Sunday 31 January 2016

Two Virginia Tech engineering students were in custody on Sunday, one charged with abducting and killing a 13-year-old girl and the other accused of helping to dispose of the teenager's body, police said.
The arrests came on Saturday after police, following a four-day search, found the remains of Nicole Lovell in North Carolina, about 90 miles (145 km) south of Blacksburg, Virginia, where her home and the university are located.
Lovell had been missing from her family's home since Wednesday. A family member told the Roanoke Times it appeared she had climbed out of a first-floor window.
It was not immediately clear how she crossed paths with David Eisenhauer, 18, a freshman from Columbia, Maryland, and member of the university's cross-county team.
But police in Blacksburg, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Roanoke, Virginia, said investigators had determined the two teens became acquainted before her disappearance. Eisenhauer took advantage of that relationship to abduct and kill Lovell, they said in a statement.
Police have not said how Lovell died.
Eisenhauer was arrested at his campus residence on Saturday, first charged with abduction and then accused of murder after Lovell's remains were discovered near a highway in Surry County, North Carolina.
A star Maryland high school athlete before coming to Virginia Tech, Eisenhauer was named the Howard County Times/Columbia Flier Indoor Track Athlete of the year, according to a 2015 profile in the Baltimore Sun.
Natalie Marie Keepers, 19, a sophomore at Virginia Tech from Laurel, Maryland, was arrested on Sunday and charged with improper disposal of a dead body and accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony.
"I'm so in shock I know nothing more to say," the victim's father, David Lovell, said on Facebook. "I'm broken!"
Family members had pleaded for Nicole Lovell's return, saying she was without the prescription medicine she needed daily after undergoing a liver transplant.
Authorities said they were working to piece together the events leading to Lovell's death.
A Virginia Tech spokeswoman would not comment on the enrollment status of Eisenhauer and Keepers, but the university said in a statement it had the authority to suspend students immediately on an interim basis in the case of a felony arrest.
Hundreds of students in the university's Corps of Cadets, along with students and researchers using drones, assisted in the search for Lovell, the school said.

Source: Reuters
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With a net worth of $33.2 billion, Alice Walton isn't just the wealthiest woman on our list of the 50 richest people on earth, she's also a member of one of the richest families in the world.
Alice, along with older brothers Jim and Rob, who also graced the list, produced with Wealth-X, a company that conducts research on the superwealthy, have a combined net worth of $101.5 billion, thanks primarily to their stake in retail giant Walmart.
Unlike her brothers, 66-year-old Walton never took an active role in running the retail empire her father started in 1962, though she's still managed to become the target of pushback from minimum-wage Walmart employees who view her highfalutin lifestyle as insensitive and ignorant to the plight of many workers.
Instead of spending time at Walmart, Walton became a patron of the arts at a young age. When she was just 10 years old, Walton saved up her allowance to buy a reproduction of Picasso's "Blue Nude," she told The New Yorker.
"Collecting has been such a joy, and such an important part of my life in terms of seeing art, and loving it,” she said.
She began buying watercolor pieces in the 1970s and adorning the walls of her Rocking W Ranch with them. From there she moved on to more serious original works, particularly those by classic American artists; her immense personal collection now includes pieces from Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, and Georgia O'Keefe, among others.
In 2011, she opened the $50 million Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas to house her $500 million collection. When it opened, Crystal Bridges already had four times the endowment of the famous Whitney Museum in New York.
Before delving into the art realm, Walton made a brief career as an equity analyst and even founded her own investment bank, Llama Company, in 1988. The company closed about 10 years later, shortly after Walton was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (not for the first time).
Twice divorced with no children, Walton is also a lover of horses, which she breeds at Rocking W Ranch, located in Texas, and rides competitively. The 1,456-acre ranch, however, is currently for sale for nearly $20 million.
Walton is one of just four women to make our list of the 50 richest people on earth — and each inherited their fortune. The next wealthiest woman is 93-year-old Liliane Bettencourt, the French heiress to the L'Oreal fortune, with a net worth of $29 billion.
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According to the 2016 Top 500 banking brands ranking published in the February edition of The Banker magazine of Financial Times Group in conjunction with Brand Finance, London, United Kingdom, First Bank of Nigeria is in 320th position out of 500 top banks in the world in 2016. It has moved up from it's former position of 336th from last year.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited retained its number one banking brand ranking in Nigeria for the fifth consecutive year in the global ranking of banks by The Banker magazine.
A press release from the Country Representative of The Banker magazine in Nigeria, Kunle Ogedengbe, added that three other Nigerian banks also made the ranking of the top 500 banks in the World.
First Bank of Nigeria is in 320th position out of 500 top banks in the world in 2016
Guaranty Trust Bank is 389th in the world from 417th in 2015
Zenith Bank dropped from 392nd in the world in 2016
United Bank for Africa is in the 447th position.
Of the five countries in Africa that made the ranking, Nigeria has the highest brand value increase of $249 million.
Egypt moved up by $239 million
Togo gained $134 million while South Africa and Morocco lost $878 million and $213 million respectively.
Globally, Wells Fargo of the United States of America retained the number one banking brand in the world for the fourth consecutive year with a brand value $44.1 billion for 2016
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Doctors have successfully separated conjoined twin sisters fused at the liver and chest - the smallest pair ever to survive surgery.
Five surgeons, assisted by two nurses and six anaesthesiologists, carried out the successful, five-hour operation to separate the tiny identical twins at a hospital in Bern, Switzerland.
Maya and Lydia were born two months prematurely along with their triplet sister Kamilla in December.
They were initially stable and doctors at Inselspital hospital, Bern, had planned to allow them to settle after birth and separate them after a few months.
But after a week, their situation deteriorated dramatically: one suffering from hypertension and the other suffering from the opposite condition, known as hypotension.
Both conditions were life-threatening to the frail twins, who weighed just 2.4 pounds each, and the doctors decided their only chance was attempting surgery never before performed on such young infants.
 
