Al-Qaeda leader killed in Yemen

anaa — The Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda announced on Wednesday that the group's No 2 figure, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, has died in a US drone strike.

The announcement, posted on militant websites, gave no date for the death of Saudi-born Saeed al-Shihri.

Yemeni security officials, however, said al-Shihri died of serious injuries sustained when a drone strike targeted him in November last year.

Al-Shihri had survived an earlier drone attack, in September 2012, the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to media.

Wednesday's announcement came in a video purporting to show the group's chief theologian, Ibrahim Al-Robaish, in which he eulogised al-Shihri.

In the video, al-Robaish said al-Shihri was hit by the drone while speaking on his mobile telephone in the province of Saadah, north of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

Spent six years in Guantanamo

The authenticity of the video, which was first reported by the US monitoring service Site, could not be independently confirmed but it appeared on militant websites commonly used by al-Qaeda.

In January, Yemen's official SABA news agency reported that al-Shihri died of wounds from a drone strike three months earlier.

Al-Shihri, also known as Abu Sufyan al-Azdi, fought in Afghanistan and spent six years in Guantanamo. He was returned to Saudi Arabia in late 2007 and later fled to Yemen to join the al-Qaeda branch there.

In one of his last videos, which appeared on the internet in April, al-Shihri harshly criticised Yemen's neighbour to the north, Saudi Arabia, for its policy of allowing the United States to launch deadly drone strikes from bases in the kingdom.

Al-Shihri's death is considered a major blow to the Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch, known as al-Qaeda in The Arabian Peninsula. Washington considers it the most dangerous of the group's offshoots.

The branch has been linked to several attempted attacks on US targets, including the foiled Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner over Detroit and explosives-laden parcels intercepted aboard cargo flights in 2010.

source: news24.com

Jennifer Lopez Reportedly Earns Millions Performing for 'World's Worst Thugs'

Human Rights Foundation claimed that Jennifer Lopez had made at least $10 million by performing for "some of the world's worst thugs". The report came a month after Lopez serenaded "Happy Birthday" to controversial president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.

Lopez later apologized for participating at the lavish party, saying that she was unaware of the country's oppressive rulings. "Had there been knowledge of human rights issues any kind, Jennifer would not have attended," Lopez's rep said in a statement.

HRF President Thor Halvorssen has another opinion about Lopez's lack-of-knowledge explanation. "What those covering this story have missed is that J.Lo and her management have misled her fans and the public," he said in a statement posted on the organization's website.

"J.Lo has repeatedly mingled with and entertained some of the world's worst thugs and their cronies. The 'Jenny-from-the-block-who-doesn't-Google' clarification may be credible in one instance, but it beggars belief in light of a pattern of repeated behavior," Halvorsen continued. "This is not about ignorance, it's about greed."

HRF then listed several events that involved Lopez and some "crooks and dictators from Eastern Europe and Russia." In 2011, for example, Lopez reportedly earned $1 million from corrupt Uzbek industrialist Azam Aslanov for performing at his son's wedding. In November 2012, Lopez was paid $2 million for singing "Happy Birthday" to Alexander Yolkin, a Russian bureaucrat who has been accused of corruption.

"The collective outrage that now follows Lopez's behavior is a categorical signal that it is not right to enjoy a free society, and then seek to profit from those who have acquired their riches from cronyism and the wholesale negation of human rights," Halvorssen said again.

"Performers are frequently blinded by greed and they willfully sidestep reality and become part of the public relations machinery of the world's worst people. They should be disqualified from having any moral standing to opine about matters involving human rights or business ethics," he added.


© AceShowbiz.com

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D’Banj Asked Me Out on A Date – Moet Abebe

Moet Abebe in an interview with Happenings9ja spoke on D’Banj allegedly asking her out amongst other things.
Excerpts from the interview
Tell us about your interview with D’banj?
Moet: D’banj was about to do his show, the one he brought 2 chainz, and I thought that would be the best time to get him for an interview because one thing about him is; sometimes he is out there doing his thing and other times, it seems he fades way, you can’t get a hold of him. So, I thought to myself, D’banj is in Nigeria, he lives in Lekki, the office is in Lekki; this is the perfect time. So, I just called a few people and there you have it.
 Tell us about D’banj’s proposal to you?
Moet: He didn’t propose to me, he just asked me out on a date.  As a TV personality, I try to be different, I don’t want to be like everyone else; I don’t want to ask the same questions.
I think what people should know is, yes, interviews are real and we are talking about real issues but if someone proposes a date, I can’t say No! obviously I would be like “yeah!”,  I’m just doing it for you guys; I mean for the fans. So nothing came out of that interview please, you need to stop saying that.

