FG Considers Return of Toll Gates by Third Quarter!

Nigeria:

The federal government may re-introduce toll gates on federal highways by the third quarter of this year, Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, has said.

Speaking monday  at the 2013 ministerial platform on the mid-term achievements of the Jonathan administration, the minister said tolling was an integral part of the public private partnership(PPP) being pursued by the federal government.

He added that the Federal Ministry of Works and the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission  (ICRC) were collaborating on the formulation of a new tolling policy, which, he said, would be presented to the Federal Executive Council in the third quarter of the year after which it would become operational. 

Onolememen also said the ministry had paid N120 billion for the 32 roads it had repaired in the last one year of the administration.
He explained that of the 65,000 kilometres of roads constructed in the period under review, 35,000 belonged to the federal government.

According to him, this translated to 35 per cent improvement over the less than 25 per cent done by May last year.
The minister said the six key projects, including Abuja-Lokoja, Benin-Ore and Kano-Maiduguri roads, would be completed in 2015.   

He expressed his determination to complete within the next two years priority projects in the north.

Oscar Pistorius hearing postponed!

Oscar Pistorius’s trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has been adjourned until 19 August. 

The Olympic and Paralympic athlete was released on the same bail conditions he has had to observe since February.

In a short pre-trial hearing at Pretoria magistrates court, magistrate Daniel Thulare expressed concern about a trial by media in the case. He said the South African national prosecuting authority should look seriously at whether any of the coverage had scandalised the court, asked international journalists to respect the South African judicial process, and told anyone with information about the case to approach the prosecution, not the media. The courtroom was packed with journalists, as it has been for every stage of this case so far.

Thulare asked the prosecution team why they wanted a postponement until August. Prosecutor Andrea Johnson said she could not share that information in public, but the defence agreed with the delay.

Pistorius looked calm and composed, and spoke only once, to confirm he had understood the judge, speaking in a quiet voice.

The 26-year-old athlete, whose legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, faces a minimum of 25 years in jail if convicted. At his bail hearing, Pistorius claimed he thought Steenkamp was a burglar when he shot her through the toilet door at his home in Pretoria. The prosecution claims he murdered her after an argument. The trial continues.

Second suspect charged in death of British soldier!

British authorities have charged a second suspect with the May 22 murder of a soldier on a London street.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, was charged Saturday with the murder of Lee Rigby, the Metropolitan Police said. 

Adebolajo was also charged with the attempted murder of two police officers and with possession of a firearm.

The suspect has been remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 3, police said. He was released from a hospital Friday after treatment for injuries suffered in the attack that took place in Woolwich. 

On Wednesday, another suspect, Michael Adebowale, 22, of Greenwich was also charged with the May 22 murder.

Rigby, 25, a drummer in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was slain as he walked near a military barracks in Woolwich, southeast London, last week.

He left behind a wife and a 2-year-old son. He was a native of Manchester, UK, and joined the military in 2006.

Turkish PM Erdogan calls for end to protests as clashes flare!

Turkey's PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to press ahead with plans to redevelopment a park in Istanbul which have sparked violent clashes.

Mr Erdogan said he would not yield to "wild extremists" but that police may have used "excessive" force.

Police have now withdrawn from Istanbul's Taksim Square, which has become the focus of the protests.

Correspondents say the local issue has spiralled into widespread anger over perceived "Islamisation" of Turkey.

Mr Erdogan has been in power since 2002 and some in Turkey have complained that his government is becoming increasingly authoritarian.

His ruling AK Party has its roots in political Islam, but he says he is committed to Turkey's state secularism.

Last week, Turkey's parliament approved legislation restricting the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks between 22:00 and 06:00.

The clashes over Gezi Park, next to Taksim Square, broke out Friday and continued there and in the capital, Ankara, on Saturday.

Opponents of the plan say the park is of the few green areas left in central Istanbul - many had been camping out there for several days in protest.

But in a defiant speech to the exporters' union, Mr Erdogan insisted the project would go ahead, and that the historic Ottoman era military barracks would be rebuilt on the site as planned.

Referring to the protesters' fears that the site will actually become a shopping mall, he said one "might be built on the ground floor or a city museum. We haven't given our final decision yet".

Mr Erdogan vowed order would be restored "to ensure the safety of people and their property" and that police would stay in place "because Taksim Square cannot be an area where extremists are running wild".

He said of the protests: "All attempts apart from the ballot box are not democratic", adding that he could summon a million pro-government protesters if he wanted to and accusing his opponents of using the issue as an excuse to create tension.

Despite the damage done to property, the police force "continues to operate with the authority it was given," said Mr Erdogan.

However, he did admit that the police response may have been "excessive", and that the interior ministry was investigating the "misuse of tear gas by our security forces".

