WORLD CANCER DAY 2015

SMILE4 CANCER;
The Pearls network
in conjunction with BM.Inspired
presents

SMILE FOR CANCER social media contest/campaign
In commemoration of WORLD CANCER DAY 2015
Theme: 'NOT BEYOND US'

All you need to do is
1- Put on a pink lip stick with a pink ribbon on the left side of ur chest.

2- take a selfie or studio pix or urself

3- Send it to us on thepearlsmail.network@gmail.com and we will publish it as ur support for cancer wk 2015.

The picture with the most likes on our Fb page /the pearls network  would attract a prize.

Show ur support, join the fight against cancer bcoz  it is 'Not Beyond Us' to conquer.

Remeber early detection is still d best way to defeat cancer.

Smile😊

Bomb attack at mosque kills nearly 50

A powerful bomb tore through a busy Shiite mosque in southern Pakistan on Friday, killing close to 50 people in the country’s deadliest sectarian attack in nearly two years.
The blast hit the mosque in Shikarpur in Sindh province, around 470 kilometres (300 miles) north of Karachi, as hundreds of worshippers attended Friday prayers.
Pakistan has suffered a rising tide of sectarian violence in recent years, most of it perpetrated by hardline Sunni Muslim groups against minority Shiite Muslims, who make up around one in five of the population.
Shaukat Ali Memon, the medical superintendent of Civil Hospital in Shikarpur, gave a death toll of 48.
Earlier, Sindh health minister Jam Mehtab Daher told AFP that “a total of 40 have been killed in the attack, 46 others have been wounded”.
Hundreds of people rushed to the scene after the blast to try to dig out survivors trapped under the roof of the mosque, which collapsed in the explosion, witness Zahid Noon said.
Television footage of the aftermath showed chaotic rescue scenes as people piled the wounded into cars, motorbikes and rickshaws to take them for treatment.
“The area is scattered with blood and flesh and it smells of burnt meat, people are screaming at each other… it is chaos,” Noon told AFP.
“A huge contingent of police and rangers is present here and ambulances from the nearby towns have started to arrive.”
Local resident Mohammad Jehangir told AFP he had “felt the earth move beneath my feet” as he prayed at another mosque around 1.5 kilometres away.
An official with a national Shiite organisation, Rahat Kazmi, told AFP that up to 400 people were worshipping in the mosque when the blast struck.

Widow, 50, bags 3 years imprisonment for drug peddling

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday sentenced a 50-year-old widow, Nwakpa Nwore, to three years imprisonment for dealing in Cannabis Sativa, also known as Indian hemp.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke sentenced the accused after she had pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of drug trafficking preferred against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The accused was arraigned on Oct. 10, 2014 and had pleaded guilty to the charge.
Justice Aneke had then adjourned the case for a review of facts and judgment.
When the case was called on Friday, a prosecution witness, Mr Lawrence Odede, who is a Superintendent of Narcotics with the NDLEA, gave his testimony before the court.
“On Sept. 11, 2014 when the accused was arrested, two officers of the NDLEA, Mr Safianu Abdulsalam and Mr Iluobe Frank, came to my office with nine sacks of a substance suspected to be Cannabis Sativa.
“I conducted a preliminary test on the substance and it turned out to be Cannabis Sativa. I also weighed the substance and found it to be 59.15 kilograms,” Odede said.
He then tendered the nine sacks before the court as evidence and they were accordingly admitted and marked as exhibits.
The prosecutor, Mr Kalu Orji, urged the court to convict and sentence the accused accordingly.
“My Lord, in view of the plea of the accused and all the exhibits tendered by the prosecution in this matter, we pray this honourable court to convict her in line with Section 218 and 285(2) of the Criminal Procedural Act,” Orji said
Aneke, thereafter, convicted the accused as charged and sentenced her to three years imprisonment.
The judge said he was inclined to temper justice with mercy because the accused had pleaded guilty without wasting the time of the court and also considering the fact that she was a first offender.
The judge also said he believed that the widow, who had been in detention since her arrest in September 2014, deserved a second chance, as she would have learnt her lessons.
“This court is mindful of the evil effect of a hard drug such as Cannabis Sativa on the society, especially as regards the young and innocent members of the society.
“Consequently, the convict is hereby sentenced to three years imprisonment, starting from the day of her arrest,” Aneke said
The court also ordered the NDLEA to destroy the illegal substance, if there was no appeal against the judgment within 30 days.
The accused was arrested by operatives of the NDLEA, on Sept. 11, 2014 at Isiu Village in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
The prosecutor had told the court that Nwore was caught in possession of nine sacks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 59.15 kilogrammes, which she intended to sell to touts.
According to Kalu, the accused violated Section 11 (c) of the NDLEAa Act Cap. 30, Laws of the Federation, 2004. (NAN)

Apologise or face disgrace, Boyloaf tells Danjuma

FORMER Commander of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, Victor Ebikabowei Ben, alias General Boyloaf, has asked the former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma (retd), who called for the arrest of Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, himself (Boyloaf) and others to apologize for his scandalous demand.

