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Missouri State set to execute Ernest Johnson today despite the intervention of Pope Francis and others

Ernest Johnson, a Missouri man convicted of killing three convenience store workers during a closing-time robbery nearly 28 years ago is set to be executed despite requests for mercy from the Pope Francis, two federal lawmakers and thousands of petition signers.

Johnson, 61, is scheduled to die by injection Tuesday evening, October 5, at the state prison in Bonne Terre, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of St. Louis. It would be the seventh U.S. execution this year.

“The state is prepared to deliver justice and carry out the lawful sentence Mr. Johnson received in accordance with the Missouri Supreme Court’s order,” Parson, a Republican, said in a statement about his decision not to reduce the sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
 

Jeremy Weis, Johnson’s lawyer, said he was “very disappointed” by the decision.
 

“We believe we made a compelling case to him that it was the right moral decision and I guess he disagreed,” Weis said.
 

In a letter last week to Parson, a representative for Pope Francis wrote that the pope “wishes to place before you the simple fact of Mr. Johnson’s humanity and the sacredness of all human life.”
 

Republican Gov. Michael Parson on Monday declined to grant clemency despite the urging of several people, including the pope. 

Johnson’s attorney, Jeremy Weis, said executing Johnson would violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits executing intellectually disabled people. On Monday, he asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of execution.

“This is not a close case — Mr. Johnson is intellectually disabled,” the court filing stated.

He said multiple IQ tests and other exams have shown that Johnson has the intellectual capacity of a child. He also was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and in 2008, he lost about 20% of his brain tissue to the removal of a benign tumor.

Cristiano Ronaldo has become one of Man United’s problems – Jamie Carragher says

Former Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher believes Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United has actually added to the squad’s problem of being a team of individuals. 

Ronaldo returned to the club from Juventus in the summer on a two-year contract, and has since scored five goals in five games. 
 

He was named as a substitute for last Saturday’s Old Trafford clash and while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought him off the bench after 57 minutes, the Red Devils were held to a 1 – 1 draw.


Sir Alex Ferguson including many others criticized the Norwegian for his decision to start Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for Manchester United’s draw with Everton. 

Reacting to the situation at the Manchester United, Ex-Liverpool defender Carragher told The Telegraph: ‘They remain a team of individuals rather than a team. Cristiano Ronaldo has added to that rather than fixed it. That’s why, despite a brilliant squad, they are not yet at the level of the other three. 

‘Dropping five points in their last two home games highlighted lingering inconsistency.’

Carragher added that champions Manchester City remain the team to beat in the Premier League after the opening seven games of the season, despite Champions League winners Chelsea being top of the table by a point heading into the international break. 

‘They (City) are still the team to beat,’ he says. ‘There was a question mark against them after failing to replace Sergio Aguero, but it is business as usual for Pep Guardiola. 

‘They have gone to the two toughest venues and taken four points, justifying being favourites to win it again. They will take some stopping.’ 

President M. Buhari to present Nigeria’s 2022 budget soon

Barring any last-minute changes, President Buhari will on Thursday, October 7, lay the 2022 Appropriations Bill before a joint session of the National Assembly.

Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, disclosed this on Tuesday October 5, while presiding over plenary.

President Buhari is expected to also present the budget to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) tomorrow October 6 before presenting to the National Assembly.

Details of the Budget are yet to be revealed but it is speculated that the Ministries of Works and Housing; Finance, Budget and National Planning; and Defence would get the highest capital allocations.

ex-Tesla employee awarded $137million cash after he proved that he was racially abused every day

A black ex-Tesla worker who claims he was racially abused every day at the electric carmaker´s San Francisco Bay Area factory in California has been awarded nearly $137 million payout.

The jury in San Francisco agreed that Owen Diaz was subjected to racial harassment and a hostile work environment.  

Diaz’s lawsuit described the Fremont, California, plant, as a ‘hotbed of racist behavior’ where he was subjected to daily racist abuse including the N-word, over a course of 11 months from 2015 to 2016.

The 52-year-old contracted elevator operator claimed fellow employees drew swastikas and left racist graffiti around the plant, while he said one of his supervisors drew a person with a black face and a bone in his hair and wrote ‘booo,’ short for ‘jigaboo.’ The supervisor then allegedly told him ‘he couldn’t take a joke’ when Diaz confronted him. Diaz contended that none of his supervisors stepped in to stop the abuse.

It’s the second time this year a black former employee has won a payout from Tesla in a discrimination suit. 

‘Tesla´s progressive image was a façade papering over its regressive, demeaning treatment of African-American employees,’ the lawsuit said.

Diaz was awarded $6.9million in damages for emotional distress and $130 million in punitive damages, his attorney, Lawrence A. Organ, told the Washington Post.

‘It took four long years to get to this point,’ Diaz told the New York Times. ‘It´s like a big weight has been pulled off my shoulders.’

‘It´s a great thing when one of the richest corporations in America has to have a reckoning of the abhorrent conditions at its factory for Black people,’ Organ, of the California Civil Rights Law Group, told the Times.

It wasn´t immediately clear whether Tesla would appeal the decision.

However, Tesla previously denied any knowledge of the alleged racist conduct at the plant, which has about 10,000 workers.

If upheld, the award would be a blow to a company that has been subject to various allegations of workplace problems but requires employees to resolve disputes through mandatory arbitration, which the firm has rarely lost, Mail Online reports. 

Diaz, who was contracted through a staffing agency, didn´t have to sign an arbitration agreement.

Ugandan man invites a lady to his home, buys her drink and kills her

A Ugandan national identified as Suleiman Mayanja is currently being held in custody by Kenyan detectives over the gruesome murder of a 25-year-old woman.

The man and the deceased never knew each other before meeting at a popular joint, where they had a few drinks.

On their second meeting, the lady came to Ugandan national’s rented apartment on Sunday October 4, before being killed around 3am on Monday morning. Her half-naked body was discovered by the apartment’s guard.

Mayanja who arrived the East African country last month through the Busia border point, was said to have fled from the apartment. However on the evening of Monday October 5, he was arrested by detectives at Nyali Cinemax where he was hiding.

It was gathered that he sent a runner to collect his belongings from the room which he had booked on September 30, when detectives pounced on him. Unbeknownst to the runner who is a cab driver, undercover cops had laid an ambush in the apartment.

After few minutes of interrogation, he was whisked to a waiting police vehicle that sped towards the suspect’s hideout.

The suspect is currently being grilled for more details relating to the incident, for the appropriate charges to be established before arraignment.

Nigerian nurse sues UK hospital over harassement for wearing cross around her neck

A Nigerian christain nurse will today tell an employment tribunal that she was bullied out of her job for wearing a cross around her neck at work.

NHS theatre practitioner, Mary Onuoha alleged that series of  campaign by bosses at Croydon University Hospital forced her remove the gold symbol. She had been a staff member for 18 years and had worn the piece of jewellery for 40 years to mark her deep Christian faith.

But from 2015, she claims a succession of managers told her to remove the item from around her neck or the matter would face ‘escalation.’ She claims patient safety was risked in an operating theatre to discipline her and her head of department even said he would have to call security if she wore it in a clinical area.

Nigerian nurse sues UK hospital over claims she was bullied out of her job and treated like a criminal for wearing cross around her neck

Mrs Onuoha was told her small gold cross was a health and safety risk and ‘must not be visible’.

However, she said other clinical staff members at Croydon University Hospital in South London were permitted to wear jewellery, saris, turbans, and hijabs and only the cross was subject to specific sanction.

For her continued refusals, the devout Christian was investigated, suspended from clinical duties and demoted to working as a receptionist, which she found deeply humiliating, she said.

According to Mrs Onuoha,  she was forced off work with stress in June 2020 and believed she faced no alternative but to resign later that year.

The Nigerian nurse alongside the Christian Legal Centre will now challenge Croydon Health Services NHS Trust on the grounds of harassment, victimisation, direct and indirect discrimination, and constructive and unfair dismissal.

Nigerian nurse sues UK hospital over claims she was bullied out of her job and treated like a criminal for wearing cross around her neck

Mrs Onuoha’s lawyers will argue that the Trust has breached her freedom to manifest her faith under Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights and the Equality Act.

The hearing is being held at Croydon Employment Tribunal with Mrs Onuoha’s evidence commencing today.

Mrs Onuoha will state that she was ‘treated like a criminal’ by her employer and her case will bring into question the freedom of Christians to manifest their faith in the workplace, especially in comparison to members of other faiths.

Mrs Onuoha came to the UK in 1988 and had worked at Croydon University Hospital for 18 years.Each day she wore the cross around her neck without any complaints or health and safety concerns from colleagues or patients but she claims from 2015, she was asked to either remove her cross or conceal it, which she refused.

The issue was escalated in August 2018 when bosses ordered her to remove the cross saying it was a breach of the trust’s Dress Code and Uniform Policy and therefore a health risk to her and to patients. 

Mrs Onuoha’s lawyers will argue that the dress code was applied inconsistently, with other nurses and members of staff frequently wearing various types of jewellery, hijabs, saris, turbans and religious bracelets in wards and theatre without being asked to remove them.

They claim Mrs Onuoha was required at all times to wear several lanyards whilst at the same time the Trust claimed that wearing items from the neck, such as her chain with a cross, posed a ‘risk of injury or infection’.

On August 21, 2018, Mrs Onuoha claims she was in charge of a team working in theatre supporting a patient who was under general anaesthetic.

While the patient was on the surgery table, Mrs Onuoha’s manager came into theatre and demanded that she remove or conceal her cross immediately.

After refusing to remove it, Mrs Onuoha, 61, was told to leave the theatre to conceal the cross by putting on an additional scrub back to front, on top of the one she was correctly wearing.

Mrs Onuoha said she could not leave the patient.

Her manager said that the junior staff could remain with the patient whilst she removed or covered up her cross.

Mrs Onuoha, however, again refused to leave the patient. She claims management then returned with another senior staff member insisting she left to change.

Mrs Onuoha was asked what she wanted to do and then, in the end, was told to carry on but that the cross needed to be removed by a specified time later that day.

At the same time, during the same operation, she says a blue pendant and earrings being worn by the anaesthetist were completely ignored. 

In April 2019 she was given a final written warning but left work with stress in June 2020 after being moved to a series of administrative roles and resigned in August 2020.

Mrs Onuoha said: ‘This has always been an attack on my faith.

‘My cross has been with me for 40 years. It is part of me, and my faith, and it has never caused anyone any harm.

‘Patients often say to me “I really like your cross”, they always respond to it in a positive way and that gives me joy and makes me feel happy. I am proud to wear it as I know God loves me so much and went through this pain for me.

‘At this hospital there are members of staff who go to a mosque four times a day and no one says anything to them. Hindus wear red bracelets on their wrists and female Muslims wear hijabs in theatre.

‘Yet my small cross around my neck was deemed so dangerous that I was no longer allowed to do my job.

‘From a young age I naturally always wanted to care for people – it was in my blood. All I have ever wanted is to be a nurse and to be true to my faith.

‘I am a strong woman, but I have been treated like a criminal. I love my job, but I am not prepared to compromise my faith for it, and neither should other Christian NHS staff in this country.’

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre representing Mrs Onuoha, said: ‘From the beginning this case has been about one or two members of staff being offended by the cross – the worldwide, recognised and cherished symbol of the Christian faith.

‘It is upsetting that an experienced nurse, during a pandemic, has been forced to choose between her faith and the profession she loves.

‘Why do some NHS employers feel that the cross is less worthy of protection or display than other religious attire?

‘How Mary was treated over a sustained period was appalling and cannot go unchallenged.

‘Mary’s whole life has been dedicated to caring for others and her love for Jesus. We are determined to fight for justice.’

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Mrs Onuoha will now challenge Croydon Health Services NHS Trust on the grounds of harassment, victimisation, direct and indirect discrimination, and constructive unfair dismissal.

The hearing will begin at 10am at Croydon Employment Tribunal.

The trust has been approached for comment. 

School teacher had sex with 14-year old student in her car multiple times

A drama teacher at a middle school allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old student in her car multiple times.

Brittany Lopez-Murray, 31, who works at Hialeah Middle, reportedly slept with the male student for two months after she confessed her “feelings toward” him over the phone in August.

She was arrested on Saturday, October 2, and later charged with lewd and lascivious battery, molestation, and engaging in a sexual act with a child, reports the Miami Herald.

According to local media, the teacher was exposed after the student’s sister-in-law discovered explicit texts and photos between him and the teacher.

It was also reported that the boy’s father came across nude photos of the teacher on his son’s phone.

Lopez-Murray and the boy, who is now in high school, exchanged texts detailing “how much they enjoyed the sex with each other,” the report said.

It is alleged that she would sometimes pick him up from basketball practice and then the two would engage in sexual acts in her car.

Teacher, 31, accused of having sex with student, 14, in her car after her nude photos were found on his phone

The accused teacher has taught students at the school for four years and was hailed “rookie teacher of the year” in 2017.

Her lawyers, Landon Ray and Jeff Chukwuma, hadn’t seen her arrest report as of Monday night, October 4.

Landon Ray said: “She is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We hope everyone is patient, doesn’t rush to judgment and respects the family’s privacy.”

The Miami-Dade school district issued a statement in the Miami Herald, which said that they were “saddened and disappointed” over the allegations.

It read: “All employees receive training and are expected to abide by the District’s Standards of Ethical Conduct policy.

“It is unfortunate that despite our efforts, the actions of some individuals run contrary to the behaviour that is expected of them.

“As a result of this arrest, M-DCPS will begin the process of terminating her employment and prevent her from seeking future work with this District.”

‘Unknown Gun men’ attacks Dunamis Church in Abuja, stabs security guard

Armed men raided Dunamis International Gospel Centre on Monday, October 4, and stabbed the security guard.

The hoodlums, numbering over 10, were said to have arrived in the church from the shanties and slums in the neighbourhood.

On getting to the church, they stabbed a security guard, identified only as John, in the stomach and ripped out his intestines, Punch reports.

The hoodlums reportedly demanded money and searched the premises, and they became angry when they could not find anything.

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A source told the publication: “The incident happened around 3am on Monday. The robbers came and John tried to resist them. During the fracas, he was overpowered and stabbed in the stomach.

“He was rushed to the General Hospital in Kubwa but because doctors were on strike, there was nothing that could be done. He was thereafter transferred to another private hospital in Abuja.”

The Chairman of the District Centre Estate, Ifeanyi Uwaje, confirmed the incident.

He said: “What happened was very unfortunate; we took the victim to a hospital and we have reported the case to the police.”

