7 things you need to know about what Pope Francis said about gays

The press is buzzing right now with claims that Pope Francis has taken a sharply different line than his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, on the subject of homosexuality.

Some are suggesting that the new pope has announced that "gay is okay."

What did Pope Francis really say, and how unusual is it?

Here are 7 things to know and share . . . 

1) Where did Pope Francis make these remarks?

He made them during an 80-minute interview with reporters aboard the plane returning from World Youth Day in Brazil.

2) What was he asked that led to the remarks?

We may not know exactly what the question was until a transcript is released, but apparently, he was asked about the reputed "gay lobby" at the Vatican.

 

3) What exactly did he say?

According to the best current accounts, he said:

There's a lot of talk about the gay lobby, but I've never seen it on the Vatican ID card.

When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn't be marginalized. The tendency [i.e., same-sex attraction] is not the problem ... they're our brothers.
 

Here is a fuller presentation of the exchange. Big hat tip to Salt and Light!

The Question to Pope Francis from Ilse, a journalist on the Papal flight

Ilse: I would like to ask permission to pose a rather delicate question.  Another image that went around the world is that of Monsignor Ricca and the news about his personal life.  I would like to know, your Holiness, what will be done about this question.  How should one deal with this question and how does your Holiness wish to deal with the whole question of the gay lobby?

The Pope’s Answer

Regarding the matter of Monsignor Ricca, I did what Canon Law required and did the required investigation.  And from the investigation, we did not find anything corresponding to the accusations against him.  We found none of that.  That is the answer.  But I would like to add one more thing to this: I see that so many times in the Church, apart from this case and also in this case, one  looks for the “sins of youth,” for example, is it not thus?, And then these things are published.  These things are not crimes.  The crimes are something else: child abuse is a crime.  But sins, if a person, or secular priest or a nun, has committed a sin and then that person experienced conversion, the Lord forgives and when the Lord forgives, the Lord forgets and this is very important for our lives.  When we go to confession and we truly say “I have sinned in this matter,” the Lord forgets and we do not have the right to not forget because we run the risk that the Lord will not forget our sins, eh?  This is a danger.  This is what is important: a theology of sin.  So many times I think of St. Peter: he committed one of the worst sins denying Christ.  And with this sin they made him Pope.  We must think about fact often.

But returning to your question more concretely: in this case [Ricca] I did the required investigation and we found nothing.  That is the first question.  Then you spoke of the gay lobby.  Agh… so much is written about the gay lobby.  I have yet to find on a Vatican identity card the word gay.  They say there are some gay people here.  I think that when we encounter a gay person, we must make the distinction between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of a lobby, because lobbies are not good.  They are bad.  If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this point beautifully but says, wait a moment, how does it say, it says, these persons must never be marginalized and “they must be integrated into society.”

The problem is not that one has this tendency; no, we must be brothers, this is the first matter.  There is another problem, another one: the problem is to form a lobby of those who have this tendency, a lobby of the greedy people, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of Masons, so many lobbies.  This is the most serious problem for me. And thank you so much for doing this question. Thank you very much!

 

4) What does this mean?

The first part of the statement seems to downplay the who "gay lobby" issue. He's not denying that there is one there, but he's suggesting that the talk is somewhat overblown.

He then explains his approach to dealing with gay people: He distinguishes between their "being gay" and "being part of a lobby."

What he means by "being gay" is something he further unpacks.

In ordinary parlance, "being gay" can mean anything from having same-sex attraction to leading an active "gay lifestyle" to endorsing and advocating a pro-homosexual ideology.

The last of these would be functioning as a member of a lobby, and he indicates that this is not what he is talking about.

He then describes those he is talking about as people who "accept the Lord and have goodwill."

He then seems to further clarify who he is talking about by saying that "The tendency [i.e., same-sex attraction] is not the problem ... they're our brothers."

Taking his statements together, what emerges is a portrait of individuals who have same-sex attraction but who nevertheless accept the Lord and have goodwill, as opposed to working to advance a pro-homosexual ideology.

This would definitely include people with same-sex attraction who strive to live chastely (even if they sometimes fail).

It also, possibly, could include individuals who are not living chastely but who are not actively lobbying a homosexual agenda. It would be nice if he'd said a little more to clarify the point further.

5) What does he say about people in this category?

He says that he does not think he is in a position to judge them and that they should not be marginalized.

He also says that the mere tendency (same-sex attraction) "is not the problem," and that "they're our brothers."

6) How new is this?

Not very.

Disclaiming a right to "judge" others is something that goes back to Jesus. It does not mean a failure to recognize the moral character of others' actions, however.

One can form a moral appraisal that what someone else is doing is wrong (Jesus obviously does not forbid that) without having or showing malice toward them.

The statement that they should not be marginalized is similarly in keeping with the Holy See's approach to the subject, as 1986 Vatican document On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons.

The statement that same-sex attraction "is not the problem," when understood correctly, is also nothing new. "The problem," as Pope Francis seems to here be understanding it, is going beyond merely having a sinful tendency--a temptation to which one is subject.

Obviously, temptations are problem, but if we resist temptation we do not sin. "The problem," on this understanding, is giving into the temptation and sinning or--worse--building an ideology around the sin and trying to advocate the sin.

Finally, the statement that "they're our brothers" is also no novelty. Christians, like everyone, have struggled with every sort of temptation all through history.

Same-sex attraction is just one temptation among numerous others, and the fact that a person suffers from this temptation no more deprives him of the status of being a brother in Christ than any other temptation does.

7) How different is any of this compared to Pope Benedict?

The press has been (as usual) trying to make unfavorable comparisons to Pope Benedit, noting that during his time the Holy See issued a document saying that those with deep-seated homosexual tendencies should not be ordained to the priesthood.

Pope Francis did not mention that document or its policy and so has done nothing different than Benedict there.

Neither are any of Francis's remarks contrary to the approach Benedict took during his pontificate.

In fact, Benedict himself (as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) was the signer of the previosly-mentioned letter on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, as well as the follow-up document on non-discrimination regarding homosexual persons.

So, as usual, the press is painting a false picture by contrasting the "good" Francis and the "bad" Benedict.

 #ncregister.com

 

New 'wonder' product promises to help women who suffer from 'embarrassing' inner-thigh chafing

A new 'wonder' product has hit the market for women who suffer from painful inner-thigh chafing.

Bandelettes are six-inch thick, garter-like lace bands that fit around the upper thigh to stop skin-to-skin rubbing under dresses, skirts or shorts.

Priced at $14.99 they come in round measurements ranging from 21 to 30 inches. The website deems them a 'functional yet glamorous' innovation, designed to combat a 'common problem' that's 'rarely discussed'.



An end to thigh chafing: Bandelettes, are six-inch thick, garter-like lace bands that fit around the upper thigh to stop skin-to-skin contact under dresses or skirts



To help the 'bandelettes' stay in place there is a strip of silicone along the top and bottom edges.

They are also made from elasticated lace, which makers say is breathable in warm weather.

Guardian style writer, Lilli Pascuzzi said that she wore them 'religiously' during two hot weeks in New York this summer and found them to be the 'closest thing to the perfect cure' for 'chub rub'.

