Monday, 7 September 2015
Serena vs Venus Williams to face off again at the US Open
This will be the sisters 27th match against each other. Serena has won 14 out of the 27.
Read The Economist post on Boko Haram and the multiple 'deaths' of Abubakar Shekau
How many times can one man die? At least four, in the case of Abubakar Shekau, the slippery leader of Boko Haram. Nigerian security forces celebrated his demise in 2009, 2013 and 2014, only for him to pop up again, disconcertingly animate, on camera. When Chad’s president said in August that his troops had killed Mr Shekau, the jihadist was resurrected once again, this time with a voice recording. “Woe unto liars that had claimed I am dead,” said the voice. “Nobody can kill me.”This relatively mild-mannered dispatch raised questions of its own. Most of what is known about Africa’s most notorious terrorist derives from his gun-wielding, slave-touting videos. If he were still at large, would he not release a film in his usual more robust style? Most probably, he is indeed alive. Whether he is injured is impossible to say. Experts dispute how old he is, or how religiously scholarly. Perhaps he is not one man at all. The army accused Boko Haram of using body doubles after he was “killed” last year.
The organisation Mr Shekau presides over is shrouded in more mystery still. Nigeria’s insurgency has grown a lot bloodier since Mr Shekau took over from Mohammed Yusuf, who was (verifiably) shot dead by police in 2009. In theory a more conciliatory leader might offer some hope for compromise and peace. But what if many of Boko Haram’s bomb-blasting ideologues answer to different bosses altogether? Even the most knowledgeable experts cannot agree on whether the organisation consists of one army or several.
This is a worry, to say the least. Nigeria has spent six years and billions of dollars battling the terrorists, who have killed over 15,000 people in their bid to establish a caliphate in the north-east. As attacks spill across borders, Chad, Cameroon and Niger have been drawn in. A regional army is set to deploy soon. Without basic intelligence, they are shooting in the dark.
One explanation for the sect’s opacity is geography. Boko Haram’s fighters hole up in the forests and mountains near the border with Cameroon, or along the desert fringes of Lake Chad. Telephone lines are often cut. Members communicate vital information in person. Fulan Nasrullah, a Nigerian security analyst, says Boko Haram conscripts only from families known to its spies, so it is not easily infiltrated.
A second view is that those who could solve the enigma do not try hard to do so. America designated Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation only in 2013. With a bounty of $7m on his head, Mr Shekau is worth more to the Americans than any other outlaw in Africa. Yet there have been only modest efforts to train local soldiers and gather intelligence. Western governments do not view Nigeria’s Islamists as a threat to their interests. Compared with Islamic State, Boko Haram is not a priority.
Within Nigeria, meanwhile, the war has made some generals and security agents very rich. They would perhaps rather not see it end. The official line seems to be that questions about what Boko Haram wants and how its forces are structured are peripheral. “Even if there is a split [between factions], we are not looking at it that way,” says Mike Omeri, a government spokesman.
It had better start. The stringent new president, Muhammadu Buhari, recently gave the army three months to snuff out Boko Haram. Before they stand a chance of doing that, they will need to work out what they are fighting.
Man with 19-inch penis gets surgery offer to reduce its size (photos)
Nigerian man jailed for life in UK for murder
A Nigerian fugitive, Abdul Adewale Kekere-Ekun, who was arrested on February 12, 2015 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, for identity theft-related offences, has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the United Kingdom. He was jailed for the murder of 18-year-old Marcus Hall in 2001, following a brawl outside Luton’s Atmosphere Nightclub, where the popular music group, So Solid Crew, had performed.Though 39-year old Mr. Kekere-Ekun, who goes by several aliases like Adebayo Dalvin James Ekun, Adeba Yo Kekere-Ekun, Adeba Yo Muta Lito Kekere-Ekun, James Dalvin, James Adebayo, had initially pleaded guilty to the murder charge before the Luton Crown Court, he later fled to Nigeria.
He was, however, arrested in Nigeria in February by the EFCC.
During investigation, it was revealed that Mr. Kekere-Ekun, who was arrested for fraud, was on the wanted list of the United Kingdom Police. Consequently, an extradition notice signed by the then Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, was served on him by the EFCC. He was finally extradited to the United Kingdom, where he reportedly admitted to the killing.
Before his conviction Monday, seven of the gang members had been convicted in 2002 and 2003 for their part in Mr. Hall’s murder, but two convictions were later quashed.
Revealing how he was traced, the Bedfordshire Police said he was identified in CCTV footage of the attack, where he was wearing a distinctive checked coat.
Upon discovery of a flyer for the shop found by the Bedfordshire Police during a raid on his home, detectives went to a designer clothes store in London, where it was discovered that the jacket was one of only nine sold in the United Kingdom and the convict was listed as one of the buyers.
After the sentencing, Mr. Hall’s mother, Icelyn Wilson, in a statement issued through the Bedfordshire Police, was quoted to have said, ‘‘My son’s death still hurts as if it had happened yesterday and I will never get over it. You did not just ruin one life, you left a ‘ripple effect’ which has impacted on everyone involved in my son, Marcus’ life.”
I have declared my assets 4 times - President Buhari
“I recall that in 1975 when late Murtala Mohammed became the Head of State, we were lined up - governors, ministers, members of the Supreme Military Council. Officials of Ministry of Justice were brought and every individual was made to declare his assets. All Heads of States and Government, governors, ministers, permanent secretaries have to declare their assets because it is a constitutional requirement.
I have declared my assets four times. When I was governor in 1975, I declared. After being Minister of Petroleum and as a member of Supreme Military Council, I declared. When I was Head of State and now as a President, I have also declared" he told journalist at his joint press conference with Ghanaian president John Mahama.
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