Kate Henshaw, Dan Foster, Yibo Kiko return as judges

Season Two of world acclaimed talent fiesta, Nigeria’s Got Talent is set for another exciting outing in Abuja as thousands of Nigerian youths prepare for a once in a lifetime opportunity to emerge on the talent platform. The first audition, which held last Wednesday, at Bolton White Hotel, Garki, Abuja kicked off a nationwide tour spanning eight cities. kate-henshaw “We saw some of the most talented contestants right here in Abuja, at NGT 1, so you can see why I’m really excited to be back here again,” says Adaora Mbelu, Project Manager for Nigeria’s Got Talent. “I have no doubt that the auditions will spring up some really big surprises from some of the best dancers, singers, contortionists, magicians etc in the country. The response we’ve received so far has been truly heart warming. Nigerians are about the most inspired and talented people around; and Nigeria’s Got Talent is totally focused on discovering and nurturing this talent,” she assures. The second edition of the show is hosted by enigmatic compere, Andre Blaze and will see delectable actress, Kate Henshaw; On-Air Personality, Dan Foster and comedian, Yibo Koko returning to the judges seats. The talent show holds from October 2013 through March 2014 and offers a mouth watering grand prize of N10 million.

Presidential visit: Jonathan urges Eagles to make Nigeria proud

President Goodluck Jonathan Saturday paid the Super Eagles a visit during their training for tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia and wished the Eagles beat their hosts to put themselves in a good steed to qualify for Brazil 2014. President Jonathan who was in Ethiopia for the African Union head of government extraordinary meeting in Addis Ababa stated that he was optimistic that the Eagles will make the World Cup, because the team have shown character. “Surely you will make it; the spirit is there. I wish you success. It is a determining match. Definitely we have been going to the World Cup, but this year we are not just going to the World Cup, we will make an impact. The world will begin to know that we have arrived as a nation. We will give you all the encouragement required. Thank you for what you are doing for us,” Jonathan said. Nigeria Football Federation president, Aminu Maigari assured the President that the Eagles will make good their qualification for the World Cup. “I assure you that we will be able to deliver and we will deliver. We will do our best. We have a good team. Goodluck Jonathan is the only President who has created time amidst his tight schedule to be with the Super Eagles twice. This is the biggest motivation and we will make you proud. We will be in Brazil,” he said. The Eagles arrived in the early hours of Saturday aboard a chartered Ethiopian Airlines flight and were received by Nigerian delegation, who have been on ground in Addis Ababa as well as top officials of the Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF)

Started from a strike, now we’rehere: How ASUU pushed me toProject Fame victory – OlawaleOjo

Winner of MTN Project Fame season 6, Olawale Ojo in an interview with Bayo Adetu of PM News, tells it all on how he emerged winner against all odds during the stiff competition which had 16 other contestants battling for the top spot. Read excerpts from his interview: Shortly after you were announced winner of the MTN project Fame, you said your mind was still blank to express how you felt. It is about 48 hours now, so how are you feeling? I feel blessed. I feel that everything around just worked for me this season because I didn’t really expect to come out as the winner this season. It’s about God because I don’t believe there is something I did that others didn’t do. It was the grace of God and the people that voted for me. I’m really grateful to all the people that believed in me and voted. I wouldn’t have won without them. Basically, I feel this is God’s grace because at a point in the competition, I was almost evicted, so when you look at everything from beginning to the end, you will realise that it is God’s grace. If you didn’t envisage winning the competition, what was your plan when you registered to participate at the auditions? I came up to register when ASUU was on strike, and this was my first time to participate in a music competition. I didn’t really come with too much determination, but anywhere I find myself, I always try to give my best in all I do. So, when I got into the academy, I didn’t have a choice than to give my best for everything. So ASUU strike actually pushed you to Project Fame? Yes, but I believe that is how God wants it to be. The strike is a blessing in disguise for me. Who is Olawale? I am a normal guy and like I said, I am into sales and repairs of phones and laptops, and I do that in school just to make some money. But I love music so much. I play the piano, drums and I sing in my church choir. I was the music director of my church choir for two years before I left for school. Basically, that’s just me. My life has just been music and business. I just try to add value to myself. Tell us more about your experience as a phone and laptop repairer? I started as a lover of gadgets because I know much about gadgets. Like some people will call me pimp. I use to pimp their phones. It was expensive then to put some media applications like Bible on phones. It was a luxury then, and that was what I was actually doing. I later graduated into selling phones. I started knowing the problems that are peculiar with some phones and how to fix them. I didn’t really go for any special training though. I am not saying that I am very good at repairs, I do it basically based on the experience I have with phones. How lucrative was the business, and did you sponsor yourself to school with it? I didn’t sponsor myself to school, my parents did that. But there are some extra money needed in school that you can’t ask your parents; that was the type of money I was making. At times, I feel like taking some responsibilities myself, so I need to get extra cash. As a millionaire now, how do you intend to cope with your colleagues in school when the ASUU strike is over? Will there be any pressure on you? I think the only change is that I meet a lot of people and people know me now. I wasn’t this popular, but now I am popular. I think that is just the difference. I am still Olawale. The only thing different is just that I am now popular and I have to be more conscious of my career now because I have to work more on my songs. I have to make sure I don’t disappoint my fans out there. The work has changed.

Half a million evacuated in India ahead of Cyclone Phailin

The storm packed gusts of up to 240km/h as it churned over the Bay of Bengal, making it potentially the most powerful cyclone to hit the area since 1999, when more than 8 000 people died, the Indian weather office said. Authorities said they expected a three-metre storm surge when the eye of the cyclone strikes around 8pm, with torrential rain also threatening floods in low-lying areas in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. "I dread this Phailin. It's as if the world is coming to an end," 23-year-old student engineer Apurva Abhijeeta told AFP from the coastal town of Puri, 70km from Orissa's state capital Bhubaneswar. Heavy waves pounded the coast as terrified locals made their way to solid buildings, cramming into packed rickshaws and buses as they travelled. Relief efforts were under way, with free food being served in shelters. Food stockpiling began earlier in the week as Phailin gathered strength dramatically, with many shops stripped bare. "Everyone's in trouble so I've kept my shop open to help them," said shopkeeper Susil Kumar Singh, the owner of one of the few stores still operating in Bhubaneswar. "The storm's going to get really heavy soon. Right now, there's no drinking water and trees are falling down all around." Further south in Visakhapatnam, fishermen frantically sought to secure their boats while farmers tethered their livestock in the afternoon. Others admired the rough surf as wave after wave crashed into the shore. Large boats could be seen anchored out at sea, while the biggest port in Orissa, in Paradip, has shut down. An AFP correspondent on the last flight to arrive in Bhubaneswar before the airport shut described how the plane aborted the first attempted landing in shearing winds and pounding rain. The cyclone's fury officials put the number of people who have been evacuated from the coastal areas of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh at more than half a million. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters that 450 000 had been evacuated in Orissa and around 100 000 in Andhra Pradesh. "Some people don't want to leave, they are resisting," said Shinde. "Officers are speaking to them... and getting them out." Officials in the neighbouring state of West Bengal said hotels along the coast had been evacuated, while officials in Chhattisgarh state said authorities would empty some of their dams into rivers to avert possible flooding. Response teams The army's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said 1 200 of its troops had been sent to Orissa and a further 500 to Andhra Pradesh. "When the cyclone makes landfall it is unwise to be in open places – as soon as the fury of the cyclone abates our boys will start their work," the NDRF's director general Krishna Chaudhary told reporters. "The teams have medical first responders (for first aid), heavy cutting equipment, life-saving equipment that responds to breathing and even to warmth. In the case of cyclones there is a likelihood of collapsed buildings." In the seaside town of Gopalpur, expected to be one of the worst affected areas, women and children were the first to pack into shelters, schools and public buildings, where they lay on mats. The Indian Red Cross Society also had disaster response teams ready while the air force, fresh from helping evacuate thousands from floods in the Himalayas in June, flew food and medical supplies in to Bhubaneswar. While the storm is still technically one notch below the most powerful category of "super cyclone", the India Meteorological Department sounded its highest red alert on Saturday. Some foreign forecasters believe Phailin, which means "Sapphire" in Thai, is more intense than Indian experts are predicting. The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said gusts could reach as high as 315km/h. Memories of 1999 cyclone The cyclone is set to strike the same coastal area that was hit badly in 1999, a region mostly populated with fishermen and small-scale farmers who live in flimsy huts with thatched roofs or shanties. A government report on the 1999 disaster put the death toll at 8 243, and said 445 000 livestock perished. It took years for crops yields to recover. Authorities have said they are better prepared this time around. The Orissa government said it was setting a "zero casualty target" in the state of close to 40-million people. Mahesh Palawat, chief meteorologist at Skymet, India's largest private weather forecaster, said authorities appeared better prepared this time. "The devastation will be much less than the 1999 cyclone... They had three to four days at their disposal," he told AFP. Some of the deadliest storms in history have formed in the Bay of Bengal, including one in 1970 that killed hundreds of thousands of people in modern-day Bangladesh.

Military, SSS Capture Top Boko Haram ‘Commanders’ In Kaduna

An impeccable military source has confirmed to SaharaReporters that a combined team of Nigerian soldiers, police, and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) has rounded up top Boko Haram ‘commanders’ after combing several locations in Kaduna State this week. The source said the captured Boko Haram “commanders” were the brains behind a series of violent attacks carried out in the state in recent weeks. He added that they were caught as they planned to launch new attacks in the town of Kaduna during the Sallah festivities. The military source stated that security operatives recovered extensive incriminating evidence from the captured leaders of the extremist Islamist leaders. “We got evidence from them to suggest their direct affiliation with Boko Haram and also that they were part and parcel of the recent attacks,” he said. The source also disclosed that his combined team also captured several foot soldiers of the Boko Haram sect, adding that they were under interrogation. The joint military-SSS raid that netted the Boko Haram members was carried out in the Rigasa District in Kaduna State. “The operations brought us face to face to the reality that we must intensify our operations. We are using patrols and other strategies we will not talk about now to contain any plans by them [Boko Haram] during Sallah festivities,” the military officer said. Last Sunday, suspected Boko Haram sect members ambushed a policeman. They shot him dead, and then escaped with his rifle.

