Jigawa mourns as Deputy Speaker, Ex-Commissioner die

The people of Jigawa state were thrown into mourning following the death of two prominent politicians, Deputy speaker, State House of Assembly, Honourable Inuwa Sule Udi and former Commissioner of Information, Alhaji Salisu Ibtahim Dandoka.

Honourable Inuwa Sule Udi a third term member representing Ringim constituency at the Jigawa State House of Assembly died along with his driver Malam Mas’ud Ringim in an accident along Kano-Ringim road, the accident on Thursday night during the heavy down pour.

The former Commissioner in the State Ministry of Education and Information during Ex-Governor Saminu Turaki’s regime, Alhaji Salisu Ibrahim Dandoka died after a brief illness at the Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.

The deceases Deputy Speaker, Inuwa Sule and Alhaji Salisu Dandoka will be buried in their home towns Ringim and Kazaure according to Islamic rites, they were survived by wives, children and grand children.

Prince Mustapha Omiru married Kirsty Crooks in Loughgall

Kirsty Crooks (27), from Loughgall, was the envy of many a young girl, when she became a princess after exchanging wedding vows with Prince Mustapha Oniru of Lagos in Nigeria at a ceremony of Thursday afternoon.

The regal ceremony in the tiny village was attended by royalty from the African continent who witnessed the Prince’s marriage to the apple of his eye from the Orchard county.

The Prince’s father HRM Oba (King) Idowu Abiodun Oniru and Queen Olori Arike Oniru attended the service in Loughgall Presbyterian Church which was conducted by Reverend Philip McKelvey.

While Prince Mustapha wore a regular wedding suit, his family, King Idowu and Queen Olori wore their traditional Nigerian dress.

The Prince brought with him a huge entourage included family members, officials and chiefs.

Indeed, such was the wide family circle that they took over Castle Leslie in Monaghan where a lavish reception was being held.

The newly wed Prince and Princess are jetting off to St Tropez and Monaco for their honeymoon.

Kirsty’s mum Lynne Harvey and her husband Kyle were very excited about the nuptials.

Not to be upstaged by the King and Queen of Lagos, Kyle played the pipes at what Lynne described as a ‘very traditional Irish wedding’.

Kirsty met Mustapha while teaching in the British International School in Lagos owned by the King.

Her new husband, who just finished a Masters Degree in Marketing, is the school administrator.

The bride, who teaches French and German at GCSE and A level, plans to continue teaching the next school year in Uxbridge, London where her husband’s family also have residences.

The couple plan to return to Lagos next year and resume teaching at the British International School.

MODE 9 goes emotional: I released an album, no one cared!

Babatunde Olusegun a.k.a mode 9 went all emotional on hotfm’s breakfast radio show with TuTu Adeoba and Cheezy Charles on his type of non-commercial rap, he re-affirms that he can never change his type of rap to suit an audience and decries neglect on his type of rap’

‘I put out a whole album nobody cared’ ‘A whole 20 track album ‘alphabetical order’ nobody gave a f**k’, nobody cares.

‘You see how the industry is’ how do you expect me to feel? ‘Nigerians don’t like hip hop they only follow the hype, they don’t even know what it is’

Mode 9

I only cater for my real fans; I don’t really care about the fair weather, band wagon jumpers ‘I cater for my fans and they are feeling it’ i have put up too much effort in promotion of my materials’

“It’s just some certain people in their minds feeling that I’m not doing well’ I have decided I am going to attack anybody who calls me up and asks ‘where have you been?’ I have attacked everyone that has done that, I am not afraid of anybody. It’s just the way they think. If your music is not playing in clubs then you are not putting out the best. My music is not club music;  I didn’t put out a club album. Real fans of Mode 9 know where it’s happening and know how to get it. They’ve seen it on TV and they loved it. So I think I’m doing a great job. Imagine you doing all this and someone walking up to you and asking, common where’ve you been? Imagine how bad you’ll feel after spending millions of naira to promote yourself from your own pocket.

He also cleared the air about the purported biff with Vector concerning controversial single ‘the truth’ released in July allegedly by Vector which was widely reported as a diss track targeting mode 9.

