It appears president Goodluck is yet to bring the benefits of
democracy to the people of Otuoke which happens to be the place of his
birth.
While travelling to Otuoke this afternoon, I got startling
revealations from a fellow occupant of the vehicle I boarded. The
middleaged man was raging and fuming about the seeming negligence on
the part of the president.
To back up his facts, the roads leading to Otuoke are not something to
reckon with bearing in mind that this is the birthplace of a serving
president in this dispensation.
According to the man, a satchet of water was sold for 30 Naira during
the flood disaster which ravaged most part of the country including
the president's home town, Otuoke. Adding that the president could not
even provide clean drinking water for his people.
The president still has time to do something, and should do it fast to
avoid falling out with his people. Charity, they say, begins at home.
Ikenna M. Onwe#
Friday, November 30, 2012
BLOODY EVENING ON IGBUSA ROAD
ASABA: The recklessness of drivers on our roads have again led to the loss of innocent lives.
At about 6:15pm on 29 November 2012, an 18 seater J5 bus was run into by a tipping lorry, cutting the bus in two and killing most of the occupants.
The tipper was coming from Igbusa while the bus was coming from Asaba when the accident happened.
An eye witness, Mr. Daniel, said the tipper was moving at a very high speed and it seems to be out of control. He added that the driver of the bus tried in vain to avoid a collision with the speeding tipper. The tipper, according to him, eventually rammed into the bus cutting it in two.
An ambulance of the Delta State Hospital Management Board later came and conveyed the dead and the injured to the Federal Medical Center. Among the dead is a student of University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN).
An angry mob which gathered after the accident almost lynched the tipper driver if not for the timely intervention of the Police.
At about 6:15pm on 29 November 2012, an 18 seater J5 bus was run into by a tipping lorry, cutting the bus in two and killing most of the occupants.
The tipper was coming from Igbusa while the bus was coming from Asaba when the accident happened.
An eye witness, Mr. Daniel, said the tipper was moving at a very high speed and it seems to be out of control. He added that the driver of the bus tried in vain to avoid a collision with the speeding tipper. The tipper, according to him, eventually rammed into the bus cutting it in two.
An ambulance of the Delta State Hospital Management Board later came and conveyed the dead and the injured to the Federal Medical Center. Among the dead is a student of University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN).
An angry mob which gathered after the accident almost lynched the tipper driver if not for the timely intervention of the Police.
Nigeria: Salami - Jonathan, NJC Urge Court to Dismiss Oyinlola's Suit
Abuja — President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, joined the National Judicial Council, NJC, to urge a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to dismiss a suit filed against the embattled President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, by former Governor ofOsun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
In separate preliminary objections they entered against the suit yesterday, President Jonathan and the NJC implored the court to strike out the case for want of merit, insisting that Oyinlola was bereft of the requisite locus-standi to institute an action with a view to ensuringthat Salami remained on perpetual suspension.
In a joint counter-affidavit of seven paragraphs accompanied with a written address dated November 12, Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, branded Oyinlola's suit as"premature", saying it constitutes a deliberate abuse of court process.
Likewise, the NJC, in its counter-affidavit of 44 paragraphs, dated June 19 and deposed to by its Deputy Director of Information, Mr Soji Oye, told the court that"the suit and the pervious suits filed on the same subject by the plaintiff herein and his associates,is in extension of the grudge and grievances arising from the nullification of his election by the Governorship Election Appeal Tribunal in November 2010, hence the suits are mischievous and a witch-hunt against a judicial officer carrying out his judicial function."
Besides, NJC, told the court that the suspension of Justice Salami was not based on the petitions written against him by the plaintiff, but on some other controversies altogether involvingthe retired Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, adding that, "the recommendation to retire Justice Isa Ayo Salami was never acted upon at all."
After listening to the parties, Justice Abdul Kafarati adjourned the case till January 24, 2013, for ruling.
It would be recalled that the NJC had on August 18, 2011, ordered Justice Salami to proceed on an indefinite suspension, maintaining that two separate committees it set-up to probe into an uncanny feud that had ensued between the PCA and former CJN, Katsina-Alu, found him guilty of engaging in "judicialmisconduct" and "lying on oath."
Salami was accused of lying in an affidavit he personally deposed before the same high court, when he alleged that Katsina-Alu, had mounted pressure on him to compromise standard in a Governorship Election matter involvingSokotoState.
However, the NJC had since made a U-turn by okaying his return to office, though it is yet to formally order him to resume duties.
Remarkably, despite the fact that the council yesterday told the high court that it has re-instated the embattled PCA, however, it had on November 22, appointed Justice Zainab Bukachua to take over the affairs of the appellate court.
culled from AllAfrica.com
In separate preliminary objections they entered against the suit yesterday, President Jonathan and the NJC implored the court to strike out the case for want of merit, insisting that Oyinlola was bereft of the requisite locus-standi to institute an action with a view to ensuringthat Salami remained on perpetual suspension.
