Queen visits Game of Thrones TV series set!

Queen and Prince Philip visits set of TV series Games of Thrones while on visit to Northern Ireland, where they met members of the cast and crew, before being given a small replica of the programme's iconic Iron Throne as a gift.

The Paint Hall Studios in the city's Titanic Quarter is a focal point for Northern Ireland's growing film industry. 

China - Terrorists using Internet to recruit, plan attacks!

Information from the State Internet Information Office, SIIO, revealed on Tuesday that terrorist groups now engages the internet to recruit members, raise funds and plan attacks in China, 

The Spokesperson for the agency, Jiang Jun, told newsmen at a press conference in Beijing that many internet sites have been placed under surveillance.

He called audio and video materials that promote terrorism a “cancer’’ of the Internet.

“The terrorist forces have turned the internet into a principal tool for their operations,’’ he said.

He said that the groups have sought to spread terrorism and violent beliefs and teach terrorist skills online.

Mr. Jun added that such actions must be struck down decisively.

China launched a campaign on Friday to rid the internet of audio and video materials that promote terrorism and violence.

According to SIIO, the move is aimed at safeguarding social stability in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and long-term peace.

Source: NAN

Ebola epidemic now out of control,MSF calls for massive deployment of medical resources !

According to the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa is now reported to be "out of control" with more than 60 outbreak hotspots, 

"The scale of the current Ebola epidemic is unprecedented in terms of geographical distribution, people infected and deaths," MSF said in a statement.

The incurable disease is spread by contact with bodily fluids including sweat, meaning just touching an infected person is enough to spread the virus.

The rapid spread of the disease, which is deadly in up to 90 percent of cases, has overwhelmed aid agencies and health workers and terrified local communities.

"The epidemic is now out of control," said Bart Janssens, MSF director of operations. "With the appearance of new sites in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, there is a real risk of it spreading to other areas."

"We have reached our limits," Mr Janssens said. "We are no longer able to send teams to the new outbreak sites." Janssens said, as the MSF calls for a "massive deployment" of medical resources by governments in the region to curb the epidemic.

According to Mr Janssens, "Ebola is no longer a public health issue limited to Guinea: it is affecting the whole of West Africa,".

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News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks cleard of phone hacking charges!

According to CNN former newspaper editor Andy Coulson has been found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones on Tuesday. This came after an eight-month trial in London, the UK's Press Association news agency reported. 

Howbeit, the news agency reports  that another of Rupert Murdoch's former newspaper chiefs, Rebekah Brooks, was cleared at the Old Bailey of all charges. 

Brooks was engulfed in emotion in the courtroom as the verdicts were read out. She left the Old Bailey accompanied by her husband, Charlie Brooks, but did not stop to give a comment to the media. 



The verdict came three years after it was revealed that journalists on News of the World hacked the phone of then-missing teenager Milly Dowler in 2002, raising hopes that she was alive and checking messages, when in fact she had been murdered. The resulting public and political outrage led to the closure of the 168-year-old paper and the setting up of a public inquiry to examine journalistic ethics. 

At the time, it was reported that the schoolgirl's voice mail was intercepted, Brooks was editor of News of the World, and Coulson was her deputy. After Coulson succeeded her as editor, Brooks edited The Sun newspaper, and she later became chief executive of the parent company, News International.

British Prime Minister has rendered an apology over the guilty charges of Andy Coulson.



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Lawyer confirms Meriam Yehya Ibrahim's release and.... re-arrest???.

According to CNN, Ibrahim's lawyer, Mohaned Mustafa El-Nour has confirmed the release of Miriam from a Sudanese prison Monday, saying that she was reunited with her husband, Daniel Wadi. Her lawyer said the appeals court found the lower court's ruling faulty.

Agency-Suna also confirmed the news via text message on Monday that Meriam Yehya Ibrahim's death sentence had been canceled and that a Sudanese appeal court had ordered her release.

But Information filtering in says Meriam was re-arrested Tuesday at an Airport in Khartom by security officials as she and her family were about boarding an Airplane to the United States. It is still unclear what new charges Ibrahim faced and why her family was also detained.


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Did Francis really excommunicate the entire mafia from the Catholic Church?

The news that Pope Francis recently declared the mafia excommunicated from the Catholic Church is all over: "Those who in their life have gone along the evil ways, as in the case of the mafia, they are not with God, they are excommunicated," he said on Saturday in the Italian city of Calabria. 

