Miss Philippines Megan Young crowned Miss World 2013 in Bali

The 2013 Miss World pageant has been won by Miss Philippines, Megan Young, on the Indonesian island of Bali. US-born Ms Young, 23, beat 126 other contestants and pledged to be "the best Miss World ever". The competition was moved to Bali from the capital, Jakarta, because of protests from hardline Muslim groups. Security for Saturday's event was high in Bali, a resort island with a majority Hindu population, but no further demonstrations were reported. Miss France, Marine Lorphelin, came second in the contest and Miss Ghana, Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, took third place. Wearing a glittering gown, Ms Young, who moved to the Philippines at the age of 10, wept as the Miss World sash was put over her shoulder by 2012 winner Miss China. She told the cheering crowd in Nusa Dua in southern Bali she would "be myself in everything I do, to share what I know and to educate people". Heavily armed police patrolled the event in southern Bali Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country and the organisers had originally offered to abandon the contest's bikini round in an attempt to address complaints of pornography and immorality. Protests were led by the hardline Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), which had planned to cross to the island from East Java but were prevented when the port was shut late on Friday. The event, broadcast in 180 countries, was guarded by heavily armed police with water cannon while some 1,000 FPI members held a prayer session at a mosque outside Jakarta.

She’s a sister with SWAG! Mary J. Blige rocks the stage at a concert in Lagos

Hip-Hop soul singer, Mary J. Blige, arrived in  Lagos, at the Murtala Mohammed International airport, yesterday for the much talked about ‘Sisters with Soul’ concert which went down at the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel and Suites yesterday night. Read her tweet below: Lagos, Nigeria! I'm on my way! I look forward to seeing you on Friday!! — Mary J. Blige (@maryjblige) September 25, 2013 The ’Sisters with Soul’ concert was an all female performance with Mary J. as the lead act, other female artists who rocked the stage were  Seyi Shey, Zaina,  Niyola, Lola Rae, Emma Nyra, Eva, Victoria Kimani, and DJ Cuppy

mitchell's blog.: Nollywood stars turned Pastors (1)

mitchell's blog.: Nollywood stars turned Pastors (1): Although, many have criticised their decisions to embrace Christ, blaming such decisions principally on the turn of events in their lives, ...

ASUU Strike: NUT Threatens To Shut Down Schools

The Nigeria Union of Teachers yesterday gave a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities to end the strike embarked upon by lecturers in the nation's public universities. The NUT President, Mr. Michael Olukoya, stated this in Abuja at the end of the union's meeting, NAN reported. ASUU, had since July 1, embarked on a strike it described as "comprehensive, total and indefinite." The lecturers are protesting against the non-implementation of an agreement they entered into with the Federal Government in 2009. Olukoya said members of the union would not hesitate to close down the nation's schools, if the two parties failed to reach agreement after two weeks. He described the current ASUU strike as nationalistic, patriotic and self-sacrificing. He said, "We will not hesitate to shut down the education system in the country, if the government fails to fulfil or honour the agreement with the lecturers." Olukoya also described the call by the Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole for an overhaul of the qualifications of teachers in the state as unacceptable to the NUT. He said, "NUT will always be proud of its teachers, believing that all employment agencies are corruption-free, disciplined and quality-conscious in their employment drives." Olukoya also urged the governors of Kogi, Benue and Cross River states to honour the agreement they made with their teachers on the payment of 27.5 per cent teachers salary structure.

Lionel Messi And His Father In Court For Fraud

Barcelona star Lionel Messi and his father are to appear in court today Friday, over allegations of tax fraud. The four-time World Player of the Year and his father, Jorge Messi, are accused of evading 4.2m euros (£3.4m) in tax on his image rights. They are suspected of setting up companies in Uruguay and Belize to avoid paying tax in Spain. Both men deny the allegations, which date back to between 2007 and 2009, saying the deals were done by Messi's former agent without their knowledge. Messi and his father will be questioned in a closed session in a court in Gava, the Barcelona neighbourhood in which the footballer has a home. Friday's hearing will determine whether or not the court will pursue them for the alleged evasion. The pair have already paid back 5m euros (£4.2m) to the Spanish state but with the government cracking down on tax fraud amid a national financial crisis, this has not prevented the prosecution. Messi and his father had earlier said: "We have always fulfilled our tax obligations following the advice of our tax consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation."

Modest lifestyle of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg

It is sometimes believed that someone’s financial worth can be deduced from the car they drive. Although somewhat popular, this assertion has been rubbished by the world’s youngest billionaire, co-founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. Some of his contemporaries or multi-millionaires and billionaires drive Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Aston Martins and Bugatti Veyrons, which come with hefty price tags running into hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions. Zuckerberg, 29, and currently worth $19bn, according to Forbes, drives an Acura TSX and a Honda Fit, which cost about $30,000 and $18,000, respectively. His Acura TSX, is an entry level luxury sedan which uses a 2.4 litre in-line 4 cylinder engine. It can churn out 201 hp and 172 lb-ft torque and has a 5 -speed automatic transmission, which comes with steering-wheel paddle shifters for optional manual shifting. The car is quite packed with luxury features like leather interior, automatic climate control, a seven-speaker sound system, Satellite Radio, Bluetooth and HandsFreeLink. Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984 in White Plains, New York, to Edward Zuckerberg, a dentist, and Karen (née Kempner), a psychiatrist. Even though, he was raised Jewish, Zuckerberg had since described himself as an atheist. As a junior student, Zuckerberg won prizes in science (mathematics, astronomy and physics) and classical studies. While most of his mates were busy playing games as young students, Zuckerberg was creating them. In his early teens he created a music player named Synapse – as a school project – using some help from a friend, which used artificial intelligence to understand one’s taste in music and created a playlist accordingly. Software bigwigs like Microsoft and AOL tried to buy it and even recruit Mark. But he refused both. Instead, he went to Harvard in 2002. On February 4, 2004, with the help of his room mates, Dutsin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, and using the finance provided by another friend, Eduardo Saverin, he launched what was then called, The Facebook. It was an instant hit, and soon made Mark the next big thing. On September 14, 2012, Facebook hit 1 billion users, a remarkable feat for a company that started in Zuckerberg’s dormitory room while he was at Harvard. Zuckerberg later dropped out of Harvard in his second year to concentrate on his project. If you think that Zuckerberg’s home will suggest his enormous wealth, you are mistaken. The American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur owns a house in Palo Alto , California, which is his first property investment. But prior to this, he had always stayed in rented apartment. Zuckerberg lives in the house with his wife, Priscilla Chan. The young billionaire is known to be a fan of renting and a relatively modest lifestyle. The house sits in the area of 5,1617-square-foot, was originally built in 1903. Since the house is of historic times, it boasts gorgeous historical elements, like sash windows, coffered ceilings, French doors, and deep porches. The 5-bedroom house was bought for $7m. Although the house is grand, it is still considered modest, compared to the residences of Zuckerberg’s other IT contemporaries. Zuckerberg and his wife reportedly bought a new house in San Francisco for almost $10m recently, but the couple have neither confirmed nor denied the mansion, said to be undergoing reconstruction. The work includes a $65,000 kitchen and bathroom remodel, a $60,000 greenhouse and the replacement of an exterior wall and stairway, plus seismic upgrades. Zuckerberg does not own a private jet, but Facebook authorised its CEO and COO to use private aircraft for business purposes to maximise such executives’ productive time and ensure their quick availability. On some occasions, the jet could also be used for personal purposes. On May 19, 2012, Zuckerberg got married to his long time college sweetheart, Priscilla, in an astonishing ceremony at his Palo Alto home in California . The propitious wedding was kept behind the curtains in such a way that even the guests thought they were attending Priscilla’s graduation from the Univeristy of California. Zuckerberg announced the nuptial on his social networking site ‘Facebook’, via a status update, posting his wedding picture which was liked by more than 280,000 people. Just a day before the wedding, Facebook’s fortune rose to £12bn in the stock market. Facebook Inc CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has begun a campaign to make the United States government more transparent in its surveillance programmes. Zuckerberg said more openness regarding the secretive programmes were required because they had been hurting users’ trust in Internet companies such as his. During a meeting with members of Congress last week in Washington, the 29-year-old social media billionaire urged the US government to inform the public about its requests for data from Internet companies. He said, “What I can tell from the data that I see at Facebook is that I think the more transparency and communication the government could do about how they’re requesting the data from us, the better everyone would feel about it. “From reading in the media, you couldn’t get a sense whether the number of requests that the government makes is closer to a thousand or closer to a 100 million. I think the more transparency the government has, the better folks will feel.” 15 interesting facts about Zuckerberg 1. Type @[4:0] in a Facebook comment, and Mark Zuckerberg’s name will appear. 2. You can’t block Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook. 3. Facebook is blue because Zuckerberg has a red-green colour-blindness. 4. In 2009, Zuckerberg wore a tie for the entire year as a symbol of how serious and important the year was, following the recession that began in 2008. 5. He says he’s not that interested in money but in connecting the world. 6. He’s spent a year trying to eat only meat that he kills. 7. By the time he turned 13, he had already created a basic computer network for his family dubbed “Zucknet,” which allowed the computers in the family and his father’s dental office to send messages to each other by pinging. 8. He designed his wife’s wedding ring. 9. At a party one Friday night, Zuckerberg met Priscilla, a Chinese American from Boston , who later became his wife. 10. To be able to communicate with Priscilla’s family members, Zuckerberg started to learn Chinese in 2010. 11. Zuckerberg’s first car was a Subaru Forester SUV. 12. Mark Zuckerberg is also on Twitter as @finkd where he has over 150,000 followers but has posted only 19 tweets in the last three and a half years. 13. Zuckerberg has also created a few computer games. 14. His favourite musicians include Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, Shakira and Rihanna. 15. Eduardo Saverin, one of the four co-founders of Facebook had provided the $1000 seed capital to start Facebook. Zuckerberg wants more transparency in Internet surveillance