In a joint counter-affidavit of seven paragraphs accompanied with a written address dated November 12, Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, branded Oyinlola's suit as"premature", saying it constitutes a deliberate abuse of court process.
Likewise, the NJC, in its counter-affidavit of 44 paragraphs, dated June 19 and deposed to by its Deputy Director of Information, Mr Soji Oye, told the court that"the suit and the pervious suits filed on the same subject by the plaintiff herein and his associates,is in extension of the grudge and grievances arising from the nullification of his election by the Governorship Election Appeal Tribunal in November 2010, hence the suits are mischievous and a witch-hunt against a judicial officer carrying out his judicial function."
Besides, NJC, told the court that the suspension of Justice Salami was not based on the petitions written against him by the plaintiff, but on some other controversies altogether involvingthe retired Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, adding that, "the recommendation to retire Justice Isa Ayo Salami was never acted upon at all."
After listening to the parties, Justice Abdul Kafarati adjourned the case till January 24, 2013, for ruling.
It would be recalled that the NJC had on August 18, 2011, ordered Justice Salami to proceed on an indefinite suspension, maintaining that two separate committees it set-up to probe into an uncanny feud that had ensued between the PCA and former CJN, Katsina-Alu, found him guilty of engaging in "judicialmisconduct" and "lying on oath."
Salami was accused of lying in an affidavit he personally deposed before the same high court, when he alleged that Katsina-Alu, had mounted pressure on him to compromise standard in a Governorship Election matter involvingSokotoState.
However, the NJC had since made a U-turn by okaying his return to office, though it is yet to formally order him to resume duties.
Remarkably, despite the fact that the council yesterday told the high court that it has re-instated the embattled PCA, however, it had on November 22, appointed Justice Zainab Bukachua to take over the affairs of the appellate court.
culled from AllAfrica.com
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Sudanese sisters donate kidney, liver tosave 12-year-old brother
A rare double transplant surgery at a private city hospital gave a new
lease of life to a 12-year-old boy from Sudan.
Mukhtar Ahmed Ali Gadkarim was suffering from a rare disorder known as
Primary Hyperoxaluria, in which levels of oxalate increases in the
blood because of an
enzyme deficiency in the liver. High levels of oxalate then damages
kidney, eyes, bones and other organs. Gadkarim got a new liver and
kidney, donated by his sisters, who are accompanying him for the
surgery.
While Arwa, 29, donated her kidney, Asma, 27, donated a part of her
liver to save their youngest of four brothers. "Since he is our
youngest brother, we could not see him suffer.
We wanted him to live, so we got in touch with the doctors here
through the internet," said Arwa.
Gadkarim was admitted to Apollo Hospital on November 6 and was
operated by a combined team of liver transplant specialist Subhash
Gupta and kidney transplant specialist Sandeep Guleria.
Gadkarim underwent a 16-hour combined liver and kidney transplant surgery.
The Sudanese boy was discharged on Thursday, 17 days after the
combined transplant surgery.
"This is one of the most challenging transplants in medicalscience as
it requires extensive dialysis pre-operatively and then
post-operatively.
Moreover, three people are being operated simultaneously, so there is
no scope for error," said Dr Anupam Sibal, senior pediatric
gastroenterologist at Apollo Hospital. "Only one in five lakh people
is affected by primary hyperoxaluria," he said.
lease of life to a 12-year-old boy from Sudan.
Mukhtar Ahmed Ali Gadkarim was suffering from a rare disorder known as
Primary Hyperoxaluria, in which levels of oxalate increases in the
blood because of an
enzyme deficiency in the liver. High levels of oxalate then damages
kidney, eyes, bones and other organs. Gadkarim got a new liver and
kidney, donated by his sisters, who are accompanying him for the
surgery.
While Arwa, 29, donated her kidney, Asma, 27, donated a part of her
liver to save their youngest of four brothers. "Since he is our
youngest brother, we could not see him suffer.
We wanted him to live, so we got in touch with the doctors here
through the internet," said Arwa.
Gadkarim was admitted to Apollo Hospital on November 6 and was
operated by a combined team of liver transplant specialist Subhash
Gupta and kidney transplant specialist Sandeep Guleria.
Gadkarim underwent a 16-hour combined liver and kidney transplant surgery.
The Sudanese boy was discharged on Thursday, 17 days after the
combined transplant surgery.
"This is one of the most challenging transplants in medicalscience as
it requires extensive dialysis pre-operatively and then
post-operatively.
Moreover, three people are being operated simultaneously, so there is
no scope for error," said Dr Anupam Sibal, senior pediatric
gastroenterologist at Apollo Hospital. "Only one in five lakh people
is affected by primary hyperoxaluria," he said.