Separating the babies' liver put both under massive pressure, said Barbara Wildhaber, head of the pediatric surgery unit at the Geneva University Hospital, who headed the team that carried out the surgery.
'We were prepared for the death of both babies, it was so extreme,' she told Swiss paper Le Matin Dimanche.
She added: 'It was magnificent. I will remember it my entire career.'
Since their surgery, Maya and Lydia have been recovering well, they have put on weight and have begun breast feeding, the paper reported.
 
The pair is among only about 200 separated conjoined twins currently living around the globe, it said.
Also known as Siamese twins, conjoined siblings are identical twins who in rare cases, about one in 200,000 live births, are born with their skin and internal organs fused together, according to the University of Maryland Medical Centre website.
 
About half are stillborn, and the survival rate is between five and 25 percent.
They develop from a single egg, which splits in the case of healthy twins, but not fully in the case of conjoined siblings.

Source: Daily Mail
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An Egyptian cartoonist, whose work is occasionally critical of government figures, was arrested in the capital, Cairo, on Sunday and charged with running a webpage without a license, the country's Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The arrest of Islam Gaweesh appears to be part of an intensified clampdown on activists and journalists in Egypt, where many have been detained, questioned and even forcibly disappeared in recent months.
In custody, Gaweesh was told that the only charge actually against him so far was "publishing drawings that are offensive to the regime," his lawyer Mahmoud Othman told The Associated Press.
Most of Gaweesh's work dealt with the mundanities of life in Egypt. One of his most recent cartoons tackled the recent cold snap in the country by showing a man asking his love interest on the phone why she is cold in an effort to appear manly. "The weather is great," he says before being interrupted by a group of penguins in the window telling him to shut up.
One of the few cartoons Gaweesh has recently drawn that are critical of government figures targeted a foul-mouthed pro-government lawyer and lawmaker Mortada Mansour, who often threatens to beat his political opponents with his shoes. Earlier this month, Mansour was selected to head the parliament's human rights committee.
In Gaweesh's caricature, Mansour is shown standing next to a torturer and his victim saying: "Lash the lights out of him, but gently."
Ever since the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 amid mass protests against his rule, the government has launched a crackdown on dissent, killing hundreds of protesters and throwing thousands of Islamists in prison. Many of the young pro-democracy activists who spearheaded the 2011 uprising, which was partly sparked by government limitations on freedom of speech and expression, have been swept up in the campaign.
The statement from the Interior Ministry, which runs the police force in Egypt, said Gaweesh was arrested at the headquarters of the news website, Egypt News Network, which they raided on Sunday after official investigations revealed that it was publishing news without a license.
Source: Canadian Press

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A Frenchwoman imprisoned for shooting dead her husband after nearly 50 years years of rape and incest has been granted a rare presidential pardon by the French president. 
Jacqueline Sauvage, 68, had become a symbol of the scourge of domestic violence in France and a cause célèbre, with almost 400,000 people signing a petition calling on François Hollande to use his rarely used presidential right of pardon.
Ms Sauvage was married for 47 years to Norbert Marot, a violent alcoholic whom she said raped and beat her and her three daughters and also abused her son.
On September 10, 2012, the day after her son hanged himself; Ms Sauvage shot her husband three times in the back with a rifle.
She was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison in October 2014, which was upheld on appeal in December 2015 as the state rejected her pleas of self-defence.
The Socialist leader agreed to meet her three daughters and lawyers on Friday, and afterwards said he needed "time to think" before making the decision about the pardon.
On Sunday evening, his office said he had granted the pardon and that Ms Sauvage could immediately request her release.
“The president of the republic, faced with this exceptional human situation, wants to enable the return as soon as possible of Ms Sauvage to her family,” it said in a statement.
During his 2012 presidential campaign, Mr Hollande distanced himself from such pardons, reinstated by Napoleon, describing them as belonging to "a different concept of power".
He has granted only one to date, when he freed convicted bank robber Philippe El Shennawy – who had spent 38 years behind bars – in 2014.
When Ms Sauvage was sentenced, the activist group Osez le Feminisme (Dare To Be Feminist) called for the definition of self-defence to be expanded in cases of "female victims of violence".
Even Fleur Pellerin, Mr Hollande's culture minister, said she was "overwhelmed" by the testimonies of the daughters and said: "We are in the presence of an exceptional case."