Tuface got me fame and fortune –Solidstar

Omotena crooner, Joshua Iniyezo, popularly known as Solidstar, tellsAdemola Oloniluaabout his career and relationship with actress, Tonto Dikeh Your album is coming out and the public expectation is way higher than your last album. What do you have to offer your fans? I know there is a lot of expectation of me career-wise. I know I will live up to the expectation because I just released two songs online and the reviews are great. They are really doing well though we just released them online. The two songs are off the album. We just want everybody to go and get the album when it is out because there is going to be different things from Solidstar. People should expect different things from me because they know me as this R ‘n’B artiste but I changed their perception when I released,OmotenaandSkibo. I want my fans to know that apart from this afro-pop, I still do reggae, dancehall and the likes. It is more like a very versatile album. I just want to give everybody a different feel and various options to choose from. This year has been good for you. It has been reported that you acquired multi-million naira properties this year alone. What did you do differently? Last year, I performed a lot but most of them were free shows. I was only paid for a few. This year I made a lot of money, did a lot of things for a change. I told my team that we had to sit up. We had spent a lot on projects and we had to think of ways to get the money back. We had a meeting and decided that we all had to put in our best in whatever project we were doing. We thank God it worked out well. Now I am proud of not just my label, but of myself also. You are still with the label that discovered you, Achivas Music. Will you leave it at anytime like some artistes do leave their record labels? I doubt if I will leave Achivas Music anytime soon because the management has been doing well. It is hard to stay on your own because the challenge can be overwhelming. Even if I want to go, I will still be under it; something like an affiliation because it will not be easy. For now, I am still with Achievas. You are known to be very close to Tuface, why are you not signed to his record label, Hypertek Records? I was already signed to Achivas Music before Hypertek Records became my friend. I knew Tuface through my record label. We became very close that some people even thought I was signed under Hypertek. Kudos to Tuface, I really appreciate what he has done for me over the years. He is part of my success story. He got me fame and fortune and I am really grateful to him. How is your grandmother who has always been there to support you and your dream? My grandmother is late now. To me then, she was my everything; she meant the whole world to me and gave me all her support that my own mother and father did not give me. She sent me to school with the little she had. She was a prophetess and she had a church. She was the kind of woman that liked helping people and had a lot of people under her wings. She really tried for me and she is somebody that I will never forget. My granny would do anything to see me happy and I was her favourite grandchild. How do you feel, knowing your grandmother is not alive to witness your success? I think about it most time and anytime I do, I feel very bad. I don’t cry though but I think about it. I just wish she was here to see her son doing good; if she were alive, she would never go hungry for a day. While she was alive, she never ever wanted to see me hungry. By now, I probably would have bought a house for her. I would have taken her to somewhere special. Is it true that you bought a 2013 Infinity SUV for N13m? Why are you not riding it about? With the kind of weather we are experiencing now, there are just some places you would not want to take it to. Is it true you recently bought a property worth about N30m? Yes, I did. Do you have any endorsement deal? No. I don’t. How did you get all that money? I got them from shows; God has been really merciful to me. He has been so wonderful to me. I did tours and got money from that too. Why did you switch from love songs to party songs? I do music for love but at the same time, you have to look at the monetary aspect. We have spent a lot of money. I could remember back then when I sang ‘One in a million’, I sang with all my heart and soul but it did not bring me money. My account was crying. There was nothing coming in, all I got was that I was a talented artiste and I got lots of thumbs up. After much thoughts, I decided to change. I am very versatile; I can actually sing anything. I decided to change and see what would happen. That was when I didOmotena; that was a song that was different from my genre of music and it worked. I decided that the next one was going to be better. Then I didSkiboand the song was a hit. Are you dating Tonto Dikeh? We do hang out. We relax together; we are very very close but not like girlfriend and boyfriend. We are really close. We hang out together, go to places and chill together. Will you cut your dreadlocks anytime soon? I will but not yet because I still need to make a lot of money. I have a small face. My dreads are deceiving a lot of people. If I cut them off I will look like a small boy and you may not recognise me. When I have decided to relax with music, then I will cut them off. Why did you pick Independence Day for your album launch? The timing works for me. I feel releasing the album on October 1 will be very cool. That day is a free day; I doubt if anybody will release an album on that day. Everywhere will be relaxed. Being a free day, I am sure people’s attention will be focused on the album launch.

Nollywood stars turned Pastors (1)

Although, many have criticised their decisions to embrace Christ, blaming such decisions principally on the turn of events in their lives, it is not out of place today to come across celebrities who have become preachers of the Word. From Eucheria Anunobi to Zack Orji, Ndidi Obi, Pat Attah, Ernest Azuzu and many others, it has been a steady influx of fire-brand celebrity Pastors into the Vineyard of God. But the question on the lips of everyone is whether these celebrities have found true happiness after all, and if they do, how much has the pulpit paid off, in place of dumping their flourishing careers in acting for the work of God. Like the Biblical saying, “When we come to the Word of God and we pray over His Word, when His Word shines on us, we are exposed and emptied of any other thing.” Zack Orji Ex-President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria,AGN, Zack Orji can be described as “a gentleman without blemish.” This, no doubt informed his decision to become a worker in the Vineyard of God. Zack Orji ordained a full-time evangelist by Bishop Emma Isong of Christian Central Chapel International (CCCI). He is said to have dedicated his time to preaching the gospel of good tidings across the nations of the world. The veteran actor has been spotted in such cities as Abuja, Nasarawa and Makurdi where he is engaged in various evangelical activities. But this, however, has not stopped him from storming the celebrity hangout, in Surulere to fraternize with his friends and colleagues in the movie industry. Eucharia Anunobi In fact, Eucheria Anunobi’s conversion was the most talked about conversion to Christ in recent times. The actress who ruled the screen in the early 90s with her role in the film “Glamour Girls” has been trailed with many controversies and scandals, most of which bothered on her relationships and crashed marriage. But after many years of being in the news for the wrong reasons, Eucheria shocked her fans when she announced she had given her life to Christ. Few months after the announcement, UK was ordained at the Fresh Oil Ministry, Egbeda, Lagos, as an evangelist. Interestingly, with her ordination which was performed by Pastor Psalm Okpe, Eucharia willed the power to preach as a pastor and she’s doing so, without looking back. Those in the know said, she already counsels youths in the church and travels at random to spread the gospel of salvation. This, however, has not taken away some of the traits that made her fans term her “a bad girl” before her transformation. She is still flashy and daring. Just weeks after the ordination, Eucheria bought a brand new BMW X5. Severally, she has refuted reports that she has abandoned her acting career for the work of God. Instead, she pointed out that she would be choosier in accepting roles in movies. Pat Attah Pat Attah? That play boy actor who broke the hearts of many ‘Nollywood babes’ during his time, and left as soon as the ovation was loud. The once-upon-a-dreadlock-turned clean cut actor, is currently based in Hamburg, Germany where he’s winning souls for Christ. Those in the know said, he does not preach in churches, rather he is now very much a born-again. Many knew him before he left the shores of the country as one who was close to the ladies and in love with the bottle. Today, reading his posts online, one would acknowledge the fact that Pat is a new creature in Christ. He often uses social network sites including Facebook to deliver his sermon and messages to those who care to read them. But what we don’t know is how he has been faring over there. Liz Benson Elizabeth Benson, popularly known as Liz Benson used to be the toast of many lovers of Nigerian films and TV series. Her journey into stardom began when she appeared on the set of the popular television soap opera, Fortunes, in 1993. Liz Benson played the part of Mrs. Agnes Johnson in the soap, which ran for about two years on the NTA. After that, she acted in various TV series and many movies. In 1994, her role in Glamour Girls, a very successful home video that focused on prostitution, literally changed her fortunes. The movie shot her into prominence and soon, she became a subject of many scandals and controversies, forcing her to disappear from teh scene, in order to rebrand herself. But as luck would have it, she got married to her Bishop Great Emeya husband in 2009, at the Rainbow Christian Assembly in Warri, Delta State. She has since been ordained an evangelist in the church. Presently, she runs the church with her husband. Charles Okafor Charles Okafor who staged a comeback to Nollywood recently in Uche Jombo’s film, “Misplaced” after disappearing from the radar is also one of the actors that are winning souls for Christ. He used to act alongside Saint Obi, Zack Orji and Richard Mofe Damijo and has made a name for himself before disappearing from the scene. The UNIPORT trained actor who starred in such films as Forest of Promises, Ocean Deep, Across the River, Between Love, Boiling Point, and Executive Connection, worked briefly with the Security and Exchange Commission, before resigning to go into full time acting. Recently, he was spotted at a filling station around Isolo area of Lagos, and from the way, he looked, the handsome actor has surely given up the things of this world. Okey Ogunjiofor Okechukwu Ogunjiofor is known to be the founder of Nollywood. He produced the film, Living in Bondage which gave birth to Nollywood. With the explosion of this movie in 1992, Nollywood prides itself today as second to the largest movie industry in the world after 20 years of its existence. But this man who started this innovation engage himself more in other aspects of movie production. He hardly features in movies but appears on special arrangement. He has since reconciled himself with his maker. Today, he is not only a preacher of teh Word, he is also House of God. He is also a motivational speaker and unknown to many, Paullo as he’s fondly called by his fans is an author of many Christian literature .

Flood claims two school pupils inOndo

THE three-day heavy downpour which resulted in flood in Akure, the Ondo state capital have claimed the lives of two Primary School pupils. Police in the state said that the two boys Adebori Timilehin (5) and Olugbenga Martins(6) are cousins and were returning from school when the flood swept them away and were drowned. Their bodies were discovered by men of the State Fire Brigade after three days of intensive search inside the Elegbin river. Findings showed that they reside with their Grandmother at No 14 Familusi street, Akure. This is coming on the heels of Save Our Soul (SOS) by the state government to the Ecological Department of the presidency over the menace of flood across the state. Environment Commissioner Sola Ebiseni during an inspection of the havoc wrecked by the rainfall in Ondo town said government had at various times made representations to the ecological funds department of the presidency over the funding of its environmental related projects. Meanwhile, the Police Image Maker Wole Ogodo said that the proprietress of Newlife Academy, Idanre road, Akure Mrs Bola Olufemi reported that two pupils of her school have been swept away by the flood. It was discovered that the pupils were rushing home because of the rain only to be swept away by the flood occasioned by the heavy downpour. However the Police Image Maker said detectives are investigating the incident to know if the death of the pupils was as a result of the negligence of the school authorities.

US Braces for PossibleShutdown

The US government is bracing for a possible shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats in Congress remain deadlocked on a budget to continue its funding. Agencies have begun making contingency plans ahead of the October 1 deadline to pass a new funding resolution. The Senate has passed a bill to fund the government through November 15. But House Republicans have said they refuse to approve the bill absent a provision to strip funding from President Barack Obama's health law. The Senate is controlled by Obama's Democratic party, while the Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, reports the BBC. As a result, lawmakers are at a stalemate as the deadline approaches. Government agencies have been selecting workers considered essential should funds stop flowing. Obama exhorts conservatives The looming shutdown is one of two fiscal crises facing the US government. On October 17, the US treasury department's authority to borrow money to fund its debt obligations expires unless Congress approves a rise in the so-called debt ceiling. Reid tells reporters 'time is gone' for Republican efforts to stall a spending bill On Friday afternoon, President Barack Obama urged House Republicans to pass the Senate's stopgap budget bill and to extend the debt limit, and demanded they not threaten to "burn the house down because you haven't gotten 100% of your way". Obama said if the nation were to default on its debt, it would have a "profound destabilising effect" on the world economy. "Voting for the treasury to pay its bills is not a concession to me," he said. "No-one gets to hurt our economy... just because there are a couple of laws [they] don't like." He described the healthcare law as "a done deal" and said the Republican-backed repeal effort was "not going to happen". Obama said the Senate had "acted responsibly" in passing the budget measure and that now it was up to Republicans in the House of Representatives "to do the same". If the government does shut down on October 1, as many as a third of its 2.1 million employees are expected to stop work - with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is resolved. National parks and the Smithsonian museums in the nation's capital would close, pension and veterans' benefit cheques would be delayed, and visa and passport applications would be stymied. Programmes deemed essential, such as air traffic control and food inspections, would continue. The defence department has advised employees that uniformed members of the military will continue on "normal duty status", but "large numbers" of civilian workers will be told to stay home. Last week, the US House of Representatives a bill that would maintain the US government's funding levels through November 15 but strip funding from Obama's health law, known as Obamacare. On Friday the Senate passed a version of the bill with the defunding provision removed 54-44, largely on party lines.