Boyloaf, who said he would not have dignified Danjuma with a response because of his age, said since he elected to make the infamous call in a political event to score cheap political point and further denigrate the Niger Delta, he should say sorry not only to the three ex-militant leaders, but to  Niger-Deltans.

Stating that Danjuma should have been arrested and prosecuted… if not that successive governments were compromised, he said, “ My best advice for the famed general is to keep quiet and hide his head in shame or else he will be disgraced.”

Boyloaf said, “My brothers and I only intervened when we saw an emerging trend that has consequences on the life of the President, and we thought we should be commended for drawing strong attention to this ugly scenario where the President of our country is pummeled with stones.”

SA apartheid assassin given parole

South African apartheid-era death squad commander Eugene de Kock has been granted parole after 20 years in jail.

He was nicknamed "Prime Evil" for his role in the killing and maiming of activists fighting white minority rule in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Justice Minister Michael Masutha said De Kock would be released "in the interests of nation-building".

De Kock, 66, was sentenced in 1996 to two life terms in prison and a further 212 years for the crimes he committed.

Mr Masutha said the time and place of De Kock's release would not be made public.

The justice minister stressed that his decision was guided by South Africa's constitution.

'Close a chapter'

Sandra Mama, widow of Glenack Mama who was killed by De Kock in 1992, said she thought the minister was right in granting parole.

"I think it will actually close a chapter in our history because we've come a long way and I think his release will just once again help with the reconciliation process because there's still a lot of things that we need to do as a country," she told the BBC.

The former colonel was head of the notorious Vlakplaas police unit.

He appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) which was established a year after South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994.

De Kock confessed to more than 100 acts of murder, torture and fraud, taking full responsibility for the activities of his undercover unit.

Anti Gay Law: Nigerian Tobechukwu Ike Nwachukwu Persecuted For Advocating Gay Rights

No doubt, the
Nigerian’s gay right
is still waxing
stronger. Several
parts of Nigeria has
witnessed arrests of
increase numbers
of gay men in
Nigeria under a
draconian anti-gay
law that makes
same-sex marriage
a crime punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
The law was signed in secret by members of
Nigeria’s House of Representatives in Abuja on
December 17, 2013 and by the president on January
7, 2014, although there was no public announcement.
The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act criminalizes
same-sex marriage and provides for up to 14 years
in jail. Membership or supporters of gay
organizations, associations or clubs carries a penalty
of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The new law reflects a highly religious and
conservative society that largely considers
homosexuality a deviation. In areas of northern
Nigeria the law is enforced by Islamic Shariah courts
and homosexuals can be stoned to death.
As at January 2014 after the signing of the bill into
law, Dorothy Aken’Ova of Nigeria’s International
Center for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights
said that police in Bauchi state have drawn up a list
of 168 allegedly gay men, 38 of whom have been
taken into custody so far.
The law has drawn widespread international
condemnation from countries including the United
States, Canada and Britain, Nigeria’s former colonial
power, as well as by a host of non-governmental
organizations such as AIDS-Free World, which in an
open letter appealed to United Nations Secretary-
General Ban Ki-Moon for “guidance and leadership”
to ensure that “the global response to HIV is neither
paralyzed at this critical time, nor set on a
disastrous reverse course”.
Dr Heather Collister of the Geneva-based
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) said
in a statement that the law “was manifestly
incompatible with international human rights
standards and must be repealed”. “In addition to
targeting same-sex relations, the law targets the
work of human rights defenders, effectively
criminalising their work,” she added.
One of such people who have been incarcerated by
local authorities and has face several forms of
threat to life by even family members is
Tobechukwu Ike Nwachukwu who is an active
member of a ‘Our Fathers Love’, a non-
governmental organisation which seeks to empower
the less privileged in the society.
In previous interviews, Ike Nwachukwu, who is not
gay and married with children but had tried to
intervene in conflicts relating to matters of violence
against gay persons, had narrated how he was
implicated, tortured and had his rights violated by
both local authorities and some members of the
public. He had previously gone on several other
media to decry his circumstance. He recently spoke
again to our correspondent but this time from
hideout explaining how he was forced to go into
hiding because his life was being threatened as he
gets confronted by people on a daily basis even from
his immediate community.
His wife has similarly suffered severe attacks on
social media by people who are claiming to wanting
her husband dead simply because he had appeared
to speak for the gay community.
“Not only on Facebook even my colleagues at my
work place come up to threaten me right in front of
me. They no longer hold anything back to express
how badly they feel about my husband’s advocacy
for these people who sometimes have their rights
violated”, she says.
“We are only living in fear and don’t even know
who to turn to as the authorities might not even
help when you go to them with cases of threats to
life. You would even be making matters worse” she
adds.
In December, the International Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Assocation (ILGA) said
that Nigeria’s law will not only incite increased
violence against LGBT people, but it will also justify
and legalize that violence even against people who
might be perceived to support or advocate against
the law.
Some observers have suggested the anti-gay law is
being used to draw attention away from Nigeria’s
multiple armed conflicts, religious tensions,
corruption and under-development, as well as to
draw public favour ahead of Jonathan’s expected
2015 re-election bid.
study from 39 nations around the world by the U.S.
Pew Research Center found that 98% of Nigerians
believe society should not accept homosexuality,
making the country the world’s least tolerant when
it comes to LGBT issues.
Nigeria is one of 38 African countries – about 70%t
of the continent – that have adopted anti-gay
legislation, and several African leaders have publicly
warned that they would not let foreign powers
dictate to them on the matter.
Among the countries still considering similar
legislation is Uganda, where in December 2013, the
national parliament passed a bill which would
punish “aggravated” homosexual acts with life
sentences, as well as penalize those who do not
report gay activity. The law currently awaits the
signature of the country’s long-serving president,
Yoweri Museveni.
Shawn Gaylord, advocacy counsel at the Washington-
based Human Rights First, said that “government
leaders around the world, including President
Musaveni…will be watching to see how the
international community responds to legislation
thact discriminates against the LGBT community”.