Boko Haram allegedly captures several Niger state communities, changes state laws

Boko Haram attack a community in Borno state, Nigeria

Boko Haram Insurgents have allegedly taken over communities in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

Daily Trust reported that the insurgents who ordered residents of the communities not to recognise any constituted authority, also told them to marry off their daughters at the age of 12. 

Resident of the area and Co-Convener of Concerned Shiroro Youths, Bello Ibrahim told the publication; 

“At a time, they were in Kawure, the village of former Senator Representing Niger East, David Umaru. 

“But there was operation to dislodge them by the joint military task force.

“Fortunately they were dispatched but after a while, since military base is not stationed there, they reconvened.

“So now, they are not only in Kawure, they have also extended their tentacles to Communities like Kuregbe, Awulo, and host of other Communities.

“In Awulo and Kuregbe Communities, they assembled the locals, both Muslims and Christians, and gave them marching order that any girl that is 12 years old should be married off.

“There is no any form of law in the area, aside Boko Haram’s… If locals have any feud, either Family issue of community problem, they report to them for resolution.

“No any case should be reported to police or court or any constituted authority for resolution.”

Another resident alleged that the insurgents operate freely in the communities without being challenged. 

He said; 

“They have become constituted authority in those villages. And Kaure, Awulo and Kuregbe are their operational grounds. They coerce locals to obey them as their authority.

“In the entire Chukuba and Kuregbe ward, it is Boko Haram elements that are operating there not bandits that we know.”

Chairman of  Shiroro Local Government, Suleiman Chukuba also confirmed the influx of Boko Haram elements, and further added that the residents were made to believe that they were Boko Haram elements because of their mode of preaching.

“On the issue of influx of Boko Haram in shiroro, only four wards have been affected.

“They told villagers that they have money to help them and that they have guns to give them to fight Government. And that is the same doctrine we know Boko Haram elements promote.”

Residents of the area however denied the claim, saying the insurgents have only coerced villagers into not reporting any case or feud to police or court and fixed marital age for girls.

India: Nigerian student who was released from prison was arrested again for trafficking cocaine

A Nigerian student has been arrested with four grams of cocaine in Panjagutta, Hyderabad, India, AGAIN.

The accused, Daniel Ayotunde Olamide, was recently released from prison after serving time for drug peddling.

Another accused, John Paul, 37, also from Nigeria and living in Delhi, is on the run.

Olamide was apprehended by the South Zone Commissioner’s Task Force at GVK Mall, Punjagutta, on Saturday, October 2, 2021, after a tip off. 

Nigerian student arrested for peddling cocaine a year after he was released from prison in India

He was found supplying drugs to customers in the Hyderabad and Cyberabad police limits. A Honda Activa scooter was also seized from him along with the contraband. 

Olamide, who is a degree student of Vivekananda College in Kutatpally had arrived in Hyderabad in 2014 on a student visa. He lives near Dream Valley in Shaikpet.

According to inspector S. Raghavendra, Olamide was an addict and began peddling cocaine a few years ago after coming in contact with Delhi-based Nigerian peddler John Paul.

“Daniel was arrested once earlier by Langar Houz police in October 2020.” the inspector said, adding that he just came out of prison recently. 

Once released from jail, he went back to supplying drugs with the help of John Paul and charged Rs. 8,000-10,000 for one gram of cocaine.

He was booked under the NDPS Act and handed over to Punjagutta police. 

‘There will be 8-week blackout in Lagos’ – Ikeja Electric says

Some parts of Lagos State will experience eight weeks of power outage as Ikeja Electric, IE, announces a planned reconductoring of 132kv lines.

The re-conducting will be embarked upon by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, which is aimed at expanding the wheeling capacity across the IE network.

Olajide Kumapayi, chief technical officer of the electricity distribution company (DisCo), said the project will begin on October 11.

The areas to be affected include Oregun, Police Training College, Oba Akran, Oke Ira, Ogba, Magodo, Anifowoshe and Omole Phase One.

Also, Maximum Demand (MD) customers such as Ikeja City Mall, Police College, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and the Ikeja High Court will be affected by the project

The chief technical officer disclosed that the TCN will also move to Alimosho and Agege axis in the next stage.

Kumapayi noted that the outage became necessary because some of the 132Kv lines installed over 50 years ago had become obsolete and degraded due to time and usage.

He said: “The TCN is currently embarking on the upgrade of the 132KV lines from Ikeja West to Ota and Alimosho in stages. This is the second stage.

“We will replace all the aluminium conductors with gap conductors which is more sophisticated to withstand heat and has more capacity to carry current.

“The implication of this is that from 8am to 6pm every day, the substations controlling these areas will be switched off which will affect the feeders connected to them.”

Indian Govt. to pay €580 compensation for every death due to covid-19

The India’s supreme court has approved the government’s decision to pay 50,000 rupees ($674) as compensation for every death due to Covid-19.


The Supreme Court’s order followed a petition by the country’s lawyers seeking compensation under India’s disaster management laws.

India has officially recorded more than 447,000 Covid-19 deaths so far but experts believe that up to 10 times more people could have died in the pandemic.


On Monday, October 4, Justice MR Shah said the “next of kith and kin of the deceased person” shall be paid this compensation. This would be “over and above the amounts paid by the centre and state under various benevolent schemes”, he said.


The court added that the compensation should be paid within 30 days after a family submits an application.


The announcement comes after petitioners in June sought the court’s intervention in paying compensation to the families of Covid-19 victims.


They said since Covid-19 was “specially” notified as a disaster under India’s National Disaster Management Act, compensation should be paid to the victims.

The 2005 law was enacted for efficient management of disasters, including preparation of mitigation strategies, capacity-building and compensation for lost lives, injuries and damaged properties.

The law says monetary assistance of 400,000 rupees should be paid to family of people who have lost their lives in a disaster.

According to the Indian government, the compensation will be paid “to the next of kin of the deceased due to Covid-19, subject to cause of death being certified as Covid-19” as per the guidelines. The funds for this compensation will be provided by the states.

Wife allegedly beheads her husband in Ghana

A Ghanian wife, Rachel Tetteh has allegedly beheaded her husband in Eastern Region, Ghana. 

The incident happened at Tei Glover, a farming Community near Akyem Bosuso in the Fanteakwa South District on Sunday, October 3, 2021. 

The suspect was arrested by police while the headless body of her husband, Lartey Daniel, 35, has been deposited at the morgue for autopsy.

According to local media reports, a misunderstanding ensued between the couple over alleged cheating.

While the deceased was on his way to the farm, the suspect trailed and allegedly pushed him to the ground and took control of the cutlass to allegedly cut off his head.

The Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Police Command, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, who confirmed the incident to the media said the police upon receipt of information about the crime at about 7:30 am Sunday, October 3, 2021, dispatched investigators to the scene.

DSP Tetteh said police found the lifeless body of the deceased in ash trousers over a white T-shirt lying dead in a prone position in a pool of blood with a severed head along the footpath to the farm.

Police took inventories of the crime scene and examined the body.

The body was retrieved and deposited at Akyem Tafo Government Hospital Morgue pending autopsy.

The PPRO added that the police proceeded to arrest the suspect and recovered the cutlass she used to commit the heinous crime.

The suspect is currently in police custody assisting with investigation.

27-year-old woman allegedly beheads her husband in Ghana

‘Stop provoking Taiwan’ – US warns China after it sends 77 aircraft bombers to Taiwan’s airspace

The United States has warned China to stop its ‘provocative’ military flights near Taiwan after they sent about 100 military planes, some of them capable of dropping nuclear bombs, into the island’s air defense zone over the weekend. 

Taiwan’s defense ministry said that China’s air force sent 39 aircraft to the zone just on Saturday, October 3, the highest reported number to date. 

They were a mixture of J-16 and Su-30 fighters as well as anti-submarine and early warning aircraft, Taiwan says. Friday’s flights included nuclear-capable H-6 bombers. 

‘The United States is very concerned by the People’s Republic of China’s provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilizing, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability,’ State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

Taiwan is a democratically governed island about 100 miles off the coast of mainland China. The modern island nation was formed in 1949, after the Community Party kicked China’s governing KMT party out of the mainland in the Chinese Civil War. 

Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China, is not part of the United Nations. Only 15 countries recognize it as an independent state. The United States and Taiwan have consular relations, and the US government has committed to protecting Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. 

China still claims Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China and appears to be  prepared to fight for it. 

On Sunday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it sent combat aircraft to warn away the Chinese planes, while missile systems were deployed to monitor them.

The island has complained for more than a year of repeated missions near it by China’s air force. 

‘We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan,’ Price said Sunday.

‘The United States has an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a “sufficient self-defense capability,”‘ Price added.

‘The U.S. commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.’

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry thanked the United States for its concern, and said China is increasing tension in the Indo-Pacific region.

‘In the face of China’s challenges, our country’s government has always committed itself to improving our self-defense capabilities and resolutely safeguarding Taiwan’s democracy, freedom, peace and prosperity,’ it said.

‘Squid Game’ netflix film set to overtake ‘Bridgerton’ in views

Squid Game is on its way to becoming Netflix’s biggest TV show ever, if the early viewership figures hold.

The creepy hyper-violent Korean series premiered on the platform  last month and sees 456 desperate contestants compete with each other in a mysterious and deadly survival game. The multiple rounds of games has a top prize of almost £30 million.

The characters take on a traditional children’s game such as Red Light and Green Light, and losing out has an ultimate consequence of death. 

Though viewers have been left sickened by the gory scenes in the horror thriller series, it has became a global sensation and topped the charts as the number one show in many countries, including the UK and the US.

Said to be a horrifying version of Takeshi’s Castle, some fans have repeatedly asked if the dystopian show which sheds light on staggering wealth inequalities, was in fact real.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos who said the series will “definitely be their biggest non-English-language show in the world”,  added that there was “a very good chance it’s going to be their biggest show ever”.

If this stands, the show will overtake Bridgerton which is Netflix’s current number one original show of all time. Bridgerton had 82 million subscribers tuning in to watch at least two minutes of the show in its first 28 days on the service, and a whopping 625 million total hours viewed within its first four weeks of release on the service.

As a relatively new title, Squid Game has been on the platform for few days and its popularity seems to be stretching across different mediums. In recent days, fan-made games based on the deadly challenges found in the show have started to crop up all over Roblox. Several Squid Game remakes have also made their way onto the platform’s most popular lists, with many more showing up after a quick search of the buzzworthy title.

The streaming giant has had huge success with international series, with the likes of Germany’s Dark and Spain’s Money Heist proving popular with viewers.

Kabul faces electricity blackout as Taliban could not pay electricity bills

Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul could be put into darkness as the winter sets in because the country’s new Taliban rulers haven’t paid countries that supply it with electricity or resumed collecting money from citizens who use it.

Electricity imports from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan provide half of Afghanistan’s power consumption nationwide, with Iran providing additional supplies to the country’s west. Domestic production, mostly at hydropower stations, has been affected by this year’s rain drought.

Afghanistan lacks a national power grid, and Kabul depends almost completely on imported power from Central Asian countries.

Tajikistan, whose relationship with the Taliban is rapidly deteriorating is the country’s main power supplier. It could decide to cut off its power supply for nonpayment of electrical fees, according to Reuters.


Unless addressed, the situation could cause a humanitarian disaster, warned Daud Noorzai, who resigned as chief executive of the country’s state power supplier, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, nearly two weeks after the Taliban’s takeover on Aug. 15.

“The consequences would be countrywide, but especially in Kabul. There will be blackout and it would bring Afghanistan back to the Dark Ages when it comes to power and to telecommunications,” said Mr. Noorzai, who remains in close contact with DABS’s remaining management. “This would be a really dangerous situation.”

A jailed Pedophile was assaulted 15 times by inmates who saw his crime/trial on TV

A violent Texas man who was jailed for beating and sexually assaulting three kids, has been assaulted by three fellow inmates fifteen times after they saw his trial on the news. 

Wichita County Sheriff David Duke who reviewed a video of the incident, said Michael George Corey, Jr. was attacked on Wednesday September 29, shortly after his trial was on the news. 

36-year-old Corey who has been in jail for three-and-a-half years after he was arrested in February 2018 on 45 counts of sex crimes against a boy and two girls, ages 8, 10 and 11, was being returned to a part of the jail housing suspects accused of the most serious offenses when the attack which lasted around one minute happened. 

Court officials saw Corey with a bruise and a black eye the day after he was assaulted on Wednesday. Sheriff Duke said five jail officers intervened in less than a minute to stop the beating, KFDX reports. The three inmates will face charges. 

Corey who is being held on a $675,000 bond, was first accused of allegedly forcing the kids to bend over and take up to “‘licks” from a paddle with zip ties tied around it while his foster parents watched. Wichita Falls station KFDX later reported that the charges against the foster parents were dropped. 

He was also accused of forcing the children to engage in sex acts on each other, and they did everything he told them because their beatings would be more severe if they didn’t. 

The abuse came to light after staff at the eight-year-old’s school told police. Police discovered the other children’s abuse when they stopped at their mobile home in the 1100 block of Hawthorne. USA today reported that police found a wooden paddle with the words ‘Act Right’ written on it in black lettering. 

Police said they found a laptop that the children said Corey would play pornography on during the abuse. Police also found video, though it’s not clear what the video depicts.

A 10-year-old girl told authorities that Corey would have her bend over and touch some bricks outside in the front yard of a residence.  If she moved or fell to the ground, she had until the count of three to get back up or Corey would start over the number of times he was going to hit her. 

Sometimes, she said, he didn’t give her a chance and would just keep hitting whatever part of her body he could reach while she was on the ground.

Corey’s 45 charges include 15 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, 12 counts of employing, inducing, or authorizing a child to engage in sexual performance, 10 counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, five counts of indecency with a child by exposure and three counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14.

Corey’s trial will resume on Monday.

The Pandora Papers, secrets they revealed..

A review of nearly 12 million files obtained from 14 firms located around the world, has revealed the secret offshore wealth of more than 300 world leaders, politicians and influential figures in the business world.

Dubbed one of the largest ever leaks of financial data, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) obtained the documents, which were then passed on to media outlets including BBC’s Panorama programme and The Guardian. The leaked documents lay bare how the global elite use offshore tax havens to store and move their money.

The report released on Sunday October 3, involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. It sheds light on the previously hidden dealings of the elite and the corrupt, and how they have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars.

