresolved grievance pushed him over the edge and prompted him to carry out the attack.”
Following his arrival in the UK, Al-Swealmeen lived mostly in Liverpool, where he was supported by Christian volunteers from a network of churches helping asylum seekers.
According to friends, he earlier spent a large part of his life in Iraq, where his mother came from.
It was claimed that Al-Swealmeen had told friends he came from Syria — but The Sun understands he was a Jordanian national.
It was also claimed that motor-racing enthusiast Al-Swealmeen had changed his first name to Enzo in honour of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari — and to sound less Muslim in a bid to help his asylum application.
He was also said to have converted to Christianity at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral in 2017.
Al-Swealmeen spent eight months living with devoted Christians Malcolm and Elizabeth Hitchott at their home in the Aigburth district of Liverpool.
Former solider Mr Hitchott said: “He first came to the cathedral in August 2015 and wanted to convert to Christianity.
“He took an Alpha Course, which explains the Christian faith, and completed it in November of that year.
“That enabled him to come to an informed decision and he changed from Islam to Christianity and was confirmed as a Christian just before he came to live with us.
“He was destitute at that time and we took him in. The UK asylum people were never convinced he was Syrian and he was refused asylum in 2014.
“He had his case rejected because he has been sectioned due to some mental health incident where he was waving a knife at people from an overpass.”
Mr Hitchott explained: “He was going to put in a fresh asylum claim. Once he had done that, it was possible for him to be housed again by the Home Office and get £35 a week.
“He didn’t want to stay here any more. So he could get the accommodation, I gave him notice to leave. He never talked about Islam, terrorism, nothing.”
Mrs Hitchott said: “I bumped into him in a street, he was doing cake decoration at an educational class, a formal course somewhere, he was very enthusiastic. He showed me the designs he had done and what he was hoping to do in an upcoming exam. He was quite artistic.
“I gave him a sketchbook and pencils. He drew hills, flowers, everything around him.”
The couple said he loved motor racing and would often do go-karting at Brunswick in Liverpool.
The bomb factory where Al-Swealmeen constructed his deadly ball bearing device was yesterday revealed as a bedsit.
Police carried out a controlled explosion at the studio room in a Victorian property in Rutland Avenue in the city’s upmarket Sefton Park district.
Smoke billowed from the house following the 4pm blast, with families having already been evacuated, The Sun reports.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has alerted Nigerians over the existence of an Iranian hacking group called ‘Lyceum’ orchestrating cyber spying in the African telecoms space.
In a statement on Monday, November 15, Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC’s director of public affairs, said the hacking group infiltrates the network of telecoms companies and internet service providers (ISPs).
“An Iranian hacking group known as Lyceum (also known as Hexane, Siamesekitten, or Spirlin) has been reported to be targeting telecoms, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Africa with upgraded malware in a recent politically motivated attacks oriented in cyberespionage,” the statement reads.
“Information about this cyber attack is contained in the latest advisory issued by the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT). The ngCERT rated the probability and damage level of the new malware as high.”
Adinde said that between July and October 2021, Lyceum was implicated in attacks against ISPs and telecoms in Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.
“The advanced persistent threat (APT) group has been linked to campaigns that hit Middle Eastern oil and gas companies in the past. Now, the group appears to have expanded its focus to the technology sector,” the statement further reads.
“In addition, the APT is responsible for a campaign against an unnamed African government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Adinde listed Lyceum’s initial onslaught vectors – by the attackers’ mode of operation – to include credential stuffing and brute-force attacks.
He explained that once a victim’s system was compromised, the attackers would conduct surveillance on specific targets while Lyceum would attempt to deploy two different kinds of malware – Shark and Milan (known together as James).
“Both malware are backdoors. Shark, a 32-bit executable written in C# and .NET, generates a configuration file for domain name system (DNS) tunnelling or Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) C2 communications; whereas Milan – a 32-bit Remote Access Trojan (RAT) retrieves data,” the statement adds.
“Both are able to communicate with the group’s command-and-control (C2) servers. The APT maintains a C2 server network that connects to the group’s backdoors, consisting of over 20 domains, including six that were previously not associated with the threat actors. Advertisement
“According to reports, individual accounts at companies of interest are usually targeted, and then once these accounts are breached, they are used as a springboard to launch spear-phishing attacks against high-profile executives in an organization.
“The report suggests that not only do these attackers seek out data on subscribers and connected third-party companies, but once compromised, threat actors or their sponsors can also use these industries to surveil individuals of interest.”
To guard against this threat, Adinde advised telecommunication companies and ISPs to adopt multiple layers of security and constant network monitoring to protect against potential attacks.
He further advised telecom consumers to ensure the consistent usage of firewalls to help detect and prevent attacks.
“Implement the use of Intrusion Prevention Systems that monitor your network; Create a secure sandboxing environment that allows you to open and run untrusted programs or codes without risking harm to your operating system,” he added.
“Ensure the use of the virtual private network (VPN) to prevent an easy opportunity for APT hackers to gain initial access to your company’s network; Enable spam and malware protection for your email applications, and educate your employees on how to identify potentially malicious emails.”
A man has been arrested by the Talibans for reportedly selling 130 women in northern Afghanistan, after duping them into believing they would be marrying into money.
Officials said on Tuesday November 16 that the man was arrested in northern Jawzjan province late on Monday November 15.
Damullah Seraj, the Taliban provincial police chief, told reporters;
“We are still in our initial stages of the investigation. We hope to find out more about this case later.”
Mohammad Sardar Mubariz, a district police chief in Jawzjan, told AFP the man would target poor women desperate to improve their circumstances.
After saying he would find them a wealthy husband, he would move them to a different province where they were instead sold into servitude. He allegedly trafficked around 130 women this way.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has launched eNaira and they are all excited about it. In Aso Rock and the top echelons of the apex bank. But in the streets, in banking halls, on social media platforms, and elsewhere, everywhere people who understand how digital currencies work and who have no affiliation to APC or CBN are, there are gaps to fill. A lot of them.
There are more questions than answers about eNaira and this is not good. Questions such as how large would the value become tomorrow and how soon are the right questions. People are asking the wrong questions about eNaira.
Which is the first reason I am not impressed.
1. CBN is on a trial mode and denying it
There is nothing wrong with trying out a new policy or idea. But if you are selling this idea as a finished good, you are dishonest or dumb about how the digital world works which is even worse. There are a handful of countries on earth experimenting with Central Bank-backed Digital Currencies, CBDCs.
But we are the only ones not emphasising it.
“We have become the first country in Africa and one of the first in the world to introduce a digital currency to our citizens,” Buhari said at the official launch. It sounded like a declaration of achievement and it is to his government, another feather to their governing cap.
So it wouldn’t make sense to call it a trial. Trails are no achievements. So this is the main thing. CBN did admit on their launch statement that the system would still undergo modifications but this is not an admittance of a beta version because even the best apps still get modified from time to time.
2. ENaira is centralised – a launchpad for disaster
ENaira would operate on the Hyperlegder Fabric, a private blockchain. With this the CBN has full control of what happens in the eNaira blockchain – it is the opposite of what happens with bitcoin. In bitcoin, it is decentralized meaning many entities are permissioned to run it.
With eNaira, there is nothing hidden, the CBN would have every single piece of information about your transaction just moving their mouse on their computer. Banks and fintech would have some information but it would be partial and controlled by the lord up there – CBN. In a real blockchain, even node has equal power and control their part of their end-users.
The privacy cryptocurrencies give their users is now defeated.
But privacy is the least of our problems – security is the big deal. One daring hacker penetrating the blockchain firewalls and everybody’s wallet is exposed.
CBN says they would regularly conduct IT assessment but the facilities and resources to do this are very expensive and CBN, a government agency with all the red tapes would struggle to raise this money, continuously, especially as the eNaira wouldn’t bring plenty of money into the coffers of the government.