Previously she said that she had tried everything to prevent sores appearing on her legs including wearing bike shorts, lotions, baby powder and deodorant.

Similarly Lauren Wayne, a mother-of-two from Seattle who runs the parenting blog Hobo Mama, gave 'bandelettes' a big thumbs up.

'They covered amply all the areas that would normally swish together when I walk,' she explained.

'They covered amply all the areas that would normally swish together when I walk - I had no irritation, no heat rash'

'I had no irritation, no heat rash, no little bumps. In short, I was comfortable and carefree all day long! I was so pleased, I even wore them indoors with just a long shirt on while I was doing sweat-intensive home improvement projects.'

She also said that as soon as she slipped them on she felt 'kinda pert [and] saucy.'

Touching on the issue of thigh-chaffing in a recent article for xovain, pus-sized blogger Katie Frost wrote: 'If you’ve ever dealt with inner-thigh chafing, then you understand the pain and embarrassment that comes along with it. 

'My thighs touch. There, I said it. In the age of the coveted thigh gap, mine smush together. For the most part, this is fine; but once the weather warms up, the problems begin.

'When you combine sweat and friction together, you create chafing - a painful, burning rash. It takes forever for the spots to heal because it's nearly impossible to keep your thighs from touching for the week or so it takes to clear up.'

New York-based Bandelettes launched in February. The leg bands come in nude and black and can be shipped worldwide.



#dailymail

Ireland - Missing boys, 10 and 5, found dead in car boot after crash which left their father injured

• Eoghan and Ruairi Chada were found dead near Westport, County Mayo
• They had disappeared with their father Sanjeev, 43, on Sunday evening
• Their bodies were found after Mr Chada crashed his car into a stone wall
• Mr Chada is said to have suffered 'non life threatening' injuries
• A post mortem examination is set to be carried out later today
• Detectives believe the children may have been dead before the crash

Tragic: The bodies of Eoghan Chada, 10 (right) and his brother Ruairi, five, (left) were found in the boot of their father Sanjeev Chada's (centre) car after he crashed into a wall in County Mayo, Ireland, yesterday


The bodies of two brothers were found dead in the boot of a car driven into a wall by their father a day after their disappearance sparked a nationwide search in Ireland.

Sanjeev Chada, 43, went missing with his two sons Eoghan, 10, and Ruairi, five, after leaving the family home in County Carlow in south east Ireland, on Sunday evening.

But police found the bodies of the two boys in the boot of Mr Chada's car following the crash around 300km away near Westport, County Mayo, yesterday.

Detectives believe that the boys were dead before the crash with a post mortem set to be carried out later today.


Mr Chada, known to friends as Sanj, was treated in hospital after the crash and is expected to be interviewed by detectives today.

Father Declan Foley, a priest who has been comforting the boys' mother Kathleen and the rest of the family described the moment the police broke the news of their deaths as 'like an earthquake had hit the house.'


Mr Chada, who is of Indian descent but said to have been brought up in the UK, and his children's disappearance had sparked a widespread search operation on Sunday evening with gardai issuing the country's first ever Child Rescue Ireland Alert.

The father and his two sons were last seen at around 6.30pm when he told wife Kathleen he was taking the children out and they left home to go to the Dome Bowling Centre in Carlow town centre.

But Mr Chada failed to return home with the children.

At the time the alert was issued, gardai said they had no knowledge of any breakdown in relations in the family and insisted that the couple were not estranged.

Detectives have appealed for anyone who may have seen the father of two in his green Ford Focus, registration number 06 CW 238, as it travelled across the country.



They urged workers in petrol stations, shops, B&Bs and hotels and motorists who may have seen the car between Sunday and Monday to come forward in a bid to identify the route it took.

Teams of officers in both Mayo and Carlow are working on the case.

The bodies were found after police responded to reports of a crash involving a single car yesterday.





Investigation: A post mortem examination into the deaths of Eoghan, 10, and Ruairi, five, (pictured left) is to be carried out today. The pair had disappeared with the father Sanjeev after he told wife Kathleen (right) that he was taking the children out






Police probe: Gardai stand guard at the family home where Mr Chada, Eoghan and Ruairi went missing from on Sunday

Two local men reportedly spoke to Mr Chada shortly after the crash happened.

One of them lent him a mobile phone to make a call.

Eoghan and Ruairi were described as extremely popular and 'two little sports fanatics' by neighbours.

They were members of their local junior hurling club, Ballinkillen in rural County Carlow, and had played at under-10 and under-six level.

Mrs Chada, a nurse, was originally from the area and lives near where her parents Willie and Patsy Murphy have a home.



Sanjeev Chada, 43, (right) was injured in the crash but police found the bodies of his two children Eoghan, ten (left) and Ruairi, five, (centre), in the car boot





#dailymail

Pope Francis: Who am I to judge gay people?

The Pope's position on gay people appears to contrast with that of his predecessor

BBC - 

Pope Francis has said gay people should not be marginalised but integrated into society.

Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Brazil, he reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's position that homosexual acts were sinful, but homosexual orientation was not.

"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?"

He also said he wanted a greater role for women in the Church, but insisted they could not be priests.

The Pope arrived back in Rome on Monday after a week-long tour of Brazil - his first trip abroad as pontiff - which climaxed with a huge gathering on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach for a world Catholic youth festival.

Festival organisers estimated it attracted more than three million people.

His remarks on gay people are being seen as much more conciliatory than his predecessor's position on the issue.

Pope Benedict XVI signed a document in 2005 that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests.

Pope Francis said gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten.

Gay 'lobbying'

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well," Pope Francis said in a wide-ranging 80-minute long interview with Vatican journalists.

"It says they should not be marginalised because of this but that they must be integrated into society."

But he condemned what he described as lobbying by gay people.

"The problem is not having this orientation," he said. "We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem."

On the role of women in the Church, he said: "We cannot limit the role of women in the Church to altar girls or the president of a charity, there must be more.

"But with regards to the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and says no... That door is closed."

Answering questions about the troubled Vatican bank, he said the institution must become "honest and transparent" and that he would listen to advice on whether it could be reformed or should be shut down altogether.

"I don't know what will become of the bank. Some say it is better that is a bank, others that it should be a charitable fund and others say close it," he said.

'Undisciplined'

Before leaving Brazil, Pope Francis gave a highly unusual one-to-one interview to a Brazilian TV programme.

The interview was shown on TV Globo's high-profile Sunday night documentary programme Fantastico, broadcast not long after the Pope departed for Rome.

The Pope was asked about the moment on his visit when his driver took a wrong turn and his vehicle was surrounded by crowds.

"I don't feel afraid," he answered. "I know that no-one dies before their time.

"I don't want to see these people who have such a great heart from behind a glass box. The two security teams [from the Vatican and Brazil] worked very well. But I know that I am undisciplined in that respect."

Asked about the recent protests by young people on the streets of Brazil, the Pope said: "The young person is essentially a non-conformist, and this is very beautiful.

"It is necessary to listen to young people, give them places to express themselves and to be careful that they aren't manipulated."