The more than 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts include Jordans King Abdullah II, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso, and associates of both Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The billionaires called out in the report include Turkish construction mogul Erman Ilicak and Robert T. Brockman, the former CEO of software maker Reynolds & Reynolds.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, have angrily denied any wrongdoing after the Guardian and Panorama said they were able to save more than £300,000 in stamp duty when they acquired a £6.45 million London property, by buying the offshore company which owned it. 

The former U.K prime minister from 1997 to 2007, was said to have become the owner of an $8.8 million Victorian building in 2017 by buying a British Virgin Islands company that held the property, and the building now hosts the law firm of his wife, Cherie Blair, according to the investigation. The two bought the company from the family of Bahrains industry and tourism minister, Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani. Buying the company shares instead of the London building saved the Blairs more than $400,000 in property taxes, the investigation found.

A major donor to the Conservative Party, Mohamed Amersi’ who helped fund Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign, is alleged to have advised on a deal which was later found to be a £162 million bribe to the leader of Uzbekistan’s daughter. His lawyers have also denied any suggestion that he ‘knowingly’ facilitated corrupt payments. They said the underlying arrangements for the deal had been put in place two years before.

The documents link Mr Putin to secret assets in Monaco. A woman who was reported to be in a relationship with the Russian leader became the owner of a luxury fourth-floor apartment in Monte Carlo in 2003 weeks after giving birth.

The £3.1m property was purchased by Brockville Development Ltd, a firm based in the British Virgin Islands which was eventually traced back to Svetlana Krivonogikh, who is alleged to have been Mr Putin’s lover. The Kremlin did not respond to requests for comment.

The consortium of journalists revealed Putin’s image-maker and chief executive of Russia’s leading TV station, Konstantin Ernst got a discount to buy and develop Soviet-era cinemas and surrounding property in Moscow after he directed the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Ernst told the organization the deal wasn’t secret and denied suggestions he was given special treatment.

Czech prime minister Andrej Babis was revealed to have injected £12m into several shell companies to buy a large property, known as Chateau Bigaud, in a hilltop village in Mougins, France.

Mr Babis did not disclose the shell companies and the chateau in the asset declarations he is obligated to file as a public official, according to the ICIJ. On Twitter, Mr Babis said he had done nothing “illegal or wrong” and suggested the leaks were an attempt to “influence the Czech election” which takes place next week.

It was also claimed that the King of Jordan secretly spent more than £70m on a property empire in the UK and US. Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein is alleged to have used a network of secretly owned firms in the British Virgin Islands to purchase 15 homes since coming to power in 1999, including properties in California and London.

Cabinet ministers in Imran Khan’s government in Pakistan are also named in the documents. The files reveal that a string of government officials have secretly owned an array of companies and trusts holding millions of dollars of hidden wealth. The documents contain no suggestion that Mr Khan owns offshore companies.

“Being Homeless at 39, started 6-figure job at 45” – man shares interesting story

A twitter has narrated how he turned his life around in just a few years after he got tired of his former life.

The Twitter user named Christopher is an amputee from birth.

"At 39 I was homeless, at 45 I start a 6 figure job" man shares story of how he turned his life around

He explained that he was homeless at 39 and shared a photo of the van he used to sleep in.

He explained that he then chose to turn his life around and he began teaching himself web development skills online.

At 41, he got a job in tech and now, at 45, he has been offered a 6-figure job.

He encouraged his followers to never give up.

Read his story below.

"At 39 I was homeless, at 45 I start a 6 figure job" man shares story of how he turned his life around
"At 39 I was homeless, at 45 I start a 6 figure job" man shares story of how he turned his life around
"At 39 I was homeless, at 45 I start a 6 figure job" man shares story of how he turned his life around
"At 39 I was homeless, at 45 I start a 6 figure job" man shares story of how he turned his life around
"At 39 I was homeless, at 45 I start a 6 figure job" man shares story of how he turned his life around
"At 39 I was homeless, at 45 I start a 6 figure job" man shares story of how he turned his life around

Libyan Police crack down on migrants in Tripoli (video), UN reacts

The United Nations (UN) voiced its extreme concern about reports of the excessive use of force by police against migrants and asylum seekers in Tripoli, Libya. 

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In a statement on Saturday, October 2, the UN Assistant Secretary-General Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, Georgette Gagnon, said that at least 1 migrant was killed and at least 15 others injured, 6 seriously, when police raided several locations in Gargaresh Municipality west of Tripoli.

The Friday’s raid carried out on houses and temporary makeshift shelters was a part of a security campaign against illegal migration, drug and liquor trafficking.

The area has seen several waves of security raids over the years, but the latest one was described as the fiercest so far.

The police rounded up about 4,000 illegal migrants of different nationalities during the operation, the Interior Ministry that led the campaign confirmed.

According to the Interior Ministry, the Attorney General gave orders for the raids after public outcry from the locals over the high rate of crime in the area.

One killed, 15 injured, 4,000 arrested as police crack down on migrants in Tripoli (photos/video)

The migrants were gathered in the Collection and Return Centre of Ghout Al-Shaal district, where they received medical assistance, said Col. Nouri al-Grettli, head of the centre, noting that they would pursue distributing migrants to other centres to reduce the overcrowding.

Media outlets quoted government officials as saying that many of the detained had lived illegally in Libya for years, and the authorities would deport as many as possible of the migrants to their home countries.

According to reports of officials from the Directorate of Combatting Illegal Migration, at least 4,000 people, including women and children, were arrested during the security operation. Unarmed migrants were harassed in their homes, beaten and shot, says Georgette Gagnon.

“While the UN fully respects the state’s sovereignty and supports its duty to maintain law and order, and protect the security of their population, it calls on state authorities to respect at all times the human rights and dignity of all people, including migrants and asylum-seekers,” she added. 

Gagnon confirmed that the UN received reports of 1 young migrant being shot and killed, 5 other migrants sustained gunshot wounds and 2 of them are in serious condition in intensive care.

It also received reports that communications were shut down with individuals unable to access information and seek assistance.

Gagnon also reiterated that the use of excessive and unwarranted lethal force by Libyan security and police forces during law enforcement operations is a violation of national and international law.

“We call on the Libyan authorities to investigate reports of security forces’ use of lethal and excessive force against migrants in yesterday’s operation,” the UN Official noted.

“In line with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Berlin Conclusions, we reiterate our call on the Libyan authorities to end and prevent arbitrary arrest and detention, and immediately release those most vulnerable, particularly women and children,” the statement read.

“In this context, we again urge the government to immediately allow the resumption of International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) operated voluntary humanitarian evacuation and return flights and departures of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers in Libya to destinations outside the country,” it concluded. 

One killed, 15 injured, 4,000 arrested as police crack down on migrants in Tripoli (photos/video)
One killed, 15 injured, 4,000 arrested as police crack down on migrants in Tripoli (photos/video)
One killed, 15 injured, 4,000 arrested as police crack down on migrants in Tripoli (photos/video)
One killed, 15 injured, 4,000 arrested as police crack down on migrants in Tripoli (photos/video)

Nigerian drug lord sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in India

A drug dealer of Nigerian origin, Abu Henry, alias Kevin was sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) for heroin smuggling by a court in Mohali, Punjab on Friday, October 1.

The court of additional district and sessions judge Harpeet Kaur Kaleka also imposed a fine of L1 lakh on the convict. 

His local accomplice, Narinder Singh, alias Batth, a native of Patiala and currently living in Sector 76, Mohali, was awarded seven-year RI and a fine of Lk70,000. If the fine is not paid, both will have to undergo another one-year imprisonment.

They have been convicted under Sections 21, 61, 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

They duo were arrested with 550gm heroin and ?4 lakh drug money by the special task force (STF) near Bougainvillea Park at Phase IV in Mohali while they travelling in a Toyota Fortune SUV. 

Rajinder Singh Sohal, Superintendent of Police, said Abu Henry used to procure the drug from Delhi and supply it to Narinder.

“Narinder sold the drug to his customers at Mohali, Chandigarh and other cities in the region,” said the SP.

He said Narinder was a notorious smuggler and five other cases under the NDPS Act were registered against him at police stations in Mohali, Dhuri (Sangrur) and Patiala districts.

The official said that their customers were mainly youngsters belonging to rich families. Narinder was living lavishly and used to roam around in swanky cars. He is a Class XII (non-medical) passout.

Abu Henry, who did his BSc in Nigeria had landed in India in 2009 on a business visa.

“First, he dealt in readymade garments. He came into the drug business around three years ago. We are yet to procure his passport and other details about him,” said the Sohal. 

Joe Igbokwe’s Nnewi home on fire, blames IPOB (videos)

The Nnewi, Anambra state home of Joe Igbokwe, a Special Adviser for Drainage and Water Resources to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has been attacked.

In a series of post shared, Igbokwe alleged that IPOB members were behind the attack. He added that no life was lost during the attack.

”IPOB invaded my house in Nnewi about now. Iam sure they raised down the my house giving the jerrycans of petrol I saw being offloaded from their Sienna car via CCTV. To God be the glory . I am still alive.

Here it is. My Home in Nnewi has been sacrificed. No life was lost .To God be the glory.”

Suspected IPOB members set Nnewi home of APC chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, on fire (videos)
Suspected IPOB members set Nnewi home of APC chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, on fire (videos)
Suspected IPOB members set Nnewi home of APC chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, on fire (videos)
Suspected IPOB members set Nnewi home of APC chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, on fire (videos)
Suspected IPOB members set Nnewi home of APC chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, on fire (videos)
Suspected IPOB members set Nnewi home of APC chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, on fire (videos)

France loses its mogul, Bernard Tapie, dies at 78 from stomach cancer

A French mogul and former Olympique de Marseille (OM) president who led the soccer club to the Champions League title in 1993, Bernard Tapie, has died at the age of 78.

The flamboyant tycoon, whose business interests also included a stake in sportswear company Adidas, had been suffering from stomach cancer for several years.

French mogul, Bernard Tapie dies at 78 from stomach cancer

A statement was released on Sunday morning confirming his death.

The statement read: “Dominique Tapie and her children have the infinite sorrow of announcing the death of her husband and of their father, Bernard Tapie, this Sunday, October 3 at 8:40 am, as a result of cancer.”

It adds: “He left peacefully, surrounded by his wife, his children, his grandchildren and his brother, present at his bedside.”

The family said Mr Tapie “expressed his wish to be buried in Marseille, the city of his heart”.

President Emmanuel Macron was one of many to pay tribute to Tapie.

“Praised to the skies by some, dragged through the mud by others, he was as unsettling as he was fascinating, because he straddled every obstacle on his path to success,” Macron said in a statement.

“Olympique de Marseille learned with deep sadness of the passing of Bernard Tapie. He will leave a great void in the hearts of the Marseillais and will forever remain in the legend of the club,” OM said in a statement.

French mogul, Bernard Tapie dies at 78 from stomach cancer

Paris-born Mr Tapie served as a Socialist minister in France while also building up a sports and media empire, and was particularly well known for taking over failing companies in corporate raids, stripping them of their assets and selling them for vast profit.

Tapie made his fortune in the late 70s and 80s by acquiring bankrupt companies, and became one of the richest men in France before becoming personally bankrupt in the 90s.

Among the status symbols he spent millions on was Olympic Marseille where he was a charismatic club president from 1986 to 1994, and La Vie Claire cycling team which won two Tours de France in the 1980s.

French mogul, Bernard Tapie dies at 78 from stomach cancer

On the back of that success, Tapie made his way into politics and was elected to the French parliament in 1989 and again in 1993. 

He then became a European Parliament deputy in 1994 after briefly serving as a government minister under President Francois Mitterrand.

He also owned sportswear giant Adidas from 1990-1993, and was largely responsible for turning the company’s fortunes around after Adidas was on the brink of bankruptcy at the start of the decade. 

His sale of Adidas signalled the start of years of complex judicial sagas he became embroiled in. 

Tapie was at the helm when OM beat AC Milan 1-0 in the final of the Champions League, but was later sent to prison in 1995 for corruption in a match-fixing scandal in the French first division, and also received criminal convictions for tax fraud and misuse of corporate assets after which he was bankrupt.

Following his release from prison in 1997, Tapie was ineligible to run for political office and instead embarked on a showbiz career and tried his hand at acting.

In 2000, he made his debut as a theatre actor and was received widely positive reviews for his portrayal of Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – a role made famous on the big screen by Jack Nicholson. 

Tapie went on to occupy numerous roles in theatre plays from 2001-2005, and also appeared in the well-known French TV series ‘Valence’ as a police chief.

Despite his days as a business tycoon being long gone, the latter stages of Tapie’s life were still wrought with legal battles. 

Tapie’s latest fraud trial was adjourned last year because of his cancer, and it was due to resume next May. It related to a marathon legal battle between Tapie and the state-owned Crédit Lyonnais bank, which first arose in the early 90s as a result of the bank’s involvement in the sale of Adidas. 

Tapie was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2017, but his health deteriorated considerably in 2020 before his death this past weekend. 

His death came just six months after a burglary at his manor house in Combs-La-Ville, near Paris.

Mr Tapie was badly beaten up, and then electric cords were used to restrain him and his wife, 70-year-old Dominique Tapie.

Infidelity: “Pay me back my expenses and take her, she is now your wife”

Tanzanian business man who caught his wife and his friend in bed, has made an unusual demand that shocked everyone. 

A local TV station reported that the man identified as Issa Kasili from Mpimbwe in Tanzania, caught his wife in bed with his friend, Mayombi Mwela at a guest house. Instead of fighting them, he demanded to be paid Ksh240,000(N892k).

In a video obtained by the TV station, a furious Kasili could be seen confronting the duo in a guest house.

He was heard telling Mayombi;

“You have slept with my wife Mayombi, you have fulfilled what you set out to do.”

Talking to his wife, Kasili said;

“You delivered a child for me and now you think you are untouchable. Our marriage is over from now”

Kasili then told Mayombi to take the woman as his wife before demanding to be paid. He said; 

“Pay me back my expenses and take her, she is now your wife.”

It was learnt that Mayombi promptly paid Kasili the amount he asked for.

Info: Tying legs after snakebite is wrong, fuels amputations, deaths – Physicians says

Health experts have cautioned Nigerians against the practice of tying the legs of victims of snakebite with a cloth to stop the movement of the snake venom.

According to the experts, the practice and other crude management of snakebite are fuelling avoidable mortality and morbidity.

The call by the medical experts is coming after the Federal Government called for renewed vigour among stakeholders in snakebite management

One major harmful practice of snakebite management that should be discouraged, according to the experts, is the tying of the leg of victims after snakebite.