Everything is not profit, you say; well, in Nigeria where even WAEC is expected to remit profit, if eNaira doesn’t it would soon run the risk of a loosened guard.
3. The eNaira is not a store of value
The central bank says the eNaira would help lower inflation. They say this because they have an elementary understanding of the cause of inflation to be the availability of physical cash. So they reckon that if they eliminate physical cash, they would reduce inflation.
The low percentage of the use of the internet in the informal sector has removed a huge chunk of pyres in this inflation-reduction fire. But this is not the game-changer. ENaira is not a store of value. It is the same value with paper naira which means eNaira is not affected positively or otherwise by market forces.
It is like being on an airplane but your speedometer is controlled by your twin brother’s Keke Napep. You won’t go far.
If the CBN had allowed the eNaira to grow on its own unaffected by its inferior paper naira, it would rise really high and may go on to challenge the dollar. It would help the naira in the sense that the digital version can challenge the dollar.
More and more Nigerians would resort to using the e-version of the naira to reduce the brutal cost of the paper naira.
It is only as a store of value that eNaira can grow. But the way it is, it is just another cashless gimmick, and Nigerians who are used to bank transfers and the POS don’t have any reason to join the platform. Why should I open myself to all the hassles and risks for the same value of the dirty naira in my back pocket wallet?
4. Enaira as a cheap means to transfer money into Nigeria is not advantageous
We have Paystack, Flutterwave, and Western Union as a means to receive money in Nigeria. CBN is saying the SWIFT is too costly and their platform would eliminate all these costs and make it seamless for cross-border transfers.
This is not true.
There are three tiers of eNaira wallet. The first has 50K as the daily transfer limit, the second 200K, and the third one million naira. 50 thousand naira is the tier for users without BVN. So your uncle in Texas who does not have a bank account in naira cannot send you more than 50K at a go.
Even Nigerians with BVN abroad, you have to fund your Nigerian bank account with naira in order to send eNaira to Nigeria. If you are allowed to use your dollar card to buy eNaira, I don’t know if this is allowed, if it is, you would have to work with CBN’s exchange rate.
Let’s do the maths. With 100 dollars, I will purchase 41 thousand eNaira and send it home. But if I send 100 dollars directly to Emeka, he can withdraw it via Western Union or Ria and sell it 57 thousand naira to the Hausa guys in Ogui Road. The difference is 16K. The difference is huge.
It doesn’t pay either the sender or receiver to use eNaira. The only winner is CBN’s ego.
5. It is a gateway for money laundering
To control inflation, CBN would burn some eNaira from time to time. Burning is the equivalence of removing a certain amount of paper money from circulation. Today, the CBN says it has “minted” 500 million eNaira. To control inflation, they may burn 100 million eNaira tomorrow.
Let me rephrase: They would say they have burned 100 million eNaira. Not the banks/fintech in the second stage of the ladder, not the end-users in the bottom rung can ascertain that indeed 100 million digital nairas have been burned.
CBN has full control of the system and you just have to take their words for it. ENaira would become an avenue for money laundering. E-laundering.
Other problems with the eNaira include the fact that the central bank says it would aid taxation which is another word for multiple taxations.
They said it would be easier for FG to reach Nigerians for welfare programmes such as the Covid-19 palliative distribution. The question is what information would eNaira give the authorities that BVN does not already have?
And if the spread of smartphones and the use of digital platforms would play a part, then there would be more southerners using the Speed eNaira app. Do you see the Nigerian government controlled by the Hausa-Fulani hegemony using a platform dominated by southerners to pay palliatives?
Senator Andy Uba Campaign Organization has rejected the result of the just-concluded Anambra state governorship election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Ambassador Jerry Ugokwe, the group alleged that the candidate of the APC “Senator Andy Uba is a victim of widespread electoral fraud and manipulation by INEC in cohorts with the Willie Obiano regime and the security forces deployed to oversee the Anambra State Governorship Election.
The statement in part read
“The elections were characterised by widespread irregularities, intimidation and voter suppression in order to clear the path for the inglorious ‘victory’ of APGA in the polls.
For instance, in polling units where the Biometric Voters’ Accreditation System malfunctioned, INEC went ahead to conduct the elections manually. There were numerous cases where votes announced by INEC exceeded the number of accredited voters in polling units.
Another clear manifestation of collusion between the Obiano Administration and INEC was the publishing of results on the Social Media handles of APGA even before official announcement by INEC. Yet mysteriously, the votes announced in advance by APGA always corresponded correctly with the official figures released by INEC.
It is inconceivable that our candidate, who polled over 200,000 votes in the APC primary election would be allocated a slightly above 43,000 votes by INEC.
It is surprising that APGA that lost almost 80% of its stalwarts through defection to the APC before the election came out ‘victorious’. A sitting APGA Deputy Governor, seven members of the House of Representatives, 10 members of the Anambra State House of Assembly, the APGA party’s member of Board of Trustees, many serving SA’s, SSA’s, in addition to a serving PDP Senator all defected to the APC very timely before the election, yet APGA emerged ‘victorious’. This is quite ridiculous!”
According to the statement, the only people remaining in APGA at the time of the election were Governor Obiano and his household and a few staff of the Government House as well as Prof. Soludo and his household but majority of the electorates in Anambra state have moved to the APC.
“There was definitely no way the carcass of APGA could have defeated the APC without the active collusion and manipulation by INEC and the Obiano Administration.
What happened on November 6, 2021 fell far below the acceptable standard of a free and fair election and can best be described as an electoral fraud perpetrated by the INEC, Willie Obiano Administration and the security forces.
We have noted that starting from the appointment of INEC Adhoc staff, who mostly came from Calabar, to the distribution of electoral materials and the retention of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, who supervised the second term election of Governor Obiano, it was crystal clear that the game plan was to overturn the popular wishes of the people of Anambra State in the biggest electoral heist of all time in Nigeria’s political history.”
The campaign group appealed to the APC supporters to remain peaceful and calm, saying “we will not relent in pursuing our stolen electoral mandate to the limit of the law through all the constitutional means available as the facts on ground did not in any way reflect the outcome of the elections as announced by the obviously compromised INEC.”
The FCT police command says it has ordered an autopsy to be carried out on the body of the lady identified simply as Susan, who was allegedly electrocuted at the Hustle and Bustle club owned by businessman, Obi Cubana, in the Aminu Kano Crescent area of Wuse, Abuja on Saturday, November 13.
The management of the club has since shut down its operations following the unfortunate incident.
“We’re closed till further notice. This is due to the loss of our esteemed client. We are deeply saddened by this situation and need time to heal from it. Our prayers are with the families of the lost soul; may her soul rest in peace. We sympathise with the family on this unbearable loss.”
Reacting to the development, the spokesperson of the FCT police command, DSP Josephine Adeh, said an investigation is ongoing and that the police would conduct an autopsy on the corpse.
“The case was reported to the police. This is a case of sudden and unnatural death, which investigation is going on. We are going to carry out an autopsy to determine the cause of death. I cannot tell you the cause of the death now until the investigation and autopsy are completed.”she said
Alhaji Ahmed Matane, Secretary to Niger State Government has raised an alarm of Boko Haram insurgents being in control of 5 communities in the state.
Matane who addressed journalists, said Boko Haram insurgents are fully in charge in Hanawanka, Madaka, in Rafi LGA and Kurebe, Gussau, Farina Kuka in Shiroro LGA.
He stated that the terrorists move freely in the affected areas, wielding sophisticated and menacing weapons. Matane added that this has forced residents of the communities out of the area to safer places.
The SSG said;
”We have spent over N2 billion on the security agencies in the ongoing fight against banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities in the last two years.
