Sunday, May 18, 2014

National Hero: 15-Year-Old Boy RESCUES Two Girls From Boko Haram


Baba Goni
Their faces scratched and bleeding, the pitiful remains of their once-smart school uniforms ripped and filthy, the two teenage girls were tethered to trees, wrists bound with rope and left in a clearing in the Nigerian bush to die by Islamist terror group Boko Haram.
Despite having been raped and dragged through the bush, they were alive – but only just – in the sweltering tropical heat and humidity.
This grim scene was discovered by 15-year-old Baba Goni. ‘They were seated on the ground at the base of the trees, their legs stretched out in front of them – they were hardly conscious,’ says Baba, who acted as a guide for one of the many vigilante teams searching for the Nigerian schoolgirls abducted from their school last month by Boko Haram – and now at the centre of a concerted international campaign for their freedom.
The horrific scene he and his comrades encountered, a week after the kidnap early on April 15, was in thorny scrubland near the village of Ba’ale, an hour’s drive from Chibok, where 276 girls aged 16 to 18 were taken from their boarding school dormitories – with 223 still missing. It was still two weeks before social media campaigns and protests would prick the Western world’s conscience over the abduction.
In the days following their disappearance, rag-tag groups such as Baba’s, scouring the forests in a convoy of Toyota pick-up trucks, were the girls’ only hope.
But hope had already run out for some of the hostages, according to Baba, when his group spoke to the terrified inhabitants of the village where Boko Haram had pitched camp with their captives for three days following the kidnap.
 
The chilling account he received from the villagers, though unconfirmed by official sources, represents the very worst fears of the families of those 223 girls still missing.
Four were dead, they told him, shot by their captors for being ‘stubborn and unco-operative’. They had been hastily buried before the brutish kidnappers moved on.
‘Everyone we spoke to was full of fear,’ said Baba. ‘They didn’t want to come out of their homes. They didn’t want to show us the graves. They just pointed up a track.’
The tiny rural village, halfway between Chibok and Damboa in the besieged state of Borno in Nigeria’s north-east, had been helpless to stop the Boko Haram gang as it swept through on trucks loaded with schoolgirls they had taken at gunpoint before torching their school.
Venturing further up the track, Baba and his fellow vigilantes found the two girls. Baba, the youngest of the group, stayed back as his friends took charge.‘They used my knife to cut through the ropes,’ he said. ‘I heard the girls crying and telling the others that they had been raped, then just left there. They had been with the other girls from Chibok, all taken from the school in the middle of the night by armed men in soldiers’ uniforms.
‘We couldn’t do much for them. They didn’t want to talk to any men. All we could do was to get them into a vehicle and drive them to the security police at Damboa. They didn’t talk, they just held on to each other and cried.’
For Baba, a peasant farmer’s son who has never been out of rural Borno, it was shocking to see young girls defiled and brutalised by the notorious terrorists he knew so well.
But his own life has been full of tragedy and he told how he had ‘seen much worse’ than the horror of that day in the forest clearing.
A bright-eyed Muslim boy from the Kanuri ethnic group, proud of a tribal facial scar and nicknamed ‘Small’ by all who know him because of his short, slim frame, he described a happy childhood with three brothers and two sisters in Kachalla Burari, a collection of mudhouses not far from Chibok.
Without electricity or running water, the children spent their days helping on their father’s subsistence farm, planting maize and beans and millet.
Baba and his friends used home-made catapults to shoot birds and in the rainy season fished in the river with bent hooks. But by his tenth birthday, the scourge of the radical Islamist Boko Haram was creeping up on everyone in Borno State.

Baba and his siblings attended a local madrassa, or religious school, where they learnt the Koran, but he had no formal teaching and cannot read or write to this day.
By 2009, Boko Haram were becoming active in his area, peddling their message of hatred to Christians, but also turning on Muslims they branded as informers. Nigeria’s chaotic military was incapable of defending itself or its citizens.
Baba’s village life came under siege. There were attacks on the Christian population in the region, with bank robberies funding the gang. Disaffected, unemployed youths from local families were recruited and neighbours who once lived in peace now spied on one another.
 
One night as he slept in his family’s mudhouse in the village, the gunmen came door to door, looking for informers. ‘I heard some noise, I woke up and saw men coming through the door, shooting at my uncle who was in the bed beside mine,’ he said. ‘That was the end of my childhood, the end of everything. I saw his body covered in blood, I backed away, and the men turned their guns on me. They grabbed me roughly and took me outside to a pick-up truck.
Baba, telling his story confidently and lucidly, wants to skate over the details of his two hellish years in the Boko Haram camp in Sambisa Forest. Today there are special forces soldiers swarming over the vast nature reserve and circling overhead in surveillance aircraft.
For this slight boy, there was no such worldwide interest as he scurried back and forth at the command of a ruthless gang dug into woodland far from any help or rescue.
He remembers many of them lived with women who had come voluntarily into the camp. He never saw any girls abducted. This latest phenomenon is unknown to him. ‘There were many abducted boys, but no girls,’ he said. ‘We were all scared to death and had to do whatever we were told – fetch water, fetch firewood, clean the weapons.
‘We couldn’t make friends – you didn’t know who to trust. I was made to sleep next to the Boko Haram elders, the senior preachers. I had no special boss in the camp, I was ordered around by everybody’.
The men prayed five times a day yet would leap on their motorbikes and trucks to carry out killing sprees.
‘I knew they had started out as holy men but now I saw them as criminals, loaded with weapons and ammunition,’ he said.
As he got older, he was taught how to use an AK-47, how to strip it down and clean it, and reassemble it.
He could never understand what drove the men. They did not use alcohol or hard drugs, though he sometimes saw them smoking marijuana. They were monsters and he felt convinced they were mad.