Asked about his simple lifestyle and use of a small car, he said it wasn't a good example when a priest had the latest model of a car or a top brand.

"At this moment I believe God is asking us for more simplicity," he added.

Ekiti - Man jailed 8 yrs for raping a 12 yr old girl

The Ado Ekiti High Court has sentenced a middle-aged man, Innocent Eze, to eightyears imprisonment for assaulting and raping a 12-year-old girl.

Justice Adekanye Ogunmoye in the judgment delivered on Friday held that Eze was guilty of indecent assault and defilement.

The convict was jailed one year for the first count and seven years for defilement.

Oluwaseyi Ojo and Tayo Bade-Gboyega who had appeared for the state had told the court that the offences were contrary to Sections 360 and 218 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Prosecutors told the court that Eze, on August 31, 2011, in Ijan-Ekiti, grabbed the victim after assisting him to fetch water from a well and dragged her inside his room where he forcefully had carnal knowledge of the girl.

The court was also told that the convict stuffed a handkerchief in the girl’s vaginal to stop the bleeding after he had raped her. Eze was also said to have given the victim N100 to buy drugs after the defilement.

Confirming that the victim was defiled, a witness, Dr. Oluwagbemiga Alade, who treated the victim at General Hospital, Ijan Ekiti, confirmed that the girl’s hymen was “traumatised, with laceration along the vaginal wall.”

Counsel for the convict, Mrs. N. Nwafor, had pleaded that the court temper justice with mercy. However, the judge described the act as barbaric, saying the perpetrator should be punished to deter others.

The judge said, “It’s unfortunate that a 12-year-old girl was sexually defiled as was done to the victim in this case. It is more unfortunate that the matter came to the public domain.

“The convict, by his act, had succeeded in placing a stigma on the person of the victim, which may take a long time to erase. The trauma suffered by the victim would take a longer time to forget.

“The act of the convict is not such as should be encouraged. This is definitely a barbaric act and the sentence must be such as would serve as deterrent to the convict and others who still harbour similar tendencies.”

Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, in a statement issued by her Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Akin Oyedele, in reaction to the judgement, said such punishment would serve as deterrent to other sexual perverts on the prowl.

She urged rape victims to always speak out to stop rapists from their wicked acts.



#punch

Nigerian Businessman Abducted, Stripped Naked And Jailed By Police Over Online Comments About PDP

On July 13, four days after arriving Nigeria from his South Africa base, Bonny Okonkwo was attending a business meeting in Surulere, Lagos when his phone rang.

The caller on the other end announced that he was a police officer from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS. The officer ordered Mr. Okonkwo to race back to his Mushin apartment immediately for an arrest.


When he arrived his apartment, half a dozen fully armed and stern looking SARS officers were waiting with AK 47 rifles on their shoulders.



They dragged him from his car, pinned him to the floor, handcuffed and loaded him into the trunk of a waiting SUV and drove off, in commando style.

Defamation arrest;

After he was offloaded at an Ikeja police station, a divisional police officer informed him, for the first time since his ordeal began, the reason for his abduction-like arrest.

A Nigerian ruling party politician and billionaire businessman, Emeka Offor, had petitioned the police complaining that Mr. Bonny defamed him in a contribution he made in an online discussion forum.

The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, had ordered his arrest and detention after Mr. Offor petitioned the police boss through Fortress Solicitors.

The police dragged Mr. Bonny to the station’s counter, documented, stripped and pushed him into a holding cell where he spent six days in solitary confinement.

Prolonged detention;

At the Ikeja police station, Mr. Bonny got nothing close to legal action. “He was denied access to his family and lawyer” Sylvanus Udedibia, his cousin said.

On the seventh day, he was moved to another cell out of Ikeja, where he spent another night before the police shipped him up north, to a cell in Garki, Abuja – Nigeria’s capital city.

After arriving the Abuja cell, on the ninth day in detention, he was given his first breather, a “restricted” opportunity to reach out to his lawyers.

All along, his family was only able to keep tabs on his changing location through snippets of information discreetly fed them by concerned police officers.

On Thursday, 13 days after he was arrested in Lagos, the Abuja police command dragged Mr Bonny before a magistrate court on the outskirts of the city, where he was charged for defaming Mr. Offor.

Mr. Bonny arrived the court in a police van, with police prosecutors, but without his attorney.

“The police did not inform us they were charging him that day,” Mr. Udedibia said.

At the court, Mr. Bonny informed the judge that the police had denied him access to legal representation. The judge suspended the case by 24 hours, ordering the police to allow the victim access to his lawyers.

The following day, his lawyers presented an application for bail. After hearing the bail application in the morning, the judge requested time to consider the case and rule on the application.

Hours later, just before the weekend kicked in, the judge sent a clerk to inform his lawyers and family that he was attending to a pressing matter and could not deliver judgment that day.

Mr. Bonny was dragged back to his cell where he would spend the weekend.

Illegal detention;

The Nigerian laws permits the police to hold a suspect for only 24 hours – and 48 hours where there is no court within reach – before pressing charges.

Mr. Bonny was held for 13 days, eleven days more than what is allowed by the law.

But the police have, in several cases broken that law, holding victims for longer days, especially if the victims were up against influential accusers.

When asked about Mr. Bonny’s prolonged incarceration, Emeka Offor’s lawyer, Godson Ugochukwu, who signed the petition on which the police based its July 13 arrest of the businessman, was evasive.

Mr. Ugochukwu said the victim’s detention was a matter before a court. He also denied Mr. Bonny was ever held incommunicado.

The Federal Capital Territory police command, which is currently prosecuting Mr. Bonny curiously denied knowledge of the case. Its spokesperson, Altine Daniel, suggested the case was not been handled by her command.

Frank Mba, Force spokesperson also said he was not aware of the case. When pressed for justification for prolonged detentions, he argued that every general rule have exceptions.

“Each case is treated on its individual merit,” he said.

Mr. Bonny’s family and kinsmen in the Oraifite community of Anambra state are deeply saddened by the billionaire’s use of state authorities to intimidate and incarcerate Mr. Bonny, Fidelis Okonkwo, the victim’s younger brother, said.

“Whatever he is accused of, he should have been charged a long time ago,” Mr. Okonkwo added.


#premiumtimes 

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'Killing Me Softly' Music video director, Aswad Ayinde, gets 90 years in jail for impregnating his own daughters

Award-winning music director Aswad Ayinde, 55, has been sentenced to 90 years in prison after being found guilty of repeatedly raping his six daughters, resulting in them having six kids for him. What an abomination!

Mr. Ayinde was found guilty in a second trial of having intercourse with one of his daughters when she was as young as eight-years-old.

This second sentence, for which he got 50 years, adds to the 40 year sentence Mr Ayinde received in a 2011 trial for sexually assaulting a separate daughter.

Mr. Ayinde is known for directing the music video for the Fugees 1996 smash hit ‘Killing Me Softly.’

In disturbing disclosures during his trials, Mr. Ayinde’s former wife said he was trying to create a ‘pure family bloodline’ by impregnating his daughters.

He even claimed that ‘the world was going to end, and it was just going to be him and his offspring and that he was chosen.’

