The End Of A Storybook Romance - Somalian Iman And David Bowie

A SAD announcement rocked the entertainment industry and music lovers across the world today, that the pop Picasso, David Bowie, has died after a "courageous" 18-month battle with cancer. He was 69 years old.

Bowie did it all - he was a legendary singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, arranger, painter, and actor. His hits include Let's Dance, Space Oddity, Starman, Modern Love, Heroes, Under Pressure, Rebel, Rebel and Life on Mars. He was also well known for creating his flamboyant alter ego Ziggy Stardust.

One aspect of his life that also saw him stand out was his marriage - this year would've marked 24 years that he was married to Somali model Iman Abdulmajid and with whom he has a daughter - Alexandria Jones. A marriage this long is a true rarity in the world of fame.

Sometimes described as "Somalia's most famous export" Iman was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1955 to decidedly progressive parents. Iman's father was a diplomat stationed in Tanzania, and under the law he could have had multiple wives, but chose to keep just one. The parents agreed that their daughter should be sent to a private Catholic school for girls, which was considered more progressive than the standard Islamic education available to young females in the 1960s. There, Iman thrived.

She went on to attend the University of Nairobi - where she studied political science - and in the 1970s and 1980s she was one of the most sought-after fashion models. In the 1990s she became a successful business executive with her own line of cosmetics.

Iman's match with Bowie may seem unexpected - but considering her upbringing - the unconventionality of it seemed to match what her parents had hoped for.

In an interview with the The Independent, Bowie described how it was love at first sight for him when he met Iman, but for Iman it took some time as she wasn't ready for a relationship yet, especially with an entertainer - but Bowie wooed her.

He eventually proposed to Iman under the Pont Neuf bridge, serenading her with his version of Doris Day's "April In Paris".

The glamorous couple were married in a civil ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland where Bowie lived at the time. Later, David and Iman would marry in a church service in Italy.

The couple shared many things; they were first introduced properly to each other at a dinner party in Los Angeles held in October 1990 by a mutual friend, Teddy Antolin, who was hairdresser to both.

They were both named as TIME fashion icons.

In the days leading up to the singer's death Iman posted a series of heartfelt tweets.

The marriage has been scandal-free and characterised by an extremely upbeat public profile. It seemed to have been something of a storybook romance

"You would think that a rock star being married to a super-model would be one of the greatest things in the world. It is" - Bowie
Mail Africa

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'Trump's Painful Truth' - An Exclusive Article From Charly Boy

A round of applause for the greatest Jackass of all Times.

There is no denying that Donald Trump's actions and words have brought a more entertaining landscape to American politics that is only rivalled by Naija politics at this point.br />
Like him or hate him (for your pocket), this man no send una.

Who could have guessed Trump's longevity in American politics, with his put-outs and the notorious words that roll out of his mouth!?

In September 2015 I did a piece on Trumpology. At the time, I waited for the Republicans to say his famous line "you are fired" for him to sooner-than-later bow out of the White House race. But what did we get? Trump ruling the polls, networks, blogs, social media and all,  hyping the same garbage Donald's been dishing out. After staying glued to CNN for the past 5months, I am no longer fazed by Donald's constant moronic statements..."All Mexicans are rapist and murderers", "All Muslims are terrorists", "All Migrants are suicide bombers", Africans are lazy, like to only make love and steal"

His vile verbal and racist assault is endless and yet unrivaled.

Naijas are currently vexing, boiling over in anger following Donald's recent miss-yarns against the black race: "Look at African countries like Kenya for instance; those people are stealing from their own government and go to invest the money in foreign countries"

Truth hurts.

Isn't this the norm with most of our yahoo yahoo rifrafs called leaders?

It doesn't matter if the JACKASS is taking a swipe at Obama because he's from Kenya.

Trump was reported to have said in Indianapolis, U.S. that African Americans were lazy and that Africa needed re-colonisation for 100 years.

Now tell me, with the rate of detoriation of the biggest black nation in the world, are we not beating a retreat to prehistoric times?

Donald Trump said... "How do you trust even those who have run away to hide here in the United States, Hiding behind education? I hear they abuse  me in their blogs but I don't care because even the Internet they are using is ours and we can decide to switch it off from this side. These are people who import everything, including matchsticks."

