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Tuesday 21 April 2015

Suspected killer Jeffrey Okafor, faces trial for murdering CBBC star, Carl Beatson-Asiedu



Jeffrey Okafor, 24, of East Dulwich, London, is accused of stabbing Carl Beatson-Asiedu to death outside a nightclub in 2009.


The court heard today, how the 19-year-old victim, known as DJ Charmz, had been leaving the Club Life Nightclub in Vauxhall's Goding Street, in London, with a group of friends when a group of men approached them.....
 
Carl Beatson Asiedu was stabbed to death outside a nightclub by Jeffrey Okafor who then fled to Nigeria on his brother's passport
Carl Beatson Asiedu was stabbed to death outside a nightclub by Jeffrey Okafor who then fled to Nigeria on his brother's passport
Carl Beatson Asiedu (left) was stabbed to death outside a nightclub by Jeffrey Okafor (right) who then fled to Nigeria on his brother's passport


Sarah Whitehouse QC, prosecuting, told Woolwich Crown Court that three people had been specifically targeted in the attack including Mr Beatson-Asiedu, a Francis Xavier College student who appeared in CBBC spy show MI High.

Peter Lama, also 19, was stabbed in the buttocks by Okafor's friend Abu Mansaray while Jermaine Coker was chased by Junior Ademujimi-Falade but escaped.



Mr Lama managed to return to the club, where bouncers locked the doors and called the police.

Minutes later, Mr Beatson Asiedu was seen staggering along Goding Street before collapsing in the road.



His friends bundled him into the back of a car and rang for an ambulance, but police stopped the speeding vehicle as they struggled to find St Thomas' Hospital.

He was pronounced dead at 5.36am, with a post-mortem examination concluding that he had died from a single stab-wound to his heart.

Ms Whitehouse said: 'Carl Beatson wasn't so fortunate.'

'The prosecution say that Jeffrey Okafor was the person who drew a knife, stabbed him and killed him.'

Okafor, who had no connection with his alleged victim, had been at the club with Ademujimi-Falade and another friend Bolaji Kako-Are.

Ms Whitehouse continued: 'Junior Flade and Bolaji Kako-Are had also attended Francis Xavier College - the same college as Carl Beatson and Peter Lama.
 
The 19-year-old victim had been leaving the Club Life Nightclub in Vauxhall's Goding Street, in London, with a group of friends after performing a set when a group of men approached them, the court heard

Shortly after the stabbing, Ofakor confessed to his girlfriend before fleeing UK on his brother's passport and remained in Nigeria for five years.

'After the attack, Jeffrey Okafor actually confessed to a girlfriend that he had stabbed Carl Beatson,' Ms Whitehouse said.

The defendant also phoned and asked the woman to put a t-shirt 'into a plastic bag and put it into a bin in the road', the jury heard.

Okafor seemed agitated when he returned home that day and said 'I'm going down' and 'The Feds are going to be on to me', Ms Whitehouse told the court.

'Okafor then fled from the country, travelling to Nigeria using his brother's passport.

'It was not until the end of last year that it was possible for him to be extradited to this country and face his crime.

On August 13 police went to his home address, planning to arrest him and to search the house for any evidence relating to the murder.

Ms Whitehouse said he laid low for a time and then early on August 17 2009 he took a flight from Heathrow Airport to Lagos, using his brother's passport.

He was finally arrested on 23 September last year in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria, after being on the run and was then extradited to the UK in November.

Today Okafor is finally standing trial, and denies murder as he listened emotionless to the proceedings.

The trial was adjourned until tomorrow morning.




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South Africa sends in army to tackle xenophobic attacks




The South African government has deployed the army to act as deterrent in volatile hotspots in Johannesburg and Durban after a series of xenophobic violence which killed at least seven people, displaced more than 5,000.

The xenophobic outbreak is the worst since 2008, when 62 people were killed in Alexandra and other Johannesburg townships. The army was deployed to restore order on that occasion, and has also been used against striking workers in 2012 and last year.

Taking too many vitamin supplements increases the risk of cancer and heart disease... new study warns



New study suggests that exceeding the recommended daily amount of vitamin supplements can increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Dr Tim Byers, of the University of Colorado Cancer Centre, said: 'We are not sure why this is happening at the molecular level.

'But evidence shows that people who take more dietary supplements than needed tend to have a higher risk of developing cancer.'

Two decades ago, research found people who ate more fruits and vegetables tended to have less cancer.

So Dr Bryers began to investigate if taking extra vitamins and minerals would further reduce the risk of developing the disease.

Dr Bryers said: 'This is not to say that people need to be afraid of taking vitamins and minerals.

'If taken at the correct dosage, multivitamins can be good for you.

'But there is no substitute for good, nutritional food.'

He added that most people get the daily recommended doses of vitamins and minerals in their diets by eating healthy meals.

He concluded: 'At the end of the day we have discovered that taking extra vitamins and minerals do more harm than good.'

The findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2015.

 

 


Sunday 19 April 2015

Herbicides suspected to be the cause of mystery deaths in Nigeria

The WHO spokesman, Gregory Haertl, tweeted: "Current hypothesis is cause of the event is herbicides" and "Tests done so far are negative for viral and bacterial infection."


The Ondo state health commissioner, Dayo Adeyanju, told AFP news agency on Saturday that 23 people had been affected.

Those who died suffered from blurred vision and headaches, and then lost consciousness before dying within 24 hours.

Monday 13 April 2015

Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles gets married to Richard Lawson


 



Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles reportedly tied the knot with 'Poltergeist' actor Richard Lawson at the weekend.

TMZ reports that the couple got hitched on a super yacht off the California coast last night.

All the guests wore white to the evening ceremony.

Tina split from Mathew Knowles in 2009 after over three decades of marriage.