Tara Fela-Durotoye covers TW Magazine’s July/August 2013 Issue

Nigerian beauty entrepreneur Tara Fela-Durotoye gets a cool new look on the cover of TW Magazine‘s July/August 2013 issue.

Tara who is known for her up dos, sports bangs, all while smiling in a lace blouse and black velvet pants. Inside the mag, the creative head of House of Tara speaks passionately about pulling others along as well as giving House of Tara representatives a chance to share their inspiring stories in a journey.
For the editorial spread, Tara strikes a pose in a one-shoulder white gown.
Cover Credits
Story: Lola Okusami
Photography: Moussa Moussa
Make-up: House of Tara
Hair: TJ Hair
All Outfits: Ella & Gabby

I'm A Wife Material --Single & Searching Actress Dayo Amusa

Bold and busty Yoruba actress, Dayo Amusa is one of the many hot babes in the movie industry who seem to be having a hard time getting into the marriage institution, even as her age is increasing. Below is what she said about her desire to get married:

So when should we expect the wedding bell?
Very soon because I stand firm on the Lords time for me. I am not in haste to tie the nuptial but when the time is ripe for me, nothing can stop it. I love kids and I hope to raise mine soon.

What do look out for in your dream man?
First and foremost, nobody is perfect so I am not looking for a perfect man rather; I want a man who will understand me and my job. A man who can’t be intimated irrespective of my status in the society, I appreciate a man who can differentiate me from what I do. I bet you I am a wife material and a typical African lady to the core.

WICKEDNESS : Man sets pregnant lover ablaze (photo)

 Until June 23, not many could have suspected that all was not well between Emeka Agu, 28, and his pregnant girlfriend, Miss Bidemi Akinsolufe. That night, disaster struck in their home in Ayobo area of Lagos, as Emeka allegedly set his lover ablaze.





The reason? To prevent the lady from charming other men with her beauty. Nearly a month after, Bidemi still writhes in pain at the Gbagada General Hospital, even as Emeka awaits his date with the law. The reporter met the badly burnt lady on her hospital bed and she narrated what led to the sad incident.

“I started dating him last year but my boyfriend is very jealous. Even whenever my sister called me, he would want to call back to be sure it wasn’t a man that called me. “He was working before and had his own place but he later lost his job and had no place to stay. I secured a mini-flat in Ayetoro and asked him to join me there.


We had been living together since then. “Recently, when I took in, he asked me to stop working and I did. But he drinks a lot. He spends his money on alcohol and I always told him that I was worried that his liver might be destroyed. He doesn’t trust me; he thinks I date other men.

“He used to work in the night as a bouncer in a hotel. The day before he set me on fire, his former boss had summoned him and I thought maybe the man wanted to offer him a job. So, on the morning of that day, Sunday, June 23, I called him to know if he had gone to the man’s place.

As we were speaking on the phone, he told me he was already high. And I asked him why he should spend his money on alcohol when I was hungry at home. “I was angry, so I went to report him to his friend. His friend then called him and talked some sense into him. But when he knew that I was with his friend, he became angry and accused his friend of sleeping with me. He said he would suck my blood for sleeping with his friend.

I was even explaining to him that I couldn’t be sleeping around with my pregnancy but he wasn’t convinced. He began to call me names, that I was a useless woman. He later said it was all right, that he wasn’t angry again.

So, I went back home. “When I got back home, one of my friends told me that Emeka had reported me to her, saying I locked him outside in the rain. So, when I got to our apartment, I begged him and my friend also begged him. He said he was no longer angry but I didn’t know he still had plans to deal with me.

“After a while, he pretended as if he wanted to go to the toilet and while walking past me, he suddenly gave me a terrible slap. Then he began to beat me. In fact, I had never been so thoroughly beaten since I was born.

He had only slapped me on two earlier occasions. That night, I was yelling for help but I guessed people weren’t hearing me outside. I was crying and threatening to pack out of the apartment. “Then he said he would destroy my beauty. But I didn’t believe he would do anything so devilish.

