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Showing posts from May 12, 2014

Oscar Pistorius murder trial: Live updates as athlete's ballistics expert returns to the stand

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Rouxhas asked Vorster to submit her CV and report to the court. 10:02 am Dr Meryl Vorster is now being sworn in. She is a psychiatrist and vice-dean at The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, according to  Medpages . 9:56 am Roux has no further questions for Wolamarans - which means we're due another witness. 9:55 am Wolamarans says that if someone were to fire four shots, he would not expect them to all come from the same position. He points out that recoil mean the shooter's hands, or hand, would never stay in the same spot. 9:51 am During the adjournment Roux says he asked someone to sit on the magazine rack so Wolmarans could explain marks on Steenkamp's back. Roux is questioning how much energy would be left in a ricocheting bullet. 9:49 am We're back. Wolmarans has confirmed he is still under oath. 9:56 am Roux has no further questions for Wolamarans - whic

England World Cup squad LIVE: Roy Hodgson names his 23 for Brazil - but who will make the cut?

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Refresh automatically  On  |  Off Departures Board -  Pick YOUR 23-man squad here and share with your friends Chief football writer Martin Lipton picks his squad -  and Leighton Baines is left on stand-by Who would YOU pick? Before we get tucked into the latest rumours and murmurs about who is and isn't going, we want YOU to tell us your squad. Put yourselves in Roy Hodgson's shoes  and head to our Departures Board here . Ashley Cole? Luke Shaw? Andy Carroll? Name your squad.

Identical twin sisters born HOLDING hands after surviving life-threatening condition

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'Best friends': Mum Sarah holds her girls This was the heart-warming moment identical twin sisters were born HOLDING hands after surviving a life-threatening condition. Tiny Jillian and Jenna Thistlethwaite held onto each other tight as medics held them aloft after a successful delivery. Proud mum Sarah, 32, beamed: "I can't believe they were holding hands. That's amazing," it was reported. "They're already best friends." Jillian and Jenna share a one in 10,000 condition that means they have the same amniotic sac and placenta. It is often deadly as their umbilical cords can become tangled. But the sisters were delivered without incident and are already well enough to have been removed from their ventilators. A relieved Sarah said: "It's just hard to put into words how amazing it feels to know the girls are OK."

Fulham bow out with draw

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 Fulham bid farewell to the Premier League in some style courtesy of Chris David's stunning injury-time strike that secured a 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace. With Fulham already relegated and Palace long since safe from the drop, there was little riding on Sunday's final day of the Premier League season clash between the two London clubs other than professional pride. But David gave Fulham fans at Craven Cottage something to remember at the end of 13 consecutive seasons of top-flight football with a 30-yard drive in the closing seconds that ensured a share of the spoils. Earlier, Dwight Gayle had scored in each half to put the Eagles on the brink of victory as they rounded off a season where they had seemed certain candidates for relegation until Tony Pulis replaced Ian Holloway as manager in November. Fulham boss Felix Magath, the German who has never suffered demotion before in his managerial career, made five changes following the 4-1 defeat at Stoke that conf

Dangote slashes cement prices to curb rising costs

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Dangote Cement has lowered prices of their product to enhance affordability. The company's founder, Aliko Dangote, said he was worried about the astronomical rise in the price of cement in recent times, which was gradually beginning to affect housing and other construction projects in the country.  According to Dangote, the new local prices for his company's high quality 42,5 grade cement will now range from N1 462 to N1 735 per 50kg bag depending on the region in Nigeria. Other cement makers are currently selling same product at between N2 200 to N2 800 per bag depending on the location in the country.  Dangote assured that his company would bridge the gap of the demand and stem further price hike. He noted that his company recently released 9 million metric tonnes of the commodity into the market to make the product available in all parts of the country and stabiliseprices in the open market.

Northern Governors Say Boko Haram To End In Three Months

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The Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) on Saturday said all elements of the Boko Haram terrorists group would be stamped out within three months. Gov. Babangida Aliyu, Chairman of the forum, said this in an address at a joint Northern States Governors/United States investors’ summit held in Abuja. “Contrary to insinuations that leaders in the region failed to openly condemn the rascality of the terrorists, we have instead worked subtly to see to the end of the insurgents. “The coming of the United States’ army to rescue the abducted Chibok school girls was as a result of the meeting the northern governors held with the American Government. “The 19 governors that make up this forum would continue to condemn the invasion of the north and we are happy with the Federal Government.

Abubakar Shekau: The face of terror: A ruthless leader with twisted ideology

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He is the face of terror. A ruthless leader with a twisted ideology. And the sadistic architect of a campaign of mayhem and misery. And yet, very little is known about Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram. He operates in the shadows, leaving his underlings to orchestrate his repulsive mandates. He resurfaces every once in a while in videotaped messages to mock the impotence of the Nigerian military. And he uses his faith to recruit the impressionable and the disenfranchised to his cause. He is a religious scholar
Shekau was born in Shekau village that borders Niger. He studied under a cleric and then attended Borno State College of Legal and Islamic Studies for higher studies on Islam.
That’s why he’s also known as ‘Darul Tawheed,’ which translates to an expert in monotheism, or the oneness of Allah. Place of birth: Yobe State

No U.S Troops Searching For Abducted Girls

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The United States has no plans to send troops to Nigeria to help recover hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. “There’s no intention, at this point, to (put) American boots on the ground,” Hagel told ABC television’s “This Week” program. Washington last week sent a team of military advisers as part of an international effort to help Nigeria find the girls, who were abducted nearly a month ago by the extremist Islamic group. The US defense chief was far from upbeat about chances of finding the girls. “It will be very difficult. It’s a vast country. This is not going to be an easy task,” Hagel said, in the interview recorded Saturday. “We’re going to bring to bear every asset we can possibly use to help the Nigerian government,” he said.

Israel offers to help Nigeria find abducted Chibok girls

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Israel offered Nigeria help on Sunday in locating 200 schoolgirls abducted last month by Islamist rebel group Boko Haram in an attack that has drawn global condemnation and prompted some Western powers to provide assistance. “Israel expresses deep shock at the crime against the girls,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office quoted him as telling Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan by phone. “We are ready to help in finding the girls and fighting the cruel terrorism inflicted on you.” The statement did not elaborate on how Israel might enlist in the search, with which British and U.S. experts are also helping. A spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry said he knew of no cooperation efforts under way.