Globacom Offices In Osun State Sealed Over N532m Unpaid Tax

Globacom offices in Osun state sealed – Five Globacom offices in Osun state have been sealed off by the state government over unpaid taxes totaling N532 million.

The sealing was carried out by the Osun State Internal Revenue Service, after securing a warrant from the Osun State High Court.

“Before this time, the state government had been lenient with the Globacom because of the importance of their business to both the people and the government,” OSIRS boss Dayo Oyebanji said.

“We engaged them in series of meetings with the assistance of House Committee on Communication but we are yet to get reasonable response from the company.”

“It is only the Globacom Limited that we are sealing because others especially those invited by the assembly have responded to our calls. It is only the Globacom that has not shown up. They are given one excuse or the other.”

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Top Stories You Missed: Ghana Bans Importation Of Goods From Nigeria / President Buhari Fires DGs Of NTA, VON, NAN, NBC, VOA, FRCN / Female Passenger Found Dead In Lagos Airport Toilet / And More….

Here are the Top Stories You Missed This Week:

Ghana Bans Importation Of Goods From Nigeria

Neighbouring country, Ghana has followed in the footstep of Nigeria by placing an embargo on some items from entry into its domain, just as the latter had restricted 41 items from access to foreign exchange.

The Ghanaian Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah stated on Tuesday, February 16, that Ghana and Nigeria are said to account for some 68 per cent of the ECOWAS region’s Gross Domestic Product, however, Ghana has placed a ban on some goods from being imported into Nigeria.

It was gathered that Nigeria accounts for almost 10 per cent of Ghana’s foreign trade volume, making Ghana the 9th largest trade partner to Nigeria

Read: Ghana Bans Importation Of Goods From Nigeria

Breaking! Pres. Buhari Fires DGs Of NTA, VON, NAN, NBC, VOA, FRCN

The President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has wielded the big stick at the Directors General of Nigeria Television Authority, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Voice of Nigeria, News Agency of Nigeria, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission and the National Orientation Agency.

Their dismissal was announced in a statement by Segun Adeyemi, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Monday, February 15, 2016.

The statement read: “The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the disengagement during a meeting he held with the Chief Executives of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Voice of Nigeria (VON), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) on Monday.”

Read: President Buhari Fires DGs Of NTA, VON, NAN, NBC, VOA, FRCN

Female Passenger Found Dead In Lagos Airport Toilet

Mild drama unfolded on Wednesday, February 17, at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos following the death of a middle-aged female passenger billed to travel to Abu Dhabi, United Arabs Emirates, on Etihad Airways.

The cause of her demise remains unclear, however, it was learnt that the deceased, whose identity was not revealed, was travelling for medical treatment abroad and suffered a bout of pains which compelled her rush to the toilet where she died.

Confirming the tragedy, the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Yakubu Dati, who said the corpse was discovered at about 6.30am, added that the agency was investigating the death and would give details of what happened later.

Read: Female Passenger Found Dead In Lagos Airport Toilet

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4 Year-Old Boy Gets ‘Life Imprisonment’ For Alleged Crimes Committed When He Was 2

In a grotesquely strange move, a court in Western Cairo this week sentenced a four-year-old boy to life in prison on various heinous charges bordering on murder, inciting riots, destruction of government property and threatening cops, The Jerusalem Post reports.

 

The little boy, Ahmed Mansour Karni, who was born in September 2012, got the life in prison term on Tuesday, February 16, 2016, after being convicted in absentia of offenses that allegedly occurred two years ago.

Although the boy was less than two years old during the civil unrest in 2014, he was convicted in absentia due to a clerical error and the court’s incompetence. It was gathered that Karni was listed as “wanted” for murder, disturbance of the peace and damaging state property in an indictment that listed 115 other defendants sentenced to life imprisonment. 

The indictment stated the charges against the youngster in full as four counts of murder, eight counts of attempted murder, vandalising property belonging to the Egyptian Health Administration in his home province of el-Fayoum, threatening soldiers and police officers and damaging vehicles belonging to security forces.

