Britain Apologizes and Pays Compensation for Colonial Abuses in Kenya

Njenga Kiarie, a Mau Mau War Veterans Association member, follows proceedings during news conference, Nairobi, June 6, 2013.

 

LONDON

— Britain has apologized and agreed to pay compensation to thousands of veterans of the Mau Mau nationalist uprising in Kenya, which was brutally suppressed by the British colonial government in the 1950s.  It could pave the way for further claims against Britain for its actions in its former colonies.

The uprising by Mau Mau nationalists in 1950s Kenya was brutally suppressed by the British colonial government.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission estimates that 90,000 Kenyans were killed or maimed and 160,000 detained.  Torture and rape were common.

More than 50 years later, British Foreign Secretary William Hague has apologized and agreed to pay compensation.

“The agreement includes payment of a settlement sum in respect of 5,228 claimants, as well as a gross costs sum to the total value of 19.9 million pounds [US $30.8 million].  The government will also support the construction of a memorial in Nairobi to the victims of torture and ill treatment during the colonial era," he said.

In Kenya, Mau Mau veterans and campaigners celebrated the apology but said the compensation was far from enough.  General Gitu Wa Kahengeri is secretary of the Mau Mau Veterans.

“We were detained for 10 years.  I was detained for seven years with my father, who raised me. So the issue of 300,000 shillings [US $3,500] is far from the amount that I should have been paid or my father or anyone else who was there during the fight," he said.

The deal was reached after a court ruled last year that three elderly Mau Mau veterans who suffered castration, rape and beatings could sue the government.

The lawyer representing the Mau Mau, Martyn Day, said it’s been a history lesson for Britain.

“Post World War II, the mood of everybody was that the Germans and the Japanese did absolutely terrible things to people and we were a cut above.  I think the first lesson is that in fact we have done just as bad things at times,” said Day.

Britain had tried for three years to block the legal action, arguing that responsibility passed to Kenya upon its independence in 1963, and that the claim was brought after the legal time limit.  Both arguments were rejected in court.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said the way the government fought the legal action was an insult.

“Even the colonial administrators of the time admitted that these abuses were happening.  So I do not understand why in good conscience the British government held out and fought so long and hard to deny this compensation and apology,” he said.

Tatchell said thousands more people were abused under British colonial rule.

“I hope this agreement will now pave the way for an apology and compensation for the victims of British colonial repression in other territories such as Malaya, Aden and Cyprus.  They were subjected to similar abuses and it’s time they got justice,” he said.

The British government says it does not believe the settlement with Mau Mau veterans sets a precedent for other victims of British colonial rule.

 

#voanews

Senator’s Wife Logs On To Husband’s Facebook And Fires A Warning Missile On Female Stalkers

Wife of Republican Alabama State Senator, Shadrack McGill, 38, fired off a warning missile on Facebook on Monday, ordering the women to stay away from her husband or face public shame. Heather McGill logged on to her husband’s Facebook page Monday night to write a post targeted at the women she claims are soliciting her husband, a Republican who has served in the Senate since 2010, for sex.

Here is her Facebook post:

Attention Facebook: This is Heather McGill (senator McGills wife) for anyone that does not know that. This may go viral and if so my prayer is that it strengthens marriages and families across this district, our state, and our country! I am very blessed to be the wife of a God fearing, hard working, ministry minded, loving father and husband and it is not just my right but my duty to lovingly serve him by protecting him! I have been silent for long enough!! NO MORE! Multiple times since being in office he has gotten emails from women (who may not even be real) inviting him to explore, also sending pictures of themselves. NO MORE!!! It is a shame that people are so heartless that they would try to split up families. We have children that look at our face books from time to time! Shame on you! You know who you are. Next time everyone will know who you are!! For I will publicly share your name before we “unfriend” you. I love my husband and my children too much to sit here and allow this to go on and will not give the enemy anymore foothold into my family! This is the “behind the scenes” garbage that political life brings. I will not turn a blind eye to it any longer! I remember years ago my Pastors wife standing before the congregation preaching to the young women about their dress which had gotten out of hand and she boldly stood before them and spoke the truth. I boldly stand before you today and declare that I will stand beside my husband, support him, love him, and protect him at ALL cost!!!! Those of you who know who you are consider yourself warned! Those of you who understand my heart, thank you for listening and may God bless your families!

In a follow-up interview just posted to AL.com, Sen. McGill claims his wife’s Facebook post was the end result of frustrations that have “built up” since having allegedly unsolicited strippers show up at their house during his last campaign.
He also claims that, since he took office, his Facebook page has “hijacked” a couple of times by women who have “sent me pictures of themselves half-naked, saying, ‘I had a great time last night with Shadrack McGill.’”
Senator McGill thanked his wife for her support:

“Thank you my dear loving help mate for doing some much needed house keeping on our face book page,” the lawmaker wrote. “You are a wise woman and If you were running for my senate seat, I would vote for you babe.”

What do you think? Was that too much? Your comments below please...

#elev8

Can Oral Sex Cause Cancer?

Cancer caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection most well known for causing genital warts and cervical cancer, is still largely a cause for concern.

Recent reports have shown a rise in both oral and anal cancer caused by HPV in both women and men.


Oral infections of human papillomavirus, or HPV, affect nearly 7% of Americans, affecting three times as many men (10%) as women (3.6%).
In fact, HPV is now a more common cause of throat and other oral cancers than tobacco.

What is HPV?
Genital human papillomavirus, or HPV, is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). There are more than 40 types of HPV that can infect the genital areas of males and females. These HPV types can also infect the mouth and throat.

