Wife of former British Prime Minister Mrs. Cherie Blair has hailed the crucial role of African women in developing the continent, as she said the 21st Century belongs to them.
Cherie, who is in Abuja to attend a seminar on Equity and Venture capital told the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who hosted her to a lunch at the State House that Nigeria has continued to make progress since her first visit to the country.
According to her, “I have noticed since 2003 during my first visit to Nigeria that Nigerian women were a force to reckon with. The more I meet with Nigerian and African women, the more I become absolutely confident that the 21st century belongs to the African woman”.
Blair commended the progress made by Nigerian women and the giant strides they have taken in the country, saying they have been fully accommodated in the political arena of the continent which would enable them change the world.
She also commended the First Lady for her work in empowering Nigerian women, saying “We share common interest in the issues of women, coming from backgrounds that did not believe that women could make any difference”.
The First Lady appreciated the wife of former British Prime Minister for her kind words, noting that Nigeria and Britain have had a very fruitful relationship which she says would continue to blossom.
She urged Blair to always work in the interest of Nigerian women.
“I believe and appreciate you and the Cherie Blair Foundation which you have used to encourage women. I also wish to acknowledge your works in Africa which is duly recognised”, Mrs Jonathan said.
Boston marathon bombs were pressure cooker IEDs packed with ball-bearings: Devices that killed three, including eight-year-old boy waiting for his runner dad are used by terrorists in Afghanistan
Pressure-cooker bombs were packed with shards of metal, nails and ball bearings
Devices are frequently used in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to Homeland Security
An al-Qaeda magazine last year listed U.S. sporting events as one of 'the most important enemy targets'
An eight-year-old boy and a 29-year-old woman were among the three killed in the attack
176 people injured, at least 17 of them in critical condition and 'a lot' of amputations have been performed
Surgeons describe numerous severe injuries from 'pellets, shrapnel or nails from inside the bombs'
Investigators do not know of motive for the bombs or who is behind them but are questioning 'many people'
Obama vows to bring bombers to justice: 'The American people will not be terrorized'
The two bombs that killed three people and injured at least 176 at the Boston Marathon on Monday were made from six-litre pressure cookers crammed with shards of metal, nails and ball bearings and stashed in black backpacks, police sources revealed.
The cruelly-designed bombs have 'frequently' been used in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to a 2010 Homeland Security Department pamphlet - hinting at the origins of the bombers behind the worst terrorist atrocity in the U.S. since 9/11.
When the devices exploded near the crowded Boston Marathon finish line around 2.50pm on Monday, victims suffered as many as 40 shrapnel wounds each and at least 10 people needed amputations. Witnesses described seeing body parts flying through the air and shoes that 'still had flesh in them'.
The bombs used to kill and maim are believed to have contained black powder or gunpowder as the explosive, and information on how to make such a bomb is available on the internet, experts said. The devices were then left at the scene to look like discarded property, CBS News reported.
Investigators have also found pieces of an electronic circuit board which could indicate a timer was used in the detonation.
Bomb: Images from a Homeland Security Department pamphlet shows a diagram for rudimentary improvised explosive devices using pressure cookers. Police sources have revealed that the device used in the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday used pressure cookers filled with shrapnel and ball bearings
A former Nigerian federal lawmaker, Dino Melaye, Monday night escaped assassination in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Mr. Melaye, a staunch government critic, was attacked in the high-brow Central Business District of the city, while making his way home.
He said the attackers, driving in a Golf car, crossed his car near the NNPC towers and immediately began shooting at him.
He said two bullets hit his car before he managed to escape unharmed. “I am safe,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr. Melaye, a former member of the Peoples Democratic Party, shortly after leaving the National Assembly, switched to the opposition flank, actively leading the January 2012 fuel subsidy protest.
He has since then remained an anti-corruption activist.
“When you fight corruption, corruption fights back strongly,” he said, blaming the attack on his anti-corruption stance.
Uloma definitely knew Solomon was married to her. She said her first encounter with Uloma was back in 2010 when she called Solomon very late at night and she, Lilian, picked up the phone. She told Uloma that she’s Solomon’s wife and Uloma started crying. She said she even had to start consoling Uloma that night. After that phone conversation she didn’t hear from Uloma again but later found out she continued her affair with her husband. She said she called Uloma and warned her over the phone…
She and Solomon were not having any marital problems. She said Solomon told her he was going to Lagos to work a few days before the Saturday wedding. She said she was the one who helped him pack his bags and he even kissed her goodbye at the door. She said she communicated with him a day before the wedding, Friday April 12th and he was all lovey dovey with her. She munched the messages and sent to me…will show you guys some…
Lilian also made something very clear. She said if she and Solomon had been having issues, she wouldn’t have had the guts to do what she did at the venue. Solomon wouldn’t have even had to do the whole thing secretly. Not one member of Solomon’s family was at that wedding on Saturday. According to her, Solomon presented fake family members.