The Telegraph


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Medical doctors under the umbrella of Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, AGPMPN, Lagos State Chapter yesterday raised alarm over alleged frequent harassment of medical doctors by members of the Police force.
The Association’s Chairman, Dr. Adeyeye Arigbabuwo said that the recent incident which involved one of their colleagues, Dr. Olafisoye Odunayo of Awoyaya, Ibeju Lekki, being harassed by the Police for doing his job has left them with no other choice but to draw the attention of the public and relevant agencies to curb the Police from constantly harassing them.
Arigbabuwo explained that one of their colleagues operated on a female patient with Pre-Eclampsia, in December, last year, but lost the patient after surgery due to complications of surgery. He said the Doctor was harassed at his practice by the Police when the deceased family made a report to them.
He said:
“Following the death of one Mrs. Juliet Williams, the relations felt aggrieved and reported the case to the Police who came to arrest Dr. Odunayo. The doctor spent about two weeks in detention and was eventually released on bail with the condition to report periodically to the Elemoro Police Station.
“Barely three weeks after the bail, he was rearrested by another set of Police officers purported to be from Abuja on the instructions of the Inspector General of Police. What we found vexatious and demeaning of the arrest was the method employed in arresting him; he was handcuffed  in the full glare of his patients as if he were a  common criminal.”
The association asked for an unconditional and immediate release of Dr. Olafisoye, and any other doctor that may be in the custody of the Police in similar manner in Lagos State and across the country.

Source: Vanguard
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Caleb Nzube, a 26 year old man who attempted to blackmail the wife of late Chief MKO Abiola of $5,000, was last week arrested in Anambra State.
According to reports, Nzube allegedly hacked the Twitter handle of Mrs Tinu Abiola, downloaded her picture and designed a web page showing her carrying a human skull.

He then threatened to expose the web page to the world if the she did not pay $5,000.
Mrs Abiola in turn, refused to be blackmailed so she contacted Inspector General, Solomon Arase, who directed a combined team of the Inspector General Monitoring Team and the Intelligence Response Team to track down the suspect.
He was arrested when the operatives stormed his hideout in Obosi.
It was gathered that Mrs Abiola was not the suspect’s only victim; it was learned that he was harassing 2 other people.
According to Vanguard, Caleb Elom Nzube admitted that he is an internet fraudster who specialized in online dating before diverting into blackmail.
He said:
“I started following Mrs Timu Alade Abiola on Twitter and I got her pictures. I felt she was a good catch and I decided to blackmail her. I used Photoshop to make it look like she was carrying a human skull. I designed a web page with a little gossip story on it that she was caught for ritual.
"I sent her the link and when she saw it I demanded she pays me $5000 or I will show it to the whole world. One of her friends came in and begged that I shouldn’t do it and that they were ready to pay me $ 2000. I rejected the money, insisting that I must collect the amount I demanded".
"Later they discovered I was Igbo and they gave my number to an Igbo girl who started talking to me and I accepted their offer, what got me angry was that while we were still talking, they sent a fishing link that destroyed my website which I have been maintaining for more than four years. That website had paid me little money I have used in sustaining myself".
"I told the Igbo girl about it and that if I don’t get the money before the end of the week I will show the web page to the whole world. She asked for my account, I gave it to her but before I knew what was happening, the police came and arrested me".
"I don’t understand why she has to bring in the police; I told the girl that what I needed was for her to tell her madam to just pay me for my website they destroyed. In fact I regret all this, if I had known it will be this messy I would have not ventured into this. What I do is only dating. I just wanted to try my luck on this one.”
Source: Vanguard
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Football icon David Beckham is know all over the world as a great football player and has appeared on GQ several times. To celebrate the icon that is David Beckham, GQ magazine delved into the archives to show how he has changed over the years.
The March issue of the British edition of the glossy will feature five exclusive covers that explore his various guises as footballer, model, father, husband and philanthropist. More photos after the cut...
 