HPV can cause serious health problems, including genital warts and certain cancers, particularly cervical cancer and throat cancer. There is no certain way to tell who will develop health problems from HPV and who will not. In most cases HPV goes away by itself before it causes any health problems, and most people who become infected with HPV do not even know they have it.
Experts are now looking into determining if the newly available HPV vaccine is effective in males. The vaccine has been shown to be almost 100% effective for preventing cervical infection.

Throat Cancer
Throat cancer, defined as cancer of the oropharynx, includes the tonsils, base of the tongue and soft palate, and side and back of the throat.
Tobacco use and drinking alcohol are still risk factors for head and neck cancers. About 90% of patients with these malignancies either smoke or chew tobacco, or have done so in the past, and up to 80% of oral cancer patients also drink a lot of alcohol, according to the American Cancer Society.
However, over the last five years, 35% of the throat cancer patients treated had no history of smoking, and 90% of these patients showed evidence of oral infection with HPV.

Oral Sex Does Not Equal Safe Sex
Based on new findings, experts agree that it is critical for people to understand that oral sex is not necessarily always safe sex. Which is why it’s important to continue to take precautions to better protect your health, including annual STD screening, talking to your partners about their sexual history, and using protection while having sex.

blackdoctor.org

PHOTOS: BOOK CLUB or BOOB CLUB?...group of friends form a topless book club so women can enjoy relaxing, reading and tanning in public bare-chested

A group of friends decided to form a topless book club so women can enjoy relaxing and tanning in public, just like men.

Using New York law, which says women can go bare chested anywhere men can, the social group formed so women could meet and safely sunbathe together.





The women said they take the literature part of the book club very seriously


Topless Pulp Fiction members said they have received overwhelmingly positive reaction from other women

The women, who withheld their names to protect themselves online, take photographs of themselves sunbathing around New York in just shorts and bikini bottoms.

Among the locations favoured by the book club are Central Park, hotel rooftops, riverside walkways and even the steps of the Metropolitan Museum.

One of the group's founders said the response to their meetings, which are always formed of six or more women, has been overwhelmingly positive.

She said: 'For every woman who glares when we pass and mutters: "There are children around", there are a dozen who come over and thank us for what we're doing.

'The best was an elderly woman who came over with her miniature poodle earlier this summer and spent an hour sitting with us.

'She was just so delighted. It felt wonderful to make her day.'



The group (pictured in Central Park) said if a man can show his chest then a woman should be allowed to






The group meet outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art (right) and Central Park and in roof gardens (left)

The founders knew the law allowed a woman to be topless anywhere a man could be, but had never seen it in practice.

Hesitant to test the law as individuals, the women found the confidence to remove their bikini tops in the company of friends.

The founder said: 'There's no rational reason a woman's breasts should be forbidden if a man's chest is not.

'The more we show people that seeing a woman's nipples won't cause the sky to fall, the more freedom and equality women will enjoy.'

As well as making a feminist statement, the group takes the literary aspect of the book club quite seriously.

The founder said: 'That probably makes it pretty boring for someone who isn't interesting in the books and discussions.

'People's significant others sometimes wonder if there's something sexual about the group.




They say they want people to realise there is nothing shocking about a woman's breasts

'But when they come, they discover it's just a batch of friends sitting around in the sun, reading and discussing books, laughing and eating cupcakes.'

Although the book club occasionally receive inappropriate stares, it has not deterred them having fun.

The founder said: 'I think we get fewer catcalls and less harassment when we're out topless in a group than when any one of us is just walking down the street fully clothed.

'We've been approached by the police a couple of times, but every time the police have confirmed that what we're doing is completely legal and they've been very polite about it.'

As well as having fun and enjoying reading in the sun, the club hopes to inspire other women.

The founder said: 'Our hope would be that we set an example for other women, and that a few years from now a woman going bare-chested in the park or even on the street would attract no more attention than a bare-chested man.'

#dailymail

'Beggar' who sat outside Natwest bank with a 'hungry and homeless' sign raked in £300 A DAY while living in a plush £300,000 flat

Sitting on the pavement next to his dog and sleeping bag, Simon Wright looked to all the world like a homeless beggar.

But what the passers-by who gave him cash didn’t know was that he was earning over £50,000 a year and living in a £300,000 council flat in west London.

At the end of every day he would pick up his handwritten sign and head back to his Fulham home.
Locals say he regularly went into bookmakers and amusement shops to change up his loose coins.






The homeless man... with a home: Simon Wright (left) has been given an Asbo after it emerged he had been begging for years despite living in a plush £300,000 flat in this block (right) in Fulham


On many occasions they added up to between £200 and £300. Magistrates have now imposed a two-year Asbo banning him from begging anywhere in London.

PC Oliver Strebel, who brought the case to court, said: ‘He had a reputation for getting a lot of gifts while begging.


'He used a sign saying he was homeless and people gave him money on that basis, which is clearly fraud. He would take the money from his cup and change it over at a local betting shop or amusement arcade.


‘He worked pretty much every day, and had done so for about three years. He certainly put in the hours.’


Wright proved Putney High Street in south-west London was such a lucrative venue that he attracted up to nine other beggars. Since his arrest, they have all but disappeared.

Wright would sit wearing ragged clothes outside NatWest bank in Putney High Street, near Putney station, with his dog and ask the public for money.

But after a hard day’s begging Wright would pack up his sleeping bag and, instead of heading to a shelter, he would make his way across Putney Bridge to his comfortable flat in Simms Court, Fulham High Street.