“We will continue to accord priority attention to the welfare of security personnel deployed to enable them wipeout all those involved in the illegal acts for peace, progress and political stability.
“We equally appealed to residents to volunteer reliable information on movement of bad characters to the nearest security outfits for security action.
”We have also reached out to traditional and religious leaders as well as stakeholders to mobilize residents to support the effort of the government in the ongoing fight against criminal elements.”
The bomber killed in the terrorist attack outside the Women’s Hospital in Liverpool on Sunday, Nov. 14, has been named by Counter Terrorism Police North West as 32-year-old Emad Al Swealmeen.
Al Swealmeen was killed after a homemade device went off in the backseat of a taxi.
The taxi driver who has been named as David Perry noticed the device and locked the cab with Al Swealmeen inside.
The device then exploded, killing Al Swealmeen and injuring Perry, who had to be taken to hospital, but has since been discharged.
According to the Daily Mail, Al Swealmeen goes by the name Enzo Almeni and was born in Syria but raised in Iraq.
The senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Meeks said: ”Our enquiries are very much ongoing but at this stage, we strongly believe that the deceased is 32-year-old Emad Al Swealmeen. Al Swealmeen is connected to both the Rutland Avenue and Sutcliffe Street addresses where searches are still ongoing.
“We believe he lived at the Sutcliffe Street address for some time and had recently rented the Rutland Avenue address.
“Our focus is the Rutland Avenue address where we have continued to recover significant items.
“We continue to appeal for any information about this incident and now that we have released his name any information that the public may have about Al Swealmeen no matter how small may be of great assistance to us.”
In a conference on Monday, November 15, Merseyside Police first revealed their belief that Al Swealmeen was responsible for the bombing, but that his motives were “yet to be understood”.
Counterterrorism police also announced that four men aged 29, 26, 21 and 20, had been arrested in the Kensington area of the city in connection with the blast.
The Lagos state judicial panel has shared a list of people killed and declared missing after the shooting at Lekki toll gate during the #EndSARS protest in October 2020.
The panel in its 309-page report which has been made public, listed 48 names as casualties of the October 20, 2020 Lekki tollgate shooting. 47 victims are said to be males, while one is female.
According to the panel, it was alleged and corroborated that soldiers picked bullet shells on the night of October 20 and policemen followed up in the morning of October 21 to pick bullet shells.
The panel also said that several unidentified bodies were removed by security agencies and LASEHMU (Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit) and deposited at various hospital mortuaries in Lagos state.
It was further noted that the denial of ambulances by the soldiers, which could have assisted in the prompt and effective treatment of injured protesters, was cruel and inhuman and it contributed immensely to the large number of deaths and casualties
The report read;
“It was alleged and corroborated that the soldiers had their vans parked at the Lekki Toll Gate and removed as many bodies and corpses of the fallen.
“One of the protesters who was shot and taken for dead, Olalekan Sanusi, who eventually escaped to narrate his ordeal and experience stated that 11 corpses were in the van where he was placed in and presumed dead.
“Miss Dabira Ayuku also corroborated the above by stating that she saw about 7 dead bodies placed in one of the military trucks at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of 20th October, 2020.
“It was alleged and corroborated that soldiers picked bullet shells on the night of October 20 and policemen followed up in the morning of October 21 to pick bullet shells.
“Several unidentified bodies were removed by security agencies and LASEHMU (Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit) and deposited at various hospital mortuaries in Lagos state.
“Three (3) trucks with brushes underneath were brought to the Lekki Toll Gate in the morning of October 21st October, 2020 to clean up the scene of bloodstains and other evidence.
“There was abundant evidence before the panel that the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) indicated in its Twitter handle that it had effectively cleaned up the Lekki Toll Gate scene immediately after the incident of October 20, 2020.
“The denial of ambulances by the soldiers, which could have assisted in the prompt and effective treatment of injured protesters, was cruel and inhuman and it contributed immensely to the large number of deaths and casualties on the part of the protesters, especially those from the Lekki Toll Gate.
“The panel finds the cases of death or injured protesters as credible and uncontroverted.”
See the full list of casualties published on page 297 of the report below……………………….
The Trump Organization has reached a deal to sell the rights to its Washington DC hotel for $375m (£279m), according to the Wall Street Journal.
Miami-based investment firm CGI Merchant Group is in contract to acquire the lease for the Trump International Hotel, the newspaper reported.
The hotel is in a historic building a few blocks from the White House that the Trump Organization leases from the US government.
The hotel has been a popular gathering spot for Trump supporters and foreign dignitaries.
The newspaper said CGI intends to remove the Trump name and has reached an agreement with Hilton Worldwide Holdings to have the property managed and branded by Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria group.
Last month, the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform said newly obtained government documents raised “troubling” questions about the hotel.
According to the Democratic-controlled committee, Donald Trump reported that the hotel earned him more than $150m (£112m) during his time in office but actually lost more than $70m (£52m).
The committee found that the hotel received more than $3.7m (£2.76m) in payments from foreign governments – equal to more than 7,400 nights at the hotel, raising a potential conflict of interest.
The hotel is in the city’s second-tallest structure after the Washington Monument and the building previously housed the US Post Office Department headquarters.
The Austrian government has ordered a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg on Monday confirmed that millions of citizens would be placed into lockdown from tomorrow amid a worrying trend in infections.
The move, which will affect about two million people in the country of 8.9million, prohibits unvaccinated individuals from leaving their homes except for basic activities such as working, grocery shopping – or getting vaccinated.
It will not apply to children under the age of 12 because they cannot yet officially get vaccinated.
It comes after hundreds of Dutch protestors had a water cannon turned on them by police last night after they objected to the partial return of lockdown introduced by The Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Earlier today hundreds of people descended upon the streets of Ballhausplatz in Vienna during an anti-vaccination rally.
Protesters held placards in their hands reading ‘no compulsory vaccination’ as they walked through the streets.
On Sunday, Mr. Schallenberg told reporters in Vienna: ‘It’s our job as the government of Austria to protect the people.
‘Therefore we decided that starting Monday … there will be a lockdown for the unvaccinated.’
The lockdown will initially last for ten days and police have been asked to check people outside to make sure they are vaccinated, Mr. Schallenberg said.
Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume has raised an alarm of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists regrouping in the Lake Chad axis.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army made the claim on Sunday November 14, while reacting to Saturday’s attacks on Askira in Borno by ISWAP fighters.
Ndume who commiserated with the Nigerian Army over the incident and hailed Brig-Gen. Zirkusu as a gallant soldier who took the fight to the terrorists, stated that the intensity of the attack on Askira is worrisome as troops had taken out key ISWAP commanders in Borno.
The lawmaker urged other security agencies to give the Nigerian Army the needed support. He also also urged residents around the Chibok area to be calm and not relocate, as the Nigerian Army has what it takes to take the fight to the insurgents.
He said;
“I want to express my condolences to the Nigerian Army over the death of the General who died along Chibok road.
“ISWAP terrorists attacked a town there. They know that the General was the major obstacle to their operation. They laid an ambush and rammed a bomb-laddened car into his vehicle.
“He was a gallant soldier. He took the fight to the terrorists. His death has sent panic to people in that area.
“I am aware that some people around that Chibok area have started thinking of relocating.
“Some want to go to Mubi and other places. We are trying to urge them to remain there. The insurgency is coming to an end.
“This is not the end, but the beginning of the end of terrorists. I know that the Army has what it takes to take the fight to them.
“There is a need to urge other security agencies to give the Army the needed support. We also need to urge vigilante groups to assist them.
“For now, we will assume that it was an isolated case. But the intensity with which they came is worrisome.
“They came with more than 10 gun trucks. They are also regrouping around Borno North. That’s the Lake Chad axis.