Boko Haram Adopt New Methods, Now Package IEDs In School Bags For Suicide Bombers

Insurgents have now devised a new means of hiding their explosive devices to unleash terror on hapless citizens during the sallah cerebration, investigations have revealed. The insurgents, in order to avoid suspicion especially with the public now wary of abandoned polythene bags or sacks, now package their Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in school bags for suicide bombers. This was the observation of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Kano State after a joint operation with operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) led to the discovery and subsequent raid of a bomb making factory in Guduwawa village in Gezawa Local Government Area of the state last Tuesday. The new approach, the JTF said, was copied from Boston in the United States where two brothers, reportedly dropped their back packs containing explosives in the midst of a crowd at a marathon race, killing three and injuring many last April. An operative of the JTF told newsmen that the IEDs can be packaged in any type of school bag, adding that the IEDs control switch is stitched to the handle of the bag and only needs to be switched on for the explosive to be triggered. “They will just carry it on their back and walk into any place or their target without people knowing or suspecting as they will be mistaken for students. This is a dangerous trend,” he said. In a joint press conference, the Commander of the 3 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Kano, Brigadier General Iliaysu I. Abbah and the state’s Director of DSS, Mr. Bassey Eteng said the packaging of IEDs in school bags was the latest trend to avoid quick detection by the terrorist group. Explaining further, Mr. Eteng said the plan of the terrorist group was to be using young persons of school-age as suicide bombers during the forthcoming Sallah and that the IEDs recovered from the factory in Guduwawa was capable of killing 1,000 persons. “People should beware of the latest IEDs the terrorists are producing; it is packaged in a school bag for suicide bomber. They can carry it into the mosque, church and even schools. This is what happened in Boston; this trend is kind of copy-cat thing. People should be on look out,” he explained. Shedding more light on the discovery, General Abbah said, “This is the first time we are recovering something like this. They primed the IEDs in bag unlike the previous ones”. He also disclosed that the security operatives recovered materials the terrorists are using for the manufacturing of the school bag IEDs. He listed the materials as three primed cylinders of IEDS; one primed explosive suicide back pack, 18 empty IED cylinders, 24 detonators, small bags of fertilizer, IED timers, cortex wires and three remote controls.

SSANU suspends strike

THE Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has announced the suspension of its week-long strike. The suspension of the strike is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday and signed by the association's National Secretary, Mr Promise Adewusi. It said that the decision to suspend the strike was informed by the Federal Government's compliance with the association's demands. "Following substantial compliance to our demand for the payment of August and September salaries of our members which is the reason for our current national strike action, we hereby suspend the strike and direct all our members to return to their duties with effect from Monday, the 14th of October, 2013." The statement thanked members of the association for their solidarity, adding that the non payment of the salaries of its members for work done would not happen again.

Train kills elephant

An adult male elephant was Friday mowed down by a train in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, a forest official said. The incident comes a day after a jumbo with its head chopped off was found also in the same district. The incident happened in Mongpong, located on the fringe of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, when the Siliguri-Alipurduar Express hit the jumbo. “The incident happened Friday morning. There is a need to further restrict the speed limit of the trains on the Siliguri-Alipurduar stretch. We are discussing on lowering the speed limit to below 25 km,” said Chief Wildlife Warden N.C.Bahuguna. Since 2004, when the tracks on the 163-km long Siliguri-Alipurduar route were converted to broad gauge, speeding trains have mowed nearly 40 elephants. Following the spate of mowing down incidents, in 2010 the speed of the trains was been restricted to 50 km. The railway lines on the stretch pass through five forests-Buxa, Jaldapara, Gorumara, Chapramari and Mahananda.

Mother of Lagos plane crash victim:Samson died after I lost my husband,daughter within three days

The Agege, Lagos residence of the Hassans still maintained a gloomy silence a week after Samson Hassan, 27, along with some other passengers, died following the October 3, 2013 crash of an Associated Airline charter aircraft. Samson was a photojournalist, working with MIC Caskets, which lost its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tunji Okusanya, his son, Olatunji Okusanya (Jnr) and four other employees in the crash. Samson’s family members said the household would never be the same again, following his death. In the house where Samson grew up, his aged mother, Christiana, who seemingly stared into space, intermittently sighed deeply, muttering to herself. As sympathisers arrived and left, offering their condolences, Christiana kept repeating to herself, “my son, my joy, my pride.” Christiana’s grief has been profound. Five months ago, she lost her husband and a daughter within three days, to undisclosed illnesses. She said, “What I face is bigger than what any other person may be facing. Since my husband fell ill and died, Samson had been my father and my mother. He came to see me every Saturday, handling all the family responsibilities. He would call to encourage me and tell me not to worry at all. “As young as he was, he was a pillar to this family, especially since my husband’s death. My husband was in the hospital and I was tending to him, meanwhile, my daughter was also ill at home. I got back home and met my daughter dead. My daughter (Samson’s elder sister) died on a Sunday and I think it was the news of her death that killed my husband in the hospital on Tuesday. This was just five months ago; now this has befallen me again.” The news of Samson’s death had come as a shock to Christiana, who was not aware that her son was flying to Akure on the morning of the crash. Initially, all she heard about the crash was that Samson’s boss, Okusanya, was in the plane and that there were survivors. She said, “That morning, he called his wife to tell her that he was travelling, but his wife’s phone battery was flat, so they couldn’t finish the conversation. When I heard about the crash and that his boss was involved, I was hurt, because his boss was a very nice man. We were even praying for all the surviving victims of the crash, not knowing that my son was among the dead. “We started calling Samson’s number but it kept ringing. We thought he was busy tending to the crisis situation since his boss was in the crash. I knew he would also be part of the work his boss was going for, but I thought he was going by road.” Christiana said it was later in the day that some relatives went to the hospital to find out about Hassan since no family member could reach him on the phone. She said, “When they (relatives) got to the hospital, they were told that there was a survivor whose identity was still unknown. But the following morning when they went back there, they were able to see him. I was told that his body was swollen but that they could recognise him. “Later, they were told that he was moved to Gbagada General Hospital (special burns unit), but by Sunday morning, when our people left for Gbagada to see him and I was preparing to go to church to continue to pray for him, our pastor and some others came and began preaching to me. From the way they were talking, I knew something was wrong. I shouted that they should not mistake my Samson for someone else. I didn’t know that the Gbagada where they claimed to have taken him would be his way to the mortuary.” Samson is survived by a wife and two children, a two-year-old boy and a baby less than two months old. Meanwhile, Hassan had been responsible for the welfare of the two children left behind by his deceased sister, aged seven and four. Christiana said, “My Samson had been the one taking care of all of us. I’m old and I’ve stopped work since I had an accident that affected my legs. Samson had been the one taking care of the family. He was a very nice and loving child.” However, Christiana appealed for assistance from the government and well-meaning Nigerians, describing keeping the four children, Samson’s and her sister’s, in school, as the biggest challenge facing her. She said, “If they give me money, I will finish it but my concern is for these children. Samson was responsible for their education and now that he is no more, I will appeal to the government to assist us. These children need to be in school; that was Samson’s wish also.” The last person to see Samson alive was his guardian, Mr. Segun Shobiye, who had introduced him to photography at a young age and through whom he also met and started working for Okusanya. Shobiye, the owner of Posh Magazine, said he had acted in a godfather capacity for Samson since he was 13 years old. He said, “His (Samson) sister was my god- daughter. He was about 13 years when he was brought to me to learn the work. I was into photography and when we started Posh Magazine in 2007, naturally, he joined us.” Shobiye said his hopes were high after receiving news that Samson was still alive on Friday, the day after the crash. He said, “Initially, when we heard about an unnamed person also surviving the crash, my editor, Bola Oke, said the person would be Samson because we knew him to be very strong. It was because of his strength that we dubbed him ‘Omo Aiye.’” He recalled sometime ago when Samson suffered an injury in the arm during a riot in his area, he still showed up for work after getting himself treated at the hospital. Shobiye said, “He kept saying the cut wasn’t much until we saw it. That was the kind of person Samson was. So, our hopes were up when we heard that he survived, so we went to the hospital. On the way, we kept praying that he should live up to his name, ‘Omo Aiye’ and live. But I was standing by him at the hospital, the tone of the life-support machine changed and I called the nurses. The nurses said ‘no problem’ but by the time we got outside, we got news that he had died.” Shobiye, who had visible goose pimples each time he spoke about Samson, wept continuously during his narration. “I believe that being the last person to see him alive shows the kind of bond between us. He was a very good guy. He taught my daughter to eat biscuits because he liked biscuits so much. My daughter still cries till now,” he said. Oke, who also worked with Samson, before he joined MIC Caskets, described him as “trustworthy.” She said, “Samson would never disappoint you. If he said he was coming, then he was coming. I always say that it’s easier to make Samson laugh than make him cry because he didn’t take anything too personal. He would never complain.”

My son’s premonition could have beenfrom God – Crash victim’s father

Late Akeem Akintunde, 35, recently became famous for the Facebook post that preceded his death. Akeem, one of the victims of the ill-fated Associated Airline plane that crashed on October 3, 2013, had some hours before the incident, posted on Facebook: “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today! And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” Therefore, many people suspected that Akeem had a premonition of his death. His father, Chief Lateef Akintunde, described his son as very religious, saying that his closeness to God might explain the suspected premonition. Akintunde (snr), who had just finished praying, and clutching the Muslim prayer beads, added that the family had taken Akintunde’s loss “by faith.” He said, “My son was very religious and close to God, so that may explain the message he posted. We came from Him and we will go back to Him. We are a religious family, so we have taken everything by faith. We thank God for his life.” However, Akintunde said his son would be “greatly missed.” The crash occurred last Thursday, but Akeem had visited his parents the Monday preceding his death. Akintunde said, “That Monday, he came here and gave me money. I didn’t know that would be the last time I would see him alive. “He had even promised to revive my printing press and he had been committed to our welfare. He would never get annoyed with me, no matter what. When I call, he comes straight away.” Akintunde also urged the government to do everything necessary to prevent another plane crash in the country, saying the calamities caused by crashes were enough. He said, “We should move closer to God and shun dishonesty and corruption in all things. Government should take care of the welfare of the people and make sure that only aircraft that is fit to fly gets to the sky.” Akeem is survived by his wife, two boys and a girl, with their ages ranging from three to nine years. Akeem’s mother, Falilatu, also took her son’s death in its stride and kept saying “we thank God.” Akeem was the fourth of six children. His elder brother, Isiaka Akintunde, described the loss as ‘unfortunate’ and ‘painful.’ He said, “I don’t think I will get over the trauma in six months; I cry everyday. It’s sad we lost somebody like that.” However, Akeem’s uncle, who said he was the first Chairman, Odu’a Maritime, Apapa, Rasak Akintunde Aniyanju, blamed the country’s emergency response service for most deaths occurring from accidents. He said, “Immediately there is an accident, the injured people should be put in ambulances and given oxygen on their way to the hospital. But that’s not the case in Nigeria. “Again, Nigerians should learn to give ambulances room in traffic. When ambulances are blowing sirens, we should understand that it’s for a matter of life and death.”