Although Karni’s birth certificate was presented to the court, one of his defense attorneys accused the presiding judge of failing to review the case before abruptly passing down a life sentence on a four-year-old child.

Lawyer Faisal a-Sayd asserted, “The child Ahmed Mansour Karni’s birth certificate was presented after state security forces added his name to the list of accused, but then the case was transferred to the military court and the child was sentenced in absentia in an ensuing court hearing. This proves that the judge did not read the case.”

Another Egyptian lawyer Mohammed Abu Hurira issued a fiery response, writing:

“On the eve of injustice and madness in Egypt, a four year-old child was sentenced to life imprisonment. He is accused of disturbance, damage to property and murder. The Egyptian scales of justice are not reversible. There is no justice in Egypt. No reason. Logic committed suicide a while ago. Egypt went crazy. Egypt is ruled by a bunch of lunatics.”

The sentencing also set social media ablaze as netizens pour out their spleen on the Egyptian legal system, accusing the government of corruption and injustice. A blogger and wife of Egyptian human rights activist Nibin Melek wrote in a post that the sentencing “was a blind decision.” 

Aside from ruthlessly punishing innocent children, the Egyptian government has become notorious for imprisoning journalists and escalating police brutality in recent years.

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Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia And Qatar Agree On Oil Output Freeze

The world’s largest producers of oil Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to take the measure of freezing oil output at January level which will assist in preventing further decline in its oil prices.

Both countries calculated a heavy loss this past January which equals a twelve-year all time low. The loss follows OPEC’s policy of unrestricted pumping, which has sent prices plummeting to below US$30 a barrel since June 2014 highs of $110.

At the closed door meeting which was held in Doha, ministers from Venezuela and Qatar were in attendance; also Saudi-Arabian Minister of Oil, Ali Al Naimi finally agreed to end the OPEC policy of unrestricted pumping.

January’s output for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries was at 33.1 million barrels a day, and is recorded as its highest ever; this implies that any impact the freeze will have on the oil price is likely to be very minimal.

Discussing on the new freeze policy, Mr Al Naimi said,

“Freezing now at the January level is adequate for the market, we believe. We recognize today the supply is going down because of current prices. We also recognize that demand is on the rise.”

“It is the beginning of a process which we will assess in the next few months and decide if we need other steps to stabilise and improve the market,”

Russia also recorded its highest level in history in January, producing ten-point-nine-million barrels a day. Russia is not a part of OPEC.

The oil-output freeze move is said to represent a deviation from the original policy earlier adopted at the OPEC’s December meeting where the group agreed to totally remove production caps. The ministers also said for the oil freeze policy to pull through other oil producers including Iran will have to come aboard. 

Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zaganeh, has continuously told newsmen:

‘Iran does not intend to cut oil productions, as the country seeks to use revenue from sales to lift its economy out of recession. ‘

Iran, which was earlier sanctioned was also let loose this January allowing the country to drastically increase its oil production.

In a bid to control the low oil price which had caused economic and financial pain across the Gulf, government leaders including UAE and Saudi Arabi reduced public spending to aid in preserving financial reserves of their countries.

An emerging market economist, Jason Tuvey feels the oil-freeze agreement is “unlikely to significantly alter the economic outlook for the Gulf Cooperation Council”

He said:

Even if all Opec members, including Iran, agree to comply with the target, high production will still keep oil prices low, depressing the economic outlook for Gulf states.

Photo Credit, TheNational

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Man beats his mum to death two days after being released from Prison after 30-year murder sentence

Two days after completing a 30-year prison sentence for a 1984 murder conviction, a New Jersey man allegedly killed his 64-year-old mother.  On Wednesday, Steven Pratt, 47, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, admitting his role in his mother's beating death, police say. 

A statement from prosecutors obtained by PEOPLE confirms Pratt, an Atlantic City resident who lived with his mother, repeatedly struck his mother Gwendolyn Pratt in the head the morning of Oct. 12, 2014. Police responded to the Pratt home that morning and found Gwendolyn's lifeless body inside. 

The statement says officers immediately took Pratt into custody and an autopsy later revealed the victim died from blunt force trauma to the head.  Pratt faces 25 more years behind bars when he is sentenced within the next few months, police say. 