“The military is aware and the Air Force is providing surveillance in the area. It was a revenge mission. The Army has been taking out key ISWAP commanders and they had their revenge.
“Last week, for instance, they abducted relatives of the Emir of Askira. They also abducted some passengers along that road. If the Army sustains the temple, we will win this insurgency.
“The equipments are arriving gradually. We are monitoring. As a committee, we will go and see what had been brought into the country.
“This is an improvement. The Army is very rapid in responding. The Army is involved in about 33 states now. They’re under pressure.”
A taxi driver is being hailed a hero after a vehicle exploded outside a hospital in the northern English city of Liverpool on Sunday, Nov. 14.
The taxi driver, who has been named locally as David Perry, is said to have thwarted a tragedy on Remembrance Day by locking a suspect inside his cab before a bomb the man was holding exploded outside a hospital in Liverpool.
Perry allegedly pulled up outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Sunday morning and after “noticing the device” jumped out of the cab and locked the man inside.
The car exploded just seconds before the nation was to fall into silence. As a result, Perry suffered from non-life-threatening injuries and is currently being treated at a local hospital.
The suicide bomber died in the explosion.
Perry stopped the car just outside the maternity ward of a local hospital, less than a mile from the reported intended target of a Remembrance Day service at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.
Present at the service the suicide bomber was targeting were military personnel, veterans, and civic dignitaries.
Police cordons remained in place in areas of Liverpool in the early hours of Monday, Nov. 15, after the car explosion at the hospital, which killed one person and injured another.
Perry’s action also led armed police to arrest three others in another part of the city, as part of a probe into the incident.
Hours after the blast, police raided a house and arrested the men in their 20s. Police are also still present outside the hospital, and asking people not to show up unless they have confirmed appointments.
The identity of the bomber has not yet been revealed, and the city is still on high alert after the incident.
In his update, Prime Minister Boris Johnson didn’t mention Perry by name, instead saying, “My thoughts are with all those affected by the awful incident in Liverpool today. I want to thank the emergency services for their quick response and professionalism, and the police for their ongoing work on the investigation.”
It’s believed Perry is from Kirkdale, a district of Liverpool.
A friend of Perry’s told Daily Mail that the taxi driver was just going about his day on Sunday when one passenger changed his life forever.
The friend said: “The passenger asked David to go to the cathedral so we believe that was the intended target. But they got stuck in heavy traffic so the passenger asked to go to the hospital instead.”
Just outside the hospital, it is reported Perry noticed the passenger had explosives and was behaving suspiciously throughout the trip, so he quickly locked him in the car and escaped.
The resulting explosion also appeared to injure Perry, with another person noting on Facebook, “He’s in a bad, bad way. He’s a fellow driver on delta. He’s had his ear sewn back on, got burns and shrapnel wounds, and other pretty serious injuries.”
Right now, there’s still a lot of confusion regarding the event, with police still investigating.
Merseyside Police chief constable Serena Kennedy said, “So far we understand that the car involved was a taxi which pulled up at the hospital shortly before the explosion occurred. Work is still going on to establish what has happened and could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything.”
A joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA), World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children and Education Funds (UNICEF) has predicted that 12.1 million Nigerians will go hungry through out December 2021, as a result of insecurity and COVID-19.
The report known as Cadre Harmonise, revealed that about 19 percent of the families that will be affected by the hunger would come from Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.
The report disclosed that the analysis involved 154,008,198 people, out of whom 12,135,318 in the participating 20 states plus the FCT are currently experiencing Crisis and emergency food insecurity.
The hunger situations in Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and FCT were also analyzed.
“Already, an estimated 228 707 people in the emergence phase wherein, even with humanitarian aid, at least one out of five households is either facing extreme food deficits, resulting in a very high acute malnutrition or excessive mortality, or an extreme loss of assets relating to livelihoods, causing deficits in food consumption in the short term.
“This number is projected to increase to 3.5 million at the peak of the 2022 lean season between June and August,with the number of people anticipated to be in the Emergency phase’ doubling to 459,847.
“In addition, 13 551 people are anticipated to experience catastrophe-like conditions in some of the most inaccessible localities, if access to life-saving and livelihood support interventions are not sufficiently scaled up,” it read.
UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins said;
“it costs only 5,000 Naira to prevent a child from becoming malnourished, while it costs 50,000 Naira to treat a malnourished child.
“We need to invest in preventing malnutrition in children by improving the diets of women and young children, ensuring supplementation – including with Vitamin A and Iron Folic Acid – and expanding nutrition counselling services to caregivers.
“By doing so, we can change the narrative of the Cadre Harmonize analysis and ensure that children survive and thrive. But we must all work together to achieve this, especially during the challenging times we are now facing.”
A woman has been laid to rest in a casket designed in a form of a man private part.
Ghanaian media practitioner and lawyer, Gabby Otchere-Darko shared the video and further revealed that he was told the deceased had 10 children with different men hence the male organ shaped casket.
It was also learnt that the burial ceremony took place in a Ga community. He wrote;
“I am told this was the final funeral rites with the casket of an amazing woman who died leaving behind 10 children from 10 different men here in Ghana. May she rest in p……”
“This african man called Jibril is an immigrant in Valencia, Spain. Jibril picked an envelope containing €4,250 (Over N2.5m) on one of the streets in Valencia few days ago.
Jibril then chose to play a hero and decided to take the envelope containing the money to the police and handed it over to police officers.The officers and everyone around were surprised.
The police officer in charge then asked Jibril who is also an illegal immigrant to make a statement and its at that moment that they asked him to present his personal papers (ID)The police officer then discovered that Jibril did not have a residence card (ID) to prove that he was legally living in Spain.
He was then immediately detained.Sadly, Jibril was last week deported back to his home country in Africa and banned for years without ever stepping a foot in Spain!”
A Primary school teacher, Mallam Aliyu Ibrahim from Danbatta Local Government Area of Kano State had hot water poured on his body targeting his private part.
“Since the time I told her about my plan to marry another wife, I did not see any change of attitude from her and we had been living together peacefully.”
“Last night after I returned home, I bought some meat for them. I met her boiling the water, but I had no idea she was going to use it for me.”
Actor, Will Smith has revealed his mother once caught him having sex in the kitchen when he was a teenager.
In his new memoir, Will, the actor has been so candid with his life experiences revealing how he nearly killed his dad for battering his mum and now he has now spoken about an award sexual encounter when he was a teenager.
The Hollywood superstar, 53, explained that he was ‘deep in the throes of reckless lovemaking’ with his then-partner Melanie Parker on the kitchen floor at 4am when his mom Caroline walked in.
Hd recalled being ‘deeply and totally in love’ with Melanie, who he met at Overbrook High School.
Explaining that his girlfriend had moved into Will’s family home after her aunt kicked her out following a fight, he explained that the condition had been that Melanie would stay in the basement and there would be ‘no sex’.
But Smith broke the rule and was caught by his mother less than three months after she moved in.
The incident happened when his mom went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee in the early hours of the morning.
Will wrote:
‘And wearing slippers far too quiet to defend her delicate sensibilities, she approached the threshold of the family kitchen.
‘Still innocent, she flipped the light switch as she had done tens of thousands of times before. But this time, her eyes landed upon her eldest son and his girlfriend deep in throes of reckless lovemaking.’
He added: ‘As a teenager, outside of physical injury, you cannot feel worse than having your mother catch you and your girlfriend doggy-style on her kitchen floor.’
Will revealed his mom stormed back to her bedroom and Melanie later moved back in with her aunt, as he continued:
‘I’m still not exactly sure why I did what I did that night. To this day, I have no idea what I was thinking.
‘Of all the experiences I am sharing in this book, this is the individual moment of personal behavior that makes the least sense to me.’