Why all Nigerian airports are not certified—Investigation

Aviation industry regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, is yet to certify any of the 22 airports in the country because the airports have been unable to meet the requirements on the regulator’s checklist particularly in the area of security and safety in the last 20 years. Saturday PUNCH learnt that NCAA had never certified any airport in the country since 2006 when the law that gave it autonomy to certify airports in line with international regulations was promulgated. A source close to the agency told our correspondents that none of the airports in the country was certified before NCAA’s autonomy. Saturday PUNCH gathered that the items on the checklist had to do with two major issues. They are security and safety. The security aspect has to do with control of access to the airport’s sterile areas or airside and the security of other major points like the catering departments, boarding gates, check-in points and perimeter fencing. The safety aspect, on the other hand, has to do with runway light, taxi way light, approach light, fire station and airport emergency response system, among others. The essence of airport certification is to ascertain if there are enough personnel and equipment that can guarantee safety and security in any airport. But Saturday PUNCH learnt that though the airports in the country had been given the checklist applicable globally, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria was yet to comply with the requirements on the checklist, especially the ‘open items.’ “The checklist is with FAAN. We have decided to start with MMIA and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Certifying the airports is going to be in batches; once FAAN meets the requirements, we will certify the MMIA and Abuja,” a top official of the NCAA, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter said. He said as soon as the regulatory authority certified the MMIA and NAIA, it would move to license other airports in the country. It was learnt on Thursday that FAAN had been battling lately to close the ‘open items’ on the checklist. Although the MMIA, NAIA and other airports in the country were yet to be certified by the NCAA, regulatory authority officials said the situation did not mean the airports were not safe for operation. According to them, it only meant that certain aircraft and certain operations could not be carried out in these airports. Officials knowledgeable about the process said the NCAA checklist contained a number of safety and security issues which must be met. The officials said the entire checklists of which some had been ‘closed’ while others still remained ‘open items’ were under several categorisations. An official close to the certification, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said, “Under the security issues, we have a number of items under airport access control, catering department, cargo department, personnel, boarding gate, perimeter fencing and sterile area. Each of these has a lot of items under them. Some have been closed, while a few still remain open.” “Under the safety issues, we also have items which include runway light, approach light, taxiway light, fire station among others. All these safety and security issues are subdivided into several areas. We have more than a hundred items. Some have been closed while a few are still remaining. As soon as FAAN closes them, they will invite us and we will certify the airports. From there, we will move to others.” The General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said the issue of non-certification of the airports was an age-long problem occasioned by negligence of past ministers of aviation in the country. The situation, according to him, was one of the reasons the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, came up with the ongoing airport remodelling programme. He said as soon as the remodelling was completed, the airports would be re-presented for certification. He expressed confidence that the airports would be certified, adding that a lot of works were currently ongoing at the MMIA and other airports in the country. However, Dati stressed that, “This does not mean that our airports are not safe. Our airports are very safe and secure. Remember that before American airlines started flying to Nigeria, the United States Transportation Safety Administration officials came here and examined MMIA and approved it safe and secure. In fact, they gave us impressive marks. If the airports were not safe, all these foreign airlines, including American carriers would not have been operating in Nigeria. It is just that getting the airport certified by our own NCAA is just necessary.” However, a former Military Commandant of the MMIA, Group Captain John Ojikutu, noted that no airport in the country had been certified. He said some of the issues that might have been barring the regulatory authority from doing so might be related to lack of perimeter fence in some of the airports, poor lighting system and infrastructure in general. He said, “To the best of my knowledge, no airport has been certified, and the only agency that can give such certification in the country is the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. But we know that it is almost impossible for the agency to certify any airport in the country because of the basic infrastructure that the airports are lacking.” “For instance, we can see from the incident that occurred in Benin recently, with the stowaway boy, that there was no security fence in that airport and that was how that boy penetrated. You cannot operate an airport safely without a security fence. Again, a look around the airports would show that runway lighting for most of the airports is inadequate.” He said that airports must put all those facilities in place before the NCAA could get them certified. The President, Centre for Aviation Safety and Research, Mr. Sheri Kyari, said the NCAA needed to take safety issues such as the licensing of the airport very seriously, noting that this was a major challenge of the aviation sector. He said, “The NCAA really has to do something about the fact that our airports are not certified. With the way things are going now, I think they have to refocus on that, because it is a safety issue.’’ He urged the regulators to look into the issue with utmost care, explaining that the fact that airports in the country were not privatised was also a major issue that was hindering the certification. He said, “Licensing and certification is mainly for airports that have been privatised and by the time government decides to privatise our airports, it will make a lot of difference.’’

Why all Nigerian airports are not certified—Investigation

Aviation industry regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, is yet to certify any of the 22 airports in the country because the airports have been unable to meet the requirements on the regulator’s checklist particularly in the area of security and safety in the last 20 years. Saturday PUNCH learnt that NCAA had never certified any airport in the country since 2006 when the law that gave it autonomy to certify airports in line with international regulations was promulgated. A source close to the agency told our correspondents that none of the airports in the country was certified before NCAA’s autonomy. Saturday PUNCH gathered that the items on the checklist had to do with two major issues. They are security and safety. The security aspect has to do with control of access to the airport’s sterile areas or airside and the security of other major points like the catering departments, boarding gates, check-in points and perimeter fencing. The safety aspect, on the other hand, has to do with runway light, taxi way light, approach light, fire station and airport emergency response system, among others. The essence of airport certification is to ascertain if there are enough personnel and equipment that can guarantee safety and security in any airport. But Saturday PUNCH learnt that though the airports in the country had been given the checklist applicable globally, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria was yet to comply with the requirements on the checklist, especially the ‘open items.’ “The checklist is with FAAN. We have decided to start with MMIA and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Certifying the airports is going to be in batches; once FAAN meets the requirements, we will certify the MMIA and Abuja,” a top official of the NCAA, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter said. He said as soon as the regulatory authority certified the MMIA and NAIA, it would move to license other airports in the country. It was learnt on Thursday that FAAN had been battling lately to close the ‘open items’ on the checklist. Although the MMIA, NAIA and other airports in the country were yet to be certified by the NCAA, regulatory authority officials said the situation did not mean the airports were not safe for operation. According to them, it only meant that certain aircraft and certain operations could not be carried out in these airports. Officials knowledgeable about the process said the NCAA checklist contained a number of safety and security issues which must be met. The officials said the entire checklists of which some had been ‘closed’ while others still remained ‘open items’ were under several categorisations. An official close to the certification, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said, “Under the security issues, we have a number of items under airport access control, catering department, cargo department, personnel, boarding gate, perimeter fencing and sterile area. Each of these has a lot of items under them. Some have been closed, while a few still remain open.” “Under the safety issues, we also have items which include runway light, approach light, taxiway light, fire station among others. All these safety and security issues are subdivided into several areas. We have more than a hundred items. Some have been closed while a few are still remaining. As soon as FAAN closes them, they will invite us and we will certify the airports. From there, we will move to others.” The General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said the issue of non-certification of the airports was an age-long problem occasioned by negligence of past ministers of aviation in the country. The situation, according to him, was one of the reasons the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, came up with the ongoing airport remodelling programme. He said as soon as the remodelling was completed, the airports would be re-presented for certification. He expressed confidence that the airports would be certified, adding that a lot of works were currently ongoing at the MMIA and other airports in the country. However, Dati stressed that, “This does not mean that our airports are not safe. Our airports are very safe and secure. Remember that before American airlines started flying to Nigeria, the United States Transportation Safety Administration officials came here and examined MMIA and approved it safe and secure. In fact, they gave us impressive marks. If the airports were not safe, all these foreign airlines, including American carriers would not have been operating in Nigeria. It is just that getting the airport certified by our own NCAA is just necessary.” However, a former Military Commandant of the MMIA, Group Captain John Ojikutu, noted that no airport in the country had been certified. He said some of the issues that might have been barring the regulatory authority from doing so might be related to lack of perimeter fence in some of the airports, poor lighting system and infrastructure in general. He said, “To the best of my knowledge, no airport has been certified, and the only agency that can give such certification in the country is the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. But we know that it is almost impossible for the agency to certify any airport in the country because of the basic infrastructure that the airports are lacking.” “For instance, we can see from the incident that occurred in Benin recently, with the stowaway boy, that there was no security fence in that airport and that was how that boy penetrated. You cannot operate an airport safely without a security fence. Again, a look around the airports would show that runway lighting for most of the airports is inadequate.” He said that airports must put all those facilities in place before the NCAA could get them certified. The President, Centre for Aviation Safety and Research, Mr. Sheri Kyari, said the NCAA needed to take safety issues such as the licensing of the airport very seriously, noting that this was a major challenge of the aviation sector. He said, “The NCAA really has to do something about the fact that our airports are not certified. With the way things are going now, I think they have to refocus on that, because it is a safety issue.’’ He urged the regulators to look into the issue with utmost care, explaining that the fact that airports in the country were not privatised was also a major issue that was hindering the certification. He said, “Licensing and certification is mainly for airports that have been privatised and by the time government decides to privatise our airports, it will make a lot of difference.’’