Supreme Court fumes at Facebook arrest; government tries to curb IT Act abuse
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court onThursday echoed the public outrage over
the high-handed night-time arrests of two girls by Maharashtra police
for posting their views on a social networking site, entertaining a
PIL seeking the repeal of the controversial Section 66A of
Information.
Technology Act which has turned out be a sourceof harassment and
attempts to muzzle freedom of speech.
The court, which urged attorney general G E Vahanvati to express his
views on the plea for dispensing with the section , suggested that it
was eager to remedy the situation , while wondering whether the police
excess against the two girls — Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan —
from Palghar near Thane in Maharashtra was the result of mob pressure.
"We were wondering why no onewas approaching the court and were
thinking of taking suo motunotice of the incident," said a bench of
Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice J Chelameswar no sooner than
senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi sought an urgent hearing on a petition
by 21-year-old student Shreya Singhal.
"The way the children were arrested and treated like criminals
outraged the conscience of a major section of society. The way things
were done needs some kind of consideration though the seriouscharges
against the two girls appear to have been withdrawn,"the bench said.
It added that the arrests were in violation of the apex court's
guidelines prohibiting the arrest of women after sunset.
"They were arrested after sundown and for a bailable offence? So the
might of police was activated by a mob," the bench said. It seemed to
have many questions to ask, but decided to keep them for Friday when
Vahanvati is to appear.
Although the court also took noteof the arrest of a professor in
Kolkata for circulating a cartoon which took a dig at West Bengal
chief minister Mamata Banerjee , its focus was clearly on the arrest
of Dhada and Shrinivasan at Palghar just after they disapproved of the
shutdown in Mumbai after the death of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray .
Although the two girls have since been let off and the two
ultra-zealous police officers who were instrumental in their arrests
suspended, their plight seems to have sensitized the country to
thepotential of Section 66A being misused by authorities to harass
people who can at best be held guilty of exercising their
constitutional right of freedom ofexpression.
Pegging her PIL on the Palghar arrests, Singhal argued that Section
66A was loosely worded, thus leaving police and authorities with
enormous discretion to misuse it and make arbitrary arrests.
The CJI said the court would like to hear the views of a cross-section
of people and wanted to know if others would like to intervene and put
forth their views. Senior advocate Harish Salve said he would. "We
have a fundamental right to give our opinion on a public platform on
political issues. We also have the fundamental right to annoy a
politician if he is perceived to be not doing his job or is corrupt.
Section 66A is not meant to arrestpeople for expressing opinion ona
public platform," Salve said.
Rohatgi said Section 66A was replete with so many words like
'offensive', 'menacing', 'annoyance', 'inconvenience', 'danger',
'obstruction', 'insult' and 'annoyance or inconvenience' without the
Act defining their meaning. "This is unacceptable in a criminal law as
it allows the police to act arbitrarily according to their whims and
fancies," he said whilerequesting the court that till further orders,
no arrests should be made under this section.
Even as the bench said it would prefer to wait for the AG's views.
Rohatgi persisted by saying, "We get so many pesky calls despite rules
and regulations prohibiting it. It causes a lot of annoyance to every
person who gets these callsor SMSes. Should all those who send these
SMSes or make the calls be arrested under the Act?"
PIL petitioner Singhal said, "The phraseology of the aforesaid section
is so wide and vague and incapable of being judged on objective
standards that it is susceptible to wanton abuse." She said like
crores of other citizens, she was a user of internet and social
networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
"Recent events involving action taken by various authorities under
Section 66A of the IT Act has left a chilling effect on the petitioner
and crores of other internet users, violating the constitutionally
guaranteed rights, especially the right to freedom of speech and
expression," she said.
She listed incidents of abuse of Section 66A:
* April 2012 - arrest of professor of chemistry Ambikesh Mahapatrafrom
Jadavpur University for posting a cartoon concerning a political
figure on social networking site
* May 2012 -Air India employees V Jaganatharao and Mayank Sharma
arrested by Mumbai police for putting up content on social networking
sites against a trade union leader and some politicians and kept in
custody for12 days.#
the high-handed night-time arrests of two girls by Maharashtra police
for posting their views on a social networking site, entertaining a
PIL seeking the repeal of the controversial Section 66A of
Information.
Technology Act which has turned out be a sourceof harassment and
attempts to muzzle freedom of speech.
The court, which urged attorney general G E Vahanvati to express his
views on the plea for dispensing with the section , suggested that it
was eager to remedy the situation , while wondering whether the police
excess against the two girls — Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan —
from Palghar near Thane in Maharashtra was the result of mob pressure.