On Oct. 10, 2014, Pratt was released from a New Jersey prison, where he'd spent the previous three decades for the fatal shooting of Michael Anderson. 

When he was 15, Anderson caught Pratt smoking marijuana with friends and confronted the boy.
During that incident, Pratt struck Anderson in the face with a lead pipe. After being hit, Anderson retreated, but hours later, Pratt knocked on his apartment's door. When he opened it, Pratt shot Anderson.

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Kidnappers Kill Jonathan’s Nephew

TWO days after his uncle and foster father was abducted by kidnappers in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Council of Bayelsa State, former President Goodluck Jonathan has lost his nephew to the dare-devil abductors.

Samuel Okies, the 35-year-old nephew to the former President, who was abducted alongside the former President’s foster father, was yesterday found dead in the waterways of Otuoke Community in Ogbia Local Government Area.

The deceased was reportedly kidnapped few days ago alongside the 72-year-old Chief Inegite Nitabai. The Guardian gathered that some fishermen from the former President’s community in Otuoke recovered the body of Okies, as it floated on Otuoke River yesterday during their fishing activities.

The indigenes of the community said they were not aware of his whereabouts during the Tuesday abduction of the former president’s foster father, but the discovery of his body in the Rivers has, however, confirmed their fears. Some of the community members claimed the sound of gunshots heard during the abduction of the septuagenarian three days ago might have been targeted at the deceased. 

A community source said the discovery has also thrown the community into confusion over the safety of the septuagenarian. “We are worried about the safety of our uncle. The men that abducted them have killed Okies, and we pray they don’t touch our uncle,” a source told The Guardian yesterday.

The deceased Okies, according to community sources, was always seen in the company of the abducted foster father of former President Jonathan.

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Jaimie Alexander and Peter Facinelli End Their Engagement

Nearly one year after getting engaged, Jaimie Alexander and Peter Facinelli are going their separate ways.

"Due to conflicting family and work commitments on opposite coasts, and after much consideration, Peter and Jaimie have chosen to part ways amicably and remain good friends," their reps tell PEOPLE exclusively.

The Supergirl actor, 42, and the Blindspot actress, 31, were first linked in November 2012 eight months after Facinelli split with wife Jennie Garth. The duo last stepped out publicly at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in January.

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#TheSpecialOne live in Lagos this Saturday!

 

Hello Lagos! It’s about to go down live this Saturday February 20, 2016 at the Get Arena Lekki Lagos… #TheSpecialOne party is coming to the city of Lagos!!! After a successful outing across different cities in Nigeria, #TheSpecialOne is set to make a big stop in Lagos this Saturday.

It promises be one-of-a-kind party! From PortHarcourt, to Enugu, Ibadan, Abuja, Benin, the fun train that kicked off last year will storm Lagos in a most spectacular way. The stage will come alive with amazing performances from some of your favourite artistes including the duo of talented indigenous rappers; Olamide and Phyno. Joining them to bring down the roof will be superstar DJ Spinall and other fantastic artistes including Lil Kesh, Ycee, DJ Enimoney amongst several others.

That’s not all… the event will also feature amazing graffiti performance from Osa while guests will be treated to UV body and face painting. Lagos, are you ready to party with #TheSpecialOne!!! It’s going down live on Saturday February 20, 2016 and you cannot afford to miss this. Who is excited already? I am! Don’t miss out! Spot the tagging team and get tagged for an invite. It’s an invite only event so make sure you get your invite and get ready to meet #TheSpecialOne.

It promises to be off the hook! Be one of the special people to party with #TheSpecialOne, Guinness Africa Special, the latest addition from the Guinness family. Don’t be left out, come hang out with #TheSpecialOne this Saturday February 20, 2016 at the famous Get Arena Lekki Lagos. NB: This party is open to only those that are 18 and above and attendance is strictly by invitation

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Pregnant woman dies mid-air aboard an Arik Air flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos.

A pregnant woman, Ijeoma Nwokedi, died onboard an Arik flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos today February 19th. A statement from the airline company says that the woman who suffered complications mid air, was confirmed dead when the plane arrived Lagos.