Commuters who fell for his bad luck story said they were shocked to learn Wright had duped them.

Chris Faversham, from Putney, said: 'I definitely gave him money over the years. Probably about £20. I wonder if I can get that back?'

In December 2012 suspicious residents were suggesting that something was not quite right about Wright’s predicament.

Some said he changed up his donations in Greggs in Putney High Street while others said he lived in a tent on Putney Embankment.

But Wright’s days of fleecing the public are over after magistrates slapped an Asbo on him banning him from visiting the SW15 area (Roehampton and Putney) and from begging anywhere in the capital.

Wimbledon Magistrates' Court, sitting on May 14, also ordered him to keep his dog muzzled and under control at all times in a public place after magistrates were told it had bitten at least one person.



Banned: Wright, 37, would sit wearing ragged clothes outside NatWest bank in Putney High Street, near Putney station, with his dog and ask the public for money

The Asbo will remain in place until May 2015 but if Wright, who admitted fraud and begging, breaches any of its terms he could be sent to prison for up to five years and face an unlimited fine.

The council’s community safety spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook said: 'Anyone who lives, works or shops in and around Putney High Street will be mightily relieved to see this unpleasant individual given his marching orders.

'He deliberately targeted people making cash withdrawals from this cashpoint and was extremely aggressive and abusive to anyone who refused to give him money.

'Many people felt frightened and intimidated by him and there is some evidence to suggest that he used his dog to threaten and pressure people into handing over their cash.

'His behaviour was an absolute disgrace. The fact that he was actually living in a comfortable flat in Fulham, something that many of his victims can only dream of, just adds insult to injury.

'Everyone who has been appalled by Mr Wright’s behaviour will I’m sure wish to congratulate the Thamesfield Safer Neighbourhoods Team, especially PC Oliver Strebel, who was the officer in the case and also the Crown Prosecution Service whose lawyers worked so closely with the police to bring about this very positive result for Putney.'
#dailymail

Are you a roller, a wrapper, a shrinker, a stacker or a flinger? Check out some tips to holiday packing.

Rollers, flingers, wrappers, shrinkers & stackers:

Rollers

Fold and roll clothes into arrange in an orderly manner within their suitcase

 

Wrappers

Neatly wrap each piece of clothing in tissue paper to prevent creasing

Stackers

Build a stack of clothes starting with the biggest items at the bottom and working up to the smaller items

 

Shrinkers

Make complete outfits and  vacuum pack to utilize space and aid un-packing   

Flingers

Throw everything into a bag with no order or folding involved
 

Plan, colour code, divide, roll and bury: The essential guide to holiday packing

How do you pack yours?

 

Travelodge developed a seven step guide to ensure no essential holiday items are left behind for this year’s summer break.

Step One: Think What & Where
Consider everything you might be doing during your holiday (Posh dinners, sporting activities, sight seeing) then put your favourite items for these scenarios on your bed in piles of tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, jackets/cover-ups, swimwear. Anything that doesn't have a specific use doesn't need to come with you.

Step Two: Colour Code Clothes:

Look at everything and choose items based on the fact they will work with lots of other items. Thinking of a colour palette makes this even simpler. What you are doing here is ensuring everything works really hard and you don’t end up lugging loads of things that just don’t go with anything else and you will end up never wearing.

Step Three: Divide& Rule

Once you have decided on your clotting, lay it out on the bed before you place them in the suitcase and cut in half. It may sound drastic but it forces you to focus and just remember all the items you have taken on holiday before and never worn.

Step Four: Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’
Roll every item that can be rolled, as this will negate creasing. If you take anything remotely tailored, turn it inside out and tuck in the sleeves and it will arrive in the best shape possible.

Sitting on your suitcase to cram everything in is a common last resort

 

Step Five: Bury the shoes  Pack shoes at the bottom of your suitcase and surround them with your underwear. Remember to pack into the corners of your bag - lots of space can be wasted by not filling a bag correctly.

Step Six: Go See Through   
See through wash bags with compartments are brilliant for organizing your toiletries. They tend to be lightweight and you can check quickly to see if you've forgotten anything

Step Seven: Weather planning  
Look at an updated weather forecast just before packing to ensure you are taking the right clothes for the weather conditions at your destination.

Hope you find these helpful! Happy holidays!

Kaduna: Nigerian prostitutes call on the government to help them get out of the business.

internet photo

 In recent years, commercial sex workers in several countries, like South Korea, Kenya and France have held public protests against strict anti-prostitution laws. In Nigeria’s conservative north, sex workers are not marching on the streets or calling for more rights. They are calling on the government to help them get out of the business.

 

In this complex in Kaduna, a city in northern Nigeria best known for sectarian violence and ever-deepening poverty, about 30 women pay a little over $8 a day for a spot in a corner of a room.  After they pay their rent, the most money they can make in a day as prostitutes is $10.  Some days they make nothing.

 

One woman, who didn't want to give her name, says the worst part is that besides being desperately poor, they are shunned by their communities.

 

“The majority don’t have respect for us because they think we are not among the living in the society.  They feel we are not supposed to be among them because we are here.  They discriminate us.  While some still take us to be human, the majority don’t really respect and regard us as human," she said. 

 

She said she wants out of the business and that the government and aid agencies should help.  Other women in the complex agree, saying as little as $180 would be enough to get them out.

 

“Of course this is no life.  This is no life.  As I’m talking to you I’m cold. I feel like crying.  No life," said a second woman. 

 

Poverty alleviation in Nigeria, which is rare, usually takes the form of micro-loans or training that helps people start small businesses.  Idris Mussa is a member of the Kaduna State HIV/AIDS department.  He says the department is planning to expand its services to include former prostitutes.

