Pope Benedict XVI's resignation explained

In an unexpected move, Pope Benedict XVI -- born Joseph Ratzinger -- has announced that he is to resign. Benedict was elected pope in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II. We explore what the surprise announcement means for the Catholic Church.

 

 

Why has Pope Benedict XVI resigned?

In his statement, Pope Benedict -- who turns 86 in April -- said he had come to the certainty "that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry."

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Pope Benedict had the right and potentially the duty to resign.

But he stressed that the pope's decision was not because of any external pressure.

 

Is the pope in poor health?

Lombardi told reporters the pope was not unwell.

"There isn't any disease specifically -- it's all to do with deterioration and weakness in his body, as the holy pontiff has said in his statement," he said.

Lombardi said the battery in the pope's pacemaker -- which he has had since he was a cardinal -- had been replaced in the last few months, but he stressed that it was a routine procedure.

When will he step down?

The pope said that he would step down at 8:00 p.m. on February 28, Rome time.

Lombardi said as far has he knew, the day was "just an ordinary day" without particular significance but that Pope Benedict might have chosen it to ensure a new pope was in place for Easter.

He said he understood the pope usually finished his working day at 8:00 p.m. which was why he had chosen that specific hour to step down.

Is it normal for popes to resign?

It is the first time a pope has resigned in nearly 600 years.

The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415. He stepped down to end the "Great Western Schism" -- during which there were rival claims to the papal throne.

In 1294, Pope Celestine V resigned after only five months, preferring the simple life of a monk to the majesty of being pope.

According to the National Catholic Weekly, modern popes have felt that resignation is unacceptable and could encourage factions within the church to pressure pontiffs to step down.

Canon law states that a resignation must be made freely and properly manifested and that the pope resigning must be of sound mind.

When will the next pope be elected?

A meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect the next pope will be held. The gathering is known as a "conclave."

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said there would be elections some time in March and he anticipated that there would be a new pope before Easter.

Lombardi said Vatican scholars were studying the constitution to determine exactly when the conclave would begin.

What is the election process?

By law, the conclave begins in the Sistine Chapel. On that morning, the cardinals will celebrate the Votive Mass, "Pro Eligendo Papa." That afternoon, the cardinals begin the election process.

The cardinals draw lots to select three members to collect ballots from the infirm, three "tellers" to count the votes and three others to review the results.

Blank ballots are then prepared and distributed. The ballots are rectangular in shape and must bear in the upper half, in print if possible, the words "Eligo in Summum Pontificem," meaning "I elect as supreme pontiff." The electors write the name of the candidate on the lower half and fold it in two.

After writing the name of one man on his ballot, each of the active cardinals -- those under 80 years of age -- walks to an altar in order of seniority and pledges to perform his duty with integrity. Each cardinal then places a folded ballot containing his choice onto a small disc made of precious metal and drop it inside a chalice.

After all votes are cast, the tellers tally the ballots and the result is read to the cardinals. If a cardinal receives two-thirds plus one of the votes, he is the new pontiff.

If there is no winner, another vote is taken. If there is still no winner, two more votes are scheduled for the afternoon.

How is the result of the vote broadcast?

After the votes are counted each time, the ballots are burned. If there has been no winner, a chemical is mixed with the ballots to produce black smoke when they are burned.

Sight of the black smoke emerging from the roof of the Vatican Palace tells those waiting in St. Peter's Square that a pope has not yet been selected.

When a winner has been selected, the ballots are burned alone, and the white smoke indicates there is a new pope.

What do you think of the Pope's decision?

What will the pope do until he officially steps down?

Lombardi said the pope's appointments up until the end of February -- including audiences with the presidents of Romania and Guatemala -- had been confirmed.

On February 27, the pope's last general audience will take place. Lombardi said the Vatican was trying to arrange for it to be held in St Peter's square so that more people could attend and "to make it a sort of tribute to the holy pontiff."