In the self-titled memoir, Smith also revealed how he turned to drugs when his marriage broke down, clashes with his children and falling in love with his co-stars.
A woman has accused her house help of allegedly locking her in the bathroom before making away with her valuable items in Lang’ata area in Nairobi, Kenya.
In a post shared on Tuesday, November 9, Felgona Atieno claimed that the help identified as Judith Achando, 34, locked her inside the bathroom on November 2.
Atieno said that the househelp did all this while her six-year-old son who was in the house watched. She said that the son would not alert her as Achando had allegedly threatened him.
“She locked me inside the bathroom as I was bathing before stealing my laptop, phone, cash and assorted clothes,” Atieno claims.
She said that she did not fight with the househelp neither did she tell her if there was anything wrong she had done to her.
Atieno said that she has been having a good relationship with the house help and wondered why she had to pay back in such a manner.
The woman said she realised what Achando had done after she finished bathing. She said at first, she thought that it was her son who had locked the bathroom’s door.
“On inquiring what had happened, my son told me that ‘aunty ameenda na simu na laptop’ (aunty has gone with your phone and laptop),” she said.
On checking what had happened, Atieno said that she found her laptop gone and the househelp’s bedroom was empty.
Atieno said she reported the matter to the police after efforts to trace Achando proved futile.
It was gathered that as soon as Achando left Lang’ata, she had already secured a job in Mombasa under a new boss.
The matter was reported at Lang’ata station under OB number 66/02/11/2021 under the subject stealing by a servant.
Lang’ata Police boss B Mwanthi said that the matter was under investigation and police had already launched a manhunt for the suspect.
“The matter is being dealt with by our officers and we are certain that the suspect will be arrested,” Mwanthi stated.
A US appeals court has temporarily denied a bid by US Capitol riot investigators to access ex-President Donald Trump’s White House records.
The court ruling comes two days after a lower court ordered the documents to be turned over to the congressional committee leading the inquiry into the January 6 Capitol mob riot.
The lawmakers are trying to find out if Trump had prior knowledge of the riot.
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building on 6 January as Congress was meeting to certify the election result after Trump refused to acknowledge losing the election to President Joe Biden last year, making claims – without evidence – of mass voter fraud.
The inquiry is being conducted by a committee set up by the House of Representatives, which is dominated by Democrats.
The panel wants to see phone records, visitor logs and other White House documents that could shed light on events leading up to the attack on Congress.
The US Court of Appeals in Washington has now placed a temporary hold on a lower court’s order to hand over the trove by Friday.
The appeals court said it will schedule a hearing for 30 November. The case will be heard by three judges who were selected at random, according to US media. All three were appointed by Democratic presidents.
Trump’s lawyers had said in their emergency filing to the appeals court that their client could “suffer irreparable harm through the effective denial of a constitutional and statutory right to be fully heard on a serious disagreement between the former and incumbent President”.
Trump – a Republican – has argued his White House communications were protected by executive privilege, under which presidential documents can be kept secret. Biden has waived executive privilege on the files.
Actress Annie Idibia turns 37 today, November 13, and according to her, all she wants is peace.
In a post shared on her Instagram page, Annie used the occasion of her birthday to tender an unreserved apology to her husband, her mother, her mother-in-law, family members, and all who might have been let down following her outburst on social media in September this year.
Recall that Annie called out 2face for hanging out with his baby mama, Pero Adeniyi, while he vacationed in the US. This caused a lot of drama online with Annie, 2face’s brothers and her brothers going for each other’s neck. 2face had to apologize and sue for peace.
In her birthday post, Annie said it was so unwise for her to throw her husband out like that and apologized for the mental stress the whole incident put him through. She mentioned that she allowed her emotions make her act on something that wasn’t true because she was kept in the dark.
Her post reads;
”It’s A Brand New Chapter For Me … And Would really Love To Start It On A Clean Slate . This Year Has Been A lot … Soooo Much Blessings And Pain.
My Hands Are Shaking As I Type This ….I Let A lot Of pple down ..Especially The Pple Close To Me… The Last 10Weeks Have Been The Worst Of My ENTIRE Life , Yes The Worst Since I Was Born … I have Gone From Being So Angry To being So Broken And Back To Anger .. And Then Sadly ,Which I Am Ashamed To Admit – Suicidal! I Have Acted So Badly In A Way I Am Not Proud Of , I Allowed My Emotions Cloud Me. , I Allowed My Emotions To Lead Me Into Making Bad decisions , Allowed My Anger n Emotions ,To Make Me Act On Something That’s Wasn’t True Cos I Was Kept In Dark !
Instead Of Remaining Calm .. Before Acting … I Want to Apologize To My Husband , Inno .. I Am So Sorry I Threw You Out There Like I Did , (so unwise ) That Isn’t The Kind Of Woman You Married, Totally Sorry For all the Mental Stress And Heart Break It Caused You , So Sorry I Put Both Our Families Out There I, The Way I Did I still Bi Your Smallie oo*
To My Beautiful Mothers .. My Amazing Mother And My Beautiful Mother In- Law .. I am Sooo Sorry I Let Both Of You down .. No Mother Should Go Through The Kind Of Pain That You Both Felt .. I Am Really Sorry (I am still your baby) I am Far From Perfect, But I Have Decide To Choose Peace . And I Wanna Do Better , Given The Chance .
To Both My Families- The Macaulays And The Idibias , I Am Sorry For All The Pain And Disrespect Towards Both Familes… Pls Forgive Me .Una No Fit Throw Way Una Pikin ooo
To all my 7.1 Plus Family out here .. Thank you for still standing n supporting me and my brand
To All the brands That are working with us – thank you for still sticking with your NKOYO ooo.. To The ones We Are In Talks With , I appreciate To My Big Brother And Friend @efeomorogbe I Am So Sorry To My Manager- @phadekemi Thank you for your patience n for sticking by
To My “Online Inlaws “Wey I carry my Mata come give – thanks for all D love,D bashing n rebuking I have learnt ooo.. I No go do am again o All I wan 4 my bday is PEACE
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Command, have arrested one Precious Ofure Omonkhoa for an alleged bitcoin investment scam.
Omonkhoa was arrested on November 8, 2021 in the Ikoyi area of Lagos, following credible intelligence received by the Commission about his illegal activities.
A statement released by the antigraft agency says Omonkhoa allegedly posed as Moshem Cnich, a Swedish national, to defraud unsuspecting victims of their hard- earned money by claiming that he runs a bitcoin scheme, where people invest money to make huge returns.
”Preliminary investigation also revealed that the suspect engaged in a dating scam and had defrauded two victims in Canada.
Upon his arrest, the suspect confessed to have laundered the proceeds of his fraudulent activities by purchasing a piece of land worth $150,000USD (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand United States Dollars) through bitcoin from CASA-Cubana, a project being run by the Cubana Group.
Upon his arrest, the sum of $50,000USD was found in his bitcoin wallet.”the statement read
Relatives are awaiting post-mortem results to establish what caused the death of three children who fell ill and died after eating noodles in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Tori Me reported that the children, Sinothando Ngwendu, 11, Olwam Ngwendu, 7, and four-month-old baby boy, Athenkosi Ngwendu, left with their grandparents to visit a family in New Brighton.
The oldest child was sent to a local shop to buy a packet of noodles, which they cooked and ate.
But when they arrived back home in Motherwell on Sunday, November 7, the older siblings complained about stomach cramps and nausea.
The children’s grandmother gave them water to drink. But their conditions quickly deteriorated, and they were rushed to a clinic.
Tragically all three died before doctors could help them.
The incarcerated founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been granted permission to marry his partner, Stella Moris, at Belmarsh prison in the UK.