"We were wondering why no onewas approaching the court and were
thinking of taking suo motunotice of the incident," said a bench of
Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice J Chelameswar no sooner than
senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi sought an urgent hearing on a petition
by 21-year-old student Shreya Singhal.
"The way the children were arrested and treated like criminals
outraged the conscience of a major section of society. The way things
were done needs some kind of consideration though the seriouscharges
against the two girls appear to have been withdrawn,"the bench said.
It added that the arrests were in violation of the apex court's
guidelines prohibiting the arrest of women after sunset.
"They were arrested after sundown and for a bailable offence? So the
might of police was activated by a mob," the bench said. It seemed to
have many questions to ask, but decided to keep them for Friday when
Vahanvati is to appear.
Although the court also took noteof the arrest of a professor in
Kolkata for circulating a cartoon which took a dig at West Bengal
chief minister Mamata Banerjee , its focus was clearly on the arrest
of Dhada and Shrinivasan at Palghar just after they disapproved of the
shutdown in Mumbai after the death of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray .
Although the two girls have since been let off and the two
ultra-zealous police officers who were instrumental in their arrests
suspended, their plight seems to have sensitized the country to
thepotential of Section 66A being misused by authorities to harass
people who can at best be held guilty of exercising their
constitutional right of freedom ofexpression.
Pegging her PIL on the Palghar arrests, Singhal argued that Section
66A was loosely worded, thus leaving police and authorities with
enormous discretion to misuse it and make arbitrary arrests.
The CJI said the court would like to hear the views of a cross-section
of people and wanted to know if others would like to intervene and put
forth their views. Senior advocate Harish Salve said he would. "We
have a fundamental right to give our opinion on a public platform on
political issues. We also have the fundamental right to annoy a
politician if he is perceived to be not doing his job or is corrupt.
Section 66A is not meant to arrestpeople for expressing opinion ona
public platform," Salve said.
Rohatgi said Section 66A was replete with so many words like
'offensive', 'menacing', 'annoyance', 'inconvenience', 'danger',
'obstruction', 'insult' and 'annoyance or inconvenience' without the
Act defining their meaning. "This is unacceptable in a criminal law as
it allows the police to act arbitrarily according to their whims and
fancies," he said whilerequesting the court that till further orders,
no arrests should be made under this section.
Even as the bench said it would prefer to wait for the AG's views.
Rohatgi persisted by saying, "We get so many pesky calls despite rules
and regulations prohibiting it. It causes a lot of annoyance to every
person who gets these callsor SMSes. Should all those who send these
SMSes or make the calls be arrested under the Act?"
PIL petitioner Singhal said, "The phraseology of the aforesaid section
is so wide and vague and incapable of being judged on objective
standards that it is susceptible to wanton abuse." She said like
crores of other citizens, she was a user of internet and social
networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
"Recent events involving action taken by various authorities under
Section 66A of the IT Act has left a chilling effect on the petitioner
and crores of other internet users, violating the constitutionally
guaranteed rights, especially the right to freedom of speech and
expression," she said.
She listed incidents of abuse of Section 66A:
* April 2012 - arrest of professor of chemistry Ambikesh Mahapatrafrom
Jadavpur University for posting a cartoon concerning a political
figure on social networking site
* May 2012 -Air India employees V Jaganatharao and Mayank Sharma
arrested by Mumbai police for putting up content on social networking
sites against a trade union leader and some politicians and kept in
custody for12 days.#
UDUAGHAN CONTINUES ROAD RECONSTRUCTION....
The state governor Dr Emmanuel E. Uduaghan has continued the transformation of the capital into a place to reckon with.
The roads being repaired and reconstructed include; the Dennis Osadebay Way, Nnebisi Road, Jarret Street and the notorious Federal College Road.
Others include the Ezenei Avenue, Cable Road and Abraka Axis of the Nnebisi Road.
The reconstructions started immediately after the rains which is commendable and should bo emulated.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
SYRIA CONFLICT: Twin bomb blasts shake Damascus suburb
At least 34 people are reportedto have been killed and many injured by two car bomb explosions in a south-eastern district of Syria's capital, Damascus.
State media said "terrorists" were behind the blasts in Jaramana and broadcast pictures showing several charred vehicles and damaged buildings.
The district is predominantly Druze and Christian, two communities which have so far not joined the uprising.
Earlier, there were clashes between security forces and rebels in Jaramana.
There has been fierce fighting in recent days in eastern parts of the countryside around Damascus, known as the Ghouta.
'Suicide attacker'
Pro-government TV channel Addounia said the car bombs had exploded in Jaramana shortly after 06:40 local time (04:40 GMT).
The car bombs exploded in anarea which is predominantly Druze and Christian - two minorities which President Bashar al-Assad's government says it is protecting from"terrorist extremists".