 

CNN

Jubilation In Enugu As Gov.Chime Returns

Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, yesterday, returned to a tumultuous reception in Enugu after his extended vacation abroad.


Chime, who wore dark glasses and acknowledged cheers from the crowd that gathered at Akanu Ibiam airport, Enugu, did not speak with newsmen who were anxious to have his message to the people he left behind for about five months.

Hundreds of Enugu people including state government and local government officials converged at the airport and after receiving him at the airport, they escorted him in a long convoy to the Government House.

The Governor who had arrived Abuja, Wednesday from London, touched down at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu around 3.pm yesterday amid cheers from the crowd of enthusiastic citizens who had thronged the airport since morning to welcome him.

He was welcomed on arrival by the Acting Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi accompanied by his wife, Nneka, national and state House of Assembly members and other top government officials.

Spotting a cream white jacket, blue stripped shirt and a pair of black trousers, Chime acknowledged cheers from the ecstatic crowd that included many federal and state legislators, traditional rulers and top government officials before being driven to the Governor’s Lodge.

Another huge crowd of singing and dancing people was at hand at the Lodge, where Governor Chime and his wife, Clara took time to receive many guests. It was also celebration galore on the streets of Enugu as soon as news filtered in that the governor had arrived the CoalCity, with the people chanting victory songs. His return finally marked the end of his absence as the excited residents heaved sighs of relief.

vanguard

Rugby Sevens in Las Vegas this weekend... Watch video clips of highlights!

England, which won last weekend's Wellington Sevens in New Zealand, lost both its opening matches to Fiji and Portugal. Kenya, which lost the Wellington final to England, lost to Canada and narrowly beat Uruguay....

Wellington Cup champions England lost both their matches - to Fiji and Portugal - on the opening day at the USA Sevens in Las Vegas.

Four teams - defending champions Samoa, Fiji, South Africa and New Zealand - have won both of their matches to lead the way, but the Cup quarters remain wide open with the final pool games still to be played on Saturday.

On another competitive day results at the Sam Boyd Stadium have left all 16 teams still capable of qualifying for the Cup quarter-finals on day two.

If three teams are level on competition points at the end of the pool stages, the team with the highest points difference will go through to the Cup quarters.

 Kenya - who were edged out by England in the Cup final in Wellington - lost to Canada and only narrowly beat Uruguay.

Spain bounced back from an opening defeat to defending champions Samoa to produce a remarkable performance and beat Australia, ending their impressive run which had yielded nine wins in their last 10 matches.

Day Two Pool fixtures:
Fiji v Portugal
Canada v Uruguay
France v Wales
Samoa v Australia
England v Scotland
Kenya v South Africa
New Zealand v Argentina
Spain v United States
Click below to watch video:

 

Pool A (England, Scotland, Fiji, Portugal)

Fiji, who will be without both their suspended captain Setefano Cakau and Manueli Lagai for the remainder of the tournament, won both of their opening matches on day one of the USA Sevens at the Sam Boyd Stadium, narrowly holding on to a 14-12 victory against Scotland, with Russell Weir narrowly missing a last-minute penalty drop goal.

England, last week's champions, lost both of their opening matches, against Fiji 26-17 with two tries from Samisoni Viriviri and Portugal, 21-5.

Scotland beat Portugal in their first match, with Mark Robertson and Michael Fedo scoring the tries and Colin Gregor's touchline conversion proving decisive.

All three teams, however, are still in with a chance of reaching the Cup competition depending on results on day two.


Pool B (Kenya, South Africa, Canada, Uruguay)

South Africa became the second side to end day one with a 100% record, adding a 17-5 victory against Canada to an impressive 45-0 victory against the only non-core side competing in Las Vegas, Uruguay.

Canada defeated Kenya early on, which meant both of the Hertz Sevens finalists lost their opening matches. Sean Duke crossed for his 22nd try of the Series with Nanyak Dala and Jeffery Hassler scoring Canada's other tries.