Man Commits Suicide inHospital After Wife GivesBirth

A Houston man shot himself to death in his wife’s hospital room on Sunday, 3 1/2 hours after she had given birth to their baby, police said. “Family members said he has been distraught recently,” Houston police spokesman John Cannon said on Monday. The man, whose identity has not been released, shot himself in a private room at Willowbrook Methodist Hospital in Northwest Houston on Sunday afternoon, Cannon said. He died shortly after being transported to another hospital, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. His wife, who gave birth earlier on Sunday, was not injured, and Cannon said the baby was not in the room at the time. Although Texas has a law allowing licensed firearms owners to carry concealed weapons, they are prohibited in many places, including hospitals. Police did not know what kind of gun was used. A spokesperson from the Houston Methodist Hospital would not comment on the incident. UPDATED: Check out more on the suicide of Michael Carl Nobles, whose name has now been released

Miss Nigeria 2013 BeginsAdvocacy against SexualViolence

Miss Nigeria 2013 Ezinne Akudo Anyaoha, has begun her advocacy against sexual violence against young women in Nigeria. The Queen, who intends to use personal interactions, the traditional media and social media in her drive, has begun with a heartfelt message to young women in Nigeria. A message which she intends to use all communication mediums to make sure gets to young Nigerian women in every nook and cranny of the country. Recognising that sexual violence is prevalent in Nigeria, Anyaoha stressed that young women can avoid being raped by avoiding walking in dark corners alone and also advised them to inform at least one person of their whereabouts at all times. She added that young women should always talk to someone about harassment and molestation. In her words: “Always talk to someone about harassment and molestation. Don't be a victim. Speak Up! It's your right”. She however enjoined all well meaning Nigerians to join her in fighting this anomaly. The formal launch of her pet project ‘Project SEV’ an initiative which seeks to curb sexual violence against young women in Nigeria will take place in a few weeks.

It's finally happened. Khloe Kardashian drops Odom from her name

Khloe has removed her husband's name from her instagram page and now from her Twitter page. 5...4...3...2.. before they announce the divorce... Meanwhile friends of Lamar insist he didn't send the Tweet that bashed his father for calling out the Kardashians. Sources told TMZ that Lamar Odom is holed up without Internet (by choice) and has no idea his father even gave an interview. So someone else must have sent that Tweet from his account...

The Richest and Most Powerful Babes In Nollywood

In Nigeria, some movie stars have proven again and again that they can guarantee return on investment as long as their faces adorn the poster. They are Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Genevieve Nnaji, Omoni Oboli, Funke Akindele and Nse Ikpe-Etim. Four elements contribute to the success of a movie at the box-office. They include good script, experienced director, professional publicist, and most importantly, the big name stars. Of all the four, there is one a producer should never violate at the market place and that is the ‘star’ aspect of it. There could be a bad script, inexperienced director and not too good publicity for the movie but it is almost impossible to have Return On Investment (ROI) with un-bankable stars. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde: On the list is Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde with box- office gross of N60 million. She made N24 million with Last Flight to Abuja, N6 million from Private Storm and her N30 million share in Ije bring her total earning to N60 million. This year alone, no actress has made as much as N24 million from a single movie; Funke Akindele would have done so with The Return of Jenifa but the movie hit the box office in 2011. Omotola, who was reported to have been paid N5 million by Tarila Thompson all in the bid to make his movie a blockbuster, has been described as the biggest box office actress of 2012. She recorded successes back to back but it remains to be seen if she can pull off the box office magic again with Amina and other movies coming in 2013. Omotola has been an A-list actress even before Genevieve got her first big break and so what has been working for her is the wise investment in her brand. Her enduring presence and unceasing contact with her fans via the social media has made her popular even in an environment where a mother of four like her is not fashionable. Genevieve Nnaji: Next is Genevieve Nnaji. Love or hate her, Genny as she is fondly called, has a way with cinema audiences that make them come back again and again for her movies. So far, Genevieve’s starring in the movies has grossed over N83 million at the box office. Mirror Boy (described by the actress as her first major film and the first to put her at the box-office) made N18 million, while Ije netted N60 million turning out to be Nigeria’s highest grossing movie ever. But Genevieve had to share the money with Omotola, who also acted alongside her. If the sharing formula is 50-50, then Genevieve gets N30 million of the total gross. Genevieve’s next movie, Tango with Me went on to make N35 million. So, putting all the figures together, Genny remains at the head of the pack. What seem to be working for Genevieve are her enduring power, popularity and social media connection. The actress has been there for over a decade and is still waxing stronger. Her wine seems to taste better with age. Another plus for Genny is her popularity. Genevieve is hugely popular across Africa and most especially among the youths. Before now, she has been very active on the social media especially Twitter. She even had to put up a Facebook advert after reports emerged that some acts were ahead of her there. Funke Akindele: Surprisingly, the third person on the list is Funke Akindele, a young lady who rose to fame in I Need To Know, a TV series, and went on to earn a monstrous fame with Jenifa. Funke is an unlikely candidate on this list. Now, how can one explain that she is third on a list parading heavy weights like Omoni Oboli, Nse Ikpe-Etim and Stephanie Okereke among others? So far, Funke has made over N56 million, netting over N20 million in 2012 alone. In The Return of Jenifa, Funke netted N35 million. The movie ran till February 2012. Her movie, Married but Living Single made N9.9 million while Maami made N11 million. The actress is on her way to another cinema glory with a movie, A Wish. Let’s hope she will be able to wave the magical wand again and create a box-office success. For Funke who recently got married, the plus factor for her is her huge popularity among the masses and elites. Her movie, Jenifa cuts across all social groups with the street parlance in it becoming the mode of communication in social gathering. And as an icing on the cake, Funke has moved upscale, she is now the toast of events organized by the rich and not so rich. Her box office credibility transcends the cinema as all DVDs parading her face turn into gold. Omoni Oboli: Omoni Oboli, who is still largely unknown to those who don’t patronise the cinema and social media, is fourth on the list. She is a silent achiever. Before the trio of Genevieve, Omotola and Funke even dreamt of hitting the box office, Omoni Oboli already took the lead. Figurine, her first box office appearance made N13 million while her second effort, Anchor Baby made N18 million bringing her total earning to N31million. Omoni’s strength is her exclusivity and knack for quality. It is a known fact that if the project is not big and ambitious, Omoni might not do it. The disadvantage of that is, despite her box office credibility, Omoni is still unknown in areas where there is no access to cinemas. Perhaps, that is the reason she tries to make up with the red carpet presence. For now, the exclusivity is working for Omoni; perhaps her new movie, Broken and other works will introduce a new twist. One other thing that should not be forgotten is the unprecedented publicity of Anchor Baby in 2010. The film also had Omoni at the forefront of meeting and greeting of fans at the cinemas. Nse Ikpe-Etim: The fifth slot belongs to Nse Ikpe-Etim. She seems to be the latest sensation in big budget movies. In Mr and Mrs, Nse was a delight, her performance was a reference point and it was a hook that kept drawing people to the cinema while the movie was there. Mr and Mrs made N6 million while another of her film, Phone Swap made N20 million, making a total of N26 million. Too early for Nse to cement her place, as she hasn’t done N15 million back-to-back but one thing the actress has made clear is that she has intention of doing that. The leading four acts should be afraid of Nse because her strength lies in her pure acting talent. Nse is born to act, deemed to be unnecessarily assertive a times, but you can’t accuse her of not knowing her lines. And she pushes her movies with virgour, moving from one cinema to the other. However, Nse should watch it as many have accused her of being too ‘self-conscious’, a term casually used for budding stars who have ‘over- hyped’ impression of themselves as this could alienate fans who make the box-office count. Rita Dominic and Stephanie Okereke Rita Dominic and Stephanie Okereke should readily make the list but they haven’t appeared at the cinemas more than once. Hopefully, Rita will break into the list with The Meeting, Lion of 76 and Street of Calabar while Stephanie already had N10 million under her belt with Through the Glass. Of course, there are exceptions to the rules. A bankable star makes easier the job of a producer; the absence of one, however, is not a ready- made doom for a movie as Avatar and Slumdog Millionaire (both global box office hits) have shown. But if one would take a risk or err, it’s better to err on the part of caution. Wikipedia defines a bankable star to be an actor famous or charismatic enough to be “capable of guaranteeing box-office success simply by showing up in a movie”. It is common knowledge that a Will Smith will sell any movie no matter how bad as long as he has his face on the jacket.

Kenya mall attack: US report linksBoko Haram to Islamic militantgroup, Al- Shabaab