The couple received permission to marry inside the high-security prison where Mr. Assange has been lodged since 2019 after the US took legal action to extradite him.
“Mr. Assange’s application was received, considered, and processed in the usual way by the prison governor, as for any other prisoner,” a Prison Service spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Associated Press on Thursday.
Ms. Moris told the PA news agency: “I am relieved that reason prevailed and I hope there will be no further interference with our marriage.”
Assange, 50, met his future wife in 2011, while he was living in the Ecuadorean embassy in the capital.
Ms. Moris is a South Africa-born lawyer and was on his legal team. She has been in a relationship with him since 2015 and has been fighting for him to be released on bail.
The couple got engaged in 2017 and have two children, Max, two, and four-year-old Gabriel, both of whom are British citizens.
Mr. Assange has continued to fight a long-drawn-out legal battle to avoid extradition to the US, where he could be questioned over the activities of WikiLeaks.
He is facing 17 charges of espionage over his role in obtaining and disclosing national defence information following WikiLeaks’s publication of thousands of documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
The leaked documents included footage from April 2010 that showed US soldiers shooting and killing civilians from a helicopter in Iraq.
If found guilty he could face up to 175 years in prison.
Sergio Aguero is considering his playing future after suffering a heart problem whilst playing for Barcelona recently.
The Argentine, who was forced off the pitch, may yet retire with the issue more complicated than was initially expected, reports a Catalan radio station.
Aguero recently underwent tests following the heart problem and it has shown that continuing as a professional would not be favorable.
The 33-year-old was forced off 42 minutes into his first home start for Barcelona against Alaves last month and was taken to hospital due to breathing difficulties.
The former Manchester City star was visibly struggling towards the end of the first half, laying down after clashing with an opponent in the penalty area. He was able to get back to his feet swiftly and walked off.
El Chiringuito presenter Jose Alvarez Haya later reported that his heart rate was much higher than it should have been.
Barcelona issued a statement following the incident that read: “The player Kun Agüero has undergone a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure by Dr. Josep Brugada.
“He is out and for the next three months the effectiveness of the treatment will be evaluated to determine his recovery process.”
Aguero said after he was taken to hospital: “I am well and in good spirits to face the recovery process. I want to thank you all for so many messages of support and love that make my heart stronger today.”
Aguero’s issue comes just months after Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch whilst playing for Denmark at Euro 2020.
The playmaker stopped breathing after suffering cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the pitch before being rushed to hospital, where it was eventually confirmed that he would need to be fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).
He will not play for club side Inter Milan in Serie A this season.
At least 15 people, including three housewives, were killed by bandits at Binnari and Jab Jab villages in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State on Wednesday, November 10
It was gathered that the villagers attempted to fight back in Binnari but were overpowered by the bandits numbering over 50.
The bandits attacked the two villages in retaliation for the killing of some kidnappers by vigilantes in the area a few weeks ago.
Seven bandits were killed during the encounter while the bandits who survived the attack escaped with the corpses of their gang members.
During the retaliatory attack on Jab Jab, the gunmen were said to have killed many people and set houses ablaze.
Spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Usman Abdullahi, who confirmed the attack said policemen had been deployed in the area.
“The police are now on the ground and are making effort to restore normalcy and we have no casualty figure for now,” he said.
Steven Gerrard has been appointed as the new Aston Villa head coach on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
The former Liverpool midfielder left his role as Rangers manager to replace Dean Smith, who was sacked last weekend after a run of five successive defeats.
Compensation of between £3.25-4m agreed with the Scottish champions for Gerrard and his assistant Gary McAllister.
Gerrard said: “Aston Villa is a club with a rich history and tradition in English football and I am immensely proud to become its new head coach.
“In my conversations with Nassef, Wes and the rest of the Board, it was apparent how ambitious their plans are for the club and I am looking forward to helping them achieve their aims.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everybody associated with Glasgow Rangers for giving me the opportunity to manage such an iconic football club.
“Helping them secure a record-breaking 55th league title will always hold a special place in my heart. I would like to wish the players, staff and supporters the very best for the future.”
Gerrard, 41, had been in charge of Rangers since June 2018 and led the club to the Scottish Premiership title last season, ending Celtic’s nine-year reign as champions.
Villa sits 16th in the Premier League table, two points above the relegation zone after 11 games of their campaign.
Gerrard’s first match in charge is set to be the Premier League match against Brighton on November 20.
A student has been convicted of the murder of his 94-year-old step-grandmother three years after an inquest ruled she was the victim of an accidental house fire.
Mary Gregory was discovered under a table in the conservatory of her smoke-logged bungalow in Heysham, Lancashire in the early hours of May 28 2018 and died four days later in hospital.
An investigation by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service concluded the most probable cause was a dropped or carelessly discarded cigarette and ruled out any third-party involvement, which later led to a coroner recording a verdict of accidental death.
However, police reopened the case in May 2019 following comments made by her grandson Tiernan Darnton, 21, during a counseling session in which he said he killed Mrs. Gregory – his stepfather’s mother – by using a lighter to set a curtain on fire on at the address in Levens Drive.
During the inquiry, it emerged that Darnton had made a similar confession several weeks after Mrs. Gregory’s death, during a game of Truth or Dare with two friends in which he revealed his “darkest secret”.
He told the pair: “I have a secret I haven’t told anyone. I may have killed someone.”
When pressed, he said he started the blaze because he did not want Mrs. Gregory, formerly from Nuneaton, Warwickshire to suffer any longer from dementia, Preston Crown Court heard.
Darnton’s friends did not believe him and he persuaded them to keep quiet, but he told a counsellor in May 2019 about a friend “who could send me to prison cos of what he knows”.
He added that he had felt “powerful” at an event involving a person who had died – thought to be Mrs. Gregory’s funeral – as he “knew what had happened and everyone else in the room didn’t”.
The female counsellor ended the session by saying to him “I’m not really clear what you’re saying but I think you’re trying to tell me you’ve killed someone”, to which Darnton mouthed “Yes”.
A week later he told the counsellor and his stepfather, Chris Gregory, 66, that he had started the fire and the matter was later passed to the police by the counsellor, the court was told.
The defendant closed his eyes briefly after the jury foreman returned the unanimous verdict and his stepfather rushed out of the courtroom as other members of the family, who were sitting apart from Mr. Gregory, broke down in tears.
Darnton, a former student at Kendal College and Lancaster & Morecambe College, was arrested at his family home in Combermere Road, Heysham, in May 2019.
Examination of his mobile phone and laptop found internet searches made after the fire including “I’m a murderer”, “I’m a monster and I’m going to hell”, “I want to cause evil” and “Urge to kill again”.
A month before the fatal blaze, when Darnton was 17, he also searched “Under 18 murder”.
Giving evidence at his trial, Darnton said the case was “all a big misunderstanding” and his confessions were false.
He said he only wanted to impress his “edgy” friends in the Truth or Dare game and felt he had to say something believable, although he knew it was “messed up”.
Darnton said his comments to the counsellor that he had killed somebody were “attention-seeking” but denied saying he had set his step-grandmother’s house alight.
He claimed his Google searches were related to his interest in killers and true crime, and said he did not even understand at the time the true definition in law of murder.
An investigator from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service ruled in August 2018 that the probable cause of the fire at Mrs Gregory’s home was a cigarette and told the jury his opinion was unchanged.
However, a fire examination expert for the prosecution said the chances of that were “extremely remote” and he believed the blaze was most likely started by naked flame ignition near the front bedroom window of the property.
The Crown said attempts were also made to hamper any escape by Mrs Gregory, with a table placed in front of the conservatory doors, the unplugging of a phone cable and the dismantling of a smoke alarm.
A packet of Tunnock’s teacakes and a can of Coca-Cola, bought by Darnton from a nearby service station less than two hours before the fire, were discovered at the scene.