‘They were wild, even when they prayed so loudly in groups together, making us join in. They were insane, unpredictable, and always planning their next attack. I never wanted to be one of them.
‘They slept rough every night, just taking shelter under trees in the rainy season,’ he said. ‘We all wore the same afaraja [the Nigerian long shift and trousers] day and night. We washed them when we could. We slept on mats made of palm leaves, out in the open with the trucks all parked nearby, ready for a hasty move if necessary.’
He said the fear, and the endless boredom, were his worst enemies. ‘They made us work hard so it was easy to sleep. I don’t remember crying through homesickness. I think the night when my uncle was killed in front of me did something to my feelings forever. It seems mindless, but I adapted to my life out there.’
Then came the day when he was given a ‘special’ but sickening task. One of the commanders told him he was going on a journey and would be tested for his loyalty to the group.
‘He brought two of his senior men to stand beside me. He said I would be going with them to my family’s home and I would have to shoot and kill my father.’ Baba had no time to plan. He was sandwiched between the two fanatics as they set off on a motorbike for his village home.

‘I pretended I was willing to do the job. I took the ammunition belt I was handed and clung on as we drove through the rough bush. When we were less than a mile from a nearby village, I threw the ammunition belt to the ground and pretended it had slid out of my hands.
‘They stopped to let me pick it up. Instead, I ran as fast as I could through the undergrowth. I didn’t care about thorns or snakes or anything. They shot at me and I could hear the bullets flying past and hitting the trees, but I was not going to stop for anything. I made it to the village and some kind people let me hide there.
‘The shooting would have been heard by local vigilante groups. I think that is why I wasn’t followed by the men on the bike.’
The next day Baba went home. He saw his grieving parents and siblings for the first time in two years.
‘But I couldn’t stay,’ he said. ‘I was bringing danger to their door and we all knew it.’
Confirmation of that came when Baba soon heard that vengeful Boko Haram chiefs had put a bounty on his head for his defiance of the equivalent of £12,000 – a fortune in the local economy.
‘I took a bus to Damboa, to report to the youth vigilante group,’ he said. ‘I wanted to work with them and I knew I was doing the right thing.’

His family, terrified, abandoned their home soon afterwards and today live in a remote part of Borno, rarely seeing their eldest son. He lives with a cousin who is also under a Boko Haram death threat.
He became a valuable volunteer with the vigilantes. He helps man checkpoints where Baba points out members of Boko Haram to the rest of the team.
But he was soon exposed to brutality of a different kind – this time from the government side. He helped to get one of his captors, a man he only knew as Alaji, arrested and handed to the soldiers.
‘It felt good at first, but then they shot him dead right in front of me,’ he said.
Now joining the patrols armed with a shotgun and machete, Baba has been able to give valuable intelligence to the Nigerian authorities about Boko Haram’s way of life in their camps.
‘By now I have seen this violence many times. It never gets better. It will always be an even worse sight than finding those poor schoolgirls in the forest,’ he says.
READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/66548.html

News/ Shirtless Justin Bieber Parties With Paris Hilton in Cannes, Leave Nightclub Together

Justin Bieber Dave M. Benett/VF14/WireImage/AKM-GSI
Paris Hilton is officially a…cougar!
The hotel heiress was spotted partying in Cannes last night at Busta Rhymes' birthday party at Gotha Nightclub with Justin Bieber.
Hilton didn't let their age difference (she's 33, he's 20) get in the way of some playful coziness with a shirtless Bieber—she hopped into his lap while he was sitting on a throne. We wonder what Hilton's most recent boyfriend, 22-year-old model River Viiperi will think about that.
Before Bieber and Hilton left the club together (is it too early to call them "Jaris"?) with an entourage surrounding them, Biebs got on the mic to wish Rhymes a "happy birthday."
NEWS: Drake Bell slams Justin Bieber (again) over alleged robbery
Paris Hilton AKM-GSI
And one point, a very wobbly Biebster was throwing ice into the crowd, a source reports.
Bieber first popped up in the South of France earlier in the evening when he made a surprise appearance at the Vanity Fair and Armani party at Hotel du Cap.
"He was with two guys," a source told me. "People were a little surprised when they saw him because it was like, 'What is he doing here?'"
A source confirms that Jennifer Lawrence wanted to meet him, but when the Oscar winner did, she declined taking a photo with the Biebs because she just wanted it to be "normal" when meeting him.