“A female passenger on board Arik Air’s Port Harcourt-Lagos flight was confirmed dead by medical personnel on arrival this morning at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal One, Lagos.  

The lady boarded the flight from Port Harcourt in company of her husband and cousin. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained,” the statement said.

The deceased was traveling with her husband and a relative. May her soul rest in peace, Amen.

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#WakawakaBuhari Now Trending As Buhari Departs For Egypt

Nigeria’s supreme leader, Muhammadu Buhari departs Abuja on Friday, February 19, for Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to participate in the Business for Africa, Egypt and the World Forum. The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, in a statement, said the forum, which opens in the Egyptian resort town on Saturday, is organized by the Egyptian government under the auspices of the African Union Commission.

The statement reads: “The forum’s objective is to accelerate private sector engagement and investment within Africa and promote the development of African ties and partnerships.

“President Buhari, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt and the Presidents of Togo, Sudan, Kenya, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia are among confirmed speakers at the forum.

“Other confirmed speakers include the President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and the President/CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.

“The president will be accompanied on the trip by the minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama and the minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelama.

“He will return to Abuja at the conclusion of the forum.”

Meanwhile, Nigerians have taken to social media to express their chagrin with the president over his frequent junkets abroad. With the chorus ‘ Naira is falling, Baba is travelling’ and the hashtag: #WakawakaBuhari which is now trending, Nigerians are also reacting to the drastic fall in the exchange rate at the parallel market.

See tweets below:

 

#WakawakaBuhari Now Trending: NigerianBulletin

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Former Nursing Home Worker Admits To Throwing Old People Off Balconies To Kill Them

‘I did it to kill him’, Hayato Imai, 23, has confessed to killing three elderly residents by throwing them off the balconies of the nursing home he worked with. Though he has not stated any reason why.

According to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Department, Hayato was detained after he was regarded a suspect in the killing of an elderly named Tamio Ushizawa at the nursing home in Kawasaki southwest district of Tokyo in November 2014.

The victim is reported to have died of severely ruptured organs after being pushed from the fourth-floor balcony of the nursing home by Hayato. Reports from local media in Japan says that after his arrest, the suspect also admitted to killing two more elderly residents in a similar manner in 2014.

Kyodo News reports,

‘I did it to kill him,’ Imai was quoted as telling police about the death of Ushizawa.

Hayato was fired form the job prior to his arrest after he was arrested as suspect in cash and jewelry theft in the facility. The elderly are a core part of Japan’s culture. They even have their own national holiday which was reserved to honor elderly citizens.

Photo Credit, dailymail

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Wife Beats Up Her Husband For Failing To Get Her A Valentine’s Gift

While some women wondered what it would feel like to beat beating their husbands or partners for failing to get them a Valentine’s Day gift, Kimberly Hammond, 46, is a woman of thought and action.

The Ohio-born woman beat up her husband, John Hammond, 46, with a baseball bat and knocked him out after which she hit him a few more times; cracking a few ribs as he lay unconscious.

 

According to Washington County Deputies, the station received a 911 call at 11A.M regarding a domestic violence case at the couple’s Belpre township home, Sunday. Their teenage daughter placed the call after her mother, Kimberly went mad on her husband for not getting her a Valentine’s Day gift.

The husband-beater had watched ABC’s The Walking Dead all through the night in a movie-marathon and woke up feeling zombified.

(You would understand if you watch The Walking Dead).

According to Marrieta Times, Mrs Hammond admitted to consuming eight cans of beer during her cinematic moments the night before. She had inflicted scratch marks on her husband’s face when the verbal argument they were having became physical, after she questioned him regarding her gift. Mr Hammond refused to go to the hospital to get checked up.

After a Breathalyser test at the Washington County jail, Kimberly’s blood showed a .221 blood alcohol level. She was released on bail on Monday. Her charges are misdemeanor domestic  assault and felonious assault.

Next year, Mr Hammond will definitely get her a baseball bat as a Valentine’s Day gift.