My wife’s last words to me were ‘takecare and goodbye’ –Crash victim’shusband

Mrs. Oluwatoyin Alabi, 45, had barely settled in her new position as the Ondo State Liaison Officer in Lagos when she died on an official assignment. Oluwatoyin was promoted on September 13, 2013 from her former position as a chief executive officer at the liaison office. However, a state assignment that required Oluwatoyin to accompany the corpse of former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Agagu, to the state from Lagos, for a state burial, began the journey that led to her death. Her husband, Mr. Taiwo Alabi, 50, said her wife’s last journey, which was to see her deliver Agagu’s corpse to Akure in Ondo State, was shrouded in mystery till the last minute. Alabi said, “The (Ondo) State governor told my wife on October 1, 2013 that she would be the one to accompany the corpse from Lagos to Ondo. When she told me that evening, I asked ‘why you, since you’re not a commissioner, but she said that was what she was told. “I asked what type of flight they would be taking, but she said nobody had told her yet. On October 2, 2013, she got a call from the Commissioner for Special Duties that they should meet at the morgue to dress Agagu’s body and make arrangements for police escort. “On October 3, 2013, she left home around 5am and called me some minutes before 8am that they were at the airport. I asked what airline they would be flying but she said that up till that moment, she still had not been told which airline it would be. But 25 minutes later, she called to tell me that it was Associated Airline and that they were waiting because the weather condition in Ondo was said to be unfavourable. “The name of the airline didn’t ring a bell because I had never heard of the airline before, so I told her to be careful and find out more. Then later, she called to inform me that the weather was fine now and that they were leaving. She said ‘take care and good bye’, but I didn’t know that those would be her last words to me.” According to Alabi, there was news that Oluwatoyin and other passengers were supposed to fly another plane belonging to another airline before a last-minute change. He said, “We heard that they had booked for another airline but changed to Associated Airline in the last minute.” Alabi said he too had left home that morning for Ibadan in Oyo State, and heard about the crash on his way. He said, “Thank God I had one of my brothers with me because he was the one who took the steering wheel from me. The news shocked me. I thought ‘where do I start from?’” Alabi and Oluwatoyin had been together for 24 years, ten years of courtship and 14 years of marriage. Their only daughter, who is 11 years old, is in Junior Secondary School Two, Federal Government College, Sagamu, Ogun State. Alabi said telling her daughter about Oluwatoyin’s death was one of the toughest things he had had to do in his life. He said, “When we managed to tell my daughter, with the support of some other people about her mother, she fainted and we had to revive her. She was very close to her mother. But surprisingly, she has been strong since then. She’s the one that is even encouraging me now. “Her concern now, which she has been asking me, is ‘how will I cope at home alone’ by the time she returns to her boarding house. My mother and some other relatives are with us now but they will soon leave.” However, Alabi said he would not consider remarrying until her daughter was old enough or in the university because he could not risk giving his daughter a “step mother who would maltreat her.” “I don’t want any woman to come and maltreat my daughter because one cannot trust anybody on anything,” he added. Alabi said he had barely eaten since his wife’s death, considering the void she left behind. He said, “I can’t even say these are my weaknesses because she had been covering for me. She was so generous that she was only spending about ten per cent of her salary on herself. “She would buy this and that for widows, pay school fees of people. I don’t think I can meet up with the legacy she left behind because she was paying school fees of about 20 people.” Alabi said he left his job in 2006 to go into printing business, but that the country’s economy had been rather harsh on its survival. He said, “So my wife had been the one supporting the family a lot. She had even planned to buy a printing machine for the business by the time they paid all her allowances. Government should have pity on the family.” Meanwhile, Alabi said he was yet to receive a call from the Associated Airline or any of the aviation- related government agencies. He said, “There has been no single call from the airline since the crash. Even the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority or any of the agencies has also not bothered to call the family. I think it’s very bad.”

Ruggedman And Beverly Osu Into Something?

You all know Big Brother Africa star, Beverly Osu  and trust us- she isn’t a virgin or a girl who would pretend guys are never on her diary but then she doesn’t also come across as a girl with a serial dates history, that is, If you are going to accept 2shot and Angelo being too familiar to count. But recently, another name was thrown into the mix to make the nudist Beverly a suspect as one of those ‘willing damsels’ when she was caught in a compromised position with none other than Ruggedman, at the rapper’s birthday  held at Lounge 68 in Surulere, a couple weeks ago. Though there were many stars on show at the exclusive bash but Beverly and Ruggedman were running the show and rubbing it on people’s faces like they were a song together. Though Ruggedman denied anything going on between him and Beverly, saying he only got to know her when she was running along with 2shot. When quizzed if he was aware of any abuse on the BBA star by 2shot, the rapper said he would not have any knowledge of such development.

Miley Cyrus VMAs Performance: One of Singer's Dancing Bears Says She Left "Shaking and Crying"

Behind at least one of those smiling bear masks is a young woman who will always remember Miley Cyrus' Video Music Awards performance as something that made her feel "less than human." The pop singer's racy performance with Robin Thicke stirred up a lot of buzz and raised a number of eyebrows, and now, Hollis Jane--who identifies herself as one of the little people who danced as a bear--has spoken out about the entire experience from a different perspective. "I had never been in a performance where I was purely meant to be gawked or laughed at. I will never forget that performance because it is what forced me to draw my personal line in the sand," she wrote on her blog. "After our first dress rehearsal in the costumes with the crew, publicists, performers etc watching us, I walked out of the Barclay Center shaking and crying. Thankfully, my best friends, Kelly and Kerri, happened to be NYC to visit me. "They were waiting for me and I walked up to them and broke down. I love being the center of attention, but that was something different. I was being stared and laughed at for all of the wrong reasons. I was being looked at as a prop...as something less than human." The 24-year-old actress continued, "When I did the VMAs, I did feel like that. For the first time I felt truly ashamed of being a little person. We were being used simply because we were little. It felt like society still saw us as a joke, despite the fact there is literally nothing different about me other than the fact I am small." Jane also mentioned that she got an offer to join Miley on her tour, but turned it down. "I wondered if it was worth feeling less than human again. And frankly, it wasn't."

Nkem Owoh, Funke Akindele return to school

Two Nollywood actors, Nkem Owoh of Osuofia fame and Funke Akindele of Jenifa block buster are arguably the two best comic acts in the trade right now. Both of them have come to change the old-fashion, bloated, clown-like looks of comic acts of old and have entrenched their brands which have caught on with viral effect. Now, imagine the duo being starred alongside each other; I mean, Osuofia and Jenifa in a movie. Both of them are currently on set together, shooting a yet to be released and named movie as school children. Maybe, it’s hard to imagine Osuofia being cast as a primary school pupil but Jenifa may just fit in but then where is the comedy going to be, if not having two overgrown adults, probably with arrested development, mingling with children, probably smarter than them.

Enugu demolishes Mountain of Fire& Miracles’ church building

ENUGU— The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, MFM, a popular church in Enugu was, yesterday, demolished by Enugu State Government. The large worship centre, located at the foot of the ZikAvenueBridge in EnuguState capital, was demolished after it was said to be sitting illegally on two plots of about 2,000 square metres. The pastors and members of the church, who were said to have been praying for God’s intervention in the matter since the government declared its intention to demolish the building last year, watched helplessly as four bulldozers reduced the one-storey structure to rubble. They rushed into the building and moved the church property to one side of the auditorium, pleading with the officials of Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, who were supervising the demolition, to spare the property. Law enforcement agents, comprising men of the Police Mobile Force and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, prevented some youths of the church from stopping ECTDA officials from demolishing the structure. No arrests were made. In court Enugu government had declared the building illegal, saying it was built along the Asata stream, allegedly violating the state’s town planning laws. However, the church had dragged the state government to court and obtained an injunction restraining government from demolishing the building. But while the matter was in court, government allocated another land to the church with a directive to the church leaders to relocate without delay. The alternative allocation was situated at Emeka Ebilla Avenue off Agbani Road, but the church was said to be reluctant in relocating the popular worship centre, insisting that government must pay compensation to enable it erect another building at the new location. Government, however, declined and reportedly gave the church some months to vacate the building, which was thereafter marked for demolition. Why we can’t relocate— Pastor A pastor of the church, Kennedy Udogaranya, said that the church and officials of the state’s Ministry of Lands had engaged in dialogue over the issue, but they were surprised to see government officials with bulldozers yesterday. He said that the church could not gain access to the new land allocated to them because of the dispute between Ngwo and Amechi people over the land. He explained that the church had informed the government of the difficulties in relocating to the place and officially requested for time to enable the two communities settle their differences over ownership of the land. The pastor said that the haste with which the government demolished the building had given the impression that government had other motives for the demolition. Udogaranya said even though government had given them an alternative location, they should not be evicted in a hurry as the church would not conduct services on an undeveloped plot. Government reacts A statement by the Commissioner for Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuegede, yesterday, said government demolished the structure because “it was illegal and unapproved as an application for approval was considered and rejected in March 2012.” He said that the reasons for the rejection of the application included “overbuilding of the property, with more than 100 percent built upon, encroaching into stream and road reserves, construction outside the purpose of the property as the area was designated for commercial development and not for institutional use. “There was evidence of structural instability. There was evidence of failure of some of the reinforced concrete elements at the northern end of the basement area of the structure.” “No responsible government will stand and permit a predictable catastrophe to befall its people .” He said government had already identified other structures “which must be brought down to prevent any unsafe condition or illegal structure from remaining.”