AU reviews counter-terrorism strategies

The African Union member states have commenced a review of counter-terrorism measures as threats escalate in the horn and the Sahel region, a senior official said on Friday

Ambassador Francisco Madeira, the AU chairperson’s special representative for counter-terrorism cooperation told reporters that African governments have resolved to reorganize legal, policy and institutional frameworks to respond effectively to extremism and violence.

“The AU views terrorism as a serious threat to peace, security and long-term development in the continent. We have resolved to adopt new strategies to revitalize the fight against radicalization,” Madeira remarked.

He spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the AU Heads of state summit in Addis Ababa which devoted attention to new security challenges in the continent like terrorism, civil strife and cross- border crimes.

The AU has passed sweeping resolutions to enhance the capacity of member states to respond to terrorism.

Madeira noted that existing counter-terrorism measures had minimal success as jihadist groups in the Sahel and the horn of Africa commits acts of terror with abandon.

“Terrorism will not disappear overnight in the region. It is a protracted battle that demands a combination of force, persuasion and continuous education to root out,” Madeira said at the press briefing.

Terrorist networks have spread tentacles across the African continent thanks to weak border surveillance, governance lapses and poverty.

Madeira regretted that foreign terrorist groups are recruiting unemployed African youth with promise of a better life.

“Jihadists are cleverly exploiting weak internal systems to spread their wings. Their propaganda has convinced vulnerable youth that legitimate governments are to blame for their alienation,” Madeira intoned.

He revealed that powerful donors are financing terror in Africa while ethnic and religious strife has only worsened the challenge.

The AU member states have focused on strategic approaches to slay the dragon of terror from the source.

Madeira said the Pan African bloc has invested in deradicalization programs for the youth alongside equipping security forces with new counter terrorism strategies.

“We have encouraged member states to adopt regional counter- terrorism strategies that focus on keeping a database on terror groups and their activities, reorganization of intelligence gathering and public education,” said Madeira.

He added that countries have been encouraged to invest in youth empowerment programs to lure them away from joining radical groups.

African states must strengthen governance, law enforcement and establish healthy linkages with the civil society to nip terrorism in the bud.

Madeira challenged governments to strengthen border surveillance and invest in social amenities like education and health in marginalized regions that are bleeding grounds for terrorism.

“A comprehensive approach to fight terrorism must factor inclusion, poverty alleviation and dialogue with disgruntled groups,” Madeira told Xinhua.

African countries must invest in technical capacity to enable them detect sources of terrorism funds.

Madeira noted that terror networks are engaging in illegal activities to obtain money.

“Kidnappings for ransom, drugs and human trafficking and black market are steady revenue sources for terrorists. Countries must invest in technical and human capacity to disrupt conduits of terrorists’ finances,” Madeira remarked.

He added that a joint military intervention is required to root out terror networks in Africa.

“The combined military intervention involving Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon has weakened Boko Haram,” said Madeira.

Buhari was never stoned in Lagos - APC

Press release from APC regarding the alleged stoning of Buhari at his Lagos rally today...
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied the concocted story by former Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro that the party's presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, was pelted with stone during the party's rally in Lagos, saying a lie has never worn a bolder face.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Gen. Buhari and other top leaders of the APC rode in a open bus from the Palace of the Oba of Lagos to the Teslim Balogun Stadium venue of the rally, to great cheers from Lagosians who lined the route.

''Not once was he pelted with stone during the almost two-hour ride. It is obvious that those who were paid by Mr. Obanikoro to stone the General failed to deliver. We therefore urge him to seek a refund of whatever money he paid to his hired hands to pelt Gen. Buhari with stones,'' it said.

APC said Obanikoro's statement on an imaginary attack on Gen. Buhari in Lagos must be his own way of saying 'thank you' to his masters for nominating him as Minister on Friday, as his reward for ceding the gubernatorial ticket he claimed to have won to Jimi Agbaje.

The party thanked the good people of Lagos for turning out in unprecedented numbers to welcome Gen. Buhari to Lagos, saying the Centre of Excellence has never witnessed such a huge and cheery crowd.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Lagos, Jan. 30th 2015