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The Rich Will Have To Wait Two Years To Own A $65 Million GulfStream Jet

Gulfstream Aerospace, makers of the Gulfstream brand jet have declared they are unable to keep up with the demand for its private flyer as the orders from the rich outweigh their ability to produce. In light of this is a two-year wait for those who possess the capital to own the Gulf Jet and who also have the time to wait for it to be delivered.

 

Speaking at the Singapore Air show, Scott Neal, Gulfstream’s senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, said in a Bloomberg TV interview:

Pay $65 million for the G650 or G650ER personal jets, and your wait to board them could be as long as two years. The G650ER “has taken market share at the top end of the market. It’s really created a new market to itself.

The next available delivery for a new G650 or G650ER is a little over two years from now.

Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream is seeing such strong demand for its personal jets from corporations and chief executives that the General Dynamics Corporation unit is looking to increase production of planes in the G650 family.

Gulfstream is grabbing share from rivals with its flagship large-cabin aircraft as the market becomes more receptive to the usefulness of a private aircraft in running a business.

We have seen a real shift to people understanding that business aircraft are truly for business. Large companies and private individuals can’t do what they do without the benefit of a corporate aircraft.

Aviation Consultant, Jetsolution also reveals Southeast Asia will invoke the next rush for private aircraft, much to the benefit of Gulfstream, Textron Cessna and Embraer.

According to a 2013 forecast by aviation consultant Jetsolution International Services, five years from now, millionaires who seek new toys will get ready for a fourfold jump in Asia’s share of private jets.

As economic growth in Asia rolls out new millionaires, Asians are already on the rise to own twenty percent on the global world jet fleets by 2017 with Southeast Asia leading the pack.

Photo Credit, National

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Death-Row Prisoner Impregnates Herself With Fellow Inmates Sperm To Escape Execution

A death row inmate, Nguyen Thi Hue, 42, impregnates herself by injecting into her body via syringe, a fellow inmate’s sperm to avoid execution. She bought the sperm from 27-year-old convict Nguyen Tuan Hung at fifty-million Vietnamese Dong ie one-thousand-six-hundred pounds (£1,600 or N457,095.44).

 

Nguyen Tuan Hung gave his semen to Hue in syringes, on two occasions in August 2015. Four prison guards have been suspended according to Vietnam’s Thanh Nien newspaper. Hue who is due to give birth in April, got pregnant via personal artificial insemination in the prison located in the Northern province of Quang Ninh.

She is a convicted drug-trafficker from Lang Son Province in Vietnam; and was arrested in Quang Ninh in 2012 on suspicions of drug-trafficking. Hue was sentenced to death in 2014.

According to Vietnamese laws, ”a pregnant woman or a mother whose child is less than 36 months old cannot be sentenced to death”.

Thanh Nien reports,

If a death sentence has already been imposed, it must be reduced to life imprisonment.

A similar situation occurred in 2007 when a death row inmate Nguyen Thi Oanh, fell pregnant after having sex with a male inmate. She gave birth in March 2007 and was spared the death penalty.

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Becoming ISIS? Pro-Russian Militants Torture And Beat Alleged Drug Dealer With Electric Cable

In a brutal video which went viral after it was posted on Russian social network VKontakte, pro-Russian rebels occupying the town of Communar Donetsk Oblast, in southern Ukraine are seen torturing a man who is now believed to be dead.

The young man was tied to a pole, tortured and whipped bare back with electric cables in a manner that has been described by many as ‘ISIS-Styled’. The video begins with a voice in the background saying , ‘The f****** film shooting has started. This is the punishment of a drug dealer.’.

 

The militant also added:

‘Don’t scream so much you will scare all the people around. I even broke my lash on your useless back.’

The camera then switches to the young man who by the whip marks on his back has been beaten and tortured for a long time. The young man who is tied to a pole with a tape is heard crying and begging for his life, saying;

‘Stop please! I’ll say what you need. I will call another drug dealer and he will arrive with drugs.’

 

Olkhon is seen asking the young dealer if he admits to being a drug user and he cries out ‘No’. When the pro-Russian rebels insisted on knowing why he had a drug dealers number in his mobile contacts, the young man gets more beatings for not replying.