Lagos govt never closed our church– The Lord’s Chosen

Lagos — LORD’S Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, yesterday, denied stories that the Lagos State Government had closed the church headquarters located in the Amuwo Odofin Industrial Estate, for violating environmental laws of the state, saying the church has not been closed by any government. A statement by the church’s Director of Public Relations/Press, Pastor Louis Chidi stated that the church and all her activities were running as usual, confirming, however, that officials of the Office of Drainage Services in the Lagos State Ministry of Environment actually gave notice about a particular facility that did not observe a certain requirement on the canal. The full statement: “Our attention has been drawn to the news being circulated that our church has been closed by the Lagos State Ministry of Environment. We wish to state the fact for the interest of our members and general public. “First the church has not been closed by any government. The church and all her activities are running as usual. “The fact is that officials of Lagos State Government from the Office of Drainage Services in the Ministry of Environment gave notice about a particular facility that did not observe the required set back from the canal. “They therefore asked that the facility should not be used until necessary amendment is made. We have since complied and the facility reverted to the former status. Please take note that the church did not stop functioning because of this as there are many other facilities within the church premises. “The second observation raised was the issue of street market that sprang up at the bus stop. We also want to state that the church never encouraged street trading within the estate or along its road because on many occasions it has caused traffic obstruction to those coming into the church premises. “The church authority has also repeatedly warned those traders to stop desecrating the holy ground and several other efforts made to stop the illegal market were to no avail as most of them claimed to be paying rent and taxes to the ‘authority.’ “Meanwhile, officials of the task force section of the ministry have already dispersed the street traders. “We wish to state emphatically that The Lord’s Chosen Church is a law-abiding ministry and will remain so in all her activities by the grace of God. The church was never closed, and above all, the cordial relationship existing between the state government and the church remains intact. “We will continue to support and pray for the government of the state, her citizens and indeed the entire country,” he stated. Meanwhile, spokesman for the Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, yesterday, stated that the state government’s closure of the church will continue until its authorities fully comply with the environmental breaches. The headquarters of the Lord’s Chosen and Charismatic Revival Church, Ijesha, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos, were sealed off by the Lagos State Government over environmental nuisance. Officials of the Ministry of the Environment shut the church in the morning of on October 6, 2013, and prevented worshippers from having their Sunday service usually attended by thousands of faithful.

Miley Cyrus Wants "SMS (Bangerz)" Featuring Britney Spears to Be Next Single

First came "We Can't Stop," then came "Wrecking Ball," and now..."SMS"?! So it seems, at least if Miley Cyrus gets her way, as the 20-year-old pop star recently confessed she wants the next single from her album Bangerz to be track with Britney Spears (!). "I hope 'SMS (Bangerz)' with Britney [Spears]. That would be awesome," the twerking queen told MTV News at her album launch party in NYC when asked what song she would pick for her next single. While Miley presumably has some say in the matter, the performer's team must come to an agreement, so Cyrus has a back-up plan track in mind. "But also, "Adore You" is in the top 10 right now of iTunes," she added. "Which I didn't really expect, so that's really cool, too." While Miles and BritBrit have made no secret of their mutual love for each other, Sean Garrett, who cowrote "SMS," recently revealed that Team Cyrus originally had Gwen Stefani and Nicki Minaj in mind for the tune, before finally settling on a collaboration with Spears. "The first name that we tossed around was Gwen Stefani," he told MTV News. "We were talking about ,because you know Gwen got that edge too, but that's how God works. We were throwing around those ideas." "Nicki [Minaj], we were talking about putting Nicki on there too," he added. "That would've been nuts too, but I think that's how God works, this was absolutely the right one." Safe to say Cyrus agrees, as she's previously said that the 31-year-old pop princess is the one person in her life "who gets it." And the pop icon has also echoed Miley's sentiments, calling Cyrus' single "We Can't Stop" "so hot" and telling E! News how the twosome reconnected. "My manager [Larry Rudolph] is her manager and she's been working on her album lately and I've been working on an album, so we hit the studio together a lot, and she's a cool girl," Spears said of the fellow performer. Can't wait to watch the fierce ladies werk!

late glee star cory monteith's Estranged Father Opens Up About Son's Death: "It's Tearing Me Apart"

Cory Monteith's father, Joe Monteith, never got to say goodbye. "It's just ripping my insides out and tearing me apart," Joe told People, opening up about the actor's death from a heroin and alcohol overdose earlier this summer. The elder Monteith, who was estranged from Cory for most of his life, said that he last saw his son about two years ago--their first meeting in 11 years. Joe claimed to the magazine that distance and his ex-wife, Ann McGregor, kept him away from their two sons, Cory and his older brother Shaun. (McGregor, who has only addressed her son's death publicly via Twitter, did not comment on Joe's interview.) Cory's dad said that his son almost died from a bad drug reaction when he was about 19. "He got a shot to his heart to bring him back, and he was told at that time to use no drugs of any kind because you had your one shot," Joe said. The last time he saw Cory, Joe recalled, "He said 'I wont go there ever again. I'm enjoying myself.'" Fans will be saying perhaps their most tearful goodbye yet to Cory tonight when Glee airs its special tribute episode, "The Quarterback," set in the wake of the death of his character, Finn Hudson. Joe said that he's not sure how he'll react to the episode, but he hopes that everyone watching gets the point. "I lost my son," the distraught dad said. "He should have known not to touch that drug again...I don't want to see any parent lose a child over heroin."

robin thicke interview

If you ask Robin Thicke, he's the "twerkee," not the twerker. The blue-eyed singer sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an upcoming edition of Oprah's Next Chapter and dished about what he thought of Miley Cyrus rubbing her rump up against him while he sang his pop mega-hit, "Blurred Lines," during their controversial MTV VMAs performance. "It was funny to me. I's silly," Thicke said, noting that he was unaware of Cyrus' twerking until after it became a big deal in the media."I was walking out towards Miley, I'm not thinking sex. I'm thinking fun, you know?" When pressed by the former talk show queen, the 36-year-old popster remarked that he was focused exclusively on performing. "Just remember, I'm singing my butt off. So I'm sitting there, I'm looking up at the sky, and I'm singing. I'm not really paying attention to all that. That's on her," he added with a laugh. "People ask me, 'Do you twerk," I go, 'listen, I'm the twerkee. I'm twerked upon. I don't twerk myself." That doesn't exactly jive with what Thicke told Vanity Fair recently when he admitted he was aware the "Wrecking Ball" crooner might be bending over by him and that the envelope-pushing was fine by him. "Let's give [the audience] something they're not ready for," he said at the time. "Let's make them talk." Of course, this is also the same guy who had gorgeous half-naked female models dancing around him in an uncensored version of his music video for "Blurred Lines"--not to mention the tune's lyrics seemingly invited Cyrus' crotch attack. "One thing I ask of you/Let me the one you back that ass to," Thicke croons, later adding, "So hit me up when you passing through/I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two." It's worth noting Thicke's wife, Paula Patton, agreed with her hubby about the whole fuss over Cyrus' twerking, calling it "funny" and saying "Robin can handle it." For her part, Cyrus has shrugged off the controversy and even poked fun at it in her opening monologue last weekend on Saturday Night Live. Thicke's interview on Oprah's Next Chapter airs Sunday, Oct. 13 at 9 p.m. on OWN.

Security service agency MI5 chief Andrew Parker warns of Islamist threat to UK public

Andrew Parker was named as the new head of the Security Service earlier this year. Thousands of Islamist extremists in the UK see the British public as a legitimate target for attacks, the director general of MI5 has warned. Andrew Parker was making his first public speech since taking over as head of the UK Security Service in April. Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Pakistan and Yemen present "the most direct and immediate threats to the UK," he said. He added that the security services must have access to the many means of communication which terrorists now use. Mr Parker was addressing the Royal United Services Institute in Whitehall. 'Not perfect' Threats to the UK are growing more diverse and diffuse, he said, but warned: "It remains the case that there are several thousand Islamist extremists here who see the British public as a legitimate target." He explained that "knowing of an individual does not equate to knowing everything about them". "Being on our radar does not necessarily mean being under our microscope," he said. "The reality of intelligence work in practice is that we only focus the most intense intrusive attention on a small number of cases at any one time. "The challenge therefore concerns making choices between multiple and competing demands to give us the best chance of being in the right place at the right time to prevent terrorism." Mr Parker added: "We are not perfect, and there are always things we can learn, do better and sharpen up on." With 30 years in MI5, Mr Parker was previously deputy director general and before that director of its counter-terrorism division at the time of the London bombings in 2005. 'Stopped at airports' In his speech, he named al-Qaeda and its affiliates in south Asia and the Arabian peninsula as presenting "the most direct and immediate threats to the UK". By that he meant primarily its elements in Pakistan and separately in Yemen, from where al-Qaeda has three times succeeded in smuggling explosives past security on to planes in the last four years. Referring to the ongoing conflict in Syria, he said a growing proportion of MI5's casework concerned individuals from the UK who had travelled to fight there. He said extremist Sunni groups in Syria were aspiring to attack Western countries. This has long been a concern of Western governments - that British-based jihadists will one day return from the killing fields of Syria and turn their new-found skills on the population back home. A number of people have been stopped at airports and some have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. "For the future, there is good reason to be concerned about Syria," he said. Mr Parker said 330 people had been convicted of terrorism-related offences in Britain between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2013. He added that in the first few months of this year, there had been four major trials related to terrorist plots. Chillingly, he reminded the public that these included plans for a 7/7-style attack with rucksack bombs, and named two other plots. There were guilty pleas in each case, he said, with 24 terrorists convicted and sentenced to more than 260 years in jail. 'Reach and limits' Mr Parker's speech also went on to reveal some of the fears and frustrations his service was experiencing over both the advances in technology and those who leak government secrets into the public domain. He warned that terrorists now had tens of thousands of means of communication "through e-mail, IP telephony, in-game communication, social networking, chat rooms, anonymising services and a myriad of mobile apps". Mr Parker said it was vital for MI5 - and by inference its partner GCHQ - to retain the capability to access such information if the Security Service was to protect the country. Intelligence officials in both the US and Britain have been absolutely dismayed at the wealth of secret data taken by the former CIA contractor Edward Snowden when he fled to Russia. Some 58,000 of the files are from GCHQ, whose intelligence, Mr Parker said, had played a vital role in stopping many UK terrorist plots over the past decade. Without mentioning Mr Snowden by name, he said ''it causes enormous damage to make public the reach and limits of GCHQ techniques". Doing this, he added, handed the advantage to the terrorists. In conclusion, Mr Parker said he did not believe the terrorist threat was any worse now than before. But it was "more diffuse, more complicated, more unpredictable"

Keeping up with the Kardashians stars Bruce and Kris Jenner Separated.....Here are six more big celebrity breakups from 2013..