Pope Francis made the remarks during an outdoor mass in Calabria, the power base of the notorious mafia crime syndicate known as the 'Ndrangheta. He was in the area to meet with the family of a three-year-old boy who was allegedly gunned down last year by the mafia. Nicola "Coco" Campolongo, along with his grandfather and another adult, were shot in their heads. The car they were in was reportedly doused in gasolin and set on fire.

Though his comments were harsh, they really shouldn't come as a shock. One of the defining themes of Francis' papacy has been his consistent call for economic justice, which, on many occasions, has manifested itself in his indictment of economic exploitation — something the mafia is known for. 

But Francis' critique of the mafia should not be seen as an official excommunication, according to Chad Pecknold, an assistant professor of theology at Catholic University of America. In Roman Catholicism, anofficial excommunication is a strict censure that deprives the excommunicated of fellowship with the rest of the Church body. When a Church member is excommunicated, she is not allowed to take communion. Excommunication, though severe, is not irreversible. According to Canon Law, the censure is "medicinal," meaning it's given to a Catholic in the hopes of urging him to repentance.

According to Pecknold, the Pope's comment was "just something he said in a homily — which is not a vehicle for disciplinary pronouncements." Further, excommunication is "only for individuals," and not entire organizations. Rather, said Pecknold, what Francis was doing was simply describing the "self-excommunication" the 'Ndrangheta is already experiencing because of their "serious sin."



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Five Journalists allegedly arrested in Ekiti State, as CDDPR reports impressive elections!

There is reports of assault and indiscriminate arrests of Journalists by security forces at the Ekiti governorship elections today in Ekiti State.

These security operatives include men of the Nigerian Army, Police, DSS, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and others. 

It was reported that security was tight in order to prevent a breakdown in law and order among the supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Gov. Kayode Fayemi and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenger, former governor Ayo Fayose.

Five journalists, identified as Jadesola Ajibola of Inspiration FM, Toyin Yusuf, Oyetunji Ojo, Akin Ogunsola, and Aremu Awolola, all of Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) were allegedly arrested by mobile Policemen.

News has it that the journalists were monitoring and reporting the governorship election in the state when they were arrested by a group of over 50 mobile policemen led by a Mobile Police Commander.

The reason for their arrest is unknown at the time of filing this report.

Also a YNaija.com reporter was allegedly assaulted by a military personnel while covering the accreditation process of the ongoing election.

This was however against the electoral report released by the "Centre for Democracy and Development Preliminary Report on the Ekiti Governorship Election which reads:

"Released 4:00 pm, June 21st, 2014

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD cddwestafrica.org) duly accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor the Ekiti June 21st Governorship Election deployed one hundred and forty observers (140) across the sixteen (16) local governments in the state to observe the election. The campaign leading to the election has been heated and acrimonious.

For the purpose of the election, INEC had deployed 8,433 electoral officials to administer the election. INEC had also accredited 1,900 national and international observers for the polls. There was a massive deployment of security personnel all over the state and their presence was intimidating for many voters.

The administration of the election went very well. The logistics were well planned and there was timely arrival of electoral materials in most of the polling units visited. Subsequently the process of accreditation of voters started in most polling units between 08.00 and 08.30 am. Voting also commenced at about 12:30 pm in most of the polling units. Indeed, what we observed was that in the few cases where delays were noticed, it was due to the absence of security escorts to accompany INEC staff and sensitive voting materials. This was surprising given the massive presence of security personnel deployed for the election. An example is Aiyedade South Itaji Registration Area Camp (RA10) where as at 9.11 am, electoral officials were still awaiting the arrival of security agents to accompany them to their duty post, this challenge created apprehension in certain areas.

The voter’s turn out was impressive considering widespread concerns that people would be intimidated by the massive deployment of security personnel. The good turn out was a testimony to the civic consciousness of the people of Ekiti.

Our observers also noticed the harassment of some journalists. The first incident, we witnessed was an assault on a journalist at Ifaki Ekiti by some security personnel at 8.02 am. There were subsequent reports of arrests and intimidation of other journalists. Our observers also observed the arrest of a number of people caught sharing money in return for votes at several polling units.

Another observation from our team was the refusal of some electoral officials to allow relations of very old and physically challenged people to aid them to vote in compliance with the electoral laws and INEC guidelines, Secondly, the requirement on the removal of posters of candidates ahead of the elections was not complied with as posters of candidates were seen littering many polling units across the state.

The first results of concluded elections started coming into our situation room at 3pm and since then many more results have been coming in.

Idayat Hassan, Director, Centre for Democracy and Development".