A report by a committee of the United States House of Representatives has linked the fundamentalist Islamist sect, Boko Haram, to al Shabaab, the terror group that carried out the September 21 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya. Al-Shabaab is a Somali-based group whose members are said to be highly proficient in suicide bombing. The report dated September 13, 2013 and entitled, ‘Boko Haram: Growing Threat to the US Homeland’, also acknowledged the growing relationship between the Nigerian sect and another terror group, the Al Qaeda in the land of the Islamic Maghreb. The 39-page report noted that “while there is no evidence that al Qaeda’s core in Afghanistan and Pakistan commands Boko Haram’s operations, it is clear from the words of multiple US officials and media reports that Boko Haram is supportive of, and supported by Al Qaeda networks such as AQIM.” It noted that “it is the unity of ideology and mutual hatred for the West between the Al Qaeda networks that exposes the danger Boko Haram poses to the U.S Homeland.” The committee described Boko Haram as a “hardened and sophisticated terror network” that required multiple simultenous local and international efforts to enhance the capacity and capability of the the Nigerian Police and the military to curtail its activities. It said there was an urgent need by the US to designate the sect as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation because it has shown no signs of ending its aggression against the government of Nigeria and the Western world. The commiteee wrote, “The world is coming to know more about Boko Haram; their intentions, what they’re capable of, and who is supporting them. “The US Intelligence Community is working to erase the gaps in our understanding of Boko Haram, but it is already evident they are a serious threat to US interests and potentially to the US Homeland. ‘‘Acknowledging this threat publicly by designating Boko Haram an FTO will establish a legal mechanism for prosecuting any supporters within US jurisdictions. “This is an increasingly important tool given their attempts to market themselves to a wider international audience. “Boko Haram shows no signs of ending its campaign against the government of Nigeria and the Western world. Two years after their August 2011 bombing of a United Nations facility in Abuja, Nigeria, Boko Haram remains a threat to the international community, and continues to be a developing threat to the US Homeland.” The report said that Boko Haram had “highly skilled bomb makers who might have received training from experienced militants elsewhere, potentially indicating a stronger relationship between them and AQIM or Al Shabaab. It said that besides building sophisticated weaponry, it was now possible that Boko Haram had acquired or will acquire SA-7 and SA-24 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. The SA-7 missile is effective up to 1,300 metres, while some newer models reach altitudes of almost four kilometres. Although most aircraft cruise around 9,140 metres, the SA-7 could be used to target aircraft during takeoff and landing. In the report, the committee warned, “It does not take much imagination to picture the threat these weapons would pose to commercial aviation in Abuja if they fell into Boko Haram hands.” Out of the 20,000 such weapons in Libya, only 5,000 of them had been secured through a $40m US programme to buy up loose missiles during the fall of the Gadhafi regime. Most are believed to have found their way into countries that share common boundaries with Nigeria. The committee acknowledged that the Goodluck Jonathan administration had taken some potentially promising steps in its effort to fight Boko Haram. It said the appointment of Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), a northern Nigerian Muslim, to the position of National Security Adviser on June 23, 2012, demonstrated Jonathan’s willingness to give northerners and Muslims a visible role in Nigeria’s struggle with Boko Haram. “Dasuki has taken the lead in organising government’s fight against Boko Haram, and his background as a Muslim from the North may give him obvious and potent symbolic significance,” the committee said. In spite of this, the committee observed that concerns regarding the capability of the Jonathan administration to effectively deal with Boko Haram remained prominent. The committee said without foreign assistance from countries such as the US and the UK, the Nigerian government would almost certainly face a prolonged battle in neutralising Boko Haram. According to the committee, the State Department, which has also engaged Nigeria through its African Coastal and Border Security programme, has focused its assistance on peacekeeping support, training, border and maritime security, and increasing military professionalisation. But it lamented that in spite of the training, the “JTF continues to behave unprofessionally, and has been accused of human rights abuses by Human Rights Watch, among other entities, including the State Department’s most recent annual human rights report.” It also warned that greater pressure must be applied to the JTF to abandon counter- productive and brutal tactics alienating northerners. The committee said failure of the Secretary of State to designate the Boko Haram sect an FTO, was the ‘most obvious flaw in the US effort to combat it and prevent its expansion.’ It said, “If Boko Haram were to be designated an FTO, it would support US intelligence community efforts to curb the group’s financing, stigmatise and isolate it internationally, heighten public awareness and knowledge, and signal to other governments the US takes the threat from Boko Haram seriously. “If Boko Haram is not designated an FTO, its potential threat to the US and its capability to attack the homeland would likely increase. It is therefore an urgent next step to take in fighting this growing al Qaeda affiliate in Nigeria.” The committee further said as the number of attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram had increased in 2013, so had the attention paid to the group by the US.

Ex-BBA housemate, Prezzodeclared wanted for assaultingmilitary officer

There are reports that ex-BBA Kenya representative, Jackson Makini popularly known as Prezzo might be in trouble over an alleged gun drama with an army official. The incident was said to have occurred on the morning of Saturday, September 21, 2013, Prezzo was reported to have had a scuffle over a parking space outside Aqua Blue Lounge, Nairobi, Kenya. According to an official statement by Gigiri Division Police boss, Vitalis Otieno, Prezzo allegedly obstructed the military colonel (names withheld). According to reports, Prezzo had allegedly hit the Swiss army colonel on the head with a gun and tried shooting him but was restrained by the bodyguards who dragged him off into his car and drove off. The Colonel was said to have been rushed to the hospital for immediate treatment. Prezzo who recently returned from the U.S took to Twitter to defend himself, “I got into an altercation with a foreigner who racially abused me and attacked me last night being human, I rightfully defended myself.”

Strike: FG Deceiving Nigerians– ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the Federal Government of insincerity and lack of commitment to ending the ongoing strike in the country. The Ibadan Zone branch of the union made the accusation in a statement on Thursday, by its Acting Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka. The lecturers have been on an indefinite strike for almost three months now over the federal government’s inability to honour an agreement entered into in 2009. Ogbinaka, who claimed that negotiation meetings held with the federal government has yielded no result, described the meetings as a “lip-service negotiation”. He said: “Since the commencement of this strike, government has equally demonstrated to Nigerians its willingness to implement the agreement freely entered to with ASUU. After several meetings between ASUU team and representatives of the Federal Government, there has been absolute demonstration of bad faith by government. “This led to the intervention of the Vice-President of Nigeria, Namadi Sambo. After the meeting of Tuesday 19, September with the Vice-President, it is clear that the FG is merely paying lip-service to education in Nigeria and deceiving the Nigerian public on their commitment to its transformation agenda.” He warned students and parents not to be deceived with the agenda of the government, saying the strike was in the interest of Nigeria’s educational system. He said: “ASUU has demonstrated great commitment and patriotism since 2006 when the negotiation started and culminated in the 2009 Agreement. It has allowed government to use its agencies to verify the claims of decrepit infrastructure in the University System. This resulted in the production of the NEEDS Assessment Document of 2012. “The Nigerian people should not be deceived. How can there be a meaningful transformation when the education sector is neglected and gradually taken over by private entrepreneurs including government functionaries who are busy building private universities with stolen funds in and outside Nigeria? Can these universities be truly called private?” Meanwhile, students of Bayero University, Kano (BUK) on Thursday protested unsolved demand between the Federal Government and ASUU. It gave FG one week ultimatum to meet with all the demands of ASUU or face the wrath of Nigerian students. Speaking on behalf of the students, the University’s SUG President, Sani Ibrahim said they staged the protest over their long stay at home. “It is because we are tired of staying at home. Our mates in other countries are in school; why should the case of Nigerian students be different? “As part of the struggle to fight for our right is being pursued, I will like to salute our students for their patience while receiving the negative consequences of bad governance. We believe that the delay in resuming lectures in our Universities is not only lamentable but also devastating. “We believe even more strongly that now is the time to let our leaders know that enough is enough and we shall wake up and say no to injustice being meted out to Nigerian students.” But for the intervention of police officers dispatched from the Bompai Police Headquarters, who pleaded with the protesting students, they would have taken to the streets.

Jimmy Kimmel Talks Kanye West Twitter Rant: "Finally, I'm in a Rap Feud

So...Kanye West is actually pretty mad, eh? During his monologue Thursday, Jimmy Kimmel addressed the rapper's profanity-studded Twitter rant from earlier today in which he went off on the late-night host in response to a bit from Jimmy Kimmel Live that poked fun at Kanye's much-talked-about interview with BBC Radio One. "Quick question," Jimmy kicked off the show. "Did anyone else get a very angry phone call from Kanye West about an hour and a half ago? Just me? OK, I didn't know if he was mad at all of us." Picking up the subject again about 15 minutes later, he described the pre-rant call he got from Kanye. "He told me I had two choices: apologize publicly...and that was really the only choice!" Jimmy said. "The other choice he gave was that my life--'Your life,' he said, 'is going to be much better if you apologize.' Then he started tweeting today and I don't even know if I've seen some of these tweets, because they're happening as we speak..." Then Jimmy started going through Kanye's tweets (which were all in caps), starting with the one that got the ball rolling: "Jimmy Kimmel is out of line to try and spoof in any way the first piece of honest media in years." He continued to parse the tweets, including the one that inquired whether Jimmy would like it if Kanye did a spoof about "your face or you f--king Ben Affleck." "Which, by the way, was a spoof," Jimmy reminded everyone. "I don't know if he thought that was news." Noting the use of the hash tags "#nodisrespecttobenaffleck" and "#alldisrespecttojimmy kimmel," he cracked, "A lot of hash in those tags." "And he told me this on the phone, I swear," the veteran funnyman continued, "he said, 'I am the most powerful voice in media. I am 'Pac! He said 'I am 'Pac' a few times to me. He said, 'You'll never be able to show your face at a 14-year-old's high school football game and be cool again.' "He really is 'Pac," Jimmy said, smiling but looking a bit baffled. "That's right ouf of the Tupac playbook, isn't it?" "I don't understand it, I don't know why he's angry again," Jimmy continued. "I thought the bit was pretty innocuous. Finally I'm in a rap feud." "Do you have my back?" he asked side-kick Guillermo, who promised, while munching on a snack, to watch his boss' back. "Right now we're at Def-Kanye Five," Jimmy concluded. "Thanks, Kanye, appreciate it." He promised to keep us posted and all remains quiet on the Twitter front for now.

At least 17 die in Pakistan bus bomb

t least 17 people have been killed in a bus bombing near the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, officials say. The vehicle was carrying government employees back home in the Gulbela area, some 15km north-east of the city. More than 70 passengers were on board, police said. Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been hit by numerous bomb and gun attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents in recent years. Initial reports say the bomb was planted in the back of the bus. Officials told the BBC that at least 34 people had been injured in Friday's blast. No group has so far claimed responsibility. Police say that the bomb was planted specifically to kill government employees. The head of Peshawar's bomb disposal unit said that between 10kg and 15kg (22lb to 33lb) of explosives were used in the device. On Sunday a twin-suicide bombing outside a church in Peshawar in Pakistan killed at least 81 people. It was one of the worst attacks on Christians in the country. Militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban said they carried out the bombing. At least 20 people were killed and nearly 40 were injured when another bus carrying government workers was bombed in the same area in June 2012.

DavidO and his crew hang out with footballer, Samuel Eto'o

The two stars showing off their Rolex watches as they hang out in London.

Annie Idibia Pregnant!

It's good news for the Idibias as Annie is pregnant with Tuface's seventh child. For a while now,rumour has been going round that the actress is pregnant again but she denied it,saying it was all a lie. But seems the truth can never be hidden for too long, as she was recently sighted with a growing baby bump. As the good news has now been confirmed,when the child is born,it becomes the second between the couple and the seventh for Tuface.

Michael Jackson was responsible for his own death

Michael Jackson was responsible for his own death, Maryin Putnam, a lawyer for AEG Live said. Putnam remarked in a closing arguments of the wrongful death lawsuit brought by relatives of the late King of Pop. Jackson's family blame the concert promoter for his June 2009 death on the eve of his sold-out comeback tour, claiming the company hired Jackson's doctor and pressured him to bend medical rules in order to ensure the tour would go ahead. But in his closing arguments, Putnam denied that the company had hired Dr Conrad Murray, pointing out that he had been treating Jackson and his family for years before the tour. Murray was found guilty of providing the insomniac Jackson with the surgical anaesthetic Propofil as a sleeping aid, which a coroner found had caused Jackson's death. ``The evidence is very clear that Michael Jackson was the one who hired Dr Murray. ''Jackson was responsible for his own health, certainly his own healthcare, and he's responsible for his own choices, no matter how bad those choices turn out to be. ``The truth here is a tragedy ... It's a tragedy for this family, a tragedy for his mother, a tragedy for his kids. It's horrible and it's incredibly sad. But it's not a tragedy of AEG Live's making," Putnam said. The lawyer insisted that Jackson never told AEG Live about his reliance on the dangerous medication. ``AEG would have never agreed to finance this tour if they knew Mr Jackson was playing Russian roulette in his bedroom every night," Putnam told jurors. During the five-month trial, AEG Live argued that it was Jackson who hired Murray. Murray is due to be released next month after serving two years in prison following his conviction for the involuntary manslaughter of the late pop star. Jackson's family lawyer, Brian Panish, claimed in his closing arguments, that AEG had known about Jackson's past health problems and was negligent in not checking the background of Murray, who was deeply in debt at the time and needed the tour to go ahead to save him from financial ruin. The damages Jackson's family is seeking from AEG has not been specified, but if AEG is found liable, the company could be facing a payment of more than one billion dollars in Jackson's lost earnings. Unlike criminal trials where a unanimous verdict is needed, only nine of the 12 jurors are required to reach a verdict.