Delta Council Chairman, His Thugs Beat Up Vanguard Journalist [PICTURED]

Vanguard Senior Photographer, Comrade Akpokona Omafuaire, on Saturday narrowly escaped death from the hands of the transition committee chairman of the Udu local government area, in the Delta State, Mr. Raymond Edijala and his thugs, when they threw caution to the winds and physically gave him the beating of his life.

The physical assault was witnessed by Journalists, and the state commissioner for Environment, Mr. Frank Omare. Several other persons witnessed the assault that occurred during the special environmental sanitation exercise by the state special sanitation committee at Ovwian community.

The severe attack, which lasted several minutes, took the intervention of the environment commissioner and Journalists, to save the life of Omafuaire, who was mercilessly beaten with clubs and other instruments.

In telling his story to SaharaReporters, Omafuaire, who is the secretary of the NUJ Warri Correspondents Chapel said, “I was in the company of other journalists, along with the committee leadership, to see the level of compliance, (and) when we got to Udu, residents were complaining that the council chairman (Edijala) was carrying out selective illegal caravan destruction and Omare ordered that all illegal structures there be pulled down against the wishes of Edijala.

“As I was chatting with a colleague that the state government is ready to crush all illegal structures, Edijala directed his attention on me heavily, with an objection saying, ‘who are you? What are you saying? This is my council, get out here now,”
Omafuaire to a SaharaReporters correspondent.

“Before I could say Jack Robinson, he seized me, called me idiot, foolish, and shoved me, (saying) that I must go back, all my efforts to explain (what I was doing there) fell on deaf ears. Next thing I saw, he seized an iron rake, and made to shatter my head, a colleague seized it from him, and the next thing I saw, was his political thugs. (They) pounced on me severely, threatening that they will kill me if they see me in Udu again.

“Edijala boasted that he don’t want to ever see me in Udu again. At this point, the environment commissioner, Omare,  his transportation counterpart, Mr. Ben Igbakpa, the chairman, waste management board, Comrade Olori Magege, and Comrade Michael Ikeogwu, NUJ Warri Chairman, and others, battled hard (with them) to extricate me from their holds. The timely intervention of Omare, military, journalists, and others (present) that saved me, as the thugs gathered to wreck havoc.” Omafuaire stated to us.

Meanwhile, the NUJ Warri Correspondents Chapel Chairman, Comrade Michael Ikeogwu, and Comrade Felix Eku, DBS NUJ Chairman, in a joint statement, condemned in its entirety what the union described as (an) “unwarranted attack on its member.”

“We condemn the unwarranted attack on our colleague, who never did any harm, but was on lawful duty. It is unheard of that a council chairman, could condescend (and behave) to this level. We will take the issue up and pursue it to a logical conclusion, because it was an unfortunate one. Most especially, the threat that he should not be seen in Udu again. We will not fold our hands and allow this unwholesome attitude of Edijala to stand,” the statement read in part.

"Who knows what would have happened if Omare, and others, were not there? The thugs were ready to do any harm just to please their master. We are really surprised that a council chairman could display such unacceptable behavior, to the glare of thousands of people who were watching.”

It would be recalled that it was Edijala who is said to have been extorting money from an illegal structure of owners before the exercise, and had fought a member of the special sanitation committee last week, due to his selective handling of the removal of illegal structures.

As at the time of filing this report, Omafuaire had been taken to an undisclosed hospital for the treatment of his injuries sustained in the assault.

Suspected Boko Haram Rebels Attack Chinese Work Site In Cameroon

YAOUNDE — Suspected Boko Haram rebels from Nigeria attacked a Chinese work site in northern Cameroon on Friday and at least 10 people are believed to have been kidnapped, the regional governor said on Saturday.

The Chinese embassy in Yaounde confirmed the attack at a site near the town of Waza, 12 miles from the Nigerian border close to the Sambisa forest, a Boko Haram stronghold.

The Islamist group kidnapped more than 200 girls from a school on the Nigerian side of the border last month and Nigerian troops backed by foreign units are searching the area around the forest for them.

Friday's incident began when power was cut in the evening. A five-hour gunfight followed, a guard at the Waza National Park told Reuters.

The governor of Far North Region, Augustine Fonka Awa, said he believed Boko Haram had carried out the attack. Authorities are investigating reports that at least one Cameroon soldier was killed and 10 people were abducted, he said.

The Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted Chinese officials as saying one person was injured.

The Chinese embassy suspended visits to the area.

Boko Haram has staged several attacks in northern Cameroon during its five-year fight to set up an Islamist state.

West African leaders were meeting in Paris on Saturday to improve cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram and other militant groups.

Nigerian authorities say Cameroon has not done enough to secure its border because Boko Haram has been using the sparsely populated Far North region as a transit route for weapons and as a rear base for attacks in northeastern Nigeria.

Cameroon said in March it would send 700 soldiers to its northeastern border as part of regional efforts to tackle the armed group.

— Reuters

Another Nollywood Actress died

The Nigerian movie industry called Nollywood, has been thrown into mourning yet again as another veteran actress, Margaret Umanah, died few days ago in a ghastly motor accident along the Lagos-Benin Expressway.