In this latest trial, it was revealed that Mr. Ayinde began having intercourse with his second daughter from the time she was eight-years-old, impregnating her four times.

The sexual assaults happened for almost 30 years until Mr. Ayinde and his wife separated.

They occurred in numerous homes across northern New Jersey, even while the family was under watch of state child welfare officials, according to NBC New York.

Some of the rapes even took place in an abandoned funeral home.

Ayinde’s tortured daughters were home schooled and isolated from other children, so as to keep the family secrets hidden.

The depraved father also beat and starved the girls using wooden boards and steel-toed boots for even ‘minor transgressions’

Mr. Ayinde also fathered 12 additional children with an additional three women, according to court records.

With his wife too afraid to confront him, Mr. Ayinde carried out his evil plan without hindrance even while directing the music video for the Fugees 1996 breakout hit ‘Killing Me Softly, for which he won ‘Best R&B Video’ at the 1996 MTV Music Video Awards. The Fugees are also originally from Northern New Jersey.

Mr. Ayinde faces three more trials over the alleged assaults.

Aswad's daughter confronts him at sentencing:

As Aswad Ayinde’s daughter stood up to speak, the judge ordered him to put down the court papers he was hunched over and face the daughter he had assaulted and raped since she was 8 years old, fathering her four children. “I can’t describe how much you hurt me and my sisters,” the daughter, now 35, said Friday to her father, shackled in a prison jumpsuit, his head still bowed, eyes never once meeting hers.

As the woman rehashed the horrors her father inflicted on her and her sisters in Paterson, Ayinde burst out, “You should’ve told the truth instead of lying,” bringing an admonishment from Superior Court Judge Raymond Reddin, who told him that not only did he believe the daughter’s testimony, but also so did the 12 jurors who convicted him.
Ultimately, the daughter said she forgave her father and hoped at some time he’d repent. “But obviously, with your head down like that, you do not understand,” she said, three of her sisters fighting tears in the courtroom pews.
After the daughter finished, Reddin on Friday tacked on 50 years to the 40-year prison sentence Ayinde, 54, received in 2010 after being convicted of raping another of his daughters, who bore a fifth child.
The former music producer and self-proclaimed prophet faces three more trials for allegedly sexually assaulting three other daughters after requesting separate trials. Prosecutors have said that Ayinde dominated his children as a god-like prophet who wanted to create a race that carried his pure bloodline.
Over the years, he molested five of his seven daughters and fathered six children, the family and their attorney said. By about 2001, the family had mostly split up, Ayinde “bouncing around,” but still in reach of his family, the daughter said. In 2003, he tried to rape her for the last time. “That was it. … I just felt stronger,” she said. Yet, it wasn’t until she and her sisters learned that Ayinde had fathered more children with other women that they decided to go to the authorities in 2006. “We found out we had other siblings, young siblings, and we had to put him to a stop,” the daughter said after the sentencing hearing. “Even though we were healing, they could still fall victim.” These days, the sisters stay in close touch.
The daughter who spoke Friday is studying communications at Essex County College — “straight A’s last semester,” she said — and has just finished a memoir. As for her four children, two have genetic illnesses that doctors told her likely were due in part to the incest. A 9-year-old daughter died in 2010 of spinal muscular atrophy.

 In sentencing Ayinde, Reddin could not hide his disgust for what he had done. “By 13, most fathers are taking their daughters to the park … teaching them to ride a bike,” he said. “You took her in the bedroom and repeatedly raped her to complete your disgusting, revolting fantasies.”





#northjersey.com
#dailystar

Kenya - Man jailed 20 years for marrying 14-year old girl

At a time when the news of underage marriage is front, right and centre in the Nigerian media and public consciousness, the Court of Appeal in Kenya confirmed on Friday, a 20-year jail sentence handed to a man who “married” a 14-year-old girl in 2010.

In 2010, the man, Ezekiel Sonkoyo was found guilty of defiling the Form One student by a Kilgoris court and he has been appealing since then, but on Friday, he lost his second and final appeal seeking to quash the sentence.

In fact, Sokonyo’s case was more chilling because he took the girl who was a student at Siria Secondary School from her home on August 17, 2010 to Eldoret, without the consent of her parents. When the father of the girl traced his daughter two months later, she was found living with Sokonyo as his wife. Then he defended himself by saying that although he knew her real age, he had sexual relations with her because he intended to marry her.

However, Lady Justice Ruth Sitati, who heard the first appeal, quoted the Sexual Offences Act, saying, given her age, the girl could not legally give consent. Justice Sitati upheld the sentence of 20 years given by the magistrate’s court in January last year.

Not satisfied, he moved to the Court of Appeal sitting in Kisumu and which constituted of Justices Onyango Otieno, Festus Azangalala and Sankale ole Kantai. Again, the judges upheld the ruling of the lower courts.


#THESCOOP

Mum Sells Baby For N100,000

The police in Imo State are now investigating how a 27 year old housewife, Mrs Njideka Okorie eloped with six months pregnancy and went into hiding where she was later delivered of a baby girl which she sold to one Agatha Okoronkwo at Isieka Ihiala in Anambra State for N100,000.

Saturday Sun gathered that Njideka has been married to Samuel Okorie , for over 10 years. The marriage was already blessed with four children while they were expecting the fifth child, the wife eloped with six months pregnancy from their home in Orlu, Imo State.

The housewife also fled her matrimonial home with the other four children in March and returned four months after, precisely on July 5, 2013, with the four kids, but without the pregnancy of their fifth child.

It was learnt that the inability of Njideka to explain what happened to their baby led the husband to lodge a complaint against her at the Orlu police station.

While confirming the development, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Katsina told Saturday Sun that ,” I have to send my ‘Police Ambush Squad’ to arrest Njideka Okorie and she confessed that she delivered the baby on June 27, 2013 but that she sold it for N100,000 to one Agatha Okoronkwo .

She said the child is a female and was sold when she was three weeks old.”The police boss stated that the police detectives travelled to Isieka Ihiala in Anambra State to arrest the suspect, Agatha Okoronkwo , a civil servant who allegedly bought the three-week old child.

The complainant, Samuel Okorie told Saturday Sun that,” I was shocked that before I came to the house, my wife has eloped with my four children and my six months old pregnancy she has for me.” He added that “suddenly, she appeared again after two months . She came with my four children . But I didn’t see the pregnancy again and there was no baby. I was not happy and reported the case to Orlu police station.”

Okorie explained that, “ It was when my wife was arrested by the police that she confessed to have sold a-three week old baby for N100,000 to a woman in Ihiala in Anambra State. Thank God that the police recovered the baby.”

“I didn’t quarrel or have any misunderstanding with her. We were living together in peace. I was surprised that my wife left the house suddenly “, he added. In her confessions on why she sold her baby, Njideka said “ It was the work of the devil. I have never had any misunderstanding with my husband . I just left suddenly and I went to deliver the baby and later sold it for N100,000. I delivered the baby and sold it after three weeks.

“I came back to my husband’s house and with his four children and he asked me about the pregnancy but I didn’t say anything. He later went to report the matter to the police and I was arrested. It was then that I confessed that I sold the child for N100,000. The police followed me to my father’s house and they recovered N78,000 out of the N100,000 I received from the sale of the child.”