Evidence shown to the jury also included drawings found at Darnton’s home address, outlining the floor plan of Mrs. Gregory’s bungalow. They contained labels including “good hiding place” and “quick exit”, as well as references to needing a “good alibi”.
Mr. Gregory, giving evidence for the defence, said Darnton – whom he home-schooled – had been suffering from depression for a number of years and was “plagued by intrusive thoughts which were very, very disturbing”.
He told the jury he would have taken Darnton to the police himself if he believed he had hurt his mother in any way.
Following the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Zoe Russo, from Lancashire Police said: “Darnton regularly visited Mrs Gregory’s home after her son took him under his wing at a young age. Darnton would spend time at Mrs Gregory’s bungalow and not only took advantage of Mrs Gregory’s kind nature, he also used his access to her home to meticulously plan his murderous act.”
Libya has overtaken Nigeria as Africa’s top oil producer after the country’s crude oil production fell further last month amid lingering supply disruptions.
In a new report by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, it was gathered that Nigeria’s oil output fell to about 1.23 million barrels per day in October from about 1.25 million bpd in the previous month.
OPEC noted that Libya which overtook Angola as the second-biggest producer on the continent in December last year, saw its oil production rise to 1.24 million bpd in October from 1.16 million bpd in September based on direct communication.
OPEC uses secondary sources to monitor its oil output, but also publishes a table of figures submitted by its member countries.
Nigeria’s production is said to have declined by 45,000 bpd to 1.35 million bpd in October from about 1.40 million bpd in September, and it is reported that this is the second biggest drop in output in October among its peers in OPEC, after Iraq, based on direct communication. The country’s production fell the most in the month, according to secondary sources.
Secondary sources also revealed that the 13-member oil cartel said its total crude production averaged 27.45 million bpd in October, higher by 220,000 bpd month-on-month.
The sources said;
“Crude oil output increased mainly in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, the UAE, and Kuwait, while production in Nigeria, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea declined.”
OPEC hinged the supply disruptions in Libya and Nigeria on crude differentials of light and medium sweet crude which rose in the Mediterranean and West African markets in October on good buying interest from European buyers and strong refining margins.
OPEC said;
“However, soft demand from Asian refiners for Atlantic Basin crude amid unfavourable west-to-east arbitrage capped the rise. Crude differentials of Bonny Light, Forcados, and Qua Iboe rose firmly on a monthly average in October by 70¢, $1.06, and 75¢, respectively, to stand at premiums of 10¢/b, 27¢/b, and 4¢/b.”
London-based economic research firm, Capital Economics also revealed that the increase in OPEC’s oil output in October was below its target of 400,000bpd. It was also claimed that the issues are unlikely to be resolved soon, as OPEC would probably continue to undershoot its planned increases in output in the months ahead.
Capital Economics said;
“Once again, Angola and Nigeria were largely responsible for this undershoot. Operational issues brought about by a lack of investment in oil-producing facilities continue to plague output in both countries, while Nigeria is also grappling with recurring militant attacks on key pipelines.
“This will do little to alleviate the signs of undersupply in the oil market. For example, the price spreads between front-month futures and longer-dated futures are now as negative as any time in recent years, which normally indicates a lack of near-term supply.
“Despite persistently undershooting its target, we doubt OPEC will make any major changes to its output policy at its next meeting on December 2. Admittedly, external pressure on the group has continued to grow, with the US now reportedly considering a release of oil stocks from its strategic reserve.”
Paris St Germain midfielder Aminata Diallo has been released by police following her arrest on Wednesday November 10.
PSG had confirmed Diallo was taken into custody on Wednesday morning by the Versailles Regional Police Service “as part of the proceedings opened following an attack on the club’s players last Thursday evening”.
French daily L’Equipe reported that Diallo’s fellow PSG and France midfielder Kheira Hamraoui was attacked in the street by two masked men on Thursday, November 4.
The club’s statement released on Thursday said: “Paris St Germain take note of Aminata Diallo’s release after police custody.
“The club remains alongside its players to enable them to overcome this ordeal and quickly regain serenity.
“Paris St Germain reiterates its confidence injustice to shed light on the events. The club thanks everyone for showing restraint, respecting the presumption of innocence and the privacy of the team.”
It was gathered that authorities were working on the theory that Diallo hired goons to put her talented rival out of action so she could take her place in PSG’s team.
Police have yet to identify the masked men who carried out the beating.
Hours before the attack took place, all PSG players and staff had attended a ‘bonding’ inner at posh restaurant Le Chalet des Iles, located on an island in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris.
After the meal Diallo had offered to drive Hamraoui and another player – Sakina Karchaoui – home to the nearby department of Yvelines, where all three live.
Diallo had just dropped Karchaoui off at her home around 10.30pm when the masked attackers approached the car and dragged Hamraoui out.
One of them allegedly shouted abuse at Hamraoui and beat her legs with an iron bar, while the other ‘detained’ Diallo but did not harm her.
The attack lasted ‘a few minutes’ before both of the men fled.
Hamraoui immediately contacted the head of security at PSG and the team’s assistant coach before going to hospital, where she received stitches.
She then missed team training sessions and an important Champions League match against Real Madrid on Tuesday night – with Diallo starting in her place.
At 6 am the morning after the match, Diallo was arrested at her home in Marly-le-Roi and taken into police custody.
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a pastor identified as Chris Onyebuchi Amadi who allegedly strangled his wife to death during an argument in Aluu, Ikwere Local Government Area of the state.
Amadi, the pastor of a new generation church, Shalom Mercy Ministry located in Aluu, attempted to flee after he allegedly killed his 30-year-old wife, Evangelist Solution Amadi, who is also a pastor and marriage counsellor in the church.
Spokesperson of the command, Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the arrest to Punch on Thursday, November 11, said the deceased’s corpse was retrieved from the scene of the crime and has been deposited in a morgue.
Omoni said the suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal and Investigation Department on the orders of the Commissioner of Police, Friday Eboka.
“I can confirm the arrest of one Onyebuchi Amadi who had a misunderstanding with his wife on November 8. It was alleged that he (Onyebuchi Amadi) strangled her to death. So far, we have evacuated the corpse of the woman and taken it to the mortuary. The CP has ordered that the suspect be transferred to State CID for further investigation.” he stated.
Family sources told newsmen that the incident happened on Tuesday, November 9, in their home at Mbodo Community, Aluu after a disagreement over school fees payment in his wife’s school.
It was gathered that troubled started when his wife confronted him for driving some of her pupils from school for failing to pay on time, without first checking with her.
Her elder brother, Odinaka Opurum, said his sister felt embarrassed when affected parents started calling to complain about her husband’s action.
The school, Solution International School was reportedly established by the deceased before she got married to the pastor in 2012. Their marriage was blessed with four children, two boys and two girls.
“The husband went to the school (Tuesday November, 9) and started driving pupils away for failing to pay school fees. When parents now called the wife to ask why she drove their kids away even after paying, she appealed they should not be angry that she will find out from her husband,” Odinaka narrated.
“When she got to the house, they started quarreling again and the husband started beating her. He then started to strangle her to the point she collapsed and became unconscious
“When he saw she was no longer responding, he rushed her to a clinic close to their house, the clinic confirmed her dead and referred him to UPTH to be sure. Instead of taking her to UPTH as they advised, he took her to the house, covered her with wrapper, packed some clothes in a bag, locked all the doors and attempted to run away.”
Odinaka further said the incident was not the first time the pastor would beat his sister. He said it has been recurring and his sister out of love and the position of Marriage counsellor which she occupies in church, decided to endure in order not to set a bad example for young girls.
An unvaccinated mum said she does not regret rejecting Covid vaccines in the wake of the death of her newborn third child.