As painfully true as this is, can you blame Donald for his verbal missiles, Is this not our current situation? A country that consumes everything and produces nothing. I guess Donald is washing our dirty linen in public and we deserve it.

When some of our deceitful leaders have destroyed education in this country, where do we turn to?

So much shit is coming out of this guy's mouth that I wonder what comes out of his ass. Donald will say anything just to get a reaction, forget about the concept of decency. Try talking policies or anything intellectual count the mother f...ker out.

My guts feeling tells me that Donald is being a Jackass/Comedian on propose. The bigger plan is yet to unfold, or is he only having a ball, engaging in masturbation?

I see his verbal assault as a strategy; it smells too Naijaish. He may not really have his eyes on the White House per say, but something about making more bucks because he speaks freely what an alarming silent majority feel but won't dare say.

I dey look dem! Nonsense.

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Queen Rania Visited 10 Downing Street, London

Queen Rania of Jordan urged David Cameron to find a 'new approach' in dealing with refugees running for their lives from ISIS and Bashar al-Assad's forces on the 8th of January 2016. Jordan and the United Kingdom enjoy a close relationship with Jordan following a pro-Western foreign policy.

The Queen urged the Prime Minister and other leaders to take 'bolder measures' to deal with the crisis, which has seen displaced Syrians flee to neighbouring countries, including Jordan.

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Another distasteful racist post from a white South African

Few days after Penny Sparrow referred to Black South Africans as 'monkeys, another white South African has written a racist post. Jeanine Soekoe Feirrera (pictured here with husband) in her post used words like "ugly face" "fraudulent" "lazy ass" to describe Blacks. Wait... did she say "match in here and take what is not yours?" If my history is correct, it was white people who matched in here and took what did not belong to them. See her post below;

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HSBC cuts ties with UK Islamic charity over 'terror' fears

UNITED Kingdom based banking giant HSBC has ended its links with Britain's biggest government-funded Muslim charity allegedly over fears of terror funding.

The bank had taken the decision to cut ties with Islamic Relief a year ago amid concerns that cash for aid could end up with terrorist groups abroad, 'The Sunday Times' reported today.

The decision, which has not been made public before, has upset the charity, which receives millions of pounds from the UK's Department for International Development (DfID).

Islamic Relief says HSBC's stance led to delays in buying tents for survivors of the Nepal earthquake last year.

HSBC has halted services for other Muslim groups in the past, but Islamic Relief – which operates in more than 40 countries – is the most high-profile to be affected.

Imran Madden, Islamic Relief's UK director, said discussions took place with HSBC in 2014 in which "the bank felt it difficult to continue its relationship with us due to the nature of our work".

Madden told the newspaper: "They invited us to end the relationship - which we did at the end of the year. We were and remain extremely surprised by HSBC's stance.

"Islamic Relief's mission is to alleviate poverty and suffering where most needed and that means we are committed to operating in complex conflicts where proscribed organisations are sometimes active.

"It appears that this is deemed a risk too far by HSBC, but we continue to be trusted to deliver aid in such places by governments and by other financial institutions."

The charity was set up in 1984, and from 2012-14 received about 4 million pounds from DfID's aid budget including funds to educate children affected by the Syrian war.

DfID said funding was subject to "rigorous checks".

A source close to the charity told the 'Times', its problems with HSBC stem from its work in the Middle East, including projects in Gaza and Syria.

The Israeli government had banned Islamic Relief from the West Bank in 2014, accusing it of funnelling money to Hamas, which Israel, the US and EU regard as a terrorist group. The charity denies the claim and said an independent audit found no evidence to support it , a view shared by the DEC and DfID.

The charity, which spent more than 70 million pounds in 2014, still banks with other major British banks Barclays and NatWest, according to its accounts.

HSBC said: "Whenever we review a customer relationship, we gather information from a wide range of sources and take a number of factors into consideration.

"For a business customer these factors would typically include the type of activities the business is involved in, the jurisdictions in which it operates and the products and services it uses.

"Although we can't always be specific about why we decide to close an account, a decision of this kind is never taken lightly and is never due to the customer's race or religion."