 

“Once they have the basic training  you will be able to give them the small-scale micro-finance.  Something that they can be able do, some income generation,  thereby they can be self reliant on their own," he said. 

 

Other officials say prostitutes who want to quit should have priority in accessing these kinds of services because their work contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

 

Yusuf Arrigasiyyu is the executive director of Muslim League of Accountability in Nigeria, an organization that is calling for government and international assistance in setting up programs to help women who want to leave prostitution.  He says, ultimately, these programs could help save the country money.

 

“If they don’t leave prostitution, government spends more.  Through them you can have HIV, you can have sexually transmitted disease and other diseases that are related to prostitution.  Now government spends more in providing health care for people that are contracting that disease," he said. 

 

Prostitutes say the idea of calling for assistance is relatively new to them and to date they have been entirely neglected by aid organizations and the government.  

 

But Kaduna State Commissioner of Information Alhaji Saidu Adamu says this is not true.  He says the local government would support women who want to leave prostitution, but it’s their job to seek help.

 

“They have to make the initiative.  If they initiate leaving that profession we are ever ready and willing and we will be happy knowing fully that our people now will be more functional, they will be more healthy.  We are also going to reduce the spread of AIDS in our society," he said. 

 

Adamu says prostitutes usually don’t seek government help because they fear they will be arrested.  He promises women will not be incarcerated or harmed if they come forward now.

 

At the complex, the women say they are arrested and harassed constantly.  They say they find the state government's promise hard to believe. 

 

#voanews

Michael Jackson's Daughter, Paris rushed to hospital after cutting her wrist in suicide attempt

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Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Paris Jackson was taken to a nearby hospital early Wednesday morning, after reportedly harming herself.

Paris Jackson was rushed to the hospital early Wednesday morning after an attempted suicide, a lawyer for her grandmother, Katherine Jackson, confirmed to the Daily News.
"She's suffered with the loss of her father," the lawyer said. "But we don't know what she was exposed to that precipitated this."

Mike/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES/Mike/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES

Paris Jackson tweeted that an argument had escalated - though she did not say with whom.

According to TMZ,  Michael Jackson's 15-year-old daughter was wheeled out of her Calabasas home on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital early in the morning.

Blue Wasp / Splash News/Blue Wasp / Splash News

Jackson, 15, posted lyrics to the Beatles song ‘Yesterday’ on her Twitter page around the time of the reported incident.

The 911 call was received close to 1:30 a.m., and the caller said Jackson had cut her wrists. It is unclear who placed the call.

Lester Cohen/WireImage

Paris Jackson and her brothers are currently in the care of their grandmother, Katherine Jackson.

Jackson's biological mother Debbie Rowe, who she has recently reconnected with, confirmed the ordeal to Entertainment Tonight - adding that the teen is still hospitalized, and saying she has had "a lot going on."
Messages on Jackson's Twitter page Tuesday night and early into Wednesday morning suggested the young starlet may have been upset.

LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

Michael Jackson's children, Prince Jackson (L), Blanket Jackson (C) and Paris Jackson (R).

Around the time of the incident, she posted lyrics to the Beatles song "Yesterday."

  

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away now it looks as though they're here to stay," she wrote.

Banker sentenced to death for killing wife

 




An Abia State High Court has sentenced a banker, Mr. Theophilus Ajakaiye, to death by hanging for killing his wife, Theodora.

The convict allegedly murdered his wife on October 12, 2009 at Azumini Ndoki in the Ukwa Judicial Division of Abia.

The charge read, “The accused person is charged with one-count of murder contrary to Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Vol. 11, Cap. 30 Laws of Eastern Nigeria, 1963, applicable in Abia State.”

Until her death, Theodora was an employee of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.

The legal battle between the deceased’s family and the accused began soon after the alleged killing until the judgment recently.

The Presiding Judge, Justice T.U. Uzokwe, said in his judgment that having heard from the accused person, learned counsel for the accused and the prosecuting counsel, the offence carried a mandatory sentence which is death.

He said the court had no power to reduce the sentence and that being the case, he had no option but to sentence the accused.

The judge said, “Though the accused was not seen killing the deceased, I find that the accumulated circumstantial facts found proved that the accused indeed murdered his wife, Theodora Ajakaiye.

“Suffice it to say that I find the accused guilty as charged and I convict him accordingly.”

The sentence read, “Theophilus Ajakaiye – The sentence of this court upon you is that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead and may the merciful Lord have mercy on your soul.”

In the allocutus, counsel for the accused pleaded for mercy on behalf of his client.

He said, “I thank the court for this well considered judgment. The accused has no criminal record. We plead for mercy. There are two children to the marriage and they have already lost their mother.”

It was learnt that the convict had yet to appeal against the judgment.

#punch

Video: Kim Kardashian wants to eat her own placenta after giving birth to 'look younger'

Kim Kardashian Image Credit: REUTERS

American reality television star Kim Kardashian earlier shocked fans by opting for a vampire facial and is now ready to move on to an even more bizarre fad - eating the placenta of her first child.


The 32-year-old star of Keeping Up with the Kardashians is pregnant with her first child, a daughter. And in the episode of her television show where she revealed the gender of her baby, she also claims she wants to eat the placenta after giving birth.
The episode was the premiere of season eight of the television series and aired on 2 June. Kim Kardashian asked her doctor: "Don't you think it makes you look younger?" Her doctor replied: "Some people believe in that. There are cookbooks on placentas."
Kim Kardashian's mother, present at the time, appeared to be disgusted and stated: "Yuck! I don't think we're going to be eating the fountain of youth, if you know what I mean."
However, a determined Kardashian said she "really wants to do it".

