Bomb blast rocks Pakistan's Quetta city

A bomb blast in Pakistan has killed 47 people and injured 200 others, The bomb was attached to a motorcycle outside a vegetable market in Quetta. The device was detonated by remote control.

"The Shia community was the target," police officer Wazir Khan Nasir told AFP. 

According to news reports, the explosion took place near a school. Police officials and paramilitary troops have cordoned off the entire area and injured have been rushed to Bolan Med Complex of Quetta amid high security. 

"The blast took place on Kirana road market and it was through a remote controlled device," DIG said. 

However, rescue officials have confirmed that at least 10 people, including women and children were killed in the blast. 
Till now the nature and target of the blast is not clear as media and residents are kept away from the targeted area.

Some eyewitnesses coming from the site told media that the blast destroyed several shops, houses and vehicles. Hospital sources said the death toll may rise further as several people among the injured were in critical condition. 

Yet now no group have claimed the responsibility for the blast. 

Similar attacks in the recent past have been blamed on the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a notorious militant group that often targets Shias. 

On January 10, a twin suicide attack in Quetta killed 92 Hazara Shias, the highest toll in a single attack on Shias, who make up 20 per cent of Pakistan's population of 180 million. 

Following the attack, the federal government imposed Governor's Rule in Balochistan province.

Goldie's Husband Shares Their Wedding Photo, Tells Prezzo To Leave Their Family Alone!

In a reported interview, late Goldie's husband, Andrew  Harvey, a former expatriate staff of firms in the oil and telecommunications sector in Nigeria, but presently based in Malaysia, allegedly confirmed the following:

• That he and Goldie met at a friend’s party in Nigeria and the love connection was instant
• That he and Goldie got married in December 2005
• That he and Goldie were until her death, legally married
• Their marriage was “secret” because – “Our private life is nothing to do with work life, there has to be a balance“
• That he and Goldie were planning on starting a family (having children) this year
• That Goldie’s “relationship” with Prezzo was just for TV – “Prezzo was part of BBA game, just like in the movies, there was nothing to fear“
• That Goldie had no preexisting medical condition
• That Goldie was already a British Citizen before they met (she lived and schooled there) while he was in the process of working on his Nigerian citizenship
• That he and Goldie actually spent the most recent Christmas holiday together in Malaysia
• That he and Goldie were still together and spoke on the day she passed away – 14th February 2013

Some wedding pictures reportedly shared by Andrew  Harvey:

Some of Goldie's Childhood Pictures:

Andrew Harvey's alleged message:

Extract of the alleged interview:

...How did you hear of her death? I found out you last saw her in December?

I was talking to her on arrival in Lagos before the fateful event

How did you meet her? She must have been very young…

I met her at a friend’s leaving party and fell in love straight away, but had to work hard to persuade her I was genuine

So you will be planning to come here for burial rites…

Yes I have applied for visa and shall come next week

But how did you manage the Prezzo drama? 

Prezzo was part of BBA game, just like in the movies, there was nothing to fear

But funny it dragged way beyond BBA

It dragged because the media dragged it, other wise it would have died naturally. Prezzo will say anything to get attention

Do you think he fell in love? And did you ever think Susan liked him for a minute…?

People fall in love and it’s not impossible to love more than one person, but there are different levels. She liked him initially, but began to despise him and distanced herself as he tried to use her she complained he was very manipulative

How did you come about your alias ‘Oyibopeppay?

Oyiiibopeppay is a name used in the villages for white man getting burned in the sun. I used to work in the bush erecting BTS for MTN and Glo

You have direct access to her password? The memories album was posted on her twitter. Or you requested for an admin to post?

I am an official admin. I don’t need any password but my own. It was authorised by Goldie

One last question: so much speculation on cause of death. I see from your facebook timeline that you’ve followed the reports. Have the doctors/family/label told you what the cause of death is?

An autopsy is being carried out and we will await results. The rest is speculation and hearsay

And did she have any medical condition?

She had no medical condition,

Is it true she was in India recently?

She was in Malaysia, we spent Christmas together away from prying eyes

What will you miss most about her?

Everything, she was the most beautiful person I ever met, no moment was wasted. Sweet, intelligent, sexy and a magnificent cook!!!!