Kris and Bruce Jenner could laugh off rumors that they were having problems for only so long. "It's been coming for a while," a source exclusively tells E! News regarding the Jenners' announcement today that they had separated after 22 years of marriage. "Kris is in a good place about it, she accepted it and is very focused on other aspects of her life. Obviously it is very sad for everyone, but it's no surprise and everyone has had time to adapt to this new reality." The source adds: "Kris is doing just fine, she is a strong woman. Little signs had been piling up lately to indicate that Kylie and Kendall Jenner's mom and dad had possibly separated, such as Kris being photographed in recent weeks without her wedding ring--and today they confirmed exclusively to that they are "much happier" now that they are living apart. "But we will always have much love and respect for each other," they told us. "Even though we are separated, we will always remain best friends and, as always, our family will remain our number one priority." The Keeping Up With the Kardashian stars romantically renewed their vows to mark their 20th wedding anniversary two years ago and Kris wished Bruce a happy 22nd anniversary on Instagram back in April, expressing hope that "the next 22 is even more fabulous...I love you!" As recently as this summer, members of the sprawling Kardashian-Jenner family had scoffed at the idea that Kris and Bruce physically living apart had anything to do with the state of their marriage. "They're not having problems, but they still like to live apart, which is definitely different," Khloé Kardashian Odom said on The Tonight Show in June. "You know, Bruce and my mom, they wanted some...In my house there is a man room for Lamar. A room, not a different house. So I think they took my idea and ran with it. They got another house and Bruce stays there sometimes." Bruce's son Brody Jenner said in the September issue of NOW magazine: "I stay out of their business, but as far as I'm concerned, they haven't split up. Dad's been in Malibu--he grew up out here--and the press has made a big deal of it...It's nothing to do with them breaking up." While Kris has been spotted out and about in L.A., Bruce was in Virginia last week with son Brandon Jenner for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo at Virginia International Raceway. Father and son each drove one of the Italian mega-luxury cars in the 13-car race, coming in 10th and seventh, respectively. Here are six more big celebrity breakups from 2013... 1. Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas: The iconic Hollywood pair announced in late August that they were calling it quits after 13 years of marriage as they have apparently been living separate lives. "Catherine and Michael are taking some time apart to evaluate and work on their marriage," a rep for the actress said in a statement. However, the actor was quoted by USA Today as saying. "We are fine. My wife and I are fine." 2. Miley Cyrus & Liam Hemsworth: Fans of the young couple learned last month that the pair ended their nearly four-year relationship and called off their engagement. Sources say that the split was "Miley's decision, after coming to grips with Liam being what she believed was less than faithful to her." The breakup came on the heels of the "We Can't Stop" singer opening up about wedding plans in the most recent issue of Harper's Bazaar. "I definitely don't have time to deal with a wedding right now," she told the fashion mag. "But I will at some point." 3. Britney Spears & Jason Trawick: The 31-year-old pop star and her agent fiancé broke up in January after being engaged for just over a year. "Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement," Spears said in a statement. "I'll always adore him and we will remain great friends." Added Trawick: "As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever." Shortly after the news went public, a source close to the pop star confirmed to E! News that the mother of two returned her $90,000 diamond bling to Trawick. 4. George Clooney & Stacy Keibler: After two years together, the good-looking duo announced in July that they decided to go their separate ways. Neither celeb confirmed the reasoning behind their breakup, but their busy schedules may have been to blame. The 52-year-old actor has been filming The Monuments Men in Berlin as of late, alongside pal Matt Damon. Keibler came to visit her beau on the set back in March, but the two hadn't been seen together since. Rumors of the split began swirling after the 33-year-old beauty was seen hanging out sans Clooney on the Fourth of July at the DeLeon Tequila party in Malibu. "She was definitely acting like a single lady," a source told E! News. 5. Jason Segel & Michelle Williams: As of March, the adorable photos of these two with the actress' daughter Matilda were no more. The 33-year-old How I Met Your Mother star and Williams reportedly broke up in early February after dating for a year. Sources said that with Williams based in New York and Segel rooted in L.A., it was distance that ultimately took its toll on the duo's relationship. 6. Clint & Dina Eastwood: Last month, E! News confirmed that the star of E!'s Mrs. Eastwood & Company has officially filed for legal separation from her husband citing irreconcilable differences, just two weeks after reports indicating the couple had split after 17 years of marriage had surfaced. Per a petition filed in Monterey County Superior Court in Northern California and obtained by E! News, Dina, 48, was asking for spousal support and physical custody of the duo's 16-year-old daughter, Morgan, while sharing joint legal custody and visitation rights for Clint.

Beyoncé and Jay Z Top Vanity Fair's List of Power Players, but Are They Really the Most Powerful Couple?

Vanity Fair recently released its annual ranking of "The New Establishment," a list of "25 members of the power elite...[who] are not going anywhere soon" that includes politicians and CEOs, designers and Hollywood execs. But the No. 1 spot belongs to Beyoncé and Jay Z, up from No. 8 last year. Are '03 Bonnie and Clyde really the most powerful couple? To answer that, we must look at the very definition of power itself: Kanye West defines "Power" as, "At the end of the day, god damn it I'm killing this s--t / 
I know damn well y'all feeling this s--t." Let's break it down further. Please find the accompanying soundtrack below: "I'm living in that 21st century, doing something mean to it / Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it." She has a record-breaking 17 Grammy Awards. He has 17 as well. Two of which were for their "Crazy in Love" collaboration. Which brings the total to: 34. Do it better? Yep. Where do they have room for that many golden gramophones? "Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it." Haters (you, you, you, you and you in the comments) can sit down and politely STFU. Any questions? "Huh? Motherf--ker we rolling
/ With some light-skinned girls and some Kelly Rowlands." Kelly Rowlands?! They got the original! (Michelle Williams need not apply.) "My furs is Mongolian, my ice brought the goalies in /
 And I embody every characteristic of the egotistic / 
He knows, he's so f--king gifted." Upgrade: The tuxes is Tom Ford and the ice is hanging on the neck of "the hottest chick in the game" (aka the modern day Mona Lisa with better features aka his "wife that f--ks him like a prostitute"). As for "f--king gifted," see point No. 1. "I just needed time alone with my own thoughts
 / Got treasures in my mind but couldn't open up my own vault." The former, in this case, could refer to the fact that Beyoncé headlined the Super Bowl not to mention a world wide tour and--uh oh!--still hasn't put out a new album. Because she's taking her time to make it perfect (PUT OUT A NEW ALBUM ALREADY, BEY). The vault in the latter could refer to "the official Beyoncé archive, a temperature-controlled digital-storage facility that contains virtually every existing photograph of her, every interview she's ever done, every video of every show she's ever performed, every diary entry she's ever recorded while looking into the unblinking eye of her laptop." That vault. "Colin Powell, Austin Powers /
 Lost in translation with a whole f--king nation." Uh, we don't know about all that lost in translation business (Bey and Jay are international--they even got into Cuba), but Beyoncé was in Austin Powers in Goldmember? Close enough? Let's wrap this up. "Where the bad bitches, huh? Where you hiding?
 I got the power to make your life so exciting." Oh! Here she is. Life = exciting. Conclusion: Yes, they are the most powerful couple. Kanye said so. 'Ye does warns, "No one man should have all that power." So it's a good thing that man splits it with Queen B.

Madonna Studying Quran to Understand Islam

Madonna has revealed that she is studying the Holy Quran to understand Islam. The 55-year-old popstar said in an interview with Harper's Magazine that she is building schools for girls in Islamic countries. The '4 Minutes' hitmaker said that she thinks it is important to study all the holy books. Madonna added that she agrees with what one of her friends tell her, that a good Muslim is a good Jew, a good Jew is a good Christian, and so forth. She had earlier revealed in the interview that she suffered a horrific rape at knifepoint when she first arrived in New York to pursue her career.

Libya Militants Seek toAvenge Al Qaeda LeaderCapture

Nazih al-Ragye, better known by the cover name Abu Anas al-Liby, is a suspect in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 civilians. Libyan militants have called for the kidnapping of American citizens in Tripoli and for attacks on gas pipelines, ships and planes to avenge the capture of a senior al Qaeda figure by U.S. special forces in Libya last week. Nazih al-Ragye, better known by the cover name Abu Anas al-Liby, is a suspect in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 civilians. He was snatched on the streets of Tripoli on Saturday and is being held aboard a Navy ship in the Mediterranean Sea, U.S. officials said. Messages posted by Libyan jihadists on the Internet and monitored by the SITE service included a Facebook page called "Benghazi is Protected by its People". It told Libyans to close off entrances and exits to the capital and kidnap citizens of the United States and its allies in order to use them to bargain for the release of imprisoned militants. It also urged them to damage pipelines exporting gas to Europe, and target ships and planes. "Libya today is still a place of disbelief that is ruled by something other than the Shariah of Allah; thus, there is no security for disbelievers there," the message said. In another message posted on forums and social media, a group called "the Revolutionaries of Benghazi - al-Bayda, Derna" condemned the al Qaeda leader's capture. It accused Libya's leaders of having prior knowledge of the operation, although Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said at the weekend that the government had asked the United States to explain the raid. The group vowed to fight "everyone who betrayed his country and involved himself in this conspiracy. We say that this shameful act will cost the Libyan government a lot and it will be as you will see and not as you hear." Since Muammar Gaddafi's fall, Islamist militants, including groups linked to al Qaeda, have used Libya to smuggle out weapons and as a base for fighters. North Africa is home to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and other Islamist affiliates who either cooperate with the network or sympathize with its ideology. Liby is wanted by the FBI, which gives his age as 49 and had offered a $5 million reward for help in capturing him. He was indicted in 2000 along with 20 other al Qaeda suspects including Osama bin Laden and current global leader of the militant network, Ayman al-Zawahri.