They stressed that the practice is fuelling cases of limb amputation.

According to them, victims of snakebite should rather immediately call for help and ensure they are taken to good health facilities for appropriate treatment.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise, a Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, Dr. Bright Igbinoba, said there are things that were done in the past when a person was bitten by a snake that are being discouraged nowadays.

Igbinoba said it is also important to quickly rush a person bitten by a snake to the hospital to avoid orthopaedic effects that could lead to complications and amputation of the limb.

The orthopaedic surgeon explained, “The first thing that should not be done after a person is bitten by a snake is tying something tight around the limb.

“Normally, once a person is bitten by a snake, the limb is swollen. So, as you tie it, it becomes more swollen and blood will not flow into the limb and the limb will die. And once the limb is dead, it will need an amputation.

“Before, if a person has a snake bite, they will ask him or her to tear a piece of clothing and tie the leg. Tying that piece of clothing on the leg has been found to increase the risk of amputation.

“Again, the practice of cutting the bite mark of a snake with a razor blade should be discouraged. It has been found to introduce infection.

“Also, the practice of sucking the venom by mouth is also discouraged. It doesn’t really help because the venom can enter the mouth of the person trying to suck it.

“The use of cold compress is also discouraged.”

Igbinoba noted that snakebite might not lead to death or amputation if people get help on time and seek appropriate treatment.

According to the World Health Organisation, snakebite is a neglected public health issue in many tropical and subtropical countries.

The United Nations health agency says about 5.4 million snakebites occur each year, resulting in 1.8 to 2.7 million cases of envenoming (poisoning from snakebite).

“There are between 81, 410 and 137, 880 deaths and around three times as many amputations and other permanent disabilities each year,” WHO says.

Recalled that the Minister of State for Health, Dr.OlorunnimbeMamora, had recently said Nigeria records an average of 15,000 to 20,000 cases of snakebites every year.

Quoting a recent survey, Mamora said snakebites in the country occurred at 479 cases per 100,000 people.

The minister had said, “Nigeria records an average of 15,000 to 20,000 cases of snakebite every year, with about 2,000 people killed and between 1,700 and 2,000 people whose legs or arms are amputated to save their lives after snakebite.

“States with the most cases of snakebite in the country are Gombe, Plateau, Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Nasarawa, Enugu, Kogi, Kebbi, Oyo, Benue and Taraba.”

He called for renewed vigour to ensure strong partnerships among member states, development partners, donors and other stakeholders for snakebite management.

Giving insight into snake venoms and their complications, Igbinoba said, “We have the ones that destroy the blood and are very toxic to the blood. Those ones are called the haemotoxins venom or snakebite.

“Snakes with this type of venom, once they bite a person, their venom enters the bloodstream and starts destroying the blood. And the person will start bleeding from the snakebite and can bleed into the internal organs and die from there.

“Then you have the neurotoxic venom. The ones take over the nerves of the body and weaken the person and the person cannot move again.

“The venom will completely take over the person’s nervous system. The last type of venom is necrotizing fasciitis. Now, what do snakes do when they bite an animal or prey, the venoms contain enzymes and so as they inject it into a person’s body, the body starts digesting.

“That digestion, what it does is to kill the cells. And that is what causes the limb to start getting rotten.

“It causes it to have a big wound and swell,” he explained.

The physician advised that people should avoid drugs not prescribed by experts when they are bitten by a snake.

“People should immediately call for help once they are bitten by a snake.

The person should be quickly rushed to the hospital.

“The person should try and know the type of snake so that we will be able to know the type of venom that the snake has.

“It is also important to note the time of the bite so that we can plan and know the speed at which to attend to the patient”, the surgeon counselled.

WHO further says most of the deaths from snakebite occur in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“In Asia, up to 2 million people are envenomed by snakes each year, while in Africa there are an estimated 435 000 to 580 000 snakebites annually that need treatment.

“Bites by venomous snakes can cause acute medical emergencies involving severe paralysis that may prevent breathing, cause bleeding disorders that can lead to fatal haemorrhage, cause irreversible kidney failure and severe local tissue destruction that can cause permanent disability and limb amputation,” WHO added.

Source: Punch

eNaira’s launch has been postphoned

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the postponement of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), known as eNaira originally planned to be launched on October 1, Nigeria’s independence day.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, September 30, CBN spokesman, Osita Nwanisobi, explained that the CBN decided to postpone the launch, due to Nigeria’s independence celebration.


The statement was titled, “CBN defers eNaira launch to mark Independence Anniversary”

It read in part, “Ahead of the anticipated launch of Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency, known as eNaira, the Spokesman of the Central bank of Nigeria, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, says the planned unveiling on October 1, 2021 has now been deferred due to other key activities lined up to commemorate the country’s 61st Independence Anniversary.”


He also assured there was no cause for alarm, as the CBN and other partners were working to make the digital currency efficient for all customers, particularly for those in the rural areas and the unbanked population.

Body Tag: How to find and insert code within the tag in WordPress?

Often times to enhance the functionality of the WordPress blog we need to add a certain script, verification codes or HTML codes etc. in Header, Body or Footer of the WordPress website. If you want to add some code to the body of WordPress then you need to find the body tag of the blog theme and for that, here is the two ways to add the code just after the <body> tag.  The structure of WordPress based is a bit different from other HTML, JAVA or ruby and rails based websites.

Step by Step way to find the <Body> tag in WordPress.

How to insert code after the opening <body> tag in WordPress?

Step 1: Go to your WordPress dashboard and from right side select Appereance-> Editor.

Step 2: Now from right top side select your current installed theme.

Step3: At the right sidebar you will different .php files of your WordPress website. From those files find the header.php and select that to edit.

Step 4: After selecting the “header.php” file, press ctrl+F and search for </head> and where the closing head tag situated, the <body > tag just started after that.  In the same way, your theme also has the <body> tag and just after that you can place the code you want.

So where is the closing body tag in WordPress?

To find the follow the same Step 1 and Step 2 given above but at Step 3 instead if header.php select the footer.php and either press crtl+f and search for </body> or just scroll down to the bottom of the file and you will find the closing body tag.

Pope Francis condemns spate of insecurity, killings and kidnappings in Nigeria

Pope Francis has condemned the spate of killings and kidnappings in northern Nigeria and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to guarantee the safety of all Nigerian citizens, Tori Me! reports.

Francis expressed his solidarity with Nigerians after 34 people were killed in villages in the north-western state of Kaduna on Sunday.
“I pray for those who have died, for the injured and for the entire Nigerian population. Pope Francis said during his Wednesday’s General Audience at the Vatican City.

The head of the Catholic church described the attacks as senseless killings of Nigerians by suspected jihadists and noted that massacres were not only happening in southern Kaduna, but all over the country.

“I learnt with pain the news of the armed attacks that took place last Sunday against the villages of Madamai Abun in northern Nigeria…I hope that the country always guarantees the safety of all its citizens,” he said.

Nigeria is in the grip of insecurity across parts of the country with an increase in kidnappings for ransom and continued attacks by terrorist group Boko Haram.


The Pope’s comments came as a prominent Nigerian doctor was ambushed and assassinated in the southeast of the country in Anambra State on Tuesday.

Chike Akunliyi was the husband of Dora Akunliyi, a former civil servant and head of the country’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
President Buhari has vowed to bring his killers to justice.

UK Police sacked after sleeping with a landlady he met on duty

A 41-year-old Police sergeant, Ricki Vaughan has been sacked after sleeping with a landlady he met on duty and sexting a young barmaid. 

Vaughan was said to have gone on two dates with the landlady named only as Ms E, after he drove to her pub in a police car to discuss a charity barbecue. They had sex on two occasions after Ms E contacted PS Vaughan through one of his police colleagues

A misconduct panel heard that Ms E, then the manager at the Wellington pub in Welwyn Village, Herts, suspected she was pregnant after sleeping with PS Vaughan and subsequently turned up at his house drunk one evening, forcing him to call the police to get her to leave.

Vaughan also exchanged messages with a barmaid named as Ms C, centered on organizing some work experience at the force’s control room. He also sent “sexual, crude and cynical” messages about her to a police colleague.

In one of the messages to his colleague named as PC A, he wrote “Odds on me shagging her (hand up emoji).”

PS Vaughan’s messages to the teen were reportedly not professional and were instead “a calculated ruse to get in contact with Ms C in order to be able to gauge whether or not she was open to meeting for a potentially sexual encounter”.

The police officer who was dismissed from the force last week after being found for gross misconduct, reportedly tried to form relationships with a total of four women whom he met as a police officer.

The independent panel which sat on September 21, found that PS Vaughan had: 

– Used his position by forming and/or attempting to form relationships with members of the public who he met through his work.

– Failed to treat colleagues and/or members of the public with courtesy and respect.

– Had behaved in a discriminatory way towards colleagues.

– Had regularly spoken about women in a disrespectful way.

The police officer was also found to have made daily comments of a sexual nature about female colleagues passing by the window of his office. One officer, PC Hayley Twist, said the remarks included “she’s nice” and “I know what I would like to do to her”.

Claims of him telling a colleague “your missus has big t**s”, was not found to be proven. Other allegations which include telling same colleague that his 13-year-old daughter was attractive and asking when she would turn 18, were dismissed.

Testimony Time: Nigerian couple welcome twins after 8 years of marriage

A Nigerian couple, Mirriam Osondu and her husband have welcomed a set of twins after 8 years of waiting. 

The new mother, friends and family members took to Facebook on Wednesday, September 29, to share the good news and photos of the twins, a boy and a girl. 

“U do not lie. U do not fail. What is hard for you to do. It doesn’t exist oh. It can never ever exist,” Mirriam wrote. 

“Thank God with me for he has done what only him can do, Jehovah over do. God gave me double for my delay. Celebrate with me family and friends.” she added. 

Sharing photos of mother and twins, Jessy June, wrote: “After 8yrs of waiting, crying, and hoping on God…… God finally proved himself, i call him Impossibility Specialist. Miracle working God. Jehovah over do. Omere Impossibility Possible. Thank u Jesus for indeed wat u cannot do does not Exist”

One Faith Onyekachi wrote: U never change. U never fail. U are faithful to the end. Faithful God we thank u. The latest mama Eijmma. After 8 years of hoping on God. U are a fighter and strong woman. Congratulations my love.” 

"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting
"God gave me double for my delay" - Nigerian woman celebrates as she gives birth to twins after 8 years of waiting

‘War between Iran with Israel has already begun’ – Iranian Official says

An Iranian government official has declared that ‘war has already begun’ with Israel as tensions between the two nations reach a boiling point.

Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, made the statement to the Maariv newspaper before going on to place the blame for the crisis in the Middle East squarely at the feet of Israel. 

Khatibzadeh claimed that Israel ‘has murdered nuclear scientists and harmed the Iranian people’.

‘Iran is blamed for terrorism, but there is no good or bad terrorist. The entire crisis in the region is the fault of Israel,’ he said.

His comments come just days after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appealed to the international community for support in confronting Iran over their nuclear programme.

In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Bennett said Iran had breached all the ‘red lines’ aimed at curbing its nuclear weapons programme but that Israel ‘will not allow’ Tehran to get the bomb.

After claiming that an Iran-Israel war was already underway, the Iranian spokesman added that Israel ‘had done everything’ in an attempt to scupper nuclear talks with the UN in Vienna.

Khatibzadeh continued: ‘Israel severely harmed our civilians and research system. 

‘They speak about the Iranian nuclear threat, but Israel has hundreds of bombs, and it never signed the non-proliferation treaty for nuclear weapons.’

Bennett also condemned Iran’s perceived plans for the region and stands steadfastly against Iran’s development of their nuclear programme. 

‘Iran´s great goal is crystal clear to anybody who cares to open their eyes: Iran seeks to dominate the region – and seeks to do so under a nuclear umbrella,’ Bennett said on Monday.

He called Iran´s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, the ‘butcher of Tehran’ for his past role in suppressing political dissent and accused Iran of arming, funding, and training Israel´s enemies across the region. 

Peter Nygard faces extradition to US over charges of sex trafficking and racketeering

Peter Nygard, Fashion mogul, on Friday agreed to be extradited from Canada to the United States where he faces nine charges of raping dozens of women and girls, racketeering and sex trafficking.

The 80-year-old Finnish-Canadian millionaire, who has been held in prison since his arrest in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, last December, made a brief court appearance via video link.

Scott Farlinger, a lawyer representing the Canadian government in the case, explained that Nygard, who’d been denied bail on the grounds he might tamper with witnesses or his accusers, had opted not to fight the extradition.

Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said Nygard can’t be extradited for at least 30 days. However, the disgraced fashion designer can apply for judical interim release, also known as bail, while the new justice minister confirms or denies his extradition. 

Nygard’s lawyer Brian Greenspan confirmed to the court that the designer consented to the extradition application and understood the significance. 

‘He wants to face these charges,’ Greenspan told reporters afterward.  

Nygard faces nine charges in the United States involving dozens of victims. If confirmed, his extradition will allow him to answer to the US charges and raise a defense. 

Fashion mogul, Peter Nygard will be extradited to US over charges of sex trafficking and racketeering

Greenspan also told reporters outside of the court room that the US can only bring one charge against him. but could bring multiple counts, due to the Law of Specialty that defends international law.

The Law of Specialty prohibits the US from adding charges. He can only be charged for offenses pre-extradition. 

‘This process can now move forward in order for him to face trial in the United States,’ defense lawyer Brian Greenspan confirmed.

His alleged crimes, according to the US indictment, took place between 1990 and 2020. Nygard and his alleged accomplices, including employees of his group, ‘used force, fraud, and coercion to cause women and minors to have sex’ with them, it said.

The perma-tanned Nygard, known for his long, flowing gray hair and flamboyant dress sense, has denied the allegations.

Toronto police on Friday also announced that an arrest warrant had been issued for Nygard for six alleged sexual assaults and three charges of forcible confinement, between 1987 and 2006. Although there are claims that complaints against Nygard in Canada go back to the 70s. 

Greenspan told reporters that he is not sure if his client will face the Canadian charges before the US ones and that it will be up to the newly appointed federal justice minister to decide. 

He also made it clear they will ensure Nygard does not end up in a prison with ‘sewage in the cells,’ like New York City’s Rikers Island jail.

Nygard has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering after women came forward accusing him of using his business to lure them in from the United States and the Bahamas for his own sexual gratification. 

He was arrested by Canadian authorities on December 14 on an extradition warrant at the US government’s request on charges of assaulting dozens of women in a decades-long sex trafficking scheme.