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ISIS Releases 15 Rules Handbook Detailing How Captured Female Sex Slaves Should Be Treated

Dreaded terrorist group ISIS are at it again! A "fatwa" was issued by the terrorist organization back in January according to documents seized by the Anti-ISIS US Special Operations Forces which have just been released. The document entails rules on how ISIS members are to treat women captured as sex slaves.

 The terrorist organization captures women who they give out to their fighters as rewards and incentives, the women are raped repeatedly, sometimes by more than one person. Far from trying to conceal the practice, Islamic State has boasted about it and established a department of 'war spoils' to manage slavery. Read below;

It begins: "One of the graces which Allah has bestowed up the State of Caliphate is the conquest of large surface areas of the country and one of the inevitable consequences of jihad is that women and children of infidels will become captives of Muslims. "Consequently, it is necessary to clarify some rules pertaining to captured prisoners to avoid any violations in dealing with them."

It is not permissible for the owner of a female captive to have intercourse with her until after she has had menstrual cycle and becomes clean. If she does not menstruate and is pregnant, he is not allowed to have intercourse with her until after she has given birth. It is not permissible to cause her to abort if she is pregnant. If the owner of a female captive releases her, only he can have intercourse with her and he cannot allow someone else to have intercourse with her. If the owner of a female captive, who has a daughter suitable for intercourse, has sexual relations with the latter, he is not permitted to have intercourse with her mother and she is permanently off limits to him. Should he have intercourse with her mother then he is not permitted to have intercourse with her daughter and she is to be off-limits to him. The owner of two sisters is not allowed to have intercourse with both of them; rather he may only have intercourse with just one. The other sister is to be had by him, if he were to relinquish ownership of the first sister by selling her, giving her away or releasing her. If the female captive is owned by a father, his son cannot have intercourse with her and vice-versa. Moreover, intercourse with his wife's female captive is also not permissible. If a father had intercourse with his female captive then gave her away or sold her to his son, he is no longer permitted to have intercourse with her. If the female captive becomes pregnant by her owner, he cannot sell her and she is released after his death. If the owner releases his female captive then he is not permitted to have intercourse with her afterwards because she has become free and is no longer his property. If two or more individuals are involved in purchasing a female captive, none of them are permitted to have sex with her because she is part of a joint ownership. It is not permissible to have intercourse with a female captive during her menstrual cycle. It is not permissible top have anal sex with a female captive. The owner of a female captive should show compassion towards her, be kind to her, not humiliate her and not assign her work she is unable to perform. The owner of a female captive should not sell her to an individual whom he knows will treat her badly or do unto her what Allah has forbidden.

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Ex-Russian agent claims Putin planted the jet bomb bomb that killed 224 Russians

A former Russian agent has come up with a bizzare theory about the bomb laden Russian plane which killed  224 Russians in Egypt was planted by Russian Prime Minister himself Valdimir Putin.Boris Karpichkov, a former spy with the KGB (later renamed the FSB) who now lives under a new identity with his wife and family at a secret location in England after fleeing here in fear for his life.

His sensational claim at first seems unbelievable. For he maintains it was the Kremlin, not ISIS, that deliberately blew the plane out of the sky.

And he says Putin cynically authorised the tragedy not only to obtain worldwide sympathy at a time when Russia was being treated as a pariah because of its aggression towards Ukraine, but also to gain support for its ostensible belligerence against ISIS, which Putin would use as a cover to attack rebel groups in Syria who were sworn enemies of his ally President al-Assad.The major claims his information comes from a general lieutenant in GRU (one of Russia's numerous military intelligence wings).

This man told him, he says, that around the time of the plane's crash, Putin had been expressing his concerns to Kremlin allies about 'possible losses of political influence' in Syria and the Middle East. Putin, he went on, was worried about the fate of his traditional ally in the region, President al-Assad, given the West's support for rebel groups trying to depose him.

A plan was allegedly hatched by officials within GRU to reverse Russia's declining influence in the region and - as Major Karpichkov claims he was told by a senior source - to 'kill two rabbits with one bullet'.

The aim was to get 'at least silent international approval' for massive military operations against Assad's enemies under the guise of a campaign against the IS terrorists blamed for bombing the Russian passenger jet; and to bolster Russia's multi-billion-pound weapons business with the Middle East.