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul has called on all sides to be "mature" in order for the protests which he said had reached "a worrisome level, to calm down."

In a statement, he called on the police to "act in proportion".

Resignation calls

The protest began at the start of the week as a sit-in in Gezi Park to block the redevelopment plans. But they escalated after police used tear gas to try to clear the protesters out.

On Friday, a dozen people were admitted to hospital and more than 60 people detained as police and protesters clashed.

Then on Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators marched over the bridge connecting the Asian and European shores of Istanbul to try to reach the Taksim Square.

Police again fired tear gas and water cannon to clear protesters, sparking accusations of excessive force.

Demonstrators, some of whom threw rocks, chanted "unite against fascism" and "government resign".

One Istanbul resident, who gave her name as Lily, told the BBC's World Service that police had dropped tear-gas canisters from helicopters overnight.

"About half past one the entire city started to reverberate. People were banging on pots, pans, blowing whistles," she said.

Another woman protesting in Istanbul told Agence France-Presse: "They want to turn this country into an Islamist state, they want to impose their vision all the while pretending to respect democracy."

Later on Saturday afternoon, there were cheers in the square as the police withdrew their vehicles and took down barricades, apparently allowing the protest to go ahead.

Clashes were also reported in the Besiktas district while in Ankara, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at a park, many drinking alcohol in protest at the new restrictions.

The BBC's Louise Greenwood in Istanbul says police from as far afield as Antalya are being drafted in to help quell the violence.

The US has expressed concern over Turkey's handling of the protests and Amnesty International condemned the police's tactics.

In his speech, Mr Erdogan criticised the "preaching" of foreign governments, saying they "should first look at their own countries".

SCANDAL! Actress Laide Bakare Delivers Baby Months After Break Up With Husband!

Few weeks ago, controversial Yoruba actress, Laide Bakare released a statement saying that she and her husband, Mr Olumide Okunfulure, have parted ways and that she is currently enjoying herself with another rich guy, Tunde Oriowo, who allegedly bought her a Range rover SUV and a house; she also claimed has done an Islamic introduction on her.

Many wondered what was going on that a married woman will be on "honey-moon" with another man when she and her husband are not officially divorced. But her (ex-)husband said she didn't start her promiscuous life recently, he claimed she has been sleeping around for a long time...

Laide Bakare and her Ex- Olumide Okunfulure

It was reliably gathered that the man, Mr Olumide Okunfulure, said Laide bakare's level of infidelity is so bad that he is not even sure that he's the father of their first child and thus insisted they must go for a DNA to confirm who the real father is.

In a chat with Encomium weekly from his base in Washington district,Columbia, USA, Laide's enstranged hubby, Olumide speaks:

Encomium: Your wife, laide released a statement that she dumped you for another businessman, Mr. Tunde Oriowo because she realised that you were legally married to another wife who had given you two children, not actually single as you told her when the relationship started? 

Olumide: How could I have married two women legally in Nigeria? I should be in Jail by now because there is a law that condemns such an act. How come she has not gone to court instead of media for seperation? Seperation can only come through the court.

 American government gave Laide Green card because she is legally married to me, we had a court marriage in Nigeria also. When she was supposed to be a faithful wife, she would leave her matrimonial home to stay with married men in Lagos, all in the name of being actress or career lady. I couldn't monitor her because i am not always in Nigeria. In fact, there was a time she left our baby, Similoluwa with me for eight months in America in the name of career lady, i had become a nursing father. I have been trying to manage my home the way i could.

Encomium: Are you Insinuating she cheated on you?

Olumide: Yes, Of course! She did both in the past and now, all in the name of being career woman.

Encomium: If she is cheating on you both in the past and now, can you be sure of your child's paternity?

Olumide: I have made up my mind that my doctor should begin the process of DNA of our daughter to know who is the father, whether Mr. Tunde Oriowo or myself. As we speak, she brought Similoluwa back to Nigeria illegally and as we speak, the child is under her mother's care.

Laide and her daughter

Now another one! Few months after she and her husband stopped sleeping together as husband and wife the actress has put to bed a baby boy. And she is in custody of the man that she said has gone to perform some Islamic introduction on her.

The question many people are asking now is: 'who is the REAL father of the baby?' Is the former husband or the new husband?

A source in Yoruba movie industry said that the man Laide dumped to go marry a rich guy, laughed when he heard she has giving birth. He said he has been vindicated.

Kate Middleton vs Kim Kardashian: Their pregnancies compared!

Kim K Nearly Gets Exposed As Wind Blows Up Her Maternity Dress!

Kim Kardashian finally decided to make the switch over to maternity clothes recently and as a result, the billowy dress she was wearing nearly flew up above her waist and almost exposed her undergarments. 

 

She had an epic battle with mother nature as she tried her hardest to keep her dress down while strolling through the streets.