Comedian Bovi and wife welcome baby girl

Popular comedian Bovi Ugboma and wife Christabel welcomed a daughter last night September 25th  at 8:47pm. This is the couple's second child. Big congrats to them.

Forbes list of the World's Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Artists 2013

Diddy tops this year's Forbes list of hip-hop's top earners, pulling in $50m over the past 12 months - June 2012 - 2013. See the top 20 highest paid hip-hop artists below... 1.Diddy - $50million 2. Jay Z - $43million 3. Dr Dre - $40million 4. Nicki Minaj - $29million 5. Birdman - $21million 6. Kanye West - $20million 7. Lil Wayne - $16 million 8. Wiz Khalifa - $14million 9. Ludacris - $12 million 10. Pitbull - $11million 11. Drake - $10.5million 12. Snoop Lion - $10million 12. Eminen - $10 million 14. Kendrink Lamar - $9million 14. Pharrel Williams - $9million 14. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis $9 million, tie 17. Swizz Beatz - $8.5million 18. Tech N9ne - $7.5 million 19. 50cent - $7million 20. Lil Jon - $6million 20. Rick Ross - $6million 20. Mac Miller - $6 million 20. Young Jeezy - $6 million 20. Questlove - $6 million So wait Nas, 2 Chainz, J. Cole, A$AP Rocky etc didn't make up to $6million in a year?

Miley Cyrus: Confessions of pop's wildest child

In the backroom of a tattoo parlor on North La Brea Avenue in L.A., Miley Cyrus is about to get some new ink. "All right, face down," says the tattoo artist, a bald guy named Mojo. Miley flips onto her stomach and on the bottom of her dirty feet, in ballpoint pen, are written the words ROLLING (right foot) and $TONE (left). "People get tattoos of the most f****d-up s***," Miley says. "Did you know Alec Baldwin has Hannah Montana's initials tattooed on him? No, wait -- Stephen Baldwin. He said he was my biggest fan, and I told him my biggest fans have tattoos. So he got 'hm' tattooed on his shoulder." She shakes her head. "People do f****d-up s***." For her first Rolling Stone cover story, Miley wanted to do something fun. "I thought about going to play laser tag," she says. "But laser tag sucks. And we could have gone bowling, but what are we, 90?" Naturally, the next idea was getting a tattoo. See Miley Cyrus' Outrageous 'Rolling Stone' Tattoo "All right, darlin'," says Mojo. "You ready?" "Ready," she says. Mojo fires up the needle, which begins buzzing extremely loudly. "I hate seeing the needle," says Miley. She cranes her neck backward. "Does it hurt? It hurts, right?" Mojo: "Yeah, it hurts." These are the 20-year-old pop star's first tattoos on her feet, but she has lots of others: a peace sign, an equal sign, a heart and a cross (all on her fingers); the words love inside her right ear and just breathe over her rib cage; a Leonardo da Vinci sketch on her right forearm, and above it, the Roman numerals VIIXCI, for 7/91, the month and year her parents first met. And on the inside of her left forearm, the words ... "HIS PLACE SHALL NEVER BE WITH THOSE COLD AND TIMID SOULS WHO NEITHER KNOW VICTORY NOR DEFEAT." "It's from a Teddy Roosevelt speech," she says. "It's about how people judge who wins and who loses, but they're not the ones in there fighting." In other words, "It's about critics." Four days earlier, Miley performed at the VMAs. Maybe you heard about it. A lot of people got mad. Miley did things with a foam finger that made the inventor of the foam finger accuse her of having "degraded" an "icon." Most people thought it was Miley's fault, but Miley didn't care. That's what the Teddy Roosevelt quote is about. Haters gonna hate. In this era of deep national polarization, there's one thing on which we can pretty much all agree: It's an interesting time to be Miley Cyrus. She's been dealing with fame in varying degrees for her entire life, first as the daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus, whose "Achy Breaky Heart" was to 1992 what "Blurred Lines" is to 2013, then as the insanely popular Disney tween icon Hannah Montana. But all that was just a prelude to Miley 3.0, a tongue-wagging, hard-twerking, all-grown-up pop star, like it or not. Miley has been planting the seeds for her big transition to adulthood for the past five years. She was 15 when she weathered her first scandal, when she posed for Vanity Fair wearing a sheet that made her look topless. ("I feel so embarrassed," she said in a statement. "And I apologize to my fans, who I care so deeply about.") A year later came a pole-dancing stunt at the Teen Choice Awards (the "pole" was on an ice cream cart; the dancing was PG at most). The following year she was photographed in Spain drinking a beer at age 17, and a month after that, TMZ posted a video of her taking a rip from a bong. (Miley claimed it was legal salvia.) And yet, in millions of people's eyes, she's still Hannah Montana -- which may be part of the problem. Follow Miley Cyrus' Rapid Transformation From Disney Kid to Dirty Girl The morning after the tattoo shop, Miley sends a text: "What up, it's Miley." She wants to know if I can come to the house. "Maybe around 5? We could order some food and s***! Hang at the crib!" Miley's crib is in Toluca Lake, halfway between Burbank and Studio City. It's the same crib the Cyruses moved into around the time Miley started working on "Hannah Montana." She lived at home until she turned 18, and then bought her own place in the Hollywood Hills, with lots of glass and cool furniture and an aquarium in the fireplace. But she didn't really feel safe there by herself, and after a deranged fan jumped her fence wearing her dog's chew toy around his neck, Miley decided it was time to go. She moved back to her old house, and her parents moved a block down the street. Now she lives here with her four adopted dogs (Happy, Bean, Floyd and Mary Jane). But Miley says she still won't sleep in the master bedroom: "That's my parents' room!" There are also two racks of clothes in one of her living rooms that belong to Liam Hemsworth, 23, the Australian actor she met on a movie set in 2010. The couple had been engaged, but in mid-September, they announced that they had split up. The neighborhood isn't what you'd expect: very suburban, very Valley, very Old Hollywood. Bob Hope lived in the house behind theirs. Miley never met him, but she did meet his widow, who lived there until she passed away in 2011. "Miss Dolores," Miley says. "She was party-rocking till the end! Sometimes I'd walk by and see all these people in there dressed up like old-time flappers. I was like, 'Is this real -- or are you guys all ghosts?'" Her neighbors now are a little more contemporary. "Diddy's baby mama lives right there," Miley says, pointing over the fence behind her pool. And down the street is Steve Carell, who has two preteen kids and doesn't sound like the biggest Miley fan. "He always gives me the stank-eye because I drive so fast," Miley says. "The other day I was trying to reverse and I almost hit a thousand things, and I was getting nervous because I could see him going" -- she crosses her arms and lets out a big, annoyed sigh. "I'm like, oh, my God, 'Dan in Real Life' is watching me right now!" She just got back from New York, where she stayed for a few days after the VMAs. She didn't realize how big a deal her performance had been until she saw the news. Her instantly infamous medley of her single "We Can't Stop" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" owned cable TV for the next week, launched a million GIFs and prompted 161 complaints to the FCC. "I think," says Miley, "it's an important time not to Google myself." Miley thought there was a chance the network might pull the plug on her mid-performance, but she didn't expect so much shock and vitriol. "Honestly, that was our MTV version," she says. "We could have even gone further, but we didn't. I thought that's what the VMAs were all about! It's not the Grammys or the Oscars. You're not supposed to show up in a gown, Vanna White-style" -- a little dig at Taylor Swift. "It's supposed to be fun!" Miley admits that her performance with Thicke got a little -- her word -- "handsy." But she makes a good point: "No one is talking about the man behind the a**. It was a lot of 'Miley twerks on Robin Thicke,' but never, 'Robin Thicke grinds up on Miley.' They're only talking about the one that bent over. So obviously there's a double standard." On the Charts: Miley Cyrus Takes 'Wrecking Ball' to the Competition She was especially amused by the criticism from Brooke Shields, who played Miley's mom on "Hannah Montana" and called the VMA performance "desperate." "Brooke Shields was in a movie where she was a prostitute at age 12!" Miley says with a laugh. "America is just so weird in what they think is right and wrong," she continues. "Like, I was watching 'Breaking Bad' the other day, and they were cooking meth. I could literally cook meth because of that show. It's a how-to. And then they bleeped out the word 'f***.' And I'm like, really? They killed a guy, and disintegrated his body in acid, but you're not allowed to say 'f***'? It's like when they bleeped 'molly' at the VMAs. Look what I'm doing up here right now, and you're going to bleep out 'molly'? Whatever." Miley admits that before the telecast, she was feeling a little nervous. But then she got a visit in her dressing room that made her feel better. Kanye West had seen her rehearsals and wanted to talk to her before she went onstage. "He came in and goes, 'There are not a lot of artists I believe in more than you right now,'" she recalls. "The whole room went quiet. I was like, 'Yo -- can you say that again?!'" She laughs. "I just kept repeating that over and over in my mind, and it made me not nervous." After the show, Miley and Kanye met up at a Manhattan recording studio to work on a remix for his song "Black Skinhead." The next day he sent a text: "He said, 'I still can't quit thinking about your performance,'" Miley says. She also happened to mention that a pair of fur Céline slippers she'd bought were falling apart, and Kanye bought her five more pairs. Kanye West, Miley Cyrus Teamed on 'Black Skinhead' Remix "Kanye is the s***," she says. "I kind of have a good relationship with him now. It's good to have someone you can call and be like, 'Yo, do you think I should wear this?' 'Do you think I should go in the studio with this guy?' 'Do you think this is cool?' That's what homies are supposed to do." Miley isn't bothered by people who called her performance a disaster. "I wasn't trying to be sexy," she says. "If I was trying to be sexy, I could have been sexy. I can dance a lot better than I was dancing." She knows sticking her tongue out isn't hot and that those weird stubby pigtails aren't flattering ("I look like a little creature"). And she even knows it's ridiculous for her to twerk. "People are like, 'Miley thinks she's a black girl, but she's got the flattest a** ever,'" she says. "I'm like, I'm 108 pounds! I know! Now people expect me to come out and twerk with my tongue out all the time. I'll probably never do that s*** again."