22-year-old Katie Leeming had baby Ivy-Rose Court delivered by caesarean 14 weeks prematurely after she fell ill with coronavirus. A week after the emergency birth on October 13, doctors discovered the child Ivy-Rose had also contracted the virus.
The tiny infant, who was born weighing just 2lbs 3oz, was also suffering from prematurity complications including a pulmonary haemorrhage and a brain haemorrhage. She died just nine days old on October 22, according to Metro UK.
Speaking for the first time, Blackpool mum Katie said she did not get vaccinated after hearing ‘horror stories’ about the effects of the jab on mums-to-be on pregnancy forums online.
Katie said: ‘One lady said she had received the vaccination and that her baby was stillborn the week after.
‘There obviously could have been other reasons for this, and the vaccine might not have caused it, but it scared me and put me off.
Just hearing the horror stories about women having miscarriages made me not want to take the risk.
‘I don’t know if it would have made a difference or not. I had thoughts in my mind about it – what if I’d had it? Would she still be here today? What if it’s my fault? But my midwife told me I can’t afford to think like that.
‘I could have still caught Covid-19 after the vaccination, or worse, if I did have it and something happened anyway, I would have blamed the vaccine.’
Katie and her partner Lee Court were given a few hours with Ivy-Rose at the Royal Preston Hospital neonatal unit after doctors said ‘the kindest thing to do would be to let her go’.
On the pain of losing a child, she said: ‘Every hour is different. I have been through all the stages of grief and back again.
‘I’ve gone from feeling completely numb, feeling as if nothing has happened and expecting to feel the baby’s movements – because I should still be pregnant with her – to completely heartbroken about how it all happened. I’m devastated.’
The Chinese communist party on Thursday, November 11 held a key meeting where they approved a rare “historical resolution” that will ensure Chinese leader, Xi Jinping stays in power for the rest of his life.
According to the official Xinhua news agency, the landmark resolution places Xi alongside former leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
With the resolution, Xi Jinping joins the two other leaders as the only leaders to have presided over such a resolution in the party’s 100 year history.
Experts say the “historical resolution” will pave the way for Xi, 68, to secure an unprecedented third term in office next year — and potentially rule China for life.
The move came at the end of the closely-watched sixth plenary session of the party’s Central Committee, a mostly male group of more than 300 top leaders. It is the last major meeting before a party congress next year .
He is only the third leader to have a historical resolution adopted during his presidency, after Mao and Deng.
Xi’s political philosophy — called “Xi Jinping Thought” — is already being interwoven into Chinese society, added to educational textbooks from primary school to college. The historical resolution will further entrench his personal leadership as the defining characteristic of Chinese politics for years and possibly decades to come.
The resolution is Xi’s “attempt to further consolidate his power and to define his historical legacy in the history of the party,” said Jinghan Zeng, a professor of China and international studies at Lancaster University in Britain ahead of the plenum.
Weeks before the meeting, state media praise for Xi was more effusive than usual.
An article in People’s Daily, the party’s flagship newspaper, called Xi’s leadership the “most critical condition in the face of major historical junctures and tests.”
Safeguarding Xi’s “core position” and the party’s overall authority, it said, were “the fundamental guarantees for winning new victories” in China’s modernization drive.
Former leaders Mao and Deng both used their historical resolutions to criticize what had come before: Mao, in 1945, asserting his dominance as ruler at the birth of communist China, and Deng, in 1981, carefully criticizing Mao’s mistakes and paving the way for greater economic liberalization.
Xi’s resolution is expected to be more about praising what Chinese state media has called “the major achievements and historical experiences” of the party’s 100-year rule — and by extension the past decade with him in charge.
That includes the Mao era, which Xi has previously defended despite the millions of people who died of starvation in the Great Leap Forward, Mao’s disastrous attempt in the late 1950s and early 1960s to rapidly industrialize Chinese society, and the brutal purges of the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.
“Sixth plenums are not usually necessarily the most important annual meetings of the Communist Party,” said Steve Tsang, a professor and director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London. “But this particular sixth plenum is very, very important indeed.”
“The only thing that can stop Xi now is internal resistance within the upper echelons of the party, if he stumbles or makes some other big mistake,” he said.
These plans come amid China’s surging power internationally. The country is set to become the world’s largest economy within a decade. Its coal consumption will determine the global fight against climate change. And it remains locked with the United States in disputes over everything from trade and intellectual property to human rights and the status of Taiwan.
Physically disabled Zimbabwean motivational speaker, Sinikiwe Kademaunga, has shared photos from her wedding.
26-year-old Kademaunga, who was born without hands, knees and feet, took to Instagram on Thursday, November 11, to share her wedding photos few months after she showed off her man, Reuben. See more photos below…
A Chinese tennis player has vanished a week after accusing the country’s former vice-premier of sexual abuse.
Peng Shuai, 35, a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion, on Tuesday accused retired Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of pressuring her into having sex, according to screenshots of a since-deleted post from Peng’s verified account on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform.
In the post, which reads as an open letter to Zhang, she alleges a relationship over an intermittent period that spanned at least 10 years. Peng says she opened her heart to Zhang, who is now 75 years old.
“Why did you have to come back to me, took me to your home to force me to have sex with you? Yes, I did not have any evidence, and it was simply impossible to have evidence,” she wrote.
“I couldn’t describe how disgusted I was, and how many times I asked myself am I still a human? I feel like a walking corpse. Every day I was acting, which person is the real me?”
During a press conference on November 3, a spokesman for Beijing’s foreign ministry refused to be drawn on the subject, saying flatly: ‘I have not heard of it and it is not a diplomatic question.’
Zhang was a vice-premier in Beijing and served on the ruling party’s powerful seven-member standing committee of the Politburo.
The post was taken down within 20 minutes of being uploaded to Weibo, which is heavily monitored by the Chinese state.
For a time Peng’s profile appeared to be disabled, and was not showing up in searches on the site.
Attempts to post about Peng or Zhang on Weibo also show up an error, even when the posts themselves do not mention the alleged affair.
The error message says the post violates ‘relevant laws and regulations’ without elaborating further.
China’s foreign ministry has denied all knowledge of the matter and Zhang has also not responded to requests for comment.
A Nigerian national escaped the gallows after the Federal Court set aside his conviction and death sentence for drug trafficking by the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Kuching, Malaysia.
The Nigerian, Jonas Chihurumanya was arrested for allegedly trafficking 158.3g of methamphetamine in a car park at Jalan Canna at about 12.05am on June 7, 2016.
He was charged under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1952 and punishable under Section 39B(2) of same Act, which carries a death sentence or imprisonment for life and with whipping, upon conviction.
He was found guilty and sentenced to death on Jan 30, 2018, by the Kuching High Court. His counsel appealed the High Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal but was dismissed on Oct 23, 2019. He subsequently appealed to the Federal Court.
A three-member panel led by Datuk Seri Mohd Zawawi Salleh together with Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan and Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli unanimously discharged and acquitted Jonas Chihurumnanya after allowing his appeal in Zoom proceedings on Thursday, November 11,2021.
The Federal Court found that the circumstantial evidence did not irresistibly point towards Chihurumnanya having knowledge of the alleged drugs in the boot of the car he was driving. In the absence of knowledge, the panel held that the element of possession as required under the law was not established by the prosecution.
The Federal Court also held that there was a serious missdirection by the trial judge in invoking the statutory presumption under Section 37(da) of the Dangerous Drugs Act and at the same time relying upon Section 2 of the same Act to prove the element of trafficking, which prejudiced the appellant in terms of the burden of proof placed on him.
Chihurumnanya was represented by Satinder Singh Sandhu, Muhammad Izayyeem Azim and Lim Vui Seng while deputy public prosecutor How May Ling represented the prosecution.