Margaret, who was one of the biggest actresses in the South-East, was based in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, and was a very popular and active member in the industry
and would be remembered for her roles in some Ibibio indigenous movies like ‘Eka Abasi’, a blockbuster epic local movie.

According to foremost movie producer and director in the state, Moses Eskor, a condolence meeting has be held in her honour .
Margaret Umanah’s death brings to five, the number of movie practitioners who have died since the beginning of this year.

May her soul rest in peace…..

Boko Haram Threatens To Invade School In Makurdi, Abduct Male Students Who Will Marry Chibok Girls


While Nigerians and the international community are clamouring for the release of over 200 girls abducted in Chibok local government, Borno state on April 14 2014, the dreaded terrorist sect Boko Haram has  threatened to carry out a similar attack, but this time around abduct boys.
Read how PM News reports it below:
The Principal of Government College, Makurdi, Godfrey Ugudu, on Saturday said the school had received letter from Boko Haram sect threatening to attack the school.
Ugudu, who announced this at a news conference in Makurdi on Saturday, added that the school received two letters which had the same content on 14 May.
“It is true that we saw two letters informing us of the intention of the sect to invade our school on Friday or Monday by Boko Haram.
“The letters were dated May 14, 2014, stating that they were coming either of the two days to abduct our boys whom they would marry to the secondary school girls abducted in Chibok.
“In the letter, we were asked to inform the Mount Saint Gabriel Secondary School opposite us to also get prepared as they promised to invade the place too.’’
“we immediately alerted the police and the Commissioner for Education. A report has been made to the Governor on the issue.
“The two letters, which were written in pidgin English, were sighted inside one of the classrooms and the second one was slipped into the staff room,” he said.
The principal commended the government and security operatives in the state for their prompt response to the issue.
He said that everything had been done to ensure the safety of the school children, adding that he had informed the Principal of Mount Saint Gabriel.
NAN reports that about 500 out of about 700 students of the college are living in the school while Mount Saint Gabriel is purely boarding school.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Dan Ezeala, confirmed the report and assured that police were on top of the situation.

Jim Iyke & Nadia Buari End Their Relationship?


Here is how Ghanacelebrities.com is reporting it;

It took me quite a long time to buy into the speculation that Nadia Buari and Jim Iyke were not only banging mates, but were truly in a relationship. Even when my sources close to Nadia Buari confirmed to me that she was in a real relationship with Jim Iyke, I just couldn’t bring myself to accept this—and always wondered how Nadia Buari was going to handle Jim Iyke’s temper.

I only truly accepted that their relationship was real when my sources at a hotel they both stayed in at East Legon (a place I’ve stayed before) also mentioned that, Jim and Nadia were hiding there in one room—splashing what seems like love all over the place…But that was then!
 
 
READ MORE AFTER THE CUT........................
 
 
 

For those who said the Nadia Buari and Jim Iyke’s relationship was not going to last, I am somehow sorry to say; you were RIGHT. Nadia Buari has ended her relationship with Jim Iyke, citing his bad temper as the main reason, GhanaCelebrities.Com has learnt.

According to our sources close to Nadia Buari, even though the actress tried to cope and handle Jim Iyke’s temper, she felt like she cannot change Jim and there was no point in hanging in there. In fact, our sources mentioned that, Nadia Buari had more arguments and fights with Jim Iyke than any sort of decent conversation…

“The relationship has ended and if you see them together again, then they are trying hard to play the media. She just can’t take his temper anymore so she has ended it. It is not worth it for her and all that she thought Jim could do for her career did not also materialize” one of our sources said.

We are happy that this disproportionate relationship with no sense of direction has come to an end. At least, Nadia Buari can sit down and focus on her career, until she finally meets a man who will treat her like the queen that she is—or else, before she knows, she will be ‘Solanging’ Jim over his temper…
- See more at: http://topeorekoya.blogspot.com/2014/05/jim-iyke-nadia-buari-end-their.html#more

Hilarious new Skit: Basketmouth's girlfriend exposed (watch)


Jay-Z-and-Beyonce-On-The-Run-90
Less than a week after the epic elevator fight that shook the world, it’s business as usual for Beyoncé & Jay Z, the A list couple have a joint US/Canada tour in a few months and to promote it they have just dropped an epic 3 minute minute movie called “RUN” which stars Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, Guillermo Díaz (Huck from Scandal), Emmy Rossum, Jake Gyllenhaal, Blake Lively, Rashida Jones, Kidada Jones, JAY Z, Beyoncé.
The over three minute trailer sees Bey & Jay channel Boonie & Clyde as they rob a bank, handle some heavy duty fire arms and try not to get caught.
I would totally watch this if it was a movie!
Watch the trailer after the jump

Jay-Z-and-Beyonce-On-The-Run-3 Jay-Z-and-Beyonce-On-The-Run

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Music : International Reggae Artiste K.Mosco Feat VTEK "Success Forever


  International Reggae/Pop Artiste K.Mosco Feat VTEK "Success Forever"

Nigerian born young international Reggae/Pop Artiste K.Mosco features
P.Square's producer VTEK on this new song titled "Success Forever"
produced by F.Major. Currently No.8 on major international reggae
charts.