In her own explanation, Agatha Okoronkwo stated that “ It was when she (Njideka) contacted me and I needed a child. I work at the Red Cross Organization. I bought the child for N100,000. I needed a baby and bought the three-week old baby from her in Owerri..”

The state police commissioner said his command had recovered the baby and handed her over to a rehabilitation home. He said the suspects will soon be charged to court after thorough investigation.



#naij.com
#sun

Pope Francis calls for a shake-up in the church... calls for a simpler Church based on core values of love and humility

Pope Francis has called for a simpler Church based on core values of love and humility, in a speech to hundreds of thousands of devotees on Rio's Copacabana beach.

The new Pope, Latin America's first pontiff, told Catholics gathered for the final evening of World Youth Day: "At times we lose people because they don't understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism which is foreign to our people.

"Without the grammar of simplicity, the church loses the very conditions which make it possible to fish for God in the deep waters of his mystery."


Pope Francis waves from the Popemobile as he arrives to celebrate Mass on Copacabana Beach during World Youth Day



Francis headed into the final hours of his trip on a wave of adoration across the country, the back seat of his famous 'Popemobile' piled high with football shirts, flags and flowers tossed to him by adoring pilgrims lining the beachfront.

During his visit to Brazil, the first international tour of his leadership, Francis earlier this weekend took bishops to task over the mass exodus of youngsters from the Catholic Church.

Speaking to Brazil's bishops, he said ordinary Catholics didn't understand such lofty ideas, the intellectualism which characterised the tenure of his precedecessor Pope Benedict XVI, and needed to hear the simpler message of love, forgiveness and mercy at the core of the Catholic faith, according to the Associated Press.

"Perhaps the church appeared too weak, perhaps too distant from their needs, perhaps too poor to respond to their concerns, perhaps too cold, perhaps too caught up with itself, perhaps a prisoner of its own rigid formulas," he told the 300 assembled bishops at the Rio Archbishop's residence.

"Perhaps the world seems to have made the church a relic of the past, unfit for new questions. Perhaps the church could speak to people in their infancy but not to those come of age."

And at an address to young Argentinian pilgrims on Thursday, he called for them to shake up their dioceses, even at the expense of confrontation with their bishops and priests.

"We cannot keep ourselves shut up in parishes, in our communities when so many people are waiting for the Gospel.

"It's not enough simply to open the door in welcome, but we must go out through that door to seek and meet the people."

Weird! Man who gets turned on when people fart

 

Stink ... most view flatulence as disgusting

THE smell of another person’s trump is enough to turn most people off whatever it is they’re doing.

But in the world’s first recorded case a man has bizarrely admitted to being sexually aroused by other people passing wind.

A Brit psychologist has studied the case of so-called “eproctophilia” in a 22-year-old man from Illinois, America.

The man, who has been given the fake name Brad, reckons he is “not sexually attracted to flatulence per se, but the person releasing the flatulence”.

And Brad, who has a degree in fine arts, explains the moment he first experienced eproctophilia - when he heard a girl he fancied at school had passed wind.

He said: “This blew my mind. Prior to that, I’d never really considered it.

“I knew by simple biology that girls farted, but hearing that the girl I had been fawning over was capable of such a thing sparked a strange interest in me.”

He first tested out his oddball fetish as a 16-year-old after he heard a pal pass wind in front of him.

Brad then created a bet which he would lose every time – with the winners farting in the loser’s face for a week.

And the American graduate lost once every few weeks – for two years.

He added: “It was rather appealing in sound and I found myself fixating on it.

“At first, I didn’t want to admit I was into his farting, but eventually I decided to experiment.

“I set up a bet at some point and intentionally lost, with the wager being the right to fart in the loser’s face for a week. I continued to lose such bets once every few weeks for about two years.”

He admits to enjoying both the sound and smell of flatulence.

Professor Mark Griffiths, lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, published a study on the case in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour.

“Eproctophiles are said to spend an abnormal amount of time thinking about farting and flatulence and have recurring intense sexual urges and fantasies involving farting and flatulence.

“The prevalence and incidence of eproctophilia is assumed to be negligible given that no previous case studies have ever been published.

“Most people probably view flatulence as a disgusting behaviour yet eproctophiles do not.”




#thesun

Facebook: Nigeria’s self-described homosexuals and self-inflicted legal mess

By Emeka Ugwuonye








When I look at people’s Basic Information on their profiles on Facebook, I always rush to see how they answered the question: (Interested in:). When I see they answered it as “Men and Women”, I laugh so hard and I get worried, especially if they are Nigerians. None of them realizes that under the new law in the making, they have confessed to being guilty of homosexuality.


What people often do not know is that Facebook came into existence at a time that the market for dating sites was booming. Websites such as Match.com had already been developed to match-make lovers. These dating sites enable people to meet new dates or love partners and it has been a booming great business. So, Facebook was wise to tap into that market by having people indicate their dating preference or interest, i.e., the gender of the person they would like to date.


Because in America and other European countries, mostly, the law had since allowed same-sex or homosexual relationships, it is possible for people to date or have romantic relationship with people of the two genders. So, a woman who is bisexual would date “men and women”. And a bisexual male would date both “men and women”. But the important thing is that the question or the information required of you is to indicate: (a) whether you are interested in finding a date on Facebook and (b) what is the gender of the dating partner you would prefer.


So if you are not looking for a date on Facebook, do not fill out the information requested under “Interested In”. Also, those people who indicate that they are married and yet go further to fill that information are actually indicating that they are married, but are still interested in dating someone other than their spouses. And those people who answer that question with “men and women” are actually indicating that they are partly homosexual and partly heterosexual (i.e. bisexual). So, please, if you are a woman and you fill out that question with “men and women” do not be surprised if another woman expresses dating interest in you. And if you are a man and you fill out that question with “men and women”, do not be surprised if a gay man expresses interesting in dating you. And if you are a Nigerian, do not be surprised if you get arrested eventually for the “crime” of homosexuality.


But also, this matter reflects a fundamental cognitive or linguistic gap in the way people of different cultures attribute meanings to words and terms. Many Africans, particularly Nigerians who face such question as “interested in”, interpret the words “interested in” to mean general liking. They think that they are being asked whether they like people or hate people. But that is nonsense. That is not what the question is about. So forget that your Bible mentality of liking everybody. The operative word here is “interested”, not “liking”. The essence of that question is to ascertain your sexual orientation – whether you are homosexual or not. Indeed, many Nigerians from the information they provide on Facebook have defined themselves as homosexuals or heterosexuals without realizing it. Do you then wonder why the West would be pressuring the Nigerian government not to criminalize homosexuals given that most Nigerians on Facebook have described themselves as homosexuals?


So, please, go back right now to the Basic Information you provided on your Facebook profile and state the truth about your sexual orientation.


(a) If you are a married person and you are not trying to cheat on your wife or husband, skip that question “Interested In”.


(b) If you are a man and you are interested in dating only women, then answer that question with “women”.


(c) If you are a woman and you are interested in dating only men, then answer that question with “men”.