He is accused of using his prominence in the fashion industry to lure women and girls in with the promise of modeling or other job opportunities before he and his associates sexually assaulted them.

The allegations span a 25-year period and involve more than 80 women in the US, the Bahamas and Canada, among other locations. 

His lawyer denies the number of women, saying on seven woman in the US and six in Toronto have been chronicled, he told reporters today.  

President Rodrigo Duterte announces his retirement from politics

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Phillippines on Saturday October 2, announced that he is retiring from politics.

Pirior to the announcement, Duterte had been expected to run for vice president. He is not eligible to run again for president as the constitution sets a single-six-year term limit for the president.

Making the announcement as he accompanied his long time loyalist Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, from their ruling PDP-Laban party as he registered to run for vice president, the Philippine President said; 

“Today, I announce my retirement from politics.”

Political observers had long suspected Duterte could spring a surprise, such as a presidential run by his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, next year.

Duterte-Carpio who replaced her father as mayor of Davao, said last month she was not running for higher office next year because she and her father had agreed only one of them would run for national office in 2022.

Candidates have until Friday October 8 to register, but withdrawals and substitutions are allowed until November 15, leaving scope for last-minute changes of heart, like the 11th-hour entry of Duterte for the 2016 election, which he won by a huge margin.

Duterte took office in 2016 and launched a crackdown on illegal drugs that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead and alarmed Western governments and human rights groups. The International Criminal Court is investigating the killings.

Kelly Clarkson takes back Montana ranch after her divorce with Brandon Blackstock

A divorce court has ruled that singer and show host, Kelly Clarkson owns the Montana ranch she once shared with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock.

Prior to the ruling and signing off of their divorce, Brandon has been living at the ranch.  TMZ had reported that Kelly has been working to kick Brandon off the ranch, but he’s not making it easy.

Though he argued in court that the ranch is “marital property,” the judge decided it fell under the prenup the exes shared, making the pop star the sole owner.

Kelly became officially a single woman few weeks ago, following her dramatic divorce from Brandon, with whom she shares two kids. The Voice coach filed for divorce in June 2020, citing “irreconcilable differences,” before winning primary custody of their two kids.

Though the divorce has been finalized, the specifics on a few matters, including property and custody disputes, are still ongoing.

Kelly had accumulated the majority of their assets, including the Montana ranch where Brandon has been living, which is why the judge ruled in her favor on the property. She is said to also be the only titleholder of the ranch.

Court documents exclusively obtained by The Sun show that Brandon has officially given up on showbiz life since their split to become a full-time rancher.

Guinea coup commander, Mamady Doumbouya sworn in as interim President

Guinea’s coup leader, Mamady Doumbouya was on Friday October 1 sworn in as the country’s interim president. 

Doumbouya who led the overthrow of President Alpha Conde on September 5, was sworn in by the Supreme Court head, Mamadou Sylla, for a transition period of unspecified length. The former French legionnaire, 41, becomes Africa’s second-youngest leader, after Mali’s Assimi Goïta, 38, who also staged a military takeover. 

The new interim president spoke of his “commitment” that neither he nor any member of the military government would stand in any future elections that the military has promised to organise after the transition period.

His administration’s mission is to “refound the state” he said, by drafting a new constitution, fighting corruption, reforming the electoral system and then organising “free, credible and transparent” elections.

Doumbouya also promised to “respect all the national and international commitments to which the country has subscribed”.

The new interim President was trained in France and served in the French military. During his 15-year military career, Col Doumbouya served in missions in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Central African Republic, and close protection in Israel, Cyprus, the UK, and Guinea.

His swearing-in ceremony was held at the Mohammed-V palace in Conakry on the eve of a public holiday celebrating the 1958 declaration of independence from France.

The September 5 coup, the latest bout of turbulence in one of Africa’s most volatile countries, saw the overthrow of 83-year-old President Conde.

Conde became Guinea’s first democratically elected president in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015. But last year, he pushed through a controversial new constitution that allowed him to run for a third term in October 2020.

Col Doumbouya said the Army had seized power because of rampant corruption, disregard for human rights, and economic mismanagement under 83-year-old former President Condé. The military coup leaders detained Mr. Condé after their takeover, with Col Doumbouya assuring French media he was with them in a “safe place.” His exact whereabouts remain unclear.

US Musician, Maluma reacts to rumors he secretly dated Kim Kardashian

Musician, Maluma has responded to rumors he dated Kim Kardashian after she started divorce proceedings from Kanye West in February.

In an interview with L’Officiel Hommes, Maluma responded to past reports that he and Kim dated saying they are just “close friends.” 

“I don’t even know! Right? We were together at the Dior show. I met her for the first time there. I was also there with Kourtney.”

Maluma met Kim and Kourtney at the Dior Men’s Fall 2020 Runway Show in Miami, Florida, in December 2019. In his interview, Maluma explained the rumors may have been fueled by Kim’s recent divorce. 

“People just started talking about it. I don’t know why they started asking her that. Maybe because she was getting her divorce and everything, you know? But no, we are good friends. We don’t talk that often, but yeah, we are good friends and we always wish the best for each other,” he said.


Kim, previously shut down the rumors at the Keeping Up With the Kardashians reunion in June, where she also confirmed that she and Maluma are just friends.

“I’ve seen him a few times, always in Miami, such a nice guy,” she said at the time. 

Kim filed for divorce from Kanye after almost seven years of marriage. The couple—who married in May 2014—share four kids: North, 8, Saint, 5, Chicago, 3, and Psalm, 2.

US defence officials confirms killing top Al-Qaeda leader in drone strike in Syria

US army have confirmed killing a senior al Qaeda leader, Salim Abu-Ahmad, in a drone strike in Syria. 

Abu-Ahmad who is said to be responsible for planning, funding, and approving trans-regional Al Qaeda attacks, was killed on September 20 in Idlib province of Syria. He was in a vehicle traveling on a rural road in the rebel-controlled territory, but his identity was not confirmed until Thursday evening. 

US Central Command [CENTCOM] said in an official statement; 

“US forces conducted a kinetic counterterrorism strike near Idlib, Syria on a senior al-Qaeda leader.

This strike continues US operations to degrade international terrorist networks and target terrorist leaders who seek to attack the US homeland and its interests and allies abroad.”

US Navy LT Josie Lynne Lenny added; 

“Initial indications are that we struck the individual we were aiming for, and there are no indications of civilian casualties as a result of the strike.” 

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed that the vehicle was carrying a militant linked to the terror group. 

Images from the tree-lined dirt road, show a heap of charred metal badly crumbled on the side that barely shows its car form.

The Idlib Province has been the target of US forces in the past when taking aim at various terrorist militants. It is also the location when the US ordered the strike that led to the death of ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who had been hiding there after fleeing eastern Syria.

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The airstrike in Syria was carried out hours before the Pentagon announced that an Air Force general officer would launch a probe into an August 29 drone attack in Afghanistan that killed an innocent aid worker and seven children in his family.

Large parts of Idlib and neighboring Aleppo province remain in the hands of Syrian armed opposition, dominated by radical groups including the once al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. 

There are also over 4 million civilians living in the area, most of them displaced from previous bouts of violence in Syria’s 10-year conflict. 

India: Nigerian Actor have been arrested for peddling drugs

The Indian police have arrested a Nigerian actor, Chekwume Malvin, on charges of drug peddling and seized hashish oil worth Rs 7.5 lakh.

Chekwume, 45, who hails from Delta state in Nigeria, was arrested near the HBR Layout BDA Complex, where he had allegedly gone to sell drugs.

According to Indian newspapers, Chekwume who features in Indian movies, was arrested with 250 ml of hashish oil and 15 grams of MDMA on him. The police say the Nigerian actor has acted as an extra in over 20 Indian movies including ‘Vishwaroopam’, ‘Singham’, ‘Paramathma’, and ‘Anna Bond.

“Malvin learnt acting at the New York Film Academy, Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, in 2006. He claimed he has acted in three Nollywood (Nigerian) movies. He came to India several years ago on a medical visa and took up a two-month acting course at NYFA, Mumbai. Later, he started acting in Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam movies as an extra.

He was living in Bengaluru for the last few years and was peddling drugs in his circle of customers to make easy money,” the police said

Courageous Woman Shares Heartbreaking Photos On Nigeria’s 61st Independence Day

A Nigerian lady, Ella Ada shared heartbreaking photos on her Instagram handle as Nigeria celebrates her 61st Independence anniversary, Tori Me! reports.

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Sharing the photos, she wrote;

“happy 61th independent anniversary*

What are we celebrating?
Are we celebrating Good Road or We are celebrating hunger?.
You tell us, We are the gaint of Africa But We Citizens are dieing of hunger. The Corpers have no Job after serving Nigeria. We need a Country where everyone will have equal rights.

We Really need a Good Nigeria, where everyone will have a Good hospitality, Quality Education, Human Right, Free Employment.

SAY NO TO KILLING OF NIGERIANS”


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Ex. Chelsea striker, Diego Costa in hot waters as Police seize £1.77 Million in cash during betting fraud investigation

Ex. Chelsea striker, Diego Costa has landed himself in trouble after being named in the Brazilian media as the footballer at the centre of an alleged betting scandal being probed by police.

The 32-year-old striker, currently playing for Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro, has been identified by national press in his homeland as one of the people being investigated by detectives in the state of Sergipe where he was born.

Police are yet to confirm the identities of those they believe are involved in the alleged wrongdoing. But they have said a footballer is one of the suspects under investigation.

Detectives went public with their operation on Thursday, saying they were probing the practice of alleged crimes including money laundering and foreign exchange fraud involving online betting site Esportenet.

Sergipe State Police said in a statement: ‘On Wednesday morning Sergipe State Police launched the second phase of an operation codenamed “Distraction” with the aim of obtaining evidence for an investigation into the alleged practices of exploitation of gambling, money laundering, foreign currency exchange and criminal association involving the ESPORTENET betting site, its owners, financial operators and financier.

‘In the first phase of the operation, which began on March 3 this year, documents and electronic equipment were seized that allowed the investigation to be deepened and the amount of R$13,129,217.00 – Brazilian real – (£1.77million) in cash was seized.

‘Based on the evidence collected, it was possible to identify other betting platforms used by the group and individual companies and legal entities for alleged money laundering and foreign exchange fraud

‘The participation of money changers that help the criminal organisation to allegedly commit foreign exchange fraud was verified, as well as the participation of a football player.

‘At this stage, the investigation is focused on the foreign exchange fraud, with specific focus on the money changers and the betting site’s financier.

‘Seven search and seizure warrants are being executed, two in Itabaiana in Sergipe, one in Lagarto in Sergipe, two in Simao Dias in Segipe, one in Salvador in the state of Bahia and one in Sao Paulo.

‘The warrants were issued by a judge sitting at Itabaaina’s Sixth Federal Court.

‘Warrants for the seizure of property belonging to those involved in the criminal scheme are also being executed.’ 

Atletico Mineiro said they would support Costa if he asked for help in a statement.

The statement, titled “Diego Costa Official Statement” and posted on the official club website, said: ‘The reports do not concern the club.

‘The allegations that have been put in the public domain weren’t previously known to the public or the club because they formed part of an investigation and they relate to a period which was prior to the athlete’s arrival here.

‘However Atletico Mineiro is trying to find out more and if the athlete requires it, we will offer him all the support that might be necessary.’

Diego Costa, full name Diego da Silva Costa, transferred to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in 2014 in a deal worth £32m. He won three trophies including two Premier League titles during his time at Stamford Bridge before returning to Atletico Madrid in 2018 following a rift with then-Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.

R.Kelly Trial: One of the victims lied during 2019 interview as he ‘coached her’ on what to say

One of R Kelly’s victim Azriel Clary has revealed she lied about ‘everything’ in her 2019 interview with Gayle King after the R&B singer allegedly coached her on how to answer questions.

The now-23-year-old told Gayle King on CBS News: ‘Before the interview he had us practicing every single day… answering questions. And if he didn’t like our answer he would tell us exactly what to say and how to say it.

‘Any time you mention anything about sexual preference we already know to say: “I’m not here to talk about any of that.”‘

In the previous interview when she first appeared on the show in March of 2019, the then 21-year-old said: ‘First of all I’m not here to talk about my personal life and I would never share with no one what I do in or outside of the bedroom,’ she said.

At the time, she had been living with R Kelly for nearly five years. She also considered herself his girlfriend and was a loyal advocate claiming the sexual assault allegations against her lover weren’t true.

‘You guys don’t know the truth. You guys are believing this f***ing façade that our parents are saying. This is all f***ing lies for money,’ Clary said two years ago.

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Clary told King that Kelly told her to be angry. 

‘I was scared because I was like: “I don’t want the world to see me this way…” I’m loving, I’m caring, I’m compassionate. No one got to see that side of me,’ Clary added as she fought back tears.

She claimed that after the 2019 interview, when she went back to Kelly’s apartment, ‘he was so happy’.

‘He was like: “You guys did amazing… You did so well, you carried yourself so well,”‘ Clary recalled. 

‘I believe he even got food and wanted to celebrate, that’s how happy he was with that interview,’ she added. 

But during her new interview with King since testifying against her ex-lover in court, she said that their relationship was abusive.

‘He was very good at manipulating the situation,’ Clary said. ‘Everything that we had been living in had become very normal and I had to break out of that. I had to realize that this was actually abnormal.’

She testified that the assaults began when she was just 17 and the R&B singer sexually and physically abused her, including coercing her into having an abortion. 

Clary said she normalized the abuse because she saw other, older women, plus Kelly’s assistants, workers and security team, experiencing the same and not speaking up. 

She said Kelly had four other girlfriends while they were in a relationship. 

‘So me, being very young at that time, I just learned to normalize it,’ she recalled, adding that there was nothing anybody could’ve said or done to help her escape the abusive situation earlier.

‘I feel like that is something that I would’ve had to had woken up to myself. Something that I would’ve had to realize on myself.

‘A lot of people don’t realize – with victims, the more you try to help them, the more it upsets them sometimes,’ she said.

On Monday, September 27, the singer was found guilty of all nine counts of racketeering and sex trafficking by a federal jury where prosecutors accused him of exploiting his stardom over a quarter-century to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex.

Gabriel Salazar, TikTok star and three others die in fatal car crash during Police chase

TikTok star, Gabriel Salazar has been confimed dead after he was involved in a car accident  following a police chase in Texas.