Mike Friday's Kenyans bounced back from their opening defeat, riding their luck to come from 7-5 down and inflict a second defeat on Uruguay, Biko Adema benefiting from smart work by Oscar Ayodi.


Pool C (New Zealand, Argentina, France, Wales)

New Zealand also won both of their two matches on day one, conceding just five points in the process.

Belgium Tuatagaloa helped the reigning Series champions beat France 21-0 with two of their three tries before they beat Wales 40-5 with Ben Lam crossing for a hat-trick.

Reigning Rugby World Cup Sevens champions Wales beat Argentina in a rematch of that 2009 final in Dubai 17-7 in their first match of the USA Sevens.

Javier Rojas secured a 14-12 victory for Argentina against France, Los Pumas' first win of the day, and Les Bleus' second defeat. Both sides can still reach the Cup quarters.

Pool D (Samoa, Australia, Spain, USA)

Defending champions Samoa maintained a 100% record on day one, beating hosts USA and Spain.

They came from 12-0 behind to beat Spain 19-12, with captain Afa Aiono scoring the winning try under the posts to the delight of the crowd at the Sam Boyd Stadium, before Levi Asifa'amatala and Reupena Levasa scored the tries against USA.

Spain bounced back to defeat Australia 24-14 to bring an end to an impressive run from Michael O'Connor's side, who had won nine of their previous 10 matches.

The hosts USA lost their opening match to Australia 26-7, although they too can still make it to the Cup tomorrow if they beat Spain and points difference goes their way.


Results:

Samoa 12 - 7 United States
Australia 14 - 24 Spain
Argentina 14 - 12 France
New Zealand 40 - 5 Wales
South Africa 17 - 5 Canada
Kenya 12 - 7 Uruguay
Scotland 12 - 14 Fiji
England 5 - 21 Portugal
Australia 26 - 7 United States
Samoa 19 - 12 Spain
Argentina 7 - 17 Wales
New Zealand 21 - 0 France
South Africa 45 - 0 Uruguay
Kenya 12 - 19 Canada
Scotland 12 - 10 Portugal
England 17 - 26 Fiji

With thanks to the IRB

On The Newly "Revived" Nigerian Railway.... A Train Ride Of Hell

caption: Passenger laying and sleeping on the ground

 

 

By Abdulrazaq O Hamzat via Sahara Reporters 

When the railway first begun its operation some years ago, I was in Kwara state and noticed the train attracted so much attention due to the kind of publicity given to it by the then governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki. The governor at the time ensures there is so much awareness about the functioning of the railway, which attracted so many citizens including my humble self.

After hearing so much of the train’s activities, yours truly decided to catch the train from Ilorin to Lagos to assess its operations. When I did, the trip took us between 12 to 13 hours to reach Lagos from Ilorin. Though, the experience was not that disappointing, except for the delay and the state of the railway coaches, which were not in good shapes.

From experience, every newly introduced system needs time to develop, but in all, I gave the railway a 25% pass mark at that time which I believe can be improved upon with time and commitment from the government and management of the railway cooperation.

Fast track to 2012, The Minister of information, Mr. Labaran Maku during his good governance tour made a lot of fascinating remarks about the railway, boasting about its improved state, efficiency and confortability which gave the majority of Nigerians the impression that the railway is another paradise of achievement in the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. But in order to evaluate the government rightly in its transformation, I decided to take another trip via the train to have a first-hand information on what has improved since my last trip to verify the authenticity of the claims of the honourable minister.

I decided to travel via the train, although I have my worries because In recent times, I have read so many false claims by the government and based on this some misinformation without any corresponding reality when investigated, I ensured the trip was not for any business purpose, but just fun.

River Thames Afican Torso Case Boy 'identified'

The boy's torso was found near Tower Bridge in 2001

 

A murdered African boy whose torso was found in the River Thames in 2001 and whose identity has remained a mystery has been named by a key witness.

Former Glasgow resident Joyce Osagiede, who now lives in Nigeria, told BBC News the boy's name was Patrick Erhabor.