These are not the first attacks in Jaramana to have been blamed on those seeking to overthrow the government. But in the past, the armed opposition has denied any involvement and repeatedly said it is targeting Mr Assad's forces and not minority groups. Areas like Jaramana are heavily guarded by pro-government militia known as Popular Committees.
The conflict in Syria is rapidly taking on a sectarian dimension.
Earlier this month, similar attacks took place in pro-government Alawite districts like Mezzeh 86 and Woroud.
Meanwhile, government forces continue to bombard rebel-held areas in Damascus and elsewhere in the country that are predominantly Sunni. The opposition says the decisive battle to overthrow Mr Assad will be in Damascus. The city has become heavily fortified, with security forces personnel and checkpoints all over. Many people here feel the tension of further escalation yet to hit the capital.
"Terrorists blew up two car bombs filled with a large amount of explosives in the main square," the official Sana news agency reported.
State television quoted a source at the interior ministry as saying that 34 people had died and 83 had been seriously injured.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, put the death toll at 47, including women and children. It said it had so far identified 38 of the victims and that the death toll would probably rise.
"Activists and residents in the town said most of the victims were killed when a suicide attacker blew up his car, just after an explosive device was used to blow up another car," it added.
Two smaller bombs also exploded in Jaramana at around the same time as the attack, Sana said, adding that nobody was killed by them.
No group has said it was behind the bombings, and there was no immediately obvious military or government target, reports the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.
"What do they want from Jaramana? The town brings together people from all over Syria and welcomes everybody," one resident told the AFP news agency.
The population of Jaramana is mainly Christian and Druze, a heterodox offshoot of Islam. It isalso home to many Palestinian and Iraqi refugees.
Few members of Syria's minority groups have supported the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. They are fearful for their future if the country's majority Sunni Muslim community chooses an Islamist leadership to replace decades of secular rule.
Supporters of the government inJaramana and other Damascus suburbs have set up armed vigilante groups - known as Popular Committees - to prevent attacks such as Wednesday's. On 29 October, 11 people were killed in a car bombing in Jaramana.
Jaramana is a mainly Druze and Christian district
Elsewhere on Wednesday, activists posted video footage online apparently showing a government warplane being shot down by rebels over Darat Izza, in the northern province of Aleppo, and one of its pilots being captured.
Coming just a day after a helicopter was reported to have been brought down, it suggests that rebel fighters may be starting to obtain more effective weapons to counter the government's monopoly on air power, our correspondent says.
Fighter jets earlier bombarded rebel positions in the western Damascus suburb of Darayya, the SOHR said.
The government army also reportedly shelled Zabadani, a town in the mountains north-west of the capital.
Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since theuprising against President Assadbegan in March 2011.
culled from the BBC#
State media said "terrorists" were behind the blasts in Jaramana and broadcast pictures showing several charred vehicles and damaged buildings.
The district is predominantly Druze and Christian, two communities which have so far not joined the uprising.
Earlier, there were clashes between security forces and rebels in Jaramana.
There has been fierce fighting in recent days in eastern parts of the countryside around Damascus, known as the Ghouta.
'Suicide attacker'
Pro-government TV channel Addounia said the car bombs had exploded in Jaramana shortly after 06:40 local time (04:40 GMT).
The car bombs exploded in anarea which is predominantly Druze and Christian - two minorities which President Bashar al-Assad's government says it is protecting from"terrorist extremists".
These are not the first attacks in Jaramana to have been blamed on those seeking to overthrow the government. But in the past, the armed opposition has denied any involvement and repeatedly said it is targeting Mr Assad's forces and not minority groups. Areas like Jaramana are heavily guarded by pro-government militia known as Popular Committees.
The conflict in Syria is rapidly taking on a sectarian dimension.
Earlier this month, similar attacks took place in pro-government Alawite districts like Mezzeh 86 and Woroud.
Meanwhile, government forces continue to bombard rebel-held areas in Damascus and elsewhere in the country that are predominantly Sunni. The opposition says the decisive battle to overthrow Mr Assad will be in Damascus. The city has become heavily fortified, with security forces personnel and checkpoints all over. Many people here feel the tension of further escalation yet to hit the capital.
"Terrorists blew up two car bombs filled with a large amount of explosives in the main square," the official Sana news agency reported.
State television quoted a source at the interior ministry as saying that 34 people had died and 83 had been seriously injured.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, put the death toll at 47, including women and children. It said it had so far identified 38 of the victims and that the death toll would probably rise.
"Activists and residents in the town said most of the victims were killed when a suicide attacker blew up his car, just after an explosive device was used to blow up another car," it added.
Two smaller bombs also exploded in Jaramana at around the same time as the attack, Sana said, adding that nobody was killed by them.
No group has said it was behind the bombings, and there was no immediately obvious military or government target, reports the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.