Then he went to the kitchen, brought out the stove and poured the kerosene on me. He lit a match and threw it at me and I was burning. I rushed to the kitchen to get water but he was pushing the buckets of water away. I was yelling and crying.

Then after some time, he began to say to me: ‘My babe, your face is burnt, I’m sorry.’ “I didn’t even know that my face was badly burnt. I initially thought my hands were the only parts affected until much later when I saw my face in the mirror.

“When he realised the damage he had done, he began to beg me, saying he would marry me. He said I should stay inside, that he would go and get raw pap to apply on the burnt parts of my body. But as he wanted to go out of the apartment, I followed him. He said he wasn’t running away, that he just wanted to get the pap and get back. And I said okay, but I was following him.

He kept pushing me back but I insisted on following him out. Later, one of our neighbours, a man, knocked on our door and asked what was wrong with me. He replied that there was no problem but I shouted that the man should come in to save my life.

I told the man that the door wasn’t locked, that he should push it. Eventually other neighbours came and pushed the door open and I immediately ran outside so that everyone could see me. I think that was when I passed out.” After she lost consciousness, some of her neighbours quickly rushed her to the nearest hospital from where she was transferred to the Gbagada General Hospital. Meanwhile, the neighbours also alerted the police in Ayobo, who came to arrest Emeka.

Bidemi also told the reporter: “He told me it was the devil’s handiwork but I know God would repay him. I leave everything to God. I have been hospitalised here now since then, and my people have been spending money on me.” “Initially, I thought no man would want me any longer since he had destroyed my face. But my people said no, that they wouldn’t allow me near him again.

They said he should write an undertaking that he wouldn’t come after me but I’ve been told that, even with an undertaking, he might still try to harm me. I will have the baby but he must never ask for my child. I want him to face the music. I want justice to be done.”

Bidemi’s mother, Mrs. Nike Adeyemi, also spoke with the reporter. Said she: “Some good neighbours took my daughter to a nearby hospital and asked her boyfriend to stay with her there. They then secretly invited policemen to arrest him. We are already in court.” “I have spent all I have to treat my daughter.

None of Emeka’s people has paid a dime out of the heavy hospital bills. We have spent over N200, 000 now and we are still spending. The doctor said we would need, at least, N500, 000 for comprehensive treatment for my daughter because her face and hands have been badly burnt.

You can see the wounds are still looking fresh even after over three weeks. I don’t even have any money for her treatment any more.

I’m so fed up. One of Emeka’s sisters came to me with policemen from Ikoyi. She offered to pay me N40, 000 so that the boy would be released. I refused to collect the money because I said it was even an insult for her to offer that little amount when we were being asked to bring N500, 000.

“I don’t even know where to turn to for help. Please, help me beg compassionate Nigerians to come to our aid. I don’t want my daughter to die. I think we will also have to do something about her pregnancy because I don’t ever want her to have anything to do with that boy any longer.”

The reporter spoke with Emeka’s sister, who allegedly offered N40, 000 to Bidemi’s family. Her words: “I don’t know what to do again. I didn’t know when Emeka and Bidemi started their friendship.

I didn’t send him to set the girl ablaze. I’m even tired of everything. I am a widow myself and I don’t have money. I have even used the N40, 000 that I offered her to take care of some other issues. I’m tired of the whole issue and I don’t know what to do.”

Old Man Caught Stealing, Beaten And Stripped Unclad In Oshogbo (PHOTOS)

This happened some few minutes ago in front of a bank in Oshogbo. The man pictured above was caught in the act and he was beating and stripped unclad by angry mobs before police arrived. Another photo below;

46 YEAR OLD Regina Askia Shows Off Her Bikini Body? - See Photos

Wow! SHE LOOKS HOT! What do you think? Hot Or Not? Don’t forget she is a mum of 3 and she is 46 now.

Breaking News: Al-Mustapha Promoted To Brigadier-General Within 24 Hours

Latest information reaching us from Abuja, the federal capital territory, are pretty sensational as sources within security circle say the embattled Major Hamza Al-Mustapha have been promoted to the rank of a Brigadier-General following "orders from above" on Monday night...

The Nigerian Army on Monday indicated that it would likely reinstate Major Al-Mustapha into the service following the dismissal of a murder suit against him.