The other militant recording the video is heard saying: ‘We don’t need courts, sentences, this is what we need.’

At which the tortured-man shouts:

‘I swear I told everything. God I can’t stand it anymore, I want to live. Please, please!’

The young drug dealer has been presumed dead. If the pro-Russian rebels promises are anything to go by, though no body has been found.

Photo Credit, dailymail

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‘It’s Disgraceful To Question My Faith’ -Trump Reacts To Pope Francis’s Criticism

Controversial GOP front-runner Donald Trump may have met his political match in Pope Francis as the U.S presidential candidate has softened his tone after getting into a fierce ‘war of words’ with the Pope.

 

Pope Francis had on Thursday, February 18, hinted that the Republican front-runner “is not Christian” if he calls for the deportation of undocumented immigrants and pledges to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, NY Times reports.

The Pope, who was traveling back to Rome from Mexico, told pressmen who sought for his opinion on Trump’s proposals to halt illegal immigration.

He said: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel,”

Speaking on the “humanitarian crisis” on its southern border, the Pope did not tell American Catholics not to vote for Trump, however, he left little doubt where he stood on the polarizing issue of immigration reform.

In a swift reaction, Trump fired back, calling Francis’ comments “disgraceful,” CNN reports

“The pope said something to the effect that maybe Donald Trump isn’t Christian, okay? And he’s questioning my faith, I was very surprised to see it.”

“For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful,” Trump said.

“If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president,” Trump added.

The GOP candidate on Thursday evening, however softened his tone.

“I don’t like fighting with the pope actually — I don’t think it’s a fight, I think he said something much softer than originally reported by the media. I think that he heard one side of the story, which is probably by the Mexican government,” Trump told CNN.
“I like his personality; I like what he represents.”

He added that he thinks Francis’ remarks were “much nicer” than the media reported and that the Pope had been misled by Mexican officials. Trump also said that the Pope has an “awfully big wall” around himself at the Vatican.

That wasn’t the only controversy Trump has faced in recent times as he had on Tuesday, February 14, said Barack Obama has done a “lousy job,” as the president of the United States.

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Catholic Abortion Law Causes Miscarriages For Several Women

In an exclusive to The Guardian, a report has come to light that the Catholic Church gave directives to all Catholic-operated medical facilities in the United States:

“as long as there is a heartbeat, induction of labor is not an option in a Catholic institution unless the mother’s life is in jeopardy”.

 

It is no news that the Catholic-church is against Abortion. ”Abortion is never permitted”.

But, these directives which also include:

Catholic healthcare institutions are not to provide abortion services, even based upon the principle of material cooperation.”

seem to have caused five expecting-mothers to lose their babies. The case which brought the previously closeted rule began with a pregnant mother who was miscarrying.

As the woman was being wheeled to the hospital, her doctor called the specialist on duty, ”The baby will die, the woman might follow. It is unequivocal. Induce labor immediately.”

When she was brought to the Mercy Health Partners Hospital, Muskegon, Michigan, staffs of the hospital adamantly refused to induce labor. They stated a set of written directives by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that forbids terminating a pregnancy unless the mother is in grave condition.

Doctors then decided to delay until the woman showed signs of sepsis – a life-threatening response to an advanced infection – or the fetal heart stopped on its own. They never induced labor. They also never informed the women they had the option to induce labor. In the end, it was sepsis (blood poisoning) that put the woman’s life in jeopardy.

The woman delivered at 1.41A.M with doctors who had been watching her temperature climb up and down for over eight hours. The infant died sixty-five minutes later.

The Report by a former Muskegon County health official, Faith Groesbeck, accuses Mercy Health Partners of ”forcing five women between August 2009 and December 2010 to undergo dangerous miscarriages by giving them no other option”.

Rather than inform the women of their options which is:

(a) induce labor or (b) offering , to transfer them to another hospital the doctors the report confirms unequivocally decided to subject the women to prolonged miscarriages. It also claims the doctors acted out of compliance to the strict abortion ban by the Mercy Health Partner Hospital.

