See the face of the kidnapped female journalist in Nigeria

Abductors of female journalist want N8m  

Published on March 22, 2013 by pmnews   ·   1 CommentFour gunmen on Thursday in Akure, capital of the western Nigerian state of Ondo, have abducted Olubunmi Lawal Oke, a journalist working with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
The General Manager of the station, Mrs Bennie Mordi, announced this today.
She said the abduction occurred around 8.30 p.m, adding that Oke was abducted in front of Jojain Hotel, Oba-Ile, while returning from work.

Olubunmi Lawal Oke: N8m demanded by abductors

Olubunmi was going home with her baby and the housemaid. She was kidnapped alone.
Bennie Mordi said a witness narrated that a taxi cab trailed the victim’s vehicle and drove across it, forcing it to stop before taking her away.
Mordi, who expressed worry about the situation, said “this is serious, I cannot imagine what they wanted from a journalist, where is the money they wanted. I pray for God’s immediate intervention for safety and peaceful release of my staff member’’.
She said the taxi cab used for the crime had been recovered in Igbara-Oke in Ifedore Local Government Area of the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Ondo State Police Command, Mr Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident, saying that they were “on top of the case”.
Oke’s colleague, Mrs Kemi Fakeye, told NAN that the victim’s mother, simply called Mrs Lawal, had on Friday received a telephone message from the abductors, demanding a ransom of N8 million for her release.
She appealed to the law enforcement agencies to ensure her freedom from the abductors.
The state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ, in a statement by its Secretary, Mr Ebenezer Adeniyan, on Friday condemned the act. The NUJ called on the police to act fast to ensure her safety and release.
Members of staff of the NTA at Oba-Ile station, assembled in groups, discussing the matter when a correspondent visited the station.

UK warns female travellers to steer clear of India

UK issues travel advisory for female travelers in India

LONDON, England - Britain has advised its female tourists to be cautious while traveling in India in the wake of the rape of a Swiss tourist in Madhya Pradesh last week. "Our travel advice states that women should use caution if travelling alone in India. Reported cases of sexual assault against women and young girls are increasing; recent sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas and cities show that foreign women are also at risk," a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokesperson said.
Though the advice has not been modified following last week's sexual assault on a foreign tourist, the government's travel advisory remains under constant review in view of the situation on the ground, it added. "British women have been the victims of sexual assault in Goa, Delhi, Bangalore and Rajasthan and women travelers often receive unwanted attention in the form of verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men. If you are a woman traveling in India you should respect local dress codes and customs and avoid isolated areas, including beaches, when alone at any time of day," said the FCO's current advisory under the section of 'Crime'.
Six men accused of raping the 39-year-old Swiss tourist, who was camping with her husband in a forest in MP, have been remanded in custody. The woman has since been discharged from hospital.

Female tourist jumps from hotel balcony to escape sexual assault in India

A British woman has been injured after jumping from a hotel balcony to escape from alleged harassment in Agra, India, local police say.
The woman, in her 30s, told police she asked for a wake-up call at 04:00 but when the hotel owner knocked on her door then, he offered her a massage.
She told police he would not leave so she locked the door and jumped from her balcony to the level below, injuring her leg, before fleeing the hotel.
Police have arrested the hotel owner.
They said he was still in custody and would be charged with sexual harassment in a local magistrates' court on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the British High Commission in India said UK consular officials in Delhi have spoken to the woman and to the local police.
A consular team is travelling to Agra to provide assistance to the woman, he added. The city is home to the Taj Mahal.
The senior superintendent of police in Agra, Subhah Chandra Dubey, told the BBC the woman's injury to her leg ligament had been treated, and she had been moved to another hotel.
She also had two women constables with her for her security, he said.
Female assaults
According to Supt Dubey, the hotel owner claims he had gone to wake the woman up because the hotel staff had tried ringing her on the intercom and when she did not respond, he went to her room.
The Foreign Office recently updated its advice for women visiting India, saying they should use caution and avoid travelling alone on public transport, or in taxis or auto-rickshaws, especially at night.
It added that reported cases of sexual assault against women and young girls were increasing and recent sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas and cities show that foreign women were also at risk.
Following an alleged gang rape of a Swiss tourist in Madhya Pradesh state last week, police arrested six people.
The woman was attacked with her husband as they camped in woodland near a village in Datia district.
The arrests came as India's politicians prepared to debate a new law against rape, after the outcry over the fatal assault on a female Delhi student last year.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Car Thieves Arrested At Press Centre  