As disturbing as the thought may be, if Kim Kardashian really does eat her own placenta, she won't be the only Hollywood star to follow the practice. Mad Men and X-Men: First Class star January Jones revealed she ate capsules containing dried placenta.
In March 2012, speaking People magazine, Jones said: "Your placenta gets dehydrated and made into vitamins. It's something I was very hesitant about, but we're the only mammals who don't ingest our own placentas ... It's not witch-crafty or anything! I suggest it to all moms!"

Eating Placentas: A Fad?
Although eating placentas appears to be a growing trend, there are studies that show there is no real benefit. In a 2012 article, Dr Mark B Kristal, a scientist with the University of Buffalo, wrote in the Huffington Post, stating: "'Placentophagia' pertains to ingestion of placenta, fluids, and tissues by mothers during delivery. The behaviour, which is almost universal among nonhuman mammals (whales and dolphins are exceptions), is virtually absent in human cultures, past and present."
Kristal also explained human cultures normally show a "strong aversion to placentophagia" and suggested the practice could have been inspired by the use of placentas in traditional Chinese medicine.
However, he stressed: "There is no evidence showing that placentophagia by humans medically or physiologically ameliorates... postpartum depression, 'baby blues' fatigue, lactational insufficiency and hormone deficiencies".

Check out the video of Kim Kardashian and the episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians:

ibtimes.co.uk

Photos: Kim Kardashian FINALLY gets her official divorce from Kris Humphries

During a court hearing in Los Angeles on Monday night a judgement was entered officially bringing the disastrous marriage between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries to an end....FINALLY!

Not long to go: Kim Kardashian shows off her bump in a floor-length white dress in a Twitter picture, the day her divorce is granted from Kris Humphries

 

Kim can now move on, which with her first baby due in around a month's time couldn't be better timing.
Kim made no mention of the divorce on her blog, instead posting a photo of herself in her outfit for her baby shower, which took place in Beverly Hills at the weekend.
'Sunday’s Lanvin Look!' she wrote, showing off her bump in the flattering loose long-sleeved gown.

Following her separation Kim began dating pop star Kanye West, quickly falling pregnant with a baby girl, believed to be due in July.

FINALLY over: Kim and her now ex-husband Kris Humphries, seen in October 2011, are officially divorced

 

She has spoken of the stress of negotiating a divorce while pregnant, admitting she was worried Kanye's baby would be born while she remained married to another man.
The divorce comes more than a year after Kim called a halt to the marriage after just 72-days.

Basketball star Kris initially refused to agree to a divorce, instead insisting that the marriage be annulled because it was' fraud'.

All over: Extracts from the divorce papers show both Kim and Kris's signatures, right

He claimed Kim faked her love for him to increase ratings for her reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, on which their romance featured prominently.
The judgement, reported on People.com, followed long negotiations between the pair's lawyers, which finally led to them reaching a settlement in April.
While the terms of the settlement are not known the pair did sign a prenuptial agreement, detailing their financial obligations in the case of a split.

Enjoying her last few weeks of freedom: Kim celebrated her divorce with a trip to the exclusive Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hilton for lunch with fiends on Tuesday

#dailymail

Do Mosquitoes 'Like' Some People More Than Others? Find Out Why You Are A Mosquito Magnet

"One in 10 people are highly attractive to mosquitoes," Jerry Butler, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the University of Florida, told WebMD. Another estimate from the research suggests that 20 percent -- or one in five people -- are mosquito magnets.


It is definitely true that some people are more attractive to the pesky insects than others, but the reasonwhy remains a bit of a mystery. There are a number of myths out there, including the assertion that mosquitoes prefer blondes. In reality, mosquito preference doesn't seem to have anything to do with hair color, blood sugar levels, floral perfumes or many of the other factors we've heard rumors about.


First of all, sometimes it's not you -- it's them. "Different species have different cues for being attracted," says Janet McAllister, Ph.D., an entomologist in the Division of Vector-Born Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While scientists don't know exactly what attracts female mosquitoes to some and not others -- it's worth noting that male mosquitoes don't feed on human blood -- there are some observed patterns. Here are a few signs you might be a prime target for the 'skeets:


You're Big -Bigger people produce more carbon dioxide and if there's one thing that will lure a mosquito from a great distance, it's a big cloud of CO2. This is why adults tend to get bitten more than children and why men are more likely to be a feeding site than their female companions.

You Just Exercised -Mosquitoes find lactic acid alluring and if you've just worked out, chances are you've got some building up in your muscles. What's more, the exertion could cause heavier and quicker breathing, another way to build up some carbon dioxide around you.

You Have A Fast Metabolism- Mosquitoes enjoy a bit of cholesterol in their meals. People who metabolize cholesterol quickly -- not those who have higher cholesterol blood levels -- may attract mosquitoes because byproducts of that metabolization are present on the skin, reported WebMD.

You Smell - To Them Acetone and estradiol released in your breath and many of the compounds and bacteria found on your skin contribute to your attractiveness. Scientists believe that some people may give off stronger scents than others, even though everyone produces these compounds.Reported NBC:

It could be that individuals who get less bites produce chemicals on their skin that make them more repellant and cover up smells that mosquitoes find attractive.

What we do know is that there isn't much you can do about it -- besides using an EPA-approved mosquito repellant and covering up.

huffpost

VIDEO: 13-Year-Old Joshua Ajayi Wins N1million On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

Joshua Ajayi, a class 3 Kings College Student contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, has emerged the winner of N1m prize yesterday. 