This was all summarised in a dossier compiled by the former KGB spy: 'In order to accomplish all these aims and to get Western consent to fighting Islamic State (which was, essentially, official support for keeping the Assad regime in power), the Kremlin desperately needed the kind of justification which would generate worldwide attention and full international sympathy and approval for military action.'The file states that Russian intelligence 'geniuses' in GRU outlined a plan to Putin and his closest aides to bomb a Russian airliner and blame it on Islamic extremists 'to initiate enormous international hate towards ISIS and to create international sympathy to act on its own without any limits or reservations (for military action).'

A specialist in 'wet-jobs' and other forms of espionage was despatched to Sharm el-Sheikh, where hundreds of thousands of Russians holiday each year to escape the cold. Posing as a fighter who was recuperating in the Red Sea after serving in Ukraine, the agent befriended a young Russian woman staying in the resort, and began a holiday romance.

When the woman was due to leave for St Petersburg, the Russian agent gave her a 'present' - asking her to deliver it to his parents at home in Russia - and escorted her through the notoriously lax security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport before she boarded the doomed Metrojet flight in the early hours of the morning.

The gift, says Major Karpichkov, was a bomb and the detonator used to ignite the explosives was known as an EHV-7, which is produced exclusively for special forces soldiers. The device itself looked like a piece of plumbing tube, which is primed to explode by an electrolyte 'bath' slowly corroding a metallic wire, which detonates the bomb once it is broken.

The explosive material was - sources add - cyclonite, an enormously powerful substitute for TNT.

It has been suggested that the bomb was most likely placed under the seat 30A or 31A. Plane records show that seat 30A was occupied by Nadezhda Bashakova, 77, from Volkhov in St Petersburg region, travelling with her daughter Margarita Simanova, 43, who sat in 30B. In seat 31A was Maria Ivleva, 15, also from St Petersburg region. Could this young woman have been be the unwitting carrier of the bomb? She was with her mother Marina Ivleva, 44, who occupied seat 31B. My sources say the bomb carrier was older, and sitting nearby.

Daily Mail

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'Our queen is still Miss Universe', says Colombia's President

Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos on Monday said he was shocked when Miss Colombia won and then immediately lost the Miss Universe crown.

"Our queen was marvelous. She looked spectacular. It was such a disappointment when the host said he'd made a mistake," he told Radio Nacional.

Santos said as far as he was concerned Ariadna Gutierrez remained the winner.

"I was watching Miss Universe with my family. We started a huge celebration when they said Colombia had won the Miss Universe title for the second straight year,"

"To me, our queen is and will remain Miss Universe. They put the crown on her head. The photos are there to prove it. To me, as a Colombian, she is still Miss Universe" he concluded.

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Millionaire cleared of rape after claiming he fell and accidentally penetrated teen

A Saudi millionaire has been cleared of raping a teenager after claiming he might have accidentally penetrated the 18-year-old when he tripped and fell on her.

Property developer Ehsan Abdulaziz, 46, was accused of forcing himself on the girl as she slept off a night of drinking on the sofa of his Maida Vale flat,Mirror reports..
He had already had sex with her 24-year-old friend and said his penis might have been poking out of his underwear after that sexual encounter when he tripped on the 18-year-old.

The 18-year-old met Abdulaziz in the exclusive Cirque le Soir nightclub in the West End on 7 August last year where she had been spending the evening with her friend, who was known to the businessman.
He invited them to join him at his £1,000-per-night table and then offered them a ride home in his Aston Martin.
The three went back to his apartment, where he offered them designer Roberto Cavalli vodka before taking the second girl into the bedroom for sex.
The teenager claimed she woke in the early hours with Abdulaziz on top of her forcing himself inside her.
Abdulaziz said he had accidentally fallen on the youngster as she tried to seduce him, and that was how traces of his DNA came to be in her vagina.

He said he had gone to wake her to offer her a T-shirt to sleep in or a taxi ride home, but she had pulled him on top of her and placed his hand between her legs.
The jury acquitted Abdulaziz of one count of rape after just 30 minutes of deliberations.
In his evidence, Abdulaziz demonstrated how the complainant had put her hand behind his head to pull her towards him, causing him to fall down.

"I'm fragile, I fell down but nothing ever happened, between me and this girl nothing ever happened," he insisted.

He said it was possible he had semen on his hands after the sexual encounter with her friend.