Published on March 19, 2013 by pmnews   ·   No CommentsTwo suspected car snatchers were this morning arrested by heavily armed operatives of Nigeria’s Department of State Security Services (SSS), at the premises of the Nigerian Union of Journalists on Reservation Road, GRA, Benin.
The operation which lasted for over 20 minutes, created some pandemonium as journalists and newspaper distributors who resumed work early in the morning scampered for safety upon sighting the gun-wilding security operatives.
The robbers were said to have a few days earlier stolen a black-colored Toyota Corolla car valued at N2.5million from its owner in Warri, Delta state at gunpoint, and had contacted various car dealers in Benin City with the intention of selling the stolen car to any unsuspecting buyer at a giveaway price.
Unknown to them, however, a security agent who posed as a buyer contacted a number used by one of the thieves, arranged a meeting at the NUJ Press Centre to conclude the deal.
The thieves who drove the stolen car into the NUJ Premises this morning, were engaged in serious negotiations when a team of SSS men drove in and at gunpoint made to arrest the duo, but one of them took to his heels on sighting the men.
The hot chase given to the fleeing car thief by the SSS operatives resulted in the pandemonium, with everybody running for cover.
Calm later returned to the centre as the security men handcuffed the suspects and drove them away to the State Headquarters of the SSS.
—Jethro Ibileke/Benin

See the face of a man gunned down by a druken cop

Man Gunned Down By Drunken Cops  

Published on March 19, 2013 by pmnews   ·   14 CommentsA 46-year old man, Eze Okoro, has been shot dead by drunken policemen in front of his house  at 1, Oguntolu Street, Ijaiye, Ojokoro area, Lagos State, southwest Nigeria. But the police have denied taking part in his murder.
The policemen, according to sources, had been drinking for about six hours at a hotel nearby before they gunned down the man while he was enjoying evening breeze in front of his house after work .