Mode said “I don’t have any biff with Vector. Vector was even on my album. The night that song was released, Vector called me and said someone was trying to sabotage him. He said the song was recorded in 2009 but whoever pushed it out in July had some part doctored. Since Vector called me before the song started making the waves I believed him. I even tweeted that I’m cool with Vector. We both tweeted that we are cool with each other. But people still went on to blow the story; begging for a war; I’m sorry but we won’t be given anybody a war”

VANGUARD

EXCLUSIVE photo gallery of DAVIDO sister's traditional wedding (photos)

The elder sister of Nigerian music star, Davido, Sharon Adeleke performed her traditional wedding today, Thursday, 15 August 2013. The event was graced by few celebs who stormed the joyous occasion as a way of supporting their colleague.

Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage are few of the Nigeria stars that attended the event. Sharon has started her journey to being the wife of her heartthrob known as Yomi Ademefun. Yomi engaged Sharon only some weeks ago. 

Toke Makinwa

Toolz and Tiwa Savage

Davido and Chairman

Don Jazzy and Bizzle

Tiwa Savage and Tee Billz

Tiwa Savage Sameera Ahmed

Sharon and Ademefun

Sharon Adeleke Gifts

tonto dikeh receives a 24 carat gold ipad from male fan (photos)

The actress has been getting gifts from her male well wishers and she appreciates them with the word baby. The first gift was a pack of pizza with a surprise wrist watch in it while the second one was a 24carat gold Ipad customized for her

Woman Barred From Office in Iran For Being Too Beautiful

An Iranian woman has been told she cannot have a seat on her city’s council because she is too beautiful for the role.

Nina Siahkali Moradi finished 14th out of 163 candidates in the Qazvin city council elections, polling an impressive 10,000 votes.

But even though the result should have gained her a seat on the council, the 27-year-old candidate was disqualified with the council leader saying: ‘We don’t want catwalk models here.’

According to the Independent, Ms Moradi had gained enough votes to become an ‘alternative member of the council’ – making her a first reserve.

When one councillor gave up his seat, Ms Moradi should have been able to step in, but she was banned from doing so.

She found out a week after the election on June 14 that any votes cast for her had been nullified.

According to the International Campaign for human Rights in Iran, her disqualification was as a result of her ‘non-observance of Islamic codes’.

It has been suggested that her campaign posters prompted some of the council’s conservative elders to complain.

Opponents to her candidacy said that she had only been elected because because she is young and attractive.

But on the posters she is wearing the required hijab and has only her face showing.

She also passed a series of rigourous checks carried out prior to polling day carried out by a range of authorities including the police, intelligence ministry and the judiciary.

The graduate student had campaigned under the slogan ‘Young Ideas for a Young Future’.

The Qazvin election took place on the same day as the country’s presidential election.

Ironically, the newly elected President Hassan Rowhani has vowed to introduce new civil rights laws in the country, promising to drastically improve women’s rights.

FG To Offer ASUU N30bn, Asks Lecturers To Make Sacrifices And Resume Work

The federal government is offering N30 billion as earned allowances to the striking university lecturers in a bid to end the lingering strike, which has shut down academic activities in the universities nationwide.

A top official from the Federal Ministry of Education told THISDAY Thursday, that due to the dwindling revenue base of the government, it was ready to offer N30 billion to the striking lecturers under the auspices of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to end the strike.

Government’s position is believed to be a sincere approach in ending the strike in the midst of dwindling revenue profile occasioned by oil theft and macro-economic measures aimed at diversifying the economy.

While all the demands of the striking lecturers had been resolved, the bone of contention had been 'earned allowances', which they have put at N87 billion.

According to our source, the N30 billion, which the federal government was offering, was in the conviction that considering the nation’s current revenue base, ASUU should make some sacrifices and go back to work in the interest of the students and the country at large.

He disclosed that the government was desirous of a holistic and sustainable solution to the problems bedeviling the entire education sector, adding that the focus is on infrastructure development, which the federal government had set up the Governor Gabriel Suswam-led University Needs Implementation Committee to handle.

The NEEDS Implementation Committee had announced on Tuesday, that N100 billion would be made available to universities for infrastructure development.
Government’s approach, he added, was on a specific, once-and-for-all solution and wants every Nigerian, including the lecturers to make sacrifices and call off the strike so that the students could resume academic work. 

60% OF NIGERIANS IGNORANT OF MOBILE MONEY -REPORT

Six in 10 Nigerians (59 percent, about 94 million) are not aware of mobile money services and only 13 percent (about 20 million) of the 41 percent (about 66 million) that are knowledgeable of it have adopted it, findings from the latest weekly mobile money services snap poll has revealed.