Salazar, who was known as GabeNotBabe on social media, was driving the car and had three passengers when police tried to pull over a white Chevrolet Camaro on Sunday.  They unsuccessfully deployed a tire deflation device and the car eventually hit a tree and rolled multiple times before bursting into flames. 

Officials from the La Pryor Fire Department, Crystal City Volunteer Fire Department and Alamo EMS responded and told News4 San Antonio that they had trouble putting out the fire due to a ruptured gas tank that was spilling fuel. 

TikTok star Gabriel Salazar and three others die in fiery car crash after police chase

Salazar joined TikTok in 2019 and accumulated more than 2million followers before his sudden death. He often shared videos of himself lip syncing and dancing.

Salazar’s older sister Danna Salazar, confirmed her brother’s passing on Instagram and tributes for the young influencer immediately flooded in.

Danna captioned a series of photos of her brother in Spanish: ‘I’d give anything to have you here with us, we need you so much. I’ll no longer be able to see your beautiful smile. I love you little brother. I hope to see you soon.’ 

Salazar and the three other people in the car were pronounced dead at the scene.

There is fuel crisis in UK: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Bentley could’nt get fuel after 7 hours in the queue (photos)

Cristiano Ronaldo’s driver sat for nearly seven hours at a petrol station but had to leave the station without buying a single drop of fuel in the £220,000 Bentley.

Due to the current fuel scarcity going on in the UK at the moment, Ronaldo’s ride was pictured in a Shell forecourt a few miles from the forward’s home but efforts to buy fuel were in vain.

UK Fuel crisis: Cristiano Ronaldo?s driver leaves petrol station after seven hours with no fuel for his ?220k Bentley (photos)


A member of Ronaldo’s security team driving a Range Rover was also parked up alongside the Bentley but efforts to also buy fuel didn’t come to fruition.

UK Fuel crisis: Cristiano Ronaldo?s driver leaves petrol station after seven hours with no fuel for his ?220k Bentley (photos)

According to The Sun UK, drivers of both of Ronaldo’s cats pulled up at 2.20pm on Wednesday, September 29, hoping a tanker would arrive at the filling station, but after six hours and 40 minutes they realised they would have to leave without refueling and drove away at 9pm.

The UK has been facing fuel shortage in the last one week, with even the Army being drafted to help with fuel truck driving to supply fuel.

A source told the newspaper: ‘Even with all Ronaldo’s money, he’s in the same boat as the rest of us.

‘His security waited for hours obviously hoping a tanker would eventually arrive but they were forced to drive off.

‘The two men looked so fed up waiting in the rain. Ronaldo might be housebound like everyone else if this keeps up.’

Indonesian man “marries” his rice cooker and signed a marriage certificate

In Indonesia, a man has made the headlines after he “married” a rice cooker. Yes, the electric appliance used to make rice for everyday meals.

The man’s “wedding ceremony” to his beloved appliance went viral on social media after he shared a bunch of photos showing him dressed up in wedding attire, while the rice cooker donned a bride’s veil.

In the caption, the man named Khoirul Anam hailed his “new bride”. He said she is “white (fair), doesn’t talk much, and great at cooking”.

Khoirul Anam posted the pictures on his Facebook page to announce his marriage with the rice cooker on September 20.  

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The photos have gone viral, with people sharing their opinion.

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Anam isn’t the first person to get “married” to an inanimate object.

Professional masked thieves steal jewellery and cash from Lionel Messi’s Paris Hotel Apartment

Dare-devil Masked robbers have reportedly stolen thousands of pounds worth of jewellery and cash during a raid on the Paris hotel where Lionel Messi is living.

The raiders broke into Le Royal Monceau by scaling down from the roof on the outside of the building. They entered through an unlocked balcony door on the floor above the Paris Saint-Germain superstar’s £17,000-a-night hotel suite.

Four rooms were raided in the robbery just weeks after the footballer waved to adoring fans from the balcony of his luxury new home, according to The Sun.

Two masked men, were seen in CCTV footage making their way to the sixth-floor balcony on Wednesday evening last week. That night, PSG had an away game at Metz in northeast France but Messi stayed at home after sustaining an injury in the previous game.

One victim, a financial advisor in Dubai, said she left her £1,000-a-night room for the evening and discovered her £3,000 gold necklace, £500 earrings and £2,000 in cash were missing the following morning.

She said: ‘To pay a fortune for somewhere fancy and secure and have someone walk in your room is very disturbing. 

‘The police told us they saw two men with a bag on the roof on CCTV cameras but they could not identify them.

‘They said three other robberies were also reported. A Moroccan guy in the next room told me he had his watch stolen.’

She claimed the hotel did not believe her allegations until the police were involved.

The hotel says the theft is ‘under investigation’.

Read full transcript: M. Buhari Nigeria’s 61st Independence Day Speech

Read the press statement below…

INDEPENDENCE DAY ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE OCCASION OF NIGERIA’S SIXTY FIRST INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY, FRIDAY 1ST OCTOBER, 2021.

Citizens of Nigeria.

1. It is with full gratitude to God that today, we celebrate Nigeria’s sixty first Independence Anniversary.

2.?For 1st of October 1960 to happen, all hands were on deck. East, West, North all came together to celebrate freedom. Today should not only serve as a reminder of the day the British handed over the reins of power to Nigerians, but also unified Nigerians from all ethnic groups, religions and regions.

3.?Today, despite the challenges we face, most Nigerians still maintain the spirit of 1st October. That positive outlook and determination to make Nigeria a peaceful and prosperous nation. It is due to this collective attitude that Nigeria doggedly continues to remain a united and indivisible nation.

4.?Fellow Nigerians, the past eighteen months have been some of the most difficult periods in the history of Nigeria. Since the civil war, I doubt whether we have seen a period of more heightened challenges than what we have witnessed in this period.

5.?Our original priorities for 2020 were to continue stabilising our economy following the deep recession while restoring peace in areas confronted with security challenges. But the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impact on all nations meant we needed to shift gears and re-strategise.

6.?Nigerians came together as one to fight against COVID-19. It is this attitude and by the special grace of God, we continue to survive the pandemic as a nation and indeed, provide leadership and example at regional and international levels.

7.?The doomsday scenario predicted for our country never came. Even as the Delta variant continues to spread, we have built the capacity we need to respond now and into the future.

8.?I will therefore appeal to Nigerians not to take COVID lightly, adhere to public health and social measures, put your mask on and get vaccinated. We can control this pandemic, but it requires effort on everybody’s part. The investments we made in response to COVID-19 will also serve our country to tackle any future disease outbreaks or pandemics.

9.?Despite the global inequity in access to vaccines, the Government of Nigeria has continued to explore all available options to ensure Nigerians have free access to safe and effective vaccines.

10.?Some five million vaccine doses have been administered to Nigerians through efforts led by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and we will continue to explore options for purchase or acquisition of vaccines such as through COVAX and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust.

11.?I will take this opportunity to remind the global community that the current state of access to COVID-19 vaccines is unacceptable. We cannot afford a situation where a handful of countries keep the global vaccine supply to themselves at the expense of other nations.

12.?We must act now to accelerate equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This is the message I conveyed to the international community in New York last week.

13.?As we push to source vaccines for our immediate needs, we shall invest more to support our pharmaceutical and research agencies to come up with ideas for locally developed vaccines. Should another pandemic arise in the future, Our question is simple; will Nigeria be ready?

14.?Accordingly, I have directed the Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Health, Education and Science and Technology to work with Nigerian and International pharmaceutical companies and research organisations to enhance Nigeria’s domestic pharmaceutical capacity.

15.?Already, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority is raising a $200 million fund for this initiative that will complement the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ongoing N85 billion Healthcare Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme to support local researchers in the development of vaccines and drugs to combat communicable and non-communicable diseases, including COVID-19.

Fellow Nigerians, this is just the beginning.

16.?Similarly, on our approach to food security, I am proud to announce Nigeria has commenced its journey to pharmaceutical independence.

17.?This journey, which will take years to achieve but will ultimately result in Nigerian based companies developing the Active Pharmaceutical substances and competence needed for us to make our own drugs and vaccines.

Fellow Nigerians,

18.?As our economy continues to open after the COVID-19 related lockdowns, we have also seen the resurgence of insecurity in certain parts of the country.

19.?In the last four months, the gallant men and women of the Military and Security Agencies have made tremendous progress in addressing these new security challenges. We are taking the fight to our enemies from all angles and we are winning.

20.?Earlier this year, I launched the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, the Deep Blue Project, which is designed to secure Nigerian waters up to the Gulf of Guinea. I am happy to inform Nigerians that we have taken delivery of key assets for this project and very soon, its impact will be felt.

21.?In the North East region alone, over eight thousand Boko Haram terrorists have surrendered.

22.?To support our surge approach to fighting banditry, the Nigerian Armed Forces have recruited over 17,000 personnel across all ranks. Furthermore, I have also approved for the Nigerian Police Force to recruit 10,000 police officers annually over the next six years.

23.?I am also pleased to note that most of the Air Force platforms we acquired over the past three years have started to arrive in Nigeria. These will positively impact our security operations in all parts of the country.

24.?In line with section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the security and welfare of Nigerians continue to be the prime focus on which programmes and projects of our government revolves.

25.?Therefore, as a Government, we are ready to arrest and prosecute all persons inciting violence through words or action. Our resolve for a peaceful, united and one Nigeria remains resolute and unwavering.

26.?That said, our hope is not to fight for peace. We can always settle our grievances peacefully without spilling any blood.

27.?I will therefore take this opportunity, on this special day that symbolises the unity and oneness of our great nation, to ask all Nigerians to embrace peace and dialogue, whatever your grievances.

28.?The seeds of violence are planted in people’s heads through words. Reckless utterances of a few have led to losses of many innocent lives and destruction of properties.

29.?Such unfiltered and unsubstantiated lies and hate speeches by a few evil persons must be stopped. Our media houses and commentators must move away from just reporting irresponsible remarks to investigating the truth behind all statements and presenting the facts to readers.

30.?We must all come out and speak against the lies being peddled. At this point, I would want to sincerely appreciate the large number of our Traditional, Religious and Community leaders as well as other well-meaning Nigerians who, in their various fora are openly spreading the message of peaceful co-existence and conflict settlement through dialogue in their respective communities.

31.?Nigeria is for all of us. Its unity is not negotiable. And its ultimate success can only be achieved if we all come together with a common goal of having peace and prosperity for our nation.

32.?We shall continue to work on dialogue based solutions to address legitimate grievances. But we remain ready to take decisive actions against secessionist agitators and their sponsors who threaten our national security.

33.?The recent arrests of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, and the ongoing investigations being conducted have revealed certain high-profile financiers behind these individuals. We are vigorously pursuing these financiers including one identified as a serving member of the national assembly.

Fellow Nigerians,

34.?This is a clear example of how people abandon their national leadership positions for their selfish gains. Instead of preaching unity, they are funding and misleading our youth to conduct criminal acts that sometimes lead to unfortunate and unnecessary loss of lives and property.

35.?As the so-called leaders run abroad to hide, our innocent youths are misled and left in the streets to fight for their senseless and destructive causes.

36.?Government will continue, with greater level of peoples’ participation and in collaboration with our international partners, to improve the security architecture, reduce enabling environment for criminality to thrive and eliminate opportunities for terrorism financing.

37.?Fellow Nigerians, our unrelenting effort at resolving an almost two-decade stalling on the management of our Petroleum resources and ensuring equitable consideration to our host communities has resulted in the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.

38.?This Act not only overhauls the Institutional, regulatory and fiscal framework of the Petroleum Industry but also reduces the previous opacity associated with this sector.

39.?This is the first step to the reforms as the process is a continuous one. Already, to further improve the governance framework, I have sought for an amendment of sections 11(2)(b) and 34(2)(b). We will also continue to review and amend as appropriate.

40.?At this juncture, it is very appropriate that I salute the leadership and members of the Ninth Assembly for their patriotism, dedication to duty, candour and most importantly the dispatch with which they have enacted legacy legislations for this nation. I do not take such level of cooperation for granted and hope it continues for the overall efficiency of the Federal machinery.

41.?Nigeria’s Roadmap on Local Refining is on track with the Commissioning of a Modular refinery in Imo State.

42.?A second is scheduled for commissioning by the end of this year in Edo State and the third one in Bayelsa State by 2022.

43.?In addition to the modular projects, we also have the two mega refinery projects coming up in Lagos and Akwa Ibom States.

44.?As these refineries are commissioned, more employment opportunities are created and there would be increased petroleum products available for local consumption which will significantly reduce our reliance on importation.

45.?In further demonstrating our plan to reduce our dependence on oil and tapping from our enormous gas resources, this administration remains committed to the “Decade of Gas” Initiative, which is aimed at bringing to focus the utilization of our huge gas resources.

46.?Already, we are supporting and promoting various gas-based projects including NLNG Train 7 and the mega urea and ammonia projects in the South-South region.

47.?As we continue to optimise and enhance our oil and gas sector, I am also proud and delighted to state that our economic diversification strategy remains on course with the persistent increase in Non-Oil Sector contribution to GDP.

48.?We recovered from economic recession in quarter four of 2020 with a GDP growth rate of 0.11%, and grew by 0.51% and 5.01% in real terms in the first and second quarters of 2021.

49.?The Agricultural sector remains key to our economic diversification efforts as the sector has been a consistent driver of the non-oil sector contributing 22.35% and 23.78% to the overall GDP in the first and second quarter of 2021.

50.?We have seen significant private sector investments in almost all areas of the agricultural value chain. And these have continued even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

51.?Unfortunately, as our food production capacity has increased, food prices have been going up due to artificial shortages created by middlemen who have been buying and hoarding these essential commodities for profiteering.

52.?To address this, I am hereby directing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to rehabilitate the National Food Reserve Agency and also work with security agencies, the Nigerian Commodity Exchange, and the National Assembly to find a lasting solution to these disruptive and unpatriotic hoarding activities.

53.?To further enhance food production, we have completed several new dams and are in the process of rehabilitating several River Basin Development Authorities to enhance ground water supply for rainfed agriculture as well as surface water for irrigation agriculture.

54.?The water projects we completed between 2015 to 2020 have improved Nigerian’s access to potable water to 71% between 2015 and 2020. This means 12.5 million additional Nigerians now have direct access to potable water.

Fellow Nigerians,

55.?This Government remains concerned by the significant transportation infrastructure deficit we have. Addressing the challenges our commuters and lorry drivers face on the motorways is still a high priority to us.

56.?To complement our budgetary allocations, the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund and the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme, we recently established a N15trillion Infrastructural Corporation of Nigeria Limited (INFRACO), which is expected to begin operation by the fourth quarter of this year.