Eze Okoro: Gunned down by drunken policemen

After shattering his waist with bullets, the policemen who were said to have come from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja, forcefully took his corpse away and dumped it in a mortuary at Yaba.
P.M.NEWS gathered that they did this after the Ikeja mortuary officials  insisted that before his body could be deposited there, they must fill certain forms, which they refused.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting of Okoro were still strange to the residents who told P.M.NEWS that there was no violence or robbery in the area that warranted such police action.
According to Okoro’s wife, Mrs Ugo Okoro, her husband, who is a businessman, returned from work on the fateful day, and because there was no electricity supply, they went and relaxed in front of their house to enjoy some breeze before going to sleep.
She said their family friend, Chinedu Nwanu and his wife, Nneka Nwanu, who is heavily pregnant, also joined them outside.
Ugo said it was not up to five minutes after she left them and went into their apartment that she heard gun shots and the residents started running in all directions.
She said while the commotion was going on, she heard her husband, who was wearing a pair of shorts and simple shirt, shouting that he was not a robber and was explaining to the policemen that he was just relaxing in front of his house.
“Nneka also fell down and started shouting that she was pregnant and showing the police her husband who was beside her. She was allowed to leave with her husband and one of the policemen shot my husband in the waist and he died on the spot,” Ugo narrated.
P.M.NEWS gathered that after they shot Okoro, they forcefully took his body away, perhaps to cover up their heinous act.
Sources  told P.M.NEWS that the team of policemen had arrived a popular hotel in the area beside Okoro’s house in a Sienna bus with registration number KJA 280 BD and were drinking heavily in the hotel from 4p.m. till 10 p.m. before the incident happened.
Police sources claimed that the man was shot in error during a gun batttle with armed robbers in the hotel, a claim disproved by Okoro’s wife and relatives.
Even the hotel management told P.M.NEWS that there was no shootout between the police and robbers as claimed by the police and that they did not know their mission in the area that day.
The hotel sources, who pleaded for anonymity, said they only noticed the unusual presence of  policemen which caused panic in their hotel.
One of the sources said that the policemne did not disclose their mission. Rather they were there having their drinks for several hours.
The source said it was later that they heard gun shots outside and residents including workers of the hotel started running for safety and that after some time, he got to know that they had shot and killed Okoro.
He insisted that there was no robbery incident in the area that day.
Okoro’s younger brother, Innocent, said he was informed about what happened and he immediately contacted other members of the family and they started searching from one police station to another for his corpse.
He said they went to many police stations and commands and to their greatest suprise, they all denied having anything to do with the incident.
Innocent said the search lasted for three days and there was no information whatsoever before they contacted a top police officer who made the police to open up.
He said the police then asked him to go to Yaba mortuary and search for Okoro’s corpse. And when he got there he discovered that the corpse was dumped there as an unidentified corpse.
He said the corpse was brought back to Ikeja General Hospital mortuary where he filled the necessary documents.
Innocent expressed shock about what happened and the way the police treated the whole matter by not even contacting the family because they knew he was an innocent resident they killed for no reason.
He also told P.M.NEWS that “the police admitted that Okoro was killed in error and asked us to come forward with the elders of the family.”
The late Okoro hailed from Imo State. He had a son called Divine.
Meanwhile the Officer In Charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Superintendent of Police, Abba Kyari, has claimed that it was armed robbers that shot  Okoro while they were trying to escape during an exchange of gunfire with the police.
Kyari said: “ On 8 March, at about 1p.m., I received an information that a gang of armed robbers who had planned to rob a bank on Isolo road ,Ajao Estate were approaching Lagos from Ogun State through Sango-Ota axis.
“Immediately I received this information, I alerted a team of crack detectives. We quickly moved and laid ambush at Abule-Egba Junction along Lagos /Abeokuta Expressway where the armed robbers were intercepted. After a gun battle with the robbers, seven of them were injured while two of them, identified as Olubode  Mudashiru, 27, and Gbenga Joseph, 48, were arrested with bullet wounds.”
He explained that after the arrest, they  received further information  that one of the operational vehicles of the robbers, a golden colour Toyota Camry  carrying three AK-47 rifles and two rocket launchers had driven through Abule-Egba junction towards Ajao Estate/Mushin area of Lagos.
“I quickly deployed my men to that area where we were informed that the robbers had lodged at a popular hotel in Meiran area of Lagos, where they normally smoke Indian hemp and drink before embarking on operation. I quickly  mobilised SARS operatives to the location.
“On sighting the patrol team, the robbers opened fire at  us and we responded. During the gun battle, one of the robbers, Tunji Bamidele, 28, was arrested with one AK-47 rifle and a bag. Other gang members escaped along with two AK-47 rifles in their possession.
“ But one man, identified as Okoro, was shot dead by the robbers as they were trying to escape. We were on operation.We don’t know who is who. It was one of the suspected robbers, Bamidele, who told us that the person that was killed was not one of  them.
“We quickly transferred the victim to a morgue, where I took charge of the mortuary bill. We were not the one that shot Okoro,” Kyari said.
According to him, during the operation, SARS recovered two AK-47 rifles, eight  AK-47 magazines fully loaded, three locally made double barrel pistols, 65 live catridges along with two of their operational vehicles Toyota Sienna with registration number AKD 54 AG and Nissan Sunny with registration number BT 914 APP.
—Cyriacus Izuekwe & Ayodeji Dedeigbo

The Best and Worst Fish to Eat

by Sheryl Ryan

Doctors and nutritionists often advise patients to reduce their consumption of red meat and replace it with fish. It's a great way to cut undesirable fats in your diet and get a boost in omega fatty acids.  But as we continue to pollute the oceans, and our increased demand depletes fish populations and destroys underwater wildlife, eating fish has become a less healthy and less viable option. Here are a few issues you should keep in mind when making seafood choices both at home and when dining out.