This action resulted in several of the women suffering infection, emotional trauma, or undergoing unnecessary surgery. They were all less than twenty-four weeks pregnant. The report says, all five women displayed signs which showed it would be safest for them to deliver immediately.

The women who spoke on anonymity said they were never informed of any options and their request to review their medical treatments was rejected. They also stated, they were earlier grateful to the hospitals for helping to save their lives.

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Two L.A Police Officers Charged For Raping Women While On Duty

Two veteran Officers, James Nichols, 44, and Luis Valenzuela, 43, have been arrested and charged with ”repeatedly raping four women over a three-year period. Mostly while on duty”, Fox News reports.

Prosecutors announced that:

Both men faced charges which include ”rape under color of authority and oral copulation by force. Valenzuela also is charged with pointing a gun at one of the women. 

They could face life in prison if convicted.

One of the women, who acted as a drug-informant for the group said she was told ”You have to do what the police tells you to do”, during a federal court filing.

The nineteen-year-old also narrated how one of the officers acted as a lookout in the front-seat of a departmental car as she was forced to perform oral sex on his partner in the back seat. Another woman, also a drug-informant, collaborated the teenager’s story, saying:

The same two officers each forced her to have sex with them twice after threatening her with jail time.

Two other women also came forward with similar stories bringing the total number to four.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Los Angeles Police Chief, Charlie Beck said:

”Both officers have been suspended without pay since 2013. Their employment status is pending an administrative hearing that would follow their criminal case.

These two officers have disgraced themselves, they disgraced this badge, they disgraced their oaths of office. It is a violation of public trust.
Investigators are actively seeking other potential victims.”

The officers denied all the claims in court records and were set to be arraigned on Thursday.

Prosecutors are asking that they both be held on bail of more than three-point-five-million dollars. The rapes began in December 2008. Prosecutors said Nichols and Valenzuela were partners; working as narcotics investigators in the department’s Hollywood Division.

The four women had been arrested on various occasions for drug-related charged by both officers. Court records also show two were recruited as drug-informants by the officers. According to LA Police Chief, Beck, the department’s internal affairs started investigating the officers after the first woman ”complained of being raped in 2010”.

In 2014, the department’s elite Robbery Homicide Division took over.

Beck said:

It took so long for the charges to be filed against the officers because the investigation was complicated and involved reluctant witnesses who were difficult to find.

An attorney representing two of the women, Dennis Chang, said:

The officers misused their positions by taking advantage of it by threatening the women with jail time or outing them as informants for sex.

These women were drug users, they’re primarily arrested and in custody, in an extremely vulnerable state. They were afraid.

The State of Los Angeles reported two similar cases last year where it agreed to pay one woman five-hundred-and-seventy-five-thousand dollars with the second case still being litigated. Two civil lawsuits had been filed against both Officer Nichols and Valenzuela.

A third is expected to be filed.

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Davido Makes The Cover of US Magazine, Fader

The FADER, a New York-based music magazine which documents a range of emerging music, style and culture featured Davido on the cover of their first ever global feature.

  

The magazine feature explored Davido’s journey to fame – right from his early university days in Oakwood University, Alabama to moving back to Nigeria to launch his music career while attending Babcock University.

This big publicity comes on the heels of his signing with Sony Music International in New York last month. Here are some photos from the magazine feature.

 

  

 

Read the full article on FADER

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Vogue US Names Wizkid The Best Dressed Nigerian Pop Star

Fashion and lifestyle magazine, Vogue has crowned Wizkid as “Nigeria’s Best-Dressed Pop Star” in its recent issue. The magazine got Wizkid to talk about his fashion influences where he names Pharrell, Lagos lifestyle, Nigerian fashion and so on.

 

He introduced Vogue to Nigerian tailors and cited the European influence on modern Nigerian fashion as well as his favourite foreign brands. Wizkid also revealed that he will be starting his own fashion line which will be made of “tracksuits, T-shirts, hats, and African attire as well.”

“I’ll have a special line for traditional [clothes] with my tailors”, he says casually.

“Talking fashion, music, anything—Africa is on top of all that” he decares.

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