She claims she looked after him when she lived in Germany before he was trafficked into the UK.

Detectives - who named the boy "Adam" - believe he was murdered as part of a ritual sacrifice.

Adam's torso was found on 21 September 2001 near Tower Bridge in central London.

His arms, legs and head had been expertly cut off.

No-one has been charged with the murder.

Forensic tests showed he was from the Benin City area of Nigeria.

'Rituals' video:

 

A tip-off led to Joyce Osagiede who, in 2002, was living in Glasgow.

Officers thought she was involved in some way, but due to a lack of evidence and doubts about her mental state she was deported to Nigeria.

 

Joyce Osagiede (pictured above) says that, in Germany, she handed the boy over to a man who took him to the UK

But last year Ms Osagiede contacted BBC News and said she was now prepared to reveal everything she knew about the case.

A BBC team travelled to her home in Benin City in southern Nigeria, together with Nick Chalmers, a former detective who worked on the Adam investigation.

Ms Osagiede told the BBC she looked after the boy in the weeks before he was trafficked to London and then murdered.

For the first time she revealed what she claimed was his real name.

She said he was called Patrick Erhabor - and that his mother's surname was Oghogho - and she claimed the child was brought to her when she lived in Germany.

In the past, she has told officers she then handed the boy over to a man she called "Bawa" who took him to the UK.

Now, for the first time, she has identified "Bawa" as Kingsley Ojo - a bogus asylum seeker who first came to London in 1997.

 

Kingsley Ojo (pictured above) has always insisted he had nothing to do with the killing
"Bawa is called Kingsley," she says.

There is no evidence Kingsley Ojo was involved in the murder or that he knew what would happen to the boy.

Ms Osagiede says he took Adam from her and took him to the UK.

Ojo, who used three different identities, was arrested in London in 2002 by officers investigating the Adam case.

In his flat they found in a plastic bag, a mixture of bone, sand and flecks of gold very similar to a concoction found in the dead boy's stomach.

There was also a video marked "rituals" which showed a B-movie in which an actor cuts off the head of a man.

Ojo said the video and mixture belonged to other people in the house and detectives could not establish a link between him and the Adam case.

In 2004, he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for people smuggling. While in prison he contacted officers and offered to help with the inquiry.

But investigators concluded he was wasting police time and he was deported to Nigeria.

 

Ms Osagiede previously wrongly said the boy in this picture was the dead child

Retired detective Nick Chalmers, who worked on the inquiry for seven years, said Ojo was "someone I've been interested in for a long while - I've always suspected his involvement and now, for the very first time, we have a witness who is saying categorically Kingsley was involved".

Kingsley Ojo refused requests from BBC News for an interview, but he has always insisted he had nothing to do with the killing.

Mr Chalmers said the development with the name given by Ms Osagiede was "really interesting".

But he also recognises she has been unreliable in the past and has psychiatric problems. She is currently taking medication.

In 2011 she identified a photograph discovered by the police - and shown to her by a journalist - as the dead boy and said his name was "Ikpomwosa".

Ms Osagiede now says that was all a misunderstanding and reveals the picture is "Danny, my friend Tina's son, he lives in Germany".

She says it was taken during a party in her old flat in Hamburg.

We travelled to Hamburg to find out if she was telling the truth about the photo and tracked down Danny.

Angus Crawford travelled to Germany and tracked down the boy in the photograph.

He immediately recognised the photo but was surprised to hear it had been used by newspapers and TV news around the world.

"You said that I was already on TV and I didn't know it," he said.

We located Ms Osagiede's old flat on the other side of the city where she looked after the boy she calls Patrick.

There we met a man who saw the child.

"The boy was running around, he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt and he was jumping all over this couch that they had and drawing on it," he said.

The BBC shared what it had learned with the Metropolitan Police.

A spokesman for the Met said "the investigation remains on-going and any new information provided to the team will be thoroughly investigated".

Anyone with any information should call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

BBC