@K_Mosco, @vtekdawesome

On-duty Georgia cop strikes, kills two pedestrians with cruiser

Officer Terry Belvin, 44, hit Quentin Byrd, 21, and Justin Sullivan, 25, as the two crossed Highway 7 in Barnesville, Ga. early Friday. It was Sullivan's birthday, and the two best friends had just run to a convenience store before heading home on foot.

A Barnesville Police Department cruiser hit and killed two young men as they crossed Highway 7 in Barneswille, Georgia. Sandra McDougal lost her son, 21-year old Quentin Byrd (pictured). Byrd's friend, Justin Sullivan, was also killed.  
WSB-TV Atlanta A Barnesville Police Department cruiser hit and killed two young men as they crossed Highway 7 in Barneswille, Georgia. Sandra McDougal lost her son, 21-year old Quentin Byrd (pictured). Byrd's friend, Justin Sullivan, was also killed.
An on-duty Georgia cop plowed his cruiser into two men crossing a dangerous Barnesville intersection, killing them both in the early morning crash Friday.
Justin Sullivan had just turned 25 years old when he and best friend Quentin Byrd, 21, were struck on Highway 7 near Grove Street around 1 a.m. in the town some 60 miles south of Atlanta.
The buddies had just picked up some snacks at a convenience store when they were killed, according to WSB-TV.
“He was just all around a sweet, loving young man,” Byrd’s emotional mother, Sandra McDougal, told the TV station. “There’s nothing that you can say bad about him.”

Officer Terry Belvin, 44, had just stopped searching for a dangerous driver and cut off his overhead lights and sirens just before the fatal crash.
"Before he could respond, they were in front of him and pretty much attempted to swerve around them, but unfortunately they kept going in the same direction,” Barnesville Police Maj. Craig Cooper told WSB.
"He's doing fine physically,” Cooper said of Belvin, who is on administrative leave as Georgia Highway Patrol investigates the deadly wreck. “He's having some struggle dealing with what occurred, of course.”
WSB-TV Atlanta A memorial to a 10-year-old boy who died at the same crossing.
Cars reportedly zip through the intersection, where a decade-old memorial already stands for a 10-year-old boy hit and killed at the same spot.
"I'm never going to know what really happened,” McDougal told the news station. “ just want some closure.”

A memorial to a 10-year-old boy who died at the same crossing.A wrecked police cruiser bears the damage after fatally striking the two young men early Friday. 
 
 
 
A wrecked police cruiser bears the damage after fatally striking the two young men early Friday.
Previous Next
  • The wrecked police cruisers bears the damage after fatally striking the two young men early Friday.
  • The two men grabbed snacks at a convenience store early Friday before crossing back over the street to head home.
  • Sandra McDougal was heartbroked of the loss of her son, Quentin Byrd, 21.
  • The dangerous Barnesville intersection has been the scene of deaths before, neighbors say.
Enlarg
 

Kim And Kanye To Marry Before 100 Guests At Castle In Florence Which Cost $410,000 To Rent


Mail Online can reveal that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's fairytale wedding will take place at a sixteenth century castle in Florence, with a dark history
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s fairytale wedding will take place at a sixteenth century castle in Florence, with a dark history.
The pair will marry next weekend in front of 100 guests at the famous Florentine landmark Forte Belvedere, Kanye’s close friend Italian fashion designer Ermanno Scervino has confirmed.
They were believed to be hosting about 100 guests at a pre-wedding dinner in Paris before flying them to Florence.
Their venue, a fortress built for the ruling Medici family of Florence, is a spectacular setting for their nuptials.
Today, Elisa Di Lupo, a spokeswoman for the Mayor of Florence, confirmed to the Associated Press the couple would wed in Florence next Saturday and revealed they had rented the imposing fort for 300,000 euros ($410,000). She said a a Protestant minister will preside over the nuptials.
The venue has a tragic past, however. Two young people fell from the ramparts in 2006 and 2008, prompting the authorities to close the venue.
It was finally reopened last year and Kanye has been hard at work organizing the surprise wedding for third time bride Kim, Italian friends say.
The rapper also revealed that he chose Florence because their daughter North was conceived there.
Location, location: The rapper revealed he chose Florence because their daughter North was conceived there
The fortress has a chequered history.
It was built in 1590 for the Grand Duke Ferdinando di Medici to protect the city and to demonstrate the power and wealth of the family.
Until the 20th century it was used to garrison troops and then for exhibitions and events.
The sweeping panorama over Florence from above the famous Boboli gardens is among the city’s most breathtaking.
But in 2008 artist and filmmaker Veronica Locatelli fell to her death from the fortress’ bastions in an unexplained tragedy.
The 37-year-old was celebrating her birthday at the bar which was hosting a party to celebrate an exhibition by fashion photographer David La Chapelle.