Click below to watch video:

Self-Proclaimed Nazi turns up at court in full Nazi regalia to fight for custody of his children – including one who he named Adolf Hitler!

A white supremacist appeared at court on Monday dressed in full Nazi uniform as he tried to convince a judge that he was a good father - despite having named one of his children Adolf.
Heath Campbell, who had four children, asked the judge to be allowed to see his 18-month-old son Hons.
The self-proclaimed Nazi, from New Jersey, has given three of his children Nazi-inspired names but claims he is fit to be a father and has never abused them.

Fascist statement: Heath Campbell, 40, appeared at a New Jersey court today to try to reclaim custody of his children, wearing full Nazi regalia and accompanied by fellow Nazi Bethanie White

Full regalia: Heath Campbell, appeared at a New Jersey court on Monday, in a Nazi outfit to convince a judge that he was a good father and should have custody of his children

 

Campbell, a swastika tattoo clearly showing on his neck, told NBC10: 'I'm going to tell the judge, I love my children. I wanna be a father, let me be it.
'Let me prove to the world that I am a good father.'
He said that he had never abused his children and had only named them. He has not seen his children in two years and the eldest three have been adopted.  The 40-year-old white supremacist appeared at a hearing in Hunterdon County Family Court in Flemington, NJ this morning. His regalia included knee-high black boots and swastika patches.
He told the TV station that whether wearing his Nazi uniform might sway the judge's decision, depended on the judge.

Ordeal: Heath and Deborah Campbell, pictured with son that they named Adolf Hitler, The couple have since separated

Rescued: Adolf Hitler, right, and his sister Aryan Nation were taken into custody in 2009 and have since been adopted

 

Bethanie White, a member of his organization 'Hitler's Order', was with Campbell at court - also covered in swastikas.
Adolf Hitler Campbell, six, and his younger sisters Joycelynn Aryan Nation, five, and Honszlynn Hinler, four, were taken into custody in January 2009.
State officials also took another son, Hons Campbell, from his parents Heath and Deborah Campbell just hours after he was born in November 2011.
A court denied the Campbells' appeal to have their children returned last year.

Pleas: White supremacist Campbell, his swastika tattoo on show,said that he wanted to show the world he could be a good father

Controversial: Campbell, who has his own neo-Nazi organization, walks into court with a supporter wearing knee-high boots and a swastika arm band

 

The Nazi-inspired names came to light after a store refused to decorate a birthday cake reading 'Happy birthday Adolf Hitler' in December 2008.
In 2010, a New Jersey appeals court ruled there was sufficient evidence of abuse or neglect due to prior domestic violence to seize the children.
Authorities insisted putting the children into care had nothing to do with their names.
Court records from previous hearings show that the oldest child, Adolf, frequently threatened to kill people.
The mother reportedly had also once given a note to her neighbor saying she was terrified of her husband, who had threatened to kill her.

Decisions: The Campbells, pictured leaving court in 2009, said they chose the names as they were unique

The Campbells have previously defended the names, saying they chose them simply because they liked them and they were unique.
Campbell said he named his son after the Nazi leader as 'no one else in the world would have that name'.
Campbell has since separated from his wife and she has given up rights to her children.
A follow-up hearing has been scheduled for later this month.

#dailymail

Obama must see Africa in new light

BY JESSE JACKSON jjackson@rainbowpush.org June 3, 2013 8:48PM

When President Obama and the first lady travel to Africa at the end of this month, they will receive a rapturous greeting. The president’s deep roots in Kenya, the land of his father, resonate throughout the continent. His success in the United States evokes pride and joy in Africa.

I write this from Nigeria, a country that has just celebrated its 14th year of democracy. President Obama’s election enabled Africans to see America in a new light. I hope his visit will enable Americans to see Africa with new eyes.

We know the problems of Africa: its poverty, corruption and conflict. After 246 years of the slave trade, 100 years of colonialism, African suffering and struggle are known. But perhaps the president’s visit will enable us to see the possibilities.

Africa is the second-largest continent in the world, larger than China, the United States and Europe combined in land area. Its peoples number about one-eighth of the world’s population. It is a richly endowed continent, providing some 22 percent of the world’s gold, 55 percent of its diamonds, and 12.5 percent of its oil. Seven of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa. It is still marked by poverty, but extreme poverty has been declining at about 1 percent a year.

Nigeria has twice the population of any other African country. It is growing at 7 percent a year, and will be Africa’s largest economy within the decade. It is a major supplier of oil to the U.S., and potentially a major trading partner. Nigeria’s GDP is three times that of any other West African country. It is the largest destination for foreign direct investment on the continent. It sends 7,100 students to the U.S. for university programs. Its democracy is taking root. The sun is rising in this land of potential.

Nigeria still has deep challenges to overcome. Its infrastructure is outmoded; its health care and education systems inadequate; corruption remains a curse, and 60 percent of the population remains below the poverty line. Like many African countries, it struggles with an exodus of professionals.

The president will visit Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa with a large delegation of business leaders and investors. Tanzania and Senegal are among the fastest-growing economies on the continent. The U.S. is not the only country interested in these new possibilities. The president will arrive in Tanzania three months after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit. Americans will get a new understanding of how aggressively China has reached out to Africa, providing aid, investments and securing supplies of oil and other raw materials. For economic, national security and humanitarian concerns, America has every reason to open up closer ties with the nations on that continent.