And she was a determined young lady…

Very. That’s what I liked about her

Are you originally from England? Was she officially a citizen of your country by marriage? Or that was not concluded?

I’m from England and was processing Nigerian citizenship before I was transferred to Malaysia. Of course she was citizen of UK before we met, she lived and schooled there

She was indeed a star, as I’m sure you’ve seen from the tributes coming from far and near. Even the BBC and Billboard recognise her star

Yes we saw it on BBC news tonight. It is a devastating loss, but I support just as much wherever she has gone to.

Cruise ship nightmare!

Thousands of passengers who spent five days stuck on a stinking cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico headed home on Friday by bus, plane or car, and relished the chance for a warm shower and working toilets after finally arriving back on land.

"I got some sleep. I got a shower. A working toilet was really nice," said Nancy Petrone, 58, who was heading to southern California after spending the night in Mobile, Alabama, where tugboats had pulled the stricken Carnival Triumph into port

It took several hours for more than 3,000 vacationers to make their way off the ship after it arrived late on Thursday. Some travelers kissed the ground when they walked off, and others disembarked wearing the ship's white bath robes, part souvenir and part protection against the chilly night air.





About 100 buses waited to carry passengers on the seven-hour journey to Galveston, Texas, while other buses departed for shorter rides to New Orleans or to hotels in Mobile.

One bus broke down on its way to New Orleans, said passenger Jacob Combs, an Austin, Texas-based sales executive with a healthcare and hospice company.

Carnival officials said the Triumph, which entered service in 1999, would be towed on Friday to a Mobile shipyard for damage assessment.

The 893-foot (272-metre)vessel was returning to Galveston from Cozumel, Mexico, on the third day of a four-day cruise when an engine-room fire knocked out power and plumbing across most of the ship on Sunday.

Passengers described an overpowering stench on parts of the ship and complained to relatives and media via cellphone that toilets and drainpipes had overflowed, soaking many cabins and interior passages in raw sewage.

The saga, which received extensive coverage on U.S. cable news stations, was another public relations disaster for cruise giant Carnival Corp. Last year, its Costa Concordia luxury liner ran aground off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people.

The nature of the troubles aboard the Triumph inspired bathroom-humor banter among late-night comedy shows and the amateur comedians who took to Twitter with poop puns.

PRAISE FOR CREW

Passengers had some harsh words for Carnival but praised the efforts of the ship's crew during the ordeal.

"Just imagine the filth," said Combs, 30. "People were doing crazy things and going to the bathroom in sinks and showers. It was inhuman. The stewards would go in and clean it all up. They were constantly cleaning."

Facing criticism over the company's response, Carnival Cruise Lines Chief Executive Gerry Cahill boarded the ship after it arrived in Mobile to personally apologize to passengers.

"We pride ourselves with providing our guests with a great vacation experience and, clearly, we failed in this particular case," Cahill said.

Operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, the flagship brand of Carnival Corp, the ship left Galveston a week ago carrying 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew. It was supposed to return on Monday.

Some passengers said conditions deteriorated rapidly on the Triumph earlier in the week, with people on board getting sick and being told to use plastic "biohazard" bags as makeshift toilets.

Smoke from the engine fire was so thick that passengers on the lower decks in the rear of the ship had to be evacuated and relocated on other decks of the 14-story ship, where they slept under sheets for the rest of the voyage, passengers said.

Some said they tried to pass the time playing cards and organizing Bible study groups, as well as scavenger hunts for the children who were on board.

Valentine's day tragedy!

Nigeria:

Tragedy struck, on valentine's day, in Asaba, Delta State when two lovers reportedly drowned in a swimming pool of a popular Hotel.

Sources claimed that the said hotel (name withheld) has been a base for love birds during festive periods especially Christmas and New Year.
 

It was reliably gathered that the ‘love birds’ had resolved in the early hours of the day to swim after drinking at the hotel(s) pool side, against the boy’s mother’s advice.

It was further gathered that the boy, a highly placed, “Asaba yuppee” had been having problems with his step mother who allegedly placed a death curse on him.

But his friends who disagreed with the story said he died on deaf ears.

While they were at the hotel, our informed sources said they both dived into the pool and soon after started shouting for help to no avail.