(d) If you are in a relationship and you are not interesting in a date anymore, then skip that question.


(e) If you are homosexual man and you are interested in dating men, then answer the question with “men”.


(f) If you are a homosexual woman or a lesbian and you are interested in dating women, then answer that question with “women”.


(g) And finally, if you are a bisexual person and you want to attract and date people of both sexes, then answer it with “men and women”.


And whatever answer you give, remember that the new law against same-sex sex or dating is going to come into effect soon, and you don’t want to be arrested and sent to jail for 14 years.


The point to bear in mind is that these things may have profound legal implications, which some people don’t seem to realize. If your husband or wife accuses you of infidelity, he or she can prove his or her case by pointing at your Facebook profile to show you are looking for dates and that your are either a homosexual or a bisexual. Also, it is not harassment for men or women to be chasing you after you have indicated that you are interested in “men and women”. For those women who get upset that even though they indicated they are married, men are chasing them on Facebook, have themselves to blame if they filled out that question, “interested in”.


So please take advantage of this free legal advice and define your sexual status accurately.


•Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire, whose photo appears alongside this piece, is an international lawyer practicing in the US and Nigeria. He is the Group Founder/Principal Administrator of Due Process Advocates (DPA).



Source News Express

VIDEO~: Stephanie Okereke releases trailer of her upcoming movie ‘DRY’, themed against underage marriage

 
Nollywood actress, Stephanie Okereke-Linus has released an interesting and emotional trailer of her upcoming movie, ‘Dry’ starring veteran actress, Liz Benson among others. This movie is themed against the underage marriage act.


Stephanie wrote on her blog: “At this critical juncture, I am now compelled to release the unofficial (raw footage) videos of my upcoming movie, ‘DRY’ to galvanize support from Nigerians and the International community for the revocation of the Senate resolution.

“Nigerians! It’s time to lend your voices and share your thoughts. We need to protect the girl child from incessant abuse.”

Watch the trailer below:

VIDEO: Controversial nigerian senator defends his marriage to a 13 year old girl

Senator and former governor, Ahmad Yerima, defends his marraige to a 13 year old Egyptian girl. This interview was done in 2010 by Al Jazeera tv.

Click below to watch video:

U.S. Residents worries as Bizarre orange clouds light up sky

Unusual Mammatus clouds form in the sky over Iron Mountain, Wisconsin in this photo posted to Facebook by Joe Nottage. The clouds are often a sign of approaching wild weather.          

 

EERIE round, orange clouds were spotted over a US city, making the sky appear "on fire" and leading residents to worry that wild weather was coming.

The bizarre sight formed in the skies over the Michigan town of Iron Mountain at around 8.30pm local time, and led to worries that severe thunderstorms or tornadoes were approaching.
National Weather Service Warning Coordination meteorologist Jeff Last, who posted images of the curved, tinted clouds to Twitter, said they were a rare phenomenon called Mammatus, which means "breast cloud".
Mammatus, or mammatocumulus, clouds are often associated with severe thunderstorms, said Iron Mountain Daily News reporter Chris Tomassucci.
"The pictures don’t really capture how eerie the whole experience was," he wrote.

"The mammatocumulus that formed over Iron Mountain made everything take on strange coloration. Greens looked more green, blues more blue, and so on."
Resident Jason Asselin captured the "incredible and crazy sky" on video, which he posted to YouTube.

Meteorologist Jeff Last posted this photo, taken over Spread Eagle, Wisconsin, to Twitter. Picture: Twitter 

     

"All of a sudden it got very yellow outside, it felt strange and mysterious," he wrote. "Then it slowly looked very orange, it was the craziest thing I have ever witnessed over my head. I almost expected to see a tornado or something!"
"They are extremely rare in this part of the country and many people have never seen anything like it before," Mr Asselin said.
The clouds were part of a cold front that spread across Wisconsin and Iowa, bringing hail, heavy rain and a tornado with them, the Times-Press reports.
Fears for more savage weather were unfounded, although police and fire fighters did have to rescue a group of people caught in a river when the strong winds struck.
"The people were on a sand bar, and their canoe blew away," Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister told the Times-Press.



#news.com

Police parades the strange fish that almost caused stampede in Ibadan...turns out to be octopus!

IBADAN — The Oyo State police command, Wednesday, paraded the strange fish that almost caused stampede in Ibadan, Wednesday.

While dismissing some reports that claimed the strange looking creature was a mermaid, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Indabawa, said it was actually an octopus.




Mrs. Ramota Salawu, the fish seller (The octopus)


He further stated that the creature was strange to residents of Ibadan because they were not living in the riverine area.

The CP said: “I think it was an octopus and not a mermaid as claimed by some reports” and urged the people to remain calm as the story around the discovery of a mermaid was not true.

The fish vendor, Mrs. Ramota Salawu, who first saw the octopus lamented her ordeal with some miscreants who insisted that she must produce the ‘mermaid’ she was hiding in her house.

According to her, the mob destroyed her property including her business. She denied seeing any mermaid as claimed by the surging crowd.

She said: “They beat my children and destroyed my property. I showed this creature to them that I never saw any mermaid.

“Even Osun river goddess adherents came saying they had to perform some rituals but I told them I was not an Osun worshipper and that I don’t know anything about mermaids. Later, the police had to rescue me from them.”

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Bunmi Babalola said as far as he was concerned, the creature was an octopus.


#vanguard

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their son

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their son George Alexander Louis, Kensington Palace has said.

George had been the bookmakers' favourite for the first name of the prince who is third in line to the throne.

They are currently at the duchess's family home in Berkshire, after spending a night at Kensington Palace.

The Queen, Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton were among the visitors to the palace.

#bbc

SHOCKING: Lagos Housewife Dies During Romp With Lover In Hotel.....Yet to be identified lover flees

A housewife, Glory Abbey who went with her lover to a popular hotel in Lagos has died during a sex romp with him.

Her yet to be identified lover after noticing what had happened quietly sneaked out and fled from the hotel without bothering to inform the hotel management about what happened.

The incident was said to have occurred at Kings of Queens Hotel located at 11, Otunba Oladokun Street, Lanre Bus Stop, Igando, Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.

According to the hotel’s manager identified as Saliu, the woman came to the hotel with the young man, booked a room and went in.

“After staying for several hours in the room the man came out and told the security men that he wanted to buy food outside and he did not return to the hotel,” he said.

They later discovered the woman lying dead on the bed in the room.

Saliu said he did not see any physical injury she sustained and could not explain what really caused her death.

The owner of the hotel, Otunba Richard Oladokun, who also confirmed the incident, expressed shock over what happened.

He said he was informed about what happened on phone by his manager and he went to the police station at Igando and reported the matter.

He said he came with the police to the hotel and found the woman lying dead on the bed and the police took away her corpse to the mortuary.

Oladokun said what surprised him most was that the young man who brought the woman to the hotel initially picked his calls and promised to come back but did not. Rather, he later switched off his phone and no one has been able to contact him again since the incident happened.

Nobody has been able to contact the woman’s husband or relatives as there is no address to trace them at the time of this report.

Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, described Glory’s death as sudden and unnatural.