ASUU, doctors’ strike ’ll end soon, saysJonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said that because of the importance his administration attached to the medical and educational sectors, he was determined to do all within his powers to resolve all issues that currently lead to labour disputes and strikes in both sectors. Resident doctors and members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities are currently on strike. Jonathan promised to resolve the labour crises while granting audience to a delegation of the Nigeria Medical Association led by its National President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. His promise was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, at the end of the closed-door session. “I believe that we must manage both (education and medical) sectors in such a way that nobody engaged in them will think of going on strike again. We will continue to proactively evolve measures that will help us to permanently overcome the problems that lead to strikes by health and education professionals,” the President was quoted as saying at the meeting attended by the Minister of Labour, Emeka Wogu, Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu and other top government officials. Jonathan reportedly assured the delegation that his administration would take necessary actions to ensure that the right conditions were created for Nigerian medical professionals to stay at home and avail Nigerians of their skills and expertise instead of migrating to other countries. He said his government was determined to correct a situation where about 25,000 Nigerian medical consultants were currently practising in the United States alone as confirmed to him by President Barack Obama. He described as an anomaly a situation where this huge number of Nigerian medical experts were abroad and yet the nation could not treat its sick people in its own hospitals He said, “There is clearly a missing link somewhere and we will do everything possible to fix it. We will continue to work with professional bodies and all stakeholders to come up with more policies and actions that will help us overcome current challenges in our medical sector. “We will work with the National Assembly to ensure the quick passage of the National Health Bill. We will take prompt action to reconstitute the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. We will also consider recommendations for the establishment of the Office of the Surgeon- General of the Federation. “I believe that we must always do what is best for our country. We will review all the other issues you have raised and act accordingly. When things are done properly, issues of welfare and remuneration in the health sector will disappear.” The President also promised that the Federal Government would explore the option of creating a special intervention fund that would facilitate the rapid establishment of more centres of medical excellence across the country.

Lord’s Chosen Church HQ sealed overdirty environment

The headquarters of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement, along the Apapa – Oshodi Expressway in Lagos has been sealed off by the Lagos State Government for gross environmental abuse. A statement by the state’s Ministry of the Environment, made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday, said the church was sealed off in order to prevent an outbreak of epidemic, as well as protect the lives of its worshippers. It read, “An inspection of the church’s environment revealed that solid waste generated was not properly disposed of. “It was openly burning waste on the church premises, exposing the lives of its worshipers to health hazards.” A substantial part of the one kilometre church auditorium was also alleged to have been built on the Odo Asimawu drainage channel, which the ministry claimed impeded the flow of flood water as well as inhibiting effective performance of the channel. “All the church toilets were built on the canal, thereby enabling the deliberate discharge of raw human wastes into it,” the statement added The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, was said to have directed that the church could only be reopened after all nuisances had been abated and encumbrances along the drainage channel, removed. “There must be complete sanitisation of the entire church environment; a proper facility for the disposal of solid waste must be put in place; new toilet facilities built and proper evacuation of the human and solid wastes dumped into the canal ensured ,” the statement said. The church is also expected to remove all structures built on the drainage channel.

Health mistakes everyone makes

Driving with the windows down We feel pretty content cruising up the motorway with the wind blowing through our hair on a warm day, but we never spare a thought for our poor lungs as we breathe in the harmful pollutants emitted by cars. A study from the University of Southern California has found that spending a mere six per cent of our day driving in the car with the windows down exposes us to around 45 per cent of the pollutants that we encounter in 24 hours — that’s a lot of pollutants to come into contact with in such a short amount of time. In cities, driving with the windows down poses an even higher threat to your health. Instead of winding the windows down during a traffic- ridden commute, try letting some fresh air in before you start your journey and save having the wind blowing through your hair for your voyage through the countryside. Carrying heavy handbag You’ve packed your makeup, baby wipes, phone, purse and keys. And your camera too (were you planning on taking pictures of anything interesting during your trip to the chemist?) Oh, good to see you brought the old batteries from the remote — never know when you might need them. Those broken headphones could come in handy — thank goodness they found their way in there too. Er, ladies (and gentlemen, if you’re quite partial to carrying a ‘manbag’) do you really need all this stuff? Surely, these ‘essentials’ could be cut down a bit? Lugging a heavy load around can really take its toll on your health by causing back spasms, disc degeneration, neck problems, arthritis, and poor posture. Spring clean your handbags and manbags, and possibly consider trading them in for a smaller version. Spending too long exercising It’s pretty common to think that the more time we spend on the exercise bike, the better. The truth is, too much of a good thing can be counter-productive; and that goes for exercise too. Working your body too hard can lead to abnormal hormonal changes (which can trigger weight gain), a weaker immune system, muscle damage, shin splints, and knee, foot, or back problems. While it’s important to reap the benefits of exercise for a healthy lifestyle, don’t go overboard. Scrimping on sleep You’ve crammed everything you can possibly fit into 24 hours and more, when, suddenly, you look at the clock and it’s way past the time you hoped to go to bed and closer to the time you need to get up for work. Scientific research has proved that we look less attractive when we’ve had little sleep. But droopy eyelids and pasty skin are the least of our worries when it comes to our habit of scrimping on sleep. No matter how healthy you are, how much you exercise, or how much you weigh, getting too little shut-eye can seriously affect your health. Scientists studied 5,600 people of a healthy weight and size for three years and found those who skipped sleep quadrupled their risk of stroke and heart disease. Fix a specific time to go to bed and stick to it. Avoiding the scales In many households across the world, the scales are the one piece of equipment gathering more dust than the treadmill. A common way to gloss over our weight problems is to avoid going on the scales altogether. If you feel like you’ve gained weight, it’s best to face the facts to see how much you’ve gained so you can do something about it before it gets out of hand. Everyone’s weight naturally fluctuates, so don’t panic if you’ve gained a couple of pounds here and there. But if you gain more than five pounds, you should probably rein in your eating habits. Checking your weight on a regular basis allows you to nip it in the bud if you discover a weight problem — losing the odd few pounds is much easier than trying to shed a stone. Silent worrying You worry about the meeting at work, you worry about putting the bins out … and it’s really getting you down. While stress can be positive in helping to keep you alert and avoid danger, too much of it can be detrimental to your health. Endless worrying eventually leads to distress, which causes headaches, high blood pressure, an upset stomach, chest pain, and sleep deprivation. While it’s natural to worry when you have a deadline looming, panicking too much about petty things needs to be sorted. When you’re worrying, ask yourself a few simple questions and answer them as honestly as you can. Will you still be worrying about this in a couple of weeks’ time? Can this problem be easily resolved? If you can’t let it go, tackle the problem head on until it is resolved. If you can learn how to control your worrying, you’re well on your way to a happier, healthier lifestyle. Stopping medicines suddenly Most of us are guilty of this one; we’re feeling much better and stop taking our medication, but suddenly end up feeling a whole lot worse. How often do you consider the health risks of this? Depending on the medicine you are taking, going ‘cold turkey’ can cause all sorts of health risks, which range from mild, to moderate, or serious. Discontinuing your medicine suddenly can cause mild headaches, rapid return of the illness that you were treating, and seizures, to name only a few. Abruptly stopping certain medications can be life-threatening, so keep taking it until your doctor tells you to stop. And when you do get the ‘all clear,’ take medical advice when you’re discontinuing them. Forgetting to floss Flossing is a key component when it comes to oral hygiene, but it’s a step that many of us skip because we don’t feel much different whether we floss or not. It’s worth changing your routine though, because plaque between the teeth can be more serious than you may think. If the bacterium finds its way into the blood stream, it can cause chronic inflammation and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and premature birth. The cosmetic implications of not flossing are another obvious concern. Unless you would like to lose all your teeth in favour of some rapper- style gold ones, it’s recommended that you floss at least once a day to stop your pearly whites from being weakened by plaque and eventually falling out. It looks like we need to start brushing up (get it?) on our dental hygiene routines for the good of our health. Skipping breakfast Skipping your breakfast and then continuing with your day is like trying to drive your car with a very low tank of fuel — it will feel fine to start with, but eventually slow down and cut out. Not only will you feel less active and sluggish, skipping breakfast — whether it is due to lack of time or fear of putting on weight — is linked with a higher risk of diabetes and can lead to obesity as your body stores up more fat to use as fuel throughout the rest of the day. Eat breakfast to feel happier, more functional and, most of all, healthy. Drinking water from the warm tap Scientists suggest that drinking water from the warm tap could cause lead poisoning. Lead can enter some water systems from corroded plumbing work, but drinking high levels of it can have potential health risks, particularly in children where it can lead to brain damage. Although scientists emphasise that the risks of lead poisoning are small, it’s recommended that you use the cold tap for preparing baby formula, drinking, and cooking.

Mary J.Blige Paid $.5m toPerform in Nigeria?

This isn't the first time we'll be gasping upon hearing the whooping sum of money foreign acts get to come perform in the country. According to reports reaching us, we learnt that American singer, Mary J.Blige allegedly got paid the sum of $500,000 just for a night to perform at the last Sisters With Soul concert held at Eko Hotel and Suites, an insider revealed. The cheapest fee for entrance for the Etisalat sponsored show was N15, 000. Aside Mary J who rocked the stage with hits from her stable, other sisters who performed were the likes of Seyi Shay, Eva Alordiah, Niyola, Emma Nyra and Ms. Jaie. Read Mary J's message to fans after her performance: "Good morning Lagos. Thank U so much 4 the warm welcome, love & support. I had a great time with U! Sorry I had to leave so quickly. Love. MJB”.