Col. John Agim, Chief of Staff in the Directorate of the Army Public Relations told reporters: “With regards to Mustapha’s release, well, I want to confirm that he is still in the army. The case is going to be handled by the Army administratively in line with the harmonised terms and conditions of service."

Al-Mustapha, the former Chief security Officer to former head of state, late Gen. Sani Abacha, regained his freedom on Friday after over 14 years in detention while standing trial for murder.

A Court of Appeal, sitting in Lagos, discharged and acquitted him over an alleged conspiracy and the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, on June 4, 1996.

The court had upturned a death sentence handed down on him on January 30, 2013, by Justice Mojisola Dada, of a Lagos High Court.

The former CSO on Sunday assured journalists that he is still in the Army during a reception in his honour by the Kano state government, a status he claimed as his right.

Good Man: After Transplantation OJB Plans To Launch Foundation

Babatunde Okungbowa aka OJB Jezreel, ailing music producer, singer and song writer, is considering starting a foundation after kidney transplantation.
While disclosing what the excess funds from the #SaveOJB donations would be used for, the producer’s close associate and head of the fund raising committee, Nomoreloss told Nigerian Entertainment Today the musician is hoping to help other ailing patients.


"I was with OJB at the hospital the other day and we saw a lot of people with a lot more serious problems than OJB’s. You won’t believe he was shedding tears when we saw these people, and so he asked me, dude, what do we do? And he agreed that when this is over, we may have to start a foundation so we can help others going through same problem."
OJB is still undergoing dialysis at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and plans are underway to get the required kidney transplant in August.

Why I Broke Up With Actress Funke Akindele On Facebook ––Husband Speaks

It seems that Mr Kehinde Oloyede, the estranged husband of popular Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele is out on a mission to ridicule her by all means possible. But what could have gone wrong?

In his reaction to why he broke up with his wife on Facebook, Mr Oloyede said:
"I did so to catch Funke’s attention"!

So, how come he had to announce their break up on facebook to catch his wife's attention? Could it be that she has not been giving him attention, especially in the bedroom, as his wife?

Well, I don't know how true, but a source told us that Funke Akindele actually parked out of their home about two months ago, leaving her husband in the cold.

Senate Urges ASUU To Reduce Demands

The intervention of the National Assembly in the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff of Universities, continued on Monday with parties engaging in a prolonged dialogue.

As of the time of filing the report, ASUU and the Federal Government maintained their respective positions as the meeting went into a closed-door session.
Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije,  urged the union to reduce its demands to only three – the funding of the institutions, university autonomy and the Earned Academic Allowances.
He chided the government for its reluctance to honour the 2009 agreement which it signed with the union.
He said the appeal became necessary to ensure a timely resolution of the ongoing university strike.
He said, “It is a puzzle to Nigerians that it has on three occasions required the extreme action of withdrawal of services by ASUU to compel the attention of the government to the necessity of honouring 2009 agreement.
“Why endorse an agreement in the first instance if you had no intention of honouring it? Wherein then lies the basis for mutual trust.”
He also bemoaned a situation, he said, ASUU had become increasingly inclined to a “self righteous attitude.”
He called on both the executive and the leadership of ASUU to be flexible so as to reach an amicable settlement.
President of ASUU, Dr. Nasir Fagge, argued that the union was not disposed to renegotiating its 2009 agreement with the Federal Government, stressing that it  had consistently failed to implement agreements with ASUU.
He said the highest allocation to the education sector was 12.87 per cent during the regime of General Sani Abacha between 1994 – 1996.
He said since 2007 the relative allocation to education in the national budget was 8.19 in 2010; 6.41 per cent in 2011; 7.95 per cent in 2012; and 8.44 in 2013.
Fagge said, “Government is not sincere. Government is not interested in addressing the problems in the education sector.”

Funke Akindele's publicist denies confirming marriage breakup

                      

Miss Ayo Ola-Mohammed, Funke's publicist has denied speaking with Linda confirming the marriage break up of her client.

Nollywood actor Nonso Diobi responds to Tonto Dikeh's diss of Nollywood actress Mercy Johnson

Tonto Dikeh didn't mention names when she said Nollywood actresses marry horribly but everyone seems to believe she was referring to Mercy Johnson in her Tweet. First Lola Omotayo, now Nollywood actor Nonso Diobi has replied Tonto in a series of Tweets he posted a few hours ago.

More Tweets after the cut...