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Nigerian court sentence 9 foreign nationals to 20yrs in prison for crude Oil theft

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos today sentenced 5 Filipinos identified as Axel Joseph Gibo Jabone, Juanito Camireno Infantado, Suarin Fernado Alave, Gatila Jaypee Gadayan and Rolando Jose Commendador and four Bangladeshis identified as Md Zahirul Islam, Islam Shahinul, Islam Rafiqul and Shaikn Shibli Nomany, to 20 years imprisonment each, with fine options of N20million per person for crimes relating to crude oil theft in Nigeria.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had dragged the 9 foreigners before the court alleging that on or about March 27, 2015 in Lagos they conspired to commit an offence involving dealing in 3423.097metric tons of crude oil without lawful authority or appropriate license, contrary to Section 1(19)(6) of the Miscellaneous Offence Act, Cap M17.‎

The antigraft agency also alleged that the accused on the same day and time, stored 3,423. 097 metric tons of crude oil in MT Asteris' cargo tanks, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 4 of the Petroleum Act of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. The presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, in his ruling, found them guilty of the crime despite them stating that they were not guilty. Justice Buba granted them bail in the sum of N50 million each, with one surety who must be a Nigerian, provide evidence of means, and deposit his passport with the registrar of the court.

He also ordered their vessel, MT Asteri, to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria, together with the crude oil on board. He described the convicted foreigners as the saboteurs who have turned Nigeria into the laughing stock in the comity of Nations, warning that Nigerians and non-Nigerians must respect Nigeria and its laws.

He sentenced each convict to five years on each of the four counts, with an option of five million Naira fine on each of them. While the sentences are to run concurrently, the option of fine is not.

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Donald Trump has three words for those criticising his call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S

Following the wave of criticisms that greeted his call for a complete ban on Muslims entering the United States, Donald Trump has responded by telling a cheering crowd at his South Carolina rally on Monday: "I. Don't. Care."

Continuing, the candidate for the Republican presidential ticket said,

"We have to do it. They think they are going to change our religion. I dont think so. I don't think so...not going to happen."

Trump acknowledged that while he knew his call for barring all Muslim foreigners from entering the United States is " probably not politically correct", he was leading the "noisy majority".

"We used to call it the quiet majority, but people are fed up...they are fed up with incompetence, they are fed up with stupid leaders, they are fed up with stupid people," he said.

Six out of eight of his supporters who spoke to CNN at the rally said they supported the Muslim travel ban. The two supporters who disagreed said they were still likely to vote for him.

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Shocking Prophesies for 2016 by Blind psychic That Europe will “cease to exist” by the end 2016

A blind psychic who is credited with predicting the 9/11 terror attacks and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami may have warned of the rise of ISIS decades ago and also made dire predictions for 2016 and beyond.

Baba Vanga, a Bulgarian clairvoyant, made a chilling prophecy warning of an invasion of Europe by Muslim extremists in 2016.
She foresaw a "great Muslim war" which would begin with the Arab Spring in 2010, play out in Syria and end with the establishment of a caliphate by 2043 with Rome at its epicentre.

She was known as 'Nostradamus from the Balkans' due to her reputed 85 per cent success rate.
According to News.com.au, Vanga, who died in 1996 aged 85, reportedly made hundreds of predictions in her 50-year career.According to Vanga, Europe will "cease to exist" by the end of next year following the systematic elimination of entire populations, leaving the continent "almost empty", a "wasteland almost entirely devoid of any form of life".

The mystic allegedly warned of climate change and the polar ice caps melting as far back as the 1950s.
And her followers believe she predicted the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami after warning of a "huge wave" that would descend on a "big coast, covering people and towns and (causing) everything to disappear under the water".

THE MOST FAMOUS BABA VANGA PROPHECIES TO 'COME TRUE'

Predicted in the 1950s: Global warming and the 2004 Tsunami.
"Cold regions will become warm … and volcanoes will awaken. A huge wave will cover a big coast covered with people and towns, and everything will disappear beneath the water."
"Everything will melt, just like ice."

Predicted in 1989: The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on New York's Twin Towers.
"Horror, horror! The American brethren (believed to be a reference to the two 'brother' towers) will fall after being attacked by the steel birds (thought to be the two hijacked passenger planes). "The wolves will be howling in a bush (believed to be a reference to then US president George Bush) and innocent blood will gush."