Mercury and Other Toxins

Mercury gets into water systems through rain and industrial pollution. It is then ingested by aquatic plants and animals. Through the food chain, smaller organisms are eaten by larger fish, which are then eaten by even larger fish, and so on. As the mercury moves higher up the food chain, it becomes more highly concentrated through a process called bioaccumulation. There are numerous variables that affect the mercury levels in the fish we eat, but it's generally advised to avoid those higher on the food chain and prone to excessive mercury levels.
Avoid: Imported albacore & yellow fin tuna, shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilapia from Asia, farmed or Atlantic salmon.

Longline Fishing and Trawling

Longline fishing and trawling methods are controversial because of the high incidence of bycatch, when fisherman end up catching – and unnecessarily killing – a variety of wildlife. Trawling additionally destroys underwater plant life that plays a crucial role in maintaining environmental health both above and below the water.
Avoid: Imported albacore and yellow fin tuna, shrimp and prawns.

Overfishing

Overfishing is catching too much fish for a system to support. This is becoming more and more prevalent in the industry, and is a substantial threat to biodiversity. Two of the major problems with overfishing are catching too much of a particular species, and catching younger fish essential to the reproduction and replenishment of declining fish populations. The NOAA provides an updated list of fish that are currently threatened and endangered.
Avoid: Fish on this list from the Office of Protected Resources

So What Should You Eat?

Canned salmon, Alaskan wild salmon, tilapia from the US, farmed rainbow trout, albacore, and yellow fin tuna caught in the US or Canada are a few eco-friendly choices. You can also download several pocket guides from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium to help you decide what to eat or avoid in your particular region, and to bring with you when you travel. They also offer a quick search of fish ranging from “eco-friendly” to “avoid”.

Working mothers to get £1,200 per child to help subsidise costs of care

More than 2.5 million families will each be able to claim up to £1,200 to help subsidise the costs of child care under a £1 billion scheme to be unveiled by David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

The scheme is being introduced following the scrapping of child benefit for higher earners Photo: Alamy

By Robert Winnett, Political Editor

10:01PM GMT 18 Mar 2013

318 Comments

From the autumn of 2015, working parents will be able to claim vouchers to subsidise nannies or child care for every child under five, with the scheme expected to be extended to all children under 12 by about 2020.

It will initially benefit 1.3 million families, who will be able to claim up to £1,200 for each young child — rising to 2.5 million families when the scheme is extended. They will effectively not have to pay basic-rate tax on the first £6,000 they spend on child care.

The scheme will not be available for stay-at-home mothers, which is expected to cause renewed allegations that the Government is neglecting traditional families.

The scheme is being introduced following the scrapping of child benefit for higher earners. The move saved the Government similar amounts of money to that now being spent on the new scheme, but it benefited all families.

The Prime Minister will claim that the policy is “one of the biggest measures ever introduced to help parents with child care costs”.