57.?INFRACO will also focus on leveraging resources on a public-private sector basis for infrastructural development in Nigeria.

58.?We hope through these innovative programs, the additional cost burden on individuals and businesses because of inefficient logistics operations will be reduced and ultimately, eliminated.

59.?We currently have over 13,000 kilometres of roads and bridges under construction all over the country of which a fair percentage have been completed.

60.?As we fix our roads, we also continue to extend and upgrade Nigeria’s railway network with the notable opening of the Warri- Itakpe standard gauge rail line.

61.?To increase capacity, we have introduced more locomotives, coaches and wagons including the establishment of a Wagon Assembly in Kajola, Ogun State.

62.?The sea ports however still remain problematic. The effect of our various interventions to reduce the gridlocks and inefficiencies have been slower than expected.

63.?However, the implementation of the Electronic Call-Up System as well as the conversion of the Lillypond Container Terminal to a Vehicle Transit Area will further enhance the ease of cargo evacuation.

64.?Our prioritisation of developing Nigeria’s Digital Economy has positively impacted the contribution of the ICT sector to our GDP.

65.?We hope our present efforts to ensure all Nigerians use a National Identification Number as well as our planned roll-out of the fifth generation (5G) network technology will ensure we stay in line with the global innovation curve as a Nation.

66.?As we embrace the digital economy in Nigeria, we are fully aware of the prospects and the perils. Our policies have been developed to enable Nigerians to take advantage of the prospects and avoid the perils of digital technologies.

67.?Social media is a very useful platform that has enabled millions of Nigerians to connect with loved ones, promote their businesses, socialise, and access news and other information.

68.?However, recent events have shown that the platform is not just an innocuous platform for information dissemination.

69.?Rather some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.

70.?To address these negative trends, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5, 2021 to allow the Government put measures in place to address these challenges.

71.?Following the suspension of Twitter operations, Twitter Inc. reached out to the Federal Government of Nigeria to resolve the impasse. Subsequently, I constituted a Presidential Committee to engage Twitter to explore the possibility of resolving the issue.

72.?The Committee, along with its Technical Team, has engaged with Twitter and have addressed a number of key issues. These are:

a. National Security and Cohesion;

b. Registration, Physical presence and Representation;

c. Fair Taxation;

d. Dispute Resolution; and

e. Local Content.

73.?Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements.

74.?As a country, we are committed to ensuring that digital companies use their platform to enhance the lives of our citizens, respect Nigeria’s sovereignty, cultural values and promote online safety.

75.?Nigeria’s progressive diplomacy continues to manifest through growing numbers of highly placed Nigerians in positions of regional and global influences. Very recently, Nigeria won election for the position of Commissioner for the expanded Political, Peace and Security Affairs of the African Union.

76.?Our persistent calls for a reorganized and reformed ECOWAS, to make the organization citizens-sensitive, paid off with the acceptance by the Authority of Heads of State and Governments of ECOWAS to commence the agreed reforms in the organization ahead of the next elections of the organization’s principal officers in December this year.

77.?At the African Development Bank, World Trade Organization and indeed, the United Nations, footprints of Nigeria’s Diplomacy are clearly evident.

78.?We remain confident that our goal of lifting 100million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years is achievable.

79.?Considering the positive impact of our Social Investment Programs, I recently approved an increase in the number of N-Power program beneficiaries from 500,000 to 1,000,000.

80.?Out of this, 510,000 have started the programme while the competitive selection process for onboarding the outstanding 490,000 beneficiaries is in progress.

81.?The National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme is currently being implemented in 35 States of the Federation and the FCT. Over 103,000 women have been engaged and empowered as cooks under the programme, while about 10 million pupils are being fed across public primary schools in the country.

82.?To grant increased access to credit to the most poor and vulnerable, I have directed an increase in the disbursement of Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme loans to an additional one million beneficiaries laying more emphasis on the smallholding farmers through the farmers Moni program.

Fellow Nigerians,

83.?For far too long we have neglected the centrality of the civil service as the engine of governance and this has manifested in ineffective service delivery.

84.?There is widespread discontent and disillusion about the efficiency and probity of our civil service.

85.?It is for this reason that we are refocusing the Nigerian Civil Service to provide World class service to run our country.

86.?The youths of this great country remain propellants for our today and provide guarantees that we would have a secure tomorrow.

87.?It is for this reason that I remain focused on expanding opportunities for their participation in politics and governance.

88.?Recent appointments of young people into positions of authority and their track record so far, gives me confidence that we need to bring more of them into governance and this I promise to do.

89.?More specifically, to encourage Girl-Child Education, female scholarship schemes, life skills and digital literacy skills to boost girl’s enrolment, retention and completion of schooling, are all initiatives put in place to ensure gender balance in appropriately positioning our youths for positions of leadership.

90.?The commitment of this Administration to the well-being of people living with disabilities remains unwavering.

91.?Government recognises their contributions to development and I have, in this regard, directed that all relevant Government Agencies pay special attention to the peculiarities of different abilities in the implementation of policies and programmes.

92.?Rape and Gender Based Violence remains a sore point in our Nation as in many countries worldwide and this was worsened during and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

93.?We are currently engaging Heads of Courts to establish Specialised Courts for the speedy and seamless trial of Rape/Gender-Based offences especially to ensure that justice is done for child victims of sexual violence.

94.?On the other hand, work has advanced in the reformation, reintegration and reunification of Minors involved in one crime or the other.

95.?The reformation in our Correctional Services has manifested in an increase in modernised custodial centres and a transformation from strictly punitive to attitudinal changes so that criminals do not relapse into their previous lifestyle.

96.?As we begin to celebrate our sixty one years as a Nation, we need to be conscious that Nigeria does not start and end with the Federal Government. This country is a great collective where Government at all arms and levels as well as the private sector, and more importantly individuals, have a role to play.

97.?In particular, security is a bottom to top undertaking. Joining hands and hearts together would enable us to secure ourselves and our country.

98.?I fully understand the anxiety of many Nigerians on the inability of this country to go beyond a never-ending potential for becoming a great nation to an actually great one.

99.?A lot has been achieved in the last six years on many fronts: in infrastructure, social care, governance, Nigeria’s image and influence in Africa and the international community.

100.?But critics misdiagnose incremental progress as stagnation. Since coming to power, this Administration has tackled our problems head-on in spite of the meagre resources. No government since 1999 has done what we have done in six years to put Nigeria back on track.

101.?We shall continue to serve the country: listen to all and protect our democracy and country.

Thank you all and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

R.Kelly’s ‘Key to the City’ honor in Baton Rouge has been retrieved

Disgraced R. Kelly’s ‘Key to the City’ honor in Baton Rouge has been taken away after his guilty verdict in his sex crime trial. 

LIB reported earlier that the singer was found guilty of racketeering in a high-profile sex-trafficking case after being trailed by accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse for a long time. 

Kelly was given the honor back in February 2013 by Denise Marcelle, who, at the time, was a member of Baton Rouge Metro Council. Marcelle has expressed her regrets and now rescinded it. 

R.kelly award

Though there were allegations against the singer when Marcelle presented the key to him back in 2013, the politician who is now a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives said she only knew he had been acquitted in 2008. A Baton Rouge Rep also confirmed that she still holds the power to rescind the key since she was the one who gave it out.

TMZ reported that the process doesn’t include physically taking the $256 plaque and key back from the singer. 

Governor Obiano places N20m bounty on information leading to Akunyili’s killers

The present Anambra Governor, Willie Obiano has placed an N20 million bounty on the killers of Dr Chike Akunyili and nine others.

He announced during his state-wide broadcast after the harvest of killings in the state by gunmen.

He said security operatives should step up their security network, adding that his administration would no longer tolerate further killings.

He said no fewer than 10 persons were killed by the gunmen, including one of the influential sons of the State, Dr Chike Akunyili

According to him: “To reinforce our commitment and seriousness on this issue, I on behalf of the State Government, wish to announce a N20,000,000 reward for any useful information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of these heinous attacks on our state. The people behind this must be unmasked and brought to book.

“I urge citizens to report to us anybody bearing firearm who is not a security or vigilante personnel, so we can deal with this monster, once and for all.

“I promise you that we will leave no stone unturned in getting justice for them. May their souls rest in peace.

“Finally, I urge all citizens of the state to unite in this fight against all forms of terror, intimidation and tyranny.

“We will not succumb to invaders as I am convinced that no Anambra son will indulge in this kind of heartlessness.

“I warn all those promoting and participating in these violent attacks to leave our state or pay a high price as we will definitely catch up with them.

“Since last weekend, some armed persons have unleashed terror with sporadic attacks on innocent citizens in various parts of the State.

“From the briefings I have received from Security Commanders, Offices of some political parties, branded campaign vehicles and individuals occupying them have been attacked with killings and burning of vehicles observed.

“Other innocent road users have become victims of this menace with many losing their lives and others, their properties.

“Between Sunday 26th and yesterday 28th September, 2021 attacks on citizens at Oko, Agulu, Obosi, Nkpor, Nnobi, Nnewi and other places have left about 10 people dead including an illustrious son of this State, Dr Chike Akunyili, husband of late Prof Dora Akunyili who was reportedly gunned down yesterday around Nkpor.

“These attacks and accompanying deaths cannot be justified and must stop now.

“I have therefore conducted an extensive security meeting and have directed all security agencies to step up and confront this monster ravaging our land.”

Kenya: women advocacy groups decry looming of ‘shortage of men’ for marriage

One of women advocacy organisations in Murang’a, Kenya have warned of a marriage crisis in the county if the number of men continues dwindling.

Backed by male welfare advocacy groups, the women have told nation.africa that increased imprisonment, illicit brews anad mob lynching of young men have contributed to their reducing numbers.

For a county with a deficit of 8,729 men in the gender ratio, the women say any other cause that increases this deficiency will affect the founding of new families.

Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organisation (MYWO), Federation of Women Educationists (Fawe), Murang’a Sex Workers Empowerment Initiative (MSWEI), Girl Child Protection Unit (GCPU), Wajane Initiative and Single Mothers United in Table Banking Association, jointly voiced out the concern.

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While launching the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) against narcotics and illicit brews in Thika last week, Interior PS Karanja Kibicho said 30,000 youths in Central region — 40 per cent from Murang’a — have died since July 2015 when President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a crackdown on poisonous brews in the area.

Speaking at the same event, Central Region Commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga said the major threats against boy child are being played out in the 280,855 population of those aged between 20 and 29 years.

“The nonsense of mob lynching, illicit brews and narcotics and all threats to lawful enterprise must be dealt with firmly and civility pursued through education and religion,” he said.

Joseph Kibugi of the Kibugi wa Ihii Foundation speaking separately in Kigumo Constituency, noted that the society must realise that it is empowering and moulding the girl child to become a family woman in an environment of depleting potential husbands.

“Every day, we are seeing at least 400 boy child population being sentenced to jail in Murang’a courts. In the past one month, about 21 males here have been killed by mob lynching,” said Mr Kibugi.

He observed that the security enforcement has teamed up with the society to use the Judiciary and kangaroo courts to condemn the boy child to oblivion without considering the impact it will have on the present and future families in the county.

“Before we can think from outside our county where we can ship our women to get married, we should preserve our numbers to ensure we can bring in girls from other counties to sustain our population. The situation surrounding the boy child here is a threat to our future existence as a county,” he said.

Murang’a Young Professionals Action Network Chair Mixson Warui, said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has failed to chart a structured way of dealing with organised crime, leading to mafia like narcotics, illicit brews and vigilante cartels that continue to threaten the male population.

Fawe Coordinator Cecilia Wanjiku, said the Interior ministry has failed to crush substandard alcoholic drinks in the county, observing that bars were bribing their way out and continue contravening regulatory frameworks hence, narcotics trade is conducted openly.

“Our boy child has been indoctrinated into a culture of death by insensitive law enforcement that has collapsed the rule of law to a point the society is settling scores through mob lynching,” she said.

Local MYWO chairperson Lucy Nyambura who also is the Deputy Speaker for Murang’a County Assembly, said the area has become a hub for vigilante groups who have taken the law on their hands and are depleting the male population through mob lynching.

“These mobs should be neutered before they degenerate into a runaway crime of murdering men. We must not allow this kind of crude justice to gain currency. Police should also venture more in rehabilitative way of dealing with criminals. The old habit of arresting and jailing no longer works,” she said.

MSWEI chairperson Susan Wanjiru, raised concern over police officers who openly appreciate the lynching.

“They say members of the public are helping them secure the county. We are concerned because some of those being murdered in cold blood are our customers. We have a population of 3,000 sex workers in the county and on daily basis, we estimate that we serve on average 1, 800 customers,” she said.

The most intriguing lynching incident was of a 44-year-old pastor of the Akorino faith at Small Earth village on September 17. Police report indicate that he was a member of a gang that terrorised local residents.

Former Nyumba Kumi National Security Initiative Chairman Joseph Kaguthi, admits that what is happening in Murang’a is “a calculated design to annihilate families.”

He observes that when he was in office, he was privy to undeclared position that the county is the official dumpsite of all types of cheap liquor and has illegal distilleries in many villages.

“There are suspicions that those criminals have official help to thrive. The society is also hostile to its men and does not care to correct the errant before they are jailed or lynched. It is a county that if not given special security eye, will inflict itself major damage of finishing out its men,” he says.

World Cup 2022 : Nigeria’s 23-man squad ready for Central Africa Republic clash

Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has named a 23-man squad for the team’s  2022 World Cup qualifiers against Central Africa Republic .

Nigeria already kicked off their campaign in the qualifiers on brighter note with two winnings  in their first two games and are currently the group  C leaders with six points while Central Africa Republic are at the bottom with just a point.

According to the official statement by the Super Eagles media team, Alex Iwobi, captain Ahmed Musa,  Moses Simon, Leon Balogun and Maduka Okoye, are among the players invited. 

21-year-old Calvin Bassey who plays for Scottish giants Rangers as a left-back/centre-back was handed his maiden Nigeria call-up.

Rohr’s men will take on the Central African Republic on October 7 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos before travelling to Bangui for the return fixture at Stade Barthelemy Boganda three days later.

NIGERIA FULL SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands).

Defenders: Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn 07, Germany); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Calvin Bassey (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Kevin Akpoguma (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany)

Midfielders: Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Innocent Bonke (Malmo FF, Sweden); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Kalu (FC Bordeaux, France); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia). 

super eagles 2021

Court sentences a prostitute for biting customer’s tongue during s3x

In Benue state’s Upper Area Court in Makurdi, has sentenced a commercial sex worker, Dooshima Anems, to four years imprisonment for biting customer’s tongue during sex.