Historical landmark: Forte Belvedere, where Kim and Kanye plan to marry next weekend, was built in 1590 for the Grand Duke Ferdinando di Medici to protect the city and to demonstrate the power and wealth of the family
At she went to greet friends she was spotted by a security guard near the ramparts.
The guard says that he called out to warn her to stay away from the low wall above the gorge, but his efforts were futile.
She slipped and plummeted ten metres, suffering a fatal head trauma.
Just two years before, a 20-year-old visitor from Rome, Luca Raso, who was holidaying with friends in the city fell in the same location. He too died.
The centuries old stronghold was immediately shut for an investigation, and been under restoration works until last summer.
The 36-year-old rapper proposed to the reality star on her 33rd birthday in October 2013, renting out San Francisco's AT&T Park for the occasion.
The venue has a tragic past -  two young people fell from the ramparts in 2006 and 2008, prompting the authorities to close the venue
Arial view of the Castle
This is the first marriage for West, who was previously engaged to designer Alexis Phifer. It's the third trip down the aisle for Kardashian. She was wed to music producer Damon Thomas from 2000 to 2003, and spent 72 days married to professional basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011 after tying the knot in in a lavish ceremony broadcast as a two-part TV special.
Here is wishing Kimye all the best and hoping that the Castle's 'dark history' does not translate to bad luck for them.

Adamawa Villagers Kill At Least 70 Boko Haram Militants Searching For Food

Few days after villagers in Bornu stood up to members of the Bokoharam terrorist sect, Killing about 200 of them, another report has emerged that villagers in Adamawa have followed suit killing about 70 of the insurgents. Read the report by SR below:
Members of a vigilante group in Madagali, a town in Adamawa State, have killed more than 70 Boko Haram members and and handed over seven captured militants to the police.
The vigilantes acted after they were tipped off by a local food vendor that the militants were coming to get food before heading out for a major operation to raid villages in the area, usually carried out at night.
The vigilant group mobilized, laid ambush and waited patiently for the militants, a source in the village disclosed. The source added that as soon as the Islamist insurgents numbering more than 100 showed up in the village to pick up their favorite meals, the vigilantes attacked them, killing most of them in a hail of bullets.
Today's attack is the second time this week that local vigilantes would defeat the rampaging militants. The first time was two days ago when well-armed vigilantes in Kalabalge, Borno State, ambushed a squad of Boko Haram militants.
A security source told reporters that Nigerians resident in many remote areas of the Northeast seem to have decided that the best way to repel incessant attacks by murderous gangs of Boko Haram insurgents was to take matters into their own hands.
A vigilante member involved in today's ambush told our local correspondent that Nigerian soldiers appear unable or unwilling to wage an effective war against the insurgents. "They (soldiers) seem to be helpless and to fear the Boko Haram warriors who terrorize us here. But we are not afraid. They are men like us. And we are tired of folding up our hands and allowing them to kill us, to kill our wives and to kill our children."

Many Nigerian artistes lead fake lives' – Duncan Mighty


In an interview with Punch published today, Port Harcourt first son, Duncan Mighty, called some of his colleagues out, saying a lot of them lead fake lives and lie about their acquisition...
“A lot of Nigerian artistes’ lead fake lives. They claim to be what they are not, just because they want to meet up their peers and fellow artistes. I live in my own house (it has a swimming pool, lounge and studio) and I make bold to say I didn’t buy it. I built it from the scratch. But a lot of these artistes will claim they bought a house for N300m or N400m. But I didn’t spend up to that amount to build my house. If you have that amount, say N500m, you don’t go and buy one property. There are many things to do with money. They claim they have state-of-the-art cars, but that is not my priority. I have choice cars, but it takes a lot of money to maintain such cars.”

Man arrested for blackmailing women with their nude videos

32 year old Iweka Nnamdi who claims to be a graduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University has been arrested by the Lagos Police command for allegedly blackmailing and forcefully extortiing money from unsuspecting female victims, Vanguard reports.

Nnamdi used multiple Facebook profiles, where he impersonates notable persons in the society such as the Secretary to the State Government Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, House of Rep Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, Michael Adenuga, actor Van Vicker and a host of others, to deceive unsuspecting victims.
 
Through the fake profiles, the suspect would announce contract advertisement as well as job vacancies to his followers and then invite only the female applicants for a supposed interview at a hotel location where he would pose as the Personal Assistant to the Prominent Nigerian who owns the job or contract. Continue...
Nnamdi in the course of the supposed interview would then demand for sex from these ladies, some of whom may be married. Unknown to those who would agree to his demands, Nnamdi would have setup a camcoder where he would record all their sexual activities and nudity. He would afterwards use the clips from the recorded video to torment his victims, threatening that he would post the video and nude photos on the internet if they don't meet his financial demands.
Luck however ran out on him when he posted the nude pictures of an Enugu state born lady who refused to give him the N20,000 he demanded.