"I Am AliveWill Only Die At The Appointed Time" - Dead Boko Haram Leader, Shekau Appears In New Video

Leader of the most dreaded and wanted Boko Haram Terrorists, Abubakar Shekau, today, Wednesday, said the Nigerian Military should bury itself in shame because he is alive. Shekau also claimed responsibility of Tuesday, 17th September, 2013 attacks in Benisheik, Borno State where over 160 people were either shot dead or slaughtered and hundreds of houses burnt. The then Joint Task Force (JTF) spokesman in Borno State, Lt Col Sagir Musa, had issued a statement on 19th August, 2013 to the effect that"Intelligence report available to the Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation Restore Order revealed that Abubakar Shekau, the most dreaded and wanted terrorists leader may have died. He died of gunshots wounds received in an encounter with the JTF in one of their camps in Sambisa Forest on 30th June, 2013. "Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide-a border community in Cameroon for treatment from which he never recovered," the JTF statement said. But in thelatest video, Shekau who appeared in military camouflage uniform, seated and surrounded by hooded insurgents said"Here I am, alive, hale and hearty. Sagir Musa should bury himself in shame, President Jonathan (of Nigeria) should bury himself in shame, President Obama (of United States of America) should bury himself in shame, and President Francois Hollande (of France) should bury himself in shame, Queen Elizabeth (of England) should bury herself in shame," he said. According to Shekau,"They said I am dead, but here I am. The world should know that I am alive and will only die at the appointed time.Everybody should be judged according to the dictates of his conscience. What I am doing is written in the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith and I will not stop. I challenge all the clerics of the world to question my deeds. Those underrating my capacity should have a re-think. I will never allow democracy to thrive. "The concept of Government of the people by the people for the people will never be possible and will never exist.Democracy shall be replaced only by the government of Allah, from Allah and for Allah,"he said. He said the Nigerian military will never subdue his group."Nigerian soldiers are late. After killing many of them in Monguno and Benisheik, we have snatched their armoured carriers and Hilux van and then hoisted Islamic flags on them. We now move freely with them," he said.

Who's to blame for Michael Jackson's death?

Michael Jackson suddenly awoke at 4:30 a.m. on April 19, 2009, stood on his bed and exclaimed "I told you I cannot sleep all night!" Jackson's frustration, just as rehearsals for his comeback concerts were gearing up, marked the beginning of the end for the pop icon, a deterioration documented by e-mails, photographs and testimony presented in the wrongful death trial of concert promoter AEG Live. Nurse Cherilyn Lee, who had been giving Jackson IV infusions of a cocktail of vitamins for two months to help him sleep, sat at his bedside. "It kind of scared me," Lee said. "It really startled me when he stared at me with his big brown eyes." Jackson asked Lee to help him find an anesthesiologist to infuse him with the surgical anesthetic propofol because he was convinced it was the only cure for his insomnia, she testified. Jackson had made the same request of Dr. Allan Metzger when the doctor, who had treated him for 26 years, visited his Los Angeles home a day earlier, according to Metzger's testimony. Metzger and Lee testified that they refused, warning Jackson that it was unsafe to use the IV anesthetic outside of a hospital or clinic. Jackson told Lee that doctors had assured him it was safe as long as he was properly monitored. She testified that she told Jackson that any doctor who would give him propofol at home didn't care about him and was just doing it for the money. Jackson died 65 days later from an overdose of propofol, a drug that Dr. Conrad Murray told investigators he infused into Jackson almost every night for two months to put him to sleep. Murray is a month away from being freed from jail after serving two years for an involuntary manslaughter conviction in Jackson's death. Closing arguments begin Tuesday in the five-month-long trial to decide if AEG Live shares responsibility in Jackson's death for the negligent hiring, retention or supervision of Murray.The 83 days of testimony that ended Friday included startling revelations about the pop icon's fatal search for sleep. Jackson's pain was real, doctor testifies Burden of proof Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos instructed jurors Monday that Jackson's mother and three children have the burden of proving that their case is "more likely to be true than not true." Unlike in a criminal case, they do not have to prove it "beyond a reasonable doubt," she said. A verdict requires just nine of the 12 jurors to agree -- not a unanimous decision. The Jacksons' lawsuit contends AEG Live is liable for damages in the singer's death because its executives hired Murray to serve as Jackson's personal physician for his "This Is It" tour and that they were negligent in hiring, retaining or supervising him. Jurors will have a verdict form with 16 questions to answer during their deliberations. A "no" answer to any of the first five would end their deliberations and the trial immediately. Beyond that, they would decide what damages, if any, AEG Live would pay the Jacksons. Question No. 1 Did AEG Live hire Murray? Lawyers for the concert promoter argue that it was Jackson who chose and hired the doctor. Murray had treated Jackson and his children for minor illnesses for about three years while they were in Las Vegas. AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware began negotiations to hire Murray only at Jackson's insistence, they say. A final contract between Murray and AEG Live -- with a third-party signature line for Jackson -- listed Murray's starting date as May 1, 2009. But it was not sent to Murray until just days before Jackson's death. Murray signed and returned it, but no AEG Live executive signed it after Jackson's death the next day. Neither Jackson, nor any of his representatives, ever saw the contract, according to testimony.Jurors will have to decide if AEG Live's negotiations and actions, documented by several e-mails, constituted Murray's hiring in the absence of a signed contract. Paul Gongaware, who was the top producer of Jackson's tour, wrote in an e-mail on May 6, 2009, that it was a "done deal" that Murray was being hired for $150,000 a month to serve as Jackson's full-time physician. Murray sent an e-mail to AEG Live on May 15, 2009, saying he was "already fully engaged" in treating Jackson. Jackson lawyers consider another Gongaware e-mail sent 11 days before Jackson's death to be a smoking gun to show that AEG Live considered Murray to be under their control, not Jackson's. "We want to remind (Murray) that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him," the AEG Live co-CEO wrote. Odd twist in trial Question No. 2 Was Murray unfit or incompetent to perform the work for which he was hired? Murray practiced as an interventional cardiologist, which mostly involved placing catheters into the arteries of heart disease patients. Jackson had no known heart issues, which the coroner confirmed in his autopsy report. Jackson's chief medical problem was his insomnia, for which Murray had no special training. Murray treated Jackson's insomnia with nightly infusions of propofol, a drug that is supposed to be administered only by an anesthesiologist or a nurse anesthetist under the supervision of a doctor. It was an approach to sleep medicine that is universally condemned after the singer's overdose death. Murray's competence is also questioned by his decision not to use proper monitoring equipment that is standard when putting a patient into a drug-induced coma.Jackson lawyers say that Murray's dire financial condition, combined with the high salary offered by AEG Live, added to his incompetence. He decided to breach his ethical responsibility to do no harm to his patient because he feared losing the job that offered to deliver him from a mountain of debt, they argue. AEG Live says that Murray was never sued for malpractice and that he was licensed to practice medicine in four states. Question No. 3 Did AEG Live know or should it have known that Murray was unfit or incompetent and that this unfitness or incompetence created a particular risk to others? The Jacksons accuse AEG Live of failing to check Murray's background, which would have revealed he was deep in debt and desperately dependent on the $150,000 a month they agreed to pay him. Two Los Angeles police detectives testified that they concluded Murray's financial woes were at the root of his motive in the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson. His Las Vegas home was facing foreclosure, he was $1 million in debt and he was behind on support payments for several children, they said. Their suspicions were raised when they read his contract, which said he could lose the lucrative job if the tour was postponed or canceled, they said. Jackson lawyers argue that AEG Live should have ordered a credit check for Murray because of the sensitive job he was being given. AEG Live lawyers say their executives could not have anticipated that his financial circumstances were relevant to his competency as a doctor. A music industry veteran hired as an expert witness by Jackson lawyers testified that AEG Live's agreement with Murray set up an "egregious" conflict of interest in which the physician was beholden to the company and himself before Jackson's interests. It was "not unlike the team doctor for a football team, where the quarterback is injured and the doctor comes to the medical conclusion that the quarterback should be taken out of the game for a period of weeks, but the team doesn't want him out," said David Berman, who once headed Capitol Records. "There is an inherent conflict." It was the doctor's responsibility, not the concert promoter's, to avoid a medical conflict of interest, AEG Live lawyers argue.They say their executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous propofol treatments Murray was giving Jackson in the privacy of his bedroom. They presented testimony from a parade of former Jackson doctors and Jackson's youngest brother, Randy, in an effort to show that the pop icon was a drug addict who kept his use of prescription medicines private. But two doctors called by Jackson lawyers testified they had discussed Jackson's tendency to abuse painkillers, while on tour, with Paul Gongaware when he worked as Jackson's tour manager in the 1990s. Dr. Metzger testified that he had discussed Jackson's problem with insomnia to Gongaware. Jackson's former wife Debbie Rowe testified that Metzger arranged for anesthesiologists in Germany to treat Jackson's insomnia between concerts in Munich with propofol in a hotel room in 1997. Gongaware was the tour manager then. Jurors will have to decide if that is enough evidence to prove that it's more likely true than not true that AEG Live executives should have known that Murray might be using dangerous treatments for Jackson's insomnia as he prepared for his 2009 tour. Jackson's fatal search for sleep Question No. 4 Did Murray's unfitness or incompetence harm Michael Jackson and the Jackson plaintiffs? If jurors get this far down the verdict form, it means they've answered "yes" to the previous three questions. Since they would have already decided Murray was unfit or incompetent, this question may not take much of their time. Jackson died of a propofol overdose while under Murray's care, according to the autopsy report. It was not disputed at the trial. Evidence that led to Murray's involuntary manslaughter conviction two years ago was presented to this civil jury.AEG Live challenged the estimates of economic harm cause by Jackson's death, but jurors saw plenty of evidence of the harm that the plaintiffs -- his mother and three children -- suffered by the loss of a son and a father. Question No. 5 Was AEG Live's negligence in hiring, supervising or retaining Murray a substantial factor in causing Michael Jackson and the Jackson plaintiffs' harm? AEG Live's negligence allegedly included executives ignoring a series of red flags that Jackson lawyers say should have alerted them that Murray was a danger to Jackson. Murray was kept on the job despite warning signs that Jackson's health had deteriorated by the middle of June to the point that he could not remember song lyrics or perform trademark dance moves; he was hearing voices and talking to himself; and he was suffering chills during summertime rehearsals, Jackson lawyers say. Assistant show director Alif Sankey testified that she screamed at show director Kenny Ortega in a phone call after a June 19 rehearsal, begging that he get help for Jackson. "I kept saying that 'Michael is dying, he's dying, he's leaving us, he needs to be put in a hospital,' " Sankey said. " 'Please do something. Please, please.' I kept saying that. I asked him why no one had seen what I had seen. He said he didn't know." Jackson died a few days later. Karen Faye, the pop singer's makeup artist, said Jackson seemed "frightened" and was talking to himself, repeating "the same thing over and over again" at that rehearsal. Tour production manager John "Bugzee" Hougdahl sent an e-mail to AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips the next morning. "I have watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his ass if he tried now," Hougdahl wrote. "He was a basket case and Kenny (Ortega) was concerned he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet -- get hurt. The company is rehearsing right now, but the DOUBT is pervasive." Ortega sounded a warning the same day in an e-mail to Phillips describing "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" from Jackson. "I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist to evaluate him ASAP."Ortega testified that with just a dozen days left for rehearsals before the touring company moved to London for the opening, he "felt that we should stop" the production on June 19, but he was "torn because I did not want to break Michael's heart." Instead of stopping the rehearsals, getting a another doctor to check Jackson or replace Murray, Phillips met with Murray and put him in charge of making sure Jackson missed no more rehearsals. Phillips sent an e-mail to Ortega after the meeting saying he had confidence in Murray, "who I am gaining immense respect for as I get to deal with him more. This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone out) and does not need this gig, so he (is) totally unbiased and ethical." AEG Live says that Jackson appeared much better on June 23 and 24, the rehearsals that are seen in the "This Is It" documentary. Jackson died on the morning of June 25. Expert: Jackson was a drug addict Questions No. 6-13 If jurors get to question six, it means they've decided AEG Live is liable in Jackson's death. The next eight questions would decide a dollar figure for the economic and noneconomic damages suffered by his mother and children. California law allows Jackson's heirs to sue for the lost earnings capacity -- the amount of money he could reasonably be expected to earn had he not died on June 25, 2009. Since Jackson was arguably one of the most successful entertainers in history, the damage amount could be enormous. Contrary to what many media outlets have reported, the Jacksons never asked for $40 billion. In fact, by law the complaint does not state an amount. It is something that the lawyers may argue in court based on testimony and evidence presented in the trial. Even though AEG Live sold out Jackson's 50 London shows in record time and their executives had placed a big bet on Jackson's earning power, their lawyers worked to convince jurors that Jackson was a has-been with limited future earning potential. One of their experts testified that he believed that Jackson might not have earned another dime in his career.Eric Briggs based his conclusion on testimony by a Jackson sleep expert that the singer was near death from lack of sleep, even if he had not overdosed on propofol. Harvard sleep expert Dr. Charles Czeisler testified he believed that Murray's infusions of propofol robbed Jackson of essential REM sleep that would have eventually proved fatal unless stopped. The drug interrupts crucial REM sleep cycles, depriving the brain of real rest and repair, the expert said. Jackson lawyers scoffed at Briggs' use of that theory, arguing that AEG Live would still be liable for that eventual death. Briggs also questioned if Jackson would have been able to complete another world tour because of his health and poor demand for tickets. He testified that "significantly negative headlines, drug abuse and other issues" had ruined Jackson's ability to earn endorsement and sponsorship money. A Jackson expert concluded that he was reasonably certain the pop icon would have earned $1.5 billion touring the world over the next several years had he not died. He based his estimates on AEG Live's own projections developed when its executives were planning to take Jackson on tour in the year before his death. Jackson lawyers might suggest to jurors that they add additional damages based on what they think the entertainer might have earned if he had begun making films after completing his world tour. His son Prince and nephew Taj Jackson both testified about his plans to conquer the movie world next. Jurors would also place a dollar value on the noneconomic damages suffered by Jackson's mother and three children. The jury did hear during the trial that daughter Paris Jackson, 15, tried to kill herself in June. It is not clear if Jackson lawyer Brian Panish will point to Paris' emotional problems, which the lawyers have blamed on the loss of her father, when he argues for noneconomic damages. Questions No. 14-16 The amount of damages calculated by the jury could be significantly reduced when they reach the last three questions on their verdict form. These ask them to decide how much, if any, Michael Jackson's own negligence was a factor in his death. Panish has stated publicly that Jackson shares some of the liability for his own demise, but he has not suggested a percentage. Jurors will be asked to assign a percentage of blame to Jackson and to AEG Live. The concert promoter would then be ordered to pay the percentage of the damages that equals its share of blame as determined by the jury. Deliberations are expected to begin Thursday afternoon.