The police charged Anems with assault and causing grievous hurt.

The Magistrate, Ms Rose Iyorshe, on Thursday, September 30, sentenced Anems after she pleaded guilty and told the court that she bit Mr Amos Igbo in self defence.

Iyorshe in her judgment gave Anems an option to clean the court premises for one week.

Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Insp Veronica Shaagee told the court that the convict was arrested on Sept. 28.

Shaagee said that Anems bit Mr Amos Igbo, her client’s tongue during sex at the Tekdee Hotel where they were lodged.

She said that Igbo picked up Anems at Yaman Park and paid her N2, 000 for the night. 

Earlier, Anems explained that Igbo wanted more time with her outside the money he paid but she refused.

”My Lord he hit me hard. I bit him in self defence,” she said.

Ireland: 2 Nigerian women sent to prison for human trafficking offences

Some Nigerian women who became the first people in Ireland to be convicted of human trafficking for the prostitution ring they ran, have received jail sentences of five years and eight months and five years and one month.

Alicia Edosa (45) and Edith Enoghaghase (31) were each found guilty of two counts of trafficking women around Ireland on dates between September 2016 and June 2018 following a six-week jury trial at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court in June. 

Edosa of The Harbour, Market Point, Mullingar, and Enoghaghase of Meeting House Lane, Mullingar, were also each convicted of a single charge of organising prostitution as well as a series of money laundering offences.

Enoghaghase’s husband, Omonuwa Desmond Osaighbovo, was also convicted of four related money laundering offences.

All three had pleaded not guilty to a total of 63 separate offences.

At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, September 28, Judge Francis Comerford imposed a jail term of five years and eight months on Edosa backdated to April 14, 2019, when she was first placed in custody for convictions under the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008.

Judge Comerford sentenced Enoghaghase to five years and one month in prison for the same offences backdated to her conviction on June 10, 2021.

Judge Comerford said the offences did not relate to trafficking the women into Ireland, but the control exercised over them once they arrived here when the victims had become “indentured slaves”.

“They coerced the victims into a sustained and degrading period of prostitution, which did great harm to all victims for financial gain,” the judge said.

He said the two accused had taken advantage of vulnerable women who had no real alternative but to accept their exploitation before finally summoning enough courage to break free.

The judge also sentenced both women to 16 months in prison for the prostitution conviction and 20 months for the money laundering offences, to run concurrently.

An additional consecutive sentence of 20 months was imposed on Edosa because of the greater number of money laundering offences.

The court heard Edosa still maintained her innocence of all the charges and claimed that the victims had made false allegations against her in order to secure their right to remain in Ireland.

The trial heard evidence from four women who claimed they were forced into prostitution in Ireland after undergoing a voodoo ceremony in their native Nigeria, in what the prosecution claimed was a “tragic” case of exploitation.

One woman claimed she was forced to pull the heart out of a chicken as part of the ritual in which they were forced to swear they would not try to escape or speak to gardaí once in Ireland – or risk harm to themselves and their families.

The victims also provided dramatic evidence of long, harrowing journeys from their homeland via north Africa and southern Europe before arriving in Ireland.

They had all travelled in the belief that they were going to be working as shop assistants but ended up being forced to work as prostitutes in various locations around the country, including Limerick, Cork, Galway, Castlebar, Navan, Athlone, Letterkenny, Cavan and Dundalk.

The women were told they owed the defendants sums ranging from €35,000 to €60,000 for arranging their travel to Ireland.

One of the women trafficked and forced into prostitution by Edosa revealed she had tried to take her own life as a result of what had happened.

In a victim impact statement read out by counsel for the DPP, Fiona Murphy SC, the woman had said: “I suffered badly from what Alicia did.”

She added: “I hated the life Alicia made me live that I tried to kill myself. I lost my pride as a woman. I feel ashamed. It is not the way I wanted to live.”

The woman said she was now scared when men asked her out on dates.

“Alicia was the worst person to ever come into my life,” she said.

The other woman who Edosa trafficked said she had earned €46,000 “with my sweat and blood” but did not receive “even a dime”, while she still suffered health problems as a result of being involved in prostitution.

Observing that she had been affected physically, mentally, financially and psychologically by her experiences in Ireland, she added: “The wounds inflicted on me will never go away.”

One of Enoghaghase’s victims said she still had scars on her chest from where she was cut with a razor blade during a voodoo ceremony.

The woman said she firmly believed the voodoo curse would kill her and her son. “I was scared all the time and I still feel scared today,” she stated.

She described how she could not work at the moment as she suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The woman, who now lives in the UK, said she no longer trusted men and did not think she could ever have another relationship with a male.

She also doubted if she would ever return to Ireland or Nigeria, because she remained frightened of Enoghaghase.

“Edith has robbed me of my normal life,” she said.

Another Nigerian woman who was trafficked by Enoghaghase said she still suffered from shock “when I think about the life I have lived”.

The woman said she could no longer bear the idea of being touched by a man and she was also uncomfortable in large gatherings.

She felt betrayed by Enoghaghase and had lost her trust in people. “I feel very angry and sad all the time,” she stated.

Counsel for Edosa, Kenneth Fogarty SC, admitted his client was unable to accept the verdict of the jury.

Mr Fogarty outlined how Edosa was one of eight children from an impoverished background, who left her family home in Nigeria at 11 to go live with her older sister, where she was raped by another family member.

Edosa, who had no previous convictions, moved to Ireland in 2011 with her now estranged Slovakian husband and began working in prostitution in 2017 with Escorts Ireland, when she felt it was the only way to earn a living after her residency permit to remain in Ireland had expired.

A psychological report described her as someone who was self-reliant “who will do what is necessary to ensure her survival” as well as being “a friendly, respectful woman”.

Counsel for Enoghaghase, Séamus Clarke SC, said his client was a mother of three young children aged 11, 8 and 5, who first moved to Ireland in 2006.

Mr Clarke said Enoghaghase had been placed in foster care between 2007 and 2008 after being found working as a young prostitute in Sligo.

She later moved to Dublin, where she met her husband, and they settled in Mullingar in 2014.

Pleading for leniency, given Enoghaghase would lose out on her role as primary carer for her children, Mr Clarke pointed out that his client, who has no previous convictions, was a victim of trafficking as a young girl.

Detective Garda Niall Stack told the court that the garda investigation began after two of the victims made formal complaints at Store Street Garda station in May 2018.

Edosa and Enoghaghase were arrested and questioned but made no admissions during 15 interviews after gardaí carried out a search of their homes in April 2019.

Osaighbovo, who the court heard suffered gunshot wounds during a visit to Nigeria in January 2018, which required the amputation of his left thumb, was given a suspended sentence of two years and three months for the money laundering convictions. 

Ex. President Nicolas Sarkozy going to jail for 12 months for breaking election rules

Ex. French president, Nicolas Sarkozy was on Thursday, September 30, sentenced to a year in jail after being found guilty of illegally financing his 2012 re-election campaign.

The 66 year old, was accused of having spent about €22.5 million almost twice the maximum legal amount for his 2012 reelection campaign. But he went on to lose to Socialist Francois Hollande

Sarkozy, who denied any wrongdoing was not in court to face the ruling. He can appeal the ruling.

Prosecutors believe Sarkozy knew weeks before the ballot that his expenses which are strictly limited under French law were getting close to the legal maximum. They accused him of having ignored two notes from his accountants warning about the money issue.

While he was not  accused of being part of the system of false invoices at the heart of the fraud, prosecutors argued Sarkozy is “the only person responsible for his campaign financing” and that he chose to exceed the limit by organising many rallies, including giant ones.

Prosecutors had requested a year’s imprisonment, including six months suspended, and a fine of €3,750.

The President of the 11th Correctional Chamber Caroline Viguier said Sarkozy “continued to organise meetings” despite being “warned in writing of the risk of exceeding” the legal limit.

“This was not his first campaign, he had experience as a candidate,” the magistrate continued.

In addition to the former president, 13 other people, including members of his conservative Republicans party, accountants and heads of the Bygmalion communication group in charge of organising the rallies, were also found guilty of complicity in illegal campaign financing. They were handed prison sentences ranging from two to three and a half years.

Prosecutors had requested mostly suspended prison sentences, and up to one year in prison for Bygmalion’s co-founder.

The verdict comes six months after he was found guilty of corruption and influence-peddling in another case and sentenced to one year in prison and two years suspended becoming the first former French president to be handed out a prison term that includes time with no remission.

The former French leader is also being investigated over accusations he took money from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to fund his successful 2007 presidential campaign and for influence-peddling in case relating to his advisory activities in Russia. The latter aims to determine whether he “engaged in potentially criminal lobbying activities” on behalf of Russian oligarchs.

How parents abused me by Ignorantly making love in front of me till I was 13 – Young Man recounts

A Nigerian guy (name withheld) blames his parents for him being corrupt. He shares how they made love in front of him every single day till he was 13.

See his story:

I want to be anonymous please. My parents love and care so much about me but I need to say this and let it out of my mind.

I am the only child(son) of my parents but we were very very poor and wretched. We lived in a one room apartment and I believe that really affected me negatively but am trying now, I am already 25.

As a little boy, I would lie on the floor and watch my parents make love for hours and do all stuffs. I guess they do think I was asleep but I wasn’t actually. Infact on several of the occasion I remember, my mum would throw her pant and it will land on my face.

A time came when I would always look up to the night because I knew I would see a lot. At primary school I was already Imagining a lot, when I get to school I would bend to look under my female teachers desk to see her undies and they won’t even catch me nor understand what I was doing.

In my primary 4, I remember I started playing with the private part of one of my class mate in class and she allowed me. I would go under the table to touch her and no one noticed. At JSS1 I was in a public school already but whenever I come home, I had this young aunty who was our neighbour and she would always come to play with us and lie on our bed half naked. That day I returned from school and saw her in the house, a lot happened but I ended up touching her private part and she enjoyed it so she allowed me continue. Since then, I and that aunty started playing dirty plays.

Actually my first sex was with that aunty when I was in JSS 2. Before then I had touched and fingered many little girls. My parents went on doing stuffs in my front and you can Imagine how it felt, I was already becoming a teenager yet we were in that 1 room and my mum would be moaning. Weird.

Things changed when I was 13, my teachers in school caught me spying on girls in the female toilet at JSS 3. I wanted to see more and satisfy my cravings. A female teacher then came up to also say that a young girl had once reported to her that I touched her private part in class. It was messy so they invited my parents to talk to them before expelling me. It was there I opened up and said everything that had been happening at night.

I was expelled though but I went to another school and had to stay with one of my uncle who lived in a room and parlor. I am better now and getting back to my normal self but its not easy, everything I have seen all those nights do play in my head and turn me on from time to time.

Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) denies killing Chike Akunyili

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has distanced themselves from the murder of Chike Akunyili and other killings in the South-East.

Late Chike Akunyili was killed Tuesday, September 28, by unknown gunmen at Afor Nkpor in Idemili North local government area of Anambra State, while he was on his way from Onitsha to Umuoji.

He had attended a lecture at Sharon Hall, All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha, organized by the University of Nigeria Nsukka Alumni Association (UNAA), Onitsha branch, in honour of his late wife. He was murdered while returning home after the event.

IPOB on Wednesday, September 29, denied being responsible for his death and others killed in the region. They said the “senseless” killings were politically motivated and had nothing to do with the group.

The group added that masterminds were taking advantage of the current situation in the region to unleash mayhem on their political opponents.

IPOB’s Director of Media and Publicity of the secessionist group, Emma Powerful, released a statement on Wednesday.

The statement reads: “We the great family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu, wish to dissociate ourselves from the senseless killing of innocent citizens in Anambra State.

“We have no hands in the political killings going on. We have severally raised the alarm that some cruel politicians are hiding under the cloak of the situation in Biafra land to eliminate their political enemies and blame it on IPOB.

“We don’t know why wicked politicians especially in Imo and Anambra States will choose to slaughter their opponents and turn around and point accusing fingers at IPOB or the operatives of Eastern Security Network ESN. Politicians should leave us alone and settle their scores. No IPOB member or ESN operative is involved in such barbarity. We have no interest in their politics. Restoration of Biafra is our mandate!”

The statement also addressed the Anambra State Governorship election.

It reads: “We also wish to clarify that IPOB has never issued any official statement that there would be no governorship election in Anambra State.

“Those peddling such rumour are not our members, and should be ignored. Our position on Anambra election will be made public at the right time through our normal channels of information dissemination. Anything contrary should be disregarded. Members of the public should stop believing social media fake stories purported to have emanated from IPOB. We are an organized movement and we don’t hide our position on any matter. 

“Those who killed Dora Akunyili’s husband were the same people that killed Dora. They the ones contesting governorship election in Anambra State today.

“We have no issues with Chike Akunyili and we did not kill him, those behind this act must stop this and stop using IPOB’s name. We don’t want anybody to blame IPOB because we must get them, this is pure political assassination going on in Anambra State. Agents are doing this to paint IPOB black in the face of support and encouragement we are getting from our people.

“We know their plans and gimmick to discourage Biafrans who are encouraging and supporting us but it can’t work for them.

“In the near future those committing these atrocities in Imo and Anambra States will hear from IPOB and our people should not blame us because we must get them.

“Had IPOB issued a statement regarding Anambra election, by now traitors would have been ranting that it was IPOB that killed APGA and APC members at Nnobi junction last week.

“It is obvious that those that burnt Anambra Government House and other parts of the state some years ago are back to use intimidations and killings to subdue their opponents ahead of the governorship election in Anambra State.”

Kelechi Iheanacho missed Leicester’s Europa League tie against Legia Warsaw over travel documents

Leicester City striker,  Kelechi Iheanacho will miss his club Europa League tie Legia Warsaw after he was left stranded at Warsaw airport on Wednesday September 29, over a documentation issue that blocked him from entering Poland. 


The Nigeria international is now expected to return to the United Kingdom after he was refused entry. A club official is likely to accompany Iheanacho back to Leicester.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers confirmed Iheanacho, 24, would have started the but he will have to revise his plans for the Group C encounter. 

‘We’ve had an issue with Kelechi – his documentation coming into the country wouldn’t suffice,’ said Rodgers.

‘Unfortunately he’s not available to play which is a shame because he would have played. The paperwork didn’t allow him to enter the country, which is unfortunate. We’ll have to look at that when we get back.’

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