She said her body has been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy, while the police have since commenced investigation into the matter.

An autopsy has not yet been carried to know the exact cause of her death.



#pmnews
READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/41219.html

Kidnappers Den Uncovered In Lagos

Ago Okota area of Lagos was in the news weekend, following the discovery of a kidnapper’s den, on Oyegbusi street, where a Briton who was kidnapped shortly after arriving the country from Amsterdam, was kept for five days before he was rescued.

The three-storey building located in the area known as new sight, towards Ago end of Okota, could be said to be sited at a vantage position for the kidnappers, as it enables them to have a clear view of the entire area, down to the popular Apple junction in Amuwo-Odofin.

Crime Alert gathered that the kidnappers whose exact number could not be ascertained, had been using the uncompleted building for long to hold their victims hostage until ransom was paid. Investigation carried out revealed that anytime they made a catch, they would drive in with their victims who are usually blindfolded.

On reaching the compound, they would lead their victims right to the third floor from where they would keep them in one of the rooms until ransom was paid. At the end of any successful operation, the kidnappers, as gathered, would leave for their respective places of abode, leaving a lone security man identified as Nonye, to look after their prey.


*The kidnappers den

The 32-year-old security man who resides in Ikotun area of Lagos, as reliably gathered, was employed as a guard close to two years ago to checkmate usage of the uncompleted building by illegal occupants. But little did his employer (names withheld) know Nonye had a sinister motive up his sleeve.

Efforts to get response from other residents proved abortive as most of them kept sealed lips. However, a man who claims to own a farm land around the flooded area told Crime Alert that there is no way anyone would expect anything of such has been going on there because you hardly see them together in front of the building. Anytime a car drives in, there is this impression that the owner of the building has come to inspect it. Construction work stopped for a while and since then, nothing seemed to be happening.”

A local food vendor around the area said: “ My sister, I know nothing. My only advise is that Police should also carry out same raid around this canal area because all the time, you see them in big big cars driving in and out. Nobody knows what they area into.

How Briton was kidnapped

It was reliably gathered that on July 16, 2013, the kidnappers armed with locally made pistol stormed airport road, waiting for a prey. Just then, they reportedly sighted a black Sportage SUV approaching. On realizing that the occupant was a foreigner, the kidnappers heaved sighs of relief and in a commando- like manner, intercepted the vehicle around Mafoluku, releasing sporadic shots. In the process, the driver of the vehicle with an unknown identity reportedly sustained bullet wounds, while the foreigner later identified as Dickson Lee, was immediately blind folded and whisked to their den.

Sources told Crime Alert that although the Briton who was coming to Nigeria for the first time, following a job he recently secured in an oil company, had been informed of kidnappers excesses in the country, he was reportedly reassured that Lagos was not prone to kidnap cases as other states.

Lee, who was clad in a striped blue, white and yellow shirt on a blue jean was apparently unsure of what would become of him as he was thrown into the toilet of the four-bedroom flat with his hands and legs tied and his mouth sealed with cello-tape.

He was reportedly untied only when they wanted to feed him. Though he was not used to the type of food offered, he reluctantly ate part of the bread and processed can food, including fruit juice out of starvation. During his stay, the kidnappers reportedly contacted Lee’s relatives on one of the GSM network providers. Crime Alert reliably gathered that when the number they used in contacting Lee’s relatives was sent to the network providers by operatives of the Special Intelligence Bureau, SIB, and those of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, to facilitate their investigation, it was discovered that the number was registered with a fake address and details.

Operatives’ strategy

Undeterred by the kidnappers game, the operatives switched to plan ‘B’ by encouraging Lee’s relatives to play along. They reportedly demanded for a ransom of $100 million but later settled for N7.5 million, which they insisted must be deposited at a designated point somewhere in Okokomaiko area on or before July 21, or risk loosing Lee.

On the day of the payment of ransom, operatives who posed as Lee’s relatives arrived the designated point before the kidnappers. While some were in a vehicle believed to be that of Lee’s relatives, others cordoned off the area. At about 12.30pm, a motorcycle was reportedly sighted approaching the route shortly after the kidnappers had taken details of the vehicle which included its color and plate number. But as one of the occupants on the motorbike reached out his hand with the intention of collecting the ransom from the supposed Lee’s relatives, he was arrested by the policemen who posed as Lee’s relatives.

The motorcycle rider simply identified as Ugo , who was shot in the process, managed to escape while his alleged partner in crime, Chukwuemeka Benson, 27, was arrested. His confessional statement led the operatives to where Lee was kept and he was subsequently rescued unhurt.

Investigation carried out by Crime Alert in the area revealed that shortly before the arrival of the policemen, three persons, two of whom were reportedly at the balcony of the third floor which oversees the entire area, rushed out. One of them was identified as Nonye, the guard.

A man who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “ From the way they ran out of the building, you could sense all was not well . But nobody knew what the exact problem was. They did not drive out through the main entrance, they took inside the canal area . We thought initially that they could have sighted the owner of the building coming because he did not like seeing unknown faces in the compound. It was not until the policemen arrived that we concluded they could have been the reason for the sudden mad rush.”

Police alert to its responsibility

There is no gainsaying the fact that the kidnap of Lee along the Murtala Muhammed Airport would have sent fears down the spines of foreigners who intend coming into Lagos for one transaction or the other, over the seeming security lapses along the route. To checkmate this trend, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Umar Manko informed journalists that his command and policemen of the Airport command under whose jurisdiction is the airport road , were fine-tuning strategy to ensure adequate security measure along the route. “If anything happens in Lagos state , we have the major stake. I talk with the CP Airport on regular basis and we try to see how best we can map out strategies to ensure the route is safe both to foreigners and Nigerians,” Manko assured.



#vanguard

IBADAN - Strange fish causes stir as it was said to have human parts

Hundreds of residents of Ibadan, Tuesday, rushed out to catch a glimpse of a strange fish which was said to have human parts at Asaka compound area of the city.

The incident happened at Ile Akindele when a fish seller noticed the strange creature after removing the wrap of a frozen fish.

Ramota, who was said to be the fish seller reportedly, raised alarm to attract others to the strange sight.
She said, “I went to where we usually buy fish at Kola Eleja, Oke Ado, Ibadan. After I finished, I boarded Okada to my place to prepare the fish for sale.

Before getting the fish out of the ice-pack, we needed to use knife to remove them and use water to de-freeze. I was shocked to see the frozen fish developed into a living being in the water, the description of which showed half human and half fish. I quickly called my father and some Alfas to see the strange fish”.

The father of the woman, a retired civil servant, Pa Rauf Salawu who corroborated the story said he had never seen such a thing before.

He narrated his own side of the story saying, “it was around 11am, when I started hearing the voice of my daughter while I was resting on my bed. She was shouting and screaming to the extent that people in the compound were attracted.

Then, I decided to check what was the problem. I took along my Quran and on getting there, my daughter had gone to call another Muslim leader in the neighbourhood.

I saw the strange fish inside water in the bucket . It was strange, how can a fish bought in the cold room develop into human. That I cannot fully explain.”

Due to the crowd, police men from Mapo police station were there to control the crowd.