“Too many families find paying for child care tough and are often stopped from working the hours they would like,” Mr Cameron will say. “This is a boost direct to the pockets of hard-working families.”
The Deputy Prime Minister will add that the high cost of child care is undermining the economic recovery.
“Delivering tax-free child care is the next step to ensuring all families can work and get on,” Mr Clegg will say. “The rising cost of child care is one of the biggest challenges parents face and it means many mums and dads simply can’t afford to work. This not only hurts them financially, but is bad for the economy, too.”
Under the scheme, parents will be able to claim vouchers to cover 20 per cent of the costs of child care up to £6,000.
The maximum subsidy will be £1,200 for each child. The vouchers will only be available in households where all parents are working — and where no one is earning more than £150,000 a year.
The scheme will cost £750 million with an extra £200 million to help those claiming universal credit, meaning that the Government is providing almost £1 billion in extra support for families.
The costs will rise significantly as support is extended to those with children under the age of 12.
George Osborne, the Chancellor, is expected to set out in Wednesday’s Budget how the scheme will be funded.
The scheme will replace policies which allow employers to offer tax-free child care vouchers to their workers. Such subsidies, which are only offered by larger employers, allow parents to save up to about £1,100 annually to cover the child care costs of their entire family.
Each employed parent can currently claim the vouchers, and they can be used to cover the full costs of care. The new system, however, is on a per-child basis — and the vouchers can only be used to subsidise 20 per cent of such costs.
From autumn 2015, parents already claiming vouchers can continue to receive this support or switch to the new system. New parents will only have access to the latter scheme.
Treasury sources insisted that the new system would benefit about three times as many people, with most families able to claim more. But the policy will ignore the interests of 1.2 million parents who choose to stay at home to look after their children, many of whom have lost child benefit this year.
Several Cabinet ministers are understood to have “major reservations” about the Prime Minister’s failure to introduce the marriage tax break to help this group. One minister said that Mr Cameron “needs to be looking at what can be done for stay-at-home mothers as a matter of urgency”.
Mr Osborne will not outline plans for a marriage tax break in the Budget.
The disclosure of the child care scheme follows months of wrangling within the Coalition about supporting working parents. It was due to be announced at the beginning of January, with negotiations delaying plans which were due to be unveiled in the Budget.
Because both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are desperate to be associated with measures to help struggling families, the Prime Minister and his deputy will now announce the package at a joint appearance.
Britain has some of the highest child care costs in the world, which ministers believe is why fewer mothers return to work in this country compared with Germany, France and the Netherlands. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a working mother in Britain will keep only 32 per cent of her income, far less than in most other countries.
The Chancellor’s Budget is expected to focus on helping people with the rising cost of living and boosting economic growth. Mr Osborne announced on Monday that reforms to the state pension and social care will also be brought forward. He is also considering freezing fuel duty, but warned that he cannot afford sweeping tax cuts.

Boko Haram Won' t Deter FG from Fighting Terrorism- Jonathan

Exclusive pics of Kano Bomb Blast

 Jonathan condemns blast
President  Goodluck  Jonathan has condemned the blast in which claims more that 50 lives in  Kano on Monday

A statement issued by presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati in Abuja on Monday night said the president assured that “the barbaric incident will not deter the Federal Government from its strong-willed determination to overcome those who do not mean well for this nation.

It added that  the Federal Government will not be stampeded, for any reason whatsoever, into abandoning its unrelenting war against terrorists in the country.

President Jonathan reassured Nigerians and foreigners in the country that the Nigerian Government will continue to do all that is required to ensure the safety of lives and property, including continued collaboration with local and international partners and stakeholders to check the menace of terrorism.
 The tragedy reportedly occurred at about 5.20 p.m at the ever-busy motor park located on New Road, in Sabongari, in the ancient city.

It is the main park for prospective passengers to Lagos, Benin City, Port Harcourt, Enugu and other parts of the South-East.

The three-member suspected bombers were said to have arrived in a Volkswagen Golf car at the park, as the five buses belonging to three privately-owned mass transit firms were about taking off.

The car reportedly rammed into one of the fully loaded buses belonging to a privately owned mass transit company, Godson, resulting in a deafening explosion that was accompanied by an inferno.

While two buses belonging to the company were affected, another two owned by Chimenzie Motors and one bus belonging to Ezenwata Motors, all of which were said to fully loaded with intending passengers to the Eastern part of the country, were completely razed.

A witness said that a rescue team that comprised mostly of security operatives and men of the fire service managed to retrieve about 20 charred bodies when the fire was partially brought under control.