Police spokesman in the state, ASP Famous Ajieh confirmed that the owner of the hotel including some of the workers were being interrogated and added that the corpses of the victims were taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) mortuary.

Dancing protest

A global Valentine’s Day event invited 1 billion women to oppose violence against woman through dancing.

The global campaign “1 billion rising” aims to show “collective strength” and “solidarity across borders” on violence against women with millions of women took part in a worldwide dance in hundreds of events throughout the world.

women in Te aviv

Turkey

Jerusalem

sweden

Italy

The most common way people give up their power
is by thinking they don't have any.~ Alice Walker 

Chicago names Mexican first Public Enemy No. 1 since Al Capone

The Chicago Crime Commission named a new Public Enemy No. 1 on Thursday, a designation originally crafted for Al Capone

. The new holder of this dubious distinction, however, is not American nor believed to be in the United States. He is Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the infamous Mexican drug lord who is Chicago's most wanted because his Sinaloa cartel supplies a majority of the narcotics in the city.

Not since Capone "has any criminal deserved this title more than Joaquin Guzman," commission President J.R. Davis said in a news release. "Guzman is the major supplier of narcotics to Chicago. His agents are working in the Chicago area importing vast quantities of drugs for sale throughout the Chicago region and collecting and sending to Mexico tens of millions of dollars in drug money."

Guzman is the boss of the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful drug trafficking operations.

His nickname, which means "shorty," matches his 5-foot-6-inch frame, though he has climbed to great heights in the drug smuggling business. Forbes magazine has estimated that "El Chapo" is worth $1 billion.

The U.S. Treasury Department has declared him the most influential trafficker in the world, and Mexican authorities have been on his tail since his 2001 escape from a Mexican prison in a laundry cart.

Chicago is among the major destinations for the cartel's illegal drugs.

"While Chicago is 1,500 miles from Mexico, the Sinaloa drug cartel is so deeply embedded in the city that local and federal law enforcement are forced to operate as if they are on the border," said Jack Riley, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration's office in the city.

The DEA is heading up a new strike force focusing on what Riley calls "choke points": where the drugs and money change hands between the cartel operatives and Chicago gangs. Language and cultural barriers at that juncture make the criminal groups more vulnerable, he said in a statement.

Officials hope this strategy weakens the cartel and creates leads that may bring the capture of Guzman, who is in hiding in Mexico.

"If I pitted Chicago's traditional organized crime group against Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel, it wouldn't be a fight," Riley said. "In my opinion, Guzman is the new Al Capone of Chicago. His ability to corrupt and enforce his sanctions with his endless supply of revenue is more powerful than Chicago's Italian organized crime gang."

Singer and former BBA house mate, Goldie Harvey is Dead!

Fast-rising Nigerian singer/ entertainer and BBA star, Susan Oluwabimpe Harvey popularly known as Goldie Harvey, is dead.

According to sources, she passed on after she returned from a trip to the United States where she went to attend the 55th Annual Grammy Awards which took place in Staples in Los Angeles.

The late Goldie attended  Green Springs Montessori Primary School and St. John’s College, Palm Grove before moving on to attend  the University of Sunderland where she studied Business Management.

She joined Kennis Music Label in 2010





...and had her debut album titled Gold, but her most popular songs include, “You Know It”, “JawoJawo” and DTMB (Don’t Touch My Body).

Goldie won the best female video at the 2010 SoundCity Music Video Awards  for the  video ‘You Know it’ and also picked the award for best use of costume at the Nigerian Music Video Awards; while her song DTMB picked up best Afro Pop video at the 2011 Nmva’s.



In 2012, she garnered about 10 awards including the Exquisite Lady of the Year (ELOY), 




Best Female Artiste Award and City People Best Female Artiste of the year, amongst others.

Late Goldie who also dabbled into designing was  an ambassador of Project Alert and also an inductee into the Federal Celebrity Special Marshal Corps alongside other notable Nigerian celebrities.

Goldie, 31, reportedly died on Thursday after she complained of a severe headache at her Park View residence. 





She was rushed to her official hospital, Reddington, Victoria Island, Lagos, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. 

 She is survived by her father, step- mother, brothers and sisters. 




Goldie will be greatly missed....