Predicted in 1980: The sinking of Russian nuclear submarine the Kursk in 2000.
It saw the crew die horrible deaths over several days while international rescue crews tried in vain to retrieve the vessel from the depths of the ocean. Until the tragedy, people assumed the "Kursk" Vanga referred to was the Russian city the Kursk was named for.

"At the turn of the century, in August of 1999 or 2000, Kursk will be covered with water, and the whole world will be weeping over it."

The election of Barack Obama.
Vanga reportedly correctly predicted that the 44th president of the United States would be African American. However, she also stated that he would be the "last US president". We'll have to wait and see how that pans out.

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Donald Trump wants all Muslims to be banned from travelling to the United States!

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wants the United States to ban entry to all Muslims, calling for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." In a statement released by his campaign team today, the republican front runner said,

Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.

When asked which Muslims would be banned from entering, Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowki said, "the ban applies to everyone."

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Caitlyn Jenner, ISIS leader, Putin And Donald Trump Make Time 2015 Person Of The Year List

TIME magazine has finally revealed those who were shortlisted by their  editors for the 2015 Person of the Year. They are eight contenders including Caitlyn Jenner and ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi..See list as bios as published on their website.

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who as leader of ISIS has inspired followers to both fight in his self-declared caliphate of Iraq and Syria, and also stage attacks in countries like Tunisia and France.

Black Lives Matter activists, who have protested inequality towards African Americans, especially in their treatment by law enforcement.

Caitlyn Jenner, whose coming out as a transgender woman prompted widespread conversations about gender identity and issues of equality for the LGBT community.

Travis Kalanick, who as CEO of Uber drove his car-hailing company to a nearly $70 billion valuation, but also drew criticism about the downside of the sharing economy.

Angela Merkel, who as German chancellor has been at the center of major news events this year, from economic strife in the Eurozone to Europe's ongoing migrant crisis.

Vladimir Putin, who as president of Russia has defied Western sanctions over his country's military activity in Ukraine to play a critical but precarious role in the war on ISIS.

Hassan Rouhani, who as president of Iran is seeking to bring his country out of pariah status and repair its sanctions-crippled economy by pursuing a nuclear deal with the West.

Donald Trump, whose populist rhetoric has made him frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential candidacy and stirred debate about the party's future.

The 2015 Person of the Year will be unveiled on  Wednesday morning (9th dec).

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27 feared dead in multiple suicide attack in Lake Chad

27 people are feared dead after three suicide bombers attacked the island of Koulfoua on Lake Chad this afternoon. No group has claimed responsibility yet.

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Spot the difference: Idi Amin vs The Nigerian Senate

See any difference? The former Uganda president's quote was even in the 70s... The Nigerian Senate wants to implement in 2016...nonsense!

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Oscar Pistorius Conviction Upgraded To Murder

Closing Summary

Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of the murder of Reeva Steenkamp, in an appeal court ruling that set aside his original conviction for culpable homicide:

"As a result of the errors of law and on a proper appraisal of the facts, he ought to have been convicted not of culpable homicide on that count but of murder.

In the interests of justice the conviction and the sentence imposed in respect thereof must be set aside and the conviction substituted with a conviction of the correct offence."

Oscar Pistorius's conviction for killing Reeva Steenkamp is upgraded to murder.

* The five judges, who were unanimous in their verdict, said Pistorius' evidence and explanations for killing Steenkamp were "implausible" and he had "never offered an acceptable explanation" for firing four times through a closed door.

* The appeal court said the original trial judge, Thokozile Masipa, had been wrong on several points of law, chief among them her conclusion that Pistorius had not foreseen that his actions could kill somebody (dolus eventualis).

* Justice Eric Leach, reading the ruling on behalf of the bench, said:

"I have no doubt the accused must have foreseen and therefore did foresee that whoever was behind that door might die."

* The judges said it was clear that Pistorius had criminal intent in firing, and was therefore guilty of murder by dolus eventualis (see here for what that means).

* Pistorius, who was not at the supreme court in Bloemfontein to hear the ruling, will have to appear at the high court in Pretoria for fresh sentencing by Masipa.

* Until then, he is likely to stay under house arrest at his uncle's home and will not immediately return to prison.