Findings from the poll also revealed that teenagers, young and middle aged adults are more willing to adopt the services than older citizens.  The general perception of users of the mobile money service as indicated by majority is that it is easy to use, secure, accessible, saves cost and time.
Mobile Money is a service that enables monetary transactions to be done on mobile phones through text messaging. Operations that can be carried out include money deposit, bills payments, funds transfer and withdrawal payment for purchased goods and services.
The poll which was conducted by NOI Polls Limited, a Nigerian opinion polling and research organisation, said its latest poll on mobile money services snap poll was carried out to explore the level of awareness of Nigerians on the services and to determine the present adoption rate of Nigerians, as well as the potential for its adoption in the future.
The  findings further revealed that despite the poor level of awareness, banks have proved to be major sources of awareness of mobile money services than the media or family and friends, as well as being the major service provider than mobile money agents.
Findings from the poll is an indication that the CBN needs to do more  in terms of awareness to drive the success of the cashless policy and reach  majority of the financially excluded populace. As Nigeria is currently transitioning towards being a cashless economy, more awareness has to be created about the mobile money payment option with emphasis placed on including the rural population and unbanked Nigerians in the roll out process.

Nigeria: Keshi Blasts Malawi Coach

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has hit back at the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) over their request to have next month's qualifier switched.

FAM wrote to Fifa, asking for their decisive Group F World Cup qualifier against the Super Eagles to be moved from Calabar.

And Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet told local media last week that he is not comfortable with the match being played in the city because he believes it is a security risk.

But his Nigerian counterpart Keshi, whose side lead Malawi by two points in their group, insists the venue for the game should not be changed.

"The Malawi coach cannot tell us where to play our matches," Keshi told BBC Sport. "He can say whatever he likes, that's his own opinion and problem. We have no problem and he is not qualified enough to make that call or request.

"This is where we play our games and other countries are fine with that.

"Someone cannot say to Nigeria to take the game elsewhere because he feels too important.

"Please tell him [Saintfiet] the game will take place in Calabar, he can choose not to come, we have no problem with that."

Skype receives post-Prism boost with confirmation of pre-installation on Microsoft Windows 8.1

Microsoft has confirmed that Skype will be integrated into the Start button on Windows 8.1.

"With Windows 8.1, simply log in and you're ready to go," Skype said in a blog post. "By simply searching and adding contacts to your People list in Skype – the people you care about are at your fingertips, and you are in control of who those contacts are."

In its own blog post, Microsoft said that "connecting and sharing should be a seamless part of every Windows experience."

On Windows 8, Skype users have to download the VoIP app via the Windows Store. With the Windows 8.1 update - expected in mid-October - it will come pre-loaded with the operating system.

The updated OS will also include the return of the Start button, which will appear whenever you move your mouse to the bottom right of the screen in tiled (or "Metro") mode and will persist on the taskbar when in desktop mode.

In a recent leak of a reportedly "near final" version of Windows 8.1, The Verge found that Skype replaced the Messaging app, which draws on Windows Live Messenger. Earlier this year, however, Microsoft started transitioning Windows Live Messenger users to Skype. "We're confident that Skype provides a better experience and even stronger network – today and even more so in the future, especially with the addition of the Messenger network," Microsoft said last year.

READ MORE HERE

celeb news: Chris Brown cleared of California hit-and-run charges

The star pleaded not guilty to giving false insurance information and refusing to hand over his licence after a crash in California in May.

The judge said the R&B singer and a woman whose Mercedes he hit with his Range Rover in Toluca Lake had reached an agreement over the case.

The prosecution disagreed with the decision, saying Brown showed aggression after the incident.

Sometimes I get the impression that he [Brown is] prosecuted for who he is, not for what he's doneMark GeragosChris Brown's lawyer

Chris Brown also denied leaving the scene of the crash on 21 May.

The offences carried a maximum of one year in jail.

The 27-year-old was still on probation at the time of the crash for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.

If the judge had ruled the charges violated Brown's probation, reports suggested he could have faced up to four years in jail.



The singer was not present at the hearing but tweeted: "Thank God!!!" after the case was dismissed.



Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, said the agreement did not involve any money and that the woman driving the Mercedes only received $800 (£512) from her insurance company.

Geragos added: "Sometimes I get the impression that he [Brown] is prosecuted for who he is, not for what he's done."Chris Brown and his lawyer Mark Geragos appear at another court hearing

LA city lawyer Patrick Hiscocks claimed the singer should have been punished for the accident, saying the other driver felt she was treated badly on social media after the crash.

Brown called the incident "ridiculous" on Twitter and denied giving the other driver false details.

"I have a valid drivers license and I gave the woman the right info," he tweeted in May. "She saw cameras and wanted to make a scene."