Pakistan earthquake: Hundreds dead in Balochistan

Many homes around Awaran have been reduced to rubble A powerful earthquake has killed at least 208 people in Pakistan's remote south-west province of Balochistan. The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday afternoon at a depth of 20km (13 miles) north-east of Awaran, the US Geological Survey said. Many houses were flattened and thousands of people have spent the night in the open. After the quake, a small island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar, witnesses reported. People gathered on the beach to see the new island, which is about 9m (30ft) high and 100m long, Gwadar Police Chief Pervez Umrani said. Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but least populated province. The region is prone to earthquakes, with at least 35 people killed in a 7.8-magnitude tremor that was centred in south-eastern Iran in April. Mud houses The latest quake was so powerful it was felt as far away as Karachi, Hyderabad, and India's capital, Delhi. Balochistan government spokesman Jan Buledi put the death toll at 208 and warned it could rise. At least 340 people have been injured. "We are seriously lacking medical facilities and there is no space to treat injured people in the local hospitals," Mr Buledi said. He said helicopters were airlifting the most seriously injured to Karachi while others were being cared for in neighbouring districts. Awaran local government official Abdul Rasheed Baluch said around 90% of houses in the district had been destroyed. People rushed out of apartments and offices in Karachi when the quake struck "Almost all the mud houses have collapsed. We have been busy in rescue efforts for the whole night and fear we will recover more dead bodies from under the rubble during daylight," he said. Many of the casualties are said to be from Labach, on the northern outskirts of Awaran town. Houses are also reported to have caved in in the district of Khuzdar. People in the region mostly live in mud houses as opposed to multi-storey concrete structures, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani. The few concrete buildings in the area mostly house government offices, he adds. An emergency has been declared in the earthquake-affected districts of Awaran and Chagai. Provincial disaster management officials say tents and medical supplies have been sent from Quetta and neighbouring district headquarters. More than 200 soldiers have also been despatched for rescue efforts

Rihanna vs Teyana Taylor

Singer and actress Teyanna Taylor goes straight at Rihanna after Bad Gal RiRi tries to throw shade.. So what happened was, earlier today Rihanna posted video of a guy in her entourage wearing a long weave and a snap back cap warbling his way through Anita Baker's 'Sweet Love.' This made Teyana Taylor think Rihanna and her entourage were mocking her because she posted an Instagram of herself singing the same song two weeks ago. Teyana came after Rihanna on Twitter and Rihanna clapped back. Lol. But Teyana won this round. She told Rihanna and I quote "Ya net worth and ya body count go neck to neck. #IndustryPussy". Ouch!

Q&A: Who are Somalia's al-Shabab?

Somalia's al-Shabab, which has carried out the deadly attack on a shopping centre in neighbouring Kenya, is linked with al-Qaeda. It has been pushed out of all of the main towns it once controlled in southern and central parts of Somalia, but still remains a potent threat. Who are al-Shabab? Al-Shabab means The Youth in Arabic. It emerged as the radical youth wing of Somalia's now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts in 2006, as it fought Ethiopian forces who had entered Somalia to back the weak interim government. There are numerous reports of foreign jihadists going to Somalia to help al-Shabab and it has formed links with al-Qaeda. It is banned as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK. It has imposed a strict version of Sharia law in areas under its control, including stoning to death women accused of adultery and amputating the hands of thieves. How much of Somalia does al-Shabab control? Although it has lost control of the towns and cities, its writ still runs in many rural areas. It was forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011 and left the vital port of Kismayo in September 2012. Kismayo had been a key asset for the militants, allowing supplies to reach areas under their control and providing taxes for their operations. The African Union (AU), which is supporting government forces, hailed both as major victories, however al-Shabab still carries out fairly frequent suicide attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Analysts believe al-Shabab is increasingly focusing on guerrilla warfare to counter the firepower of AU forces. But the group is under pressure on several fronts following Kenya's incursion into Somalia in 2011. Kenya accused al-Shabab fighters of kidnapping tourists, and its forces, now under the AU banner, have been in the forefront of the push against al-Shabab in the south up to Kismayo. Meanwhile, Ethiopian forces moved in from the west and seized control of the central towns of Beledweyne and Baidoa. Who is al-Shabab's leader? Ahmed Abdi Godane is the head of the group. Known as Mukhtar Abu Zubair, he comes from the northern breakaway region of Somaliland. Mr Godane is rarely seen in public. His predecessor, Moalim Aden Hashi Ayro, was killed in a US airstrike in 2008. Mr Godane, who was behind the group's tie-up with al-Qaeda and has a hardline, international agenda has recently emerged victorious from an internal power-struggle. His rival, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, is more focussed on the struggle within Somalia. He is now in government custody, while several of his allies have been killed. What are al-Shabab's foreign links? Al-Shabab joined al-Qaeda in February 2012. In a joint video, al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane said he "pledged obedience" to al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri. The two groups have long worked together and foreigners are known to fight alongside Somali militants. US officials believe that with al-Qaeda on the retreat in Afghanistan and Pakistan following the killing of Osama bin Laden, its fighters will increasingly take refuge in Somalia. UK security officials have long warned of the danger of British radicals getting training in Somalia and then going home to carry out attacks. There have also been numerous reports that al-Shabab may have formed some links with other militants groups in Africa, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Has al-Shabab carried out attacks outside Somalia? Al-Shabab has said it carried out the deadly assault on a shopping centre in Nairobi on 21 September, in which at least 68 people were killed. It was responsible for a double suicide bombing in Uganda's capital, Kampala, which killed 76 people watching the 2010 football World Cup final on television. The attack was carried out because Uganda - along with Burundi - provided the bulk of the AU troops in Somalia before the Kenyans went in. Analysts say the militants often enter and leave Kenya without being intercepted. Their fighters are said to even visit the capital, Nairobi, for medical treatment. The 2002 twin attacks on Israeli targets near the Kenyan resort of Mombasa were allegedly planned in Somalia by an al-Qaeda cell, while the US believes some of the al-Qaeda operatives who carried out the 1998 attacks on its embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam then fled to Somalia. Who are al-Shabab's backers? Eritrea is its only regional ally. It denies claims it supplies arms to al-Shabab. Eritrea supports al-Shabab to counter the influence of Ethiopia, its bitter enemy. With the backing of the US, Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in 2006 to defeat the Islamists. The Ethiopian forces withdrew in 2009 after suffering heavy casualties. After intervening again in 2011, it says it will hand over the territory it has seized to the AU. After 20 years of war, much of Mogadishu needs to be rebuilt What about the Somali government? The president is a former academic and activist, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. He was elected in 2012 by the newly chosen Somali parliament, under a UN-brokered peace process. He defeated ex-President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed - a former Islamist rebel fighter, whose three years in power were criticised by donors who said corruption was rife. Al-Shabab has denounced the process as being a foreign plot to control Somalia. Somalia is pretty much a failed state. It has not had an effective national government for about 20 years, during which much of the country has been a constant war-zone. This made it easy for al-Shabab, when it first emerged, to win support among Somalis. It promised people security - something they welcomed. But its credibility was knocked when it rejected Western food aid to combat the 2011 drought and famine. Al-Shabab advocates the Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam, while most Somalis are Sufis. Al-Shabab has destroyed a large number of Sufi shrines, causing its popularity to further plummet. However, with Mogadishu and other towns now under government control, there is a new feeling of hope in the country and many Somalis have returned from exile, bringing their money and skills with them. With services such as dry cleaning and rubbish collection opening, maybe Somalia can finally re-emerge from the ashes of the past two decades.