"What do they want from Jaramana? The town brings together people from all over Syria and welcomes everybody," one resident told the AFP news agency.
The population of Jaramana is mainly Christian and Druze, a heterodox offshoot of Islam. It isalso home to many Palestinian and Iraqi refugees.
Few members of Syria's minority groups have supported the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. They are fearful for their future if the country's majority Sunni Muslim community chooses an Islamist leadership to replace decades of secular rule.
Supporters of the government inJaramana and other Damascus suburbs have set up armed vigilante groups - known as Popular Committees - to prevent attacks such as Wednesday's. On 29 October, 11 people were killed in a car bombing in Jaramana.
Jaramana is a mainly Druze and Christian district
Elsewhere on Wednesday, activists posted video footage online apparently showing a government warplane being shot down by rebels over Darat Izza, in the northern province of Aleppo, and one of its pilots being captured.
Coming just a day after a helicopter was reported to have been brought down, it suggests that rebel fighters may be starting to obtain more effective weapons to counter the government's monopoly on air power, our correspondent says.
Fighter jets earlier bombarded rebel positions in the western Damascus suburb of Darayya, the SOHR said.
The government army also reportedly shelled Zabadani, a town in the mountains north-west of the capital.
Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since theuprising against President Assadbegan in March 2011.
culled from the BBC#
EGYPTIAN CRISIS: Protesters maintain Mursi decree defiance
Egyptian protesters have vowed to continue defying President Mohammed Mursi's wide-ranging new powers.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the country on Tuesday, in one of the largest protests since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
Mr Mursi has said the decree will be limited in scope, but has refused continuing demands to overturn it.
Hundreds remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square - centre of protests since last year - with smoke bombs being thrown.
Mr Mursi's opponents have called for a mass rally on Friday.
The Muslim Brotherhood, to which Mr Mursi belongs, postponed a rally on Tuesday saying it wanted to avoid "public tension".
But it said it was capable of mobilising "millions" in support of the president.
Mr Mursi's backers say the decree was needed to protect the gains of the revolution against a judiciary with deep ties to the Mubarak era.
Protesters who have taken to the streets since the decree was issued last Thursday say the Brotherhood has hijacked the revolution.
Egypt's prime minister is to chaira cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation, the Mena news agencysaid.
'Playing with fire'
Anti-decree protesters continue clashed with police overnight in Tahrir Square.
"The people want to bring downthe regime," some shouted, repeating a chant that was used in the same square last year during the protests that led to former President Mubarak's fall.
Next Friday will be decisive
Islam Bayoumi, Cairo protester
"We don't want a dictatorship again," said 32-year-old Ahmed Husseini. "The Mubarak regime was a dictatorship. We had a revolution to have justice and freedom."
Protests were also held in Alexandria, Suez, Minya and other Nile Delta cities on Tuesday.
In the city of el-Mahalla el-Kubra, medical officials said more than 100 people were wounded as rival protesters threw stones and petrol bombs.
Several regional offices belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood were attacked.
"Next Friday will be decisive," Cairo protester Islam Bayoumi told the Associated Press news agency.
"If people maintain the same pressure and come in large numbers, they could manage to press the president and rescue the constitution."
But Saad Emara, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member, told AP:"The story now is that the civilian forces are playing with fire. This is a dangerous scene."
He said the president would not make any more concessions.
Sunday flashpoint?
The president's decree - known as the constitutional declaration - said no authority could revoke his decisions.
Mursi has split the country down the middle
Ayman Qenawi, Cairo
Egyptians share their views.
There is a bar on judges dissolving the assembly that is drawing up a new constitution. The president is also authorised to take any measures to preserve the revolution, national unity or safeguard national security.
Critics say the decree is an attackon the judiciary.
On Monday, Mr Mursi told senior judges that the scope of the measure would be restricted to"sovereign matters", designed to protect institutions.
But judges who attended the meeting have said they are not satisfied.
Another possible flashpoint could be Sunday, when Egypt's constitutional court could rule todisband the constituent assembly in defiance of President Mursi's decree.
The assembly is dominated by the Brotherhood and its Islamist allies.
The courts have already dissolved the lower house of parliament, which was led by theBrotherhood.
Culled from the BBC#
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the country on Tuesday, in one of the largest protests since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
Mr Mursi has said the decree will be limited in scope, but has refused continuing demands to overturn it.
Hundreds remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square - centre of protests since last year - with smoke bombs being thrown.
Mr Mursi's opponents have called for a mass rally on Friday.
The Muslim Brotherhood, to which Mr Mursi belongs, postponed a rally on Tuesday saying it wanted to avoid "public tension".
But it said it was capable of mobilising "millions" in support of the president.
Mr Mursi's backers say the decree was needed to protect the gains of the revolution against a judiciary with deep ties to the Mubarak era.