An Indian man has bought one of the world's most expensive shirts, made with more than 3kg of gold and worth $250,000. His is an extreme case of an Indian obsession with the precious metal.
Datta Phuge's nickname is "the gold man", and it's easy to see why.
His knuckles, neck, and wrists are weighed down by the precious metal - signet rings, chunky bracelets, and a medallion that even an Olympic champion might envy.
And on top of that, draped resplendently around him, glittering in the light, is a shirt of gold.
Weighing a staggering 3.3kg (about 7lb), it cost him a cool quarter of a million dollars (£162,000).
It's an extravagant fashion statement, to say the least, but for Phuge it's an important one.
"Some people ask me why I'm wearing so much gold but it was my dream. People have different aspirations. Some elite people want to own an Audi or Mercedes, and have big cars. I chose gold," he explains.
Given its impractical nature, the shirt only gets an outing on special occasions, like parties and important functions.
It elicits a mixture of reactions, Phuge says. Some people are impressed. Others are sniffy about what they regard as the excessive bling.
Either way, to ensure the shirt stays on his back, Phuge has a security guard with him wherever he travels.
"The challenge was to make this as comfortable as wearing a normal shirt," says Tejpal Rankar, of Rankar Jewellers, a 133-year-old business in Pune, a few hours' drive from Mumbai.
"Once we decided to make the shirt we researched designs and patterns. We didn't want it to be like wearing a sheet of gold."
To that end Rankar and his team of craftsmen decided to make a gold cloth based on an Italian weave, using a special machine.
They drew inspiration from old images of Indian kings wearing suits of armour. To prevent it scratching, they stitched a velvet lining inside.
The finished shirt is - as this writer can testify - heavy to wear and a little clunky. It can't be washed so care needs to be taken not to let it get dirty, or indeed too sweaty. The latter is unavoidable in an Indian summer.
Phuge says wearing it makes him feel good. For him it is the ultimate manifestation of achievement and gives him a status he has craved since he was young.
"When I was at college, people would say you were from a rich family if you had gold. So from the age of 20, I started wearing gold. Back then in smaller quantities, like 10 or 15g."
Actually, he wasn't from a rich family, he was from a humble background.
He made his big break as a property speculator, then became a money lender in the town of Pimpri Chinchwad, outside Pune.
Every six to eight months, when his company turns in a profit, he buys something else made of gold. Next on his list is a mobile phone made entirely from gold, and perhaps a pair of gold shoes.
Some press reports have suggested Phuge only bought the shirt to woo women but he is happily married to Seema, a government worker, who also has a penchant for the precious metal.
"She owns 500kg of gold, I've bought her necklaces and bags made from it," he says proudly.
But Phuge is also keenly aware of gold's value as an investment.
"If the need arises, I can sell the shirt and have the money," he says.
In this he is like many other Indians, the world's largest consumers of gold.
"Everyone in India buys gold," says Rajiv Mehta, a gold analyst from financial research firm India Info Line.
"Gold has become a status symbol or a symbol of wealth… especially in the last 10 years we've seen a lot of people kind of showcasing their gold ornaments or trying to become more flamboyant."
As the symbol of the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi, gold is seen as very auspicious. It is used to decorate Hindu deities in temples, and traditionally given as a gift at weddings.
According to Mehta, of the 18,000 tonnes of gold which is held in India, about two-thirds is in rural areas. Among the millions of people without bank accounts, gold is seen as an alternative way of saving.
Rankar says he is seeing more and more requests for gold handbags and belts and there's been a rise in the number of Indians buying gold bars, which can now even be acquired from some ATMs.
Gold-leafing, where 24-carat gold is applied to an object, is also becoming more popular, says Shezhad Khan, of the Gold Leafing Studio, Mumbai.
The company has recently been asked to gold leaf a toilet for a client, and also added a golden touch to the staircase at the world's most expensive home, Antilia, the Mumbai high-rise owned by the country's richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
For Datta Phuge, whose shirt which could have paid for a luxury house abroad, or a number of extra cars, it was money well spent.
"I wanted the world to know me as 'the gold man' with this shirt," he says. "And now, they do."