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See Conjoined Twin Sisters Before And After Separation

Three-month-old twins joined at their abdomen and chest have been successfully separated by doctors in Barara, Ambala district, India.

Sisters Jannat and Mannat were born on August 27, since that time the girls were inseparable and it's all because of their rare condition known as omphalopagus. It means the children's bodies fused at the lower abdomen. Luckily, the twins' have their hearts and other vital organs separate that allowed doctors to operate them.

Conjoined sisters Jannat and Mannat were joined at the abdomen and shared a liver when they were born

Dr Ravi Kanojia, associate professor at the department of paediatric surgery and the surgeon who led the team, said: "This is a rare case scenario and a surgeon would be fortunate to see a couple of cases in his or her lifetime. This is the first time such a surgery has been successfully carried out at the PGIMER."

Surgeons at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in India successfully operated on sisters Jannat and Mannat to separate their liver

After a series of various tests the doctors decided to divide the girls as soon as possible. At the moment of surgery the girls jointly weiged a tiny 4kg 100g and any delay could have hindered their growth. It took 30 members of highly professional team that worked for eight hours to separate the twins.

Doctors successfully separated the sisters, who shared a liver, during an operation in India last week

Their thankful father, Mohammad Saleem, who can't afford speacial treatment for his daughters, said: "The doctors at PGI were my last hope and nobody could have attended the twins better than the doctors at this hospital." His wife, Sonia, added: "We have been worried about our children for the last three months but God answered our prayers."

It was the first time the surgical team at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in India had performed an operation to separate conjoined twins

Eventually, the sisters were able to start living independently on November 23. The twins were expected to be discharged from hospital soon. Conjoined twins are identical twins joined in utero. Approximately half are stillborn, and an additional one-third die within 24 hours. Most live births are female, most stillborns are male.

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France to give Africa 6bn Euros for electrical provision & renewable energy

France will give African countries two billion euros over the next four years to develop renewable energy and replace climate-harming fossil fuels, President Francois Hollande said.

"France will devote six billion euros between 2016 and 2020 for electricity provision on the continent of Africa, Hollande said on the sidelines of a UN climate conference in the outskirts of Paris. Two billion euros will be spent on renewable energy." he said.

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South Africa Threatens To Jail Pastor Chris Oyakhilome

The South African government has threatened a jail term for Chris Oyakhilome if his church, Christ Embassy, fails to release its financial records, the South African based News24 is reporting.

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities said several religious leaders in the country could be jailed if they fail to comply with the demands of the commission.

The commission said it was investigating the commercialization of religion and abuse of people's beliefs and had summoned several churches to appear before it with their ordination certificate, registration certificate, bank statements, and annual financial statements from 2012.

Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said the commission had been forced to take a legal route because some of the church leaders had failed to comply with their directive.

"Some of these religious leaders will face prison if they do not comply and we have been clear about our course of action," Mkhwanazi-Xaluva told News24.

"Some religious leaders have also threatened the commission, which is leading us towards the legal route."

Mr. Oyakhilome, the founder of Christ Embassy, had indicated he would take a legal action to stop the commission from forcing it to open his books, according to Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.

Christ Embassy had earlier sought for an extension of time to enable it review its financial records.

Ms. Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said they were also considering filing charges of intimidation against religious leaders who had publicly threatened the commission.
She wondered why some pastors would take money from their followers and, yet, refuse to provide their financial records.
"These people take money from people," she said.

"What are they doing with that money? We want to know. We will not back down.

"If he (Mr. Oyakhilome) intends on that route, we are ready. He will have to face the same fate as the others who refuse to hand over their financial records."

While most of the old traditional churches - including the Catholic church, the Methodist church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Lutheran Church – had requested for an extension of time; a lot of the new breed churches had threatened court action.

Earlier this month, a South African pastor, Paseka Motsoeneng, told the commission he would rather go to jail than hand over his financial records.
Mr. Motsoeneng (popularly known as Mboro), the head of Incredible Happenings church, is known in the country for his healings and miracles.

"Now the headlines will be saying Mboro has R10 million in his account…. I have enemies. Now they will know my strength and weakness… I want to protect myself, my church and my ministry so I have to look and consult thoroughly with my lawyers," he said.

"For my belief, I will be glad to go to jail. Even now, I can be taken there.

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