Protesters who have taken to the streets since the decree was issued last Thursday say the Brotherhood has hijacked the revolution.
Egypt's prime minister is to chaira cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation, the Mena news agencysaid.
'Playing with fire'
Anti-decree protesters continue clashed with police overnight in Tahrir Square.
"The people want to bring downthe regime," some shouted, repeating a chant that was used in the same square last year during the protests that led to former President Mubarak's fall.
Next Friday will be decisive
Islam Bayoumi, Cairo protester
"We don't want a dictatorship again," said 32-year-old Ahmed Husseini. "The Mubarak regime was a dictatorship. We had a revolution to have justice and freedom."
Protests were also held in Alexandria, Suez, Minya and other Nile Delta cities on Tuesday.
In the city of el-Mahalla el-Kubra, medical officials said more than 100 people were wounded as rival protesters threw stones and petrol bombs.
Several regional offices belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood were attacked.
"Next Friday will be decisive," Cairo protester Islam Bayoumi told the Associated Press news agency.
"If people maintain the same pressure and come in large numbers, they could manage to press the president and rescue the constitution."
But Saad Emara, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member, told AP:"The story now is that the civilian forces are playing with fire. This is a dangerous scene."
He said the president would not make any more concessions.
Sunday flashpoint?
The president's decree - known as the constitutional declaration - said no authority could revoke his decisions.
Mursi has split the country down the middle
Ayman Qenawi, Cairo
Egyptians share their views.
There is a bar on judges dissolving the assembly that is drawing up a new constitution. The president is also authorised to take any measures to preserve the revolution, national unity or safeguard national security.
Critics say the decree is an attackon the judiciary.
On Monday, Mr Mursi told senior judges that the scope of the measure would be restricted to"sovereign matters", designed to protect institutions.
But judges who attended the meeting have said they are not satisfied.
Another possible flashpoint could be Sunday, when Egypt's constitutional court could rule todisband the constituent assembly in defiance of President Mursi's decree.
The assembly is dominated by the Brotherhood and its Islamist allies.
The courts have already dissolved the lower house of parliament, which was led by theBrotherhood.
Culled from the BBC#
Al-Awlaki faced loss ofUS passport before drone strike killed him, documents show
Six months before American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki
waskilled by an American drone strikein Yemen, he was invited to the
U.S. Embassy in Sana'a – in order for the embassy to revoke his
passport -- according to newly released State Department documents.
The documents, obtained by Judicial Watch and reviewed by Fox News,
show that the embassywas instructed to send a messageto al-Awlaki
requesting that he pick up an "important letter" in person at the
embassy in March 2011.
This letter, which embassy employees were instructed not disclose to
al-Awlaki before his appearance at the embassy, was the revocation of
al-Awlaki's passport, based on a determination by the State Department
that his "activities abroad are causing and/or likely to cause serious
damage to the national security or the foreign policy of the United
States."
There's no evidence available that he ever collected the letter.
A former Diplomatic Security agent who worked for the State Department
in the Middle East toldFox News the revocation of the passport was
"highly unusual." The agent, who asked to remain unnamed, added,
"there may be a legal finding by the Justice Department that allowed
State Department officials to take this extraordinary step."
Al-Awlaki was killed in September 2011 in Yemen by a CIA-led U.S.
drone strike. Pulling the passport would have had two effects – it
would box al-Awlaki in, limiting his travel, and it would allow the
administration to argue the CIA drone campaign targeted a foreign
national, not an American citizen. Al-Awlaki was a dual Yemen-U.S.
national.
Judicial Watch obtained the documents from the State Department
through a Freedom ofInformation Act result first submitted in
September 2011, right after the strike.
Documents turned over in compliance with a related recordsrequest also
reveal the State Department noting the death of al-Awlaki's
16-year-old son, also born in the United States. The son was killed in
a U.S. drone strike two weeks after his father.
Though the circumstances of the death are well documented, the State
Department took the routinestep of producing a "Report of Death of
American Citizen Abroad," in which the cause of death was listed as
"unknown."
Culled from foxnews.com
waskilled by an American drone strikein Yemen, he was invited to the
U.S. Embassy in Sana'a – in order for the embassy to revoke his
passport -- according to newly released State Department documents.
The documents, obtained by Judicial Watch and reviewed by Fox News,
show that the embassywas instructed to send a messageto al-Awlaki
requesting that he pick up an "important letter" in person at the
embassy in March 2011.
This letter, which embassy employees were instructed not disclose to
al-Awlaki before his appearance at the embassy, was the revocation of
al-Awlaki's passport, based on a determination by the State Department
that his "activities abroad are causing and/or likely to cause serious
damage to the national security or the foreign policy of the United
States."
There's no evidence available that he ever collected the letter.