The singer also accused the woman of trying to make money out of the incident.

This week Chris Brown was sued for battery and assault over a fight in a car park at an LA recording studio.

Sha'keir Duarte wants damages saying he suffered a concussion as well as humiliation and mental anguish after being attacked by a member of the singer's entourage.

It's claimed a fight at Westlake recording studios started on 27 January after Chris Brown parked in Frank Ocean's space.

Mark Geragos described that case as frivolous.

iOS 7 Beta 6 released early and brings bug fixes

Apple has been really busy in the last few weeks working with developers getting the next version of its mobile operating system ready to be released with some new hardware to the general public, and now the company has again surprised everyone as the iOS 7 Beta 6 is released early and brings some bug fixes.

Apple released the last beta on August 6th which led many to question when the next version will be released, and yesterday speculation hinted at it coming next week while only a few hours later it was released.

The latest download is 13.5MB in size and comes with a fix for purchases downloading and playing unexpectedly on hardware using iOS 7 beta 5 or earlier. This is the second time now that Apple has released an iOS 7 beta outside its earlier Monday schedule, although this one came quite late in the day.

It has been rumoured that the iOS 7 Gold Master will arrive on September 5th to the company’s partners, with developers getting access on the 10th which is the day the iPhone 5S is expected to be unveiled.

The new beta has a build number 11A4449d and if previous history is anything to go by iOS 7 should be made public just before the launch of the next iPhone. Apple posted on the iOS Developer Center that the beta release fixes an “issue with iTunes in the Cloud, where some purchases may download or play unexpected items.”

veecubed: Nokia to launch Windows RT tablet ( pictures leak)

Nokia is planning to launch its first Windows RT tablet in September. Sources familiar with Nokia's plans have revealed to The Verge that the company will unveil its tablet at a special launch event in New York next month. Nokia has been courting developers for the event, and it's tentatively scheduled for September 26th. We understand that Nokia will unveil a tablet, currently codenamed Vanquish, that features Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and Windows RT. Nokia's tablet will include LTE support, and will be made available on AT&T in the US.

Alleged photos of what appears to be a Verizon variant of Nokia's tablet leaked to Chinese site Digiwo today. The photos show the rear of a red 10.1-inch tablet with the Verizon, Windows RT, and Nokia logos. The size and logo placement is consistent with genuine photos of Nokia's canceled Nvidia-powered tablet. Nokia was originally developing that particular Windows RT device with a unique battery-equipped keyboard cover. It's not clear if the latest Qualcomm-based tablet includes the cover, but we'll likely discover this and a lot more during Nokia's event next month

ASUU UPDATE: Low turnout at ASUU’s town hall meeting in Ibadan

There was a low turnout at the town hall meeting called by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday, at Mapo Hall, in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that only a few residents, members of ASUU, activists and journalists were at the forum which was called to sensitize people on the on-going strike.

Speaking at the forum, Dr Ademola Aremu, the National Treasurer of the union, said the education sector remains critical to the nation’s development.

“I want the Federal Government to move fast to end the 42-day-old ASUU strike so that the students can return to their studies,” he said.

He stated that ASUU members were at the Mapo Hall to drum up support from the public on the condition of the education sector.

Also speaking, Dr Olusegun Ajiboye, ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan branch, called on Nigerians to support the campaign for better funding of universities.

“Education is the bedrock of the nation’s development through capacity training,” he said.

He called on the government to sustain the dialogue with ASUU with a view to ending the strike. 

Ondo govt dissociates self from planned Sango festival

THE Ondo State government has dissociated itself from the planned World Sango Festival 2013, currently being publicised in some national newspapers.

Organisers of the festival  had,  in the programme of events, published  in a national newspaper on Thursday,  allocated the eighth day of the 10-day event to Ondo State with the state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, announced as the guest of honour.

Distancing the state government from the festival, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, said neither the state government nor Dr Olusegun Mimiko, are part of the event.

“The attention of the state government  has been drawn to an advertorial in a national daily linking the state and Dr Mimiko to a planned  Sango festival. Neither the state nor Governor Mimiko has anything to do with the festival. The organisers of the event are advised to stop forthwith further mention of the state and Governor Mimiko in any publicity material relating to the said event,” Akinmade said.

Further, he said: “The organisers of the event never at anytime approached the state to collaborate with it on the said festival.” 

He said, even as he concluded that “the public should disregard any impression of involvement the organisers of the event may have given regarding the state’s government role in the festival.”