Kenyan mall ablaze after Islamic terrorists 'blow themselves up' + names of terrorists and victims

Kenyan special forces were today locked in a fight to the death with Islamic terrorists who have been barricaded inside a Nairobi mall with up to 40 hostages since Saturday. Witnesses described hearing four large explosions at the Westgate Shopping Centre followed by fierce gun fire after the military tried to break the three day siege by gaining access from the roof.  It is feared that some of the gunmen inside may have blown themselves up, though a Kenyan government minister said that militants had set fire to some mattresses in a supermarket as a decoy.  Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said that two of the terrorists had been killed and that most hostages were now free. All of the militants were men, he added, although some were dressed as women. So far, 69 people have been confirmed dead. At least 175 were injured, including children.  A top military official said he believes the attackers are 'a multinational collection from all over the world.' Kenya Chief of Defence forces General Julius Karangi said fighters from an array of nations participated in the attack claimed by Al Shabaab, a Somali group allies with al-Qaida.  'We have an idea who this people are and they are clearly a multinational collection from all over the world,' he said. We have an idea who they are, their nationality and even the number.  We are fighting global terrorism here and we have sufficient intel (intelligence) to suggest that.' A Twitter account claiming to represent Al Shabaab yesterday claimed that terrorists from seven nations are involved in the attack, including the U.S., Britain and Canada.  The HSM Press Office account, which has been suspended twice, claimed the group were: Names of alleged terrorists Ahmed Nasir Shirdoon, 24, from London, UK;  Gen Mustafe Noorduiin, 27, from Kansas City, U.S.,  Abdifatah Osman Keenadiid, 24, from Minneapolis, U.S.,  Ahmed Mohamad Isse, 22, from Saint Paul, U.S;  Ismael Guled, 23, from Finland;  Abdirizak Mouled, 24, from Ontario, Canada;  Zaki Jama Caraale, 20, and Sayid Nuh, 25, both from Somalia.  Police chief David Kimaiyo said today that some hostages have been freed. However, a group claiming to represent the Al Shabaab terrorists said they are still fighting inside the building.  Names of victims KENYA President Uhuru Kenyatta's nephew and nephew's fiancee were killed GHANA Kofi Awoonor, a Ghanaian poet, professor and former ambassador to Brazil, Cuba and the United Nations, died after being wounded in the attack, Ghana's presidential office confirmed. Ghana's ministry of information said Awoonor's son was injured and is responding to treatment. CANADA Two Canadians, including a diplomat, died in the attack, according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He paid tribute to the victims and noted the loss of diplomat Annemarie Desloges, who served in Canada's High Commission to Kenya as a liaison officer with the Canada Border Services Agency. Her spouse Robert Munk was wounded in the attack, but has since been released from the hospital, the Canadian Press reported. INDIA Two Indians, 8-year-old Parmashu Jain and 40-year-old Sridhar Natarajan, were killed, and four others were wounded in the attack. BRITAIN The Foreign Office have confirmed that four UK nationals have been killed in the attack. Prize-winning architect Ross Langdon, who had dual British and Australian citizenship, is believed to be one of the dead. A British man, who refused to give his name, said his wife and daughter were both killed in the atrocity. The Foreign Office warned the number of British dead is 'likely to rise as further information becomes available.' FRANCE Two French women were killed, President Francois Hollande said. SOUTH AFRICA One South African citizen was killed, according to the country's International Relations Department. THE NETHERLANDS A 33-year-old Dutch woman died in the attack, believed to be Elif Yavuz, the heavily pregnant partner of British architect Mr Langdon. Seven other Dutch citizens who were in the mall escaped unharmed, Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said. CHINA A 38-year-old Chinese woman with the surname Zhou who worked in the real estate industry was killed in the attack, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. Her son was injured in the attack and was in stable condition in a hospital, according to the Chinese Embassy in Kenya. PERU A retired staff member of UNICEF from Peru was killed, the agency's regional office for Eastern and Southern Africa said. U.S. Five American citizens were injured, U.S. officials said. NEW ZEALAND Andrew McLaren, 34, a New Zealander who managed a factory in Kenya for the avocado oil company Olivado, was wounded in the attack, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. He was hospitalised in stable condition.

2013 Emmys: The winners list

Between "Breaking Bad," "House of Cards," "Homeland" and its respective stars, the 2013 Emmys race was tight. While the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences didn't hand out Emmys to all of the actors we thought would win, we were pleased to see some first-timers walk away with accolades. Here's who won -- along with the other nominees -- during Sunday's ceremony: Outstanding drama series "Breaking Bad" -- WINNER "Downton Abbey" "Game of Thrones" "Homeland" "House of Cards" "Mad Men" Outstanding lead actress in a drama series Connie Britton, "Nashville" Claire Danes, "Homeland" -- WINNER Michelle Dockery, "Downton Abbey" Vera Farmiga, "Bates Motel" Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men" Kerry Washington, "Scandal" Robin Wright, "House of Cards" Outstanding lead actor in a drama series Hugh Bonneville, "Downton Abbey" Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" Jeff Daniels, "The Newsroom" -- WINNER Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" Damian Lewis, "Homeland" Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards" Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series. Jonathan Banks, "Breaking Bad" Bobby Cannavale, "Boardwalk Empire" -- WINNER Jim Carter, "Downton Abbey" Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones" Mandy Patinkin, "Homeland" Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad" Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series Morena Baccarin, "Homeland" Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife" Emilia Clarke, "Game of Thrones" Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad" -- WINNER Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men" Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey" Outstanding guest actor in a drama series Rupert Friend, "Homeland" Harry Hamlin, "Mad Men" Michael J. Fox, "The Good Wife" Robert Morse, "Mad Men" Dan Bucatinsky, "Scandal" -- WINNER Nathan Lane, "The Good Wife" Outstanding guest actress in a drama series Diana Rigg, "Game of Thrones" Joan Cusack, "Shameless" Carrie Preston, "The Good Wife" -- WINNER Jane Fonda, "The Newsroom" Margo Martindale, "The Americans" Linda Cardellini, "Mad Men" Outstanding directing for a drama series Tim Van Patten, "Boardwalk Empire" Michelle MacLaren, "Breaking Bad" Jeremy Webb, "Downton Abbey" Lesli Linka Glatter, "Homeland" David Fincher, "House of Cards" -- WINNER Outstanding writing for a drama series. George Mastras, "Breaking Bad" Thomas Schnauz, "Breaking Bad" Julian Fellowes, "Downton Abbey" David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, "Game of Thrones" Henry Bromell, "Homeland" -- WINNER Outstanding comedy series "The Big Bang Theory" "Girls" "Louie" "Modern Family" -- WINNER "Veep" "30 Rock" Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series Laura Dern, "Enlightened" Lena Dunham, "Girls" Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie" Tina Fey, "30 Rock" Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep" -- WINNER Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation" Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development" Don Cheadle, "House of Lies" Louis CK, "Louie" Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes" Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory" -- WINNER Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series Ty Burrell, "Modern Family" Adam Driver, "Girls" Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Modern Family" Bill Hader, "Saturday Night Live" Tony Hale, "Veep" -- WINNER Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family" Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series- Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory" Julie Bowen, "Modern Family" Anna Chlumsky, "Veep" Jane Krakowski, "30 Rock" Jane Lynch, "Glee" Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family" Merritt Wever, "Nurse Jackie" -- WINNER Outstanding guest actor in a comedy series Will Forte, "30 Rock" Bobby Cannavale, "Nurse Jackie" Justin Timberlake, "Saturday Night Live" Bob Newhart, "The Big Bang Theory" -- WINNER Louis C.K., "Saturday Night Live" Nathan Lane, "Modern Family" Outstanding guest actress in a comedy series Elaine Stritch, "30 Rock" Molly Shannon, "Enlightened" Dot-Marie Jones, "Glee" Kristen Wiig, "Saturday Night Live" Melissa McCarthy, "Saturday Night Live" Melissa Leo, "Louie" -- WINNER Outstanding writing for a comedy series Louis C.K. and Pamela Adlon, "Louie" Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield, "30 Rock" -- WINNER Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock, "30 Rock" David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik, "Episodes" Greg Daniels, "The Office" Outstanding directing for a comedy series Lena Dunham, "Girls" Louis C.K., "Louie" Beth McCarthy-Miller, "30 Rock" Paris Barclay, "Glee" Gail Mancuso, "Modern Family" -- WINNER Outstanding miniseries or movie-"American Horror Story: Asylum" "Behind the Candelabra" -- WINNER "The Bible" "Phil Spector" "Political Animals" "Top of the Lake" Outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie Matt Damon, "Behind the Candelabra" Michael Douglas, "Behind the Candelabra" -- WINNER Benedict Cumberbatch, "Parade's End" Toby Jones, "The Girl" Al Pacino, "Phil Spector" Outstanding lead actress in a miniseries or movie Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Asylum Laura Linney, "The Big C: Hereafter" -- WINNER Helen Mirren, "Phil Spector" Elisabeth Moss, "Top of the Lake" Sigourney Weaver, "Political Animals" Outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or movie Scott Bakula, "Behind the Candelabra" James Cromwell, "American Horror Story: The Asylum" -- WINNER John Benjamin Hickey, "The Big C: Hereafter" Peter Mullan, "Top of the Lake" Zachary Quinto, "American Horror Story: The Asylum" Outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie Ellen Burstyn, "Political Animals" -- WINNER Sarah Paulson, "American Horror Story: Asylum" Charlotte Rampling, "Restless" Imelda Staunton, "The Girl" Alfre Woodard, "Steel Magnolias" Outstanding directing for a miniseries or movie-Steven Soderbergh, "Behind the Candelabra" -- WINNER David Mamet, "Phil Spector" Allison Anders, "Ring of Fire" Julian Jarrold, "The Girl" Jane Campion and Garth Davis, "Top of the Lake" Outstanding writing for a miniseries or movie Richard LaGravenese, "Behind the Candelabra" Tom Stoppard, "Parade's End" David Mamet, "Phil Spector" Abi Morgan, "The Hour" -- WINNER Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, "Top of the Lake" Outstanding reality competition program "The Amazing Race" "Dancing With the Stars" "Project Runway" "So You Think You Can Dance" "Top Chef" "The Voice" -- WINNER Outstanding host for a reality or reality-competition program Tom Bergeron, "Dancing With the Stars" Anthony Bourdain, "The Taste" Cat Deeley, "So You Think You Can Dance" Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, "Project Runway" -- WINNERS Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol" Betty White, "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" Outstanding variety series "The Colbert Report" -- WINNER "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" "Real Time With Bill Maher" "Saturday Night Live" Outstanding writing for a variety series-"Jimmy Kimmel Live" "Portlandia" "Real Time With Bill Maher" "Saturday Night Live" "The Colbert Report" -- WINNER "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" Outstanding directing for a variety series Andy Fisher, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Jerry Foley, "Late Show with David Letterman" Jonathan Krisel, "Portlandia" Don Roy King, "Saturday Night Live" -- WINNER James Hoskinson, "The Colbert Report" Chuck O'Neil, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Outstanding choreography Travis Wall, "So You Think You Can Dance" Napoleon Dumo and Tabitha Dumo, "So You Think You Can Dance" Mandy Jo Moore, "So You Think You Can Dance" Sonya Tayeh, "So You Think You Can Dance" Warren Carlyle, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel" (Live From Lincoln Center) Derek Hough, "Dancing With the Stars" -- WINNER Derek Hough and Allison Holker, "Dancing With the Stars.