A former Diplomatic Security agent who worked for the State Department
in the Middle East toldFox News the revocation of the passport was
"highly unusual." The agent, who asked to remain unnamed, added,
"there may be a legal finding by the Justice Department that allowed
State Department officials to take this extraordinary step."
Al-Awlaki was killed in September 2011 in Yemen by a CIA-led U.S.
drone strike. Pulling the passport would have had two effects – it
would box al-Awlaki in, limiting his travel, and it would allow the
administration to argue the CIA drone campaign targeted a foreign
national, not an American citizen. Al-Awlaki was a dual Yemen-U.S.
national.
Judicial Watch obtained the documents from the State Department
through a Freedom ofInformation Act result first submitted in
September 2011, right after the strike.
Documents turned over in compliance with a related recordsrequest also
reveal the State Department noting the death of al-Awlaki's
16-year-old son, also born in the United States. The son was killed in
a U.S. drone strike two weeks after his father.
Though the circumstances of the death are well documented, the State
Department took the routinestep of producing a "Report of Death of
American Citizen Abroad," in which the cause of death was listed as
"unknown."
Culled from foxnews.com
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
REMEMBRANCE
I took this shot while going for the funeral service.
The former chief judge left alot of legacies, an avid christian and a no-nonsense father.
He is surely resting in the bosom of the Most High.#
2 Weeks after Directive, Some Banksare Still Charging N100 for ATM Card Use. Are You Still being Charged?
It will be recalled that about two weeks ago,banks operating in the country were ordered to stop the N100 charges for the use of other banks’ ATM cards their ATMs. Surprisingly, as of now, some banks in the country have not deemed it fit to abide by the order.
This is despite the fact that the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have indicated their resolve to monitor compliance. According to the Sun, some bank workers, who spoke to Daily Sun, said the process of adjusting the machines to reflect the new order may take some time.
Meanwhile, bank customers, whoreceived the cheery news scrapping inter-bank ATM charges two weeks ago, found it hard to believe that banks were not to comply with the new directive, after it was unanimously agreed by their directors.
So, when next you visit an ATM other than that of your bank to withdraw money, do not be surprised when the machine tellsyou that: “Be informed that N100charges apply for these transactions.”
Yasser Arafat's body exhumed
The body of former Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat was exhumed Tuesday for tests to see if poisoning led to his 2004 death, according to WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency.
Palestinian officials hope the tests will clear up questions over whether Arafat's death eight years ago was the result of poisoning by the radioactive element polonium.
The Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, says it is convinced Israel is behind any poisoning of Arafat. Israel has declined to comment on the allegation.
Forensic experts from France, Switzerland and Russia took their own samples for independent analysis, said Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the Palestinian investigation committee.
"The operation of getting samples from the body of the martyr Yasser Arafat went as planned," Tirawi told WAFA.
Experts were able to get the samples without disturbing the body so officials would nothave to do a military reburial as was planned.
Instead members of the Palestinian leadership would place flowers at Arafat's mausoleum Tuesday afternoon, Tirawi told the news agency.
The new investigation started earlier this year after authorities said high levels of the radioactive substance were found on Arafat's personal belongings.
Francois Bochud, director of the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland, said his researchers had found high levels of toxic polonium-210 after testing Arafat's toothbrush, clothing and keffiyeh, the distinctive black-and-white headscarf he often wore.
The discovery prompted his widow, Suha Arafat, to lodge aformal legal complaint for murder.
She told CNN she wanted her late husband's body exhumed"to make sure 100% of the existence of polonium."
Palestinian Authority PresidentMahmoud Abbas subsequentlyapproved the exhumation of Arafat's body from his mausoleum, which is in the Palestinian presidential compound in Ramallah.
The use of polonium-210 as a poison hit the headlines in 2006, when it was used to kill Alexander Litvinenko, a formerKGB agent who came to Britainin 2000 after turning whistle-blower on the FSB, the KGB's successor.
In a deathbed statement from a London hospital Litvinenko blamed Russia's President Vladimir Putin, an accusation the Kremlin strongly denied.
MAYHEM ROCKS AUCHI
Unknown gunmen armed with sophiscated weapons and dynamites stormed the town between 5:30pm and 6:00pm yesterday.
They bombed a police station at Etsako West, three (3) banks and a PHCN office.
An unspecified number of persons were reportedly killed.
The PHCN office on Alhaji Musa Street was bombed and set on fire along with some vehicles in the premises of the station.
Residents were held up inside their houses following the heavy bombardment.
The police, it was reported eventually fought back and stopped the hoodlums from going any further with their destruction.
Harmattan sets in
With all indications, it is now obvious that the harmattan season has begun in Nigeria.
It is advised that attitudinal change should follow this change in season.
Fire is not, has never been and will never be a play thing. DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)