A policeman from Area J in Ajah Lagos, explained;
"The suspect met a female banker (names withheld)on facebook where he posed as one of the big shots in Nigeria. After chatting with her for sometime, he invited her to a hotel in Ajah on March 14, 2014, where he slept with her . Unknown to the lady, a camp coder was placed in a corner of the hotel room, where all that transpired was recorded. He later abandoned the lady while she was sleeping. Next day, the lady called him on the phone, saying she was no longer interested in the relationship. But Iweka would not agree. Rather, he sent her his GTB account details asking her to pay in some money which she refused. But to her chagrin, Iweka posted her nude picture on internet , on April 15, 2014,which prompted her to report the case to the Police. We used the lady as a bait to get him by asking her to call him on the phone and book for an appointment with him in a hotel at Ikota in order to settle the case. And when he came we apprehended him. During investigation, we discovered he is not in any way related to any of these persons he claimed to represent. When we conducted a search in an apartment at Road 34, Ikota villa estate in Ajah, where he squats with his elder sister’s husband, we found the laptop he uses for these atrocities. Stored in, were video of several women in their nude, including that of the banker. We also found black berry phones with same pictures stored in. During interrogation, he said he only used such means to get beautiful ladies and also make some money. His victims included bankers, students in the different universities and married women. For the married women, he tells them to bid for contracts. From our acount, he has destroyed about fourteen marriages, by posting pictures of the women who turned down his blackmail, on the internet”
Iweaka has been charged to court on an eight- count charge ranging from impersonation, publication of provocative pictures, threat to life, conduct likely to cause the breach of peace, obtaining under false pretense and threat with intent to extort. The first hearing for his case was heard on April 28th where he pleaded not guilty. He was granted bail of N200,000 with two sureties.The case comes up for hearing again May 26th

Microsoft announces Halo 5 and Steven Spielberg 'Halo' TV series

Say hello to 'Halo 5'
Say hello to 'Halo 5'.
Steven Spielberg's Advice
Halo fans can earn their wings on a new and updated version of the game, but not until November 2015. Microsoft announced of Friday that Halo 5: Guardians will be released 18 short months from now, delivering an Xbox One version of the humans-versus-aliens first-person shooter franchise that's sold more than 50 million copies since the first Halo was released in 2001.
Fall 2015 is also when we'll see the premiere of the live-action "Halo" TV series produced by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. Well, we'll see the "Halo" TV series only if we own an Xbox One. The show is slated to stream as an Xbox One exclusive, just as "House of Cards" is a Netflix exclusive.
But the video game is the big moneymaker in this franchise, and so Halo 5: Guardians will be released in November 2015. Details are sparse for this video game that's still a year and a half away, but Microsoft indicates the action picks up right where 2013's Halo 4 left off.
"I’m happy to reveal that Halo 5: Guardians, the next installment in the legendary saga of the Master Chief, will launch on Xbox One in fall of 2015," 343 Industries manager Bonnie Ross said in a press release. "In the tradition of every Halo game since its debut in 2001, it is a massive and exciting project."
Technically, Halo is produced by 343 Industries. But that company is developed and owned by Microsoft.
There is not much information yet about Halo 5. The cover of the game is seen above, and Halo Waypoint has released one piece of Halo 5 concept art.
This will be the first Halo game for the new Xbox One console, and the upgrades will be significant. The game will run at 60 frames per second, doubling the 30-frames-per-second rate of Halo 4.
"Making a Halo game that runs at 60 frames per second, on dedicated servers, with the scope, features and scale we’ve been dreaming of for more than a decade, is non-trivial," Ross said, explaining why the game won't be out for another year and a half.
We already knew that Spielberg would produce the "Halo" TV series, but we now know that's not coming until 2015. The project was rumored to be going to the premium channel Showtime, but no deal has materialized. The "Halo" TV series currently looks to remain an Xbox One exclusive,
There will surely be more Halo 5 news forthcoming at the E3 Expo in early June.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Game Review: 5 Video Game Monsters That Could Take On Godzilla


5 Gaming Monsters That Could Take on Godzilla

Now that Godzilla is set to demolish box offices the world over, there doesn't appear to be any real threat to the gargantuan iguana's supremacy. While monsters try to thwart the reptile in his latest movie, we're already dreaming up some combatants from video games that could toe-to-toe with what is arguably the greatest kaiju of all time.

Securing victory over Godzilla is far from an easy feat, but we've compiled a list of five iconic gaming beasts that stand the best odds of defeating Toho's legendary monster. While it's possible, if not likely, that the jolly green lizard could defeat each and every participant on this list (he is Godzilla after all), there's no question that we'd buy front row tickets to see a battle royale go down between any of these warriors.

Without further ado, here's�Game Rant's list of 5 gaming monsters that could take on Godzilla.
 
 
(5 of 5)

Kraid

Origins: Metroid

One of the largest enemies from Metroid mythos, Kraid is a towering alien with reptilian features. He pales in comparison to sheer size of Godzilla, but this foe has one distinct advantage over the king of all monsters: he's very intelligent. Running with a band of space pirates, alongside Samus Aran's arch-enemy Ridley, Kraid is often thought to be one of the main leaders behind the troubling gang.