Independent Africa is still young. It was only 57 years ago when Kwame Nkrumah founded Ghana, its first independent nation. Now there are young, growing democracies, moving from the struggle for independence to the struggle for legitimate governance and economic development. Think of the United States 50 years after its historic revolution. Our institutions were still being formed; we were still trading in slaves, denying women equal rights, headed toward a violent civil war.

Democracy and development are roads with twists and turns. In Africa, as the president’s visit will expose, the turns are now positive. We would be well advised to contribute to the progress, to invest in the promise, and to bolster the push for human rights, development and democracy.

Brian Whitehead, Accused Of Taking Photo Up Woman's Skirt, Said 'Maybe I Was Trying To Light A Fart'

His alibi stinks.

A British man accused of trying to take a photo under a woman's skirt suggested that he could have been trying to "light her fart" on fire, the Bristol Post reported.

CCTV footage caught 39-year-oldBrian Whitehead going into a bar last September and placing an unidentified object under a woman's skirt, according to the Post.

Prosecutors said the Bristol man was trying to take a photo, but police say Whitehead told them "Maybe I was trying to light a fart. It could have been a joke. Maybe someone says 'I bet you a fiver if you light her fart.'"

During his trial, Whitehead told the court he was just joking around, but he also denied he ever put a camera under the woman's skirt.

Nevertheless, he was found guilty this past week of outraging public decency, and will be sentenced on June 27.

Whitehead is not the only man who probably wasn't trying to light a fart.

A man who calls himself "John Zippy" has a whole blog devoted to up skirt photos of women on the New York City subway.

And in 2011, a teacher in Chicago was arrested after allegedly aiming his iPhone up a woman's skirt at an arts festival.

77 percent of women in Nigeria use skin-lightening products, the world’s highest percentage – World Health Organization

The World Health Organisation, WHO, has said 77 percent of women in Nigeria use skin-lightening products, the world’s highest percentage. The figure compares with 59 percent in Togo, and 27 percent in Senegal.

The WHO report said the reasons for this are varied but most people said they use skin-lighteners because they want “white skin”.

WHO also said skin bleaching comes with hazardous health consequences. The dangers associated with the use of toxic compounds for skin bleaching include, blood cancers such as leukemia and cancers of the liver and kidneys, as well as severe skin conditions. It said hardcore bleachers use illegal ointments containing toxins like mercury, a metal that blocks production of melanin, which gives the skin its colour, but can also be toxic.

The report said in many parts of Africa, lighter-skinned women are considered more beautiful and believed to be more successful and likely to find marriage. It also said it is not only women who are obsessed with bleaching their skins. Some men too are involved in the practice.



* In extreme cases of skin bleaching, the skin can become multi-coloured and marred with inflammation or scarring.

WHO investigation said lightening creams are not effectively regulated in Nigeria where even roadside vendors sell tubes and plastic bags of powders and ointments from cardboard boxes stacked along sidewalks in market districts. Many of the tubes are unlabelled as to their actual ingredients.

Qatar based Al Jazeera also reported that business is booming for shops selling skin-lightening products. A trader said, “About 90 percent of my clients come asking for skin whitening products,” adding “I sell it to them and give advice on what product is best for them and how to use them.”

#vanguard

US places $23m reward for Boko Haram leader, Shekau, 4 others

WASHINGTON (AFP) – In an unprecedented move, the United States on Monday posted up to $23 million in rewards to help track down five leaders of militant groups accused of spreading terror in west Africa.

The highest reward of $7 million is offered for the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, who last week called on Islamists in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq to join the bloody fight to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

The US State Department’s Rewards for Justice program also targeted Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), offering its first ever bounties for wanted militants in west Africa.

Up to $5 million was posted for Al-Qaeda veteran Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed Islamist behind the devastating attack on an Algerian gas plant in January in which 37 foreigners, including three Americans, were killed.

A further $5 million was offered for top AQIM leader Yahya Abou Al-Hammam, reportedly involved in the 2010 murder of an elderly French hostage in Niger.



Malik Abou Abdelkarim, a senior fighter with AQIM, and Oumar Ould Hamaha, the spokesman for Mali’s Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), were also targeted by the rewards program, which will give up to $3 million each for information leading to their arrests.

“AQIM has been increasingly active in north and west Africa. They’re one of the pre-eminent kidnap for ransom groups in the terrorist world right now,” a senior State Department official told AFP, asking not to be named.

“They cause us a great deal of concern. Anything that we can do naturally to cut down on the capabilities of AQIM, anything that we can do to get information on these people so that we can get them in front of a court… That is our goal.”

The United States has been increasingly worried about the spread of Islamist groups in Mali and across the vast and lawless Sahel since a military coup ousted the government in Bamako.

Former colonial power France has led a military offensive since January against the militants in Mali’s northern desert, as the west African nation prepares for presidential elections on July 28.

There are fears however that the spread of militant groups risks destabilizing the entire west African region.

Belmokhtar, who was a senior commander for AQIM, broke away from the group last year to set up his own group dubbed the “Signatories in Blood.”

Branded “the Uncatchable,” Belmokhtar also personally supervised the operational plans for the twin car bombings in Niger that killed at least 20 people late last month, according to a spokesman for his group.

Monday’s rewards acknowledged the growing links between AQIM and Nigeria’s Boko Haram, which is under pressure from a military offensive.

“They’ve had a relationship for some time. They send people back and forth for training, they’ve done the provision of arms back and forth,” the State Department official said.

“The links are… not quite as solid as some of the other terrorist organizations,” he said. “Nonetheless, it’s a dangerous link and it’s something that we feel we should try and stop.”