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Timbaland refused to perform at a fundraiser for water-plagued Flint, Michigan, because he was served the wrong champagne, it has been claimed.
The singer reportedly asked for Ace Of Spades, a particular brand of bubbly designed by Jay Z, to be served in the dressing room of the Detroit event raising money to buy bottled water for residents.
Instead he was served Dom Perignon - and that was enough to lose his contract all together.
According to the New York Daily News, Timbaland drank every drop of the champagne, tequila, vodka, cognac, and disaronno that he had requested but refused to perform his 30-minute DJ set because of the champagne mix-up and simply stood in the venue nodding his head.
A lot of Michigan residents felt disappointed that he didn't perform and started to curse him, so he took to IG to try to explain what happened but no once could decipher what he tried to say. He wrote:
 
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Happy New Month...


today is the first day of brand new month February be confident that God almighty will grant you the grace to archive more than you did the previous months, never loss hope he will grant you all your heart desires . just stay focused and continue to work hard happy new month my friends.  

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Some Northern governors are currently in Saudi Arabia on a 3-day visit to the Islamic Development Bank in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, where they are to meet with the bank's president, Ahmad Ali and other top officials, to solicit for partnership to help facilitate development in the region. The meeting between the governors and the bank's top executives started today and will last till Tuesday Feb. 2nd.
The governors were led by Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who is also the Chairman of the Northern States Governors ‘ Forum, NSGF. Governors Tanko Almakura of Nassarawa, Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna and Mohammed Abubakar of Jigawa are part of the delegation.
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Nigerian scientist, Professor Umezuruike Opara emerged the winner of the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Continental Scientific Award in the field of Earth Science. Opara was conferred with the $100,000 award at the opening of the 26th Sessions of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Pictured above is President Buhari congratulating him)
The ceremony was moderated by the AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, Martial De Paul Ikounga. According to the commissioner, the Kwameh Nkrumah Continental Scientific Awards given at three levels: national, regional and continental was to honour African men and women in science who distinguished themselves by their contributions to African development through their work in the field of research and training. Another photo of Pro. Umezuruike Opara
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At least 100 people were reportedly killed during an attack by Boko Haram members on Dalori, a settlement located on the outskirt of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital yesterday January 30th.
Sahara Reporters reports that the sect members dressed in military uniforms, had stormed the village in 10 Hilux buses and motorcycles  and started shooting sporadically and setting houses ablaze.
The villagers who spoke with Sahara reporters say the sect members operated unhindered for hours and stole some food items after the attack.
A resident of the village,  Ibrahim Muhammad, while narrating what happened, said that Boko Haram fighters dressed like military personnel and started opening fire on everybody:
 "All our wives and children were brutally killed while they looted and destroyed our livestock  as well as ."
 Vice Chairman of civilians JTF in Dalori village Modu Kaka said that at least 100 dead bodies were evacuated lastmight and also stated that hundreds are still missing.
Rescue workers who participated in the evacuation the victims disclosed to Sahara Reporters that they brought out 45 dead bodies to state specialist hospital and deposited 23 corpses at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital but several burnt victims remain without help in the beleaguered village.
 
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Larry Flynt, the owner of a very popular porn site in the U.S called Hustler Huncho, sent a letter to Rob and Black Chyna asking them to consider shooting a video for the company's celebrity sex tape division.
In the letter Flynt says Hustler is looking to be a major player in celebrity porn and thinks that the popular appeal and fan base of both celebrities will give it that break through. He also promised that the sex tape will benefit all involved as both Rob and Black Chyna could be looking at earnings of a million dollars or more. Read the full letter...
Source: TMZ
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Chris Brown's baby mama Nia Guzman  is taking him to court on the claims that he is making their child sick. She told the judge that one year old Royalty has developed asthma, and it's all because Chris has exposed her to an extreme amount of secondhand smoke, adding that he is a weed and tobacco enthusiast, according to a report by TMZ...
Nia says that every time Royalty comes back from a visit with Chris, she usually reeks of smoke. Nia said she's worried Chris is abusing drugs and has relapsed, mostly with sizzurp.
Nia wants Chris' visitation to be restricted, asking the judge to force him to hire a full-time nanny or pull back on his right to be around the child.
She also wants the judge to force Chris to take random drug tests, prohibit him from using drugs or consuming alcohol around Royalty, and stop him from smoking around their daughter.
In addition she wants her child support to be increased from $2500 to $16000.
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Looks like the beauty queen and the rapper are shooting something sexy for Valentine...
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The 48-year-old 'Blame it on the alcohol' singer was spotted leaving Mr Chow's restaurant in Beverly hills, and had a bit of trouble getting into an SUV and in the process, bared his butt. Blame it on the alcohol...:-)
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