Capable of shooting spikes from three holes on his belly and launching harpoon-like boomerangs from his fingertips, this is one foe that even Samus herself doesn't take lightly. Kraid also has a pesky habit of growing larger every time Nintendo's favorite bounty hunter encounters him. His intelligence, coupled with an array of nasty weapons and ever-changing size, would make him a good foe for Godzilla.
 
 
(4 of 5)

Deathwing

Origins: World of Warcraft

Many MMO aficionados will remember Deathwing as the beast that turned Azaroth on its head in World of Warcraft. After reemerging, the dragon unleashed a fury upon the world that instantly changed its entire landscape, and the realm is still dealing with the ramifications of the monster's appearance. Sounds kind of like another, more Japan-based monster that wreaks havoc wherever he goes, doesn't it?

Deathwing is also capable of withstanding extreme temperatures (such as the inside of a volcano), which puts him in a prime position when it comes to the heat emitted from Godzilla's atomic breath. We're sure someone in the comments will point out that the ramifications of the heat radiating from lava and that of nuclear reactions are completely different, but we'd like to completely overlook that and point out the fact that Deathwing can also fly. Enough said.
 
(3 of 5)

Leviathan

Origins: Resistance

Making his debut in Insomniac Games' Resistance 2, the Leviathan instantly became one of the most iconic baddies to rear its head in the series. Composed entirely out of the genetically altered remains of countless human bodies, the background story on this beast is the farthest thing from PG-13. The Chimera don't mess around, but could this monstrosity take on Godzilla? We'd imagine so.

Measured in at roughly 300 feet tall, the Leviathan certainly has the girth to give Godzilla a run for his money. Aside from the fact that it's taller than a majority of the buildings placed within Chicago, it's also rocking a bullet-proof hide and razor-sharp teeth. It's hard not to imagine Godzilla taking on the Chimera's Leviathan in a bid for dominance, and it's one combatant that would make an interesting competitor for the fabled crown.
 
 
(2 of 5)

Crono

Origins: God of War

Better known as the father of Zeus in Greek mythology, Cronos was a massive obstacle that Kratos eventually defeated in God of War 3. While the Titan may have lost out to the God of War, he may be able to stand his ground with an entirely different breed of god. He's also much more intelligent than the average Godzilla baddie, which could give him the edge in combat against the monster.

Forced to carry a mountain on his back, Cronos is far from a tiny enemy and while specifics pertaining to his exact size vary, even his in-game stature makes it seem like the behemoth would tower over Godzilla. Unlike many of the reptile's other foes, however, Cronos is susceptible to being damaged by simple weapons such as swords. Taking Godzilla's bomb-proof hide and atomic breath into consideration, this all but ensures that a good battle between the legends would ensue.
 
(1 of 5)

The Colossi

Origins: Shadow of the Colossus

Much like the alternate reality that Godzilla inhabits, the world of Shadow of the Colossus is absolutely covered with battle-hungry behemoths. Towering over the main protagonist, Wander, these colossi pose a big enough challenge to dismantle when it's just one-on-one, but it becomes a nearly impossible task when learning that there are 16 of these things wandering around.

It's hard to pick just one of these lumbering giants to take on Godzilla, so why can't the beast go on a hunt to destroy all of these monsters? Each varies drastically from one another, which would make for some interesting battles (or at least montages) featuring the world's most popular kaiju. Forget glowing weak points, Godzilla could unleash carnage upon a colossus from any and every angle – but the same can be said for those colossi on Godzilla.
 
 

Game Review : Call of Duty Almost Had a Vietnamese Horror Entry - News

 
Call of Duty almost went down the route of a third person shooter with horror elements, but the idea was thrown out of the window in favour of the team helping to complete Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Sledgehammer Games' co-founder Glen Schofield said:
"We were definitely getting some Dead Space moments. I don't mean that from sci-fi, I mean that was a war that was scary for the [American soldiers]. They didn't know if in the jungle there was a booby trap, or what was in those tunnels. And there were thousands of miles of tunnel underground. It was a hidden war."

Fellow founder Michael Condrey revealed why the project was cancelled:
"Let's be frank, Infinity Ward was going through some transition. We were growing with a triple-A team here, and the chance to work on the biggest game at that time and this fiction and space was super exciting for us."
Would you have preferred that to Modern Warfare 3, or even the newly-announced Advanced Warfare, or would it have made no difference to you either way?

Beyonce, Jay Z, & Solange Release Joint Statement About Elevator Attack - Read Full Statement Here!


Beyonce, Jay Z, & Solange Release Joint Statement About Elevator Attack - Read Full Statement Here! 

Beyonce, Jay Z, and Solange Knowles have released a statement explaining the situation that occurred where Jay Z was attacked by Solange.
“As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage from Monday, May 5th, there has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident. But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it,” the statement read (via AP). “Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred. They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family.”
“The reports of Solange being intoxicated or displaying erratic behavior throughout that evening are simply false,” the statement continued. “At the end of the day families have problems and we’re no different. We love each other and above all we are family. We’ve put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same.”
See the video of Solange beating up on Jay Z after the 2014 Met Ball.
WHAT DO YOU THINK of the statement??

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