China replaces Britain in world's top five arms exporters: repor

China replaces Britain in world's top five arms exporters: report

China has become the world's fifth-largest arms exporter, a respected Sweden-based think-tank said on Monday, its highest ranking since the Cold War, with Pakistan the main recipient.
China's volume of weapons exports between 2008 and 2012 rose 162 percent compared with the previous five-year period, with its share of the global arms trade rising from 2 percent to 5 percent, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.
China replaces Britain in the top five arms-dealing countries between 2008 and 2012, a group dominated by the United States and Russia, which accounted for 30 percent and 26 percent of weapons exports, SIPRI said.
"China is establishing itself as a significant arms supplier to a growing number of important recipient states," Paul Holtom, director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, said in a statement.
The shift, outlined in SIPRI's Trends in International Arms Transfers report, marks China's first time as a top-five arms exporter since the think-tank's 1986-1990 data period.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, asked about the report, said China was a responsible arms exporter which strictly adhered to international law.
"On arms exports, China sticks to three principles. First, that it is conducive to the recipient country's justifiable self-defense needs. Second, it does not damage regional and global peace, security and stability. Third, it does not interfere in other countries' internal affairs," he told reporters.
Now the world's second-largest economy, China's rise has come with a new sense of military assertiveness with a growing budget to develop modern equipment including aircraft carriers and drones.
At the Zhuhai air show in southern China in November, Chinese attack helicopters, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and air defenses were on public show for the first time.
PAKISTAN, MYANMAR, BANGLADESH
SIPRI maintains a global arms transfers database base that tracks arms exports back to the 1950s. It averages data over five-year periods because arms sales vary by year.
"Pakistan - which accounted for 55 percent of Chinese arms exports - is likely to remain the largest recipient of Chinese arms in the coming years due to large outstanding and planned orders for combat aircraft, submarines and frigates," SIPRI said.
Myanmar, which has been undergoing fragile reforms that the United States thinks could help counter Beijing's influence in the region, received 8 percent of China's weapons exports.
Bangladesh received 7 percent of the arms while Algeria, Venezuela and Morocco have bought Chinese-made frigates, aircraft or armored vehicles in the past several years.
China does not release figures for its arms sales.
Germany and France ranked third and fourth on the arms exporter list. China followed only India in the acquisition of arms, though its reliance on imports is decreasing as it ramps up domestic production.
After decades of steep increases in military spending and cash injections into domestic contractors, experts say some Chinese-made equipment is now comparable to Russian or Western counterparts, though accurate information about the performance of Chinese weapons is scarce.
China faces bans on Western military imports, dating back to anger over its crushing of pro-democracy protests in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989. That makes its domestic arms industry crucial in assembling a modern military that can enforce claims over Taiwan and disputed maritime territories.
China has faced off recently with its Southeast Asian neighbors and Japan over rival claims to strings of islets in the South China Sea and East China Sea, even as the United States executes a so-called pivot towards the Pacific.

SEE 75 YRS OLD GRANDMA WHO SHOT HER TEEN SON 10 TIMES

 SEE  75 YRS OLD GRANDMA WHO SHOT HER TEEN GRANDSON 10 TIMES

An 75-year-old woman "hunted down" her teenage grandson in her suburban Detroit home and shot at him 10 times over a six-minute span, even ignoring his desperate pleas for help to a 911 dispatcher, a prosecutor told jurors Monday, urging them to convict her of first-degree murder.
Summing up his case against Sandra Layne, prosecutor Paul Walton again played 17-year-old Jonathan Hoffman's 911 call last May in which he said his grandmother had just shot him. "I'm going to die," he said before he was shot again with the dispatcher on the line.
There is no dispute that Layne fired the shots in her West Bloomfield Township home, striking her grandson six times. The question for jurors: Should she be held criminally responsible for Hoffman's death and, if so, how?
The options are first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter or acquittal based on self-defense.
Layne testified last week that she was afraid of her grandson and acted in self-defense. She said she shot him after he struck her while arguing over his demands for money and a plan to flee Michigan. Hoffman had failed a drug test earlier that day, which could have been a parole violation.
Walton reminded jurors that Layne didn't report any injuries to police when they arrived at her home after the shooting.
"Not I was afraid, I acted in self-defense, he came after me," Walton said. "I murdered. I shot. I killed — those are her first statements to law enforcement. ... She hunted down Jonathan Hoffman because he wouldn't listen."
He called it a "massacre."
Defense attorney Jerome Sabbota urged jurors to acquit Layne, asking them to view the incident through the eyes of woman who was 74 at the time. He said Layne was taking care of a teenager who had used drugs and brought strangers to the home. Hoffman's parents were divorced and living in Arizona during his senior year of high school.
"Is there really a motive to murder her grandson? What does she gain?" Sabbota asked. "She killed a child she was trying to protect and trying to save. That's a tragedy. Only one reason she did what she did: fear."