Egypt: '50 dead' in clashes amid rival demonstrations

At least 50 people have been killed and scores hurt in Egypt in clashes between police and supporters of the deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. More than 200 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested in Cairo, where most of the deaths were reported. Supporters of Mr Morsi marched in several cities, as the military-backed government marked the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Morsi supporters say he was deposed in a military coup in July. 'Critical time' Hundreds of people had gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square to celebrate the anniversary. Jets and Apache helicopters flew overhead in formation, as part of a grand display of military hardware by the government. The crowd cheered the flypasts, a number of people carrying portraits of defence chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Some want him to stand as Egypt's next president. But the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Cairo says supporters of Mr Morsi also took to the streets in their thousands, trying to make their way to the square and calling Gen Sisi a murderer. Security forces used tear gas and fired into the air to stop them. The rival protests in Cairo turned into running street battles More than 200 members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested in connection with the violence, an Egyptian security source told BBC Arabic. Supporters of the military have been converging on Tahrir Square to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war President Mansour laid a wreath as part of planned commemorations Egyptian society remains polarised by the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July. In the upmarket Dokki district, a number of protesters were hit by live rounds, some by birdshot. In return they threw rocks at police and soldiers, our correspondent says. The street battles raged for hours, with small fires burning and black smoke rising in several parts of the capital. But the military succeeded in keeping the rival supporters apart, our correspondent says. The interior ministry earlier warned it would confront any "attempts that may disturb the 6 October celebrations", the Mena state news agency reported. In a televised address, Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi described it as a "critical time" for the country and urged Egyptians to "stand together, be optimistic about the future". The health ministry said that in addition to the Cairo deaths, one person was killed in Delga, about 300km (190 miles) south of Cairo, and another in Bani Suef, 80km south of the capital. There were also clashes in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya. Hundreds of Islamist protesters have died in violence since the Egyptian military deposed Mr Morsi in July, 13 months after he was elected as president. He and other senior Brotherhood figures have been imprisoned and face trial. The authorities are moving to seize the movement's assets after its activities were banned as part of a crackdown. However, Brotherhood supporters have continued to take to the streets to protest - albeit in smaller numbers than before.

Grey's Anatomy Star Jesse Williams & Wife Expecting First Child

Jesse Williams is going to be a dad! E! News confirms that the Grey's Anatomy star and his wife Aryn Drake-Lee are expecting their first child together. No other details on the pregnancy are available at this time, but E! News has reached out to reps for comment. Williams and his longtime love tied the knot in September 2012. "Jesse was beaming with joy throughout the entire ceremony," a guest at the wedding told People. "It was the perfect night with lots of smiling, laughing and emotion. You could feel the love they have for each other. They're madly in love!" The actor crossed paths with his real estate broker wife before he became a hunky doctor on TV. The couple met when Williams was a schoolteacher in New York City (feel free to swoon). After 5 years of being together, the duo decided to make it official with an intimate ceremony. Congratulations to the soon-to-be parents!

Halle Berry welcomes new son

Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry has given birth to a son, her spokeswoman said Sunday. It is her second child and her first with French actor Olivier Martinez. “Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez welcomed their son yesterday,” the spokeswoman, Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson, told AFP in an email, without providing any further details. Berry and Martinez, both 47, married in July, according to People magazine. The couple met each other in 2010 on the set of the film “Dark Tide.” Berry has been married twice before and has a five-year- old daughter, Nahla, with Canadian model Gabriel Aubry. A source at the hospital told People magazine on Saturday night, “Olivier hasn’t left Halle’s side. Nahla visited her baby brother earlier today.” Since Berry and Aubry’s separation, they have repeatedly tussled over access and visiting rights for their daughter. On Thanksgiving Day last November, Martinez and Aubry brawled on the doorstep of Berry’s home after her ex turned up to see his daughter. Aubry was left with cuts and bruises including a black eye. Berry was the first African-American actress to win a best lead actress Oscar in 2002 for “Monster’s Ball.” Her latest movie is the thriller “The Call.” Martinez’s last movie was “Dark Tide,” which was released in March 2012 in the United States

Justin bieber releases new single

Beliebers have been waiting a long time and now the wait is over. Justin Bieber has been teasing new music for a while, and tonight the 19-year-old pop star released his latest track "Heartbreaker" as part of his Music Mondays promotion, where he will release a new song every week for 10 weeks. "Less than 24 hours. Midnight est #MusicMondays #10weeks #heartbreaker r u ready??!!" Bieber tweeted about the song before releasing the single. "These songs are different. These are my #journals." Bieber describes the slow melodic tune: "It's a song for people going through heartbreak--like I was when I wrote it. It means so much to me to be able to share what I was, and still am, going through, with my fans. I'm very proud of this song and I hope it gives my fans some insight into my heart." It's no mystery that the track is about his breakup with longtime girlfriend Selena Gomez, who also recently released a duet with Prince Royce called "Already Missing You." "You will know my words, my heart. #journals," Bieber tweeted.

Katy Perry & John Mayer Have a Day Date at Disneyland

Katy Perry and John Mayer decided to spend the day with Mickey and the gang. The two lovebirds were spotted hanging out at Disneyland today with a group of friends. Perry and Mayer were each dressed casually, with the pop singer wearing shorts, a T-shirt and floppy hat, while rocker Mayer donned a baseball cap, plaid shirt and jeans. A source tells E! News that the couple was with a handful of other people and didn't engage in too much PDA, but stayed close together. Mayer recently opened up to Jimmy Kimmel about his duet with Katy called "Who You Love" on his upcoming album Paradise Valley. When asked what it was like to work together in the studio, the singer gushed, "She was fantastic." "It was a really great experience and the song is one of these like old FM '70s and '80s sort of like duets," he said. "And I listened back to it, it's like, really convincing. And I watched it get made and I'm still kind of taken aback."

Karen Excited About New MovieRole

Former BBA winner, Karen seems to be over the moon upon the completion of her debut movie role. Obviously, the movie must have overwhelmed her that it took her off social networks for a while. But now, she's back on the social scene and trending too. No wonder, Karen couldn't just wait for the movie to be out that she's already tweeting about it. According to her, she played the role of the character, Joy in the movie which is about how Nigerians prefer a male to a female child. Anyway, congrats to Karen as we wait to see how she interprets her role in the movie.

I’m not at war with MI — Jesse Jagz

Rap artiste, Jesse Jagz talks about his career and his exit from Chocolate City How is life, now that you have exited Chocolate City? It has been great. I have had to adjust but it is good because the same team that was with me at Chocolate City is the same team with me now and I have not had to do anything new. At the same time, it is still a lot of responsibility and that is why the adjustment is needed. There has been a lot of misconception on why you let your former label… I spent five years at Chocolate City. I got there in 2007 and left officially in 2012. Chocolate City is not my company. I had put in so much work in my new album and felt it was time for me to do things for myself. It was not a spur of the moment decision; it was something I had thought about over time. The reason why I probably did not tell anybody was because sometimes, family might be more concerned about you taking business risks. The day I took the decision, I did not tell anyone including my brother, MI. I produced about four albums for Chocolate City. I don’t owe them anything and I don’t know where the news that my contract had not run out came from. Do you have your own label now? It is not a label in anyway and I am not signing anybody on.Jagznationis just a business outfit, where I put out my music. What’s the state of your relationship with the boss, Audu Maikori? There is no fight. We have been talking and there is no personal war. Will you continue to produce for Chocolate City artistes like it was the norm while you were there? MI and Ice Prince are my brothers; therefore, we will always find time to work together. How about the other artistes? I am not saying yes, but it is possible. For every other artiste, they will have to go through the normal process. If I like the song, then I will go on it. Did your exit affect your relationship with MI who is an executive on the label? I still saw him last week and at my show I said, ‘MI I love you but I am at war with Chocolate City.’ I said this so that people can understand certain things. Yes, he is my brother but as an executive of that label, he must own up to other people and be the same thing applies to me. What if he was not my brother? I would still have to do what I did. We are not shooting Missiles at each other, it’s just business. Brymo left Chocolate City soon after you did. Was that a conspiracy? Brymo has been my friend before he even got signed on. He is still my friend but we never sat down to discuss our plans. You happened to have moved on pretty well and have a new album… It is an African thing for you to stop and praise yourself but for me and the team, this album is actually our first album and we are just starting. The name of the album is ‘Thy nation comes’ and it has 18 songs. Did you feature any artistes from your former label? I did not because I did not feature any rapper. I made it a point of duty not to have any rapper; I wanted to do it myself. Also, since I had just left, I wanted to put out music for me only and not involve anybody from that side. Is it that you feel threatened by them? I don’t. I was already through with the album without MI or Ice. The album was done before I even left Chocolate City. Do we foresee reconciliation? I don’t think there needs to be reconciliation. Instead, the lines of the business just need to be properly disabled; just the same way they were put together. It was rumoured that you were very broke and held a concert at the African Shrine and not at some posh venue on the Island? That is one of the top echelon performance venues we have in Nigeria. It is a fantastic performance stage and well set up. Femi, Fela’s son, plays there weekly. They already have that tradition for a musician and not an artiste. I also chose that place for historical reasons and it’s a way of paying homage to Fela. Moreover, people on the mainland have been cut off from music. Most shows take place on the island. I wanted to do something for those who don’t have the N5000 or N10000. It was for them to come and enjoy good music for free. I can’t be broke and put up that kind of show. Your songs are rebellious in nature, is this reflection of your person? Aren’t all youths rebellious in some way? All youths are rebellious to some older person and I am being youthful. When I am 35, I might not have this energy again. I am 29 and this is the time I can correct the government through my music. I also get criticised. You rarely socialise. Is this deliberate? It is deliberate. I have always been that quiet and introverted person. With the Internet, television and radio, you are already in the faces of fans whether you want to be or not. I am just living as I have always lived. I hate being put under the pressure of fame; therefore, I stay at home and make music which fundamentally is my job. Do you regret not completing your degree in law? No. Though I did not finish, I read a lot and that was the reason why I left. For some, school does not help the mind to grow, it stifles it. For such minds, they need the freedom to learn more. Your current physical looks has attracted a lot of distasteful comments I don’t even know what they are saying. Anybody who has known me will tell you I have always been a skinny boy. I added weight for a year and people were abusing me. I took time out to go back to my old weight and they are saying there is a problem. I had a weight problem and I was getting obese. I had a lot of pimples on my face because of the fat in my body. Losing weight was something I had to do actively regardless of what people think. You have a daughter. Is she taking after you? My daughter is nine but she schools in Jos. I see her as often as I can and we have a relationship. But I don’t like to talk about her. I want her to have a life. She is taking after me and featured in several tracks on my latest album. She is three times better than I am. Why did you not marry her mother? We had her when I was 19. At that age, it was a lot more logical to allow the two of us grow and have a life instead of being together. We are still friends but we were too young to define anything. We can both love this child individually as opposed to getting married because we have a child.