Shekau, in a video obtained by AFP last week, claimed his forces had made significant gains against the Nigerian army while sustaining little damage since the start of the military offensive on May 15.

“Under his leadership, Boko Haram’s capability has certainly grown,” the State Department official told AFP.

He highlighted how the group set off “their first improvised explosive device in early June 2011. By August (2011) they used a car bomb against the United Nations facility,” an attack which killed 25 people.

“When we see someone like this who… is actually leading to an increase in the capability of an organization, that’s something that we would naturally try to see if we can do something to impede,” he added.

Shekau’s whereabouts could not be determined in the video, in which he is shown seated and dressed in camouflage and a turban, with an AK-47 at his side.

His comments contradict statements from the military, which has claimed major successes during the offensive, including the destruction of Boko Haram camps and dozens of arrests.

Shekau was placed on a US blacklist last year, but Boko Haram has yet to be designated a foreign terrorist organization — an absence which has raised eyebrows among regional experts.

#vanguard

Security officials excavate suspicious “boxes” from Abuja’s Amigo supermarket

Amigo and Wonderland still remain under seal.

Security officials who carried out a semi-excavation work on Amigo supermarketin Abuja say they have unearthed ‘boxes’ whose content have not been disclosed.

The boxes have been taken to the head office of the Department of State Security Service, SSS, in Abuja, an official of the agency, involved in the excavation, told PREMIUM TIMES.

Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the security officials are currently excavating some parts of Amigo, one of Abuja’s busiest supermarkets, and Wonderland Amusement Park, Abuja’s largest amusement park, in search of likely weapons.

The SSS sealed of Amigo and Wonderland on Friday evening after the businesses’ co-owner was declared wanted for allegedly being part of aHezbollah Lebanese terrorist cell in the country.

Earlier on Thursday, the Joint Task Force in Kano said it uncovered a bunker beneath a house in Kano where heavy ammunition including anti-tank weapons were stored.

The JTF said it arrested three suspects who mentioned the Amigo owner as part of them.

More details later…

premiumtimes

American Gangster star Chiwetel Ejiofor emerges as hot favourite to become the first black Doctor Who

With the announcement that Matt Smith would be leaving the role of Doctor Who at the end of the year, the hunt is on to find the twelfth Time Lord.

And so far, British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has been given 7/1 odds and is the sci-fi fansites' favourite to fill the role, not to mention becoming the first black Doctor in the show's history.

Chiwetel, 35, has already stated that if the series' producers asked him to play the Time Lord, he'd tell them 'yes, of course.'

The new Doctor? Chiwetel Ejiofor is the fan favourite to replace Matt Smith as the new Time Lord

Asked by Andrew Marr in 2011 whether he'd take on the part, the actor said: 'Yes, of course. It's always good to be asked to come back to London and do great stuff not only in television but in theatre and film too.'

 

Skybet gave BAFTA-winner Chiwetel, the odds taking into account his stellar history on stage and screen, having starred in films American Gangster and Love, Actually, on TV in The Shadow Line and Dancing On The Edge, and having won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor as Othello in 2008 theatre production.

But Ejiofor isn't the only star rumoured to be taking on the high-profile job, with Rory Kinnear as the Ladbrokes favourite with odds of 3/1.

Farewell: Matt will be saying goodbye to the TARDIS and companion Jenna-Louise Coleman after the Christmas special

Female? The Radio Times have suggest Zawe Ashton as the first Time LadyThe Richard II actor is thought to be a perfect choice as he is a well-seasoned actor on stage and screen, with a strong history at the BBC, but has never taken on a major leading role.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: 'Rory has all the credibility and is known in the industry as a very talented actor, but he isn't as instantly recognisable as some of the other candidates.

'Matt Smith proved that choosing a lesser-known talent can really work, and he's been a big hit with viewers. It's essential to get this decision right for the future of the series.'

Russell Tovey is also a strong contender, whose name was linked to the eleventh Doctor role but obviously the Being Human star lost out to Matt Smith in 2010.

High odds: Rory Kinnear and Russell Tovey are two other actors considered to be in the running to become Doctor Who

The young Doc: Rupert Grint has 10/1 odds to become the next Time Lord

Russell, 31, has been given 10/1 odds by William Hill to take on the role, as did Rupert Grint - who would be the youngest Doctor ever - but one female suggestion would really throw a spanner into the works.

Fresh Meat star Zawe Ashton was put up as a potential Doctor by the Radio Times and she seemed to be pleased with the subsequent social media endorsements.

Writing on Twitter yesterday, Zawe, 29, said: 'Thankyou to all who have been concurring!!Ha! #AVeryNewWho'.

Dame Helen Mirren and Olivia Coleman have also been suggested, but reportedly, BBC bosses won't be casting the first ever female Doctor because it would be too difficult for parents to explain the Time Lord's sex change to their children.

'While I think kids will not have a problem with a female Doctor, I think fathers will have a problem with it,' former Doctor Who boss Russell T. Davies told the Daily Star.

'They will then imagine they will have to describe sex changes to their children.'

At the end of the last series, John Hurt was introduced as 'The Doctor' but many commentators do not think this puts him as the tweltfh Time Lord.

Hurt has stated that he plays 'part of the Doctor' in a “kind of trinity,” which includes David Tennant - who will return for the 50th anniversary episode - with Matt Smith.

Smith will say farewell to the TARDIS after this year's Christmas special.
The 30-year old actor has played the Time Lord for three years, and said: 'It's been an honour to play this role, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors. When ya gotta go, ya gotta go.'

#dailymail