The fish seller was then taken into the custody of the police. Several calls made to the police were not picked.




#vanguard

28 year old man electrocuted in Jos

A 28-year-old electrician was, Tuesday, electrocuted in Apata area of Jos, the Plateau State capital while trying to fix a problem on an electricity pole in the area.

The man identified as Chukwuebuka Eze, according to eyewitnesses, climbed the pole in Agwan Lambu quarters around noon ostensibly to change the supply phase to his shop when the Power Holding of Nigeria, PHCN, suddenly restored light, which electrocuted him.

According to an eyewitness, his shirt caught fire and burnt out even as his body remained glued to the electric line.

A loud spark was said to have been heard as he was electrocuted, drawing the attention of neighbours who watched helplessly.

A woman identified as a neighbour to the deceased screamed as she came out and saw him on fire and dangling from the pole describing the incident as “terrible and horrifying.”

“I just heard people shouting and I rushed out to see a man on top of an electric pole with his shirt on fire; I did not even know that it was my neighbour; this is terrible”, she later told Vanguard amidst tears.

Some onlookers rushed to PHCN office to lodge a report for the electricity supply to the area to be cut off and it took the combined effort of PHCN officials and some concerned residents to bring down the corpse of the deceased .

The corpse was later taken away by the PHCN officials accompanied by three policemen.

The deceased said to be in his late twenties and who hailed from Anambra State and only on Sunday launched a gospel album. It was learnt that his relations and kinsmen have been contacted.




#vanguard

PHOTOS: Royal baby makes first public appearance as Kate and William take their son home to Kensington Palace

 

• Kate, Prince William and their newborn baby travel home to Kensington Palace this evening
• Couple say they are ‘still working on a name’
• William jokes his new son ‘has a good pair of lungs’ and tells crowd his child has Kate’s looks and more hair than him
• Kate's parents Carole and Michael were the first members of the family to visit their daughter and her young son
• Duchess says: ‘It’s been emotional’
• William aces his first test of fatherhood as he gets the car seat right first time
• Prince Charles and Camilla came two hours later and said the baby was 'marvellous'
• Couple release new statement thanking St Mary's Hospital staff for how they have looked after 'the three of us'
• William stayed in a separate hospital room overnight to be close to Duchess of Cambridge and their son

 


Special moment: Prince William and Kate waved and smiled broadly to the waiting cameras as they held their prince on the steps of the private Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in London





New life: The baby was crying in its car seat as its father took him to their waiting car this evening





Magic: With the wold watching, Kate and William hold their prince outside the Lindo Wing in a genuinely historic moment for Britain





Emotional: The new mother looked delighted as she looked down at her first child while her husband waved to the excited crowds




Protective: The baby was wrapped in a white shawl - Kate held her new son closely to her chest as she waved to the impressive crowd






Gentle: The trio take their first steps together into the outside world together as the prince starts his life

Confirming that the prince was overdue, William said: ‘I will remind him of his tardiness when he is older.’

With a huge smile he then added: ‘He’s got her looks thankfully’ to which the Duchess responded ‘No, no, no I’m not sure about that.’

The couple then returned to the hospital as William held his son, swaddled in a blanket, before bringing him out again in his car seat

William then visibly breathed a sigh of relief when he successfully installed his baby on the back seat with his wife, before driving them home to Kensington Palace cheered on by a huge crowd.

Their child is now third in the line of succession, displacing Prince Harry to fourth and the Duke of York to fifth, although he may not become sovereign for half a century or more.




Caring: As his wife walked down the steps, William placed a protective hand on her arm to make sure the new mother and son made it down the steps safely





Warm welcome: The ecstatic crowd sang 'Congratulations' as the new parents stepped out of the London hospital





The safe hands of the Duchess of Cambridge with her son who was born yesterday, but was thrown into the spotlight today





Happy trio: Kate told reporters that 'It's been very emotional. Any parent will know what this feeling is like' while the prince joked the baby 'has more hair than me'




Are these tears? The Duchess admitted the becoming a mother for the first time was 'emotional'




Speculation: When asked about the newborn's appearance, William said "He's got her looks thankfully.' Kate responded: 'Catherine brushes off the praise, saying: 'No, no no, I'm not sure about that'

Carole and Michael Middleton were the first to arrive at the private Lindo Wing at around 3pm today, with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla following them at 5.30pm after being rushed to London by helicopter after two-days carrying out official duties in Yorkshire.

Before mounting the St Mary's Hospital steps, the smiling Prince of Wales asked journalists who have been stood outside for almost three weeks: 'Have you been there long?'

When he left around 10 minutes later, Charles said the baby was 'marvellous' and told journalists: 'You'll see in a minute'.




Huge crowds were waiting to catch a glimpse of the couple and the baby outside St Mary's hospital

Gently does it: After Kate took the prince down the stairs, William carefully picked up their son






The future king made his public entrance in the safe hands of the Duke of Cambridge and his wife as they left the Lindo Wing

Poignant: It was an emotional moment for William - the Duke of Cambridge had followed the steps his parents Charles and Diana took with him 31 years ago, when he was born there on June 21, 1982

'The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their son will travel home to Kensington Palace.

'Their Royal Highnesses would like to reiterate their thanks to the hospital for the care and treatment they have all received'.

Earlier doting grandmother Carole Middleton described her grandson, the future king, as 'absolutely beautiful' after she and her husband visited him.

The Duchess of Cambridge's parents said their first grandchild is 'absolutely beautiful' and his parents are coping 'fabulously'.

The Middletons spent just over an hour with their daughter Kate and son-in-law William, and a smiling Mrs Middleton, speaking about mother and baby, said: 'They are both doing really well, and we are so thrilled.'

When asked by the world's media, who have been camped outside for nearly three weeks, how the proud parents were doing, she replied: 'Fabulously.'

Asked what the first cuddle with her grandson was like, Mrs Middleton, who had been ushered forward by her husband to speak to the press, said: 'Amazing, It's all coming back.'







Stylish: The Duchess of Cambridge wore a bespoke lilac dress by British designer, Jenny Packham with cream wedges

 

 

#dailymail

Patience Jonathan Loses Mum, Sese, in Car Crash

PORT HARCOURT-  Mother of Mrs Patience Jonathan yesterday died in a ghastly motor accident around Elele part of the East West road while on her way to Bayelsa state.

A source who spoke on the incident said she was popularly called Sese, adding that her remain had since been deposited at Kpaima mortuary in Diobu area of Port Harcourt.

SESE when interpreted in Okrika language it simply means mother.

Details were hazy at press time. When Vanguard called the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Angela Agabe she said she had no signal on the incident.

According to her, if the mother of the President’s wife was involved in an accident it would not be hidden, adding that the Police would have been contacted long ago.

A source from Okrika who spoke to the Vanguard said the deceased might not be the biological mother of Mrs Jonathan, adding that the first lady probably took her as a mother

“I am not sure she was the mother. But she probably chose to call her mother”, the source said.

Effort to get the state government comment on the sad incident was not fruitful as text messages sent to the mobile line of the Chief Press secretary to the governor, Mr Dave Iyofor and the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari were yet to be responded to.





#vanguard